Anyone ever had a less than magical trip to WDW and felt a bit lost afterwards?

Third. We were caught off guard by every bus/monorail/ride operator ending their safety talk (keep your arms and legs inside, etc) with "parents please control your children". We found out why, because I have never seen more out of control children. DW and I both think we will pay closer attention on our next Disneyland trip to see if this is a national trend or just an east coast issue.

Huh. You do realize that WDW doesn't only allow in people from the east coast, right? I heard more British and Australian accents last week [we were there too] than American. And sure, I saw a few meltdowns and tantrums, but it was hot and humid and raining almost non-stop every afternoon. How in the world did you come to the conclusion that all of the "out of control" kids were from the east coast? We also took all forms of WDW transport from the 3-12 and the only live announcements we had were regarding what stop the monorail or boat was approaching. There wasn't a single "control your children" uttered.
 


It's not the norm. I've never heard an announcement saying "control your children" in my 20+ trips to WDW. It's not an east coast thing either. It's not a thing at all.

I can confirm that at Disneyland there are numerous pre recorded spies that says "parents, please watch young children."

These 2 things.

TVGuy-How do you come across all these friends and coworkers who have experience regarding every thread you post in? Have you lived a lot of places or worked with a lot of people you keep in touch with? Maybe I just don't have a good enough memory to remember all the experiences of the people I know. Heck, I have a hard enough time remembering my own. :)
 
People have already basically said this (from what I can tell without reading the whole thread) but the thing about Disney is that people generally do just put a lot of pressure on it and the experience. The fact is, it's still real life. Stuff happens. If you worry too much about the perfect trip, you end up having your whole experience soured by expectations.

i.e., I used to end up crying on my birthday every year, because I always wanted it to be perfect. It never was. The moment you stop searching for perfect, everything ends up a little better.

Basically, I'm saying you should cut yourself some slack! This does not mean you don't love disney:flower1:
 
My "bad" Disney trips have all been multigenerational family trips. This is not Disney. It's my family. Mom's a cheap Pollyanna, grandparents are critical and like luxury, dad likes creature comforts, hates crowds and vacations, siblings are a mix of thrill riders and scaredy cats and all have very different approaches to valuing vacation time.

I really enjoy solo trips because there's not that pressure to entertain others. I like going with people who match my touring style.

That said. I am not a theme park person and I am not a believer in pixie dust or the Disney bubble or all the other nonsense some people come up with. I think people overly invest in the ideal of the Disney vacation. And then when they go too much, they start seeing things that bother them and they start seeing it as less magical. Then they blame Disney for going downhill.

Disney has not priced people out and it hasn't started to decline. I know I'm in the minority of believing this, but bitterness towards Disney and feelings of declining value that I see so much here are not due to Disney failures or price gouging. It's due to the fact that they've been too often and they're bored. I feel the same way about the beach town my family went to for every summer for 20 years. It has changed in some ways- higher crowds, more regulation. I could blame my lack of enthusiasm on that but what it really is is that it just got overly familiar. I've seen and done everything, new restaurants do not spring up fast enough for me, there's no engagement with my surroundings. People complain about the lack of new restaurants and rides but these are the same people who go multiple times a year. They don't see the growth that is going on. If they went every 5-10 years, they would have a much different perception.

So, OP, branch out. There's a big world out there and a break from Disney will result in seeing more things as well as give your family new perspectives of Disney when you return.
 


My "bad" Disney trips have all been multigenerational family trips. This is not Disney. It's my family. Mom's a cheap Pollyanna, grandparents are critical and like luxury, dad likes creature comforts, hates crowds and vacations, siblings are a mix of thrill riders and scaredy cats and all have very different approaches to valuing vacation time.

I really enjoy solo trips because there's not that pressure to entertain others. I like going with people who match my touring style.

That said. I am not a theme park person and I am not a believer in pixie dust or the Disney bubble or all the other nonsense some people come up with. I think people overly invest in the ideal of the Disney vacation. And then when they go too much, they start seeing things that bother them and they start seeing it as less magical. Then they blame Disney for going downhill.

