I’m afraid the Magic is gone!

[Meglen]

Well maybe a family of 4 doesn’t have an extra $300 for 5 days of genie plus and another $340 on lighting lanes based on 5 days.

So congrats guests. We all just paid an extra $640 for something that was free to do, before Covid dropped.

While yeah it makes things easier, if you can afford it. Sadly most can’t or need to scale back

To each their own in the end though. Not judging. I’d pay it also if you have the means. Just saying money is money.

Someone who can afford more will have a better time than those who can’t. That’s natural. It’s just before having to pay for all this, everyone could enjoy those things equally. From value to deluxe.

We had all this in the budget before we went. yea it sucks that fp was free but the LL system [if you use it right] is 10000000 times better. So we didnt treat it as a extra expense it was an other thing we budgets for thus we ate less table service to cover it.

 

[Bellhop97]

Im legit curious what employer told you that seeing that on your resume is why they hired you. Maybe there are industries that care about that and Im just not aware of them?

Every employer that looked at my resume asked about my time working at Disney, even head hunters said it looks good to have that on your resume. I am a buyer , and I was asked when I was interviewed about my time at Disney and what I did there. My niece was also in the college program and she was also asked about her time at Disney when she applied for the job she is currently working at.

 

[oceanmarina]

We are finally heading back this August for first time since 2019 which just happened to be one of our best trips. The things OP mentioned are what i’m afraid of. I am so looking forward to being back “in the bubble” and if its different and noticeably a lesser experience we’ll all be so disappointed. Going to keep an open mind and hope for the best.

We are heading to WDW too in mid August (doing - universal/ Disney split stay). I’m so worried - both about Covid and the magic being gone!

What I don't understand is that I have been to Universal a few times in the last 6 months and they don't appear to be having a staffing problem. They have housekeeping at all of their resorts and we never waited more than a few minutes for a boat to and from the hotel. Plenty of TMs at the park entrance and loading rides, and they were all nice and cheery. The parks and bathrooms were clean. Why can't Disney hire people? I recall before the pandemic, the bathrooms in Hollywood studios were overrunning with trash and you could smell the stench from the guys bathroom while waiting for the women's. I witnessed this on multiple occasions. I was shocked that they weren't maintaining the bathrooms. Again, that was pre-covid. I just feel like they don't want to spend the money on staff.

Even their whole argument on requiring park reservations in order to staff properly is such a bunch of bull. All of their parks are crowded every day. They should staff for that. It's not rocket science.

Yes to that! We have never been to
universal but are staying there first for our split stay trip next month. They have daily housekeeping. We are staying at the swan - also has daily housekeeping. We absolutely refused to pay Deluxe prices without daily housekeeping. It will be interesting to see how Disney compares.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Did you see that It's a Small World broke down for over an hour the other day? I don't know why they didn't get the people out.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7125969519410990382

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

We had all this in the budget before we went. yea it sucks that fp was free but the LL system [if you use it right] is 10000000 times better. So we didnt treat it as a extra expense it was an other thing we budgets for thus we ate less table service to cover it.

This. We definitely are reprioritizing what we're doing on our trip now. In 2019 we did character dining, the "swim like a mermaid" thing at AoA, and I said yes to every pin purchase request. In 2021, we went twice. This time we've cut out extra experiences, are doing mostly QS, I've cautioned my daughter she's allowed one souvenir, and there's no way we could afford a second trip. So, our budget for the trip is the same and we've just rearranged line items. But we're lucky we had cushion to begin with.

Those families who were psyched about Disney World because they could pay a flat rate for many more perks with a budget that was already a stretch for them are in much, much worse shape. It definitely makes the trip less magical when you're saying no to your kids all the time, waiting in constantly long lines while other people with G+ walk ahead, and are having to pay for airport transportation, resort parking, etc. I've also read some really personal financial stories in the Facebook groups about the sacrifices people are making to take their children, how long they are saving for, and the uncertainty of buying things in chunks (buying flights but waiting on park tickets until the day of, for example).

