where did my wdw go?

[Brian rhymes with dyin]

There are more people in the world competing for the same stuff that we like and on top of it through the natural process of aging and being a red blooded American (some of us) we have become all the crankier because of it.

 

[NickC]

If I could pick one thing to bring back...it's this. That corny video on the old CRT monitors...but you knew you were where you wanted to be...gah Disney just bring it back!

And Duffy's bedtime stories...

 

[Chili327]

Who cares what Six Flags is doing? Disney is a company that was known for setting the standard... It seems to be slowly improving now that Chapek is gone... I do dislike the desire to turn everything into an IP thing, but have resigned myself to that... The IP is the corporate sponsorships of yesterday - it's just Disney can't convince Kraft or AT&T to be corporate sponsors anymore so instead the attractions are brought to you by Marvel or Moana....

Oh no, I don’t care what they’re doing. The point was if you think Disney is bad you haven’t been to a different brand lately, it’s eye opening how nice Disney is… but no that does mean that Disney hasn’t let some things go.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

I admit my age and steadily decreasing mobility are large factors in knowing that this Nov will be my last trip to Disney parks. However, I believe I would be reaching that same conclusion regardless of these things.

It seems that the steadily increasing ticket price is reaching the point of being what you must pay to get in the gate. You can shop and eat, see a couple shows, a parade and fireworks for that price. In order to enjoy the attractions, you are looking at another investment entirely. Yes, there are still free standby lines, but those will seriously eat up your park time. And I wonder how long it will be before there will be a shift to monetize even that bottom tier of attraction access.

Through the years, I have happily recommended Disney vacations for people of all ages who want to escape the cares of the world and be swept up by the magic. I could honestly tell friends and strangers alike that Disney parks were a great entertainment value, looking at all the experiences possible for a fixed price (which has never been inconsequential!!) I can’t do that anymore in good conscience.

Yes, i long for the days when you could walk through the gates and your biggest decision was to go left or right at the hub. We’d soak up the atmosphere and try to drink in as many details as possible and stop for the first attraction that caught our interest. We’d usually complete our first loop of the park by early to mid-afternoon, having done at least 60% of the attractions. We could stop anywhere that caught our eye for a snack or lunch. Then we would loop again, re-riding favourites or ones we’d skipped first round. Loved the evening parades and fireworks! We couldn’t afford table service meals at that time, but there was no lack of other options. Frankly, we didn’t even want longer meal times. I think we examined every merchandise counter in the park, longingly, and always made sure we came home with a Christmas ornament to mark the year of our visit.

This year, we are kicking off our trip with a day at SeaWorld. Our tickets include a very reasonably priced and generous all-day meal, and we don’t have to watch our phones for attraction reservation times. Half of our party will pursue the thrill rides while the rest of us relax and enjoy shows, shopping, and marine life at our leisure. Sounds marvelous.

 

[jeankeri]

Who cares what Six Flags is doing? Disney is a company that was known for setting the standard... It seems to be slowly improving now that Chapek is gone... I do dislike the desire to turn everything into an IP thing, but have resigned myself to that... The IP is the corporate sponsorships of yesterday - it's just Disney can't convince Kraft or AT&T to be corporate sponsors anymore so instead the attractions are brought to you by Marvel or Moana....

Disney was never really able to attract and keep the corporate sponsors in EPCOT. As a business model that has always been a failure, IMO. Just look at Imageworks at the Imagination pavilion. When Kodak was there it was so amazing, but lacking a sponsor Disney just let it die, and the overall experience with it. Repeat that with every land there and it makes the park look abandoned.

 

[jeankeri]

I admit my age and steadily decreasing mobility are large factors in knowing that this Nov will be my last trip to Disney parks. However, I believe I would be reaching that same conclusion regardless of these things.

It seems that the steadily increasing ticket price is reaching the point of being what you must pay to get in the gate. You can shop and eat, see a couple shows, a parade and fireworks for that price. In order to enjoy the attractions, you are looking at another investment entirely. Yes, there are still free standby lines, but those will seriously eat up your park time. And I wonder how long it will be before there will be a shift to monetize even that bottom tier of attraction access.

