As I keep saying on here TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN, we need to do the following
VOTE WITH OUR WALLETS
TAKE THE GUEST SURVEYS
EMAIL DISNEY
OUTLINE OUR ISSUES, AND EXPLAIN WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO TO CORRECT THEM BEFORE WE CAN RETURN TO THE PARKS
AND FINALLY, ASK FOR A THOROUGH EXPLANATION OF HOW OUR COMPLAINTS ARE HANDELLED
We OURSELVES need to take action, and to TEACH DISNEY A LESSON for pricing us out. The means are justified by an END. That end is a CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP.
I will PERSONALLY ask ANYONE who comments here WITHOUT vowing to put up the fight I’m putting up WHY they’ve chosen not to, and if they think it’s worth it, but I think we MUST band together.
The problem is that boycotting them won’t matter. This past Christmas event nights were like up to around $250 a ticket and it was still selling out. They get rid of FastPass and put in Genie+ for a fee and popular rides are still impossible to get on because they still book out. They get rid of other perks like Magical Express and raise ticket prices and the parks are still crowded. A week long family trip pushes into the thousands and they will continue to pay more not to lose out on this once in a lifetime experience for many. I am lucky that I can get an annual pass and split the payments over the year and use DVC points we got when it wasn’t overpriced … but so many others aren’t so lucky.
Thing is Matthew Disney ignore emails, these days they simply are not interested in its customers. All they want is our money and sadly they don’t care how they get it.
They overcharge extensively and give you far less for your money, they use COVID as an excuse to penny pinch… Its bad business because people do wise up and will tell the mouse to get knotted in the end.
I love Disney, but I hate what this Disney Board has done to its reputations. Replace the board with a new one as these only care about one thing well two actually Money and their Bonuses.
I guess we could be in this cycle for the long haul. Only when Chapek realizes he’s priced the Parks outta all markets will he probably think everything over.
That might be the ONLY silver lining.
And thanks for pulling me back from this driven rehtoric. I’m sorry, Julian but I really found myself asking “Is part of this actually OUR fault?”
So I think I best backtrack on this ‘call to action’ mindset and just leave Disney to its own devices, and PRAY that something good eventually comes out of this
Matthew, I totally agree with telling Disney with your wallet, but a bigger voice is needed. Has anyone approached the bloggers or ITM to see why they haven’t spoken up. ITM has all these comments over the past couple of months, screaming about the changes and why they are done with Disney.
I agree. I’ve been a Passholder for years and DVC. I sold my DVC and don’t plan on going to the parks anymore. I’ll just go on vacation somewhere else and remember the “good old days” at Disney. The place has become a totally different animal that I don’t even recognize.
I kept a count down in my refrigerator on how many days until my next trip. It stands at zero. This has never happened before. With all of these crowds, I don’t want to go anymore.
Count me out!
I think the other issuuse is too many people vs rides I don’t think any fast pass or anything will help sure it makes certain guest go faster but there still is a line
There are 52 rides at Disney world let’s just say for example all rides have 5 seats for a car .
That’s 260 guest at one time. And there are
“Walt Disney World resort in Florida attracts nearly a quarter million visitors per day, according to TEA”
This article says 250,000
They need to add more rides or reduce the amount of people per day by a little
The Disney board is mostly Disney execs, that’s a large part of their pay, stock shares. Iger isn’t the Chairman of the Board for years just because the board liked him, he’s owns a ton of shares after years with the company.
I was an AP holder since 1989. I am disabled and I can no longer afford them, but I also cannot use their reservation system as I don’t know if I will be up to going in advance. It makes me unbelievably sad.
I emailed Bob Chapek directly and it seems that this Genie+ system is his baby and his staff defended its use in their response. How about their new hotel/Galactic Starcruiser for $6000 for two nights?
I totally agree Bob “paycheck” is out of control. Rising prices lowering the experience to unacceptable levels. Cutting food sizes with cutting th cost of the item is just one of the many ways that Disney leadership is trying to generate revenue, I hope in the long run it back fires greatly on Disney. The long term should be guest experience and building a strong loyal customer retention program, Disney had that however in the last two years the current CEO has done his best to Chuck the very thing Walt stood for right out the window in exchange for some “hopefully short term financial gains”. I support boycotting the parks, mercy, etc to force change. The Disney board needs to remove THE CEO SOON!
As long as there are people willing to pay the increased prices and suffer through the lines, your protests are meaningless. If they are selling out the park why would they change anything? They don’t care if you or anyone not happy ever comes back as long as there are those willing to be treated like cattle!
All of you are right, Disney stopped caring about the people and are just looking at the dollar. They have also lower the mitary discount to nothing more that what they advertise on TV. And also if you stay on property you have to pay to park your car at a daily rate also. So if you are on a fixed budget now you will need to add upwards of a couple of hundred more dollars just to park your car. I think alot of the changes could be coming from the new management they are putting in charge of these items. They are pricing themselves out of a lot of people’s budget. My family went to Disney in the past at least once a year. But no more, we will try Universal. And I loved Disney, but enough is enough when you add up all the extra stuff now.
Last time I attended any WDW park was 2012. They’ve priced me out a long time ago, and we haven’t been back since. One time we were staying in FL and thought about going to Magic Kingdom but could not afford to get in, instead we stood outside the main gate to catch a glimpse at their fireworks…yes, pretty sad, right? Like a bunch of losers. WDW has become a resort for the wealthy and this is not how things used to be. I refuse to go nearly broke trying to pay for these over priced tickets. And the complex pre-planning that’s involved??!! I am confused & overwhelmed even reading about the process! It just doesn’t make sense financially or logistically to go to WDW parks anymore. I used to love the place. WDW was my most favorite place years ago, now just a faded memory I will have to leave behind in my rear view mirror. WDW, please wake up and get your act together. Not everyone is a millionaire.
He’s not being racist he’s telling the truth, sorry it hurts your feelings, get over it! We we’re there 1-15 to 1-23 a d I got hit buy more White trash fatties carting around on handicap scooters then I can count. The place was a regular Trump Rally! WDW turned into a white trash festival, I’m white and couldn’t stand being there and couldn’t wait to get to Universal! It least the Hispanics crowd there is courteous and clean! I don’t know haw so many YT’S can afford to go to DWD? Must be saving up for 2 years just for park passes IDK. We’ll not be going back to Micky’s Trailer Park festival for a long time, maybe ever! Unless they raise the price enough to keep YT scotter riding knuckledraggers and their dirty Little crumb snatchers away! WDW blows!
I have been to WDW over 22 times considering I live in Wisconsin, that’s been something I’ve been willing to pay for. When they canceled free parking for guests at their resorts and did away with the magic bus from the airport, i could see where they were headed. Sad to say that I will not be taking my extended family there again. So sad the bean counters have replaced the dreamers.
Sadly, the service has declined even though priced keep increasing. Some of us don’t mind the higher costs if only we received great value in return. In our recent trip to wdw, the trams were still not working, the pet kennels are still closed, dining in the park is limited to junk food unless you scored a reservation months before which limits spontaneity, and what’s with the park reservation system? It seems so unnecessary now and certainly doesn’t seem to be limiting attendance based on the crowds we saw. And, the Genie plus glitched on us twice, losing two reservations. So for our money, we received much less than we did precovid.
The only problem with that logic of encouraging people to not come back, is that if enough people don’t show up, that could mean Employees like you could either lose hours or possibly lose your job entirely.
We need to keep fighting, people! We cannot just go through the motions; only OUR steely resolve to remove Bob Chapek can save Disney; he will eventually have to change his ways once he realizes how much damage he and/or his underlings are doing.
Actions and words directed AT them speak louder than words said HERE
I predict admission to WDW in the not too distant future will be limited to those with an annual pass, or for those staying at a Disney resort. It will become its own little country club, open exclusively to those who can afford it.
All I see here is people just commeting but NOT putting up a fight against Disney and NOT vowing to withold their money, or explain to Disney why they can no longer pay for their goods. We NEED to do so; because it’s the ONLY way that WE as a community can truly bring about the resurgance of Disney.
Is there ANYONE ELSE here AT ALL who agrees with me?
I agree with you whole heartedly. Something needs to be done about Disney. I’m all for a protest, but we would need more people standing on the outside than what is going in. And one of the demands must be no more masks no more covid restrictions. Disney is part of the problem.
I know Disney doesn’t care what we think. That’s very obvious. My extended family was supposed to go in Christmas 2022. The more we are hearing and reading about prices we are thinking we will go to Universal. Walt Disney would NEVER approve of what is going on!! The only thing they care about is money!!! They are not raising prices to cut crowds!!! They’re raising prices to make more money! The current leader? and board are destroying the park and I don’t think it will change anytime soon. The only thing that will change it is if people quit going. Keep this in mind Disney lovers.
Do yourself a favor and skip WDW, biggest waste of money going! Universal was 10 times more enjoyable. You’d get more satisfaction if you just gave Micky your money and let him punch you in the nose.
It’s a business, not a charity. It’s also not a public service. No one is owed anything here. I agree with Matthew when he says people should do something, but why would Disney care about what people who don’t want to pay for their parks think? They’re only interested in guest experience as far as it maximizes REVENUE because they’re a BUSINESS. If you want to go then pony up, prices don’t bother me one bit.
Matthew,
In 2014, we purchased the no expiration passes, so they already have my money for the park passes. However, I have not stayed on property since they started charging to park at resort hotels. I voice my concerns every time I speak with a WDW rep, but I’m sure they are inundated. The parking fee was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Prices are raised due to inflation, we all get that, but in 2012, an off-peak value room was $86/night. Today, the same room is $176 per night, plus $15 per night parking= $191. That’s more than double. In 10 years!! Nope. We leave on 2/17 for Universal. Not staying at their hotels either since they charge to park.
