Is it going to be worth it?

[dvivolo]

I have a trip booked in November for myself and my two girls but I have to say after watching videos on wait times and no discounts/deals I am second-guessing going at this time. I know some people have a love/hate with Fast Pass but imagine traveling any sort of distance to go to a park only to not be able to get on anything without hours of waiting for something as simple as The Haunted Mansion (forget the other more marquee rides which are 2+ hours on a Tuesday). I realize I am not going during the summer, but the fact that Disney is opening up capacity without anything to counterbalance the lines seems like very poor customer relations. Normally the time of year I am going at a minimum you'd be able to get a discount on a room but it appears they are just being super greedy right now... I don't know, am I alone in this thought process?

 

[Meglen]

I have a trip booked in November for myself and my two girls but I have to say after watching videos on wait times and no discounts/deals I am second-guessing going at this time. I know some people have a love/hate with Fast Pass but imagine traveling any sort of distance to go to a park only to not be able to get on anything without hours of waiting for something as simple as The Haunted Mansion (forget the other more marquee rides which are 2+ hours on a Tuesday). I realize I am not going during the summer, but the fact that Disney is opening up capacity without anything to counterbalance the lines seems like very poor customer relations. Normally the time of year I am going at a minimum you'd be able to get a discount on a room but it appears they are just being super greedy right now... I don't know, am I alone in this thought process?

The reason for no discounts is because they are selling rooms. Usally the discounts and free food are to get rooms sold. It was never about them not being greedy. Come November I believe they will have more shows and most of not everything open. This would help with ride queues a tad.

How many days do you plan to be there? I feel in this environment more days the better die to not being able to hit everything in one day. It's really up to you in the end. Do your children enjoy other things than rides? Do you leave for breaks mid day? Park hoppers?

 

[GBRforWDW]

I have a trip booked in November for myself and my two girls but I have to say after watching videos on wait times and no discounts/deals I am second-guessing going at this time. I know some people have a love/hate with Fast Pass but imagine traveling any sort of distance to go to a park only to not be able to get on anything without hours of waiting for something as simple as The Haunted Mansion (forget the other more marquee rides which are 2+ hours on a Tuesday). I realize I am not going during the summer, but the fact that Disney is opening up capacity without anything to counterbalance the lines seems like very poor customer relations. Normally the time of year I am going at a minimum you'd be able to get a discount on a room but it appears they are just being super greedy right now... I don't know, am I alone in this thought process?

I'm sure you are not alone, but I wouldn't say Disney is being greedy, per se. The discounts that came previously were because they had rooms to fill or space to add people to the parks. With the mixture of the 50th anniversary celebration starting in October and a lot more 'post-covid' (I know it's still around, but had gotten quite a bit better recently) travel, it's going to be busy at WDW for awhile with few benefits for customers. Since you're staying on site, I hope you'll be able to take advantage of the early entry for on site guests. That should allow you the ability to get 1 or 2 rides in early before the rush and for the rest, just be patient. Not sure how old your girls are, but if they're on the younger side, they'll just be excited to be there, so focus on the rides with shorter lines and you'll get to ride more even if they aren't the top of the line thrills. Still good to go and find your own ways to have fun!

 

[dvivolo]

Thank you both for your replies!

I know perspective is a huge part of this and considering the occupancy is somewhat skewed because of the hotels not being 100% open (at least at this point) it sort of makes it easy to be at capacity (from a hotel perspective). It is fairly traditional to have discounts for the fall but I know the October event does play into that (another reason maybe I will rebook later).

Regarding COVID, because Florida is one of the highest Delta variant states right now, I think it is tough to determine if it will be truly post-COVID by then or not. The crowd levels coupled with paying full price and getting really no perks for doing so I guess is why I wonder if it will be worth it. Part of the reason I am not postponing for sure is it would be next year and they are getting rid of another perk, Magical Express.

Watching people during the midweek waiting hours for rides when the parks aren't at full capacity makes me worry about what fall will look like when they open up park capacity further. I guess my larger point is they are not countering the crowd levels with anything for their guests because people are just happy to be back (myself included). I was hoping as we got closer maybe there would be some glimpse or reprieve but it doesn't appear that is going to be the case. I guess I am the only one who feels if you can't actually get through maybe a third of the rides of the park and have spent such a huge sum of money, I don't know - I'm trying to be optimistic. I was hoping to know about FastPass by now but like many things that seem to be phased out, it may not come back. I know some people absolutely hate fast-passes but for a family who has a special needs kiddo and only can make it there but once every 3-4 years (if that), it sort of helps

P.S. sorry for the edits I keep having to fix things

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thank you both for your replies!

I know perspective is a huge part of this and considering the occupancy is somewhat skewed because of the hotels not being 100% open (at least at this point) it sort of makes it easy to be at capacity (from a hotel perspective). It is fairly traditional to have discounts for the fall but I know the October event does play into that (another reason maybe I will rebook later).

Regarding COVID, because Florida is one of the highest Delta variant states right now, I think it is tough to determine if it will be truly post-COVID by then or not. The crowd levels coupled with paying full price and getting really no perks for doing so I guess is why I wonder if it will be worth it. Part of the reason I am not postponing for sure is it would be next year and they are getting rid of another perk, Magical Express.

Watching people during the midweek waiting hours for rides when the parks aren't at full capacity makes me worry about what fall will look like when they open up park capacity further. I guess my larger point is they are not countering the crowd levels with anything for their guests because people are just happy to be back (myself included). I was hoping as we got closer maybe there would be some glimpse or reprieve but it doesn't appear that is going to be the case. I guess I am the only one who feels if you can't actually get through maybe a third of the rides of the park and have spent such a huge sum of money, I don't know - I'm trying to be optimistic. I was hoping to know about FastPass by now but like many things that seem to be phased out, it may not come back. I know some people absolutely hate fast-passes but for a family who has a special needs kiddo and only can make it there but once every 3-4 years (if that), it sort of helps

P.S. sorry for the edits I keep having to fix things

Totally understand Everything you’re saying. It’s rough right now at wdw, but still it’s wdw! Lol.

I was fortunate to schedule in early January this year and enjoy the low crowd levels. Now we’re heading to Disneyland in a week and while it’ll be busier than we experienced inJanuary at wdw, but most wait times are still rather short so looking forward to that.

In my opinion though, it’s only going to get worse and worse as time goes. Eventually, international travel is going to open back up and when it does, wdw will be bringing in way more people. Everyone has to do what’s best for themselves though. I can totally understand not wanting to go at this point until FPs return.