Why I chose not to visit Walt Disney World

[Mom2Evie]

My compliments to the DISer's on this thread. When I read the first post, my initial thought was "this could get ugly, fast". I wasn't all that surprised to see how everyone was really polite about it. No one flamed on the OP.
To OP:
It saddens me that you feel this way. You're already hating something you haven't experienced. It reminded me of my DD insisting that she hated a food that she had yet to taste. Lighten up & live a little. For every negative you mentioned, I can name a dozen positives. WDW is a fabulous place to vacation with your family. Your trip would be what you make of it. If you expect to be annoyed and have a bad time, then that's your own failing. I think many o your complaints were totally unreasonable, but other posters have pointed that our fairly eloquently.

Where ever you decide to vacation, I wish you luck and happiness. I'll be the girl in line at WDW, taking the fast pass you could have gotten. Thanks for that.

 

[CarolA]

I don't have any problem with the OP not going. (That's one less guest to deal with when I am there LOL!)

However, I found the logic on the orignial post HYSTERICAL.

Without ever setting foot in the resort he KNOWS ALL!!! He knows transportation is bad, he knows upkeep is bad and so on. TROLL ALERT!!!!!

(Now I would love to do Toyko, but TRUST me I would do a LOT more in Japan then just Disney. If you Fly ALL the way to Japan just to do Disney, IMHO that's just strange. Let's go to a foreign country to see American culture??? LOL!)

 

[photobob]

My biggest reason for going to Disney World seeing the smiles on my wife and children's faces during our stay. I've spent a great deal of hard earned money to take them and I think it's worth every penny I've spent creating wonderful family memories. There have been changes since we first started going, some I've liked some not as much, but that doesn't change my feelings whatsoever stated in my first sentence..

 

[LiteBrite]

At last, a RADP-type consumate troll in the same class as the legendary
Paul T.

I was already halfway there when the OP spoke about burned-out lightbulbs, but when you drop the Paul T. bomb - I am instantly transported back to the day!

 

[minmate]

Fascinating....

 

[Onceler]

Mom2Evie and CarolA are correct. The OP's unusually negative opinion of WDW is apparently based solely on things he/she read and not on actual personal experience.

The OP is welcome to his/her opinion and not all of the complaints are without merit. But the original post sounds like it is either from someone who wants to stir things up or someone who somehow got a burr in his/her britches about WDW and started to look for things to confirm the preconceived negative opinion. Either way, hopefully Tokyo Disney meets the OP's expectations.

Meanwhile...

 

[phamton]

Mears transportation is available from all the Disney resorts to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. It is $16 round trip.

 

[NC State]

Everyone is entiltle to their feelings on DisBoards. I hope the poster will visit WDW and give it a try. You may find out that it's not that bad.

 

[CleveRocks]

Are you a lawyer? Oh, BTW, I meant that as a compliment. You really worded everything perfectly. I felt all those things you said, but could never have thrown several paragraphs together on a message board and been as eloquent as you. Very well written, thought provoking post!

I'm much worse than a lawyer ... I'm a therapist.

 

[dougsmom98]

My biggest reason for going to Disney World seeing the smiles on my wife and children's faces during our stay. I've spent a great deal of hard earned money to take them and I think it's worth every penny I've spent creating wonderful family memories. There have been changes since we first started going, some I've liked some not as much, but that doesn't change my feelings whatsoever stated in my first sentence..

I loved this post! Yes, many things have changed at Disney World over the years, but it is still magical to so many people, especially children.

 

[stepnut]

Wow, I've never experienced any of your negatives because of the way we've done WDW, and we've had a glorious time.

* We don't stay onsite, so we don't deal with buses.
* We don't park hop, so I don't miss a monorail between parks.
* I have burnt out light bulbs in my own home, so I don't freak when I see one at WDW.
* I liked Test Track. Being married to a race car driver, I didn't LOVE it, but certainly didn't let it define my Epcot experience.
* I don't do the DDP
* We don't go at peak holiday times.
* We think being at the park from 9am 10pm is PLENTY for us in a day, so I don't bemoan the fact I can't use EMH. I wouldn't use them if I could. And I avoid parks on thier EMH days. Way too crowded.
* I never heard of Horizons, or World of Motion, but don't knock Mission Space till you've tried it. It's amazing.
* I did do 20,000 leagues Under the Sea when I was 10 (WDW had been opened for just about a month in 1971). I remember being cramped in a submarine, and being completely disappointed at the ride. I don't remember any details...but I seem to remember the impression of how un-lifelike it was. I guess I was expecting real living sea monsters, LOL! And while my kids are too old for the Winnie the Pooh Playspot, a LOT of people think it's the ideal place to take a break and let thier kids blow off steam.

