One big problem with Disney is they are squeezing the park guests and lowering the quality of what you get and using that to fund their streaming services. It’s a lose lose situation and not sustainable long term. People are already leaving Disney in droves. The reason I believe the parks feel so crowded is not because they are hitting capacity because it was higher pre pandemic, but rather genie plus is to blame causing lines to be backed up way more than before, it simply does not work. Genie plus makes the standby lines 2-3x longer than they should be since they have to get genie people through since they paid.

I was a cast member for over eight years.When I started there it was a fun place to be and that is the entire reason I went there. I was a guest for many years before moving here. Unlike the average cast member I spent a couple hours with a specific set of guests. Most cast positions at WDW spend minutes or even seconds interacting individually with guests. If you are with them for a long time you get to hear what guests actually think of what is going. Progressively I heard more negative attitudes by guests and in the end that is why I left. I was not there for the money, just to make the magic like had been made for me when I was a guest. The last few years has been an increased rejection of family valued entertainment. Will that change with the old CEO returning, that has yet to be seen. Their emphasis is not on the magic, it is on profit. I do not think that balance is as it was in the past and certainly not what Walt created. That is sad.

I have fallen out of love with Disney, not just the parks but their content too, it doesn’t have that magical feeling for me that I associate with the parks, that feeling you want to revisit when you get home. I hope it will come back, if we can at any point actually afford to go to Disney again.

Many Brits are coming back from Disney says never again, pay for park tickets, pay for Genie +, pay for lightening lane, no guarantee of actually getting on a ride even then, people just walking around staring a phones, no spontaneity any more, up to 3 hour waits if you can’t afford to pay for the extras. Prices for food gone up and sizes going down. Many people in this country are over it.

I’ve been to Disney 4 times in my life. The first 3 were magical. The last time I went I felt stressed, tense, on edge. It didn’t feel magical anymore. The crowd was just too much. The most annoying thing I experienced was everything being mobile order or mobile reservation. I have a toddler I’d rather just walk into a place and eat instead of having to order an hour ahead or having to wait an hour. Reservation system is so annoying too. What if one weekend I want to be spontaneous and make the drive there? I can’t because 9/10 times it’s already booked. I don’t know when I’ll be going back to Disney. And I only go because my son loves it.

The fact that this is blamed on one person is just ridiculous. Chapek can’t make decisions WITHOUT the boards approval on things. Sounds like they’re using him as a scapegoat for the failures of the entire company

I just returned from an 8 day trip to Disney. I bought a trip for my daughters and their fiancée’s. All 6 of us noticed that Disney was looking a little more shabby than usual. The paint on rides was chipping and Small World actually had some mildew. Not quite up to the standards a guest who stays on property is used to. I feel that we pay for that and I was frankly disappointed.

Disney is no longer about family ...it is all about making money.

Genie+ is a huge bait and switch. I've never felt scammed by Disney until I purchased and tried to use Genie+. My kids also noticed that the staff seemed less helpful and kind, it was everyone so my bet is that stress levels are high and they are overwhelmed.

Planning a 2023 Universal trip. Taking a long break from Disney. Still hanging in with DFB tho😀

When your focus is on anything other than your customer, the quality of your product will ultimately decline. Disney is just one of many companies recently who are experimenting with new and creative ways to destroy their brand in this manner.

Our last visit in April was SOOOOOO bad that we all agreed we’re not going back

They soiled the dream , they shattered the illusion. The more they let themselves get pulled into the World of here and now...the More they take us away from the Dreamland that Disney once provided us.

Absolutely love when AJ gets in the weeds and talks details like this. Really flexing the business acumen and knowledge that has made DFB what it is today. Keep up the great work!

Cancel the park reservation system NOW!

The one solid problem that Disney has is that the production of what they are releasing for new material is absolute garbage. That is why Disney plus and Disney as a whole is failing. No one want to see their beloved characters whether it’s superheroes or Star Wars or Disney completely gutted and taken away from the core of what they were. They hire writers w no experience what so ever who can’t even consult w an expert to turn out a legitimate storyline. The latest example in a long line of mis-steps is She Hulk being a travesty of not only how the law works at its basic function (this is where to consult w an expert) but takes a brilliant comic about an intelligent woman given super hero abilities and makes her a joke. That at the core is why people cancel.

