Not sure I'm getting why FP+ is "limiting" peoples experience.

[Momtomouselover]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

Yes, and so sad
Now we just hope and wait for people to speak with their wallets. Sadly it will probably take a while for change unless MDE is a huge money losing fiasco.

 

[Shaden]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

Wow, very well said.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

Excellent post, Erin!

 

[bcrook]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

I enjoyed watching Saving Mr Banks last night. I left the cinema with a similar feeling. Great post. It does capture my disappointment with the changes.

 

[annacali]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing! Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion: Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical. A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively. Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions. My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

Very well said. Our last trip over Thanksgiving had a very different feel from our many previous trips. As my mom put it "Disney isn't as much fun anymore." I am not being melodramatic-- much of the joy for us is/was riding rides, sometimes the same ride over and over and over. We were offsiters and unable to do that this trip and while we did find other things to entertain us, it was a different trip and some ( ok a lot) of the magic was missing.

 

[katdralion]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

You expressed my family's feelings perfectly. Thank you!

We have recently returned from a 3 week vacation at WDW and thanks to FP+ and MDE it was the most stressful, frustrating and unmagical holiday we've ever had! After 20 years of wonderful Disney vacations the Disney bubble has finally burst.

 

[EMom]

You expressed my family's feelings perfectly. Thank you!

We have recently returned from a 3 week vacation at WDW and thanks to FP+ and MDE it was the most stressful, frustrating and unmagical holiday we've ever had! After 20 years of wonderful Disney vacations the Disney bubble has finally burst.

That is what we were afraid of, so we canceled our vacation scheduled for the week prior to Thanksgiving. We'd had a stressful year and needed a break from that. All the changes indicated we would just be heading into more stress.....and I didn't want to spend vacation time and money for STRESS. These changes do not work for our family and have sucked the fun out of WDW.

We are still willing to try DLR and may go there this summer. Fingers crossed.

 

[metzgardesign]

Ok, OP here (again). First of all, I think this has turned out to be an awesome thread. It wasn't too long ago that a similar thread like this was going and it got really personal and ugly. I think everyone is really making sense and being super respectful, no matter what their position is. I've just about pivoted 190 degrees from when I started this thing!

Second.....I have a new theory. After reading an article (can't remember where the link is...) about how horribly screwed up the implementation of FP+ has been and how angry the CEO is to the point of putting a (temporary I hope) stop to growth in the parks because of it, AND updates my husband has been giving me about a recently published book I bought in WDW, "Dream It! Do It!" which describes some incredibly incompetent decisions made about cutting experiences (and maintenance of rides)in the parks and halting any sort of growth in terms of new rides ALL in the name of making more money for the company, (oh man this is a long sentence! ) I've come to this conclusion:

Changes are being made to WDW which are based on greed, and are absent of any love for what Disney is all about. These changes are showing up in different ways, and many folks who have loved the parks for years are feeling it strongly. But, at the same time we are being told that these changes are actually great and that they are making the parks even MORE enjoyable and magical.

A recipe for crazy making. People are feeling the dysfunction because there actually is dysfunction in the Disney company. There actually is dysfunction in the running of the parks right now. But every message coming from Disney is telling us how not only is nothing wrong with the system, it's so much BETTER. Some people like me don't feel it as much because the parts of the park experience Disney has managed poorly are not as high on our priority list. Some are actually benefiting from the changes and of course are liking them. But that doesn't mean that the dysfunction, which the CEO is also feeling right now, isn't directly affecting other folks negatively.

Threads like this have so much energy and passion driving them because there is no where else for people to go to be heard. Contacting Disney doesn't help. It's a corporation now, and corporations just don't admit their mistakes to their own customers

I saw Saving Mister Banks a couple of weeks ago in DTD; fantastic movie (to me). It really showed how deeply Walt loved his company and how this love was the motivating force in all his business decisions.

My final conclusion is this: Walt, has truly left the building....

Very well said.

From my (and my family's) point of view......with all the news about all the changes and all the problems....we just really don't have a desire to go back.

