My Slow Divorce from Walt Disney World

[RamblingMad]

Well, DH and I traveled to WDW in early May...for whatever reason. This is back...1997-2003, and yes, the parks obviously always had lots of people around, but it never felt super crowded/packed in the way I read they are now. We lived down there...2004-07, and there were plenty of times we went to the parks during the year where they weren't packed, particularly in January. As I mentioned before, early December was also really nice. The old Fast Pass system that punched out a ticket for you as soon as you used the last one was a system that worked pretty darn well for such an antiquated system compared to this brilliant Genie+ deal they just rolled out (kidding) . When we traveled to Disney in May of 2010, after not having vacationed onsite in that way since 2003, the difference in crowd size and lack of access to a lot of theme park areas due to private events was palpable. We felt a bit ripped off to be honest.

I just looked up the number of hotel rooms on property...including DVC, suites, etc. Back in 98, there were 24,500 rooms, 25 years later...36,000 is what I find now. A lot of those new hotels are DVC properties or add-ons to other resorts....a cash cow for Disney. By that point in 97, we had the four parks, two water parks and back then..."Downtown Disney". And sure, some of the really cheap hotels out on 192 may have folded, but basically, more and more (and more) hotel space has been added not just on property, but up and around Disney. And there are also timeshares, VRBO and AirBnb that weren't really a big thing back then. And no new theme park gate has been built to handle the crowds.

The crowds weren't that bad in the 90s. All of the resorts weren't finished being built. And most people stayed off property. This was especially true in the 80s. Reservations for restaurants wasn't a big deal. Walk up was still possible. My fondest memories of WDW are from the 80s and 90s.

 

[DCLMP]

And that is awful. That kind of debt can be hard to get rid of.

I know people who have never been to WDW and have no interest in going. My brother and his wife are two. They have three kids and traveled a lot with them when they were younger but never to any Disney parks. It always surprised me.

Not when credit cards offer zero percent interest. I get offers daily. I even get them on my existing cards. If I’m getting them I assume other people are too.

 

[DCLMP]

This has been an entertaining thread to pass the 150 minutes I’ve been on hold with DCL only to be disconnected. If that isn’t grounds for a divorce I don’t know what is.

 

[MillauFr]

And you have to pay for a ticket to shop and eat. Absurd.

Well I guess I am used to paying for parking if I want to go shopping somewhere. The developers need to pay for those parking structures that cost $100k per spot to build.

 

[MillauFr]

This has been an entertaining thread to pass the 150 minutes I’ve been on hold with DCL only to be disconnected. If that isn’t grounds for a divorce I don’t know what is.

The most maddening thing about that is that you are on hold to wait for a person to log into a website to change your cruise. Explain to me why I can't log into the same website and change everything myself?

 

[dvcgirl67]

The crowds weren't that bad in the 90s. All of the resorts weren't finished being built. And most people stayed off property. This was especially true in the 80s. Reservations for restaurants wasn't a big deal. Walk up was still possible. My fondest memories of WDW are from the 80s and 90s.

Yep...90s for me. I remember planning the trip for my whole extended family for 2010....8 adults and 3 little ones under 5 years old. We were planning our "signature restaurants" meals....and I remember gathering at my sister's house with her and my mother....with the other sister on speakerphone for a planning session. We were about to hit the six month dining reservation mark....and my sister asked her husband, "do you think you'll want to go to a steakhouse when we go to Disney.". He looked at her like she was a crazy person...lol. He said..."I need to know if I want a steak in May....we haven't had Thanksgiving yet." lol!. And honestly, back then...planning was *easy* compared to what it is now.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don't think I'm ready to "divorce" from WDW yet but I'm certainly taking a break. I am the planner of my group and even us planners get sick and tired of having to jump through hoops to make sure we will have a good trip. I have a trip next week that was originally supposed to happen in May 2020 which I am excited about but I don't think I'll be returning afterwards. Tbh I'm patiently awaiting for Japan to reopen their borders so I can visit Tokyo Disneyland again. I visited in 2019 and paid $120 for a 2 day ticket (they did not allow park hopping so it's 1 park per day) and I didn't plan anything in my days. I was able to go with the flow and absolutely enjoyed my time in both parks. The fact that TDR isn't owned by Disney and is instead owned by the Oriental Land Company is probably why they're so great if we're being honest. I don't like the direction the US parks are going in and it's sad to admit that since I grew up going to WDW and want it to be great.

 

[cvjw]

DCL and value in the same sentence? Those are two words you almost never see together.

Here is my example of value. I had 2 4E cabins booked for my family of 4 for the week of 5/14. It was $10,000 for the 2 cabins. Add in another $3000 for excursions, drinks, wine package and tips and the week would end up costing us around $13,000.

My boys didn’t want to do a cruise, so we have the same week booked in Key West. We have already spent $10,000 on just the flights and house. We still have to add in excursions, rental car, and all dining for the week. Key West will end up being much more than the Disney cruise would have cost.

 

[MillauFr]

Here is my example of value. I had 2 4E cabins booked for my family of 4 for the week of 5/14. It was $10,000 for the 2 cabins. Add in another $3000 for excursions, drinks, wine package and tips and the week would end up costing us around $13,000.

My boys didn’t want to do a cruise, so we have the same week booked in Key West. We have already spent $10,000 on just the flights and house. We still have to add in excursions, rental car, and all dining for the week. Key West will end up being much more than the Disney cruise would have cost.

