Disney has made LOTS of changes over the past few years, and we know many more are on the way.
From EPCOT‘s transformation to the planned Disneyland expansion, changes are always occurring in the Disney parks. Some of these changes are amazing and add extra magic to our experiences, while others are complete duds. We’re here today to talk about the duds. We thought about it and came up with seven changes that we are not very happy about, and we expect you might not be either.
We’ve heard you talk about a few things you’ll never forgive Disney for, and we agree, there are some changes that Disney has made that are simply unforgivable. These next few recent changes are some of our least favorite Disney updates.
Genie+ Pricing
Genie+ in Disney World used to be priced at a set price that did not change. You could purchase it for $15 for the day, and you were set. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
Now, Disney uses what is called “surge pricing” with the Genie+ service. This means that the price of Genie+ may change every single day, and it often changes based on the expected crowds that day. You can pay for each park or get the Multiple Park option if you plan to park hop, but either way, the price will vary.
First of all, we’re not exactly thrilled with the idea that we have to pay for this new(er) service. Second, the fact that the pricing changes every day can be difficult to plan for. If you’re budgeting your trip, you won’t necessarily know how much to budget for the Genie+ service.
Maybe it’s just us, but it’s gonna be hard to forgive Disney for Genie+.
Lighting Lane vs. Fastpass
When you purchase Genie+, you can make Lightning Lane selections, the new skip-the-line system. What’s really disappointing about this is that we used to have a FREE system to skip the lines, and now we have to pay for it!
Remember, the old Fastpass system? Yeah, it was pretty great! It was free and a very simple system to understand and use. It was upgraded to Fastpass+, which was still free, but you could book them ahead of your trip. It made planning so easy!
Seriously, the best part of both of these old systems was that they were free. Now we have the paid Lightning Lanes and the additional Individual Lightning Lanes. With surge pricing, you never know how much you’ll pay the next day for Genie+ and then, you have to pay extra for some rides. It’s really unfortunate.
However, we have to add that we love having any form of skip-the-line option, it can save a lot of time on your trip!
Park Reservations
On January 9th, 2024, Disney did away with park reservations for Disney World! ? Well, mostly that is. We are really happy that most visitors no longer have to make park reservations for the days of their visits since they have date-based tickets. But that’s not the case for ALL Disney World goers.
Annual Passholders, military ticket holders, and more still have to make park reservations because their tickets are not specific to any date. While this is not the end of the world, it can be mildly annoying to have to go to your reserved park before park hopping (especially now that all-day park hopping is back).
Luckily, Annual Passholders do have “Good to Go” days, which are days they do not need park passes. It would just be even better if every day was good to go for everyone, regardless of ticket type.
Literally Killing the Fantasmic! Dragon
Did you hear about the fire that burned down the dragon (Maleficent) in Fantasmic! at Disneyland last year? It was a very scary moment that ended up closing the show down for a while. The show is still closed and won’t be debuting again until May 24th!
According to KTLA, Fantasmic! will reopen with new visual effects and a new fight scene between Mickey and Maleficent. Disney has no plans to bring the massive dragon back! We get that the goal of the show was for Mickey to slay the dragon, but we didn’t think Disney would take it so literally and not bring her back to life after the fire.
The large dragon is classic Fantasmic!. It has been around for decades. It’s sad to see this change happening, even if it is for a concern of safety. We’re happy to know that the Cast Members in the show will (hopefully) be safer in this new version, but still, we’re nostalgic and love the dragon.
Taking the One Boozy Snack Off the Snack Credit List Before We Could Try it
The Disney Dining Plan returned this year on January 9th! We’ve been celebrating by trying out the new versions of the Plan and scoping out everything we can use our snack credits on.
We happened across a boozy Dole Whip treat in Animal Kingdom at Tamu Tamu Refreshments that COUNTED AS A SNACK CREDIT! This was a big deal because while alcohol counts with meals, it doesn’t (usually) count for snack credits. So when we saw the Dole Whip Pineapple Hard Cider Float was a snack credit, we were jumping for joy!
But before we could try that delicious hard cider float with one of our snack credits, they took away the snack credit symbol! We were appalled. (Ok, we realize we are being dramatic, but it was a sad moment for us.)
We will never forgive Disney for this snack credit change AFTER the Dining Plan could start being used. For anyone who got to try this tasty snack with a credit, we are jealous, and we hope it was delicious.
Getting Rid of the Magical Express
Ah, the Magic Express, how we miss thee. The Magical Express was a free bus service that would pick you up at the airport and shuttle you directly to your Disney World hotel (and back again).
The Magical Express has now been replaced by a paid shuttle service, Mears Connect. It offers two levels of service — Standard Mears Connect and Express Mears Connect. Both levels are paid services. We miss the free bus service that was the Magic Express.
Taking Away a Nighttime Parade
The Main Street Electrical Light Parade made its way to Disney World many years ago. It was an amazing nighttime parade that had become beloved by all who saw it. But it was removed in 2016. It found its way to Disneyland for a bit, but it also ended there in 2022.
While these special parades are fun, we would love a regular nighttime parade that brings amazing lights and fun music to all park guests! We can hope, right?
We love Disney World and Disneyland, and even though things change on us (for better, or worse), we will continue visiting these special places. We are excited to see what the next ten years and $60 billion bring us!
We’re always watching for new Disney updates, so keep following AllEars!
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What is one thing you wish Disney hadn’t changed in the parks? Let us know in the comments!
Totally agree with all of this. And lets not forget, many of these changes were blamed on the pandemic.I never once thought that any of these things were ‘free’. They were all rolled into the room price at their resorts. Or the ticket prices at the parks. The reality of the situation is it appears people are more than willing to accept these changes AND to pay for them all the while paying more for resort rooms and park tickets.I am a DVC member. Its already paid for. I would not recommend anyone buy into DVC today. It was and is not cheap. But all the ways Disney made a vacation easy on those who were loyal are gone. There is no reason to be loyal. We go now. Use pur points. Used to buy 7 day pass for a week stay. Now 3 days tops. The rest of the time is relaxing, sitting by the pool, going to Disney Springs and the like. And we plan on using our points elsewhere like Vero Beach and exchanges. Places we don’t have to spend 4 hours of our day standing in line. Or walking around staring at our phone.
What is it that most of these lamented lost perks had in common? They were all FREE! It is especially true that at Disney if it seems to good to be true it won’t be true or long!!
My seven things to add to your list:
1. The luau at the Polynesian Resort
2. The Great Movie Ride
3. Afternoon Tea at the Garden View in the Grand Floridian
4. Replacing Splash Mountain instead of adding Tiana’s own brand new ride
5. Horizons in Epcot’s Future World
6. The original Imagination ride at Epcot with the Professor and Figment
7. Marrakesh Restaurant in Epcot’s Moroccan pavilion