I've never minded paying for what I perceive as value, but I hate feeling like I haven't paid enough

[shh]

Too many decisions, not enough information, and it's just not really fun anymore.

Ding. Ding. Ding. This one's the winner for me. Pretty much sums up all the threads, all the issues, all the aggravation.

 

[cgattis]

It also has a lot to do with how people do their trips. A high majority of the changes/removals over the past few years have been things that I never did or took advantage of. So while they are things that some people will miss, it has had no bearing on my trips.

This confuses me. If the parades, music/shows, characters, streetmosphere performers, and fireworks (thankfully now returning) aren’t what you love about Disney, I struggle with what you love so much about the parks. I mean many of the rides, as standalone entities, aren’t amazing. (The ones that are, really ARE though). I feel like I’m already so giddy with Disney “atmosphere” that I enjoy the rides much more than I would without all the ambiance that got me in the mood for them. I mean, I really do appreciate rides that tell a story—not just something that whirls you around for 90 seconds like a carnival ride. And I like thrill rides too, but I don’t enjoy those kinds of parks as much because (in most cases) you’re just jumping from ride and not being immersed in a story. But Disney has stripped away a lot of what makes them different, and I guess I don’t get when you say how much you love Disney but don’t miss that stuff? Do you mean mostly the details of stuff (which I adore also)? Help me understand, because I’m just hoping I can still feel like you feel when you go this fall with all those things that I love missing.

 

[dismedvc]

Too many decisions, not enough information, and it's just not really fun anymore.

Ding. Ding. Ding. This one's the winner for me. Pretty much sums up all the threads, all the issues, all the aggravation.

Totally agree, especially about not enough information. We are DVC, and with banking, borrowing, and trying to get multiple trips out of an AP, we plan our Disney trips over a three year time frame. Those plans may now need to be altered because of all the changes made by Disney with very little notice and a lot of missing details.

ETA: Way more detail than you probably want, but for our specific situation, our plan was to go in Mid Dec 2021 (room reservations made in January 2021 ) using a 7 day PH, and then to convert to an AP on the last day of that trip. (Some of the days in that trip were blackout days under the Gold AP and are also blackout days under the Sorcerer AP). In the past, Disney allowed "regular" tickets to be upgraded to the Gold AP, even if those regular tickets were used in a Gold pass blackout period. However, in the post quoted below that policy may have changed with the Sorcerer AP. We then planned to use that Sorcerer AP for additional trips in 2022 during non blackout dates. We did not book the weeks around Easter, because those were always blackout dates under the Gold AP. They are now not blacked out under the Sorcerer AP, but even if we wanted to go durring those now not blacked out dates, the DVC rooms we would want are not available for thase dates. We were planning on going Thanksgiving week in 2022, because that was never blacked out under the Gold AP. However Thanksgiving is blacked out in 2021, but Disney has not released the blackout dates for November and December 2022. Aggravating that Disney makes changes with so little notice, and when they do make changes they do not provide the details we need so we know if we need to adjust our plans because of those changes.

It looks like they may have changed this with the new passes. I spoke to someone via chat on the WDW website and was told the following:

"Any tickets you use that fall in the block out time for your pass can not be applied to the cost of a new pass. "

 

[shawthorne44]

For me, I will take my planned upcoming trip, but the big difference will be I won't be planning another one. Instead of having one or two annual trips, we will vacation someplace else. Instead of my kids carrying on the tradition of planning annual vacation trips as adults, they will look for alternatives... it is a cycle.

I think this will be true of a GREAT many people. Lots of us told the family pre-lockdown "We are going to Disney!" Come hell or high water, we'll make that happen. But, I see lots of people not returning. I think Disney has still been coasting on the good will created during its golden years.

For example, I'm 51. I've wanted to go to Disney since I was a child watching the Sunday TV show. I've never been. I even floated the idea as a honeymoon location. DH hated the idea. DD was a small child, I floated the Disney idea. DH hated the idea. When DD was just short of the age for me to do a wife-veto and say 'We are going to Disney'. DH heard about Star Wars and wanted to go. Even with the 40+ years of anticipation, if it weren't for DD, I'd have probably wanted to cancel.

