Disney primarily for the wealthy? NYT Article

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the issues for Disney
-annual passes for FL residents are cheap and there are some very heavy users who live locally.
-DAS passes were using lightning lanes and it wasn't just the disabled person, it was their entire party. Obviously it wasn't every DAS person, but there were some heavy users who rode 20 rides + a day. It caused an increase in ride times for everyone.

We are pretty wealthy and would love to go multiple times a year, staying at premium resorts, but I can't convince DH to return. His #1 beef is with how crowded it is. Even though you're paying $$$, you get an insanely crowded park with obnoxious wait times. 60-90 minutes for my 3 year old to ride Ariel during the lowest month of the year, during a week day? It's so unenjoyable because of the wait times. And we also spent most of the day on our phones trying to book lightning lanes. It wasn't like this before with Fast pass.

We observed all of the same issues, wait times jumping up due to huge groups of 20+ DAS arriving, often without any physical disabilities. Constantly have to look on the phone for your next ride. With fast pass we could book a low key ride the kids liked several times, but last time it was all just one time. We had paid, but used it all up within a few hours, so for the rest of the day it was useless. It was just way too crowded. The parks and passes are too cheap for Florida residents, so they use them to just go to a restaurant one night, etc.

DAS is much different now and many fewer people qualify. Also, pp high exaggerated. Lower tier rides (like Ariel) are not 60–90 minutes in the lowest months of the year not near a holiday. We were there in October and the only rides with waits that long were the tippy top premier rides like Tron, Guardians, and Rise of the Resistance. And even those were under an hour if you went at the right times. I’m not trying to convince more people to go (Lord knows!) but just wanted to clarify for others.

There is a huge learning curve to “maximizing” WDW and I think that’s where most of the dissatisfaction comes in. If you didn’t (or don’t want to) study ahead of time, it’s just not going to go as well without something like premier pass or VIP. For me at this point, maximizing the day is just a fun game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With premier pass, do you need to schedule the time of each ride? Or do you just go at the time you feel like in the moment? Thanks

You don’t have to schedule. But you are limited to once per ride. You still have to wait in the lightning lane.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Disney sounds like a nightmare. Wealthy is not the right adjective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney sounds like a nightmare. Wealthy is not the right adjective.

Nobody goes there anymore! It’s too crowded!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney sounds like a nightmare. Wealthy is not the right adjective.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney sounds like a nightmare. Wealthy is not the right adjective.

+1

You don’t have to like it, but many many people who visit Disney are swimming in piles of money. Your feelings about that are irrelevant.