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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- Disney rules, regulations, and reservations have CHANGED since my last trip I’ve got a few things I’ll never do again in Disney World!
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Miss the old Disney when you didn't have to plan your trip months in advance and just showed up and did your thing.
Agreed. The worst thing that happened is that you ran out of E tickets. Of course, you could always buy more, but that was uncomplicated, too.
How long ago was that?
I don’t want to ever go back. We went for the first time in 7 years, the week before last. I was disgusted by the lightning lane and not having maid service at the hotel. It is not sanitary to change out the towels once every other day 🤢
After 4 days at Disney, my family had a blast at Busch Gardens where we bought their “fast pass”, and they rode all 10 rollercoasters before the sun went down 🙌🏻
@@stephaniestone4737 genuinely curious… do you change out your towels daily at home?
@@ashlynnicole2769 Yes. I don’t want to use the same washcloths I used to clean my crack with on my face the next day 🤢
Honestly, watching your videos makes me never want to go to Disney ever again. It is just way too stressful and way too expensive. I have a feeling that soon you will have to pay the expensive amount to get in the park and then pay separately for each and every ride in the park...mark my words. Disney has lost their vision...they are not for the typical family, they are a park for the wealthy. It’s really sad to see what it has become over the years.
As I like to put it, Disney is run by a Board comprised of those members of Fidelity Fiduciary Bank AND Mr Banks from Mary Poppins...IF they never learned their lesson or changed.
All business, money, and wealth and order.
No whimsy, compassion, fun, or imagination.
Absolutely the truth! Disney lost his magic! Most of the rides are absolutely outdated on top of it and if you want to do the real good ones you have to buy tickets for all parks
Same! I watch them because I enjoy the pleasant narration while doing work but the content of the videos really makes me realize Disney Parks are a cash grabbing cult site.
@@claudiajensen5490 The funny thing is, I feel like the older rides (Pirates barring the film hints, Splash Mtn, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion,Tower of Terror, Spaceship Earth as it is), are LESS dated than more recent editions.
Those rides will never get old or dated imo. But something like Pandora, Rise of the Resistance, etc? Definitely.
Very sad. You have to know how to work the system and spend money to have fun. Genie plus is garbage. And the lines are long even with it
It’s absolutely horrendous that Disney is doing the genie+ system with no guarantees for a service that you already paid for is made available when you plan to use it.
Why go at all. It's NOT a family park anymore! Wake up people🧐
It’s 15$ for each ticket it’s not a huge deal
@@Bvillfarmers pay for mine then
The least they could do is refund it at the end of the day when you show that you didn't/couldn't use it.
@@katymvt they are to much for my family and myself. I don't go anymore. It's VERY DIFFERENT now.
Here's the problem with Genie and all the other monetized changes... Prior to my Disney vacation is the time to plan and you can (or used to be able to) do it months in advance. I don't want to be bothered doing so much additional planning and be on my phone while I'm there. I want to enjoy myself!
Agreed! I'm a huge planner
@@queeniev yessiree
I was a fan of the old system where we made restaurant reservations in advance and got paper fastpasses. I feel like that gave the most spontaneity. I am not a planner but planning for eats is all right.
@@Ironswiftness I agree. In the past you didn't have to spend your whole day on your phone trying to get on a ride or get a snack! Don't even get me started on everything that used to be free that now costs a fortune...
Spot on and agree!
I am always amazed at the time, the high expense, and effort, that goes into getting on a 2 minute ride. It use to be so much fun, but I now get Disney burnout about 1 hour into the park.
I went once and couldn’t believe I waited hours to ride 7 dwarfs just for it to be over in a minute or so. At the end I realized I was in Disney after it’s golden years and from those cool documentaries I’d see during Christmas and now am in a major cash grab/mob of stress
I have burnout while planning my trip 😂😆
Why are you still going then? Everyone complains but the exact same people refuse to give up their Disney fix!
@Danileptic I came here to say the same thing. My trip isn't even here and I'm burnt out from Disney. It's more work than any trip I've been on- including foreign travel! More expensive too. Unless Disney is amazing (even if it is for just my kids or they change the year-long nightmare planning process, I won't give again. I last went during April vacation in 2005. It wasn't unbearably crowded and I did no prior planning outside of the plane & hotel. I went to the Fast Pass kiosk and was able to walz on all the popular rides. I don't know if it's greed or what, but this is insane.
