Never thought I'd do it- Cancelled.

[Mousemommy1]

OP. I haven't been on the boards much in recent years, but I do know that you are one of the OG's here and I get where you are coming from. We just got back from a week long stay at the GF. For my family of 5, we definitely spent $10k+. While this isn't the first time we have shelled out that kind of money, I just felt like we were constantly adding to the tally with purchases of Genie + and LL, etc... I do miss the days that there was SO much included in a resort stay (DME, Dining Plans, 3 hour EMH's, airline resort check in's, parking, etc...). I am a hardcore Disney fan, but all of the changes leading up to the trip had finally tipped me to the point of not being super excited and just wanting to "get it over with" (for the sake of the $$ spent and couldn't get back). That being said, we had a really great week. There is still Disney magic to be found, however, it is hard to accept the "nickel and diming" when you're used to the "way it used to be". I did not like having to wake up at 7 to make our LL selections. Granted, it worked...we rode ROR, Remy's and MMRR, all of which were great, but again, shelling out upwards of $75+/day for my family of 5, on a vacation that I have already spent so much money on was just.....not it. We probably won't go back until summer of 2023 at this rate. I still love Disney and its my happy place. But it is different. I am hoping that once the pandemic starts to burn out, things will go back to "more normal" but we shall see.

 

[jknc]

We go to topsail every year. We stay in a home ocean front every year. This past summer we went twice June and august. No difference in price from years back. Yah maybe a few dollars but not anywhere near deal braking. We booked the exact same 2 houses next summer. Minimal difference as usual and expected.

I did just book for next November At akl our home base. Bit now I found out you can’t buy season passes. I’m not stalking here everyday now to see When they might go up. I don’t have the energy anymore. I’ll check now and then if I miss out I cx and sell my points. If Disney is making more and more money I might as well also.

We booked Poly DVC 3rd party 9 months in advance and paid same amount as 3 years ago.

You can save with proper planning.

 

[jknc]

While true, I don't look so much at the cost of it but the value of it. Right now with the way the parks are set up there is little value in a Disney vacation.

Value is different for everyone.

What do we get with all-inclusive Caribbean resort vs a cruise vs a Euro holiday vs Hawaii etc.

Everyone’s take on value will differ.

 

[dreynolds1982]

Value is different for everyone.

What do we get with all-inclusive Caribbean resort vs a cruise vs a Euro holiday vs Hawaii etc.

Everyone’s take on value will differ.

Yup, this. Value is in the eye of the beholder. For some, the ROI isn't there for a Disney trip. For others, it is. Between two years as a CM and then constant trips over the years, I've been to WDW hundreds of times, yet my wife and I still chose to plop down the cash and go back yet again in March for my 40th bday. For me, the value is still there. For you or others, it may not be. Nothing wrong with either side of the aisle. If the scales tip too far in the "value isn't there" direction for Disney, impacting their bottom line, things will change, but based on what I've seen crowd-wise, not sure we're there yet. Time will tell.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Most Disney travelers (families) don't have 3 months available to vacation, though. They're mostly not retired. So that comparison isn't as meaningful to most of them as it might be to you.

Agree that the prices are getting prohibitive (at least for me, since I've done it so many times & am not desperate to go back), but when comparing vacation options, workability and desirability are at least as big a factor as price.

I’m not retired. I’m 36 with a 9 year old. There are many, many families that travel full time now (either via vacation rental stays or in campers) due to the rise in remote work availability, cost of the housing market, and increasing numbers of people opting for virtual/homeschool.

In terms of desirability-all of our month long stays have been in high tourism areas with plenty of things to see/do. One of the rentals is close to Disneyland. $9,000 is more than we paid for lodging to see all kinds of US bucket list destinations and stay in actual 2 bedrooms houses vs. a single room for 3 months vs 8 days.

 

[pindecisive]

We got back from a 3 day WDW Disney trip in November. The hotel was free with points, the flights were free with miles, and we only paid for tickets, ground transportation, and food. Everything counted, we probably spent less than $200 a day per person.

Currently, we try and do at least a day trip every year, since we spend the holidays with the in-laws in Florida. It's easier (and cheaper) to just fly into Orlando for the day, but this time since we had the points, we splurged.

Good for you! Speaking as a financial counselor, the average family doesn't have $9K to spend on a vacation...

Personally, I travel hack every trip we take. I bank airline miles by buying through portals, try out new credit cards for points, and take surveys to add in an extra thousand miles here and there. One of the cards gave me Global Entry for free (credited after the charge), and another gives me lounge access, which is sooo nice after 8 hours walking around at DL.

I did the numbers once, and going to Maui from California for a week is cheaper than taking a weekend Disney trip if you pay out of pocket for everything, so we don't. While I'm willing to pay out of pocket for an adult pool, or a swim up room, I'm not willing to pay out of pocket for Disney. The ROI just isn't there for me.

