Dec 6, 2022·edited Dec 6, 2022Liked by Sonny Bunch
I am a pass holder, local to Disneyland CA and have visited multiple times a year for the last 6 years, so yes, a super fan. Pre-Covid, never had a bad visit, even during peak season the FastPass system (free with entry) worked great, got to ride all the big attractions. Standby lines never seemed to be more than 60 min. Even better was that if you really loved a certain ride you could go back and get a FP ticket again, and again if you wish.
Post-Covid: the reservation system, Genie+ and Individual LL's we've never seen the parks so crowded w/ long lines for 75% of the park, even in typically slow months like January and September. Add to this you cannot get a LL for any ride more than once - once you use that Space Mountain LL you're having to wait 45-90 min standby for the rest of your visit. Also many of the LLs book quickly so you end up having to wait 2-4 hours before that LL is ready. Before Covid you could get on 3-5 rides with that kijd of time to kill but now, maybe 2 tops. And now we do seem to experience mechanical failures all the time so this only floods the queues of the nearby attractions.
Also there are far less CMs @ the food areas so wait times are high, and park cleanliness is definitely suffering. Yes you can draw a direct line from increased visitors to these issues but it's not like Disneyland wasn't super popular before Covid. With these insane prices for entry, food, and long lines it's not the same experience anymore. Personally I don't mind the reservation system but I get why the local APs are upset we can't do a short notice visit. In any case now there's not as much to do in that short visit because it's so crowded.
Yes I realize this comes off as incredibly spoiled but from the perspective of someone who's fortunate enough to visit multiple times a year I can definitely say Disney is not delivering as they used to.
If you're spending the whole visit pinching pennies and trying to game the waiting on lines system how fun is it? I have a son in law who's a super fan and the visits to Orlando are getting farther and farther apart. For non super fans the parks may become a bucket list type thing where you go once but never even plan on returning just because it's so expensive.
The last time I went I noticed the service slipping badly. 30 years ago when I took my 6 year old daughter she had left her white rabbit in the lobby. We called, they had ground it and while we were at the park they brought it up and tucked "in bed" under the covers for her. Last time I went we had to call 4 times for extra towels and coffee
Kraft process reality aka Disey World. Come to see plaster of paris pyramids; stay to vote for Trump. Gotta go, off to climb Disey Matterhorn w plastic crampons and ice axe.
Really looking forward to Avatar 2, I was one of those that did not see the first in theaters because of the “underlying theme and not wanting to get preached to”. I saw it on TV a couple of times and finally on a big screen, glad I did and got over myself.
I’ve been to both Disney parks in 76 and 80 and found some old ticket books with a couple E tickets I remember it was fun but crowded. Both my kids are in their mid 20s now and never went to either by their own choice. We offered to take them more than once for our yearly family vacations, both really liked the Disney movies growing up and had a good amount of Disney merch in their rooms. I think that the time we visited my in-laws in San Diego and we went to Lego land and the San Diego Zoo sealed the deal. They kind of liked the experience but didn’t like the crowds or the hurrying around. We ended going on road trips that they helped plan or backpacking trips in the mountains. We all look back on those trips now and have fun telling stories about them.
Dec 1, 2022·edited Dec 1, 2022Liked by Sonny Bunch
I went to Disney World once, in (IIRC) 1980. I happened to be based at NTC Orlando (which no longer even exists) at the time and my parents came down to visit and the only thing there really was to do was to go to Disney World. Not a lot happening in Central Florida in the 80s.
Even given the military discount, I was underwhelmed by the experience. Of course, at that point, DW was kind of bare bones.
have never felt a ned or desire to go back or to go to Disneyland... and I have never really understood (on an emotional level) the whole superfan phenomenon.
I am a “super fan” by marriage! We came to WDW a couple of times when our children were young. They are grown up but we aren’t. We have come the neighborhood of 3x per year over the last twenty.
We have been annual pass holders for over ten years and have seen that cost rise well above inflation.
The nickel and diming is real, but what really frosts my a$$ is the elimination of the fast pass system and taking away the photo pass benefit.
If my wife wasn’t such a fan, I’d dump the Disney experience in a heartbeat.
I just bought season passes to Dollywood. My personal mission is take my grandkids there instead of WDW. (Good luck with that).
Disney's biggest park problem is the cost of living for park employees. Southern California was already ridiculous and Orlando spiked up during the Covid pandemic. They're not going to be able to staff the parks without increasing operating expenses. Several Disneyland rides have maintenance issues which are noticeable for infrequent park guests because they can't fully staff their maintenance department.