There is one more generous interpretation--that Disney HAS to raise prices to fund their business (yeah, I know the folks at the top get paid too much, I know many shareholders have made lots of money...but those fundamental, universal arguments against corporate practices aside) and the way they've done that is to keep the minimal access to Disney World affordable (a 1-day, 1-park ticket, no G+, no $LL purchases, no add-on experiences or TS) but increase the cost of everything else for those who can afford. So--those people who can afford G+, etc. are subsidizing the experience of those who cannot, by allowing more affordable access to the bare minimum experience.

 

[jayster263]

I’m sitting here in the Poly getting ready to eat Ohana on my last night reflecting on this past week. Unfortunately things just feel different.

I was last here in January of 2020. The very first thing I notice and it’s quite jarring is a lot of cast members are just here for a job. Like you can feel the vibe. It’s so different. I’ve been 7 times from 2015-2020 and I can’t recall a less than great interaction with a cast member. All the way from janitors to waitresses to ride operators. Just a couple of examples. When loading on the Barnstormer weather moved in. We had used a LL. When exiting the ride we asked the ride operator about the LL. She just shrugged and said “go see guest relations.” This was abnormal as in the past they would just scan your band and get your fastpass back. So I asked the CM at the actual LL station. Same response. Tonight in the Polynesian we asked about getting our large group together. (We we’re broken into 3 reservations) We called early in the day to inform of the situation and they just didn’t really care. Said “we’ll just see what we can do. But you’ll probably be separate.” Again, very abnormal. LL is another just total train wreck. You set your alarm and you select your LL but when you go to lock it in, it will just 2-5 hours into the future. So you still go to the park early but everything has a long wait. Even like Tea Cups and It’s a small world. It’s crazy.

You can tell everything is very understaffed. I don’t know if this is by purpose or they can’t get enough employees. So many people eaters are closed. In MK there are hardly any characters to meet, no Tales with Belle, a few restaurants are still closed. You can tell there are fewer people in the parks with the reservation system but the lines are absurd because a lot of people eaters are still closed.

No need to just pile on. I don’t mean to be negative. But if you go expecting the golden Disney from the mid to late 2010’s it’s gone. I’m guessing forever. Fire away with questions though.

I hear you....went in March 22 and it felt like a completely different expierence....did not enjoy my trip at all....the understaffing, the attitude of the cast members coupled with the 'entitled' guests just became a huge turn off for me. You cant even spontaniously get on a ride (genie pass or LL) you have to book an appointment time for everything!....One thing I hate doing is having my day planned out for me. I always enjoyed the spontanious adventure of Disney where I can choose to go to any part the the parks I want to, when I want to....you really cannot do that anymore. Even getting food at a restaurant is an excercise if futility if you do not have a reservation. ...I don't think I'll be back for a while.....going to stick with my Universal trips....alot more freedom of choice and better attitudes.

 

[betinajessen]

It is our pleasure to let you know that all of the calendars are free on our website. You can easily click the download button, then get a blank

 

[Brett Wyman]

When will the international workers be allowed back?

Reports are saying there were some back last week.

 

[ce36ei]

I was at Epcot Wednesday and all the world showcase places I visited has international cast members.

 

[ce36ei]

So we just returned from Cocoa Beach and ran to Disney for a day. Started at Epcot and hopped to MK. Not staying at a resort greatly puts you behind the 8 ball on Genie +. Was able to rope drop Soarin and had a 10 minute wait. Our first LL was for Test Track at 11am ( best I could do for LL ) and it was of course broke down at that time. Thankfully I got a freebie fastpass for MK to replace it. We spent the $15 for LL to Guardians and it’s so worth it. I did virtual cue the millisecond it opened and still got group 91 and my return time was 2:30’ish. Had to spend the dough for LL as we were hopping to MK. We strolled the countries and hopped to MK. So 3 rides in Epcot. Soarin, Guardians, and Living w/Land.