 

[popy]

Final thought , well, after i have written over 10 pages of insulting comments, calling them most everything,detitsibe. Greedy blood sucking leeches. Pricing the moderates out, which all is true and nothing else is left unturned . This is the very Most disrespectful to faithful customers, the worst I have ever seen,
But I have concluded that Disney does have a product that most young at heart enjoy . That being the case we will have to pay whatever the price , and all the *****ing in the world will not do anything.
Just accept it, you don't have to like it, and we most certainly don't need it. Disney is not the bread of life.
Consider, if you're planning a trip, ask will it be worth it ? Well, if it is about money, absolutely not, but for a decent time then I would say, go. But, only for those who are not furgul about money, or easily broken-hearted nor frequently disappointed .And remember It always costs more, than the time before, always less or very little more. Always More money, longer lines, higher prices for treats, and eats, and unrealistic, umberable Rooms all at a higher rates , than any other time before . And it will never end, and so it will be, if you never go or go again , you have nothing to lose , with very little to gain, over anything or anywhere else in the world that can be seen. And all of your hard earned money will be all yours to keep.. but it is the worst I have ever seen, or ever will be .
welcome to my parlor, Said Disney to guest the prettiest parlor you ever did spy, where there is a way in, but no way out.

 

[jknc]

Final thought , well, after i have written over 10 pages of insulting comments, calling them most everything,detitsibe. Greedy blood sucking leeches. Pricing the moderates out, which all is true and nothing else is left unturned . This is the very Most disrespectful to faithful customers, the worst I have ever seen,
But I have concluded that Disney does have a product that most young at heart enjoy . That being the case we will have to pay whatever the price , and all the *****ing in the world will not do anything.
Just accept it, you don't have to like it, and we most certainly don't need it. Disney is not the bread of life.
Consider, if you're planning a trip, ask will it be worth it ? Well, if it is about money, absolutely not, but for a decent time then I would say, go. But, only for those who are not furgul about money, or easily broken-hearted nor frequently disappointed .And remember It always costs more, than the time before, always less or very little more. Always More money, longer lines, higher prices for treats, and eats, and unrealistic, umberable Rooms all at a higher rates , than any other time before . And it will never end, and so it will be, if you never go or go again , you have nothing to lose , with very little to gain, over anything or anywhere else in the world that can be seen. And all of your hard earned money will be all yours to keep.. but it is the worst I have ever seen, or ever will be .
welcome to my parlor, Said Disney to guest the prettiest parlor you ever did spy, where there is a way in, but no way out.

Wow, If I didn’t know what Disney was your description makes them sound like a tobacco company?

 

[quandrea]

Theres no shortage of folks distraught with the escalating costs with little to show for it.

My question is what is anyone doing about it?

We own dvc, so unless we sell, trips to wdw are on the calendar. Selling is not off the table, however. I’ve written stern letters to management, only to receive cut and pasted form responses. They don’t care. So I will use my dvc for an escape from the cold, but I won’t go into the parks and I certainly won’t participate in the Genie nonsense. It won’t make any difference to Disney operations though.

 

[JakeAZ]

It won’t make any difference to Disney operations though.

It might….if enough people join you.

 

[annekablam]

I think Disney has still been coasting on the good will created during its golden years.

Exactly what I think as well. At this point, WDW is becoming a marker of wealth and not a product with any actual value. Like many luxury products, it will just be something you do to let other people know you can afford it. Not because it's actually "worth it." There is really no excuse for surge pricing on single attractions ON TOP of the additional charge that comes on top of your base admission. I LOVED FoP for example but if I had to pay an extra $20 to ride it, I would've liked it A LOT less. JMO

 

[shawthorne44]

And when you think about it, status symbols that don't have inherent value lose favor pretty quickly. Think of the trendy restaurants or nightclubs that are closed 2-3 years later.

 

[annekablam]

And when you think about it, status symbols that don't have inherent value lose favor pretty quickly. Think of the trendy restaurants or nightclubs that are closed 2-3 years later.

Exactly!!! And I'd bet the average 9-12 year old doesn't give a f*ck about WDW right now and in fact, might prefer a trip to Hogwarts. It's their parents that are driving the business and Disney is completely missing that. Remember "I'm going to Disney World!"? When I was a kid, WDW was THE place you wanted to be. Every kid had either been or was dying to go and there was no in between.

There's so many little things that disappeared between '99 and '19 that it shocked me. Even just little things like there used to be this cinema at MK entrance/town square where you could watch old Disney cartoons and just generally chill. Not to even mention Epcot, which was truly like a different park altogether by 2019.

I hate to say it but at this point my only interest in Disney (AK being exception) is just simply the feeling of self-satisfaction that I have achieved for myself what my parents couldn't. I can't accept surge pricing though. I am drawing a line at paying for individual top tier attractions, as I'm the sort that tries to ride these things multiple times in a visit.

 

[shawthorne44]

It's their parents that are driving the business and Disney is completely missing that.

