Losing the Magic

[linstadt]

My husband and I have been going to WDW for 40 years. We're both 70. We bought DVC at BLT 2008. I love planning, doing my spreadsheets, making reservations for dinners, activities. Until THIS YEAR.

The changes Disney has made is HORRIBLE. They've taken part of the fun I've had in the past. As said previously, prices through the roof, difficult to plan or be spontaneous. etc..... First understanding those ridiculous rules, planning what park what day, can't hop till after 2:00 pm IF the park is still open, etc. We are still going this May but at this point, we really aren't excited.

I keep up with the changes primarily through Dis Unplugged blogs. Thank goodness since they give more information and break it down. But my husband and I are seriously thinking that this will be our last trip to WDW and most likely will be selling our DVC sooner than later.

Disney you've gone too far this time.

 

[ronandannette]

Disney is concentrating on reducing their services and increasing costs which causes many who are use to a trip to Disney, while take a lot of planning, being inclusive of small details (ME & FP+) that use to make the expensive trips more palatable. People who were on fence about a Disney trip have relegated it to the side. People who feel they have to experience Disney have walked away disenchanted by the expense and the stress.

Luckily for us we've been to Disney many times. We have very little on our 'have to' list and if we missed something we figure well catch it on the next trip. For Instance it took a year to experience the RttR in HS and that was fine. Plus having experienced it we no longer have a need to repeat the experience. Disney hasn't lost it's enchantment for us but I will say it is like being returned to a 70's park experience.

Granted, we definitely have "must-do" lists and our relatively few visits have all been commando. May I ask though, if it doesn't matter to you what you see or do on any given trip, what exactly do you see and do? (Sincere question.)

 

[dd316]

Are they paying you to be this over-the-top?

I said why I feel the magic is still there for me and provided examples. That's over the top? I'm sorry it differs from your point of view, and I'm sorry you don't feel the magic any more.

 

[Kitty 34]

It’s actually at a park— Xcaret. There are two resorts that are connected to it. The Occidental at Xcaret has two entrances where you can walk directly in with your wristband. The Hotel Xcaret has a boat that takes you there.

Pics are from one of the three rivers where you can swim through caves and various attractions throughout the park. It’s similar to Discovery Cove, but way better.

Xcaret is a beautiful place. We stopped there on a Carnival cruise ('05). Went snorkeling and Sea Trekking which is where we walked on the bottom of the ocean in their little cove off the Gulf. Awesome experiences we had there!

 

[GreatLakes]

Granted, we definitely have "must-do" lists and our relatively few visits have all been commando. May I ask though, if it doesn't matter to you what you see or do on any given trip, what exactly do you see and do? (Sincere question.)

I'm not the person you asked but I am in the same boat. I've been there so many times now we just kind of chill out more. I'll give you an example from last year.

We flew down for something else but it was during F&G so we spent one day at CBR and went to Epcot. We did the scavenger hunt with our son, let him play in the one play place that was opened, and did some F&G stuff like the butterfly garden. The main object of the entire day was just relax in Epcot and sample the food offerings. We spend an hour or so in Living Seas looking at fish, did exactly 5 rides all day (Whatever the Living Seas ride is called now, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, and the boat ride in Mexico). That was it and it was great.

I also spent the day open to close in Epcot after finishing that marathon and did very few rides (Living with the Land, Soarin', Remy, and Spaceship Earth) and kind of just hung out with friends.

 

[handinpocket]

All the changes to WDW and their choices to be political, have turned my family totally off. I will never go back, they are not a company I will give my money to.

 

[FQLover]

@tzolkin Thanks for that info! I am going to check it out. Gorgeous pictures that made me instantly want to be there. You, too, @Kitty 34

 

[ronandannette]

Xcaret is a beautiful place. We stopped there on a Carnival cruise ('05). Went snorkeling and Sea Trekking which is where we walked on the bottom of the ocean in their little cove off the Gulf. Awesome experiences we had there!

