I have something positive to say about this week

[jknc]

Enchantment is a waste of pyro. It needs to go ASAP.

 

[hultrain]

I just got back yesterday and agree with two parts of your post and that is that the CMs were amazing and that rides going down so often is unacceptable. At one point both MMRR and RoTR (both relatively new rides) were down at the same time and whoah was DHS a mess while that got resolved.

as for the rest, it’s all opinions and eye of the beholder etc. I didn’t much care for Genie + but between that and spending lots of money on ILL$ I didn’t have any posted wait time longer than 45 minutes. And we rode everything we wanted to ride other than ToT. This would include MMRR, RoTR, SDD Remy, all the mountains at MK, Peter Pan, and so on. I think having to pay extra certainly sucks but for me Genie+ worked as intended.

before Covid, we used to go every other year for many years and I have to say that the food has come a long way since those early years. Has it gone down since 2019? Maybe. But I ate a couple of the best meals

We enjoyed Remy. Is it worth standing in line 90 minutes plus or paying extra for? Probably not, but we were not expecting much going in and we’re pleasantly surprised.
One really negative thing was the lack of really special 50th anniversary things to do or even but since everything 50th was sold out.

 

[zolotiyeruki]

Long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm sure my trip report will sound really familiar, but I wanted to at least toss it in. We've taken our family to WDW four times since 2011, plus a trip for DW and me in 2015. Our most recent trip was in the middle of November, and our previous trip was in 2018. We were hoping that the crowds from the 50th and Halloween would have dissipated by then, and with international travel restricted and the reports of empty parks in September and October, we were hoping for an awesome trip.

Well, it was *good*, but it'll likely be the last WDW trip we do as a family. Simply put, the value just isn't there any more. The crowds were insane. The bathrooms continue to decline (we noticed them getting bad in 2018). Genie/G+/LL are a complete fiasco. Ratatouille was a bit of a let-down--not bad, but we left feeling like "uh, what was the story of that ride?" RotR was awesome, but also frequently broken. SDD was down for several hours that same day. A lot of entertainment (Beauty and the Beast, Fantasmic, Indiana Jones, etc) was still missing, the Dapper Dans performed from the train station, and Main Street Philharmonic is a parade instead of a concert. Early entry for resort guests diluted the value of rope drop. Navigating EPCOT was really annoying with all the construction. Magic Kingdom Railroad is *still* down. No parking lot trams. The constant drip, drip, drip of cost cutting, price hikes, and monetization pushed us to ask "we're paying HOW much for THIS!?".

And here's the thing: I estimate that we spent 40-50% less than the "normal" approach. We stayed off property, brought our own food most days, and got heavily discounted tickets. We employed every strategy to maximize our value-for-the-dollar. We got there before rope drop. We did the constant Genie refreshing. And to top it off, we had DAS. With all those factors in WDW's favor, at the end of the trip, I concluded that it was marginally worth it. Even my WDW-loving wife rated it only slightly better. Without DAS, it would have been miserable.

All that said, there *was* a lot of good. Our two days at MK were fantastic. We did a number of things at WDW that we had never done before. And Dole Whip is as delicious as ever. But the ever-rising costs and ever diminishing experience* mean we won't be back.

It's hard to notice the magic around you when you are staring at your phone, furiously refreshing in hopes of getting another ride reservation.

* I started making a list of all the ways Disney has skimpflated the value of a WDW vacation since we first went in 2011, and it got pretty depressing. Parking used to be free, FP+ was better than G+ (and was free!), parks used to be not as busy, hours were longer, rope drop was worth it, you didn't need a battery-sucking app to get fast passes, more characters were out, more rides were running, bathrooms were spotless and fresh, Magical Express went away, ....the list goes on and on and on.

 

[amk43]

The bathrooms continue to decline (we noticed them getting bad in 2018).

Yes! At least half of them smell bad, and most of them have paper on the floor and/or puddles. The one at Remy tonight was gross - spilled popcorn, soggy wads of toilet paper, puddles, and the handicapped stall had no TP. And it was smelly. Yuck.

 

[LizzieandLuke]

My trip is in May and I am getting very apprehensive. Disney is expensive and takes a great deal of planning and you should leave feeling like you had a great time. Every vacation has a few bumps but I am reading tons of negative reviews (not just here either). This will be my 6th visit and I never thought I'd have to worry about dirty bathrooms.

Everyone who is unhappy needs to let Disney know. If if was your first visit and or your 10th - it doesn't matter. You need to tell them you are not returning. Disney needs to make big changes. And don't assume that they know everything going on on their parks - they don't. I like to think they would be embarrassed about dirty bathrooms and 2 hour wait times in January.

 

[Jennasis]

Enchantment is a waste of pyro. It needs to go ASAP.

OMG YES. We haven't watched any fireworks show from inside the park since well before the pandemic because that crush of humanity is just too much to enjoy the show. We would watch from our DVC room at BLT or the TOTW lounge when it was open. But for Enchantment we decided to brave Main Street so we could see the projections on Main Street itself.

