Why Everyone Is Saying They’re Done With Disney World

194 Replies to “Why Everyone Is Saying They’re Done With Disney World”

1. Went to disney in June with my grandchildren, I wanted them to experience what their Dad had experience when I took them when they were little, boy was I disappointed. To start, it took almost 2 hours just to get into the park. No more characters all around the park, the worst was the line to see a princess which took almost 2 hours because they have a paid fast lane also on this as if it was a ride. Incredibly expensive for the experience we got as it is way overcrowded and I went the first week of June, I can only imagine how it is late June and July. It is no longer worth the money, Disney is just a ripoff. Not much you can do through out the day due to the overcrowding. My dream was to take my grandchildren so they could enjoy what I did when a teen-ager and what my children experienced when they were little but boy was I disappointed. Disney no longer cares about the children but the money. I am done with Disney would much rather use my money at Discovery Cove which we also went and it is still worth the money and they have a limit of people per day so it is never overcrowded.

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2. Just got back from disney. Wow am I disappointed. The place is in shambles. Never seen so many breakdowns of rides and even the monorail. They had divert people to buses and it ate 2-3 hours of our time and caused pandemonium among crowds of guests. WAY overcrowded. I had to pay for Genie plus everyday as well as individual lightning lanes in order to be able to do everything we wanted. They shoved us in some tiny hotel room which was still 600 a night. Terrible room service- only were able to have our room serviced once in the week. Bay lake tower is falling apart. Its becoming dated. The main entrance door on the bridge from bay lake and the main tower broke. Cast members are curmudgeonly and rude. Universal is such a better value. The resorts are much nicer and newer. Disney is a complete ripoff these days and low value. Not going back for a looong time, and may never stay at a disney resort again.

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3. Disney just wants your cash. The experience no longer matters.

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4. Everything. 🙁 I grew up going to Disney World and spent my entire waking life loving it. I went about 10 years not getting a chance to go and then went last year. My sister could figure out genie + and so we actually got on some good rides but the magic was gone. And we stayed at the campground but couldn’t get extra magic hours. Every souvenir was exactly the same. I think the worst part though was the fireworks at Epcot. It was so bizarre and hyperactive. It captured what Disney has become- a train wreck of trying to please everyone and not having any opinions anymore or stand on anything and becoming so politically correct and ‘woke’ in order to get the most money. It was so painfully obvious my sis and I actually cried and finally just left with pits in our stomachs that the last frontier for dreaming, was gone.

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5. All very valid & accurate reasons not to visit DW. But the author/article fails to mention that many object to Disney’s “progressive” agenda. At one time Disney was the cornerstone for wholesome family values. Sadly those days are behind us with the current philosophy of the leadership of the organization. My family & a growing number of our friends & relatives will not go to DW in the future & are even steering away from many of their movies, etc. for the above reasons.

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6. The final straw for us, after 9 previous visits to Disney World (from the Seattle area) was the elimination of the Magical Express. Once we realized that it really would be eliminated, we cancelled the 10 day trip we had already booked for this May, at the Wilderness Resort. That, combined with the elimination of free magic bands and the fast pass system, were enough to make us done with Disney. We rebooked our trip for September at Universal Studios. Never again at Disney.

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7. After 50+ years of being HUGE fans of WDW we are leaving the Disney family. Last thing to go – Disney+ Channel. We no longer feel Disney has that famous “family” atmosphere it’s had for years. Add to that the skyrocketing prices (we used to be annual pass holders), loss of hotel benefits and the direction Disney is moving in their demographics makes no longer a “safe place” for us to be.

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8. I’m done with Disney too. So many things in this world to experience. Try an out of the way National Park instead!

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   1. We’ve been DVC members since 2000 and through the years , we’ve been to WDW almost too many times to count. It’s always been an escape into a magical world that took our minds off of our jobs and responsibilities, and was always a true vacation.
      As highly invested DVC members we’ve seen our benefits slowly disappear and we’ve seen that Disney has chosen to put price gouging in the forefront. We’ve always known it is a “business” but it seemed that the magic was first and the business was hidden behind it. Not any more.
      They’ve taken away all the spontaneity and replaced it with this horrible system of planning every step we take. Having to plan our day at 7 am and gluing our faces to our phones is what we DO AT WORK!!! We no longer feel valued and for the first time in 23 years , we visited WDW in August and didn’t go to any parks. Unless things change DRAMATICALLY to a point we feel valued again, we are totally done going to WDW. We work hard for our $ and we’ll use it somewhere else.

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9. The reservation system has hindered any “last minute” trips. Not park hopping until after 2 is a real inconvenience. We wanted to do LL to hop on Rise of the Resistance and then were done with HS but had nowhere to go until 2. Best part is all the “temporary ride closures.” How do you justify your ticket prices when popular rides, or any rides really, are temporarily closed? Best is when you’ve gotten a LL for those rides and are told it will be honored later but yet, you can’t make it back later? Where’s the value in that? The lack of live entertainment is another cost cutting venture I’m sure they’re instituting but was one of the most unique parts of Disney.

   I used to recommend WDW to all my friends and family and was known as somewhat of an expert. I’ve stopped doing that. My husband and I still return occasionally as we are DVC owners, but I know longer push WDW to anyone, because it has become an embarrassment and a shell of what it once was.

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   1. #1 – DME bus gone. Fine, we never used it anyway. This expense will no longer tacked into our resort costs.
      #2- Genie+ replacing FP+. FP was getting tiresome. I’m up for trying something new. I was hoping for a MaxPass-like system along with 2 VQs per park for high demand rides and everybody gets one VQ option per day. That didn’t happen. We are cautiously optimistic G+ and new EMHs will work out OK when we finally return.
      #3- Individual Lightening Lanes for a fee. Don’t plan on using these. Will use other tactics to ride.
      #4- Nickel & diming. Agreed. Blatant nickel & diming lacks the feelings of goodwill and consumer confidence where Disney used to excel. But I’m fine to see free Magicbands go after a decade. there are still free alternatives like phone tech and KTTW cards. Overnight parking fees annoyed me, along with the never ending removal of free viewing areas in favor of paid parties (add areas for this and stop chipping away at what’s included with our paid admission).
      #6- Taking away resort perks. All the perks we enjoy are still there (beside free overnight parking), and now they’ve improved the EMH system for us. We bought a small DVC contract to skirt the parking fees and that has also now benefitted us with better EMH options.
      #7- Missing live entertainment. Yes, this stinks. Really hope to see most return.
      #8- Health measures. No complaints here. We visited WDW twice during the height of pandemic and managed to avoid getting infected (thus not spreading as well), thanks in large part to their mitigation efforts.
      #9- VQs. Love them, wish they could figure out a way to use this method more but that is contradictory to their ability to sell unnecessary Individual LL Attraction Tickets.
      #10- Too expensive. Agreed. Ticket pricing has gotten out of hand. Something is wrong if we’re spending thousands for less than 7 park days and crowds and lines are still cuckoo. Add more park hours with all those ticket profits because that’s just straight-up miserly greed.
      #11- Hopping still limited. Meh, we never hopped before lunch anyway.
      #12- Things not returning yet. Agreed. Understandably some things needed to take time and the bulk has returned now as of May 2022, but games that started pre-pandemic continued using the pandemic as an excuse. Where WDW used to be very cautious about opening dates, they took an ugly turn and started posting experience dates for many things and then repeatedly pushing them out. Then they held everything for the 50th and used the pandemic to excuse. Stop already. Go back to never under-delivering or dangling carrots that disappear.

      Personally we’re not done with DW. Most of these things are advantageous to our trip style so hard to complain. There are still a few things stuck in our craw though.

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10. Can’t drive through the resorts just to look.. literally have a campsite reserved for fall and they wouldn’t let us drive through to look at it in person… park hopping is TERRIBLE now… and they do not make finding ice water easy at all….we are here now and the magic really is gone…even have to walk a mile when parking unless you pay for preferred

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11. I had been going to WDW since 2000. I was 45 before I went for the 1st time. Now that was a magical trip! I studied up for that 1st trip because, as a divorced mom of 2 sons, I wanted to make sure we did not just show up a wander around the parks. I am a planner and like to have my vacations mapped out. I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to do WDW at least once every year since then (sometimes as much as 3 times!) I could always justify it because, for the most part, it was all-inclusive. For staying on property we received Magical Express, early/late park hours, fast passes, Magic bands, etc. My sons are grown now so for the last 10 years I have gone, yearly, with my boy friend. We are both retired kids at heart! We had a trip scheduled for May of 2020 and then the pandemic hit. Our trip that year was cancelled. I decided to hold off on rebooking because so many of the regular offerings at WDW were suspended. The way I saw it, why should I continue to pay the regular prices for a WDW vacation when I wouldn’t get the full experience? Since our last trip in 2019, fast pass has been replaced with Genie+, LL and my biggest complaint is having to make a reservation for the parks and the rules that apply to park hopping. We did Hoop-Dee-Doo every trip and that has not opened back up. I am a big parade person so was unhappy that the parades got suspended. Not getting our room cleaned every day was not a deal breaker because we would usually catch mousekeeping in the hall, on our way out or coming back, and give them our towels and get new ones. We actually preferred them not being in our room. Anyway, I regressed…I am glad I did not rebook because the stories I’m hearing about the current state at WDW is SAD! I hope some day to return to WDW but it will be when I, once again, feel it is a value. (Which, right now, it’s not!)

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12. My parents came to Disney world in 1979 with me as a toddler the first time they came to the US. My husband proposed to me in front of the castle in 2004. We were married in the chapel on Bay Lake in 2005. Our 3 kids know Disney better than their own neighborhood. We were the quintessential Disney obsessed family. No longer… I agree completely with all that was written in this post. Greed has replaced magic. Walt Disney is probably turning in his grave. His dream was to create a place for the average American family to enjoy time together. It is now a place of stress and lost time and money. I just don’t see how they can go back to the magic because people keep going and spending money their anyway.

