A LOT has changed at Disney Parks over the past few years.
Disney has faced some serious challenges — from staffing shortages to supply chain problems to price increases to Disney Genie+ replacing FastPass+ at Disney World and MaxPass at Disneyland, there are probably many things Disney could do to improve the guest experience.
So when we asked you how Disney could improve the guest experience, over 1,200 of you responded on our Facebook page! Here’s what you said.
Bring Back FastPass
One of the top things that our readers thought would help improve the guest experience is to get rid of Disney Genie+ and bring back the old FastPass+ system. Amy said, “Bring back fast pass. It was free and it was something that made everything a little better for so many years. It was something I always told myself made the cost worthwhile.”
Jane said, “Go back to old Fast Pass system where you can book 3 fastpasses before you arrive . I don’t care if I have to pay I just don’t want to be up before 7 and be on my phone all day long .”
Barbara said, “Bring back the FastPass. Shouldn’t have to pay to get on a ride that you already paid over $100 to get into the park.”
Renee answered, “FASTPASS and schedule many 60 days in advance!!”
Donna said, “Bring back free fastpasses, get rid of Lightning Lane & Genie+.”
Bring Back Magical Express
Many of you also mentioned that Disney should bring back Magical Express, the transportation option at Orlando International Airport that used to be offered for free to guests staying at Disney World hotels.
Lori said, “Magical Express! We’re going in October and I’m looking at all options on how to get to and from the airport that won’t cost an arm and a leg.”
Caren brought up Magical Express, too, along with FastPass: “Like so many others said – bring back Magical Express, even for a small charge, if needed, and Fastpass as it was. Those two things alone would make a positive difference after all that has gone on in the past year or so.”
Sarah said, “Bring back the magical express, out of all the stuff they’ve taken away, I miss that the most.”
Click here to read about the paid alternatives to Magical Express
Get Rid of Park Pass Reservations
Many of you are also not big fans of Disney’s current park pass reservation system.
AllEars reader Michelle mentioned that in her comment: “Stop taking away on-site perks. We want to feel like we are in the Disney “bubble” but when they keep taking away so many of the perks we used to have, the bubble keeps getting smaller and smaller. Get rid of park reservations. NO ONE wants to plan that much!!”
Jenn also mentioned park pass reservations: “Eliminate the park reservation system. Oh, and if they could bring HEA (the Happily Ever After fireworks show) back to replace Enchantment, that would be great.”
Elisse said, “Get rid of the Genie thing, reservation to enter a park. Some of the newer things are not sitting well with the seasoned visitors.”
Click here to read more about why the Park Pass reservation system may be here to stay
Bring Back The Dining Plan
Although Disney has said the Disney Dining Plan would return, we still haven’t seen it happen yet, and many of you think it’s an important part of the guest experience at Disney World.
Tina said, “Go back to the ol’ times. Hopper tickets, dining plan, magical experience bus. Just bring back the good ol’ times.”
Amy agreed, “Bring back the dining plan and magical express.”
Laurie said, “Would love to see the dining plan return.”
Decia also puts the dining plan at the top of her list of how Disney can improve things: “I have a whole list of things, but getting rid of park reservations and bringing back the dining plan would be at or at least near the top.”
Tonia agreed, “Dining plans I like having it all prepaid before I go.”
Read more about why some readers say they WON’T buy DDP when it returns
Bring Back Resort Perks
Many of you also miss many of the resort perks that used to come with staying at a Disney World hotel. Amy said, “Stop nickel and diming, bring back Magical Express, bring back resort perks, bring back the quality of service they’ve been always been known for.”
Michelle said, “Stop taking away on-site perks. We want to feel like we are in the Disney “bubble” but when they keep taking away so many of the perks we used to have, the bubble keeps getting smaller and smaller. Get rid of park reservations. NO ONE wants to plan that much!!”
Jan said, “Bring back the perks for going to Disney and staying on property. Stop with the price hikes on everything! A Disney vacation should be magical and attainable for working families.”
Read more about what resort perks still exist in Disney World
Other Reasons
There was a LOT of discussion and many of you couldn’t just list one thing that Disney could do to create a better guest experience. Jennifer commented about treating Cast Members better: “Focus on employees’ happiness. They are the backbone of the park. If you don’t have happy employees, as we were unfortunate enough to encounter several times on our trip, you don’t give a magical guest experience. Which is the entire reason we come here. Please treat your employees amazingly.”