Disney has not priced people out and it hasn't started to decline. I know I'm in the minority of believing this, but bitterness towards Disney and feelings of declining value that I see so much here are not due to Disney failures or price gouging. It's due to the fact that they've been too often and they're bored. I feel the same way about the beach town my family went to for every summer for 20 years. It has changed in some ways- higher crowds, more regulation. I could blame my lack of enthusiasm on that but what it really is is that it just got overly familiar. I've seen and done everything, new restaurants do not spring up fast enough for me, there's no engagement with my surroundings. People complain about the lack of new restaurants and rides but these are the same people who go multiple times a year. They don't see the growth that is going on. If they went every 5-10 years, they would have a much different perception.

So, OP, branch out. There's a big world out there and a break from Disney will result in seeing more things as well as give your family new perspectives of Disney when you return.

I agree with you about familiarity breeding contempt and branching out being a good idea. As someone who has never been the type to go to Disney anywhere near yearly by a longshot, I disagree that Disney pricing hasn't gone out of whack, particularly for the less than top notch experience now provided.

Overcrowded parks stripped bare of an enormous part of their park-like feel; CMs compensated and working the type of shift work found at your average Starbucks, McDonald's or retail store and struggling to provide a level of service Disney pretends to still pride itself on; serious lack of maintenance in the parks; years overdue lack of refreshment leaving stale options or construction zones everywhere; and the delightful experience of planning miniscule details of your visit months in advance or knowing you'll likely stand hours in lines or miss some things altogether while you're being herded about in hordes of people. I've been watching to hear if there are signs of the Disney we once loved returning. Not from what I have gleaned from many, many sources. At this point DLR is the only possibility of us returning for any Disney visits. Until then we'll be enjoying what other destinations provide, often for less investment, less hassle -- and a lot more spontaneity.
 
I agree with you about familiarity breeding contempt and branching out being a good idea. As someone who has never been the type to go to Disney anywhere near yearly by a longshot, I disagree that Disney pricing hasn't gone out of whack, particularly for the less than top notch experience now provided.

Overcrowded parks stripped bare of an enormous part of their park-like feel; CMs compensated and working the type of shift work found at your average Starbucks, McDonald's or retail store and struggling to provide a level of service Disney pretends to still pride itself on; serious lack of maintenance in the parks; years overdue lack of refreshment leaving stale options or construction zones everywhere; and the delightful experience of planning miniscule details of your visit months in advance or knowing you'll likely stand hours in lines or miss some things altogether while you're being herded about in hordes of people. I've been watching to hear if there are signs of the Disney we once loved returning. Not from what I have gleaned from many, many sources. At this point DLR is the only possibility of us returning for any Disney visits. Until then we'll be enjoying what other destinations provide, often for less investment, less hassle -- and a lot more spontaneity.

I can understand your perspective, but I still think that's a lot to do with familiarity breeding contempt. As a west coast native, I've seen DLR prices raise in both park prices and offsite hotels. Crowds make lines long, high crowd days are claustrophobic. Few additions- carsland and gaurdians over the last decade and that's it, I think. Shows and characters maybe but I don't care much about those. And amusement park jobs have always been minimum wage. Service may have been more consistent, but the way they've treated their staff hasn't changed much. Older attractions mean deferred maintenance, stuff no longer looks shiny, hundreds of guests drop trash in hard to reach places.

Wdw fans are coming this way and saying DLR is wonderful, people like me are going to WDW and marveling at the ease of using fastpass, the addict al room, and the low costs associated with Florida hotels and land prices. Same corporation. Inverse experiences. What's in common is that they are experiencing a different park for the first time so it seems better than what is familiar.
 
I can understand your perspective, but I still think that's a lot to do with familiarity breeding contempt. As a west coast native, I've seen DLR prices raise in both park prices and offsite hotels. Crowds make lines long, high crowd days are claustrophobic. Few additions- carsland and gaurdians over the last decade and that's it, I think. Shows and characters maybe but I don't care much about those. And amusement park jobs have always been minimum wage. Service may have been more consistent, but the way they've treated their staff hasn't changed much. Older attractions mean deferred maintenance, stuff no longer looks shiny, hundreds of guests drop trash in hard to reach places.

