I like how every title of each new video gets saltier and saltier towards Disney. Not even the Disney/tourist focused channels can hide their disgust for the Disney company's greed and I am living for it!!
Used to love Disney. Went with my wife on our honeymoon in 1995 and in 1996 on our 1st anniversary. On our 10th anniversary, 2005, we took our two kids we now had and our parents as well. Those were all great trips. Covid put the kibosh on our planned trip for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2020. We keep thinking of going again., but soooo many stories of people saying how much it has changed for the worse, the escalating prices, the disappearance of favorite rides, the restrictive rules, ...not sure we will ever go back.
Went there for my honeymoon and many times after but the just don't want us back. I am hoping that eventually they will realize their mistake like they did during the bad period following Isner but who knows.
There has been no operational change (adding attractions not included) that has been to the benefit of guests. Every change has been to the benefit of Disney's bottom line at the expense of guest's enjoyment.
Even the new attractions added aren't for the guests. It is for appearances. They don't want to seem like they're doing nothing and they need something new to promote so that more people come to the parks. And so they just start shoving ip based rides everywhere even where it doesn't belong AT ALL because those are the things that can grab people's attentions in the ads. Nothing they do ever is for the guests and that's a real shame.
We used to go to Disney from Canada every 3 years. No more, it has gotten ridiculously expensive. We always stayed on site because we didn't like the long commute or having to spend all day in one park without going back to our room in the afternoon for a break. Now we are trying other Vacations like cruising and checking out different counties. All less than what we have to pay for Disney.
Every video that mentions the end of Magical Express fails to note that the BEST part of ME - the luggage delivery - is completely gone. You can’t even pay someone to do that for you. Mears Connect is NOT “exactly the same” as ME 😢
I second that! The airline check in made my last day SO MUCH easier. Since I usually have a rental car, it saved the juggling luggage to the airline counter.
Yea agreed. And also - the trip there and back was a family tradition - watching the Disney cartoons and park features in anticipation on the way there and reminiscing on the way back. You can’t buy that feeling- and they just tossed it away.
A good way to handle the ride share thing without wearing yourself out trying to find where to get them in those really far away places, is to take the monorail or sky liner to a deluxe resort and call your Uber from the resort, you’ll most likely have a nice place to sit and wait for your Uber, and it’s SO much less chaotic than trying to fight with everyone getting an Uber at the park at the end of the night, and the Uber is a lot of times cheaper because the resort isn’t surging at the end of the night like the parks are.
We're from the UK and we've had three, two-week vacations in WDW and each time the cost has increased almost exonentially while the amount of value and perks included (fastpass +, dine plan, Magicl Express etc) seems to be decreasing. We paid the following:- 2013 - £2500 - Port Orleans 2016 - £4800 - Caribbean Beach 2018 - £8200 - Caribbean Beach I've just priced it for 2024 and it's coming in at around £16,000!!! My wife and I both earn around double the average UK salary and still find this to be extortionate. Disney will soon only be the playground of wealthy elites or foreign oligarchs as they will be the only ones able to afford it.
We no longer stay at the hotels. We book a vacation home located in Davenport in an area they call 'Little Britain'. The company we use is Florida Spirit. You will spend much, much less money.
When we're you looking at for your 2024 for trip? My husband and I just booked a 3 week stay at Disney with a 2 weeks parks tickets and flights included for just under £5000 Though we are going to the value Hotel (all stars) and during a non peak season. The time of year makes a big difference. We were originally going to go a week earlier than we are now, but we changed it and saved £619 just by changing the dates 1 week!
We decided against a WDW trip a few years ago and went to Japan instead. We have gone somewhere new each year since. As a family we have never regretted it. Disney is out of touch with its customer base and has gone from a must do to a firm why bother .
Just came back from my 9th trip to WDW. For the first time in my life I did not get to ride on a parking lot tram. Not once. My kids had a wonderful time, but I did not. I read and watched a lot about things not being the same anymore, but it really smacks you in the face when you experience it. :(
They are only working against themselves with pricing, Genie+, park reservations...I'm not paying them $1,800 to make a vacation feel like homework. Universal you are getting my money and will continue to.....
I’m local to DW and have AP’s to both Universal and DW. 3 of 4 monthly park trips are to Universal. Because even as a local AP holder DW is a ridiculously convoluted experience. How anyone already not knowledgeable and experienced in DW’s (constantly changing) rules can have an enjoyable time is beyond me. Adding more ‘are you kidding me’ costs just pours salt in the wound. DW is fast becoming not fun and not relaxing. I hang on bc of Epcot and AK. But if I had to name a home park? Universal all the way.
Disneyworld is too expensive for less than it used to be and it’s way too confusing and stressful to plan. Poor Walt, his dream for everyone to enjoy is nothing more than a cash grab.
