Can we talk about how Difficult Disney Vacations are becoming

[BobbyDukes]

We have been blessed with the ability to go to WDW multiple times a year for the past 12 years. We love WDW and some of our fondest memories come from this wonderful place. We recently went down to WDW with 5 families, stayed at the Beach Club for 10 days with everyone on a 7 day park hopper. 24 people! 24 friends! It was great.
However as a self proclaimed WDW expert and travel nerd, my wife and I noticed a lot of "difficulty's"
The now longer lines at DME!
The eventual hammer to drop of having the MDE go away and Mears taking over and charging whatever they want (another added expense), how much will this bus ride cost for a family of four in a year?
The park reservation system, although not all that hard to understand and do, just kind of odd they still have this.
No fast-passes and now the new Genie + option. Another added $60 to your park admission to just ride a couple of rides a day, I can see unlimited as long as you ride the rides and would be eligible to add another ride. But correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you only get 2?
The mobile ordering of food is good and was able to get a table in the restaurants we went to for lunch, but we had to choose our lunches at 9am!. What if I don't want the Burrito Bowl for lunch!
The difficulty finding dining reservations, I feel like the current WDW climate shows that everyone is having difficulty finding a decent reservation.
Will these prices ever go down? I hope soo, but with Bob Chepek CEO at the helm I worry about the near future for all of us WDW mega fans.

 

[bffer]

Another added $60 to your park admission to just ride a couple of rides a day, I can see unlimited as long as you ride the rides and would be eligible to add another ride. But correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you only get 2?

You can only have two lightning passes (which are an extra cost beyond paying for Genie+), but the Genie+ rides seem to work like the old paper fast passes - just without paper.

 

[ScubaCat]

The now longer lines at DME!

They'll be a lot shorter come January 1st

 

[shh]

I've read that darn genie thread several times and am still confused on how it works, what's included, etc. I can't wait until they have to explain this to millions of guests whose native language is not English. What a crazy, complicated system for a theme park.

 

[MsThumper]

I've read that darn genie thread several times and am still confused on how it works, what's included, etc. I can't wait until they have to explain this to millions of guests whose native language is not English. What a crazy, complicated system for a theme park.

Me too, but I thought it was just me having a senior moment.

 

[Jrb1979]

I've read that darn genie thread several times and am still confused on how it works, what's included, etc. I can't wait until they have to explain this to millions of guests whose native language is not English. What a crazy, complicated system for a theme park.

It's not that complicated at all. You buy Genie+ for $15 and have access to book FP as you go each day. The only difference is that to rise the top attractions you have to pay extra. Up to $25 a ride.

 

[Travelgrrl]

Honestly, we took a WDW trip before COVID and I was the one arranging FP+ for everyone in our entire party of 17. Never again. I hated that version of FP+ because I don't care to choose what I'm going to ride 3 months out, and all of the stress over ADRs etc has caused us to shift to Universal.

The Genie+ thing both seems easier (on the spot reservations, rather than future ones) and more difficult (I'm not one to be on their phone all day, especially in a theme park). And it seems like a money grubbing thing for it to now cost extra. $15 a day for one or two people won't kill the bank but for larger families, it will add up - and I don't see it staying at that price point long. And it appears that headliner rides (SDMT, for instance) won't be included in the Genie+ system. You'll have to pay another premium to get a quick line for headliners, two per day.

I love Disney, but I'm more and more getting the feeling that it doesn't love me back.

 

[OhBother1984]

I think they got easier, since while I am a planner I never liked having to plan out my days 60 days or more out and figure out knowing what rides we all wanted to do or who would end up liking what.

 

[jimmymc]

I think Genie actually required less advanced planning than FP+. You can't make reservations until the day of.

DME going away does complicate transfers, but I'm confident I can find a ride from the airport to my resort and back.

Also is everyone really having to order food in the morning? I've never waited more than 20 minutes for a mobile order return time, even when park passes were sold out.

 

[jimmymc]

And this might be a personal pet peeve of mine, but back when Chapek was chairman of parks and resorts, everyone blamed him for changes. Now that Chapek is CEO and Josh is chairman of parks and resorts, everyone still blames Chapek and gives Josh a pass.

 

[ChanaC]

I was a CM when MyMagic+/FastPass+ rolled out and it was chaotic for quite a while. I mentioned this in another thread, but the people on this forum are usually more "in the know" and plan things out ahead of time. But there are many, many people who literally just show up to the parks with no plan, not even realizing they need to have a plan. I remember seeing the people who just couldn't understand why Anna and Elsa (then at Princess Fairytale Hall in MK) had their fastpasses "sold" out 30 days before they even arrived. Unfortunately both this system and the old system really hurt the people who just didn't know they needed to download an app and make advanced reservations, and as the person above said, it was really complicated to explain this to international guests who didn't speak English, or even international guests who didn't bring their smart phones to the park because they didn't want international roaming charges. Yes, I do think people need to at least do some basic research* but I feel bad for people who don't want to sit down for hours making schedules and itineraries.

