Lost The Magical Feeling

[nrsldy]

That stinks that this happened. It is never fun dealing with issues!

Is my math wrong though? I'm getting $213 to upgrade from a seasonal pass to an annual. 529-329=200 200x1.065=213 I'm assuming the seasonal was purchasedbefore the price increase, but do they not price bridge annual passes?

No they do not-- I asked

 

[anniemae]

It's interesting that even as it becomes more expensive to go to WDW, with fewer discounts available, and in many cases fewer attractions - so much closed at Hollywood Studios, the shows I loved in Epcot gone, etc. - the crowds seem to be INCREASING! So Disney doesn't have any reason to change what they are doing now.

This is what I have been saying. They raise prices, customer service is declining, rides are closed etc. Yet people are going in droves. It seems they have no reason tho change, they are doing something right, at least from a business standpoint. From a guest? Not so much.

 

[of the seas]

It has lost the magic feeling for us, also. We used to go every year. Every January I would get a uncontrollable urge to plan a trip to Disney!

But the last 3 times we went, it just wasn't as fun and got less and less with each trip. So we decided to plan another vacation one summer some where else. And guess what? We discovered a great big world we haven't seen yet! So we try to go different places and see new things every year. We haven't been back to Disney in 4 years and don't have any plans soon to go back. I know we will some day, but not in the next couple years.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

This is not meant to offend any Florida resident or AP, but the simple matter is generally these guest spend less while in the parks. The volume of guests continue to grow, yet most new attractions have really done very little to lessen the crowd impact. Taking out Malestrom to add Frozen is a great example. Maybe Frozen will accomate more riders per day, but the subject matter will increase Epcot crowds.

Florida residents were there to help Disney through the recession, but ultimately face price increases and tighter restrictions and access.

 

[Minnesota!]

The magic is surely lacking. We had a trip end of august booked....Tampa, universal, then 5 days st Beach Club.

Got back from WDW last week and promptly cancelled the WDW portion. Even the resort only kind of trip we loved.prior to this last trip has lost its luster. Only 2 CMs the entire.week were in a good mood. I tracked it. All the others were surly, too busy chatting to pay attention, or were straight out bothered - or hung over - to have to be at work.

It was bad.

WDW is not getting our money again for a long.time.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think that most of the magic people talk about was brought into the parks by them. A huge chunk of it has to do with attitude. And if you are in the mindset that you are going to watch CMs and keep track of if they are nice enough or not, then that is not an attitude that sets the parks up to feel magical. Instead of living in the moment and enjoying your time you are looking for right and wrong. Not a magical way to vacation.

I also thinks the old saying of familiarity breeds contempt is very true. The first few times some people go to WDW they are caught up in the wonder of seeing the castle, or of watching Illuminations. Maybe a few trips in they start to notice that a certain firework didn't go off as planned. Or that a bench is no longer where it used to be. Instead of being caught up in the magic they are now judging everything.

I'm happy to say I have not gotten there yet. I was at WDW for 6 nights in October, and go again at the end of this month for 7 nights. And I can hardly wait! Maybe for some of you a break is in order. And hopefully if you decide to go back in a few years you will once again get caught up in being there, and not waste your time judging everything.

 

[Cormoran]

I don't think it's fair to speak for other guests and presume to know why they are feeling a particular way toward WDW. I am reading posts on this thread and the only conclusion I have come to is that people are disappointed and are expressing sorrow over the loss of magic. I don't think that's judgmental, it's really just sad.

 

[MamaLema]

We haven't been to Disney for 5 years. My main 2 reasons are it's so expensive, and not just the tickets but adding the parking (we stay off site), and food for our family of 5 (my boys are 18, 16, and 11) and boy can they eat! I enjoy planning trips, but I don't enjoy planning what rides and restaurants I will eat at on specific date and time months in advance.

We will go back someday because I want the youngest to remember but not for many more years.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think that most of the magic people talk about was brought into the parks by them. A huge chunk of it has to do with attitude. And if you are in the mindset that you are going to watch CMs and keep track of if they are nice enough or not, then that is not an attitude that sets the parks up to feel magical. Instead of living in the moment and enjoying your time you are looking for right and wrong. Not a magical way to vacation.

