What is your Disney "Breaking Point"?

Maddie;2456452 wrote: They can never open another attraction and I will continue to go back. It is about the atmosphere and the memories I have gained. I just want to stroll down main street and feel happy! :mickey::number1:

Yes, this. Exactly.

No wall for me. That said, I do find some of the recent changes at WDW a bit off-putting. Time will tell whether they grow on me or not.

My first trip was in 1989. I was deployed in Korea and my wife was stateside. upon my return, she planned a trip to WDW and we stayed at the Poly. I was hooked. we returned every year from 1989 to 2012, most years twice.

We watched the value for our dollar drop, but we still went. Our last trip was a computer disaster. the day we arrived was a day Disney changed over to a new computer system. we had pre-paid everything. upon our arrival, they could not find our reservations.

what was their solution? we had to pay OOP for 2 and a 1/2 days until they could find our reservations! we had to waste a lot of time when we first arrived and then again when they found our reservations. luckily for us, I have been truly blessed financially and I could afford to pay OOP. others may not have been so lucky.

shortly after this fiasco, the fp+ started. add that to the diminishing value and our computer fiasco, we have not returned to WDW and we don't plan to.

I suppose it would have to be something financial-related for me. If it got to the point where I could only afford to go to Disney to the exclusion of some of the other places I'm fortunate enough to visit I might cut back or look elsewhere. Similarly, if I was running up debt to afford a trip or cutting back on saving for retirement and things like that then I'd have to re-evaluate. I enjoy Disney a ton but I'd rather be financially independent and able to do whatever I want by the time I hit 50 than have to work into my 70s because I gave all my money to the Mouse. Since I live nearby most of the year I kind of get the best of both worlds, frequent visits at low cost, a $480 AP renewal is my cost to visit, not $4,000-$7,000 for a family trip including airfare + hotel + tickets + meals. There are things I wish Disney would change but overall I have fun when I go.

Granted, we're pretty much a Disney obsessed group seeing as how we've specifically joined a website dedicated to being a Disney fan. I've seen some people on here that REALLY have no breaking point, people that are...
-behind on rent, have no money to pay the next month's rent but still have a Disney vacation planned and paid for...
-selling off personal items they say they didn't want to sell because their daughter would only be a 'sophomore in high school once' and they just HAD to go back...
-people swearing off Disney due to a price increase and less than 48 hours later posting about the great deal they just got on another upcoming trip.
Those are way beyond my breaking point, but to each their own.

dnickels;2456546 wrote: I suppose it would have to be something financial-related for me. If it got to the point where I could only afford to go to Disney to the exclusion of some of the other places I'm fortunate enough to visit I might cut back or look elsewhere. Similarly, if I was running up debt to afford a trip or cutting back on saving for retirement and things like that then I'd have to re-evaluate. I enjoy Disney a ton but I'd rather be financially independent and able to do whatever I want by the time I hit 50 than have to work into my 70s because I gave all my money to the Mouse. Since I live nearby most of the year I kind of get the best of both worlds, frequent visits at low cost, a $480 AP renewal is my cost to visit, not $4,000-$7,000 for a family trip including airfare + hotel + tickets + meals. There are things I wish Disney would change but overall I have fun when I go.

Granted, we're pretty much a Disney obsessed group seeing as how we've specifically joined a website dedicated to being a Disney fan. I've seen some people on here that REALLY have no breaking point, people that are...
-behind on rent, have no money to pay the next month's rent but still have a Disney vacation planned and paid for...
-selling off personal items they say they didn't want to sell because their daughter would only be a 'sophomore in high school once' and they just HAD to go back...
-people swearing off Disney due to a price increase and less than 48 hours later posting about the great deal they just got on another upcoming trip.
Those are way beyond my breaking point, but to each their own.

To the examples you gave.....IMHO, You only live once....and can't take anything with you to the grave....have fun in life and if a person wants to go......then GO. You will only regret not going. I understand your points. But, I will in no way sacrifice enjoying life..to possibly be financially independent. My father was like that...literally a few days before he died...he told me that was his major regret. He would have RATHER worked later in life and did more all of his life...instaed of saving and doing less during his life. He told me to enjoy life...money is meant to be spent. Does no one any good after they are dead. Obviously, if someone can't afford to go...they can't afford to go. thats just the way it is. But, I will always remember him telling me how much he regretted focusing so much on saving instead of enjoying the one life we have..:)

Outrageous air fares.

manutd1;2456610 wrote: To the examples you gave.....IMHO, You only live once....and can't take anything with you to the grave....have fun in life and if a person wants to go......then GO. You will only regret not going. I understand your points. But, I will in no way sacrifice enjoying life..to possibly be financially independent. My father was like that...literally a few days before he died...he told me that was his major regret. He would have RATHER worked later in life and did more all of his life...instaed of saving and doing less during his life. He told me to enjoy life...money is meant to be spent. Does no one any good after they are dead. Obviously, if someone can't afford to go...they can't afford to go. thats just the way it is. But, I will always remember him telling me how much he regretted focusing so much on saving instead of enjoying the one life we have..:)

