I've been going since it opened, going once a year when kids starting coming and when my oldest graduated high school .... he and I got APs. Since then (2006) we spend 4-6 weeks a year. In 2019 I hit the wall of no joy, mostly due to the behavior of other guests. My DS is disabled, considered non-verbal so I was always aware of all going on around me. We booked
Disneyland! Well COVID hit, DL cancelled and we couldn't get AP and I couldn't make myself buy regular tickets. So after 2 years the entire family returned (July 2021) with regular tickets and we had a blast. DS and I got our AP again and have gone twice so far. Other DS just bought his and we all go in June (he is a teacher).
I don't know how you traveled to Disney before but we completely changed our style of visiting around 2015. At that point we stopped getting
DDP and used TiW for discounts - we ate less, ate how we wanted and saved money. Then we realized that we'd rather drive to the parks (it was faster and private) and we'd rather eat at some nicer places with better food and more value offsite, and we wanted to always eat breakfast in room to save valuable time. We even started packing cooler so we had sandwich stuff, salad etc. At the time "security checks" started we had an awful experience so we moved offsite. We tried twice more onsite but decided it just wasn't a value for us. All offsite now in suites or condos ... an occasional room. Last July a 3 bedroom condo, November a 1 bedroom condo, January a 1 bedroom hotel suite and in June booked in a 2 bedroom condo. All costing a fraction of what Disney comparable lodging would have cost. It's way cheaper than a Disney Value.
We came to see that what we really loved was the parks, not just the obvious attractions, but talking to CMs, looking for the creative details, sitting on a bench with a snack, and not feeling pressure to get all these ADRs. We decided to wing it some days, who let us walk up and sit and only worrying about booking Sci Fi (been unable since returning). We stop and listen to music or street entertainment, we wander in shops even though we rarely buy anything, enjoy a bar or lounge for food & drinks, we hunt the special photo pass options. At festivals we do the activities, try a few fancy drinks and take off the pressure to do it all (even though we try).
Once we stopped equating a great trip with ... a Disney hotel, booking all the hard ADR, always eating to the max at the TS ..... all those things Disney wants you to spend on .................. we enjoyed our trips more, we spent a lot less money, we saw the small details that were special, we added some special events instead, we added Universal to trips ... we smelled the roses. We put so much pressure on trips to be perfect and when they aren't we feel we failed. All the nickel and dime is aggravating but most of it is quite optional. We just say every penny saved means we can go back sooner.
But I took that 2 years off, and was glad I did. Is it more crowded now than pre-COVID - YES! no matter what "stories" WDW is saying, but we go with a lower bar of what we will get done and who knows what special moments we might have.
Last two trips ~ we got a walk up into Space 220, we got to see our favorite artist to buy some pieces and he signed them to us, we spent a couple days with special Disney friends, we watched Harmonious twice one from a new location, we rode Remy for first time, we finally rode Rise, we did TSMM standby for the first time EVER and enjoyed the fun queue, we saw the new Jungle Cruise, we tested
Genie+ and LOVED the photo filters ... each trip our goal is something new and we always manage.
We go back in June and will visit the water parks for first time in maybe 7 years! We are happy to be in the parks period, we don't need all the other expensive components or nickel and dimes - we chose what we want to enjoy, most a decision made that week.
We can't control
ticket prices, there is rarely a deal but we can control every single other cost involved. Saving in some areas lets us spend more in others and we just don't worry about the new costs because we take ownership of what we spend. What we did to get the feeling was change up how we were doing it, what our focus was and slowing it down to enjoy other things. I mean if all I wanted to do was stand in lines and go on rides I could go to Six Flags. Don't get me wrong, we ride plenty of them every day, but we also last longer by slowing down and doing other things too.
If you were buying tickets I would for sure say wait .... but free tickets, why not stay offsite and change your focus.