I agree. I won’t be going back until they change their ways. I’m even going to get rid of my DVC interest while I still can before that becomes worthless. Sad really, as I was so happy to have bought in to DVC and now it’s not worth it anymore. Even the exchange system is poor trading out of DVC for Destinations or Cruises.
The thing which made WDW the best for me was its customer service more than anything, and that has apparently gone by the wayside. Sad but true. WDW is degrading to become just another Six Flags park, and that’s not worth the money it costs to go to WDW.
I simply do not understand why the rather obvious solution to the over-crowding problem isn’t being done. They keep building more and more hotels to hold more and more people, without expanding the places those people can go.
The financial resources and space are there to create a 5th, 6th, perhaps even a 7th park. They acquire huge properties like Marvel and Lucasfilm and Fox but don’t do a single thing with that in terms of parks. Instead, they cram more stuff into the same over-stuffed bag. There is no reason why Star Wars couldn’t be its own park experience. There is no reason why Marvel couldn’t be its own park experience. Hell, they’ve got the money to have Santiago Calatrava design a Tomorrowland park like his city in Spain where they filmed that movie.
Wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity. It seems to me like a pot of pasta that is continually boiling over because the pot is too small, has too much water, and they keep putting it back down on the burner instead of simply using a bigger pot.
I feel his pain. I too thought I was going during the “off season” to find the parks packed. Most lines were about an hour which I was prepared for because I wasn’t paying extra for rides. Lucky for me I get a small military discount, so my trip was all that bad.
We cannot just go through the motions; only OUR steely resolve to remove Bob Chapek can save Disney; he will eventually have to change his ways once he realizes how much damage he and/or his underlings are doing.
It’s a pretty straightforward equation. Disney as a corporation generated $201.5 BILLON (with a B) in fiscal 2021. Of that, $16.5 billion was from the Parks and Experiences division. One can expect that number to go up as the “pandemic” subsides but not substantially. The largest segment was Media and Entertainment at $50.8 billion and growing, 25% of their total revenue. As a for profit corporation, where will Disney focus their energies? Walt started the company in cartoons and shorts followed by movies, then opened Disneyland. Although an important revenue stream and one that tugs at the heartstrings of all Disney fans, the Parks also generates the highest operating cost meaning cost maintain and keep the lights on. From a business perspective you invest internally where you get the greatest return and how do you increase revenue in other assets? Now I know this is not want people want to hear. They want to blame Chapek, lack of expansion, no new ideas or regurgitating old for their beloved Parks of their youth. Following Disney’s investment in Galaxy’s Edge, you have Remy and coming are Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Moana’s Water Garden, the New Nemo show and the re-start of many old favorites. Not a terrible line up. I’m not a Disney apologist, but a realist. It’s a different world today and judging from the crowds at the Parks, people don’t seem to mind. So boycott if you wish but the Parks will remain full and Disney has a plan, with or without you.
You’ve really hit the right nail on the head, Evan. This really is one of the most rational explanations I’ve ever heard for Disney’s current way of doing things
Agreed. And I don’t understand why everyone is praising Universal because we were there on New Year’s and a day pass at Universal was going to be $149 vs Disney’s $109 and an Express Pass at Universal was $100/person. The wait times for Universal were all just as long as the Disney parks so not sure why Disney is the bad guy here. Everyone is also complaining about the crowd levels but could imagine how mad everyone would be if they couldn’t make park reservations because the parks were always booked up to keep the crowd levels low? So people need to think about who is able to wave the magic wand to make their unrealistic expectations come true??
The guest experience at Disney World tanked back when they introduced the “My Disney Experience” app, and it’s gotten steadily worse since.
My trip to Disney World in January 2017 was awful, and my final trip in September 2017 was even worse. I never went back.
The experience at Disney World isn’t worth the price charged. That was true in 2017 and it is even more true today. Disney charges an exorbitant amount of money for what amounts to an experience filled with stress, frustration, and disappointment.
Instead of going to Disney World twice a year, I now go to Universal twice a year. The guest experience at Universal is light-years ahead of Disney World, the hotels are nicer, and the pricing is better. Universal is a much more enjoyable place to vacation.
It is still in place and is used so that they can have just the minimum employee headcount working at any given time. It’s largely there to punish annual passholders as they get effectively “standby” type of entrance on busy days. Overall, it’s just for their finance department to plan out employees needed and nothing more. It does not limit any capacity at all as everyone has stated.
You are not going to het WDW to lower their prices. There is always someone willing to pay the price. I have 109 WDW vacations and my youngedt daughters wedding there. Been an A.P. holder for many years and until 2020 had an average WDW vacation every 12 weeks. I no longer purchase A.P or have visited in 2 years because of the pandemic and lousy treatment ftom Disney. I’ll find elsewhere to spend my money.
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I’m actually fine with the price increases “IF” it is worth it. I’m ok to pay more to get more. Let’s face it – this is not a public park – they are not a charity. I get that. They are not responsible to ensure the lowest possible price so that everyone gets to go. Brutal? Yes, but true.
The price increases as well as the quality and experience reduction is why I personally have little to no desire to go. The concept of paying for fastpass but then not being able to use that paid “lexus lane” entry for several hours and effectively being held doing nothing until then is not at all a good experience.
I paid for the annual pass year after year (even when it was less than $200 back in the 90s) as I could go when I wanted to. If it was too crowded, I didn’t get my feelings hurt – I just left. That simple. If a line was 2.5 hours long I didn’t wait. Didn’t get my feelings hurt. If I want to experience something bad enough I’ll wait. It’s a theme park – it’s going to have long lines. Deal. I think this whole “lexus lane” is just crap and should totally go away. Not because of the cost, but because of the execution and poor experience it offers.
I’ve gone to Disney for decades because of the ambience, the experience, the food, the music, and so much more. Nowadays, going to Disney means being buried in your phone all day long. I’ve always shut my phone off when entering the parks as I want to get away from anything and everything. They have based so much of the experience to be ‘phone-based’ that it’s now impossible to leave the outside world. Sad. So many cannot experience what they have to offer as it’s going all phone-based. I’m waiting for them to have attractions be phone-based (it’s coming…).
I think the higher pricing is having the reverse effect. They keep raising prices to discourage higher attendance (get more money from fewer people is what they actually want). But what I think is happening is that people are staying all day long and refusing to ever leave one park once they enter. They need to “get their money’s worth”. And because there is no real park hopping (stupid reasons for that!), there are more crowds in the parks. If people could freely park hop, they’d be stuck on transit for at least 30-60 minutes at a time. Thousands of people on buses, boats, walkways, and monorails that would NOT be stuck in one park. It was short-term thinking that caused this issue — “hey we can charge more to hop…” not realizing that allowing people to hop around actually pulls them out of the parks and brings crowds down. Duh! But that’s what happens when accounting runs the show.
Paid park hopping still works out for Disney. If people are on transportation, they can’t spend money in stores and restaurants. If people park hop less, Disney’s transportation costs decrease. They have no financial incentive for keeping the parks less crowded, and now they rake in even more by charging to hop.
Disney world’s peak was the first half or so of the paper fastpass years from 1999-2008ish (especially those first ≈18 months when old non-active park passes and room keys would work, and some of us were getting 20+ fastpasses at a time). The parks still made up a big enough percentage of their revenue that they weren’t as willing to make greed-based changes that could backfire. Or maybe they just weren’t as greedy.
The only thing that will help the crowds go down is new parks. After opening until 1998 with Animal Kingdom, Disney world averaged a new park every 6.75 years. Now we’re at 24 years since the last one.
For some reason, there is a feeling and belief that a Disney Vacation should be inexpensive and available for everyone to just walk in and enjoy. It is available for everyone, but not without a cost commensurate with the product offered. And some people may have to save for a long time to go there. Just like they have to save to go to any other nice place or to purchase expensive luxury item. I think that fact that it costs an enormous amount of money to manage and operate 4 major theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping district, 30+ resorts, and a transportation fleet of 400+ busses, boats, monorails, and gondolas is lost on the people complaining about the costs. There are 77,000 employees there 24/7 that need to be paid. Just how inexpensive should it be? Walt Disney World is an exceptional place to visit. There are absolutely things that appear to be a money grab. But for the most part, they have done a really good job doing what they do for their guest. There are 10,308 value resort rooms and 6,976 moderate rooms for those with a lower budget too. That is nearly half of the rooms they have. A one-day pass at a Disney park costs about $143 a day. But compare that to $60 for an 8-hour ski lift in Michigan, $50 for a pass at Cedar Point, $36 to go golfing on a public course, $19.99 to go to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. I really think that the complainers need to reset their expectations.
It’s about the costs of operating the parks? They’ve had the same number of parks since 1998 (or one less now if you count Disney Quest). Park admission has far outpaced inflation during that time.
If increases were limited to the rate of inflation, a Disney pass would be about $67.00. Seems low to me compared to the other theme parks and types of entertainment. In any case, there is no lack of people heading into the parks. People pay what they perceive as a reasonable value. Concerts, sporting events, autos, luxury purses, jewelry, etc. are all now priced higher than the average inflation rate.
I do want to go to Disney but I chose not to. While the price is ridiculous, there is another reason why I can’t go…. there are no longer any non-crowded days. I used to go the week before Christmas or the week after school started. It is too crowded and I know this is going to sound mean, but I don’t care for the type of people who are going now. There are too many incidents that are happening, fights, yelling at workers, disagreements about the use of masks.
