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Resort Abbreviations

DCA - Disney California Adventure
DCL - Disney Cruise Line
DL - Disneyland
DLP - Disneyland Paris
HKDL - Hong Kong Disneyland
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WDW Park Abbreviations

AK - Animal Kingdom
EP - EPCOT
HS - Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM)
MK - Magic Kingdom

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Former Disney Imagineer says theme parks now more stressful, less fun for families (www.foxbusiness.com)

submitted 1 year ago by NABDad to c/disney

27 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Where has this guy been?

When my wife and I went to Disney World in 1996, we planned nothing in advance. We found ourselves waiting in massive lines for rides and spending hours waiting for tables in restaurants. We realized we screwed up and we had to do better.

That was 27 years ago. Since then, we had kids and raised them to adulthood.

Every trip after that we scheduled reservations in advance. Every morning we wake up, we know what park we are going to. We spend about 20 minutes every day we are there planning that day's activities, and we roll with whatever changes we encounter.

I don't understand how having a plan in place in advance of your vacation somehow makes it more stressful. I've always thought it was easier to not have to wonder what we'll be doing and where we'll be going during our Disney trips.

Are there really people who insist on just showing up with no plan and then blame Disney when they are stressed?

Also, it seems like most of the Disney criticism I see is coming from Fox news in some form or another. Is that just my news feed, or is it an extension of the culture war that the right is trying to foment?

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[–] Blamemeta 37 points 1 year ago (3 children)

For some people, making appointments and reservations is really stressful. Compound that with massive crowds everywhere, makes Disney hell for some.

[–] 13esq 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wouldn't say I find making appointments/reservations stressful, but I do find that planning my life to the nth degree takes away from the adventure and brings its own kind stress due to not wanting to miss deadlines or by judging yourself against milestones that you want to achieve.

[–] NABDad 3 points 1 year ago

Our planning is limited to restaurant reservations and special events. Outside of that we generally play it by ear. Genie+ was new last time we went. While we played around with it a bit, we didn't really find it necessary for the most part.

When we've run late for reservations in WDW, we call the restaurant and explain the situation. It's never been a problem. It's WDW, stuff happens.

Regarding judging yourself, are you really that critical about how well you perform while on vacation? It seems like vacation is a time to let that stuff go. I have plenty of reasons to hate myself after I get back to work. No reason to bring that along to WDW.

[–] BigJim 15 points 1 year ago

Yeah usually when I go on vacation it's to get away from reservations and appointments. If it can't be done on impulse without an appointment, we usually just avoid it.

[–] NABDad 8 points 1 year ago

Still, it's nothing new. The shock at having to make reservations in 2023 when it has been the case for at least three decades seems unreasonable to me.