What they've taken away

[Bete]

First, I want to say we've enjoyed over 50 trips to Disney World through the years ranging from long weekends to two week trips prior to 2019. December 2018 was our last trip. We are not locals. We have taken our children and grandchildren through the years. We have been with other relatives and friends, as well. I considered myself well rounded when it came to visiting Disney World. I made it easy for those who joined us. We were planning a 2022 trip with our great grandchildren, pre Covid. They've been there once but I wanted them to go during the 50th anniversary celebration. I wanted them to experience Disney as it was pre-Covid. Now, we are not going.

I'm especially disappointed in the lack of street entertainment, shows, parades and fireworks, now. I think I could work around most of the other cutbacks but not this part. I honestly feel if I went now I would be crying most of the time for all that is missing.

The Disney World higher prices don't help, either. I'm afraid Disney is becoming elitist. It did require sacrifice to save for a trip there in the past but now it's just not making sense to me anymore to go. Over the last ten years we have concentrated on Silver Dollar City and Dollywood more so. We went during festivals; so, the entertainment was plentiful. You got value for what you paid for. I went to Disneyland for their 50th anniversary and it was on my bucket list to go for the 50th to Disney World. I just don't see my family going now.

In the end I believe Disney will lose in the game they are playing right now. Many will find other ways to spend their time on vacation and they will never look back. There is pent in demand right now; so, Disney is riding the bubble but the bubble will burst.

 

[georgina]

There is no park to park transportation?

There is park to park bus transportation. Previous post was talking about a special paid service you could use to get from one park to another faster (which
i find somewhat ironic, based on all the grumbling about the new paid lightning lane.)

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Parking lot trams
Five-hour Halloween and Christmas parties
Strongly themed decor in most of the deluxe and moderate resort rooms
Decent toilet paper in the theme parks and Disney Springs
Consistently clean restrooms
Most of the rides that had educational value (such as in the early years of Epcot)
Butter shaped like Mickey Mouse (yes, this used to be a thing once upon a time!)
Easy access to drinking straws and lids for drinks

 

[JoJoGirl]

Room Service at most deluxe resorts.

Individual Toiletries in the resort rooms.

Of all the things taken away, what I miss most is the live entertainment: Everything in World Showcase including musical groups, acrobats and the Holiday Storytellers, in HS (Citizens), AK (Burudika, DeVine, the Drummers, Kevin), and MK (Sword in the Stone). Also, resort entertainment like the Boardwalk Buskers and Grand Floridian Society Orchestra. Without its entertainers, Disney has lost it’s extra spark for me. I hope more acts are brought back before my APs are used up in 2-3 years, because rides alone won’t keep me coming to the parks. Very sad .

 

[ElsasFan]

Shortened pool hours.
Shortened park hours.
Affordable parties: such as Pirate and Princess; Not so Scary Halloween Party
Characters while you wait for a character meal: ie Fairy Godmother at 1900 Park fare; Donald at Chef Mickey
Free photos with your character meal: Akshurus
Lockers that parked hopped with you. Now you have to pay at each park in the same day.
Free ball at the mini golf.
Prizes at the pool

Also free photos with Cinderella at Cinderella's Royal Table.

 

[ElsasFan]

Great list! I think this really shows why I am so angry about Genie. They keep taking things away and now want to add back one thing, FPS, AND make us pay for it. If all the things I loved were still there for free, and then they asked me to pay $15 more, that’s one thing. But they already took away many favorites and added fees, like parking and airport transportation, and now they want even more money from me for less!

Yes! We have to pay for it, but only one pass at a time, and the added stress of doing it the morning of. I know that some people complained that planning a Disney trip is stressful (I didn't - obviously, I enjoyed it, or I wouldn't spend hours doing it before our yearly trips), but you should plan for any vacation. I don't like the idea of going into the park willy-nilly, waiting to see what might be available or what Genie "thinks" I should do that day. Ugh.

 

[RNTeacher]

Finding the paint brushes at Tom Sawyer’s island and getting a special front of the line pass and the talking trash can at Epcot. Taking my boys on the few trips we could afford when they were little always felt so magical. I miss those days.

 

[bsjs0708]

This all just prompted us to change our January trip to Universal instead, which we've never visited as a family. End of an era but looking forward to comparing the experiences.

