What is going on with Disney parks?

[mikebb]

Also, there is an open question on DisUnplugged Facebook page that relates to this thread (and the podcast rant):

"What changes do you think need to be made to Walt Disney World other than lower crowds or lower prices? "

Personally, for me, it is removing the "necessity" of planning things so far in advance. "required" reservations and missing out on a potential experience because you couldn't, or didn't know to plan THAT far in advance is frustrating. While I enjoy planning a disney vacation in advance (just to look forward to it) . .I don't like essentially planning what days I will be in what parks many months in advance only to feel you can't change things around as hours change or weather changes.

This is a big one for us. We've been to WDW so many times now and done just about everything, so there (should be) no rush or need to plan. Combine that with being a semi-local, we want to be able to go on a whim or just for a short weekend and not have to have every minute accounted for. But, every year it feels more like that's impossible and DW goes nuts making FPs and ADRs ahead of time for every little trip.

Definitely makes things feel a lot less laid-back when you're doing as much work planning your quick weekend getaway as the job you're trying to escape. And since DD is getting older, we're experimenting with UO and Sea World come the spring to see what the other side is like.

 

[rojen]

The food, with limited exceptions, is very expensive slop.

The hamburgers at QS restaurants are by far worse than any fast food franchise. No matter how much other stuff you dump on top of these burgers, the buns are terrible and the patties are dry.

Defrosted GFS and SYSCO desserts at all of the buffet restaurants. Turkey and ham instead of prime rib at the carving stations. $300 for a family of 5 to eat and I'm getting 2"x2" pieces of sheet cake and iced milk crystals in the ice cream dispenser? Every chain in the country can make palatable pizza, Disney cranks out terrible pies.

Their churros are terrible. They're the worst. Used to be amazing before they cut back on quality. Pretzels are OK, but again, worse than they used to be.

I'm making more than I ever thought I would and have no problem spending extra money for a unique experience and/or quality product. But the cost vs quality is way out of bounds now.

The hard ticket events and the reduced park hours are also a major issue for my family. We're paying way more money for what, about 75% of the available park hours you would've gotten on a 2013 trip?

 

[mikebb]

The food, with limited exceptions, is very expensive slop.

The hamburgers at QS restaurants are by far worse than any fast food franchise. No matter how much other stuff you dump on top of these burgers, the buns are terrible and the patties are dry.

Defrosted GFS and SYSCO desserts at all of the buffet restaurants. Turkey and ham instead of prime rib at the carving stations. $300 for a family of 5 to eat and I'm getting 2"x2" pieces of sheet cake and iced milk crystals in the ice cream dispenser? Every chain in the country can make palatable pizza, Disney cranks out terrible pies.

Their churros are terrible. They're the worst. Used to be amazing before they cut back on quality. Pretzels are OK, but again, worse than they used to be.

I'm making more than I ever thought I would and have no problem spending extra money for a unique experience and/or quality product. But the cost vs quality is way out of bounds now.

The hard ticket events and the reduced park hours are also a major issue for my family. We're paying way more money for what, about 75% of the available park hours you would've gotten on a 2013 trip?

The food is a good point, but I'd argue that the other end of the spectrum is a bigger problem than QS. In fact, we feel like the QS menus and options have actually improved a bit over the years - not to great or even on par with many things you can get outside of the parks, but at least to passable. Satu'li Canteen in Pandora is an example of Disney at least trying to improve QS.

But "Signature" Dining on the other hand? We've seen a noticeable decline in both service and food quality in the last 5-10 years in this space. There are still some special experiences, but many have declined to average at best. Our last dinner at CG in August was a huge letdown, most notably because our server was downright rushing us and not particularly attentive at that. And this has been a trend - as I think someone else noted earlier about special "magic" touches like Mickey confetti at dinner or personalized menus like we got on our honeymoon at nearly every dinner. I don't demand or even always expect these things, but it's noticeable when they almost disappear. And I'm not sure how Disney is expecting to capture the upper end of the market by skimping in these areas.

I noted to DW on our last trip that as for Signature dining Shula's seems to be the best on-property. And there is nothing particularly Disney about Shula's, in fact we had one down here in S FL until a few years back.

 

[Matrix21]

This is a big one for us. We've been to WDW so many times now and done just about everything, so there (should be) no rush or need to plan. Combine that with being a semi-local, we want to be able to go on a whim or just for a short weekend and not have to have every minute accounted for. But, every year it feels more like that's impossible and DW goes nuts making FPs and ADRs ahead of time for every little trip.

Definitely makes things feel a lot less laid-back when you're doing as much work planning your quick weekend getaway as the job you're trying to escape. And since DD is getting older, we're experimenting with UO and Sea World come the spring to see what the other side is like.