Wdw fans are coming this way and saying DLR is wonderful, people like me are going to WDW and marveling at the ease of using fastpass, the addict al room, and the low costs associated with Florida hotels and land prices. Same corporation. Inverse experiences. What's in common is that they are experiencing a different park for the first time so it seems better than what is familiar.

But you're making the assumption we've visited DLR only once. Not true. Didn't think much of it on our first visit, vastly preferring WDW -- before WDW made so many changes we didn't like. Another visit to DLR revealed as much or more to do in two parks that are not difficult to walk between, with vastly affordable rooms available offsite within walking distance that are perfectly fine for a 3 day visit to the resort. Fast passes, particularly FP+ have been a downgrade to both resorts from our experiences.

Yes, "amusement park" jobs have been minimum wage jobs. The difference today is the creative use of the CP program and insuring most workers are part-time, therefore without benefits and often working varying shifts, making it very challenging to maintain another part-time job to better support themselves. Can't say I'm a fan of companies who charge the customers top dollar, compensate the execs at the top unbelievably -- and stick it to the people who make the magic happen for the customers day in and day out, face to face. Disney used to aspire to be a class well above amusement parks in many ways, cast members included.
 
So, OP, branch out. There's a big world out there and a break from Disney will result in seeing more things as well as give your family new perspectives of Disney when you return.

I absolutely agree with this. However, I would also add go see something else in the world and focus only on that trip. Do not compare it to Disney. Too often I see posts on here about people who tried other vacations and couldn't enjoy them because they kept comparing them to Disney.
 
I can understand your perspective, but I still think that's a lot to do with familiarity breeding contempt. As a west coast native, I've seen DLR prices raise in both park prices and offsite hotels. Crowds make lines long, high crowd days are claustrophobic. Few additions- carsland and gaurdians over the last decade and that's it, I think. Shows and characters maybe but I don't care much about those. And amusement park jobs have always been minimum wage. Service may have been more consistent, but the way they've treated their staff hasn't changed much. Older attractions mean deferred maintenance, stuff no longer looks shiny, hundreds of guests drop trash in hard to reach places.

Wdw fans are coming this way and saying DLR is wonderful, people like me are going to WDW and marveling at the ease of using fastpass, the addict al room, and the low costs associated with Florida hotels and land prices. Same corporation. Inverse experiences. What's in common is that they are experiencing a different park for the first time so it seems better than what is familiar.
Familiarity=boredom/irritation at perceived stagnation I get. But the priced out part...not so much. Some people were always priced out for sure that hasn't changed.

There is no doubt that the costs associated with my 2011 trip are lower than they are for my 2017 trip..tickets, parking, overall hotel costs (speaking in regards to offsite since I did that last trip), food costs, etc. Of course there are new things to experience. I'm not going to really get into the cost and perceived value aspect but I assure you my understanding that costs have gone up has nothing to do with familiarity breeding contempt. It's just one of those things that happens. So going often or going not so often can still run into the whole cost aspect.
 
I absolutely agree with this. However, I would also add go see something else in the world and focus only on that trip. Do not compare it to Disney. Too often I see posts on here about people who tried other vacations and couldn't enjoy them because they kept comparing them to Disney.
That's true. For some people it's very difficult for them to do that.

Though I will say on the flip side it's common to compare vacations in general.."oh I had sooo much fun there but that place eh not really". I mean really Myrtle Beach and Hawaii were two vacations where the beach was the main point at each of those destinations but lordy I can't help but compare the wonderfulness of Hawaii to the blah overhyped touristy place of Myrtle Beach (no offense to those who love that place)-we did Myrtle Beach a few years ago and just did Hawaii this past September.

To me the key is just opening yourself up to other things that you might enjoy. Go on a vacation without a theme/amusement park and don't compare it with a vacation where the theme/amusement park was the main point as they are different experiences. Undestand that each place will have different things to offer you. Am I going to get the warm fuzzy nostalgic emotions when I'm visiting museums like I do when I see that beautiful castle before me for example? Nah..but they are different experiences and elicit different enjoyment out of me and it's being able to appreciate them for what they are that I think a lot of people may have trouble with if they constantly comparing WDW to other places.
 