What I don’t get is why they need the park reservation system to control guests and see all those numbers when they could just… control and monitor ticket sales a little closer and get the same effect. Selling a limited number of tickets per day is the same as selling unlimited but having park passes, but it makes people less confused.

I'd love to see free parking for resort guests

Huge break from Disney for me, it has lost most of its magic for me

Here's an idea for Disney+: make content that people - all people - want to watch.

Here are some thoughts for Disney: 1. Utilize the 20th Century Fox catalog to supplement either/both Disney + and Hulu. Keep the Orville. 2. Contract out the 4K upgrades of movies. If it is too expensive or utilizes too many resources, let the boutique studios do it for Disney like Criterion did with Walle. 3. GET RID OF THE RESERVATION SYSTEM. Disney has plenty of historical data to make CM/food/merchandise decisions. Disney can ask for park preferences while booking vacations. If you want happy guests, guests need flexibility to change plans especially when it comes to getting hard to get dining reservations or experiences. Most people will stick with one park if they get that magic ADR. 4. Redo Genie+. Use the US express pass system as your template. Life will be easier for guests and Disney. Will it be expensive, yes. Is that OK, yes. Keep the ILL as a extra that Universal doesn't have. 5. Return the basics like housekeeping, park hopping whenever, and Magical Express (roll in the price - Sunshine Flyers was awesome). Give back what was taken and there will probably be less grumbling about pricing. 6. Disney will need those locals during the supposed upcoming recession (wishful thinking on some people's parts). Maybe have reservation system for them or create a work group with locals to flesh out ideas that is a win for everyone. I know it is blue sky wishing on my part, but it doesn't have to be that difficult.

I didn't realize all the "bad" decisions were all under Iger watch. I see nothing will change in the parks.....So sad.

The hotels are another big problem. This nonsense of paying 1000s of dollars and getting a “light cleaning every few days” is ridiculous and something never to be expected from a company like Disney.

Thank you for stating that some of the complaints during the Chapek era started during the Iger era.

I love these more “business” focused DFB videos. Keep them coming!

Thank you for calling the bill correctly.

Less is more sometimes… Disney+ has become so cluttered full of junk it’s difficult to justify rising subscriptions, park tickets / Genie+ / parking / memory maker etc are so high it leaves less budget for spending in the parks on merch / food. It’s sad that the company is blatantly bleeding guests dry before they even step on property.

Note that while the parks did very well this year... a lot of that was due to pent up demand from 2 years of pandemic lock-downs. We are seeing drastic cut backs on the horizon in terms of recreational travel due to Finances and the Recession. And thanks to price elasticity, there will be a point where the prices drive DOWN attendance and COULD require a drop in pricing, It's going to be ugly for a while.

They don't help matters when they price park tickets outside the average person's ability to pay. The tickets are going to be 189$ for a single day pass. That is nearly $800 for a family of 4. It's ridiculous.

I also think that since Disney does not have the best three men with Disney anymore, Marty Skylr, who passes away, RIP. Tony Baxter and Joe Rhode, where the heart of Disney!!! I feel like Disney has lost the Magic! Those men were so in touch with Walt's vision on bringing the magic to Disney!

Bob paycheck didn’t step down. He was fired AJ. And as a cast member I’m sooo glade bob paycheck is gone. He didn’t step down he was fired!!!! And a really no lose. Thank god Bob Iger is back.

Here are the only facts anyone needs to know: 1- Disney has increased the prices of everything across the board over the last several years. 2- Along with price increases in that timeframe, they have taken away many, many benefits that used to be included at the lower price point: i.e. - Fast Passes, Magical Express, PhotoPass included in the price of annual passes, Extra Magic Hour benefit diluted to the point of uselessness, parking is no longer complimentary, long-time lack of nighttime parade, just to name a few. On top of the food price increases, in their infinite stupidity, they have reduced portion sizes. If you still believe the exorbitant prices Disney charges their customers represent ANY value to said customers, please call me...I have a bridge and some beach-front swampland I'm willing to sell you for an absolute bargain.

