Thoughts from a 20 Year DVC Member

[TinkB278]

I don't mind the pre-planning, as long as I can do it before the trip from the comfort of home. This up at 7 am to try to book something the day of, or be at rope drop, is awful.

Waking up at 7 each day of my trip in May was terrible. I would’ve much preferred to have all my g+ rides secured before ever stepping foot on the plane. They really need to change that. No one wants to set an alarm so they can book one single ride while on vacation. Whoever came up with that rule was not thinking.

 

[DVC92]

As a DVC member from its opening year, I couldn't agree more. FP+, no park ressies, longer park hours, etc. made it so much more simpler and friendly to us frequent visitors.

 

[kmorlock]

The system is broken. Disney needs to get back to basics. Clearly, the decision makers are looking to monetize EVERYTHING. While I can’t blame them for this as a corporation, they really insult our intelligence by overstating all of these changes are “to enhance guest experience”. Implementing a paid FastPass system is one thing. The hoops we now have to jump through to secure rides are another. If they just wanted the money, they could have had a reader on each pole where paper passes come out, tap your magic band and get charged $ or, let pre-planning happen online but, charge a flat rate and allow 30 or 60 day reservations. They literally obliterated every “perk” of staying onsite and made vacation planning as difficult as possible.

 

[Duchie]

I've felt for a while that all the pre-planning has gotten out of hand. I really miss the days of there being availability at 7 months for non home resort stays - having to "walk" reservations is just insane to me. I wasn't a fan of having to be online at 6:00 AM to try my luck at FP 90 days in advance, but having to do that the day of sounds even worse. And yeah, don't try to sell me on the whole "enhanced guest experience" line. My experience has been significantly un-enhanced. I get it - Disney answers to stock holders and they need to show a profit. At some point people won't want to (or won't be able to) keep paying higher and higher prices to get less and less. What's that breaking point going to be? This year I don't think park attendance will suffer because people want to vacation (and will rationalize it by saying they have been cooped up for over 2 years). it will be interesting to see what happens as time goes on.

 

[AdamsMum]

I don't like walking around with my phone in my hands all day (this is what it's becoming) and not too tech savvy here. Takes me 3 - 5 times longer to do something compared to my kids.

This for me was the biggest trial on my December trip. In addition to that, I need to get my glasses out to read my phone. Readers only so I don't wear glasses all the time. Getting old isn't for the faint hearted, but considering the alternative...not so bad.

I am not a fan of planning too much and so far in advance.

I don't mind planning and I liked FP+ even though it was a bit stressful. If I have to have a park reservation for every day, I might as well make fast passes so at least I know what I can get done even if the park is really busy that day.

I don't like paying extra for LL, etc. But we did pay for one - only because we have not been able to get on for the last three trips.

I agree also, and I did make one ILL$ for ROTR. I knew I wasn't going to wait hours in line for it. I wouldn't mind paying extra for fastpasses in advance either, but $15 plus tax per ride is a bit much given the already high pricing of park tickets. Guarantee me 3 rides booked in advance, and I'll pay your $15 per day for genie plus.

I don't like that I would need to be up by 7 am to try to get LL - bad enough I am paying for it, but need to be up - even though I am up. Just that one needs to.

7 am isn't a problem for me, 40 plus years of being up earlier than that for my commute to work has pretty much set my body clock. Now retired, I long to sleep in. Even if you are up, there is no guarantee that you will get what you want on genie +... and it kind of ruins my coffee on the balcony routine.

Prices increase, and the past 2 years have exceeded expectations in that respect, I get it. As a single mum Disney was always an expensive trip for me and the kids, but I planned and paid for as much of it as possible in advance (miss the dining plan for that). I brought some cash, and used my bank card when I ran out of cash, but it was all planned for. Nothing irks me more than a huge credit card bill when I get back home.

 

[kmorlock]

It almost feels like the execs got together and challenged themselves to make the guest planning experience as convoluted as possible in hopes it might make us give up and not go.

 

[sagosto]

We bought DVC @ Riviera in March-ish of 2021 and used it for the 1st time last week. Some thoughts from a rookie DVC member:

We did a split stay 6 days Studio Preferred and 2 days in 1BR standard. There's a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE difference between the two rooms between the laundry/eating and just overall space. It's not worth the points to me at all but the boss feels differently. I cannot justify 10 days vs 5 days point wise for extra space.

