Is it Even Worth it Anymore?

[katmigordon]

I keep hearing so many horrible things about WDW these days and how crowded it is, and how bad the gouging is. I'll only have 3 days and I was thinking of 2 days at Epcot and 1 at Animal Kingdom... but is it even worth it anymore? Or should I just plan for Universal with Unlimited Express Lane built in?

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

It all depends on your expectations. If you go with a positive attitude and focus on the good, you will have a great time. We just got back 4 weeks ago and are headed back in 6 weeks. The magic is still there, it's just not going to reach out and grab you.

 

[hou2009]

I keep hearing so many horrible things about WDW these days and how crowded it is, and how bad the gouging is. I'll only have 3 days and I was thinking of 2 days at Epcot and 1 at Animal Kingdom... but is it even worth it anymore? Or should I just plan for Universal with Unlimited Express Lane built in?

I'm not sure it is. We had two cancelled trips due to covid and have decided to take a cruise this summer. Might visit universal in the fall. Disney World just looks stressful and aggravating right now. Way too expensive for the hassle. If and when they get Disney Genie figured out where you don't have to be stressed out of your mind at 7 a m. every day of your vacation and continue that stress micro-planning every 30 minutes of your day while in the parks, I'll reconsider.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I live relatively nearby and am an annual passholder. I still have a good time, but it's not the same. It's just so crowded all the time now, waits are so long, and you don't even have your three fastpasses anymore. Maybe if we used Genie+ it would be better, but I haven't even tried to figure that out because we wouldn't want to pay for that every time we go. I'm considering trying to start using it and just going less often, but then we get less value for even more money. We've already gotten to the point where we rarely do day trips anymore, and we're just a little over an hour away. Now we stay overnight on property so we get the extra half hour in the morning, and most of what we get to ride is before 9:30am. When I can find them reasonably priced (very difficult these days) I rent DVC points so we can stay at a deluxe resort and take advantage of Extended Evening Hours; those are wonderful.

It is still fun, and I don't regret buying the annual pass for this year, but we're thinking about taking a year off next year and getting Universal passes instead. The deluxe resorts there are more affordable and give you Express Pass, which is fantastic. Maybe in a year or two when the pent-up demand is satiated things will get better at Disney.

For us Disney does not constitute our vacations; it's just an "extra" activity for weekends and time off. If I were traveling from out of state to Disney for an actual vacation, I wouldn't try to do it without using Genie+.

 

[kathy884]

I keep hearing so many horrible things about WDW these days and how crowded it is, and how bad the gouging is. I'll only have 3 days and I was thinking of 2 days at Epcot and 1 at Animal Kingdom... but is it even worth it anymore? Or should I just plan for Universal with Unlimited Express Lane built in?

lol -- We keep asking that about travel in general, not just travel to Orlando. More people that ever can afford to travel. More people than ever are traveling. National parks, not just theme parks are bursting at the seams and require more planning and patience than ever. Costs and crowds are up all over. Undiscovered treasures are now discovered. The state department still has some serious Do not Travel and Reconsider Travel recommendations for so many international places. Doesn't make me want to go. And for international travel you need a negative Covid test to get back to the USA, so extra travel insurance and all that stuff is a good idea. I don't like that either. Pick your poison and bring some patience and lower expectations where ever you go. We are still doing some traveling, but are traveling less with plans to keep it that way.

We just got back from a week over Spring Break in Orlando, and I thought Epcot Flower and Garden was lovely (did two days there). I didn't do Animal Kingdom, but did a day at SeaWorld too (like that park and find it calmer than Disney or Universal). I had a good time, but don't have any plans to get back to Orlando soon. The recent changes really didn't bother me and aren't really a factor in that decision. We got Genie for all of our Disney theme park days and found it pretty easy to use. I'm already up at 7 anyway, so did the 7 a.m. reservation for our whole group. Actually DS was up then too and helped me out with all that. For me Orlando or not is do I want to do a theme park vacation or do I want to do a different type of vacation. (What are we doing instead -- We'll be in Colorado -- the western slope in June -- slightly less popular as it's so much farther away from Denver than so many other great places in the state. In 2023 we'll do a mini trip to the historical district of Charleston South Carolina in the spring and out to Sedona, AZ (a go to place for us for many years that has gotten way more crowded than it used to be) in early June -- mini family reunion for 14 of us. We'll be staying in three condos for a full week in Sedona and will do a few day trips from there as well as hanging out in Sedona.

