My first trip to WDW was in July 2012. We stayed at POFQ. So hot, so crowded! Our party consisted of myself and my 3 teenage daughters.
We had a great time despite the the crowds and heat. We hit the parks at early entry or rope drop and stayed for the extra evening hours. Go go go.
my next couple of trips in the following year we’re simila except the weather.
fast forward to 2017/18 most of my trips are with the husband and I But we have had a couple of trips with our adult children and grandchildren-staying at AKL.
we fell in love with AKL and started spending more time enjoying the resort.
in 2019, we bought DVC direct AKV. We have since stayed at many of the DVC resorts and are not park open to close as much but we on our vacation in May 2022, we did spend more time 8n the park because we took our youngest grandson For his first trip.
thankfully, our vacations are mostly pre paid due to DVC and AP and are only OOP for food and flights but I can understand how many people would want to spend their money elsewhere.
I have been to Universal and LoVE HPW. i would visit again, but when I go to WDW, I am in the Disney bubble and everything is just a bus, skylines, monorail, boat ride away.
park reservations are not much different than planning FP+ I don’t really care for the park hopping after 2 rule because sometimes we hit AK early and have lunch at a different park.
for some people, WDW is a one and done. For us, we enjoy the resort, the parks, the entertainment, the shopping, sometimes the food, the festivals, and so much more.
Is WDw our only vacation destination? No. Am I happy with the price increases? No, but WDW must raise prices to keep up with inflation and to continue to provide a great vacation destination.
OP, I understand the frustration and there are many things that I am not happy with at this time-lack of daily house keeping, no TiW card, no dining plan, park hopping after 2, no room service, no Magical Express (tried Mears and not a fan), and probably a few more issues.