Post here regarding WDW cutbacks, changes & Complaints

[buzz2400]

When you get email saying someone has responded to a thread, at the bottom of the email is instructions for unsubscribing to that particular thread and instructions to unsubscribe from all threads. Also when you do post a reply check off the subscribe to thread and you won't get email.

 

[buzz2400]

I made a mistake when I said check of the subscribe to thread. What you want to do is check of the email notification (which subscribes you to a thread).

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Originally posted by Pin Wizard
I see "Subscribe to this thread" below. How do you "Unsubscribe"?

I believe you can go into your "User CP" & click on "unsubscribe" there. [You should see all the threads that you subscribed to listed in the area called "Subscribed Threads."]

Hope that works for you!

 

[Eeyore2U]

We just got back from our 2/24-3/3 trip. The magic is still there. Awesome CMs, clean parks, clean bathrooms, the only drawback was the eather but unlike some I won't blame Disney for that!!

Longest wait was 35 minutes but I'm not sure about Fantasyland since we don't have little ones.

Lack of EE and E nights weren't a problem for us. Hours were the same for that time of year so those weren't a concern.

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Thanks, Eeyore2U!

Glad to hear that "The Magic is still there," & that you had such a wonderful trip! Thanks so much for sharing your trip experience w/ us.

 

[darbee]

I am going to Disney mid-May and I have been trying to find out what the hours will be and get a calendar of events which will show me when the Spectromagic parade takes place. Its hard to plan an itinerery and make PS arrangements when you don't even know the hours. How frustrating!!! I'm curious if its alway that way.

 

[RRBB]

Originally posted by darbee
I am going to Disney mid-May and I have been trying to find out what the hours will be and get a calendar of events which will show me when the Spectromagic parade takes place. Its hard to plan an itinerery and make PS arrangements when you don't even know the hours. How frustrating!!! I'm curious if its alway that way.

I know exactly how you feel. DH and I are going April 28-May 5 and I wanted to make PS arrangements, too. So I sent a message through the WDW website and this is the reply I got back on Tuesday (3/12)

Hello Robin,

Thank you for contacting WALT DISNEY WORLD!

Theme park operating schedules for the period of your upcoming visit have not yet been determined or released.

We encourage you to visit the following address on our Web site closer to your actual arrival, to obtain updated operating hours information. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/parksandmore/parkhours/parkhour
sindex?id=ParkHoursRoot
___________

Arrangements for Priority seatings at most of our Fine Dining restaurants may be made up to 120 days in advance, depending on the location. Dinner Shows, (Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Polynesian Luau), may be confirmed up to 2 years in advance.

Due to system limitations and rapidly changing availability, we are unable to arrange Priority Seating nor confirm Dinner Show reservations through electronic mail. However, guests are welcome to call 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463), up to 120 days in advance for select restaurants, or 60 days in advance for character dining experiences in our theme parks or resort hotels* (up to two years in advance for dinner shows).

The Dining Department opens daily at 7am, weekdays until 10pm, weekends and holidays until 8pm.

Additional information on the various dining locations throughout the WALT DISNEY WORLD Vacation Kingdom can be found on our web site:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/dining/diningindex?id=DiningRoot

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Please include your full name, E-Mail address, and reservation number if applicable on all correspondence.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Ronda Kesner

Online Guest Service
WALT DISNEY WORLD
P.O. Box 10100
Lake Buena Vista FL 32830-0100

This information certainly isn't helpful so I wrote back asking when they expect to have the hours determined, since May is less than 7 weeks away. I'm still waiting on a response to that question.

 

[eeyore0062]

Robin, we had the same dilemma when we went in January. So, I just made my PS arrangements when I wanted them anyway, and then when the hours did come out, I adjusted them, if I could. We really didn't have to adjust very much. So, if there is that dinner you REALLY want to have, go ahead and make your plans. As for Spectro, if you are going to be in the World on a Saturday night, you can always catch it then. Last year, Spectro ran around 8:30 or 9, if that helps at all.

Don't stress, just go ahead and make your plans and adjust accordingly, if needed.

Have a great time

 

[Nuts4Disney]

I feel your pain!

I've run into the same problem!

I'm finding Disney less than helpful! I can see from the email that you have received that they're not much more helpful after you take the time to write to them.

There's also no word whether Spectromagic will even be running any night!

Needless to say, right now, I'm:

NOT-SO-NUTS4DISNEY!

