Walt Disney World used to be the place where memories were made and dreams were realized. But has the magic faded away? Park-goers are increasingly complaining about dirty facilities, broken-down rides, and prices that seem to come from a galaxy far, far away.
“Some rides are just a straight mess,” wrote one reddit user. “Rides are also down a lot. It’s been lacking since they reopened and I don’t expect it to change anytime soon.”
He’s not the only one–in fact, there’s an entire reddit channel called “Disney lacking” where visitors go to complain about the state of the park. Here’s another one from last week: “Disney never seemed like a place where you felt like corners were being cut. Seems like right now they’re coasting through with the travel boom and holiday guests.”
DailyMail reports:
One picture of a sign for the Epcot monorail appeared to be in need of a good clean with streaks of dirt, while one of the park’s flagship rollercoasters, Space Mountain, which used to [be] a gleaming white color now appears to be c aked in grime and dirt.
Meanwhile, prices under CEO Bob Chapek have gone through the roof, forcing vacationers to look elsewhere for their getaways. Here are the unmagical numbers:
The tab for admission tickets to the Disney World and Disneyland theme parks has jumped more than 3,871% in the past 50 years — dwarfing increases in visitors’ wages, as well as the cost of rent and gas, according to figures compiled by a data-tracking firm.
Seems like a good time to raise the prices at the Victoria & Albert’s restaurant, located in the Grand Floridian resort. After your day enjoying the rides, you can stop by for some grub which can run as high as $625 per person for a four-hour, 10-course meal. Throw in some mocktails for another $110, maybe pair some wines for a cool $200. “Hey Junior, let’s catch Space Mountain one more time, then we’ll go drop a couple grand on some chow and vino.” Just doesn’t seem very Disney World to me.
Several Reddit posters agreed: “Crazy overpriced,” one groused. “Michelin star restaurants in NYC don’t even cost that much (except the very best, like Eleven Madison Park, which is ‘only’ $335).” Even the French are complaining:
Disney’s woes aren’t confined to its theme parks. As my colleague Brandon Morse opined, its movies and TV shows are suffering too because the company has tried to inject “wokeness” in all its offerings. The recently released, much-ballyhooed “She-Hulk Attorney at Law” failed to reach the Nielsen streaming content rating list, a major embarrassment for the company.
Morse wrote:
Disney didn’t just stick its toe into the realm of politics, it leaped off a cliff and cannonballed into society’s largest manure pile. What’s more, it decided to lean into radical leftism and all the social justice causes that go with it…
As a result, Disney is bleeding viewers and its latest offering has fallen flat on its face, so much so that its pilot episode [of She-Hulk] did not even register within the top 10 list of most-watched streaming shows.
Remember when:
But there’s more: The Walt Disney Company and boss Bob Chapek decided to insert themselves into Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill controversy, and they lost badly as Governor Ron DeSantis dissolved Disney World’s special, corporate self-governing status. Not only did Chapek get knocked down a peg or two, the publicity for Disney was not a good look–why is the family-friendliest company on earth fighting for the sexual and gender identity indoctrination of little kids?
At the same time, as Morse and others on RedState have reported, Disney’s desperate bid to shove leftist politics into all its entertainment is backfiring badly. Not surprisingly, the company’s stock price is down a devastating 41 percent over the last 12 months.
Disney is a huge company, and will certainly continue on making billions. But for many–those that can still afford to go to Disney World or force themselves to sit through an episode of She-Hulk–it’s lost its magic.
Perhaps if the company re-focused on things that brought them success, things like, I don’t know…. families and kids?