@@werewolflover8636 until the insanity ends i will seek entertainment elsewhere and enjoy my dvc resort free stay at this point
The trick with Lighting Lane is that you HAVE to book early, then stalk rides throughout the day because they WILL open up. People cancel, change their times, and if you are persistent you can book everything you want to ride. The system works but you have to be smart and have quick fingers. You can't check it once or twice and assume it's done for the day, within 10-15 minutes something always showed up (we went in April 2022).
The addition of the incredibly complexity to your trip- literally kills any reasonable change of spontaneity or the excitement of the unexpected!
Plus the enforced reliance on a cell phone for almost everything- completely removes you from being fully present in the experience. All of this coupled with ridiculous costs involved are a total spoiler of the expected fun. Everything must be so over planned out like a military operation that makes me feel that I should have just stayed home! That is to say nothing of the unbelievable crowds, oh my God!
I remember ten years ago looking around at people looking at their phones in the park and pitying them. Now we all have to do it lol
Yeah- Disney is an overhyped over priced mess. Glad I got to experience it in the late 70s/80s where it was at least somewhat still magical.
Things I do want in my hand at D'World: churro, soda, balloon, a loved one's hand, souvenir... Things I don't want in my and at D'World: my cell phone.
Disney has been such a complicated scheduling mess that I won’t be back for a long time.
Pro tip- I pack a small lunch box for my park bag every trip! This helps with the Florida heat as you mentioned and also avoids any messes or crumbs in the rest of my bag.
Excellent tip. Or maybe a tupperware resealable contrainer.
Just got back yesterday!!! This has become one of the most greedy companies in the world. Lightning lane is a joke. $20 a day parking charge for parking at the resort even if you're staying there. 3 to 4 hour waits for rides since they got rid of fast pass.
"Taking the burden of the know-it-all" hit me right in the feels. I'm the one organizing the trip for my husband and my parents, and as I am the disney-freak of the group, they pretty much rely on me to get their filtered explanations and orientations. The amount of info can be overwhelming sometimes!
"Burden" of know-it-all? I think of it as a crown. ;-)
Going to have a fun day with your family shouldn't be a burden, with you having to have entire lists of do's and don'ts and how to navigate things. It should be fun and spontaneous! I can't think of anything worse than deciding where I'm eating in advance for every day I'm there, and having to plan my day with military precision. That's an absolute nightmare! Imo of course.
I just have a hard time paying $160 to get in and then have to spend extra money to use the rides. That's just greed at work and has me hesitating about if I ever want to go their again.
You don’t have to spend extra money to ride the rides though.
@@Krystaltazouti so you pay pretty much what is a daily wage for most people for each if you family members to ride maybe 3-4 rides. The last time we went was spring of 2019. Which will be our last. I asked our family how about we do a 1 week tour of Europe as it was cheaper then a Disney trip.
@@Redavisunwind I went to magic kingdom in October last year and rode every ride except mine train. Didn’t pay anything extra.
I wouldn't go until they show they have changed. Not worth the money. I would go to Universal over DW any day.
I haven't been to DW since the late 90's and I have to say, it looks like it's become a stress filled, micromanaged hellscape. Nothing about this sounds enjoyable, especially for the price.
You’re right. It’s not. They’ve taken a wonderful thing and completely ruined it.
Sounds like hell to me! No way I'm going anywhere near that place. I want to actually ENJOY my vacation and RELAX lol
Just about
No way in hell I'll pay for that. I'd prefer to save the money and buy a decent car.
There are those of us who really enjoy planning things to the last detail, running back and forth across the park, constantly booking the next lightening lane and getting the most out of our Disney park day. No, really. We just visited California Adventure a few weeks ago and tried out the Genie plus. It took a little bit to get the hang of it, but once we did we were able to ride every single ride in the park, and some multiple times. We absolutely got our money's worth, and will certainly do it again when we book our upcoming Disney World trip. Our goal is to hit as many rides as possible and eat at the restaurants we want- and if you're on the ball, you can do it. If your goal is to relax, maybe Disney isn't the vacation for you.
I love Disney parks, but they all seem like such a tragic mess now. Such massive crowds and huge lines year-round, plus new upcharges.
It used to be a pleasant place to visit. You could be casual and just go have some fun. It makes me sad.
Honestly we have a vacation home in Celebration, because we enjoy Disney sooo much. We went 5 weeks ago and got very lucky, with super low crowd levels and Genie worked for us! Before that when we went back on October, (before Genie, I think?) we noticed all the fun little freebies are gone and the price of everything (stores,food,meal plans etc)were all noticeably more pricey, plus the crowds and lines were just insane. As a family we voted to take a year or more off, from Disney World☹. It just feels like an over crowded cash grab now, more so than ever. There is no magic, just run run run and stress stress stress nowadays. It's a real shame and I hope things change but unfortunately I don't have alot of hope for that.
