This Is Why You Didn't Get Your Christmas Presents

We now have an explanation on why some of you didn't get your Christmas presents from Santa this year.



Zz.

DVC Merry Mixer

The line for buying merchandise. Bigger crowd now.

DVC Merry Mixer

Inside the DVC Merry Mixer. Not a huge crowd so far.

Where in WDW is this ?

DVC annual meeting

The member portion of the meeting started.

DVC meeting

Board of Directors meeting under way

DVC annual meeting

Waiting for the meeting to start. Notice the Polynesian theme.

Toy Story Mania

In queue for Toy Story Mania

At Studios

Probably our last look at the hat before they dismantle it. Long Live the Hat!

Be Our Guest

Soup, salad and vegetable quiche

Be Our Guest

One of 3 dining rooms. The food finds you by magic, which is either by special "puck" or your Magic Band

Be Our Guest

Our hosts

Be Our Guest

A greeter outside the restaurant

Be Our Guest

The discrete sign of Be Our Guest restaurant at Magic Kingdom

Chilling Out

Chilling out at Epcot. Day has been overcast and not too warm.

Lunch

Having lunch at La Cantina at the Mexico pavilion.

At Test Track

At Epcot

We are standing in line waiting for Epcot to open. With Soarin all filled up with fastpasses this is the only way to do it.

The day is overcast.

At DAK

The lobby at Jambo House.

At SSR

We didn't get Congress Park, but our room at the Paddock is actually quite nice with a pleasant view.

We have arrived....

... At the most magical place on earth!

We have arrived!

We are here!

On plane

We are on the plane and ready to go! Orlando, here we come!

At Airport

We are at the airport waiting for our flight to Orlando. Another trip to the most magical place on earth!

For The First Time In Forever, This Writer Did Not Enjoy Her WDW Trip

This writer on HuffPost wrote an article on why, for the first time in her life, she did not enjoy her WDW trip.

Just so we're clear, I've been a humongous Disney fan ever since I was a kid. I've probably visited Mickey's playground three dozen times in the past several decades, and for so long it really did seem like the most magical place on Earth. But no more.

In the past several years, I've encountered numerous changes -- changes for which I'm sure Disney big-wigs would claim have been implemented in order to make the experience more efficient and pleasurable. I'm here to tell you, however, that my most recent trip was neither efficient nor pleasurable.

You may read all the different reasons she listed. Most, if not all, is due to the implementations of the FastPass Plus and those MagicBands. I tend to agree with some of her points, and certainly the FastPass Plus is something that I am beginning to really not fond of.

However, I have a few issues with some of her complaints.

Magic Bands are in no way magical.
I think a more appropriate name would be Frustration Bands. Or Fickle Bands. Or Roll-the-Dice-Bands. Because sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. You'll feel like Katniss Everdeen each time you touch your wrist to the scanner: "May the odds ever be in your favor."

Based on her experience, and the experience of another guests, they certainly were having technical difficulties with those Magic Bands. She never describe if she had approached the front desk at her resort to sort this out, etc.

Now, there is a difference between having an issue with the technical aspect of something, versus an inherent fault of the philosophy of something. What she is having a problem with is the implementation of the philosophy, not the philosophy itself. In other words, if the Magic Bands didn't have a technical problem, will she still have an issue with it?

I've used the Magic Bands several times with not a single problem, and I find them to be highly convenient, so much so that I wish the Disney Cruise Line will  adopt it soon. So I am in favor of the whole idea of the Magic Bands. If Disney wishes to continue with it, they must tackle the technical difficulties such as the one described in the article. Otherwise, you'll have guests who will be annoyed like hell over it.

I don't enjoy cozying up to the crowds.
I'm all for making friends, but Disney has taken the concept to a whole new level. At every show we attended--from the Lion King to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular--the following announcement was made: "We ask that you kindly slide all the way to the middle of the aisle to make room for others. And please don't stop until you are sitting uncomfortably close to the stranger beside you." Okay, so I added that second sentence, but the statement was implied. Disney peeps seem to think that if a packed house is good, a cramped house is even better. Not. 

So is this new? Her complaints were that there were changes to the theme park that is not for the better. For as long as I can remember, when you enter a show, they ALWAYS want you to either move all the way to the end of your row, or to the very center of the row, occupying every seat and space available, to make room for other guests. And Disney is NOT the only place where this is done. I was at a US citizenship oath ceremony a couple of months ago and they had them squeezed together on the seats to accommodate everyone.

Besides, it seems highly inconsiderate to spread out when it is busy and other guests would also like to attend the show.

So yes, while I think she has legitimate complaints against some aspect of changes done at WDW, I don't think these two are valid.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

At the Contemporary from last year. You can tell because there's no Frozen-themed elements in it for this year's display.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

A view of The Contemporary from Bay Lake Tower.

Zz.