I also thinks the old saying of familiarity breeds contempt is very true. The first few times some people go to WDW they are caught up in the wonder of seeing the castle, or of watching Illuminations. Maybe a few trips in they start to notice that a certain firework didn't go off as planned. Or that a bench is no longer where it used to be. Instead of being caught up in the magic they are now judging everything.

I'm happy to say I have not gotten there yet. I was at WDW for 6 nights in October, and go again at the end of this month for 7 nights. And I can hardly wait! Maybe for some of you a break is in order. And hopefully if you decide to go back in a few years you will once again get caught up in being there, and not waste your time judging everything.

How could you possibly know what has brought people to the point they are with Disney? Or presume to tell them when it's time for a break! And then dare to tell them THEY are judgmental.

 

[Planogirl]

I used to be a complete WDW fanatic. I was really kind of pathetic. Not any longer and I won't listen if someone tells me why I'm wrong. I'm not wrong for ME. Disney is different and so am I and I see no reason to go any more except to revisit old favorites.

 

[Cormoran]

When I'm visiting a park, I'm immersed in the experience. But it's really tough to stay in the experience when the CM's are chatting with each other and ignoring guests, the trash cans are full, and the bathrooms aren't clean. What made WDW a unique experience, is being lost in the pursuit of bigger profits. I'm disillusioned.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm sad to say that we're another family that feels that Disney has lot its magic. We used to go at least once a year (sometimes twice, and once three times), but we haven't been since 2013 and have no plans to go back anytime soon. Prices are increasing, service is declining and there's nothing really new. We've been exploring other things while we're in Florida and have branched out and taken different vacations (which we enjoyed much more than our last Disney trip).

This year we're taking a 10 day vacation to Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica and then later in the year are spending 10 days in Orlando. We'll be touring Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and SeaWorld. We're probably going to also do an airboat ride, some type of dinner show, and maybe go to the beach. Neither of these vacations will require us to plan 3 months in advance where we will be eating, where we will be each day and make ride reservations.

 

[Andtototoo]

For us, yes, WDW has lost its magic. We've been going for a very long time. Were Disney fanatics. Had come || close to buying DVC and were still debating it two years ago. For many years, my dd's goal in life was to work at WDW for her career. She did two CPs in Orlando. She herself noticed a huge change between her first and second CP in terms of how they were treated, the quality of their training, and the expectation level -- and there was just one year between those two programs. It was indeed around the time of her second CP that we started to notice, as guests, the difference in quality at the Parks and attitude of the CMs. Small differences, but we did notice them. And not because we were looking, but because it was clearly a difference from just the year before.

Then add into that the Magic Bands, FP+. We initially assumed that Disney would employ its vaunted "Disney Way" techniques to these two new items. We never ever thought we would hate these changes. We thought they would either be fine or a great improvement. So, sorry, to those of you who think we went into it with negative attitudes and got what we expected. Nope. We expected good quality.

The problem is that Disney did not deliver on basic, good customer service for us with the Magic Bands and FP+. Forget "Magic". Ha. Even if I dialed down my expectations to Walmart level customer service, Disney would have still failed.

We never in a million years thought that Disney would rig the system so guests would get fewer FP and therefore get less value for our hard-earned money. We never thought it would take 6+ hours to arrange our vacation and make FP+ reservations because THEIR system was down/glitchy/whatever. We never thought I would have to keep calling back over and over and over to try and get a CM who would help me. We never thought we'd have so many problems getting our UnMagical Bands to work... over and over and over. We never thought that our Magic Bands would not work for room entry. For charging to our room. For park entry. Day after day, even after we'd been assured -- every day -- that they were "fixed". We never thought that Guest Relations would blame US for the fact that the UnMagical Bands did not work. We never thought that when someone called me from Disney in response to my email complaint that she would agree with me that guest service has gone downhill because training is not what it was a few years ago.

Plus I simply do not want to have to plan my days out 2 months in advance. I just don't. Not interested at all. If that's the way WDW is going to be, I'm simply not going there any more.