The magical express used to be free ,but we would always have to take a connecting flight to just fly into Orlando (MCO) it was a hassle . I still go to Disney ,but we fly into Orlando-Sanford (SFB) since it’s a direct flight ✈️ and it doesn’t matter anymore since ME is not free anymore anyway
I’m a local and literally the only reason we go is for rides. We buy shirts at Ross nearby (they have sooo many cute CHEAP Disney shirts) and bring our own food. Loungefly sales page is great for buying bags for 40 dollars that cost 80 in parks. Etsy is amazing for unique and never out of style ears. Prices are ridiculous lmao
Disney doesn’t care care about its guests, only how much money they can squeeze out of them . The outright greed of this management of the company has no bounds, Disney used to be dream makers now they are dream killers.
Just look at the trend in recent DFB videos, there's more and more problems every day. Prices go up and up, services go down, down, down. The reality is that the always pricey Disney vacation that was magical, is now an overpriced saturation of Disney blah blah blah. Coming from someone who has been to Disney on average every other year since it opened, it is a disappointing, frustrating time away from home, and not worth the money.
Is it not possible to be completely spontaneous anymore at a WDW vacation? The last time I was there was in 2006 on a five day park hopper pass. We reserved nothing. We showed up at whatever park we wanted to and whenever we wanted to. Just walked into restaurants and were immediately seated. No reservations. Parks, rides, restaurants, transportation, etc was all spontaneous. After watching these Disney videos, it feels like you now have to plan what time you want to take a dump so you can reserve a toilet ahead of time on some Disney app (for a fee of course).
See even in the 2000s we had trouble being spontaneous because the restaurants we wanted to go to required reservations even back then or you waited an hour for a table. We haven’t been spontaneous in Disney since about 1999.
I was there last night completely packed raining I was with my wife for the first time after being married and we felt all the magic we cried when we left
It's been a couple of decades since I last visited any of the Disney parks. By everything I've been reading and hearing, I'm glad I've never wanted to return.
I live in Canada I have been to Florida 2 times this year and I’m going again in November with my children and grandchildren. Disney is too expensive have not gone since before covid and although I was intending on taking my grandson I’m not going at the nov prices. We used to go all the time. Not no more. I don’t know how people can afford it. The price took the magic away.
Also if you're staying at a Disney world hotel property or a neighboring hotel everybody should be able to attend the evening hours it should not be just for deluxe hotels
15 years ago my wife and I would chaperone my daughters band trips to Disney World. We stayed in the allstar hotels so it was reasonable. We always took the band into magic Kingdom after hours. The kids could go on what they wanted. It was one of the best perks.
It isn’t ironic. It’s supposed to be a reward for staying there. It still isn’t right, though. Everyone staying on property used to be able to stay for Extra Magic Hours and it was never crowded. It was amazing.
When ride-sharing first came out you could go to the the front of all the parks. And when the fast passes for asking that you would just go get a little slip of paper from any ride the time to go back on there were no confusing rules for fees. And this is just the tip of the iceberg on raising prices and lowering pleasure Island rip, there's basically no nightlife at Disney anymore you have to go to CityWalk.
So the part of the rideshare in the video at Epcot isn’t correct. They built a very very nice area for rideshare that is officially open and it’s right behind where you would catch a Disney bus so it’s not far. The reason that this change happened at Epcot was because it had become increasingly dangerous for guests in the parking lot because of how the rideshare drivers were actually driving.
AJ's love of peanut butter desserts in this video reminded me -- this Monday I was in Downtown Disney and went to Marcelines Confectionery to try the peanut butter sandwich that AJ is also raving about in her Disneyland videos. Oh, WOW, it is delicious!
I used to work at Sunset Ranch Market in Hollywood Studios and every once in a while, I check the menus to see what's changed. I'm still salty that they took away my absolute favorite dessert at Hollywood Scoop's which was the giant ice cream cookie sandwich. It was also one of my favorite things to make when I was working at that location.
Lol! One of my best memories are from when my husband and my brother and I went there for a snack and I got that Ice cream sandwich thinking it was normal size and I could eat it on the way to my fast pass. Lol. The hot August sun and the size of that snack made it so it took all 3 of us to chow that bad boy down! It was awesome!
Just like in 1990s through 2000, the Chevy Suburban was affordable for middle class Americans but now the newer ones today are only for the supper rich peoples.
You have to pay the hefty price no matter which one you go to. You either have to pay $7 per gallon of gasoline in LA to get to Disneyland or you go OTR and take a 3 day drive to Orlando and pay hefty price on hotel stops per night, or you fly to Orlando and pay hefty price on Airline tickets and rental car.
My friends and I stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge at the beginning of the month and there was literally shards of glass covering our bed, shower and bath. These people do NOT care about guests anymore lmao
The only good news is that Disney ran out of funds to "reimagine" Spaceship Earth because it's just a matter of time before they destroy this beloved attraction (RIP Splash Mountain).