At MK we were able to grab LL’s for Splash, Big Thunder, Pirates, Peter Pan, and Teacups. Was never afforded an opportunity for a LL to Mine Train. I checked all day and they never refilled. We crammed all we could in 1 day. We enjoyed it. Was quite disappointed in the lines for LL at Haunted and Big Thunder. We waited a good 20 minutes in the LL at Big Thunder. A stark change from June. We never waited more than 5 minutes for any LL in the summer.

Also to add, the crowd at MK was INSANE. I’ve never been at Christmas but I can’t imagine it being much fuller. Like Teacups had a 30 minute standby. We did zero standby cues in MK. Just not worth it. There’s no way they’re not back at pre-pandemic levels. That being said, Epcot was quite empty from 8:30-1:30.

 

[wabbott]

I agree that it's different. Paying a lot more for a lesser experience.

One experience we had will sum up my point. We were watching the Epcot fireworks when a security CM came walking by yelling, in a rude way, "You people need to move or I will move you!" The people he was yelling at were within the viewing areas, but this individual kept walking back and forth yelling at folks. He ended up yelling at my elderly mom and that was the last straw. I approached him and I told him that he is being extremely rude and that no one here is breaking any rules. If he wants people to move, it could be handled in a more professional manner. He then replied that he's doing his job and if I don't like it I can talk to his supervisor. He also told me his name and walked away continuing to yell at folks.

I did track down a security supervisor and spoke with him. He agreed that this wasn't handled properly, but that's as far as it went. No sorry, no apology, no way to make it right. Basically, it was just, "sorry you had a bad experience, it was our fault, go on your way, thanks." This really ruined our fireworks experience and put a damper on our day. My parents likely won't be back to WDW due to their age, so this was their last experience there.

No thanks. Going to Universal or other attractions in the future. I know it's not WDW, but I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

We were headed into EPCOT through the international gate yesterday morning for early hours and encountered a less than welcoming security CM. Not exactly rude, but you could tell he was enjoying his power a little too much, continually lecturing the crowd about how to line up singe file. He mentioned that he was a kindergarten teacher and he knew how to handle unruly kids, and that if we didn't comply, he would stop the line.

Folks don't need that kind of interaction first thing in the morning, in my opinion. I'm contemplating writing a letter about it.

 

[Meglen]

We were headed into EPCOT through the international gate yesterday morning for early hours and encountered a less than welcoming security CM. Not exactly rude, but you could tell he was enjoying his power a little too much, continually lecturing the crowd about how to line up singe file. He mentioned that he was a kindergarten teacher and he knew how to handle unruly kids, and that if we didn't comply, he would stop the line.

Folks don't need that kind of interaction first thing in the morning, in my opinion. I'm contemplating writing a letter about it.

Are you sure it wasn't just his very very bad joke? A few times while I was there the cms would pretend adults were kids. Sinces it's Disney and you become a kid again. I'm sure trying to joke like this with cranky adults (rope drop early morning) didn't help. Some people just can't read a room lol.

 

[wabbott]

Are you sure it wasn't just his very very bad joke? A few times while I was there the cms would pretend adults were kids. Sinces it's Disney and you become a kid again. I'm sure trying to joke like this with cranky adults (rope drop early morning) didn't help. Some people just can't read a room lol.

Maybe, but I don't think so. This whole "security" thing can get out of hand quite easily. Think "Lord of the Flies." I really, really want to see smiles from CM's. I really do. It's the same reason we go to Chick Fil A instead of McDonalds. The kids there smile at you. It's worth the money.

 

[Eeyore1004]

I’m sitting here in the Poly getting ready to eat Ohana on my last night reflecting on this past week. Unfortunately things just feel different.

