Magic is gone

We were In Epcot the end of August. While things are different we did not feel the magic was gone. We rarely had our phones out. We enjoyed seeing Pooh frolicking in the garden chasing butterflys. He even posed for pictures and answered questions with a nod of his head. We had great interactions with some cast members and enjoyed riding Soarin twice in a row with no wait. While many things have changed at Disney the trip will be what you make it. We chose to enjoy our trip even though it was 97 degrees and crazy humid.:mickey:

I might disagree with you on that. We had a most magical trip on our last visit in June.

First, let's get a few points out of the way. Disney is not a vacation. We all know that if you are looking to just unwind and relax then Disney isn't for you, even if you aren't planning to visit the parks. Second, the tech may be frustrating at times, but ultimately if Disney is doing their job well then the apps and their offerings should bring pleasure...not pain. Third, there will be structure. We've all been working with ADRs for at least 30 years now (let alone FP+) so it should be no surprise to anyone. Fourth, Disney is a premium experience...even if you aren't staying at a premium resort. If you have a family of four with airfare, possibly car rental and are staying for seven days then know that it will probably cost you are least $10k. Finally, don't set your expectations too high or so high and be fluid in your plans. Not everything may be available, people may get tired or it might rain...perhaps a lot.

If you are good with all that then there is absolutely no reason you can't have a great Disney experience every time. Frankly, we preferred the order ahead option for quick service. The kids were all great with managing our park reservations and FP+. I realize FP+ is all changing, but we had a fantastic time! We're not ready to go back just yet, but maybe in another 3-4 years is good for us. Enjoy!

baldburke;2532059 wrote: I might disagree with you on that. We had a most magical trip on our last visit in June.

First, let's get a few points out of the way. Disney is not a vacation. We all know that if you are looking to just unwind and relax then Disney isn't for you, even if you aren't planning to visit the parks. Second, the tech may be frustrating at times, but ultimately if Disney is doing their job well then the apps and their offerings should bring pleasure...not pain. Third, there will be structure. We've all been working with ADRs for at least 30 years now (let alone FP+) so it should be no surprise to anyone. Fourth, Disney is a premium experience...even if you aren't staying at a premium resort. If you have a family of four with airfare, possibly car rental and are staying for seven days then know that it will probably cost you are least $10k. Finally, don't set your expectations too high or so high and be fluid in your plans. Not everything may be available, people may get tired or it might rain...perhaps a lot.

If you are good with all that then there is absolutely no reason you can't have a great Disney experience every time. Frankly, we preferred the order ahead option for quick service. The kids were all great with managing our park reservations and FP+. I realize FP+ is all changing, but we had a fantastic time! We're not ready to go back just yet, but maybe in another 3-4 years is good for us. Enjoy!

Funny how none of the advertising makes any mention of Disney not being a vacation. How they don’t mention the premium cost but not to expect premium I’m service. Wonder why?

baldburke;2532059 wrote:
F Second, the tech may be frustrating at times, but ultimately if Disney is doing their job well then the apps and their offerings should bring pleasure...not pain.

Disney doesn't do their job well. Their tech is subpar.

Cinderelley;2532066 wrote: Disney doesn't do their job well. Their tech is subpar.

I completely agree with that. It started getting better but now they have completely changed everything and moved to Genie+ so who knows how that will work. I spent more time at Guest services in the past 5 years than all of the other years I have been going combined. I spent most of that time trying to get tickets and fastpasses straightened back out that were messed up on their end out of my control.

There is no doubt that a WDW vacation is nowhere near as magical as it used to be. It used to be a great value and you got a lot for your money but now.......I feel like cattle being herded through as fast as possible while at the same time being charged for anything and everything they can find a way to put a charge on. One of the charges that tick me off more than most is now having to pay to park my car that I don't even touch for the entire week I am there in the resort parking lot that was built decades ago and I have parked there for those decades without paying. That makes my blood boil. I am one of those that looks at parking charges when I make hotel reservations anywhere. It is actually a determining factor in what hotel I choose.

Finding Nemo show is gone for good. Keep that "magic" coming. :confused:

goofyskier;2532060 wrote: Funny how none of the advertising makes any mention of Disney not being a vacation. How they don’t mention the premium cost but not to expect premium I’m service. Wonder why?

They might call it a vacation...I don't. Heck, I'm even a member of DVC!

Nearly everything anymore is a premium experience...especially with inflation on the rise as of late. You can't take a family of four to a movie with snacks for under $50. You can't take a family of four to a baseball game, again, with parking and snacks, for less than $100 to $150 depended on the stadium. The cost of everything is through the roof. My weekly grocery bill for three is never under $250 any more. A week at Disney for four with all the perks will cost you $10k...but so will a week at the beach in many cases. C'est la vie!