 

[pindecisive]

I’m not retired. I’m 36 with a 9 year old. There are many, many families that travel full time now (either via vacation rental stays or in campers) due to the rise in remote work availability, cost of the housing market, and increasing numbers of people opting for virtual/homeschool.

In terms of desirability-all of our month long stays have been in high tourism areas with plenty of things to see/do. One of the rentals is close to Disneyland. $9,000 is more than we paid for lodging to see all kinds of US bucket list destinations and stay in actual 2 bedrooms houses vs. a single room for 3 months vs 8 days.

In 2018 we traveled to 14 different states in the US and it cost less than $1300 total for two people. (Gotta love Southwest's free second flyer credit card). We could have visited every state in the US twice for $9k.

 

[bsmcneil]

We got back from a 3 day WDW Disney trip in November. The hotel was free with points, the flights were free with miles, and we only paid for tickets, ground transportation, and food. Everything counted, we probably spent less than $200 a day per person.

Currently, we try and do at least a day trip every year, since we spend the holidays with the in-laws in Florida. It's easier (and cheaper) to just fly into Orlando for the day, but this time since we had the points, we splurged.



Personally, I travel hack every trip we take. I bank airline miles by buying through portals, try out new credit cards for points, and take surveys to add in an extra thousand miles here and there. One of the cards gave me Global Entry for free (credited after the charge), and another gives me lounge access, which is sooo nice after 8 hours walking around at DL.

I did the numbers once, and going to Maui from California for a week is cheaper than taking a weekend Disney trip if you pay out of pocket for everything, so we don't. While I'm willing to pay out of pocket for an adult pool, or a swim up room, I'm not willing to pay out of pocket for Disney. The ROI just isn't there for me.

Ooh, I'd be curious about surveys. I did that a lot in advance of my Hawaii trip (just before covid) but then I tried to pick it up again (to flesh out some United miles) and the program (Opinionmilesclub) seems maxed out for me.

 

[Jrb1979]

Value is different for everyone.

What do we get with all-inclusive Caribbean resort vs a cruise vs a Euro holiday vs Hawaii etc.

Everyone’s take on value will differ.

I know it's different for everyone. Judging by the cancellations and people opting for other places now I would say people aren't finding the value now.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I agree. I've said it before (and, disclaimer, may say it again ), Disney was never JUST about the rides for me there was so much more to it.

...Not least that you felt you'd escaped to somewhere you could truly relax; immersed by details big and small; looked after by guest service you could rely on. You didn't have to turn so many of the cogs yourself and you could stop and smell the roses, of which there were many.



I'm genuinely glad to read positive reports -- it's great that you're enjoying Disney.

The thing is, the 7am rush and, then later, spending twenty minutes glued to a phone, refreshing every 5 seconds doesn't sound like the Disney experience I knew and loved. I was usually up early to get to a park, but that was still my choice and I had flexibility. Looking up is becoming underrated and things are being removed as a result!

I don't want to be contrarian, but when FP+ was in place, lots of people seemed to spend all day on the phone. And people on these boards constantly touted the virtues of refreshing and moving your FPs earlier in the day, and all the related strategies. For our travelling party, we always used the kiosks, and got by with that. But there was an army of smartphone warriors. Under the current system, do people really use their phones more than before?

 

[pindecisive]

Ooh, I'd be curious about surveys. I did that a lot in advance of my Hawaii trip (just before covid) but then I tried to pick it up again (to flesh out some United miles) and the program (Opinionmilesclub) seems maxed out for me.

The one I use is called called e-rewards. If you're looking for United specifically, you have a 2k miles max per every 30 days. But they have Alaska, American, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Virgin as options for banking other miles. Hotels you can bank points to are Hilton, IHG, and Raddisson. I also sometimes bank $$$ to Uber and just use my points for Uber Eats.

 

[bsmcneil]

The one I use is called called e-rewards. If you're looking for United specifically, you have a 2k miles max per every 30 days. But they have Alaska, American, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Virgin as options for banking other miles. Hotels you can bank points to are Hilton, IHG, and Raddisson. I also sometimes bank $$$ to Uber and just use my points for Uber Eats.

Thank you - I had used them a while back but forgotten. SW is my preferred place to get points but I have some extraneous United miles and funds from a (first-class) seat I gave up a while back so I was using their program to earn enough to not spend OOP for things, like you.

 

[going/again]

Ok. Today was first full day in the parks… and all went ok. Plan was to use early hours for Magic Kingdom. Left hotel at 6 am, but has some transit snags, so not in MK until 7:10… yet, we still road all 4 mountains, plus Pirate, HM and Small World before 11:30 lunch (All standby). Park by then was getting crowded. Then, hop to AK. I had bought FOP and stacked rides starting at 7 am, so we had EE, Na’vi, and Kali (all LL) Snack break. Then hop to Epcot where I had snagged LL for Test Track. Crepe dinner, boat back to resort… 16 hour park day, 15 miles of walking, but we hit everything we wanted, had lots of shopping and break times, and longest line was 20 min.