You still can, calm down
@@Sparty-pi3jq Yeah, I don't begrudge Disney for trying to run a profitable business, but the magic is waning.
I grew up a stone's throw from Disneyland and had passes most of my life. I don't live there anymore and doubt I can afford to at any point in the future, which is a bummer since a Disneyland visit will have to be a planned, orchestrated thing.
@@LoveStallion I am secretly hoping that after the 50th celebration is over, that maybe some things will return to normal.
Don’t be sad. I wish everyday for their failure
3 weeks ago, we bought Genie+ for a busy day at Hollywood Studios, got there for Disney Hotel early entry time, only got to use 1 lightning lane at tower of terror at 1:30.
Crowds were a nightmare. Gave up to go back to the hotel, but first stopped (and waited 45 minutes in line) at Guest Relations... BUT they immediately and happily refunded our $50.
According to my friend, Genie + is a scam. She goes several times every year..she thinks it's just to make more money off of guests
Everything that was talked about in this video is exactly why I will never do Disney again! Disney has become way too complicated and it totally took away all the fun. Sad.
"We are learning very quickly all the wrong things to do with Genie+". Paying for it period is the most wrong thing ANYONE can do.
Yawn. Happy to trade my hard-earned money to save TIME in the parks. Vacation time is finite. I'm going to maximize but thanks. The more of you who DON'T use it ensures I have plenty of selections to choose from as the day goes on...
@@robertkahro4565 Eat the rich
@@billymanziel5666 how stunningly insightful to rip off an Aerosmith lyric on a TH-cam comments section...
@@robertkahro4565 damn someone feels entitled
@@9and12wholepizzas You've mispronounced "economically efficient" with the word "entitled". I work hard. I play hard. If I choose to trade hard earned MONEY for more TIME, that's MY choice. Go ahead. Criticize it. Water off a duck's back here...
Entitled? HA! Judgemental? Look in the mirror pal!
It was easier earning a college degree than it is navigating a day at Disney World. They must have discovered that jamming people in at insane prices and then making them jump through a million hoops would have them begging for more.
Of course, then the sycophants otherwise known as "modern Disney fans" believe they got something of value when they paid $15 bucks for a $3 button.
But they do, and therein lies the problem. Until the parks are empty Disney won’t care about those of us that are fed up with all the stress and cost, they just won’t care.
Bahahaha so TRUE! Thank god my kids were born in the 90’s - they had an amazing Disney experience growing up ! Lord help the next generation. Walt is rolling in his grave!!!!!
Anyone else getting the heebie- jeebies looking at the crowds?😊 that plus the genie+ has completely put me off from visiting WDW
When Disney's solution to long waits is "charge more", I'm out.
Why? That is a legit way of crowd control.
@@lijohnyoutube101 And not paying it is a legit form of saying "I'm out".
You’re both correct. Hopefully Disney decides there is money to be made in a new park and comes up with something spectacular
Disney doesn't need anyone's business for everyone who won't go to Disney 50 people will take ur place...people waiting in line over 2 hours in a heat index of 175 degrees for a 2 minute ride has been going on for years what is the response from people?...they write 5 star reviews saying everyone should experience it...every 6 months to a year they raise their prices on everything and their attendance goes UP not down the parks and hotels are packed...they have a cult like following. ...Disney makes billions!
@@lijohnyoutube101 Because they literally can't afford it???????? You realize not everybody can afford it with this solution right. They are pricing out lower middle class people.
We were DVC members and annual pass holders for a long time. We are done, I’m sure they won’t miss our business.
It was always a big deal & big expense to plan and go to WDW. But now it’s a big hassle and even more complicated and expensive. Very sad!
I used Genie ONCE. I am an annual pass holder and refuse to use it again. When I bought it , I set up the time for the one lighting lane allowed. When I got done with it, I got another time while standing in line for Avatar -Flight of Passage. Well the 90 minute line turned into a 3 hour line due to technical issues, so I tried to rebook my lighting lane, but everything that was available then was in the evening. I set up one more ride for the evening. Spent the rest of the day checking, but unable to find anything earlier. By the time it was my time for the evening attraction, the line there was at 20 minutes! So essentially, it was only beneficial for one ride. I only purchased the Genie because I was unable to purchase the Lighting Lane for Avatar, because it is available first to Disney resort guests, and it was sold out by the time it was available to me. So I figured I should try Genie. Big disappointment.
It just goes to show you that even with all the crazy planning one must do prior and fidgeting with apps you can STILL strikeout.
