What is your line in the sand?

[Suvadoo]

I think crowds will be the tipping point for us as well. If you think about it, many of the issues people have with Disney these days dissipate with lower crowds. Wait times, FP availability, grumpy CMs....... it's all affected by the crowd level. And perhaps the ones who argue that nothing has changed lately are the ones who previously traveled at high crowd times so have not seen a change the way the ones used to traveling at low crowd times have.

I guess you feel the way I do. Our family avoids high crowds at any vacation destination. I don't want to be controlled by FP+ reservations to avoid long lines. I'd rather find a different vacation destination. This April will be our last visit to Orlando for a very long time. If I hadn't purchased airline tickets 3 months ago, April's trip would've been canceled. On the bright side, there are other places to visit if WDW is too crowded for us. Universal is a definite, but maybe SeaWorld would be another fun option.

I believe D instituted free dining at slower times to fill their resort rooms, but it has had that added effect of making the parks crowded all of the time. I also see reports of attractions being down and this is not for scheduled maintenance. I just don't think any amusement park venue was built so that maximum capacity could be continuously maintained.

I hope Disney's plans to convert unoccupied resort rooms to DVC will prompt them to stop offering the free dining. Then, maybe, sanity will be restored.

 

[Shaden]

I don't draw lines in the sand because the rain tends to come and wash them away.

There isn't one factor that goes into any decision I make about where I want to travel, and WDW is no different. If I decide that I don't want to go again anytime in the near future because it costs too much for the enjoyment I get, I won't go. But, I probably won't come to a website to announce that I'm not going because I don't see why anyone should care.

Yet, as usual, ironically you will come to a website and announce that you wont announce that you wont go to Disney world because you can't see that anyone would care ....


Should we care that you wont ? Or that you don't ? Are you trying to be ironic ? I am really unsure.

 

[DougEMG]

For me, it's about time and money. How much does it cost to get into the park and how much can I get done without standing in long line ups. If ever one of those got too bad, then I'd have to look at not bothering to go.

 

[Suvadoo]

Yet, as usual, ironically you will come to a website and announce that you wont announce that you wont go to Disney world because you can't see that anyone would care ....


Should we care that you wont ? Or that you don't ? Are you trying to be ironic ? I am really unsure.

I guess you're supposed to care when somebody posts about going, but you're not supposed to care when they post that they're not going?

 

[disneyseniors]

For me the line would be lack of ride maintance, lack of cleanliness, lack of general maintenance, things like that. Those are the reasons we don't go to 6 flags New England, even though it is only about a half hour from our house. I think we have been spoiled between going to disney and the years we lived near Busch gardens Williamsburg. Run down parks that think they are all that and a bag of chips are just not places I want to spend my time and money even if they do have new rides I figure by the end of the first season they will have suffered from the se poor maintance as the rest.

We just got back from WDW yesterday, and we found all of your list, sad to say! There were a lot of Kleenexes, paper towels and just papers littering the floor at the part of the que where you get into the doombuggies at haunted mansion. No One was picking them up either, just ignoring them. Dirty! As far as maintenance goes, HM quit 3 times while we were on it!!!! That's entirely too much!. Buzz Lightyear had problems with their guns not working. We rode it 3 times and 2 times my husbands gun didn't work at all; which was the only way I could beat him! lol So, I do see more dirtiness and old rides that need maintenance. TSM broke down once while we were on it, too. So it's sad to say that this is already happening. I hope WDW wakes up and fixes these problems before it is just like any other theme park.

 

[jdk2]

We just got back from WDW yesterday, and we found all of your list, sad to say! There were a lot of Kleenexes, paper towels and just papers littering the floor at the part of the que where you get into the doombuggies at haunted mansion. No One was picking them up either, just ignoring them. Dirty! As far as maintenance goes, HM quit 3 times while we were on it!!!! That's entirely too much!. Buzz Lightyear had problems with their guns not working. We rode it 3 times and 2 times my husbands gun didn't work at all; which was the only way I could beat him! lol So, I do see more dirtiness and old rides that need maintenance. TSM broke down once while we were on it, too. So it's sad to say that this is already happening. I hope WDW wakes up and fixes these problems before it is just like any other theme park.

Until you mentioned it, I hadn't really noticed the trash problem. The park(s) are generally dirtier than in the past, most likely due to the increase in crowds. TSM, TOT, ST, and RNR all quit working during this last week while we were waiting or while on the ride. As a matter of fact, there isn't a ride in any of the parks that hasn't stopped while riding or was shut down prior to boarding over the last couple of weeks.

As someone pointed out earlier, these rides were probably not designed for constant capacity loads for 20 hours a day. Maintenance has most likely been scaled back in areas where safety is not a concern.

It seems there's a fine line between keeping the shareholders happy and keeping guests happy. Neither one will ever be completely satisfied but my guess is the shareholders come out on top.

 

[Dis703]

Cost would be the only factor that would keep me from going back. As it stands now for our family of 5 we are already going a tad over budget. I'm guessing though that if it got too high we'd move offsite before stopping altogether.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I'll try to find this thread a week from now and give my assessment. This is my first time with fp+ and my 2 granddaughters. Hopefully I'll be too self absorbed to notice the negatives, lol.

