A recent negative TikTok review of the Walt Disney World vacation experience has gone viral, and split opinions as to whether the resort is still “worth it.”
The nearly 5-minute video, posted by TikToker thebiggersthebetter (AKA Sarah Biggers-Stewart) details a trip the creator took with her family (her husband and two children (4 and 2) to celebrate their older son’s birthday. While specifying that her son had a great time, Biggers-Stewart details numerous issues she had with the trip, and says that her family doesn’t intend to return “for a long time, if ever.”
As we reviewed the now-viral TikTok and its comments and compared it to some of our reader reviews as well as our own observations of the current state of Walt Disney World, some common themes jumped out to us.
@thebiggersthebetter We will not go back for a loooong time, and that’s a bummer tbh. #disneyworld #wdw
The first was the amount of complaints that Biggers-Stewart had regarding the amount of planning and app navigation that went into a trip, both before and during their time at the resort. She specifically criticized restaurant reservations, Lightning Lanes, and mobile orders, saying “That is not a family vacation. Me being glued to my phone just get on the rides, just to eat the food. That’s not a vacation for kids. The whole point of an amusement park is to be amused. To be there, and that is the entertainment. It’s really hard when everything is parceled, and siloed, and costs extra money. I felt stressed navigating it in advance of the trip and on the trip.”
The sentiment that heavily planning Disney trips and needing to be overly reliant on one’s smart phone while on one is not exclusive to Biggers-Stewart. TikTok user Tina Bento725 commented on the clip saying “You need a PHD to organize and prepare for the trip. It is stressful.” while fellow user BigPappaNP compared Disney to their closest competition, saying “Universal studio is superior to Disney. I felt like I was on my phone 95% of the time at Disney and my kid even asked me why I’m on my phone during vacation. Idk girl….so you can eat and ride rides ?”
Biggers-Stewart also notes that the crowds were much more crowded than she was expecting, even for President’s Day weekend. She also notes that the crowds spilled over to the family’s hotel stay at the Polynesian Village Resort, where she alleged that the pools were often too crowded for her family to enjoy, and that the pool bar service was overwhelmed.
She also pointed out the lack of available room service while at the resort, noting that it’s generally a staple of other hotels with a similar pricepoint. Overall, Biggers-Stewart pointed out that in her mind the Polynesian was “premium luxury prices” without offering a “premium luxury experience.”
Looking over our reader reviews of the property, we found several reviews that seemed to agree with that sentiment, such as this one left by an anonymous reviewer, which read, “Resort is beautiful! However, rooms are just average for the cost to stay there. We just returned Sunday after a week at the Poly. Food options are not good at all. Quick serve is worse than at the budget resorts. Very disappointing!”
Even a positive review from reader Maitlyn15 – – which read “A dream stay! Room over the water looking at Cinderella castle..need I say more..island vibes here with great food awesome pool. Lovely views all around. On the monorail loop! Breakfast with stitch and others! Live music, fireworks every night rooms are beautiful and big very comfortable. just hands down can’t be beat!” – – listed the hotel’s only con as “pricey.”
Biggers-Stewart wrapped her video saying she felt that the Disney experience was “Overcrowded, overpriced, and overcomplicated.” While some Disney fans may write-off the video as the complaints of someone who “didn’t know what they were doing” – – for example, she notes at one point that she missed the start of her family’s 60-day dining booking window because she was on the west coast and didn’t realize the window opened on east coast time – – it’s important to remember that not everyone who books a Disney vacation is completely aware of the sometimes complicated process of booking a Disney trip. However, they’re bad experiences are still valid, and could eventually prove to be a problem for Disney if they turn off enough guests from visiting the resort.
While opinions are divided on some elements of this viral TikTok review, there’s no denying that some potential guests are being turned off by Disney’s current practices, which could spell bad news for the Mouse House in the future. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on visiting Disney World.
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If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!
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How do you feel about this viral TikTok? Let us know in the comments below.
experienced visitor here…. I’m in agreement with her. She’s not wrong on most of it,and I could add a couple more of my own current peeves. The only ‘LOL’ of the video for me was using the word ‘magical’. Disney trips can be fun, but they are NOT ‘magical’. I feel like the rose colored nostalgia I have for long ago vacations is probably ‘magical’- those memories don’t have much in common with a Disney trip now.
I don’t use TikTok so cannot comment on the whole review. So I will comment on what is written here. Firstly after my last visit in November I cancelled my 2 further planned trips and vowed never to go again. I agree the hotels are over priced and under deliver for example I did not have my room cleaned for 8 days despite requesting a change of sheets. The parks are over crowded (so obviously still very popular) and the upcharging, especially for families, is outrageous. The quick service food is expensive and bland. Character dining comes at a premium and all you get is a quick pic before the characters are rushed to the next table. And look around and see all the adults on their phones trying to book stuff. So my Disney goggles are off along with me. That said I thought the Disney cruise experience with the exception of Lookout on Lighthouse was amazin
LOL LOL LOL, go somewhere else then. Like Chuck e cheese. LOL
LOL LOL LOL, go somewhere else then.
Agreed on all counts. It is incredibly pricey and then they are constantly shoving add ons in your face. You need to pay to play if you have a small kid who goes to bed early so you can maximize your time. If there is something spontaneous your kid wants to do the line is either prohibitively long or there is a paywall. Or it’s just enormously overpriced. Forget about even buying ears in the parks, we pre bought those cheap from Amazon. It is unbelievably expensive unless it is your major hobby to preplan in the year ahead.
Since I don’t do TikToc, I can’t review the piece, but I DO suspect a part of it is someone unfamiliar with the process trying a first-time experience, and not having done their homework. Presidents Day weekend, a holiday, wouldn’t be my prime time, and we, with a little experience, know weekends in general are more crowded.
I come at this from a military/Disney perspective, and planning is everything. Something you frequently hear around Shades of Green is, “It’s a MISSION, not a VACATION”, but we also know that no plan of battle survives first contact with the Mouse, so it does end up a vacation.
But, the planning does help. Disney Dining Plan? Sit-down, Quick-service? Which resort? While we’ve stayed at Shades more than any, we’ve also done several of the moderate and higher end resorts and, at least so far, haven’t been disappointed. We’ve found sit-down dining’s better for a non-park day (when the kids were young, we ALWAYS did a character breakfast, though). So, our sit-down is usually in Disney Springs, at someplace nice.
Is Universal better? A couple of trips back, we did 2 days at Universal… and 5 days at MK. We had a couple of marvelous dining experiences at Universal, but we’d seen all we found interesting in 2 days… and our hotel experience included a flooding bathroom for every shower. I suspect we’ll try US again, but not this year.
Wish they’d had a better experience, and yes, there are places where WDW could do better, but I also think we’re still recovering from Chapek. I think the changes are coming, if incremental.
I do not have a smartphone, why are things so complicated?? you should be able to make a reservation over the phone for your room and or any dinner reservation just like back in the day. as far as rides or quick service stand in line like back in the day. I agree, how can a person enjoy their vacation when you are stressed out from being on the phone?
Hear! Hear!
To stupid to realize what time zones are.
We are experienced Disney Adults with a trip coming up in May. Plannning is very stressful and we know what we’re doing. I pity those that don’t. While we stay at Beach Club to manage a lot of walking, we don’t get a Deluxe experience either. I hate having to plan every moment of where I need to be when and we can’t be a little more relaxed during the trip. But, she’s right. This will probably be our last annual trip