Disney: Too crowded and too much money

kandb

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
We all know that Disney is magical and is like no other park(s) in the country and that is why it has the popularity that it has. I wonder sometimes how it's popularity stays when a vacation at WDW is both expensive and often very stressful. We go yearly, staying on property usually in a deluxe resort. We do like our vacations but the parks have gotten more crowded and it has gotten more stressful to see the rides you want to see. Who wants to wait for hours to see a ride? A good friend just got back and had fp's for FOP and she said the wait for fp was over 3 hours because the ride was down all day, so they could not experience it. When the parks are packed, people are still paying a lot of money to be there and many times, the wait times are so long, the few minute ride is not worth the wait. Disney needs to add a lot more rides then just a few in each park that they have been adding. I feel like they just do the minimum because people are still spending thousands to be there. Anyone feel that Disney is doing a lot less than they should because they are still so popular and people are still visiting even though they are having really long waits/very high prices etc? My point is really, if the crowds started going down due to the high prices and lesser quality of the parks, would Disney do more to get customers to visit?
 
I have been going to WDW for more than 30 years and actually think quite the opposite. I think it’s less stressful now.

Hours long waits are nothing new. Back before any FP, we routinely waited in very very long lines for headliner attractions. Always traveled during very busy times. No other choice. Then with paper FP, we had to waste time going to rides to get FP for who knows what time and then go all the way back later.

However, our touring style has always been more stop and smell the roses rather than get on as many rides as possible. We always spent long hours in the parks but never checking rides off some sort of checklist.

But with FP+, we are now able to very efficiently do the rides we want to without trying very hard. Guaranteed access to 3 favorites plus booking more FP on my phone after those are used? Without running around to fetch paper FP? Count me in.

We are DVC members and it has been and continues to be wonderful for our family. Never a regret there.

I actually think that it’s never been easier to navigate the crowds with the tools available to us now :confused3.
 


Well, yeah - that's how businesses work.

Your post makes me wonder something: did you start visiting the parks in the early to mid 2000s?

We started visiting the parks in 2005. They were a lot cheaper then and a lot less crowded.
 
@kandb I agree that they need to add more rides, enough shops & eateries already. We still love WDW, but the crowd issue is what bothers us the most. I've stated this before in other threads & have gotten pummeled for it, but I'll say it again. The crowded conditions in WDW are flat out dangerous. Yes, I realize that they will cut off entry when they reach "maximum capacity" so please, nobody use that as an argument here. When a person literally cannot walk due to people being sardined in shoulder to shoulder - oh! and that's WITHOUT being at "maximum capacity," it's a dangerous situation.
 


That's very much a matter of personal taste. For some, the crowded walkways are enough to be a big turnoff.

Perhaps but Disney is a destination that many people from all over the world travel to. There won't be a time where the walkways will be wide open other then a private event. I feel like crowds at Disney is just part of the territory and it is wise to utilize the resources you have available to minimize the effects.

It's kind of funny though as I am someone who usually can't stand being in a crowd but at Disney, I'm fine. I have a plan and I stick to it each day so the crowds really don't faze me at all.
 
Perhaps but Disney is a destination that many people from all over the world travel to. There won't be a time where the walkways will be wide open other then a private event. I feel like crowds at Disney is just part of the territory and it is wise to utilize the resources you have available to minimize the effects.

It's kind of funny though as I am someone who usually can't stand being in a crowd but at Disney, I'm fine. I have a plan and I stick to it each day so the crowds really don't faze me at all.
I didn't say I expected walkways to be wide open. Why would you assume that? But it doesn't mean I like them jam packed either. There's a lot of room between empty and packed.

Of course there will be crowds. We're talking about degrees of crowding.
 
We will do our fp's and usually leave the park. We can see the fireworks from our resort. Any trip is as stressful as you make it. I try to have lots of resort time and Disney Springs time too. Mom is on vacation too.
 
We started visiting the parks in 2005. They were a lot cheaper then and a lot less crowded.
That's what I thought. Attendance plummeted after the September 11th attacks and the recession kept people away for the better part of a decade, so of course Disney had to give incentives to keep people coming. I've found that people who started going during that time period often express sentiments similar to yours.
 
