Disney World Could Fix the Guest Experience by Improving These Things.
After a few years of price increases and negative changes, Walt Disney World is trying to improve satisfaction and restore lost magic. There are several instances of guest experience enhancements for 2024, but they haven’t gone far enough to move the needle. This list covers what else Disney should do if they want to make fans happier.
Frankly, these improvements are overdue. Guest satisfaction and intent to return or recommend metrics took a beating after the “honeymoon” period post-reopening, as cuts were made that eliminated Disney’s Magical Express, free FastPass, Extra Magic Hours, etc–while also implementing policies that many fans hated.
This didn’t negatively impact Walt Disney World vacation bookings for a couple of years. Revenge travel was running hot, and travelers–especially those with kids who had missed a couple valuable vacations–were making up for lost time. Some Walt Disney World diehards would grumble about paying more and getting less, but other fans and average tourists were just satisfied to be back in their happy places. However, things have changed.
Pent-up demand has largely exhausted itself, and Walt Disney World has seen a slowdown in the last year. As a result, they’ve gotten much more aggressive about discounts, with some of the best special offers we’ve seen since 2018-2019, including the return of fan-favorite Free Dining.
That’s not all. The company announced 5 major improvements to make your visit easier. That followed 3 big changes to bring value and flexibility, including the return of free overnight parking at the hotels. The start of 2024 brought with it the end of park reservations for most guests, “good-to-go” dates for APs, resumption of regular Park Hopping, and return of the Disney Dining Plan. At some point later this year, pre-arrival Lightning Lane ride reservations will roll out.
Point being, all of these are initiatives to improve guest satisfaction and common complaints about Walt Disney World being too complicated. A lot of those announcements crossed off entries in our Wish List for Changes Bob Iger Could Make Upon Returning as CEO. from immediately after he returned. So we’re quite pleased with these incremental improvements, and recognize that nothing happens fast at Walt Disney World. Progress takes time.
However, it’s also very obvious that Walt Disney World still needs to do more to fix guest satisfaction and rebuild goodwill with lifelong fans who have become jaded, disillusioned, or stopped visiting entirely. If all of the discounting and statements on earnings calls are any indication, this is pretty urgent.
Discounting alone isn’t going to solve the problem (well, unless they get 2008-2009 levels of aggressive!). If Walt Disney World wants to make a big splash and win back fans, we’d recommend another “we’re listening and fixing stuff we broke” announcement with a grab bag of at least 3 of the following experience updates to improve guest satisfaction…
Bring Back Entertainment
Here’s just a partial list of the atmospheric acts and shows that are still conspicuous omissions from Walt Disney World entertainment lineup:
- Citizens of Hollywood
- Jedi Training Academy
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Citizens of Main Street
- Main Street Trolley Show
- Pandora Rangers & Drummers
It boggles the mind that some of this is still missing. Jedi Training Academy was absolutely adored by guests, and was a ‘magical moment’ for so many kids and their families who had the chance to participate. Voyage of the Little Mermaid will be returning in reimagined form at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but not until late 2024.
Look, I’m not asking for this list of things to come back on a one-for-one basis, identical to what was offered in early March 2020. But I think it absolutely makes sense to have another big ‘entertainment update’ demonstrating that Walt Disney World still cares about streetmosphere and live performers.
Add Nighttime Spectaculars
On the nighttime spectacular front, the following remain missing:
- Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
- Once Upon a Time
- Rivers of Light
Three entries may seem insignificant, but we’d argue that’s a large number when it comes to spectaculars. Not only that, but daytime parades were cut from Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios several years pre-closure, and Magic Kingdom lost its nighttime parade. Comparing nighttime spectaculars and entertainment today to a decade ago is a pretty brutal comparison.
Again, not asking for these exact offerings to return. But if Walt Disney World is serious about getting people to stay longer in Animal Kingdom, the answer until Tropical Americas opens (2026?) is necessarily going to be entertainment. Well, unless Dr. Seeker starts taking hostages.
Concrete Calendars
This is not a new problem. For as long as I can remember, Walt Disney World has published boilerplate park hours with extensions and the actual hours not coming until much later. Even preclosure, we frequently complained about how Walt Disney World expects guests to plan months in advance, but didn’t hold themselves to the same standard. It’s frustrating that Disney practically forces you to plan, but also doesn’t allow you to properly plan.