We did Sea Trek there too; the giant sea turtles alone made it worth the price. @tzolkin, when you stayed at the hotels, were all the activities at Xcaret included or did you have to pay extra for some? Regular admission to Xcaret did not include Sea Trek.

 

[Jrb1979]

Did all-inclusive include Splash Mountain?

I'm not downplaying how amazing the Mexico trip probably was, and I don't mean to single you out but it's not fair to compare Disney World to any other vacation - there is NOTHING else like it. Some things come close, but let's be real.

I don't go to Disney World because it's just another vacation option. I go because I want to experience everything offered there that I can't get anywhere else.

But to the thread's point, is Disney losing the magic? After being there last month I say no. Does the magic cost more now? Absolutely. But we had an AMAZING trip. I do wish everything were "normal", but we went knowing what to expect and personally speaking, my expectations were not only met but exceeded. Previous trips I felt the magic dwindling - grumpy cast members, trash everywhere, etc. - and was pleasantly surprised I didn't experience any of that this time. Even other guests... yes, there were still some people we saw that were flat out awful, but they were in vast minority. I was shocked at how easily most went along with the mask requirements without fighting.

Maybe I got lucky, but I came away more than happy we went and not regretting a single penny spent (well, maybe that stale churro ). The magic was most certainly there, and dare I say, stronger than my last visit 4 years ago.

For me there is lots of parks that treat their customers better. The only thing that Disney lacks is hearing the screams of people on rides. That IMO gets me excited when entering a park.

I do have to ask and it's not just directed at you. I keep hearing about everyone going to national parks instead of Disney. I know it's a long drive to many of them, why not do a road trip to a Cedar Point, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City or a Busch Gardens?

 

[TLSnell1981]

I'm not the person you asked but I am in the same boat. I've been there so many times now we just kind of chill out more. I'll give you an example from last year.

We flew down for something else but it was during F&G so we spent one day at CBR and went to Epcot. We did the scavenger hunt with our son, let him play in the one play place that was opened, and did some F&G stuff like the butterfly garden. The main object of the entire day was just relax in Epcot and sample the food offerings. We spend an hour or so in Living Seas looking at fish, did exactly 5 rides all day (Whatever the Living Seas ride is called now, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, and the boat ride in Mexico). That was it and it was great.

I also spent the day open to close in Epcot after finishing that marathon and did very few rides (Living with the Land, Soarin', Remy, and Spaceship Earth) and kind of just hung out with friends.

You'd be hard pressed to pull off that agenda now. Well at least last week. We were fortunate to experience 4 attractions in a 12 hour timeframe. A very different vacation from last year or ever!

 

[tzolkin]

@tzolkin, when you stayed at the hotels, were all the activities at Xcaret included or did you have to pay extra for some? Regular admission to Xcaret did not include Sea Trek.

It was just unlimited admission to the park for your length of stay and did not include the activities that had an extra cost (sea trek, dolphin encounter, etc). We did not opt to do any of the extras that trip. We would just go over in the morning to swim through one of the underground rivers before anyone else was in the park and then walk back to the hotel. We went back in the afternoon for an hour or two to wander through some of the other exhibits, did a free chocolate workshop, etc. Came back for the evening performance.

 

[Colleen27]

For me there is lots of parks that treat their customers better. The only thing that Disney lacks is hearing the screams of people on rides. That IMO gets me excited when entering a park.

I do have to ask and it's not just directed at you. I keep hearing about everyone going to national parks instead of Disney. I know it's a long drive to many of them, why not do a road trip to a Cedar Point, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City or a Busch Gardens?

For me, it is because I'm just not a theme parks person. I used to joke that Disney ruined me for Cedar Point because after experiencing FastPass I just couldn't go back to hour plus waits for 60 second rides... and I was only half joking. I actually haven't been back to Cedar Point in about 10+ years, partly because I felt like the whole day there is spent in line and partly because the park is just too hot, too paved, and too overpriced with little entertainment or good food or ambiance.