I used to vacation at wdw once or twice a year since 2008. once all these changes started, I've been once and don't plan on returning for awhile. they really took away any benefit to staying on site
Easy it's their jobs. They try to remain absolutely objective in their views on changes and try to make sure the video is still watchable and not depressing to watch. You don't want some person planning their first ever trip to Disney trying to figure out everything and then they just get depressed watching a video. Their job is not to share their opinions, although their occasional comments I feel show that they don't particularly like the new changes, their job is to report on news. So that's why I mean listen I agree all of their changes suck but... dfb still have to make a living
😭😭😭😭😭🤧🤧🤧🤧I HAD RESERVATIONS FOR DISNEY WORLD FOR DECEMBER, BUT I CANCELED 😞 EVERYTHING 😭😭😭😭😭BECAUSE IT’S CAUSING ME SO MUCH STRESS. 😭😭😭I USED TO GO TO THE PARKS AND HAVE FUN 🤩 BUT NOW IS SUCH A HASSLE AND THEY TRY TO GET MONEY FROM YOUR EARS 😡😡😡 I GUESS WE’LL NEVER GO BACK 🤧🤧🤧🤧
To clarify: at about the 7:22 mark, A.J. says that in 2024 you won’t need park passes to visit the parks anymore. You will ALWAYS need passes; day-based tickets will NOT require park reservations. (Although it sure was nice to hear for a moment.)
thank you for your very informative content.....gonna skip it and go to Universal......the cash grab convinced me my $ will be better spent elsewhere.....the 2pm hopper and register/reserve a park is a deal breaker for us.......the genie plus is really over the top too
Do they not understand that if merch n food were cheaper people would.. buy more. Id happily try lots of snacks as im not a local (from uk) and buy merch as its special for me. But i wont pay their prices.
20 best trips to my family in Disney on trips tours since 1993. We never ignored it. Now they cower to incompetent and unfair employees who simply aren’t fair treated.
@@anarizmoore totally agree. Well less people are going from what I understand and or liking there movies. We will see if they care. It’s just so so expensive not sure who they think can afford it. I’m going cruising while it’s still pretty cheap 😎🥂
AJ : thank you for your in-depth and honest reporting. As much as the leadership has goofed the past 4 years I would like to see them salvage the brand. Maybe it’s too late.
So our men and women in uniform who can save a little money by buying their tickets from Shades of Green or at their local MWR office will still have to make park reservations after 9 Jan 2024 because those tickets are not date-based. Same for annual pass holders. Disney is trying their best to eliminate (or at least make it tough on) any park visitor who doesn't shell out full price each day of his/her trip.
It really is. During reopenning, I could let it slide for capacity reasons blah blah. But now, it's long passed time that the VERY MINIMUM it should be updated to 12pm.
Thx AJ! Have yet to make our long awaited first WDW trip, but still looking forward to it! Love planning/dreaming with your help. Btw, in DLR everyone used to be able to pick up packages at the front of the park on the way out, so super simple. Not sure when that changed… You’d think they’d want us to but more merch, I don’t totally get it. But I imagine streamlining (i.e. not hiring) staff is less exp for them.
Disney is like tax law - waaaaay too complicated. It's not even worth going any more. They charge an enouormous price up front, then say if you wanna make sure you get on the ride, buy this that and the next thing for $20 bucks per person per ride. They've effectively made it impossible for the average income family to go and have fun with peace of mind. I hope all those ultra-wealthy people they're targeting as customers are actually Disney Park fans This family has decided that it's a big fat No to Disney vacations. Walt is rolling in his grave!
I hope they remove the Park Hopping restriction - in 2019 I went to Epcot at 7 AM the day Rise of the Resistance opened - and walked on Frozen. Then I went to Mission Space Green then hopped over to Animal Kingdom.
We used to go every year and really loved it but now we won't go at all. Disney starting taking things away and ruining other things and prices skyrocketed. I personally don't wish to ever go back.
They keep taking and taking away from us. Wdym i cant find my luggage in my room anymore and get a free ride to the parks. wdym i cant buy park merch and have it sent to my hotel room. Wdym i wont receive free magic bands in the mail. Ugh
All the changes do nothing to enhance or make guests vacation more enjoyable. The jacked up prices, the elimination of perks to increase out of pocket expenses is solely an attempt to increase profits. No Magical Express relieves Disney of that cost while forcing many guests to rent cars to travel from the airport to the resort and forcing guests to pay a parking fee ( new found profit for Disney ) No free magic bands allows Disney to profit at least $100 per 4 members famlies. No extra magic hours allows Disney to cut cast members hours and once again more savings for Disney. No free fast pass, just charge guests for Genie +, more profit. And the list goes on and on all for the sake of profit while degrading the experience of the guests. I love your videos as I watch and remember how WDW was not so long ago but will never be again.
