Convince me to go back. Unacceptable visit.

[spoiledraf]

We've visited each of the last 5 or 6 years, the last two with our entire family, but the most recent was unacceptable. Rude CMs, poor service, cold food, deteriorating Parks and more. We're due to go back with my wife's sister's family in August but for the first time we're hesitating. I'm thinking beach with the family instead. Thoughts???

[faline]

You're the only one who can decide what works for you and your family. While we've had glitches, we've never had a totally unacceptable visit.

[Basket Mommy]

Go to the beach. It's been my experience that once you've had a terrible time somewhere, your return trip(s) will always be tainted by memories of the original bad incident. We've had our bad days at Disney, but never bad enough to not want to return. Sounds like you want to be convinced to go, but if I have to be talked into going somewhere, I probably really didn't want to go in the first place.

[SBETigg]

It sounds like you might need a break after that visit. But it could also work out that your return visit is so great that you forget all about the bad one. Go where the spirit takes you. Good luck deciding.

[John]

Funny - was just there and had a great experience exactly opposite of wht you mentioned and it was crazy crowded.

Maybe the best advice is take a year or two off - do something else, then try again.

[Zippy 1]

I agree with some of the above posters maybe it is time to take a break. If you need someone to convince you to go then I get the feeling you really do not want to go. Maybe after a year or two break you will want to go back again and capture the magic.

[Bethis26fan]

Go to the beach. It's been my experience that once you've had a terrible time somewhere, your return trip(s) will always be tainted by memories of the original bad incident. We've had our bad days at Disney, but never bad enough to not want to return. Sounds like you want to be convinced to go, but if I have to be talked into going somewhere, I probably really didn't want to go in the first place.

I agree.

[Mousemates]

I'm kind of in the flow with the rest of the folks...I say to give it a break for a year or two (say until after the fantasyland upgrade)...America's a big place and there are lots of other place to see...then give it a try again after the bad taste is gone.

[1DisneyNut]

I feel your pain. The quality has diminished tremendously over the past 5 years. This last trip a few months ago made us feel the same as you. We have planned a cruise for next summer and are thinking about the beach as well. This is coming from a WDW nut who was going twice a year until recently. The food is mediocre at best now but what really turned me was not getting to see Fantasmic. They only show it a few nights a week now to increase their profits and it just did not fit into our schedule while we were there. I am still fuming about that one. :mad:

[Jen C.]

I would take a break as well.

A bad experience can be had anywhere. So can a good. Give it sometime. You will miss it.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Wait until the disappointment has gone, and you will have a much more enjoyable time.

[DizneyRox]

There's still a few cabins open on our cruise, come along! It's going to be a blast!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I would also take a break. There is nothing wrong with not going to Disney all the time, and there are other great ways to spend your vacation time and money (I can't believe I'm saying this!)

Take a year or two off, do other things you enjoy, and then if you want, take a look at another Disney trip.

As a PP poster said, once some of the upgrades and changes are done, and you've been away for a bit, I expect it will be a great experience again!

[brivers222]

I had a bad experience on my previous 2 trips... my now ex-MIL was a drag... "had" to smoke every 15mins... so we had to stop at every single smoking section all the time...

I got fed up and vowed i would NEVER return.

Turns out all I need to do was take some time off (6 years) and ditch the baggage... got rid of her and my now ex-wife!

Found an amazing girl that loves disney (and doesn't smoke) and we just had the trip of our life time (until our honeymoon next dec ;) )

So yes, take time off and try some different places. I always seem to fall back to disney after being away for a long time

[Humphrey]

Why should we convince you to go back? Your presence in the parks is totally up to you. It makes very little difference to anyone outside your family. My family and I will continue to enjoy WDW several times a year.

Hope to see you there, if not, its your loss.

[PinKy]

I know that's awfully frustrating when you have a terrible time at Disney. That happened to us one year - awful experience. I wasn't sure I wanted to go back at ALL.

Take some time off - do something else for a while...... the national parks out west are really nice.

[BugeyedMuggy]

I agree with most everyone. Take a break. This is what we did. We went on a cruise (Royal Carribian & hated it) and then said let's just do one island (Aruba). While doing one island at a time was more our thing we found we can do all that and more at Disney. I have read so many posts on the hugh costs and lower service at WDW but in comparison we get ALOT more bang for our buck at Disney. But as said you must make that decision for yourself.

