The Fall of Disney Parks (Part 1)| Disney Genie's Impact on Guest Experience
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- For so long, Disney has stood as the leader of the theme park industry. This video, which is split into two parts, breaks down how Disney will decline and how Universal parks will take their place. Here in part 1, I'm going to be breaking down the history of Disney fastpass and how Disney Genie further destroys the guest satisfaction of the already poor Disney experience. Part 2 will focus on other anti-consumer policies of the Walt Disney Company, as well as break down how Universal parks will rise to set the new industry standard for exceptional theme parks.
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The Fall of Disney Parks (Part 2)| How Universal Will Become the New Industry Leader: • The Fall of Disney Par...
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I'd like to correct a minor mistake made in the video, and I'd like to thank Tulin Firenze in the comments for pointing it out to me. The development of My Magic+ is estimated to cost around 1.5 to 2 BILLION, rather than million that I stated.
I really hate their very unimaginable new rides: Mickey and Minnie's, Ratatouille and Star Wars.
@@MsSkipperkim they are quite imaginable, since they were indeed imagined and do exist!
I was going to say $1.5M-$2M is incredibly cheap for such a system. $2B however yikes...
That’s an error off by a factor of 1,000. That’s hardly a minor error
@@MsSkipperkim Rise of the Resistance is an incredibly innovative and immersive trackless ride. Universal’s newest ride is a roller coaster loosely themed after Jurassic Park. That’s Six Flags level stuff.
Went to Disney World just under a month back, took my friend who'd never been to the US expecting for at least some enjoyable experience. Really disappointed, could rant on about everything I hated but already did that in a review.
All I'll say is that it's ironic that they can't respect the legacy of Robin Williams, a man who openly said he didn't want his likeness used for marketing purposes for his role in Aladdin, plastering his character over the disgrace that is Genie+.
Same, I went a couple years ago and it was stressful and underwhelming. Ive had better experiences at a faire and I wanted to go home
Last time I checked Genie looks nothing like Robin Williams. And he certainly isn't the only one to voice the character in the films.
Sorry, there may be a lot to critcize Disney over, but robin williams wishes aren't one of them. He was paid to do voice over work.
@@Mark-pe2sh the part of the story you might be missing is that this was part of the negotiation to get him to come on board. He believed disney broke that contract, which was why he didn't return for the sequel. Yeah they paid him, but money was not his only term.
@@kicapanmanis1060 he literally signed a contract saying Disney wouldn’t use the genie to market.
I feel like I need another college degree to go to Disney. Going to a theme park shouldn't be so complicated.
Exactly! We shouldn't need a PhD to enjoy a theme park.
You definitely need a map you're going to have to find some water sooner or later
Word !
My advice is, if you want a decent Disneyland experience like the days of Yesteryear, save up more money and go to see Disneyland in Tokyo. They are so removed from the BS since it's not actually run by Disney and is run by people who actually know what they're doing.
That actusllt sounds amazing
intresting
Disney land in Tokyo is amazing, and Disney sea is also amazing. I went around 8 years ago. The parks are very beautiful and everyone there is really nice. The one ride that I wish I could have gone on, was journey to the center of the earth. We waited to go on it at night, but then the worst storm rolled in.
I went this year and it’s sooo great!
I am not sure about that since they as well replaced the whole “Ladies and Gentlemen” message just to be politically correct.
Parks attendance grows and grows.
Universal: well, looks like we’ll have to build more attractions and add another park.
Disney: well, looks like we’ll have to charge people to be in the crowd.
Hit it right on the head there.
all i have to say to anyone that is complaining about Genie plus is, pay up or shut up. no more free rides.
for 4 people using fast pass at each park:
Disney: $80 for 4 people
six flags: $85 for gold/$125 for platinum per person: $340/$500 for 4 people
cedar fair: $89 a person: $356 for 4 people
universal: $95 a person: $380 for 4 people
So i ask you this, is Disney overcharging for Genie plus? the real problem is that disney patrons are use to getting max pass for free, but now they have to pay. disney is doing nothing wrong, so get over it.
@@goku_90260 Might want to compare park admission prices on all those while you’re at it. /wink
@@KatRoyalOfficial I believe Cedar Point/fair admission is $60 per person so much less than Disney World. But you also aren't getting Disney World experiences like fireworks, character experiences. Parades, guest experience, magic etc.
It's comparing apples to oranges.
$120 admission at Magic Kingdom makes a $50 admission at your local amusement park seem like a huge rip-off.
@@jimeagle1155 I would have agreed with you in the past, but those extra guest experiences at Disney have disappeared over the years. You’re now paying a lot more for less. Every park used to have a parade, for example, but now only one does, and that park no longer has a nighttime parade. The character experiences are not as good due to the current Covid rules. Extra Magic Hours is no longer a benefit of being a Disney resort guest. I could keep going but you get my point.
I brought my two teenage children to WDW in 2017. We live all the way in Tasmania Australia. I hadn't visited WDW since the 1980s and so I was expecting my kids to have the same magical experience I remembered from all those years ago. Boy was I ever wrong! The crowds were HUGE. The spontaneity of just walking around and going on rides (sometimes more than once!) was gone. We knew there was a system called Fastpass, but found everything was already booked up for the entire day by the time we arrived at 10am. Several of the big attractions were broken (Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain) which meant the lines for the remaining rides were ridiculous (2 hours plus for Haunted Mansion). Our once-in-a-lifetime visit to WDW was garbage. My kids asked us to leave at 5:30 in the afternoon. The saddest part for me was excepting that the magic of WDW was gone.
My mother took my brother and me in '98, from Australia. A life long goal, and the fact my brother and I were 18 and 21, this was kind of her last chance of doing the Disney experience as a family together before my brother joined the Army. Her life long dream was to ride the tea cups.
We did it on the cheap. We were not "wealthy", very naive, didn't even have travel insurance. Didn't know about the lack of public transport in orange county/LA compared to Sydney.
]We spent 2 of the best days at Disneyland. She got to ride her teacups. I got to do my star wars ride. Rode the Indiana Jones ride twice. Went on all the big rides. Longest wait was maybe 45 minutes. After learning about the parks after watching these videos, I consider us blessed we had a really great experience, without knowing about all the perk stuff. It was during when they had the Mulan parade at night.
@@RogueBoyScout Glad you got to have that experience with your mother. Wish we could have, sadly the WDW of old is now all but gone. Such a pity for families who go now. Not at all the same magical experience.
We flew from Melbourne, Australia ( we no longer live there)to Disneyland when I was a kid while the park wasn’t as crowded ( this is back in 1991) I wasn’t too impressed and couldn’t understand the hype . I went back a few year back this time to Disneyworld with my husband and son and we were miserable, the park( Magic Kingdom) was overcrowded to the point you could barely walk the least popular parks weren’t as crowded ( Epco , Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom) but they didn’t offered the much not worth the money . If you are planning a family vacation to a themed park I would suggest Universal is much better with less crowds and their express lines you can actually just walk straight to the ride without reservation and can go multiple times in the same ride , many of their rides offers single line riders if you w as not to wait inline or pay extra to skip the line together. The only exception is the new Harry Porter rides but if you stay in their properties they’ll let you in early into the park which you can go straight into those rides and lines aren’t as long.
After going 14 times in 11 years, we have given up on Disney. Price keeps going up while the experience keeps going down including quality. We went last October and were treated rudely several times for the first time ever.
