A LOT of people are mad at Disney World right now — and for a lot of different reasons.
Main Street, U.S.A.
We wanted to get to the bottom of why Disney guests are so mad at Disney World so, we turned to our readers! We posed the following question to our readers on Facebook: How has Disney World made you MAD this year? Here’s what they said!
We saw over 1,000 responses pointing to a wide variety of reasons that Disney World has angered our readers. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons!
How Complicated Planning Is Now
MOST respondents spoke to how complicated planning for a Disney trip is now. From Disney Park Passes to Genie+, to Dining Reservations, to Virtual Queues, to Lightning Lanes — it’s a lot more difficult to plan any Disney trip, much less a spontaneous one.
Disney Genie
One reader spoke to this saying, “Just about ALL the changes they made for COVID, except never took away. It’s not relaxing anymore. Too much prior planning…Get enough of all that in normal life without having to do it on vacation too. They took away so many things that made it magical.”
“The magic of the Disney holiday was, with some planning, the holiday was easy once you were in Florida,” another agreed, “Everything was simplified – your transfers, your tickets, your charge account, your check-in, your reservations. It allowed you just to enjoy yourself.”
The Monorail is a great way to park hop between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.
Another reader called out some specifics, “The reservation system and park hopping rules are the worst. I like to be able to choose my park based on my mood and energy level that day. Or even change my mind based on a last-minute reservation I am able to snag. If I wanted a rigid schedule, I would join a tour group or just go to work.”
The Cost
Others called to the exorbitant cost of a Disney vacation and the seemingly more common upcharges like Genie+ and loss of perks like Magical Express. “Less for more,” one respondent said, “If you are going to raise prices, maintain or raise the quality of what you provide.”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT
Another reader said it’s not so much anger they feel, “Not mad just disappointed that Disney World has now priced me out. Happy I was able to go as much as we did but it’s no longer in my wallet to go to Disney World.”
Magic Kingdom
And yet another agreed with the cost factor, specifically calling out Genie+ — which many others also referenced. They said, “Genie+ for sure. I can understand (although I don’t like it) charging, but if you do have a functional system! Fastpass + was so much better!”
Read MORE about the hundreds of price increases that have hit Disney World this year!
The Crowds
Some readers have been angriest about the crowds. Disney is in high demand, but many respondents were not fans of the lack of success the resort has had with managing the sheer volume of guests.
WOWZA
One reader said, “Our last trip was this past February. It was the most crowded with unbelievable lines.” Another added, “Used to be they could handle large crowds very well. Now they let in huge crowds without nearly enough staff to handle them, or enough things to do for the size crowds.”
Disney’s Involvement in Politics
For some of our readers, Disney’s involvement in politics, or lack thereof has been frustrating. One reader said, “Going political. Disney’s job is not to cause extra divisiveness.”
Tree of Life
Another said, “It’s disappointing to see the company wavering in its values and only using its platform when there’s media backlash.” The relationship with politics had people mad about involvement and mad about a lack of involvement.
Disney World Doesn’t Feel the Same
Some summed up all of the above problems with one sentiment — Disney World just doesn’t feel the same as it used to feel.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
“I am not mad at Disney. I am disappointed with the company and its changed brand,” one reader said, “I’m frustrated with the lack of value, and I’m sad that free, spontaneous days at Disney parks are over. I’m very happy we got to experience the classic Disney experience while we could.”
EPCOT
Another put it simply by saying, “I am thankful that I had the opportunity to be in my happy place, but it’s not the same!” And, yet another agreed, “I will always be grateful that for many years we experienced Disney. Disney used to be THE PLACE TO GO. The thrill is gone!”
Some Haven’t Felt the Anger
But it wasn’t all anger from our readers. Many left comments about amazing trips they’ve had recently and sentiments of understanding that time and companies change. One reader pointed out that though they haven’t been angry themselves, frustrations with these changes are certainly valid.
Disney World
As they put it, “Disney didn’t make me mad at all. I’ve adapted and I loved every moment! (I also understand the frustration of others, and I feel for them. So many huge changes in a short period of time). 💜”
Click here to see why Disney guests were mad in 2021.
