Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well when the doller is worth jack! lol. It was our wedding anniversary and we were trying for a baby!!!! Also, to be honest, when you are flying 6000 miles, it is not to scrimp on a flea pit. Who flies from the US to London to stay in a Travelodge???
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct I also don't mean to be a curmudgeon. If you haven't been or only visited a few times - by all means.. go have a magical time. You will be in awe. Can we talk about a Customer Life Cycle? A Customer life cycle is a term used to describe the progression of steps a customer goes through when considering, purchasing, using, and maintaining loyalty to a product or service. I think I am at the end of my Walt Disney World customer cycle. It all started in 1989 when I visited in Sept and saw the new MGM studios, EPCOT and Pleasure Island for the first time. Also - I saw the Grand Floridian. I was knocked down by what I saw - stunned, mesmorized and in total awe. i was hooked. I started regular visits and was re-infused with awe after SPLASH and TOWER opened. Then came another jolt when Animal Kindgdom opened in 1998. Aside from some good impressions from the 2000 celebration - I have to say it has all grown very stale. In all fairness, I think WISHES and some other great stuff have come along but I see very little to inspire me of late. It all really hit home when last June for Gay Days, we woke up in our Caribbean Beach room and started to discuss what park we wanted to visit. As we talked out loud, it became painfully obvious that so much was already seen and seen and seen again .... there were two things I had an interest in ... NEMO at EPCOT and the NEMO show at Animal Kingdom (fantastic show!!!) and we were done. I was feeling like we wasted our money even bothering to stay at disney and buy passes. "Next year" we said, We will stay off property, do a one day pass to MK for the Sat parade and not bother with the rest of disney and stick to the GAY DAY events. Now, maybe I since I have been visiting on a regular basis since 1989 that I am now at the end of my customer life cycle. But the thing is, I still have a passion for Disney and I want to go back - I am just having a hard to justifying a visit with the current offerings and state of affairs. There must be a reason I feel this way.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Time to go to other resorts Dennis. I hear Tokyo is really nice! and I love DL and DLP.
Originally Posted By Mickeyfan1 This is just so sad to hear so many say things like "no interest" or Nemo in EPCOT and the Nemo Show in Animal Kingdom and we were don". The sad thing is I am in with this group also. I like the thought of being at the "end of the customer cycle" (or "guest cycle" would be more Disney. I don't mind paying for quality, but when the quality and the value for the dollar just isn't there you really start to wonder. Now I read where there will be a $4 surcharge for the buffets during holiday seasons.....come on Disney, how much more can you nickel and dime people to death? Just wait, one day you are going to see fare machines on these busses, as they try to force you to the boats or monorails (just kidding....I hope, but with Disney anymore you never can tell.)
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys >I think I am at the end of my Walt Disney World customer cycle< I've been saying that for years now. After all, how many times can you see the same things over and over? I think Disney is just in my blood now and believe to a large extent that I continue to go so I can try to relive the past when my kids were young and it became our vacation of choice. I still get excited about upcoming trips, and still get sad on the last day, but I find myself spending less time at the parks and more time at the resorts than ever before. While it is definitely time for a change, I cannot see a year ever going by where I don't visit at least once, instead of the 2-3 times a year that we go now..