Magic bands used to be free, then ,$10 and now they are just discounted about $20 or so. The free one is definitely not coming back. And it sucks that only deluxe resorts get magic hours after dark. It just shows how Disney is now catering to the rich and to families that don't care about spending thousands on vacation.
bring back free transport and fast pass. Tomorrowland terrace is still closed, late night hours for all, package delivery, bring back credit for not having mousekeeping
Anyone who puts money into disney anything for any reason has lost their minds!! The most horrible corrupt stewards of the land, abandoned rotting areas, way too inconvenient and way to expensive ruined shopping village, ruined riverboat restaurant, ruined everything. Waste waste waste!!! The day disney shutters is the day i celebrate!! Go ziplining! Go camping! Go river rafting!
Why would anyone pay enormous amounts to subject themselves to this? lol For every restaurant opening another closes (and remains abandoned). But the empty buildings are an improvement over the constant construction. They're winging it, doing little more than add junk, junk food and loads of characters. The goal was reducing attendance without reducing profits. Fewer families paying LOTS does both. Walt is whirling in his grave at the new EPCOT. His vision of education and learning is now rides, endless shops, restaurants and snack bars. Energy & World in Motion are coasters, Spaceship Earth, Imagination closed, Communicore has yet more characters. Marketing is relentless - WIsh, Moana, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, Guardians of Galaxy, Inside Out, etc. Even the countries are character-oriented. Really sad.
I find it ironic that Disney cuts the budget of the profitable aspect of their company only to continue to waste billions, with a B, on all the trash that nobody is interested in. I.e. "new" Snow White, etc.
I love how companies continue to use Covid as a reason to provide a lesser and much more expensive guest experience.
Yes when we all know it was more over control than actually being our safety.
Disney puts no effort to even come up with a good lie anymore.
I like how every title of each new video gets saltier and saltier towards Disney. Not even the Disney/tourist focused channels can hide their disgust for the Disney company's greed and I am living for it!!
Everyone should remember that all the greed over Disney guest started under Iger’s first term
Don’t see it getting better the farther they move away from Walt.
@@CUTravel1stWalt is just another company IP
But the content of the videos in the end are never salty ;-)
They simply try to keep the viewers on the channel.
Has nothing to do with opinions, just making money…….
Used to love Disney. Went with my wife on our honeymoon in 1995 and in 1996 on our 1st anniversary. On our 10th anniversary, 2005, we took our two kids we now had and our parents as well. Those were all great trips. Covid put the kibosh on our planned trip for our 25th wedding anniversary in 2020. We keep thinking of going again., but soooo many stories of people saying how much it has changed for the worse, the escalating prices, the disappearance of favorite rides, the restrictive rules, ...not sure we will ever go back.
Went there for my honeymoon and many times after but the just don't want us back. I am hoping that eventually they will realize their mistake like they did during the bad period following Isner but who knows.
I refuse to go.
Idk, I am annoyed with a few changes, but there is still so much to love and enjoy.
the fact that you can create so much content on these parks due to their price and level of confusion just shows how ridiculous this place has gotten.
Does she live there?
no@@popcudson4820
There has been no operational change (adding attractions not included) that has been to the benefit of guests. Every change has been to the benefit of Disney's bottom line at the expense of guest's enjoyment.
Even the new attractions added aren't for the guests. It is for appearances. They don't want to seem like they're doing nothing and they need something new to promote so that more people come to the parks. And so they just start shoving ip based rides everywhere even where it doesn't belong AT ALL because those are the things that can grab people's attentions in the ads. Nothing they do ever is for the guests and that's a real shame.
Well who’s making that determination lol… I love genie plus lol.
And yet many lap it up while licking Disney's boots.
just feels like it’s not worth it anymore
Go to Disney springs and hang out.
It never was worth it
We used to go to Disney from Canada every 3 years. No more, it has gotten ridiculously expensive. We always stayed on site because we didn't like the long commute or having to spend all day in one park without going back to our room in the afternoon for a break. Now we are trying other Vacations like cruising and checking out different counties. All less than what we have to pay for Disney.
Every video that mentions the end of Magical Express fails to note that the BEST part of ME - the luggage delivery - is completely gone. You can’t even pay someone to do that for you. Mears Connect is NOT “exactly the same” as ME 😢
I second that! The airline check in made my last day SO MUCH easier. Since I usually have a rental car, it saved the juggling luggage to the airline counter.
Yea agreed. And also - the trip there and back was a family tradition - watching the Disney cartoons and park features in anticipation on the way there and reminiscing on the way back. You can’t buy that feeling- and they just tossed it away.
I don't mind paying for transportation, but I'm handicapped and loved my luggage magically appearing in my room.
I feel like Disney is losing its
✨Disney✨… hope they can get it together and bring back that charm and wonder.
A good way to handle the ride share thing without wearing yourself out trying to find where to get them in those really far away places, is to take the monorail or sky liner to a deluxe resort and call your Uber from the resort, you’ll most likely have a nice place to sit and wait for your Uber, and it’s SO much less chaotic than trying to fight with everyone getting an Uber at the park at the end of the night, and the Uber is a lot of times cheaper because the resort isn’t surging at the end of the night like the parks are.