We know things are constantly changing in the parks and we are here to HELP! If you have any questions or concerns about planning a Disney World trip, please let us know and we will do our best to get you the information you need. And if you are looking to plan a 2023 Disney World vacation, we have all of the info you need in the link below!
Everything you need to know before booking a 2023 Disney World trip!
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Want to see more of the reasons you might hate Disney World before you book the trip? Watch our video!
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Once they started charging resort guests for parking at their already overpriced hotels, the writing was on the wall. With the free parking, I would sometimes just book a Disney resort hotel for one night on my way to Ft. Lauderdale to catch a cruise ship. It was fun just to be on Disney property. Won’t do that anymore. After the parking issue, they started charging for everything. Slowly, all the perks had a price tag. MagicBands were somewhat mandatory when they first came out and you got them included in your package deal. Now you pay extra for them. I haven’t dealt with Genie+ but don’t see how this unpopular system can be maintained when everyone hates it so much. With all the new changes: park reservations, Lightning Lanes that book you during your dinner reservation – why isn’t the system connected to your dining so this doesn’t happen? – getting up at 7 a.m. on a vacation just to TRY to get the ride you want. refurbishing hotels and restaurants to look so generic you have to be told which one you are in instead of looking around and seeing the theming, and not being able to park hop whenever you want, the idea of a WDW vacation is not appealing. The last two CEOs have ruined the brand – don’t know if I’ll ever go back. And, yes, I’m a stockholder (I keep my stock to vote ‘no’) – stay out of politics! You don’t speak for all of us nor all of your employees. Keep your opinions to yourself – everyone’s got one.
Still frustrated with park hopper…when buying in advance you have to add it to all your ticketed days even though some of us don’t want it every day. What’s worse is adding it midway through your trip and having to add it to the days that have already past! I would prefer to buy it as needed on any given day of your trip not every day….like they have done currently now with Genie+. I imagine this will never change with buying park hopping because it is a huge commission boost for travel agents when people buy it in advance through a travel agent. Hoping for a change!
Anyone who has experienced the magic of a Disney vacation prior to the COVID shutdown, cannot help but be sad, disappointed, and mad at what a complete hassle it is to go to Disney World now. It is so stressful. The clever “temporary” changes made to “safeguard” have become permanent cost cutting policies for the company. Guests are now consumers and everything is pay as you go. The prices go up, up ,up as the quality and value go down, down, down. We are stranded at airports, required to make reservations to enter parks we have already paid admission for, and what was once a free and workable Fast Pass system is now a stressful added expense. How can we loyal fans NOT be sad, disappointed and yes, MAD? Bring back the magic, Disney. Charge if you must, but figure out how to bring back Magical Express and the old Fast Pass system. Get rid of this ridiculous reservation requirement. Let us park hop as we need to or at least reduce the cost since hopping is now so limited. And please bring back the Dining Plan. We need the Pixie Dust back!
I too am so very thankful that we got to enjoy Disney during the 1990’s. When Eisner left and Eiger took over, it was over and while it did get technically better, it was not the same, less friendly and mor corporate and globally focused. Oh well, the 1990’s were the best time to be at Disney new stuff and hotels opening every year. I remember the Jolly Holidays Vacation package we booked, concierge level 14th floor of the tower at the Contemporary Resort…that was living the Great life at Disney. Midnight swimming and all. Nit the same any more. Went every year for 21 years…in a row… but now it is just to hectic, too much planning, not as enjoyable. I am very sad.
I agree with many of the comments. The spontaneity of the trip is totally gone. We liked to plan where we’re going a day or two in advance. We liked the paper fast passes. Rolling out My Disney Experience was the beginning of the end of spontaneity; the stand-by lines were usually as bad as they were before fast passes. When we went during the EPCOT food and wine festival, we’d go to one of the other parks until we got hungry. Then, we’d hop to EPCOT and eat, and eat. Can’t do that any more. They’ve dumbed down so much in EPCOT that there is little there that we want to do, except eat. It used to take 2 days to see everything there. Chapek said they were making EPCOT more “family friendly.” I also read that Chapek didn’t realize adults without kids also liked to go to Disney World. Don’t get me started on all the price increases! I, too, am glad we had 20 years of fun trips to Disney World, but if things stay as they are, we may have already had our last trip, which makes me sad.