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I still get excited about upcoming trips, and still get sad on the last day, but I find myself spending less time at the parks and more time at the resorts than ever before. << That's exactly how I started feeling the last couple of years. >> While it is definitely time for a change, I cannot see a year ever going by where I don't visit at least once, instead of the 2-3 times a year that we go now.. << Well I'm going to give it a try. I'm going cold turkey. I'll let you know if it's bearable.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I guess I am pretty easy to please, because I never tire of the offerings. At MK my "must dos" are Pirates Big Thunder Mountain Haunted Mansion Peter Pan Pooh Mickey's Philharmagic Space Mountain TTA Carousel of Progress Buzz At Epcot... It seems just about everything has great repeatability for me. The only thing I am frequently tempted to pass by is Ellen’s Energy Adventure, mainly because it is so time consuming. I never seem to tire of the World Showcase At MGM... Great Movie Ride Voyage of the Little Mermaid One Man's Dream Tower of Terror Rock N Roller Coaster Star Tours Muppets 4-D At Animal Kingdom... Tough to be a Bug Kilimanjaro Safaris Pangani Forest Trail Maharajah Jungle Trek Discovery Island Trails Countdown to Extinction (Dinosaur) Primeval Whirl (so sue me) Expedition Everest I like to be in and out of a park in 6-8 hours. My repeatable attractions in each park easily take care of that. After that much time I want to be somewhere eating, drinking, shopping or sleeping… not schlepping from ride to ride! I think there are still some nice Disney restaurants where the quality is good and the prices are not that bad. We don’t shop much for “World of Disney†type merchandise because after all of our trips I think we have one of everything. We still have a good time shopping the World Showcase, the Art of Disney shops, and several shops at the MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom that seem a little more unique than most. I love WDW. I love how I feel when I’m at WDW. I love how CM generally treat me at WDW. I love the totally away from the real world feeling I get at WDW. It is the ONLY vacation destination where I don’t even think about work… in fact the only destination where I don’t even give my office some way to contact me. To me it is still worth it. When it no longer is I will sell my DVC and stop going. I kind of doubt that will happen before I croak, but one never knows. For those who feel differently; no problem. I used to be a huge fan of fishing… now I haven’t done it for 10 years. I used to spend most of my waking hours thinking about golf… now I still enjoy it but it isn’t an obsession. I understand people who tire of activities, and don’t see anything wrong with it. But I don’t think the fact that I’m not interested in fishing any more means that it is a bad pastime. I also don’t feel the fact that some folks have burned out on WDW makes it a bad vacation destination. Everyone should enjoy what works for them.
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct <<Time to go to other resorts Dennis. I hear Tokyo is really nice! and I love DL and DLP.<< I hear you and agree. I am saving to finally go to TDS next year. And see TDL for the 25th.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I think I am at the end of my Walt Disney World customer cycle>> I can appreciate that. I think I was at the point from about 2000-04. I was spending less and less time at WDW, and I didn't feel like I was missing much. At the same time, I was spending more time in other places ... no, Disney wasn't out of my system ... I went on my first Disney Cruise during this time and loved it ... and I was still spending a fair amount of time at DL and DCA and enjoying it. But WDW felt very, very tired and stale and like a mass-market characture of what DL was. But then what happened? Eisner left. Iger took over. Resorts got renovated. New attractions, some crap, but some wonderful, opened. And in some areas I began to see Disney quality returning, so since 2004 I've been spending more time at WDW again. I guess it's like some relationships. Sometimes you need a break to appreciate what's there ... and not let the bad overwhelm you. That's why I have two trips to WDW scheduled in the next three months. But I totally understand where you're coming from. And with me, a regular since 19??, well, I remember when Disney was at its best, so when I was there in 2000-era, I couldn't fathom how far quality that been allowed to drop. Things are getting better now, believe it or not ... in some areas anyway. <<I am saving to finally go to TDS next year. And see TDL for the 25th.>> That makes two of us!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo " I also don’t feel the fact that some folks have burned out on WDW makes it a bad vacation destination. " Interesting though - after 300+ visits to DL I cannot wait to go back in February. After 49 visits to DLP I am trying to find a way to get back in 2008. But after 2 visits in 10 years at WDW - I am not jumping at the bit to get back. Of all the MK attractions listed, only the TTA and CoP are worth seeing in my books as the others are sub par to their DL/DLP counterparts (and I thought Phil was totally overrated - prefering Muppets and ITTBAB - available at DCA). But I do love Epcot and DAK. They are what peak my interest in coming back to WDW. Thank goodness for different strokes. If Disney would bring the quality, cleanliness and variety of shopping and dining back, plus improve transport service, then we would gladly go back, but until they do, I would prefer to use the money to go to TDL.
Originally Posted By danyoung >I guess I am pretty easy to please, because I never tire of the offerings.< I'm right there with you, Trippy. My list of must-do's is a little different from you, and I'm not a DVC member. But other than that I completely agree with everything you said. This thread has been interesting in that it seems to have attracted everyone who's burned out on the mouse, at least the Florida version of it. I was hoping some folks would stand up and speak out for the other side. But then these days if you say you enjoy a Florida park you risk getting called a DoM, which is an incredibly sad and rude thing. I'm 3 weeks away from my next Orlando trip, and I'm giddy as a schoolgirl about it! I plan on storming the parks, riding old favorites and experiencing new or changed attractions, eating and drinking my fool head off, and enjoying some of the best fireworks shows and parades on the planet. Can't wait!!!!