Through the years, I have happily recommended Disney vacations for people of all ages who want to escape the cares of the world and be swept up by the magic. I could honestly tell friends and strangers alike that Disney parks were a great entertainment value, looking at all the experiences possible for a fixed price (which has never been inconsequential!!) I can’t do that anymore in good conscience.

Yes, i long for the days when you could walk through the gates and your biggest decision was to go left or right at the hub. We’d soak up the atmosphere and try to drink in as many details as possible and stop for the first attraction that caught our interest. We’d usually complete our first loop of the park by early to mid-afternoon, having done at least 60% of the attractions. We could stop anywhere that caught our eye for a snack or lunch. Then we would loop again, re-riding favourites or ones we’d skipped first round. Loved the evening parades and fireworks! We couldn’t afford table service meals at that time, but there was no lack of other options. Frankly, we didn’t even want longer meal times. I think we examined every merchandise counter in the park, longingly, and always made sure we came home with a Christmas ornament to mark the year of our visit.

This year, we are kicking off our trip with a day at SeaWorld. Our tickets include a very reasonably priced and generous all-day meal, and we don’t have to watch our phones for attraction reservation times. Half of our party will pursue the thrill rides while the rest of us relax and enjoy shows, shopping, and marine life at our leisure. Sounds marvelous.

Agree that most of the magic spaces have been taken over by character meet and greets. At the Studios last month could not help but think of al the places you could duck into that just do not exist anymore (the sound effects area after the show? so much fun and you could duck in through the 'exit' ) Because yes, maintaining and staffing them came with a cost. And if they streamlined operation to keep ticket prices in check, that's one thing.But to streamline so much of the experience you are paying for, then increase admission prices, THEN paywall parts of the admission that was previously included in their higher that US and other admission prices? Yeah, it is less magical. And less affordable.

 

[tony67]

@StarStruck393 Yes Disney may be getting worse, but Six Flags (Cedar Fair) or any other are way worse in cleanliness, etc. Disney is unbelievably cleaner, but I didn’t notice how much cleaner and maintained until last time I went to a non Disney park.

Agree, but its not as clean as it was in the 90s or early 2000 IMO - but to be fair there are also a lots more guests as well.
Thing is you just don't see the same amount of cleaning people all over the place as you did back then - it had become a bit of a meme in the old days - and no not so much.

I went to Disney in March and was surprised how few people I saw cleaning and how much trash there was around - in contrast I was at Universal the same week - and there were many people cleaning up all over the place pretty constantly. It was noticeably different and Universal was very busy and had Mardi Gras going on. Trash cans were constantly being emptied at Universal, I cant say the same for Disney. Yeah that in anecdotal - but that is my recent experience. No doubt 10 people will come in and say the opposite.

I pretty much stopped going to Disney and now go back every few years - for me its a shadow of what it once was.
I go to Universal multiple times a year.

I went every year for food and wine for example (even before it was at Epcot) - because they had amazing events and seminars.
Meals with Todd English, Tiki Drinks seminar at Trader Sam's, and making sushi with Iron Chef Morimoto for example.
The seminars - even when they started charging a nominal fee - were some amazing experiences as well. For example one of the Bacardi family telling their family history.
Now its just drink and eat - not really anything like it was.

MK is still enjoyable but just not what it was. Much of the nostalgia is gone and even more of it will be gone soon - its just not value for money for me anymore and has not been for quite a while. I did enjoy my last visit more than usual with Genie+ it worked well for me, but they have changed that yet again. Still Ill wait a few more years before I go back.

AK and HS are pretty much a half day park as far as I am concerned - not even worth it to me - I have to buy a park hopper to even spend time in those parks - not going to waste a day ticket.

 

[Minnie1222]

I went to Disney in March and was surprised how few people I saw cleaning and how much trash there was around - in contrast I was at Universal the same week - and there were many people cleaning up all over the place pretty constantly. It was noticeably different and Universal was very busy and had Mardi Gras going on. Trash cans were constantly being emptied at Universal, I cant say the same for Disney. Yeah that in anecdotal - but that is my recent experience. No doubt 10 people will come in and say the opposite.

I'll be the first to disagree! There are plenty of custodians at WDW working very hard. Even in the high heat of the summer, I saw workers in thick uniforms walking along the embankment between the Crescent Lake hotels and HS to pick up after the irresponsible adults. The place is as clean as Universal.

