We are new DVC members who bought direct for DVC perks, and after they only gave DVC members 3 (random!) days for Tron previews (APs got many more slots and even D23 members got a chance at a time they could plan for in advance!), I really get the sense that Disney doesn’t have much loyalty to their fans who have made huge commitments to the company buying into DVC.
You should NEVER buy for perks. If they did not explain that to you, you should have spent a bit more time reading the documentation. Perks can and will change. Perks are never guaranteed. I am sorry to say, if you purchased direct for perks, you might want to look to sell out.
With the theme being removed from so many of the Disney and DVC resorts during refurbs,
I have to say - I have read about this, but have yet to experience it. However, my stays over the past few years have been largely confined to AKV, BLT, SSR, and OKW.
the constant money grabs and being required to constantly be looking at a smartphone for planning and navigating a trip to a park, it seems like you have to spend so much and work so hard and plan so much to just visit a park both before you go and while you are there. I remember the days when I could use my phone to take pictures and tuck it back in my pocket. It wasn't required that I have to live my vacation through my phone.
to be fair - these changes are not really aimed at short term fans over DVC, or long term fans. These are just
changes. During the FP+ days, cell phones were still part of our daily lives. You even needed them to route and plan for FP tickets, or you were on them wildly if you choose to participate in the refresh method (personally, I did not). I think a lot of the drive to cell phone has been the fault of WDW's success. The parks have gotten so crowded now that you can not just wander the park and go on whatever ride you want and if you hope to eat anywhere other than QS, you better be good at booking and have a little luck. These are again not aimed at a particular class of people - they are the result of park crowded.
It's a touch place to be. If Disney raises the prices too high, they get yelled at for price gouging (even you reference it above). On the other hand, if they do not, the parks get crowded and they get yelled at for not being able to be spontaneous. I have to admit, it's not a problem that I have a solution to and I am not surprised they do not either. Short of the invention of a space-time-warp machine, different realities, or dimensional-shifts, I am not sure how they could solve some of these problems.
Change is inevitable.
The move to cellular devices was going to happen... any sufficiently broad new technology that invades on everyday life will invade on Disney as younger generations enter the mainstream demographics and are always the first to adopt new technology. Airports use cell phones now to ticketing as much as paper tickets if not more. Movie theaters use cell phones. Heck, at my local Walmart, if you use Scan and Go, you save a ton of time compared to others who do not. One could make the same argument about any of these businesses or locales. There are so many things in our daily lives now that if you call customer service, the response is just as likely to be "We have an app for that - have you tried using it?". You could make the argument that mobile pay has pushed out the older check writers, and you would be right. They have even taken over vacations (mobile technology is increasingly necessary on cruise ships, too).
Does anyone else feel this way? What have you done to get the magic back in your Disney vacations?
I feel that my Disney vacations have changed - but I do not blame Disney for the change. I blame the changing face of society. I do not see these as preferring short term or first time over long term or returning customers and certainly not a slap at DVC. As I said above, change in inevitable and the invasion of technology is, too.
What do I do to preserve the magic? FOR ME (and this is going to be different for everyone), I find great joy in finding something new to do every time I am at Disney. They may or may not be in the parks. Sometimes, it's a restaurant I have never done before. Sometimes, it's an experience (like a fireworks cruise). Sometimes, it's just searching for hidden mickeys or doing a monorail crawl or exploring. There is always something to do that I have personally not done.
I have my must do's at the parks, and I will always do those - but more and more I look forward to having shorter days at the parks where I can do my best to avoid some of the over-crowding and focus on something I have never done before.
I also try to embrace new technology as much as possible and learn to use it to my advantage. As I mentioned, in my daily life, it's almost like you have to - even if you are on vacation.