I do too. I have no desire to go to Disney ever again. I actually want to go to Universal and SeaWorld more.
I just got back from Disney on Saturday. My husband and I did 3 parks. Your tips were absolutely invaluable. We got to ride everything that we wanted. We had Genie + and used all of your tips. The crowds were absolutely insane. We'd been to the parks many times in the past so we knew where everything was located. My biggest tip for anyone going is to take a battery pack to keep your phone charged because the Disney Experience App uses up your phone's battery with all the updates. We had the absolute best time ever thanks to your tips.
I have just come back from Disney and although I still love it, having been there about a dozen times, I noticed some massive differences since my last visit in 2019. Disneys agenda is to save money at all costs, and there were many compromises to our experience. Some of the nice food has gone, the showers in our hotel were less powerful, probably about 50% as strong as they once were and our pool was cold, and I’m pretty sure they’ve just turned the temperature down to save money. Also there were less of the enthusiastic staff and a lot of somewhat miserable staff. It just seemed like all Disney cared about was saving money, bearing in mind we have to now pay more money than before and even had to pay 20 dollars per night just to park a car in the hotel car park. We stayed at the port Orleans French quarter which is still a beautiful hotel but it’s getting harder to justify spending the money to go there since the price is going up and the overall experience us going down
Well put. They seem to cater to a different crowd than the family crowd these days.
I will say there is a reason for miserable staff. The treatment of employees has gone WAY downhill coupled with an increase of demand for Disney with a low supply of workers willing to be stretched for 70 hours a week, it makes sense theyre not as chipper as they used to be.
Well I just got back yesterday and we were overwhelmed with broke down rides and employees who could care less and let it show. I don't believe I'll be going back.
@@Lizbinnington I live in ohio coming to Orlando leaving July 2 I’m concerned about how much it will cost plus is it easier just to bring our own food bill hat are you suggesting we will have 5 adults an 5 kids trying to be the most economical so we can get the most use of time and money
I just got back from a Disney trip to celebrate my grandsons 13th birthday. We were a party of four, and I ordered Genie+ the first three days before I figured out I was paying $60/day for us to ride one additional ride per day….total waste of money except in MK because we were there until close. It was an exhausting trip, but the grand was happy to be there. We’re trying to decide whether or not to take our five granddaughters on a “princess trip. “ I’ll need about six months to forget the struggle before I decide. 🤔
AJ....You and the DFB team are My Disney BFF. You have saved our Disney Experience countless times. My wife thinks I am somehow a Disney Genius. Many thx.
Just went 2 weeks ago. When I saw the return times for LL I knew Genie+ wouldn't be worth it, so I was glad I didn't spring for it. The parks were kinda nuts -- just as bad if not worse than when I went before things shut down in 2020.
The solution for the Genie+ debacle is for everyone to STOP USING this trash service. Before the new system, the standby lines were not that bad. We’ve got to boycott this broken system and level the playing field again. It is super slimy that the app still allows people to drop money on the service when basically all of the return times are sold out. So many people are paying for the upgrade only to discover they are not even able to use it. Just awful.
Here’s a tip for the parking at hotels thing! A week or so ago I was visiting my uncle and his family at the Grand Floridian. I told the security officer who I was visiting and gave him my ID when asked and I got into the parking lot with no issues. So, if you know someone staying in a hotel you should be able to still park there to visit them.
I HATED having to plan and schedule so much of my day, each and every day, while on vacation. In the past, one could plan everything and then enjoy vacation! Not loving Genie or Lightning Lane....
Its a scam to get more money out of people. Since probaly 80% will miss it.
I’ve had annual passes for twenty years.
They lapsed a while ago and I have no plans to go back to the parks ever again.
I’m semi-local and now I just go to Disney Springs.
I’m sure they’ll start charging for entrance and parking there too soon so we’ll see how long that lasts.
I went to Disney Springs recently for the first time (LOVED IT!!!) and I was FLOORED that greedy money grubbing Disney DIDN'T charge for the parking there!
I stayed for 10 days on a resort. The experience was definitely a pay to play. Only the rich will enjoy. I dropped a lot of money. The experience was horrible. Getting any reservations was impossible and the app is trash. Save your money and don’t go to Disney.
Indeed. Surprised that "Spend $6000 on a 2-day 'experience'" wasn't in this list...
I’m curious when did you guys go? The experience has definitely changed.
Audie is just lonely, you can go and not use genie plus and still have fun while riding rides. Over react much?