One days park ticket will get you a season pass to Dollywood. Employees are friendly. Entertainment is great. Food quality is good. And lower crowds!
I went to Dollywood once when I was in elementary school for about half the day and I can't say that I remember much. However, I've become very aware of how cool and well themed their attractions are within the last few years. A new trip to Dollywood and to Silver Dollar City are on my bucket list for within the next few years.
Dollywood is one of the best out there. Possibly my favorite. I was at Disney last month though and had no negative experiences with CM's whatsoever.
I hear about the special "pixie dust" some get from CMs on their trips. I wish I'd had that...no rudeness just nothing special.
Who is Dollywood geared towards? Kids? Do they even know who Dolly Parton is?
Oh well. DON'T like it, DON'T go. Disney has done NOTHING wrong
I worked Pirates of the Caribbean before and after it got fastpass. We went overnight from, on a mid-sized day, the ride usually having a 15-35 minute wait for standby to everyday having a wait of over an hour in the standby ride. It was so bad that the Fastpass line was usually a 25 minute late. Pirates and Mansion were designed to absolutely chew people up. They can hit almost 3,000 hourly capacity. Fastpass fucked up a perfect system.
We giving up on Disney. We’ve lost count how many times we’ve visited over the past 41 years always staying on the property. Heck, we did the Grand Plan (no longer exists) twice including the year the Grand Floridian opened. As for the old MKC World plan, it’s safe to say we did that 20 plus times. The perks were amazing. Play golf, use the boats, guided fishing trips and 3 meals per day. Including meals at any table service restaurant restaurant. And yes, that included Victoria & Albert’s, the California Grill, the Yachtsman Galley and all the dinner shows. Now there are no perks with only new and improved ways to nickel and dime you to death. We sold off our 500+ points in DVC. We honeymooned at Disney before it was a thing. We had a great room on the 10th floor of the Contemporary Tower facing the Magic Kingdom. The hotel gave us many little perks like champagne, fruit, chocolates, flowers, and large Mickey & Minnie plush animals. Yes, we are quite done with Disney. They don’t even give you a kiss when they are done screwing you.
It does feel like they are just milking money out of people instead of adding value. I was ok with the previous system because if I was spending a ton to be there I'd be happy to do a little work with planning. Now it just feels like you just have to pay more and a lot of the real magic is gone. They need the shows back. It feels like scaling back the shows and everything else was betting that the virus would win instead of taking the black eye but still offering a great experience to make sure people came back.
Disney kiss when they are done screwing you? Let's be more honest and put it bluntly, I would say reach-a-round
@@invisio it reared its a long time ago but guest are now seeing what former cast members and people who worked on the property have seen and known for years.
I feel that out of everything, the biggest problem with the parks today is how Disney is relying too heavily on ip's, something that was never meant to happen within the Disney parks. When Walt designed and built Disneyland, the biggest aspect of the park was that each land was based around a generalized theme. Main St. was based on his home, Adventureland was based on the jungles, Frontierland being that of the old west, Fantasyland being the land focused on the stories he told in art form put to rides, and Tomorrowland being the land for future ideas we normally couldn't see. What this did was give Disney and the imagineers unlimited freedom as they weren't bound by an ip and were instead able to decide what should go where as long as the ride itself fit within the general theme. You can't do that with Star Wars, Marvel, and Cars due to how limited you become since now, you're not only bound to the theme, but also the IP.
The irony in your post is that, at least with Star Wars and Cars, they _could_ pick quite a wide array of choices. Cars is set in ... the world, and Star Wars has a HUGE universe, despite 90% of the planets being a single biome.
... but then they do what you say: Focus on the IP too much. Star Wars is all Kylo and Rey and already seen characters and movie sets, and Cars is also the same. There's nothing wholly NEW or really creative.
What’s an “ip”?
@@julieann4616 Intellectual Property. Like how they purchased the MCU and Star Wars. They're just property to corporations like Disney.
And the other problem is Disney owns so much stuff, their portfolio of IPs dont mesh well.
Homer Simpson, Yoda, Iron Man, Ripley, Lightning McQueen, Kermit and Jack Sparrow are all owned by Disney. NONE OF THESE THINGS MESH AT ALL, they have nothing to do with each other.
So Disney parks, slowly but surely, an incoherent mess. It's like wandering through the grounds of a billionaire hoarder.
@@julieann4616 intelligent property. Essentially an individual series or franchise. The term can be kind of loose. Star Wars is an IP. Mickey Mouse is an IP. Mulan is an IP
After having an Annual Pass with my wife since 1993, Disney has officially exhausted us so we will not be purchasing anymore passes Annual or otherwise. The reservation requirement alone made us reluctant to return to Disney but the Annual Pass prices and issues associated with them was the final nail in the coffin. Over the years we gave Disney's "new and improved" ideas a name: We call them Disney Non-Perk Perks. Disney continues to have a better idea with policies designed to look like they benefit the guest but in the end, they benefit Disney not the paying customer.
I love the comment that D'Amaro made about Disney Genie. I think it was essentially "now guests have the opportunity to pay an extra upcharge to ride popular attractions like Rise of the Resistance!" As if Disney didn't produce an attraction that they can't run reliably and now you as the consumer have been given the "opportunity" to pay them to bypass their lack of ability to run the parks.
Same here
@Poseidon Entertainment thank you for calling our D’Amaro. We focus on Chapek too much - Josh is equally guilty.
This is our last year having a pass. I wish Genie was introduced before we renewed because we would not have renewed.
@@Mike-sr5jk that was intentional.
Hubby is a former Disney exec, long time APs (since back when they were 99.00), our children were raised on Disney, it's a major part of our family heart and traditions. For the first time EVER, we are planning a trip to Universal Florida.
😳😳😳😳 Wow.
i hope you have fun! it's a blast!
You'll be amazed! I highly recommend running to Hagrid's Motorbike first because the lines can get terribly long (especially on a weekend.) However, if you can go during a weekday in the winter, you should have a blast. It'll feel like Disneyland from the 90's.
I just discovered your channel and as a former Cast Member, I LOVE your channel. Thank you for saying what all CMs have been saying for YEARS. Please consider making a patreon and I would happily give to keep this channel alive.
I'm not looking to do that right now, but I appreciate your support!
Man, sucks that your management turned a blind eye to concerns about the park.
You'd give to this channel ? LMAO..If that's true, you were NOT a cast member
@@BAKER22-l4u 2016-2021. Stop being a jerk. It doesn't look good on you.
Also a former cast member and I wholeheartedly agree. I could tell so many stories of times where cast gave really good suggestions that went unaddressed; where cast that had a background in a particular field and could maybe have been better employed in a role that took advantage of their abilities to make the parks better were passed over time and time again for silly (imho) reasons; and when US parks were literally creating magic on a dime, if that, while the resources and funds we needed and asked for were funneled to new projects that ultimately didn’t result in the ROI executive teams likely forecasted. It was so frustrating at times.
Universal bending to JK Rowling's every plea to win her franchise rights was critically brilliant. They clearly had kind of foresight that Disney stubbornly didn't.
Considering Rowling rejected Disney before, I'd love to be a fly on the wall during those meetings just to hear what requests Disney couldn't budge on
@@RariettyC ikr!?
@@RariettyC From what we know, one of them was having a train that takes you to the park. Disney insisted that was too expensive but Universal said it wasn't a problem.