It also seems like it has gotten worse. In the last 6 months or so, park hours extensions have frequently been more last minute and also less predictable. Magic Kingdom hasn’t consistently done 8am openings on party days and other parks less consistent schedules. It’s a similar story with Extended Evening Hours, which has been all over the place–I can’t imagine shelling out big bucks for a Deluxe Resort months in advance, only to find out that I’d have consecutive nights of EPCOT.
But the final “straw” that landed this entry on the list was the Skyliner gondola refurbishment. We’ve been warning readers for over a year that there’d likely be a refurbishment during the winter off-season, since there has been for the last few years. However, not everyone reads this blog (the vast majority of guests do not!) and the refurbishment was longer than ever before. (Fair warning: although yet unannounced, there’s likely to be another Skyliner closure in mid to late January 2025.)
Despite that, Walt Disney World waited until the end of last October to release dates and, adding insult to injury, there have been several reader reports of the call center not being willing to rebook guests at different resorts under previously-released special offers. (It’s understandable that availability might be limited, which is kinda the point–this info should’ve been released earlier. The “old Disney” would’ve understood the issue, and upgraded guests or offered recovery to compensate for the inconvenience and lack of a defining feature of the resorts in question.)
Some fans will make all sorts of excuses for Walt Disney World being slow to release this info or update hours, but none of them are good excuses. The bottom line is that expecting people to plan months in advance while being slow to release the info that’s needed to make informed decisions for planning is poor guest service.
Longer Regular Hours
Effective arsonist fails at fighting fire.
So many of Walt Disney World’s ineffectual “solutions” to overcrowding are fixing a problem that they themselves created. We discussed this at length in Disney Doesn’t Really Want Lower Crowds, but restoring park hours would instantly increases park capacity by redistributing crowds over the course of the day. It would also relieve some of the pressure to purchase the Genie+ line-skipping service.
Adding hours is a time-tested solution, and precisely the reason why Magic Kingdom used to open at 7am during peak season dates and stay open until midnight in the summer in the aughts. Even then, Main Street was busy until 1am with shoppers. It’s also why Magic Kingdom used to have Extra Magic Hours until 2am or 3am. (Yes, really–Evening Extra Magic Hours were 3 hours long!)
Now, attendance is significantly higher (by several millions of guests per year) and regular park hours have been reduced by several hours per day–most notably at Magic Kingdom. There’s also less entertainment due to the stage shows and atmospheric acts that have been cut, as well as the loss of 3 different parades.
To Walt Disney World’s credit, we’re finally starting to see significant park hours extensions this holiday season, with three midnight closings scheduled for Magic Kingdom in November. That’s a good start, but it’s only a start. Given contemporary crowd levels, those should be commonplace–and 9am to 9pm hours for Magic Kingdom should be a thing of the past entirely.
(Combining the two issues above, rather than doing week-by-week park hours extension, they should identify all dates far in advance when park hours should definitely be longer. Make those extensions in one fell swoop, and make an official announcement trumpeting the number of “more midnights in Magic Kingdom!” It’d be an easy win with fans, similar to when Disneyland advertised adding more of the cheapest ticket dates.)
Restore Upcharges
Nothing says “address guest complaints about pricing” like adding things that cost extra money…right?!?
Well actually, yeah. Not everyone has problems with the guest experience that revolve around price increases. Not only that, but it’s possible to take issue with paying more while getting the same or less, but also wanting certain upcharge opportunities that offer something for the extra money to return. The two notions are not in conflict–it’s possible to hold both!
There’s actually a lot in the Enchanting Extras Collection (and associated add-ons) that gives Walt Disney World a tremendous amount of repeatability for regulars. Things like certain behind the scenes or VIP tours, dining or dessert parties, early or late park access, and much more. The big one for us is the EPCOT festival seminars and experiences–without those, Food & Wine has lost a lot of its luster. (They’re also missing from other festivals, but it’s most glaring at Food & Wine.)
Although I’m not huge on upcharges, I’d likewise love to see another themed After Hours at Magic Kingdom event. The short-lived Villains After Hours was better than the vanilla version, and it’s about time Walt Disney World revived the Pirates & Princess concept. Earlier this week, I made a plea for a Nostalgia Nite at Magic Kingdom with Wishes, SpectroMagic 2.0, and Disney Afternoon characters.
Also, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes out soon–a bunch of fighting monkeys in the park would be the perfect synergy play for Animal and/or Magic Kingdom. It’s right there in the title of the movie!!!
