Time to say Goodbye for Now....

[Arielfan98]

This isn't going to be a rant post or an expression of jealousy to those who can afford wdw. I wish anyone who can afford to visit the magic and still loves it as I had once for decades, nothing but the best.

I came to the heartbreaking decision to decline my trip this year. My parents moved to Kissimee and have AP, so parking/transportation and lodgings are no issue. Even with this, I cannot afford 1 day park hopper with military discount.

One of the major factors in my decision, was decline in quality. On my last trip, I was constantly glued to my phone to make reservations/food orders. My dad even paid for LL, but still some were unavailable. I feel as though wdw has transitioned to Versaille and now the wealthiest are paying just to see King Louis XIV wipe his bum/go to sleep for the night. I miss the days of paying for quality entertainment. I spent days thinking about my decision listening to Horizon and Wonders of Life Pavillion music, realizing this isn't the current reality and I have to let it go. I will also attach a video that sums up my feelings.
Even though Universal is charging about the same for Park 2 Park ticket ($20 cheaper), I feel the value is greater and worth my time from now on. Thanks for coming to my wdw sentimental eulogy.

Summary of my Feelings Towards Disney

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I feel your pain. All we can do is hope that some day WDW returns to being our Happy Place.
I doubt it; it’s been a steady decline overall.

 

[Arielfan98]

I feel your pain. All we can do is hope that some day WDW returns to being our Happy Place.
I doubt it; it’s been a steady decline overall.

This really is a tragedy and like a loss for me. I'm glad I'm not alone.

 

[xipotec]

This is our last trip for a while….maybe forever.

If we do any others it would not be a week long trip, maybe 1-2 days.

Its all just become too much , money, planning, time and stress!

We can go almost anywhere in the world for cheaper than a week onsite now.

 

[Arielfan98]

This is our last trip for a while….maybe forever.

If we do any others it would not be a week long trip, maybe 1-2 days.

Its all just become too much , money, planning, time and stress!

We can go almost anywhere in the world for cheaper than a week onsite now.

Yes, one of my main complaints is the constant planning and preparing. I shouldn't need to pick a time to go get a iced coffee or a mickey pretzel lol. Those are spur of the moment things. I am aware there is an option to wait in line, but the push is to do everything on the app. I am 25, so tech isn't that hard for me, but this is just ridiculous. I pay to escape daily reality of using my phone, not be on it every 5 seconds.

 

[georgina]

Your title made me think of this - everyone has to do their own thing. I'm a many-year Universal AP holder but still see value in an occasional Disney trip. (Don't stay onsite much unless renting DVC points)

 

[Arielfan98]

Your title made me think of this - everyone has to do their own thing. I'm a many-year Universal AP holder but still see value in an occasional Disney trip. (Don't stay onsite much unless renting DVC points)

This was my nanny's favorite song and the song we played at her funeral. I do see the value in an occasional Disney trip, but I wish the value was in an annual Disney trip like it was most of my life.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We feel your pain! We collectively arrived at this decision a few months ago and it was heartbreaking for us too. We're glad that we have so many happy memories of trips to Disney when our children were young and the rules were different. We snuck away every chance we could to get to our happy place, and always had a wonderful time.

We had a great trip to Universal this past December and will continue to visit the Orlando area, but, sadly, not the Disney parks.

 

[goofytinkerbell]

I'm right there with you. I haven't been able to go for years due to the cost, but with what I've heard about the state of the park these days I don't think it would be my first destination of choice. The whole "you must be on your phone to schedule EVERYTHING" doesn't work for people without cells or with cells that don't work in the US, which is another thing that would keep me away.

 

[sydneysmom]

I'm right there with you. We planned a vacation in 2020, which was twice cancelled from covid.... which then left us w/ $5000 in Disney gift cards, so yeah, that sucked. Never did I think that a pandemic would hit, so I went and got all this money in gift cards, to save some $$, thinking we would just pay off the vacation and there ya go. Lesson learned. So here we are 2 years later, finally using them for a trip. Now, if we did not have the gift cards , we would NOT be going to Disney, for all of the reasons you have stated. it's just not magical . We were going to stay at the Poly, but since discounts are looking bleak for the fall, we switched it to the Beach Club.... the way we figure, we can walk to Epcot and it has a fantastic pool if we wanted to not spend our life at the parks. But after this, I say goodbye to Disney. for the money, I can see more of the world. ( Literally). I thank goodness it was so wonderful when my stepdaughter was little, so she could experience all the wonder of Disney. I don't want to be a slave to my phone on vacation, so this trend completely baffles me. Why are they doing this? it's just THE most anti-spend time with your family- kind of experience. (oh Bob Iger, how I miss you) So we will go, use up our gift card and then be glad it will be done. ( how sad though.... I hate thinking that way. )