I'd bet a dollar to a donut that the execs have meticulously calculated the the gains vs the losses from folks like us that have had enough and leave the brand. The gains are worth it to them. They do not care about you. I hear all the time that Disney works so hard to make people happy. Meh, I'm going with they want to keep people just happy enough to come back. At the end of the day, they care about your money, not you. RIP Mr. Disney.
It's all about the bucks now kid . All the warm fuzzy feelings about the kids went out the window when Walt died . And quite frankly , I think the shareholders were glad he did . " now " they said huddled in a back room , " we can quit wasting money on the next kiddie ride and make some serious money "
@@doughoward6401 It has always been about the money. You really think Walt did this for likes. Life cost money. Unfortunately a park that cost millions a day just to sit finally opened up. If the fallout is that I have to just pay an extra 15 bucks a day then that's fine. And yes I know hotel parking cost now and in 2021 no more free shuttles. Guess what. There are hotels outside Disney and Uber. If you really want to stick it to them then do that. Get an outside hotel, get an uber, and just pay for a ticket. Do that and they will lose money on you.
Get a good breakfast before and bring snacks for lunch. Then go outside Disney for dinner. I'm serious. There a ways to make a 4 day vacation there cheap. It just takes work.
Guests fall into 2 broad categories; the sheeple and the unfortunates. The unfortunates like us are the ones that go there knowing it is a scam. We do that for the kids. Nothing wrong with it, but fool me and mine once... Do what I did, educate the kid and point out the scam. You will be surprised how quick kids pick up on those things. My kid told me walking out that he wanted me to assume we went to disney next year, and instead put the 3.5k in his college savings. Nothing you can do about the sheeple, its a lost cause, the wild eyed mystified 40+ year olds that still think Snow White is in there somewhere.
@@spencer5465 i think disenyland Texas makes the most sense.
Whoever replaces Bob Chapek has to replace some of the magic, surely!
Dislike having to plan everything for every minute, you just cannot have spontaneous fun at Disney anymore. It has become more complicated than a military operation, and almost as extensive.
THIS tbh. If it werent for my mega disney fan cousin, there would have been ZERO chance for me to enjoy ROTR. She knows the operation like the back of her hand. As a kid going with my family, all you had to do was buy a ticket, and just by walking around and sporadically getting on rides gave you your money's worth. Now you have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to break even.
As someone who has spent a lot of time at Theme Parks, especially at Disney, I rather disagree. There is plenty of spontaneity present at theme parks, but people don't seem to care about that anymore, all anyone wants to do is ride, ride, ride!
I think people have been stuck on the notion of trying to "get their money's worth" (whatever that means) when they go, instead of just enjoying themselves. There are loads of small, hidden things that people skip or don't even know exist because they are too hyper focused on getting to all the rides and shows in one single trip. It's just not gonna happen, and all you end up doing is making yourself miserable. It's ok to take it slow and spend your time having fun.
@@themisfitowl2595 Good point. When you go to DL with the intention of just getting on as many rides as possible it kinda tires you out by 5pm. You miss out on enjoying the ambience by trying to hurry around and always keep moving.
@@Wilkins325
Admittedly, I've been guilty of it too. Sometimes I have to force myself to literally stop and smell the roses, (or whatever nearby flowers there are) just to remind myself that there is more than rides to experience.
@@themisfitowl2595 an excellent point. As a former cast member I’ll say some of the best magic we were able to make revolves around introducing our guests to those nuances they might have skipped over in the rush rush to get “everything” accomplished and get that money’s worth as you said.
However, I do also agree with OP here in that a lot of the more recent changes have taken away the spontaneity factor, in the sense that so many things, events, some attrax, meals, etc, HAVE to be planned ahead of time if you ARE trying to experience them. I definitely miss the former days of just being able to show up and enjoy the parks organically. And I’m not sure some of these recent changes are necessarily meant to assist guests with noticing and taking part in those “special” things, the nuances.
This is spot on. We've been going to Disneyland for decades. In September 2021, for the first time ever, we had an AWFUL time. The entire experience has gone downhill. The reservation system was difficult to navigate, the standby lines were impossible, and no one was able to interact with other guests because you had to be on your damn phone the whole time! Walt has got to be turning over in his grave. I hope he haunts Bob Chapek and makes that money-grubbing POS miserable. Oh, and we were about to dump our stocks, but they dropped suddenly, so we're waiting for them to go back up a bit. We no longer want ANY part of Disney and that's sad considering my hubs has been a fan of Disneyland for literally 60 years.
Knowing my way around, I started counterclockwise, and double dipped on Space Mountain, front and back row. But then you now have an app sending swarms to E ticket rides.
All I can really say is, if it has single rider, go for it. You can ride whenever you want, and the wait time is tolerable. Rise though, oh boy, good luck.
People called me crazy and "awfully negative" when on that February morning in 2015, I said "this does NOT bode well", referring specifically to Chapek's consumer products background and how eerily similar it is to Paul Pressler. What we're seeing today is what would've happened in the 2000s if Pressler was allowed to stay longer.
Those people aren't laughing at me anymore. I called all of this for YEARS now. Unfortunately, too many fans and the general customer just don't "read the tea leaves" of the business before it's too late.
I remember Pete from The DIS was making this point as well. Perhaps Chapek was great for the Disney store, but the company is no longer fit for him. The integrity of the parks no longer seem to matter, acting as giant retail stores.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I've watched their show for almost a decade, one of only a tiny few sizeable voices honest about the parks (there needs to be more).
@@lehudragon9402 It's a wonder they still have their media passes, but I agree. It's refreshing to hear criticism when it's warranted.
@@PoseidonEntertainment let’s not forget that almost all the Disney stores are being closed…
THIS. Every time I mentioned how these changes would cause harm back in 2016, people would attack you on the forum sites. Now they're realizing how right we were. Slowly but surely, the magic has been eroded away.
Disney created the problems they’re trying to solve with Genie. They have just been adding and adding and adding rooms. Without adding experiences or capacity.
What!?
@@jasonhensley2452 They have been increasing the number of guests that could reasonably go to the parks without increase ride capacity or the ability to handle more people.
@@andrewh1113 Every land of every park barely has any attractions. Three if you're lucky. Universal Studios is better in that regards.
Unfortunately I don’t think much will change. Disney will eventually be their own demise. When you slowly eat away at the Legacy and Love you created, it’s very hard to get that trust and joy back.
I have been going to Disneyland since the early 1970s. There were summers when we were there every Friday because it was just $9 per person. I worked at the Disneyland Hotel in 1988-1990 and have remained a resident of Orange County for decades so I could keep my family near Disneyland.
BUT, since the destruction of the retro atmosphere at the hotel, with lots of fun things to see and do, and the creation of the Downtown Disney shopping district, with absolutely nothing to do but shop, that side of the Disney experience has been lost to the sands of time. I no longer love Disney as I once did... and that's a sad thing to admit.
Sorry to hear this. I wish I could have visited the park in the 70's/80's. It's quite sad to see the way things are going these days.
@@daniellanglois89 it was a lot of fun back then....a LOT! The movies, the parks, the toys. It's miserable now. And way overpriced.
We just got back from our first trip to Disney as adults with our own kids (I hadn’t been in nearly 30 years since I was a kid), and while we had some fun, there was a certain…bad taste in my mouth after we left. We stayed on property because that’s what people who had lots of Disney experience recommended, but only once we were there did we realize that most of the perks that historically justified the on-property hotels were gone. And on top of the INSANE hotel cost, they charged us for parking! So we felt we were getting fleeced, which only got worse when we had to pay for food. $13 for a crappy, dry, flavorless burger that’s not even as good as something from Steak ‘N Shake for $4. Insane rates for buffets that offer food that’s just OK (Biergarten). Cocktails at Oga’s Cantina whose costs rival the most expensive hotels I’ve ever been to, but there’s no characters (at the moment, anyway) to enhance the experience.