Bill thinks capacity should be limited, at least in stores: “Limit capacity into stores. I had a lot of money saved just to go shopping in Disney World and every time I went into a store it was so jampacked I couldn’t look at anything.”
Linda feels like Disney World is becoming too expensive: “Stop raising the prices! We know you’re making gobs of money. I love Disney, but you are making it more difficult for regular folks to go. Makes me sad that you have forgotten about the joy of Disney.”
Some of you even mentioned technical issues that seem to happen often with the Disney website and app. Ryan said, “Stop pretending you didn’t expect thousands of website hits every hour and build a server stack that can keep up. It’s embarrassing. A company this big should not have such hit or miss technology. Any other company which such poor website searches, food ordering and event reservations would be out of business.”
We even saw requests for more seating at the parks. Tammy answered, “Needs more seating benches. As a new mom this was really evident as I had to either sit on the ground to feed or do it on a ride…. Saw many sitting on the ground all over. Legoland had tons of benches 
“
Interested in becoming part of the conversation with us? Be sure to follow us over on Facebook for future discussions! Keep checking back with AllEars.net, too, for more Disney news!
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What do you think could improve the Disney guest experience? Let us know in the comments!
It sounds like what people want is 2019 Disney, or AKA before Chapek. Disney seemed to have it figured out, and either for more money, or to put his stamp on things Bob Chapek went and changed it all up. Yes there was the pandemic, but there has been plenty of time to go back to the old way if that’s what he wanted.
Did someone get in my brain to write this article? I agree with e hey word,
I agree with the statements I’m reading but I don’t see anyone mentioning that the crowd issue needs to be addressed. These crowds seem to be double what we had in the mid to late 90’s. The younger generation has no clue what it was like to go to Disney and be able to ride all the rides multiple times, take breaks, park hop, etc. The only solution is radically different hours. The parks need to open much earlier and close much later to handle the demand. Disney is making record profits and should be able to handle such an investment.
I’ve noticed the food quality has taken a real downturn and the prices a huge upturn. Disney World needs to be retooled bc they are sucking the magic out of everything and don’t blame Covid! Covid didn’t make the choice to end the luau or magical express. Management did!
I get the price increases. I really do. I don’t like them, but I get it. Disney lost a lot of money during the pandemic. And had to lure workers back. Just like most companies did. And companies never raise prices temporarily. It’s the American way. But taking away all the things that create the magic, all the stuff people love about going to Disney, all the stuff that makes it possible for you to sit back and relax and enjoy your vacation letting others do the heavy lifting….all that gone at the same time? What you have replaced that with IS NOT BETTER. The pixie dust has been removed and Tinker Bell is waving her wand and nothing happens. And no matter how many people get mad, no matter how many comments you read on this site, Disney does the absolute worst thing they could do: They ignore their guests. Rubbing our noses in it. I may be wrong about this, but I think many guests who always had WDW in the top 3 places to choose from when deciding where to go this year for our vacation, won’t include it at all. You may have huge crowds and are making huge profits now, but when it goes wrong, don’t call together your experts and try and figure out what happened. Look in the mirror instead and realize “We had this coming”. And we all will be somewhere else because the cons of a WDW vacation will have taken over the pros. And don’t waste your time on surveys. It is 100% clear you aren’t interested in what we have to say.
We’ve been going to Disney 49 of 50 years it’s been open. There’s always been crowds & lines. Don’t like Genie + and didn’t like Fastpasses. Both tie you to your phone. I go to Disney to shut out world & don’t care to be tied to it all day. I have no problems with park reservations. Would not be happy to be turned away after driving 2 hours to get there. App needs to be improved & dining reservations need to be easier. Otherwise I see a lot of the complaints being a carry over from Covid & it’s going to take a while for those to be sorted out. Cost & prices are relative. When our children were young Disney was a big expense for us & it took saving & planning for us to go. If we stayed on property it was at Ft Wilderness on a campsite that we shared with another family & slept in tents on the ground.
Agree with all above especially getting ride if park reservations and genie plus. Who wants to be tied to their phones?
Also, how about cutting back on the Epcot festivals. What once was an opp to try new and exciting foods a few weeks a year is now just a money grab to serve overpriced subpar food 365.
I’m a DVC owner and rent my points almost every year because I can’t afford to go anymore. Disney needs to remember why the place was invented in the first place. Families and most importantly Children! Parents can’t afford to take their kids anymore .
Disney needs to give more perks to DVC members. Members have made a huge investment in the property, they pay the taxes and upkeep for the properties also. Members need discounts on tickets and dining.
