We're here now and after 3 days of parks we wont be coming back again

[BridgetBordeaux]

It's was interesting listening to the earning's call yesterday. When asked about park performance and the Genie, Chapek and the CFO said things were better than ever. Attendance was down, 1/3 of all guests were happily using Genie and spending on food and merchandise was up. Guess they don't spend anytime on these boards.

Many folks like me had a pent up "need" to visit WDW......some had previous money tied up with them or simply wanted to escape from home and visit their happy place.

Only once we all have arrived, have we experienced the reduced enjoyment.

Yes.....I paid more than I ever had for a room.

Yes.....I got G+ every day.

Yes.....I bought more food from them than ever

(these 3 things do not mean that I was happy about it!)

BUT- I felt burned by many of the less than magical things that happened.

I will also be cutting WAY back on WDW.

All of this makes me sad.

Chapek may see profit in the short term but I wonder once word gets out that the in park experience is crummy right now, how it will affect people's decision to return for a future trip.

 

[nikem3]

"And pent-up demand from visitors over the last 2 years to "get back to their happy place""

See, I don't get this. If it was just pent-up demand, then why use the reservation system. Logically, the reservation system is lowering the number of people in the parks so we should not be at pre-Covid levels. If we are, then we don't need the reservation system.

Either Disney is over selling reservations, or we are not at pre-Covid levels. The odds of both being correct are small. People want to believe that once people get "travel out of their system" it will go back to normal, but there are no signs that this is anything but the new normal.

You have to remember that shows and other entertainment are still limited. And I am fairly certain they are pretty close to normal capacity (not 100% but close). I think this entire year is going to be hectic. February is typically a pretty slow month. Each time I went last month, it was a madhouse. I just think pent up demand is extremely high and everyone is traveling as soon as they can. This is taking away from any lull season. You even see it in lines at places like Hollywood Studios. At this exact moment, tower of terror has a 210 minute wait. Rise has 185 minute wait, MNMRR is 80 minutes, RNR is 65 minutes. I just think people have the extra cash and are trying to travel now that they feel more "comfortable" to do so.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I can understand why they won't let anyone sit in the restaurant without ordering food. I mean, it's crowded, and those tables are needed for persons who are actually going to eat.

 

[Haagen Dawgs]

It’s a problem no doubt. I’m as guilty as anyone as we are heading there in three-weeks, but no lodging or table service for us. We are adamant to try our best to enjoy the parks while giving Disney the least possible money. Over the years, there have always been that segment that is disgruntled for whatever reason, but nothing even close to what has been shared on here and similar sites the past nine-months.

Disney is a corporation whose primary goal is to make money. Just remember that If you ever feel guilty for spending your money elsewhere, whether lodging, dining, or merchandise. It may be petty, but I feel better keeping everything I can from Disney as they continue to do it to their existing clients.

 

[jlundeen]

I hope that everyone with a recent trip experience - good or bad - is sending in emails to Guest Services (wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com) reporting everything just as you are here.

It's really important that they get all messages - and especially any "bravo" type Cast Member experiences. If they don't hear it from people who lived it, why should they change anything. Of course, there's no guarantee that it will do any good, but it's about the only tool we have if we want to continue to hope for the Disney we all knew and loved.

That and, of course, not going back, but I don't think I can handle never going back to Disney!

Please email the good, the bad, and the truly ugly. It only takes a few minutes, and if enough do it, maybe there's a chance something could happen for the better.

 

[Davey Jones II]

As far as your sunny eclipse experience is the reason why I love mobile order, they don't let people in who didn't order which is the way it should be. It's the worst when your actually trying
to have a meal and can't find a table because half of them are being occupied by people just hanging out. Aside from maybe a fast food restaurant can you just walk in a restaurant and
sit without ordering anything, why should a theme park be any different. Since Disney started this process finding a table has been a breeze and I hope it stays this way.

Wait...so what if you were coming in to place an order?? Are you telling me that the ONLY way to order counter service at WDW right now is through the mobile app?

 

[jlundeen]

Many of the QS restaurants will do counter orders now. And there were only a few during our trip in Feb where we could not enter without showing we had a mobile order.

 

[katallo]

Have to agree with OP about CM responses. We had a few very helpful ones. But, we had many who said, "do you have the app?" One instance was at the BC desk when asking about MK firework times for the evening. I thought it would be a simple question. Another issue was walking up to an almost empty restaurant and being asked if we made a reservation through the app. We had not, so we did it on our phone. Then we were told to have a seat in the lobby and we would be called. As I said, there were three occupied tables. LOL

 

[reddog21]

Wait...so what if you were coming in to place an order?? Are you telling me that the ONLY way to order counter service at WDW right now is through the mobile app?

I believe a lot of restaurants are mobile order only

 

[TikiRob]

I'm surprised at all of these reports. We went sporadically since we were 80s kids and only began going regularly in recent years. I don't know if it is because my lens is only the last 6 or 7 years, but every trip has been great. I do hope others find the "magic" they can't seem to find.

 

[reddog21]

Have to agree with OP about CM responses. We had a few very helpful ones. But, we had many who said, "do you have the app?" One instance was at the BC desk when asking about MK firework times for the evening. I thought it would be a simple question. Another issue was walking up to an almost empty restaurant and being asked if we made a reservation through the app. We had not, so we did it on our phone. Then we were told to have a seat in the lobby and we would be called. As I said, there were three occupied tables. LOL

why does having empty tables matter? If the policy is that you have to make a reservation then make the reservation, don't complain because you want to be the exception to the rule.

