I got a LOT of emails like this one from Sarah:
At the end of all this we had a huge hotel bill and from staying on site, with the only real perk being the free transport to and from the parks (we had rented a car and ended up driving in to some of the parks and paying for parking, because the bus system was unreliable, crowded, and hot). The Dining we felt was a disaster, we ate off site in Kissimmee more times than I can count because we wanted sit down, reservations were not available in the parks, and stand-by waits were never less than 90 min. anywhere we went (not to mention they were always mobbed by agitated guests). I guess we saved some money doing it that way, but had Disney not been so ridiculously packed with reservations we probably would have eaten at the park sit downs a lot more (I certainly wanted to). It felt like that if we wanted to eat at the parks we had to plan our whole vacation around food, which is silly! We were there for the Disney magic and attractions, Disney food is just a bonus - it shouldn’t feel like a huge hassle. We’re on vacation, we’re trying to have fun and relax!
Will we go back again? Of course, it’s Disney! We’ve even started planning a trip for the indeterminate future. But, we won’t be staying on site next time and we won’t be visiting the Disney parks for a full week. I enjoyed my first trip to WDW, but if Disney wants me as a repeat tourist every year they need to fix the dining program and do something about the hours.