Huh. You do realize that WDW doesn't only allow in people from the east coast, right? I heard more British and Australian accents last week [we were there too] than American. And sure, I saw a few meltdowns and tantrums, but it was hot and humid and raining almost non-stop every afternoon. How in the world did you come to the conclusion that all of the "out of control" kids were from the east coast? We also took all forms of WDW transport from the 3-12 and the only live announcements we had were regarding what stop the monorail or boat was approaching. There wasn't a single "control your children" uttered.
LOL. I do realize just like Disneyland WDW is an international destination. My east coast comment was in regards to the wording of the announcement. Sort of like how the generic term people use for soft drinks can be different in various parts of the country ( Coke, Soda, Pop, Dr. Pepper, Sodie etc)
 
These 2 things.

TVGuy-How do you come across all these friends and coworkers who have experience regarding every thread you post in? Have you lived a lot of places or worked with a lot of people you keep in touch with? Maybe I just don't have a good enough memory to remember all the experiences of the people I know. Heck, I have a hard enough time remembering my own. :)

I work in an industry where the average tenure in a city and job is about 2 years. While I have been here all my life, the turnover of my co-workers is huge.
 
When did your co-worker work there? I've never heard it so I'm confused why she would say it's an east coast thing.
She was there January 2015 to June 2015 as part of the Disney College Program.
And she just put in her notice and has taken a job at Disneyland working in the Publicity Department. I did not know about that.
She told me today she suspects the sterner announcement is part of changes after last years fatal alligator incident.
 
My "bad" Disney trips have all been multigenerational family trips. This is not Disney. It's my family. Mom's a cheap Pollyanna, grandparents are critical and like luxury, dad likes creature comforts, hates crowds and vacations, siblings are a mix of thrill riders and scaredy cats and all have very different approaches to valuing vacation time.

I really enjoy solo trips because there's not that pressure to entertain others. I like going with people who match my touring style.

That said. I am not a theme park person and I am not a believer in pixie dust or the Disney bubble or all the other nonsense some people come up with. I think people overly invest in the ideal of the Disney vacation. And then when they go too much, they start seeing things that bother them and they start seeing it as less magical. Then they blame Disney for going downhill.

Disney has not priced people out and it hasn't started to decline. I know I'm in the minority of believing this, but bitterness towards Disney and feelings of declining value that I see so much here are not due to Disney failures or price gouging. It's due to the fact that they've been too often and they're bored. I feel the same way about the beach town my family went to for every summer for 20 years. It has changed in some ways- higher crowds, more regulation. I could blame my lack of enthusiasm on that but what it really is is that it just got overly familiar. I've seen and done everything, new restaurants do not spring up fast enough for me, there's no engagement with my surroundings. People complain about the lack of new restaurants and rides but these are the same people who go multiple times a year. They don't see the growth that is going on. If they went every 5-10 years, they would have a much different perception.

So, OP, branch out. There's a big world out there and a break from Disney will result in seeing more things as well as give your family new perspectives of Disney when you return.
I actually agree with you on this. We just got back from WDW after a 5 year break. I will say fast pass+ has really changed the dynamics of touring. The stand-by lines were insane. Other then the increased crowds and the disappointing Mine Train. Did it really take them 2-3 years to build this pathetic ride? Nothing had really changed. If we would have waited a month we would have seen Pandora. We still had a great time. It is Disney after all. It's nice to go back to something familar after you've been gone for a while. That being said I have no desire to go back for a few years. I could see going back in three or 4 years after Star Wars land has been open for a while.
I don't understand how people can go there multiple times a year. It's not a cheap getaway. A week at WDW cost more then our last two European cruises.

To OP- I think you just need a break. Try a cruise they're a lot of fun.
 
She was there January 2015 to June 2015 as part of the Disney College Program.
And she just put in her notice and has taken a job at Disneyland working in the Publicity Department. I did not know about that.
She told me today she suspects the sterner announcement is part of changes after last years fatal alligator incident.
I've been to WDW since then and I never once heard control your child.
 
I've never heard a Disney announcement say anything about "controlling your children". I do know they say, "Take small children by the hand"--and, on Jungle Cruise, "Take small children by the hair". That could be interpreted as controlling your child, but also as keeping them connected to you so they don't get lost in a crowd.
 

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