Never thought I'd do it- Cancelled.

[kitkat4622]

planning a trip to Disney used to be fun, now it's too much work and too much money for things that used to be included in your package. We had a trip booked for POFQ next Spring and also cancelled for most of the same reasons. We are going to try Disneyland (most likely a one and done for us) but WDW has somehow lost some of it's magic for me. this makes me sad as it was our go to vacation for me and my adult grandson who is my travel companion

 

[SteveH]

@goofy4prez no flaming from me. We bailed on our planned trip for the 50th to celebrate our 30th and visited two islands in Hawaii instead. Ended up saving money and we had a total blast. A lot less stress in planning (able to book rooms with view, make reservations for meals and even had daily room service) and while we have loved going to Disney, the natural beauty and relaxing fun we had in Hawaii was perfect for us. With all the changes going on right now at Disney, issues with getting ADRs and outrageous prices we're stepping off the Disney ride and we'll see where things end up in a few years. Already planning our next trip to Hawaii or someplace in the Caribbean.

 

[ScarletFire]

I have Annual Pass buyers remorse.

This is my first year as a retired teacher. I always wanted an AP and to visit Disney during the school year. We had a lovely trip in September; stayed for 10 days in our little camper at Fort Wilderness. Friends with a 12 year old daughter stayed a few days in a tent on our campsite. We rode everything standby in 4 days. It was an amazing trip! DH and I bought an AP.

We are going next week and staying offsite for the first time in >20 years. Campsites are about $200! Even with the AP discount hotel rooms are way too pricey. We might try Genie+ at DHS. It's my birthday trip and we are eating OFFSITE for the birthday dinner. We'll have fun but still....

My kids a grown now. I'm thankful for the Disney memories over the past two decades. We were able to take advantage of amazing discounts during that time to make our trips affordable. I don't think it's the same or possible.

I agree with a previous poster. Post-pandemic travel and stimulus checks may be inflating the crowds. I bet lots of guests will have buyers remorse when they return from their trips.

 

[StageTek]

I went in early December. I found myself wishing I had spent my vacation money somewhere else.

LL was a mess. I never even tried it. Every morning, in each park I visited there was a long, long line at GR with several CM's with tablets roaming the line. It was all about LL not working.

My first Christmas trip since 2008. Yes, there was a big tree in each park and they were beautiful, but overall the decorations were sparse. Outside of the main lobby of French Quarter there was nothing. The entry way and lobby were beautiful but there were almost no Christmas decorations around the rest of the resort.

Bus transportation was terrible. Each morning for Early Entry a bus would arrive about 30 minutes before opening time and not be able to accommodate everyone in line. The next bus would arrive 30 minutes later. Couldn't really head back to the resort in the middle of the day because the buses came about once an hour. Nothing quite like standing at the resort bus stop for 30/40 minutes because you want to head back to the resort for a little break.

Shall we talk about the 30 minute "Early Entry"? Or no park hopping until 2PM?

The magic is really gone. All the little things that made spending the extra money for a WDW vacation are either gone or on their way out.

The Walt Disney World Resort is no longer special. It's industry standard.

 

[FCDub]

It's a great big world out there.

 

[lovethattink]

It’s an individual decision and you made the choice that’s best for you. We contemplated renewing our AP this month, but went ahead an renewed Since ds’ is good til October.

 

[robinb]

Sounds like the OP has been reading a lot of negative 3rd party reports. I'd just encourage those in a similar position to go and decide for themselves.

This isn’t going to a restaurant that gets negative reviews like Tony’s to see for yourself if the reviews are correct. This is too expensive to “go and decide for yourself”. And what happens when you’ve just forked over $10,000 and you realize you were right and WDW is now not worth it? You’re not going to get that money or vacation time back. In this case I think it’s better to cancel and do something else. Disney And their 4-fingered money grab will be there later.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

The Walt Disney World Resort is no longer special. It's industry standard.

It’s not even industry standard anymore really. WDW has probably the worst, most complicated, paid line skip system of any theme park right now. Industry standard is, you pay extra to skip the lines, then you get to skip the lines. Walt Disney’s system is you pay extra to maybe hopefully, skip some lines, but no guarantees because they’ll keep selling it even when there are no lightning lanes left for the rest of the day, and if you want to use it, you need to arbitrarily wake up at 7 am every single day of your vacation because reasons.

 

[disneyseniors]

After all these years, and so many great trips, magical moments, and a lifetime of memories, I never thought I would get to the place where I'm just not excited and looking forward to WDW; but that is where I am right now. Yesterday I did the unthinkable and canceled our February reservation and our 8-night stay at the Yacht Club. I'm just having a hard time getting excited about spending 9K for just the room and park tickets. In addition, this Genie, Genie+, iLL$, slave to a smartphone, no Magical Express, more cutbacks, more add ons for extra money, closures, limited experiences, masks, the uncertainty of the near future of this nearly 2-year pandemic, I have just lost interest.

I guess I'm just getting old and not feeling the magic this time around. I'm sure I'll get flamed and there are some who will say, "Good, fewer people for me." I would say, "Your Welcome." To each their own. I'm not attacking Disney, just that I think they are starting to move in a different direction than I am going. I guess I'll just take some of that money, pack up the truck, attach the boat, and head from N.E. Ohio and find a nice cabin on the lake somewhere in Kentucky, NY, Tenn, or somewhere that's a several-hour drive away and enjoy a quiet and relaxing vacation this time around.

