Lost The Magical Feeling

[nrsldy]

I believe the theory, in general, is that the one time guests tend to spend more overall than repeat guests do...so having constant 1 time guests instead of many repeat guests is, in the end, more profitable for Disney.

Not saying I agree or disagree with that theory, just that that is how I've understood the theory to be. DLR seems to be doing quite well with its local base.

One of my brothers lives in Cali. He said they do not offer resident specials like they use to. He pays full price for his family's passes.
I do believe the more you go the more you see that you do not need all of the park stuff you bought the first time or all of the meals you had ADR's for. I think the focus of the trip changes.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Maybe not "infinite" but there will always be new first-time visitors. New babies keep being born!

Their thinking is probably accurate - the one-time visitor will spend more. But I think they also need to remember that those one-time visitors are only attracted to save for years and come to WDW because they hear that it's such a great place. And the people who are saying all those good things about Disney are people like me, who have been many times. If that shifts, you'll see those one-timers going elsewhere, too.

 

[Cormoran]

Interesting thread and very timely for us since we are leaving for Orlando next week. We are staying at Bonnet Creek and have three pass days left on old tickets along with a bunch of water park days. BUT...after our last trip, we may not even use all three days but rather spring for Universal Tickets instead.


We keep hearing how Hollywood Studios is a mess and totally took that park off the list. We used to also do a couple nice sit down dinners or character meals. But when I realized it is now about $250-$300 for us to do one meal at Crystal Palace, I cancelled all of them. We plan on doing QS and will spend our money on nicer restaurants outside the park.

We used to feel the value was terrific at Disney. Last couple years we noticed a decline in customer service and huge increases in prices. We still love it, but have reached the point where we are deciding to spend our money elsewhere.

We're there next week too. 3 days in the Parks ( 2 days in Epcot for F& G) 1 day MK and and then we'll go over to Universal for 3 days. We have no ADR's. I stopped making those when Disney started charging for no-shows. It's not that we made ADR's and didn't show up prior to the deposit days, but it's the idea that if something happens I will have to pay. It's another over scheduling issue I have with WDW, like FP+.

 

[smiths02]

Maybe not "infinite" but there will always be new first-time visitors. New babies keep being born!

Their thinking is probably accurate - the one-time visitor will spend more. But I think they also need to remember that those one-time visitors are only attracted to save for years and come to WDW because they hear that it's such a great place. And the people who are saying all those good things about Disney are people like me, who have been many times. If that shifts, you'll see those one-timers going elsewhere, too.

That is what I was going to say...if people hear from their friends about a terrible vacation, are they going to save for 15 years to go? I'm from Southern California and now live in GA and I remember the old commercials (so a Disney Vacation is a must do for your family), but I think going to Disney won't be a rite of passage anymore if the experience goes down and expense goes up.

Also, Disney is BIG into DVC which relies on repeat customers or at least the idea that people will want to be repeat customers.

 

[cabanafrau]

IMO they don't treat their DVC folks particularly well either. I think they categorize them as in for a penny, in for a pound and feel comfortable neglecting them. The domination of DVC in the WDW business model is largely responsible for the staleness and lack of maintenance of the resort overall.

Note, we do not and have never owned DVC.

 

[TLSnell1981]

IMO they don't treat their DVC folks particularly well either. I think they categorize them as in for a penny, in for a pound and feel comfortable neglecting them. The domination of DVC in the WDW business model is largely responsible for the staleness and lack of maintenance of the resort overall.

Note, we do not and have never owned DVC.

Once upon a time..we dined in the parks 2-3 times a day and purchased unique souvenirs. The children saved their money to purchase special items and couldn't wait to ride their favorite attractions. Now, merchandise has been replaced to overpriced junk, the food is less than mediocre...shops and rides are gone...or "under maintenance", etc. our visits slowed from 2-3 times a year to twice a year, then once. (No trips planned at this time). We may utilize TS 3-4 times, during the entire stay. Otherwise, we eat in the villa.

The parks are over crowded, decorations for special events have dwindled, but prices continue to climb. And, that huge chunk of concrete in front of Cinderella's Castle is hideous! The rest of the family divided their days between Disney and Universal. It wasn't much of a competition. Disney was their beloved vacation spot for 35 years, but they enjoyed Universal more. The slide started a few years back, but it's worse than I ever imagined ...with no end in sight.

DVC members are taken for granted. Fortunately, DVC can be use elsewhere...not just Disney properties. Sigh, we've always chosen Disney, but that too may be in the past....so are our plans to purchase more points.

 

[maxiesmom]

Having infrequent new attractions and offerings isn't an issue if they're dealing with a heavy pool of new guests -- it's all new to them.