Never really thought we'd feel that way, but the allure just isn't there for us. And that's sad. We came back from our last trip (before all this new techno-mess they have going on) and just felt like the company wasn't really trying as hard anymore.

And really, who wants to spend thousands of dollars on diminishing returns (I guess many are....as attendance is still high....but for how long?)

The "Magic" of WDW does still exist in some instances (in terms), but the foundation of what and why it was built (or more specifically, why DisneyLand was built....and WDW expounded upon) is largely gone.

Walt's passions....his desires.....his motivations are absent. They have been replaced by growth, greed and numbers.

His building of a successful business because of what he loved (and that love drove the success) has been replaced by a desire to earn money.

And each generation (whether his own family or by hired guns) which further removes itself from his initial motivators will result in even more loss of the the original "Magic."

 

[Damien2213]

They could always just do away with it all. First come first serve. LOL

 

[Mad Hattered]

Very well said.

From my (and my family's) point of view......with all the news about all the changes and all the problems....we just really don't have a desire to go back.

Never really thought we'd feel that way, but the allure just isn't there for us. And that's sad. We came back from our last trip (before all this new techno-mess they have going on) and just felt like the company wasn't really trying as hard anymore.

And really, who wants to spend thousands of dollars on diminishing returns (I guess many are....as attendance is still high....but for how long?)

The "Magic" of WDW does still exist in some instances (in terms), but the foundation of what and why it was built (or more specifically, why DisneyLand was built....and WDW expounded upon) is largely gone.

Walt's passions....his desires.....his motivations are absent. They have been replaced by growth, greed and numbers.

His building of a successful business because of what he loved (and that love drove the success) has been replaced by a desire to earn money.

And each generation (whether his own family or by hired guns) which further removes itself from his initial motivators will result in even more loss of the the original "Magic."

THIS! Another well-written response.

And to the bolded...I just don't see Jake or Sofia carrying this thing. I remember the days of watching The Wonderful World of Disney with a bowl of popcorn that my dad made by violently shaking a pot on top of the stove. Now we get a lot of chemical-induced flavors that can be made in a microwave. It gets the job done but it just doesn't taste the same.

Now I want some real popcorn. Great.

 

[Robbi]

Disney is moving from magical to Six Flagical.

 

[dayvewc]

THIS! Another well-written response.

And to the bolded...I just don't see Jake or Sofia carrying this thing. I remember the days of watching The Wonderful World of Disney with a bowl of popcorn that my dad made by violently shaking a pot on top of the stove. Now we get a lot of chemical-induced flavors that can be made in a microwave. It gets the job done but it just doesn't taste the same.

Now I want some real popcorn. Great.

Man I'm with you there!!!

Disney is moving from magical to Six Flagical.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Man I'm with you there!!!

Might I suggest a Whirley Pop popcorn popper. They are pretty awesome!

Disclaimer: I am no way involved with the Whirley Pop popcorn popper company...I just love good popcorn.

 

[dayvewc]

Might I suggest a Whirley Pop popcorn popper. They are pretty awesome!

Disclaimer: I am no way involved with the Whirley Pop popcorn popper company...I just love good popcorn.

Please do!! I generally use my AirPop popcorn popper I got when I started college. 14 years, and it still makes pretty good popcorn. Not quite as good as childhood memory popcorn, but much better than the microwaveable bags of stuff companies try to pass off as popcorn.

PS. I love your tag-fairy tag. That is awesome.

 

[bcrook]

Very well said.

From my (and my family's) point of view......with all the news about all the changes and all the problems....we just really don't have a desire to go back.

Never really thought we'd feel that way, but the allure just isn't there for us. And that's sad. We came back from our last trip (before all this new techno-mess they have going on) and just felt like the company wasn't really trying as hard anymore.

And really, who wants to spend thousands of dollars on diminishing returns (I guess many are....as attendance is still high....but for how long?)

The "Magic" of WDW does still exist in some instances (in terms), but the foundation of what and why it was built (or more specifically, why DisneyLand was built....and WDW expounded upon) is largely gone.

Walt's passions....his desires.....his motivations are absent. They have been replaced by growth, greed and numbers.

