Recent & Rumored Changes Turning Me Off

[MissSha]

Unfortunately, some are giving Disney high marks in customer satisfaction despite threads like these. Chapek feels customer satisfaction is higher than pre-pandemic levels. I do think the only way they would learn differently is to see demand wain. But, as we can see from the parties selling out and packed parks those who don't want to spend the money are just going to be replaced. As a DVC owner with many years ahead planned and two little girls who love Disney, it is distressing to think we may have to move on to something else sooner than rather than later.

We're thinking our trip in 4 days may be our last as DVC owners sadly. We're thinking of moving on as well......

 

[OneinThree]

Disney shouldn’t alienate people who spend the majority of their holiday money at Disney.

Genuinely sorry if it seems I'm singling out your post, but I wanted to respond to the sentiment in general. WDW is a for-profit entity, one constrained by the law of supply and demand. Demand has been off the chain for years now. At some point, price has to correct. WDW's services (such as space in parks and seats on attractions) are limited -oversold to the point of significantly diminishing the overall experience as years go by. While yes, the needed price correction will necessarily reduce the number of guests. I believe it's as inaccurate as it is unfair to point a finger at Disney and suggest they're engaging in some extraordinary behavior or somehow "wronging" anyone. Rest assured that my own family is affected negatively by the implications of their operating environment, as we are currently struggling to fit our own annual trip (5 kids) into the budget.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

one of the biggest complaints from guests on surveys have been about the crowds. I think WDW is even more in demand currently than expected due to international travel being difficult to impossible at the moment.


Long-term visitors who loved the format of MNSHHP are not happy about the changes that came with Boo Bash. However, most Boo Bash nights are sold out. Disney is interested in how many tickets sell, not in who buys the tickets. Customer satisfaction may well be up, if they now have different customers than were regular visitors in the past. This will change when the guests (of all kinds) stop coming.

 

[HopperFan]

I purposely set out to develop an interest in Harry Potter so I could find something to love about USO. It was also a great bonding experience with my young adult daughter to watch all the movies. My adult son was in town for a few days and he has started watching them with us as well. It's been a very positive thing.

Yes, there are a lot of simulator rides. And I don't love them as much as I love a good Disney dark ride. But I also don't like feeling like a "mark" when I'm in the parks. And the Harry Potter stuff is spectacular. And with Express Pass, the experience overall is far superior. Especially in terms of current day experiences.

I'd never read a book or watched a movie other than a few minutes here and there. I've gone to Universal many times and loved the areas because the details and creativity are amazing. I could spend HOURS wandering and poking. Last month ENTIRE family went so DH and I watched a movie per night to get ready. He didn't want to have no idea what was going on. Well I was so surprised to see so much actually make sense to me now that I've seen the movies. It made the visit so much better and we had fun doing movie nights. I'm hoping Epic Universe is built with this kind of detail.

I'm still trying to watch Avatar, 0-3, its just so bad.

I always thought people shouldn't rush back to give money to Disney right during/after a pandemic. Let Disney get back up to speed. Don't let Disney get away with less staff, services, shows, rides. The consumer should DEMAND this from Disney. By going back in droves, all people have done is let Disney know they will pay for the bare minimum experience. So going forward I believe the big-wigs are sitting in the conference room laughing away, saying "heck we don't have to take down the walls at Epcot! they'll pay anyway!!"

I think the issue is that people were so desperate to travel somewhere on vacation. International was out. Cruises were out. Not everyone is a beach person or they had done the whole outdoorsy thing last summer. They trust Disney, they think they can go there and magically be safe. They are willing to pay up for a trip to a place they love or maybe had never been ... and they think is doing lots of safe processes (they aren't).

 

[JPinkc]

My wife and I are also thinking this will be our last. If it wasnt her 50th and WDW 50th we probably would not be going. The level of Greed is just getting to enormous. We did the unthinkable in 2019 and did UO, I dont like all the simulator rides and no desire to redo any of them. BUT Hogwarts and Diagon Alley YES PLEASE!!! We stayed at the Hard Rock and my wife and kids enjoyed it (didnt much care for the food at the main restaurant). We spent half what we would for a week stay (including 2 kids) there including meals that we would at WDW. We had talked about going to Disney Springs but never went. Disney Springs I still think is stronger than Citywalk. But for what they are charging at WDW and all they have taken away, makes us think we are done.

 

[luv2cheer92]

My love for going to WDW has only grown stronger. Nothing announced has swayed that, not even remotely. In fact, I'm likely about to put in a DVC contract, because I only see my trip numbers increasing.

