Pixie dust is gone

[king kamehameha]

Does anyone else feel this way? Being sprinkled with "pixie dust" now feels like being pelted with "rock salt"! What happened to the Disney we were all in love with? Now we cringe at the thought of a Disney vacation. p.s. We used to feel like the phrase below in my signature...we miss that

 

[Bellanota]

maybe its because i dont go the parks near as often as most people and I have never been good at the just wing it thing. I need an out line of a tour plan at the least no matter were we go Disney or Rome....

But I still see the pixie dust. This is my DD's first trip and she is so excited. We have a meal in a castle! What 5 year old is not going freak out about that... we have an appointment with a fairy godmother before dinner in the Beasts castle. I have princess dresses packed away she hasnt seen so when she has lunch with the princesses she can pick out what ever dress she wants... that is so much pixie dust there this child is not going to forgot it.

and oh by the way I planned and booked my vacation on warship in a warzone with internet so slow we have to use mobile facebook and mobile banking site. There is warning at the top of my page on MDE that tells me my browser is out of date and things might not load and more then once it has happened. But I kept at it because making pixie dust required a little bit of work from Mommy this year. We are not going to be able to ride everything she wants to because even in 7 days I know its not possible to see and do everything. So i made certain things important and worked to find the magic in them. These boards helped alot and with 34 days to go i am done planning this one and already looking forward to the next one. I didnt stress anything except maybe the A&E (before my window opened, once it opened and there was nothing good there I just accepted and kept looking till I found one). I think maybe if I had stressed thing i would have lost the pixie dust, but i felt like a fairy godmother making a very special trip happen.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I LOVE your attitude Bellanota! That is exactly how we're approaching this trip. We have only 3 "must-do's" Mine: to see Wishes (can't tell you how many times we've just missed them -- not really a good view from the ferry dock ) Hubby: Tom Sawyer's Island (yup, you read that correctly a 52 yr old man wants to ride the raft and poke around like a lil boy ) Both of us :dinner at Narcossee's.

If nothing else happens we'll still be ecstatic! We'll be in Florida and won't need jackets. We won't be here while emergency renovations are happening to deal with the cat litter stink from the neighbour's We get to sleep in a King Sized bed (pure luxury for the woman who sleeps with a cover hog & kicker)

HAve a great time and make your own pixie dust

 

[Allison]

No, I don't feel that way.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think the fun is still there IF the new FP works for your family. Or if you enjoy a lot of the attractions and entertainment that don't have long waits. Or even if you just enjoy the atmosphere.

If that's not the case, then I'm not sure anything will ever bring it back unfortunately.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Now we cringe at the thought of a Disney vacation.

Hate to be a "So don't go" person, because I hate when people diminish concerns with that counter, but if it is cringe inducing, maybe another destination is best for you.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We just went for the first time this last June and I'm already missing things about it. One of things I just could not get over and that made a lasting impression on me was how green everything is. Green grass in the MK! Our resort, POFQ was so green and peaceful and the walk along river with the trees was just beautiful! I could not get enough pictures.
I didn't know how the Magic Bands would be, but they were fine. It was hard planning restaurants and rides months in advance though. But we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to returning in five years.
However, overall we like DLR better. Maybe the OP should give that a try for some fresh pixie dust!

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I don't think the pixie dust will ever go away for my family. We don't wait around for cast members to make special things happen for us, we make our own magic. We plan ahead, make use of FP+ and ADRs. I like to plan surprises for my family, whether it be a gift waiting for us in our room, a tour, a special meal, whatever. We also go with the flow- it's a theme park, waiting on line for a ride is a given, so we wait and enjoy each other's company while we wait. We relax on a curb while waiting for a parade and use this as a rest time. We go to hard ticketed parties, we sleep late and explore resorts on non park days. I have yet to have a stressful trip, and have yet to consider a trip "cringe worthy".
I have to agree with the poster who said don't go; if the idea of going someplace that is totally a voluntary trip gives you stress, then don't go there. Stress for a trip to the dentist, yes you still should go; stress for a trip to Disney, then go somewhere else- the beach, the mountains, a cruise.

 

[lauradis]

Disney is magical in your mind set only and always has been. period.

Every place is truly like this, that you enjoy.

My advice is take sometime off from Disney go other places, then come back when your ready.

 

[tcherjen]

It is still there for our family too and we have been countless times. It is the only place my teens and youngest want to spend their vacations at.

 

[DisneyMim]

The magic is still there for us. As I always have said, Disney is not for everyone, just like any other vacation, skiing, cruises, beaches, etc. If you feel that a Disney vacation is not doing it for you anymore than you have a ton of other options. Enjoy your next vacation whatever you do!

 

[disnut8]

Using "gone" is kind of extreme even with some of the issues of late.

For me, the "pixie dust" is still there when, after we stayed at Pop Century over Labor Day weekend (after staying offsite for over a year because of financial reasons), my husband and I left Monday morning and said "thank goodness we don't have to smile and say hi to every single Cast Member anymore!" - yes, every single Cast Member at Pop Century greeted us even when we were just walking to our room.