You stayed on resort for 10 day straight? That had to cost a fortune! We only go for three or four day stints and that is enough. Can't imagine spending 10 straight days on property with what the resort hotels cost, then getting slammed by park tickets and food and extras for 10 days.
@@VulpisFoxfire That's the Star Cruiser hotel. ;-)
Things I won’t do again?
1) Go again.
They’ve priced themselves out of my comfort zone. So many rides out of commission. Random violence in parks now.
Nope. No more.
This is EXACTLY how I feel. NEVER again.
Random violence?
I have some theories about Disney parks. I think the purpose of price hikes, is to limit the crowds entering Disney parks. When amusement parks are "too" crowded, it makes the experience miserable for everyone. Disney realize this and will try to price out most people. Secondly, Disney realize that there are a good number of people who go to Disney parks too often. Disney doesn't like that, because they realize these guests don't spend much money on food and merchandise in the parks. Also, these frequent Disney visitors tend be more critical of Disney, and air their grievances online.
This has been the plan for a while now.......price out "middle America" and only have rich folk who can afford all the pricey stuff.
Welcome to 2005 - this has been known for a VERY long time now. With half the guests in a park paying twice as much (or more), you need fewer CMs to corral them. Likewise, fewer guests cause less wear and tear on the infrastructure, meaning less long term maintenance costs. Basically, within twenty years time (if that), Disney parks will be purely for the top 1%.
if they got rid of all Genie fastpasses and all that stuff most ride would be 20 minute wait at most.
yup, thats how I got Slink last trip. Booked the LL from the airport at 7 EST. then was able to stack as soon as I landed
I made a (almost) whole world trip once. And the vacation was not nearly as stressful . You have to plan everything it seems. Sounds horrible and not much fun. I've been thinking about going to Disney World for my next vacation. After the video I decide to visit another park.
Amboseli in Tanzania recommended.
Trip in 80 days - rethinking Genie plus +, I’ve learned so much from you AJ. I’m trying to get the difficult stuff out the way so I can relax when I’m there.
Thank you sooooo much for your insights and tips. Especially ❤️ the tip about you don’t need to be a know it all - that really resonated with me.
Being the former cast memeber in the family, I go ttagged with planning our disney vacations. I can attest to having a back up plan should things be out of service or packed. Last time we went I would have at least 3 back-up things to do in the area should that happen. In fact having worked there I knew how the crowds would move and where to start to avoid most of them. For example Magic Kingdom, I planned most of the things that people were wanting to do that were in the back part of the park in the morning and work our way towards the front of the park from there.
Ooo. Yeah made the bus transportation mistake way back when I went after I graduated high school. My two friends who came along with us and I were shopping at Downtown Disney (That’s wha Disney Spings used to be called, yeah? This was back in 2010) and spent a little too long there. Missed Magical Express back to the airport and we had to take a taxi. Could’ve missed our flight. My dad wasn’t happy.
FYI. I am a flight attendant for a major carrier. It’s important to remember our winter is summer is South America. Specifically Brazil. We bring plane loads of people going straight to Disney.
Loads upon loads upon LOADS. It’s remarkable, really.
Thank you for all the info. We were actually very glad we purchased Genie+ for Epcot during week of Feb 21st... not even a high traffic time I believe. However, it saved us 3-4 hours (according to estimated wait times). The times where the rides are down to 20 min waits, were the hotel/resort early times and closing times and we didn't stay at a Disney property. Totally agree on single rider line for Test Track... only way to go if your kids can ride on their own. I was able to go in the same car as my son along with a family of 4.
Thank you AJ and team for your hard work and showing us what’s going on at Disney😀❤️I miss Disney so much
I've given up on Disney World. Too many money grabs and it's become a job to schedule every tiny little thing you want to do or eat. It used to be easy enough to just do your thing and that made the expense tolerable. Just not worth it anymore.
I always have a game plan for my Pennies and pins. I use a sling pack and have my quarters in one pocket Pennies in a ziplock bag for my Pennies in another pocket. Again same thing for pins, that I usually map out and pick up the lions share on my way out. Also check the Disney estore, I’ve got some limited edition pins coming in the mail this week. It doesn’t have the biggest selection, but I’ve gotten special great pins I never saw at the park.
So much great information...YOU are a joy to listen to!
The whole thing is such a miserable experience I'm just not going to go!
Same I just canceled
We opted not to do Genie + best thing we ever did at Disney. People looked so frustrated with the system. I wasn't stuck to my phone. Used single rider lines instead.
