My Own Personal 'Mad as Hell' Moment

[Princesca]

I thought I would share the following comment I just submitted to Disney. The cancellation of Star Wars fireworks less than a month before my trip the same day after the cancellation of one of my FP+ were just the last straws that broke me. Not that this will make ANY difference whatsoever, but I did want them to know how I felt. Your mileage may vary - and I don't want to turn this into a 'I disagree, Disney is perfection' debate. This is how I feel. I have cut Disney a crap-ton of slack in my life as prices have risen and quality has declined. I've been a volunteer Disney travel agent, convincing friends and family to take trips and helping them plan those trips. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

*********************

I don't know where to direct this, but I just wanted to express my frustration. I have an upcoming visit on November 12. I am a frequent park customer - I've made close to 10 visits to Disney properties in my life. I'm a frequent forum poster on one of the largest Disney forums in existence, and I am one of those people who creates spreadsheets to plan my stay. I'm obsessive. I love Disney planning. I am a Disney nerd. I love Disney.

I used to love Disney.

Disney requires us to choose our restaurant reservations 180 days in advance if we want to have any prayer of getting the most popular locations and times. Now we also have to choose what our preferred rides will be, on a given day, and that means choosing what park we'll be in on a given day. In short, Disney wants us to plan. Well, since I first planned my trip:

- Main Street Electrical Parade has ended
- Stitch's Great Escape has closed
- My FP for Dinosaur was cancelled because maintenance was extended
- Rivers of Light has been delayed
- Magic Kingdom is closing at 4:30 one day during my visit
- And most egregiously, you have now cancelled Star Wars fireworks less than 30 days before my arrival - something that I've heard so many people rave about as an essential experience for a Star Wars fan. (Which I am.) This has been replaced by a Christmas show, but I couldn't be less interested in Christmas in early November - I go for Star Wars! To cancel this experience right as the next movie is slated to come out seems short-sighted at best, completely out of touch with your customer base at worst.
- And then, of course, all the usual rotating closures - BTMR, RNRC (which I have no faith will be operational before I'm there)...

I am starting to wonder if ANYTHING will be open during our visit, or if I will have to bring board games to the parks just to fill our time.

I can't tell you how disappointed I am. For years I've been telling people what an amazing vacation it is to go to WDW. I've helped them plan. I've told them 'it's worth the price, you'll see!' I don't feel that I can tell them that anymore. The fact is, I think you need a degree in logistics and rocket science to plan the most effective trip to Disney now - and even if you have that, there's always Disney pulling the rug out from under your planning 30 days before you're supposed to arrive.

I still look forward to my upcoming visit, because I know I will derive what magic from it I can, but I wanted you to know that you have lost my business after that for at least the next several years. This has gone too far, and Avatar is culturally irrelevant now. (It may not have been a few years ago, but by now, I don't know anyone who cares about it.) When I come back, it will be for Star Wars. Everyone says that if people don't vote with their wallets, nothing will ever change, so this is me, voting with my wallet.

See you in November - if there's anything still open, I guess - but not for some time after that.

 

[rwdavis2]

Well said. We're going about the same time as you and the closer it gets the more I wish we had postponed it until next year. I'm sure we'll still have a great time but I'm already not a big fan of all the advanced planning while also waiting for changes to hit. We won't be going back for at least 3-4 years when all the current construction is finished and actually working. But we space the trips out that often anyway. Probably a Disneyland trip in between.

 

[Princesca]

What is killing me is these interim closures, which my trip happens to be falling in the middle of. Stitch not open (and say what you will about that ride, I wasn't a fan either, but Stitch is my favorite character so it was a favorite of mine), no fireworks at DHS the day I'm going to be there... either SW OR this Christmas one... Dinosaur closed, BTMRR closed, no faith RNRC will be back up as promised... no RoL... ugh.

I agree, though. At this point, I am thinking I might go back around 2020, but not before. There's a lot of the world to see, and I think other experiences would be a better use of my tourism dollars at this point. I have never been to Universal, for one thing, and I love Harry Potter.