 

[cforza]

As someone who has just returned from Disney (Wednesday night), I can tell you that the cutbacks in hours and EE severely limited our ability to see all the attractions we used to be able to visit, particularly in the busy March time frame (which, by the way is when we have always visited). We have never experienced crowds and waits like we did last week, particularly in the MK. It was so bad at MK that we turned around and left. We never got to see it our entire visit, which was very disappointing, even more so for me than my kids! With the exception of World Showcase, on the dates we were at Disney MK closed at 8:00 MGM at 7:00 and AK at 5:00. With this type of schedule and large crowds, it's impossible to visit 2 parks per day. So much for taking advantage of a park hopper ticket. You can hop to another park only to find it closing!

I know it's unpopular to express dissatisfaction with Disney on these boards, and that people will say It's Disney in March, of course there will be crowds, and perhaps that I have unrealistic expectations, but I have been in March in the past, and think I know what to expect. This was the worst in terms of crowds ever, and I truly feel that lengthening the hours and reinstating EE would have helped alleviate the crowding. I don't think it's too much to expect to see the attractions with less than 1 hour waits, particularly when my family is spending $ 500 a day for the privilege.

We all have our tolerance levels, and this past trip made me realize that unless Disney does make an effort to spread out the crowds by lengthening hours that we will limit our future Theme Park visits to Universal and IOA, where we were treated to no waits as a perk of being on-site guests. I personally prefer Disney, but NO theme park is worth waiting in lines all day for. Besides, my children enjoyed the Universal parks every bit as much if not more than Disney, and you've got to love the Front of the line perk!

 

[Nuts4Disney]

cforza,

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed by your last trip to WDW.

I don't want to start a problem here, but IMHO, it is a shame if we can not express how we really feel about Disney, w/o having to sugar coat it.

I would be equally disappointed, as well as angry, if I experienced what you just have.

I have also been considering other vacation destinations, where I will be treated like a real "guest."

Thanks for sharing.
Not-So-Nuts4Disney

 

[cforza]

Thanks Nuts4Disney. I sometimes feel as though it is forbidden to express negative opinions here. I get the feeling that for some, Disney can do no wrong, and the Disboards are some kind of 5th dimension, where people have blinders on and are happy to be at Disney, no matter what.

It's just a great big business, it's not a real "World"!

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Your Welcome, cforza!

Unfortunately, they are a great big business, & IMHO, they're making some very big business mistakes right now.

If people continue to have disappointing vacations at WDW, then just as you feel, they will go where they can enjoy their hard earned, Expensive vacations.

Not-So-Nuts4Disney!

 

[raidermatt]

Negative opinions are not forbidden. If they were, they would be deleted.

But just as you express a frustration that many others cannot see what you see, others are going to feel the same way about the way you view WDW.

This is the description of this forum:

This is the forum to discuss touring plans and strategies for the Disney World theme parks.

So when someone says its not manageble, others are going to respond with ways they believe it is manageble.

t's just a great big business, it's not a real "World"!

That applies to Universal, or any other vacation destination. They all just want your money. WDW makes many FEEL like it is a real "World" however, so that's why they go. If you get that feeling at Universal, Six Flags, Vegas, Hawaii, or wherever, by all means go, but don't expect everyone to agree with you. Geez, if they did, how crowded would your new destination get then?

 

[cforza]

Raidermatt, I'm well aware that all the places you mentioned only want my money, I'm not so sure about some of those here, though. I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with me either, but at the same time, don't tell me it's O.K. if the parks are jam packed. Maybe it's O.K. for you, but not for me. I believe I stated that everyone has their own tolerance levels.

As for my other vacation destinations, they are none of those you mentioned, and I won't say where they are, after all, I wouldn't want the secret to get out !

 

[Nuts4Disney]

Originally posted by raidermatt
...just as you express a frustration that many others cannot see what you see, others are going to feel the same way about the way you view WDW... WDW makes many FEEL like it is a real "World" however, so that's why they go. If you get that feeling at Universal, Six Flags, Vegas, Hawaii, or wherever, by all means go, but don't expect everyone to agree with you. Geez, if they did, how crowded would your new destination get then?

raidermatt,

This seems to be becoming very personal!

It was originally about cforza experience on her latest trip to WDW.

Since the name of this thread is, "Post here regarding WDW cutbacks, changes, & complaints" it should be expected that some people are going to have negative posts regarding Disney. IMHO, posters should be able to do that without having their views personally attacked.

