What the hell is happening to this company?
And besides that, why the hell is Disney stopping caring about the people who made them? Alienating everything we love about the park
The magical express is just a beautiful thing, as you get off that plane and head towards the park. THAT IS DISNEY MAGIC. Something they have no problem getting rid of.
DISNEY MAGIC MAKES THESE TRIPS. Even something like a magical express bus trip. It makes it special. After all the thousands of dollars, they don't care about us.
I don’t personally think any of the recently removed onsite perks justified the massive price increases on their own or even combined, even if all of them were still intact I think it’s hard to justify Disney resorts vs offsite when simply trying to quantify each benefit.
I think the ship sailed ages ago when they made financial sense in many scenarios but that’s JMO.
You know what... this really, REALLY irks me (this move). I mean, I'm downright angry, and honestly a bit heartbroken. Our kids LOVE Disney, admittedly our son more than our daughter. They miss it so much they were in tears over Christmas, missing Disney and wanting to go (because we were supposed to go this summer). Thus, we promised them that when we are able to travel safely again (likely summer 2022) we would take them back to Disney. They wanted to stay on site so their Dad could experience the on site experience that he missed last time. It would be a HUGE sacrifice that will take a lot of saving, but we thought we would try to swing it. But now?? Not a chance. Not only am I sure that the prices will be ridiculously increased by then, there's reason to doubt that FastPass will still be a perk by then, and now they've just increased the cost by $150-200 US at least, by forcing us to find another way to get from the airport to resort there/back. And of course they also took away the free Magic Bands, luggage tags, eliminated EMH? I'm sorry...we can't blame this all on Covid. This has been an ongoing trend for several years now.
There is just absolutely no way we can justify paying the insane prices to stay on site anymore. And that makes me sad, because while
I prefer off-site, the kids preferred onsite and we really wanted to give them that experience again. But... at the same time, part of what made that experience were the "little" things like Magical Express and Magic Hours and luggage tags and magic bands... So, the experience will be diminished, all while the price will be much higher.
So... there will be no more on-site for us. That was the nail. Our budget was extremely stretched to even consider on site as it was.
But now it begs the question... will we even return to Disney at all?
At this point, both DH and I are fed up with the price gouging that far exceeds the rate of inflation, all while they keep cutting back on things. They're greedy, and that's all there is to it. Some will try and justify it saying so are others in the industry - but just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it right. And once upon a time, Disney tried to NOT follow industry standards. So, at this point honestly, I'm ready to vote with my dollar, and say "Buh bye" and travel elsewhere. The ONLY thing that makes me reconsider is my kids, especially my son. The devastation they would feel at never going back. First world problem? Yes. But you know what, my son especially is so passionate about Disney... As an aspiring animator who wants to work at Disney no less, Walt is his hero. Going to Disney is a way of feeding his dream. And not only that, we are one of those families with an emotional attachment to Disney - because, quite frankly, our family has been through a lot, and our daughter especially has suffered a lot. Disney has never been about the rides for us - it was always about the fantasy - the whole feel of the place, the shows, the entertainment, the characters. It was seeing bits of your childhood, your heroes, come to life. When our daughter met Pooh on our last trip, she cried. And she is one of the most stoic children I've ever met who never cries - even when she's in agony. THAT is how much that meant to her. Disney truly was that "break from reality" for us, that place where you stepped in and it really did feel like dreams could come true, it felt magical. So to take that away from them...
So... where is the line? Where is the line between your own personal morals/beliefs and doing what you feel is the right thing to do, and...sacrificing that to please your children? We all say to vote with our dollars. Does that mean we don't give them any dollars at all, or just that we give them less?
I'm so angry at Disney, and so disappointed in them, that they put us in this position - and so many others. Because I'm sure we aren't the only ones that feel this way. They have the financial ability to do better - they just are choosing not to.