Losing the Magic

[pfp258]

I lived for 3 am Extra Magic hours. Oh man, some great memories.

Some of my daughters favorite memories from their childhood were those 3AM magic hours!

 

[TLSnell1981]

This thread makes me sad and nostalgic for the 90's, it was so wonderful back then, seems I'm not the only one

I thought the Genie + was IN ADDITION to Fast Pass, a way to make things easier for people with those might want the benefits of the premium service, doing it instead of sounds uninspired and cumbersome. Maybe the parks are only jammed because people just can't sort things out or are stuck in a queue so they linger all day taking up space instead of moving all over the place visiting different resorts for meals and going back to swim etc? This would totally trip me us in this way. Is all the fastpass stuff still in place or was it removed? Like, can they just combine the two things?

Sadly, FastPass is history. Genie+ or going standby are your options.

 

[manning]

My family will tell you I'm a bit nuts with planning for vacations. During our early trips, I had color coded charts with park hours/EMH and index cards with restaurant and attraction info, I packed daily outfits in individual ziplock bags for each person, etc, etc. But even though I enjoy that type of planning, I've become jaded about Disney because I feel like it's too much planning, too crowded, and not a value for the price anymore.
Probably the most "magical" part for us was being spontaneous about what park we would visit. Sometimes we would go to the bus stop and just see what bus came next to hop on. Sometimes we would have a random day where each of the kids would get a turn to choose something they wanted to do. Maybe we would go to MK just to get a haircut, hop on the monorail to Epcot to watch Miyuki make candy art, walk out the back entrance and take a boat to Hollywood Studios to do an animation class.

We felt free to have that type of spontaneity because with morning extra magic hours and low crowds we were able to do all of our "must see attractions" in that park in just a few hours and were then ready to head out of the park by 11:00. If we wanted to take a five hour nap or hop busses to wander around the other resorts that was fine, because we always had plenty of time to see and do everything we wanted during our trip. We often got 8-10 day tickets which were just a few dollars more than a four day ticket so even if we didn't use all the time it still felt like a value for the price.

Our last trip was in 2019 so before a lot of the post-covid changes, and even that was hardly enjoyable. At rope drop and during morning EMH, we had lines of an hour+ We felt restricted by the fastpasses we had pre-booked. And, honestly, most people in the parks just seemed stressed out, glued to their phones, and constantly keeping track of the time so they didn't miss their FPs, reservations, etc. Pretty much the entire trip we all (kids included) felt like it would have been better if we hadn't even bothered trying to go to the parks and just enjoyed the resorts instead. With the increased prices of the tickets, we also felt way more pressure to "get our money's worth" so we felt like we had to be in the parks for much of the day.

Obviously, I understand that prices will increase over time, but here's a sampling of ticket prices that I found in my email receipts. This is not what I would consider "normal" inflation rate for price increases over a 10 year period. There is nowhere else we vacation that has doubled or tripled in price.
8 day Park Hopper
2012-- I paid $203 (discounted, regular price was $355)
2019-- I paid $479
2022-- Current price for the same ticket is $792

Way exceeds inflation !!

 

[manning]

For me it’s turned into just another theme park, except that it’s way more expensive and in order to feel like you got your money’s worth you have to schedule everything.
It just doesn’t feel like a special magical place to me anymore. It feels like everywhere else, and I can get that feeling much cheaper anywhere else

Six Flags looking more attractive all the time

 

[manning]

The lines remind me of my army days... Hurry up to get in lin and wait, wait, wait!

 

[Westerner]

The lines remind me of my army days... Hurry up to get in lin and wait, wait, wait!

My 1st trip to WDW was in '93. My gf (now wife) and I nicknamed it Disneywait and Epcost Center. And there were no FP's or G+ then.

Six Flags looking more attractive all the time

Good luck with that. My daughter bought a Six Flags AP last summer for $69 or so... she got on 3 rides during the day, each one with a 2-3 hour wait. Platinum Flash Passes to skip the line are $200/pp.