*I felt very little sympathy the one time I was working at Hollywood Studios and it closed super early (like 4pm) for some special event. I was a PhotoPass Photographer and happened to be shooting at the front of the park. There were way too many people loudly complaining about how unfair it was that the park closed so early. Like... the schedule was up on the website. And in the on property hotels. And at the bus stops. And announced as the tram brought you in from the parking lot. And on the times guides. And on several temporary sandwich boards set up at the front of the park that said "Attention: Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing at 4pm today for a private event." Please don't complain about wasting your park ticket when you had several warnings. That's just on you.

 

[Marthasor]

I was a CM when MyMagic+/FastPass+ rolled out and it was chaotic for quite a while. I mentioned this in another thread, but the people on this forum are usually more "in the know" and plan things out ahead of time. But there are many, many people who literally just show up to the parks with no plan, not even realizing they need to have a plan. I remember seeing the people who just couldn't understand why Anna and Elsa (then at Princess Fairytale Hall in MK) had their fastpasses "sold" out 30 days before they even arrived. Unfortunately both this system and the old system really hurt the people who just didn't know they needed to download an app and make advanced reservations, and as the person above said, it was really complicated to explain this to international guests who didn't speak English, or even international guests who didn't bring their smart phones to the park because they didn't want international roaming charges. Yes, I do think people need to at least do some basic research* but I feel bad for people who don't want to sit down for hours making schedules and itineraries.

*I felt very little sympathy the one time I was working at Hollywood Studios and it closed super early (like 4pm) for some special event. I was a PhotoPass Photographer and happened to be shooting at the front of the park. There were way too many people loudly complaining about how unfair it was that the park closed so early. Like... the schedule was up on the website. And in the on property hotels. And at the bus stops. And announced as the tram brought you in from the parking lot. And on the times guides. And on several temporary sandwich boards set up at the front of the park that said "Attention: Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing at 4pm today for a private event." Please don't complain about wasting your park ticket when you had several warnings. That's just on you.

This reminds of the time I overheard a woman arguing with a CM at MK on a MNSSHP night claiming Disney should give them free tickets to the party because she was unaware of park hours and now needed to leave “early”.

 

[diskids2]

At least I'm not running from fP machine to FP machine like the old paper days!

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

And this might be a personal pet peeve of mine, but back when Chapek was chairman of parks and resorts, everyone blamed him for changes. Now that Chapek is CEO and Josh is chairman of parks and resorts, everyone still blames Chapek and gives Josh a pass.

Because one’s viewed as seemingly empathetic and, let’s face it, more conventionally handsome.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Yes, I do think people need to at least do some basic research* but I feel bad for people who don't want to sit down for hours making schedules and itineraries.

You hit the nail on the head. As someone who worked at a different amusement park for several years, it was amazing to hear some of the questions that people asked. You would think that either the amusement park was a different planet, or maybe they were just visiting from a different planet.

I think my favorite was when people would be in the park (like, they already paid and walked through the gate) and would ask, "What time does the park open?" This would be asked throughout the day, and not just in the morning. And it wasn't one person who asked that - it happened nearly weekly for most of the seven years I worked there.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

It's not that complicated at all. You buy Genie+ for $15 and have access to book FP as you go each day. The only difference is that to rise the top attractions you have to pay extra. Up to $25 a ride.

More likely starting at $25 a ride.

 

[mateezy]

I feel bad for families who are new to Disney. Way too much to keep up with.

 

[Ds4angels]

As far as "I love Disney, but they don't love me back". I am right there with you. I didn't mind the paper fast passes, yeah someone had to be a ticket runner, but it wasn't all bad. FP+ was a PITA if you had to switch park days closer to your dates. But this new system is just a money grab plain and simple. I fear last Feb might have been our last trip to WDW. It was so nice to not have to over plan and while lines were *long*, they weren't a long wait because the line kept moving with no FP to slow things down

 

[ChanaC]

You hit the nail on the head. As someone who worked at a different amusement park for several years, it was amazing to hear some of the questions that people asked. You would think that either the amusement park was a different planet, or maybe they were just visiting from a different planet.

I think my favorite was when people would be in the park (like, they already paid and walked through the gate) and would ask, "What time does the park open?" This would be asked throughout the day, and not just in the morning. And it wasn't one person who asked that - it happened nearly weekly for most of the seven years I worked there.

Reminds me of working at Disney when people would ask directions to the Wizarding World of HP, or when I also worked at Universal and people would ask where Space or Splash Mountain was.

 

[ComeToSocialize]

Genie+ is definitely simpler than FP+, particularly for the average guest that doesn't really plan. Had G+ been a free service, I would view this as unequivocally a positive change that actually makes WDW trips a little easier and more spontaneous.

The fact that it is a paid service is really the issue. The pay-per-lightning lane thing is also annoying... i don't really mind it for the virtual queue rides like ROTR, but having it for space mtn or test track when before I could pretty easily get a FP+ for free for those rides is very annoying.