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13. I wrote a letter to Mr.Chapek to express my frustrations of what I call the new Disney. I do not understand this new direction Disney is taking on many fronts. It makes me very sad. My family is done with Disney for now the only way we can express our disappointment is with our pocketbook.
    I never did hear back not surprised at all.

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14. Was planning trip for Feb 2023, but are dismayed by the loss of Magical Express & Genie system. As older DINKs, there’s no value here.

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15. I have noticed about a third of the cast members aren’t nice at all… Like a big chip on their shoulder. Not magical. I think some retraining is in order.

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    1. More like 2/3 are unpleasant. Putting it mildly.

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16. You summed it up perfectly. Been to Disneyland in 1999 and Disney World in 2005. Told my wife we had to visit since we were in Orlando this Spring, and it was a HUGE letdown for all the reasons you listed. Stay away.

    We found Universal Studios/Resorts to be way more immersive and better bang for your buck.

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17. Yep, done with Disney for a while. They’ve done nothing but push out the local residents and make it harder for anyone that doesn’t purchase all the packages to get any kind of enjoyment out of going there at all. I wanted to go to the food and wine festival last fall and for the price of ONE ticket and what it would cost to eat for the day, I was able to spend a long weekend in St. Augustine with a better AirBnB than a Disney resort and a much better choice of restaurants for the money. It’s really sad to see what’s happening to Disney and remembering what it used to be.

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18. We just went to WDW from 1/19/2022 – 1/24/2022. We have gone multiple times prior to COVID. It was busier than ever and that time is supposed to be more slow. In addition to everything listed in this article, ride were breaking down and temporarily closed off and on all day in all of the parks. We left lines and got stuck in the Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth. We didn’t get to ride Space Mountain as it was off and on running the day we were there. More money than ever and less benefits. Housekeeping only comes into your room every other day. Our 4 night stay, we only got fresh towels once and the other day they came in they only emptied trash and gave us coffee. We can’t justify the cost anymore and will be looking at Universal.

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19. Definitely Disney is now too driven by money. I wonder if creators get a bonus for finding new ways to milk guests. Actually, I don’t feel like a “guest” anymore. Did anyone mentioned that you have to pay to park your car at resorts now? What??

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20. We’re done with Disney. Most likely selling our DVC and moving on. We are choosing a Discovery Cove trip instead. Disney has stripped away any semblance of spontaneity and joy. Feels sleezy these days. They don’t care about the magic or the guests. They only care about extracting money.

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21. Simply put, this is no longer the place “Walt” imagined and built. I am truly saddened by this. It is sad when you really think about it. We did think of it for later in 2022 it but
    it is no longer a magical vacation, and certainly not for the typical American family, where all their cares can disappear for a short time, enjoy being a family together, and a bit of pixie dust is sprinkled on them. We used to go and see happy families, happy singles and couples, but the last time we went, all we saw were stressed out people out to get the most they could. People were rude, including cast members, no one was happy, and the spirit was gone.
    This is a second or third job for most who literally need a second or third job to afford it now. This has been slowly happening over the years, but since the pandemic, it has snowballed. I remember the days of no dining plans, getting a magical fast passes in those machines they had long ago, then the dining plans and having to schedule that, getting the 3 FP daily, to now daily 7 am reservations for rides at additional costs.
    It’s all gone, the stress free family time, the fun, and the unexpected spontaneous magic -gone.

    Terribly sad I think, it has become a place for those few families that can afford it and have the free time to plan the magic.
    The saddest part is my teens will never experience the WDW, Walt planned out, like I did.

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    1. I agree! We were able to take our kids to Disneyland many times when they were growing up! I myself went to WDW when they first opened, dating myself, back in-the “good ol days”. I also loved Disneyland and even went one time alone!What a great time! Now it is just a money making machine pricing itself out of a families attending.! That is what Walt Disney intended!

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    2. Totally agree. Disney is now so far from Walt’s vision it is astounding.

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22. I’m done with paying more money and getting less. The fact that you have to pay for transportation to and from the airport is ridiculous, the fact that you have to pay to get a fast pass is even more ridiculous, the fact that half the restaurants are not having buffets is ridiculous, going to a character dining event and not getting autographs is ridiculous, and how about the fact that Epcot has had barely any updates in years including the films at China France and canada, the building where the universe of energy used to be has been vacant for how long not to mention the building where they used to have the birth canal ride has been vacant for easily 20 years, there are empty buildings everywhere at Epcot but yet the prices go up and up and up. It’s not like Walt Disney world wasn’t making enough money five or 10 years ago but now it’s become a place where I’m embarrassed to say I would pay to go to. It’s a capitalistic venture it’s not about people anymore it’s not about everyone having enjoyment anymore it’s all about how much money Walt Disney theme parks and hotels and restaurants can make and put in their own pocket. What Walt Disney is teaching the world is that if you have money to throw at things you could come to Orlando however if you wanted to do something really wonderful with your family you could rent a cabin in New England, get out your canoe, go swimming in a lake, cook over a campfire, and play cards and have a conversation with your family something of real value not a fake world of characters and money hungry capitalists. What’s even more appalling is that at animal Kingdom they ask you to make donations to their conservation fund as if they aren’t charging an arm and a leg for admission and food and souvenirs. I say if you have that kind of money to throw away on a vacation or half of the attractions are outdated and not worth the money for your time, throw the money at some children who need clothing food and homes get your values straight. Stop embarrassing yourself by throwing your money away and be proud to help others real people not mice

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    1. Well said

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    2. Totally agree. Well said! If I hadn’t promised all of my three sons I would take their family here in turn, I would not be planning this trip. I am done now as I have kept my promise.

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23. We have visited Disney World annually from 2017-2020(right before Covid) and stayed in a deluxe villa with dining plan. Because of all of the changes mentioned in article with final straw being Genie +, we are going to spend a week at Universal Studios in Jan 2022.

    The cost for a week there staying at Deluxe resort is much cheaper than Disney and includes Universal Express Passes at no extra charge. Sorry Disney, but nickel and diming my family caused us to switch to your competition. If we have a great experience with the new Universal Park on horizon, we may switch over permanently.

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24. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Genie+ is NOT $15 per day. WDW uses surge pricing for park passes and Genie+. It cost $59 for Genie+ for Wednesday, 12/29! Ridiculous! Also, single Lighting Lane passes are also using surge pricing at one point last week it cost $75 for Space Mountain.

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25. I will be going to WDW, but only because I am a DVC member. If I had to pay out of pocket, I could never afford it. Food prices are way out of line. One week at a Grand Villa at Old Key West would cost me the equivalent of almost 3 yrs dues. I will not be going to any parks at all. Trying to plan a visit is too much of a headache. It used to be magical & fun. Totally ridiculous!!

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26. WDW won’t be back to ‘normal’ for me until Finding Nemo and the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review are back. We went twice in 2021 and are not fans of the Genie+ / LL / ILL. Taking away the Magical Express in 2022 is a bad idea. We don’t have a trip planned for 2022 because the magic hasn’t returned. In Feb 2021 the magic level was a 5 out of 10. In Dec 2021, the magic level was an 7.5 out of 10, the 50th anniversary items were underwhelming, and the shops look sparse in many cases.

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27. I have to respond to DVC9. First, at least one member of your party HAS to have a cellphone. You must give in to this. Second, I had to laugh when you said in Animal Kingdom, the animal trails were empty. They sure are. Not even the animals show up anymore! A few years ago, animals sightings were a terrific part of the trails. Last month, I saw no bats, no tiger, no gorillas, very few birds, no nothing. The few animals that are there look sedated or are very far away. Even the monkeys on that island are better than the animal trails. Sad. Another park becomes more about food and drink.

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28. As with many businesses, it appears Disney is trying to makeup for lost revenue during the Pandemic. I loved visiting what Disney used to be, but under the current conditions there is no way I would plan a return trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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29. Clearly not EVERYONE is done with Disney. The 145 comments here reflect almost the same sentiment; prices are on the rise even as Disney World tries to recover from pandemic aftermath by cutting extras we have come to expect. As I write this, hundred of thousands of people are pouring into Disney Parks. All over the world. Keep in mind these two weeks are as expensive as Disney gets. I have been to Universal, other theme parks and foreign countries. I still prefer Vacations at Disney World. You know why. It’s beautiful, kept in pristine condition every single day. It feels safe. There is something to do from dawn till the wee hours of the night. The resorts are clean and well appointed. The parks surround you with familiar beloved music from enchanted films. Attractions are detailed and encompassing. Adorable characters come to life. Right before your very eyes. Coming from a northern state, Florida is a stunning contrast. Palm trees, sunshine and warm temperatures. Hopefully as Disney recoups revenue it will offer more perks as in the past. Maybe not. One thing is certain, Disney magic is real. Imagination thrives. Attractions are unique. Atmosphere is lighthearted . Delicious food and drink abound. And for everyone that spends any time there, there are unexpected moments that spark joy. Uninhibited behavior that brings out our inner child. And for some brief moments, the world goes away

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    1. Ditto

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    2. Agree 100%!!!

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30. My wife and I recently returned from a one-week trip to the Villas at the Grand Floridian (VGF). We are DVC members since 1992 (30 years) and have been going multiple weeks a year for many years. Unfortunately, this was our worst trip ever, a chore rather than a vacation. Between Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane (LL), our park days were terrible. I don’t have a smart phone to use the new system even if I wanted to, which I don’t. We are also ones that enter the parks in the afternoon, so I definitely do not want to get up at 7 AM to get FPs on Genie+. Further, the AP cost has escalated significantly so that one should not have to pay extra, particularly if they don’t need any more than 3 passes/day. The old system for resort guests was so much better, being able to book FP+ 60 days ahead of check-in and plan their park experiences.

