Why I Gave Up on Walt Disney World

[disneyland_is_magic]

Regarding the staff seeming overworked and overwhelmed: Remember that we are seeing record low unemployment, which means the labor market is very tight. It's extremely hard for many employers to find people to hire these days. WDW can increase wages to attract and retain staff, but we have to realize that means prices for guests will be raised as well. And who knows what will happen when the next recession hits and guests no longer have $10K to burn on two weeks at Disney!

This is so so true. Here many restaurants and retail store have aggressive hiring signage posted, open interview sessions, etc. They have elaborate hiring display tables set up.
Our local McDs used to be well staffed, the same folks for years, who were quick and kind. Some of the regulars remain but work days and are still great, but at night, it’s especially poorly staffed, just so few workers so no service quality. I went through the drive through last night, I literally watched an entire sitcom on my phone it took so long. In the end, I had a poorly made drink and dry, gross fries. I blame no one but myself because I knew that’s what it’s been.

 

[jjb1974]

The writer has valid complaints, probably some invalid ones from where it snowballed. Then again, I can empathize with how things would go downhill fast in your perceptions when you get a room with the odor and presence of vomit in it. Twice I've checked into hotels with just an awful odor coming from the bathroom from sewage line issues and it took a lot to put it out of my head. Both times I received a new room quickly, so that helps. A protracted ordeal over that? Yeah, that's going to color your thoughts.

The one I laugh about with my wife is picking out where I'm going to be eating 6 months from now, and doing so over multiple days ("This day I will want this kind of food") and juggling it around as much as is required, including arranging my park days to match up. It's worthy of ridicule. I know why Disney does it, I see their point, but again, 6 month planning to eat waffles with a mouse at a time I want in order to allow me to plan the rest of my day.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The one I laugh about with my wife is picking out where I'm going to be eating 6 months from now, and doing so over multiple days ("This day I will want this kind of food") and juggling it around as much as is required, including arranging my park days to match up. It's worthy of ridicule. I know why Disney does it, I see their point, but again, 6 month planning to eat waffles with a mouse at a time I want in order to allow me to plan the rest of my day.

i agree that 6 months is a lot but the idea of preplanning to some extent I don't think is that crazy

We are doing a weekend in Washington DC in a few weeks and I booked our dining at various restaurants about 2-3 months ago .... I can't imagine going anywhere and not making at least some reservations months in adavance. Disney takes it to a bit of an extreme though

 

[Farro]

i agree that 6 months is a lot but the idea of preplanning to some extent I don't think is that crazy

We are doing a weekend in Washington DC in a few weeks and I booked our dining at various restaurants about 2-3 months ago .... I can't imagine going anywhere and not making at least some reservations months in adavance. Disney takes it to a bit of an extreme though

Totally agree.

Many (good) restaurants are hard to get reservations for on short notice. There's a couple here at home you need to book months in advance.

Disney is no different. If you want a certain place, you need to book it. We are only booking 3 or 4 places we know we want for our 9 nights next May and playing it by ear for the rest of the days. Plenty of same day/day before options available.

But what you don't have to do 6 months in advance is decide what you are going to eat.

 

[Carol_]

The title of this thread is DIS clickbait.
Since I’m here, Deni rocks.
Also, Jackie is just about the most pleasant person on all of YouTube and she should have her own morning show.
Also also, down with Disney haters and over-filled trash cans alike!

 

[Lashed34]

I only joined these boards relatively recently and am always looking for pros & cons when seeking information.

As much as I appreciate that long term members here have heard arguments about fast passes, CM interactions, litter etc many times, it must be an ongoing issue if people continually bring them up.

Many people come here and look at the boards for help and advise and issues like these are very important, so although it may seem repetitive to some, it's still very helpful to us newbies.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

See I think the ADR situation has vastly improved from the time period the author is talking about, and it has started to get bad long before MDE and online booking came on the scene. My guess would be the popularity of the dining plan is more to blame than anything.

I absolutely do not want to go back to the days where we had to sit on the phone to book, where people held multiple ADRs without penalty, where you really did need to have solid plans months out. It’s much easier to get last minute ADRs than it used to be, save for maybe a few ultra popular places.