On top of those bigger issues, there was a bunch of other stuff - transportation issues, ride breakdowns (I got evac’d from Mine Ride and at least three times we wanted to go on a ride but it was broken at that particular moment), long waits for grab-and-go food.
I’ll say as the parent with the wallet that I left less than thrilled. I’ll not be rushing back next year, and if we do go again, we’ll be staying off-property for sure.
We took our kids last year. We had more fun and actually spent more time at the resort we stayed at. And it certainly wasn't a Disney resort.
Just do universal instead. But don’t go around a holiday.
This is so depressing. Took my kids to Disney World twice when they were little and we loved it. We did everything without having to have a crazy schedule. My kids have grown and flown, but we all talked about wanting to experience Disney again. No thanks. This isnt my idea of a vacation. Sad. Disney is preying and capitalizing on people’s FOMO. It feels like the theme park version of Black Friday. If you don’t get there early or plan ahead, you might miss the big prize! Ugh
Unlike Black Friday there are no discounts, only mark ups, but I agree the atmosphere is similar
I said it on Offhand Disney's video and I'll say it again.
The Chapek Era: Let's Cheapen the Experience and Charge you more for it.
How long until it backfires?
Meanwhile, Universal is building things like Epic Universe and becoming a less costly but higher quality multi-day resort.
Do not forget to blame Josh. As head of parks, this is also on him.
All my young life I wanted, needed to go to WDW... and when I finally did as a young father with his kids in 1998, it was an exceptional time.... I and my family loved it so much we decided to go a second time 2000.. But this time we would stay on the Disney property... and include the "Disney Dinning experience"... OMG.. the experience was beyond belief and enjoyable. The "Fast Pass" was a dream come true... At the end of the experience, we even had enough "Disney Dinning" money left over we could buy a bottle of wine due to the fact we couldnt spend enough on food during the stay.....
And then things started to go down hill....the next 3 trips got progressively worse with each visit. Not only did they get rid of the "Disney Dinning" they also got rid of the "Fast Pass" altogether... I could go on but it would be senseless due to the fact Disney will care less what I think... Suffice to say, Disney will never be Disney anymore. Walt would be pissed if he was alive today.
We fell in love with Disney on our once in a lifetime trip, and went on four annual trips. We had planned to keep going. When we went to book for this December (i.e. December 2021) we opted not to pull the trigger because the price had gone up so much since we started going four years ago. We ended up booking Portofino Bay for less than we had paid to stay at a moderate at Disney. When the Genie+ news dropped I was so glad we had never booked Disney this year, and snagged the Universal Deal.
Excited to check out Universal this December.
I'm glad you're checking it out. I would curb your expectations for the Studios, but I think Universal realizes the mistakes made in that park and will work to fix it over the coming years. Islands though is absolutely fantastic. Same with Volcano Bay.
I felt the same way about prices going up but I've come to realize there's more than my standards that have gone up, I recently duplicated the exact same trip I took 3 years ago 2 see the price difference and to my surprise it is actually $6 cheaper this year than it was in 2018 for the exact same vacation with no discounts.
Not saying my results are typical by was surprising, try doing that with one of yours and see how it comes up
If you like Harry Potter , you must get the park to park from islands to universal and take the Harry Potter train ride . It is entertaining and a nice cool rest if it’s hot outside.
Universal at Christmas decorates entire parks, not just the main entry or around a lagoon. Suessland at Christmas is my favorite! Be sure to see the grinchmas show and get a picture with him! Highlight last year! And Velocicoaster is one of the best new coasters in Orlando if not country. Immerse yourself in Potter world-really take the time, do the spells. Go to the shows! all of them! Have fun!
LMAO...See ya
This video was outstanding...I just got back from Disney world and I've gone over 40 times in my life. This was by far the worst experience I've ever had. I can't even wrap my head around the decline. In part 2 or 3 make sure to talk more on the ride updates that not only suck but also take months to do and still sick. Disney could build stuff and prep while still running to so they can minimize downtime during refurbishment. Instead its easier to just shut down a year or even 2 to do work that's underwhelming.
You're also right with the new rides. They seem to be reaching only for the bare minimum, if even. Look at most of the new ones they do have. Nothing really earth shattering. Lastly, can you touch on the total failure of the once outstanding transportation system they had....man I have at least a dozen topics I wish you could do...I was a loyal fan of Disney for many years but I was pushed over the edge this years.
You could almost make a mini series called The Decline of Disney: Vacation Kingdom of the Rich
I've already done a video specifically on Disney's new attractions if you're interested in checking it out:
The Creative Bankruptcy of Disney Leadership: Why the Mediocrity of New Disney Rides Doesn't Deliver: th-cam.com/video/KvWA5_G8It0/w-d-xo.html
Those poor monorails have lived quite past their life expectancy. So much for my dream of seeing the skyliner connect more resorts to parks...🙄
I haven't been to WDW since 2015 but the last time we were there I thought that Little Mermaid ride in Fantasy Land was only so-so. I missed the charm of the old Snow White ride. The Mine car coaster was nice for kids but could have been more. I didn't enjoy trying to plan rides in advance of my visit. I liked the paper fast passes they had way back where you would get the reservation at the ride itself. The only thing that would have been better is if you could have booked a fast pass without walking to that ride. I wish they would ditch all of the apps but I'm too old school I guess.
This morning I woke up and thought, "we haven't heard from posiden entertainment in a while, I bet he's making a long video critiquing disney for all the crap they just announced." Glad I was right! Good video! This is getting ridiculous
Admittedly, the video making process is far more involved than I would have ever initially anticipated. I appreciate the support!
Admittedly I am discouraged about the changes at Disney, but to be honest it's been a long time coming from start charging for Fastpass and, from someone who used the My Disney Experience app quite extensively I have high hopes for the my genie app. And I like that you cannot secure fast passes before the day of.
I just wish they would do away with the Park reservation thing because I'm the type of person that likes to get up before then the rest of my family and go to a park to rope drop a ride then come back.
Agreed his videos are ridiculous.
As a life long guest, former cast member, and former annual pass holder, Disney has really gone down hill. Of course prices will rise with the higher demands but charging for parking per night at their own resorts is ridiculous. Not only that but now if you fly it’s cheaper to take an Uber than to use magical Express. Resorts go up in price and then the gauge you with lack of services making the vacation a piece of work. I would like to add that the rides have not been very impressive over the past decade either. Cheap layovers, no original IP’s. Disney use to take everything into consideration now they don’t give a rip. I use to frequent the parks about 3-4 times a year for a bout a week long trip. Now I go once a year for maybe 3-5 days. I’m finding myself traveling to other places that allow me to have a unique experience for a fraction of the price.
Its not even about the price to me. Its the lack of innovation, creativity, and immersion that seems to be quickly fading away by everything just getting a moving logo. I brought my fiance on her first trip to disney world in 2018 and the whole time I wished she could have seen it 15 years ago
And the over complicated style of it all.
Can't stand that Disney is so cold and careless to the opinions of their longtime fans, that this is just NOT what people want..
