Over all I agree with @ryan1 and that there really is no ceiling to where TWDC stop. The money grabs continue to amaze me and they seem to have no concerns for overcrowding.
And while I agree here:
I fear that while my family rode out the recession years of 2007-2009 really well, that any upcoming recession will just make the divide between can-Disney and can not-Disney crowd even wider.
And crazy is relative. Most people on Disney boards think I’m crazy for staying offsite and driving my own car. I think staying in a motel room and riding public transportation is crazy. Throw in that the latter group is paying two-three times what I’m paying and I’d say crazy isn’t strong enough a word. 
I do, too. Disney is a lot like the airlines. Over the years, they’ve made the basic experience almost intolerable, but have priced in several tiers on the high end. In fact, Delta and others have said they are going to make more first class and economy plus seating, and less economy. People WILL pay for a better experience.
The irony is that we all know that both Disney and Delta are responsible for creating the problem in the first place. It’s not like economy class or a basic park entry have always been suboptimal. They’ve made it that way, and if you want better, you have to pay. Apparently many people will.
And maybe, this plan is recession-proof. as @qwerty6 said, a lot of families did well since the recession. It’s counter intuitive, but luxury products tend not to be affected by recessions as much. Maybe Disney is smarter than we think in running up the prices of everything.
I don’t think you are crazy at all! I do think that if you are looking for an unbiased opinion, you are asking the wrong crowd though. 
I’ve done EMM at TSL and MK, and also DAH at both. I LOVED all of it!! I think I prefer the EMM though because I’m not a night person, and I really prefer the way the parks look and feel during the day. Also there’s something incredible about walking into a pretty empty, freshly cleaned park. There’s just so much potential for magic and fun just waiting to come at ya. At DAH the parks are at their dirtiest…they’ve been covered in crowds all day. This stuck out particularly in the cues, which makes sense because custodial can’t get to them while the crowds are there.
Of course, the food options are better at EMM. I felt let down by the refreshment options at DAH…maybe my expectations were too high.
Don’t get me wrong, DAH has some awesome things about it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but if I had to choose one or the other it would be EMM. And the more EMMs the merrier! Or should it be “the more, the magic-er?”
I agree. I am at WDW right now and soooo frustrated by crowds. I will not come again without a different plan/model
The crowd calendar (not that we all rely heavily on that) says its about a 6 today. Would you say that’s wrong? What would you do differently? I’d love to learn what you think to help me in the future!
Oh, that’s too bad! I’m really crowd-averse and not very patient, so I hear you. I hope your trip gets better.
After the discussion here over the past couple of days I went back and reworked my plans and bought some more “extras”. We don’t go to WDW very often and aren’t staying long, a bad day or two could really negatively impact the trip. At this point I almost can’t afford not to do it.
I’m curious too… We were able to have great days last week on CL9 and CL10 days…
Well I can’t say it’s wrong. I just know it’s fairly miserable to me. Like we waited 30 minutes for dole whip. Everything has a long wait and it’s difficult to navigate around. I waited in a line at a little cart for 20 minutes for cotton candy and then they told me cash only. It’s just a LOT of waiting. We wanted to ride something in Adventureland with less than 30 min wait and our only option was tiki room. We walked through Swiss fam teeehouse and it was just one person right behind the other filing through. You couldn’t stop or speed up. Felt like the freeway. Even Aladdin carpets was posted 40. What would I do differently? Try to come on a 2 or 3 crowd day for one. I would also be certain to have those FPs set up well. I would stay on monorail and take midday break. (Getting into and out of TTC or whatever to get to MK is a bear.). Personally I might explore the early morning or late night options to avoid crowds. Or go on a different vacation😬
That’s what we’ve been doing for the last 6 years.
I can go to Hawaii or Europe for what a trip to WDW plus all the upgrades cost me.
I would also add for what it’s worth, we’ve rope dropped every day and followed TPs and I’ve had awesome FPs. Some days have been better. Yesterday was pretty good getting thru fantasyland with our plan and FPs. But for whatever reason today was just awful in Adventureland. I hope everyone has a lovely experience like the CL9 ppl did
Did you try mobile ordering? That’s saved me a ton of time, for example, getting a Dole Whip… Also, you can avoid a lot of wait times during peak hours by doing this.
This is almost what it is coming to. And Disney loves it.
This is why Disney is not our go-to anymore.
I can afford not to. We did one upgrade last trip for the HEA dessert party, but don’t plan on doing it next trip. We have no plans for an upgraded experience next trip, unless there is something like EMM for SWGE, as that is a priority for us and I know it will be insane. Other than that, we seem to do well planning our trips. We don’t mind some crowds and using FP, extra FP, and having the knowledge to know when lines will be long for attractions, we have not waited more than 30 minutes. I expect lines and crowds at Disney, but we do our thing and have a great time without many of the upgrades or DAH.
Crazy is relative. Do what you think works best for your family. Everyone has their own priorities.
Great convo and I appreciate the thoughtful responses to my less then thoughtful post. This is our first trip in 9 years and our first with a small child. When we went last time it was my first time without my parents and where I was planning it. I kinda stressed out my wife early in the trip by (as she says it) “dragging her around the park so fast she doesn’t remember anything.” I want this to be a more relaxed experience for her and also allow my son to keep up and I figure this could be a way to make the rest of the day at these parks a bit more chill.
My son had complicated food allergies so it’s a little hard to do mobile ordering unfortunately.
That’s too bad. Hopefully Disney will do something in the future to make it easier for those with food allergies to use mobile ordering…
Other things to do: make a custom touring plan and set the pace to be very relaxed. Schedule a 15 minute break every 1.5-2 hours. You may not use every break, but it builds in some buffer time for.spontaneous things, if something doesn’t go according to plan, or just to grab a snack or linger in a certain area…