My family used to go to WDW all the time when the kids were around 10 years old or younger. As they got older, we started traveling oversees more often and seeing the world on different continents.
Now that my oldest is graduating from college, she wants to go back to Disneyworld with just my wife and I (her brothers are going camping). As the planner in my family, I thought it would be easy to jump back to Disney, because I was so familiar with it....NOPE!!! LOL
Now they've added rides you can only get on via Virtual Que, they've replaced the old FastPass paper skip the line tickets with this complicated Genie+ system with Lightning Lanes. Although not all the top rides have access to Lightning Lanes, as for those rides, to skip the line, you have to pay per person per day to ride.
Want to get food? Good luck waiting hours in Standby counters for food. Now you have to get familiar with Mobile Ordering, to order your food on your phone hours before you eat.
Speaking of Virtual Que, they have two rides, where you can only get them at 7am and 1pm. If you are 1 second too late to hit the button on your phone, you miss the opportunity to go on that ride....Unless you pay around $20 per person to skip the line.
The amount of time it looks like I'll be on my phone, I'll need to bring an extra battery pack to make sure I don't drain my phones battery by the end of the day.
Rant over, spent the past weekend learning all these processes. If any other BBIer is planning to go to WDW and needs help, just post here. I'd be more than happy to help out answering questions.
Fast Pass worked great. It easy. It was free. And it worked.
So of course the morons got rid of it.
For example, on your Magic Kingdom day here is your sequence of tasks while sitting on the toilet at 6:55AM.
1. Get on Virtual Que for Tron.
2. Buy lightening lane for Seven Dwarfs.
3. Reserve Genie plus for Big Thunder Mountain.
That’s before arriving at the park, then at the park, reserve second Genie plus ride at 9am. And book another one after riding Big Thunder. Then get on Virtual Que for Tron again in tbe afternoon.
Now if you want to talk about all the nickel and diming and overall value...that's a whole different story.
I was coming to say this. I live an hour and a half from there. Been to all of the parks and Disney Springs multiple times in the last year. It's not nearly as bad as that original post makes it seem.
In general, my kids (who are 11 & 8) loved the rides and the parks. My son, who is the 8 year old, hit his wall after about 7 hours in the park, which took us to dinner. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't book dinner in the park, because the food sucks. I'd do the parks until around 4, then head out and find a place to eat.
The entire family enjoyed Universal more. It was still extremely expensive, but lines were much shorter, less people and less scooters to dodge.
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my wife and I are trying to go to Nashville as my almost 9 year old is getting old enough to appreciate trying different foods, live music, etc. I’ve been several times but they haven’t. Direct flights from CT are cheap, trying to do a long weekend at some point.
We hiked in the Smokey Mountains, visited Dollywood (I didn't realize it was basically a massive rollercoaster park), and did the usual touristy stuff in Gatlinburg. You want a "thrill ride"? Go on the SkyBridge. Holy hell.
Ha, so last week my kids were on their spring break and my college roommate's kids were as well. We went to FL to see my parents and did 3 days at Disney/Universal. My college buddy drove his Family from CT to Gatlinburg and did a week in the Smokey Mountains. We were texting each other pictures and stories from our trips. Pretty funny.
The second thing is you have to learn where rides are situated in the parks. The Genie+ app makes rides across the park available, and it often leads to you waking across the park. Find rides that are situated in the same area and knock them out around the same time. It will save you time and save you energy.
It's clean. I'll give it that. It's definitely organized. You can fucking have it. Women and kids want to believe in magic. It's just late stage capitalism. I swear they would charge money to take a shit if they could.
Enzo, it's called Epic Universe and it will be massive. It'll have lands themed after Super Nintendo World (Super Mario and Donkey Kong), Wizarding World Fantastic Beasts (Harry Potter), How to Train Your Dragon and what I'm looking forward to is Dark Universe (Dracula, Mummy, Wolfman, Frankenstein and all the other Universal monsters from their movie franchises.
That will give Universal 3 Theme Parks and 1 Water Park and it will be interesting to see how that influences people from switching from Disney based Orlando vacations to Universal based Orlando vacations.
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the old (original?) fast pass system was working just fine. The last time we went was with genie+ or whatever and it was needlessly more complicated. As others have said, now that my kids are older they prefer Universal. Which apparently is building another whole park?
Fast Pass worked great. It easy. It was free. And it worked.
So of course the morons got rid of it.
I loved the old Fast Pass system. I used to arrive very early at rope drop and run around the whole park getting all those free paper Fast Passes. Then looked at their return times and have a whole itinerary ready to skip the lines at with all the attractions that had Fast Pass.
Plus if you knew of the "hack" with those old Fast Pass Dispensers\Machines, then you could get a ton of Fast Passes for the ride you wanted to do. There used to be a button at the back of the Fast Pass machine, where if you held it down for 3 seconds, it would keep on giving you passes =)
My wife and I took the kids 2 years ago..it was the first time I ever went in my life. Loved it so much we went back again last year. We did not go this year...and to be honest, I missed it a bit!