I was last here in January of 2020. The very first thing I notice and it’s quite jarring is a lot of cast members are just here for a job. Like you can feel the vibe. It’s so different. I’ve been 7 times from 2015-2020 and I can’t recall a less than great interaction with a cast member. All the way from janitors to waitresses to ride operators. Just a couple of examples. When loading on the Barnstormer weather moved in. We had used a LL. When exiting the ride we asked the ride operator about the LL. She just shrugged and said “go see guest relations.” This was abnormal as in the past they would just scan your band and get your fastpass back. So I asked the CM at the actual LL station. Same response. Tonight in the Polynesian we asked about getting our large group together. (We we’re broken into 3 reservations) We called early in the day to inform of the situation and they just didn’t really care. Said “we’ll just see what we can do. But you’ll probably be separate.” Again, very abnormal. LL is another just total train wreck. You set your alarm and you select your LL but when you go to lock it in, it will just 2-5 hours into the future. So you still go to the park early but everything has a long wait. Even like Tea Cups and It’s a small world. It’s crazy.

You can tell everything is very understaffed. I don’t know if this is by purpose or they can’t get enough employees. So many people eaters are closed. In MK there are hardly any characters to meet, no Tales with Belle, a few restaurants are still closed. You can tell there are fewer people in the parks with the reservation system but the lines are absurd because a lot of people eaters are still closed.

No need to just pile on. I don’t mean to be negative. But if you go expecting the golden Disney from the mid to late 2010’s it’s gone. I’m guessing forever. Fire away with questions though.

My last trip was October 2019.I am a DVC owner sitting in my room at the Boardwalk, my home resort. I came on Friday by Sunday I wanted to go home. Our check out is this Friday. I have been coming to disney since 1986. Its now Monday and we are going home in the morning. I have not written on The Dis for so many years that I had to re-register but seeing this post just makes me sad and I’m so sad. I always say I drop my troubles off at the gate with Mickey and Minnie and pick them up on the way out. Not this time….i Just got sadder and sadder.
I know some of this might sound picky and trust me!!!!!!!! In years past I vehemently defended disney to the people that complained about a chip in the paint or a grumpy CM…..but like the OP said…..you come to expect a certain standard. So first clue was a pile of cigarette butts in the corner of the villa deck. I really thought not to much of it at the time but then things just started…..the food…..a prime example….one of our favorite F&W festival treats….the meat and potatoes at France…usually nice cut pieces of beef with a nicely shaped dollop of mashed potatoes. Please try it…..it’s sloppy Joe at best, but reminds me more of toddler food. The eggs at Fresh I swear were powdered. Olivia’s 14oz prime rib, which I thought large was slopped on top of some cheese with a few potatoes in it…a few pieces of thick broccoli on the plate.

We used to get mousekeeping every 4 days, they said it’s every other day now….it’s now day 4 and it’s the first day we got clean towels….we did forget the tip the other day and remembered once we were in the park….strangely today we did leave a tip….do you only get clean towels now days if you remember your tip????

Then sitting on our deck I did notice the chips of paint…mainly because I missed seeing the painters that were always working somewhere. There’s a hole in one of the drapes and I also get the feeling that the extra mile is not being made….

we always go on the bike path, we bring our own bikes. Got to WL and he said you can’t get to the path from there as normal because of construction, we had to go to the campground to get to it….so we went to the campground…the guy at the gate said and I quote, “Well, that’s not going to happen. You can only get in here with a reservation, we’re full.” The big parking lot on the side was not full At all. Sorry to vent, but I’m sad….I miss PFTS and the chef luncheons and honestly don’t think they will bring them back….it was a highlight for us. So we are leaving an unheard of 3 days early. There’s just no pride in anything here anymore from food to magic.