 

[mom2rtk]

Courage OP. You're not alone in feeling that way. The venting didn't go well for this OP though. I'm really glad you took the time to write Disney.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wi...-am-i-paying-for.3554222/page-4#post-56616268

 

[Accident]

you forgot how they are changing hours and what days emh is in the middle of the month for the next month.

Otherwise, I think that is well written and kudos for reaching out to them. I usually throw in a I'll just go to universal for the time being though It got the a/c turned back up when I told them I don't think wdw is medically safe with the temps and warm buildings unless your eating.

 

[busymomma123]

We were mad at the closure of RNR announced for our trip right around the time of booking our fast passes. This is on top of BTM closing for our trip too. We used to go every year to DW. Then it became about every other year. This will be our first trip in three years. It will probably be our last trip for at least four to five years. The prices are outrageous and like what was said above, there is a lot more of the world to see. It's sad to feel that our upcoming trip has lost a lot of the magic before we even get there.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We reached our "straw that broke the camel's back" moment as well and have not renewed our APs. We received a survey from WDW after our August trip and told them that it breaks our hearts not to have a WDW trip on the horizon but prices have gone up way too much and service has declined. We told them we were voting with our wallets too and specifically mentioned that we'd still be visiting Orlando, but not the WDW parks. Interestingly, we received a survey last week that references our 2011 visit and asks us to compare how we felt about that visit to our most recent visit. Perhaps someone is paying attention, and your comments may help them to see what they're doing to their loyal fan base.

 

[Princesca]

Yes, I realize that posting this here is probably not very productive, BUT I do think people need to make it UNDENIABLE to Disney why they're not going. I don't want there to be some numbers wonk at Disney being like 'Oh, it's Zika' or 'Oh, it's the economy'. NO. We need to vote with our wallets AND tell them why. Don't just stop going. Let them know why so there can be no excuses.

 

[Accident]

Yes, I realize that posting this here is probably not very productive, BUT I do think people need to make it UNDENIABLE to Disney why they're not going. I don't want there to be some numbers wonk at Disney being like 'Oh, it's Zika' or 'Oh, it's the economy'. NO. We need to vote with our wallets AND tell them why. Don't just stop going. Let them know why so there can be no excuses.

umm, op started off that they are sharing the letter they just sent to disney. I think you might have overlooked that.

 

[SureAsLiz]

umm, op started off that they are sharing the letter they just sent to disney. I think you might have overlooked that.

They are the OP.
It sounds like they are just posting their reasoning for posting the letter here

 

[Amelia :)]

We are there the same time, Star Wars fireworks haven't been "cancelled", they were never scheduled. I understand your frustration, I ASSUMED they would continue, but they were never actually promised/scheduled, and they are offering holiday fireworks as an alternative.

 

[Princesca]

umm, op started off that they are sharing the letter they just sent to disney. I think you might have overlooked that.

LOL... yup, that was me

 

[Accident]

They are the OP.
It sounds like they are just posting their reasoning for posting the letter here

oh I overlooked that part.

 

[Princesca]

We are there the same time, Star Wars fireworks haven't been "cancelled", they were never scheduled. I understand your frustration, I ASSUMED they would continue, but they were never actually promised/scheduled, and they are offering holiday fireworks as an alternative.

Yep - fireworks I don't have the slightest interest in, and a business decision that really doesn't make any sense to me. But regardless, if that was the only issue, fine - Disney shouldn't be expected to schedule their programming around my whims and preferences. But this is just the last in a long list of complaints, and the last straw in the rationale for why I am PERSONALLY done with Disney for awhile after this trip. I get that some people may be stoked about this new show. I'm happy for them. I wish I was one of them.

 

[Amelia :)]

Yep - fireworks I don't have the slightest interest in, and a business decision that really doesn't make any sense to me. But regardless, if that was the only issue, fine - Disney shouldn't be expected to schedule their programming around my whims and preferences. But this is just the last in a long list of complaints, and the last straw in the rationale for why I am PERSONALLY done with Disney for awhile after this trip. I get that some people may be stoked about this new show. I'm happy for them. I wish I was one of them.