 

[MissSha]

My wife and I are also thinking this will be our last. If it wasnt her 50th and WDW 50th we probably would not be going. The level of Greed is just getting to enormous. We did the unthinkable in 2019 and did UO, I dont like all the simulator rides and no desire to redo any of them. BUT Hogwarts and Diagon Alley YES PLEASE!!! We stayed at the Hard Rock and my wife and kids enjoyed it (didnt much care for the food at the main restaurant). We spent half what we would for a week stay (including 2 kids) there including meals that we would at WDW. We had talked about going to Disney Springs but never went. Disney Springs I still think is stronger than Citywalk. But for what they are charging at WDW and all they have taken away, makes us think we are done.

Sorry you're feeling this way too. We also consider we're paying monthly DVC dues which could easily add up to another trip elsewhere if we sell our contract. The pros of selling our far outweighing the cons at this point. We'll see how crabby I am when we go to VGF in 4 days

 

[disneyseniors]

After reading all 4 pages, I just wonder if anyone at the WDCo. actually reads these comments and pays attention to the growing dissatisfaction?
People say to vote with their wallets. Well, we have just done that. Our family has visited yearly or more since l977 and absolutely loved it. Now, with all the changes and money grabbing that have been told on here many times, we have found the nostalgia seriously going away for us. The rest of the family is already there. My husband and I had our last trip Feb/March 2019, right before the pandemic.
We decided that we have had wonderful visits with the kids/grandkids and alot of great memories. The way things are currently, I don't want to go back and at this point, we are not going back. Maybe if things change, a lot, we will go back.

We are planning a trip to DL next Spring - a first time ever trip and can't wait. Maybe some of the disney magic will be found?

We also love Universal, even before the big exodus from disney to Universal started. The hotels are far superior, as is the service, IMO. We love HP and all the other attractions at Universal, AND we feel valued as a customer their too. So, I see AP's in our future at Universal, a one time trip to DL, and probably no more to WDW. But WDW doesn't seem to care at the loss of many, many hard core fans as demonstrated on these threads. They have others to fill our places and to help them make money.

 

[here757]

I can only speak for myself.
My family was in mist of planning a Disney trip, I stopped planning because stars wars opened.
I have 2 girls and they have no interest.
Then we decided to start planning again in 2020, covid put stop to that.
disney lost a lot of $$. And they are trying to catch up.
cutting somethings. Raising prices. The value just isn’t there anymore.
Unfortunately my girls do allstar cheer. As a result we will be required to attend the cheerleading events. At this point there is talk of 1 parent talking them, not doing the parks at all.
Sad to see this part of our lives coming to an end.

 

[cakebaker]

Unfortunately, some are giving Disney high marks in customer satisfaction despite threads like these. Chapek feels customer satisfaction is higher than pre-pandemic levels. I do think the only way they would learn differently is to see demand wain. But, as we can see from the parties selling out and packed parks those who don't want to spend the money are just going to be replaced. As a DVC owner with many years ahead planned and two little girls who love Disney, it is distressing to think we may have to move on to something else sooner than rather than later.

I am amazed by people who say things are better than before the closure. We have no parade, no shows, no dessert parties, no after hours, shorter park hours, no real holiday parties, severely cut back dining options, higher prices, virtually no housekeeping, no FP and crowds as bad as ever. While I disagree, I can see where some people might think all these cuts are for safety or that lack of staff can be blamed- but to say it's actually improved???? Just what is it that makes WDW better now than it was before?

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Unfortunately, some are giving Disney high marks in customer satisfaction despite threads like these. Chapek feels customer satisfaction is higher than pre-pandemic levels. I do think the only way they would learn differently is to see demand wain. But, as we can see from the parties selling out and packed parks those who don't want to spend the money are just going to be replaced. As a DVC owner with many years ahead planned and two little girls who love Disney, it is distressing to think we may have to move on to something else sooner than rather than later.

We are also DVC and got married at WDW. With the direction Disney seems to be heading, we've been discussing as a family to do less WDW (park) trips and, perhaps, renting out our points which we've done twice so far. Even with DVC, prices have gotten so high it doesn't make as much sense to us anymore. As long as Disney continues to raise the roof and people continue to buy into that and pay those prices, Disney will continue to do what they're doing. If people get fed up, put their foots down and just say no and the demand lowers, then Disney will lower the roof.

 

[NavyDad]

I have been on these boards for over 20 years and have read and authored countless threads with the same sentiment. Everytime I think there is no way guests are going to tolerate this price change/loss of parades/fireworks/parking fees/etc the Disney Company comes back stronger. Whcih proves I have no business acumen,lol.

Our family doesn't vacation to WDW like we use to. I just can not justify the money for the experience but apparently we are in the minority since they still are printing money.

20 years ago we had huge debates on these boards about the quality and value of a Disney vacation. Little did I realize that was a golden time.

I was basically thinking the same thing. I started using this site and another site around 2008 as I was planning our first family trip. The long running theme the last 13 years was how WDW was pricing people out and they were going to lose lots of customers. Every trip since then I have been shocked to see more and more people are there spending all kinds of money even as prices go up.

