No the Magic isn’t gone but it’s at 25%

[NavyDad]

Yes, but in the "every single attraction" video, Molly criss-crosses the park many times. She's also a pretty fast walker. She has even specifically said that the only way to get your money's worth from Genie+ is to criss-cross the parks. And that if you prefer to minimize walking and do attractions in the general vicinity, that Genie+ might not be for you. Or, at the very least, you won't get your worth out of it. She also fiddle-faddles quite a bit. Which she did with FP+ too, but it seems to be taken up a notch with Genie+.

Many of us can't, or don't want to, walk 30 miles a day at the Magic Kingdom going from one end of the park to the other.

As far as a planning....it's a huge change, which I have already mentioned. There is a big difference between knowing the actual times that you will be doing a particular attraction, and you can plan your day around those attractions and those particular lands. You will also know, generally, when you can eat lunch or go back to the resort, or leave for the day.....and being sort of at the mercy of the G+ return times. And, even if you don't mind fiddle-faddling, it's not like you are given options....options that you can choose to coordinate with your day. (And yes, sometimes with FP+ there was only one time option, but a lot of the times, there were multiple to choose from)

Listen...this system is the system we have....so I have every intention to watch the videos, do the work, analyze the times, and maximize it to the best of my ability. But, I still think this is a lesser product.

right - which is why I mentioned she did two different types of videos. One trying to ride every single attraction in the park and the other one more of a perfect day scenario. One scenario she purposefully didn't try to avoid cris-crossing and the scenario she did more of a most enjoyable touring strategy that involved less running around. Both scenarios resulted in very good return on investment from Genie Plus. Also - both the Legacy FP and FP+ could be maximized if you were willing to cris-cross the parks. With Legacy you literally had to run all around collecting paper tickets if you wanted to get the most rides possible and for FP+ if you just did next available ride time it would more than likely take you all around zig-zagging. That's really not a huge change.

In any of the previous iterations of this FP system, you would have had a long exhausting day of cris-crossing if you were trying to do every attraction in MK and even some of the other parks.

Planning - again you only knew three of your ride times. And with the tiered system they were not likely to be your top 3 choices. If there was a tiered FP system right now at say DHS for example, you would likely have to pick ONE(1) of RotR, Smugglers Run and SDD with the others either having to be rope dropped our take your chances on additional FP being available. Lots of uncertainty there as well. Everyone can have different opinions on if this is a major change to planning. I thought it would be based on what I read in this forum. I watched Molly's videos, read tips and made a plan. We found we were able to stick to our plans quite easily with the biggest issues coming from rides being down which would be a wrench in our plan using any of the previous systems as well.

I'm not arguing if this is a lesser product or a better product. In my mind it was a lesser product as soon as they decided to charge for it. My point is that this is just another capacity management system, there are ways to maximize your value with this system (especially at MK and DHS) and I disagree completely with those who keep asserting that the current system has a lower maximum potential of resource gathering (attraction capacity), with the data we are seeing form thrill data showing the complete opposite so far. Another part of my overall larger point is that I have seen the changes from FP to FP+ to Genie+, and I think a lot of the people who say it is a disaster and doesn't work are looking at it from an emotional perspective and not a rational perspective.

 

[Disturbia]

There was no way they could have practiced a 50th parade due to COVID.

The stores at WDW are literally covered with 50th merchandise. Again, we’ve been to the parks twice during the 50th and there’s been tons and tons of merchandise.

Enchantment has tons of classic Disney. You just have to pay attention to the projections; it’s all over the show.

If there was more during a previous celebration, I have one thought for you: supply chain/worldwide event you might know about.

Have you seen the crowds for Enchantment? I’m sure no parade has more to do with cost than crowds due to COVID.

We used to love the electric parade and then fireworks.

 

[Disturbia]

All I can say is that we’ve had a terrific time over our past 3 trips — Feb 2020, Nov 2021, and just last week. It’s unfortunate that Disney has failed the rest of you so significantly, but we’ve truly loved our time. We can’t wait to go back for our daughter’s 6th birthday in October.

We have fun despite the changes as well. It is what you make it. We spend a lot more on restaurants where the magic is still alive and we do enjoy the fireworks (you can’t view the projections unless you pay for the dessert party, which we do once each trip). Our second Mk day we watch fireworks behind the castle and our kids can jump and runaround to the music. We caught a glimpse of some amazing CMs infront of Pinocchio village that were dancing to the fireworks.

 

[mercuryvenus]

We have fun despite the changes as well. It is what you make it. We spend a lot more on restaurants where the magic is still alive and we do enjoy the fireworks (you can’t view the projections unless you pay for the dessert party, which we do once each trip).

