Post here regarding WDW cutbacks, changes & Complaints

[IndyScott]

Just want to relate our experience from our trip last week...


I didn't realize until after we got there that the early entry program was suspended. I was somewhat disappointed, but after 4 days and 4 parks I couldn't really tell the difference without it.

Our first day was AK and we walked on to Kali River Rapids with no wait at 45 minutes after the park opened, then headed to the Safari and only waited about 5 minutes.

Our other three days we started at the MK - day one we rode the Indy Speedway three times without standing in line at 9am followed by a 5-minute wait for Space Ranger Spin. Day two we rode Big Thunder Mountain 3 times with no wait, followed by two consecutive rides on Splash Mountain before we hit any lines. The last day we did BTM 4 times in a row and SM 2 more times all before 10am (it was a little bit rainy that day, though).

The rest of the time during the days were easily manageable with FPs.

My only two disappointments were not getting onto Test Track (we went to Epcot in the afternoon twice and FPs were long gone with a 60-90 minute wait) and arriving an hour before showtime for Fastasmic with only SRO available (we left halfway through because we just weren't enjoying it standing up, but waiting anything more than an hour seemed ridiculous to me).

Otherwise everything was pretty much perfect the entire time we were there!!!

 

[wdw4us2]

RegularGuy,

Your points are well taken.

However, it appears as though Disney used 9/11 as an excuse for a lot of their cutbacks. Problems were brewing long before the terrible events of 9/11.

If you are interested in learning more about this, check out the Disney Rumors and News Board as there has been much discussion about this.

Lisa

 

[eeyore0062]

quoted from RegularGuy:

"We all lost an awful lot on September 11, some more than others. Early entry and longer park hours are on that list, but pretty darn far down it. I suspect Disney would just love it if business was good enough to pay for EE or extended hours. They are not doing what they are doing to screw anyone deliberately.

I understand the disappointment. Loss sucks. Whether it's something major or just a nice theme park perk that you've come to enjoy. I don't really have a problem with messages about calling Michael Eisner on the telephone to complain about EE. But what surprises me here is a little bit of insensitivity. Let's not forge how extraordinary some of the posts here might seem to those who would give virtually everything they have to say the only thing they lost on September 11 was Early Entry. Just a thought.?We all lost an awful lot on September 11, some more than others. Early entry and longer park hours are on that list, but pretty darn far down it. I suspect Disney would just love it if business was good enough to pay for EE or extended hours. They are not doing what they are doing to screw anyone deliberately.

I understand the disappointment. Loss sucks. Whether it's something major or just a nice theme park perk that you've come to enjoy. I don't really have a problem with messages about calling Michael Eisner on the telephone to complain about EE. But what surprises me here is a little bit of insensitivity. Let's not forge how extraordinary some of the posts here might seem to those who would give virtually everything they have to say the only thing they lost on September 11 was Early Entry. Just a thought."



Very well said! We just came back from 4 days in the parks. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott at LBV, right across from DTD, so we still could participate in E ticket nights, which we gladly did. We park hopped, saw and did everything we wanted, with the use of FP, which you can now get one every 45 minutes, so that is a great help! The loss of EE mornings was no big deal, as the lines were not overly long. We will be returning again in October and staying at PO-FQ, and are counting the days. We are perfectly aware of the shorter hours, and lack of EE mornings, but we go to have an enjoyable, family time, not to nitpick about the "way things used to be". Life is too short to waste time on that.

Yes, I am sure that the loss of EE mornings is disappointing, and the cutbacks on hours, is too, but in the grand scheme of things, and with the decrease in the crowds in the parks, you can easily see and do everything you would like, in the amount of time allotted-- I know we had no problems, and our child was with us. Believe me, if economy, and the state of the world were back to the way they were in 1998, they would still have longer hours, EE mornings and all of those other things everyone is getting so hot and bothered about. And, have you also thought of the fact, that taking away your business from the resorts will not let them have the extra overhead necessary to have those extra perks...just a thought! Really, you may think you are sending a message by taking your money offsite, but in the long run, it hurts everyone, not just Disney.

If an offsite hotel suits the needs of your family better because of room size, then so be it, but being vindictive is just not the way to go. Not very Disney-like at all. I am sure that if it were at all possible, that Disney would reinstate those perks, but before we had them, no one seemed to mind... have we all gotten that spoiled and selfish? There are people who would love to have their entire family together just one more time, EE mornings, cutback hours, or not, just to experience that magical feeling that Disney brings to so many, again, that never will, thanks to 9/11! Before we start complaining over trivialities, lets walk a mile in someone elses shoes, and see which are more comfortable.

JMHO!