I have to agree with this. The bills will always get paid first but you must also make room for fun in your life. My father was 66 when he died, he worked hard and saved all his life for his retirement. Instead at 64 he was diagnosed with Lou Ghrig's disease. My mother at 60 was found to have advanced lung cancer. They Passed away within a week and a half of each other. Because mom didn't have medicare coverage most of their savings went to doctors. Life is to short and you don't know what might happen, so enjoy yourself now. Enjoy the little bits of happiness that happen every day and don't sweat the small stuff. A wise person once told me "everything is small stuff". :mickey:

When my oldest two were little we went often -- sometimes multiple times in one year. Since 2008, we've only been every three years.

Some of that is because of cost, but it's more because we wanted the kids to see other parts of the country as well.

So we've taken them to New York, Sequoia, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, etc. Our last trip was a whirlwind tour of the Southwest that included the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and of course, Disneyland.

For these reasons, I don't think Disney World will ever get old for us. I too have been going since the 1970s, and it's not only the attractions that I love, but the beautiful parks themselves. And there's nothing like good Florida weather to show them off.

One more thing. There are two BIG reasons I love WDW that really don't get talked about much: the plants/landscaping and the atmospheric music. Those are background features that I think are sorely underappreciated.

My family hasn't reached that point yet either. Sometimes we skip attractions because they're not a favorite or there's no time and sometimes we don't ride things more than once per trip but we always feel sad when we leave and can't wait to begin planning the next big adventure.

I don't feel that Disney needs to compete with Universal. They are two completely different things - Disney is more family-oriented and classic where Universal is more thrilling and contemporary. I prefer Disney. I'd never go to Universal ever if it wasn't for Marvel.

Great question and discussion...I'm also not at that point but I do have to say the kind of massive planning that needs to be done these days is a little off-putting. I mean don't get me wrong, I am a natural "planner" kind of person but the thought that I have to put into securing ADRs, Fastpasses etc is a bit much sometimes. It takes some of the fun out of it. It will be interesting, we have two trips planned in the next approx. 18 months. One just DBF and me (the 52 yr old who has never seen a Disney movie) this Fall and then an extended family trip including little ones next Fall. I would say that probably after that we will take a little break and do something else for awhile.

[QUOTE=Sylvia;2456475]DITTO!!!!!

I feel like I've entered the twilight zone. No complaining or negativity - just many posters who appreciate the overall experience. Thank you azcavalier for starting this thread. QUOTE]

This has been a relative breath of fresh air. We haven't been able to go for 7 years and are finally leaving in 13 days for a much needed trip and my youngest son's first trip. Can't wait and am vowing not to have to wait this long again! Sure there are things that could be better but that's always the case. For me, it's the memories of my childhood at WDW and past trips and now being able to pass that on to my two boys that makes Disney so wonderful. No attraction problems or negativity can take away from that!

i'm grumpy;2456666 wrote: Outrageous air fares.
Try flying in the 60-70's......now that was high fares. Cheap now compared to inflation...by a lot.:thumbsup:

 

I think it's important to remember that what causes a negative experience is completely subjective. There are hundreds of reasons why one person could be souring on the WDW experience while another is finding their reasons to go increasing.

I think most of us would all agree that the main reason we go is that "feeling." Call it magic, call it an escape from reality, call it fantasy...the Disney experience calls a certain group of people back again and again because it makes us, well, happy. For some of us it makes us feel as though we're kids again. Others find it relaxing. Some find it thrilling. Some love watching their kids experience the magic. Others find luxury. There's no one thing that makes the place special. It's not a tangible thing you can point out. It seems to be a feeling.

When that feeling starts to fade, it's not a pleasant feeling because you really do feel as though you're losing something special. It doesn't just happen over night. It takes time. A few trips don't quite do it. A few changes may directly impact what that "thing" is for you. You stop planning your next trip before your current trip is over. You stop listening to ride music at work. You find yourself in the middle of a trip and just not feeling amazed and delighted. It's not as magical.

It may be you. It may be the park and changes. Who knows? But when your special place no longer feels special your first instinct is to try and get it back. It might come out on message boards as being negative, constant complaining, never being happy because that's all you can focus on. You want it back, so you shout to the mountain tops, pleading for it to return. People who are complaining about changes aren't complaining because they are bitter. They're truly upset because they feel they've lost something special. Maybe it was the closure of a quick service restaurant that finally tipped them to the point where they want to rally others to help them get it back. Some people are better at complaining politely than others (it's those others that tend to start flame wars).