We viewed the projections by just standing behind the partner statue. We’ve never paid for a dessert party.

 

[Miffy]

I sincerely wish that posters here would stop encouraging Disney to raise their prices even more. Many--perhaps most--posters here don't have unlimited funds.

Somehow, mysteriously, WDW was able to have free FP+ for years, people used them, and they were often available the day of one's visit, if one were persistent. Are there really that many more visitors at WDW now? I've been to WDW 3 times in the last year and not once have I encountered crowds that surpassed anything I experienced in the past.

Yes, if Disney raised all their prices--resorts, tickets, G+, ILL$, upcharges for this and that, whatever--that would eventually limit the number of guests there. Should WDW be a vacation destination for only the upper-upperclass?

 

[Praying Colonel]

They did it during a few pretty significant constraints you might want to take into account.

Well, when Disney decided to go away from the "customer goodwill" model and wring us for every last penny they could get, I found I didn't have to take it into account. They asked for this state of relations with their customer base--I'm just giving them what they want.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Have you seen the crowds for Enchantment? I’m sure no parade has more to do with cost than crowds due to COVID.

We used to love the electric parade and then fireworks.

The lack of a 50th parade is undoubtedly due to the fact that they could not rehearse a brand new parade, due to having to shut everything down for 6 months. That’s what I meant.

 

[igrsod]

This is exactly what’s missing. I’ve seen many CMs just shrug their shoulders to a question (navigation related). Pre pandemic even a custodial CM would go above and beyond to direct you.

I’m hopeful that things will change. I hope there are more kind CMs that are promoted vs the bullying enforcers.

Don’t forget to give a shout out to any CM who goes above and beyond (cast compliment is on the MDE main page)

Amen to that. We always take a picture and recognize CM that go above and beyond. We love doing this. They are still there, just we noticed negative things we never saw before the pandemic. I hope that with training and time, the level of service that made Disney special will return.
Past examples, bus driver having the whole bus sing Happy Birthday to "the princess turning 21 in the back" (my daughter), a young guy who gave that same daughter (around age 9 at the time) a sticker for every thing she told him that she loved about herself (crying just thinking about that moment), the CM who convinced us to order 2 dole whips for breakfast... even though we excitedly said we were just going to split one (pineapple is a breakfast food)... she gave us them for free lol SO SWEET of her. The older CM who helped us search high and low for a pair of lost ears. The CM who let us into the EMH for free when we arrived from the airport with only an hour left of park open time (we were willing to pay so as to ride a couple of rides that night). The CM that let me and my son (7 at the time) ride RnR again through a secret door as he saw how excited my little guy was riding it for his first time. I have probably at least a dozen more. Honestly it's as simple as the "welcome home" or the smile and wave of the Mickey hand. It all just puts a smile on our face.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Amen to that. We always take a picture and recognize CM that go above and beyond. We love doing this. They are still there, just we noticed negative things we never saw before the pandemic. I hope that with training and time, the level of service that made Disney special will return.
Past examples, bus driver having the whole bus sing Happy Birthday to "the princess turning 21 in the back" (my daughter), a young guy who gave that same daughter (around age 9 at the time) a sticker for every thing she told him that she loved about herself (crying just thinking about that moment), the CM who convinced us to order 2 dole whips for breakfast... even though we excitedly said we were just going to split one (pineapple is a breakfast food)... she gave us them for free lol SO SWEET of her. The older CM who helped us search high and low for a pair of lost ears. The CM who let us into the EMH for free when we arrived from the airport with only an hour left of park open time (we were willing to pay so as to ride a couple of rides that night). The CM that let me and my son (7 at the time) ride RnR again through a secret door as he saw how excited my little guy was riding it for his first time. I have probably at least a dozen more. Honestly it's as simple as the "welcome home" or the smile and wave of the Mickey hand. It all just puts a smile on our face.

When we went this past week, we got tons of “welcome homes,“ stickers for the kids, CMs letting us in early or a bit late on our G+ slots, even when the Mickey ears turned blue, and a CM giving my husband a “no strings attached” slip when his magic band broke, so he could go and get any magic band he wanted. He ended up going to Disney Springs and getting a custom magic band (normally $50) for free.

The magic is there, but if you go in prepared to hate it all, you will. So much of this is about the attitude you bring.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Somehow, mysteriously, WDW was able to have free FP+ for years, people used them, and they were often available the day of one's visit, if one were persistent.

Disney was actually planning on getting rid of Fastpass+ before the pandemic. Covid was just their excuse to do so. The system actually made them lose money.