    On our first day in MK, wait times were 70+ minutes. All we were able to do in the afternoon was Monsters, Inc. and Peter Pan before dinner. The wait time for Pan was 70 minutes but took 85. After that, we weren’t about to get in another 70+ minute queue and miss the fireworks. At the Studios, significant attractions were closed (Toy Story Mania and Little Mermaid), so we tried Runaway Railway which took 70 minutes. After that, we did one show and then called it a day since other queue times were ridiculous and it would prevent our on-time arrival for a dinner ressie. Another day in AK, we waited in line for the Safari (60 minutes) and the Avatar boat ride (80 minutes). At least the animal walks were still free; however, they were strangely empty. I guess everyone else was waiting in lines. Of course, absent a smart phone, getting in the virtual queue for the REMY ride is impossible at 1 PM at Guest Services. Further, the parks aren’t open late enough anymore to get on rides if one eats a sit-down in dinner in the parks. Park hours/EMH have been significantly cut back of late, particularly at MK.

    Further, with the new system, everyone is walking around the parks staring at their phones. They constantly crash into you or come to a dead stop on walkways causing you to trip or swerve to get around them. It is horrible. During our July vacation, without the old FP+ system or Genie+, the wait times for rides were much less and the lines moved swiftly.

    Resort guests, particularly DVC members, should still be able to get at least 3 FP+s per day without having to pay for them! Some accommodation must be made without having to enter the parks ½ hour prior to opening or staying up late one night for MK and one night for EPCOT to try to ride anything. For us, the Extended Evening Hours for MK AND EPCOT were rained out. As DVC members staying on property, we used to be able to plan ahead. We were able make FP+ reservations 60 days out and dining reservations 180 days out. Our trips could be well-planned without having to get up early, try to connect to inconsistent wi-fi signals as told to me by another VGF guest, and run into the parks early. That may be great for one-time guests but not for us loyal Disney vacationers. That isn’t a vacation! There has been a slow, but steady, erosion of WDW Resort Guest benefits.

    Between all of these issues and the lousy weather, if this were my first time I wouldn’t return. I want to disconnect electronically while vacationing and not be glued to a smart phone all day to put one foot in front of the other. These issues need to be corrected, particularly for DVC members who spend a substantial amount of money at WDW. We will be returning this May and if the situation is not improved, it will sadly be our last trip! Please do not put the blame on the Pandemic for any of the above.

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    1. This guy gets it!

       My family WANTS to be a Disney family and Disney is working so hard to push us away. I don’t want to be in my phone all day long at Disney.

       Simply put, if Disney can’t do its magic without my phone then there isn’t much magic going on. They have become a shameless tech company trying to squeeze out the last drop of blood/money that they can. We aren’t going back until we can be sure we can visit the magic without a phone.

       I know Disney doesn’t care about just one family, my family, but I do. I do feel sad about it, but at least for now we are done with Disney.

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       1. Totally agree with the statement “..if Disney can’t do its magic without my phone then there isn’t much magic going on.” If I wanted to be staring at a phone all day I could stay home instead of spending beaucoup bucks on a vacation. This plus the loss of Magical Express, Fast Pass+, resort package delivery, reduced Extra Magic Hours, etc, has made WDW a much less viable option for me. I’ve already allocated vacation funds for my normal 3 or 4 annual WDW trips to Iceland, Hawaii, and a cruise.

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    2. Completely agree. I already miss the Magic Express and the airport checkin at the resorts. I don’t understand those who say the advanced planning made it hectic and took away the spontaneity. We are DVC and made our FP+ and ADR months out but our trips still had casualness and we rode rides on impulse, many to fill up time between reservations/FP, but we had more fun then. We also aren’t park hoppers. We are open to close many days. Don’t get me wrong we live in a state with two major amusement parks and are ride warriors but to us WDW isn’t one of these places. It’s a more laid back place or at least it was.

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31. The 25% and 39% AP increase for DVC members is way out of line. The $15 per day per person for Genie+ is beyond out of line. $60 per day for family of 4 is outrageous for something that was free with Fastpass. We have been going to Disney for many years and have always tried to justify the annual, semi-annual increases and price increases for everything else at Disney. ($3.50 for a bottle of water and $6.19 for a PB&J Uncrustable snack is outrageous), but no longer. In the future our vacation funds will be spent elsewhere.
    Goodbye Disney. Your prices are no longer justifiable.

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32. On Nov. 30, the magical express had no video of Disney World and the bus was run down. It also stopped at 4 Disney Hotels before arriving at my Pop Century hotel.

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    1. Oldest trick in the buesiness world ! Allow something to decay and become useless. (On purpose). Do no maintenance and then, with the proper amount of complaints you’ve manufactured by allowing degradation.

       DECLARE IT DEAD !

       THEN create the cure you wanted all along by virtue of allowing a service or tangable item to become or let rot.

       And the best part is you can tell everyone your customers demanded these changes.
       And make them pay for your manufactured resolution.

       It’s an on going con in most of the business world !

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33. I agree with another commenter that said “the magic seems to be fading away…” I haven’t been in several years now, due to the pandemic, finances and other issues. However, some of these changes seem to benefit people with more means rather than average folks. Added expenses for transportation and meals and now paying additional money to go on certain rides? Extra Magic evening hours only for wealthy people who can stay at the Grand Floridian? It’s becoming very elitist for what it is – a theme park. I can take my family of 3 on an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean for what it costs just for the tickets and actually relax on vacation. I can catch videos of the new rides on YouTube for free.

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    1. Paying for lightening lanes also strikes me as elitist. So the wealthiest guests breeze by the less fortunate who stand (baking) in a 120 minute line? How is that right? The playing field should be equal for all quests who pay dearly for a ticket.

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34. We were just there in November. We go every 3 to 4 years. So much of what made it magic has disappeared. It was very discouraging to stand in a stand by line that rarely moved because they were letting all of the lightning lane go first. They didn’t do that with fast pass. It is sad to see them lose sight of Walt’s dream.

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35. The “Magic” seems to be fading away with every change. Disney just doesn’t feel the same anymore.
    To many changes, and not for the best. If Disney is trying to attract guests, why do away with
    everything that made Disney the magical place it was.

    I remember the days before fast passes and Magical Express, Magic Bands and Extra Magic Hours.
    Disney World was a much better place. I am all for improvements, but if it isn’t broken, why fix it.
    I miss the old Disney World, no preplanning, go as you will.

    Disney, should listen to its guests as they may be biting the hand that feeds them.

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36. Honestly Magical Express can go away. My wife and I arrived on December 5, 2021 and waited over 2.5 hours before Mears not Disney got us on a smaller van. Thanks Disney

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37. Once they canceled my annual pass,it erased my 35 years of having one if I was to replace all I had before would be 1900 just for me,no perks make reservations, can’t park hop .Disney went full on power triping and cash Hungry.

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38. Thanks for the article. You forgot people’s disappointment with the fake Star Wars cruise. What I find irritating is waiting forever for new attractions to open, and often WDW doesn’t tell you when they will open. Castmembers can be evasive. Does anybody know when TRON is opening?
    I agree with the article. I must be out of my mind to be taking my family there in March. Bob Cheapskate must think he can get away with it until we stop coming.

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39. Personally, I’m disgusted with everything they’ve been doing. I was a go every year, sometimes twice and take guests kind of person. I will never go again until they fix what they’ve broken. The nickel-and-diming is the worst for me, because it feels cheap. The complication is second. WAY too much work now to go there and enjoy yourself, and you’re right–I DON’T want to be hooked to my phone. Sorry. The third is the removal of Magical Express. Without that and other perks like Magic Hours? I can just stay at a cheaper hotel down the road, then have a taxi drop me off so I don’t have to pay for parking, which is what most people are going to do. I haven’t been back since 2018. I’m glad it was a magical experience, because it looks like there is no more magic to WDW. And the fact that they’re turning off die-hard park fans is very confusing to me–we paid the bills. The little guys. The ones that went every year on a modest budget. You can charge more, sure, and get only wealthier people, but if you know ANYTHING about success–clearly whoever is running the parks now doesn’t–you know it’s better to charge less and sell more than it is to charge more, because you’ll sell less. In addition, Disney Parks are hand-me-down kind of product. Meaning, it was about tradition: I took my kids, so my kids will take theirs. They were selling nostalgia. They’ve killed that now. You alienate one generation, you’re alienating two down the road, which means whole groups of people that won’t care to go there and spend their money; essentially, they’ve shot their brand loyalty–they’re just too dumb to realize that yet. So, Disney–here’s a quarter. Call me when you’re back to understanding your customer base and knowing how to do things right. Until then, I’ll go visit lots of other places. There are plenty.

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    1. Wow! You are right on the money, Kristi! The only thing I can add is that to go to WDW now, it would not feel magical, it would feel like I was feeding a money making machine! We last went in March, before many of these changes went into effect, but not many experiences were available. We stayed at Bay Towers and on the Boardwalk for a,split stay, but felt we had NO perks for staying on property.

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    2. The problem is they do understand business. They are squeezing higher margins out of a fixed crowd size. Have they not been sold out and the park is less crowded? No from what I hear, and that means the more they charge, the more they make because the volume of guests is not changing. You are right about generational nostalgia though. What they have lost sight of is loyalty. I am surprised by this too because I know firsthand from having “Disney Training” at my company that they look at each customer as a lifetime revenue source. So, this may be a very dangerous short term game they’re playing, and we are the pawns who need to refuse to participate.

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40. We have been to Disney World at least 6 times. My kids were asking when we will be going back even though they are adults now. With the new changes we are not going. The constant changes and extra charges I don’t want to to feel like I have to open my wallet constantly or struggle to afford it. We have always stayed on property with a meal plan and now I don’t want to support a company that doesn’t care about the customer experience just the money.

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41. I genuinely suspect that Disney calculated how they could still make money by having fewer guests, because they have not been able to offer a quality experience in some years because of the crowds. By pricing many things that used to be included, the number of people who can no longer afford a trip or who are disillusioned by the rise in prices won’t come to the parks, and those who can and still choose to pay for it will make up for the difference in price while having fewer guests on property. It’s not that I think this is fine–Disney World really needs more active property (parks) so that guests aren’t so crowded into 4 parks and 2 waterparks–but I think this is their new planned business model.