In a way, covid has ruined the disney experience for a lot of people.
I think Disney is going to get the biggest wake up call they can imagine in 2025 when Epic Universe is open. Universal has clearly been going for the jugular with all they have done and I think the gloves are coming off when Epic opens. The one thing I wish would happen is for all those imagineers who quit so they didn’t have to move to Florida would take jobs at Universal. That would be a dagger in Disney’s heart
Its time that Disney go out of business. There just to liberal and greedy. Another Millennial disaster. Disney has become toxic and guest unfriendly. It’s time for the mouse to retire.
Have not been to WDW in a decade. Prices and crowds have kept me away. Do not expect things to change. When grown adults wait hours in line for a cookie jar they know they got yoi
Has anyone here ever considered maybe growing up a bit and vacationing somewhere that caters to normal adults or are expensive and tacky, simulated experiences designed for children the only thing you are capable of enjoying?
My husband and I agree with the conclusions of the author and contributing authors of this article. It was exciting when first walking through the gates early in the morning for the first time ever at Magic Kingdom- I was elated about being there and seeing the beautiful castle in the distance gracing the view I had while walking into the park. I yelled to my husband that “I love this! I never want to leave here!” That was at 8 am. By 1 pm, we both working towards the exit, frustrated because not only were we not able to ride any main rides because of the lengthy lines, but we were hadn’t eaten anything but the mediocre breakfast provided near the Frontier Village. We we looking for ANYTHING to eat by 2 pm. But at that time we were elbow to elbow deep with strangers that not unlike us, were seeking to create life long memories with those they love and to just have a great day with each other. I found it ironic that the “happiest place on earth” was filled with so many desperate people fighting other desperate people to get in front of them to get that perfect family picture with *insert whatever photo op you can imagine here* with anger and frustration. Now imagine after all the pushing and shoving to get to the front for their picture, the mad and sad faces are instantly exchanged for a few seconds of fake smiles and happy faces, so that late on their memories can be looked back on with a shred of what appears to be a happy time in their lives. It was truly a shame to see families reduced to this kind of behavior to salvage what little of their vacation they had left. We finally were able to get through the huge, hungry and frustrated crowds to leave. We were not able to buy much of any real food because that too is on a “first come, first buy and reserve” basis which sells out super fast months ahead of time. We ate at a restaurant outside of the park on the way home but learned that we will never got there again without a packed cooler in our car in case we can’t find food readily available. It is entirely oversold and is not something Disney can pull off with the reservation only restaurants. People should know this before going. It happens in all parks and when you leave Disney hungry a couple of times it gets frustrating quickly. Otherwise we enjoyed our time and hope they can make the changes necessary to improve the experience.
It’s way overdue for the parks to be back At 100%!
I’m talking dining plans, buffets, the old buffet way, where you can have the freedom to pick what you want, not what is offered to you!
Time for all to be 100% normal!
The CEO has got to go!
I’m completely with the critics: I were in Dec 21 in the parks for 3 days, also on site. I spent much more money, then on my last trips, which were all longer. I would not even complain about that, but the Disney experience, the magic, was completely gone. And this has nothing to do with the covid restrictions (I really do support them, I really do support distance and masks and so on!). It was about rude cast members, fight in the parks between other guests, Genie+ did not work and you still had to pay, waiting in line for 1h, it broke down, and you even did not get a new fast pass and so on… Where I normally enjoyed my day in the park, I got bothered during the whole day. I wrote that in longer mail with lots of examples to guest service, but did not get any reaction (money back for not working genie+ would be a nice approach).
But anyhow, parks were crowded like Everytime, I do not have the impression that this enormous prices and lack of magical expensive change anything! So why should Disney change something, if they still get payed?
Last time I went to WDW with 4 other family members on military discounted tickets, abt 3 yrs ago, it was way too expensive still! Fast Pass scheduling was a pain in the butt and to hear they are now charging for something similar is definitely price gouging & pricing out a lot of faithful Disney goers/fans. Now a military retiree on a fixed income I am sad to say my Disney days are over, even with the grandkids. Their parents can’t afford regular trips much less fork out the price for annual passholders either. The perks aren’t all that great. Better off visiting state parks & hiking trails fishing boating swimming, etc. Not so stressful. Walt Disney would be really pissed off to see what his descendents have done to the theme parks that is now making the time so stagnant, difficult & unpleasant so much so many are no longer going there. My daughter would sing there with her HS chorus every year at Christmas. It was nice back then. Now, it’s dog eats dog, and it’s showing with every incident of angry & frustrated guests. Who wants to spend a ton of money to deal with that garbage? Not me.
They’ve been catering to the upper-class for the last 10 years..Disney Springs has become an upscale mall for the wealthy..No more trips for my family!!
We travel from uk and are dvc members. We also came in January so it felt more like a holiday than a mission in the parks. Extremely frustrated with how crowded Hollywood studios and magic kingdom are. It’s not reasonable to queue with a 2 year old and 4 year old for over 45 mins but waiting times are well over this for all rides. With LL we’ve also had the same exp logged in at 7am to LL ROR and all gone. I originally logged in at 6:30am but it wouldn’t let me reserve until 7am. You cannot move in the parks and all the stores are out of stock of a lot of items!
My unpopular opinion is. This is a holiday resort not a theme park.
-No day trip tickets at all.
-a minimum of 1 week ticket for all parks.
-Only AP holders can do day trips.
-more benefit for staying on resort.
This would reduce numbers a lot and I think it’s reasonable as it is trying to be both a theme park and resort and it isn’t working now due to numbers.
I’m done with Disney. After numerous trips my last trip in July of 2021 ended my Disney trips forever. After spending $4000 on a 5 day vacation I opened an email from Disney charging me $125 TO PARK MY CAR IN THE HOTEL PARKING LOT. That added insult to injury. Our first day at Magic Kingdom 4 rides were broken down. Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Moutain, 7 dwarfs and the teacups. I am disabled so we asked for a room close to the restaurant and we had to walk quite a distance to eat. Needless to say I’ve had it with Disney.
We used to come to Disney World every year or sometimes twice a year and spend a week or 10 days just doing Disney World and no other attractions. Now, we come to Orlando and do other attractions and we may go to Disney World one day during our entire trip and we just pick one park that trip. I can’t stand the crowds anymore. I can’t stand that we can’t get a decent meal anymore. It’s just no fun anymore.
We used to come to Disney World every year or sometimes twice a year and spend a week or 10 days just doing Disney World and no other attractions. Now, we come to Orlando and do other attractions and we may go to Disney World one day during our entire trip and we just pick one park that trip. I can’t stand the crowds anymore. I can’t stand that we can’t get a decent meal anymore. It’s just no fun anymore. And we always used to stay on WDW property. We don’t stay on property anymore.
We just spent a week there during Art fest at EPCOT. Had terrible time for same reasons as stated. Ate off property most nights. So crowded hard to even walk. We went to Hollywood studios and only ate at Brown Derby: attraction lines over 60 minutes. Same at MK, ate at Tony’s and left to ride monorail. We are BW DVC members and are planning to sell points. Next vacation is universal. I completed survey and got the “thanks for your input response. “
Goodbye for now WDW.
Used to go to Disney (Florida) twice a year with the family. It seems all their interested in is money, money, money. I understand that things are and can be expensive, but if you take a family there now, it’s getting out of hand. Their revenue is in the BILLIONS, and their CEO makes many millions, but not everyone can afford this constant up pricing
I used Genie + and Lightning Lane for the first time towards the end of January. They are terrible! Only being able to pick one LL with Genie + is absurd. Of course, you get a LL and it is later in the day. The. You need to wait 2 hours before picking another. Of course any reasonable time slot is gone at that point. Same with paid LL. Good luck trying to get a slot on popular rides. Even if you do, the odds will be that it is late in the day, and if the ride had any issues, you are forced back even further. Not a good ROI at all. I miss the FastPass system where I could book 60 days out and didn’t have to pay for it.
This new system is stressful and made my vacation feel more like work.
We were at wdw in 2020 just weeks before the pandemic. Even then we thought that Disney was getting to expensive. We are both semi retired and have been there several times before. At this point we have no desire to go back for that reason and putting up with the crowds. Once you make a Reservation it’s like they have their hand in your pocket till you leave.
Disney should lower the cap of visitors each day and raise their prices. Since Disney is a business I don’t have a problem for them to raise their prices to what the market will pay. Less crowds will make for a much better experience for their guests and less stress for its employees. Maybe they can split some days 8a-4p and 5p-1a, and charge less for people on a budget can go. 8 hours is decent amount of time.
Our experience is much the same. After more than 3 years of saving and waiting for our Disney trip the price of meals, the lack of a meal plan, the small portions, the cut corners, the cold Disney pool, the horrible service that proved over and over that Disney is no longer focused on guest experience. We will not be back until Disney changes how they run the place and returms back to putting guest experience first. The amount of money we spent should have provided a dream vacation but it really was a nightmare.
The “Disney Magic” at both WDW and DL that my family has loved since 1982 (at least once and sometimes twice per year) was the Value that Disney used to leave on the table – things that you didn’t expect which were above and beyond the rides. Some of those are still there, things like the parades, the fireworks, the cleanliness, the helpful employees. But now that MBA’s are making the decisions, they are forcing more and more people to pay for those delights, and so it is a place where you have to get your wallet out if you want to experience things the way they used to be – thus, the Disney MBA’s have taken all that excess value off the table. But the unintended effect is that the Disney Magic is gone (at least it is for my family).