 

[mistysue]

We've found that people are cranky about different types of things in different seasons. For example, if you in summer, it's more crying miserable kids than other times. In Fall, it's frickin' drunk middle aged ladies on ECV's, it's almost like someone opens the gates and lets them out of EPCOT only at that time of year. Spring is self centered teen girls... I might not be spot on for every trip, but by varying the season with each trip, we've found it keeps the variety enough we don't get sick of them. When you keep going a the same times, you run into similar crowds and they become less tolerable.

Another thing that really helped - we laugh amongst ourselves when things get out of hand. "ARE YOU TRYING TO RUIN MY DAY?" and "WAIT UNTIL I TELL YOUR FATHER" in a screeching voice will instantly turn any of my kids from a pouting angry mess to laughing and moving on. Bonus points if I lunge at them while saying it. My middle child does it to me when he can tell I'm losing my cool too.

 

[Cfabar1]

I went every year for food and wine for example (even before it was at Epcot) - because they had amazing events and seminars.
Meals with Todd English, Tiki Drinks seminar at Trader Sam's, and making sushi with Iron Chef Morimoto for example.
The seminars - even when they started charging a nominal fee - were some amazing experiences as well. For example one of the Bacardi family telling their family history.
Now its just drink and eat - not really anything like it was.

This aspect is what is totally missing from Disney today.... It is no longer about an experience, it is about riding rides that are really cool... The immersive, unexpected aspects have been removed. Much less live entertainment.

But, it has never been more popular than ever, and I suspect the lack of scalability of these events is, in part, why they aren't around anymore. It isn't worth the time and staff costs to spend the energy doing this.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Agree, but its not as clean as it was in the 90s or early 2000 IMO - but to be fair there are also a lots more guests as well.
Thing is you just don't see the same amount of cleaning people all over the place as you did back then - it had become a bit of a meme in the old days - and no not so much.

I went to Disney in March and was surprised how few people I saw cleaning and how much trash there was around - in contrast I was at Universal the same week - and there were many people cleaning up all over the place pretty constantly. It was noticeably different and Universal was very busy and had Mardi Gras going on. Trash cans were constantly being emptied at Universal, I cant say the same for Disney. Yeah that in anecdotal - but that is my recent experience. No doubt 10 people will come in and say the opposite.

We had a similar experience. The last time we were in Hollywood Studios (spring 2019), the stench coming from the men's bathroom across from the Indiana Jones show was horrible. The women were standing outside in line for the bathroom and could smell it from there. My sons came out and said it was awful. At the same spot, there were 2 overflowing trashcans outside the bathrooms and the women's room (while not reeking), was a mess with paper towels on the floor and dirty stalls. We had commented on how Disney's cleanliness had gone down hill in other places, but this was the worst. We didn't renew our passes after that and haven't been back.

 

[tony67]

But, it has never been more popular than ever, and I suspect the lack of scalability of these events is, in part, why they aren't around anymore. It isn't worth the time and staff costs to spend the energy doing this.

Well - a lot of people say is more popular as ever - and technically that is true I guess - but not by much - they are making more per guest for the most part.
Basically between 2009 and 2023 attendance has not been great - yes the pandemic was a factor and the big bump years for revenge travel are not in this chart - its still not good - and 2024 had not been great from anecdotal evidence



This is the video that came from

 

[tony67]

We had a similar experience. The last time we were in Hollywood Studios (spring 2019), the stench coming from the men's bathroom across from the Indiana Jones show was horrible. The women were standing outside in line for the bathroom and could smell it from there. My sons came out and said it was awful. At the same spot, there were 2 overflowing trashcans outside the bathrooms and the women's room (while not reeking), was a mess with paper towels on the floor and dirty stalls. We had commented on how Disney's cleanliness had gone down hill in other places, but this was the worst. We didn't renew our passes after that and haven't been back.

Yeah that is similar to what I ran into - specifically the bathrooms by Space Mountain were really bad.
Trash cans were not emptied as much as they needed to be - so even if the guests are a factor - if there are overflowing trashcans then people will get annoyed and litter - they should not but they do.