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    1. That actually is what Disney did. Not even joking there’s a whole marketing study around it that we studied for my Masters. Basically there’s an income threshold they’re trying to attract to ensure that those who do come A) have a good time by not having overcrowding B) spend lots of money. It will take years for them to get rid of the overcrowding but yes it’s on purpose that prices are skyrocketing.

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42. All of these reasons come down to one thing … greed. Disney only cares about the almighty buck and is caterering to those who will pay anything Disney asks. The magic is long gone, unfortunately.

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43. I have been going to Disneyland since 1958. I loves the “E” ticket books. Everyone had the same to use and it spread you around the park to do things you might have not done. Our family would go about every 3 to 4 years and I kept that tradition with my own family. 25 to 30 years ago the Disney fan was able to be part of the magic. My Daughter was chosen out of the crowd to light up the Christmas tree on main street. Kids did the Sword in the Stone. All that has gone away. I took my Grandkids to Disneyland this December. I was hoping to go with them before this Genie + app started because the lines were long but moved fast. We ended up being there for the first 3 days of the park using Genie. I refused to pay any more money to get one up on somebody. After getting stuck on Guardians (Tower of Terror) for 3 hours after we were notified that the ride was only running 2 elevators we made it to the front of the line and realized why it took so long. They where letting two people from the standby line in per elevator and the rest where Lightening land people. They needed to change the sign outside from Standby to Standby and watch the people in the Lightening Land go on the ride. That pretty much put me over the edge. I would rather see Disney raise the tickets prices (like the do every year) 20 dollars more and include Genie + to everyone so it is an equal playing field. Was planning on taking the Grandkids to WDW but with no hotel perks and no buses to and from the airport we are getting so much less and paying so much more. Sad day for me as being a big Disney fan but fool me once shame on you, fool my twice shame on me and you Disney.

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44. I have two more trips planned on my annual pass and that’s it for me. I am a DVC owner and have gone to Disney at least once a year since 1996. I was there in November 2021 and could not believe how everything has changed. All of the things mentioned in the article are what will make me stay away from the parks. Universal is starting to look better and better to me.

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45. We *are* still in the middle of a pandemic. People are still dying from Covid. Supply chains are messed up. Employees, er, cast members, are scared. Disney has lost millions. The Disney experience, be it at the parks or on a cruise, can’t be the same right now as it was before March 2020. Will it come back? Maybe. I’m not “done” with WDW because I’m not going right now. I don’t feel comfortable being around thousands of people. There is a lot that is missing from what I enjoy doing. And it’s the middle of a pandemic and going to a theme park doesn’t feel like something I want to do at this time. Down the road when things get back to what is then normal, probably, and I’ll see how the experience compares. But things are most definitely *not* normal right now.

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    1. You’re right, Dave. Maybe things will come back when things get back to normal.
       I don’t know why so many are so upset that Magic Express is going away. I have been going to WDW since 1975; most of that time there was no complimentary transport.
       I do agree that the cost of a WSW vacation is getting outrageous, and Genie+ and virtual queues are unpleasantly confusing.

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46. I would think that there are probably a healthy number of people who planned to eventually move to FL (retirement, want to work at WDW, or change of scenery) that may be reconsidering now. I know I am. In fact, I wonder how many of those who, after decades of planning and dreaming, finally retired there in the last few years are now regretting their choice.

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47. I agree with all of this but two things I haven’t seen brought up… pay for parking. Stupid expense. Also I loved being able to bring down my bag and have it magically on the plane on the way home.100% of the time my bag was searched by TSA and I was fine with that. Now we all get to haul our bags around. I see the magic going through a funnel. A lot less to love.

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    1. Disney is charging more and giving guests less. Maybe it’s time for a new CEO, the present one has no relationship for guests. This guy is no Walt.

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       1. Amen. Been going to WDW since 1991. As the prices go up, the quality has gone down at twice the pace. Last trip was in 2018. I hated Fastpass plus and having to decide 6 months out my ride and meal schedule. The cast members acted bored. Things were run down, broken and grimy. The Disney I loved was already gone by 2018. The whole Genie thing sounds like a stressful hassle. We are spending two weeks in an oceanfront condo in Hawaii and flying first class for what it would cost to do WDW for one week at our favorite Yacht Club in a room overlooking the parking lot. Done. And sad.

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48. We went for our honeymoon in 1978 and have visited many, many times since. Researched going for our anniversary and was hit with quite the sticker shock and will not be visiting. It is a shame and ridiculous the cost Disney is charging while also nickel and diming us. It’s one thing if the experience is ultra luxurious to match the cost, but hardly so. Hotel rooms and service are mostly average, no free parking at resorts, pay to ride popular rides, no more complimentary MagicBands & tags, transportation removed from airport & park hopping time rules are just to mention a few. Obviously Disney is only interested in extreme revenue/profit and not whether a typical family can actually hope and plan a visit.

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49. Two years ago, My wife and I planned a two week trip to the Hawaiian Islands. It was so much easier, fun, and stress free compared to planning a trip to Disney World. We’re going to Disney World next month. I’ll be honest, I’m not as excited about going. We’re DVC members and would love to take our granddaughters in 2023, but I’m not sure we want to do it. The Disney magic is fading away fast. Price increases and the entertainment value is gone. We’ve talked about using our DVC membership, stay on property, but go to Universal and other non-Disney parks. Nothing will change with Disney until they get rid of that CEO “Paycheck.” He’ll go done in Disney history books as their worse CEO.

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    1. Norm your right been going about every other year since 1972.Took the kids and grandkids it was tiring but fun. whatched the prices rising and bought a small dvc finally in 2019 hoping the kids and grandkids could enjoy staying on property after I was dead and gone. .Weve gone twice since then and this is not Walt Disney World. Its a giant entertainment company money scam . You have to pay more sure but now you have to plan like Douglas Mcauther to take a vaction . Prepurchase your tickets to the parks make in addition to the tickets make reservations to use those tickets.The last time we went enjoyed our dvc at boulder ridge but went to things at Disney that were easy to do and enjoy . Then went to SeaWorld and Universal walked right up bought a ticket at about 10:30 and enjoyed the parks . Didnt have to make a beach invasion.Easy Peasy

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50. There are three classes of consumers.
    1.) this group buys whatever they want when they want no matter the cost.
    2.) this group through planning and saving can afford everything they need for the most part and are able to splurge on the occasional expensive wants.
    3.) have enough to get by most of the time. Live from check to check and rarely have the opportunity to obtain anything more than needs.
    It appears as though Disney has settled it business model and focus on group number one by far the smallest group.
    Group number 2 haven’t realized that they will no longer be able to afford regular trips to a Disney holding. After one final trip they will realize that the magic doesn’t exist and there is no value to going. For a family of four you will be paying about a $152 per person per ride after admission, genie, parking, and food. (Not counting airfare or rooms if you’re not from the area)
    Because of the lines and crowds you average about 5 rides/shows per day.
    Will anyone really still feel the magic and value is still there after paying those prices per ride?

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51. Park Hopping was always my favorite thing to do. I miss not being able to not Park Hop when I want to and visit all four parks if I chose to. It is totally not worth the price of a Park Hopping Pass. The whole Genie+ is definitely a deterrent for me because you pay so much for the ticket to get into the park why should you have to pay extra to ride certain rides. They need to bring back the FastPass at no extra charge. And changing themes of certain rides because of the “woke” movement is just ridiculous! Bring back Walt’s Dream….Family.

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52. It is time to end the indoor mask rule. The Covid emergency is over. Disney is taking this too far for too long. It is an unneeded burden on the cast members to be constantly enforcing the mask mandate and it is an irrational non science based edict.

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    1. Sadly, we have now hit 800,000 deaths on our country. The people who choose to believe that covid is a hoax, that masks won’t help, that refuse to get the vaccine, etc. etc. etc. are breaking our health system with their refusal to listen to the experts and listening to fake news instead. Our health professionals have had it with these people, and the day may come when they will stop treating them if they are not vaccinated. I need elective colon surgery, and guess what? The hospitals are so backed up from handling covid patients that all elective surgeries being postponed. And now we are having another surge in our country.

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53. The rooms are not being cleaned or taken care of each day. We stayed for 7 nights are maid service was only on our last full day there. We had to hunt for service like trash clean up and coffee and towels. Very poor service for a couple of hundred dollars a night hotel.

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54. I’ve grown ever more tired of those that travel exclusively to Disney parks, referring to it as “home”. Never letting a negative comment pass by on social media without commenting “The magic is what you make it” or something like that. These same guests that as far as they are concerned Disney can do no wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I love Disney, but it has become far too crowded over the years as successive generations have their families “indoctrinated” into the Disney cult, believing that Disney is THE must do destination for their family. Again, it’s great, but those families that travel there 2,3, or more times per year are making the crowd levels intolerable.

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55. Well let’s see…the #1 thing causing me to say I’m done with Disney is the unnecessary re-theming of an iconic attraction instead of creating a brand new Princess and The Frog attraction from scratch. Then add in the removal of Magic Express, the shortened early entry hours, the discontinuation of free fast passes, basically taking away any perk of staying on property, all the price hikes with nothing to show for it, etc. I could go on and on. Disney is not what it once was, it’s very disappointing.

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56. What a shame; I love Disneyland and have usually gone 2-3 times a year. Besides the high price to get in, get a reservation, I dislike having to be on my phone bright and early to possibly get a Rise of the Resistance reservation.
    I don’t want to be on my phone all day at the park to order food, etc.
    My Disney days may be over.

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57. We were pass holders for Disneyland for many years and fairly regular visitors to Disney world as well. Even before covid we were starting to feel disenchanted with the crowds and over priced everything but now itnis worse. Walt would be apalled.that his park for everybody has become a park for the rich and a playground for locals. One simple fix would have been to get rid of all passes and perks and go back to just pay for your days and for now…limit guests for safety.