We are also seriously considering canceling our January trip. In the past we ALWAYS advised our friends to spend their vacations at WDW... it used to be the best vacation for your hard earned money. Sadly this is no longer true...

 

[ElsasFan]

First, I want to say we've enjoyed over 50 trips to Disney World through the years ranging from long weekends to two week trips prior to 2019. December 2018 was our last trip. We are not locals. We have taken our children and grandchildren through the years. We have been with other relatives and friends, as well. I considered myself well rounded when it came to visiting Disney World. I made it easy for those who joined us. We were planning a 2022 trip with our great grandchildren, pre Covid. They've been there once but I wanted them to go during the 50th anniversary celebration. I wanted them to experience Disney as it was pre-Covid. Now, we are not going.

I'm especially disappointed in the lack of street entertainment, shows, parades and fireworks, now. I think I could work around most of the other cutbacks but not this part. I honestly feel if I went now I would be crying most of the time for all that is missing.

The Disney World higher prices don't help, either. I'm afraid Disney is becoming elitist. It did require sacrifice to save for a trip there in the past but now it's just not making sense to me anymore to go. Over the last ten years we have concentrated on Silver Dollar City and Dollywood more so. We went during festivals; so, the entertainment was plentiful. You got value for what you paid for. I went to Disneyland for their 50th anniversary and it was on my bucket list to go for the 50th to Disney World. I just don't see my family going now.

In the end I believe Disney will lose in the game they are playing right now. Many will find other ways to spend their time on vacation and they will never look back. There is pent in demand right now; so, Disney is riding the bubble but the bubble will burst.

I agree that it is becoming elitist. I would love to stay at a deluxe resort, for the extra park hours and proximity to the monorail. I just looked at the dates that we're considering for next year (May). Contemporary is $895/night; Grand Floridian is $968/night; and the other deluxe hotels are $804, $738, $907, and $579 (Animal Kingdom Lodge--isn't it undergoing renovation?) nightly. Those are for the cheapest rooms. There's no way we would pay that, even if we could. So back to the moderates for us, which are still overpriced for what you get. Plus park tickets, which of course go up every year, and the extra $65/day for my family of 5 to purchase fast passes (I refuse at this point to use the new name--calling it something different won't change what it is), and who knows how much if we want to add on the rides that Genie+ doesn't include, plus ground transportation, which I estimate will probably be at least $200, and we will get less than we ever have before. Disney has always been our happy place, but I do not feel happy at all when I think about it. Right now, I feel like Disney is taking me for a chump.

Sorry, I got worked up and forgot the point of what I was going to say!!! Disney was already a stretch for a lot of families, but it is quickly becoming out of reach for many. And I think also about the families who do make sacrifices to take their kids to Disney, but potentially don't get to experience all of the fun attractions because they are not accessible without paying extra for Genie+.

 

[StuckInKS]

I had no idea SotMK was gone We played when we were there in Jan 2020 and kids asked to do it in March 2021, but there was some reason we didn't try (maybe the firehouse was closed?) Had no idea it was completely gone.

 

[ktlm]

All of the above taken away AND they expected us to pay $3,000 more than we paid for the exact same category room on the same dates in 2019? A non-club room was $2,000 HIGHER than we paid for a club level room with the same view category in 2018 for the same dates? We cancelled. Not paying that much more for that much less.

 

[2minny]

Mousekeeping! Even before COVID they were offering incentives to skip mousekeeping during your stay at some resorts. Will we ever see the return of daily mousekeeping with fresh towels and clean countertops?

As long as people continue to go, they will continue to see what we will tolerate. I"m honestly shocked at the number of items they have taken away, in the name of Covid. We were there in May, and the magic was absolutely missing. Just terribly sad.

 

[2minny]

Also free photos with Cinderella at Cinderella's Royal Table.

Only seeing Cinderella at a distance at CRT, no other princesses - cost cutting is the only excuse for that. And no free sword/wand anymore, they said "we can't give them due to covid" lol but they can sell them. And they can deliver your meal, just not a free toy.

