I think I've finally hit my limit.

This is longer than I had planned so bear with me...

I think I've finally hit the limit as to what I'm willing to pay for Disney. We always talk about how it doesn't do any good to complain about the prices if you're still going to pay them. Disney knows this. And for every person like me, I know there is someone willing to take my place. Disney knows this as well. But I think I personally have hit a limit.

I grew up going to Disney. When I was a kid we always stayed off-site. Staying at a Holiday Inn was splurging for my parents, so the Poly was out of the question. I think my first stay on property was at the Grand Floridian. It was my college graduation present. I think my parent's finally saw the "value" of staying on site after that and we did so a little more frequently. As I became an adult, and started to take my own trips separate from my parents, I always stayed on site. When I married my husband, I indoctrinated him to Disney life when he agreed to go for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. It was his first time to Disney and only his second time in the state of Florida. At first he was shocked at the cost of things, but after a while he realized how much you really got for the money. Fireworks every night, amazing rides, beautifully kept parks, gorgeous hotels that hit every budget (for the most part) and all of the employees that it took to maintain all of this, from food service, to housekeeping, to landscape crews, to maintenance and facilities, etc. etc. etc. Yes it was not inexpensive, but you could at least see where the money was going. Not to mention, they are not a nonprofit. Disney still had to make money at the end of the day.

So all of that said, I just don't know that I see the value anymore. They keep taking and taking and taking things away, and charging more and more and more. And I just think I finally hit my limit. Which is sad, because I'm as addicted to it as much as anyone here. I LOVE Disney. Fireworks make me sob. I get choked up when I see that castle for the first time every trip. I love the smell of the lobby of the Polynesian, or the Wilderness Lodge. I have park music soundtracks that I listen to in my car on my way to work to get my fix. Heck, Intercot, and others like it :blush:, have been a part of my daily life for probably over 15 years (although I'm mainly a lurker).

So what has brought me to this conclusion? Today for S's & G's I decided to price out a trip for March for my daughter's spring break using the latest promotion of staying Sunday - Thursday. It would only be a partial week as she is also going to Nashville with her high school band for part of it, so I thought maybe this would be a possibility (normally I would be looking at a full week + kind of stay, in order to squeeze every ounce of pixie dust I could out of a week). When I was seeing prices in the high $3000's into the $4000's to stay at a moderate with only 2 days worth of park tickets. I just couldn't believe it. Those were non hopping tickets, mind you (also not heard of for me). That wouldn't include any food, or getting there. And when I think of other add on's now like parking at the resorts not to mention genie plus and lightning lanes, my head explodes. I'm tapped out.

I normally always have a trip percolating in the back of my mind. The last time we were there was over Labor Day weekend of 2021. It was a great trip. We stayed at the Boardwalk, things were opening back up from the pandemic so not everything was perfect, we still had to wear masks and some things weren't back to normal yet. One of the best things about the trip? There were no fastpasses to have to book. They hadn't brought them back yet, and they weren't doing genie plus yet. So we were free to do things as we wanted, whenever we wanted. Lines were not outrageous. There was a couple of things we didn't get on because the lines were over 30 minutes and I had two teens with me that didn't want to wait that long. I told them 30 minutes and under is amazing you guys! But they wouldn't listen. LOL. I guess I'll just have to look back on that trip and savor it. Now I'm not proclaiming that I'll never be back or anything like that. I'm sure I will cave at some point, but I honestly can't afford to go every year any more. And even if I could, I just can't justify it. There will definitely be fewer trips for me in the future. And maybe that's the way Disney wants it.:sad:

It has taken me a year to go through my "Disney withdrawals", but it is finally out of my system for the most part. I just had to keep reminding myself that the Disney that exists now is not the one that my heart was craving. Now I can honestly say I'm really looking forward to other vacations I have planned.

I feel your pain. We too have stopped going. It has just gotten absurd. The last time I was there, I was looking around sort of people watching. I realized that a lot of what I was seeing was young couples with small children and it was obvious most were not wealthy. Thinking about it, I came to the realization that many of these new visitors they are bringing in do not realize all that has been taken away and all the extra charges so they may be oblivious to all of that. The main thing though is they are most likely charging everything on credit cards without the cash in the bank to back it up. Rather than paying it all when they get back home, they are probably paying for these trips over years with high interest added. Financing vacations on credit cards is a very bad financial move but they are young and probably just don't know any better yet. I guess as long as Disney can keep luring those types of customers in, they will stay busy enough for a while. Typically though, the corporate greed implodes at some point.