Not many rides have single rider line, how did you manage to do that?? I need to know!! I’m going in less than a month…
If you go to Hollywood Studios, there is only two rides with single rider. Millennium falcon and rock n roller coaster. So that may not work too well in that park and I just went yesterday. The line for Rise of the resistance went up to a 3 hr wait, so if you do one, do that and Tower or Terror. Just my hopeful help. Slinky and Minnie Mickey train ride were not too bad but try to use it for that as well. You can book a ride at 7am and then your next ride 2 hrs after the park opens. Have fun!!!
This continues to show how the parks have move from inclusive where there was a balance with offset freemiums and complementary services to make the experience feel/seem fun trip with understandable costs to being a cost prohibitive nightmare. Now going looks to only be an exclusive/premium trip where it is a full pay-to-play experience requiring you to hoop jump just to access anything and everything that should have been easy to plan before you get to the park. And they are saying with all these new changes "don't bother, we don't need or want you here" unless you have deep cash pockets. So sad how it has all gone to being a premium charge for everything.
They were never inclusive, more people on the planet couldn't afford to go, than could. That's the definition of exclusivity. It's always been for people who aren't in the lowest socio economic backgrounds.
Alas, based on the crowd levels it doesn't seem to be the case for many people.
@@kirstybrown1185 Walt originally designed it to be _accessible_ to people of average means in the US. NOT the whole world, you strawmanning buffoon.
Walt wanted average _Americans_ to be able to afford it, and he largely succeeded. For most Americans, road tripping to DW or DL was more expensive than the park visit.
Though today, modern Disney wants only the actually rich _for the US_ to afford it, apparently. Traveling there is the _least_ expensive part of the damn trip, now!
@@kirstybrown1185 when we first took our kids for a week, was $1,800. Free parking, free dining plan…. I’d say that is doable for most…if the family saves for vacation. Just the feeding of 4 alone for a week was amazing…
Towards the end when you said, those are things that are free in the park, no they really aren’t. You have to pay to even get inside one of the parks. There’s nothing free inside the parks at Disney. Now you have to decide if you want to spend additional money for things inside or not.
No theme park has free entry
@@drookard1525 that's what I don't get with this comment. Obviously you have to pay to get inside, that's literally any place like this in the world. Our basic theme parks here in the UK are around £50 a ticket (around 80$) for nothing like Disney and none of the free stuff would be free when you're in any of them. It's free/complimentary/a bonus, all of the above. 😂😂
Thanks for the video! I made the mistake of buying a lightning lane for a temporarily closed ride. Used it on another but next time definitely checking next time.
Ugh.. the app shouldn't have even let you do that.
@@KarriJacobs Right! I bought it trying to get on Web Slingers at Disney’s California Adventure and then walked over and it was down. Smh
Disney has changed so much in the past few years and it’s not for the better. My family is definitely slowing down on the trips and not staying on property anymore. It’s very disappointing.
Thank you for these! You are a life saver!
I probably won't be going until springtime next year so it's great to be able to plan now!! Love the video.
Thanks, A.J.! 😀This was so so so helpful! I’ve admittedly done some of these very same things. It’s a great reminder for me. It’s a must watch homework assignment for anyone- novice or pro-for an upcoming WDW trip!
Planning just seems like work now, I used to enjoy the planning process but now it’s just expensive and feels like work
Thanks A.J. for another informative video. Your great. Love to hear your voice.
Need a face to go with it someday please.
Absolutely the most wonderful way to start off the spring break week!
I am such a Disney fanatic but the crowds I’m hearing about during slow times and all the crowds shown in the video, plus the whole cash grab has made me decide I need to find a new place to vacation for a wile.
More GREAT tips AJ! The resort parking thing is a real shame isn’t it? I used to love just parking up at a resort and having a look around but it seems you can do that any more (or not as easily anyway). And don’t get me started on Resort parking charges!
Love the dining tips and checking availability - I’ll definitely be using those on my next trip!
Keep up the great work 😊
Thanks for that tip about Genie+ and LL. That was a good one to know.
I know what I didn’t do the last time I was in Disney World, plan my next trip.
As someone that has never been I'm sure it won't be as bad as those that have been previously, however, watching all your videos has helped me understand the complexity and costs associated with our up coming trip.
I'm sure it will be amazing, but I'm already of the mind set that I wouldn't want to visit again.
Does it matter how early you arrive to a resort you have a dining reservation for? We have a 7pm dinner reservation for Ale and Compass, but we had planned to arrive and park at the Yacht club maybe even 4 hours or so before our reservation to walk around the boardwalk and do a few other things before hand. We are staying at the Port Orleans Riverside, maybe it would be better to just take a Disney bus instead, but I'd love to know if arriving early will get us declined to park there. Thanks
Omg I saw my mom and sister in the background 7:24
Great tips. We just wrapped up our 4 day, every park, spring break trip. Last time we were here was 7 years ago.