Some in our party did one day at Universal (park to park with one time EP). That EP is pretty sweet, so that could be a good way to do a mini theme park trip if Universal/IOA will satisfy you. And I hear great things about Volcano Bay. Still they had experiences like an 85 minute wait for Hagrids and then it broke down right before they were supposed to board and they didn't get to ride. Universal didn't do anything special for them for the breakdown which was disappointing to them. Also and realize that they didn't have early entry like onsite visitors do, they thought the cool HP areas that would be fun with lower crowds to just hang out at were so overflowing with people and crowded (bursting at the seams) that they didn't want to spend all that much time there. The Jurassic Park area was their favorite - not as bursting at the seams as the HP areas. My niece who is a huge Disney fan said her favorite theme park day was her Universal / IOA day. She said, it just felt so much more relaxed due the the EP. Now DS still said his favorite theme park day despite crowds and all was still the Magic Kingdom -- A trip to Orlando just wouldn't be complete for him without that and that classic park is just his go to place. If you have a party of big Universal/IOA park fans, your idea could be a good one. For spring break, though, OMG -- the deluxe Universal hotels were $845 per night including tax for the least expensive room (too rich for my blood). That throw away room cost was just so high that I passed on that idea and I bought four $130 one time EPs for the four in our party who did the one Universal/IOA park to park day -- my big time splurge for my 20 something and 30 something kiddos on this trip. (Hagrids and Velocicoaster -- two of the newest rides (popular and highly recommended) are the ones the EP doesn't work for, but onsite I believe can get early entry and that could help with those.).

 

[cjlong88]

Our last three visits have been great. I agree that all travel is different now. Just got back from Italy a few weeks ago. It was a lot more expensive, not everything was open (or things were shut down permanently) since my last visit. Tourists everywhere, even more so than my last visit around the same time of year.

We will be in Alaska for Memorial Day Weekend. It’s way more expensive than the last time we were there.

If we went in expecting everything to be the same as 2019, we would have come back very disappointed. But we have been very aware of the state of things and reframed our perspective. If you can do that I think you can have an absolutely wonderful time.

Universal isn’t perfect either. Want to ride Velocicoaster or Hagrid’s? Be prepared to wait if you don’t rope drop. And be prepared for Hagrid’s to potentially breakdown. It was down the entire day we visited so we didn’t even get the chance to ride. Still had an awesome time, though. Both parks have their pros and cons right now.

 

[jkevlin1232]

I am here now and was concerned about crowds since park passes are sold out, Was expecting Christmas-like crowds or worse —— but shocked it is not turning out that way at all. There seems to less people then my last visit in October 2019. Every day we prep for the worst and it is not even close to being bad.

We are not seeing long lines, dining reservations are available, busses not full, monorail not full. It is very much the opposite of what we expected.

Rides wait time have been way off. Pirates posted as 55 minutes and we were on 22 minutes, Peter Pan posted at 35 minutes and on in 18 minutes, MMRR posted at 45 minutes and we on in 20 minutes. I have never seen the posted times so off for multiple rides.

My net - crowds will always be here but I think I let ‘doomsday reports’ of others get into my head too much prepping for this trip.

 

[Marionnette]

I keep hearing so many horrible things about WDW these days and how crowded it is, and how bad the gouging is. I'll only have 3 days and I was thinking of 2 days at Epcot and 1 at Animal Kingdom... but is it even worth it anymore? Or should I just plan for Universal with Unlimited Express Lane built in?

I don't think that you can go wrong with either plan. However, they are very different theme park vacations. Both AK and Epcot are less attraction-focused parks whereas UO with EP is going to be very ride-centric. Neither choice is bad, it just depends on what you want from your 3 days.

 

[godfather927]

We have an upcoming trip in just over a week that will be a surprise for the kids and I can't even tell you how excited I am to see their reactions when we tell them that morning. They've been so patient through all of this the last couple years, and they deserve all this and more, even if it means it's a bit pricier or requires a bit more effort on our part in planning. So yeah, I'd say with young kids, it's definitely worth it. They don't care about an extra $15 here or there, they just wanna have fun, and we're here to make that happen for them.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We are planning a surprise trip for my nephews in December 2022 and I am excited about it. We have been twice since pandemic (May 2021, Nov 2021) and we did have a good time regardless of all the complaints. Do I like Genie+? No. As the planner, it's very stressful to make sure everyone has a good time now. BUT the Disney magic is still there, the fun is still there, and there is something for everyone. I would give it a shot and make up your own mind before saying it's not worth it anymore.