A possible recession will limit their ability to increase prices. They're not increasing park capacity in any meaningful way. The parks will still make boatloads of money, but where's the growth financial markets demand?
So I’m one of those annoying Disney adults. Just went in September for the first time since the before times. Look, I get it. Disney is a corporation making money for their shareholders. Prices go up. It’s the way of the world.
But there’s an implied covenant with the Disney fan that those exorbitant prices provide a certain experience. That experience has, for many, many years, included free transportation from the airport and a fast pass system to help speed your day. And anyone who could afford the price of admission got those perks. But now Disney started charging for those perks. Ok. Whatever. So at least that staves off price increases, right? No? Ok. Now I’m upset. But at least now that I am laying for fast passes, I can use them on any ride I want, right? No? I have to pay extra for that, too? Now I’m pissed.
So what is the most upsetting is that they prices go up and up and up, but there’s no value being provided. Nothing that makes it Disney magical.
If you pay a premium price, you expect a premium experience. And that’s what you used to get from Disney. But now you pay a premium price for the baseline experience. And pay even more and more for the premium experience. That’s very un-Disney.
I have a super fan in the family. I’ll check in with her. She seems pretty eager and happy still. She lives near the Canadian border and regularly travels to both parks.
I'm literally at Disney World right now. We're only here for four days, but the cost this time versus what we spent just 5 years ago ALL IN for 7 days is absurd. I get that they're banking on people like my wife--aka, the super fans--to keep coming, but they will hit critical mass at some point. A friend of hers is coming next week with her husband and two children....for a single park, not the Park Hopper, it cost over $600. I mean, come on.
I'm really curious to know more about why super fans are upset. I hadn't been to Disney World in twenty years before taking my family of five this past spring. (It was a COVID delayed trip) I kinda figured the money that I was spending was just the norm. When I weighed spending $15 per person to line jump Rise of the Resistance it seemed worth it. The Genie+ pass was easy enough to use. Again, I hadn't been there pre-Chapek in awhile.
Anyway, I'm really interested in learning what I missed pre-Chapek.
Also, my wife and I took a parents only trip to LA this summer for the first time since our honeymoon. We stayed with some friends and decided to check out Disneyland. Disneyland, by far, is a better experience. We did both parks in one day. I don't know that I will ever pick world over land again.
I am a pass holder, local to Disneyland CA and have visited multiple times a year for the last 6 years, so yes, a super fan. Pre-Covid, never had a bad visit, even during peak season the FastPass system (free with entry) worked great, got to ride all the big attractions. Standby lines never seemed to be more than 60 min. Even better was that if you really loved a certain ride you could go back and get a FP ticket again, and again if you wish.
Post-Covid: the reservation system, Genie+ and Individual LL's we've never seen the parks so crowded w/ long lines for 75% of the park, even in typically slow months like January and September. Add to this you cannot get a LL for any ride more than once - once you use that Space Mountain LL you're having to wait 45-90 min standby for the rest of your visit. Also many of the LLs book quickly so you end up having to wait 2-4 hours before that LL is ready. Before Covid you could get on 3-5 rides with that kijd of time to kill but now, maybe 2 tops. And now we do seem to experience mechanical failures all the time so this only floods the queues of the nearby attractions.
Also there are far less CMs @ the food areas so wait times are high, and park cleanliness is definitely suffering. Yes you can draw a direct line from increased visitors to these issues but it's not like Disneyland wasn't super popular before Covid. With these insane prices for entry, food, and long lines it's not the same experience anymore. Personally I don't mind the reservation system but I get why the local APs are upset we can't do a short notice visit. In any case now there's not as much to do in that short visit because it's so crowded.
Yes I realize this comes off as incredibly spoiled but from the perspective of someone who's fortunate enough to visit multiple times a year I can definitely say Disney is not delivering as they used to.
If you're spending the whole visit pinching pennies and trying to game the waiting on lines system how fun is it? I have a son in law who's a super fan and the visits to Orlando are getting farther and farther apart. For non super fans the parks may become a bucket list type thing where you go once but never even plan on returning just because it's so expensive.
The last time I went I noticed the service slipping badly. 30 years ago when I took my 6 year old daughter she had left her white rabbit in the lobby. We called, they had ground it and while we were at the park they brought it up and tucked "in bed" under the covers for her. Last time I went we had to call 4 times for extra towels and coffee
Kraft process reality aka Disey World. Come to see plaster of paris pyramids; stay to vote for Trump. Gotta go, off to climb Disey Matterhorn w plastic crampons and ice axe.