We have started taking vacations elsewhere and seeing the world. Something it definitely out of balance when you can take 10 day + trip to Paris, and travel France and then go to London and travel England and see all the major sights for less than a trip to Disney World.

I'm reluctantly coming to the same conclusion. The costs keep going up, and the experience isn't matching. We've seen videos on the new Genie - and though it looks kind of interesting and fun from a technical standpoint, it's also an example of how Disney WILL do everything they can to separate you from your money and make it relatively painless. (Though the Novocain's not quite as effective as it used to be, sadly.)

We went after the parks reopened, in November 2020 - and again in October-November 2021. Staying at Ft. Wilderness - it's our favorite campground, and realistically the cheapest way to stay on property. The experiences were pretty good - the parks weren't horribly crowded and we got to hit all the rides we wanted. We even hit the Boo Bash and Christmas after-hours experiences, and those were fun.

But lately I've started wondering about things. Maybe it's because we've been lately, but the 'new' rides like the attractions in Galaxy's Edge and Runaway Railway don't feel 'new'. Remy's RA in Epcot was fun, but there's no desire on our part to do it again. For the future, there's precious little coming up after Tron and Cosmic Rewind. A retheming of Splash Mountain to Princess and the Frog? Well... it's better than nothing, I guess?

As far as resorts go - Magical Express is gone, which we used back when our son was quite small. They're charging for parking at the resorts - and that just seems... wrong. Resort pricing is high even in the off periods, and housekeeping isn't up to the standards they had. Then again, post-Covid it's probably hard for them to get cast members.

The food and drink prices... holy guacamole, they're getting painful from what we're seeing on Youtube from Disney vloggers. In-park prices are always high, but these are getting into the 'We've got you, now fork over your wallet' territory.

Now, we really like Ft. Wilderness - but there's something that seems off about that resort too. It's darn difficult to get a spot less than a year out, and forget trying to get anything for Halloween - we tried getting a spot for Halloween NEXT year back in (I think) June of this year when the sites opened up - and there was ---nothing--- available when we called roughly an hour after the sites were supposedly available. And trying to find anything at other times of the year is iffy as well. If you've got a resort that's so popular you've got nearly 100% occupancy no matter what time of year, why wouldn't you expand it?

Looking at the area on Google Maps - to my thinking there's several areas the campground could be expanded into - especially around Bay Lake. They could easily double the size... if they thought it worth the investment. Figure about 50-60k per new site for full hookups, a bathhouse w/laundry room for $200k, and the roads needed - at $150 average per night you'd pay for the infrastructure in less than 3-4 years. Double the existing 800 sites, and you'd have quite an income stream.

But I don't think they look at it like that. The current Disney administration may look on Ft. Wilderness as a loss leader, something to get people in who don't see a reason to pay for the resorts themselves, and then get them on tickets, food, and merch.

Why expand into unused ground, and lose space that could be potentially used in the future for more resorts that'll have a much higher occupancy density and a much higher room rate?

I know they've got to make money - but it feels to me they've lost the spark of making memories ALONG with the money.

And that's not really the Disney I remember. We've got one more trip coming up next year, and it'll likely be our last. Son's not interested in going - and my lovely bride and I are starting to get up there so the Disney Death March at the end of the night's not quite as fun as it used to be. ;)

Looking at how Disney's seemingly trying to maximize profit per customer (I don't see us as 'guests' to be made happy any more, to be honest, we're customers...) and how at least Disney World just feels like it's stagnating makes me sad. It's better to keep the memories of what was, instead of being whacked in the face with what things are like now. :unsure:

Sorry for the rant - but this hits something I've been thinking on for a while...

1DisneyNut, yes, I totally agree. There is a lot of this world to see. Luckily I grew up with parents that loved road trips and I've seen a lot of the U.S. I've taken my husband and daughter on some of my favorite trips I experienced as a kid, and I would love to go to Europe, someday, and Australia... I guess Disney is doing me a favor. They're making it easier and easier for me to make the decision to reallocate my vacation dollars to other places.