Beth & David

09/82 Treehouse Villas, 06/86 BVP, 10/95 CBR, 10/99 DI, 08/03 PORS, 10/05 POP, 11/06 AKL, 09/09 POLY, 10/10 Wonder, 05/11 Dream/PORS, 08/13 POLY, 11/13 GF, 04/15 POLY, 11/15 BLT, 11/16 Aulani, 03/17 BLT, 08/18 BLT, 07/19 AKL, 06/21 BLT

 

Cinderelley;2532066 wrote: Disney doesn't do their job well. Their tech is subpar.

I did put the big "IF" in there...

Altair;2532073 wrote: Finding Nemo show is gone for good. Keep that "magic" coming. :confused:

Nope! They're just reworking it. It will be back next year with all new costumes, effects, and possibly new songs!

I'm excited for the changes, and if you think that Disney introducing "tech" into the Disney Experience is removing the magic, then I don't know what to tell you. For years here on Intercot, there has been a loud group lamenting the fact that Disney was stagnant, not keeping up with Universal, content to not upgrade anything, etc, etc. But then when they introduce new rides, new technologies, change shows and experiences, people complain that the "magic is gone" because it is not the Walt Disney World that you have known and loved. What's a company to do?

We went in May, and had a really nice time. It was a different sort of trip, as we were staying off-site, there were no fireworks, no buffets, no Fast Passes, etc. But it was still great. I actually really like the Virtual Queue system for the really popular rides. I am unconvinced about the Genie app actually working like they say it will...I mean, if it is supposed to tell you when the rides you want have low waiting times, and it notifies you, it's also notifying everyone else who wants to ride it and...bam!...there go your short wait times. So, for Disney, this will probably be a home run as it will eventually average out wait times all over the parks.

The tech has indeed gotten better, and am SO HAPPY that FP+ is gone. I'm even cool with them charging $15/day for the Lightning Lane access. I am, however, very disappointed that they are upcharging on their upcharges for Lightning Lane access to the most popular rides. I'm also not happy that they're removing free PhotoPass for AP holders.

We have a trip coming up in January, just the wife and I, and we're staying at the Polynesian for 8 days. It's my bucket list hotel. I've been wanting to stay there for 20 years. I can't wait.

baldburke;2532074 wrote: They might call it a vacation...I don't. Heck, I'm even a member of DVC!
!

I have never read such a thing before. Everything about Disney is marketed as a vacation, bug its not a vacation? Seriously?

It certainly has changed, but really-what hasn't? The magic is still there , you just have to look a little harder. Still smiling faces all around , perfect picture moments, new experiences, little special moments and more. The world we live in is so different today, WDW is still a place I go and generally forget the outside world .

Obviously this is one of those topics that is extremely subjective. If you find it's no longer worth your money, you're not going to go. If you still have a wonderful time, you're going to find value in it.

We were just there at the beginning of August for a few days. We had concerns about how our enjoyment would be impacted. But we ended up having an absolute blast! And we did not have to work at it, or make the best of it. Disney delivered. We had concerns about needing to use the app and that turned out to be no problem at all. We used it to get on RotR, we actually really enjoyed using it to mobile order food (and this was not a necessity, every place we went had at least one register open for walk ups) and because there was no FP when we were there, we pulled it out a few times to check ride times before hoofing it all the way across the park to something we wanted to get on. We weren't by any stretch of the imagination spending the entire day with our faces buried in our phones.

We're planning to go back next August and we are so excited about it!

TheVBs;2532171 wrote: Obviously this is one of those topics that is extremely subjective. If you find it's no longer worth your money, you're not going to go. If you still have a wonderful time, you're going to find value in it.

We were just there at the beginning of August for a few days. We had concerns about how our enjoyment would be impacted. But we ended up having an absolute blast! And we did not have to work at it, or make the best of it. Disney delivered. We had concerns about needing to use the app and that turned out to be no problem at all. We used it to get on RotR, we actually really enjoyed using it to mobile order food (and this was not a necessity, every place we went had at least one register open for walk ups) and because there was no FP when we were there, we pulled it out a few times to check ride times before hoofing it all the way across the park to something we wanted to get on. We weren't by any stretch of the imagination spending the entire day with our faces buried in our phones.

We're planning to go back next August and we are so excited about it!

My daughter went to WDW back several months ago. It was the week they dropped the mask requirements I believe in June. We all went on a trip out West in July and went to Disneyland while were were there. She had a blast both times and we all had a blast at Disneyland. With that said, the two reasons we all enjoyed it so much were no preplanning or having to deal with fastpasses of any type and low crowd levels compared to normal times. I can't begin to tell you how enjoyable it was to just buy some tickets, show up and start hitting the attractions without ever looking at an app or worrying about the time.

They are going to start the new pass system which sounds like it will be far less irritating and stressful so I do look forward to trying that out. However, I do wish they would continue to have days for each park or perhaps certain weeks through the calendar where there were no fastpasses of any type including the new Genie system that is coming and also absolutely no dining reservations on those days either. That would be when I would go.