So, call me a moron for choosing AND loving my WDW experience, but I had none of the issues you cite.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Well, the logic is ridiculous...especially since you haven't been. The transportation thing especially perplexes me, since its quite easy to get to Universal. So I have no problem if you don't go, more room for us!

 

[shakebear]

That is quite sad.
The fact that you are judging an entire place based on things you have 'heard' from scattered reviews.
In my opinion, you are in no position to say how 'abominable' it is, or comment on it's 'general lack of upkeep', if you have never actually seen if yourself. Disney is one of the most magnificent, well-organized places on earth, and it's so sad that you aren't even willing to give it a try.
But I suppose you are quite a saint for almost being willing to give the experience a try in the first place.

 

[mousetravel]

The only part I can really agree with you is the surcharge on dining because of the holidays. We had 3 ADR's booked for Easter week, but have since cancelled 2 of them because of that.

 

[GalDisney]

Maybe after you have visited Tokyo Disneyland you will find it in your heart to give WDw a try. it really is great. No, it is not perfect. Nothing is. And as a former 40 yr resident of Anaheim, i virtually lived at Disneyland and when I first visted the Mk I compared everyting to Disneyland. yes, I think Disneyland is abit better than the Mk but, you know what, they are both glorious in their own right. And WDW has more to offer as a resort than Disneyland. Give it a try, you will not be sorry. And you may end up loving it!

 

[bumbershoot]

Well I personally, just from knowing of the culture, am fairly sure that the upkeep at DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland probably blows away any other Disney park anywhere (other than perhaps Hong Kong), so I don't agree with the thoughts that upkeep issues could be the same over there. I'll give you that, Spokker. If only they would build a Disney park in Singapore (no possibility of gum on your shoes at all!) then things would be perfect.

But I gotta ask..."and the fact that it wasn't that much more expensive than WDW"...is that true? I've never priced it out, but considering how relatively inexpensive a trip to WDW that I've been pricing is (cheaper than a similar stay onsite at Disneyland!), and considering how ding dang expensive Japan is...is it really not much more expensive? We absolutely have the Asian Disney parks in our future, as side trips to DH's family in Korea, so if it's not that much more expensive, it might be in our future sooner rather than later.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Have you been to WDW or not? I noticed on the DL forum that you stated AK is lacking in quality disney rides, but it's beautifully themed. You even commented that EE was an excellent ride, but really all that is worth doing. How could you possibly make these comments to someone if you haven't been there? An uninformed poster might actually think you know what you are talking about, when in fact, you haven't been there.

Our family considered going to DL over spring break this year, but instead opted to do WDW and Vero Beach. I spent a lot of time reading the threads on the DL forum and ultimately decided DL wasn't a good choice for us at this time. It never occurred to me to post on the DL site why I thought DL would be a bad choice and then point out all of the negatives.

While some of your points may have merit, albeit very few points, you come across as bitter towards a vacation destination that you have never been to.

I agree with pp that you shouldn't go to WDW. You already know that you wouldn't enjoy yourself and you would most likely spend your vacation trying to confirm your preconceived notions. It's not worth your money to focus on what isn't up to your standards.

I hope you continue to have wonderful vacations at DL and Tokyo.


Rachel

 

[disneyjunkie]

Growing up I had always wanted to visit Walt Disney World. I'm a Southern California native who has been to Disneyland many times throughout my life but Disney World was always in the back of my mind. Last Spring I was so close to booking the trip that I could almost feel the humidity. Here's why I ultimately chose not to and visit Tokyo Disney instead.

Attractions I wanted to see were gone - Horizons was the major spark igniting my interest to go to Disney World ever since I was a kid. It's the kind of attraction I've always dreamed of, and even today, enjoy it through an excellent DVD quality ride-through I found on the Internet. Mission: Space just doesn't seem that interesting to me.

World of Motion was another classic Epcot attraction I wish I could have experienced. Test Track looks like an abomination. I can't fathom how anyone could prefer this to this. I hope GM got their money's worth, because WDW guests sure didn't.