It does feel 'nice' to hear CM say 'Welcome Home'. Not sure if that's just for DVC or for everyone? The purple ding during entering the parks made me feel a bit 'special' in a weird way. The magic was still there but I just felt the cheapness everywhere. I could see parts of the park that were not taken care of as well as before but it's not something I am too concerned with.9

I AM concerned with waking up at 7AM to book Genie+ and being hooked to my phone 24X7. You MUST use a power brick just to keep your phone charged to make sure you get the next LL or check wait times. There were times where I would make the kids wait for lunch just because we needed to get on a ride to get another LL. I am still unclear how exactly this new system (even IF it was free) makes life better for anyone? Sure, those who just roll into the park w/o any planning now have a shot at booking some LL but I noticed people lost all over the place on how to use the app, the rules, etc.

Food -- Some of the food is MUCH better but $8 for 1C of pasta for kids is just horrible. I have 2 small girls 4 and 7 and the kids portion was rarely enough. I get that Disney is expensive and the 'shortage' but they are clearly taking advantage.

CM - MOST have been fantastic as they always have. Service has always been amazing but I encountered several rude/clueless ones from telling me Disney 'holds your magic bands at a local post office till a few weeks before your trip for safe keeping' to CM giving 99% LL priority over standby (Cinderella 20 min was nearly 90 min until I had 'words').

It was still a good experience but it no longer feels above and beyond other vacations....

 

[zavandor]

It was still a good experience but it no longer feels above and beyond other vacations....

This pretty much sums it up for me too. My last stay, in December, was the least pleasant I have ever had at WDW.

 

[BillPA]

I asked the grand kids would they like to go back to Disney or to the beach this year. They all picked the beach, said Disney was just a lot of waiting in line for rides, food .... not much fun for them. I guess it's time to let go of my last 4 contracts. Next month would start our 30th year with DVC, it's been a good run but I have to agree with the kids, it's not much fun to just wait in a line.

 

[Spivey378]

I asked the grand kids would they like to go back to Disney or to the beach this year. They all picked the beach, said Disney was just a lot of waiting in line for rides, food .... not much fun for them. I guess it's time to let go of my last 4 contracts. Next month would start our 30th year with DVC, it's been a good run but I have to agree with the kids, it's not much fun to just wait in a line.

Cherish all of those memories.

 

[Suzabella]

We purchased DVC 20 years ago and have added on several times to take family trips with our kids and future grandkids.

The future is here and he just turned 2 but our DS, his Dad, who first went to WDW at 15, has gone back multiple times, can quote nearly every Disney movie and usually wins at Disney trivia while at the pools has said he has no interest in going back. He's done.

We've been doing trips just the 2 of us but I'm not sure how much longer that will be. We have a trip planned for Sept with some friends who have never been and frankly, I'm afraid of what their Disney experience will be. This trip will determine what happens with our DVC membership.

 

[Akck]

These things I know:
A vacation should be relaxing. WDW has made it complicated and stressful.
Technology doesn't always make things easier.
The focus of the WDW "experience" has shifted from simple enjoyment at the parks to planning, calculating, and analyzing.

We’re here now for an after-cruise stay. We were lucky that AP Cosmic Rewind previews and Moonlight Magic both occurred during this stay and we were even luckier to have gotten reservations for both. While Genie+ has made it more complicated, we found last January, it isn’t for us. It required too much crisscrossing the park to best utilize it. This is the first stay where we skipped going to the parks, sitting by the pool and relaxing. During Covid, we realized we liked having a rental, originally for the social distancing, but now for the freedom to travel offsite. We’ve eaten far less meals onsite. We also met a couple who don’t visit the parks and brought a cooler of food, so they haven’t purchased anything so far during their stay.

I think there will be a shift away from the parks as members realize how much more relaxing it is. While we will renew our APs because of a family trip planned for a year from June, we’re unlikely to renew after. We’ll likely go the route of doing after hours events if they’re available during our future stays. If WDW wants to further complicate the park experience, we don‘t have to go along with it.