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58. Was there the week after Thanksgiving. I’m done for All the above reasons in the article plus Crowd size ! You Pay through the nose and fight the crowd all day……..we have been there a dozen or more times and this trip was the icing on the cake. I’ll try universal in the spring. Real shame the greed in Disney now……

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59. I wish this was true. LOL I would like to see DW under 100k guest/day xD

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60. The Bobs of Disney have quickly drained the magic out of Disney. We went to Universal for the first time in 7 years for our trip in November 21 instead of Disney. It was actually fantastic- cant wait to see what else Universal has planned!

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61. My husband & I have been big Disney fans since our honeymoon at the Polynesian way back in 1975. We have visited WDW many, many times with children, grandchildren, & also just the 2 of us. We are passholders & own DVC. We have visited 4 times just this year. We just returned from a 4 night DCL cruise which was different but still wonderful and then spent 6 nights at WDW. I’m sad to say that we both came home & said we need a break from WDW. It just not the same. More like work. More expensive. More crowded. Less to offer. We will give it a break & go do other things for now. Maybe down the road we will be ready to go back but for now we’re not feeling the love.

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    1. Donna, I would love to hear more from DVC owners and what their future plans are for their holdings. I’m thinking Disney is likely orchestrating some sort of recapture of properties for way less than market value from disenchanted owners. I’m aware that they have already changed and manipulated the resale rules to their favor. I came sooooo close to buying into DVC but something just didn’t feel right about it and I’m so glad I didn’t.

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62. I have always loved Disney and still do.
    I just think that you don’t care about me or love me back.
    Yourcost increases have out paced the cost of living. I love you and always will but our relationship has become toxic. I can not afford to see you again. I truly hope that you and your very rich friends are happy together.

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63. You are so right on all of these. They have priced me out and is no longer my happy place. I was totally stressed during the entire trip trying to figure out why I wasn’t able to get Lightening lane or individual ride choices. They were all gone before I could select anything. Too much money and too much stress planning the trip now. Rides broke down constantly, inventory was out of stock for most items, couldn’t get dining reservations, no parking lot tram, prices are outrageous for almost everything. I’m just done.

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64. We had been going every year. Last trip was in December 2019, right before the pandemic. It was great!! Felt sticker shock then, but with all the changes we have no plans of every going back. It’s sad, too, because it was somewhat affordable with the perks like Magical Express. We planned ahead so Fastpass was well worth it for us. Unfortunately we’re just not looking forward to dropping SO much more cash on Disney World with such little return on investment.

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65. Havent been in 3 years and no plans to go back. Genie+ is unnecessarily confusing, costly and just gives more $$$ to WDW. Our next trip to Orlando will be at Universal. But until FL replaces its governor with someone who takes Covid seriously, we won’t be going at all.

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66. The finsl straw was doing away with Fast Pass in favor of a system where you have to pay to ride anything good. WTH is the purpose of the expensive park ticket if Im also going to pay to ensure Im not waiting hours in line to ride the better rides?

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67. Pretty much “all of the above” reasons apply to us. We have seen the decline of WDW over the past few years, but continued to go back because we felt we got alot for the cost. Now, not so much. When we vacation, we like to keep busy, but like to relax when we want, eat where we want, and hop to a park that we want. Now that is not possible. You have to schedule what you want hours before you eat! Really? I feel sorry for families with kids that have to tell them, No, you have to wait for 3 more hours for our appointed time. Wow. Over crowding is an issue too. The nickle and diming of everything causes us to be done too. I am very sad about all this switch from being guest oriented to being money oriented . Guest experience is falling off with all of this. I am older and don’t want to hop through the hoops just to get rides or try to have a fun vacation! It’s sad because our whole family of 15 were disney fanatics and loved to visit. Now, the grandkids/kids want to go to other places. They have no nostalgia for disney, as I did. Maybe in a year or two disney will see how much they have messed up their brand name. A good brand name is something that is very hard to get back once it is gone. I fear this is happening with disney. Does anyone remember how Sears was the #1 place to buy quality goods at reasonable prices? Now it is almost extinct.

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68. Very upset with the fact they have jacked up Passholder prices and cut out photo pass and water parks. Paying a higher Passholder price is one thing but to cut out parts that we’re included past of top pass. To put on those two on you pass is extra 200.00. So I was paying 1200 before but now it is over 1500+.
    The other thing is being micro managed on how you spend time with park hopping or going to park per day. The reservation system needs to go.

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69. Been there in November and after being N annual pass holder for year will not be renewing. Not the same place too many add on expenses,too many changes in my opinion ion not good. Been coming since the park opened 50 years ago but I will be done they have become too greedy I guess there are many elite that can pay all the add on prices. It isn’t for me forsure.

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70. And yet, estimates are that WDW is still bringing over 100,000 through the gates on average every day. So it seems that not “everyone” is done with Disney. Is there a new demographic that might not include the die hard fans from previous years? For sure, but at the end of the day business is still good. And there is no indication that will change anytime soon, even with all the new charges and dropped benefits.

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71. I agree for the first time in 35 years of going to Disneyworld the magic is gone and the cost is not worth it. My whole family bought annual passes again after 2 years off due to the pandemic.The constant raising of prices and reducing of perks make this possibly the last year we all spend this kind of money to be unappreciated and disappointed. There are amazing destinations to visit for half the cost.

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72. We’ve gone to Disney/Universal three times now. Universal has gone from catching up to Disney to now passing them up. If we do go back down it will be primarily Universal. Last time we went was in September, and just enjoyed Universal more.

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73. Disney will always attract guests in their parks even if they charged quadruple (4x) for everything and gave out ZERO perks. If Disney did, their shareholder profitability would increase tremendously. People must accept that Disney will always have a successful business because of their “exclusivity” based business model. So, if you cannot afford to take your family to Disney, there are plenty of attractive affordable public parks for your people like you to enjoy. Afterall, that’s why we all pay taxes right? Fact is, the only thing that would change at Disney, if they quadrupled their price points on everything, is the demographics of their clientele and nothing else. In fact, it may even make it more enjoyable for those who can afford to take our families there on vacations and getaways. Who knows? maybe there’s a little gem of an undiscovered affordable public park near you for you and your family as well to enjoy? Truth is, you likely should not have been going to destinations like Disney to begin with if Disney was such a stretch for you and are complaining about minor price hikes (silly, isn’t it?). Then, as now, Disney is simply an extravagance you cannot afford. Be thankful that you were able to go at all and try harder to live within your means going forward. God Bless

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    1. Constance, I agree with some of what you posted. What has us “die hard” fans up in arms is the fact that WE paid higher than average prices to enjoy Disney for decades and instead of Disney actually adding park space to accomodate the increasing crowds, they thought they could simply replace several attractions with state of the art attractions and nobody would be concerned about the crowds. Simply put, ever since Animal Kingdom was finished, DISNEY HAS NOT INCREASED THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF PARK AREA while crowds have exponentially grown. Now it seems the 1%ers want to brush off the regular customer who actually helped pay for what you are visiting today and tell us to go elsewhere. Disney is being disingenuous and misleading when they claim ticket increases are to help with crowd levels. They knew decades ago the crowds were increasing yet they stuck their heads in the sand and simply worried about building the latest greatest ride design so they can continue to claim the top park award. Disney has the land, the innovation, and the money to double parks and park capacity, therefore bringing in double the money, but instead, they choose to follow their pipe dream of the wealthy will never grow tired of the place and they will be fine. I can’t wait to see the day that Disney has to beg for customers.

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74. I haven’t read all the comments but also
    – the replacement of the Illuminations show with permanent oil rigs in the lagoon at Epcot.
    – the intolerable call wait times to get anything fixed.

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75. We went in June. Stayed at AK Lodge, which was fantastic. The parks? No way. Never again. With lower capacity we still spent most of the time stuck in line in the hot sun, cast members, same. The food we could find in the parks was terrible and way overpriced. Park hopping? Waste of money because of all the waiting in line for attractions and busses. We wasted thousands on the parks and were miserable. Better to have simply stayed at our resort.All in all I paid thousands too be hungry, frustrated and hot.

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76. Was just there Nov 18 and 19, too many people, souvenirs sold out, no tram. I had not been to Disney for 32 years and this was a memory trip for my youngest daughter who passed two months after our only family vacation ever. I have to give it to Disney Star Wars area was awesome but there again so many people. I’m not a youngster but I did keep up. After two days in the parks I got sick. On our trip home 3 out of 4 people were sick. Did get a COVID test. Negative. But I can honestly say that I have no intention of going back to Disney ever again. Someone stated that they nickel and dime you and it’s true.

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77. The current cost of the former platinum pass is outrageous. $1400 and that’s WITHOUT the photopass. Their merchandise quality has gone WAY down, the cast member quality has gone way down and the cleanliness of the park too. Also the way people dress at the park now is disgusting. I don’t need to see belly, boobs or buttcheeks when I’m at Disney. I got turned away once for wearing a princess costume that looked beautiful, but was “too realistic” yet they’re allowing teenagers to wear shorts so short there’s literally buttcheeks hanging out?? This isn’t universal, let’s keep it magical people. Also the new Star Wars hotel price is out of control. $5K for two people for two nights?! Yeah, no thanks, I’d rather go to Europe. I hate how Disney is gearing up to only be accessible to the super rich, that makes me sad. Disney has taken the tragedy of the pandemic and turned it into an opportunity to gouge its fans. At a time when we needed the magic more than ever, they took it all away and gave us a bill for it. So sad. Disney should be ashamed of themselves. I can’t wait for Karma to come and really bite them in the ass, and this is coming from a legit super fan. I’m going to say it loud so the people in the back can hear: DISNEY MAGIC IS GONE. DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING EXTRA OR MAGICAL.