I kid you not...the projections on Main Street were broken that night. We stood outside the Emporium and a massive spotlight on top of the building blared down on us the whole show. The show itself was uninspired. The music unmemorable. I miss Fantasy in The Sky, Wishes and Happily Ever After.

 

[Belle5]

* I started making a list of all the ways Disney has skimpflated the value of a WDW vacation since we first went in 2011, and it got pretty depressing. Parking used to be free

I appreciate everything you reported but wanted to clear up one thing. You stayed off-site. Parking was never free for off-site guests. Parking was free for on-site guests until pretty recently.

 

[jknc]

OMG YES. We haven't watched any fireworks show from inside the park since well before the pandemic because that crush of humanity is just too much to enjoy the show. We would watch from our DVC room at BLT or the TOTW lounge when it was open. But for Enchantment we decided to brave Main Street so we could see the projections on Main Street itself.

I kid you not...the projections on Main Street were broken that night. We stood outside the Emporium and a massive spotlight on top of the building blared down on us the whole show. The show itself was uninspired. The music unmemorable. I miss Fantasy in The Sky, Wishes and Happily Ever After.

Based on their surveys, they know Enchantment is a fail.

 

[jknc]

My trip is in May and I am getting very apprehensive. Disney is expensive and takes a great deal of planning and you should leave feeling like you had a great time. Every vacation has a few bumps but I am reading tons of negative reviews (not just here either). This will be my 6th visit and I never thought I'd have to worry about dirty bathrooms.

Everyone who is unhappy needs to let Disney know. If if was your first visit and or your 10th - it doesn't matter. You need to tell them you are not returning. Disney needs to make big changes. And don't assume that they know everything going on on their parks - they don't. I like to think they would be embarrassed about dirty bathrooms and 2 hour wait times in January.

I cannot in good conscience advise anyone go to WDW right now. Especially for 1st time. They’re not getting the full experience they deserve.

 

[jknc]

I’ve now made it my mission to make sure I let as many folks know as possible to NOT go to WDW.

I know folks here don’t care, but WE all deserve so much better.

The 50th is lipstick on a pig. A carnival sideshow. Find somewhere else to spend your hard earned money.

 

[jknc]

Sunday:
Rope Drop ETPE - 7 Dwarves
BTMR - waited 30 minutes to see if Splash would open, it didn’t
Pirates was downso over to IASM
Jungle Cruise - LL
Pirates - LL
1:30 Lunch @ Steakhouse 71 then to Poly to get our bags together
Back in park @ 4:45
Buzz - Standy
7 Dwarfs - ILL
Pinocchio for some food
Castle photos with kids
Got a spot for enchantment 1:15 before show
Post enchantment - Splash Mountain
I wasn’t feeling well so we left park.

Look at how awful this day was after paying extra for G+ and ILL

 

[jknc]

Sunday:
Rope Drop ETPE - 7 Dwarves
BTMR - waited 30 minutes to see if Splash would open, it didn’t
Pirates was downso over to IASM
Jungle Cruise - LL
Pirates - LL
1:30 Lunch @ Steakhouse 71 then to Poly to get our bags together
Back in park @ 4:45
Buzz - Standy
7 Dwarfs - ILL
Pinocchio for some food
Castle photos with kids
Got a spot for enchantment 1:15 before show
Post enchantment - Splash Mountain
I wasn’t feeling well so we left park.

Look at how awful this day was after paying extra for G+ and ILL

Monday - we had driver picking us up @ Poly at 1:30
ETPE - Peter Pan
Wait by Rapunzel bathrooms for Mansion to open
Splash Mountain
Aloha Isle pickup on way to Space Mountain
SM - ILL. I didn’t even ride. Wife and I have bands to kids to ride twice.
Lunch order @ cosmic rays
At that point lines were too long to do anything else, so took more photos with kids went in some stores and left

So, over 2 days it was a joke how little we accomplished all the while paying $175 extra for G+ and ILL

 

[DisneyOma]

You might want to read a bit of the history behind the Haunted Mansion.

It took many years, and even had different teams of Imagineers before it was completed.

Walt Disney never saw the attraction.

Haunted Mansion may now be 'perfect', but the Imagineers (and Walt) had competing visions for a very long time.

More recently, Rise of the Resistance & Flights of Passage (and even Smugglers Run) are not carnival knock-offs.

I can be critical of Disney and/or list some of the disappointments I have with some of the newer attractions, but it's still thematically better than Six Flags and Universal (that is not Harry Potter).

Frankly, that theming is what still draws me to Disney, but the crowds and Genie+ nonsense has me making other plans too.

Smuggler's Run - there was a Millennium Falcon virtual attraction that traveled museums and science centers years ago, very, very similar to Smuggler's Run. Flights of Passage reminds me of the virtual ride at the old DisneyQuest, the magic carpet thing. Rise of the Resistance seems pretty unique to me though. Ratatouille is a copy of the one in France, of course. Disney doesn't make unique rides for the most part now, just recycled from other parks, IMO.

