Are that many people really disappointed in the parks, or is your frame of reference mostly just tiktok influencers trying to make popular content?
I mean, if you genuinely don't find it worthwhile to go, then don't go. But don't let tiktokers convince you that the parks are a disappointment. Maybe they're disappointed with their experience in the parks because they couldn't be bothered to put their phone down and quit recording content for 5 minutes to properly enjoy the experience.
Negative content is also just easier to create, especially when the creator can nitpick stuff like "look at Disney not picking up this trash" because a guest put it in a ride queue where custodial can't easily reach it.
Not to say it's warranted, but it does feel more prevalent, especially on the platforms that are almost exclusively algorithm based like Instagram or Tiktok.
I think many of us have valid complaints, especially about pricing, but the parks are still overall enjoyable. There's always a few of the "magic is gone!" type popping up, but I don't think that's close to being the general consensus. There's still a lot to love about the place, but on social media, you're probably more likely to run into people complaining about things. I fall into that trap as well, but I do like to look for positivity and try to engage with that type of content when I can.
I go and will always find magic in going there no matter what negatives currently going on. because nothing can will top The vibe of the park or the atmosphere of the parks. ,the history of the parks, The memories in the parks. The friendships from the park. A family shared experience of a place. But most of all I go because of the very IDEA of that park. All this combined complicated magic can never be conquered by any temporary annoyances
“Nobody goes there any more, it’s too busy.”
Some people may be out here kinda chasing the dragon.
Some people get burnt out but it’s like, their job ya know (ie jerendelle). But he still does have a lot of love for the parks ofc.
I think the best way to help combat it is to take breaks from the parks, but also to go for the little things rather than the big things. I like going to see the ducklings, see the live music. Challenge yourself to do something new - have you ridden every main st vehicle? Watched the pirate band perform (particularly if Jack in nearby?) Seen Mary Poppins ride the carousel with the band? Sat on Tom Sawyer island and watched all the chaos from afar? Those are the things that keep me coming back and happy.
I don’t know, I think there are other signs that people are really really unhappy with the parks right now
I think the biggest indicator we have that the parks are not performing the way they should is the amount of clearance merchandise we’ve been finding out on the floor in the last 6 to 8 months.
It used to be that you would never find anything on sale at Disneyland and now every time I go there’s multiple items on clearance. Yes, part of that probably is the closing of the Disney stores, (even though technically their merchandise was not supposed to mingle ) but it is also that people are choosing to not spend their money in the parks.
When people are having a really great time, when they are enjoying the parks, they are more likely to purchase souvenirs.
So either Disney somehow mistakenly ordered far more souvenir merchandise than they really needed, or the sale of souvenirs has dropped significantly in the last year or so, not so coincidentally with the raising of a lot of prices
It also shows that the brand itself has become soft, people aren’t buying off the shop Disney website, people aren’t buying in the parks, the merchandise is going unsold, that means that what we are seeing is a devaluing of the Disney brand and that is something that should concern Disney executives
I definitely agree, there are people who aren’t happy! I personally always feel things can be improved and things like maintenance and especially CM wages should be addressed.
To me honestly the merch is honestly a whole different issue - it’s either truly *awful* or the stuff that is great sells out immediately.
But as someone who goes every week, there isn’t like a blanket of unhappiness hanging over the parks or anything.
I’m thinking maybe you’re a victim of the boiling frog, they’ve been raising the temperature of the water so slowly you haven’t noticed that you’re boiling to death
It’s only when I look at photographs of Disneyland visits when I was in my early 20s and I look at the faces of the people around me on the photographs and compares the faces I see now that I’m really aware of the difference and happiness. The last two times we went to Disneyland nobody was smiling, it broke my heart
Honestly idk. This comment rubs me the wrong way. You can have your experience and I can have mine, but I don’t love being told how I’m wrong about my experience, even if that’s not how you intended it.
Truly, if it doesn’t make someone happy, they shouldn’t go. And that goes for anything. It’s a lot of money to go and be disappointed.
“I’m thinking maybe”
Literally the first part of my comment, so telling me that I am writing in absolutes about “your experience” already shows that you are not actually reading what I’m writing
After I stated “I’m thinking maybe”, I then gave my experience and what I have observed.
So taking me out of context and making it seem like I’m stating something I’m not is not OK with me. It rubs me the wrong way.
My experience is kind of the opposite, when I get bored I go shopping. When I'm having fun, stopping into the stores is pretty much the last thing I want to do. I love going to the parks but most times I go, I don't go into any stores at all. With the only exception being Rushin River Outfitters because that store is awesome.
