Will WDW ever be back to how it was?

[Guest]

From everything I've been seeing over the last year or so, for me if I want to do onsite from 2022 onwards Universal will be my first port of call but to be honest I think i'll go back to how I used to holiday pre-2019 (first WDW onsite) and stay offsite, have a car and buy maybe a 1 day ticket for disney, maybe a hard ticket even like MNSSHP if in season and then focus on non disney or free stuff like DS and resort touring.

[mrsmickey]

I’ve seen YouTube clips of the fireworks being tested so they must be coming back, and they are doing mini style parades at the moment so there’s no reason to suppose they wouldn’t bring those back. It wouldn’t surprise me if things like the park booking system stays - it helps Disney manage the ever increasing crowds - and fast passes change to a virtual queue system or paid for system (perhaps with some free on lower value rides or incentives for those staying in deluxe). Things like shows and parades are good for helping keep lots of people occupied for a good amount of time and help make Disney distinct from other experiences.

Disney are always adapting and evolving. The parks have grown, they’ve had to change the way they operate. Some changes are good, others not. However, more and more people come each year and there’s a reason for that - it’s still ultimately a great experience.

[act1980]

The paid Fastpass concerns me. If they do implement this I wonder if they will do some kind of Fastpass plus ticket for Brits. They know we come and spend weeks there so instead of just the ultimate for £xx it will be ultimate Fastpass plus or something for £xx. Still not ideal but I would think it would be a better deal than a daily cost.

Time will tell...

[tracey1302]

Originally Posted by act1980

The paid Fastpass concerns me. If they do implement this I wonder if they will do some kind of Fastpass plus ticket for Brits. They know we come and spend weeks there so instead of just the ultimate for £xx it will be ultimate Fastpass plus or something for £xx. Still not ideal but I would think it would be a better deal than a daily cost.

Time will tell...

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Thing is, if they brought in a paid FP system, they would lose a major edge and competitive advantage they have over Universal.

[babbymint]

Originally Posted by act1980

The paid Fastpass concerns me. If they do implement this I wonder if they will do some kind of Fastpass plus ticket for Brits. They know we come and spend weeks there so instead of just the ultimate for £xx it will be ultimate Fastpass plus or something for £xx. Still not ideal but I would think it would be a better deal than a daily cost.

Time will tell...

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Fast pass and free DDP are the only draws for us, if you dont get at least FP with your hotel stay, I cant see why anyone would pay the prices?

[act1980]

Originally Posted by tracey1302

Thing is, if they brought in a paid FP system, they would lose a major edge and competitive advantage they have over Universal.

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I don't think they really care to be honest, people will still come as has been proven in the past.

Not saying its right by any means but thats just how it is.

[act1980]

Originally Posted by babbymint

Fast pass and free DDP are the only draws for us, if you dont get at least FP with your hotel stay, I cant see why anyone would pay the prices?

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I guess people pay to have the express pass at Universal. It won't fill me with joy if I have to pay for FP, I'll moan about it but I'll still pay for it as it's an added convenience for my family.

Hope the DDP does come back as I know how beneficial it is for families that pay for accommodation.

[TinselAngel]

Originally Posted by Tweety1

What are everyone’s thoughts? I know it may take awhile but will we get the magic back?
Disney for me is:
The parades
The fireworks
DDP (free) but appreciate that might not come back
Photos with the characters(and yes hugging them)

When do we think this will be back if ever?

I too was a fan on the DME and always planned the end of my holidays to end at Disney as it was so convienent.

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Apologies if I'm repeating what others have said - these are just my opinions.
Parades and fireworks - yes I think these will be back as soon as it's safe for crowds to gather.
Photos with characters, hugging etc. - similar - when it's safe - may lag a little behind the parades etc?
DDP - I think the dining plan will come back in some form but it may be a modified version of what we have been used to. This is likely to be when they get to the point of all or almost all onsite restaurants being open again. However, I think it is less likely that we will see free DDP again as I believe that Disney were looking for ways to stop doing it anyway and this is an opportunity not to be wasted. The flipside is that Disney hotel visitor numbers may not be as high as they expect, in which case free DDP may entice more people back - it's very difficult to say for sure though.

[POR34]

I'm not fussed about the ME although we have used it on occasion and I'd actually prefer it if free dining didn't return. I'd like to see fireworks come back as they're a nice end to the day in MK. For me I definitely want fast passes to return as our normal park experience is to do our three fast passes and and then leave.
I'm also hoping that club level returns in the hotels as this is something that we really enjoy.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Tweety1

What are everyone’s thoughts? I know it may take awhile but will we get the magic back?
Disney for me is:
The parades
The fireworks
DDP (free) but appreciate that might not come back
Photos with the characters(and yes hugging them)

When do we think this will be back if ever?

I too was a fan on the DME and always planned the end of my holidays to end at Disney as it was so convienent.

See more...

I think some of the things you mention will be back in later this year - the Harmonius firework show in Epcot is due to start this year, for example. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the MK firework show restarts in October.

Similar with parades, but maybe they’ll restart in 2023 but with reduced numbers. Similarly, character meets might restart in 2023?

DDP might come back in a different guise.

Things are always changing at the parks. Ok, not quite as abruptly as they did last year. But changes come and go. The parks weren’t quite the same in 2019 as they were in 1997 when I first went. And they were different in 1971 than they were in 1997.

Changes come and changes go. Perhaps some of the changes will put some people off visiting meaning that the parks get less crowded and back to the crowd levels they were in the “good old days” (one can hope).