 

[Jennasis]

Smuggler's Run - there was a Millennium Falcon virtual attraction that traveled museums and science centers years ago, very, very similar to Smuggler's Run. Flights of Passage reminds me of the virtual ride at the old DisneyQuest, the magic carpet thing. Rise of the Resistance seems pretty unique to me though. Ratatouille is a copy of the one in France, of course. Disney doesn't make unique rides for the most part now, just recycled from other parks, IMO.

Yeah, and Haunted Mansion reminds me of the ride through haunted house attraction that shows up at the county fair every year.

Dumbo. So unique.
Small World. Ground breaking.


I can go on, but you get the point. Nothing is "original". It all comes from an idea that was sparked somewhere else. The theming is better. The technology totally new. Heck, the tiki room was inspired by a toy! (and was the RotR of it's day).

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Yea, me, too. The title got me because I'm tired of the negative generalizations all the time. Silly me. We were there in December and January, and we had really good trips. Genie+ is not worthless - it might not be for everyone, but it has value. Our food experiences weren't 100% great, but most were quite good. We enjoyed Remy's (did it twice), and we certainly have people in our crew who enjoy Figment every chance they get! In nearly 2 weeks of trip, we had one issue with a ride, and that wasn't a breakdown - it was some stupid kids trying to get out of their Navi boat during the ride, and it shut down the entire ride for 10 minutes.

So for those of you with upcoming trips reading the pretend positive posts, make sure you get all sides and read the actual positive posts out here, too. Disney is far from a perfect experience right now. But it was never a perfect experience.

Thank you for this. We have a trip coming up soon and the negative posts have been making me nervous. I saw the title for this thread and came to it hoping for some positivity. I do appreciate the OP's honesty - we need truthful and unbiased reviews to help make informed decisions and also to hold Disney accountable. But I need to believe that our vacation won't be 100% terrible!

 

[Brett Wyman]

The cast members have been incredible. They deserve all the credit right now because the parks / Genie are a complete disaster.

This is by far our worst trip.

When headliner rides don’t function @ rope drop, it throws all planning out the window. Plan for your planning to be thrown out the window.

Rides - Unreliable, making ETPE useless
Food - Worst I’ve ever seen it
Genie Plus - Zero value
Bathrooms - 3rd world gross
Harmonius - No way Chapek ever saw Illuminations and decided it was a worthy replacement
Ratatouille - Quote from my teenager “that ride is terrible”, to which I replied, “compared to Figment it’s not terrible”

I can’t recommend any go to these parks for the experiences they’re delivering right now

Flame me if you want, this is just my humble opinion after many previous visits

We were there 2-11 to 2-20 so heres our take on the same.

Rides - I dont think they were broken down any more than normal but Genie+ is poorly designed and just out right sucks.
Food - Seemed the same quality as ever. We had great meals at Toppolinos and even surprisingly Space 220. QS meals were mostly mediocre(as they have always been).
Genie Plus - Zero value.
Bathrooms - Seemed the same as in the past. Clean in morning and gradually get worse based on time of day and crowds.
Harmonius - Poorly designed. The barges need to rotate so everyone can see it. Production was all over the place too. But technically impressive.
Ratatouille - We have young kids but it was their favorite trip this ride. We rode three times. The adults enjoyed it too. Definitely better than MMRR
Trash - We never saw an overflowing trash can.
CMs - All were friendly but we did notice more "personal chatter" while working. I think this is the new norm and we will just have to get use to it. The dream of Walts always on actor like CMs is gone.

 

[jknc]

Thank you for this. We have a trip coming up soon and the negative posts have been making me nervous. I saw the title for this thread and came to it hoping for some positivity. I do appreciate the OP's honesty - we need truthful and unbiased reviews to help make informed decisions and also to hold Disney accountable. But I need to believe that our vacation won't be 100% terrible!

I hope you have a great experience. Our weather was great, the Poly was great it’s just that the parks experience was a massive letdown.

 

[Kingoglow]

So far, my biggest issue with Genie+ (besides the fee) is that it makes it impossible to plan around table service dinning. So we just don't make TS reservations anymore.

 

[Brett Wyman]

So far, my biggest issue with Genie+ (besides the fee) is that it makes it impossible to plan around table service dinning. So we just don't make TS reservations anymore.

That just shows how badly it's broken. I'd rather they just bring back FP+ with the same up-charge. I'd buy it for the entire trip. People hated the planning ahead, but its simply better with all of the other scheduling that WDW requires to know when 3 of your FPs are. DL is a different beast so MP worked better there.

 

[DLRExpert]

So far, my biggest issue with Genie+ (besides the fee) is that it makes it impossible to plan around table service dinning. So we just don't make TS reservations anymore.

Recently had lunch at Pecos, which was going to run into my Pirates LL. CM gave me an open LL pass to use on Pirates at anytime. LOVED IT, plus I was able to book another LL immediately instead of waiting for that 2 hour window.

HOWEVER, for dinner we were at the Skipper Canteen, and no CM there would help us or do the same thing for our Haunted Mansion LL.

This type of service should not be random. Either they do it or they don't.