We've gone the last two weeks of August for the past 8 years. Crowds, wait times have been roughly the same every year.

We also have gone Christmas week for the past 3 years, just as we did in the 70's/early 80's. It was crowded then as it's crowded now. The difference now is that it is so much easier and efficient touring the parks now during that timeframe with ADR's, FP, wait time apps, touring plans, etc.... I remember waiting in a huge line to get our tickets and then only being able to ride our favourite rides once with our "E" ticket. :crazy2:
 
We all know that Disney is magical and is like no other park(s) in the country and that is why it has the popularity that it has. I wonder sometimes how it's popularity stays when a vacation at WDW is both expensive and often very stressful. We go yearly, staying on property usually in a deluxe resort. We do like our vacations but the parks have gotten more crowded and it has gotten more stressful to see the rides you want to see. Who wants to wait for hours to see a ride? A good friend just got back and had fp's for FOP and she said the wait for fp was over 3 hours because the ride was down all day, so they could not experience it. When the parks are packed, people are still paying a lot of money to be there and many times, the wait times are so long, the few minute ride is not worth the wait. Disney needs to add a lot more rides then just a few in each park that they have been adding. I feel like they just do the minimum because people are still spending thousands to be there. Anyone feel that Disney is doing a lot less than they should because they are still so popular and people are still visiting even though they are having really long waits/very high prices etc? My point is really, if the crowds started going down due to the high prices and lesser quality of the parks, would Disney do more to get customers to visit?
I agree with it being crowded and getting on rides can be stressful especially if it is scorching hot out. We go every year and get FP's for our favorites and ride the ones that we know have low wait times. If crowds get to be to much or if it is to hot we just leave.
We have been trying to plan other things beside rides now that we have rode most of them several times in the past years. Like the dessert parties, tours, table service meals ect...
Disney is working on more rides. They are building two more lands at HS and just built the Pandora land at AK. I think that is why prices are going up to pay for the extra construction they are working on. They have a lot of other plans I have not listed, but they are planning a lot.
 
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One of the reasons the prices keep going up is to lower crowds. I'd suggest if you have so many issues with the experience and the business model, you find a different vacation so you don't feel like you are wasting money and it is stressful.


No, prices are going up because consumers will pay and are paying the increased prices. The Disney Company isn't increasing prices to lower the crowds. The OP wasn't asking for anyone's opinion on whether or not to vacation in Disney. He/She was asking if crowds decreased at Disney, would Disney offer incentives to visit. It's a business and of course if they were losing money then they'd find a way to increase their profits just as they want to increase their profits all the time.
 
No, prices are going up because consumers will pay and are paying the increased prices. The Disney Company isn't increasing prices to lower the crowds. The OP wasn't asking for anyone's opinion on whether or not to vacation in Disney. He/She was asking if crowds decreased at Disney, would Disney offer incentives to visit. It's a business and of course if they were losing money then they'd find a way to increase their profits just as they want to increase their profits all the time.
Totally agree. Disney wants high crowds AND high prices.
 
Yeah -- it's harder and harder to see everything we want to in one day in one park like the Magic Kingdom with the increased crowds. And we don't want long lines For Disney, though, that maybe means they sell more multiday tickets, park hoppers, get more people to stay onsite for longer for early fastpasses and extra magic hours etc.

Sounds like you are ready for another vacation destination.

Just a side note though. Maybe the economy is better or there are just more people taking vacations. I have found the National Parks not just the theme parks getting more and more crowded. The most stunning places at the best times of the year to visit have bigger crowds than ever. // We are trying some popular, but not the very most popular places, at good, but slightly off season times for some of our next vacations.

I think some people are always going to love Disney, but I'm with you -- crowds depending on heavy take the magic away for me.
 
We started visiting the parks in 2005. They were a lot cheaper then and a lot less crowded.