I was stressed about Genie+, but really, 7 am rush to book, then just every 2 hours took a minute to book next. Longest was getting Test Track at 2 pm… I hit refresh every 5 seconds for about 20 min and by 2:20 got 7pm return, which worked with hopping to the third park. So, we got 4 Genie+ rides.

just thought I’d post something positive. I’m glad we are here.

Ok. Today was first full day in the parks… and all went ok. Plan was to use early hours for Magic Kingdom. Left hotel at 6 am, but has some transit snags, so not in MK until 7:10… yet, we still road all 4 mountains, plus Pirate, HM and Small World before 11:30 lunch (All standby). Park by then was getting crowded. Then, hop to AK. I had bought FOP and stacked rides starting at 7 am, so we had EE, Na’vi, and Kali (all LL) Snack break. Then hop to Epcot where I had snagged LL for Test Track. Crepe dinner, boat back to resort… 16 hour park day, 15 miles of walking, but we hit everything we wanted, had lots of shopping and break times, and longest line was 20 min.

I was stressed about Genie+, but really, 7 am rush to book, then just every 2 hours took a minute to book next. Longest was getting Test Track at 2 pm… I hit refresh every 5 seconds for about 20 min and by 2:20 got 7pm return, which worked with hopping to the third park. So, we got 4 Genie+ rides.

just thought I’d post something positive. I’m glad we are here.

Spending 20 minutes hitting refresh not something I'd want to do on vacation

 

[linzjane88]

I want the dust to settle on all these new things before I commit to going again. I love me some Disney but I just don't *feel* like learning 'new' Disney right now. I think park reservations might be the biggest turnoff for me. I have been to the parks a handful of time since reservations came into play and it irritated me every time- from deciding when we were there to add a day (nope! No availability!) or panicking because the app wasn't showing my reservations on a then sold out park day and thinking I messed up booking them in the first place.

All so unnecessary!

 

[leeniewdw]

This is an interesting thread. We do not go as often as many in the thread, but we took our kids (now late 20s) several times as preschoolers/elem/middle school but had a big gap after that (teens are busy creatures), only returning as empty nesters in 2018 as an anniversary weekend (we have VERY old paper park hoppers with days remaining that we were able to convert). We loved the escape to the warm locale in later winter and returned in March 2020 (cue ominous music) and left a day early due to covid shutdown. We just returned from a quick trip again using a left over hopper days, attended the MK AH, and used G+ and ILL$ for both our park days. We rode a LOT of rides and weren't put off by G+ that much since it was successful (aside from 'what's another $160 or so more for 2 days lol)

Our recent trips have all been long weekends because the idea of the cost x 6 or 7 days is frightening! Even staying at a value resort. We are hoping to travel with our kids and SOs this spring (planned before our recent quick trip) and thinking of it as a "probably last time" because it's too expensive to do in addition to the kind of travel we really want to do coupled with retirement in 2023. We'll have the time, but not comfortable with the money. (We had a big laugh at how we decided that spending $16 for a six pack of beer at the resort store was stupid, but convenient so who cares. This trip, no six packs, but $8 can of beer! LOL)

It seems obvious there is a pent-up demand that's pushing attendance, but the question will be how the traveler demographics/habits evolve. Presumably Disney knows all this via research. Why would Disney care as long as the wallets are open? If they are looping a broader customer base for parks plus everything else they offer, seems like capitalism at work. Repeat customers can only buy/subscribe to so many things.

 

[leeniewdw]

I don't want to be contrarian, but when FP+ was in place, lots of people seemed to spend all day on the phone. And people on these boards constantly touted the virtues of refreshing and moving your FPs earlier in the day, and all the related strategies. For our travelling party, we always used the kiosks, and got by with that. But there was an army of smartphone warriors. Under the current system, do people really use their phones more than before?

This is really a good question and one that probably just how you prefer to use the parks and how that fits into the new system. The thing I found annoying/different was literally setting like 4 different alarms on my phone so I didn't forget to look for a new LL. Since our park hours were different for our 2 days, that meant 2 sets of alarms. With the FP+, you got your 3 before your trip and then burned/reserved as you used them. This time, you had to be prepared to "strike" when that time came up because if your LLs were for later in the day/evening, you aren't burning/reserving, you are stacking. When we were going to go to EP for a later afternoon evening, the return times were too early. So instead of booking at 10am, I had to wait until my preferred time was available. Which meant, my alarms were now going to off sooner than I could get my NEXT LL. Anyway, it all depends on how you like to do things.