I know most people don't have time to watch an almost 2 hour video, but this video really put into perspective just how broken Fastpass+ really was. Not saying Genie+ is better and that Disney should charge more. Just made me think about trips I took pre-pandemic.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Disney was actually planning on getting rid of Fastpass+ before the pandemic. Covid was just their excuse to do so. The system actually made them lose money.

I know most people don't have time to watch an almost 2 hour video, but this video really put into perspective just how broken Fastpass+ really was. Not saying Genie+ is better and that Disney should charge more. Just made me think about trips I took pre-pandemic.

Thank you! I find that most people do not take the time to do research or look at data, and just respond emotionally.

 

[igrsod]

When we went this past week, we got tons of “welcome homes,“ stickers for the kids, CMs letting us in early or a bit late on our G+ slots, even when the Mickey ears turned blue, and a CM giving my husband a “no strings attached” slip when his magic band broke, so he could go and get any magic band he wanted. He ended up going to Disney Springs and getting a custom magic band (normally $50) for free.

The magic is there, but if you go in prepared to hate it all, you will. So much of this is about the attitude you bring.

I don't disagree with you... but I don't give Disney a pass either. There are changes that are not great... we've been going (and loving it) for years... multiple times a year. Pointing out areas that need improving isn't a bad thing. We have been twice this year and had a great time... we always do, BUT I am seeing things that are not good and I am hearing people not happy and not returning. I just hope that Disney realizes that they may need to change course before things go south, that's all.

 

[Marionnette]

Disney was actually planning on getting rid of Fastpass+ before the pandemic. Covid was just their excuse to do so. The system actually made them lose money.

I know most people don't have time to watch an almost 2 hour video, but this video really put into perspective just how broken Fastpass+ really was. Not saying Genie+ is better and that Disney should charge more. Just made me think about trips I took pre-pandemic.

I watched the whole video when it was posted up thread. As much as I disliked G+ when we bought it for HS and MK back in December, the video did open my eyes to how it levels the playing field better than FP+ did.

I still object to charging for it. And I dislike that it doesn't guarantee anything in exchange for your purchase. You are basically buying a lottery ticket for attraction line skipping. And as my husband says, "Lotteries are a tax on the mathematically challenged".

 

[mercuryvenus]

I don't disagree with you... but I don't give Disney a pass either. There are changes that are not great... we've been going (and loving it) for years... multiple times a year. Pointing out areas that need improving isn't a bad thing. We have been twice this year and had a great time... we always do, BUT I am seeing things that are not good and I am hearing people not happy and not returning. I just hope that Disney realizes that they may need to change course before things go south, that's all.

I guess I just find it depressing that so many places that Disney people frequent (this board, various FB groups) are filled with so many complaints. Of course there are things Disney should improve, but I wish folks would balance things out a bit, rather than focusing so much on the negative.

 

[2goofykiddos]

You can absolutely have options with G+ if you just refresh the tip board. My husband was able to stack 6 G+ reservations during one night in MK.

I really think it depends on crowd level, phone service etc. it hasn’t even really been used with the summer crowds.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I watched the whole video when it was posted up thread. As much as I disliked G+ when we bought it for HS and MK back in December, the video did open my eyes to how it levels the playing field better than FP+ did.

I still object to charging for it. And I dislike that it doesn't guarantee anything in exchange for your purchase. You are basically buying a lottery ticket for attraction line skipping. And as my husband says, "Lotteries are a tax on the mathematically challenged".

I agree. Before I watched the video I didn't see anything wrong with Fastpass+ but afterwards it did put things into perspective. I and many others on Disney forums/Facebook groups were huge fans of Fastpass+ because we knew the tricks and how to really work the system. Those that didn't were at a severe disadvantage. Like even more so than with Genie+ since booking was done months in advance. Both Fastpass+ and Genie+ work best when you have a group of guests that don't understand how they work, which is a point outlined in the video. As much as I hate being charged for Genie+, it does even out the playing field vs. arriving at the park day of and all of the "good" rides being taken already without you knowing it.

 

[igrsod]

I guess I just find it depressing that so many places that Disney people frequent (this board, various FB groups) are filled with so many complaints. Of course there are things Disney should improve, but I wish folks would balance things out a bit, rather than focusing so much on the negative.

That's fair, I can understand that. There are posts on this board that focus on positives as well. Criticism isn't a negative though... I look at it as an opportunity for growth. If Disney listens to their customers, it will lead to more profits inevitably. People need to leave the park with a smile on their face in order to ensure their return. I think back to our first few trips that got us hooked on yearly family Disney trips. Honestly, the things that made the trip truly easy and enjoyable are gone now. I'm not sure if I was going for the first time with my family now, that I would be hooked on yearly family vacations like I was 15 years ago. That's thousands of dollars (make that 100s of thousands of dollars), that they would have lost out on. Maybe short term profits are better... not sure. But I do know that I spend less now than I did before because of the changes. I make food in our room more, we don't buy as many souvenirs, we don't go to the park as many days, we don't go to the parties.