 

[jdk2]

I'll try to find this thread a week from now and give my assessment. This is my first time with fp+ and my 2 granddaughters. Hopefully I'll be too self absorbed to notice the negatives, lol.

The positives far outweigh the negatives. Taking your grandchildren and watching their expressions will trump any of the stupid stuff. Enjoy your trip

 

[Mambo Junkie]

The positives far outweigh the negatives. Taking your grandchildren and watching their expressions will trump any of the stupid stuff. Enjoy your trip

Thanks! Other than the hard to get BOG and CRT, and the elusive A&E , add to it the Singalong our biggest plans are to chase princesses around all day.

 

[chapie1968]

I don't think there is a line in the sand that would stop me from going, but all of the recent changes have made me scale back how much time and money I spend at Disney. I now allocate more time and resources to other parks.

 

[Schmeck]

You're never heard the screams from Tower of Terror?

Not outside of that little street they are on - Disney has a great way of masking unwanted sounds. Wish Universal would figure it out. I really hate hearing the 'outside sounds' in Hogsmead. Haven't tried Diagon Alley yet, as the 2 park ticket needed to access the express is hard to swallow.

 

[deanimal]

For me I think my line in the sand is the crowds. It feels like for everyone drawing a line in the sand and not returning, ten more people come to take their place!
I hate crowds, but my husband is a teacher and we can only travel during our school breaks. I've managed to plan a couple of trips when we have a break that's a bit different, but it's getting harder and harder to find "low crowd" times. Times that used to be really quiet are now moderately busy and busy times are now crazy!

 

[Minnesota!]

I hate the majority of the changes they have implemented over the last few years, but we still have a fantastic time each trip, and come home refreshed and ready to take on life again. When the fun stops, we stop.

We have switched up how we vacation, though. Much prefer less park time/no park time. Just hanging by the pool, mini golfing, and swimming to the BS lines/FP/ADR's/crabby guests/cranky CM's. Just give me Pop Century, a Gin and Tonic (2 limes) and some sunshine...it's all good!

 

[kathy884]

For me -- I just do a mini trip annually (usually just maybe four nights / three days in Orlando) it's crowd levels. I get touring plans.com plug in what we'd like to do in whatever park we are considering and for whatever day/days we are considering. Then I look at wait times, how much we can do, etc. If it looks fun/reasonable I book the trip. If it doesn't I don't. The biggest threat for me returning is other people's love for the place and CROWDS. // There are certain places not just Disney that just have too much love these days and although I'd never say never, I have no real interest in going back to these. The good news is that there are plenty of people who have the means to travel, and vacation destinations and places like Disney appear to be doing pretty well. The bad news in that too much love makes a place unappealing to me to go to personally. // We still are tied to the school schedule and I am not a believer in taking kids out of school for anything other than extenuating circumstances. Orlando is not a place that I'd ever consider taking someone out of school to do to. This is not in any way meant to be a criticism of others who do take kids out of school to travel at less busy times. But it is just not a consideration for me. I'm far for likely to just pick a different vacation destination.

I really thought bets were off this year for Orlando. I don't consider summer for the heat and humidity. DS didn't have any long weekends off. Spring break (I adore the weather then and traditionally this has been my favorite time to go), much to my dismay has gotten too popular and I just don't like wait times I'm seeing (so sad -- our break time this year met my line in the sand in terms of crowds). BUT DS (in college now) has finals that finish fairly early, meaning a mini trip with park days of the 16th, 17th, and 18th of December. So I'm really excited.

 

[turkey1031]

My line would be if they turned magic kingdom into frozen kingdom lol. I can handle crowds. We usually go in the summer anyways. Maybe a steep price increase on park tickets. I could handle an increase in resort prices by staying offsite but the parks are the reason I go and ticket prices are pretty high as it is. If I can't find a way to afford the park tickets there is no reason for me to go to disney

 

[Aurora0427]

My line in the sand is price. We love Disney, even with the FP+, hard to get ADRs, menu changes, etc etc etc

We will continue to go, as long as we can afford to do Disney the way we like to do Disney.

 

[Aurora0427]

The positives far outweigh the negatives. Taking your grandchildren and watching their expressions will trump any of the stupid stuff. Enjoy your trip

Exactly. The look on our two year old daughter's face the first time she saw Mickey was worth every dollar we spent and any minor Disney inconvenience.

 

[mslhb]

When the magical feeling is gone.

I'm sure lots of things go into making that feeling happen, and I'm not really sure what it would take just yet to push me over the edge. It's not all warm fuzzies the entire trip, but it is for much of it. That makes it all worth it to me.

This! We have and will continue to modify our # of vacation days, resort choice, dining choices, etc. based on what we can afford. But ultimately I have not found another vacation spot that gives me that tingly feeling that Disney Word does!

 

[MPB82]

To me it's crowds. If prices go up we can go less often or stay offsite or fly I to Tampa etc. if the crowds are alway high we can't do as much and spend more time waitng or navagating busy walkways, resturants etc.

I'd pay an additional $1000 to go at a level 3 or less crowd time