 

[Meglen]

My last trip was October 2019.I am a DVC owner sitting in my room at the Boardwalk, my home resort. I came on Friday by Sunday I wanted to go home. Our check out is this Friday. I have been coming to disney since 1986. Its now Monday and we are going home in the morning. I have not written on The Dis for so many years that I had to re-register but seeing this post just makes me sad and I’m so sad. I always say I drop my troubles off at the gate with Mickey and Minnie and pick them up on the way out. Not this time….i Just got sadder and sadder.
I know some of this might sound picky and trust me!!!!!!!! In years past I vehemently defended disney to the people that complained about a chip in the paint or a grumpy CM…..but like the OP said…..you come to expect a certain standard. So first clue was a pile of cigarette butts in the corner of the villa deck. I really thought not to much of it at the time but then things just started…..the food…..a prime example….one of our favorite F&W festival treats….the meat and potatoes at France…usually nice cut pieces of beef with a nicely shaped dollop of mashed potatoes. Please try it…..it’s sloppy Joe at best, but reminds me more of toddler food. The eggs at Fresh I swear were powdered. Olivia’s 14oz prime rib, which I thought large was slopped on top of some cheese with a few potatoes in it…a few pieces of thick broccoli on the plate.

We used to get mousekeeping every 4 days, they said it’s every other day now….it’s now day 4 and it’s the first day we got clean towels….we did forget the tip the other day and remembered once we were in the park….strangely today we did leave a tip….do you only get clean towels now days if you remember your tip????

Then sitting on our deck I did notice the chips of paint…mainly because I missed seeing the painters that were always working somewhere. There’s a hole in one of the drapes and I also get the feeling that the extra mile is not being made….

we always go on the bike path, we bring our own bikes. Got to WL and he said you can’t get to the path from there as normal because of construction, we had to go to the campground to get to it….so we went to the campground…the guy at the gate said and I quote, “Well, that’s not going to happen. You can only get in here with a reservation, we’re full.” The big parking lot on the side was not full At all. Sorry to vent, but I’m sad….I miss PFTS and the chef luncheons and honestly don’t think they will bring them back….it was a highlight for us. So we are leaving an unheard of 3 days early. There’s just no pride in anything here anymore from food to magic.

Did you ask the front desk about the towels? Imo dvc stays have started to take a way way way backseat to reg rooms. Not upkept as much, housekeeping is slow in the dvc parts it seems and janitors are lacking. I am sorry you had such a horrible time.

 

[jo-jo]

We were headed into EPCOT through the international gate yesterday morning for early hours and encountered a less than welcoming security CM. Not exactly rude, but you could tell he was enjoying his power a little too much, continually lecturing the crowd about how to line up singe file. He mentioned that he was a kindergarten teacher and he knew how to handle unruly kids, and that if we didn't comply, he would stop the line.

Folks don't need that kind of interaction first thing in the morning, in my opinion. I'm contemplating writing a letter about it.

This was some years ago, we went into Mickey philharmagic and the CM was a bit crazy. Usually you sort of stand around waiting, as space gets tighter, you get more cozy. This guy was directing everyone to stand directly behind people. No grouping, no spacing. You'd think we were lining up for a fire drill in first grade. Half the space was empty, but he was lining people up and don't you dare move . I was so glad we had a wheel chair so we were off to the side.


Does anyone know if Lion King is back to full show? We saw it in April and it was nice, but just didn't have the same energy.

 

[wabbott]

This was some years ago, we went into Mickey philharmagic and the CM was a bit crazy. Usually you sort of stand around waiting, as space gets tighter, you get more cozy. This guy was directing everyone to stand directly behind people. No grouping, no spacing. You'd think we were lining up for a fire drill in first grade. Half the space was empty, but he was lining people up and don't you dare move . I was so glad we had a wheel chair so we were off to the side.


Does anyone know if Lion King is back to full show? We saw it in April and it was nice, but just didn't have the same energy.

I can answer that. Yes, it is the full show with the Tumbling Monkeys who absolutely steal the show. We saw it the week were there in mid-October. It's not exactly the same as I remember it from 2019, but close. Wanted to see it a second time, but got in line too late.

 

[Eeyore1004]

Did you ask the front desk about the towels? Imo dvc stays have started to take a way way way backseat to reg rooms. Not upkept as much, housekeeping is slow in the dvc parts it seems and janitors are lacking. I am sorry you had such a horrible time.

No, I usually bring a few because it was always the 4 days, so we did fine, but it was just strange how we got them when we tipped.