I think there is another group of posters, in addition to optimists and pessimists: the Frustrated. I've been going to Disney for almost 18 years (planning our 27th trip), and a LOT has changed. Not just changed, but disappeared and not replaced. It's not that people are upset over the change of a napkin or the shift from resort-specific to generic mugs, per se. I can look over the years and see what Disney WAS and what it's become, and how much more it costs. I think the only expectations I have when going to Disney is that it's going to be as amazing as it was last time, and it's frustrating when it's NOT. I know what Disney can be, as opposed to what it IS. Has it stopped me from going to the World and having a good time? NO... but I remember what Disney was over the years, how it's changed, and it's frustrating to feel that they aren't putting their best foot forward anymore.
Things change. Getting frustrated over that is like pissing in the wind. Sure, your perfectly within your rights to do it, but I really don't want to be around at the time.
There is a terrible tendency for people to want the familiar. I remember reading a thread last year where this poster was going on about the "best chicken tenders" at some QS counter in frontierland, or something along those lines. And was essentially threatening to never return to WDW due to that particular item being removed from the menu. It boils down to the fact that in a rain storm years ago they ducked in to this place and had an amazing meal. Whether it was amazing because of how it was prepared (unlikely) versus the timing of that particular moment (likely), doesn't really matter. All the "magic" of that moment was transferred to those chicken tenders. And so, on every trip after that, they ate those chicken tenders to relive that magical moment. Now that moment was gone and this person was pissed.
The inherent flaw here is that a person goes to WDW, something happens that is extremely memorable for them, and they go back repeatedly to recapture THAT moment. That is a formula for disappointment. Hoping that "magical" feeling happens at all, no matter where it's from, is the best one can hope for. Disney is catering to millions of families every year. They have to change. And every change "destroys" a groups magical memory.
It is up to us, as the visitors, to leave ourselves open to experiencing new "magic". And that is almost impossible if we are walking around frustrated over the things that we miss or are changing. Sure, Disney has a responsibility to try and wow us and make our trips magical, but its is
NOT a one way street. Not being receptive is a total deal killer and make's Disney's job impossible.
All that time spent eating those same chicken tenders over and over because it was so special 10 trips ago could have been spent stumbling into a new 'magical' moment. And how can those chicken tenders ever be as special as they were that first time. Now they are coasting on nostalgia. And inevitably, as that memory fades and the taste of the tenders becomes more defining than the original moment, we become more and more disappointing each time we visit. And we blame it on Disney for not making them as good as they used to be, when the reality is, they were never THAT good. They were always just friggin chicken tenders. It was the MOMENT that was special. And YOU made that moment, Disney inadvertently facilitated it. But now the experience is deteriorating, and finally one day it is gone forever, and so that particular part of Frontierland is now forever mared by the chicken tenders that no longer exist (even though the exact same ones are still getting heated up in a QS counter just down the way in adventureland or tomorrowland, or fantasyland, or where ever).
You say things are disappearing and not being replaced, I can point to hundreds of new things that have been added over the years. The difference is, they aren't things that, presumably, you have an attachment to - so they don't hold much stock in your book.
No one is saying that people don't have the "right" to complain. And everyone knows that misery loves company. The problem is when that misery goes toxic, and seeks out people who are still finding magic at Disney and seeking to tear that down because for whatever reason, they are frustrated, pessimistic, think Disney is a corporate beats that doesn't care about people, or whatever other justification they come up with.
I'll be there with ya. FP+ coming up in the next couple weeks, can't wait!! It's been 4 months of waiting since ADRs!
This board can get so negative sometimes, I'm sympathetic to any effort to correct the balance, and maybe remind us of why we do keep going back.
