I agree with a lot of what you said. I do feel it is still a magical place overall. I must not be getting my point across well enough. It just doesn't feel AS magical as it once did to me and yet the prices are going up. That's why I have trouble paying the ticket prices. When I feel like I have to keep one hand on my wallet as I walk through the parks, because the executives are trying to steal my money, it reduces the magic to me. This isn't all based on one decision, to remove DME. I was pissed when the parade was taken, and all the other cuts because of the Shanghai over spending. That hasn't come back, and short of a major event, like an anniversary, I don't think we will ever see the parades again. They don't need to bring it back because people still keep giving them their money. I recognize the parade didn't matter to everyone but it is just another example of a loss of value to some. For me a HUGE part of my connection to Disney was the GF Orchestra. Some people have never been to the GF and wouldn't care, I get it. But my first step on Disney property was the GF, I walked in to check in for my honeymoon and they were playing. I grew up with little money and somehow I was walking into this beautiful hotel and an orchestra is playing. Now it's gone. People are out of jobs. Chapek and his team of executives still have their bonuses though.
WDW was always my home park. I used to look at DL and think about going but at the times I looked it was always more expensive. I thought, "Why would I spend more to go to a smaller park?" so I always went back to WDW. I finally went to DL in 2017. I proposed to my current wife there. Now, that place is busting at the seems with Disney magic. I know it is possible for Disney to still do it, they do it at DL. Its just different. CM are different. It's spotless like Walt wanted. The quality of food is better there because they have to, there are options right outside the gate that are cheaper so they have to do a better job overall. WDW doesn't have to because people are "trapped" on property and they have to eat somewhere.
I am not bashing on WDW, I still love it. I am still listening to podcasts, I am still keeping up on news. I still wait to go back (hence the name). Currently, I am not happy with the direction of the company. I hate all the IP that is taking over. It feels cookie cutter to me. Yes, even Galaxy's Edge is not impressive to me. Have ridden RoR yet but in walking through that land at DL I left thinking I didn't care if I ever went back. It felt more like the land was set up to sell me something rather than immerse me in this amazing new land. People may disagree, and that's OK.
I hate that the most loyal customers (AP holders) sat through the construction of Galaxy's Edge and when it opened they were blacked out and told to buy tickets like everyone else. For the record I don't even have an AP. I just couldn't believe, out in DL, after what they pay for an AP they then made them buy additional tickets. In many cases some of these people have had AP's for 20+ years. That's how they reward the most loyal fans, who have probably been fans for life?
I understand it is a business and they will always try to spend as little as possible to make as much as possible. I get it. But let's take the sports team analogy for a second, it was a great one. I live in Boston. The Red Sox have been engrained in families for generations, like Disney. They charge ridiculous prices for tickets, concessions, parking, etc... When they are winning people will go. When they have a bad team, people stay home. This forces the ownership to bring in big time players to put a competitive team on the field to justify the higher prices. Those deals may not always work out but people speak with their wallets and the team responds. All I am looking for is other Disney fans to temporarily speak with their wallet so management will realize they can't keep stripping the little things that make up the magic for some of us.
. Sorry kids, mine now!
