I agree this tour was disappointing. We did “Walk in Walts Footsteps” years ago and it was wonderful. This was just walking around looking at windows and decorations , which I had already done on my own at no extra charge. I won’t be doing another tour again.
How the mighty have fallen! I concur about how it used to be. When we did it, years ago, we toured both parks with interesting stories about how Disney represents the various holidays. We got front of the line to Haunted Mansion, IASW, and Mater’s Jingle Jamboree. We got Gingerbread Mickeys and cocoa in reusable Christmas mugs, seating for the parade, and when the parade was cancelled, we got two Fast Passes to any ride in either park each.
I say the quote from Jurassic Park every time if Walt where alive he would be saying it to the board of directors at his parks “these parks where not meant only to cater to the super rich everyone deserves to experience these parks” it’s sad that his vision has gone on the way side no thanks to people like Bob chippec and Bob iger who are the Master minds behind this at this time
No ma-am Walt would not like this one bit. The next CEO & the ones there after need to be Walt like in his or hers ability with a little bit of Roy mixed in and a touch of Lillian ( Walt’s wife ) thrown in. And they need to be surrounded by staff of the same mind set then my cousins creation can get back on the right track without any distractions by other folks!
I was able to take my children to Disney World every year when they were young, so sad that I won’t be able to do the same with my grandchildren. The cost is just outrageous and the benefits of staying in the Disney resort are gone along with the theme parties. I miss the Osborne lights.
Osborne Lights made a trip to WDW well worth it. This year’s trip to WDW in November was our last after being there for the last 12+ years in November/December. Disney just doesn’t offer anything during the holidays that is terribly exciting or unique. We have better options at home for waaayyyy less $$$!
I remember the holiday tour just as you remembered it and it was great. Disney continues its, “Pay more, Get less.” policies, lising fans along the way.
We took the other tour- Walt’s Main Street Story, after seeing negative reviews of this tour. The highlight was seeing Walt’s apartment, but we did not get to go to the patio because it had rained early that morning and they had us go across the street to get refreshments- a cookie and soft drink. Tour guide was sweet, but seemed nervous about staying “on script”. We have done many tours at WDW and they were great! Disappointed that they did not give a commemorative pin, but knew it only included a lanyard with laminated tag. Glad we got to go in the apartment, but otherwise not worth the price for 1 1/2 hours!
The bottom line is that Disney can more than afford to give everyone a fantastic experience, but they don’t want to. They are cheap. They also exploit the park workers by constantly changing their schedules so that getting a second job is almost impossible and then underpaying them. It’s nothing but exploitation.
Just eat the real deal, Leslie one time is not gonna kill you… when I make my special carrot cake (which is untouchable anywhere) I don’t sub for ANYTHING that is “fake”. you’re on vacation so enjoy it…
If you tell the tour guide that you have allergy issues or whatever they will give you vouchers for other food options that can be exchanged once the tour is over.
We took this tour for the first time over the Thanksgiving Holiday and had a great time. At first we were not sure if it was going to be worth it, however there was some very nice perks that came along with the tour (Also our tour guide was excellent).
At trolley treats everyone was given a holiday Cake Pop, we did get the ride It’s a small world without waiting in line, we had a reserved area where we got to watch the christmas parade and they served hot cocoa in a very nice Holiday tumbler with lanyard, gingerbread cake dessert, and they gave us a really nice 2022 Holiday in the Park tour Pin at the end.
Since we never went on this tour in the past, we could not compare it to previous years, however we did have a good time. It does seem like not all of the tours included the same benefits this year which would be a shame.