 

[NavyDad]

I guess I just find it depressing that so many places that Disney people frequent (this board, various FB groups) are filled with so many complaints. Of course there are things Disney should improve, but I wish folks would balance things out a bit, rather than focusing so much on the negative.

It's always been this way - well at least since I started coming here in 2008 to start planning my first family trip.

The thing is this board is not at all representative of the average WDW guest. We are the extreme minority of uber-obsessed Disney people who have to come to a Disney message board because our friends and family in real life thing we are a bit obsessed with Disney. The average WDW guest visits 1.5 times in their entire lifetime. We have people on this board that visit multiple times per year and you will be hard pressed to find posters here that have not been to WDW at least half a dozen times.

This is not unlike extremely obsessed fans of sports teams who act like it's the end of the world and want to blow the team up every time they don't win the Super Bowl or World Series or another championship.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Harmonious isn't for the 50th. IllumiNations stopped in 2019 and Harmonious was supposed to happen in Spring of 2020 after running Epcot Forever (which deputed a few days later after IllumiNations stopped) in the interim...it's a bit suspect don't you think that a delayed show premiered just 2 days before the 50th of MK in 2021? Yeah not going to believe that it wasn't them being like "oh shoot well let's just get this thing out and push it out so it could be part of the 50th". I don't need to go on about my opinion of Harmonious with the discussion of the 50th because it was never part of the 50th celebration to begin with.

Enchantment is a flop to most who I have spoken with HEA being more loved. The observation we all made when we were down there together is how many shows Disney does a montage of Disney/Pixar/LucasFilm/Marvel movies and intermixes some lights and fireworks into it throughout their parks. That doesn't mean it's not always a bad show but it's replicated to basically all of their shows. We commented that HEA had a special song and at least felt like it flowed better. HEA also had projections, lights, lasers and fireworks and man we loved that so much better than Enchantment. We watched it one evening with tens of thousands of others and decided we didn't care to see it again during our trip.

Don't get me wrong Disney knows how to put the fireworks out but if you're finding yourself liking the fireworks in the sky more...well yeah.

During one of the parades I don't remember which but the photo shows they had a float with 50th on it and they did have the "50th" colors for costumes and all so I'll give them that but I think people are saying they didn't feel like it was really given it's due of pageantry here.

The castle is pretty enough though.

As for the merch there is a lot of merch but I do feel like it was more of the same stuff I guess I think people may be responding that it's more of less the same design slapped onto the same stuff so maybe not feeling like it's special enough IDK; it's still selling though. I mentioned it on another thread but the design of the iridescence is beautiful but too fragile to purchase. My friend was going to but a CM had mentioned how the screen print is delicate and needed to be washed with extreme care. The first thing my husband said when we saw it in stores is because of how they screen printed it the design would eventually break apart and he's not wrong. The only thing I could come up with buying when I was down there was the 50th anniversary throw blanket although I did almost purchase the Little Mermaid Vera Bradley purse (I have 2 Disney ones and a Harry Potter one already). When we went in 2017 we bought a lot more stuff. This trip the merch options just didn't feel like the same quality and taste as before. Most of the shirts I'll be honest felt like I could purchase at Khol's, JCP or Walmart and ironically my husband actually purchased an adult Pizza Planet shirt from Khol's while we were in the World of Disney store because they didn't have the design (they had a weird design that was like a pizza delivery person which wasn't what my husband would want) but yeah the shirts really did remind me of a lot of shirts I have seen at retail ones. They are not the same style that I have from 2017.

I'm not sure if I would say I felt more for Epcot's 35 (as we were there during that) but I think people expected Disney to keep up with the 50th in its grandeur; pandemic or no it does sorta have a feeling like this isn't about a 50th celebration and more like "just buy our merch, k?"

 

[Jennasis]

Fwiw our December trip sucked so much I was ready to divorce Disney. I actually had a near breakdown one Night in the middle of Tomorrowland it was so disappointing. It was all the change. It was the suck-fest of G+. It was the dumpster fire of Enchantment. It was the non-stop getting kicked in the butt by Disney at every turn.

Our May trip was great. We ditched G+ and ignored all the stuff that sucked. Disney got way less of our money and I got more for the time and money we did spend.

Disney used to make magic. Now, as they say in that waste if a fireworks show, YOU are the magic. It's BYOM people. So we bring our own now. Sad in a big way, but for now we can do that.