True.

I've done a lot of WDW trips in the last 10 years. I used to book the "fancy" restaurants and some characters breakfast/dinner only and planning parks around them. But now it's ridiculous, you almost need to book every "good" table restaurants 30-60 days in advance, and on top of that you need to get your FP+.
Back in the days FP were taken in the morning of the same day. Now if you wait until the very morning, you're screwed.

 

[adam.adbe]

Disney World in particular (I find DLRs food to be somewhat better) seems like it's using Six Flags as the mark it has to beat. "You'd pay this for worse at a sports game, so what do you expect people?"

That's fine as far as it goes, but Disney markets itself as being all about the experiences, and for any guests visiting for more than a couple of days, food is going to end up being a decent part of the experience. WDW's food, at all tiers, is not cutting it.

That said, the gumbo at POFQ is legit

 

[shh]

One option is to do Universal for the main vacation, and then a one-night hard ticketed event such as a party or DAH to get your "Disney fix," if your crew would be disappointed by an Orlando trip that doesn't include Disney.

Absolutely the way we're going. I'm keeping my UO APs...ditching the WDW ones for 2020. For the next 1-2 years, WDW will be, at most, a 1 and done party night and I'll be spending my time and $$$ at UO.

But I do suspect UO is going to get much busier in 2020/2021: their new mammoth value resorts located on I drive have thousands of rooms - one's open, the bigger one is opening soon. It's gonna add a lot of volume to their 2 parks in the next few years until that 3rd theme park is built and open.

 

[Alynw]

Also, there is an open question on DisUnplugged Facebook page that relates to this thread (and the podcast rant):

"What changes do you think need to be made to Walt Disney World other than lower crowds or lower prices? "

Personally, for me, it is removing the "necessity" of planning things so far in advance. "required" reservations and missing out on a potential experience because you couldn't, or didn't know to plan THAT far in advance is frustrating. While I enjoy planning a disney vacation in advance (just to look forward to it) . .I don't like essentially planning what days I will be in what parks many months in advance only to feel you can't change things around as hours change or weather changes.

I do agree with what your saying but at the same time, I feel there is a massive following of people that enjoy the planning part. The first I ever went to WDW I only knew about picking fp and once we got there and I realized on how many things or experiences we missed out on because we didn't know about planning things so far in advance, it really bummed us out. In was in that moment I expressed my feelings of how stupid it was how its bs that as a first timer we missed out on so much because we didnt go through a Disney training class to ensure we had a great vacation. With that said, I now really enjoy that part of our trip. Once our vacation is over and disney depression sets in, it really helps being able to start planning our next trip so far in advance. I don't believe this was originally by design but the fact that there are so many people visiting Disney that forced the pre-planning so far in advance and no doubt once Disney realized how well people responded to the planning aspect, they took full advantage of it and took it to the next level. So yea, I do agree, for first timers and those who don't like all the planning, it is very overwhelming and could make the difference in a good or bad experience.

 

[Alynw]

UO doesn't really understand physics, I guess. I agree the no possessions on your person at ALL on many rides at UO is a real pain and completely unnecessary.

I agree its definitely a pain and there are a few rides that it's just unnecessary but if UO only enforced this rule on a couple rides, then a lot of people would just avoid those rides all together but since its almost standard on majority of rides, people get use to it and it just becomes part of the experience and is expected. This helps keep the amount of guests for each ride some what equal.

 

[dreynolds1982]

I believe there are like 2 rides now (used to be 3 I believe when Dragon Challenge was around I *think*)--Hulk and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit where you cannot have anything in your pockets and you go through security to verify this. Other ones it's usually just that your actual bag needs to go in a locker but you can have things in your pockets.

For instance for MIB it's not that you can't have anything in your pockets just that you put your actual bag in the locker. If you had a cell phone or chapstick in your pocket you'd be fine.

I do understand the frustration, it's not exactly my favorite thing to have to go do the lockers first then go get in line. On the other hand it does seem to speed up getting in and out of the ride.

Yeah this sounds right. I remember Dragon Challenge being the biggest head scratcher to me (HRRR I understand b/c of the 90 degree vertical lift). For DC, nothing really rips ya right out of the magical Harry Potter theme like going through non-themed metal detectors and then getting wanded like you're at an airport haha.

The whole locker thing for the other rides I've never fully understood. I've been to amusement/theme parks all over and never see anyone be as hardcore about the lockers as UO. I'm sure they have their reasons though. At least they let you have em for free!