I've been a lifelong Disneylander, going my entire life thanks to Disney-loving parents, but I feel more and more guilty for buying into their garbage by the year; but at the same time I don't want to miss what little of Walt's magic is left before they snuff it out. I'm absolutely dreading the Splash retheme at the moment as it's been my all-time favorite ride with its awesome music/animatronics/theming and its replacement will no doubt be as soullessly corporate and low-budget as everything else they've made lately.
I can't imagine how ashamed Walt would be at what the company's doing these days. The movies are nothing special anymore, their renowned ride theming and cutting-edge technology is turning to rust, and they're squeezing every cent they can from their fans at every turn, with not an ounce of respect in return.
I can't say "I hate Disney" with Walt in mind and all the good he did, but *MODERN* Disney can go take a hike.
I agree with most of what you are saying, but in regards to Splash mountain, as a black man I have always felt off and wrong going on that ride and I eventually stopped going. It's theming may be cute and all to you, but it is truly hurtful to me. I saw that movie it's based on in my youth and even back then, was blown away with the tone of it all. The princess and the frog was a fun movie and I don't mind at all changing the theme to that. They could have chosen Bambi or any number of other fun Disney movie to theme it and that would have worked for me too.
@@bweaver760 Entertainment should never be at the expense of a class of people's dignity. As a white woman married to a black man, I've seen how hurtful that ride is. It has nothing to do with Marxism, Communism or whatever. It's simply empathy for another human being. Think about that, Beth.
I agree, we loved Disney, Walt’s Disney, a place for children and adults to enjoy the magic of the movies, but we’ve been visiting for twenty years and feel as the prices have gone up the magic has decreased, I doubt we’ll go again , possibly Paris ( we live in the UK ) but drag ourselves across the Atlantic to feel ripped off , I think we can do without that.
What Universal really needs to do to turn up the heat on Disneyland is upgrade their Hollywood location. It’s got great branding with the motion picture theming, the layout is cool, it’s got the backlot tour, and the City Walk shopping and restaurants work well - but the rides? Really need an upgrade. Jurassic World is fine, but the Mummy, Transformers, Simpsons, Fast & Furious, etc are all weak. Really lost opportunity on the West Coast to put it to the Mouse
@Tiger Lily You must be fun at parties
I grew up in socal and always went to Disney. Five years ago we moved to the south east and I started going to world. I started to notice the park decline in land before we moved and then slowly world followed. Prices go up, rides are replaced with different themes versus fresh rides, food quality is dog crap and cast members are bitter due to rude customers. We use to go multiple times a year. We went during off season but it started to not make much of a difference the past few years. We have sworn off Disney parks and their crap movies until they get it together and don’t just see me as a wallet. I completely agree with your videos on Disney.
You’ve basically just put all my conversations of the past few weeks in a video. It is so sad and sucks. I remember meeting cast members outside the parks and learning about all the rules they used to have and how strict the hiring was and everything and now it’s just an absolute disaster.
I was a college program intern in 2015, and back then we were saying that if Disney could get away with it, they would stock the parks entirely with college aged workers who were willing to work for $10 an hour because of the perks and were thrilled to have the privilege of being there, rather than pay people to be full-time cast members… Plus they got $100 a week out of us for our apartment (which they got for free), times six because there were six to an apartment
FINALLY somebody does a piece on what has been obvious to many of us (who remember what made Disney and the parks unique and fun!) for some time now. I would say they started downhill since leaving the hands of the Disney family. What originally made an attraction to children, and some adults, originally was imagination, fun, and adventure. When I went as a young child (60’s 70’s), it seemed REAL to me! And it stimulated my imagination for many things and places. From jungle adventures, old Dixieland New Orleans, Space, Fantasy, and the microscopic world! That seems to be totally lost in current Disney! Tour guides used to play along with the experience (for children and some adults) acting as if it were real. Now they act like bitter employees cracking lame jokes about the attractions. The focus now, which is very apparent, is making lots of money, and not offending anyone. Also, the focus is now directed more towards young adults, rather than children and families. In short, it is RUINED. 😢
I have been planning a Disney World trip for my family for next year, but am now reconsidering it due to this new Genie change. I still enjoy Disney World as a place but not the amount of money I get ripped off from them. Overall great video and keep it up!
If I didn't live close by, I'm not sure that I would even want to go anymore. It's getting to the point where I no longer believe that it's worth the cost of a trip as they ride off of a reputation that they no longer deserve.
Try planning a trip to Dollywood..its about 1/3 the cost..a three day ticket is $130..and there is a water park...she has an o site hotel..abut more, but there are lots of hotels and great restaurants all around...Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg have lots of great experiences....and it's in the Smoky Mountains...it has food better than Disney, and great collection of rides and shows...tge food is really great...there is even a phenomenal Dolly Parton musem...
for a family of 4 , Disney is over priced , and frankly it do not justify the cost , better go to the Icon Park on the I4, go to Ripleys, go to Acuatica, Universal and Legoland and will be cheaper than staying at Disney and their 4 parks
@@jorgeldejesus8465 Wonderworks is fun too
You are not alone. I'm reading more and more comments like this.
I think imho, putting a penny pincher in the position of CEO is a huge red flag. Let alone a good thing. The second red flag is the extreme lack of experiences of both attractions and shows, and of course, another red flag: the already poorly executed genie app. I don’t think calling Disney too big to fail will work to wave off criticism is going to work anymore.
The second part of this will definitely address that. Disney has such a huge market of people who take once in a lifetime vacations and spend a ridiculous amount of money at their parks because it's just a cultural milestone. However, if the narrative shifts among the hardcore Disney fans and even they're alienated, how will that affect Disney's largest market when they hear that Disney isn't worth a trip?
My wife and I first visited Disney World in 1988. It was wonderful. A few years later we went again. Again, it was a wonderful experience. We couldn't wait to go again. A few years later we did so, and it was not nearly as good. I attempted to book a trip for next year (2022) and most of the things we enjoyed about the Disney World experience seems to have gone away. The cost has gone way up. We've decided not to return. We are very disappointed.
Almost every line could end with "Except for Tokyo Disneyland Resort."
Tokyo Disneyland is already way over priced.
@@AppleEnglishNetwork They're a good $40-50 cheaper on admission and charge less than $950 for a 2 park annual pass.
How are they overpriced?
Hot News for TDL : Price increases starting October 1st.
Also, average salary in Japan in $10K less than US which proportional makes the prices higher.
@@AppleEnglishNetwork How does that make sense? The cost to run and maintain the park doesn’t change based on average salary. It’s just slightly more affordable
@@thaismorimoto3238 it changes how much disney knows they can charge you and how much they pay cast members
Alternate Title: Yet another reason why you should be going Universal Studios Florida instead.
That's going to be exactly the point behind part two. I found that literally half the script I wrote was dedicated to how Disney Genie could be abused, so I figured it made sense to relegate that just to the first part.
See ya
Really pleased you’re making videos on this. I’m still trying to wrap my head around why Disney might think that the Disney Genie, LL, etc will work? Is this purely a cash grab? Keen to discuss Part2 as surely there needs to be more perks for resort guests (now there aren’t EM hours either, what do resort guests actually get apart from a blandly refurbed room?? Also keen to get your views as to whether you believe MNSSHP and MVMCP will ever return? The After Hours events seem to give Disney the $ without the need for the great guest experience which MNSSHP and MVMCP brought…
I think Genie Disney is a cash grab, disguised as a "solution" to the capacity issues. I'm not entirely sure if I believe that the parties will come back, considering that Disney now knows that they can charge more for a lot less. There are apparently issues with not being able to sell enough of the "Disney Very Merriest" event later this year.