 

[maggie767]

i really didn't know about these changes, but we are going there next year in october which is along way off. but i have 1 grandchild that has never been there yet and a daughter. simply because they have never had the opportunity(financial reasons). it really doesn't matter about ee or e-night . disney world is such a wonderful place to be and there is so much you can do there. just seeing the castle is such a wonderful sight to see. actually you turn into a kid again and i happen to be 60. everyone just go and have a wonderful time. i know we will. there is about maybe 13 going and we will have a good time. we are driving from western pa., just traveling there we will have a good time. the reason i won't fly is not because the sept 11 tradegy, i flew 1 time there and hated flying and will not do it again. so we are going by caravan. can't wait to get there. my grandchildren is just so happy to go. it seems so far off but that time will roll around so fast. disney world here we come sssoooooonnnn. love disney world.

 

[eeyore0062]

Maggie, you have the right attitude, and are sure to have a wonderful time!

 

[wdwfreak]

With resort attendance down at WDW to the point where they are closing resorts entirely at certain times of year, and have delayed the opening of Pop Century by over a year, does anybody sense some madness on the part of management for getting rid of Early Entry and other perks?

I was reading Sehlinger's Unoffcial Guide today and it discussed, at some length, the EE situation. I agreed with every word of what it said, including the fact that Disney has the nerve to tell it's guests on printed promotional materials that WE asked for the Character Caravan instead of Early Entry. PUH-LEEEZE!!!! If Disney wants to fool us (and themselves) into believing that hogwash by asking loaded survey questions, well I guess that's their prerogative, but, c'mon, insulting your guests' intelligence is inexcusable.

If Disney believes that, by cutting out EE, they are saving $$$, then they are sadly mistaken. I don't have any official numbers to back this up, but, 5 years ago, we paid $80 per night to stay at the All-Stars, and now you can get a room for $50. Obviously, they number of guests staying in WDW resorts has dwindled if they are practically giving away room nights.

I have a good explanation for this: What are the perks for the average Orlando vacationer to stay in a WDW resort?

Transportation? Rarely, if ever, are we asked to show a Resort ID to board any of the transportation, so I would assume that almost anyone can use the transportation. What else is there?

The Disney "magic"? With so many lay-offs, customer service is as mediocre as it has ever been at WDW, and I'm sure that there are plenty of visitors to Orlando who will gladly sacrifice the "magic" for a cheaper room.

Proximity to the parks? With the resurgence (i.e. increased attendance) of SW, USF, IOA, and BG, it's possible that people are looking for other things to do than Disney parks.

That leaves EE -- gone ... okay, how about e-nights? Only offered during the busier times of year, which brings up two more infuriating issues:

1.) The original reason behind e-nights was that guests visiting WDW during less crowded times of the year when the parks traditionally close earlier could stay in the parks three hours later? What happened to that way of thinking?

2.) During busier times of the year the Magic Kindom was open until midnight, thus there was no need for e-nights during those times. Now the MK closes at 9 or 10 o'clock and you must now pay to stay in the parks later during those times.

To sum up my long, and often meandering, epistle, I ask this question: Why would Disney, so desperate to fill hotel rooms, cut all the perks associated with staying in one of theirs, in order to sustain some short-term profit? And blame those very same guests that they purport to cherish for the fact that they did so?

 

[Disney-Kim]

You make very valid points and I think families who are new to the Orlando experience will pick IOA/US and other stuff over a whole weeks stay at WDW.

but.....us diehards who still love WDW for what it represents will still go. But even us diehards get disillusioned with SO MANY cutbacks. I would rather pay a little more for my room and have early entry back in a minute.

 

[A kid at heart]

I still think that fastpass should be for resorts guests only.

 

[GeorgeG]

WDW seems to be stumbling trying to compete with the other area attractions and the loyal fans are getting caught in the middle.

Instead of worrying about what the other parks, hotels, and attractions are doing, WDW should stay focused on what they've managed to do so well for many years: Make guests feel special.

 

[Dana_Buckley]

They should give resort guests a handful of FP's good on any ride (Dumbo!), 4 or 6 per/person per day? OR eliminate the 'rules' about holding multiple FP's for resort guests. How would that hurt Disney in the pocket? That sure would be nice!

 

[jgates]

At least try to get on a level playing field with Universal. They have front of line access while you stay on-site. We stayed one night and it was a fantastic benefit.

 

[GOODFELLA]

BUZZ DONT TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY BUT,
disney is not about the money its about time spent with your family i dont know how many times you've been to wdw but we always found time to do everything we set out to do staying on the proberty is so convinent,we go into the parks in the morning & in the afternoon we go back to r hotels pool for a couple of hours have lunch then go back to a different park in the late afternoon & evening and when the parks close early we just go to epcot at nite and have dinner see a few attractions & then watch illuminations or you can always go to downtown disney i have 4 kids 10,8, & twin 3 year olds and we still make time, you must plan it better or stay at least a week to enjoy yourself better .the all star resorts are your best bargin never settle for outside hotels you just dont get the same feeling
the only problem i have with disney is the prices of the multi day passes,they know they have us by and they still raise the prices every year preaty soon they wont have a 4 day park hopper if they keep this up . i long for the days of the 2 & 3 day hoppers. my mom & sister is coming w/ us this year & they dont want to go into the parks w/ us everyday & we like to park hop but they will only have single day passes & cant park hop , i was going to buy somebodys extra days on e bay but i dont TRUST them since the tickets aren't stamped any more oh well enough of me ranting on BUZZ2400 I HOPE YOU HAVE A BETTER TRIP NEXT TIME