In January 2020, we went on a “spur of the moment” trip, which meant we were unable to get fast passes ahead of time. We stood in the standby lines for hours and watched the FastPass guests get on the rides. I told my family that I was done with WDW. But, when COVID hit and we saw pictures of empty queues, we made another trip in August 2020. We hated wearing the masks, but other than that, it was the best trip our family ever had. We couldn’t park hop, but it turns out that when you can ride every ride you want by 2pm, there is no need to park hop. Good thing, because now that the parks have returned to “normal” (I used quotes because it is “the NEW normal,” not the normal of our memories), everything seems to be worse than it was on our hated January trip.
No more Magical Express. No more free parking at the hotels. Extra magic hours a vestige of what it used to be. No more using the FastPass system to ride the rides we want, in the order we like to go through the parks. Even Genie+, which you have to pay for, will not get you fast passes for the best rides (which you have to pay even more for!). For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the re-introduction of Annual Passes. COVID made them go away, at the same time that management was saying they wanted to focus on the high margin customers. So I couldn’t figure out why they opened the gates back up to the locals, who eat before they head out for an afternoon and buy their Tshirts at the local Walmart. It made no sense at all – until they introduced the Lightning Lane. Then it all made sense: the locals are the cattle that they are using to drive the non-locals to pay for Genie+ and LL. Of course they will pay, they already paid thousands of dollars just to get there and stay there, why not pay a few hundred more to have a good time? In the mean time, those who don’t pay will stand in the standby lines and watch the other folks get on the rides. Disney gets extra revenue from some customers, but it devalues the experience of all customers.
For nearly 40 years, our family would tell you that Disney World was expensive, but worth it. Now we say that it is too expensive, too crowded, too frustrating, and worst of all, when you go there you can’t avoid your memories of the time that it really was “the happiest place on earth.” All of these reasons team together to make WDW one of the saddest places on earth for my family.
I absolutely agree. Disney has gotten out of control. I used to go every few years. I understand they have a lot of expenses, but at the cost (no pun intended) of guest experience and the fact that you need a small mortgage just to go. The fact that prices continue to sky rocket is absurd. I think that if they keep this up, Universal (who like the other resorts in Orlando and follows Disney’s price increase in suit) will end up costing less and being the destination choice. C’mon Disney, get your act together and realize that WDW isn’t for everyone anymore, just those with a big income or can go into debt for a high anxiety, stress filled, frustrating experience
My family went for Christmas and it was amazing. We had genie plus and only bought one lightening lane pass. We waited no longer than 10 minutes except to see the lion king which was a 30 min wait. We rode everything and we are already planning our next trip back.
We have been Annual Pass Holders for 10 Years! My last trip was 2 Weeks ago! We now have the Pixie Dust Pass, the price was fair but the lines were crazy! I am a Disabled Veteran & took advantage of the DAS Pass. It helped a little but getting around with a wheel chair was horrible !! I think this will be our last time buying Annual Passes to WDW!
If I hadn’t promised my Great Grandson I would take him to Disneyland when he was big enough to ride the big rides, I would not be going in a couple of weeks. The price is way out of control and crowds beyond being crowded and to add a paid fast pass to MAYBE get the rides you want well…for the price one goes for a few days, you could go someplace for a week or more and actually relax and enjoy..I will not be returning. It seems that as so many other things in the world anymore, those with the most cash wins and that’s how they will eventually control the crowds.
I was an AP holder since 08- 2018 with all the bs their pulling, rather save my money and not renew anytime soon. Forget Disney and cherish the memories So long Disneyland, you wont be taking my hard earned money like a PIMP. #imnoturhoedisney
My family always goes in late January because the crowds are generally lower. We were SHOCKED by the incredibly amount of people at magic Kingdom this week. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it. Based on my recent experience, I cannot imagine what a “busy time” would be like. I have very young children and was able to take them on most of the rides they wanted to go on. Since I coughed up that extra money our waits were not long, but I still just cannot get over the crowds. Just…wow.
For our family of 15 for 14 days it will now cost an extra $10,220 because of removal of free:
1. Parking at Resort Hotels
2. Dining Plan
3. Magibands
4. Refillable Mugs
5. Fast Passes
There are food and ticket increases and we still have to buy flights and Resort Hotels. In addition, ad hoc Park Hopping was great but now we have to plan and may not be able to visit when we want to.
So now the ‘value for money’ feeling has gone for us and no amount of ‘magical experiences’ will overcome that; plus Disney has made it onerous to visit the Parks and the Rides.
Can’t have it both ways. You can’t complain that it’s too crowded AND too expensive. If it’s too crowded then maybe it’s too affordable. If it’s too expensive then don’t pay. Supply and demand is a fairly simple concept.
In addition you are not even addressing that you can pay park employees (off the books) on their day off to get you and your family immediately into all the great rides. That is a scam that Disney has never shut down.
I think people forget what it was like before Covid. They just got used to the parks being empty and think that’s the norm. I have been going since the mid 80s. It’s always been insane. I think the “quality” of the experience has been brought down by this entitlement mentality. People who could not afford to suddenly could. Now the prices are following demand and they cannot go. I am on the edge of being able to comfortably afford our passes this year and had a long discussion with my wife on if it was worth it. To us, it is so we renewed. It’s a choice to go and if you are not a fan of how it is right now, don’t go. There are other parks. It’s a choice. Why choose to not be happy. I for one am ok with the price hikes if it slows attendance. Double or triple the cost. If I find it worth it I will find the money to go.
When we lived in Los Angeles I would take my children and visiting relatives to Disney every year. Since going to the south Disney world is the the best vacation. Too many people and too expensive and too hot
So I always love going to the Disney Parks but looking at the wait times and just the sheer cost, its just not worth it.
$15 for the Flashpass or whatever its called would be super cheap at a Cedar Fair park, especially compared to what they charge now for the same service. The difference is I’m not paying a metric ton of cash per day if I go to a Cedar Fair park.
My vacation for next year is to do the parks of Europe. See Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen (which Walt visited when building Disneyland), Phantasialand (which the Disney company looked to for help with Disneyland Paris), and Eftling. Even if its a tad more expensive then the Disney parks, its only a tad more and its completely new, so its more worth it to me.
On a separate note, I’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo Disneyland. Maybe next year would be a good time to try that.
This is spot on. Even if you are willing to pay the crazy money based on your past positive experiences, you now leave frustrated and feeling silly for what you just purchased. I never regretted the money paid for the trips until returning in 2021 where I literally felt like I was being ripped off right in front of me and was happy to be going home for the first time ever.
Live in Florida and “use” to be an Annual Passholder…….NOT anymore. Can’t afford all the constant Disney price increases. They have priced us out of the parks plus the crowds are horrendous. During these COVID times I’m not going to constantly bump shoulders with the throngs Disney lets in. Disney is out for $$$$$$$$$$$$ and seems to care less about it’s guests. Have visited Disney for over 40 years now and it’s come to the point where enough is enough. Disney is greedy and the once personalized “magic” experiences are now gone. Disney wants to only cater to the Rich and will not bother with the rest of us.
Comments for Guests Say Disney Is Pricing Them Out, Calls Park Experience a “Nightmare”
Matthew Muir
As I keep saying on here TIME AND TIME AND TIME AGAIN, we need to do the following
VOTE WITH OUR WALLETS
TAKE THE GUEST SURVEYS
EMAIL DISNEY
OUTLINE OUR ISSUES, AND EXPLAIN WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO TO CORRECT THEM BEFORE WE CAN RETURN TO THE PARKS
AND FINALLY, ASK FOR A THOROUGH EXPLANATION OF HOW OUR COMPLAINTS ARE HANDELLED
We OURSELVES need to take action, and to TEACH DISNEY A LESSON for pricing us out. The means are justified by an END. That end is a CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP.
I will PERSONALLY ask ANYONE who comments here WITHOUT vowing to put up the fight I’m putting up WHY they’ve chosen not to, and if they think it’s worth it, but I think we MUST band together.
Just a thought
Matthew Muir
or in short
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
John
The problem is that boycotting them won’t matter. This past Christmas event nights were like up to around $250 a ticket and it was still selling out. They get rid of FastPass and put in Genie+ for a fee and popular rides are still impossible to get on because they still book out. They get rid of other perks like Magical Express and raise ticket prices and the parks are still crowded. A week long family trip pushes into the thousands and they will continue to pay more not to lose out on this once in a lifetime experience for many. I am lucky that I can get an annual pass and split the payments over the year and use DVC points we got when it wasn’t overpriced … but so many others aren’t so lucky.
Julian H
Thing is Matthew Disney ignore emails, these days they simply are not interested in its customers. All they want is our money and sadly they don’t care how they get it.
They overcharge extensively and give you far less for your money, they use COVID as an excuse to penny pinch… Its bad business because people do wise up and will tell the mouse to get knotted in the end.
I love Disney, but I hate what this Disney Board has done to its reputations. Replace the board with a new one as these only care about one thing well two actually Money and their Bonuses.
Matthew
I guess we could be in this cycle for the long haul. Only when Chapek realizes he’s priced the Parks outta all markets will he probably think everything over.
That might be the ONLY silver lining.
And thanks for pulling me back from this driven rehtoric. I’m sorry, Julian but I really found myself asking “Is part of this actually OUR fault?”
Matthew
So I think I best backtrack on this ‘call to action’ mindset and just leave Disney to its own devices, and PRAY that something good eventually comes out of this
Julian H
I fear you are correct Matthew, sadly the good old days are gone for now it seems at least.