Loved Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios. Epcot and Magic Kingdom had to many people, park renovations going on, making it more difficult to work back and forth across the park. Comparing to 7 years ago when we lived closer and had passes, never remember so many rides braking down so frequently and never remember lines for rides being so ridiculously long. If I heard it once, I heard it 100 times, people complaining about line lengths and delays from brake downs. Seems like most of the ride failures are happening on their newer, more tech advanced rides.
San Angel was excellent for a food choice as always and we finally booked 8:40 reservations Chefs de France, which did not disappoint, especially with fireworks view if you sit in glass room. Filet was excellent along with Crème Brûlée.
I've let my annual pass expire. Disney World just plain sucks these days. It's not at all worth going. I'll wait until they fire Chapek, and things start becoming friendly to normal family again instead of just pandering to the rich. If ever. It makes me so sad.
Disney has always been a middle class and above thing.
I think Disney will either do away with Disney annual pass, or make the Disney annual pass so expensive that people would not buying it!
i totally agree with you! Unless or until Chapek is fired, dies, moves on to another company to destroy, I’m not returning. He’s ruined the entire experience that I once loved.
@@floridafan6931 it’s owned by ABC, etc… which is probably ( ultimately) owned by Black Rock and includes big pharma.
@@floridafan6931
So much agree
Michael Eisner CEO was the best of all. He was a Disney lover himself
You make life worth living! Thank you Disney food Blog!!!
Thank you so much for your tips, loved them. Love your instagram page and website. Thank you for giving me tips to pass on to my clients as well, will for sure share your link!
Thank you very much. I am going in Sept. I warned my hubby not to expect the usual vacation I will be on the ball and taking notes when there. Thank you for also being honest. Hello from NYC 💖
When I was little, my grandma took us to Disney a bunch of times, but now I don't ever want to go again. Not because I didn't like it or anything like that, the opposite, but because it all seems to complicated and intimidating for no reason now. It all just looks like an anxiety attack I'm not ready to have lol.
Just got back from Disney this Saturday, and I have to concur that the Genie(+) app along with Lightning Lane is very hit or miss. I've heard they're looking to do away with the magic bands and only use the app. I think this is a terrible idea - I'd like to worry less about using my phone not more, particularly where I'm on vacation. Compounding the problem is the drain on the battery necessitates bringing a battery brick, which then leads to getting stopped by security at the gate because the brick sets off the X-ray.
Now as a shareholder a lot of the direction they're taking the parks has me concerned. My main reason for concern is that with or without raising prices the experience is objectively worse. I'd be happy to pay the extra cost of Genie+ everyday if I knew I was actually getting something for it. Problem is I don't know that. Long term this won't be good for profits as more people decide it's better to work the system some other way rather than paying for the service.
We stayed at Pop Century and had early breakfast reservations at Trails End in Fort Wilderness. We figured we would bus to Magic Kingdom and take a boat to Fort Wilderness Campsites. Everything went well until they told us the boats didn't start running until after a certain time which was after our reservation time. We were super late. I was really upset. I didn't enjoy my breakfast. 😔 I won't be doing that again. Next time, we'll Uber.
Super helpful, thank you!
I went to Disneyworld in September. What struck me was the TP.
It was lousy single ply gas-station-grade at ALL parks (Kingdom, EPCOT, Studios).
Seriously, for the outrageous gouging Chapek has been doing, can’t they afford to give us decent bathroom supplies??
All these other people ranting about genie plus but you know what the real issues are
God....Disney has made a family vacation.. a "magical nightmare"....Such a turn off
Such great tips. Each one I kept saying, “yes, yes, yes! Now that’s my favorite.” But #8 is my favorite.
1. GO
2. GO
3. GO
4. GO
5. GO
6. GO
7. GO
8. GO, UNTIL CHEAPek IS GONE!!!
Keep up the great vids A.J.
Another suggestion for the Penny books, you can get them on Amazon ahead of time.
We took our ten year old to WDW this April school vacation. I haven’t been there in 40 years, 1982, as Epcot was being finished up. While I really enjoyed seeing him have fun, the experience overall was really bad. Jam packed parks, hotels, busses, restaurants, filled with incredibly rude people. The Chevrolet commercial otherwise known as Test Track was a 2 hour 20 minute wait hour for a 4 minute ride, absolutely insane. By the end of the first day I was ready to bail and go find a beach on the Gulf to spend the rest of the week. Alas, we finished the week and have some nice memories, my son had fun and it was for him, but we won’t do it again. One and done.
