No Disney this year!

[Art 1]

We have gone to Disney every year for the last 8 years. Our last visit was Sept, 2013 and I booked a bounceback for this Sept. I am going to cancel due to the fp+, which I think is terrible and due to the price increases. We can
afford to go to Disney but I am unwilling to go when I feel like over the past few years Disney prices have gone up, up, up and what you get is going down. We are going to take our vacation this year at Busch Garden in Williamsburg in August instead. For my family of 5, we can go unlimited to Busch Gardens and Water country for $72 a person, that will be around $360 for our family. Tickets for Disney for 7 days are around $1600. We can also get a nice Marriott for around $100/night, which includes a full hot breakfast. We stayed at POR in Sept and it was just "average" and now runs around $200/night. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney but I just refuse to pay these outrageous prices and until people stop going (which doesn't seem is going to happen), they will just keep price gouging us. I have to admit, I will miss our annual trip but we will have fun with a new adventure.

Thanks for letting us know. Have fun.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

It's become reality that Disney vacations are for people who have higher incomes. Hate to break it to you, but Disney is doing just fine even with the price increases. The only way you're going to be able to go back to Disney is if you get a job that gets you a higher income.

If you can't afford to go, you are not Disney's target customer anyway.

Affordable is different than seeing WDW as a diminished value. I do, and I split one of my stays.

If my April trip is a nightmare of lines. I am moviing my May trip to a more relaxing venue. Maybe join some friends in South Beach.

My friends BTW are extemely wealthy and can't stand WDW due to crowds. I planned two trips for them and they hated them but felt obligated to at least take the kids twice.

Pretty sure the OP said they *could* afford to go, but they are choosing not to because they do not believe that the cost is worth it for their family, given changes at the parks (both financial and otherwise) that diminish their experience...

I really wonder what effect this will have on repeat guests.

OP could pay less to vacation elsewhere and still find less value for their cost at another location as you only get what you pay for. They may end up paying less but still end up with a "diminished experience"; as in "we paid $75 a day for this?????"

Well, I pay for a deluxe hotel and it is not as nice as the Four Season's or Ritz Carlton. Believe me, there are many times I say "I can't believe I pay this much for this room". I am NOT getting what I paid for, I am paying more for less because it is WDW.

Personally I find the posters that repeatedly complain about the people complaining much more offensive. And I am not talking about you.

Someone on the cruise line board was also complaining about complainers which I found to be very silly.

This amazes me. The OP explained why they are not going and stated that they do not feel they will get their monies worth out of going. Then people either agree or defend WDW. The op and others have rightfully stated that the return on dollar spent has diminished over time. Somehow people feel the need to defend Disney, or state that that person is wrong without any valid counterpoint other than well they are still packing in the crowds so they don't need you anyway. Instead of responding with why they think the value is still there from an opposing point of view.


I agree the value for dollar spent has greatly diminished (I have been going regularly since 1993) and every change seems to be at the expense of customer experience (excluding FP- which is now gone). But through my last trip I still felt like I received enough entertainment and fun for what I paid for

To be fair I was totally against FP- when they first announced it, I was thankfully proven wrong. I am now not a fan of what I know about FP+, but am withholding judgment until I use it. But if it diminishes my experience to a large degree I will look at spending more vacation time elsewhere. That is not a threat to Disney I know they will never feel it if I stop going. But I am not going to spend my money at a place where I don't think it is worth it.

I have made the analogy before; GM did not fail over night or over one bad decision. They failed over a period of about 40 years by make one bad yet minor decision after another, losing one customer at a time. They might not have felt the loss of each customer, but it eventually added up. (Oversimplified but I think it makes my point)

Love the analogy. Did Disney forget who showed up after the crash in 2008?

 

[2Tiggies]

But if it diminishes my experience to a large degree I will look at spending more vacation time elsewhere. That is not a threat to Disney I know they will never feel it if I stop going. But I am not going to spend my money at a place where I don't think it is worth it.

This really stood out to me. Time and time again, when someone has posted that they are not going back because they feel they are not getting the value they perceive to be necessary to justify the cost of a Disney vacation, there are responses suggesting that Disney doesn't care, Disney won't notice, just go somewhere else ..... We've all seen them. But it isn't about Disney or trying to stick it to them. I have a budget, like anyone else. We choose carefully where we want to go and save hard for it all year round. But there comes a point where you start to wonder what else that same $xxxx would buy you in terms of vacation time. It's about where the value lies and where each person's cut off point is, not an assault on WDW.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I just love this response. Just wanted to add that.

Coca Cola Classic = pre-FastPass Disney.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Because seriously, why bother making this thread? What can it possibly accomplish beyond, well, everything in this thread?

It allows those posters whose entire self worth seems to be tied to Disney to get hysterical?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I also think that many fans who are currently contemplating or planning an upcoming trip probably want to know why and whether a lot of people are changing travel plans because of Disney policies.

That's different from the same person posting the same intent with the same explanation more than once.

 

[Mad Hattered]

That's different from the same person posting the same intent with the same explanation more than once.

Or people could read the entire thread and realize more than the OP is doing the same thing. I wish the OP had bumped her previous thread so these arguments would be moot. The fact is she didn't. Should we burn her at the stake? I don't know the protocol around here.

 

[Marionnette]

Or people could read the entire thread and realize more than the OP is doing the same thing. I wish the OP had bumped her previous thread so these arguments would be moot. The fact is she didn't. Should we burn her at the stake? I don't know the protocol around here.

I believe that burning at the stake should be reserved for newbies who bump zombie threads. Tar and feathers is a more appropriate punishment for starting a new thread to voice the same opinion over again.

 

[Darcy03231]

We're not going this year either, but I'm not going so far as to say we're never going back. I'm on the fence and waiting to see how the new system is working a year or so from now.

We've taken breaks from WDW before. We used to annual visitors when the kids were young, but once the youngest became a Disney adult we started branching out and seeing and doing other things. We've been back during that 11 years and I will say on each trip we've all commented that we've perceived the parks to be on a downhill slope. It's not been enough to have us say we'll never visit again, but we certainly don't go back every year.

I was thinking about going this fall as October is one of my favorites times to go, but we've decided to go to Vero Beach instead. Hopefully, the new system will be working better in a year or so and we'll try it then for ourselves.