His building of a successful business because of what he loved (and that love drove the success) has been replaced by a desire to earn money.

And each generation (whether his own family or by hired guns) which further removes itself from his initial motivators will result in even more loss of the the original "Magic."

Written with passion.

Disney is moving from magical to Six Flagical.

But I wonder if "limiting" and loss of magic are completely accurate? Although I completely agree with the idea that the Disney Magic (specifically innovation) is drying up, I do see a new vision emerging.

The new concept seems to be like an all inclusive, cruise-like experience combined with DVC.

The focus has been on building DVC units, adding new restaurants and drinking establishments, turning Epcot into a bar with a $95.00 cover charge (I'm not complaining), magicbands, meet and greets, downtown disney entertainment venues and shopping.

The new way to visit disney world is to come spend a week or more in a condo that you purchased. Stay on site eat all your meals on site at very cleverly themed restaurants (if you are lucky you can eat at the Croatians table ... Be Our Guest). Pay your resort fees to have run of the place (7 day hopper).

Enjoy the gardens, pools, streetmosphere, fireworks, and minor attractions. Schedule your headliners for the week if you are in the mood.

See your tour director to set up, bowlin, movies at the cinema, miniature golf and real golf, a fishing excursion, and a wide variety of tours...all at an upcharge.

Honestly it doesn't sound bad. It is just completely different. The imagineers are being replaced with tour directors. And the MDE app is your go between, a tour guide with you all the time. Cutting edge attractions are being replaced with Splitsville and Spice Road.

After paying $500.00 for admission tickets, the next goal is to get us off the rides into a different experience to collect more money... For my group that experience happened to be La Cava. It's fun to pretend to be rich once a year at the WDW country club.

So I don't know if we are being limited, we are just being expected to do different things (that cost extra money). People with budgets are being squeezed - no doubt.

 

[Planogirl]

I have never had an interest in Club Med type places and definitely don't want to deal with a Disney version of that. Ugh, that fits doesn't it?

 

[AmyB2006]

Written with passion.






But I wonder if "limiting" and loss of magic are completely accurate? Although I completely agree with the idea that the Disney Magic (specifically innovation) is drying up, I do see a new vision emerging.

The new concept seems to be like an all inclusive, cruise-like experience combined with DVC.

The focus has been on building DVC units, adding new restaurants and drinking establishments, turning Epcot into a bar with a $95.00 cover charge (I'm not complaining), magicbands, meet and greets, downtown disney entertainment venues and shopping.

The new way to visit disney world is to come spend a week or more in a condo that you purchased. Stay on site eat all your meals on site at very cleverly themed restaurants (if you are lucky you can eat at the Croatians table ... Be Our Guest). Pay your resort fees to have run of the place (7 day hopper).

Personally, I think you hit the nail on the head here. My mom and I have been talking about this. More and more DVC construction. I think this is totally the way it's headed. The total immersion experience.

 

[bcrook]

I have never had an interest in Club Med type places and definitely don't want to deal with a Disney version of that. Ugh, that fits doesn't it?

. I am not advocating for it or defending it. I just see it happening. Less people spending more money? Less crowds higher revenue?

 

[bcrook]

Personally, I think you hit the nail on the head here. My mom and I have been talking about this. More and more DVC construction. I think this is totally the way it's headed. The total immersion experience.

And maybe this explains the credit guarantee for every restaurant even during slow times - it is important to book that seat at a restaurant and not hop around. Plan your meals, plan your three rides, plan your extra experience. Create your daily itinerary and stick with it.

Things food and wine are wildly popular (lots of extra costs)
The parties are crazy popular (extra cost)

I can see more and more of this.

 

[AmyB2006]

And maybe this explains the credit guarantee for every restaurant even during slow times - it is important to book that seat at a restaurant and not hop around. Plan your meals, plan your three rides, plan your extra experience. Create your daily itinerary and stick with it.

Things food and wine are wildly popular (lots of extra costs)
The parties are crazy popular (extra cost)

I can see more and more of this.

Absolutely! Getting you to commit your time and money to Disney, ahead of time.

Especially after I read that Avatar/Magic Band article, it was evidently clear. At least to me.