 

[Lashed34]

Totally agree.

Many (good) restaurants are hard to get reservations for on short notice. There's a couple here at home you need to book months in advance.

Disney is no different. If you want a certain place, you need to book it. We are only booking 3 or 4 places we know we want for our 9 nights next May and playing it by ear for the rest of the days. Plenty of same day/day before options available.

But what you don't have to do 6 months in advance is decide what you are going to eat.

If I'm in London and want to book The Ivy I agree with you, but in order to book 7 restaurants over 7 nights I would have to know EXACTLY what I'll be doing and where I will be. This doesn't take into account transport requirements, weather conditions etc.

Many people can plan ahead, but 6 months ahead is pretty hard going, vacations/holidays are for relaxation and it's all getting very stressful for some people.

We are visiting WDW this December, FP become avail to us this Monday coming - I will have a look at the rides available etc but we are just 30 days out - if I times that by 6 I would find it very daunting, especially if I had to pre-book rides, restaurants etc - and even if I did plan it all out, by the time I actually get to confirm all the details there is no guarantee that my plans will work due to being booked up - so I have to start the planning all over again.

Luckily, I will eat and ride what I can when I can - but for others they really have to plan far to far ahead.

 

[jjb1974]

i agree that 6 months is a lot but the idea of preplanning to some extent I don't think is that crazy

We are doing a weekend in Washington DC in a few weeks and I booked our dining at various restaurants about 2-3 months ago .... I can't imagine going anywhere and not making at least some reservations months in adavance. Disney takes it to a bit of an extreme though

Yeah, I agree: my point is that the window is ridiculous, not the concept of having to pre-book. If the dining window was the same as the fast pass window, that particular complaint wouldn't last.

I also doubt you had to book 4 months out for what is essentially a dressed-up Applebee's in the District.

 

[Farro]

If I'm in London and want to book The Ivy I agree with you, but in order to book 7 restaurants over 7 nights I would have to know EXACTLY what I'll be doing and where I will be. This doesn't take into account transport requirements, weather conditions etc.

Many people can plan ahead, but 6 months ahead is pretty hard going, vacations/holidays are for relaxation and it's all getting very stressful for some people.

We are visiting WDW this December, FP become avail to us this Monday coming - I will have a look at the rides available etc but we are just 30 days out - if I times that by 6 I would find it very daunting, especially if I had to pre-book rides, restaurants etc - and even if I did plan it all out, by the time I actually get to confirm all the details there is no guarantee that my plans will work due to being booked up - so I have to start the planning all over again.

Luckily, I will eat and ride what I can when I can - but for others they really have to plan far to far ahead.

Not to sound trite, but it's as stressful as you (general you, not you you) make it.

Again, if you have certain places you must eat and they are popular places, then yes unfortunately you will have to make the ADR.
But if you can be flexible with times, places you can find a number of good restaurants day of. Or eat counter service if you want.

And I used to make all our ADRs in advance, but this next trip is first trip not making very many. I found even when I did an October trip for 5, I was still able to switch around most ADRs even a couple weeks leading into the trip. Thus realizing I don't have to box myself in so far out.

Of course when you are going plays into it - going around Christmas it's crowded, necessitating the need to make ADRS if you plan to eat out every night.

Going in early May, we have room for flexibility.

 

[Lashed34]

Not to sound trite, but it's as stressful as you (general you, not you you) make it.

Again, if you have certain places you must eat and they are popular places, then yes unfortunately you will have to make the ADR.
But if you can be flexible with times, places you can find a number of good restaurants day of. Or eat counter service if you want.

Of course when you are going plays into it - going around Christmas it's crowded, necessitating the need to make ADRS if you plan to eat out every night.

Going in early May, we have room for flexibility.

I agree, but I feel this is a big issue. We are going this December - 2 of us, both adults so we can do as we please and will fit in what we can, eat where we can etc.

But for so many people the entire experience seems to be a rope drop - who can be first, let's run here and run there...it's almost sheer panic for some, especially when they're dragging their children behind them.