 

[brockash]

I agree with the criticism but to be fair some of these came to an end when Covid hit and could return when/if the pandemic finally is over and then can hire enough people to do them

The Covid excuse has to end. If they can pack in the crowds; have ppl. shoulder to shoulder waiting for fireworks or when cramming them into a holding area; then there's not a safety reason for anything else. Covid was in many ways an unexpected miracle for some of the execs at Disney...gave them an excuse/reason to cut back, get rid of, dumb down, not offer, and totally change whatever they've been wanting to do for over a year now. While this was a horrible disease for most; Disney pounced on it and took make lemonade out of lemons to an insanely extreme level.

 

[sbbwdw]

Stacy Must Do
POG juice
Akershus

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

In December 2015 we took a trip to WDW to see the Osborne lights (GONE) even though I was pregnant. I knew that even being pregnant, the trip would be relaxing and enjoyable and it was! Upon landing in MCO, we put on our free Magic Bands (GONE) and took the free Magical Expres (GONE) to our resort, Animal Kingdom, where our stroller for my eldest was waiting, rented from Kingdom Strollers and left at Bell Services (GONE, you have to rent them through Disney now). We enjoyed a meal at Sanaa with our Free Dining package (GONE along with the DP, the DP will probably return, but I doubt FD will). On our MK day, I wasn't too worried about not being able to ride the coasters, since I could make advance FP+ (GONE) for the afternoon parade (GONE) and meeting Anna and Elsa (GONE) along with gentle rides like Peter Pan that tend to have long lines. Our dinner at Hollywood and Vine included priority Fantasmic (GONE) seating for 1 FD credit. We had lunch at Be Our Guest for a QS credit (GONE, it's now prix fixe for $62 per adult). In December 2019 our trip was much the same only instead of Osborne lights we had SW:GE and the new Toy Story Land, which were excellent, and we were able to get a Boarding Pass for ROTR for free (I'm very skeptical that anyone will be able to really score a free BP for this ride once Genie+ launches). In between these trips, we did a long October weekend where we went to MK with MNSSHP and could enter the parks at 4pm, crucial with young children who fell asleep after the first parade. What I loved about WDW then was that the parks really did seem to have something for everyone, from retirees to honeymooning couples to young families. My DH once derisively said that MK was like Las Vegas for children. I think he's sadly been proven right. With steadily increasing prices and micro transactions on top of that, WDW will now be like a casino that only wants the highest rollers.

 

[2minny]

The Covid excuse has to end. If they can pack in the crowds; have ppl. shoulder to shoulder waiting for fireworks or when cramming them into a holding area; then there's not a safety reason for anything else. Covid was in many ways an unexpected miracle for some of the execs at Disney...gave them an excuse/reason to cut back, get rid of, dumb down, not offer, and totally change whatever they've been wanting to do for over a year now. While this was a horrible disease for most; Disney pounced on it and took make lemonade out of lemons to an insanely extreme level.

You can add Minnie Vans to the list, unless they have returned and I somehow missed the news.

It's becoming a pretty long list and, sadly I'm afraid, a good many aren't likely to return any time soon.

Unfortunately, I think they can change all they want and keep adding costs and most will still go. They seem to be ok with less people, while charging more pp to make up for less people. In result, they are making the park for the upper income people. Those with a lower budget or less income, will still probably go, but wont have the perks of getting on more rides ore quickly. Those on a budget will either go in debt trying to enjoy the park, or wait the lines and not get the special treatment that used to be for anyone, no matter their income.

 

[bsjs0708]

I feel that most people who still go are going to re-live that nostalgic, magical vacation where they got the biggest value for their hard earned vacation dollars. When going back 3,4,5 times trying to recreate those WONDERFUL vacations of a few years ago and Disney not delivering, more people like our family, will start going vacationing elsewhere.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Sad.

On the flip side someone could probably do a decent thread of all they have added (Toy Story land, Galaxy's Edge, etc etc etc) but it sure would be nice to have those adds and not have these minuses.

Then again - many of these minuses will come back.

 

[Stratman50th]

I feel that most people who still go are going to re-live that nostalgic, magical vacation where they got the biggest value for their hard earned vacation dollars. When going back 3,4,5 times trying to recreate those WONDERFUL vacations of a few years ago and Disney not delivering, more people like our family, will start going vacationing elsewhere.

You can never go back.
Nostalgia and family memories was why we kept returning even after the magic was gone. We won't be back and it's a sad thing. We can afford to go, I'm just not willing any longer. Like I've said many times before, lot's of other wonderful things to see and do. Time to start doing it.