 

[RamblingMad]

Thanks for that informative post! My brother lives West of Nashville and the gas prices now are about $4.00. Hopefully they will go down.
I had to laugh at your comparison of gas prices and driving verses paying for all the upcharges at disney such as Ills, LOL. My husband said the same thing when I questioned our trip to Arizona this April, due to the high gas prices. He laughed and said "We spend thousands every year at disney, and you worry about a few hundred dollars for gas???? I can now see the wisdom in that, and we are going to Arizona.
As a tip: We used to live in Tennessee and have traveled to the Smokies a lot. If you are traveling on I-40 through the state, which you probably are, allow alot of time to get to your destination. I-40 is a nightmare with lots of semi's and cars. It was a nightmare when we lived there, and my brother says its worse now. Hard to believe. But the Smokies are fantastic.

My current plan is to fly into Knoxville and drive to Gatlinburg. I'll use that as my starting spot and go into the park. I really want to hit Le Conte.

 

[antmaril]

My adult son and I visited WDW in November, 2019 and it was a fabulous trip - one of our best out of the many, many trips we have taken to WDW since he was four years old. It was our first time going to Disney when it was decorated for Christmas. We stayed at the Yacht Club -our favorite. I don’t think we will be going again any time soon. Normally, we would be planning another trip because we would be ready. But, because all of the changes since 2019, it just doesn’t have the appeal it once had. We are taking a break. Yes, I think Disney has lost some of its magic. It is not an easy trip to plan - it is very expensive - and the thought of it doesn’t make me happy like it used to. Sadly.

 

[Orion Nebula]

My adult son and I visited WDW in November, 2019 and it was a fabulous trip - one of our best out of the many, many trips we have taken to WDW since he was four years old. It was our first time going to Disney when it was decorated for Christmas. We stayed at the Yacht Club -our favorite. I don’t think we will be going again any time soon. Normally, we would be planning another trip because we would be ready. But, because all of the changes since 2019, it just doesn’t have the appeal it once had. We are taking a break. Yes, I think Disney has lost some of its magic. It is not an easy trip to plan - it is very expensive - and the thought of it doesn’t make me happy like it used to. Sadly.

For the first time ever my family and I did not experience "Disney depression" on our ride back to the airport on the ME (may it RIP). We also didn't start planning a trip a few weeks after our return. In fact we ended up booking a trip to the Riviera Maya and went last October. I am still hesitant now, with the changes, crowds and all of the negative crap going on I just don't want to drop all that cash going back yet.

But sadly I have to swallow the fact that the "good old days" are gone. Which includes the rack discounts and free dining promotions.

 

[TwoMisfits]

One reason for why Disneyworld has gotten ridiculous and ridiculously expensive the last few years that no one talks about - the ENORMOUS population growth of Florida. Once you're in Florida, "the cheap vacation" is a trip to the Orlando parks, b/c you see beaches and pools as the day trip b/c you can get there whenever you want...and it becomes the "see family" trip b/c you can always convince family members with kids to make the trek to Florida with theme parks as a fun activity.

Florida grew 2.7M folks from 2010 to 2020...and that growth has just kept accelerating from 2020 on...

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Just wanted to say to OP thank you thank you thank you for saying “Losing the Magic” and not
“LOOSING the magic”. For whatever reason everyone on here seems to use the word loose (as in “I lost weight now my clothes are LOOSE”) instead of the word LOSE (as in “you win some you LOSE some”). Off topic but a huge pet peeve of mine lol

 

[xipotec]

Once upon a time you would get a “Welcome _____ Family” booklet in the mail a few months before your trip. That was magical.

Once upon a time you would get those yellow luggage tags in the mail a few weeks before your trip. That was magical.

Once upon a time you would land at the airport, walk to the Magical Express and be whisked to your hotel. No thoughts of luggage. That was magical.