I agree I would much rather see Star Wars fireworks, I was just being a little pedantic and pointing out they didn't actually cancel them. I really think how much enjoyment you get out of your vacation is mainly down to you and your mind set. I know it's difficult with all the issues lately, but your trip (and mine) is so close, don't ruin it's for yourself by feeling negative. Go with a positive attitude, and it enjoy what is being offered. And if you still feel like pursuing your complaint when you get back, go for it.

 

[Princesca]

I agree I would much rather see Star Wars fireworks, I was just being a little pedantic and pointing out they didn't actually cancel them. I really think how much enjoyment you get out of your vacation is mainly down to you and your mind set. I know it's difficult with all the issues lately, but your trip (and mine) is so close, don't ruin it's for yourself by feeling negative. Go with a positive attitude, and it enjoy what is being offered. And if you still feel like pursuing your complaint when you get back, go for it.

Yeah... I certainly don't think my trip will be ruined. Hell, I could ride Star Tours all day every day and be reasonably happy. (If slightly concussed, LOL.) For me, it's just a business decision that is driven in part by this emotion. I have X amount of dollars to and time spend on vacations in a year, and I need to spend that time where it is most enjoyable and effective for me. Disney is apparently no longer that place. Since this vacation is bought and paid for, I will certainly squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of it that I can. I know we'll have fun when we're there. But next year, we'll go somewhere else.

 

[wilkeliza]

The only way you are really going to get Disney's attention is if you cancel your Disney portion of the trip. It is sad to say but that is business. Yes flights and hotels are booked and if you have a package there would be a fee but a real stick in the eye to Disney would be if they saw people writing in to say look I took the fee and you know what I did? I took my money elsewhere in the Orlando area be it Universal, Sea World, Legoland or whatever.

OP I hope you get an acknowledgement or something. I just don't know what it'll take to get them to listen besides taking your money and going elsewhere and yes if need be even rearranging a Central Florida trip to not include Disney at all.

 

[Princesca]

The only way you are really going to get Disney's attention is if you cancel your Disney portion of the trip. It is sad to say but that is business. Yes flights and hotels are booked and if you have a package there would be a fee but a real stick in the eye to Disney would be if they saw people writing in to say look I took the fee and you know what I did? I took my money elsewhere in the Orlando area be it Universal, Sea World, Legoland or whatever.

OP I hope you get an acknowledgement or something. I just don't know what it'll take to get them to listen besides taking your money and going elsewhere and yes if need be even rearranging a Central Florida trip to not include Disney at all.

I gotta say, now that I think about it, that IS really tempting. I just can't let go of all the planning I've done this time.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Again, right there with you OP.

I have never written a negative tone letter to any business - until this morning. For me the straw that broke the camel's back was the extended dinosaur refurb.

My letter was pleasant but strong and certainly left no room for interpretation regarding my level of displeasure. I also let them know that instead of upgrading our 7 day hoppers to one AP and one 10 day hopper (our trip is 11 full days with travel days on either end) we will be looking into spending some time at Universal for the first time.

 

[wilkeliza]

I gotta say, now that I think about it, that IS really tempting. I just can't let go of all the planning I've done this time.

To be honest we actually did it (not because we were upset with Disney we just had a ton of fun at Universal) and there was sooooo little planning needed. We got everything we wanted done over there and it is so easy to get food reservations even same day. Even if you are only taking 2 or 3 days out of your Disney trip and going to the "dark side" it is enough to send them that and say look because you did XYZ we took our money to Universal which is not something we would have traditionally done. This is the 1st trip since i started going in 2009 that we went to Universal and came away from it going we will never come to Orlando again with out at least 1 day at Universal. This is coming from a couple who are not coaster junkies and use to go to Universal and miss Disney. With both sides of Wizarding World we have more than enough to do for our little geeky hearts. Add in things like ET, Transformers, Spiderman, Men in Black and the Mummy and we have enough for 2 days.