This is what we did! We walked out the International Gateway at EPCOT and waited at Beach Club!
We're from the UK and we've had three, two-week vacations in WDW and each time the cost has increased almost exonentially while the amount of value and perks included (fastpass +, dine plan, Magicl Express etc) seems to be decreasing.
We paid the following:-
2013 - £2500 - Port Orleans
2016 - £4800 - Caribbean Beach
2018 - £8200 - Caribbean Beach
I've just priced it for 2024 and it's coming in at around £16,000!!!
My wife and I both earn around double the average UK salary and still find this to be extortionate.
Disney will soon only be the playground of wealthy elites or foreign oligarchs as they will be the only ones able to afford it.
We no longer stay at the hotels. We book a vacation home located in Davenport in an area they call 'Little Britain'. The company we use is Florida Spirit. You will spend much, much less money.
So imagine me, disabled, self employed, about to do about 16 hours a week work, dreaming of going there. I may as well plan to go to the moon.
Maybe stay less time in Disney and do something else the rest or your time.
And disney obsessed adults who live locally and happily buy all the merch and new food. They dont want families unless theyre mega rich or famous
When we're you looking at for your 2024 for trip?
My husband and I just booked a 3 week stay at Disney with a 2 weeks parks tickets and flights included for just under £5000
Though we are going to the value Hotel (all stars) and during a non peak season. The time of year makes a big difference. We were originally going to go a week earlier than we are now, but we changed it and saved £619 just by changing the dates 1 week!
We decided against a WDW trip a few years ago and went to Japan instead. We have gone somewhere new each year since. As a family we have never regretted it. Disney is out of touch with its customer base and has gone from a must do to a firm why bother .
Just came back from my 9th trip to WDW. For the first time in my life I did not get to ride on a parking lot tram. Not once. My kids had a wonderful time, but I did not. I read and watched a lot about things not being the same anymore, but it really smacks you in the face when you experience it. :(
They are only working against themselves with pricing, Genie+, park reservations...I'm not paying them $1,800 to make a vacation feel like homework. Universal you are getting my money and will continue to.....
Genie and Genie + has me disgusted. I’m not paying $15 each for the popular rides, that’s highway robbery
I’m local to DW and have AP’s to both Universal and DW. 3 of 4 monthly park trips are to Universal. Because even as a local AP holder DW is a ridiculously convoluted experience. How anyone already not knowledgeable and experienced in DW’s (constantly changing) rules can have an enjoyable time is beyond me. Adding more ‘are you kidding me’ costs just pours salt in the wound. DW is fast becoming not fun and not relaxing. I hang on bc of Epcot and AK. But if I had to name a home park? Universal all the way.
Disneyworld is too expensive for less than it used to be and it’s way too confusing and stressful to plan. Poor Walt, his dream for everyone to enjoy is nothing more than a cash grab.
I will miss the luggage service from magical express.Its just not the same. All the relaxation is gone.
The magical express used to be free ,but we would always have to take a connecting flight to just fly into Orlando (MCO) it was a hassle . I still go to Disney ,but we fly into Orlando-Sanford (SFB) since it’s a direct flight ✈️ and it doesn’t matter anymore since ME is not free anymore anyway
BRING BACK FAST PASS
Best surprise was a fam giving your fam a fast pass ticket bc they had to leave the parks. It happened often and it was so sweet. No more
I’m a local and literally the only reason we go is for rides. We buy shirts at Ross nearby (they have sooo many cute CHEAP Disney shirts) and bring our own food. Loungefly sales page is great for buying bags for 40 dollars that cost 80 in parks. Etsy is amazing for unique and never out of style ears. Prices are ridiculous lmao
Disney has forgotten its place.
Disney doesn’t care care about its guests, only how much money they can squeeze out of them . The outright greed of this management of the company has no bounds, Disney used to be dream makers now they are dream killers.
How there isn't a dedicated train to Disney World to/from MCO after all of these years is baffling.
There was supposed to be! But I think that got scrapped.
I wish they'd bring back the Mary Poppins attraction at the UK Pavilion.
I was shocked that magic bands are no longer free. Like wtf
Just look at the trend in recent DFB videos, there's more and more problems every day. Prices go up and up, services go down, down, down. The reality is that the always pricey Disney vacation that was magical, is now an overpriced saturation of Disney blah blah blah. Coming from someone who has been to Disney on average every other year since it opened, it is a disappointing, frustrating time away from home, and not worth the money.
@@TacoEX1 I don't, stopped in 2021. And won't until they get their act together.
Is it not possible to be completely spontaneous anymore at a WDW vacation? The last time I was there was in 2006 on a five day park hopper pass. We reserved nothing. We showed up at whatever park we wanted to and whenever we wanted to. Just walked into restaurants and were immediately seated. No reservations. Parks, rides, restaurants, transportation, etc was all spontaneous. After watching these Disney videos, it feels like you now have to plan what time you want to take a dump so you can reserve a toilet ahead of time on some Disney app (for a fee of course).