It is my understanding that negative comments about Disney are allowed. Personal attacks are not allowed. I hope we can continue this thread with tolerance for differing opinions so that the moderators will not have to lock it.

In DIS friendship!

 

[jovl]

Has anyone really determined the extent of the loss WDW has taken? Everyone I have spoken to who has been to the World since 9/11, including myself, stated that it was packed. Friends of mine went two weeks after 9/11, coworkers have been within the last several months, our family went the end of November and my husband went just a few weeks ago. To all of us, the parks were busy as usual. We didn't notice a lack of people, we noticed a lack of attention to the parks up keep. In the ten years of visiting, this is the first trip we noticed litter, workers hauling off garbage and painting buildings. This was something that you never saw, which certainly added to the magic of the parks. I hope the powers that be open their eyes and see that the parks and resorts are not the place to try to scrimp and save. Better to look to one of their many other capital ventures, that aren't doing well, to do so. Just my opinion, thanks for letting me vent!

 

[raidermatt]

This seems to be becoming very personal!

Not for me. Sorry if you view it as such.

It was originally about cforza experience on her latest trip to WDW.

Since the name of this thread is, "Post here regarding WDW cutbacks, changes, & complaints"

Ahhhh, you seem to be getting your wires (or threads) crossed. Your first quote does NOT apply to this thread, but rather to the one out on the general board, which is for posting experiences and strategies. Cforza posted here experiences, many of which were negative. Since this is a Disney trip board, any negative posts will be met with suggestions for how to deal with those problems, or how others have different experiences. That allows those who have not been to form their own judgement and take advice as they see fit. Certainly if you feel its ok to post negative things, you would not want to censor the opposing views?

THIS thread, however, was moved out of the general posting area because it no longer fit the purpose of the board, but the Mods still wanted to provide a place to discuss the issues. And that is what is happening. No complaints here.

...it should be expected that some people are going to have negative posts regarding Disney. IMHO, posters should be able to do that without having their views personally attacked.

I agree. Though we should keep in mind that the general board is for posting strategies and tips. So a negative view will most certainly be met with advice on how to deal with that negativity. No reason to prohibit that.

It is my understanding that negative comments about Disney are allowed. Personal attacks are not allowed.

Absolutely agree. That's one of the reasons why I do not attack other posters personally. (The other reason is that its unproductive and just plain "not nice"). We should be careful not to confuse disputing information with a personal attack, however.

I hope we can continue this thread with tolerance for differing opinions so that
the moderators will not have to lock it.

Again, I agree. Both cforza and I have quite a few posts in this thread and we've managed to avoid the dreaded lockdown so far...

 

[raidermatt]

Has anyone really determined the extent of the loss WDW has taken?

Not really. All we know for sure is that Disney executives say attendance was down 20% during the quarter following 9/11, and was running around 15% down as of about a month ago. Orlando tourism officials have made similar statements. Universal has also reported decreased attendance, though I've heard its not as large as Disney's decrease recently, more like 7-10%. We also know that there are fewer flights going into Orlando.

Everyone I have spoken to who has been to the World since 9/11, including myself, stated that it was packed.

That's too bad you encountered such crowds. MOST (there are exceptions, of course) reports on these boards indicated things were very slow until Thanksgiving week, which of course is one of the busiest weeks of the year. December was slow during the week, busy on the weekends, up until the holidays, again, which are always busy. Most reports in Jan/Feb spoke of lighter crowds, except on and around MLK day and President's day. March reports have been mixed. Based on that, it might be that crowds are returning closer to normal, but as you pointed out, we don't know for sure how close they are. The fact that Disney hasn't released May hours indicates the situation maybe changing...

 

[eeyore0062]

cforza, I am sorry that you encountered less than a wonderful situation while visiting. It can be so irritating, especially when comparing a certain time of year to another in years past. Unfortunately, in addition to the demise of EE mornings, we have to take into account that many people changed their ressies from last fall to this spring, Easter is earlier, therefore the spring crowds are arriving earlier, college spring breaks begin the 1st week of March, a huge increase in Disney advertising of the 100 Years Celebration has been playing all over the airwaves, and last, but certainly not least is the influx of military and their families due to the Salute to the Military campaign that will be taking place until April 30th. I live in a military town, and cannot tell you how many people come into my place of work and tell me that they have either just returned or are going to WDW in the next week or 2 to take advantage of that offer. And who can blame them? It is a great offer!

More than likely, things will return to a more normal level next year.