Iger is the author of many, if not, most, of Disney’s problems, so this is all quite hilarious.

We have been long term Disney fans, spending a boatload of $ on tickets, dining, souvenirs, films, etc. over the years. That has come to a screeching halt as we’ve watched Disney shift away from Walt’s family values. Once Disney entered politics, pushed agenda’s in our faces, and stopped making Disney a name we all used to be proud of, we just said enough is enough. Disneys competitors have never seemed like a true competition until now. We, and many we associate with, are in the process of eliminating all Disney from our lives, though we do so sadly, with fond, beautiful memories of the past. RIP Disney.

You’re not mentioning that family movies need to stay FAMILY rated. Completely forgetting who subscribes to these streaming services! It’s not the cost , if the content is good people don’t care about the cost.

Thank you so much for this, AJ. I worked as an engineer/scientist for a chemical company that went down many tubes when bean counter, non-technical types were put in charge. Those of us in the lower ranks, in the weeds, who knew what was really going on, were disgusted by many clueless decisions and statements that were made, especially those that disrespected the institutional knowledge and years of experience of employees. I think the same, but on the creative and artistic front, was going on under Chapek at Disney. I hope Iger can pull this beloved company back from the brink. Disney needs executives who love the “product”, not those looking to make big profits at the expense of customer and employee satisfaction!

A lot of Disney's current problems were put into motion years ago under Iger.. Unless Iger has learned from his past mistakes (which I doubt) nothing will change.

Thank you for referring to the law as Parental Rights in Education instead of the incorrectly coined derogatory colloquial name. After watching the Parks decline in maintenance, quality creative build, increased customer support hold time, and shoddy development of apps that had me looking down instead of up during my visits, Disney's involvement with this bill (now law) became the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I'm here watching your video to keep up with what is happening because this has been like a divorce. I still care about my former partner and am rooting for the parks to get better, but I'll keep my distance until it happens. Since severing with most everything Disney related, I have not yet seen anything that makes me regret that decision.

I just went end of November/beginning of December and it was horrible. Disney Genie+ did not make it easier, it was stressful and crowded. No spontaneity and I felt like everything was behind a pay wall. No magic left just clear money grabbing. I really hope things change but until then I'm not going back.

My cousin just planned her disney world vacation. She already has her Disney dining plan for her family. She can’t wait to use it.😊

I imagine Walt would be very unhappy with what they have done to his magic place. Tacky careless expensive and offensive. What else can they do wrong.

Having just been to Disney, I can safely say I will never return. The parks are a rip off. You get rising prices and declining value. Let's put this in terms most people can understand. Imagine if Netflix kept raising their prices, and they failed to introduce significant content to help make up for those prices increases. To add insult to injury, imagine the quality of the streams declined and you ran into constant buffering issues. You'd dump them in a hurry. Well that is the digital version of Disney parks. They have raised the prices and oversold the parks. Magic Kingdom is the worst. It is so packed that moving around becomes challenging. Good luck finding a place to sit down and you'll need more luck finding a place to eat. And if you do manage to find a place to eat, you will be badly overcharged for mediocre food. Spend your money somewhere else. Same problem exists with Disney+. Very mediocre product. They just don't deliver value for the money. It is the least watch subscription I own and it will be dumped at the end of the 12 month prepay. Disney can blame whatever and whoever they want. They are the problem. People get tired of being ripped off.

As retired cast member, I agree that cast member training is in the toilet. All departments used to work together, in times of need. You rarely see that much anymore. I don't like this park pass reservation system. Many times, I like to go in parks just to photograph seasonal displays, visit old friends, and check shops and restaurants. But without parking lot transportation, I just can't go, due to injuries sustained while I was a cast member. No, I don't want to get a handicap parking pass, even though I am ' handicapped '

This title can be taken two ways as Iger has had a hand in replacing two CEO's Chapek and Eisner. Iger has been a cancer on the parks since he took over in 2004. He has built next to nothing in almost 20 years and has upcharged things that were free before and taken away perks left and right during his tenure. Here are just a few examples, no expiration tickets(gone), magic express (gone), free resort parking (gone), free fast pass (gone), free park hopping (gone), and added seasonal food and ticket pricing also a park reservation system and drastically altered the annual passes. Lets not forget tickets are almost triple the price since he first became CEO. Now they have added different price points for each park.. The downturn of the parks began and continues under his watch. Yes Chapek was bad but don't forget Iger chose him. If you think Disney stock has hit bottom you ain't seen nothing yet!

