Park reservations are a HUGE issue for this out of state Annual Pass Holder. I can't plan a trip for more than 3 days (I gave up on Di$ney hotels and stay off site for a much better price and a better experience overall).
I am doing a trip with friends, and some are staying on site, some off, so we can only plan together for the 3 days. THAT is the problem. We decided that we are going to spend more time together at Universal where we won't have all these bull pie problems. A bunch of us chickens even bought tickets to Halloween Horror nights. I never saw that one coming but there I go.
I have to say it's like Disney just keeps giving us reasons NOT to come. A Disney vacation used to be a quality experience. Current management is stratifying every aspect of the experience so that they can charge for more things that used to be included in the rate you would pay for tickets or hotel rooms. Magical express wasn't financially worth it to Disney so screw the guests and let them figure it out. Now that's customer service!
It's devastating to watch what they are doing to my beloved Disney parks experience. There is going to be a tipping point for sure, but how far away it will be is the question. People are starting to realize that today's Disney Parks and Resorts experience is not what it used to be. It's turning into a flat-out money grab with no remorse or intent to stop it.
I have neighbors that ask me about going to Disney and I flat out tell them not to right now. I tell them that not everything is open to absorb all the people that they are letting into the understaffed parks. I tell them about the lack of entertainment in the parks. I tell them about the exorbitant room rates, the shoddy or absent housekeeping. I tell them about all the convoluted conniptions they will have to do to arrange park reservations and the long lines and frequently malfunctioning rides. I tell them that dining is a MESS and that they must watch to make quick service dining orders far enough in advance because dining is so understaffed. I tell them that in the Florida high heat season the parks are not open during the cooler hours at night like they used to be. I tell them they are paying full price for a half asped experience.
Then I tell them to look at going to Universal where these problems evaporate.
I'm at the point now where I may not activate my banked Annual Pass and use a banked 7 day non expiring park hopper. This means that I won't bother with Disney when I came down in March and will just use my Universal AP. I used to go to WDW 4 times a year... Then they killed Star Wars Weekends, so I didn't have that reason to come. Then they killed the Osborne lights and I decided to alternate between Halloween and Christmas instead of coming to each one every year. Then the family trip evaporated because the rest of the family was tired of being ripped off and didn't want to go to Disney anymore.
Now Disney can't be bothered to put on
MNSSHP or
MVMCP.
WTH Disney!
Seriously... get your act together. Every other theme park is doing just fine. Yes, it costs money to make an effort, so Disney decides it's not worth it anymore. How shameful!
I really think that Galaxy's edge is representative of the new Disney ethos. There's no "there" there and all you have are upsells and ride that is constantly malfunctioning and is impossible to get on. It could have been so much more. It SHOULD have been so much more, but why make the effort when there is no profit in it.
So yes, the Parks Reservation system is still a problem, but it's indicative of a tangle of problems that the parks and resorts are having under current management. The Disney that we used to know is dead. It's now simply a vehicle for every cash grab that can be imagined. Management simply does not care anymore.
It's devastating.
~NM
. No need for me to restate.