Bleh these comments ~ I love your content- its so helpful! Thank you for sharing! Disney is a once in an every- five or more years trip for us. The price is already astronomical so I really appreciate being able to get insider tips and tricks and ways to save money any where I can.
We had until about 2 pm at EPCOT so we did purchase Genie+ at 7 am because it was impossible to be at Frozen and Test Track at the same time first thing in the morning. And I had someone who loved Frozen and someone who would have appreciated Test Track. Test Track Genie+ ran out very quickly and that’s my overall problem with Genie+ in all the parks. It runs out so quickly.
The fast pass system was obviously the best system. It's absurd what Disney has done. I get that they want to squeeze people for every nickel and dime, but just charge like $100 bucks extra for lightening lanes. This reservation system is insane.
Ironic that you showed Yak & Yeti. Last trip (early Dec) we had a reservation there, and they STILL told us to come back in an hour!😠
Great video!! awesome job! just found you in the interwebs :) Finally going next month, to Magic Kingdom and Disney hollywood Studios, in what seems years, cant wait.
Genie plus makes it a lot more worth it to stay on property. If you rope drop 30 before opening, you can get it on basically any ride in 30 min or less, you might even get on 2 or 3. We were able to do this in Epcot last month and rode Nemo, Frozen, Gran Fiesta Tour, and Ratatouille’s Adventure before noon with lower waits. No Genie Plus needed. Just maximize your resort perks.
Idk if I’m just incredibly lucky or incredibly easy to please… but I’ve never found Disney as stressful as people seem to feel it is. On the old system I never did things ahead of time. I’d buy a ticket a couple days before, book my fast passes the night I purchased. Always got good passes. This system, I went in December and my friend and I made dining reservations as soon as our slot opened, but other than that we got Disney genie day-of and booked on the bus in the way over one day per park… we rode every ride in every park (except for 3 we had no interest in). Now if you have a massive party, I get it, but as an average Park-goer going typically as a pair or trio, it’s easy to wing. Just being educated on the parks (which is easy because binge-watching DFB and park vloggers is just fun to me) is enough to easily make smart choices and have fun.
You should start a TH-cam channel I would love learn more tips, I plan to go next year
I've watched a number of video's in regards to Disney Land. And reducing every thing I've learned to one common denominator, I'll never ever go to Disney Land.
You can book a lightning lane that overlaps your dining reservation. Go eat and when done go to your lighting lane reservation even though your an hour or whatever late they will still let you on. Just discovered this last week on our trip. Also works with the virtual queue for Cosmic rewind
Disney Buses also have different pick up based on Delux, moderate, and value. Buses get filled up quickly at moderate resorts before reaching last resort stop
I used to like to visit the Disney hotels to see the Christmas decorations. I am sad that they no longer allow this.
Nickle and Dime for every single mote of that Disney magic
Walt is probably turning in his cryo tube
I did that in November 2021! Have they changed it since then?
@@boredandihaveyoutube8175 The video explains you can still visit the hotels, you just can’t park your own vehicle without a dining or hotel reservation. You must use alternate transportation unless you have a reservation
@@lizclaridge1335 That means paying $120 dollars just to look at decorations and eating at the hotels.
My list of things I’ll never do again at Disney is really short!
#1) never go to Disney again 🥰
The crowds upon crowds is what gets me. They need to limit how many people are allowed into each park. They pack them in like sardines.
Thank you for the Now button tip! Game changer 💜
Loved the video, as always. Regarding the "dont buy snacks for later" tip, what about a video on snacks you can buy to eat later in the day? Like thise who come in plastic bags and similar. That would be useful!
I just recently came from Orlando and Magic Kindom is nothing but BORED, the fireworks at the castle are the only thing that is worth from all of that. If you have that kind of money to spend do it in something else, not on this park for no reason at all!!
If you can fit a couple of plastic sandwich boxes in your park bag, then you can put goodies/leftovers in them and not have to worry about them turning into a bag of squashed crumbs or greasy pulp. A big ziplock they fit inside can be a backup against coming unsealed. I did this at one of those food-included events at Universal, and was able to try more dishes without feeling guilty about wasting too much of the ones that were served in too-big portions for tasting for someone going solo. (And yes, event staff saw me put leftovers in the boxes and were fine with it.)
Pin locks are a must in my family. The last time we were there we would purchase a few packs of theses for our pins so they don’t come off our backpacks/lanyards.