 

[rajak73]

We keep asking that about travel in general, not just travel to Orlando. More people that ever can afford to travel. More people than ever are traveling. National parks, not just theme parks are bursting at the seams and require more planning and patience than ever. Costs and crowds are up all over. Undiscovered treasures are now discovered.

Arches National Park in Utah now has a park reservation requirement. To the OP, it's not worth it, especially the last week of Sept and First 2 weeks of October this year.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I agree with OP's...do not let other people get in your head. There are plenty of Disney issues to complain about, but it is interesting that sometimes the most vocal are the ones repeatedly insisting they are not coming back. So why be on disboards if you hate Disney...move on? (This comment is not at all a dig at this thread).

My first visit was in 1973...each decade since brought change some good and some not so good, but we adjusted. DVC since 1996 and AP holders. We spent two weeks at WDW last fall, will be there for two weeks next month and two weeks in October. Our son and DIL (30 something professionals) join us. Different - yes. Love it - yes.

If you only intend to spend a couple days at AK and EPCOT I hope you have a wonderful time! Set your expectations to enjoy the magic!

 

[tentaguasu]

I haven't been in years - going in May, hopefully - but I'd take all of the negativity with a grain of salt.

First, why do you think the parks are slammed full? That's people voting with their feet.

Second, there's a reason they call it "the good old days" - everyone remembers the past fondly. But back in the "good old days" people queued for hours to see Country Bear Jamboree (really). Now, rides and attractions are so superior to CBJ that it sits empty all day. How much of the great "new" stuff would you give up to go back? Would you axe Rise of the Resistance and Cosmic Rewind to get paper fastpass? What about all of Animal Kingdom? Sure, much has been lost over the years, but other things have been gained. There is always a push and pull, give and take, grow and contract. The parks will go through down times and up times, but all and all, the last 20 years have show stunning growth and amazing new things.

Third, as for "money grubbing," eh... hasn't it always been that way? I mean, we can complain about too much short-term thinking or prioritizing quick profits over long-term brand building, but I think you're fooling yourself if you think Disney has been anything other than a money making machine from day one.

Every effort is going to seem controversial in some way. But, in fact, there's a very good argument that Genie+ is actually consumer friendly from a pricing perspective. Think of it this way - go back to paper fastpass. Then imagine that Disney offered discounted tickets to skip the fastpass. A lot of folks would have loved that option.

This is that.

They could have just increased ticket prices across the board and made the same revenue. Arguably they should have to keep park numbers more reasonable. But the current model gives you the chance to opt in or not. Two tiers of ticket prices, one including more stuff than the other. We have tiers in hotels, food, etc. If you see my post history, you'll see that I'm 100% about keeping the "we're all in the same boat" vibe in the parks, but I don't think it's crazy (annoying, but not crazy) to offer people the chance to pick their experience with a better experience costing more.

And honestly, it'd be commercial malpractice for Disney to be absolutely overwhelmed with visitors and *not* charge more. In a way, they have to. Half of the posts on here complain about Disney costing too much and the other half about there being too many people in the parks. That some of us here are reconsidering our Disney vacations because we're getting priced out is not a bug, it's a feature. (And I say that as a person who goes roughly every 5 years and absolutely cannot afford to stay on site, even in the cheapest rooms.)

Finally, I've been on this board for 20 years (!!) and if I were to pick the single most popular theme of conversation in every one of those 20 years it has been "Disney is going to hell, the magic is gone." Not saying we can't have complaints, and perhaps I'll come back saying the same after my trip in May, but I'm cautiously optimistic that Disney is still Disney - a bit rougher on this edge, a bit nicer on this other edge - but essentially the same for-profit, money-interested, amazing spectacle creating, magic-inducing company it has always been.

I guess I'll soon find out....

 

[Jrb1979]

My friends that go down for a month at a time that are hardcore fans. All have APs and used to go the parks daily when down there hate what Disney has become. Their biggest complaint is they hate having to look for the magic that used to just be there.

For personally I don't get the argument that it's busy everywhere and everything is more expensive. I am going to Cedar Point for a week in May and the Hotel isn't much more expensive then before. If you go by hotels available the week I am there it's not going to be busy.