Wow! The wife and I did Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour pre-pandemic. It was a half day tour with a great guide full of knowledge. We had headsets that played music as we walked. We walked onto Peter Pan, saw Walt’s apartment, had a great lunch and got an exclusive pin of the tour. What a sham Disney has become. #Skimpflation
Disney seems to be heading to the place it was pre-Eisner, only much more costly. The experience is gone to make way for anything to rake in more profit. All one has to do to see that is to walk up Main St. at WDW. Some of the iconic attractions are gone, to make way for more shops. Main St. at WDW is now nothing more than a shopping mall. Walt would lose his mind if he saw what was happening at his parks. Disney is dying, and they have brought it all on themselves
Used to take the kids there every year (we live in FL). but now its grandkids time? no way. the word is out. back in the day it was affordable for typical john q. now you better be rich. a typical trip there for a family of 4 will set you back thousands. when we started going there Fort Wilderness costs us $14/night. now its 10 fold that. Wages have not kept up to that kinda inflation. forget WDW.
I know, right?? When the park opened in 1955, you could buy a day ticket for the cost of 1.3 hours of minimum wage work. Even a student with a part time job could manage that much. In 1995, it took 7 hours of min wage work to earn enough for a 1 day ticket. Still doable. Today? You would need to work a whopping 22 hours of minimum wage work just to get into the park for a day. And that’s for a single park in the off season, not the hopper, and doesn’t account for taxes and of course include food, souvenirs, or anything else. It truly is insane.
I took the holiday tour 5? years ago but asked for a refund halfway through when I found out not one attraction would be included. We purposely didn’t ride HM, Jingle Cruise, or IaSW because those had always been included, but I went the year they decided to remove all attractions from the tour. It didn’t include anything we couldn’t just see by walking around. I was so disappointed. 2 friends stayed on the tour & did get a reserved seat for the parade & a cookie, but they wished they had followed my lead & asked for a refund, because it wasn’t worth it. Now it seems even worse. Disney has sure gone cheap. No longer any desire to “exceed the guest’s expectation.”
Inflation is out of control
Dis employees on strike
Salaries vs inflation a disaster
Health care out of sight
Don’t blame Dis
You voted for the core of the problem!!!!!!!!!!
It sure isn’t the fault of corporations and shareholders demanding record profits quarter after quarter. Or companies like Southwest Airlines, which has been in the news this week for all the wrong reasons, starting to offer a dividend again in January and also starting a stock buyback again as well.
Nope, it is all the politicians that are the root cause.
Seriously. I could have told you that. It’s no longer the happiest place on earth. It’s the worst place to get value and experience for your money. They just don’t care.
Let’s face it. DISNEY parks are tailored for wealthy people. In order to have even a decent experience you need to spend thousands of dollars in specialty perks. Otherwise it’s a totally miserable experience .
Lol. Despite what Disney does…there are total Disney freaks who will keep paying. My last visit pre-pandemic was mainly grown adults behaving worse than children. Gobbling up all the expensive Spirit Jerseys and popcorn buckets. Seriously..the blame lies on the public who keep Disney raising prices because we keep paying it….no matter how high it goes…..
Okay not the Christmas but the Halloween tour. We were shoved off to the side with earphones and recorded information. We’re taking to spots where special things were supposed to happen. Never did! We’re given fast passes for rides instead of special treatment! We did get a pic with a hitchiking ghost at the end and a choclate rose! Tour was so bad about half of our tour group who didn’t even know each other went to city hall and demanded our money back! There response was basically they would give us our money back but we would not recieve the pin! My freinds response would you like the chocolate rose back too!
We took this tour because it had been so wonderful in the past! It cost us a little ove 100 to take it! I can’t believe we were treated like that!
Needless to say as much as I love disneyland I have not taken a tour since. So sad to hear our experience has now extended to the Christmas tour as well! So glad I didn’t take it this year. So sorry for all of you who have. The magic is fading but it’s still there I catch pockets of it each time I go to the park! Let’s hope Iger can bring it back!
Comments for Guest Debunks Exclusive Disney Parks Experience, “It’s a Total Rip Off”
Lisa
I agree this tour was disappointing. We did “Walk in Walts Footsteps” years ago and it was wonderful. This was just walking around looking at windows and decorations , which I had already done on my own at no extra charge. I won’t be doing another tour again.
Larry
How the mighty have fallen! I concur about how it used to be. When we did it, years ago, we toured both parks with interesting stories about how Disney represents the various holidays. We got front of the line to Haunted Mansion, IASW, and Mater’s Jingle Jamboree. We got Gingerbread Mickeys and cocoa in reusable Christmas mugs, seating for the parade, and when the parade was cancelled, we got two Fast Passes to any ride in either park each.
