I’m afraid the Magic is gone!

[nw6675]

We have had two pandemic visits with the most recent last month. The only real negatives we had were two extremely rude CMs, both rooms not ready until after check-in, and a horrible Yachtsman and a mediocre CRT dinner.

The positives by far outweighed the negative and we will be back in 2023. Awesome housekeeper, friendly YC CMs and concierges, loved G+ and ILL, just overall a good experience. I never noticed much being closed, but it did seem like less carts. Saw plenty of characters, parades, and fireworks. So much different than 2020 duriing the height of covid.

I have said it before on other threads, even coming home with covid hasn't deterred us

 

[jrgutknecht]

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.

Totally agree. Sitting in wilderness lodge club lounge eavesdropping on the CMs complaining about their schedules. That would never have happened in the past. I also had to go to the front desk to let the manager on duty know the area outside Roaring Forks was full of trash. She was nice enough and said she would report it but seemed flustered and bothered. Not that I needed one but there was no apology or sincerity in her response. Just rushing off to do the next thing. And don’t even get me started on the college program CMs staffing the Starcruiser. Ugh.

 

[PAsFab5]

We just got back yesterday from a 10 day Florida trip.

We normally don’t do full “Disney trips”, we visit Florida and fit a day or 2 in at Disney parks so I can’t speak to the resort conditions or staff at the resorts post Covid .

What I can say is that my 13 year old daughter said to me at Epcot “I can’t believe the people working here work for Disney. They are horrible.” I was floored that she picked up on this because my husband or I had not said a word.

In the line for Navi river there was a baby screaming. The CM looked at me and said “that’s exactly how I feel on the inside.” I could not believe it!!

On the flip side, I submitted a cast compliment for a CM at Satulis Canteen because she went above and beyond to be kind to my daughter and talk to her about her necklace and the meaning behind it.

We do have a full Disney long weekend planned for Wine and Dine so I am interested to see how it goes staying on property.

I’m sitting on the fence about the magic. November will probably be the deciding trip for us.

 

[nursejackie]

This is so sad to read. Our first post-pandemic Disney trip is less than 7 weeks away, and I am beyond excited, I will definitely be crying when I arrive in the bubble, and no doubt the first day in each park. I just hope they are tears of joy, not sadness and frustration.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

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.

Unfortunately I think there's a mix of pandemic "stuff" and Disney self-imposed problems and we won't truly understand the relative impact of each for about a decade.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

In the line for Navi river there was a baby screaming. The CM looked at me and said “that’s exactly how I feel on the inside.” I could not believe it!!

Is it possible that was an attempt at humor? I've had CMs make jokes like that before, especially in the heat of summer. If one of my kids is crying and I say something like "nap time," a CM or even another guest might chime in "yep, mine too!"

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

Staffing is a huge issue everywhere unfortunately and it seems like it's going to take quite some time for Disney to figure it out.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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.

Guest Relations told us they couldn't comp our ToT LL even though we got out of line so we wouldn't miss our RotR, which, by the time we got to it, had already gone down. Went to ToT to ask them directly, one interrogated us and the next one *begrudgingly* put the LLs on our app. This was VERY nice of them to do--don't get me wrong, no CM is obligated to make these little magical moments. We were sad to miss ToT, but that wasn't the end of the world if nothing could genuinely be done.

What used to happen with FP+ where they gave it out a lot was an overcompensation to guests, not to either of you personally, just how they handled things. It really does seem like they want to limit this.

LL (both on Genie+ and ILL) are different than FP+. Don't get me wrong I absolutely understand where each of you are coming from but I don't think this is on the CMs side as in lack of customer service.

Guest Relations seems to have been the go to people rather than the CMs at the individual rides. Before they put the disclaimer in the app about expecting on average 2 to 3 attractions Guest Relations was where you heard a lot of people sent to to correct someone's ILL time slot or to give refunds for Genie+ or many other things and the lines that people reported were quite long.

