Never thought I'd do it- Cancelled.

[goofy4prez]

After all these years, and so many great trips, magical moments, and a lifetime of memories, I never thought I would get to the place where I'm just not excited and looking forward to WDW; but that is where I am right now. Yesterday I did the unthinkable and canceled our February reservation and our 8-night stay at the Yacht Club. I'm just having a hard time getting excited about spending 9K for just the room and park tickets. In addition, this Genie, Genie+, iLL$, slave to a smartphone, no Magical Express, more cutbacks, more add ons for extra money, closures, limited experiences, masks, the uncertainty of the near future of this nearly 2-year pandemic, I have just lost interest.

I guess I'm just getting old and not feeling the magic this time around. I'm sure I'll get flamed and there are some who will say, "Good, fewer people for me." I would say, "Your Welcome." To each their own. I'm not attacking Disney, just that I think they are starting to move in a different direction than I am going. I guess I'll just take some of that money, pack up the truck, attach the boat, and head from N.E. Ohio and find a nice cabin on the lake somewhere in Kentucky, NY, Tenn, or somewhere that's a several-hour drive away and enjoy a quiet and relaxing vacation this time around.

 

[imbelle]

I feel your pain. I cancelled my December trip this year for the exact same reasons.

 

[Eastern]

I get it. We usually go every winter to see the Christmas decorations but we're skipping it this year.

Planning a late spring trip and staying at Swan for the first time as the price was about the same as POFQ. We like the other Epcot resorts very much but the prices are extortionate. I think a lot of people will cancel or plan offsite stays. Definitely nice staying on property but at this point it feels like I'm throwing my money into a fire pit.

Hopping limits also made me decide on 1 park per day passes. With a shorter stay, the price for hopping just doesn't make sense. In addition, LL, ill$ and park reservations have made planning an expensive, stressful beast.

Thanks for letting me vent

 

[jo-jo]

I get it. We had to cancel due to health reasons. But the thought of genie and using a phone for everything almost throws me into a panic. I was planning a trip with the thoughts of lots of firewords, hearing music, watching shows. Throw in a few rides that we can still do.

But for someone that has never been or just a few times, I'd say plan for another time or even another place.

 

[Cynt]

I get it. I'm a great planner but you know what? I'm tired of planning and spending more money for my plan to come together. At $10K we should be able to ride what we want, when we want for a reasonable 20 minute wait.

We canceled our WDW trip and are going cruising on Royals Allure of the Seas. 3 balcony cabins, 6 nights is far less than the $10K we were going to spend for 2 rooms and 4 day tickets to Disney. And the Allure includes food and entertainment. Early dining is already reserved and we reserve shows the day we board. Easy peasy. None of this up at 7am each morning to reserve ONE ride. That's just STUPID!

 

[fhtpdw20]

Same here; too many hoops to jump just to plan and everything dependent of smartphone even after you have tried to plan. Disney has nickeled its last dime out of me. I "may" be interested in Disney cruise down the road, but I won't plan like before with a splurge day at a deluxe hotel before and after the trip. I plan to stay at MCO Hyatt and have Mears take me to PC. The types of experiences/touring/parades that I would look for now are the atmosphere and tours that use to be there, not so much commando style rides. I don't like the thought of spending hours waiting for a couple of rides. Another issue for me is that I am not a Star Wars or Marvel fan so very little of the new appeals to me. I can watch YouTube for what is left of my Disney fix.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Disney is getting a lot of business right now because of all of the stimulus checks. When those finally dry up Ill be curious to see what park numbers look like with so many long time fans taking a break or fleeing altogether. Maybe, just maybe, numbers will drop and Disney will need to adjust to meet demand.

 

[OKW Lover]

Sounds like the OP has been reading a lot of negative 3rd party reports. I'd just encourage those in a similar position to go and decide for themselves.

 

[fhtpdw20]

The other driving force is the 50th Anniversary. It will be interesting to see how things go when that celebration is done.

 

[kathy884]

There's a great big beautiful world out there to explore. Do what gives you joy. A nice cabin on the lake might be just the ticket. WDW will still be there if/when you want to come back. It is disappointing though when things you love change and just aren't the same.

My dad just turned 85. One of the most memorable vacations experiences he ever had was going to the Magic Kingdom New Year's Eve for the millennium. He loved WDW and was the first to take us there when it opened in 1971 and took us regularly when we were growing up. He enjoyed taking the grandkids too. My vibrant mom passed away three years ago too unexpectedly, and they always really enjoyed the parks together.