 

[dreynolds1982]

I can't say that I've found the food quality or service to be dipping that much. As some others have said, QS I think it way better than it used to be (and FAR better than what you find at most parks, including UO). The FS restaurants, I'm by no means an expert and also can't say as I have the most refined pallet in the world haha, but the last couple of times I've been I've thoroughly enjoyed almost everything I've eaten. I've had great service experiences and no issues in recent years that I can recall. I even don't find the prices to be that terribly unreasonable, but then again I live in Charleston SC so I'm probably just used to insanely inflated food prices haha.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah this sounds right. I remember Dragon Challenge being the biggest head scratcher to me (HRRR I understand b/c of the 90 degree vertical lift). For DC, nothing really rips ya right out of the magical Harry Potter theme like going through non-themed metal detectors and then getting wanded like you're at an airport haha.

The whole locker thing for the other rides I've never fully understood. I've been to amusement/theme parks all over and never see anyone be as hardcore about the lockers as UO. I'm sure they have their reasons though. At least they let you have em for free!

I'm guessing most is safety as a generality. They had a couple of injuries, some serious, on Dragon Challenge due to things flying out of guests's pockets so they stopped dueling them.

Yeah I'll agree on the hardcore part. IIRC my local amusement park you can typically leave your stuff on the platform next to the ride vehicle. However, that presents the other issue of theft.

 

[The Pho]

Yeah I'll agree on the hardcore part. IIRC my local amusement park you can typically leave your stuff on the platform next to the ride vehicle. However, that presents the other issue of theft.

That’s the standard across all parks excluding Disney and Universal. With a few exceptions for specific rides. 2 Cedar Fair rides do use metal detectors to ensure you put your phone in a zipped pocket under your seat. And a few others don’t have the place on the platform for bags or larger objects. And a large portion of rides that do have those spots for bags, have a simple lock on them to keep them relatively safe while you ride.

Universal is easily the strictest of any park I’ve been to, and it’s the primary reason why I never buy merchandise from them.

 

[tlmadden73]

I do agree with what your saying but at the same time, I feel there is a massive following of people that enjoy the planning part. The first I ever went to WDW I only knew about picking fp and once we got there and I realized on how many things or experiences we missed out on because we didn't know about planning things so far in advance, it really bummed us out. In was in that moment I expressed my feelings of how stupid it was how its bs that as a first timer we missed out on so much because we didnt go through a Disney training class to ensure we had a great vacation. With that said, I now really enjoy that part of our trip. Once our vacation is over and disney depression sets in, it really helps being able to start planning our next trip so far in advance. I don't believe this was originally by design but the fact that there are so many people visiting Disney that forced the pre-planning so far in advance and no doubt once Disney realized how well people responded to the planning aspect, they took full advantage of it and took it to the next level. So yea, I do agree, for first timers and those who don't like all the planning, it is very overwhelming and could make the difference in a good or bad experience.

I agree the planning is fun .. and nice, but there needs to be a middle ground. You can plan without having to RESERVE things so far in advance .. at least that far in advance.

To me the disconnect between ADRs (180 days) and Fast Passes (60) is the biggest issue. ADRs essentially cause you to pick your park days sometimes before you know about hours, special events, EMH, etc. They should just have you plan your FPs and dining all at the same time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Universal is easily the strictest of any park I’ve been to, and it’s the primary reason why I never buy merchandise from them.

Have you ever used their Package Pick Up service? It's not every single store from my understanding but quite a lot of them.

Works like WDW for purchasing items by X time it's sent to the specific Package Pick Up location and you can pick it up on your way out of the park. https://www.universalorlando.com/we...s-information/package-pick-up#package-pick-up

We didn't need to use it on our 2017 trip but we did use it on our 2011 trip.

 

[The Pho]

Have you ever used their Package Pick Up service? It's not every single store from my understanding but quite a lot of them.

Works like WDW for purchasing items by X time it's sent to the specific Package Pick Up location and you can pick it up on your way out of the park. https://www.universalorlando.com/we...s-information/package-pick-up#package-pick-up

We didn't need to use it on our 2017 trip but we did use it on our 2011 trip.

I have not used it, and it’s not really something I like using, I don’t like waiting around so I can leave, I have shipped a few things home from Universal, but it was years ago. If I come across something I have to have there, I’d likely just ship it home. At Disney I’ll ship to the room, and fragile or large things get shipped home. At Six Flags, Hershey, Cedar Fair, or SeaWorld/ Busch I’ll carry purchases around or stick them in my pocket. At Universal, they got so strict that I just lost desire to deal with it and don’t even look in the stores anymore and go to the park less often. There have been times that they made me get a locker for a watch that set off the metal detector, it’s just an annoyance for great but relatively tame coasters.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Really enjoyed the podcast today. It's quite relevant to this thread and I recommend that everyone give it a listen/watch.

Thanks for posting this. I might have missed it otherwise and it was definitely worth watching!

The food, with limited exceptions, is very expensive slop.