I wouldn't mind checking out Dollywood one of these days, but if I never get back to Cedar Point, Kings Island, Michigan Adventure, Six Flags, etc. I'd be just fine with that.

 

[Jrb1979]

For me, it is because I'm just not a theme parks person. I used to joke that Disney ruined me for Cedar Point because after experiencing FastPass I just couldn't go back to hour plus waits for 60 second rides... and I was only half joking. I actually haven't been back to Cedar Point in about 10+ years, partly because I felt like the whole day there is spent in line and partly because the park is just too hot, too paved, and too overpriced with little entertainment or good food or ambiance.

I wouldn't mind checking out Dollywood one of these days, but if I never get back to Cedar Point, Kings Island, Michigan Adventure, Six Flags, etc. I'd be just fine with that.

A lot has changed in 10 years. They have added a lot to make it more family oriented. They have upped their food by a lot as well. They do have fastlane to you can buy to skip the long lines. Their new ride is a jungle Cruise type ride.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do have to ask and it's not just directed at you. I keep hearing about everyone going to national parks instead of Disney. I know it's a long drive to many of them, why not do a road trip to a Cedar Point, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City or a Busch Gardens?

Because with covid they were the perfect spot to vacation..largely outdoors and an ability to get away from people (although they did become quite busy with everyone else having the same idea). A theme park was not the destination for those looking to do something less risky. The pandemic sorta forced a lot of people to really consider National Parks OR to actually take that trip they'd been wanting. And now as time has passed people are trying out different styles of vacations.

If you're looking for an amusement park or theme park vacation you may choose to do some other destination than Disney that has that but for many National Parks were something way different than an amusement park or theme park vacation. Not really all that comparable.

 

[Kitty 34]

We did Sea Trek there too; the giant sea turtles alone made it worth the price. @tzolkin, when you stayed at the hotels, were all the activities at Xcaret included or did you have to pay extra for some? Regular admission to Xcaret did not include Sea Trek.

I remember paying for Sea Trek (separate from the admission) but well worth it with our sons at the time. Yes, the Sea Turtles were amazing! That day was the best part of our whole cruise. Wonder what it's like 17 years later.

 

[Suger Mag]

Still magical for us. DVC since 2008. I feel fortunate to have joined before the point pricing explosion (LOL you original OKW folks stay quiet ).... I dont think I would (or could ) join today.

This Jan 2022, we used Genie+/ILL., kept an open mind to suck it up and check it out.,.. as it was mostly just my daughter and myself for much of the park week, so the cost was not prohibitive. Looking to the future, I would def do ILL again, I appreciated having my big must do like RISE all set, Genie+ was helpful, and over the week whenever we used it, while we got at least 3 good rides off it... but I think I could skip it without out too much loss as we really needed to be more early to use it effectively, and we like to sleep in and go later.


A lot of the world has been in serious flux. I understand that for many entities WDW including, surviving and dealing with COVID has presented some big challenges and required frequent changes or adaptation. It will be interesting to see how things are in 5 years or so.

 

[bakerworld]

Granted, we definitely have "must-do" lists and our relatively few visits have all been commando. May I ask though, if it doesn't matter to you what you see or do on any given trip, what exactly do you see and do? (Sincere question.)

We've learned to be relaxed vacationers. Back when we were younger it was fun to run around the parks and it was challenging to see if we could do as much as possible. The first time we returned with kids we just assumed we could continue but that trip was exhausting and ended the park challenge. For the rest of the trips with the kids we would establish a goal per person. The trips were busy and full but we insured down time. No QS - TS only with kids. It relaxed them and gave us time to evaluate if they had more park in them or it was time to hit the pool.

