Hey all,
Long time lurker and not someone who posts much, but after returning from a 12-day split stay between Kidani and OKW, I feel the urge to post, which really saddens me to be honest.
My Disney love affair began almost twenty years ago when I came with my future wife with her family to OKW. As someone whose own family couldn’t afford vacations, Disney World was like heaven. My father-in-law would point out to me how Disney did everything “just right” and I could see it everywhere I looked. Two years later, I married his daughter and two years after that we became DVC members.
We last visited Disney as the pandemic began and had to book an early flight home. We returned this summer for the first time- so excited, but cautious about knowing that the world and Disney has changed a lot the past few years. Maybe I need to keep this in mind, but man, oh man, I wasn’t ready for what hit me. I’m not going to commit to saying that the Disney magic is gone, but it is requiring a whole lot of work to find it and usually at the customer’s expense.
Some things that really made me just so sad:
- Magical Express- Sunshine Flyer did a great job, don’t get me wrong, but how Disney have decided to surrender this magic, I will never know.
- hand sanitizer stations are pretty much non-existent. The pandemic is over at Disney.
-Bell Services- I called at Kidani for our bags to be delivered to our room; they said no problem and proceeded to remind me that baggage handlers work for tips. When did reminders like this ever happen? I also waited one hour for clean sheets when one of my kids had an accident and another hour for a kettle. Disney has never been like this.
- Have a Magical Day! Ok, staff have clearly been told not to say this, have never been taught to say this or simply don’t give a damn. In twelve days, I had a CM say have a magical day to me. I don’t really care, I’m a grown adult, but that was always part of the magic and reminded you that you really could get close to something that is other-worldly at Disney. Now, it’s the generic, “have a good evening.”
- Internal Transportation at OKW is a sick joke. We waited for 45 minutes one evening to get back to our room and then gave up and walked. Way to bring the magic, Disney. We have a lovely evening, then have cranky kids waiting and waiting to get back to our room and before long we are all arguing as we walk back to Turtle Pond. Bye bye magic!
- the food at the Kidani pool was tragic. We get to Kidani from the airport at noon and want something to eat to tide us over till dinner and really get us in the mood for a great trip. No turkey available for turkey sandwiches and the ham sandwiches they have inside of stale pita bread was so bad I wouldn’t even give it to my enemy’s dog.
- a small thing- but there are no coasters in any rooms- you know what people do with those cardboard coasters, Disney? They take them home and use them and look at them and remember the good times and yearn for more. Why do away with them? Everywhere you look is nickel and diming.
I guess overall, what I noticed is that the Magic is there if you are willing to find it- it isn’t coming to you like it always did. I was new to the whole Genie + thing and really liked it a lot. Typhoon Lagoon was a total blast and I loved how they had DVC ticket rates.
I will be back next year, but I have to tell you all, I’m so sad at how the way I feel right now is that Disney magic is only coming back if I am willing to make-do, over look, be beyond patient and forget about the Disney World of ten years ago.
Long time lurker and not someone who posts much, but after returning from a 12-day split stay between Kidani and OKW, I feel the urge to post, which really saddens me to be honest.
My Disney love affair began almost twenty years ago when I came with my future wife with her family to OKW. As someone whose own family couldn’t afford vacations, Disney World was like heaven. My father-in-law would point out to me how Disney did everything “just right” and I could see it everywhere I looked. Two years later, I married his daughter and two years after that we became DVC members.
We last visited Disney as the pandemic began and had to book an early flight home. We returned this summer for the first time- so excited, but cautious about knowing that the world and Disney has changed a lot the past few years. Maybe I need to keep this in mind, but man, oh man, I wasn’t ready for what hit me. I’m not going to commit to saying that the Disney magic is gone, but it is requiring a whole lot of work to find it and usually at the customer’s expense.
Some things that really made me just so sad:
- Magical Express- Sunshine Flyer did a great job, don’t get me wrong, but how Disney have decided to surrender this magic, I will never know.
- hand sanitizer stations are pretty much non-existent. The pandemic is over at Disney.
-Bell Services- I called at Kidani for our bags to be delivered to our room; they said no problem and proceeded to remind me that baggage handlers work for tips. When did reminders like this ever happen? I also waited one hour for clean sheets when one of my kids had an accident and another hour for a kettle. Disney has never been like this.
- Have a Magical Day! Ok, staff have clearly been told not to say this, have never been taught to say this or simply don’t give a damn. In twelve days, I had a CM say have a magical day to me. I don’t really care, I’m a grown adult, but that was always part of the magic and reminded you that you really could get close to something that is other-worldly at Disney. Now, it’s the generic, “have a good evening.”
- Internal Transportation at OKW is a sick joke. We waited for 45 minutes one evening to get back to our room and then gave up and walked. Way to bring the magic, Disney. We have a lovely evening, then have cranky kids waiting and waiting to get back to our room and before long we are all arguing as we walk back to Turtle Pond. Bye bye magic!
- the food at the Kidani pool was tragic. We get to Kidani from the airport at noon and want something to eat to tide us over till dinner and really get us in the mood for a great trip. No turkey available for turkey sandwiches and the ham sandwiches they have inside of stale pita bread was so bad I wouldn’t even give it to my enemy’s dog.
- a small thing- but there are no coasters in any rooms- you know what people do with those cardboard coasters, Disney? They take them home and use them and look at them and remember the good times and yearn for more. Why do away with them? Everywhere you look is nickel and diming.
I guess overall, what I noticed is that the Magic is there if you are willing to find it- it isn’t coming to you like it always did. I was new to the whole Genie + thing and really liked it a lot. Typhoon Lagoon was a total blast and I loved how they had DVC ticket rates.
I will be back next year, but I have to tell you all, I’m so sad at how the way I feel right now is that Disney magic is only coming back if I am willing to make-do, over look, be beyond patient and forget about the Disney World of ten years ago.