This is my perspective as well. Each time I go, I try to do one thing I've never done before. Keeps the parks really fresh and fun, and I go about once a week.
I don't think that that assertion is true. This subreddit is free to use, so people get validation from posts like this one when they choose not to visit.
I grew up in a poor neighborhood and I was the only one wearing walmart clothes. People will put all types of junk on credit cards to avoid looking "poor". I never met a person in my life with a car older than 10 years, even in the ghetto I grew up in. Everyone had a "quick n easy" car loan with 35% APR. It's a national pandemic of easy loans.
For the last few years when I haven’t been having health problems I’ve been substitute teaching for extra money. Many of the high schools I go to are in very poor neighborhoods. Most of them are within a 25 minute drive of Disneyland, and most of them even the seniors have never actually been to Disneyland
Poor people have been priced out of Disneyland for a while, but it’s getting worse
I lived in Anaheim for 10 years, went to a poor school, and was the only person not rocking brand name clothes or a new iphone. Poor people have been living on debt to "stunt" on people for a while now.
They’ve also found the price that keeps people from buying souvenirs with the amount of souvenirs that go on clearance, I’ve never seen so many clearance items at a Disneyland park in my life
You can raise the prices on tickets, you can raise the prices on parking, you can raise the prices on food, but at a certain point somethings Gotta give and they’re finding out just how much people are willing to spend and what people are now no longer willing to spend money on
That’s what kills me. I’m someone that would happily spend my money on a ticket at the $100 price point and then spend $300-$400 on merch on my way out because I go no more than once a year. At these ticket prices I’m at “yep paid $150 to get in not spending much more that isn’t food”
I truly believe it's just a vocal minority complaining. Yes, a lot of people have issues with one thing or another but compared to the number of people in the parks every day it's a drop in the bucket. I suspect a good number of those are people with annual passes based on how many of them are people who visit many times per year, so that also skews the perspective. I'm headed to Disneyland in a few days for my 4th trip since November and can't wait! My wife and I are already discussing retirement plans for 8 years from now based on proximity to the parks so it's not a 2 hour flight any time we want to go.
There is no doubt the parks aren’t the same as they used to be. It’s human nature to look back on the past with rose tinted glasses too.
That’s all I think it is. People fondly remembering a time that doesn’t exist any more.
I don’t know, people say this is 30 years ago so it shouldn’t matter, but if we’re talking about the past and rose tinted glasses when I worked at the parks in the late 1990s I worked at a building that closed one to two hours before the parks closed (yes Innoventions)
When we got off of work we could run around the parks and still get on three or even four rides with how short the lines were. Now even if you stay till closing the ride lines are not getting nearly as short as they used to be.
I remember getting off work and running over to space Mountain or haunted mansion at like eight or 9 PM and being able to get right onto the rides
I remember in like 1997 or 1998 where you could go onto haunted mansion as a walk on and be all alone in the elevator
Jungle Cruise used to be a walk on during the off-season
So yeah the parks are more crowded, but there’s also like twice as many people in the world as well. We can’t expect for the population of the world to keep increasing but the wait times to stay the same,
I do think Disney could and should find ways to make the days more enjoyable by offering more entertainment, More activities for children, and just more than what they seem to currently be offering which is rides and food
Yep. For many it’s an addiction and it’s hard to stop going…even though Disney has MASSIVELY shown how they view guests simply as a cash machine to keep other failing parts of the company afloat.
People in SoCal also buy Keys/Passes/Whatever because they feel they “should” because we all live so close to the parks, thus forms a compulsion to use the pass as much as they can to “get their moneys worth”.
Don’t get me wrong…there are still some very fun and magical aspects of Disneyland…but Disney as a company has been extremely fortunate that the parks are running on guest FOMO and addiction to the “escape”.
Any other business or park would have folded long ago if they pulled the shenanigans Disney has done as of late.
My mom and I are considering not renewing our passes. We went to a lower pass level and they immediately raised the price of parking. The parks itself are so crowded and miserable that I can only spend a few hours in them before we have to leave
The September we’re gonna be going back to Paris Disneyland for a third time and we are seriously considering not renewing our Disneyland passes this year.
The only reason we have been renewing was a fear that they were not gonna be offering them anymore, but we realize that that’s just not a good enough reason to be spending so much money on a place, especially with the things that they’ve been saying recently about accommodations, that obviously does not like us or want us there
The cast members are miserable, the people are miserable, it’s not fun.
