It’s not exactly a controversial statement to say that a trip to Walt Disney World today is a lot different than it was just a couple years ago. While there are always new attractions coming to Disney World, a lot of the most recent changes to the resort have been in the way that guests visit the parks and hotels, and a reemergence of an old Disney World promotional video has fans lamenting about what's changed in a big way.
The video is about three minutes long in total and is a musical sales pitch. It uses the melodies of classic Disney songs combined with new lyrics to run people through all the wonderful benefits that come along with staying in a Walt Disney World resort hotel, including things like extra magic hours, free MagicBands, and more. The catch is that basically everything that’s being sold in this years' old video is no longer available, and fans are lamenting the fact that a trip to Disney World just isn’t like what it used to be.
Second part of the video (no way I’m paying 8€ a month) pic.twitter.com/Y7oWFdzRwgNovember 23, 2022
This video is really fun and if you watched it of context you might get excited about all the cool stuff you can do with your Disney World resort vacation. Unfortunately, Disney’s Magical Express is gone, so that option for getting yourself to the resort no longer exists. There are alternative bus systems, but they’re not free. MagicBand's also still exist, and they’re actually really cool, but you no longer get MagicBands for free if you’re staying on Disney property.
@RobertIger, we pay more for so much less. $15/day genie+, yet can only do a ride once a day, no magic bands, no transport, no bag transport to hotel, #WaltDisneyWorld https://t.co/lyx4UHx8ARDecember 2, 2022
Part of the video is dedicated to FastPass+, the system that allowed guests to skip certain lines for select Disney World attractions. It was free, and people staying in Disney hotels got earlier access to booking those times than everybody else. That has since been replaced by Genie+, which is no longer free. Although Disney hotel guests do get earlier access to booking Lightning Lanes, but only by a couple hours.
I've never seen this before but just now it made me want to cry 🥹November 23, 2022
A trip to Walt Disney World has never been cheap but looking back only a few years ago we can see what Disney World used to offer guests that it no longer does. It would be one thing if Disney hotel rooms were significantly cheaper to help balance the added cost of these no longer free services, but that’s certainly not the case, and fans have a lot of thoughts about the changes.
For all you Disney newbies, this, THIS is Disney. Not staring at your phones all day frantically looking for Genie+ or Lightning Lanes reservations. Getting your actual money’s worth.November 25, 2022
We rarely if ever see these sorts of massive decisions take a step backward, so it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see these free services return. Still, many fans are hoping that newly returned to the fold CEO Bob Iger might undo some of the perceived damage. And who knows? It could happen. Maybe down the road we’ll see new perks added to the Walt Disney World experience that make it feel special for guests once again.