If you hang around these boards long enough you will see the same posters complain and complain about everything and threaten to stop going to WDW and then you see the same people post every year about all of the trips they take to WDW.

The fact is Disney is a business and WDW is a tool for them to make as much money as they possibly can for their shareholders. Everything they try to sell you is a bad deal for you and a great deal for them. Every dollar you spend is essentially money "wasted" on entertainment. Every person, every family has a different threshold of how much money they are willing to "waste" on frivolity. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to waste more money on WDW but at the same time I think Disney will be just fine.

 

[dato63]

I purposely set out to develop an interest in Harry Potter so I could find something to love about USO. It was also a great bonding experience with my young adult daughter to watch all the movies. My adult son was in town for a few days and he has started watching them with us as well. It's been a very positive thing.

Yes, there are a lot of simulator rides. And I don't love them as much as I love a good Disney dark ride. But I also don't like feeling like a "mark" when I'm in the parks. And the Harry Potter stuff is spectacular. And with Express Pass, the experience overall is far superior. Especially in terms of current day experiences.

I'm happy to read this. We are doing 2 1/2 days at Universal before heading to WDW this Christmas. Will be our first time at Universal. I booked Royal Pacific for the express passes. I have one daughter that loves, loves, loves Harry Potter - so am hoping it will be something special for her in particular.

 

[Chavaleh]

I was basically thinking the same thing. I started using this site and another site around 2008 as I was planning our first family trip. The long running theme the last 13 years was how WDW was pricing people out and they were going to lose lots of customers.

I was going to say something similar. I've been around since at least 2009 and these kinds of threads have consistently come up. I think it's like the way people talk about SNL... "back in my day they were funny".

 

[ChinaDenver]

It's all about the maximum coin Disney is able to extract from you until you've had enough....

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Don't much care about the parades anymore, or meet and greets, or dessert parties, or the dining plan, I believe the shows and restaurant capacity will be returning eventually. Losing FP is a bummer. but I'm not ready to go "Universal only from now on." Some folks, with the changes it no longer fits the way they like to do Disney.

Yeah, I've been reading the boards for a long time and WDW has been pricing people out for 20 years. It's relevant when they price YOU out, and that's a personal threshold. Somehow there are usually complaints in the same posts about how crowded the parks are.

Yes, SNL used to be funny back in the day LOL

 

[ChinaDenver]

But I still love Disney even if I don't partake as often due to price....

 

[sbbwdw]

It’s not so much threatening not to return or even being priced out as much as feeling like they care, like we the consumers are important, like throwing us a bone while you are making somewhat drastic cutbacks or changes. Is pixie dust still a thing? Remember pin codes, surprise room upgrades or random fastpasses being handed out?

 

[Flagondry]

The only we return is because we are able to stay at SOG. I refuse to pay the prices of any other hotels. My last trip was a universal trip, but stayed at SOG. Next trip was going to be private house and universal, with maybe one day at MK.

Once you hit a certain spending limit, I’d rather take those dollars and enjoy an international vacation or two weeks across the US. At this rate, even though we’ve been many times I think we have 1-2 trips left for our lifetimes. Two more times and the kids will remember it young and as teens. After that, I see no reason to ever return at these prices.

cruise line is running the same. Not enough return.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I am amazed by people who say things are better than before the closure. We have no parade, no shows, no dessert parties, no after hours, shorter park hours, no real holiday parties, severely cut back dining options, higher prices, virtually no housekeeping, no FP and crowds as bad as ever. While I disagree, I can see where some people might think all these cuts are for safety or that lack of staff can be blamed- but to say it's actually improved???? Just what is it that makes WDW better now than it was before?

For me, don't do parades, don't do many shows (the ones I do have been open), don't do dessert parties (did once, don't need to do again), don't do holiday parties (did once, don't need to do again, though the newer after hours events sound much more satisfying for me), don't stay at parks late so hours have had zero affect on me, usually decline housekeeping but don't mind not having it one bit, don't park hop typically and definitely never before 2 so that's not an issue, never will use the dining plan, haven't found any cutbacks on dining as far as what we usually get, crowds have been lower than most previous trips. Yes, we use FPs, but on my three trips I haven't found them to be needed, or in other words, I haven't found my park experience to be diminished with their absence. Haven't found prices to be higher than they were for my 2019/2020 trips at least, and nothing significantly higher than 17/18 or so. I have found CM interactions to be far superior than previous trips. The continued opening of new rides/attractions/experiences is a definite improvement. I wouldn't necessarily say that all aspects of the parks and my trips are better, but some things are, and I definitely haven't found anything to be worse.

Yes, I understand that a lot of these things are important to some people. But the parks aren't a one-size-fits-all kind of experience. My trips over the last year have been almost identical in value/experience to what they were pre-Covid.