Getting Better?

[katmigordon]

The last time I came to this forum I was hearing a lot of complaints, and talk of how much the experience has eroded. Have things gotten better in the last year?

 

[holden]

It's all relative depending on what's important to you.

Have prices gotten better (tickets, hotels, food, Genie +, etc.)? No

Have lines gotten shorter? In my experience, no.

Have waits decreased? In my experience, no.

Do I feel like I have to purchase Genie+ and ILL if I want to experience as much as I can with less wait? Yes.

Has transportation improved (buses, monorail, boats)? In my experience, no.

Has the cost of a Disney vacation decreased? In my experience, no.

Has the food in the restaurants improved? In my experience, no.

Are some guests still rude/crude/mean, etc.? In my experience, yes.

Have they opened new attractions that I enjoy? Yes.

Do they have new experiences in the pipeline? Yes.

Can I get more for my money vacationing elsewhere? In my opinion, yes.

Will I still go despite the negatives? Yes.

 

[soniam]

I think dining access/reservations and transportation have improved. I think they finally got more staffing. However, I did read some grumblings about having to wait a long time for park-to-park buses now that park hopping time restrictions have ended. That was from the first few days. Discounts have improved. I hate to say it, but I don't know if you will get a non-biased toward the negative answer usually on this forum. We all love to hate Disney here

 

[disneyfan123]

We have been to WDW 3 times in the last year, by far the most we have ever been in our 20 years of marriage. We love it and have had fantastic experiences. Yes, it's not "cheap", but honestly, I don't think it's more expensive than any other entertainment option. When you compare the price of food at WDW to sports stadium/movie theatres, it's on par (even with convenience stores these days). Some of their restaurants are a bit pricey for what they deliver (I'm looking at you Round Up Rodeo), but you can easily avoid that. And when you consider a day at Disney can be had at less than $100 (depending on how many days your ticket is), I can't find much better value than that.

On top of that, they have made some pretty awesome rides over the last few years that we love (ROTR, MMRR, GOTG).

Now, I realize some things aren't what they used to be (not a fan of paying for G+, but we've also been able to use DAS which saves us), but if you go in with a plan (using G+/ILL or not), you can still get a lot done and have a wonderful time.

We can't wait to get back!

 

[loves to dive]

Define how things have "eroded" and "gotten better". Is it more expensive? Yes, but to be fair it always has been and everything has gone up. Are there long lines? Yep, you bet, I don't think there is a slow season any more, maybe a less crowded season. Does it suck for some people that they have to pay for Genie+ when FP and FP+ were free? Yes. Caveat. I said some people because I don't use Genie+ and rarely used FP or FP+ so it doesn't matter to us. Has the customer service experience changed? Maybe. That one is hard to answer because those of us who have been going for a long time (over 40 years in my case) we might see things with those rose colored glasses on. I have had excellent CM experiences, even during the trying times. Have I had bad experiences? Yes, but again to be fair, even in the rose colored glasses times, there were those.

So, the short answer is that it depends on your definitions of the above and who you ask. For me and my son and now his family, we still enjoy it and still go often. I go at least twice a year, sometimes four times a year.

 

[lovethattink]

CP is back. So are cm from around the world, which makes Epcot better.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This question is based on personal experiences and each person has their own idea of what they like and what they don't. We've visited twice since the border reopened and had an amazing trip both times. We didn't have a negative experience so are not looking for improvements.

Yes, it's more expensive but I only have to try to order food, visit the grocery store or try to visit an attraction near home to quickly see everything is more expensive right now.

We love Disney and will continue to visit. Yes it takes a bigger budget to visit or we shorten our trip (happening this year) but for our family, Disney was and still is the place we want to budget to visit!

 

[IndyToThere]

The biggest improvements from the board's perspective are:
- No more 2pm wait on Park Hopping
- No more Park Reservations for regular dated tickets (passholders have to make reservations on some days).

I think the above two were what pushed most people into the negative, when combined with the high prices and long waits. Now that those are largely not an issue, it's back to just high prices (and Genie+) and whatever wait times there are, which people have begrudgingly become accustomed to.

The removal of Magical Express (another big negative from a lot of board members) has mostly been 'accepted' to the point few people still complain about it.

 

[Lou'sMommy]

Don't forget that they no longer charge for parking at the resorts. I think removing the parking fees is an improvement.

 

[Minnie1222]

Our experience is actually better now than before due to Genie+ and iLL. Wait times are short. Most of the lighting lanes are walk-through. We've never been on so many rides until now.

The visits were so enjoyable that we went 4 times last year. We're going back in two weeks.

 

[jimim]

We have been there there 2 times last year. Going back in a few weeks. Prices and food quality is what I have pretty much noticed. Prices are really up. Quality for the signatures is still good but not as good as it used to be and I also feel like a lot of the food in there are kinda dumbed down or very similar. I don't know maybe it's me.

I feel the parks actually have some nice new quick bite food options overall.

Do I feel the genie and ILL$ push. Nah we know how to move in the parks and when to be in and out. We got it down. Always have.

Busier. . . not the one to ask cause we travel at busy times of the year so we assume it will be busy.

Is the magic there for me personally. . . since after COVID. . . yes and no. It's hard to explain. It might be on me with how I perceive things anymore and where my priorities are at over the past few years. I can't explain it, but that one is on me and no one else.

Go. . . experience for yourself. . . no one else can tell you how you will feel or how the experience will be. only you can answer that question.

Every night I sit in our WDCC (for those who know what they were) room and I will say I have 25 plus years of wonderful memories since I met my now wife and the adventures we have had together along with all the Disney friends along the way we have made and now with our 2 kids.