Yes, Fort Wilderness is great. We've camped there in our RV a few times and also stayed in the cabins once. Although the price has gone up there too, it still is one of the cheaper options. Unfortunately the price of gas isn't helping the pocket book if you have to haul from Michigan like we do. It's definitely a popular place and they could easily expand it. With the amount of people that purchased RV's during the pandemic, I'm assuming it's harder to get into than ever!

I started going to the world in 1977. we drove down camping and stayed at Fort Wilderness where it had trains running through the campground and a breakfast truck that had all cereals and foods, fresh and other wise. we stayed a week and visited silver springs, Bush Gardens and enjoyed the whale show around the corner from Disney. granted back then there was only Magic Kingdom, but we came back again and again as the prices SLOWLY rose. that first trip down and back and staying there only cost me $1000 . we traded for ride tickets at a campground in Georgia from people going home from the world and we did the same when we left also. that was just what you did to help others out. the next trip my daughter and I wanted to take will cost us $6000 just to stay two nights. I said no and we'll wait till Disney comes back to their senses before we ever go back. I've been going every 5 years and lately ever couple of years but not for that kind of money. I'll wait, I'm 81 years old so it doesn't look like I'll make it back. Used to be fun!

Been a long time since I posted but I couldn’t let this one go by.

For 20 years I went to wdw at least once a year. Solo trips, family vacations and golf outings with the boys. I haven’t been to the parks in at least 5 years.

My son turns 21 in January and asked for a father son trip to celebrate. (Drink around the world dad!! Lol) My last trip to wdw will be February 2023. 4 nights, 2 park days 4000$. I can travel 10 days to Italy for less than a 1 week wdw trip. The word “value” no longer has any meaning with respect to Disney. My wife and I are both professionals and can be considered fairly affluent. It’s not that I don’t have the money, it’s just not worth the money.

Disneys no longer competing with six flags, they’re competing with Pompei, the Tower of London and Versailles. For my part, small world doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing.

5 years ago i bought some backpacking gear and started hitting the backcountry in our national parks instead. Now my yearly solo/boys trips are spent wandering through Yellowstone, the smokies, canyonlands, the sierras and all the wild spaces out there. The wife and I Vrbo a home in Jackson hole and eat a picnic at the real artist’s point for about half of what it would cost to visit Disney’s imitation.

I’m not hating on Disney. It’s a business trying to make a buck. But when your business model starts to shed hard core fans that can afford the prices, you’re in trouble.

One last lazy afternoon sipping cocktails in the Epcot sun and I’m done. Disney holds some great memories for me but all good things…..

I have purchased an annual pass for the last two years since I live 30 minutes from WDW. In two years, I have gone twice. I can no longer justify the cost of going and staying overnight, even at the Shades of Green. To try to go at the last minute, you can no longer due to park reservations. For the first time, in February, I will not be renewing my pass. I have decided if I really need to go, paying for 1 day is a lot cheaper, then paying for a pass and not using it. I have transitioned over into the cruising world, where I can see the world for a week, on almost half the cost of what WDW is for the week and have just as good of a time.

Will I go back to being an annual pass holder? I do not know, as I will give up the opportunity to purchase what I have now as soon as I no longer renew. WDW has already said it does not see the value in their annual pass holders. If they do not value me, I may never return as an annual pass holder.

I hit my limit about 2 years ago - I love Disney - but I started cruising instead of going to WDW. I worked for DCL for a while, but I quit to be with my father before he passed away, and although I could have gone back, I decided against it. It was fun, but the reason I was working there was to get the perks of being a cast member, and actually my AP perks were so much better. Until WDW goes back to the days of old, it will probably be until my grandson is ready to visit that I will go back. Try cruising instead... you might like it.

It has been so long since I've posted here and the sentiments expressed here are EXACTLY the reason why I've been absent. I used to brag that a Disney vacation may cost more, but you receive so much back you feel you cheated them. I no longer feel that way.

Their model once felt something like: Focus solely on the customer's experience and enjoyment without worrying about the cost and the customer will gladly hand their money over to us in buckets.

Today it feels like: They love us so much, we can do whatever we want to them and chisel money any way we can and cut corners any way we want, and cheapen rides or close rides or fail ro repair rides and they will still come here.

I've been so disillusioned since my last trip, I stopped frequenting this web site (and it's one of my favorites.)

I haven't planned a trip there in a while (and I used to begin planning just as soon as I returned) and I don't see one in the future. For the price of a 10-day Disney trip, this year we are going to Nashville, as well as to Texas!

Hope they straighten things out soon.