I agree with the park reservations. I completely understand why they were implemented but if the crowds are insane as they are right now clearly it’s no longer effective at managing that. As a local passholder, I always loved being able to wake up and say “Ya know I feel like going to Epcot today.” But that’s no longer possible and I would be fine if it really meant less crowds but I don’t feel the reservation system is doing much or anything anymore except creating more stress.
Price and Access
We are out of state passholders, limiting parkhopping till 2pm is ridiculous.
We go as often as possible to make the passes worth it but don’t ride the rides much because of the lines and so we enjoy other things. We go at rope drop to get the most out of the rides we do want to ride
We go off and explore off property between the end of our first park and 2pm. It’s a good 3-4 hrs breakfast/lunch. Disney you lose our money then.
And we have 3 generations who take trips every 6 yrs to see the kids grow through Disney, now with Genie+ and LL they have found it hard to plan to get a large group on all the rides. And have said they are going to wait to see if Disney changes again to make it easier for large groups. Or they will plan their trip for Hawaii instead. For the price and experience other destinations may become better options.
It’s just so sad. WDW was always a magical place that made me happy just to think about it. That’s no longer true. With the park reservations and Genie program, it’s too regimented. They’ve taken the magical express away and ruined park hopping. I’ll have to go one more time to use up all of the credits I have from my Disney visa card (almost enough for a trip!) and that will sadly be our last.
While planning is half the fun for me, the planning has become too much. While being a theme park commando is “fun”, if everyone in your party isn’t commando oriented, it leads to unnecessary fighting. That isn’t the point of a family vacation.
Not everyone is “tech savy”. If your spouse isn’t interested in tech, you get stuck making all the DNR, LL, ride choices, and the list goes on. I don’t want to be on my phone all day.
For a consumer oriented business, where is the customer service? I don’t WANT to lug packages all over the park. If Disney wants “out-of-staters”, then experiences and food need to last longer than the weekend. GET THE REFURBS DONE ALREADY. If you are going to make me pay ridiculous food prices (looking at you Space 220), the food needs to be worth it.
Give me back the fun. We aren’t all interested in the same experiences (shopping or character greetings) so BRING BACK THE VARIETY. HIRE PEOPLE TO HANDLE THE CROWDS.
Just got back from a Disney vacation.
Crowd sizes are massive, I suspected that would be the case after lifting Covid restrictions. I can see the summer of 2022 being the busiest and most profitable year for Disney Parks yet.
Yes, It’s become VERY expensive, you could almost take a family to Europe for the price or even buy a decent used car …but is it expensive enough?
Reality is overcrowding is a cause of ticket prices being too low….yup, I said it. Fact is EVERYONE wants to go to Disney parks and some people are dropping their entire savings and racking up serious credit debt to go.
So when people complain about the price…and yet still go, that makes me chuckle. If it was half the price the crowd would be even larger.
The “park reservation” system created to mitigate crowd sizes during Covid, will continue just to mitigate the crowd size for the foreseeable future.
The only option Disney has is to raise ticket prices higher still…or issue raffle tickets just for someone to be privileged enough to be allowed to purchase a Disney Park pass and I don’t see a for profit company doing that.
The other option to consider is building more parks Not necessarily in Orlando but perhaps building another Kingdom in Texas, etc?
As far as the app goes. I hate it. Last thing a parent wants to do is be glued to their phone…while on vacation.
We are Florida residents. For years we brought our kids to Disney . Now it is not the same going to Disney because to complicated. Used to be could just buy a ticket and enter the park and have a fun day and evening. Now a ticket does not grant entrance to the park because a reservation is required in addition to purchasing a ticket. It is too complicated to go to Disney and not a simple process. Disney needs to go back to the old days when buying a ticket was a simple process without making a reservation. Our family loved going to Disney but not anymore. We have other parks Sea World and Universal where it is easy to purchase a ticket and enter without the hassle of making a reservation on top of ticket purchase. Disney is just to complicated and not fun anymore. So sad. Disney has also gone woke. So sad about splash mountain.