The Paradox of Disney

It has been the best trip ever, but then it's been the worse yet!

Truly, it's fabulous because it's Disney and every attention is paid to the most minor detail. Simply wonderful and incredible. I'm so glad we're here during the holidays. The decorations are gorgeous--again down to every detail. A bucket list item for sure.

(Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom lit up at night. It's hard to believe that it's the same castle as the picture below--except during the day!)

We're staying at the beach club resort, so all the wreaths here are beachy with sea shells, sea horses, starfish and coral. There's even a revolving, gingerbread carousel in the lobby. 

They have a hot chocolate bar set up in the lobby too. It's the most fabulous hot chocolate--so creamy. I've had it 3 times--once plain, once with butterscotch Schnapps and once with Bailey's---all excellent. I didn't let myself have it again---it has to be 500 calories!! Anything that good...

Also, fabulous is being with family. It's really different with everyone all grown up. We are having the BEST time. We always make the most of our time and I have the steps/miles to prove it! 97,166 steps and 41 miles! That's a lot of wear on the old feet in 4.5 days! 

But...our trip has also been terrible! As Butch and I discussed, they changed the entire program here--surely, a lot to do with Covid and new protocols. But, it's too much all at once. It's complicated and confusing. So here's the deal: 

1.You pay extra to stay at a premium resort so you can have the "early" hours--which is now only a half hour early. It used to be two hours early.

2. You pay an exorbitant amount for the park entry fee, but that doesn't really get you much. Just the opportunity to spend more money. Yes, you can ride some rides for free and without the "Genie"--IF you don't mind spending hours in line.

 

3. You pay extra to get the Park Hopper Pass. We've always done this so you can go to the early opening park and then leave in the afternoon to take a break at the pool or nap. Then we go back to the park that is open until midnight or one a.m. Now the Park Hopper passes only let you "hop" to one other park as long as it's AFTER 2 p.m. And the late nights are gone. Epcot and the Magic Kingdom close by 10 p.m., Hollywood Studios by 8 and Animal Kingdom by 8. Actually, I'm not complaining about that. I don't think I could do the real late nights anymore anyway. But it seems like the park hopper pass isn't worth the extra money.

4. Now you have to pay extra for the "Genie" which is $15.00 per person per day so you can reserve rides. It used to be that you could get "fast passes." Those are gone. But here's the deal with the "Genie"--you have to go in to the app every day at 7 a.m. if you hope to get any rides. It only lets you book a group of 10 at a time--we have 12! The other two have to go on a different ride. And, you can only book two rides. Some of the rides have an additional fee to ride. They don't allow any lines for those. You can only go if you pay. Oh, and if you are paying, then you can book 12! Those fees aren't cheap. $8-11 per person per ride extra!

5. Disney said they were limiting the number of people in the parks due to Covid. I think that is an outright lie! Don't get me wrong, we're used to the crowds---and that has never deterred us---we always went over the 4th of July week when it was brutally hot and really crowded. Still we loved it. But this time, it's equally as crowded, but 1000's of people are on scooters and pushing double-wide strollers. They are so rude. We've all been run over or cut off several times. One man ran in to me with his scooter. I turned around and looked at him and he didn't even apologize! I couldn't believe it. I could have fallen down! As Butch observed, "people are using the strollers and scooters as battering rams!" Steph says that, "if you don't use a scooter at home, you shouldn't be able to use one here--at least, not without lessons!" 

Actually, the whole stroller/wheelchair thing is ridiculous. We watched two families on the shuttle juggle those double-wides--one knocking in to us--and there was only one baby between the two families! The next youngest looked to be about 5. I'm pretty sure none of those older kids rode. 

Then, one afternoon, we were sitting while juggling our food---another problem---so much seating has been eliminated. Anyway, as we were eating, a woman wheeled an empty wheelchair up to a standing table. She had her teenage son with her. She walked off to get food and returned with her husband. They all stood around the table and ate their food. We never did see who was using the wheelchair. We think it's just another way people take advantage to get preferential treatment on the rides. 

6. Speaking of the food situation. There are few places to sit. And by that I mean that people will sit for a half hour or more, saving"hogging" tables before they even get their food. The lines are long and take forever. You can do a mobile order---which is the only way you can do it at some places---but it still takes very long. You have to wait in long lines for that too--only to be told your order isn't ready and you will be notified when it is. So back in the line you go. It's terrible. 

7. We were not able to get any dining reservations. We think now that it was because our group was too big. Each couple managed to get a dining reservation, but none of us together--and not at any of the really good restaurants. We did find one restaurant--Martha's Vineyard--at our hotel that was able to take 8 of us. But that was the only place. Luckily, that day, Mindy and Justin had plans with his brother and family. Victoria and Elizabeth wanted to do their own thing, so that left the rest of us to enjoy a nice sit-down dinner! Butch and I went to an Italian place on the Boardwalk that was excellent. We got pretty tired of balancing a plate and drink, so it was nice to actually sit at a table!

8. The parades as we once knew them are gone! Now they are dinky and underwhelming with only two or three attractions. They used to be big, full on extravaganzas. Again, Covid has something to do with that. Maybe the fun parades will come back in the future.

9. You must have the Disney mobile app for booking everything. Everyone in your party is linked together. That was nearly impossible. It took an hour and a half when the girls arrived to get that straightened out.

10. The bottom line is, Disney was always a fine running machine. Now, they changed too much all at once and it's chaos. That "Genie" thing is a joke--and an expensive one at that. Park hopping is no longer easy either. You MUST go to the first park that you designated with your reservation before you can "hop" to the next--and that's only after 2 p.m. So if you change your mind about a park, tough. If you don't want to go to the park you designated, tough! You cannot go to the next park without first having to check in the original one. 

We had the situation where Elizabeth wasn't feeling well. Sandy stayed behind with her. By the time they were ready to go, we had all left Animal Kingdom and were ready to hop to Epcot. Sandy literally had to go to Animal Kingdom just to swipe her band and leave to meet us at Epcot. That's ridiculous!

Nothing is easy anymore. Now, with having to book your rides every day at 7 a.m., it's stressful. Justin posted this on Instagram. 

This really sums it up! Sandy, Stephanie and Mindy tried every day at 7 a.m. to get our rides. It ended up that Sandy and Mindy had glitches with their app, so that made it even more stressful for Steph! Every day, you start off feeling stressed. That's not how a vacations is supposed to be. Plus, if you might like to sleep in, you can't. That's sad. 

Still, we're thankful that we were able to do this with our family. We've always said that Disney is the most expensive trip we take and that's still true. We are Disney people. There's no doubt about that. Even with the hassle and problems of the new system---and the really big learning curve, we will go again. Disney really is that fantastic! We love it. So, I guess we'll keep putting up with the crap!!

Kudos to Sandy and Mindy who handled all the pre-arrangments and spent countless hours trying to get it all figured out. Kudos to Stephanie for taking the lead once we arrived, arranged most of our rides and figured out the app.

It was definitely stressful for them but really took the pressure off of us! Gone are the days where you can arrive, buy a pass and go! It takes a lot of pre-planning every step of the way!