Remake Missing Meals
This seems like such a little and inconsequential thing, but we hear from longtime Walt Disney World fans who are still disappointed by restaurants or special meal options that are still missing:
- 1900 Park Fare
- Be Our Guest Restaurant – Breakfast & Counter Service Lunch
- Brunch at California Grill
- Dining with an Imagineer
- Grand View Tea Room
- Plaza Restaurant – Breakfast
- Trattoria al Forno – Bon Voyage Character Breakfast
- Pizzafari Family Style Dining
- Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes
- Restaurant Marrakesh
The two character meals, in particular, are big ones with families. Same goes with breakfast and lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant–a venue that’s fairly beloved, but not for the current prix fixe dinner. Probably less significant to average guests, but we really miss Brunch at the Top and Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes (don’t laugh!).
Bringing these back would give the Disney Dining Plan more appeal and provide needed dining capacity. Win-win!
Rejuvenate Restaurant Menus
No first-timer is sitting on pins and needles, waiting to book their rite of passage Walt Disney World vacation until the Grilled Hanger Steak returns to Primo Piatto. They don’t care that the menus at Contempo Cafe or Gasparilla Island Grill are shadows of their former selves. They probably are even unbothered or unaware that the counter service scene sucks at Magic Kingdom. I get all of that.
This is about winning back longtime fans, though, and Walt Disney World’s culinary landscape is very much ‘a thing’ to the diehards, and it’s noticeably worse than it was in early 2020 due to scaled back menus. Improve enough of those, and it would move the needle for at least some Walt Disney World regulars.
Frankly, we know this because of the positive response to recent menu changes at Wilderness Lodge, Saratoga Springs, and even Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom. With food inflation relenting, it’s time to let culinary teams get creative again. Highlight that on “Disney Eats” (or whatever it is), and then emphasize the ‘new menus’ as a line item in a guest experience improvements post.
Return of Extra Magic Hours
I’ve been singing the praises of Early Entry at three of the parks (and even Magic Kingdom when the park opens at 8am) for over two years, and very few of you agree with me. It’s one of those why are you booing me, I’m right situations. But perception is reality, and most fans still prefer the former morning Extra Magic Hours to their replacement.
It’s a similar story with Extended Evening Hours. I love the perk and think it’s far superior to evening Extra Magic Hours, which had become unbearably uncrowded. This is an even more pronounced perception problem, but in a different (and worse) way. Fans know this is a good perk, but are downright disillusioned and disenchanted that it’s reserved exclusively “for the rich.”
In a period of pent-up demand where consumers were spending freely/recklessly, such an approach might’ve worked or been “worth it” to incentivize Deluxe Resort bookings. As people tighten the pursestrings, it’s not going to move the needle as much, and sticks out like a sore thumb as an easily-identifiable instance of Walt Disney World “ignoring the middle class.”
Undo that damage, bring back Extra Magic Hours, and win back fans who feel ignored. As for fixing Extra Magic Hours, stop offering it to the Disney Springs Area Resorts. Sure, that’s actually just shifting around the class hierarchy, but now at least most of those who were complaining loudest are part of the in-group! 😉
Retire Genie+
Remember how I spent like a dozen blog posts whining about how Genie+ and Lightning Lanes were the dumbest and most confusing branding decisions of all time? (Then HBO and Twitter both said, “hold my beer!”) Well, as much as I hate being wrong, I have to admit as much here.
It turns out that Robert Chapek was a visionary thinker in some regards. He must’ve known that he was launching such a half-baked product that would take years of tweaks to get in a semi-functioning state and would be so reviled by guests that it’d become a toxic brand on par with Monsanto, Philip Morris, or Comcast. Chapek was such a great thinker that he foresee a day when Disney fans would jump for joy just at malevolent Genie going away. (It’s honestly impressive, in a way, that Chapek somehow managed to make us hate something associated with Robin Williams.)
We already know that the pre-booking of Lightning Lanes is arriving at some point in 2024. What that’ll entail is unclear, and it sounds like Walt Disney World has not yet settled on specifics. Whatever the new line-skipping system does end up being, I’d advise Disney to ditch the Genie name. Everyone hates it. There is nothing of value to be lost. It taints the legacy of a national treasure.