See even in the 2000s we had trouble being spontaneous because the restaurants we wanted to go to required reservations even back then or you waited an hour for a table. We haven’t been spontaneous in Disney since about 1999.
This. Not the price hikes. THIS is why Disney World has become a one and done destination for young couples and families.
It was Covid19 that destroyed everything there.
Disney used to be where dreams were made, now they are not….
I still feel very magical and the “princesses “ have made me feel very loved as a grown woman
I was there last night completely packed raining I was with my wife for the first time after being married and we felt all the magic we cried when we left
It's been a couple of decades since I last visited any of the Disney parks. By everything I've been reading and hearing, I'm glad I've never wanted to return.
I live in Canada I have been to Florida 2 times this year and I’m going again in November with my children and grandchildren. Disney is too expensive have not gone since before covid and although I was intending on taking my grandson I’m not going at the nov prices. We used to go all the time. Not no more. I don’t know how people can afford it. The price took the magic away.
Also if you're staying at a Disney world hotel property or a neighboring hotel everybody should be able to attend the evening hours it should not be just for deluxe hotels
15 years ago my wife and I would chaperone my daughters band trips to Disney World. We stayed in the allstar hotels so it was reasonable. We always took the band into magic Kingdom after hours. The kids could go on what they wanted. It was one of the best perks.
I always found it ironic the people who could afford to stay at the deluxe resorts got the extra time after parks close...
It isn’t ironic. It’s supposed to be a reward for staying there. It still isn’t right, though. Everyone staying on property used to be able to stay for Extra Magic Hours and it was never crowded. It was amazing.
When ride-sharing first came out you could go to the the front of all the parks. And when the fast passes for asking that you would just go get a little slip of paper from any ride the time to go back on there were no confusing rules for fees. And this is just the tip of the iceberg on raising prices and lowering pleasure Island rip, there's basically no nightlife at Disney anymore you have to go to CityWalk.
So the part of the rideshare in the video at Epcot isn’t correct. They built a very very nice area for rideshare that is officially open and it’s right behind where you would catch a Disney bus so it’s not far. The reason that this change happened at Epcot was because it had become increasingly dangerous for guests in the parking lot because of how the rideshare drivers were actually driving.
Just call it what it is...Price gouging! I love Disney, but it's getting way too complicated to enjoy it anymore.
AJ's love of peanut butter desserts in this video reminded me -- this Monday I was in Downtown Disney and went to Marcelines Confectionery to try the peanut butter sandwich that AJ is also raving about in her Disneyland videos. Oh, WOW, it is delicious!
I used to work at Sunset Ranch Market in Hollywood Studios and every once in a while, I check the menus to see what's changed. I'm still salty that they took away my absolute favorite dessert at Hollywood Scoop's which was the giant ice cream cookie sandwich. It was also one of my favorite things to make when I was working at that location.
Lol! One of my best memories are from when my husband and my brother and I went there for a snack and I got that Ice cream sandwich thinking it was normal size and I could eat it on the way to my fast pass. Lol. The hot August sun and the size of that snack made it so it took all 3 of us to chow that bad boy down! It was awesome!
Magical Express wasn't free. The cost was baked into resort prices. Not only do you have to pay for the bus you don't get a break on room rates
And yet the room rates didn't drop when WDW dropped ME. I guess they didn't bake in enough to make it profitable.
As they other guy said even if that were true the resort price did not drop so....
then why have resort prices increased??
Yes makes perfect sense why they need to cut back on projects, I mean they clearly aren't making enough money🙄
I can’t afford to go to Disney land or Disney world. Prices are way out of my budget. Eventually only the well off will afford Disney.
a few years before the pandemic i visited epcot. it was much cheaper then.
Yep, just like Ferraris, Yachts, jets and European vacations. These are luxury purchases.
Just like in 1990s through 2000, the Chevy Suburban was affordable for middle class Americans but now the newer ones today are only for the supper rich peoples.
You have to pay the hefty price no matter which one you go to. You either have to pay $7 per gallon of gasoline in LA to get to Disneyland or you go OTR and take a 3 day drive to Orlando and pay hefty price on hotel stops per night, or you fly to Orlando and pay hefty price on Airline tickets and rental car.
It already is the well off lol. Standard family disney hol comes to like £15,000
My friends and I stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge at the beginning of the month and there was literally shards of glass covering our bed, shower and bath. These people do NOT care about guests anymore lmao
Oh my God
The only good news is that Disney ran out of funds to "reimagine" Spaceship Earth because it's just a matter of time before they destroy this beloved attraction (RIP Splash Mountain).
BRING BACK ALIEN ENCOUNTER!!!!
I'm really sad about the Mary Poppins cx... we definitely need more development in the World Show case & the inclusion of classic IP!
I think I am in the minority but I actually wish they would stop adding so much IP. I miss not everything revolving around a Disney movie.
I just no longer need Disney in my life.