I'm one of those people who has been feeling the magic waning. My kids are sill excited, and planning constantly. For me? My last few trips have not been filled with Disney magic. I don't know why. Luckily I had wonderful people who made the experiences magical. (Friendship is magic! Sorry. I don't know why I felt the need to say that.)There are things I certainly don't like that have changed over the years, but there have also been many things that have changed that I genuinely love. Could be the parks. Could be the business decisions. Could be me. Could be all three. Something has changed for me.

And that makes me sad. I don't mean to sound negative about the things I complain about. I certainly don't complain about them online (though I might crack some jokes). But those complaints are really made with a deep love for something. It certainly doesn't help me feel better when I do talk to my friends and, rather than listen and discuss it, they chide me for being negative. Nor, I'm sure, would like like me calling them Pollyanas because they have a more positive outlook. We each have our own experiences and should be able to share them.

I don't know if I have a breaking point because I always have hope for what's around the corner. But I can say that I've been enjoying things a lot less and I can't point to several things that contribute to that. As it stands, I don't have any plans to return to WDW in the near future. I'm sure I will. I always do. But I'm not planning a trip--even a pretend trip that is for the sole purpose of daydreaming. That's odd.

I wrote a lot. Sorry.

dpamac;2456712 wrote: I think it's important to remember that what causes a negative experience is completely subjective. There are hundreds of reasons why one person could be souring on the WDW experience while another is finding their reasons to go increasing.

I think most of us would all agree that the main reason we go is that "feeling." Call it magic, call it an escape from reality, call it fantasy...the Disney experience calls a certain group of people back again and again because it makes us, well, happy. For some of us it makes us feel as though we're kids again. Others find it relaxing. Some find it thrilling. Some love watching their kids experience the magic. Others find luxury. There's no one thing that makes the place special. It's not a tangible thing you can point out. It seems to be a feeling.

When that feeling starts to fade, it's not a pleasant feeling because you really do feel as though you're losing something special. It doesn't just happen over night. It takes time. A few trips don't quite do it. A few changes may directly impact what that "thing" is for you. You stop planning your next trip before your current trip is over. You stop listening to ride music at work. You find yourself in the middle of a trip and just not feeling amazed and delighted. It's not as magical.

It may be you. It may be the park and changes. Who knows? But when your special place no longer feels special your first instinct is to try and get it back. It might come out on message boards as being negative, constant complaining, never being happy because that's all you can focus on. You want it back, so you shout to the mountain tops, pleading for it to return. People who are complaining about changes aren't complaining because they are bitter. They're truly upset because they feel they've lost something special. Maybe it was the closure of a quick service restaurant that finally tipped them to the point where they want to rally others to help them get it back. Some people are better at complaining politely than others (it's those others that tend to start flame wars).

I'm one of those people who has been feeling the magic waning. My kids are sill excited, and planning constantly. For me? My last few trips have not been filled with Disney magic. I don't know why. Luckily I had wonderful people who made the experiences magical. (Friendship is magic! Sorry. I don't know why I felt the need to say that.)There are things I certainly don't like that have changed over the years, but there have also been many things that have changed that I genuinely love. Could be the parks. Could be the business decisions. Could be me. Could be all three. Something has changed for me.

And that makes me sad. I don't mean to sound negative about the things I complain about. I certainly don't complain about them online (though I might crack some jokes). But those complaints are really made with a deep love for something. It certainly doesn't help me feel better when I do talk to my friends and, rather than listen and discuss it, they chide me for being negative. Nor, I'm sure, would like like me calling them Pollyanas because they have a more positive outlook. We each have our own experiences and should be able to share them.

I don't know if I have a breaking point because I always have hope for what's around the corner. But I can say that I've been enjoying things a lot less and I can't point to several things that contribute to that. As it stands, I don't have any plans to return to WDW in the near future. I'm sure I will. I always do. But I'm not planning a trip--even a pretend trip that is for the sole purpose of daydreaming. That's odd.

I wrote a lot. Sorry.

Don't apologize. This is *exactly* the kind of response I was hoping to get. Even I am surprised at the overwhelming positive responses on this thread. But you eloquently stated just what I was wondering. I still love WDW, and admittedly am still excited to go back every time we do, but not quite as excited. Maybe because it's not new, or we've overdone it in the past few years...I don't know. But this last time, as I found myself riding the Gran Fiesta Tour, looking at the (dated) video of tourist Mexico, I found myself thinking, "Man, i'd rather be in Mexico." And I then spent the rest of the weekend thinking about going to someplace tropical on vacation. Which is something that doesn't interest my wife *at all*. She loves WDW. And she is the breadwinner and has a high stress job. So, if it keeps her happy, I'll keep going. Because she needs the vacation more than I do. And it's still her happy place. I'd say that my tipping/breaking point for it being "magical" is much closer than hers is.

This is a GREAT topic and have loved seeing the insight from everyone. Clearly we moved across the country to be here at WDW, so I haven't reached that point, but as someone else stated, some of the things happening right now are a big off-putting. #Frozen ;)