Karen
Matthew, I totally agree with telling Disney with your wallet, but a bigger voice is needed. Has anyone approached the bloggers or ITM to see why they haven’t spoken up. ITM has all these comments over the past couple of months, screaming about the changes and why they are done with Disney.
Kathy
I agree. I’ve been a Passholder for years and DVC. I sold my DVC and don’t plan on going to the parks anymore. I’ll just go on vacation somewhere else and remember the “good old days” at Disney. The place has become a totally different animal that I don’t even recognize.
I kept a count down in my refrigerator on how many days until my next trip. It stands at zero. This has never happened before. With all of these crowds, I don’t want to go anymore.
Count me out!
Thir
I think the other issuuse is too many people vs rides I don’t think any fast pass or anything will help sure it makes certain guest go faster but there still is a line
There are 52 rides at Disney world let’s just say for example all rides have 5 seats for a car .
That’s 260 guest at one time. And there are
“Walt Disney World resort in Florida attracts nearly a quarter million visitors per day, according to TEA”
This article says 250,000
They need to add more rides or reduce the amount of people per day by a little
Pete
The Disney board is mostly Disney execs, that’s a large part of their pay, stock shares. Iger isn’t the Chairman of the Board for years just because the board liked him, he’s owns a ton of shares after years with the company.
Lynn
I was an AP holder since 1989. I am disabled and I can no longer afford them, but I also cannot use their reservation system as I don’t know if I will be up to going in advance. It makes me unbelievably sad.
Paul
I emailed Bob Chapek directly and it seems that this Genie+ system is his baby and his staff defended its use in their response. How about their new hotel/Galactic Starcruiser for $6000 for two nights?
Brett Edwards
I totally agree Bob “paycheck” is out of control. Rising prices lowering the experience to unacceptable levels. Cutting food sizes with cutting th cost of the item is just one of the many ways that Disney leadership is trying to generate revenue, I hope in the long run it back fires greatly on Disney. The long term should be guest experience and building a strong loyal customer retention program, Disney had that however in the last two years the current CEO has done his best to Chuck the very thing Walt stood for right out the window in exchange for some “hopefully short term financial gains”. I support boycotting the parks, mercy, etc to force change. The Disney board needs to remove THE CEO SOON!
Ken
As long as there are people willing to pay the increased prices and suffer through the lines, your protests are meaningless. If they are selling out the park why would they change anything? They don’t care if you or anyone not happy ever comes back as long as there are those willing to be treated like cattle!
Connie
All of you are right, Disney stopped caring about the people and are just looking at the dollar. They have also lower the mitary discount to nothing more that what they advertise on TV. And also if you stay on property you have to pay to park your car at a daily rate also. So if you are on a fixed budget now you will need to add upwards of a couple of hundred more dollars just to park your car. I think alot of the changes could be coming from the new management they are putting in charge of these items. They are pricing themselves out of a lot of people’s budget. My family went to Disney in the past at least once a year. But no more, we will try Universal. And I loved Disney, but enough is enough when you add up all the extra stuff now.
HShiller80
Last time I attended any WDW park was 2012. They’ve priced me out a long time ago, and we haven’t been back since. One time we were staying in FL and thought about going to Magic Kingdom but could not afford to get in, instead we stood outside the main gate to catch a glimpse at their fireworks…yes, pretty sad, right? Like a bunch of losers. WDW has become a resort for the wealthy and this is not how things used to be. I refuse to go nearly broke trying to pay for these over priced tickets. And the complex pre-planning that’s involved??!! I am confused & overwhelmed even reading about the process! It just doesn’t make sense financially or logistically to go to WDW parks anymore. I used to love the place. WDW was my most favorite place years ago, now just a faded memory I will have to leave behind in my rear view mirror. WDW, please wake up and get your act together. Not everyone is a millionaire.
Lloyd Bonified
Keep up the great work Bob! PRICE THEM OUT! Let’s rid ourselves of the grubby tattooed riffraff once and for all.
Julia
Really? That’s a gross remark silver spoon boy.
EMM
He is either joking or a troll. Either way he added no value.
Lloyd Bonified
No value describes the majority of RiffRaff who frequent the parks. They are the problem!
Paul
Racist
Pudintaine Whomsley
He’s not being racist he’s telling the truth, sorry it hurts your feelings, get over it! We we’re there 1-15 to 1-23 a d I got hit buy more White trash fatties carting around on handicap scooters then I can count. The place was a regular Trump Rally! WDW turned into a white trash festival, I’m white and couldn’t stand being there and couldn’t wait to get to Universal! It least the Hispanics crowd there is courteous and clean! I don’t know haw so many YT’S can afford to go to DWD? Must be saving up for 2 years just for park passes IDK. We’ll not be going back to Micky’s Trailer Park festival for a long time, maybe ever! Unless they raise the price enough to keep YT scotter riding knuckledraggers and their dirty Little crumb snatchers away! WDW blows!
Julian H
Lloyd you’re such an arse. Plain and Simple.
Bill
I have been to WDW over 22 times considering I live in Wisconsin, that’s been something I’ve been willing to pay for. When they canceled free parking for guests at their resorts and did away with the magic bus from the airport, i could see where they were headed. Sad to say that I will not be taking my extended family there again. So sad the bean counters have replaced the dreamers.
Ken Brenner
I think Lloyd was being satirical…
Smith
Sadly, the service has declined even though priced keep increasing. Some of us don’t mind the higher costs if only we received great value in return. In our recent trip to wdw, the trams were still not working, the pet kennels are still closed, dining in the park is limited to junk food unless you scored a reservation months before which limits spontaneity, and what’s with the park reservation system? It seems so unnecessary now and certainly doesn’t seem to be limiting attendance based on the crowds we saw. And, the Genie plus glitched on us twice, losing two reservations. So for our money, we received much less than we did precovid.
Brett Edwards
That’s my point as well I totally agree!!
Disneys Elite Class
I agree with Lloyd. If you can’t afford Disney then go to six flags.
Stevo
As someone who works there please if you feel that way do everyone a favor and never come back
Travis Weberling
The only problem with that logic of encouraging people to not come back, is that if enough people don’t show up, that could mean Employees like you could either lose hours or possibly lose your job entirely.
Pudintaine Whomsley
Amen,
Matthew
We need to keep fighting, people! We cannot just go through the motions; only OUR steely resolve to remove Bob Chapek can save Disney; he will eventually have to change his ways once he realizes how much damage he and/or his underlings are doing.
Actions and words directed AT them speak louder than words said HERE
Jim
I predict admission to WDW in the not too distant future will be limited to those with an annual pass, or for those staying at a Disney resort. It will become its own little country club, open exclusively to those who can afford it.
Matthew
Why are you not fighting, then?
Matthew
Or is Disney always going to win no matter how much or how LITTLE money WE give them?
Scooby-Doo
There’s no way they could do even close to the same revenue with that model.
Matthew
All I see here is people just commeting but NOT putting up a fight against Disney and NOT vowing to withold their money, or explain to Disney why they can no longer pay for their goods. We NEED to do so; because it’s the ONLY way that WE as a community can truly bring about the resurgance of Disney.
Is there ANYONE ELSE here AT ALL who agrees with me?
Sue
I agree with you whole heartedly. Something needs to be done about Disney. I’m all for a protest, but we would need more people standing on the outside than what is going in. And one of the demands must be no more masks no more covid restrictions. Disney is part of the problem.
Scooby-Doo
Why, exactly, must that be one of the demands? Just as ridiculous as saying they need to stop requiring pants.
Christine
I know Disney doesn’t care what we think. That’s very obvious. My extended family was supposed to go in Christmas 2022. The more we are hearing and reading about prices we are thinking we will go to Universal. Walt Disney would NEVER approve of what is going on!! The only thing they care about is money!!! They are not raising prices to cut crowds!!! They’re raising prices to make more money! The current leader? and board are destroying the park and I don’t think it will change anytime soon. The only thing that will change it is if people quit going. Keep this in mind Disney lovers.
Pudintaine Whomsley
Do yourself a favor and skip WDW, biggest waste of money going! Universal was 10 times more enjoyable. You’d get more satisfaction if you just gave Micky your money and let him punch you in the nose.
JT
It’s a business, not a charity. It’s also not a public service. No one is owed anything here. I agree with Matthew when he says people should do something, but why would Disney care about what people who don’t want to pay for their parks think? They’re only interested in guest experience as far as it maximizes REVENUE because they’re a BUSINESS. If you want to go then pony up, prices don’t bother me one bit.
Shannon
Matthew,
In 2014, we purchased the no expiration passes, so they already have my money for the park passes. However, I have not stayed on property since they started charging to park at resort hotels. I voice my concerns every time I speak with a WDW rep, but I’m sure they are inundated. The parking fee was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Prices are raised due to inflation, we all get that, but in 2012, an off-peak value room was $86/night. Today, the same room is $176 per night, plus $15 per night parking= $191. That’s more than double. In 10 years!! Nope. We leave on 2/17 for Universal. Not staying at their hotels either since they charge to park.
Pete
I agree. I won’t be going back until they change their ways. I’m even going to get rid of my DVC interest while I still can before that becomes worthless. Sad really, as I was so happy to have bought in to DVC and now it’s not worth it anymore. Even the exchange system is poor trading out of DVC for Destinations or Cruises.
Michael
The thing which made WDW the best for me was its customer service more than anything, and that has apparently gone by the wayside. Sad but true. WDW is degrading to become just another Six Flags park, and that’s not worth the money it costs to go to WDW.