I feel so sorry for the people who get so dissapointed and upset that their holiday has been ruined because they've been unable to experience a particular ride, restaurant or experience.

I just couldn't handle putting so much stress on myself.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Yeah, I agree: my point is that the window is ridiculous, not the concept of having to pre-book. If the dining window was the same as the fast pass window, that particular complaint wouldn't last.

I also doubt you had to book 4 months out for what is essentially a dressed-up Applebee's in the District.

I think the window is only frustrating because they don’t have solid hours released by then. If I have to plan in advance, it makes no difference to me if it’s 1-2 months or 6. I still have no idea what the weather is like, etc.

The FP planning is IMO much more complicated than the ADR planning. People generally know what time they like to eat, what food they like to eat, what type of meals they’re looking for, etc. They’re also more forgiving (save for a few) if you don’t book them far in advance. Its when you have to start planning 4+ things per day that it can get dicey.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If I'm in London and want to book The Ivy I agree with you, but in order to book 7 restaurants over 7 nights I would have to know EXACTLY what I'll be doing and where I will be. This doesn't take into account transport requirements, weather conditions etc.

Many people can plan ahead, but 6 months ahead is pretty hard going, vacations/holidays are for relaxation and it's all getting very stressful for some people.

We are visiting WDW this December, FP become avail to us this Monday coming - I will have a look at the rides available etc but we are just 30 days out - if I times that by 6 I would find it very daunting, especially if I had to pre-book rides, restaurants etc - and even if I did plan it all out, by the time I actually get to confirm all the details there is no guarantee that my plans will work due to being booked up - so I have to start the planning all over again.

Luckily, I will eat and ride what I can when I can - but for others they really have to plan far to far ahead.

well, I for one, would have a full spreadsheet going for my trip to London and would have all the days planned out (and have done this in the past). Probably would have a day or 2 in there where I wouldn't have a dinner planned .... but we do that with Disney as well. You don't *have* to book out every night of your stay, but for a few things if you want to book them you need to do it in advance - just like places in London and many other places

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah, I agree: my point is that the window is ridiculous, not the concept of having to pre-book. If the dining window was the same as the fast pass window, that particular complaint wouldn't last.

I also doubt you had to book 4 months out for what is essentially a dressed-up Applebee's in the District.

well, it was more like 2-3 months, and mostly booked it because I wanted something set as soon as we knew we would be there to at least know we had that and could/would adapt as needed (same as we do at Disney)

and I didn't say where we booked so not sure how you would know to call it "dressed-up Applebee's"

 

[Lashed34]

well, I for one, would have a full spreadsheet going for my trip to London and would have all the days planned out (and have done this in the past). Probably would have a day or 2 in there where I wouldn't have a dinner planned .... but we do that with Disney as well. You don't *have* to book out every night of your stay, but for a few things if you want to book them you need to do it in advance - just like places in London and many other places

I fully appreciate that many plan ahead, my issue is that it's the guests themselves creating the demand and then having panic attacks about it.

I understand that people may really want to eat in a certain restaurant because it has a unique atmosphere and experience, but I think it's unfair they have to plan that 6 months ahead because if it's already booked up they become obsessed with checking every day to see if it's become available.

 

[sethschroeder]

There is a whole lot of overreaction in this thread. There are legitimate good points and even good suggestions in the article. It also doesn't really stretch the truth or make some giant leap either as it's grounded.

I will keep going to Disney but these are very legitimate points.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Just for fun I checked to see what’s available for a family of 4 tonight. Lots is open, including popular character meals, even Ohana (but at about 9 PM).

Day of is much better than it used to be.

 

[SaintsManiac]

You can get just about any ADR the night before. Seriously.

 

[jjb1974]

I didn't say where we booked so not sure how you would know to call it "dressed-up Applebee's"

I apologize, I wasn't clear: I'm comparing Disney restaurants to a dressed-up Applebee's, not where you booked in DC!

 

[SaintsManiac]

To piggyback on my comment above: Akershus and Garden Grill PPOs available for TOMORROW. I only looked at breakfast, but there's a ton of others, too.