The hamburgers at QS restaurants are by far worse than any fast food franchise. No matter how much other stuff you dump on top of these burgers, the buns are terrible and the patties are dry.

Defrosted GFS and SYSCO desserts at all of the buffet restaurants. Turkey and ham instead of prime rib at the carving stations. $300 for a family of 5 to eat and I'm getting 2"x2" pieces of sheet cake and iced milk crystals in the ice cream dispenser? Every chain in the country can make palatable pizza, Disney cranks out terrible pies.

Their churros are terrible. They're the worst. Used to be amazing before they cut back on quality. Pretzels are OK, but again, worse than they used to be.

I'm making more than I ever thought I would and have no problem spending extra money for a unique experience and/or quality product. But the cost vs quality is way out of bounds now.

The hard ticket events and the reduced park hours are also a major issue for my family. We're paying way more money for what, about 75% of the available park hours you would've gotten on a 2013 trip?

...We've seen a noticeable decline in both service and food quality in the last 5-10 years in this space. There are still some special experiences, but many have declined to average at best. Our last dinner at CG in August was a huge letdown, most notably because our server was downright rushing us and not particularly attentive at that. And this has been a trend - as I think someone else noted earlier about special "magic" touches like Mickey confetti at dinner or personalized menus like we got on our honeymoon at nearly every dinner. I don't demand or even always expect these things, but it's noticeable when they almost disappear. And I'm not sure how Disney is expecting to capture the upper end of the market by skimping in these areas.

I noted to DW on our last trip that as for Signature dining Shula's seems to be the best on-property. And there is nothing particularly Disney about Shula's, in fact we had one down here in S FL until a few years back.

Well said rojen and mikebb. And a shame to be saying it about Disney!

It seems the execs have been burying their heads in the pixie dust, but what will they do if/when the pixie dust runs out, because they're relying on old stock and not building up new? Like, Pete said on the podcast, they should book, plan and live some Disney trips themselves. ...And they should read this thread!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have not used it, and it’s not really something I like using, I don’t like waiting around so I can leave, I have shipped a few things home from Universal, but it was years ago. If I come across something I have to have there, I’d likely just ship it home. At Disney I’ll ship to the room, and fragile or large things get shipped home. At Six Flags, Hershey, Cedar Fair, or SeaWorld/ Busch I’ll carry purchases around or stick them in my pocket. At Universal, they got so strict that I just lost desire to deal with it and don’t even look in the stores anymore and go to the park less often. There have been times that they made me get a locker for a watch that set off the metal detector, it’s just an annoyance for great but relatively tame coasters.

I gotcha and I understand

I just thought I would mention it in case it wasn't something you'd thought of. I hadn't realized initially that it existed back in 2011 myself.

 

[Pkltm]

I am nearly at my breaking point with their pre-trip customer service. Combine the magic band disaster with the call center and I am pretty close to just cancelling. We had issues prior to our September trip where their system tried over 200 times to charge our card for magic bands (we clicked complete order once) to get Disney to fix it I had to call, well being from Canada it resulted in some serious long distance.

Today I am trying to add the quickservice plan to my vacation and the getleman on the phone has told me this is not allowed as I cannot have dining plan without tickets. (I am an annual passholder) I asked to speak to a supervisor and he transferred me to IT. No waiting again on hold. I will need a loan to pay for the long distance....

 

[Alynw]

I agree the planning is fun .. and nice, but there needs to be a middle ground. You can plan without having to RESERVE things so far in advance .. at least that far in advance.

To me the disconnect between ADRs (180 days) and Fast Passes (60) is the biggest issue. ADRs essentially cause you to pick your park days sometimes before you know about hours, special events, EMH, etc. They should just have you plan your FPs and dining all at the same time.

Yes, u just explained it perfectly and after reading your post, u are absolutely correct. I never really thought about it like that but now that u say it, I can relate. I have also ran into the problem of having an ADR and then couldn't get the fp I wanted but it was available on a different day and then i had to choose between keeping my adr or getting my fp. I can only assume this is by design to help push hopper tickets. Great point.

 

[Matrix21]

I am nearly at my breaking point with their pre-trip customer service. Combine the magic band disaster with the call center and I am pretty close to just cancelling. We had issues prior to our September trip where their system tried over 200 times to charge our card for magic bands (we clicked complete order once) to get Disney to fix it I had to call, well being from Canada it resulted in some serious long distance.

Today I am trying to add the quickservice plan to my vacation and the getleman on the phone has told me this is not allowed as I cannot have dining plan without tickets. (I am an annual passholder) I asked to speak to a supervisor and he transferred me to IT. No waiting again on hold. I will need a loan to pay for the long distance....

It's funny how a big corporation doesn't have a toll free number huh ?