I simply do not understand why the rather obvious solution to the over-crowding problem isn’t being done. They keep building more and more hotels to hold more and more people, without expanding the places those people can go.
The financial resources and space are there to create a 5th, 6th, perhaps even a 7th park. They acquire huge properties like Marvel and Lucasfilm and Fox but don’t do a single thing with that in terms of parks. Instead, they cram more stuff into the same over-stuffed bag. There is no reason why Star Wars couldn’t be its own park experience. There is no reason why Marvel couldn’t be its own park experience. Hell, they’ve got the money to have Santiago Calatrava design a Tomorrowland park like his city in Spain where they filmed that movie.
Wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity. It seems to me like a pot of pasta that is continually boiling over because the pot is too small, has too much water, and they keep putting it back down on the burner instead of simply using a bigger pot.
Lawrence Lewis
I feel his pain. I too thought I was going during the “off season” to find the parks packed. Most lines were about an hour which I was prepared for because I wasn’t paying extra for rides. Lucky for me I get a small military discount, so my trip was all that bad.
Matthew Muir
We cannot just go through the motions; only OUR steely resolve to remove Bob Chapek can save Disney; he will eventually have to change his ways once he realizes how much damage he and/or his underlings are doing.
Am I the ONLY one who understands that?
Evan
It’s a pretty straightforward equation. Disney as a corporation generated $201.5 BILLON (with a B) in fiscal 2021. Of that, $16.5 billion was from the Parks and Experiences division. One can expect that number to go up as the “pandemic” subsides but not substantially. The largest segment was Media and Entertainment at $50.8 billion and growing, 25% of their total revenue. As a for profit corporation, where will Disney focus their energies? Walt started the company in cartoons and shorts followed by movies, then opened Disneyland. Although an important revenue stream and one that tugs at the heartstrings of all Disney fans, the Parks also generates the highest operating cost meaning cost maintain and keep the lights on. From a business perspective you invest internally where you get the greatest return and how do you increase revenue in other assets? Now I know this is not want people want to hear. They want to blame Chapek, lack of expansion, no new ideas or regurgitating old for their beloved Parks of their youth. Following Disney’s investment in Galaxy’s Edge, you have Remy and coming are Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Moana’s Water Garden, the New Nemo show and the re-start of many old favorites. Not a terrible line up. I’m not a Disney apologist, but a realist. It’s a different world today and judging from the crowds at the Parks, people don’t seem to mind. So boycott if you wish but the Parks will remain full and Disney has a plan, with or without you.
Matthew Muir
You’ve really hit the right nail on the head, Evan. This really is one of the most rational explanations I’ve ever heard for Disney’s current way of doing things
Amy
Agreed. And I don’t understand why everyone is praising Universal because we were there on New Year’s and a day pass at Universal was going to be $149 vs Disney’s $109 and an Express Pass at Universal was $100/person. The wait times for Universal were all just as long as the Disney parks so not sure why Disney is the bad guy here. Everyone is also complaining about the crowd levels but could imagine how mad everyone would be if they couldn’t make park reservations because the parks were always booked up to keep the crowd levels low? So people need to think about who is able to wave the magic wand to make their unrealistic expectations come true??
Steve Eldredge
You mentioned the Tron Coaster. That’s kinda funny!
My last trip to Disney World was September 2017. Construction of the Tron Coaster was under way when I was there.
Since then… Universal built and opened both Hagrid’s and the Velocacoaster!
Gary
No he won’t. He’ll laugh his way to the bank with all his bonuses.
Ken Brenner
God Bless you Lawrence!
Respect from a Navy Submarine veteran…
Steve Eldredge
The guest experience at Disney World tanked back when they introduced the “My Disney Experience” app, and it’s gotten steadily worse since.
My trip to Disney World in January 2017 was awful, and my final trip in September 2017 was even worse. I never went back.
The experience at Disney World isn’t worth the price charged. That was true in 2017 and it is even more true today. Disney charges an exorbitant amount of money for what amounts to an experience filled with stress, frustration, and disappointment.
Instead of going to Disney World twice a year, I now go to Universal twice a year. The guest experience at Universal is light-years ahead of Disney World, the hotels are nicer, and the pricing is better. Universal is a much more enjoyable place to vacation.
Matthew Brewster
Whatever happened to WDW’s reservation system, which was intended to cap attendance, so the parks never get overcrowded? Did the Company abandon it?
ChadMC
It is still in place and is used so that they can have just the minimum employee headcount working at any given time. It’s largely there to punish annual passholders as they get effectively “standby” type of entrance on busy days. Overall, it’s just for their finance department to plan out employees needed and nothing more. It does not limit any capacity at all as everyone has stated.
Al
You are not going to het WDW to lower their prices. There is always someone willing to pay the price. I have 109 WDW vacations and my youngedt daughters wedding there. Been an A.P. holder for many years and until 2020 had an average WDW vacation every 12 weeks. I no longer purchase A.P or have visited in 2 years because of the pandemic and lousy treatment ftom Disney. I’ll find elsewhere to spend my money.
.
Emma
You still need them. Disney just lets more folks in.
ChadMC
I’m actually fine with the price increases “IF” it is worth it. I’m ok to pay more to get more. Let’s face it – this is not a public park – they are not a charity. I get that. They are not responsible to ensure the lowest possible price so that everyone gets to go. Brutal? Yes, but true.
The price increases as well as the quality and experience reduction is why I personally have little to no desire to go. The concept of paying for fastpass but then not being able to use that paid “lexus lane” entry for several hours and effectively being held doing nothing until then is not at all a good experience.
I paid for the annual pass year after year (even when it was less than $200 back in the 90s) as I could go when I wanted to. If it was too crowded, I didn’t get my feelings hurt – I just left. That simple. If a line was 2.5 hours long I didn’t wait. Didn’t get my feelings hurt. If I want to experience something bad enough I’ll wait. It’s a theme park – it’s going to have long lines. Deal. I think this whole “lexus lane” is just crap and should totally go away. Not because of the cost, but because of the execution and poor experience it offers.
I’ve gone to Disney for decades because of the ambience, the experience, the food, the music, and so much more. Nowadays, going to Disney means being buried in your phone all day long. I’ve always shut my phone off when entering the parks as I want to get away from anything and everything. They have based so much of the experience to be ‘phone-based’ that it’s now impossible to leave the outside world. Sad. So many cannot experience what they have to offer as it’s going all phone-based. I’m waiting for them to have attractions be phone-based (it’s coming…).
I think the higher pricing is having the reverse effect. They keep raising prices to discourage higher attendance (get more money from fewer people is what they actually want). But what I think is happening is that people are staying all day long and refusing to ever leave one park once they enter. They need to “get their money’s worth”. And because there is no real park hopping (stupid reasons for that!), there are more crowds in the parks. If people could freely park hop, they’d be stuck on transit for at least 30-60 minutes at a time. Thousands of people on buses, boats, walkways, and monorails that would NOT be stuck in one park. It was short-term thinking that caused this issue — “hey we can charge more to hop…” not realizing that allowing people to hop around actually pulls them out of the parks and brings crowds down. Duh! But that’s what happens when accounting runs the show.
Scooby-Doo
Paid park hopping still works out for Disney. If people are on transportation, they can’t spend money in stores and restaurants. If people park hop less, Disney’s transportation costs decrease. They have no financial incentive for keeping the parks less crowded, and now they rake in even more by charging to hop.
Disney world’s peak was the first half or so of the paper fastpass years from 1999-2008ish (especially those first ≈18 months when old non-active park passes and room keys would work, and some of us were getting 20+ fastpasses at a time). The parks still made up a big enough percentage of their revenue that they weren’t as willing to make greed-based changes that could backfire. Or maybe they just weren’t as greedy.
The only thing that will help the crowds go down is new parks. After opening until 1998 with Animal Kingdom, Disney world averaged a new park every 6.75 years. Now we’re at 24 years since the last one.
KenR
For some reason, there is a feeling and belief that a Disney Vacation should be inexpensive and available for everyone to just walk in and enjoy. It is available for everyone, but not without a cost commensurate with the product offered. And some people may have to save for a long time to go there. Just like they have to save to go to any other nice place or to purchase expensive luxury item. I think that fact that it costs an enormous amount of money to manage and operate 4 major theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping district, 30+ resorts, and a transportation fleet of 400+ busses, boats, monorails, and gondolas is lost on the people complaining about the costs. There are 77,000 employees there 24/7 that need to be paid. Just how inexpensive should it be? Walt Disney World is an exceptional place to visit. There are absolutely things that appear to be a money grab. But for the most part, they have done a really good job doing what they do for their guest. There are 10,308 value resort rooms and 6,976 moderate rooms for those with a lower budget too. That is nearly half of the rooms they have. A one-day pass at a Disney park costs about $143 a day. But compare that to $60 for an 8-hour ski lift in Michigan, $50 for a pass at Cedar Point, $36 to go golfing on a public course, $19.99 to go to Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum. I really think that the complainers need to reset their expectations.
Scooby-Doo
It’s about the costs of operating the parks? They’ve had the same number of parks since 1998 (or one less now if you count Disney Quest). Park admission has far outpaced inflation during that time.
Kenr
If increases were limited to the rate of inflation, a Disney pass would be about $67.00. Seems low to me compared to the other theme parks and types of entertainment. In any case, there is no lack of people heading into the parks. People pay what they perceive as a reasonable value. Concerts, sporting events, autos, luxury purses, jewelry, etc. are all now priced higher than the average inflation rate.