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    1. You said it very well I fully agree with you. Comments like yours needs to go worldwide then maybe there will be a big shakeup in Disney leadership and the new leadership will follow walt’s plan and stick with it!!!!

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78. We used to come every year or 2 years. That’s not going to happen anymore. It’s been 4 years since we went and about to go this holiday. Everything that I’m reading is going to make this trip the most expensive vacation we ever took and we have timeshare at the Boardwalk. We will probably sell our timeshare at these prices. If we don’t then we will just go to the Disney resort in Hawaii like we did 2 years ago from now on which was ironically one of our cheapest and most relaxing vacation ever

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79. I’ve been saying for years that I’d be done when they started charging for FastPass. Changing the name is a slick trick, but doesn’t alter the fact that they’re now charging for a FastPass equivalent.

    I’m sad that I’ll probably never go back, but I think the parks will be close to or past insolvency before they learn their lesson.

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80. My visit last year will probably be my last. It’s just not worth it. Tired old rides, new rides you can’t get on and the lack the charm the parks once had. Better entertainment value elsewhere

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    1. It’s the greedy corporate big shots making $20 million a year robbing everybody left and right we used to go once sometimes twice a year I will never visit another Disney park universal here we come the universal park gives you your moneys worth see you Mickey you thief

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81. As Florida residents the price of annual passes and availability to purchase one has made us done with the parks. Other changes we dislike are the Genie system, removal of fast pass, reservations for park visits, reservations for rides, basically paying a lot more to receive less.
    Sadly after decades of yearly trips to WDW, starting in the 70’s living out of state, and 12 years of being central Florida resident, we are disgusted with the greed of park owners.

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82. Can we talk about just how confusing all this is? None of these changes scream “fun, relaxing vacation.” The average Disney traveler is very middle class. You start pricing them out or asking for more of their time for mundane tasks at 7 am while on vacation and they soon will discover what the rest of us are: Europe, Hawaii and other destinations worldwide are now the same cost as WDW. Time to actually soar around the world.

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83. I too felt Nickle and dimed. I hadn’t been to the parks since 2013 with my family (which was my last chance to get a vacation from work), and I was shocked to find fast pass and extra magic hours gone. No more meal plan was a bummer and so was the fact that so many shops in Epcot were shut down. The merchandise was all very limited (and seemed to be mostly cheap t-shirts instead of the quality apparel I purchased in the past. I found myself constantly battling with genie plus and lightning lane saying “well I’m already in this for 5grand what’s another 35 dollars” – just to make sure we got to ride the rides we wanted. My phone is never used enough to kill the battery but genie plus had me on it so much my phone was deal by 4pm and I had some of my worst migraines. The whole “vacation “ gave me more anxiety and stress than I’ve had in years. The mask requirements would have been reasonable if they didn’t pack guests “nuts to butts” in every queue and building. And just a tip- the genie plus is pretty much worthless at all the parks except magic kingdom. There aren’t enough attractions at Hollywood to avoid only getting one or 2 genie rides. And Epcot (which was my favorite park) is now a waste of time. Animal kingdom can be done by 2 pm without genie plus especially if you just purchase an individual lightning lane for avatar. Overall it was my worst vacation ever (though I paid all the money needed for my family to have fun) and of my 10 trips to Disney it was by far the only one to not meet my expectations. Normally I left feeling like “it’s expensive but it’s worth it”. This time it was like “those people really took advantage ( of me coming down there) to nickle and dime me”

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84. I’m definitely done with WDW. It’s very much health measures for me (although paying 120% for 50% of the experience is factored in). I’m not the type to openly flaunt the rules of a private business (if I disagree with them, I’ll do business elsewhere). The last time we went to WDW (maybe ever), we’re outside walking around, my 3yo is taking a nap in the stroller, it’s 90+ degrees in Florida, but the entire family is in masks (Oct 2020). A cast member sticks her head in my stroller to make sure the toddler is wearing her mask. It had slipped down. I have to wake her up and reposition the mask. To me, that was beyond the pale. That had nothing to do with public health, but strict rule enforcement more suited to pre-WWII Germany, not a theme park. In my mind, Cast members delighted in strict enforcement as their way of retaliating against guests. I hope to never go back!

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85. I have spent a little Fortune at Disney World over the last 50 years I have not gone to the parks in the last 2 years because of the stupid mask mandates

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86. I have been visiting Disney since the year of it opening in 1971. Lots of changes. Not many changes were not in the favor of the guest. I was, as you notice was, a shareholder, corporate changed the trading options so that trading was much more expensive to trade. I would trade for one dollar to trade a d it thirty dollars to trade. How greedy. I enjoyed many trips to Disney, but now I feel that the Nickle and Diming has reached an overbearing rate. The parks will soon look like River Country, baron and abandoned. The feeling of be our guest is more like you feel that guests are pests and you are lining your pockets. The removal of the bus ride to and from the airport and the charge for the parking to resort guests was the final straw. I can’t say I wish you luck, vacationing at Disney is too complicated and expensive. I hope your new CEO opts not to make the mega millions and gives some of the over paid salary to bringing down the rates for the guests.

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87. Very disappointed in canceling fast pass but as a pass holder the continuation of reservations did it for us! In general Chapek has made it clear he doesn’t like passholders do we joined the Universal team. Goodbye Disney dince being there for magic kingdoms opening day.

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88. Just got back from nine days at Disney World. Your price for Genie+ is not accurate. I had one ticket for my husband and me and was linked to two friends with an Annual Pass. I paid $15 per GUEST (plus tax) for Genie+ not per ticket. Cost was $60+ per purchase.

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89. There is no spontaneity left. Its 24-7 stress and planning. That’s why I go on vacation, to de-stress. Disney used to be fun. Now its work. Only, we have to pay to do the work for disney.

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90. What a ridiculous and irresponsible headline. “EVERYONE.” Gotcha headlines. SMH You are part of the reason people have moved away from these articles.

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91. Just recently stayed at a property hotel, having to pay each day to park your vehicle is outrageous . In addition, to park hop after 2 pm is also an inconvenience as one should be able to park hop at their discretion based on the amount of money paid for each ticket.

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92. That’s a long list of crappy changes. I know for now I’m totally done with Disney. I’ve been there several times in the past when it was still awesome, but it’s clear those on their thrones are going to turn Disney into one big “elitist” only park. I’ll just go to Universal Studios instead and they have Harry Potter. Also, the Disney rides seem to breakdown a lot more now.

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93. Disney plus was a waste of money. I got to use it twice each day i paid for six add ons. No stand by for ride my grandkids did not get to see. 3 hours in line for Rise. Full price for parking with no courtesy tram. Really? Couldnt discount the parking til its return? Lack of Christmas feeling this year at the parks. What happend with that? Disappointing.

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94. You forgot to mention the continuous unnecessary retheming or changes to beloved attractions such as the planned retheme of Splash Mountain. After 25 years of visiting Disney parks in Florida, California and Paris next year will be my last hopefully getting to ride Splash Mountain again before it is rethemed. It is the whole story line that keeps me coming back to it not the final drop. If it was the drop there are better drops at other parks. Over 90,000 people who have signed a petition to save Splash Mountain can’t all be wrong surely

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95. They haven’t had any live concerts at Epcot in 2 years, no more fast passes and now you can’t even get free pictures sent to your phone. The only perk for annual pass holders is free parking and even that has no trams anymore.

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96. It is no longer a vacation but a grueling job of being on the phone all the time and not being able to enjoy your time at Disney anymore. It is bad enough waking up at 6:00 AM to make dining reservations six months in advance then have to set the alarm for 7:00 AM everyday while on your vacation. I actually dread going to Disney now and the excitement is no longer there. Universal now is more appealing to me and a better value.

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97. We just came back and we are DONE for all these reasons and many more. Nickel and dimming is an understatement. The “magical” express had a THREE hour line and it took over four hours to get luggage, wait on the longest line I’ve ever seen, and get to Pop.They are going to redo Splash Mountain???? Many rides were in rough shape. The bathrooms were FILTHY with no attendants. Cast members are obviously overworked and many inexperienced. Bottles of water are almost $4. You can get “free” water, but we had to wait on long lines even to get that. Food was horrible, and resort snack grab and go selections were severely restricted. No more Dannon light, cheese and fruit selection, no more hummus and pretzel, no more carrots and celery slices. Couldn’t even find a bag of pretzels. We were so let down by so many reasons. Disney lost a loyal, repeat customer with us.

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98. What was once the “Happiest Place on Earth” now seems to be the “Most Overcrowded and Rainiest Place on Earth”. A typical vacation at Disney World seems to be more time waiting in lines at a park and the constant on and off heavy rain throughout the day all day every day

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99. We just returned from a 6 day trip. We were dismayed by the number of rides that broke down, especially Hollywood Studios. From 2 separate hour long waits for Rise of the Resistance that never materialized, to Slinky Dog, to Muppets we experienced frustration after frustration. Some of our best experiences were not in the parks where we battled long lines, crowds, overworked cast members, and in Magic Kingdom, filthy bathrooms by days end.

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100. It really upsets me that i have spent an absolute fortune over the last 12yrs visiting WDW from the U.K. With my wife and daughter we have made everlasting wonderful memories yet now my vacation would be costing me on average another £2000 per visit.It would not be so bad if the perks were still available but it is all aimed at Disney trying to squeeze every single penny out of every guest. I think it is time for me to see the rest of the world with future vacations. Thanks for the memories Disney but enough is enough !!

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101. Was due to go next November. Due to raising costs of all extras for family of 4 we cancelled our big family holiday 😭 So sad disney are pricing people out.