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm right there with you. We planned a vacation in 2020, which was twice cancelled from covid.... which then left us w/ $5000 in Disney gift cards, so yeah, that sucked. Never did I think that a pandemic would hit, so I went and got all this money in gift cards, to save some $$, thinking we would just pay off the vacation and there ya go. Lesson learned. So here we are 2 years later, finally using them for a trip. Now, if we did not have the gift cards , we would NOT be going to Disney, for all of the reasons you have stated. it's just not magical . We were going to stay at the Poly, but since discounts are looking bleak for the fall, we switched it to the Beach Club.... the way we figure, we can walk to Epcot and it has a fantastic pool if we wanted to not spend our life at the parks. But after this, I say goodbye to Disney. for the money, I can see more of the world. ( Literally). I thank goodness it was so wonderful when my stepdaughter was little, so she could experience all the wonder of Disney. I don't want to be a slave to my phone on vacation, so this trend completely baffles me. Why are they doing this? it's just THE most anti-spend time with your family- kind of experience. (oh Bob Iger, how I miss you) So we will go, use up our gift card and then be glad it will be done. ( how sad though.... I hate thinking that way. )

“ I don't want to be a slave to my phone on vacation, so this trend completely baffles me. Why are they doing this?”

Click OP’s link. Very interesting video about controlling where people go.

 

[WickstarRunner]

Honestly, wish I could join the club of "No More"......but my DW is still Disney obsessed, regardless of what the company may do.....still drunk on Pixie dust.

Next will probably be a runDisney event next March as it's a workout goal for her and I will not take that away from her. But I did get her down to fewer park days (2) and a run to KSC so small progress......

 

[Pooh2]

We are also voting with our dollars and taking them elsewhere to vacation.
We will reassess in a couple of years whether or not we will return to Disney.

 

[greeneyedchick]

This isn't going to be a rant post or an expression of jealousy to those who can afford wdw. I wish anyone who can afford to visit the magic and still loves it as I had once for decades, nothing but the best.

I came to the heartbreaking decision to decline my trip this year. My parents moved to Kissimee and have AP, so parking/transportation and lodgings are no issue. Even with this, I cannot afford 1 day park hopper with military discount.

One of the major factors in my decision, was decline in quality. On my last trip, I was constantly glued to my phone to make reservations/food orders. My dad even paid for LL, but still some were unavailable. I feel as though wdw has transitioned to Versaille and now the wealthiest are paying just to see King Louis XIV wipe his bum/go to sleep for the night. I miss the days of paying for quality entertainment. I spent days thinking about my decision listening to Horizon and Wonders of Life Pavillion music, realizing this isn't the current reality and I have to let it go. I will also attach a video that sums up my feelings.
Even though Universal is charging about the same for Park 2 Park ticket ($20 cheaper), I feel the value is greater and worth my time from now on. Thanks for coming to my wdw sentimental eulogy.

Summary of my Feelings Towards Disney

Sadly, I wasn't able to afford to stay on property when we went years ago. It was stressful then. Now we live in the area but have come to the same conclusion (even though we don't have to pay for hotel or airfare). I'm sad that I'll never get to take my family on that on-property dream vacation. Even though we could afford it now, staying onsite doesn't seem worth it. We did try to do the once-in-a-lifetime Disney cruise. But we were the first cruise cancelled due to covid and after 2 reschedules, we finally gave up on that dream vacay, too. I do hope Disney does find its way back some day, but I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

[Eastern]

The video is savage but true. I usually book deluxe but booked Swan for our next stay. Trip is also shorter at 4 nights. The prices are just stupid. I can't see people continuing to pay for onsite stays.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The video is savage but true. I usually book deluxe but booked Swan for our next stay. Trip is also shorter at 4 nights. The prices are just stupid. I can't see people continuing to pay for onsite stays.

At least before, there was some incentive to stay onsite: EMH, DME, 60 day FP, free parking for those who drive. All of it gone.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I was linked to this from your other forum asking for advice. Hopefully you are still visiting your parents. I was going to suggest on the other forum hitting up Sea World for the day. You mentioned military so if active (even reserves) you could get free admission to Sea World. I think it'd be wroth checking out for that price.
I think links are sometimes blocked so google: waves of honor seaworld orlando
it'll come up with the info

 

[disney-inspired]

Interesting - the armed force salute discount is what kept us from canceling our trip. It's an awesome deal.

 

[Eastern]

Interesting - the armed force salute discount is what kept us from canceling our trip. It's an awesome deal.

At least someone is getting a deal!

 

[Darcy03231]

We're another family that has no plans to go back and are spending our vacation dollars elsewhere (and we used to go at least once a year, sometimes two to three times). We had disappointing trips in 2015 and 2016. Last time were there we added two days on the end of a cruise so DH could see Pandora (he's an Avatar fan).

One of my daughter's friends went recently with her husband and two children. They will not be going back.