I decided to start a thread since this is a huge topic as of late. Surely this isn't specifically news or rumors however we are seeing plenty of news and rumors based on the issues.
Attendance has been down. Disney's 2019 fiscal year ends September 30th. We do typically see cuts every year around this time but this seems to have a larger impact this year.
Pricing is part of it as well. Is Disney getting too expensive for people? Are we getting close to that tipping point?
SWGE isn't the draw it was expected to be? SO many reasons for that...
Big and popular entertainment options cut and other options more limited.
Photopass boxes being expanded...
Where are you with this? Why do you think this is happening? What is your breaking point in which you would not return or take an extended break?
Sorry, I didn't see this thread first, after my comment on the Star Wars one.
Pricing: I would suspect that yes, pricing is definitely a big part of it. I do think Disney is getting too expensive for people, and I suspect they're hitting their tipping point. We have free tickets that we're sitting on, my hubby has given me the go-ahead to plan one more trip (something I've been dreaming of!)... and.... honestly, I'm really not sure we're going to. Every time I price it out, as cheap as I possibly can, it's crazy. We can do 2 trips elsewhere for the price of Disney. The tickets alone, even with the Canadian discount just released today, for 4 day base passes is $2125 (CDN). And that's just to walk through the gates!!! That's not travel there, food, lodging, or any spending. I think that is really just not doable for most families. And for those that can afford it, I think most people that can afford it regularly, have more interest in seeing the rest of the world. Those that have the financial means for and the interest in regular repeat trips to Disney are the rarer exception.
SWGE: Granted, I haven't been so I can't say, but I have seen a lot of complaints of horrible food, people being disappointed because it's not really a recognizable land, that while the details are amazing, that it's also kind of...barren, not a lot of entertainment available and that the ride is only so-so. I know ourselves personally, we're kind of disappointed because it sounds like both rides will be heavily VR-based which will trigger my husband's motion sickness, and will freak out my kids, so it's already lost most of it's appeal to us.
Entertainment cuts: these just make me sad. Some of the things being cut are things my kids loved. Also, one of their biggest complaints is that ride wait times are too long. Well.. cutting popular entertainment isn't going to help that. For a lot of people, it's the entertainment that largely makes Disney what it is. If they lose that...
Photoboxes: don't even get me started. This ticks me off, big time. For starters, forget about ever buying Memory Maker again. But honestly... the biggest thing thing for Disney for my kids, is meeting the characters. That's the biggest draw for them, and their best memories. And I'm sorry, no box is going to capture moment like a photographer will. Some of our best shots/memories from those meet and greets were the candid shots that were "out of view" of where those boxes shoot. It's being able to capture those candid moments - the joy in their eyes as they're waiting in line etc... Yes, we can hand our phone over to the CM. But we're talking about one CM who has to split her attention between taking photos, keeping people moving in line etc... And regardless, it's just the whole principal of it. Disney is not hurting for money. They (and arguably their share holders), are just greedy. They're all making more than enough money - they just want more. They're not even close to losing money, so don't cry hard times to me. All these cuts make me far less interested in spending my money on visiting Disney. Why should I keep paying more, for less?
Where am I: I'm at the place of being very torn. Of in a way, wanting to go back, but honestly wondering if we really will. I'm just getting a more and more sour taste in my mouth with them, and really not sure it's worth it.