I won't flame you at all. We decided to not visit WDW anymore too. I won't say never, but things would have to change ALOT to the way they were before they made the first bad decision to cut DME. Until then, we will travel and see the USA. The magic is not there anymore for us, and I am very sad about that. But like you, we have many years of wonderful memories filled with pixie dust and magic.

 

[Jrb1979]

Sounds like the OP has been reading a lot of negative 3rd party reports. I'd just encourage those in a similar position to go and decide for themselves.

Disagree. It's says a lot when a lot of hardcore Disney fans are opting for Universal instead. I understand that there are some that are in love with Disney still but there is a lot that have given up. IMO they have made it way to complicated to visit.

 

[MillauFr]

Why not just go to Disneyland instead?

 

[georgina]

Everyone has to decide for themselves. I used to do Disney cheaper, renting DVC points or staying offsite, hardly ever used ME, never rhapsodized about 'Disney magic'. The changes don't bother me that much. I will still go some, I have had a Universal AP for several years that I do not plan on renewing, other life priorities are taking over.

 

[akadada]

We stopped going in 2018. We were going to try Feb 2022 but a review through Disboards and some helpful feedback told us to not bother. It's not the same and not worth the price for us. We may hit up Universal Studios for a 4 day at some point, but there are no longer any plans for a Distrip in the future. I still troll Disboards just to get a sense/trend of the ship being righted, but everytime I poke in here, I see more and more bad reviews v. good (at least reviews related to what we would have enjoyed doing). And that's meant to be a respectful comment to the disboard members; they're all very loyal and postive about Disney, which I appreciate. They get me fired up.

Anyway, we cancelled too and have no plans on going back.

 

[PSUGuy]

My disillusionment began with the closing of the Adventurer's Club and the Comedy Warehouse. Disney's cashing in on the pandemic conditions is the coup de grâce, maybe. We're going to Kissimmee for 20 days in Feb/March and will do one day in Epcot just to test the waters, may do other parks depending on how that goes but will not purchase multiple passes up front and no hopping. I hope business goes down and Disney gets a painful message in the only language they understand, $$$.

Bill From PA

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I have an AP and am OOS but have been going and staying at the resorts since they reopened last year. I was explaining to friends how complicated and stressful planning a trip has become and they were so shocked to hear this from me after decades of enjoying myself. I was always the “Disney Person” that someone recommended would be happy to help. I’m sorry to say I don’t recommend a WDW trip for a first timer. UO is cheaper, much easier to plan and navigate. A much better alternative for a first time visitor.

 

[ScarletFire]

It's a great big world out there.

Disney is the only theme park I visit. I'm addicted to the Imagineering details. I've never been to Universal.

My first love is snow skiing. I'm disappointed to learn that some of the resorts on my IKON pass are implementing a pay extra to skip the lines or get first tracks.

I also travel for music, not so much during the pandemic. The levels of ticket pricing are evil.

My vacation dollar is not what it used to be....

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

I am right there with you. I don’t know why I’m putting it off. I guess I keep hoping that things will turn around. We have a trip in March planned that I’m going to cancel probably after the first of the year. We are DVC members and I guess I’ll rent out our points…again! So sad! Really, really sad!

 

[FireflyJar]

I feel the same as OP. The nickel and diming, competitive planning, and decline in service has taken away the Disney appeal for me...but I hope that those who still find WDW or Disneyland magical continue to enjoy it. I'll be keeping my $9K and finding a less stressful experience.

 

[CanadaSCM]

Disney is the only theme park I visit. I'm addicted to the Imagineering details. I've never been to Universal.

My first love is snow skiing. I'm disappointed to learn that some of the resorts on my IKON pass are implementing a pay extra to skip the lines or get first tracks.

I also travel for music, not so much during the pandemic. The levels of ticket pricing are evil.

My vacation dollar is not what it used to be....

I would recommend giving Universal a chance. As a non-Harry Potter fan I was blown away by the details of the Wizarding World. It is equal to Galaxy’s Edge in terms of detail and immersion in a world. Plenty of the other areas and attractions are impressively detailed as well. It surprised me that I didn’t find it underwhelming compared to Disney. Stay in a deluxe room so you get unlimited express pass and it is so simple. This year was our first time there and it was shockingly fun and simple. There’s only 2 rides without express lanes and they are a simple rope drop or stay late to ride with short lines. Significantly cheaper than Disney too and both parks are walkable so you eliminate the bussing/transportation completely. Also an on site water park if you’re into that.

It felt like our first time at Disney and so much fun. We will be going back for a longer stay next fall and doing 1 day at Epcot for Food and Wine as our only Disney visit.

We also ski and go other places but anyone missing the Disney magic that hasn’t tried Universal I highly recommend a 2-4 day trip to try for yourself. Unlike a Disney trip it’s not an astronomical cost to spend a couple of days and see everything and it’s approximately 7,784x simpler to plan and get around.

 

[DisneyLover83]

I also have no trips planned for the first time in.... more than a decade. We used to go more than once a year and on and off had AP's.

We now do Universal and it's great. We stay at Hard Rock and get front of the line passes. Service and overall hotel amenities at the Loews hotels far outpace anything you'd get at a Disney "Deluxe" hotel.