 

[jlundeen]

I believe a lot of restaurants are mobile order only

I found that many now had both.... probably still are some that are mobile order only, but we didn't find that many in our recent week there. And we had no issues sitting down before picking up our order. Like others have said, most of the QS places had plenty of open seating, and unloading kids, backpacks, parking scooters is a whole lot easier than trying to manage trays of food while juggling kids and all your stuff at the same time.....

 

[legler2250]

One of the ways we have been mitigating the park frustrations is limiting our expose there to begin with. Enjoying more time at the resorts, waking up late, headed to the parks for a ride or two then return to the pool for lunch. I realize that with kids, family, etc it's not always easy to take this approach but there are many strategies to help keep things in a positive perspective when things are obviously not great with the 'Disney Experience' at present. I just hope things settle down so we can spend more time at the parks enjoying the magic that we really miss.

 

[Meglen]

Have to agree with OP about CM responses. We had a few very helpful ones. But, we had many who said, "do you have the app?" One instance was at the BC desk when asking about MK firework times for the evening. I thought it would be a simple question. Another issue was walking up to an almost empty restaurant and being asked if we made a reservation through the app. We had not, so we did it on our phone. Then we were told to have a seat in the lobby and we would be called. As I said, there were three occupied tables. LOL

Im am rather confused, did you expect to walk up and get a table? How do you know that they didnt have reservations before you and they wont just fill any table because at that moment its empty. They also can only fill so many tables due to staff restrictions. Disney is going full mobile app and has been for a few years. Do you think everyone on property know the hours for everything? The app will show times for anything you could want.

People being angry over stuff like this seems odd to me. or have never worked in a restaurant or even public service of anykind. OP complained because the CM who fixed her phone didnt have the "extra" attitude but did the person have a huge line? are they over worked..? 100% If they are not outright rude I don't see this as an issue.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Most QS now do both mobile order and standard ordering.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

In another post I mentioned how I haven't been back since 2017 and am going with my toddler for the first time. Me and wife were frequent visitors and the magic was palpable and what kept us wanting to come back for many years. Reading everything negative the last year or so has really disheartened me because I know that although there may be an element of exaggeration, for the most part most of the negative experiences are valid and unavoidable. If we weren't such Disney lovers and if this wasn't something we had always wanted to do with our kid then we would not be going just as a couple because I would not want to tarnish the great feelings we had all those years. (The stock doing as poorly as it is and some of the controversies sure don't help!). I feel like I'll still have a good time and there will be magic but it will be from seeing my kid in the place I loved. I really hope they get their act together because this is not going to bode well for the future of the Disney park fans (notice I didn't say company). The company will thrive in one way or another but will there still be a legion of fans that pine day and night thinking of the day they get back to their beloved parks.

 

[reylas]

You have to remember that shows and other entertainment are still limited. And I am fairly certain they are pretty close to normal capacity (not 100% but close). I think this entire year is going to be hectic. February is typically a pretty slow month. Each time I went last month, it was a madhouse. I just think pent up demand is extremely high and everyone is traveling as soon as they can. This is taking away from any lull season. You even see it in lines at places like Hollywood Studios. At this exact moment, tower of terror has a 210 minute wait. Rise has 185 minute wait, MNMRR is 80 minutes, RNR is 65 minutes. I just think people have the extra cash and are trying to travel now that they feel more "comfortable" to do so.

But if we are pretty close to normal capacity, then it is not pent-up demand. It would be "normal" capacity. Are there that many shows not running now at MK? The reservation system allows them to lower employment levels. That is the only reason it is in effect. When it hits a certain level, then they staff up, and release more reservations.

 

[2Gma]

We noticed a big difference in terms of park enjoyment during our Oct 2021 trip compared to past trips.

1.Crowds. The ride lines were much longer than anything we had experienced in the past. I do think not having shows or perhaps enough CMs to staff all aspects of park experience made for much heavier foot traffic. It seems like they favored staffing areas that would generate revenue rather than provide magic moments.

2. Cost. Park ticket and then Genie+/ILL$ just to get to the same experiences as prior with FP+. Genie+ was not FP, options go fast and are fewer but yet you pay for it. Even with it we didn't get as many rides as we did with FP+.

3. Comfort. It was around 90 with humidity while we visited. In the past the buildings were freezing cold but this visit we couldn't find a place to cool off. It was stuffy and humid in every building and ride we went on. It was obvious they were saving costs on a/c at every park we visited. It made us northerners more tired and grumpy and want to leave the park.

 

[popy]

Yep, I know what you saying, I had the same attitude for quite some time. I like Disney since childhood, but their cheapen ways, I got sick and tired of being cheated to the core.
only thing I get from Disney is mad, so, I am never going again, either,
lots of things to do , all better, all cheaper, less crowded. If you go
figure on getting cheated.

 

[MainMom]

I'm surprised at all of these reports. We went sporadically since we were 80s kids and only began going regularly in recent years. I don't know if it is because my lens is only the last 6 or 7 years, but every trip has been great. I do hope others find the "magic" they can't seem to find.

Have you been since Genie was released? That’s seems to be when all of the complaints started.