[dnickels]

If one of my friends came to me and said their boyfriend / girlfriend treated them horribly, they just broke up, but..... they want me to convince them to get back with that person, I think I'd be a little :confused:

If Disney quality and service is really going downhill but we keep going back (voting with our wallets so to speak), it's not going to make Disney change a thing. Do something else, I vote for one of the nat'l parks out west like an earlier poster said.

[LudwigVonDrake]

If your last trip was that bad then take a year off from visiting WDW. See if the "urge" to go back reappears.

[spoiledraf]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect so many. The problem is the overall experience is no longer worth the $$$. The overpriced dining continues to deteriorate. Buffets are shrinking in variety. The quality is shrinking with it. And our server at the Yachtsman last time, while quite freindly, was practically unable to communicate with us because his English was so bad. It wasn't a single experience. Service was lacking at every restaurant, perhaps because of cutbacks. And the only place to get a filet is at signature restaurants now.
The parks do not have the pristine beauty and manicured lawns and topiary they once had. And quite frankly I'm just tired of waiting in lines for an hour for a 30 second ride. Living 2 hours from Cedar Point, the top rated amusement park in the country is is a close option for the rides .

And does it seem like every CM working the desk is in training and can't answer most of your questions or is it just the ones I go to?

If this were the first bad experience I would agree with most of you. But I think you all have to agree. The quality continues to fall while the prices continue to climb. I can take all my kids and their families to the beach for a week. oceanfront, for the price of a week in Disney for just the two of us. And I think from the apparent decling post count on this board a lot of people are thinking the same way as I am. We'll see. Next visit would be August. I'll let you know how we decide in a few months. Have to decide early or we wont be able to get in to any restaurants. Hmmm...maybe that's a good thing. ;-(

[SpecJoe Magic]

I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you return to WDW with the attitude that you have about it right now. It's my philosophy that mental attitude accounts for the majority of whether or not something is fun. I know there are things that I've done before that I've thoroughly enjoyed but those same things haven't been as fun at a different time due to a change in my attitude even though the actual experiences themselves really haven't changed all that much. Basically, if you go into a WDW trip with dread and thinking you won't have a good time, then you definitely won't have a good time. Wait until you feel like you will enjoy it again before you return is my advice.

[KevMcNJ]

I have a friend that lives on the Gulf Coast near Ft Myers. They took their kids to WDW so many times their kids started getting bored

My buddy decided they needed to NOT get annual passes for a couple years to let the thrill return.

If you go any where every year for 5 or 6 years you will suffer burnout.

Id skip a year or two or three

[Scar]

I agree with John. I was there last week... the parks looked great, not one rude CM (many great ones,) and service was great (except for the sub par housekeeping for a deluxe.) I might agree on the food if I had actually eaten at a restaurant. I ate 90% of my meals at the F&W kiosks and most stuff was great.

[Gator]

Maybe the best advice is take a year or two off - do something else, then try again.

Two lines enter my head. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," and "Familiarity breeds contempt." I found that spending long periods of time between my trips made me love WDW even more when I got there. The more frequently I go there, the more expect of them to give me. I think it's part of the Matthew Principle that says life is the ever increasing workload to produce ever diminishing return value. Ain't that the truth.

[LibertyTreeGal]

Beach, I mean WDW is prohibitively too expensive to go unless you are gonna have a blast :thumbsup:

[buzznwoodysmom]

Of course only you know what's the best decision for your family. I don't know the extent of the poor service you had on your last trip, but I'll tell you what we experienced this year.

In June my family, DH, DS10, DS8, and myself spent 9 nights in WDW. While we had a great vacation, we did take notice that we'd never, in all our visits, seen so many rude, unfriendly CMs. They were awful, and there we so many who didn't seem at all like they wanted to be there. We still enjoyed our trip because that's just how we are. We try very hard not to let other's actions ruin our good time. There were a few other minor flaws we noticed, but the CMs were by far the worst part of our trip.

Fast forward to last week, my mom, my two sons, and myself just got back from a 6 night trip and I am so happy to report that we only encountered one rude CM. The rest of them were great. It reminded me of the CMs when we first started vacationing in WDW, over 10 years ago. Everyone was so helpful, friendly, and wonderful in all the ways we'd come to expect from Disney CMs.

I'm glad we didn't let our trip in June discourage us from future trips. However, a trip to the beach and a few years away from WDW might be just what you need. Sometimes too much of a good thing can be TOO MUCH. Good luck with your decision.

[brownie]

1 out of 5 or 6 isn't bad. If the trend has been positive, I wouldn't let one trip have so much influence. If it was part of a larger trend you've been experiencing, then I'd re-think it.