I think they do an OK job, but its just not what it once was.

I am in no rush to go back - it will be a few years - and I'm in Orlando 2 or 3 times a year for other parks.

 

[tony67]

his aspect is what is totally missing from Disney today.... It is no longer about an experience, it is about riding rides that are really cool... The immersive, unexpected aspects have been removed. Much less live entertainment.

It's too bad as I really did have some amazing experiences not just the handful I mentioned.
Its one thing I cant say about Universal - the closet thing was riding the Mardi Gras float in the parade - that is a pretty cool experience that I've been lucky enough to do a few times.
That is not even close to some of the many amazing experiences I had at Disney Food and Wine over the years.

 

[Minnie1222]

Thankfully we have not experienced the level of filth described in the previous posts. Our most recent trips were this past March, May, and July. We also went 4 times last year and 3 times the year before, and 3 more times the year before that.

The most pathetic thing we saw was the way the disgruntled guests treated Tiana's Bayou when it was under construction. Some people actually walked up just to throw empty bottles into the site.

 

[Sheryl2059]

Bottles? I suppose they were among the crowd that saw nefarious purposes in the change from Splash Mountain. Which is pretty dumb because they did a good job with Tiana.

Last time I was at wdw some older guy threw a fit because a ride was down. He wasnt in line. It had already been closed for 30 minutes. He walked up, was told it wasnt working, and got mad. I suppose it was stress and trying to cram in as many attractions as possible in a short amount of time. The usual.

Then again, there are the videos of family brawls at DL. Those are funny.

 

[NickC]

Thankfully we have not experienced the level of filth described in the previous posts. Our most recent trips were this past March, May, and July. We also went 4 times last year and 3 times the year before, and 3 more times the year before that.

I wouldn't call it "filth" It's just different. On my first trip, I was surprised by the absolute cleanliness. It was one of the things that made me want to come back every year. It went from every blade of grass being the same length to a dead potted plant outside of the Canada store in Epcot. From CMs in suits picking up little scraps here and there to a pile of crushed blackened popcorn on the ground that has clearly been there for hours. It's still the cleanest theme park I've been to, but I was more impressed with the care put into the grounds than I was with huge attractions like RotR. A lot of theme parks have high tech rides, but none came close to the cleanliness of WDW.
I'm not saying that it's really bad, and I know it's not an easy task, but it's something that they figured out in the past.
I've never complained about price increases. But I have said that my issue is WHERE the costs are going.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Well - a lot of people say is more popular as ever - and technically that is true I guess - but not by much - they are making more per guest for the most part.
Basically between 2009 and 2023 attendance has not been great - yes the pandemic was a factor and the big bump years for revenge travel are not in this chart - its still not good - and 2024 had not been great from anecdotal evidence

View attachment 907870

This is the video that came from

It's still showing over a million more people attending WDW now than in 2009. That's around 1000 people more per day per park. It doesn't sound like much but when the park hours are shorter and less people are standing in lines due to lightening lanes and more rides are down due to technical difficulties, it makes for a crowed park.

 

[Mr_Woodchuck]

The first time I went to Disney World, it was the worst! I had no idea what I was doing, it was crowded -- a woman tried to run over my kids with a stroller during MK fireworks, there was almost a fight in front of us. My kids cried all the way back on the monorail -- Disney chewed me up, and spit me back out. I said I'll never do that again! and yet, the more I go, the more magic I feel and just can't wait to get back there. So for me, the first time I went was the worst, now every time I go it only gets better and better.

 

[gsdweller]

This aspect is what is totally missing from Disney today.... It is no longer about an experience, it is about riding rides that are really cool... The immersive, unexpected aspects have been removed. Much less live entertainment.

This true, but it is because that is what people want. To get nostalgic over the Disney of the past is fun, but somewhat meaningless. Do you want to go back to 15" black and white TVs? Cars without AC? Things change, and what the majority of the populace wants changes also. Disney from the late 80s or 90s would go broke in a single year. No one would want to go. They rides were lame compared to today's options, and people now favor rides over everything else.

When I first started skiing, it was $7 dollars a day on a Saturday. This year it will be $200 at some resorts. Disney is more expensive, but is holding its value better than other entertainment.