Disney magic being replaced with greed

[riversider2014]

Originally Posted by duchy

That’s an overpriced half full recyclable cup surely
I’m with Tom , there are other ways to hydrate without being held to ransom with Disney drink prices lol it’s not new ‘‘twas always this way.

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Trying not to sound like a Disney fan boy here 😊 but again, this is not a Disney exclusive.

You could equally say the same about any theme park in the world and any other business where there is a ‘monopoly’. You only have to look at the price of drinks and pick and mix at cinemas 😊.

We do exactly the same as Tom. Buy some Robinson’s squirty concentrate over here, fill up water bottles at every opportunity and add the flavour. We spend very little on drinks in the parks.

[Eeyore rocks]

Sorry, I’ve not read the whole thread...I am on holiday. 😉

This is my experience from last night.

We was in Magic Kingdom yesterday, and it was sooo busy, to watch HEA, we was stood in the taped area, the walkway running along the back...people were pushing passed us, even though we was shoulder to shoulder...a couple actually stepped right over our buggy where my granddaughter was asleep and the ladies bag fell and hit my granddaughter in the face...once it started, everyone was still! When it was finished it was chaos again, and an American couple were very sweet in saying they was just about to come over to have a go on my behalf to the rude couple!
I’ve only got a 2 day after 12 pass, so I did go and give feedback to customer relations about how badly it was handled, not expecting anything, and she has given me an extra day on my pass so I can go back Wednesday to watch it again. It’s the only 2 nights that it’s on as MVMCP is on the other 5! 🙄

Wow, I’ve never typed so much! 🙃
(I’ve c+p it from another thread) so in a word yes, Disney have got greedy with the amount of party nights they put on now. 😟

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by riversider2014

Trying not to sound like a Disney fan boy here 😊 but again, this is not a Disney exclusive.

You could equally say the same about any theme park in the world and any other business where there is a ‘monopoly’. You only have to look at the price of drinks and pick and mix at cinemas 😊.

We do exactly the same as Tom. Buy some Robinson’s squirty concentrate over here, fill up water bottles at every opportunity and add the flavour. We spend very little on drinks in the parks.

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We eat very little during the day. Our aim is to give Disney as little money as we possibly can!

Our best saving was sharing a Mickey pretzel for lunch. Was not really enough but I felt great doing them out of a few $.

I doubt my personal strategy will effect their bottom line but it makes me feel good.

Being serious though. They are making huge profits but also losing big money

The toilets by Pirates I noticed a tap running at full blast in May. Still running in August and again in November.

Whats that all about? 10 min job for a plumber.

[riversider2014]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

We eat very little during the day. Our aim is to give Disney as little money as we possibly can!

Our best saving was sharing a Mickey pretzel for lunch. Was not really enough but I felt great doing them out of a few $.

I doubt my personal strategy will effect their bottom line but it makes me feel good.

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To be fair, Disney would have to pay me to eat one of their pretzels😊

We used to regularly buy 2 meals to share between me, DW and DD but DD appetite is growing with age so we’ll need a different strategy on our next visit.

Our room at art of animation last week had a fridge so we bought lots of fruit/yoghurts for breakfast from the supermarket which saved us quite a bit of money

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by Eeyore rocks

Sorry, I’ve not read the whole thread...I am on holiday. 😉

This is my experience from last night.

We was in Magic Kingdom yesterday, and it was sooo busy, to watch HEA, we was stood in the taped area, the walkway running along the back...people were pushing passed us, even though we was shoulder to shoulder...a couple actually stepped right over our buggy where my granddaughter was asleep and the ladies bag fell and hit my granddaughter in the face...once it started, everyone was still! When it was finished it was chaos again, and an American couple were very sweet in saying they was just about to come over to have a go on my behalf to the rude couple!
I’ve only got a 2 day after 12 pass, so I did go and give feedback to customer relations about how badly it was handled, not expecting anything, and she has given me an extra day on my pass so I can go back Wednesday to watch it again. It’s the only 2 nights that it’s on as MVMCP is on the other 5! 🙄

Wow, I’ve never typed so much! 🙃
(I’ve c+p it from another thread) so in a word yes, Disney have got greedy with the amount of party nights they put on now. 😟

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Jenny. Not good. Hope your Granddaughter is ok. I bet you are both having a blast apart from that incident!