I used to vacation at wdw once or twice a year since 2008. once all these changes started, I've been once and don't plan on returning for awhile. they really took away any benefit to staying on site
Absolutely love this channel and content AJ!
I enjoy your vids but I don’t know how you can stay so upbeat about everything despite Disney making some very purposeful bad choices in the parks.
Easy it's their jobs. They try to remain absolutely objective in their views on changes and try to make sure the video is still watchable and not depressing to watch. You don't want some person planning their first ever trip to Disney trying to figure out everything and then they just get depressed watching a video. Their job is not to share their opinions, although their occasional comments I feel show that they don't particularly like the new changes, their job is to report on news. So that's why I mean listen I agree all of their changes suck but... dfb still have to make a living
I’m happy that I went to Disney before Covid because it sounds like a big hassle now 😢
I just want my Photopass included with my annual pass again. That was a sweet perk.
I’ll never forgive them for making us basically pay to ride rides and making entry soo expensive and getting rid of uk’s free dining plan
😭😭😭😭😭🤧🤧🤧🤧I HAD RESERVATIONS FOR DISNEY WORLD FOR DECEMBER, BUT I CANCELED 😞 EVERYTHING 😭😭😭😭😭BECAUSE IT’S CAUSING ME SO MUCH STRESS. 😭😭😭I USED TO GO TO THE PARKS AND HAVE FUN 🤩 BUT NOW IS SUCH A HASSLE AND THEY TRY TO GET MONEY FROM YOUR EARS 😡😡😡 I GUESS WE’LL NEVER GO BACK 🤧🤧🤧🤧
To clarify: at about the 7:22 mark, A.J. says that in 2024 you won’t need park passes to visit the parks anymore. You will ALWAYS need passes; day-based tickets will NOT require park reservations. (Although it sure was nice to hear for a moment.)
I loved stitch's great escape, such a fun experience!
Just wanted to say I really appreciate AJ & the DFB family❤️
thank you for your very informative content.....gonna skip it and go to Universal......the cash grab convinced me my $ will be better spent elsewhere.....the 2pm hopper and register/reserve a park is a deal breaker for us.......the genie plus is really over the top too
There's more to do at Universal anyway!
Do they not understand that if merch n food were cheaper people would.. buy more. Id happily try lots of snacks as im not a local (from uk) and buy merch as its special for me. But i wont pay their prices.
No idea how your uniquely cheery voice can handle the Disney disappointment. I left after Rocket Rods! Keep up the videos!
20 best trips to my family in Disney on trips tours since 1993. We never ignored it. Now they cower to incompetent and unfair employees who simply aren’t fair treated.
Just got back from an epic 4 day 47 show/ride/character experience. Did it on a budget and had a blast.
If Mr. Walt was alive to see this, I wonder what he would truly think about these changes.
The people are what make the world a magical place.
I was just talking about this with my husband a couple nights ago...what would Walt think?!
@@Stef-Lucas it's ashame that money almost always trumps over a person's happiness.
When's the last time you and your husband went to Disney World?
There so far away from what Walt wanted
@@CUTravel1st it's so sad to think like that but you're so right. People's happiness isn't a priority anymore.
@@anarizmoore totally agree. Well less people are going from what I understand and or liking there movies. We will see if they care. It’s just so so expensive not sure who they think can afford it. I’m going cruising while it’s still pretty cheap 😎🥂
AJ : thank you for your in-depth and honest reporting. As much as the leadership has goofed the past 4 years I would like to see them salvage the brand. Maybe it’s too late.
Same. My family used to cross the whole country to go to Disney every year and 5 generations of my family have gone there. I want it back.
So our men and women in uniform who can save a little money by buying their tickets from Shades of Green or at their local MWR office will still have to make park reservations after 9 Jan 2024 because those tickets are not date-based. Same for annual pass holders.
Disney is trying their best to eliminate (or at least make it tough on) any park visitor who doesn't shell out full price each day of his/her trip.
As a disabled vet they have taken away the magic my family used to be able to enjoy we CANNOT afford Disney anymore……I hope Ron buries them…..
The other resorts offer airline shuttles. They need to up their game.
The park hopping rule is the absolute stupidest thing ive ever heard of.
It really is. During reopenning, I could let it slide for capacity reasons blah blah. But now, it's long passed time that the VERY MINIMUM it should be updated to 12pm.
@@Molbyone Universal makes it so much simpler. You can park hop at any time.
The greed is through the roof. Disney is using its loyal park fans to simply wring for cash.
Love DFBGuide! Don't even have to go to the park if you watch the vids.
Id do anything to have gone in 2019. My last trip was 2015
disney is fixing things that aren't broken. disney should allow package delivery for a reasonable fee.
To those that wonder why those of us say that Disney has "lost its magic" .... watch this entire video.
It has lost a lot but I do think there is still magic to be found.
Thx AJ! Have yet to make our long awaited first WDW trip, but still looking forward to it! Love planning/dreaming with your help.