I went to Disney for the first time in 1981, stayed off site. It was pretty inexpensive back then with only one park and we did other stuff in Orlando (Sea World, Florida Festival, some other circus type park). We went again in 1989 and only visited MK for one day while we were attending a wedding in Palm Beach. We went as a family of 6 for the first time in 2003 and stayed off site for 5 nights. It wasn't that expensive, relatively. We ate mostly quick service off site with only two table service on site, since we're not big eaters it didn't cost all that much. I went with one of my daughter's in 2006 for a volleyball tournament and we stayed at All Stars. It was only for 4 nights and it wasn't cheap, lol, but we also ate out every day for every meal. But cost is relative to what one can afford. We went again as a family of 6 in 2007 and stayed in a townhouse off site for 5 nights. We ate table service for dinner every night. But our townhouse was free. Airfare was the most expensive part of all these trips. All my girls have gone for their high school senior trips, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2016 and it has cost approximately $850 for the 2009 trip to $1200 for the 2016 trip and they stayed at POR with their school for 3 nights.

We went as a family of 6 again in July 2016 (for a wedding) and stayed at the Contemporary Hospitality Suite, CL access. It was a very expensive trip for 4 nights/5 day park hoppers and 3 Table service dinners. My husband and I went in May 2017 and stayed at the Contemporary TPV for 3 nights. It was a very expensive trip for just the two of us.

I remember waiting in lines at MK in 1981. Long lines. Same with our 2003 trip until my husband discovered FP. Then we only waited in long lines most of the day, lol. By 2007, we rarely waited in lines with FP and a good touring plan/RD/etc. In 2016, we didn't wait longer than 20-30 minutes for any ride. In 2017, my husband and I didn't wait longer than 20 minutes for any ride. The parks were crowded, imo, in '81, 2003. 2007. Far less crowded in 2016 but that could be because we planned better. And in 2017, crowded or not, it was cake for us. I came home from every trip, except 2016 and 2017, exhausted.

My husband wants the two of us to go back May 2018. Asked him tonight if maybe he wants to do a Europe trip or Ireland or one of the Caribbean Islands. He said nope, we had fun and relaxed at the Contemporary, Disney World. We do a family vacation in OC, NJ for a week every Summer so we relax a lot there as a family, lol. But we eat in most of the time and I cook dinner half of the week so that's not really a vacation for me.

Everyone does Disney in a way that works for them. I would never go if I couldn't stay at a Deluxe, eat out mostly, and take a few hours break daily at the resort. I've done it otherwise and it was fun but exhausting. My daughters and I try to do a weekend in NYC every December but this year we can't because none of us can afford it. So we'll skip it this year and plan for next year.
 
We all know that Disney is magical and is like no other park(s) in the country and that is why it has the popularity that it has. I wonder sometimes how it's popularity stays when a vacation at WDW is both expensive and often very stressful. We go yearly, staying on property usually in a deluxe resort. We do like our vacations but the parks have gotten more crowded and it has gotten more stressful to see the rides you want to see. Who wants to wait for hours to see a ride? A good friend just got back and had fp's for FOP and she said the wait for fp was over 3 hours because the ride was down all day, so they could not experience it. When the parks are packed, people are still paying a lot of money to be there and many times, the wait times are so long, the few minute ride is not worth the wait. Disney needs to add a lot more rides then just a few in each park that they have been adding. I feel like they just do the minimum because people are still spending thousands to be there. Anyone feel that Disney is doing a lot less than they should because they are still so popular and people are still visiting even though they are having really long waits/very high prices etc? My point is really, if the crowds started going down due to the high prices and lesser quality of the parks, would Disney do more to get customers to visit?

I think we get good value for the price we pay to visit Disney World for our vacations. Of course we don't feel a need to stay in a Deluxe Resort, we don't feel a need to eat at character meals and signature restaurants, and we don't feel a need to ride every ride, and we do NOT stand in long lines to ride rides. We don't stress out about it. We have a blast and the crowds don't bother us.

To be honest, I have a friend who alternates their annual family vacations between taking a Cruise out of NY to the Bahamas and renting a house in Myrtle Beach. Based on what she tells me, they actually spend a lot more on those vacations that we do on our Disney vacations.
 

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