Gideon
Money! Money! Money!
Just a reminder.
Yoda
Walt would have turn over in his grave seeing the way Disney has changed
Helen
I agree 100 times. This was not his vision of WDW, where families could go and have fun and not have to count ever dime you spend.
Ott
I say the quote from Jurassic Park every time if Walt where alive he would be saying it to the board of directors at his parks “these parks where not meant only to cater to the super rich everyone deserves to experience these parks” it’s sad that his vision has gone on the way side no thanks to people like Bob chippec and Bob iger who are the Master minds behind this at this time
Nancy Beaupre
100%
Soumit Guha
Disney is a Human trap designed by a Mouse
Gary
No ma-am Walt would not like this one bit. The next CEO & the ones there after need to be Walt like in his or hers ability with a little bit of Roy mixed in and a touch of Lillian ( Walt’s wife ) thrown in. And they need to be surrounded by staff of the same mind set then my cousins creation can get back on the right track without any distractions by other folks!
Christina
I was able to take my children to Disney World every year when they were young, so sad that I won’t be able to do the same with my grandchildren. The cost is just outrageous and the benefits of staying in the Disney resort are gone along with the theme parties. I miss the Osborne lights.
Joanne
The Osborne lights were unbelievable. The first time I visited there I had tears in my eyes because I was reminded of all the Christmases past.
JW
Osborne Lights made a trip to WDW well worth it. This year’s trip to WDW in November was our last after being there for the last 12+ years in November/December. Disney just doesn’t offer anything during the holidays that is terribly exciting or unique. We have better options at home for waaayyyy less $$$!
Jeff
I remember the holiday tour just as you remembered it and it was great. Disney continues its, “Pay more, Get less.” policies, lising fans along the way.
Jules
We took the other tour- Walt’s Main Street Story, after seeing negative reviews of this tour. The highlight was seeing Walt’s apartment, but we did not get to go to the patio because it had rained early that morning and they had us go across the street to get refreshments- a cookie and soft drink. Tour guide was sweet, but seemed nervous about staying “on script”. We have done many tours at WDW and they were great! Disappointed that they did not give a commemorative pin, but knew it only included a lanyard with laminated tag. Glad we got to go in the apartment, but otherwise not worth the price for 1 1/2 hours!
Leslie Nerzley
Very disappointed that there are not any sugar free options for diabetics.
Viva
The bottom line is that Disney can more than afford to give everyone a fantastic experience, but they don’t want to. They are cheap. They also exploit the park workers by constantly changing their schedules so that getting a second job is almost impossible and then underpaying them. It’s nothing but exploitation.
lee
Just eat the real deal, Leslie one time is not gonna kill you… when I make my special carrot cake (which is untouchable anywhere) I don’t sub for ANYTHING that is “fake”. you’re on vacation so enjoy it…
wesley
If you tell the tour guide that you have allergy issues or whatever they will give you vouchers for other food options that can be exchanged once the tour is over.
Chris Walker
We took this tour for the first time over the Thanksgiving Holiday and had a great time. At first we were not sure if it was going to be worth it, however there was some very nice perks that came along with the tour (Also our tour guide was excellent).
At trolley treats everyone was given a holiday Cake Pop, we did get the ride It’s a small world without waiting in line, we had a reserved area where we got to watch the christmas parade and they served hot cocoa in a very nice Holiday tumbler with lanyard, gingerbread cake dessert, and they gave us a really nice 2022 Holiday in the Park tour Pin at the end.
Since we never went on this tour in the past, we could not compare it to previous years, however we did have a good time. It does seem like not all of the tours included the same benefits this year which would be a shame.