There's a Youtube video of a guy who did that. His family had a Magic Kingdom ticket book from 1978 that had never been used. There was no expiration date on that 1978 ticket book that cost just $8. The guy flew to Orlando and was surprised that he was able to redeem it for a park ticket worth $150+
You have to work for that Beaches and Cream reservation at 7pm man.
As for Universal, have to stay at one of the 3 Deluxe hotels to get that free fast pass. Worth every penny when each fast pass can go for 300$ plus.
There's a Youtube video of a guy who did that. His family had a Magic Kingdom ticket book from 1978 that had never been used. There was no expiration date on that 1978 ticket book that cost just $8. The guy flew to Orlando and was surprised that he was able to redeem it for a park ticket worth $150+
Yup. Though you’re limited to what existed at the time you bought the ticket. In this case it can only be used for the Magic Kingdom since the other 3 parks had not been built.
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Once you get the hang of the strategies for using the app and lightning lanes, it actually makes for a smooth experience (ie not standing in hour + long lines). We did Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and hit everything we wanted to, in some cases multiple rides (like TRON).
It's an amusement park where people stand in line to ride kids rides.
They've taken that concept and:
(1) made it incredibly complicated.
(2) made it incredibly expensive.
To "enjoy" the park, you now have to have a battle plan on the scale of Barbarossa and pay multiple fees on top of the actual park ticket. You'd have to be crazy to do this at this point.
The complexity wasn’t that bad, and there are great resources online about how to maximize the use of the app. My son Is a huge Star Wars fan so really wanted to show him that area of Hollywood studios and it did not disappoint (and was able to ride rise of resistance and millenium falcon with no wait times)
Now, based on what I've seen with Fast Pass gone, you have to pay to have the right to stand in line for rides you already paid for (when you bought the park ticket). And you have to know when and now to sign up for that. Now imagine someone who has never been to the park and doesn't know any of this in advance (it sounds so crazy on the surface that a newbie wouldn't even believe it).
They basically are only catering to the upper middle class/rich now.
Disney basically operates on nostalgia right now. Because the experience certainly isn't worth it. Put yourself in the shoes of the kids too. "No Johnny, we can't ride the ride you want. It's not part of our battle plan."
It's nuts how expensive that place is. I'm far from rich but our household income is in the top third nationally so comfortably middle class, and going there for a week is way beyond our means.
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They basically are only catering to the upper middle class/rich now.
It's nuts how expensive that place is. I'm far from rich but our household income is in the top third nationally so comfortably middle class, and going there for a week is way beyond our means.
It's out of our price range.
And even if it wasn't, as I mentioned above, the hoops you have to jump through to simply get in line for a nostalgic ride is deal breaker.
How old am I? My family took me to Disney World when it opened. Now that's old! I loved going back with my kids out of pure nostalgia. I'm one of those weirdos who actually looks forward to Wheel of Progress.
Now it feels rushed. The scheduling and timetable aspect of it takes away any spontaneity and adds a tremendous amount of stress. You have to explain to kids why you can only do things in a certain order and you can't dilly dally. You also feel pressured to do things in order to justify the expense (can you imagine if you were one of those suckers who did the Star Wars hotel? ... no, Johnny, we're not leaving the hotel. We're going to stay here and you are going to enjoy it damn it!).
This is my plan for going this year (or early next). Took my kids there probably 5x and they have always loved it. I traveled Europe with my younger daughter this year but they both are hell bent on going back to Disney (and I'm not sad, I love it still as well).
See how Disney responds and whether it will impact their traffic or prices.
Went back with just my immediate family, then went to CA Disneyland. It was a great time for us. Universal was great too. It's expensive for sure, but my kids will only be 10 and 8 once.
Biggest thing for me is NOT to make dinner reservations. The first time we went we had to go from one park to another for dinner. It's much simpler just to hang out and order food on your phone whenever ready.
I used to think it would be great to go with my kids so they can enjoy it. I especially think they would have loved Epcot. But, now, I thank my lucky stars they never seriously expressed interest or asked. The only time my middle son wanted to go was solely to build a light saber in the Star Wars area.
It was always expensive. But, it just got way too expensive and stressful. I dodged a big bullet there.
my now adult daughter was a Disney Princess freak since she was 4 years old. Living in Florida and only an hour away made it easy to enjoy. Customer service was first class. I don't know what happened to the place. I still have lifetime Park Hopper passes that will never be used.
Go in January, February, or last two weeks of August if you don't want to pull your kids out of school. Hotel rooms can be $200-300 during that time. Plan some resort days, can do two to three parks out of the week. Don't stress about going on all the rides, being in the parks for little kids is enough.
Flights to Orlando is going to cheaper compared to elsewhere.
I don't mind the heat, last week of August before Labor Day is always empty.
If you just take a little time and know how to navigate it, it created a pretty seamless day.
