fun read. I just got back from a week in DW - we stayed off-property for the first time (Margaritaville) and had a blast. The pool was awesome!
We did Epcot, MK, and HS - in that order - on different days. We were just there in October with park hopper tickets and didnt use them so no need this time - money saved!
First the pros:
- Wait times were not accurate - in our favor! We found them to be much less than advertised - especially RoTR - it was posted as 245 minutes (ridiculous, i know) but we did it anyway - we were in the first shuttle in 75 minutes!
- We enjoyed quick-service restaurants more instead of long sit-down meals - we had more time and more money! Ronto Wraps, for the win!
- We rode just about everything we wanted to ride!
- Love Oga's cantina and the entire Star Wars experience.
- Lack of merchandise
Now the cons:
- Genie+ and LL were a waste of time and money. Our last visit was pre-genie and we thought "this will be SOO much better when Genie comes out!" - yeah, wrong. We feel we didnt get any benefit at all from LL. They were at weird times and when we'd arrive, the stand-by times were relatively low so we felt like we wasted the LL.
- While we are tech-savvy, MANY MANY MANY people are NOT which made park entrance, LL, and mobile orders incredibly tedious as we waited for the less tech inclined visitors to figure it out.
- Scooters.
- Disney Springs - I pine for the old days when I could park and quickly walk to a shop - the parking garages, security, and LINES to get INTO a store are terrible. There were a coupel dozen cast members with guide-lights directing us past the stage, and down along the road to queue up to spend money! Sorry, but I wont be back to disney spring for a LOOONG time...
- Surly cast members - they're not all nice anymore! We were trying to watch a MK parade and a CM (Ian) just kept walking around in front of the crown yelling at kids who touched the rope or may have crossed the imaginary line with their crossed knees or pointed finger... or someone behind us that stood on a bench or wall... or any other reason to interrupt the "magic".
- Queue managers seemed to get off on sending people through circuituous routes even when not necessary. It was just bizarre.
- Magic Kingdom is gone. It has lost it's magic. Too many people, not enough rides or attractions.
- Planning takes too much effort and creates too much stress - the stress I saw from my wife and mother-in-law over dining reservations took away the "magic"
I realize I went at the busiest time of the year and take that into account - and maybe it's me getting older - but it's just not worth the time and effort anymore. It's not fun and I want nothing more than to get home for a vacation FROM vacation. As others have said, there are better options out there and while a significant number of vacationers seem to be spending their money at Disney (probably first time visitors) - those of us who have been there several times before may just need to take a step back - lay on a beach - and let the first timers expereince the parks b/c despite the crowds, lines, prices, etc. - it's magical for them!