With more limited mobility (needs a scooter for the parks) and it's more difficult for him to get in and out of many rides, he's taken a long break from WDW parks (maybe 15 years or so), but has in recent years really enjoyed SeaWorld when visiting relatives in Orlando with the lower crowds, beautiful landscaping, wonderful shows, and attractions that aren't as hard for him to get in and out of. Anyway after a many year break from any WDW parks he and I will be doing two days at Epcot in March for Flower and Garden, and we are both really looking forward to it. I'm leaving DH who doesn't care for theme parks home, but some of our Disney/theme park loving 20 somethings will be joining us (doing some parks with us and doing some of their own thing). My dad's coming back shows that you have many years to pick and choose what gives you joy and can even take a decade or more break and come back with a different perspective in the future -- different but good. It's amazing how much dad remembers about Epcot too and he wants to do so many things, see changes, etc. that when I was working up a touring plan I realized we needed two full days -- too much fun.

I think space and distance helps sometimes for me when things have changed to go back and enjoy something again with different expectations.

Sounds like the right decision.

 

[CT Yankee]

100% this. In the past, we could somewhat justify the stupid amount of money we were spending for a WDW vacation because the level of service and quality were beyond compare. Now much of what appealed to me about a WDW has been taken away and it is simply impossible to justify spending that much money on a sub par experience.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does the "iLL$" acronym stand for?

 

[_19disnA]

^^ iLL is part of the whole new Genie thing. There are selected rides at each park where you can pay a fee to ride. To add to the confusion, the line where you wait either with Genie or the individual ride paid option is also call Lighting Lane.

 

[Leight19]

Sounds like the OP has been reading a lot of negative 3rd party reports. I'd just encourage those in a similar position to go and decide for themselves.

I understand this sentiment but feel it’s not reasonable to expect average person to drop $8 to $10k to experiment and hope their experience is different then average poster. I agree they may go and find they still love it but at the cost I don’t blame anyone for not wanting to risk it.

2022 was going to be big year for us doing 3 to 4 trips with multiple extended family members. All the recent changes have me questioning whether I will even go once or just rent out min dvc points that expire and continue to bank points until future year.

We are also for first time considering doing universal instead since Disney isn’t currently selling annual passes and without magic express we will have car for first time. As Pete said on recent show the idea of staying at dvc resort and going to universal is looking appealing.

 

[jormom1030]

We were going to Disney every 18 months/2 years before the pandemic, but I have no desire to return until most things are back to normal. We are doing Universal instead and are so excited.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I. None of this up at 7am each morning to reserve ONE ride. That's just STUPID!

This is the absolute worst part of the new system. Making every single guest wake up before 7 am every day of their vacation to have a chance to ride rides later in the day is the stupidest decision Disney has made in a long time. There is just no reason for it. Even just changing 7 am to “30 minutes before park open” would be a huge difference.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

This is the absolute worst part of the new system. Making every single guest wake up before 7 am every day of their vacation to have a chance to ride rides later in the day is the stupidest decision Disney has made in a long time. There is just no reason for it. Even just changing 7 am to “30 minutes before park open” would be a huge difference.

I understand your complaint. But at least I can do it on my phone from my room. I prefer that to having to be at the front gate 90 minutes before opening so I can run in to get in line for some attractions. There are pros and cons to the latest system. There were pros and cons before it, too.

 

[itf]

This is the absolute worst part of the new system. Making every single guest wake up before 7 am every day of their vacation to have a chance to ride rides later in the day is the stupidest decision Disney has made in a long time. There is just no reason for it. Even just changing 7 am to “30 minutes before park open” would be a huge difference.

But then they can't make things better for the resort guests by simply making things worse for everyone else as they have with the ILL+ booking.

 

[Hisgirl]

Good for you! Speaking as a financial counselor, the average family doesn't have $9K to spend on a vacation, especially when there are hundreds of alternative spots for a fraction of the cost and no need to spend that astronomical amount. You will still smile, laugh, enjoy good food, sleep in a good bed, sing, dance, experience thrills, and go home with thousands still in your possession to go towards college, your retirement, unexpected bills.

There was a day coming when Disney went too far. I hope that day has come. If it keeps going at this rate, a trip to disney for a family of four will be $20,000. Only the wealthy can afford that.

If that's their plan, so be it. Dollywood is ready when you are. I went in April and had a ball and spent very little.

 

[Ikaikalani]

This is the absolute worst part of the new system. Making every single guest wake up before 7 am every day of their vacation to have a chance to ride rides later in the day is the stupidest decision Disney has made in a long time. There is just no reason for it. Even just changing 7 am to “30 minutes before park open” would be a huge difference.

But remember what Chapek said....their giving you choices! You dont HAVE to get up at 7am, instead you have the choice to sleep in and then spend 3 hours of your day in a standby line!! Lol

 

[Brett Wyman]

But remember what Chapek said....their giving you choices! You dont HAVE to get up at 7am, instead you have the choice to sleep in and then spend 3 hours of your day in a standby line!! Lol

Typical BS corporate speak.