Then add to that the huge improvements and innovation at Universal Orlando while Disney is... well, not doing the same and has not for years. I simply cannot compare the "New Fantasyland" with Harry Potter at Universal. The Diagon Alley is without doubt the most amazing immersive experience combined with awesome HP rides in both areas, just a WOW experience. We never thought we'd find Universal a better park than WDW, but during our last visit in November, we most certainly did. Totally shocked us. And it was not just us -- our party consisted of foreign friends who'd never been to either park. I had been talking about WDW to them for years and had not told them of my nightmare trying to book our trip. So they were primed to love WDW. Guess what? They all preferred Universal.

Interestingly enough, we have all been to DLCA in the last year and we found that, for us, those are great parks and we plan to return. Even my dd who had been a diehard WDW fanatic says that she now prefers DLCA. So it's not about Disney per se, it's about the way WDW is being run. It's just not a good value for our money any more, it's too annoying/irritating to plan the trip, the customer service has gone down while prices are going up, and in comparison to other theme parks, it's just not giving the "magic" that makes it worth my money.

 

[mom2rtk]

For us, yes, WDW has lost its magic. We've been going for a very long time. Were Disney fanatics. Had come || close to buying DVC and were still debating it two years ago. For many years, my dd's goal in life was to work at WDW for her career. She did two CPs in Orlando. She herself noticed a huge change between her first and second CP in terms of how they were treated, the quality of their training, and the expectation level -- and there was just one year between those two programs. It was indeed around the time of her second CP that we started to notice, as guests, the difference in quality at the Parks and attitude of the CMs. Small differences, but we did notice them. And not because we were looking, but because it was clearly a difference from just the year before.

Then add into that the Magic Bands, FP+. We initially assumed that Disney would employ its vaunted "Disney Way" techniques to these two new items. We never ever thought we would hate these changes. We thought they would either be fine or a great improvement. So, sorry, to those of you who think we went into it with negative attitudes and got what we expected. Nope. We expected good quality.

The problem is that Disney did not deliver on basic, good customer service for us with the Magic Bands and FP+. Forget "Magic". Ha. Even if I dialed down my expectations to Walmart level customer service, Disney would have still failed.

We never in a million years thought that Disney would rig the system so guests would get fewer FP and therefore get less value for our hard-earned money. We never thought it would take 6+ hours to arrange our vacation and make FP+ reservations because THEIR system was down/glitchy/whatever. We never thought I would have to keep calling back over and over and over to try and get a CM who would help me. We never thought we'd have so many problems getting our UnMagical Bands to work... over and over and over. We never thought that our Magic Bands would not work for room entry. For charging to our room. For park entry. Day after day, even after we'd been assured -- every day -- that they were "fixed". We never thought that Guest Relations would blame US for the fact that the UnMagical Bands did not work. We never thought that when someone called me from Disney in response to my email complaint that she would agree with me that guest service has gone downhill because training is not what it was a few years ago.

Plus I simply do not want to have to plan my days out 2 months in advance. I just don't. Not interested at all. If that's the way WDW is going to be, I'm simply not going there any more.

Then add to that the huge improvements and innovation at Universal Orlando while Disney is... well, not doing the same and has not for years. I simply cannot compare the "New Fantasyland" with Harry Potter at Universal. The Diagon Alley is without doubt the most amazing immersive experience combined with awesome HP rides in both areas, just a WOW experience. We never thought we'd find Universal a better park than WDW, but during our last visit in November, we most certainly did. Totally shocked us. And it was not just us -- our party consisted of foreign friends who'd never been to either park. I had been talking about WDW to them for years and had not told them of my nightmare trying to book our trip. So they were primed to love WDW. Guess what? They all preferred Universal.

Interestingly enough, we have all been to DLCA in the last year and we found that, for us, those are great parks and we plan to return. Even my dd who had been a diehard WDW fanatic says that she now prefers DLCA. So it's not about Disney per se, it's about the way WDW is being run. It's just not a good value for our money any more, it's too annoying/irritating to plan the trip, the customer service has gone down while prices are going up, and in comparison to other theme parks, it's just not giving the "magic" that makes it worth my money.

How fascinating to have your daughter's view from the inside.