The "pixie dust" is still there when, at a certain counter service place at The Studios if you get a certain color tray, the Cast Members there will shout out "it's a magic tray, it's a magic tray!" and you get free dessert.

Have we had problems with the MagicBands? Yes, yes we did. On our second trip (first trip was fine), we had an issue that I thought was settled before we left on the first trip. The system reverted our Bands back to the previous situation so we had to go to Guest Relations and spend a half hour getting it all straightened out. But, the Cast Member did the "pixie dust", it rained hard outside while we were inside, and our problems were done. On our third trip, I had some doubts but everything was perfect.

I don't think "pixie dust" is gone. I just think we need to adjust our thinking of "pixie dust" and how MagicBands and DME works. Most things are the same. Just executed differently.

 

[eliza61]

I think the fun is still there IF the new FP works for your family. Or if you enjoy a lot of the attractions and entertainment that don't have long waits. Or even if you just enjoy the atmosphere.

If that's not the case, then I'm not sure anything will ever bring it back unfortunately.

I think that's very true. My family hates the new fp+ it doesn't work for us at all and has just made planning much more stressful. That being said we've been countless number of times so we just chalk it up to its time to move on. I do enjoy the atmosphere but not enough to shell out thousands of dollars.

I count myself lucky to have had the great vacation I've had. I've decided to sell my dvc ( very sad about that) but will return for little trips

 

[ponyboy]

Hate to be a "So don't go" person, because I hate when people diminish concerns with that counter, but if it is cringe inducing, maybe another destination is best for you.

Yeah, I guess I don't understand why you would want to go to a place that you don't enjoy anymore. If thinking about going to a place made me cringe then I wouldn't go there, especially with the costs associated with going to a place like DW.

The parks are still the same. They've only made changes regarding how some things work but it surprises me how blown out of proportion it gets here. You'd think that FP+ was the end of the world and that it's going to be the end of DW if you listened to some people here talk about it.

 

[magicbob]

Surely we can all agree that, of course, there are other places to go on vacation. And it doesn't make sense to go to Disney and have a bad time. But can we also all agree that it is normal for people who do (or did anyway) enjoy WDW to be saddened by changes that are causing it to no longer bring them that same enjoyment?

Rather than the somewhat callous advise "if you don't like it, go somewhere else" (or worse, just branding them "Negative Nellies"), how about we all show some compassion and understanding for people who are experiencing the loss of something they loved tremendously?

 

[johde]

Surely we can all agree that, of course, there are other places to go on vacation. And it doesn't make sense to go to Disney and have a bad time. But can we also all agree that it is normal for people who do (or did anyway) enjoy WDW to be saddened by changes that are causing it to no longer bring them that same enjoyment?

Rather than the somewhat callous advise "if you don't like it, go somewhere else" (or worse, just branding them "Negative Nellies"), how about we all show some compassion and understanding for people who are experiencing the loss of something they loved tremendously?

Maybe instead of "go somewhere else" the better answer might be to "take a break" for a little while. As one previous poster said, even planning a trip to Disneyland. It's Disney but different. A lot of your favorite rides are there but most of them are at least a little bit different. For me, there were some old favorites that were removed for WDW like the subs and Mr. Toad, and now Snow White that brought me back to my childhood. There were also unique rides I'd never ridden before. It was familiar and yet brand new all at the same time.

But in going, I also found I missed some of the things that are that only WDW has. And, that's also the point, like the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

 

[Networth]

If your cringing at the idea of a vacation may want to look into that further.

I don’t see any magic gone, which is why I continue to go back.

 

[surferdave]

Using "gone" is kind of extreme even with some of the issues of late.

Yeah, I wish people who get frustrated with the changes wouldn't post this hyperbolic sentiment. It seems to lead some here to think that everyone who has an issue with MDE thinks the same thing, that they claim it has "ruined" their trips, that they say they are never going back, etc. It also leads to the inevitable "JUST BACK.....THE MAGIC IS NOT GONE!!!" threads where somebody recounts an anecdote of a CM giving them a dessert or flower or something; then everyone congratulates them for loving WDW and the issues become reduced to some sort of loyalty contest.

 

[cakebaker]

The magic is not gone for us. There have been times when something went wrong while there or in the planning and caused us to question it, but in the end if it was a WDW issue, they always came thru and made it right.

I can't imagine how sad I would be if something happened that would cause us to not love it anymore, so I understand how others who think that feel. I understand sadness and disappointment. What I don't understand is this pervasive, sarcastic attitude that some people ( please note I said SOME) who have this problem exhibit. They seem really angry at those people who haven't lost their love of WDW vacations.

If you can't get past the problems you have with WDW, then it isn't callous to say perhaps you should move on and find vacations that do give you what you want. Because in the end, WDW is going to do what's best for WDW. If complaining on these forums would change a thing, I'd say scream to the hilltops, but going after those people who still like it doesn't help much.

 

[DisneyHardin]

The Pixie Dust is still there for us. I am not a huge planner. I make our ADR's and I have our 3 FPP for each day, but I won't make a detailed TP. We just wing the day around our few scheduled things. DH and I don't have kids (although we desperately want them) and we have high stress jobs. So, our yearly trip to Disney brings out the kid in in us.