Btw, in DLR everyone used to be able to pick up packages at the front of the park on the way out, so super simple. Not sure when that changed… You’d think they’d want us to but more merch, I don’t totally get it. But I imagine streamlining (i.e. not hiring) staff is less exp for them.
Disney is like tax law - waaaaay too complicated. It's not even worth going any more. They charge an enouormous price up front, then say if you wanna make sure you get on the ride, buy this that and the next thing for $20 bucks per person per ride.
They've effectively made it impossible for the average income family to go and have fun with peace of mind.
I hope all those ultra-wealthy people they're targeting as customers are actually Disney Park fans
This family has decided that it's a big fat No to Disney vacations.
Walt is rolling in his grave!
We gave up our Disney passes and went with Universal…
I hope they remove the Park Hopping restriction - in 2019 I went to Epcot at 7 AM the day Rise of the Resistance opened - and walked on Frozen. Then I went to Mission Space Green then hopped over to Animal Kingdom.
We used to go every year and really loved it but now we won't go at all. Disney starting taking things away and ruining other things and prices skyrocketed. I personally don't wish to ever go back.
They keep taking and taking away from us. Wdym i cant find my luggage in my room anymore and get a free ride to the parks. wdym i cant buy park merch and have it sent to my hotel room. Wdym i wont receive free magic bands in the mail. Ugh
The transportation shuttles from the airport to resort is a bummer.
All the changes do nothing to enhance or make guests vacation more enjoyable. The jacked up prices, the elimination of perks to increase out of pocket expenses is solely an attempt to increase profits. No Magical Express relieves Disney of that cost while forcing many guests to rent cars to travel from the airport to the resort and forcing guests to pay a parking fee ( new found profit for Disney ) No free magic bands allows Disney to profit at least $100 per 4 members famlies. No extra magic hours allows Disney to cut cast members hours and once again more savings for Disney. No free fast pass, just charge guests for Genie +, more profit. And the list goes on and on all for the sake of profit while degrading the experience of the guests. I love your videos as I watch and remember how WDW was not so long ago but will never be again.
Magic bands used to be free, then ,$10 and now they are just discounted about $20 or so. The free one is definitely not coming back. And it sucks that only deluxe resorts get magic hours after dark. It just shows how Disney is now catering to the rich and to families that don't care about spending thousands on vacation.
They gave us back free resort parking, but room prices are ridiculous now. We've stopped going.
Disney, Please bring back the free airport transport!
This channel is the best!!! So much great info. Appreciate all the works y’all do so we can have the best vacation ever!!!
bring back free transport and fast pass. Tomorrowland terrace is still closed, late night hours for all, package delivery, bring back credit for not having mousekeeping
Surprised you don’t have to pay to use the tram
I was in the Orlando park Mon, was miserable, packed with long lines and that annoying app. Universal is a much better option.
I’m still sad about stitch ride 😭 it was the first ride I remember riding as a kid
I just choose to experience disney now for free with youtubers
Bring back Magical Express!
just more reasons to choose universal over disney.
I remember the early days at WDW, when you had to buy a coupon book and use tickets to go on rides.
I remember Gasparilla day in Tampa bay. When I was a kid I grew up in St. Petersburg.
Anyone who puts money into disney anything for any reason has lost their minds!! The most horrible corrupt stewards of the land, abandoned rotting areas, way too inconvenient and way to expensive ruined shopping village, ruined riverboat restaurant, ruined everything. Waste waste waste!!! The day disney shutters is the day i celebrate!! Go ziplining! Go camping! Go river rafting!
The reservation system is designed to know how few employees they will schedule on any specific day. It has no other reason at this point.
You can just call a yellow cab to your hotel. It should be cheaper than the Mears buses I’m guessing.
We're visiting Orlando from the UK in a few weeks. We will not be visiting Disney. Won't be going back until they get their act together
Why would anyone pay enormous amounts to subject themselves to this? lol For every restaurant opening another closes (and remains abandoned). But the empty buildings are an improvement over the constant construction. They're winging it, doing little more than add junk, junk food and loads of characters. The goal was reducing attendance without reducing profits. Fewer families paying LOTS does both.
Walt is whirling in his grave at the new EPCOT. His vision of education and learning is now rides, endless shops, restaurants and snack bars. Energy & World in Motion are coasters, Spaceship Earth, Imagination closed, Communicore has yet more characters. Marketing is relentless - WIsh, Moana, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, Guardians of Galaxy, Inside Out, etc. Even the countries are character-oriented. Really sad.
They need to do a ride with Lilo and Stitch.
They are managing crowds alright lots of days with low attendance, so greed is going to do them in
The wife and I are traveling to Italy for 10 days for very little more than what we spend for 6 days at Disney.
I find it ironic that Disney cuts the budget of the profitable aspect of their company only to continue to waste billions, with a B, on all the trash that nobody is interested in. I.e. "new" Snow White, etc.