Originally Posted By vbdad55 I am slowly weening myself from WDW and spending more time at Seaworld and Univ. I can still be spontaneous there. ---- so the 'front of the line' passes people BUY in addition to staying there don't bother you ? At least FP is an equal opportunity financially speaking opportunity
Originally Posted By vbdad55 The idea of having to plan your dining, atrractions etc. 6 months in advance takes away the fun of being on vacation. Vacation means doing what you want, when you want. Doing things on schedule ruins it for me. ---- so you make the ressies, and if you don't want them- skip them. You know what would ruin it for me- traveling 1200 miles in a car to spend $5K-$10K and not be able to get a decent meal because I didn't get up and to the parks at the crack of dawn-- that ruined it for me. The reminiscing here about the old system seems to either be very slective time wise or a figment of someones imagination. Having kids in school my times there were always June- Juy- Augist- and you know what- getting to eat at the Biergarten or Le Cellier and California Grill were slim and none uinless one of us got up early and went to the park kiosks or ran to the restaurant ahead of everyone else. That's what I remember. I remember wanting to spend money on sit down meals at nice restaurants and not being able to. So I am not ure what WDW the dreamy visions of walking thru the parks and booking the restaurant of choice was at- but it was not at the WDW I went to 15-20 years ago.
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl Personally I like the 6 month in advance dining system..call me crazy, but half the fun of a Disney trip for me is the planning. It is less stressful for me while I am on vacation is I know in advance that I have my reservations all in place.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip You are not alone... a future trip to WDW never seems real for me until I've made my dining reservations!
Originally Posted By danyoung >...WDW - 1981 - disappointing. 2000 - my honeymoon, amazing. 2006, well lets say it was my worst Disney trip ever.< Hmmm . . . couldn't have anything to do with your mental attitude in 2000, could it Dave? I've long held the opinion that people have a truly magical first few visits. And then when the "magic" wears off and they realize that they're trying to do the same things they've done in the past with about a bazillion other people on a day when it's a bazillion degrees outside, well, it just ain't as much fun. The key, as Trippy alluded to, is to make adjustments, go with the flow, skip the long lines in favor of the shorter ones, and just enjoy being there. Very easy for me!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo The question is then Dan, why is the magic still alive for me at DL and to a slightly lesser extent, DLP? That seems to contradict the assertion you guys make about familiarity breeding contempt does it not? My view is it is the poor management or WDW being overstretched due to the scale of the place. Given the choice between a 4-6 oz chateau brion vs. 1lb of chuck round. Although I like both, the quality will always win out over quantity for me.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>2006, well lets say it was my worst Disney trip ever.<<< Must be something with 2006... I had a miserable trip, that year, too. First time I realized how far Disney had fallen, especially in EPCOT. EVERYTHING was a mess.
Originally Posted By tashajilek "Personally I like the 6 month in advance dining system..call me crazy, but half the fun of a Disney trip for me is the planning. It is less stressful for me while I am on vacation is I know in advance that I have my reservations all in place." I can get the fun in planning months in advance, but wouldnt it be irritating if you were going spur of the moment and couldnt dine anywhere you wanted?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<The question is then Dan, why is the magic still alive for me at DL and to a slightly lesser extent, DLP? That seems to contradict the assertion you guys make about familiarity breeding contempt does it not? My view is it is the poor management or WDW being overstretched due to the scale of the place. Given the choice between a 4-6 oz chateau brion vs. 1lb of chuck round. Although I like both, the quality will always win out over quantity for me.>> I agree and never have given Danny's theory much cred. Because I have now been a regular at all the Disney parks (except for TDR with just the one visit, but more to come!) and I just don't get bored at the others (to be fair, I don't really ever get bored at EPCOT or DAK, when it's actually open). But WDW has a staleness to me and I visit much less now than I did a decade ago. I'd also point out that for much of the last decade I was a 'local' at DLR ... and yet never bored or tired of the place. I want to enjoy WDW as I once did, but I can't because the product isn't what it once was.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Oh, and back a decade or two ago, I always managed to eat well without making a ressie six months ahead of time. I never was turned away as a walk-up willing to wait until about 5-6 years ago unless it was Christmas or NYE when you'd expect that. So, I really don't agree that getting a meal was a problem back in the 'no spreadsheet planning' days.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ One wonders if the size of the resort is to blame. WDW, too big for itself? Nahhhh....