Without laying for any lightning lanes you can still ride everything in the park and spend almost no time in lines.
We rode everything in every park without paying for a single lightning lane and never waiting more than 20 minutes for any ride. You just need to know how to use the app.
Book a ride at 7 AM. Get there, ride it, instantly book your next ride. Ride it. Book another. If it's not right after your previous ride, just refresh the page for maybe a minute until someone cancels and then book a new time.
I rather look at my phone for a little more time every day then wait in 2 hour lines.
You get the perks of a deluxe hotel such as early admission, extra magic hours and genie + reservation for 1/3 or 1/4 of the price. Your Magic Kingdom bus takes you to Transportation hub like most other hotels, but I usually just walk to Yacht club to take the bus from there haha.
Lots of restaurants around the hotels by the lake.
Most of the changes started during the COVID era. Not saying it was linked, but I am sure they saw the consumer's willingness to accept increases and decided now was their time.
They ruined Disney and the entire experience. Even their fireworks display is now nothing more than a movie advertisement.
My friends who are Disney employees still tell me about what is happening there and it has gotten much worse.
But if you're willing to put in the time, the can make your visit so much more enjoyable. We last went in 2022. You can game the Genie+ system to get a ton of Lightning Lanes, where you don't have to wait in the long line. You goto the park when it opens, leave when it starts getting crowded around noon, go relax at your hotel for a few hours, then go back late rin the day when the worst of the crowds are gone.
We went to Universal on that trip as well. The Fastpass system (forget the name) is better than Disney (you don't have to reserve times, you just skip the line) but it's significantly more expensive.
See my earlier post above … trust me, it wasn’t … back then, the multi day passports were all park hoppers; an annual passport was only a slight markup over a 7 day, so you could go back 11 months later for practically free, with minimal blackout dates. Most importantly, there were very few extra charges …the lightning lane, genie +, is designed specifically for those who will pay whatever to not stand in line. And then there’s the things they took away …
But if you're willing to put in the time, the can make your visit so much more enjoyable. We last went in 2022. You can game the Genie+ system to get a ton of Lightning Lanes, where you don't have to wait in the long line. You goto the park when it opens, leave when it starts getting crowded around noon, go relax at your hotel for a few hours, then go back late rin the day when the worst of the crowds are gone.
We went to Universal on that trip as well. The Fastpass system (forget the name) is better than Disney (you don't have to reserve times, you just skip the line) but it's significantly more expensive.
There are 3 hotels, I think, for Universal that if you get a room there then the fast pass is included. Your room key is your fast pass. It was great.
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Over the past few years dark clouds have gathered over two of Disney's biggest cash cows — its theme park division and Marvel Studios.
During the peak summer season this year, social media was awash with reports of how quiet it was at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. There was so much chatter that CNBC asked Disney's chief executive Bob Iger about the low crowds which he claimed were due to the high temperatures in the sunshine state.
-Forbes
Sure Bob .... it is the temperatures.
"Disney's stock has lost about $219 billion in market value since peaking at $367 billion in 2021
-Bloomberg
Yeah, we’re not doing those either. Our last two vacations were an AirBnB in Florida for the beach. Hell, even those weren’t cheap when you include our fishing charter and the museum tickets in St Augustine. Still much cheaper than the $5000+ Disney would cost, and anyway my kids are teenagers now so Disney isn’t a big thing for them anymore.
We own timeshares and trade them in for multibedroom resorts that save a ton in cost. Marriott's Grand Vista is our favorite. Went 2 years ago got two 1 bedroom suites and one 2 bedroom 2 bathroom suite all include washer/dryers and full kitchen for a total of $600.00.
Not gonna lie, my wife now uses a scooter (double knee replacement) and it makes all the difference in the world. Disney's accommodation for the handicapped is outstanding.
As stated above the adult perspective is one thing but totally different for the kids. It's still magical for them.
I don’t know how people do Disney for a week, both for their sanity and their finances. $7-$10k for a family of four is nuts. And sure, you can probably go for less, but not that much less and not without giving up many of the conveniences making it even more of a nightmare.
This is true. Last week while I was there, I tried keeping a positive attitude because my kids were over the moon. Even now as they hear my wife and I summarize our trip, we always preface it with "the kids loved every minute of it, but..." then we'll go into the issues discussed above. I think my kids perception would have been completely different if we didn't get the lightning pass and wait times were over an hour. The two times we tried rides without a lightning pass, they were unbearable in line.
That being said, as UConn stated above, kids will have fun anywhere as long as they are staying active and trying something interesting and new. Disney is fine as a once in a while thing, but I can't see how anyone would want to plan regular visits. We're lucky that my parents snowbird in FL, so we can head up there for short periods of time, but our last break between visits was 4 years.
It's all rigged so you keep your fookin wallet open! I think we burned thru 3k in a blink.
Some people get confused seeing middle aged men who can’t take a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing dressing up in sports jerseys.
Whatever floats your boat. Everyone should go and live their best life.