 

[travelitis]

I'd prefer they went back to EE. It gives on site folks a decided advantage in one of the parks without negatively impacting every guest who stays off site. All off site folks had to do was avoid the park hosting EE. If FP is limited to resort guests it should be in only one park at a time like EE was. I don't like the idea of FP being an on site perk only. I suspect if they did that many FP attractions wouldn't exhaust their FPs in a day, meaning more people would see less of the parks. I can't see how Disney would benefit from that approach in the long run. It's best handled in a way that allows some perk without penalizing other guests. At least now if people don't use FP it's because they choose not to. I loved EE when I stayed on site, but we have an off site timeshare now. Even with a timeshare we'd extend and do a couple of nights on site to get EE. Without it I don't see the big benefit of paying such a premium for a Disney resort. Cutting back EE was a bad move imho that will probably result in a larger percentage of guests booking off site.

 

[CuteKatCar]

The only EE park we ever did was MK and mainly to do the mad dash to Dumbo. My kids don't want to go on Dumbo anymore, so that settles that!!!

I agree with what was said about us diehards. I just wanna be in Disney World and I wish my counter would move a little faster!!

Anna

 

[Luv2Roam]

I can understand them needing to cut corners. But other parks are doing what most companies do when they need customers -- they have sales and perks! Disney is doing just the opposite.
Personally, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot. I have read posts on the Dis where even Disney die hard fans are considering (or are going) off-site and inching towards Universal more and more.
I haven't been a Disney nut for several years, as many here have. But my guess is we wouldn't have been reading so many negative resort threads, like we do today, just 5 - 10 years ago.
Disney is in a world of trouble legal and money wise. (Anyone here also read the News and Rumors board?) They need to do something positive, and fast.

 

[Eeyore2U]

This was posted in a thread about EE on the Theme Parks Board.

Originally posted by TrvlLin
I am a travel agent and a Disney specialist, and I asked this question of our sales rep just last week. She responded in such a way that let me know she had been beaten up on this subject by every agent/agency she visited! She stated absolutely that early entry will never return as a general perk; that Disney has found that it is not significantly affecting resort room sales, and that it was very expensive for Disney to provide. We may expect park hours to be lengthened as crowd levels increase, but the extended hours will be for anyone who holds a ticket. She also *says* that the character caravan has been a big hit... but this I rather doubt, from personal experience. Of course, the addition of CC has been Disney's official excuse for the elimination of early entry; I just personally don't buy it. It is true, however, that in polling my returned guests, most thought of early entry as a value added feature to onsite packages, but few ever actually participated in it, and never more than once! Lin

I know it's hard for the EE diehards to understand not many used it but not may people did.

At least try to get on a level playing field with Universal. They have front of line access while you stay on-site. We stayed one night and it was a fantastic benefit.

Too many rooms at WDW to do any incarnation of FOTL. Can you see the moaning that would be done if someone couldn't get on a ride due to resort guests monopolizing a ride with FOTL.

The Disney "magic"? With so many lay-offs, customer service is as mediocre as it has ever been at WDW, and I'm sure that there are plenty of visitors to Orlando who will gladly sacrifice the "magic" for a cheaper room.

I've been there twice in the last year, and have seen no evidence of mediocre service. I've spent a night offsite and will never do that again.

 

[BamaTigger]

Originally posted by A kid at heart
I still think that fastpass should be for resorts guests only.

I SECOND THAT VOTE!!!!!!!!!

 

[jaguar9748]

These are all very valid points. Disney has lost touch with their consumer and don't seem to know how to find them again. We have decided not to renew our annual passes next year and are going to spend more time cruising.

 

[Blondie]

I still think that fastpass should be for resorts guests only

That is one of the best ideas I've come across in a long time. If not entirely for resort guests, make it a "resort guests only fast pass" during a specific time frame.

 

[skiwee1]

I don't see where WDW is so desperate that they are closing resorts. I see the OPR in need of a rehab and Disney wanting things perfect, rehabbing it. I, for one, think the Character caravans are great! We got great pics and lots of autographs twice during our stay without leaving the resort. EE was more of a pain then anything else when I had to plan my days. Even though I stay onsite, I didn't like the fact of having to avoid a park since it was more crowded due to EE. Just one more thing to have to factor in. Yes, I do think fastpass should be for resort guests only. I also think that PSs should go back to being for resort guests only.