Disney needs to bring back:
Magical Express
Dining plans
Park Hopper
Fast pass system
Get rid of extra fees like charging to park at the resort you are paying to stay at….that is the most stupid thing I have ever heard of!!!
Disney needs to figure out how to get the Magic back. It use to be the most magical place on earth but now it’s the most expensive and that’s not magical at all.
I agree with everything said. And I don’t agree with only deluxe getting two extra evening hours at parks either – the moderates with how expensive they are should included as well. I also don’t agree with if you have a split stay you cannot schedule all of your dining reservations 60 days in advance for the entire length of your stay either – it goes 60 days prior to each separate hotel. That’s not fair either.
For those looking for transportation from the airport, AVOID MEARS. Took us 3 hours to get from the airport to our hotel. There were approximately 300 people waiting when we got to their departure area. Only had a handful of buses running and young adults running the show
Great to have the Brits back at Disney again, always welcome their fresh thoughts and insights after being away from Disney for a couple of years… Their criticism of this new Disney seems to be spot on..pay more..get less.
It is quite expensive–hotel, tickets, food, renting a car, parking, and flight. Sometimes, I wish I was a local and could enjoy Disney at a slower pace. One thing I would like to see is deals that are obtainable. Follow me, when Disney has a deal, it is a limited number of rooms (and only one type of room–themed, standard, garden, or water view room–they chose) and impossible dates. I have not qualified for a deal in many years. The last time I had a chance at it, it meant we would have to take a themed room in the boonies. We have trouble getting around, and we need a preferred room at moderates. Disney didn’t care about that. They should just make it a % off no matter what kind of room it is.
Yes to all suggestions. if only Disney would consider them.
Yes definitely the genie plus need to go back to free fast passes and we need the dining plan back aswell
The Genie+ price needs to at least be doubled so that there will be less people in the lightning lane. The dining plan just clogs up the restaurants with families taking up tables. Charging for parking at the resorts is great because there are more spots available.
Who needs magical express when you can rent a car. Disney is on track to make the vacation experience more enjpoyable for me.
I’ve been going to Disney with my family from the UK for about 10 years,we have always stayed on various Disney Hotels,yes they can be expensive but the perks you get makes it worth while. My family and I have just returned from a two week holiday at Disney and all I can say is what a total waste of money, it seems all the magic has gone, Genie+ was suppose to make things fairer but how can you go from being able to book 3 fast pass rides 60-30 days from the start of your holiday to now have 2 hours to book rides at the park you have booked, you have 10’s of thousands of people all sat with their phones in their hands ready to book rides at the same time,impossible, but you can book up to 4 rides on the Genie app but you have to wait 2 hurs before you can book your 2nd ride, Individual lightning lane is a separate cost per selected ride, all the perks you loved to get have gone:
No airport transportation.
No Dinning Plan.
No free parking when you book a Disney hotel.
No having your shopping delivered to your Disney hotel room.
No park hop
NO FAST PASS.
Everything is Money Money Money.
Bring back the Magic
It’s not that hard Disney, listen to your customers, go back to the magic formula you had in the late 1990s, early 2000s , it was so magical. That magic is totally lost now. Go back to paper fastpasses, quite trying to make me use my phone every 2 seconds in the park,get the park clean again, bring back all the night parades, make it magical again. Yes, I loved free dining,it’s not that hard. Have no desire to visit Disney until the magic is back.
I agree with all the comments and would like to add another…stop charging for parking at the resort. I was totally shocked when we stayed at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness which has a small driveway at the cabin site and we were required to pay parking each night.
Charging for parking at a resort is one of the dumbest things that they have done, they could have included it in the room price for everyone and it wouldn’t have been perceived as such a nickel and dime move. And yes, who wants to be on vacation looking at their phone all day?? Poof…the magic is quickly fading away!!
I loved Disney….would purchase annual pass when I was living in Florida…was there when Disney World first began….but the Magic is Gone…just like Walt….They’ve ruined it!!!! Money Money Money…and taken away or changed everything. It’s depressing. Bring it all back or close. The average family can’t afford to go. Why no Airport bus, fast pass, really having to make reservations after you’ve already paid for tickets, who wants to go thru so many hoops to schedule rides shows or dining. Where’s
spend all day, parking fees dining plans hopper pass. On top of that all this WOKE. I saw Floridas Disney begin in the 60s and now it’s ending in 2022. Farewell Walt. Farewell Mickey. Farewell Disney…Your greed…is the undoing of our Fantasy