Originally Posted By dshyates See my list of must sees is just a little different than you guys. Every season I like to hit BGE, Cedar Point, Kennywood, Dollywood, KI, KD, Carowinds, and Hershey. These are all weekend or extended weekend trips. And then one big 9 day at WDW, USOtown, or some place like the keys, NYC, or DC. Of course each season we don't have time to hit them all so we pick and choose based on what's new, where we went last year, and how much money we have. I love WDW and its definitely in the major league group deserving "The Big Vacation" status. Its just tarnished a bit. We will return again happily. I have mentioned some of the dissapointing thing from my last trip, like how crowded DtD was, and that some of the entertainment is shockingly stale. But there were some very cool newer things also. And I believe Disney is very aware of some of the major gripes and agrees. The crowds at DtD are being responded by building another at western way. Some don't like the idea. Well don't go over there and enjoy that for a while you can sit at the old DtD with elbow room. As far as attractions they really have been adding for the last several years. Unfortunately most aren't of the level to reqire a visit. But when they do open the must see I'll be there. I really liked MS. I like Everest, but was a little underwhelmed. I like Mummy at USF better. But the best of the modern themed indoor fx coasters is Mystery Mine at Dollywood. So far the only thing really announced is the spinning mad rat coaster and it looks like I will really like it, but its still not the got to get to Orlando thing. I'm excited for the 40th. With the New E-Ticket at MK (rumored Mermaid Lagoon should fell from the sky on to the Pooh Playgound like its the wicked witch from the east), new Space Mountain, Spinning Mad Rat, and anything else they add before then it should be exciting to go and see 4-5 new/redone attractions one of which should be a WOWX10. As far as merchendising goes it has become more generic. But I understand why for the most part. It sells. And if you've ever been backstage over to the distribution warehouses you get the idea of the volume of product they have to deal with. They not only have to sort and inventory every piece of Merchendise for the entire resort. But also all the stuff like soap, shampoo and what not for the hotels. Its a mindboggling task they do. I would imaging with the volume they handle the number of different items had to be reduced. And if I factor DtD in, there is still enough specialized Disney crap I want that I can and can't afford that I'm good. It's just the last time I was at DtD I left before I bought
Originally Posted By dshyates anything because of the crowds. sorry my wireless keyboard died and I didn't proofread.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I agree with RoadTrip and others. I love WDW and, even though quality has fallen, it hasn't gotten stale for me yet. We're leaving two weeks from today for a quick weekend trip and, like Spirit, we'll be returning in a very short time (on February 1). Like RoadTrip, I love the way I feel when I'm at WDW. I just feel different when I'm there. It's a wonderful place to relax, and I can't say I'm tired of it.
Originally Posted By NikkiLOVESMickey I agree with RoadTrip and others. I love WDW and, even though quality has fallen, it hasn't gotten stale for me yet. We're leaving two weeks from today for a quick weekend trip and, like Spirit, we'll be returning in a very short time (on February 1). Like RoadTrip, I love the way I feel when I'm at WDW. I just feel different when I'm there. It's a wonderful place to relax, and I can't say I'm tired of it.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I'm 3 weeks away from my next Orlando trip, and I'm giddy as a schoolgirl about it!>> Must resist the urggggeeee ... but it's so strong ... pulling me ... must take open shot and drain the 21-foot jumper!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I just feel different when I'm there. It's a wonderful place to relax, and I can't say I'm tired of it.>> You can say that again, Nikki. Oh wait, you already did!
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys ^^ My head tells me I'm tired of it, but my heart makes me keep on going.
Originally Posted By hopemax Okay, back to the original post for a moment. I just heard about the dinner at the HM for everyone. The person who shared that info with me, said Iger said, "a huge and exciting announcement will be coming in the next few days." This would be more than just finally admitting to the Contemporary DVC, right?
