Why My Family Used to Love Disney

Over the years my family has visited Walt Disney World and Disneyland quite a few times. 

Each of our visits consisted of new adventures and new memories. 

It was our favorite vacation to take as a family. 

We loved planning each visit and we did our best to experience new rides, shows, and eateries. 

I think what I loved the most was that I got to see the magic of Disney in each of my children’s eyes. As a parent, it was a wonderful thing to experience.

Sadly, as much as my family used to love Disney, that love quickly faded away. 

Every trip to Disney was always amazing for my family. 

We tried to do something different during each visit and experience new shows and foods. 

We loved eating at different dining establishments and I loved taking hundreds of pictures during each trip. 

In addition, the memories we made were amazing and will definitely last a lifetime but as fast as we fell in love with Disney we quickly fell out of love. 

Why My Family Used to Love Disney and Now We Don’t

• Cost– Disney has always been the most expensive trip in America that we have taken. It was a trip that we had to save for and then remain in debt because we could never save as much as we needed to. In the past, we accepted the cost of Disney but over the years we noticed that the cost continued to increase. I understand inflation but I feel that Disney unfairly increased prices while providing less service. I think it was when they began to charge guests parking fees at the resorts when they stayed overnight. Why was this necessary, especially when they had just increased park prices?
• COVID-19– I recently wrote ‘How the COVID-19 Pandemic Ruined Disney‘. You can find that —-> here. My family understands that many companies did not know how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in the beginning but once time passed and life began to open, especially in Florida, Disney did not and currently does not handle it well.  
• FastPass+–  My family loved the ability to plan our trip to the park with Disney’s FastPass system. It made scheduling and utilizing our time wisely. Since the reopening of Disney after COVID-19, it’s gone. Due to the need for ‘social distance’, they removed this amazing perk. Removing it does not make sense. I would think that this would cause more crowds. 
• Characters– During our trip to Walt Disney World, pre- COVID, we noticed that the Disney characters were almost impossible to find. While they used to walk around the park and could be spotted in surprise various locations, on our last trip we discovered that you could only see them at a Disney dining establishment, during a parade, or in a tent. Kids go to Disney World in hopes to see their favorite character walking throughout the park, not standing in line to see them. 
• Food– Before we started our Disney vacation, one of our most favorite things to do was to plan where we were going to eat. In the past, we would sign up for Disney’s Dining Plan, but unfortunately, since COVID-19 that has been canceled. Disney has fabulous dining establishments. Here are some of my favorites.  Again, unfortunately, due to COVID-19 many of the restaurants have not reopened. I can’t imagine planning a trip to Disney and not having many of the options that I had before. Most likely since there are fewer restaurants that are open, the ones that are open book up quickly. As far as the counter service at Disney, in my experience, it is a huge disappointment. You would think with the high prices that the counter service has that their food would be delicious. 
• Crowd– Our experience, pre-COVID, during our visits to the park, mainly the Magic Kingdom, the crowd was insane. It is so crowded that it literally takes the magic away. 
• Added Holiday Experiences– I am not sure if these holiday events such as the Disney Halloween party and Mickey’s Christmas event will continue after COVID but while they seemed awesome I never understood why guests had to pay a lot of extra money to enjoy them. Why could Disney not incorporate these fun activities with all of the guests that already paid a huge price to enter the park? 

 

Over the past few years, Disney has saddened my family and me.

I, personally, see many of their business practices as greedy and not pro-consumer. 

As the mom of the family, I would be okay with never going to Disney again for these — > reasons.

My family, on the other hand, thinks differently than me so most likely I will have to revisit Disney in the future. 

Of course, I will make the best of it for my family and hope that Disney has made positive changes.