Just back - and won’t be returning to Disney…

[jolou]

Going August 15. Eek. But it's good to go with lower expectations... ! It is usually quieter at that time... i know that doesn't count for anything these days but fingers crossed not quite as manic as now. Sorry your holidays were disappointing!

[MarkUK]

Disney won’t care but they have lost us. We are going back to Florida in October and it’s the first trip where we won’t set foot back in Disney in any form. I did (very) briefly look into the Halloween party but for an eye watering £500+ for a family of 4 for the evening, they really are taking the proverbial ‘Mickey’ - Universal here we come…..

[ATO Jones]

It’s the lack of upkeep that I find most galling. This used to be a company that had pride in its “show”. The slide began after 9/11 with numerous cut backs and it never recovered, getting to the point of neglect and indifference now, which is appalling given the cost. They used to have four full time custodians per restroom location. A dedicated maintenance crew for lightbulbs! Etc etc I can’t stress how immaculate the place was back in 92. By 2012 it wasn’t bad, just no where near as good. Now it’s overflowing bins and dirty toilets.

At least Paris has woken up judging by our visit last week. There’s the attention to detail that used to make the company stand out. Especially those small quick repairs that would be dismissed now in WDW as “it’ll do”.

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by Gryff

We are going to Disney our next trip the first time in 3 years and only because we’ve a 4 and 6 year old with us i have booked al our days we’ve 1 day at EPCOT and the other 13 over the 3 parks
We were in sea world Busch and universal in November and February this year yes a bit busier than we’ve seen but not manic and we didnt find them gone to the dirt both SEA World and Busch were beautiful in November we just dont do water parks
But would we do Epcot when food & wine is on thst to us really is the pits it’s awful now especially at weekends
We are going with the attitude the world has been not the same the last 2 years so it’s going to take thst to get back so we need to go with the flow

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But see, my problems aren’t really just about the pandemic. They’re mainly caused by the cynical profiteering of Disney… Mickey pretzels, as just one of many examples, have halved in size but gone up in price. I could go on…

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by Moleymole

Oh dear, I am bracing myself for a ‘different’ experience to what we have been used to when we go in August.

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I’m sorry - I hope you still have a wonderful time. Don’t get me wrong, we had a fabulous time! But whenever we were in Disney there was always just a tinge of feeling, I dunno, irritated, taken for fools, or something… It didn’t spoil our time at all but we both felt it strongly enough to agree that this would be our last trip to the WDW parks for a good while.

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by 123

Here in Australia I would absolutely love to be able to get an ice lolly for £5. You've not seen expensive until you've tried living in Sydney

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Fair enough, but it’s all relative. The cost of living (and lollies!) in the US is way lower than those in the parks, which means that WDW is deliberately over-inflating (I mean they’ve done it for years but it’s really getting to extremes now!) when they don’t need to!

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by Mazbar

I listen to Christian o Connell breakfast show from Melbourne and when you hear some of the price’s for things I am shocked at how expensive it must be to live in Australia.

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I believe wages are higher there too though, is that correct? Certainly when watching those relocation programmes it very much seems that way. It’s the same in Scandinavia - whilst cost of living might seem extortionate to us Brits, wages are proportionate.

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by jolou

Going August 15. Eek. But it's good to go with lower expectations... ! It is usually quieter at that time... i know that doesn't count for anything these days but fingers crossed not quite as manic as now. Sorry your holidays were disappointing!

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Not disappointing at all! Just - different. We are going back to Orlando in October which we certainly wouldn’t be doing if we hadn’t have had a good time! I hope you have a fantastic trip 💕

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by MarkUK

Disney won’t care but they have lost us. We are going back to Florida in October and it’s the first trip where we won’t set foot back in Disney in any form. I did (very) briefly look into the Halloween party but for an eye watering £500+ for a family of 4 for the evening, they really are taking the proverbial ‘Mickey’ - Universal here we come…..

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My thoughts exactly.

[CuteLioness]

Originally Posted by ATO Jones

It’s the lack of upkeep that I find most galling. This used to be a company that had pride in its “show”. The slide began after 9/11 with numerous cut backs and it never recovered, getting to the point of neglect and indifference now, which is appalling given the cost. They used to have four full time custodians per restroom location. A dedicated maintenance crew for lightbulbs! Etc etc I can’t stress how immaculate the place was back in 92. By 2012 it wasn’t bad, just no where near as good. Now it’s overflowing bins and dirty toilets.

At least Paris has woken up judging by our visit last week. There’s the attention to detail that used to make the company stand out. Especially those small quick repairs that would be dismissed now in WDW as “it’ll do”.

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Yes, I’ve heard Paris is doing well and we plan to visit next year. This is just WDW that we’ll be boycotting, for now.