Scott
Wow! The wife and I did Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour pre-pandemic. It was a half day tour with a great guide full of knowledge. We had headsets that played music as we walked. We walked onto Peter Pan, saw Walt’s apartment, had a great lunch and got an exclusive pin of the tour. What a sham Disney has become. #Skimpflation
Greg B
Disney seems to be heading to the place it was pre-Eisner, only much more costly. The experience is gone to make way for anything to rake in more profit. All one has to do to see that is to walk up Main St. at WDW. Some of the iconic attractions are gone, to make way for more shops. Main St. at WDW is now nothing more than a shopping mall. Walt would lose his mind if he saw what was happening at his parks. Disney is dying, and they have brought it all on themselves
lee
Used to take the kids there every year (we live in FL). but now its grandkids time? no way. the word is out. back in the day it was affordable for typical john q. now you better be rich. a typical trip there for a family of 4 will set you back thousands. when we started going there Fort Wilderness costs us $14/night. now its 10 fold that. Wages have not kept up to that kinda inflation. forget WDW.
Paul W
I know, right?? When the park opened in 1955, you could buy a day ticket for the cost of 1.3 hours of minimum wage work. Even a student with a part time job could manage that much. In 1995, it took 7 hours of min wage work to earn enough for a 1 day ticket. Still doable. Today? You would need to work a whopping 22 hours of minimum wage work just to get into the park for a day. And that’s for a single park in the off season, not the hopper, and doesn’t account for taxes and of course include food, souvenirs, or anything else. It truly is insane.
Rose
I took the holiday tour 5? years ago but asked for a refund halfway through when I found out not one attraction would be included. We purposely didn’t ride HM, Jingle Cruise, or IaSW because those had always been included, but I went the year they decided to remove all attractions from the tour. It didn’t include anything we couldn’t just see by walking around. I was so disappointed. 2 friends stayed on the tour & did get a reserved seat for the parade & a cookie, but they wished they had followed my lead & asked for a refund, because it wasn’t worth it. Now it seems even worse. Disney has sure gone cheap. No longer any desire to “exceed the guest’s expectation.”
Bob
Inflation is out of control
Dis employees on strike
Salaries vs inflation a disaster
Health care out of sight
Don’t blame Dis
You voted for the core of the problem!!!!!!!!!!
aaron
Right….
It sure isn’t the fault of corporations and shareholders demanding record profits quarter after quarter. Or companies like Southwest Airlines, which has been in the news this week for all the wrong reasons, starting to offer a dividend again in January and also starting a stock buyback again as well.
Nope, it is all the politicians that are the root cause.
Jarvis
Yep this country is going to hell, deliberately. How people don’t see it is astounding.
Jay
Seriously. I could have told you that. It’s no longer the happiest place on earth. It’s the worst place to get value and experience for your money. They just don’t care.
alliekat9090
Let’s face it. DISNEY parks are tailored for wealthy people. In order to have even a decent experience you need to spend thousands of dollars in specialty perks. Otherwise it’s a totally miserable experience .
Jarvis
I like how certain posters here tell you to lie to get free stuff. We know how you voted.
Andrew
Lol. Despite what Disney does…there are total Disney freaks who will keep paying. My last visit pre-pandemic was mainly grown adults behaving worse than children. Gobbling up all the expensive Spirit Jerseys and popcorn buckets. Seriously..the blame lies on the public who keep Disney raising prices because we keep paying it….no matter how high it goes…..
Susan
Okay not the Christmas but the Halloween tour. We were shoved off to the side with earphones and recorded information. We’re taking to spots where special things were supposed to happen. Never did! We’re given fast passes for rides instead of special treatment! We did get a pic with a hitchiking ghost at the end and a choclate rose! Tour was so bad about half of our tour group who didn’t even know each other went to city hall and demanded our money back! There response was basically they would give us our money back but we would not recieve the pin! My freinds response would you like the chocolate rose back too!
We took this tour because it had been so wonderful in the past! It cost us a little ove 100 to take it! I can’t believe we were treated like that!
Needless to say as much as I love disneyland I have not taken a tour since. So sad to hear our experience has now extended to the Christmas tour as well! So glad I didn’t take it this year. So sorry for all of you who have. The magic is fading but it’s still there I catch pockets of it each time I go to the park! Let’s hope Iger can bring it back!
Comments are closed.