Once upon a time your luggage would appear in your room like magic. That was magical.

I still love it, too. But WDW has become industry standard where it once was magical.

Wow, so I was going through some old attic boxes and found this stuff from our 2008 trip.

Customize paper maps with out names on them.

FREE DINING plan at POLY costs half of what basic stay does now.

All kinds of informational booklets….

 

[ronandannette]

I hear a lot of people saying that Disney World is "losing the magic" or that the "magic is being eroded"... how so? I still love it!

I haven't actually gone in years but hope to in September...

What's this Genie Plus system I keep hearing about? Have things changed since I was last there a few years back? Can't you just buy park tickets and go in the parks as you see fit, basically park hopping if you pay enough?

So, OP, what are your thoughts on the feedback you’ve gotten here? If what you love is your recollection of past experiences, it would seem your chances of recreating them are near zero.

 

[xipotec]

If it really did "suck" then why are there massive crowds?

Thank you from your WDW planning guide!

The answer is simple. most guest are not repeat offenders, and they do not know any thing better!

 

[ronandannette]

Thank you from your WDW planning guide!

The answer is simple. most guest are not repeat offenders, and they do not know any thing better!

That’s a good point. I remember our first trip. My information came almost solely from official Disney marketing sources, which I haven’t paid attention to now for years. I wonder how they are spinning the current conditions to attract first-time guests?

 

[xipotec]

That’s a good point. I remember our first trip. My information came almost solely from official Disney marketing sources, which I haven’t paid attention to now for years. I wonder how they are spinning the current conditions to attract first-time guests?

Heres the really hurtful thing……we did it. Disney marketing defiantly works, but I would guess, I myself talking about how great a time WDW was for the past 20 years (and others like me) really made them what they are today.

Word of mouth is probably the most important things people consider when planning any vacation.

As Disney is about to find out, the good experiences/word of mouth built up over decades can all be undone in less than half that time…..hope those short term stock gains are gonna be worth it.

 

[RamblingMad]

Heres the really hurtful thing……we did it. Disney marketing defiantly works, but I would guess, I myself talking about how great a time WDW was for the past 20 years (and others like me) really made them what they are today.

Word of mouth is probably the most important things people consider when planning any vacation.

As Disney is about to find out, the good experiences/word of mouth built up over decades can all be undone in less than half that time…..hope those short term stock gains are gonna be worth it.

I think, for this to have an impact, families need to figure out alternatives.

 

[RamblingMad]

If it really did "suck" then why are there massive crowds?

Simple. Disney has become the go to vacation for families. The suck factor is what you walk away from the park realizing. It's not what you think about when you plan to go and visit. There is also a lot of pent up demand due to lockdown.

 

[MillauFr]

Simple. Disney has become the go to vacation for families. The suck factor is what you walk away from the park realizing. It's not what you think about when you plan to go and visit. There is also a lot of pent up demand due to lockdown.

What I can't figure out is here in Seattle even though our baseball team has stunk for 20+ years, millions of people show up every year to spend $50 for parking, $75 for tickets, $20 for a poke bowl, and $18 for a glass of Riesling? We have other professional baseball teams in Puget Sound that offer a superior product with far lower prices. And yet the fans continue to get fleeced as they file into T-Mobile park to see garbage.

 

[RamblingMad]

What I can't figure out is here in Seattle even though our baseball team has stunk for 20+ years, millions of people show up every year to spend $50 for parking, $75 for tickets, $20 for a poke bowl, and $18 for a glass of Riesling? We have other professional baseball teams in Puget Sound that offer a superior product with far lower prices. And yet the fans continue to get fleeced as they file into T-Mobile park to see garbage.

At the end of the day, people need ways to unwind from work. Going to sporting events is one way to unwind. And local sport teams tend to have a local following. It boils down to what are you going to do to unwind and stay local.