Even in this thread you have people complaining about change, and people complaining that things don't change. There truly is no way to make every person happy. Neither side is wrong. But it shows that Disney isn't necessarily wrong either. Either you like the parks how they are, or you don't. Doesn't make anything intrinsically wrong with how the parks are now.

 

[maxiesmom]

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.

Is this not a general discussion? I didn't point at any one poster and say "Hey you! I know why YOU don't go to WDW any more." I was speaking in general. But I guess as I didn't say that, it wasn't clear. Even though I thought it was. The only poster I quoted stated that they spent time taking note of the CMs demeanor. And then came back and clarified what they meant.

 

[Andtototoo]

Is this not a general discussion? I didn't point at any one poster and say "Hey you! I know why YOU don't go to WDW any more." I was speaking in general. But I guess as I didn't say that, it wasn't clear. Even though I thought it was. The only poster I quoted stated that they spent time taking note of the CMs demeanor. And then came back and clarified what they meant.

You made a broad generalization, painting everyone with a certain opinion with the same dismissive brush. You can't be surprised that people will then correct that brush stroke.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I totally agree about Disney.
Even living in PA we would visit WDW 2 times a year.
We loved the parks, the magic , the after hours parties and just everything in general.

We visited WDW last August for the first time in 3 years. Because during our last visit before the August visit , we could already see things deteriorating . More money for way less.
I used to love the uniqueness of the souvinirs , now they areall generic.
The food is horrible, the crowds are ridiculous and the CM's are just not happy like they used to be , at least in my families opinion.

I have a milestone birthday coming up. A few years ago it would have been a no brainer, WDW for the food and wine festival.

I seriously doubt we will be going to WDW , more likely Universal or Montego Bay.

 

[disneyseniors]

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.

EXACTLY,EXACTLY,totoo. You took the words out of my mouth. Thank you for stating it so eloquently We are going back to WDW in November, BUT for the first time ever, we are planning 2 days at Universal! I can say that I am more excited about Universal than WDW at this point. It's so sad....andthey don't care!

 

[disneyseniors]

you are absolutely right. It has been our respite for many years. But now a vacay there is more stressful than real life. We cancelled our August trip and we are going to the north shore. I cannot wait.

Hey, Mn, we're from N. Minnesota too We always go to the north shore every fall to catch the fall colors, cooler weather, less crowded. We love the feeling of the N.shore, the wildness, beautiful Lake Superior, big black basalt rocks, lovely beaches, waterfalls, kitchy small town attractions and the feel of more artistic communities, esp in Grand Marais, our favorite spot. GM has it's own beautiful harbor lined with tannish rocks, it's own light house, small town ambience with several art centered unique stores. I know you will love it too. a hidden gem

 

[lauradis]

We're there next week too. 3 days in the Parks ( 2 days in Epcot for F& G) 1 day MK and and then we'll go over to Universal for 3 days. We have no ADR's. I stopped making those when Disney started charging for no-shows. It's not that we made ADR's and didn't show up prior to the deposit days, but it's the idea that if something happens I will have to pay. It's another over scheduling issue I have with WDW, like FP+.

What do you suggest Disney does with ADR's they cant have people just do walk ups look at the lines for BOG lunch. It truly is a volume problem. Build to many restaurants then your out money, build to little and have unhappy guest.

About ten years ago we stop the yearly trips to Disney it was just to much money, and there are so many other places to experience. We started doing every other then went to every third. After this last trip in December we aren't going till 2020. I would like to do a disney curse in the middle like 2017. But even this dec trip we are only doing 4 nights at Disney and 3 nights at universal.

So op Disney magic isn't gone, its just different.

 

[Dancind]

We bought an Old Key West resale in 2001, then Beach Club Villas as soon as it was available. And we have made many many trips. The last was in 2012, Food & Wine after our daughter turned 21. Even then, we noticed the increased crowds and decline in restaurant quality. We did like to eat out! I don't remember any surly CM's, but we were shocked at the crowds.

We used our points for Halloween 2013 at DL. It was a fun trip, but again crowded, even during the weekdays leading up to HW.

So the last couple of years when my new use year is looming, it's a debate. Sell them or rent them? I do hope for another family trip in a couple of years. DD has work schedules to contend with now, but can go during "low season" if she can get off. And we definitely want to see the HP attraction at Universal. So I am renting for now, and hoping things get better before we go again.

The problem is, there just doesn't seem to be a Low Season any more. I remember our trip in early September 2001, so hot with lots of rain, but everything was a walk on. Good old days, I guess.

 

[ElizabethB]

Yep, the magic is gone, and nope, it's not our fault! Devoted Disney fans for many years, we visited 2 and sometimes 3 times per year. We never missed the F&W Festival. Not anymore. The quality of everything is way down and prices are way up. We haven't been for the last two years and won't be going this year either.