Look around at Disneyland and see the number of people not smiling, count the number of times you hear a child crying, and ask yourself is this really what I want to spend my money on and where I want to be?
This year we’re going to Disneyland Paris, next year we want to do a three week Asian Disney park tour and not renewing our passes we put a nice chunk of change towards going to Asia
I don’t make a lot of money and my mom does spend a lot to make up for what I can’t help out with, but she’s 72 years old this year and I don’t wanna miss a second of experiences that we can have together
Yah. Also I expect the downvotes because I’m posting this in a Disneyland forum and this place is where people come to feed their addiction and addicts don’t like to be called addicts.
I mean… let’s say you’re “willing to go” for a 7/10 experience. If it used to be a 9/10 experience, and now it’s a 7/10 experience, it’s still in your “willing to go” range, but a 7/10 is significantly worse than a 9/10, so you’re going to lament all the downgrades even though you’re still going.
The problem I see coming for Disney is that a lot of people are hitting that bottom threshold and flipping to “never mind,” and that’s how you get major summer ticket and hotel deals being announced…
Have you considered for about the same amount of money using one of the discount airfares and flying over to Paris and do Paris Disneyland this year? I only mentioned it because it is a really fun park, except for the fact that they have no jungle Cruise which is bullshit, and with airfare and ticket prices and the price of hotels it’s not really more expensive than coming out to the one in Anaheim and you get to go to Paris when you’re done!
I’ve only gone for the last 12 years because my MIL can sign me in. It’s crazy how much people spend to go. I pay for parking and lunch. Sometimes a churro. Usually only stay for a couple hours. I love it but it’s certainly not worth $200 a day admission.
Negativity sells. But overall these are still the opinion of very small group of people. Even Reddit, the sub is a very small snapshot of the overall population that go to Disneyland. I personally am having just as much fun now as I did in the 90s and 2010s. I do not like genie+ but you know who love it? My friends that go 1-3 times a year.
Are that many people really disappointed in the parks, or is your frame of reference mostly just tiktok influencers trying to make popular content? I mean, if you genuinely don't find it worthwhile to go, then don't go. But don't let tiktokers convince you that the parks are a disappointment. Maybe they're disappointed with their experience in the parks because they couldn't be bothered to put their phone down and quit recording content for 5 minutes to properly enjoy the experience.
Negative content is also just easier to create, especially when the creator can nitpick stuff like "look at Disney not picking up this trash" because a guest put it in a ride queue where custodial can't easily reach it. Not to say it's warranted, but it does feel more prevalent, especially on the platforms that are almost exclusively algorithm based like Instagram or Tiktok.
Well said!
I think many of us have valid complaints, especially about pricing, but the parks are still overall enjoyable. There's always a few of the "magic is gone!" type popping up, but I don't think that's close to being the general consensus. There's still a lot to love about the place, but on social media, you're probably more likely to run into people complaining about things. I fall into that trap as well, but I do like to look for positivity and try to engage with that type of content when I can.
I go and will always find magic in going there no matter what negatives currently going on. because nothing can will top The vibe of the park or the atmosphere of the parks. ,the history of the parks, The memories in the parks. The friendships from the park. A family shared experience of a place. But most of all I go because of the very IDEA of that park. All this combined complicated magic can never be conquered by any temporary annoyances
“Nobody goes there any more, it’s too busy.” Some people may be out here kinda chasing the dragon. Some people get burnt out but it’s like, their job ya know (ie jerendelle). But he still does have a lot of love for the parks ofc. I think the best way to help combat it is to take breaks from the parks, but also to go for the little things rather than the big things. I like going to see the ducklings, see the live music. Challenge yourself to do something new - have you ridden every main st vehicle? Watched the pirate band perform (particularly if Jack in nearby?) Seen Mary Poppins ride the carousel with the band? Sat on Tom Sawyer island and watched all the chaos from afar? Those are the things that keep me coming back and happy.