ARosary
I do want to go to Disney but I chose not to. While the price is ridiculous, there is another reason why I can’t go…. there are no longer any non-crowded days. I used to go the week before Christmas or the week after school started. It is too crowded and I know this is going to sound mean, but I don’t care for the type of people who are going now. There are too many incidents that are happening, fights, yelling at workers, disagreements about the use of masks.
In a way, covid has ruined the disney experience for a lot of people.
Matthew
but waht can WE do about it?
Kevin
I think Disney is going to get the biggest wake up call they can imagine in 2025 when Epic Universe is open. Universal has clearly been going for the jugular with all they have done and I think the gloves are coming off when Epic opens. The one thing I wish would happen is for all those imagineers who quit so they didn’t have to move to Florida would take jobs at Universal. That would be a dagger in Disney’s heart
Matthew
Do you have ANY faith that Disney can change at all or do you think the organsiation, no matter who’s in charge, is a LOST CAUSE.
ask yourself.
Jack
Its time that Disney go out of business. There just to liberal and greedy. Another Millennial disaster. Disney has become toxic and guest unfriendly. It’s time for the mouse to retire.
Matthew
Do you think anything that WE do can avert that, or do you think Disney is too greed yo to be stopped?
Matthew
Do you think Disney will eventually man up?
Or is it just a lost cause doubling down harder and harder until it has NOWHERE left to go?
Todd
Have not been to WDW in a decade. Prices and crowds have kept me away. Do not expect things to change. When grown adults wait hours in line for a cookie jar they know they got yoi
Matthew Muir
Do you have ANY faith that Disney can change at all or do you think the organsiation, no matter who’s in charge, is a LOST CAUSE.
ask yourself.
Dildyn Brampthorne
Has anyone here ever considered maybe growing up a bit and vacationing somewhere that caters to normal adults or are expensive and tacky, simulated experiences designed for children the only thing you are capable of enjoying?
Charla
My husband and I agree with the conclusions of the author and contributing authors of this article. It was exciting when first walking through the gates early in the morning for the first time ever at Magic Kingdom- I was elated about being there and seeing the beautiful castle in the distance gracing the view I had while walking into the park. I yelled to my husband that “I love this! I never want to leave here!” That was at 8 am. By 1 pm, we both working towards the exit, frustrated because not only were we not able to ride any main rides because of the lengthy lines, but we were hadn’t eaten anything but the mediocre breakfast provided near the Frontier Village. We we looking for ANYTHING to eat by 2 pm. But at that time we were elbow to elbow deep with strangers that not unlike us, were seeking to create life long memories with those they love and to just have a great day with each other. I found it ironic that the “happiest place on earth” was filled with so many desperate people fighting other desperate people to get in front of them to get that perfect family picture with *insert whatever photo op you can imagine here* with anger and frustration. Now imagine after all the pushing and shoving to get to the front for their picture, the mad and sad faces are instantly exchanged for a few seconds of fake smiles and happy faces, so that late on their memories can be looked back on with a shred of what appears to be a happy time in their lives. It was truly a shame to see families reduced to this kind of behavior to salvage what little of their vacation they had left. We finally were able to get through the huge, hungry and frustrated crowds to leave. We were not able to buy much of any real food because that too is on a “first come, first buy and reserve” basis which sells out super fast months ahead of time. We ate at a restaurant outside of the park on the way home but learned that we will never got there again without a packed cooler in our car in case we can’t find food readily available. It is entirely oversold and is not something Disney can pull off with the reservation only restaurants. People should know this before going. It happens in all parks and when you leave Disney hungry a couple of times it gets frustrating quickly. Otherwise we enjoyed our time and hope they can make the changes necessary to improve the experience.
Michael Batelaan
Disneyland no longer the happiest place on earth. Far from it. Most expensive yes. Most crowded yes. Walt must be rolling in his grave!
Matthew Muir
but what have YOU tried to do about it
Have you tried to withold your money in the HOPE that Disney might improve
THINK ABOUT IT
IT MIGHT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matthew Muir
Do you have ANY faith that Disney can change at all or do you think the organsiation, no matter who’s in charge, is a LOST CAUSE.
ask yourself that
We CANNOT just give up on Disney forever! Surely SOME CEO might be able to save it!!!!!!!
Scooby-Doo
At this point, the only hope would be spinning off Disney Parks as an entirely separate company. I really don’t think that’s going to happen.
Elizabeth
It’s way overdue for the parks to be back At 100%!
I’m talking dining plans, buffets, the old buffet way, where you can have the freedom to pick what you want, not what is offered to you!
Time for all to be 100% normal!
The CEO has got to go!
Chris
Perhaps the Disney execs need a good talking to. Perhaps…. a bit more. -Delbert Grady
Eddie
I’m completely with the critics: I were in Dec 21 in the parks for 3 days, also on site. I spent much more money, then on my last trips, which were all longer. I would not even complain about that, but the Disney experience, the magic, was completely gone. And this has nothing to do with the covid restrictions (I really do support them, I really do support distance and masks and so on!). It was about rude cast members, fight in the parks between other guests, Genie+ did not work and you still had to pay, waiting in line for 1h, it broke down, and you even did not get a new fast pass and so on… Where I normally enjoyed my day in the park, I got bothered during the whole day. I wrote that in longer mail with lots of examples to guest service, but did not get any reaction (money back for not working genie+ would be a nice approach).
But anyhow, parks were crowded like Everytime, I do not have the impression that this enormous prices and lack of magical expensive change anything! So why should Disney change something, if they still get payed?
Pudintaine Whomsley
Good, one less able bodies scooter riding trailer trash to dodge!
Dan
Just think: all that money is going to (depending on your political views) greedy capitalists or a bunch of china loving social justice warriors
Elaine E Carey
Last time I went to WDW with 4 other family members on military discounted tickets, abt 3 yrs ago, it was way too expensive still! Fast Pass scheduling was a pain in the butt and to hear they are now charging for something similar is definitely price gouging & pricing out a lot of faithful Disney goers/fans. Now a military retiree on a fixed income I am sad to say my Disney days are over, even with the grandkids. Their parents can’t afford regular trips much less fork out the price for annual passholders either. The perks aren’t all that great. Better off visiting state parks & hiking trails fishing boating swimming, etc. Not so stressful. Walt Disney would be really pissed off to see what his descendents have done to the theme parks that is now making the time so stagnant, difficult & unpleasant so much so many are no longer going there. My daughter would sing there with her HS chorus every year at Christmas. It was nice back then. Now, it’s dog eats dog, and it’s showing with every incident of angry & frustrated guests. Who wants to spend a ton of money to deal with that garbage? Not me.
Sherrill
They’ve been catering to the upper-class for the last 10 years..Disney Springs has become an upscale mall for the wealthy..No more trips for my family!!
Liam
We travel from uk and are dvc members. We also came in January so it felt more like a holiday than a mission in the parks. Extremely frustrated with how crowded Hollywood studios and magic kingdom are. It’s not reasonable to queue with a 2 year old and 4 year old for over 45 mins but waiting times are well over this for all rides. With LL we’ve also had the same exp logged in at 7am to LL ROR and all gone. I originally logged in at 6:30am but it wouldn’t let me reserve until 7am. You cannot move in the parks and all the stores are out of stock of a lot of items!
My unpopular opinion is. This is a holiday resort not a theme park.
-No day trip tickets at all.
-a minimum of 1 week ticket for all parks.
-Only AP holders can do day trips.
-more benefit for staying on resort.
This would reduce numbers a lot and I think it’s reasonable as it is trying to be both a theme park and resort and it isn’t working now due to numbers.
Cynthia
I’m done with Disney. After numerous trips my last trip in July of 2021 ended my Disney trips forever. After spending $4000 on a 5 day vacation I opened an email from Disney charging me $125 TO PARK MY CAR IN THE HOTEL PARKING LOT. That added insult to injury. Our first day at Magic Kingdom 4 rides were broken down. Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Moutain, 7 dwarfs and the teacups. I am disabled so we asked for a room close to the restaurant and we had to walk quite a distance to eat. Needless to say I’ve had it with Disney.
Mtnlaurel
We used to come to Disney World every year or sometimes twice a year and spend a week or 10 days just doing Disney World and no other attractions. Now, we come to Orlando and do other attractions and we may go to Disney World one day during our entire trip and we just pick one park that trip. I can’t stand the crowds anymore. I can’t stand that we can’t get a decent meal anymore. It’s just no fun anymore.
Mtnlaurel
We used to come to Disney World every year or sometimes twice a year and spend a week or 10 days just doing Disney World and no other attractions. Now, we come to Orlando and do other attractions and we may go to Disney World one day during our entire trip and we just pick one park that trip. I can’t stand the crowds anymore. I can’t stand that we can’t get a decent meal anymore. It’s just no fun anymore. And we always used to stay on WDW property. We don’t stay on property anymore.
Cme61
We just spent a week there during Art fest at EPCOT. Had terrible time for same reasons as stated. Ate off property most nights. So crowded hard to even walk. We went to Hollywood studios and only ate at Brown Derby: attraction lines over 60 minutes. Same at MK, ate at Tony’s and left to ride monorail. We are BW DVC members and are planning to sell points. Next vacation is universal. I completed survey and got the “thanks for your input response. “
Goodbye for now WDW.
Dr. Movie
Used to go to Disney (Florida) twice a year with the family. It seems all their interested in is money, money, money. I understand that things are and can be expensive, but if you take a family there now, it’s getting out of hand. Their revenue is in the BILLIONS, and their CEO makes many millions, but not everyone can afford this constant up pricing
Mike H.
