I agree with you on this one. And Disney did this in the beginning with tickets. E-Tickets cost more. You want to ride more you gotta pay more. You want to ride newer/more advanced rides, you gotta pay even more. Always been the market model for Disney. Maybe they did free FP for so long so people would get hooked though and then fork out extra.
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To play the devilās advocate: If you bought your park tickets after G+ was implemented, then you bought knowing WDWās rules of the game so you implicitly agreed to the G+ rules with your purchase.
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That is trueā¦but if the choice is between not going at all, and putting up with Disneyās thievery, I still choose to goā¦because I still find magic at Disneyā¦but we also ride a lot fewer rides nowadays.
(To be fair, I consider ANY pay to skip the line service at any park to be thieveryā¦but Disney has figured out how to maximize impact on guests moreso than other parks!)
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We were just at OkW last month and I believe our chips were still āhouse madeā
This is last couple of days- hopefully itās a fluke of some sort but itās got OKW social groups buzzing.
Iām sure.
I will say I ordered the turkey sandwich at goods (probably around 7-8 pm) and was told they were out of them for the day, and I was perplexed they couldnāt just have the kitchen make one.
So obviously it appeared they werenāt made on siteā¦
But Iāve never been a huge fan of OKW qs.
I think the setup stinks and the menu kinda sucks- but the tuna is goodā¦
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but Disney has figured out how to maximize impact on guests moreso than other parks!)
on this you and I have always agreed!
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I must join these groups- itās one of my home resortsā¦ links?
Agreed -OKW QS is not why we love it there but Oliviaās is a family tradition for us no matter where we are staying on or off property- last day was Oliviaās, changes to the menu really bothered us a lot. Without a doubt quick service needs a boost, and needs a bigger spot.
Thanks for all the info. I have a good friend who has already gone the Universal route. Definitely will give it a lot of thought.
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This is us. Our 2013 trip was our first foray into what an alternate trip might look like when we brought 2 family members who couldnāt ride many rides due to back and neck injuries. Then our '22, '23 and '24 trips were considerably less ride centric. We enjoy visiting with CMs more. Afterall they are the ones responsible for everything. Weāve finished our 2024 trip yesterday and were commenting on how it seemed there was less rudeness this trip. Weāre looking forward to our December trip. Canāt really do much about the heat other than visit in winter. 
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Count me in here as well. I had quit using fast pass before 2019. Have no plans to pay to ride with this new system.
As my youngest grandson has said for decades, itās Disney World. Tho @melani_875095 mentioned problems across the board. While I donāt disagree with some complaints I aim to figure work arounds. Some work better than others. I keep thinking of āitās kind of fun to do the impossibleā
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For me what makes Disney Disney is the IP related rides and attractions. If we canāt do all of the ones we want to do, then the trip was decidedly less-than.
What happens in threads like these, though, is the positions end up shaking out to less-theme-park-more-world-view positions.
Some folks want the tables completely level for everyone.
Others celebrate the pay-to-play, money buys privilege facets.
Still others want to see the biggest benefits roll out to those who put the most sweat equity into it.
Then there are those who cite disabilities (physical, financial, etc.) and want compensatory measures.
Whatever position we hold, we rarely accomplish more than just maybe helping others to see where we are coming from vs changing minds.
We all get to decide when WDW stops being satisfying. And it initially had been sad for me to recognize it wasnāt what it used to be for my family. The good news is we found so many other things that we actually like better.
But it does suck that itās going to cost more for four of us in 2024 than it did for 8 in 2016 (the last time DH went) and Iāll have to be looking at the dang phone all the time.
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There is a lot to your statement. My world view being decidely that thereās a silver lining nearly always and often things work out for the best if we give them time. And I get out of things what I put into them.
But thatās just me. As much as my way of looking at the world informs my Disney experience, so too does my physical ability which has been changing. So Iām investigating ways of adjusting, without utilizing Disney resources as much as possible.
Thank you for your perspective. And I agree - the rising costs are tough.
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Weāre leaving for what will likely be our last Disney trip. The only reason for the trip is our youngest grandson has never been. All 4 of our grandchildren are looking forward to Epic Universe.
My first experience with Universal was because my daughter and I were on a long trip at WDW and had an extra day so we decided to go for it. Got a room at RP. Fell in love with both the parks and the resortā¦ This was back in the 2009 range so Uni had not even introduced HP yet. Maybe because 2nd place tries harder but the staff and park workers were nicer. Th crazier thing is some work at both WDW and Uni. Maybe Universal is a better place to work? I donāt know but I felt like Universal appreciated our business.
By 2009, Iger had taken over and customer service has sailed off the cliff. This is not a slam on cast members. It just seems that while Eisner was about customer satisfaction, Iger is strictly about the money. Yes, Disney is a business but it was a business before Iger took over. Maybe he doesnāt realize that you have to keep people happy while going after their pocketbooks and wallets.
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I object to Disneyās ongoing practices of removing value added features and then raising prices too. Obviously we all know that you pay a premium but with the changes made, Disney is wearing their value added proposition. We are going in two weeks and spending an insane amount of money. I am still excited about going but realize this is the last big trip and we will have to change our approach in the future.
As far as rude guests are concerned, I try to remind myself that I am on vacation and try not to drink their poison. The only exception is if I see somebody being rude to a Cast Member. I do not tolerate that and will jump in. I am a tall fat guy so nobody is going to mess with me!
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100% this
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Maybe, yes. You should go to Universal instead.
Iām sorry but you ARE a lucky person to be going to Disney for so many years. I have been ONLY once in my lifetime. Everyone should experience it at least once.
Children need strollers. People with mobility issues need wheelchairs. Consider yourself lucky you actually donāt need one.
It might have been your favorite place so I understand the sadness. But maybe making some changes or not visiting for a while and lowering your expectations will make another visit superb.
For us itās money. We canāt afford it. Our business hit the bottom, so we canāt even afford any trips. People who have more want more. Thatās human nature.
We have to start appreciate smaller things or we will be disappointed most of the time. Often, itās hard to accept new things especially when we experienced great things.
I hope your magic returns. And in the meantime, try to find something else you might love.
Hugs! We all need it. The pain is real.
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What TS stand for???
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