[neatfrk]

We were so looking forward to it and in the end we were just making the best of it.

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Spot on. If I had to boil down my thoughts on what WDW has become, this would be it.

[ELLENUT]

We haven't done Disney for the last 2 trips (so since 2015) but we have been considering a Disney only trip in 2021. Hearing so many comments about the greed and crowds etc... is making me think twice, its such a lot of money (hence why we've just done the other parks for the last 2 trips). I don't mind saving up and spending the extortionate amount if I come back and think 'that was a great holiday'. The more I hear, the less likely I believe this will happen - such a shame

As others have said, I think those of us that have been going for years can see the decline - not so obvious to newbies

[duchy]

I was concerned at doing a non Disney trip to Orlando as I thought we might really feel it.
We never do just Orlando anyway but combine it with other areas either in Florida or beyond but I was really surprised not to feel even the slightest twinge .

[riversider2014]

Originally Posted by ELLENUT

We haven't done Disney for the last 2 trips (so since 2015) but we have been considering a Disney only trip in 2021. Hearing so many comments about the greed and crowds etc... is making me think twice, its such a lot of money (hence why we've just done the other parks for the last 2 trips). I don't mind saving up and spending the extortionate amount if I come back and think 'that was a great holiday'. The more I hear, the less likely I believe this will happen - such a shame

As others have said, I think those of us that have been going for years can see the decline - not so obvious to newbies

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I’ve been going for years, first visit 1990, and to be honest I haven’t seen any huge decline at all.

I genuinely think there is a bit of rose tinted glasses on the ‘glories’ of the past. I’m sure that if we went back 20 years you’d still come across grumpy cast members and anecdotes about bad service.

Reading this thread you would think it’s all gone to hell in a handcart which is far from truth. We’ve just had a fantastic 5 night stay and already thinking about the next trip.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by riversider2014

I’ve been going for years, first visit 1990, and to be honest I haven’t seen any huge decline at all.

I genuinely think there is a bit of rose tinted glasses on the ‘glories’ of the past. I’m sure that if we went back 20 years you’d still come across grumpy cast members and anecdotes about bad service.

Reading this thread you would think it’s all gone to hell in a handcart which is far from truth. We’ve just had a fantastic 5 night stay and already thinking about the next trip.

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I think sometimes people think that their umpteenth visit will be as good as their first or second visit. I think sometimes it's just a case that people are getting a little bored of visiting Disney and aren't getting as much out of it as they used to. Which isn't surprising; if I visited Disney every year and had been going for the last 15 years then I think I'd be ready for a change. It's part of the reason why we only go every few years so that it doesn't become stale. People are getting less enjoyment for their money, but that's more down to them rather than Disney.

Having said that, it's a fact that the number of visitors has increased year on year. The parks are getting more crowded. WDW is more popular now than it's ever been. Understandably, some people won't like that (although clearly Disney's marketing is attracting more people than the crowds are putting off). I do feel that Disney hasn't kept up with the increases in visitor numbers by increasing CMs and their salaries accordingly so as to spread the workload better and keep up moral. I suspect there will come a point where I feel that the crowds and grumpy CMs will become too much for me and I'll no longer feel that the increasing price of a holiday to WDW will be worth it.

Also, I think Disney aren't as good as hiding their business activities under a veil of "magical Mickey marketing" as they used to be. That's probably due to the rise of social media and the prevalence of multiple sources reporting on every single thing that Disney does and happens in their parks in the last decade or so. Nowadays it's easy to find sites running reports on 50c increases in the price of Dole Whips (here, for example) whereas we were completely unaware of this sort of thing before we all had instant and ready access to the internet (say, before 2000). The more we see reports of this sort of thing, the more illusions become shattered, the more Disney doesn't feel as magical, and that means some people start to notice the greed* more.

(* and by "greed" I mean making increasing amounts of profit. Something that Disney has been trying to do - and generally been very successful at doing - since before WDW was built)