It is survival at this point… they are preparing for economic factors you do not yet realize is coming, and shareholders know it.
DON'T like it, DON'T go
You said “expensive but underwhelming additions” just as you showed Starwars World. Exactly!
It’s sad how the magic has been depleted by the current leadership. He not only cares more about the bottom line than the guest experience, but he cares even less for cast members. I have been going since the 70s, but am starting to visit US more often. They seem to care much more for both guests and employees and that matters deeply to me. I am also shopping vintage, thrifted, or artisan rather than buying from the parks. It’s better for the environment and the sellers. If Disney can’t support fans and employees, then we have to support each other (Including YOUR monetization). Great video. Thank you for putting this out there.
Honestly, I'm having trouble understanding why anyone tells me they still think Disney is worth it right now. I agree with everything you said in your video except for the comment about New Fantasyland being cheap because it focuses more on character experiences than rides. I was really pleased with the "magic portal" that opens into Belle's library and the enhanced experience of her storytelling as well as The Little Mermaid ride and Beauty and the Beast restaurant, which actually has better theming than Cinderella's Royal Table. However, that was almost a decade ago, and I think they were genuinely more focused on creating a better experience at that time than they are now.
You bring up a fair point, though my comment was alluding to the replacement of Snow White's Scary Adventures with Fairytale Hall. The New Fantasyland expansion was also created with the idea of increasing park capacity with new attractions and it hardly did much in that regard. Under the Sea has great capacity but it's not particularly popular and so fails to bring people over to that side of the park.
@@PoseidonEntertainment Didn't they already add a new version of Snow White's Scary Adventures, or is that just at Disneyland?
@@theprincessblog Yes they recently refurbed it and replaced older scenes with new ones. I miss what was there previously, but they did an excellent job of preserving the feel of the attraction and the new scenes are high quality. I'm glad that it was handled with care because even if I miss the previous experience, the new one is a worthy replacement.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I'm glad to hear that since I haven't seen it in person yet. I also want to point out that I don't think Fairytale Hall was specifically meant to replace anything because it already existed in Toontown before the expansion, and once Toontown got swallowed by New Fantasyland, they just wanted to move it to a more centralized location that was easier to find.
A lot of Disney fans have a level of Stockholm Syndrome.
The sad thing is Disney will have record-breaking profits with the new decisions, so ultimately it proves them right will further encourage more degradation of the experience where you have to pay $$$ to get the full scope. Tbf this was a long time coming as they have already done this in their other divisions.
I think that is what they believe as well. Yet, public backlash is quite strong. As pointed out elsewhere in the comments, Walt Disney World at least has so many people coming for their "once in a lifetime Disney vacation", that these problems will continue to persist because they often don't understand the situation that they're in. However, a change in narrative and public perception will drive away this market. If a trip to Disney is no longer seen as an American milestone, then they'll lose a pretty significant market.
Hey, we got Onlyfans back thru public backlash, we can do it with Disney too!!! Lol
@@STSGuitar16 naw, only fans realized it's entire market was adult entertainment. It just realized its own mistake when it saw it had 5 accounts left 😁.
@@kristingallo2158 lmao I was just joking
They got my money this year but would I go back? Definitely not rushing to! Would I ever stay in their hotels again? Zero chance! All the planning I had to do for the trip plus be on their app during my entire stay just isn't fun for me. And all the planning I did guess how many dining reservations I got? Zero. Definitely not pleased with my first experience.
The new spider man ride at DCA is absolutely awful! It’s the kind of garbage you would see at a six flags park
I really liked the scramble on the iPhone to try to get into Ride of the Resistance. What a damned joke. You have a what, 10 or 20 second window at 7:00am. Went with five people. None of us could get on either of the two most popular attractions so we said, "So what, we just won't do it." Fast Pass was a very good system. What does a company do with a very good system - screw it where the sun doesn't shine. That's Disney 2021.
Most memorable line from business school, ‘You can be greedy…or stupid…:but not both’
I never thought that I would think twice about a Disney trip and I’m leaning on not going. I’ve always loved universal And Disney made me realize that.
I believe it and feel it when we go there. Disney wants all. Disney plus, less service, expensive food. The fall of a company if they keep going like this. In this life nothing is forever.
Disney: pay up or move out the way, there is twenty million waiting in line behind you
The reason I like this channel is because it doesn't pull the necessary punches.
We like Disney and we want to keep liking it. But we WILL NOT accept being ripped off!
Disney doesn't need to rip off their fans to succeed. I hope they realize that before it's too late.
Yet another great analysis! My family has always made use of fast pass systems no matter the cost but this Genie system is definitely a step too far. Express at Universal works so much better although I do kind of miss the convenience of magic bands when walking around Universal. It's kind of a pain to have to scrounge around for paper tickets ngl.
I agree that the paper ticket system could be annoying, but considering the lessons learned from magic band, it obviously doesn't make financial sense for Universal to invest in something like that. Granted, I haven't used the paper ticket in years and I find putting a pass in a lanyard is really convenient.
I went to Universal Singapore back in 2011 completely blind with my parents barely speaking English yet I was able to have such a fun time. I can't imagine having the same fun in Disney parks with all these confusing planning and ridiculous wait time
I can’t believe they would dirty Genie’s name like this 😔
I first visited Disney 19 years ago - with my ex and then little girl. I wanted to make new memories with my now adult daughter (30) her fiance, and my new husband who is the love of my life. I had been going on and on for ages saying how magical it was and emotional etc. So booked up to go in 2020 which was my 60th birthday, however, Covid struck, so the monies sat with the travel company and we waited. This May our chance came, but right from the get go I had a feeling that things had changed. We got a great deal for the parks, but now no water parks included. Then I was asked to book the parks on the days I was going to go! But wait I said, I don't know how we are all going to feel on a particular day, we arent used to the heat, if we book this far in advance we cannot change our plans and be spontaneous. But I was told very politely I had no choice. So book the various parks we did, we looked up the price of the water parks and decided not to include them. So the arrival day came. Luckily we stayed with a relative in a town an hours drive away. All excited we began to look at our itinerary and thankfully my relative let me borrow his car (which meant we had a bit more to spend). we were warned that we would now have to pay for parking at each park daily!!!! whaaaat? Then, download genie and if you want to go on any of the rides you are going to have to pay 14$ each!!!! no way!!!! oh yes way. So our whole time in Disney parks was spent with my daughter on the phone all the time trying to get the rides, bless her heart she managed to get us on most of the ones we wanted except the rise of the resistance, which incidentally being huge star wars fans was going to be the highlight of the trip. No characters walking around, some staff were so miserable (not the majority I hasten to add). food was really expensive, but this was a trip of a lifetime. anyway, for me and my daughter it had lost its magic, we wont return. For the boys, they have not known Disney any other way and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Epcot for us this year was the best park, because at least there you didnt have to spend a vast fortune to eat around the world at the little food booths (during the flower festival). So whoever the CEO is, I hope he realises that he has taken the heart out of Disney. It is no longer magical, I didnt see one character close up, a few on a stage far away but that was it, and please dont tell me they arent walking around because they kept getting attacked!!! its because for each character there was a chaperone, so delete this magical thing and you have made a killing on the savings on staff wages. Next time I come to Florida I will spend more time seeing real Florida, I will visit Epcot but not as many times. I will not be going to magic kingdom because that now needs to just be called Disney.