Originally Posted By danyoung >I never was turned away as a walk-up willing to wait until about 5-6 years ago unless it was Christmas or NYE when you'd expect that.< I've experienced the same thing, Spirit, and I don't like the current system at all. I understand it and am able to manipulate it to my advantage, and I always eat well at Disney World. But I'd love to go back to the good ol' days when you could walk into Epcot, go up to the video kiosk, and make dinner plans for that night.
Originally Posted By standor You should be able to make a reservation on the day you are going to the park. How can you know 6 months in advance where you want to be on any given day. With my luck, I would make a late reservation in a restaurant and Disney might decide to close that park early because they were hosting a party. Does that mean that I have to go off the grounds to get a decent meal?
Originally Posted By CoolDisneyFan at first i totally agreed with the OP. However, really what it boils down to for him (and me and probably most of the complaints) is that we are suffering from Disney's success. They had a great product, and still have a pretty darn good one. Which means increasing attendance and more crowds, which displeases many of us. What can they do? Most of the opinions here are to add attractions, or add parks. I have stated the same myself. But it is not really simple supply and demand. If they add an attraction, that will bring additional visitors. They can't add an entire park to WDW, there is already really too much to try to do in a reasonable vacation (maybe better for day trip people). They can't significantly raise the price (which would lower crowds) then we would all be crying and complaining. They have added parks in other parts of the world, maybe a South America (Brazil) park would lower crowds in WDW, as there is always 10% of the park or so from Brazil alone. I just don't think it is as simple as removing Fast pass and the wait times. They are long waits because more and more people are choosing to go to WDW!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost They are also suffering from a large dose of overbooking being done by "clever" guests. They are at capacity, except they aren't. I have never been successful trying a walk up...even though I am solo. I don't think the present system is the best that can be had, although I don't know what else they might be able to do. Maybe not have so many counter service locations closed? I understand that many folks love to have meals at Disney, but frankly, it has never had a draw for me. To get something that I can get at Denny's for a quarter of the price? Thanks, I'll pass.
Originally Posted By danyoung >You should be able to make a reservation on the day you are going to the park. How can you know 6 months in advance where you want to be on any given day.< The way you know where you are going to be 6 months in advance is to plan. Plot out which park you're going to be visiting, and then book a restaurant nearby. As I said, I'm not really wild about this need for advance planning. But I've gotten used to it, and it's become a non-issue for me. >However, really what it boils down to for him (and me and probably most of the complaints) is that we are suffering from Disney's success.< Ding ding ding!!! People gripe about crowds, and of course big crowds are no fun. But they're coming because Disney has put out a good product and has done a terrific job at marketing it. Do they need to do better? Sure. Do I want more E ticket attractions, especially in the MK? Of course. But are they evil because there are large crowds to contend with? Of course not. The trick is to figger out ways of dealing with the big crowds. And EMH and FP are just two of the ways. Learn how to best utilize them, and stop complaining that Disney used to be so much better. Of course, just my always humble opinion.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Does that mean that I have to go off the grounds to get a decent meal?<<< I would suggest that normally... LOL
Originally Posted By danyoung >Does that mean that I have to go off the grounds to get a decent meal?< Not at all. A lot of the great restaurants on property are in Epcot, which never (or almost never) closes before 9pm. And there are also many terrific restaurants in the hotels as well. I've bowed to the inevitable and made my reservations 180 days out, and I eat like a king while on vacation!