There were other things I didn't like. Alien Encounter turned into Stitch Encounter or something like that. 20,000 Leagues transformed into a Winnie the Pooh play area. A lot of things that would have otherwise attracted me to WDW were gone. I also didn't like the idea of the Tiki Room: Under New Management. That's not something I can support and I just didn't want to go anywhere near it.

Already, I'm pretty disgruntled, but I was still willing to go.

Transportation - I wanted to see Islands of Adventure in addition to the four parks at WDW, but there was no reliable, easy way to do it outside of renting a car or taking a taxi, two things I had no intention of doing. Much of the advice centered around taking a public bus but that the ride was slow. Others suggested staying off-site but I didn't want to rely on hotel shuttles.

I was also disappointed at the transportation system at WDW itself. When I think of Disney World I think of sleek, fast, and reliable monorails, not buses, which were a nightmare as far as I read, especially when it's busy. I became bitter that Disney World has not expanded its monorail system since the 80s and pretty much lost all faith in the technology.

Being a rail enthusiast I was enticed by Tokyo's entirely grade-separated, reliable, and always on-time rail network. I discovered that it would be so much easier to get to non-Disney destinations in Japan. I enjoyed riding on Japanese trains almost as much as seeing DisneySea.

General lack of upkeep - I must admit that columnist Kevin Yee had a hand in this, whose updates on WDW were like weekly "What's broken this week at WDW?" reports. I get bent out of shape when I see a burnt out lightbulb at Disneyland and I'm just a SoCal passholder. When you're shelling out almost 3 grand for a trip to Disney World that stuff is even harder to swallow.

Bad Policies - There are many policies I don't like at WDW, some of which I knew then and some of which I learned more recently.

The holiday surcharge for eating on certain busy dates at certain restaurants.

Not including tips in some Disney Dining Plan anymore.

Not keeping the park open late for all paying guests, instead opting to hold special events like the Halloween and Christmas parties.

Early Entry, another "illusion of value" feature where Disney saves money on operating costs but you think you're getting something extra.

Some of these would have affected me, some would not, but they are not policies I want to support with my wallet.

Conclusion - I was very close to booking the trip. I had everything planned out, from what parks we would visit on what days, choice of hotels, and how we were going to pay for it. Everything was a go and all I had to do was book, and in the 11th hour I said, "You know what? This is stupid." I felt like a moron, a sucker, for even considering Disney World in its current state, and decided that it just wasn't worth it.

I decided to visit Tokyo Disney instead because of DisneySea, the desire to visit another country, my interest in rail mass transit, and the fact that it wasn't that much more expensive than WDW. Even today if I had to choose, I would visit TDR again before WDW.

If you have anything to add, such as how Disney World has possibly improved since last year and/or how a trip could be easily made despite my grievances, please do so.

Can you please help me with something?

Please pass this onto the millions of families that will visit WDW for the first time this year (oh, and some of the repeat guest). Hopefully they will read this and cancel their trips.

Please be sure to stress how each problem will be double September 1-7 and December 23-January 3.

Please stick around.

As soon as I confirm my 2009 plans, I’ll give you a heads up on which weeks to tell everyone to avoid.

You are definitely entitled to your opinion, but man Spokker you gotta lighten up a little. First the "2fers brings out the undesirables" post, now this one. I hope that vacation to Tokyo gets there quick cause I think you need one

PS, since you wont be using them, can I have your fast passes?

I read that thread. My son and I are heading out to DL this August. It will be our first visit. I have to admit the OP gave me a scare. Luckily I keep reading.

Can't wait to get there.

 

[disneyjunkie]

But I gotta ask..."and the fact that it wasn't that much more expensive than WDW"...is that true? I've never priced it out, but considering how relatively inexpensive a trip to WDW that I've been pricing is (cheaper than a similar stay onsite at Disneyland!), and considering how ding dang expensive Japan is...is it really not much more expensive? We absolutely have the Asian Disney parks in our future, as side trips to DH's family in Korea, so if it's not that much more expensive, it might be in our future sooner rather than later.

Unless there's free lodging and/or free airfare, how can a trip to Japan be cheaper than a trip to Orlando?

 

[lizzytizzy]

Mears transportation is available from all the Disney resorts to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. It is $16 round trip.

Is that true? If so, that'd be great! For the last couple of years, my husband and I talked ourselves out of going there saying that our DD is too young to go there. What time do they leave from the resorts and leave from Universal Studios? Is it just one bus a day? Do you have their phone number that I can find out? Thank you!