It’s time to break from the past and ditch both Genie+ and Genie (I cannot imagine the latter is being used in meaningful numbers, let alone fulfilling its goals of crowd redistribution/utilization). Regardless of what the new system ends up being–my guess is pretty close to paid FastPass Plus–it will benefit from not being attached to this toxic brand.
I’ll take this advice a step further. Call it MaxPass to benefit from the degree of goodwill attached to that, even if it is fundamentally different from that paid FastPass system. Then, in another year or so (or whenever the United States enters a recession) when Walt Disney World needs to boost hotel bookings and attendance, bring back free FastPass+ for resort guests with the option for a paid MaxPass+ tier.
One way or another, I still don’t think we’ve seen the last of FastPass at Walt Disney World. It probably won’t be back in 2024, but the 2025 opening of Universal’s Epic Universe is right around the corner, and Walt Disney World hasn’t broken ground on any “answer” to that. That pretty much leaves options like adding entertainment, restoring FastPass or Disney’s Magical Express as an indirect response to Epic Universe.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What would you like to see done to improve the guest experience and satisfaction at Walt Disney World? Which of the entries on this list have a realistic chance of coming to fruition? Think things will get better or worse throughout 2024? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Some of these issues bother me more than others (e.g., I prefer Genie+ to Fastpass+ as I hated the ability to book 30/60 days in advance… ruins spontaneity for some while shutting out guests who don’t enjoy meticulous planning).
But here are a few that really get me:
1. On my first trip to DHS in 1993 (when it was DMGMS), the Citizens of Hollywood/Main Street captivated me more than any other attraction. The streetmosphere/placemaking can be more important and memorable than rides! (Otherwise just take me to Six Flags)
2. Decades later my kids were absolutely entranced by Jedi Training Academy… their favorite part of DHS by far (see note under #1 above).
3. While our family didn’t sit to watch the Main Street Electrical parade at MK on our kids’ first visit, we happened to be at Town Square Theater with a 1-minute wait to meet Mickey as the parade was beginning. Another incredible memory. Big benefits of parades/spectaculars are how they balance out crowds/wait times elsewhere in the parks!
You mentioned the hangar steak at Primo Piatto and I was actually thinking about that as u read your post!
70% of the Primo Piatto pre-Covid menu is still missing. The food there is still good for QS, but the lunch/dinner menu is VERY limited and gets stale fast. So yes, bring back real dinner entree options and more pizza variety to Primo Piatto!
On another note, I’m nodding along on hours announcements. I’m planning Christmas 2023 now, making dining reservations and park passes. But I still have no idea what the hours will really be, with 9pm closes still being listed for MK.
Bring back Disney’s FREE Magical Express!
Bring back FREE Fast Passes!
Bring back FREE Dining Plan!
Staying within the “Disney Bubble” with courtesy ride to/from the airport,
the Free Dining Plan and Free Fast Passes made our family trip much easier. We still spent thousands on that trip for a family of five! The cost of theme park tickets have been raised way too much over the years.
Our last trip was in 2022 & was very disappointed with all the extra cost of everything! We stayed in the disney bubble then too. Also. what’s up with only allowing Deluxe resorts to enjoy evening extra hours?? Value resorts only having a very short early extra magic short time & is completely unfair!! Some people like to sleep in a little. We also spent (1k’s) more on that trip than the one before. The magic was definitely missing!
The other thing is the politics! There is no place in Disney to be involved in that!
We are not going back unless these issues are resolved! Too many other places across the USA to enjoy without the ridiculous cost. We can do much more with the same amt of thousands of dollars we have spent at WDW.
We were at Disney October 14-18 and the standby lines were ridiculously long. Slinky dog dash wait was 120 minutes! Ended up spending a lot for lightning lane entrances. It just seems like it’s all about making money now and not customer satisfaction. I’m not sure when/if we will be back. I could go to Europe for the same cost for a week at Disney World.
Bring back The Frozen Dessert party.
We recently came back after five years for our first visit with our son and there were two things that made me email Disney afterwards;
1. The fact that some of the meet and greets now have a photo box rather than a living photographer – a toddler doesn’t understand to look at the box and smile at the right time. Even worse some characters didn’t even have a box! For what is almost certainly a tiny saving against the overall costs this left a real bad taste in our mouths
2. A disappointing interaction with a cast member where Disney definitely could have done more to leave a positive caring vibe (we had many great cast interactions whilst we were there and left cast compliments at the time)
I received a response from Disney and it didn’t comment at all in relation to the photo pass photographers ♀️
I’m wish they’d bring back some sort of on-site advantage additions. It seems so silly that you can stay at the Polynesian and not get a dining reservation at your own hotel. Maybe for on-site guests, early reservations in your “tier” of hotel dining or just earlier booking in general.