So so sad.
Magic Kingdom is a rather small for the crowd it handles. Instead of expanding it to increase capacity, they are jacking up the prices. The loss of many of the original rides at Epcot such as World of Motion has really ruined the experience. I am sure the new replacement for Innovations will be completely underwhelming. Less and less a reason to go to these parks.
Test Track is a good creative ride at least. I hate IP based attractions, they are just lazy
@@AdamSmith-gs2dv IP based attractions don't have to be lazy. Universal has had a number of great ones (Men in Black, Terminator, Spiderman, Cat in the Hat, Harry Potter, etc.). In fact most of their big rides are based on some IP or another. I'd say Star Tours was always a good use of an IP in a Disney ride. The various Toy Story based rides are very good too.
That said, most of my favorite rides at Disney became IPs versus were designed around an IP (Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, etc.).
I thought I was the only one who noticed these things! Thank you! Disney has no regard for guest experience. After becoming a SW and then UO passholder, I realized how overpriced and under served my Disney experiences were. The last straw for me was struggling in shoulder to shoulder crowds to get out of MK for almost 3 hours one night. Who can do that with small kids? No fun!
Genuinely sad to see Disney become so cynical. My dad was a paving foreman and he could afford taking a family of 6 to Disney world. It used to be somewhere special that made you feel good and important. People need a get away that's not $1,500 a day, I mean Disney was already expensive af in the 90s, but at least it was possible.
It's gotten so you have to preplan everything when you have a disney experience and there is no ability to have any spontaneity. My last visit in 2014, we didn't make reservations for all our dinners and spent 1-1/2 hours looking for some place to eat. The fact that it is so expensive and they are nickel and diming their guests is making me rethink Disney vacation. Too bad because my young family had the best time ever, but I doubt I will take my grandkids.
This is what scares me. I’m going to Disney World in January for a college class on zoology. My professor have a whole planned schedule and park connection(mainly animal kingdom). He haven’t told us his plans, so I have no way to plan my free time at Disney. Like I fear getting myself in a small amount of food insecurity while there. There too much planning and I’m in a position where I can’t
I'm from overseas and it's difficult enough trying to juggle work leave with international flights and available hotels in the Disney area. So now park and ride availability is in the mix too and it's disappointing, so I won't be going back any time soon. My husband and I are older and the last thing we want to do on vacation is to use a smartphone just to go on rides. My first visit was in 1979 when they had the ticket system - which I didn't like. It was great when the one entry included everything. When the fast pass system started, in my opinion, is when the whole experience started declining. And by the way; no 'ride' is worth $30USD!!
If you do sky diving and call it a ride, it is worth more than $30.
However at disney, it is way more than 30 a ride. You can maybe get on 3 or 4 mediocre ride in a single day or 2 decent rides. That is closer to 80 a ride.
Universal having a better skip the line system than disney that offers a better experience but still keeps the standby lines moving? Shocker.
Can't wait for part 2 and I'm waiting for the moment that sub count rockets up
I always really wanted Disney to adopt a similar system. I hated free fast pass because of how successfully it wrecked the queues and now they've only continued the system but with an upcharge? I suppose we'll see how it plays out, but I think public perception will tank the company's reputation.
@@supersanic1254 Until you realize that it's not worth the value, or inflates the stand-by lines as I just pointed out.
Pretty much every chain uses something like Universals system, Cedar Fair has Fastlane, Six Flags has Flash pass, Busch Gardens/Sea World has Quick pass, etc
Bob Chapek, more like Bob Paycheck since that’s all he cares about…
I've always suspected that the end goal is, to put it bluntly, to eliminate the riff raff. Simply price them out of the equation and subsist on those already hooked with passes/plus memberships/etc.
This is also my suspicion. They don’t care about pricing people out because those that have the money will pay.
20:28
Former buddy of mine and now tRUMP supporter took his honeymoon in Florida for two weeks. They did four days in Disney World and it's parks.
He said he would never go back to any Disney parks.
I asked him why?
He said for the price you paid for the food he would have done better to have gone and got a frozen dinner. And then the lines are just so long for what you get.
He said the first four days were at Disney and it took the next 10 days just to recover from "the Disney experience".
Yeah no fan there.
Great video. I expect Disney to start losing business to universal with the way service has gone way down hill. I really think Disney is not catering to the once in a lifetime visitor and screwing over those that go often.
Truly an A+++ vlog! Something everyone should watch before they go, and something those of us who have been going for many years have been thinking!
I hate watching CEO’s aiming simply for more money over the experience.
What I hate more though, is when they appear baffled as to why people won’t pay hundreds of dollars to stay in a hotel for one day with no perks
I waited in the standby line for toy story midway mania last August. There was 1 room of people, and we waited like 2 hours. When we got to the fast pass merge point, they were letting 40 people in through fast pass, before letting 1 party of 2 in through the normal line.
Great video that captures a lot of the sentiment that Disney fans are feeling about being taken to the cleaners. I hope enough customers make Disney feel their misery by not spending. The point that really disgusted me is how Genie+ will end up being an evil AI program designed to separate people from money by preying on unknowing customers under the guise of “enhancing their experience.” #FireBobChapek
I'm highly suggesting that everyone just visit a small local theme park that they've never been to before. You might be surprised how fun and stress-free that trip will turn out.
For the first time ever ( after taking 12 trips to Orlando and Disney) we will be taking a universal trip only. It's killing me too.
I work at a golf course where one of the designers of the genie thing plays. It was originally a separate app/company that really would use AI and park data to make a plan/route for your personal best experience. It’s a shame that it turned into the genie. But when the big mouse makes a VERY big offer to buy your company. You take it.
Disney parks in the old days:
You can pay 3 dollars for a general admission ticket and go on rides around the park
Disney parks now:
You need a park reservation and a $104 1 park per day 1 day ticket or you can use the multi park plus plan for $169 per day but only if you stay in our resort and you have to pay with your MagicBand+ for your FastPass+ that is free with the plan. You need the plan to go to all 6 parks in the resort, and you need your MagicBand+ to use anything, but since we stuff the parks with too many people you either have to wait or use your FastPass+ which is integrated into your MagicBand+ that costs $69 with your supermagicpass+ deal but that requires you to stay in a disney resort, but its different from supermagicpass which is free. you have to eat at disney restaurants as well to get supermagicpass+
To put things into perspective, I haven’t ridden the seven dwarfs mine train ride since it opened in 2014 cause the wait times are always so bad. I managed to ride the velocicoaster at universal opening week in less than a 30 minute wait. Disney needs to fix its shit the parks are way too crowded
yes, this! the operations are so fast on velcicoaster & that queue was designed well. i’ve never waited longer than 40 min for it.