Maybe cause I don't have to emotional attachment that most of you do but the changes to Disney since Covid has made have no interest in going any more. I'm sad for my 2 year old who will never get to experience it

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I keep hearing so many horrible things about WDW these days and how crowded it is, and how bad the gouging is. I'll only have 3 days and I was thinking of 2 days at Epcot and 1 at Animal Kingdom... but is it even worth it anymore? Or should I just plan for Universal with Unlimited Express Lane built in?

If you're reading the negative comments all the time, I can understand your concerns. But there are just as many positive comments, too. The extremes seem to grab attention too often from 'Disney is a money-grabbing dump with nasty employees and trash all over the place and I am never going' to 'Disney is perfect and every minute is magical'. We've been there 3 times in the past 6 months, and we absolutely felt it was worth it. The magic is there, more returning every day. Most cast members were made it feel like Disney again. Was it perfect? Absolutely not.... It took us a couple tries to get comfortable with the new Genie+ and ILL system. Prices are up (as they are everywhere) and food options are more limited at this time (as they are many places). So only you can decide what you're looking for. We're already planning a return later this year. And BTW, there are negative comments all over the place about Universal, as well - and we wouldn't hesitate to return to Universal because of them. We also really like it there. Good luck with your choice. Hope you have a great time wherever you decide to enjoy your vacation.

 

[smallworldnh]

My net - crowds will always be here but I think I let ‘doomsday reports’ of others get into my head too much prepping for this trip.

This for sure! I've been reading so many negative posts about guest behavior lately, I mean that's all you see when you scroll through Disney news. I'm hoping this is the exception rather than the norm.

We are taking friends who have never been to Disneyworld and I'm hoping they won't be disappointed. It took a lot to talk them into it!

 

[kanerf]

I think the crowds will start thinning out, though perhaps not until next year. We are still coming out of COVID and there was a lot of pent-up travel demand. DVC folks had a lot of extra points to use up and for many overseas travel is still off the table. Once these things improve I expect that WDW will go back to it's traditional crowd levels.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Universal didn't do anything special for them for the breakdown which was disappointing to them.

Do other theme or amusement parks do this? I feel like people have come to expect some sort of freebie when a ride breaks down which yes bites but it's part of the process. I also think that Disney didn't used to have the mentality of giving away things. I remember my 2011 trip Test Track would break down, not like we got some FP (which was legacy back then) to re-ride it later on..you just you know didn't ride it, waited it out, or came back later. Maybe some people did but I guess we just didn't expect it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Universal isn’t perfect either. Want to ride Velocicoaster or Hagrid’s? Be prepared to wait if you don’t rope drop.

Forbidden Journey (the first Harry Potter attraction) didn't have Express Pass for 7 years.

IMO I feel like it's an unfair outlook to say Universal isn't perfect either just because of waiting in line. Disney I feel like for certain guests has set up some expectation that you'll have an immediate way to bypass rides because they added a way to do that for nearly all of their brand new rides. Universal never has done that. In fact many people were surprised when in July 2017 they added all of the three HP attractions (Hogwarts Express, Forbidden Journey and Gringotts) to Express Pass as that was far sooner for Hogwarts Express (opened July 2014) and most especially for Gringotts (opened July 2014) than expected.

I do think it's possible VelociCoaster may join Express Pass quicker than 3-4 years but we'll see. I think a lot may depend on how Epic Universe turns out (presently opening summer 2025) because that would draw crowds away from that attraction and turn to the new gate. What will be interesting is if Universal turns a 180 and adds Express Pass from the getgo to Epic Universe or if they stay the track and keep attractions as Standby for a long enough time period.

Disney just has a hard time letting attractions be strictly Standby for any considerable amount of time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've been reading so many negative posts about guest behavior lately,

To be fair I sorta experience things like that just going out and about. I don't think it's a Disney thing or a vacation thing. We're all a little more short-tempered/less sociable bunch during this pandemic. I know many of us try not to be but even the most mild-tempered of us can need some social interaction brushing up. I also think right or wrong many of us are more hygiene-oriented than before. I may not have thought too much about someone sneezing and now it's like geez cover your mouth..ya know?

So I don't think I would go in thinking guests are just behaving poorly but rather that just because it's Disney doesn't mean that the types of people I encounter every now and then at restaurants or grocery stores aren't going to exist just because it's Disney. I still think many people are behaved well enough but we also may be a bit more hyper-focused on behaviors more than in the past.