Also, I also found that when I stacked rides at a park and arrived in the afternoon, I didn't really know all my return times by heart because what I hoped for wasn't what I actually got. I learned that I could only handle something like "we have to ride MMRR and ToT by 6pm" and say that out loud to my DH so I could put my phone away. Then I'd bring it out again to review the next chunk of time. I mean, we had a great stack of rides, so it's a good problem to have, but was very different than the FP+ experience IMO.

I'm actually dreading trying to coordinate 6 adults for a trip this spring because it's just "a lot". Would be much easier to say "here's our rides for days, 1, 2, 3" and we can wing it after that (using FP+).

 

[Tink-osophy]

I don't want to be contrarian, but when FP+ was in place, lots of people seemed to spend all day on the phone. And people on these boards constantly touted the virtues of refreshing and moving your FPs earlier in the day, and all the related strategies. For our travelling party, we always used the kiosks, and got by with that. But there was an army of smartphone warriors. Under the current system, do people really use their phones more than before?

That's why I'd go back to the old paper fastpasses!

I don't know if it's more screen time now, but it does sound like it's added complexity, which would probably mean more screen time for many of us! It, also, means even more reliance on the technology actually doing what it's supposed to! Of course, more time is needed for everyone to understand and get used to the ins and outs of it and for Disney to iron out any bumps. Still, I don't really like that it's going further in a direction that seems like work rather than play.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do believe a lot of people have cancelled their trips. There is a lot more availibility now than there was a few weeks ago.

I know this is an older comment but there were a slew of cancellations for October as well, covid was more the culprit as cases were starting to go back up and right now with omicron (which was being talked about when your comment was made) is likely to do more with the cancellations than guest dissatisfaction. People were traveling and people are traveling but with each new bump in covid concerns after a lull in those covid concerns has generally come with a scaling back of those travels at least to certain places.

 

[k5xs]

Just back from a six-day visit with all of our six kids, their spouses, and our 21 grandkids. It was to celebrate our 50th anniversary.

We went with more than a little trepidation for a lot of the reasons listed here, even though we were down as recently as November.

Observations:

- CMs are as cheerful as ever, the parks and our resort were immaculate, and the "vibe" was nearly as strong as ever. Detractors for me were my lingering thoughts of Covid, and a few attractions being still closed. But the magic is very much alive.

- I felt like when Covid is useful, Disney invokes it (very limited housekeeping--I like having someone make my bed when I am vacationing, but they aren't touching beds now). But when it is convenient to ignore it (e.g.--crowding people in pre-shows) they do. Maybe I'm being unfair, but it's annoying to me.

- Transportation was great. Buses ran regularly, and the SkyLiner was flawless and wait-free for us.

- Cavalcades are cute, but they aren't a substitute for parades. We did the After-hours Christmas party, and it featured a (great) full-up parade, so it's clear to me the reason parades aren't going has nothing to do with Covid. Maybe they can't hire CMs back fast enough, or maybe they are being too cheap to pay what it takes to draw back the talent.

- We included in our party a friend who, while elderly, is a techie genius (he writes code, knows software, etc.). He gave up on Genie after Day 1 because it diminished the spontaneity for him. Add to that near mandatory mobile food ordering and--as others here have observed--you end up living on your phone all day, and that to me takes out a lot of fun. I'm nose-down in my phone all day when I'm NOT on vacation, so I like being unshackled when I'm taking a break.

- We will miss DME. I've heard the argument that it can't be reconstituted, but if Disney truly wanted to bring it back I think they could figure it out.

Overall it was a great visit.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder how much UO is able to get away with the pricing for the EP because most people only go 2 days to UO, where it's much more common to go 4-5 days to WDW parks? I could justify that cost for a couple days but not the 4-6 we spend when we go to WDW, or they need to make Epcot and AK cheaper than the other parks. It'd be nice if they do raise the pricing to UO levels that they offer a discount if you buy in advance for over 3+ days and include all rides in the pass price.

Universal has had this model for a while, that's why they can have it and there's less grumbling. Universal never promised (to my knowledge) quick access to rides, that's why they can have it. I believe the goal is something like half the standby wait. Universal also doesn't add EP to new rides (especially the HP ones) like Disney does for their FP (at least in the past) so people purchase EP (or stay at a hotel level that gets it included) knowing that those newer rides aren't added if they go. IIRC FJ at Universal didn't have EP for something like 7 years, didn't stop people from paying for EP.

Sure the length of one's stay can play into it but not probably as much as you think.

Disney could charge per day the amount Universal does make no mistake about that and it wouldn't matter that people on average spend more time there. But Disney's FP system (well Genie+ and LL) function differently than Universal, Disney has generally gotten people used to low waits with their service and for those reasons they are unlikely to charge the amount Universal does at least for a while. Disney is also good at starting low then creep up in pricing.