Just found your channel and every video I’ve watched is articulated so well.
can’t believe you only have 4k subs! your videos are so well made, so good to see someone looking through Disney’s cheap facade
Disney parks were known for two things from the start; innovation and amazing customer service. Innovation is hit and miss- and what we think of the newer rides is a bit subjective (I personally like some of the new ones). But I don't think anyone can say the customer service experience is even a shell of what it used to be. It's not the fault of the cast members- they are simply stretched way too thin. I remember seeing and hearing about cast members taking the time to "spread the magic" by taking a few minutes to do something special for the guests in the parks from time to time. I don't know if the new CEO understands that and still doesn't believe it will have a negative impact on attendance, or if he is so out of touch that he doesn't get that Disney's reputation was largely influenced by world class customer service and how critical it's been in separating that park from others. Either way, it's not a good thing, or a good sign for Disney fans.
went to disney world in october. we’ve been going about once a year for as long as i remember. in 2013 when i was just 10, i first realized Disney has been declining steadily in quality. ever since test track was re-vamped. then the magic bands and fast pass plus came out and it became oh so much more difficult to enjoy the parks.
planning your every move at the parks a month in advance is so unbelievably stupid. you used to be able to go to the parks and do what you wanted as the day went on, getting fast passes for the rides you were in the mood to go on, rather than what you wanted to go on a month ago. not anymore.
everything in disney is so complicated now, and it is for the worst. our most recent trip in october was, i’ll admit, fun for the most part. but the very first ride we went on, the frozen ride in epcot that replaced the amazing ride that was maelstrom, was infuriating. first of all, i didn’t even want to go on but had to get the ride credit, so we went at rope drop. while we were in line we saw what was clearly very wealthy people with lightning lane or genie+ (yes i know i said i’ve been going to disney world every year forever, but we essentially go for free through cast member connections and other discounts. we actually barely go anymore because they’ve stripped away a lot of those discounts we used to get) getting to cut through the lines while we all suffered. it was so angering.
not only did the queue experience suck, but the ride did as well, and made me depressed that they removed one of my most favorite rides at wdw for an ip piece of garbage.
Thanks for calling out how crowded the parks were. I canceled my annual passes 2 months before Covid started….it was 100% due to crowded parks. 240 minutes to wait in a line in insanity.
As someone who grew up in Florida and went annually for their whole childhood- this really sucks to see.
The bottom line is, if a Disney park theoretically can offer a good customer experience to 50,000 people a park per day max, and they bring in 100,000 people, no system will work.
Really enjoyed this video! I like seeing this perspective from someone who can criticize poor decision making while still loving the parks. Keep it up!
the irony- I'm watching this as I try to get help linking my tickets to an admission. This is my THIRD attempt, - the others being over two hours each before giving up. Talk about magic; the service has completely disappeared. Also, booze has become a major consideration; boozed up people will throw around money much more readily.
I'm so happy to have found your channel and this video in particular. I'm one of the many that grew up going to WDW. I now take my children to Universal because of the changes. It breaks my heart but Disney continues to disappoint. The last time I was in WDW was when the "New Fantasyland" opened up. I thought that felt cheap! Little did I know, that was the beginning of many poor decisions. I had a bit of hope that Disney could come up with something to rival Universal with Star Wars, but from what I can tell, that was a flop too. If Universal can corner the preschool/elementary market and continue to create excellent attractions overall, I do believe we will see Universal at the forefront within the next decade or so.
As someone who visited WDW last week, I think that the Genie+ was a complete waste of money. At best, he only got us onto 1 ride per park. He was so bad that my dad, my brother, and I started referring to him as Jafar.
It's funny. These business types see the money that something produces, but they don't understand the how or why of it. They take it over and then run it into the ground because they haven't the imagination to realize that while people like Walt did go into business to make money (that is what a business is afterall), they did so with the intention of actually giving the customer something in return. Because Walt went forward with the intention of spreading joy first, and profit second, he was able to harbor both goodwill, and the money that comes with the people who flock to that goodwill.
Yup, my husband and I are two of these people who finally had enough of Disney. We cancelled our long planned trip to WDW and booked Universal Studios instead.
Oh you know where it's going... record CEO profits, for achieving what exactly?
We were Florida Annual Pass holders since 1995 and when Disney created their own debacle with the park reservation system, limited park availability to Passholders, then to add insult to injury, increased the cost of the passes while reducing "perks", that was the final nail in the coffin for us. It's truly a shame as we now have Universal Annual Passes with more perks, more attractions and less restrictions. The same applies to the exorbitant prices they are now charging for the Fort Wilderness campground that we have always loved and frequented since 1995 as well. Very sad!
I have been to DW at least 20 times since the first time in summer of 1974. I wanted to attend for the 50th in November 2001. I am a retired teacher and DW has priced me out of going. I went to Universal in the 90's and was not overly impressed but I plan to go now instead of to DW. I just cannot afford DW. I think DW is the happiest place on Earth but I cannot be happy shelling out all that money.
I was a regular at WDW, took 4 week+ trips from 2016 to 2019, staying at an on-site hotel each time. I’m not even interested in going right now because I used to feel like me having the greatest time possible was the goal. Now it seems like they just assume I’m going to visit, and want to squeeze as much $ out of me as possible while also not giving me the best possible experience.
Disney will not pick up guests paying to stay at resorts for free anymore. The prices keep going up, lines are too long, & other guests are unruly, and WDW is not the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH ANYMORE! Want Quality Customer Service and to get our money's worth!
The first and last time I ever went to a Disney park was in my senior year of high school in 2008 when the park in FL hosted a "Grad Night" that cost students $100 each to attend overnight with nothing but other high school seniors and chaperones. It was a relatively limited experience (only in the Magic Kingdom with roughly 25% of the land closed for the night), but it was fun nonetheless for a price that was not too out of reach for my family to afford. Flash forward to 2021, and I don't see myself being able to take my children to any Disney parks any time soon, if ever. We've already got a Six Flags and several smaller parks that are much closer to us and only a fraction of the price. Kids these days don't even seem as excited about the thought of "going to Disney World" like it was for us back in the 90s.
Are you a carpenter by trade?
Because you nailed it!!!! 😂
🔨
Thanks to this video I now know what Disney is up to with the Genie program. This deliberate moving of guests around where Disney wants you to be is manipulative. I plan on going to Disney World one more time as I've never been to Epcot. Universal is looking a lot better. Disney needs to choose better leadership.
People, don't forget FastPass was a PAID additional feature. And was great!
It was never a paid additional feature at Disney World.
@@281sTravel Although I could very well be remembering wrong, I am pretty sure Pete and many others from The Dis, who lived in Orlando, in the 90s and had APs in the 90s are ALL remembering wrong.
@@Caderic ....It sure has been nice proving you all wrong!!! Here ya go. It never was at Disney World!!!!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastPass
Now go tell those fools at the Dis!!! 🤣🤣🤣
@@281sTravel Wikipedia? Really? It's interesting how I was like, "I hope people don't use Wikipedia as the end all be all of FastPass information". And low and behold you did!
You do realize there are complete series on TH-cam called "Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction"? They interview people and pull thing from Wikipedia and ask them, you guested it, "Fact or Fiction". There are HUNDREDS of interviews, and almost every one has wrong information. I am talking about simple things like peoples actual name instead of stage name or nick name. There is hardly a one that has everything correct.
I like Wikipedia, but I am smart enough to know, it is woefully lacking and no where close to comprehensive.
@@Caderic ...🤣🤣🤣... You can literally go look it up yourself, but you insist on being the FOOL.
Could not agree more. When we came to Florida when I was a kid, Disney was amazing. With our kids now, before the pandemic, the parks focussed mostly on waiting and you had to plan everything months in advance. Not the park experience I was looking for.
Line skipping measures just become the new "line" and anyone who's on a budget and waits in the regular queue line gets punished via wait time for not spending more money.
I think that's a great way of putting it.
"Too big to fail" is something often said about Disney parks, but all that means is that only Disney themselves can make their company fail. Somehow they seem to view that as a challenge, rather than a warning,
Thank you for a very good analyzes of the one word Disney understands....GREED