I used Genie + and Lightning Lane for the first time towards the end of January. They are terrible! Only being able to pick one LL with Genie + is absurd. Of course, you get a LL and it is later in the day. The. You need to wait 2 hours before picking another. Of course any reasonable time slot is gone at that point. Same with paid LL. Good luck trying to get a slot on popular rides. Even if you do, the odds will be that it is late in the day, and if the ride had any issues, you are forced back even further. Not a good ROI at all. I miss the FastPass system where I could book 60 days out and didn’t have to pay for it.
This new system is stressful and made my vacation feel more like work.
John
We were at wdw in 2020 just weeks before the pandemic. Even then we thought that Disney was getting to expensive. We are both semi retired and have been there several times before. At this point we have no desire to go back for that reason and putting up with the crowds. Once you make a Reservation it’s like they have their hand in your pocket till you leave.
Truth
Disney should lower the cap of visitors each day and raise their prices. Since Disney is a business I don’t have a problem for them to raise their prices to what the market will pay. Less crowds will make for a much better experience for their guests and less stress for its employees. Maybe they can split some days 8a-4p and 5p-1a, and charge less for people on a budget can go. 8 hours is decent amount of time.
Kelly
Our experience is much the same. After more than 3 years of saving and waiting for our Disney trip the price of meals, the lack of a meal plan, the small portions, the cut corners, the cold Disney pool, the horrible service that proved over and over that Disney is no longer focused on guest experience. We will not be back until Disney changes how they run the place and returms back to putting guest experience first. The amount of money we spent should have provided a dream vacation but it really was a nightmare.
Keith
The “Disney Magic” at both WDW and DL that my family has loved since 1982 (at least once and sometimes twice per year) was the Value that Disney used to leave on the table – things that you didn’t expect which were above and beyond the rides. Some of those are still there, things like the parades, the fireworks, the cleanliness, the helpful employees. But now that MBA’s are making the decisions, they are forcing more and more people to pay for those delights, and so it is a place where you have to get your wallet out if you want to experience things the way they used to be – thus, the Disney MBA’s have taken all that excess value off the table. But the unintended effect is that the Disney Magic is gone (at least it is for my family).
In January 2020, we went on a “spur of the moment” trip, which meant we were unable to get fast passes ahead of time. We stood in the standby lines for hours and watched the FastPass guests get on the rides. I told my family that I was done with WDW. But, when COVID hit and we saw pictures of empty queues, we made another trip in August 2020. We hated wearing the masks, but other than that, it was the best trip our family ever had. We couldn’t park hop, but it turns out that when you can ride every ride you want by 2pm, there is no need to park hop. Good thing, because now that the parks have returned to “normal” (I used quotes because it is “the NEW normal,” not the normal of our memories), everything seems to be worse than it was on our hated January trip.
No more Magical Express. No more free parking at the hotels. Extra magic hours a vestige of what it used to be. No more using the FastPass system to ride the rides we want, in the order we like to go through the parks. Even Genie+, which you have to pay for, will not get you fast passes for the best rides (which you have to pay even more for!). For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the re-introduction of Annual Passes. COVID made them go away, at the same time that management was saying they wanted to focus on the high margin customers. So I couldn’t figure out why they opened the gates back up to the locals, who eat before they head out for an afternoon and buy their Tshirts at the local Walmart. It made no sense at all – until they introduced the Lightning Lane. Then it all made sense: the locals are the cattle that they are using to drive the non-locals to pay for Genie+ and LL. Of course they will pay, they already paid thousands of dollars just to get there and stay there, why not pay a few hundred more to have a good time? In the mean time, those who don’t pay will stand in the standby lines and watch the other folks get on the rides. Disney gets extra revenue from some customers, but it devalues the experience of all customers.
For nearly 40 years, our family would tell you that Disney World was expensive, but worth it. Now we say that it is too expensive, too crowded, too frustrating, and worst of all, when you go there you can’t avoid your memories of the time that it really was “the happiest place on earth.” All of these reasons team together to make WDW one of the saddest places on earth for my family.
JR Wampole
I absolutely agree. Disney has gotten out of control. I used to go every few years. I understand they have a lot of expenses, but at the cost (no pun intended) of guest experience and the fact that you need a small mortgage just to go. The fact that prices continue to sky rocket is absurd. I think that if they keep this up, Universal (who like the other resorts in Orlando and follows Disney’s price increase in suit) will end up costing less and being the destination choice. C’mon Disney, get your act together and realize that WDW isn’t for everyone anymore, just those with a big income or can go into debt for a high anxiety, stress filled, frustrating experience
Kandie
My family went for Christmas and it was amazing. We had genie plus and only bought one lightening lane pass. We waited no longer than 10 minutes except to see the lion king which was a 30 min wait. We rode everything and we are already planning our next trip back.
W Thomas Bower
We have been Annual Pass Holders for 10 Years! My last trip was 2 Weeks ago! We now have the Pixie Dust Pass, the price was fair but the lines were crazy! I am a Disabled Veteran & took advantage of the DAS Pass. It helped a little but getting around with a wheel chair was horrible !! I think this will be our last time buying Annual Passes to WDW!
Annette
If I hadn’t promised my Great Grandson I would take him to Disneyland when he was big enough to ride the big rides, I would not be going in a couple of weeks. The price is way out of control and crowds beyond being crowded and to add a paid fast pass to MAYBE get the rides you want well…for the price one goes for a few days, you could go someplace for a week or more and actually relax and enjoy..I will not be returning. It seems that as so many other things in the world anymore, those with the most cash wins and that’s how they will eventually control the crowds.
Lucas
I was an AP holder since 08- 2018 with all the bs their pulling, rather save my money and not renew anytime soon. Forget Disney and cherish the memories So long Disneyland, you wont be taking my hard earned money like a PIMP. #imnoturhoedisney
Autumn
My family always goes in late January because the crowds are generally lower. We were SHOCKED by the incredibly amount of people at magic Kingdom this week. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it. Based on my recent experience, I cannot imagine what a “busy time” would be like. I have very young children and was able to take them on most of the rides they wanted to go on. Since I coughed up that extra money our waits were not long, but I still just cannot get over the crowds. Just…wow.
Terry Russell
For our family of 15 for 14 days it will now cost an extra $10,220 because of removal of free:
1. Parking at Resort Hotels
2. Dining Plan
3. Magibands
4. Refillable Mugs
5. Fast Passes
There are food and ticket increases and we still have to buy flights and Resort Hotels. In addition, ad hoc Park Hopping was great but now we have to plan and may not be able to visit when we want to.
So now the ‘value for money’ feeling has gone for us and no amount of ‘magical experiences’ will overcome that; plus Disney has made it onerous to visit the Parks and the Rides.
DJ
Can’t have it both ways. You can’t complain that it’s too crowded AND too expensive. If it’s too crowded then maybe it’s too affordable. If it’s too expensive then don’t pay. Supply and demand is a fairly simple concept.
Dennis
In addition you are not even addressing that you can pay park employees (off the books) on their day off to get you and your family immediately into all the great rides. That is a scam that Disney has never shut down.
Chris
I think people forget what it was like before Covid. They just got used to the parks being empty and think that’s the norm. I have been going since the mid 80s. It’s always been insane. I think the “quality” of the experience has been brought down by this entitlement mentality. People who could not afford to suddenly could. Now the prices are following demand and they cannot go. I am on the edge of being able to comfortably afford our passes this year and had a long discussion with my wife on if it was worth it. To us, it is so we renewed. It’s a choice to go and if you are not a fan of how it is right now, don’t go. There are other parks. It’s a choice. Why choose to not be happy. I for one am ok with the price hikes if it slows attendance. Double or triple the cost. If I find it worth it I will find the money to go.
Cindy
When we lived in Los Angeles I would take my children and visiting relatives to Disney every year. Since going to the south Disney world is the the best vacation. Too many people and too expensive and too hot
Sadie
So I always love going to the Disney Parks but looking at the wait times and just the sheer cost, its just not worth it.
$15 for the Flashpass or whatever its called would be super cheap at a Cedar Fair park, especially compared to what they charge now for the same service. The difference is I’m not paying a metric ton of cash per day if I go to a Cedar Fair park.
My vacation for next year is to do the parks of Europe. See Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen (which Walt visited when building Disneyland), Phantasialand (which the Disney company looked to for help with Disneyland Paris), and Eftling. Even if its a tad more expensive then the Disney parks, its only a tad more and its completely new, so its more worth it to me.
On a separate note, I’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo Disneyland. Maybe next year would be a good time to try that.
Brian D
This is spot on. Even if you are willing to pay the crazy money based on your past positive experiences, you now leave frustrated and feeling silly for what you just purchased. I never regretted the money paid for the trips until returning in 2021 where I literally felt like I was being ripped off right in front of me and was happy to be going home for the first time ever.
Rroe
Live in Florida and “use” to be an Annual Passholder…….NOT anymore. Can’t afford all the constant Disney price increases. They have priced us out of the parks plus the crowds are horrendous. During these COVID times I’m not going to constantly bump shoulders with the throngs Disney lets in. Disney is out for $$$$$$$$$$$$ and seems to care less about it’s guests. Have visited Disney for over 40 years now and it’s come to the point where enough is enough. Disney is greedy and the once personalized “magic” experiences are now gone. Disney wants to only cater to the Rich and will not bother with the rest of us.
Thomas g aylesworth
Uuuuuh moy gawsh!!!! She’s been going to Disneyworld twice a year???? Sweetheart, give someone else a chance already.
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