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102. Disney will always attract guests in their parks even if they charged quadruple (4x) for everything and gave out ZERO perks. If Disney did, their shareholder profitability would increase tremendously. People must accept that Disney will always have a successful business because of their “exclusivity” based business model. So, if you cannot afford to take your family to Disney, there are plenty of attractive affordable public parks for your people like you to enjoy. Afterall, that’s why we all pay taxes right? Fact is, the only thing that would change at Disney, if they quadrupled their price points on everything, is the demographics of their clientele and nothing else. In fact, it may even make it more enjoyable for those who can afford to take our families there on vacations and getaways. Who knows? maybe there’s a little gem of an undiscovered affordable public park near you for you and your family as well to enjoy? Truth is, you likely should not have been going to destinations like Disney to begin with if Disney was such a stretch for you and are complaining about minor price hikes (silly, isn’t it?). Then, as now, Disney is simply an extravagance you cannot afford. Be thankful that you were able to go at all and try harder to live within your means going forward. God Bless

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     1. Wow, let them eat cake. Will you feel the same way the day they come for you? Besides, for many of us, it’s not that we can’t afford it, it’s that the quality and value of the experience has decreased while the price has increased.

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103. It’s the discontinuation of the Magical Express for me. Disney is trying to pass itself off as upscale and they remove the ONE service that seemed upscale and made booking a Disney hotel worth it. If I never go to Disney World ever again, it will be too soon. Walt Disney himself knew that you needed to focus on the customer, and the money would come naturally. The current Walt Disney Company is focused on the money, they don’t care how they get it, or how the customer feels about spending it.

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104. Disney, fire the guy who came up with all these stupid rules!

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105. How about the parking lot trams! It’s a major hardship after traipsing around the park all day to then have to walk a couple miles to your car.

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106. We went in November. Everything stated here is true! My daughter had to spend so much time attached to her phone it was ridiculous! She couldn’t even enjoy herself. Very frustrating to say the least. Setting alarm for 6:45 was just as ridiculous. Wearing a mask when you are in your “own private car” but standing shoulder to shoulder among thousands of people to watch fireworks? I can go on.

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107. Almost done with Disney, recently attended the Merry after Hours event which ok not alot of food option for the price that you pay. The low wait times for ride was the best thing. And get up early to get a Lighting for Rise of the Resistance is very inconvenience if you just want to sleep in. And then you get it go to the park and it’s broken down. It down all day,the cast member say come back later in the evening it might be up. Please do better Disney.

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108. I think that everyone who complains about the way Walt Disney is doing g things should stop and realize that nothing ever stays the same. First of all with the prices being increased, if you all haven’t realized it yet, they do have staff to pay and since they had to shit down for ao long due to the pandemic this is something that is necessary for the park to remain in business. So many people were so eager to get back to Disney World but yet they don’t stop to think that the pandemic is still out there and the park is doing the best they can to get things back to as normal as possible. Do you all want the parks to shut down again, maybe for good so that people like me will never get the chance to go there. If you all complain about the prices, the smaller portions of food or how it is being served by the restaurants, or the fact that they are doing away with the Magic Express….stop going so many times. No one really needs to go there more than twice a year….why blow all that money to go there six or more times a year. Save that money so that you can afford things when you do go. That is why I am waiting until I can afford to go one time for a nice visit to Disney World. That way I can do and see everything I want, and buy souvenirs.

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     1. What do you mean they have staff to pay. When the parks closed for covid, thousands of people lost their jobs, Disney has only hired a quarter of them back.

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109. Not sure if this would fall under “hotel perks” or a separate category, but I was appalled that Disney “reimagined” housekeeping. They literally made up their own definition, which is just new towels and trash removal every 2 days. Nothing else!

     I couldn’t believe this was a thing, especially at a Deluxe resort. The front desk told me that was the new definition and they show it at booking (only if you book through them though). That’s pure cost cutting the fact that they blame Covid for not cleaning the room is insulting to people’s intelligence. They also left trash piled outside my room the last day. I got $75 for my troubles,but would have preferred an appropriate level of service for the cost of the stay instead. This has to frustrate others but is rarely discussed.

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110. Unless I missed it, one significant deterrent is missing from this list: Overcrowding and the bad behavior this can insight. These bad behaviors are only worsened by all of the stress that the above items on this list cause such as pushing/shoving other guests, hitting other guests with strollers or other vehicles, treating CMs and fellow guests without respect, drinking too much alcohol etc.

     Also, another effect of overcrowding is that hotels can be noisier so getting a good night’s sleep is far from guaranteed. This is also closely linked to other bad behaviors that another guest aptly called ‘entitled’.

     The effect of all of these elements combined is just too exhausting to contemplate. Like so many people, I love Walt Disney World and Disneyland and the multigenerational nostalgia and devotion they inspire. Because I love them it’s even more of a loss that planning another trip anytime soon seems almost guaranteed to be more depleting than restorative. For that reason we will wait a good few years at the very least.

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111. I remember when Disney was the best place to come for vacation it was affordable everything was on point easy access to everything I always said it and I’ll say it again old school is always the best way Disney has become very very hungry for money lately and they’re not thinking about guess especially those that work hard to make family trips possible for the children and for themselves now it’s become a mission and how to collect funds to make the magic happen Disney is not what it used to be and I could understand why everybody is upset and say they’re done with Disney I may be in that category myself I find myself all the time saying I’m done with Disney every time I pop up I see something has changed it’s not fun anymore but what they don’t know is that this is going to be in trouble really really soon when universal opens up its new park that’s going to be the new place to be and Disney is going to lose and tons of money they just don’t know it yet I kind of feel sorry for Disney they don’t know what’s ahead of them in the future so if they want to play this game of raising up prices and expenses on everything else let them keep playing that game because those who laugh last laugh the best sorry Disney but universe is going to drop you like Walmart drop Kmart.

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112. I hope they do say they are done then maybe cast members can bring back the magic. There’s too many people wanting to go to Disney and not enough cast to staff it. This is economics 101. Demand is higher than ever and the supply is limited. Stop listing your complaints Karen and Ken out there because they don’t matter when you go anyway. Actions speak volumes and your words are hilarious for cast members to read as they literally see HOARDS of people.

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     1. Constance, I agree with some of what you posted. What has us “die hard” fans up in arms is the fact that WE paid higher than average prices to enjoy Disney for decades and instead of Disney actually adding park space to accomodate the increasing crowds, they thought they could simply replace several attractions with state of the art attractions and nobody would be concerned about the crowds. Simply put, ever since Animal Kingdom was finished, DISNEY HAS NOT INCREASED THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF PARK AREA while crowds have exponentially grown. Now it seems the 1%ers want to brush off the regular customer who actually helped pay for what you are visiting today and tell us to go elsewhere. Disney is being disingenuous and misleading when they claim ticket increases are to help with crowd levels. They knew decades ago the crowds were increasing yet they stuck their heads in the sand and simply worried about building the latest greatest ride design so they can continue to claim the top park award. Disney has the land, the innovation, and the money to double parks and park capacity, therefore bringing in double the money, but instead, they choose to follow their pipe dream of the wealthy will never grow tired of the place and they will be fine. I can’t wait to see the day that Disney has to beg for customers.

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113. Extra charge $25 for parking closer to the park. Otherwise, you’ll be walking a lot before reaching the front entrance. The Trams are gone! The area where the trams used to park for you to get off in front of the entrance is where your you can park if you pay an extra $25 IN ADDITION TO the regular parking fee if you drive. Another way Disney is making extra money and cut down on cost to operate the trams that was free.

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114. Just returned from Disney . Did 4 parks in 4 days. The lines were crazy long for rides or food. Couldn’t get reservations into the restaurants and most were full for walk ups. Even the little stands for snacks would have 75-100 people waiting. Bring your own food and drink or starve trying to buy some. If this is limited capacity I’d hate to be there at normal capacity.
     The genie pass is a joke. If your lucky enough to book a ride, you can’t even try again for 2 hours. One of our booked ride reservations canceled itself! We only rode 5 rides in 4 days. Of course we did a lot of shopping which I’m sure it part of their plan .

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115. My last trip to Disney World was several years ago. Even then, I found myself frustrated by the ride reservation process. With the new Genie system in place, I think the joy of being at Disney World has gone by the wayside.

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116. We planned on celebrating my 70th birthday at the Grand Floridian. Staying on their “exclusive” Club level.
     After hours holding on the phone for Disney Signature Services & waiting online as well we were unable to make any dinner reservations except late afternoon or late evening. We cancelled the entire trip.
     This would have been our 20th stay at the Grand Floridian.
     NO MORE DISNEY FOR US !!

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117. Only the people staying at the Deluxe Resorts can now enjoy the “Extra Magic Hours”.
     You guys are amazing!
     Eliminating “FastPass+” and the “Disney Magical Express” was bad enough and now this.
     There are plenty of other places I can go that are cheaper and still just as much fun.
     The “Magic” won’t be there, but it seems it’s already gone.

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118. Price, everything costs more and more then ever before. Its always been expensive. But it’s getting too much. So as they raise prices and take things away, it’s just not worth the cost.

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119. Not a single change, of those mentioned, was made for the benefit of the majority of guests with the longest history of spending the most money visiting WDW… FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS!

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120. November 2019 was my 4th trip and my friend’s 35th and OUR LAST. Stayed at Disney Resort’s Music. Drove in and now parking is CHARGED even though we stayed on site. Huge amenities either extra charge or eliminated. This is NOT Mr. Disney’s vision and we’re SURE he’s turning in his grave seeing his “dream” being destroyed by “woke” and greed ideas. Mr. Eisner NEVER would have allowed any of this to happen, either. WE ARE DEFINITELY DONE with Disney World.

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121. We got to experience the magic of Disney world before all these changes and fell in love with it. We even went as far as flying in from California for weekend trips. But all that has come to an end. We are magic key holders here in California and we will just be doing Disneyland and California Adventures. The main thing at Disney World is getting from the airport to the resort and the dining plan. Just not fun anymore.

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122. Better not need to call and talk to a customer service cast member for any reason. The average wait time to talk to a real person is 2 hours.

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123. I think the board members and share holders lost the concept that Walt had in mind. It was suppose to be a happy place that the normal family or person could enjoy themselves, not just the rich. How much is enough? Are the board members that greedy?