The reason people liked Fast Pass was the pre planning. Lightening Lane could be the same….if just done in advance.
Mixed feelings about pre-planning FastPass. I remember making FastPass+ selections at 7:00 AM when my booking window opened…and finding slim pickings because all the best times had already been snatched up by people with earlier arrival dates. At least the current system offers a more level playing field?
Another vote for a nighttime parade at MK, package delivery to hotels, and especially the Magical Express. Also something that doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’d love to see the restoration of the walkway between Shades of Green and Poly.
Tom, well said! I agree on all points. I’d like to add the general atmosphere in the parks has changed. People fighting, barely dressed women all over, drunk adults swearing or sleeping on benches and overall a serious lack of well behaved/courteous patrons. Even cast members seem bored.
We were booked (this week) for the GF and canceled. I couldn’t spend that amount of money to experience what we did in Feb/March.
PSA – this is Disney. Leave the thong bikinis at home. Our kids don’t need to see you nearly naked.
I wish the (very unspecific) dress code was enforced, bad behavior was not tolerated and more was done to handle those situations quickly. It no longer feels family friendly and it truly breaks my heart.
WDW has an excellent opportunity to bring back the magic. The ball is in their court.
Thong bikinis? I know you didn’t see that in the parks, so I can only assume you were offended by a woman wearing a swimsuit at a resort pool.
FYI, appropriate swimwear varies wildly by culture. Go to Brazil and you’ll see men and women of all ages and sizes in barely-there swimwear and it’s completely normal.
I don’t know why you expect paying guests to cater to your personal views of modesty.
And it’s just a body. When it’s 90-100 degrees outside (which it is most of the year at Disney) I don’t know why you think women should have to suffer and cover up so not to offend you.
Alice,
Disney has a dress code policy because it’s a FAMILY resort. “Clothing which, by nature, exposes excessive portions of the skin that may be viewed as inappropriate for a family environment” is against their dress code.
Dress how you like – in the appropriate setting.
WDW is in Florida, not Brazil. I fully understand different cultures dress differently. That’s why there is a dress code policy in place.
For the record the lady in a thong was from Orlando, a current cast member, and it was about 80 degrees outside.
We just got back today from WDW. We stayed at Saratoga Springs (not our home DVC resort, but the one we always choose). We hadn’t been to WDW since 2021. We missed the water bottle fillers; where did they go? The My Disney Experience app is a power hog and not very user-friendly; it needs to be redesigned. Get rid of paid FastPass (whatever they call it–Lightning Lane?). We decided we wouldn’t pay for Genie or Lightning Lane, and we wound up not getting many rides at all in MK, although we did all right for what we wanted in Epcot. But why should we have to pay extra for rides we already paid for??? Finally, to be honest, the shopping selections at the parks and Disney Springs needs to be reworked. We found very little we were interested in. We did buy at Uniqlo, but many of the upscale Springs shops are in a mall 10 minutes from our house, so there’s no need to go there. The redesigned World of Disney is awful.
Finally, one good thing about this trip is that we didn’t have to make any dining reservations. The crowds were so low that we booked tables 2 hours before arrival and had no problem getting availability. Also, our daughter was able to walk on to the Mears Express without a reservation due to the low crowds. To us, those were terrific things, but of course they wouldn’t happen during peak seasons.
Your list is comprehensive and commendable. Agree with it all.
As our son has always been an early riser and as parents we have shifted to his pattern. Early Entry is amazing for us. That 30 mins (minus dumb 9 am MK opening time) really gives us a jump. I am like you, shocked that more don’t take advantage. I am also happy more don’t take advantage, but don’t want it to go away, either.
And agree with taking the perks away from Disney Springs…and may I be so bold to say to throw a little something more to DVC Members? I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but just throwing it out there!
Magical Express and free Fastpass are big ones to move the needle, IMO.
The. New traffic pattern in magic kingdom after fireworks is terrifying and unsafe. Cast members are blocking entrances not letting people pass. A recent experience was simply horrifying and about 100 people had panic attacks. Cast members did nothing to help !! The beverage carts even closed as the cast members felt unsafe and people were literally not moving and stuck for 45 minutes !! What is happening I hear it’s every night now. Please someone look at this !!!