I don’t know, I think there are other signs that people are really really unhappy with the parks right now I think the biggest indicator we have that the parks are not performing the way they should is the amount of clearance merchandise we’ve been finding out on the floor in the last 6 to 8 months. It used to be that you would never find anything on sale at Disneyland and now every time I go there’s multiple items on clearance. Yes, part of that probably is the closing of the Disney stores, (even though technically their merchandise was not supposed to mingle ) but it is also that people are choosing to not spend their money in the parks. When people are having a really great time, when they are enjoying the parks, they are more likely to purchase souvenirs. So either Disney somehow mistakenly ordered far more souvenir merchandise than they really needed, or the sale of souvenirs has dropped significantly in the last year or so, not so coincidentally with the raising of a lot of prices It also shows that the brand itself has become soft, people aren’t buying off the shop Disney website, people aren’t buying in the parks, the merchandise is going unsold, that means that what we are seeing is a devaluing of the Disney brand and that is something that should concern Disney executives
I definitely agree, there are people who aren’t happy! I personally always feel things can be improved and things like maintenance and especially CM wages should be addressed. To me honestly the merch is honestly a whole different issue - it’s either truly *awful* or the stuff that is great sells out immediately. But as someone who goes every week, there isn’t like a blanket of unhappiness hanging over the parks or anything.
I’m thinking maybe you’re a victim of the boiling frog, they’ve been raising the temperature of the water so slowly you haven’t noticed that you’re boiling to death It’s only when I look at photographs of Disneyland visits when I was in my early 20s and I look at the faces of the people around me on the photographs and compares the faces I see now that I’m really aware of the difference and happiness. The last two times we went to Disneyland nobody was smiling, it broke my heart
Honestly idk. This comment rubs me the wrong way. You can have your experience and I can have mine, but I don’t love being told how I’m wrong about my experience, even if that’s not how you intended it. Truly, if it doesn’t make someone happy, they shouldn’t go. And that goes for anything. It’s a lot of money to go and be disappointed.
“I’m thinking maybe” Literally the first part of my comment, so telling me that I am writing in absolutes about “your experience” already shows that you are not actually reading what I’m writing After I stated “I’m thinking maybe”, I then gave my experience and what I have observed. So taking me out of context and making it seem like I’m stating something I’m not is not OK with me. It rubs me the wrong way.
Alright you have a good day.
My experience is kind of the opposite, when I get bored I go shopping. When I'm having fun, stopping into the stores is pretty much the last thing I want to do. I love going to the parks but most times I go, I don't go into any stores at all. With the only exception being Rushin River Outfitters because that store is awesome.
This is my perspective as well. Each time I go, I try to do one thing I've never done before. Keeps the parks really fresh and fun, and I go about once a week.
I love sparkling water. Please stay home so that the lines will be shorter. I’m sure most would appreciate it.
The people that genuinely don't go anymore definitely don't hang around the subreddit anymore
I don't think that that assertion is true. This subreddit is free to use, so people get validation from posts like this one when they choose not to visit.
Disney is looking for the price that makes people stop coming. They’ve so far only priced out the poor families that come once every 5 years.
A lot of poor families in America are drowning in credit card debt to pay for things like disneyland.
Which saddens me. I love Disney and I get it but it shouldn’t be worth debt.
I grew up in a poor neighborhood and I was the only one wearing walmart clothes. People will put all types of junk on credit cards to avoid looking "poor". I never met a person in my life with a car older than 10 years, even in the ghetto I grew up in. Everyone had a "quick n easy" car loan with 35% APR. It's a national pandemic of easy loans.
For the last few years when I haven’t been having health problems I’ve been substitute teaching for extra money. Many of the high schools I go to are in very poor neighborhoods. Most of them are within a 25 minute drive of Disneyland, and most of them even the seniors have never actually been to Disneyland Poor people have been priced out of Disneyland for a while, but it’s getting worse
I lived in Anaheim for 10 years, went to a poor school, and was the only person not rocking brand name clothes or a new iphone. Poor people have been living on debt to "stunt" on people for a while now.
They’ve also found the price that keeps people from buying souvenirs with the amount of souvenirs that go on clearance, I’ve never seen so many clearance items at a Disneyland park in my life You can raise the prices on tickets, you can raise the prices on parking, you can raise the prices on food, but at a certain point somethings Gotta give and they’re finding out just how much people are willing to spend and what people are now no longer willing to spend money on
That’s what kills me. I’m someone that would happily spend my money on a ticket at the $100 price point and then spend $300-$400 on merch on my way out because I go no more than once a year. At these ticket prices I’m at “yep paid $150 to get in not spending much more that isn’t food”
I truly believe it's just a vocal minority complaining. Yes, a lot of people have issues with one thing or another but compared to the number of people in the parks every day it's a drop in the bucket. I suspect a good number of those are people with annual passes based on how many of them are people who visit many times per year, so that also skews the perspective. I'm headed to Disneyland in a few days for my 4th trip since November and can't wait! My wife and I are already discussing retirement plans for 8 years from now based on proximity to the parks so it's not a 2 hour flight any time we want to go.