 

[LPnerd]

I've felt for a while that all the pre-planning has gotten out of hand. I really miss the days of there being availability at 7 months for non home resort stays - having to "walk" reservations is just insane to me. I wasn't a fan of having to be online at 6:00 AM to try my luck at FP 90 days in advance, but having to do that the day of sounds even worse. And yeah, don't try to sell me on the whole "enhanced guest experience" line. My experience has been significantly un-enhanced. I get it - Disney answers to stock holders and they need to show a profit. At some point people won't want to (or won't be able to) keep paying higher and higher prices to get less and less. What's that breaking point going to be? This year I don't think park attendance will suffer because people want to vacation (and will rationalize it by saying they have been cooped up for over 2 years). it will be interesting to see what happens as time goes on.

That's exactly what we have decided to wait and see. we have set a 2 yr limit and before that we will stay-cation at a resort from time to time, ( we live in FL. now), go to universal for rides and water park as they have much better and cheaper deals. Plus without the train at magic kingdom, it's too much walking for older and younger guests. The deal breaker for me is too many people and that genie and genie plus has got to go. they raise admission prices and now want you to pay extra for rides? I'm not waiting 45 min. in a line for a 60 sec. ride, period. Even our kids are uninterested. We were huge Disney fan family. and stockholders. however, robbing people is not anything I want to be a part of. AND they keep raising ticket prices too!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Owner since 2002.

Genie Plus is the paper fastpasses, but with phones and a cost.

A long time ago I changed the way I Disney. I go to the parks, but I have never bought Genie Plus. I have bought a couple of ILLs to get the extended family onto Rise. It's not a huge change for me although it does limit the number of rides I do. It's not like I haven't been able to do any. My methods probably don't match a lot of WDW visitors though.

I don't care all that much about the perks. Those can always go away anytime. Only thing I could think of that would make me quit going is if they said I had to buy the Incredipass.

I have reservations later at Riviera, AKL and Beach Club which is pretty good considering I only own at Beach Club. considering what I'm paying for a weekend at Pop Century because they won't let me borrow, I am definitely not regretting having the DVC.

 

[Chuck S]

Owner since 2002.

Genie Plus is the paper fastpasses, but with phones and a cos

Not exactly, paper fastpasses went in order, giving them out in sequential times, filling up one time, moving on to the next. Genie+ jumps all over the place as far as available times. Even while you are trying to book something. Had times show up, go to confirm them, and the times changed when they showed on the screen.

My thoughts on Genie+ are fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I think people in general are doing a pretty poor job of separating "permanent changes" from "direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic." There are certainly things that fall into both categories, but far too often I see people lamenting temporary pandemic "stuff" as if it's permanent and intentional.

Some of that is Disney's fault for allowing the impression over many years that it is cutting things people loved (like live entertainment and resort perks) to save costs. WDW guests are often pretty resistant to change, though; in some cases new entertainment was brought in, but in many eyes didn't match up to the old entertainment.

If they eliminated all character meals tomorrow I wouldn't care, but there are many who would be quite upset because the character meals mean a lot to them.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Some of that is Disney's fault for allowing the impression over many years that it is cutting things people loved (like live entertainment and resort perks) to save costs. WDW guests are often pretty resistant to change, though; in some cases new entertainment was brought in, but in many eyes didn't match up to the old entertainment.

If they eliminated all character meals tomorrow I wouldn't care, but there are many who would be quite upset because the character meals mean a lot to them.

Magical Express is the one that really chafes my keister. I think they completely underestimated how important that was to everyone.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

yeah it sucks to shell out the bus bux every time, but since I have to pay anyway, I have used Lyft a couple of times which is nice.

 

[LPnerd]

Some of that is Disney's fault for allowing the impression over many years that it is cutting things people loved (like live entertainment and resort perks) to save costs. WDW guests are often pretty resistant to change, though; in some cases new entertainment was brought in, but in many eyes didn't match up to the old entertainment.

If they eliminated all character meals tomorrow I wouldn't care, but there are many who would be quite upset because the character meals mean a lot to them.

We love character meals, but with covid the last place this family of nurses would be eating is a buffet with no one wearing masks. Just sayin.

 

[BillPA]

Disney dropped the buffets, dropped the characters and raised the price... What's wrong with this???