I have been saying I am done going to WDW for a while. I just can't justify the cost when I see things being stripped away. Once upon a time I could justify the higher cost of a Disney vacation because of all the extras they offered. The monorail, DME, the entertainment in the parks, the Disney level of service, etc... Those things have all disappeared or will be. Yes, the monorail still operates but it is not the same monorail it used to be. The monorail used to be cool to ride now it's either hot, stinks, or you fear it will fall apart and break down. Disney service is no long a thing either, for the most part. At least not at WDW. It is still prevelant at DL for sure. Well, who knows if it will be when it reopens, but as of my last trip it was.
I wrote a complaint email when the GF Orchestra was cut. I knew I wouldn't get anything out of it, it just felt good to write about my sadness at the direction of the company. I wasn't even expecting a response. In that email I used an example from my last trip (April 2019) to show how far things have fallen. I talked about how I spent over $400 (I have 7 kids) for cold food and rushed character interaction at Chef Mickey's for breakfast. I knew the risk of going there as the reputation is well known but the kids wanted to go so I took the chance we hit it on a good day. We didn't. The waitress was grouchy, food was awful, and the characters looked like they were running a race from table to table. Anyway, I did get a response to my surprise. The CM offered to refund 1/2 the cost if I sent her the credit card statement, which I sent her that day. No mention of the real reason I wrote, the lack of service and falling quality. This was early October. I still have not received the money. I have sent 3 follow up emails, not because I care about the money, but to point out how poor their service has become.
The funny part is, the charge right above the Chef Mickey's charge is for 1900 Park Fare. We had dinner there two nights before. That, was a great experience. So it should prove I am not just looking for money because it was equally as expensive and I didn't mention that in my email.
I know people will keep going. I personally wish people would just stop going, take it in the chin for a year or so, and drop the attendance. This will get Chapek out the door and we can hopefully replace him with someone more customer focused who will bring back Disney the way it used to be. Then I can go back too.
I'll still go to DL because the value is there for me, or at least it was pre Covid. We'll see what it looks like when this is done. But there are so many places in this country to spend my vacation dollars. I can't justify spending it on a more expensive version of Six Flags, which is what it feels like WDW has become.
So I hope they have a luggage service when/if this ever happens.