Like the suggestions a lot. Unfortunately, like many companies, Disney’s customer has effectively become Wall Street. Cutting yourself to the bottom line isn’t going to get it done. They’re seeing the impact of that now. I’m a proponent of taking care of those who take care of your customers and that is where I see a big opportunity for Disney. Inflation and a high cost of living is hurting your park cast members and it shows. Start investing more in those people on the front line. The recent wage increases should be only a start. They bring the magic.
You missed water bottle refill station. It’s a small thing that would make a world of difference
I’d love to see more of those but only if they offer filtered a water. Florida’s tap water is REALLY bad.
Hilarious that the email I opened prior to this one was telling me that MK hours were extended to midnight during our stay… We leave in 2 weeks (been booked for months). Time to change up the schedule. Also, the email was not even from Disney, rather from another website that I use to “plan” my “touring”.
I really hate having to pick park days (park reservation) in advance not knowing what the hours might be, or if there will be a holiday party. Maybe it will be better next time after they suspend park res next year.
Park Hopper 2 pm park change at DISNEYWORLD was one of the worst additions ! Can’t wait for that to go away. You pay more for a park hopper ticket and you’re still penalized . Having to re arrange your park schedules on top first park reservations would make any person go insane .
Tom, you make some great points. We’ve been to Disney World over 30 times in the past 25 years. We love Disney. Until recently, it was our favorite place to go. I think the Disney Company has lost focus on their original mission, put the mighty dollar over their guest experiance, and doesn’t recognize their competitors as true threats. We haven’t been back since 2018. We are scheduled to visit Universal Studios in December. We miss Disney, but until they get back on track as the company they used to be, we are going to spend our hard earned dollars elsewhere. Disney, please listen to your fans and make the right decisions. We hope to see you again soon!
All the improvements you listed sound great, but actually the largest inconvenience for me and my family is the Magic Express. If that one thing were brought back, I’d even be happy with higher prices. It made planning the trip much simpler without worrying now about what we are using for transportation to and from the airport.
For us, we’ll have to wait and see what happens over the next few years. Too much has changed, been lost, and now when we think of Disney the thoughts we have are not happy or nostalgic. We’ve soured on Disney. This is the only remaining newsletter/social media related to Disney that still subscribe to- because I like you and your articles. If they are truly interested in gaining back some of us long time visitors- the changes will need to be tsunami sized- not tweaks. The next few years’ trips do not include the sunshine state.
It’s the same for us. We used to go for Christmas or Thanksgiving every year, our last being 2022. We went to Dollywood over the summer and stayed at the Dreammore Resort. The boys loved it. We had planned to possibly go back to Disney World in 2024, but when the boys were asked where they wanted to go, they said Dollywood or Universal. I have watched our trips to Disney double in cost over the past 6 years. I’m glad the kids want to go other places. Disney World is not the place we all used to love.
Sharon, yes! We feel the same. I thoroughly enjoy Tom & Sarah and I’ll watch some walk thru videos from 4K WDW but that’s all the Disney news I consume. It’s just not what it was and the changes would need to be massive in order for us to return as well.
I miss the parks but I’m quick to realize it’s the old Disney I long for. Not this new version.
Scott and Amy,
Our extended family has also been exploring other locales and what we love most is the spontaneity and ease in planning. We recently traveled to Iceland as a group of eight and the trip was less expensive than Disney and we had so much fun. Dollywood is on our list – I’m glad your family enjoyed it Scott.
Reading through the comments, I agree with the majority of them. There are so many small touches that no longer exist and which once made WDW magical. I hope for changes, but fear that so much has been cut and other things monetized, that I’m glad for the memories I have. I’m sad for people experiencing the nickel and dime- customer unfriendly Disney of today.
Good list. Our last trip was early 2020, and our next is early 2024. We like Pop Century specifically for the Skyliner…and I really wish they announced the closing dates 6 months in advance, when we were making our reservation. (We will miss the closure…but I was really nervous for awhile there!) I also really wish they announced the After Hours dates 6 months in advance – I would have liked to do After Hours at DHS, but we’ll miss that. Anyway, I think I’ve lowered my expectations enough now. Pretty sure that, between Early Entry and being adults without kids, we’ll be able to do everything we really want to without Genie+, give or take an Individual Lightning Lane. Too bad they still haven’t brought back Magical Express, though.