Really looking forward to Avatar 2, I was one of those that did not see the first in theaters because of the “underlying theme and not wanting to get preached to”. I saw it on TV a couple of times and finally on a big screen, glad I did and got over myself.
I’ve been to both Disney parks in 76 and 80 and found some old ticket books with a couple E tickets I remember it was fun but crowded. Both my kids are in their mid 20s now and never went to either by their own choice. We offered to take them more than once for our yearly family vacations, both really liked the Disney movies growing up and had a good amount of Disney merch in their rooms. I think that the time we visited my in-laws in San Diego and we went to Lego land and the San Diego Zoo sealed the deal. They kind of liked the experience but didn’t like the crowds or the hurrying around. We ended going on road trips that they helped plan or backpacking trips in the mountains. We all look back on those trips now and have fun telling stories about them.
I went to Disney World once, in (IIRC) 1980. I happened to be based at NTC Orlando (which no longer even exists) at the time and my parents came down to visit and the only thing there really was to do was to go to Disney World. Not a lot happening in Central Florida in the 80s.
Even given the military discount, I was underwhelmed by the experience. Of course, at that point, DW was kind of bare bones.
have never felt a ned or desire to go back or to go to Disneyland... and I have never really understood (on an emotional level) the whole superfan phenomenon.
I am a “super fan” by marriage! We came to WDW a couple of times when our children were young. They are grown up but we aren’t. We have come the neighborhood of 3x per year over the last twenty.
We have been annual pass holders for over ten years and have seen that cost rise well above inflation.
The nickel and diming is real, but what really frosts my a$$ is the elimination of the fast pass system and taking away the photo pass benefit.
If my wife wasn’t such a fan, I’d dump the Disney experience in a heartbeat.
I just bought season passes to Dollywood. My personal mission is take my grandkids there instead of WDW. (Good luck with that).
Disney's biggest park problem is the cost of living for park employees. Southern California was already ridiculous and Orlando spiked up during the Covid pandemic. They're not going to be able to staff the parks without increasing operating expenses. Several Disneyland rides have maintenance issues which are noticeable for infrequent park guests because they can't fully staff their maintenance department.
A possible recession will limit their ability to increase prices. They're not increasing park capacity in any meaningful way. The parks will still make boatloads of money, but where's the growth financial markets demand?
So I’m one of those annoying Disney adults. Just went in September for the first time since the before times. Look, I get it. Disney is a corporation making money for their shareholders. Prices go up. It’s the way of the world.
But there’s an implied covenant with the Disney fan that those exorbitant prices provide a certain experience. That experience has, for many, many years, included free transportation from the airport and a fast pass system to help speed your day. And anyone who could afford the price of admission got those perks. But now Disney started charging for those perks. Ok. Whatever. So at least that staves off price increases, right? No? Ok. Now I’m upset. But at least now that I am laying for fast passes, I can use them on any ride I want, right? No? I have to pay extra for that, too? Now I’m pissed.
So what is the most upsetting is that they prices go up and up and up, but there’s no value being provided. Nothing that makes it Disney magical.
If you pay a premium price, you expect a premium experience. And that’s what you used to get from Disney. But now you pay a premium price for the baseline experience. And pay even more and more for the premium experience. That’s very un-Disney.
I have a super fan in the family. I’ll check in with her. She seems pretty eager and happy still. She lives near the Canadian border and regularly travels to both parks.
I'm literally at Disney World right now. We're only here for four days, but the cost this time versus what we spent just 5 years ago ALL IN for 7 days is absurd. I get that they're banking on people like my wife--aka, the super fans--to keep coming, but they will hit critical mass at some point. A friend of hers is coming next week with her husband and two children....for a single park, not the Park Hopper, it cost over $600. I mean, come on.
Nope. I don't see what people see in these places. I liked it once when I was 12. No interest in this or cruises.
I'm really curious to know more about why super fans are upset. I hadn't been to Disney World in twenty years before taking my family of five this past spring. (It was a COVID delayed trip) I kinda figured the money that I was spending was just the norm. When I weighed spending $15 per person to line jump Rise of the Resistance it seemed worth it. The Genie+ pass was easy enough to use. Again, I hadn't been there pre-Chapek in awhile.
Anyway, I'm really interested in learning what I missed pre-Chapek.
Also, my wife and I took a parents only trip to LA this summer for the first time since our honeymoon. We stayed with some friends and decided to check out Disneyland. Disneyland, by far, is a better experience. We did both parks in one day. I don't know that I will ever pick world over land again.