I will admit that I'm probably more excited about our Disney trip than our 11-year-old DD. She is really interested in some aspects of it. Meeting princesses, everything Star Wars. If she gets to meet Eeyore that will make her week. But the overall trip, I'm more excited. She did love USF.

And when these kids grow up and become parents, will they take their kids? For one thing, they didn't grow up watching the Disney TV show on Sundays. The cool Disney movies are really made by Pixar.

 

[annekablam]

I will admit that I'm probably more excited about our Disney trip than our 11-year-old DD. She is really interested in some aspects of it. Meeting princesses, everything Star Wars. If she gets to meet Eeyore that will make her week. But the overall trip, I'm more excited. She did love USF.

I think there's just so much more to hold a kids attention these days. Back then I had to wait weeks for a 30min company-produced cassette from Orlando to learn more about the parks. Now you learn EVERYTHING about the parks on youtube etc before even setting foot into it. Times have definitely changed, and I guess so has Disney, but change isn't always good haha.

 

[shawthorne44]

The thing is Disney went cheap even before the lockdown. That is what happens when the bean-counters are in charge. Look at Harry Potter in USF. Disney could have had that. But they wanted to do a little chintzy area and weren't willing to spend the money on their own park to JK Rowling's specs. So, JK when to USF who said, "How high would like us to jump?" USF started to really hurt WDW then. Disney had plans for this little cheap Star Wars area that would have pissed off every fan. That was scrapped because they were forced by USF to go immersive. So, I give USF credit for Galaxies Edge.

But think about what would have happened if they hadn't been so cheap? They'd have had Harry Potter and Star Wars. USF might have closed by now. It certainly won't have been competition. This is where I think Disney is messing up. They look at the short-term gains and ignore the long-term losses.

Even before that, Busch Gardens gets credit for Animal Kingdom.

 

[popy]

Disney has nothing over anything or anywhere else, except for price. maybe the fire works, but you can get that anywhere for free on the 4th.
Unless i can get Disney for under 1/2 price i am going else where. given 1/2 price still a rip off as compared to the other trill ride competition.
i don't think the lame 7 d mine , the mermaid ride , will excite too, many youngsters over what universal has too offer .Got to face it ,if was not for the music of Disney, the rides at Disney would mostly be a drag. but just paying for the music, just a OK deal at under 1/2 price!

 

[Doug7856]

We feel like we've lost a good friend. Disney isn't what it used to be. The Disney culture has changed and it's not to our liking. Time will tell if in the future we feel differently.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Disney has nothing over anything or anywhere else, except for price. maybe the fire works, but you can get that anywhere for free on the 4th.
Unless i can get Disney for under 1/2 price i am going else where. given 1/2 price still a rip off as compared to the other trill ride competition.
i don't think the lame 7 d mine , the mermaid ride , will excite too, many youngsters over what universal has too offer .Got to face it ,if was not for the music of Disney, the rides at Disney would mostly be a drag. but just paying for the music, just a OK deal at under 1/2 price!

Wow, couldn't possibly disagree with every single word more. To each their own.

 

[kathi]

On top of all the price increases, I'm just finding it EXHAUSTING to sort out all the options and add-ons. Truly, we are looking at adding 2 nights on after our shortened cruise (we have DVC and money in holding from tickets we never used) but I am tired and overwhelmed just thinking about learning the new procedures. I LOVE travel planning, but none of this seems fun to sort out.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

On top of all the price increases, I'm just finding it EXHAUSTING to sort out all the options and add-ons. . . . I am tired and overwhelmed just thinking about learning the new procedures. I LOVE travel planning, but none of this seems fun to sort out.

What makes it even worse is that Disney hasn't given us enough information about all of the options and add-ons so that we can engage in sensible planning.

*When will Genie start?
*How will Genie+ actually operate? How many LL rides will we be able to get in a day? Will the good rides all fill up for the day by late morning?
*Which rides will be priced separately as IA$ rides and not included in Genie+?
*What are the prices for the IA$ rides?
*What will the capacity be for the Very Merriest After Hours parties? Will they be crowded? Will the lines be long?
*Will the Deluxe extended evening hours continue to be offered on Mondays for Epcot and Wednesdays for MK? Right now, we have to decide whether and when to book deluxe based on mere guesses.
*When the early entry for on-site guests begins, what will the rope drop process look like?
*Will there be After Hours events after Christmas? If so, when?

It is impossible to plan in the dark!

 

[cindyfan]

Theres no shortage of folks distraught with the escalating costs with little to show for it.

My question is what is anyone doing about it?

We cancelled our plans to WDW for next summer. Headed to Top Sail instead. So much cheaper and much better accommodations. Then we will hit Cedar Point or Kings Island to get our fill of thrill rides.