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     1. We are shareholders and we vehemently disagree with all the “woke” and money grabbing changes being made. I enjoyed going to WDW in the past but like many have said on here it is more like going to work. My husband and I spent our 45th Anniversary at Amelia Island and had a wonderful time. We honeymooned at Disney and unless they change I will not be going back to spend another Anniversary there. We are also DVC members but I prefer spending my time at HHI where we are less stressed and don’t have to fight crowds waiting in lines for rides. I was in WDW last February with my daughter and it was a big let down having to make reservations for ROR. We did get in but it is like buying a lottery ticket, you just don’t know if you will have that winning ticket. Then there is the Park Hopping. Having to make reservations to get into a park and then if you want to go to another park you have to wait until 2PM. Where is the value in spending more money? I liked my freedom to go to different parks when I wanted to go. I never did the dining plan because I felt I would be planning my vacation around my eating schedule plus the fact that dining out is extremely expensive. Someone please bring Walt back to life so he can fire everyone in charge of the company and bring back the family values at reasonable prices.

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124. My family just got back from our 12th trip in 16 years, and we’re done for all of the reasons listed in the article. Disney’s new slogan should be “50% of the Magic for 150% of the price”. Disney Genie (both paid and not), dining availability, lack of Mousekeeping, lack of cast members, lack of merchandise, 7:00 am, etc. all suck. It’s terrible now.

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125. The magic has disappeared. It has been replaced by greed. The regiment that is currently running Disney is running it into the ground. I went in November and realized the price I am paying is not worth what I am getting. The customers with deep pockets are all they care about. They allow 4 to 1 on rides. Lightning lane is ruining the place. They love the extra money. Walt would be so disappointed with his legacy.

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126. Don’t forget what they charge to park at the resorts and no trams. We’re one of those that have had it and not going back. Disney has turned into one of they’re Villians!

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127. I am done with Disney. It is no longer magical. They are to greedy.

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128. The 50% usage limit of DVC points can be added to your list.

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     1. That’s only for borrowing from next UY points. It could change.

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129. Will not go into any Parks Again .Pretty soon Disney will start to charge admission into Disney springs

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130. I’m done with disney world
     Used to go every couple of years but it’s just got too complicated and stressful now. Will stick to universal now.

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131. In regards to #8, if you are that scared of a 99.98% survivable virus you really need to just stay home instead of insisting everyone else needs to cater to your fears. The rest, I completely agree with.

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     1. Amen

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132. There’s only one problem at Disney and that’s Chepak.

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133. I have to say that I agree with every one of these points, and I would imagine that Walt would too. The Disney magic is fading fast under Chapek.

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134. Disney know that everything is not back to normal yet they still charge the same fee. If all the attractions and entertainment isn’t back, the price to get in parks should decrease.

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135. If you watch Kevin “Defunctland” Perjuer’s video on Fastpass there is one unmistakeable reason for most of the biggest changes: Some people need to stop visiting. We’ve exceeded the point at which the park can be enjoyed by the most guests. Masters of the fast pass system had a disproportionate advantage over other guests. Instead of distributing guests over more rides, it put some guests on more rides, at the cost of everyone else. I know, because I was one of those people.

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136. Perfectly stated! One other forgotten is “local” APs feel pushed out for many of the reasons you stated and more. While over and above grateful to be able to go to Disney, it is more difficult to go sporadically Locaks keep the economy going around the parks, plus support Disney. We can no longer run to a park after dinner without reservation.

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137. Disney World is no longer fun for everyone. It should be fun AND affordable for adults AND children. When you suck every penny out of a family just to get in the park, the perks that you cannot afford, once in, makes for a sad experience indeed.

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138. Disney has priced fixed income Grandparents taking their Grandchildren to a park as no longer a desired group of people. Sad, sad, sad.

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139. Thank you for having the courage to write and publish this.

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140. The indoor mask requirement needs to go. If those who are susceptible to severe covid need to take precautions they should be vaccinated and wear an N95.
     Those who are fully vaccinated and do not have preexisting conditions should be able to make their own decisions at this point in the pandemic.

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141. The disability service DAS has also changed. It seems Disney is violating HIPPA LAWS and are somehow getting away with it. Besides penny pinching, and removing magical perks, Disney is also damaging their customer service on how they are handling and treating customers with disabilities.
     For 15 years straight my family has been going to Disney without any problems. This year 2021 was absolutely a less than magical trip and it had nothing to do with Covid-19’s safe practices. It had to do with the non customer experience changes.
     We are considering Universal and are asking friends their experiences. We have also put a non-interest to Disney vacation club DVC at this time as well.
     Hopefully they hear their customers and go back to the drawing board on sone of these changes.

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142. we will not pay the high prices for a hotel when there isnt maid service every day. I like garbages emptied, showers and sinks wiped out and new towels and washcloths and clean bedding pretty much every day. Last stay at a disney hotel, cost of about 400 a night was absolutely no maid service, noneof the things were done at all.

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143. The food selection has changed big time letting us only have a few chooses. And they prepare it somewhere else and it is lacking the flavors it use to. Expecesially at the Epcot restaurants

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144. Will not return until the greed stops!
     This is nonsense. Return to the family oriented parks we once loved!

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145. I was all done when they eliminated all in park smoking areas.

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146. I think my family would agree with most of this. We’ve been to Disney World multiple times, stayed at every resort level, and loved it for the most part. It seems Disney is really just about the business side now. Too bad I guess. Just poor management from there top. Very short-sighted.

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147. I think Disney just want people who are rich to go to Disney world they are not concerned about the working class they are just thinking of lineing there own pockets they are being greedy I would rather go universal and I think a lot of more people will

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148. Too confusing, too difficult, too expensive. We’re done! (DVC members for 17 years.)

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149. Given that WDW is hyping this year as it’s big anniversary, it is disappointing that 1) EPCOT is a construction site, 2) live performances are scaled back, 3) resort perks are disappearing & 4) Genie+ / park reservations make planning / experiencing a Disney trip a pain in the neck.

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150. I used to be able to book fast passes way in advance and have my days planned now it’s at the last minute and is very stressful
     If I hadn’t already booked a Disney trip I forgo Disney

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151. Personally I would have put number 10 – Too Expensive at the top of the list.

     The straw that broke the camels back for us was pre-pandemic, Disney started charging for parking your car at a Disney Hotel and then also announced variable ticket pricing.

     For those of us from the UK that would spend 14 nights at a Disney Hotel, parking our rental car would have added $200 plus onto the cost of an already expensive vacation.

     Sorry Disney but after visiting WDW for over 25 years (we were also married there), we’ll now be spending our vacations elsewhere.

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152. I agree with all the frustration. Disney has lost the magic. in saying that, I totally disagree with not having restrictions..masks..social distancing. If you dont care about the welfare of others…stay away…

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153. My news feed is filled with articles stating that people are “Done” with Disney …. And yet it appears the parks are still full. I’m going next month and, believe me, I’d love it if people were actually done and I could experience a non-crowded park, walk on to Ratatouille and Rise of Resistance, eat at restaurants and lounges without long waits. But I suspect that won’t be the case.

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154. I think you missed- paying for parking without tram service. That’s a rip off. Same price – less service.

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155. It’s the nickel and dimeing that gets me. You didn’t even mention the fact that I have to pay to park at a hotel on property now. There is literally 0 benefit to staying on property now.

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156. Wanted to add that the photo pass is now an extra $99 fee for annual passholders.

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157. Free market economics will (hopefully) correct some of these horrible decisions. Universal Orlando will contribute to be an alternative for some, especially as they expand their parks in the coming years with the Epic theme park and most likely more on-property resorts.

     Universal Studios just acquired more land from Lockheed Martin for their expansions. And in my experience as both a Disney and Universal annual passholder in 2020-2021, Universal is beating Disney in the overall guest experience category, especially when it comes to nickel and diming.

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158. After visiting Disney every year at Christmas for 25+ years (and just returning,) this will be my last trip. It used to be magical seeing all the Christmas decor, now almost nothing. I will not go back for just about every reason listed in the article. Being a senior, the Magical Express was a BIG one for me. Leaving luggage at my airport and seeing it in your room was a a deal breaker for me and then checking your luggage at the resort was another. Even though the Magical Express was still in service, I still had to collect my luggage and get it to the bus and then to my room. That was WAY too much for me.. I can only imagine how a family with kids and a bunch of luggage will do it. What a Hassle. You pay a lot for park tickets and then pay on top for rides, I refuse. So Sadly, for me, I will move on to another holiday destination. Disney changed too much for me to enjoy it anymore.

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159. Count me as one of those people that is “done”. I just got back from my 5th trip to Universal Studios in 13 months. As someone that drives 8 hours to get there, that is A LOT. I spent 5 days off property and did ZERO Disney parks. This has become the “new normal” for me. I can afford to go to Universal, I can’t afford Disney, and I want to go more than once every couple of years. I CAN afford a Universal annual pass, I cannot afford an annual pass for Disney. That’s a lot of money that Disney doesn’t seem to want from me. Someone rich can take my place. It wasn’t by choice, it was by force. At least I have 25 years of memories to last me. Universal still likes to see me coming. I feel appreciated there.

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160. totally agree with article. price increases causing visitors to go elsewhere and the seemingly attitude that Disney could care less.

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161. It is so hard to keep track of the changes, especially the fees, budgeting for a trip is next to impossible. In addition, trying to understand WHEN the fees are applicable (i.e. hotel parking fees) is hard. Continuing rises in park parking fees and paying full price for parks with little entertainment, closed rides, construction, no trams, etc. is wrong. Wanting to go to WDW is becoming less desirable. I used to go at least once a year starting in the 90s, but have decided not to go for at least awhile.

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162. I agree Disney world is very costly now. We will never go again, which other vacation options now open to do. They are money hungry, pay for everything that use to be free, which is not right. Bye-Bye, it was fun to go there

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