Yep. It is far cheaper for us to fly across the country and spend a week at Disneyworld than it is to drive up to Whistler and spend a week skiing there. The $1,500 a night hotel rooms, $500 dinners, $150 lunches, $250 per day lift tickets. Outrageous.

 

[JaxDad]

Here is my example of value. I had 2 4E cabins booked for my family of 4 for the week of 5/14. It was $10,000 for the 2 cabins. Add in another $3000 for excursions, drinks, wine package and tips and the week would end up costing us around $13,000.

My boys didn’t want to do a cruise, so we have the same week booked in Key West. We have already spent $10,000 on just the flights and house. We still have to add in excursions, rental car, and all dining for the week. Key West will end up being much more than the Disney cruise would have cost.

Yeah, Key West is crazy now. I go there regularly for work, and it just seems more expensive and more crowded with every trip. It’s another place that used to have pretty distinct seasons/off-seasons but now feels just plain nuts all the time.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

He is all for 'free speech' as long as it agrees with his point of view.

Doesn't that describe all of them? They are all one sided. If you are not on their side you get banned or in the gulag. They think they are the arbiters of truth, although they (mostly Zuckerberg) admit that "fact checking" is opinion.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

I haven't been on here in quite some time but came to look into discussions around options to sell my DVC. I too am divorcing Disney after a 30 year close relationship. Naturally, this post caught my eye. I understand the sadness but necessity.

We had DVC and sold it. Not happy with many things Disney is doing. I sold it for what I paid for it and have not regretted it. The Disney we used to love no longer exists.

 

[siouxi31]

Hey stranger, great to see you again. A local who went west. Hope all is well in your part of the world and with you and your family. Again, good to see you, sioux131.

I'm always so happy to see you here when I check-in Dan and hope life has been treating you well! Life sure has moved on over the years. My kids are adults now and still in the Chicago area so I get back there a few times/year.

 

[DCLMP]

The most maddening thing about that is that you are on hold to wait for a person to log into a website to change your cruise. Explain to me why I can't log into the same website and change everything myself?

I need to cancel a cruise. The next time I call I'm pushing option 3 to book a new cruise. They usually answer right away and then I'll be like "oops I pushed the wrong button sorry I need to cancel".

 

[siouxi31]

We had DVC and sold it. Not happy with many things Disney is doing. I sold it for what I paid for it and have not regretted it. The Disney we used to love no longer exists.

Based on your emoji, you must feel as I do. Today we just returned home (to Arizona) from Florida. It was going to be a Disney trip with tours but when I decided to separate myself from them last March, we punted. We practically were everywhere but Orlando. My fiancee asked if I was disappointed or sad that we weren't going to WDW. I told him the feeling was the equivalent of a divorce. A bit melancholy--a longing for what was. Not disappointment. I didn't miss it. Tomorrow, after some much needed sleep, I'm created a new type of Disney spreadsheet--agent options for selling my DVC! It's hard to believe I'm selling it and not hemming and hawing about it.

 

[DCLMP]

Here is my example of value. I had 2 4E cabins booked for my family of 4 for the week of 5/14. It was $10,000 for the 2 cabins. Add in another $3000 for excursions, drinks, wine package and tips and the week would end up costing us around $13,000.

My boys didn’t want to do a cruise, so we have the same week booked in Key West. We have already spent $10,000 on just the flights and house. We still have to add in excursions, rental car, and all dining for the week. Key West will end up being much more than the Disney cruise would have cost.

That must be a nice house. Post some pictures when you get back. I can't imagine my son not wanting to cruise. Have they aged out of the clubs?

 

[MillauFr]

I need to cancel a cruise. The next time I call I'm pushing option 3 to book a new cruise. They usually answer right away and then I'll be like "oops I pushed the wrong button sorry I need to cancel".

Not sure why you had to call to cancel. I canceled a cruise booked through Costco Travel online. Got my deposit back in 2 weeks.

 

[DCLMP]

Not sure why you had to call to cancel. I canceled a cruise booked through Costco Travel online. Got my deposit back in 2 weeks.

How else would I cancel? I did not book through Costco. I booked through Disney. You can't cancel online. You kind of alluded to that in your previous post.

 

[JLTraveling]

Serious question, I never remember a time when Disney had no crowds and lines - so was I just in the wrong park and I thought I was at Disney?

I grew up an hour from the parks. Mid-80s through mid-90s, we had Three Season Salute passes that evolved into Four Season Salute (the precursor for Seasonal passes). Three Season Salute were valid January, May, and September. Four Season Salute added the weeks right after Thanksgiving until about a week before Christmas. AllEars.net's historical ticket price page informs me that Three Season Salute started at $40/adults and $30/children (Magic Kingdom Club prices) and eventually went up to $50 and $40. Four Season Salute was around $95.

Prior to those passes coming out, we went once a year on my birthday in July. It was hot and crowded. But when we started on Three Season Salute dates, the parks were dead. A 30-minute wait was LONG and unusual. By eating at slightly off hours (1pm for lunch, 7pm for dinner) we walked up to absolutely any table service restaurant we wanted. In the evening, we could literally walk down a path and realize we were the only ones on it.

An inflation calculator informs me that in today's dollars, a Three Season Salute pass would be roughly $100 and a Four Season Salute would be about $180. Once you've paid that little for three or four months of feeling like you had the parks to yourself, it's REALLY hard to justify today's prices.

 

[MillauFr]

How else would I cancel? I did not book through Costco. I booked through Disney. You can't cancel online. You kind of alluded to that in your previous post.

Why would you refuse a 15.5% discount from a Costco booking to get less service from Disney?