As far as the ToT LL that's not something I would expect to be comped on, that was something that a guest chose to do and yeah rides go down at the worst time don't they. I don't think it makes it less magical that there was push back. In all honesty I wouldn't even think to ask to be comped or given another LL but I admit for some who frequented the parks a lot more they got used to that being the process or what they would commonly do.

I do believe that Disney is attempting to correct their overabundance of FP+ giving out of the past which is their fault completely. I don't blame the CMs on this one, I do believe they are being told to divert the bulk of inquiries from guests to Guest Relations, in some ways that is likely to streamline the process a bit more in other ways it probably acts as a deterrent to a guest (just being practical). It may seem abnormal but it really does seem like their main process in this new era.

 

[Meglen]

Here now and for the last 5 days the only rude cm was the one at FoP when I asked if we can go middle or top rows. She goes " they are full so I put you down there" now I get it 100% but usually when folks ask they ask you to wait and I would have waited. But I just said ok just figured I would ask and went back. This was after spending 14$ pp for the ride. It was more the tone than the answer.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Here now and for the last 5 days the only rude cm was the one at FoP when I asked if we can go middle or top rows. She goes " they are full so I put you down there" now I get it 100% but usually when folks ask they ask you to wait and I would have waited. But I just said ok just figured I would ask and went back. This was after spending 14$ pp for the ride. It was more the tone than the answer.

I know they have done that for Soarin' if crowds/lines permit at that time but I didn't know they were doing that at FOP, they've always just pulled from the line asking for parties of X. FOP they really seem to have a very specific way of doing the numbers.

Every time we've ridden it they've put us in one of the two sides then pulled from there to fill in the middle rows and they seem to really consider party size and all that. With how many are in each row (I forget) I could see why it's a lot harder to accommodate level requests compared to Soarin where the math is a lot easier there.

 

[Meglen]

I know they have done that for Soarin' if crowds/lines permit at that time but I didn't know they were doing that at FOP, they've always just pulled from the line asking for parties of X. FOP they really seem to have a very specific way of doing the numbers.

Every time we've ridden it they've put us in one of the two sides then pulled from there to fill in the middle rows and they seem to really consider party size and all that. With how many are in each row (I forget) I could see why it's a lot harder to accommodate level requests compared to Soarin where the math is a lot easier there.

It was where they split you to either go up the ramp or down the ramp. The bottom theaters just mess with my glasses so it's not a great view for me but I'm not super salty just would have been nice.

 

[dominiondad]

Just back from 8 days in the parks. Our cast experience was very good. We noticed that guests seemed more aggressive this trip and I wonder how that plays into the interactions. It wasn't always the case, but there definitely seemed like more alcohol related issues. We saw two people in the Africa section of AK so drunk that one was barely able to stand and the second was completely passed out on the ground. A medical unit arrived to handle their magical day.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

We were there in March and I think it does come down to CMs being overworked and guests being crazy entitled. While we were waiting for our table at Sci-Fi a couple walked up and demanded they honor their reservation for AN HOUR EARLIER. Their iron-clad argument was the line for Rise of the Resistance was very long and they couldn't be expected to leave that to make their earlier seating time. The poor CM was like "we only hold reservations for 15 minutes" and the guests were freaking out at her. Called a manger who said the same thing and they were still arguing when we went inside.

I felt so bad for them. That wasn't the only case of bad guest behavior we saw, but it was the one we were the most like ????

 

[abidale]

What used to happen with FP+ where they gave it out a lot was an overcompensation to guests, not to either of you personally, just how they handled things. It really does seem like they want to limit this.

LL (both on Genie+ and ILL) are different than FP+. Don't get me wrong I absolutely understand where each of you are coming from but I don't think this is on the CMs side as in lack of customer service.

Guest Relations seems to have been the go to people rather than the CMs at the individual rides. Before they put the disclaimer in the app about expecting on average 2 to 3 attractions Guest Relations was where you heard a lot of people sent to to correct someone's ILL time slot or to give refunds for Genie+ or many other things and the lines that people reported were quite long.