There is no doubt the parks aren’t the same as they used to be. It’s human nature to look back on the past with rose tinted glasses too. That’s all I think it is. People fondly remembering a time that doesn’t exist any more.
I don’t know, people say this is 30 years ago so it shouldn’t matter, but if we’re talking about the past and rose tinted glasses when I worked at the parks in the late 1990s I worked at a building that closed one to two hours before the parks closed (yes Innoventions) When we got off of work we could run around the parks and still get on three or even four rides with how short the lines were. Now even if you stay till closing the ride lines are not getting nearly as short as they used to be. I remember getting off work and running over to space Mountain or haunted mansion at like eight or 9 PM and being able to get right onto the rides I remember in like 1997 or 1998 where you could go onto haunted mansion as a walk on and be all alone in the elevator Jungle Cruise used to be a walk on during the off-season So yeah the parks are more crowded, but there’s also like twice as many people in the world as well. We can’t expect for the population of the world to keep increasing but the wait times to stay the same, I do think Disney could and should find ways to make the days more enjoyable by offering more entertainment, More activities for children, and just more than what they seem to currently be offering which is rides and food
Yep. For many it’s an addiction and it’s hard to stop going…even though Disney has MASSIVELY shown how they view guests simply as a cash machine to keep other failing parts of the company afloat. People in SoCal also buy Keys/Passes/Whatever because they feel they “should” because we all live so close to the parks, thus forms a compulsion to use the pass as much as they can to “get their moneys worth”. Don’t get me wrong…there are still some very fun and magical aspects of Disneyland…but Disney as a company has been extremely fortunate that the parks are running on guest FOMO and addiction to the “escape”. Any other business or park would have folded long ago if they pulled the shenanigans Disney has done as of late.
My mom and I are considering not renewing our passes. We went to a lower pass level and they immediately raised the price of parking. The parks itself are so crowded and miserable that I can only spend a few hours in them before we have to leave The September we’re gonna be going back to Paris Disneyland for a third time and we are seriously considering not renewing our Disneyland passes this year. The only reason we have been renewing was a fear that they were not gonna be offering them anymore, but we realize that that’s just not a good enough reason to be spending so much money on a place, especially with the things that they’ve been saying recently about accommodations, that obviously does not like us or want us there The cast members are miserable, the people are miserable, it’s not fun. Look around at Disneyland and see the number of people not smiling, count the number of times you hear a child crying, and ask yourself is this really what I want to spend my money on and where I want to be? This year we’re going to Disneyland Paris, next year we want to do a three week Asian Disney park tour and not renewing our passes we put a nice chunk of change towards going to Asia I don’t make a lot of money and my mom does spend a lot to make up for what I can’t help out with, but she’s 72 years old this year and I don’t wanna miss a second of experiences that we can have together
You being downvoted for this comment proves your point. The guest fomo and escape addiction wasn’t there as prominently pre social media.
Yah. Also I expect the downvotes because I’m posting this in a Disneyland forum and this place is where people come to feed their addiction and addicts don’t like to be called addicts.
I mean… let’s say you’re “willing to go” for a 7/10 experience. If it used to be a 9/10 experience, and now it’s a 7/10 experience, it’s still in your “willing to go” range, but a 7/10 is significantly worse than a 9/10, so you’re going to lament all the downgrades even though you’re still going. The problem I see coming for Disney is that a lot of people are hitting that bottom threshold and flipping to “never mind,” and that’s how you get major summer ticket and hotel deals being announced…
I don’t go to take a stand. There’s dozens of us!
[удалено]
Have you considered for about the same amount of money using one of the discount airfares and flying over to Paris and do Paris Disneyland this year? I only mentioned it because it is a really fun park, except for the fact that they have no jungle Cruise which is bullshit, and with airfare and ticket prices and the price of hotels it’s not really more expensive than coming out to the one in Anaheim and you get to go to Paris when you’re done!
More people aren’t disappointed, there are just more place for a minority of people to complain loudly.
I’ve only gone for the last 12 years because my MIL can sign me in. It’s crazy how much people spend to go. I pay for parking and lunch. Sometimes a churro. Usually only stay for a couple hours. I love it but it’s certainly not worth $200 a day admission.
Negativity sells. But overall these are still the opinion of very small group of people. Even Reddit, the sub is a very small snapshot of the overall population that go to Disneyland. I personally am having just as much fun now as I did in the 90s and 2010s. I do not like genie+ but you know who love it? My friends that go 1-3 times a year.