The first vacation we were able to go without the kids we literally spend the arrival day walking around. We didn't go on a single ride. It was amazing. It was relaxing. We'll never forget it. Now, we enter a park and enjoy whatever has a 20 minute wait. We pick out details that we've never noticed or forgotten. We enjoy the themes of the parks, the resorts, the restaurants. When we were young we couldn't imagine why people were just sitting around relaxing and now we're those people.

 

[momsquad]

Having just returned 2 weeks ago, and a Disney Diva since 1983, here's my 3 cent opinion . . .
My Disney trips are usually once/twice a year. No annual pass. Usually only 4 to 6 nights. So we try to maximize everything we can while there.
Do I like what now appears to be the nickel & dime-ing charges? No. I'll get over it. Do I like having to plan so very much of my day in advance? Not really. But again, I'll do it. Why? So once I'm at the parks I can "be on vacation."

The new G+ and $LL system is so anxiety inducing every morning at 7a, then having to set an alarm every 2 hours to get another LL all morning long, then by 4p realizing you're not going to get the ride/attraction you tried all day for unless you stand in a 90 minute line . . .

THIS! THIS is what is magic robbing. I was NOT on vacation in the parks. All the pre-planning possible could not guarantee my phone would work fast enough at 7a, my fingers would type quick enough, and the "system" would process quickly enough to get me an $LL for ROTR when I hoped I could. Putting that stress at the start of every morning is not "vacation" for me.
I will "jump through the hoops," play by the rules, plan endlessly in advance . . . but at some point, I want to be able to ENJOY my vacation. My feelings are, with the new system there is never the "enjoy vacation" time. Must always be planning the NEXT hour so as to not be able to enjoy THIS hour. (I hope that makes sense.)

Yes, I know I can simply stand in line. I know I can forget all the headliner rides. But that is not why I take time off work, save my money, plan in advance for my once, maybe twice a year vacation. I go for the headliner rides! The new dining venues. The big attractions. I'm willing to plan in advance, and *gulp* pay even more to avoid the long lines. But even following all the rules I missed out on some I wanted and more importantly, was not relaxed.

No longer a vacation = Magic definitely diminished.

Actually returned and did NOT book my next trip to Disney. Something I have always done for a couple decades now.

 

[Bandit2018!]

I couldnt agree more, although I havent been in 10 years, Im planning to go this year and it is suddenly the most involved planning for a vacation Ive ever done! The amount of planning and effort and work its taking just to make sure you have the possibilty to be at the park and the rides and the restaurants you want is crazy!! The idea of just showing up feels ridiculous (or maybe thats actually the way to keep the magic? Zero expectation/plan?!)
I am dreading being there and being glued to my phone with the stresses of getting a G+ or LL (still dont fully understand them!) or checking to get a walk up reservation - I probably would be on my phone less at work!! Im taking a vacation to unplug, not be even more glued to my phone!
It makes me wonder - maybe Disney will get to a place where you pay for them to do all this legwork? Fill out what you want and it takes on managing it?

 

[Blondie58]

I couldnt agree more, although I havent been in 10 years, Im planning to go this year and it is suddenly the most involved planning for a vacation Ive ever done! The amount of planning and effort and work its taking just to make sure you have the possibilty to be at the park and the rides and the restaurants you want is crazy!! The idea of just showing up feels ridiculous (or maybe thats actually the way to keep the magic? Zero expectation/plan?!)
I am dreading being there and being glued to my phone with the stresses of getting a G+ or LL (still dont fully understand them!) or checking to get a walk up reservation - I probably would be on my phone less at work!! Im taking a vacation to unplug, not be even more glued to my phone!
It makes me wonder - maybe Disney will get to a place where you pay for them to do all this legwork? Fill out what you want and it takes on managing it?

I guarantee I am on my phone more at WDW than I am at work. Just not that "free" vacation feeling at the best place on earth like it used to be for us. With sadness we allowed our APs to lapse this summer.