As far as the ToT LL that's not something I would expect to be comped on, that was something that a guest chose to do and yeah rides go down at the worst time don't they. I don't think it makes it less magical that there was push back. In all honesty I wouldn't even think to ask to be comped or given another LL but I admit for some who frequented the parks a lot more they got used to that being the process or what they would commonly do.

I do believe that Disney is attempting to correct their overabundance of FP+ giving out of the past which is their fault completely. I don't blame the CMs on this one, I do believe they are being told to divert the bulk of inquiries from guests to Guest Relations, in some ways that is likely to streamline the process a bit more in other ways it probably acts as a deterrent to a guest (just being practical). It may seem abnormal but it really does seem like their main process in this new era.

I do agree with everything you said here. That being said, as I said I would never *expect* to be comped- but there is a definite shift in their willingness to do so. I'd add that very likely they are not only trying to limit how much they do this in comparison with FP+ but also trying to mitigate an over-selling/unexpected popularity of Genie+. Just a thought.

Also, while one should never expect to be comped, the ability for a CM to make magic like that when they wanted to was SUCH a central element of what set Disney apart. Not the CMs fault, but that has absolutely diminished substantially.

And yes, of course with all of this-- not really the CMs fault. They're enforcing macro policies at the micro level, and most of them are practically kids. The attitude surrounding these interactions, though *where the guest is friendly and not combative* could definitely use an improvement. I understand CM frustration when they're being belittled, but when approached nicely, kindness is the least I expect from someone in a customer service position--even if, and especially if, the answer to what I'm asking is no.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

there is a definite shift in their willingness to do so.

And I think they are intentionally trying to do that because of the past. It's going to take some time for guests to get used to this though but so completely understandable how people feel.

the ability for a CM to make magic like that when they wanted to was SUCH a central element of what set Disney apart.

I think they can still make magic for people but I want to say that over the years when I've read comments across many different threads on a variety of comments there will always be that for some magic means to them getting something in return like a FP or some monetary thing but then I read the stories from years ago before giving FP out was a norm and it's really stark what people consider magic to them.

To me magic is organic, it's the unexpected not the expected. Magic to me isn't giving me a FP for my inconvenience for something or I had an issue with a meal so a percentage off the bill. Magic is like that family that used to get chosen as the first family of the day, it's often not tangible. Because to me that would be what sets Disney apart from other parks. Using imagination and true thoughtfulness in the actions they do for guests. I don't know how much of that Disney is really focused on these days and for that I empathize with people, when you feel that Disney is less and less personable you start to question why choose them over someone else.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Employees at universal are awesome and happy. But universal never imposed any “mandates.” Just sayin’.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

My Aunt works in the office of DCL. She was all set to retire and they begged her to stay on for another 3 months. Which she did. But her husband was furloughed as a photo pass photographer who adds special effects to photo's and was never called back to work so he too retired with her.

 

[Andianna]

With all the changes we most likely not be returning. Our last trip May 2021 was good but yes some of the magic was a times different. price increases and long lines and for the first time I noticed areas not attended to ie.trash, building upkeep not up to par with previous visits.

 

[jo-jo]

I may have mentioned this before , but in our April trip we had a strange encounter with two CMS. My DH used a scooter and was told never leave the key. At Remy, we were told to leave the key. We asked "LEAVE the key". yes. We felt uneasy about it. We asked again. Yes, leave the key so we don't get hurt moving the scooter.

I spoke to another CM at the front of the ride and he backed the other CM.

We later spoke to a manger in MK (first I was telling what a great CM we had at a ride) and added "can I share something that happened at Epcot". He said sure, I share and his response was "how odd".

 

[cccory]

Our last trip to Disney was in January 2021. We felt it then. We are Vacation Club owners and have been to Disney over 50 times, and the magic has gone away, little by little. We are afraid to go back, since our last trip wasn't all that great.