We feel much the same way....... right down to having found our new magic place on the other coast. I have to think our trip this year during the 60th Anniversary will be our best yet. But then I'm bracing myself for the next phase since they have said MM+ will be added to DLR in 2016.

 

[Alfalfa]

Bob Chapek: "Hey Bob! Thanks again for making me head of Disney Parks & Resorts!"

Bob Iger: "No problem, Bob. Us Bob's have to look out for each other. Besides, you're the only one who knows where to buy that great merchandise at such low prices"

Bob Chapek: "I did want to talk to you about a noticeable decrease in satisfaction levels among the loyal customer base, though"

Bob Iger: "Why?"

Bob Chapek: "Well, we're beginning to think it could be indicative of brand erosion"

Bob Iger: "Naw, don't worry about it. We've got plenty of new customers filling the parks each day"

Bob Chapek: "Good point, I hadn't considered that. Talk to you later, we've got some tests to run on the standby lines at a couple of the more popular attractions"

 

[mom2rtk]

Bob Chapek: "Hey Bob! Thanks again for making me head of Disney Parks & Resorts!"

Bob Iger: "No problem, Bob. Us Bob's have to look out for each other. Besides, you're the only one who knows where to buy that great merchandise at such low prices"

Bob Chapek: "I did want to talk to you about a noticeable decrease in satisfaction levels among the loyal customer base, though"

Bob Iger: "Why?"

Bob Chapek: "Well, we're beginning to think it could be indicative of brand erosion"

Bob Iger: "Naw, don't worry about it. We've got plenty of new customers filling the parks each day"

Bob Chapek: "Good point, I hadn't considered that. Talk to you later, we've got some tests to run on the standby lines at a couple of the more popular attractions"

Seriously..... I would pay real money to be a fly on the wall in some of these meetings.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Disney World is not the same place it was 10 years ago. How could it be? 10 years is a long time for things to stay exactly the same as they were. Some people have noticed that *some* of those changes are negative - for them. Again, I see that as natural because no company is going to make changes over the course of 10 years that absolutely all of their customers agree with. That doesn't mean that those who are seeing changes they feel are negative are going into their trip/vacation are going into it looking for things to be negative about.

We thoroughly enjoyed our November vacation. I can't remember a single CM who was rude to us in any way, but I can remember a few wonderfully helpful CMs. But the preplanning part of the vacation was over the top for us, so now that we have some more freedom (b/c of family no longer coming with us) on our November 2015 trip, we're heading to DLR instead. I fully expect that trip to be just as wonderful as our 2014 trip, if not better.

 

[Cormoran]

Bob Chapek: "Hey Bob! Thanks again for making me head of Disney Parks & Resorts!"

Bob Iger: "No problem, Bob. Us Bob's have to look out for each other. Besides, you're the only one who knows where to buy that great merchandise at such low prices"

Bob Chapek: "I did want to talk to you about a noticeable decrease in satisfaction levels among the loyal customer base, though"

Bob Iger: "Why?"

Bob Chapek: "Well, we're beginning to think it could be indicative of brand erosion"

Bob Iger: "Naw, don't worry about it. We've got plenty of new customers filling the parks each day"

Bob Chapek: "Good point, I hadn't considered that. Talk to you later, we've got some tests to run on the standby lines at a couple of the more popular attractions"

This is totally off topic, but I think it's interesting. Before the Fred Harvey set up his restaurants to serve railroad customers, the passengers were at the mercy of local restaurants. These locals would wait until the last minute to serve food , so the customers paid for uneaten meals that could be served to the next group of passengers on the next train. These restaurants knew they weren't having to satisfy repeat customers.

Kind of the same direction Disney is traveling in their theme parks: focus on the one and done crowd!

 

[BigAlsGal]

How could you possibly know what has brought people to the point they are with Disney? Or presume to tell them when it's time for a break! And then dare to tell them THEY are judgmental.

 

[JanaDee]

I used to be a complete WDW fanatic. I was really kind of pathetic. Not any longer and I won't listen if someone tells me why I'm wrong. I'm not wrong for ME. Disney is different and so am I and I see no reason to go any more except to revisit old favorites.

That's what always gets me about these type of discussions.