I understand that it is hard to go backwards once you make a park more expensive. However, there are things Disney could do to make it a better experience for guests. I do not want to wake up the day of to my plan my lightening lanes. Please let us do before!

Return of Magical Express? Nope. Dining plan? Nope. Tables in Wonderland? Nope. Ending Genie Plus/Lightning Lane? Nope. Three free fast passes every day? Nope. Ending the park reservation system? Nope. It's going to take more than gaslighting the quests to salvage this sinking ship.

Please make a video about the Disabled trying to go to Walt Disney World!

I believe AJ should be the top contender for the female voice of Disneyland !

As long as they continue to price gouge and drop the quality, I will not give them a cent

Honestly…not excited about the Disney dining plan coming back. When me and my family got it before we were constantly making sure we used all of our snacks and meals each day just cause the package cost so much. We actually saved money when not using the plan.

Disney World needs to bring back tram service in parking lots! Stop lowering or discontinuing serrvice to keep streamming going.

I hate how stock prices make the decisions about a company that should nurture creativity. That’s how we get six flags at WDW.

I’ve found the biggest problem with Genie is the 7am wake up.

He could start by changing all of his writers and replace them with competent writers, nobody likes to pay for mediocrity and that's all the writers and the majority of their producers on Disney+ have been giving us for the past two years, just a big mountain of mediocrity, so easy to see but it seems so complicated for them to understand.

This was the first year we didn't go in almost 20 years, and we didn't miss it. We'll go back when Disney turns the clock back about 5 years in their services and quality.

I recommend reading/listening to Bob Iger's - The Ride of a Lifetime autobiography. Not saying its good or bad for Disney's future, but it will definitely help provide insight into Iger's thought process.

At this point, Disney is pretty much dead to me. It's no longer a family-friendly place and They need to stay out of some of their political decisions are extremely problematical to me. They need to stay out of politics and go back to doing what they used to do best: provide family centered fun & entertainment.

Iger gets 20 million for his Christmas bonus… Disney employees get no Christmas bonus…. Never ever in Disney history.

The fact Disney thinks we're dumb enough to not know this is company wide.

TBH I'm kind of tired seeing people plea to Iger on social media about what they want to see changed in the parks. Aside for maybe relaxing Genie+ and park reservation rules, there aren't going to be a lot of in-park changes. Why are they going to make changes when attendance is way up and they parks are generating more money year over year? Just give it a rest already...

Prices at the parks reached a point where the average person cant afford it

Had my dream Disney trip in January 2022. Saved for years to take my family. A week at the Contemporary. Will never go to Disney world again. Only way we were able to do what we did there was because of the extra money I paid for the ride perks. Nothing like it used to be. An absolute racket.

I think people who are going now are discovering that genie plus is horrible! We hated it and will not go back until something changes. We love the resorts but don’t care to return to the parks.

Thank you so much, AJ, for these clear and thorough updates!!!

Thank you for using the bills actual name! 🙏

I remember going back to WDW after the pandemic but before genie + and everyone waited in line without fastpass or lightning lane and huge lines moved with no problem. Enter diaper genie and now lines are terrible. I was told it's as much as 7 lightning lane to 1 regular line. ridiculous!!

I’m not surprised that prices would go up, but good lord! The price hikes are so much ! I’m considering not staying at their hotels anymore, because of the ridiculous charges just to park at the hotels, which can be expensive already. Even though I can afford it, it doesn’t mean I will just toss $65 a day just for parking alone. I remember when Genue Plus was $15 , less than a year ago. Now it’s way higher. Then it is even higher still if you don’t pay fir it when you buy your ticket. My friends can’t afford to go with me anymore, and I miss being able to go with my Disney friends to Disneyland and DCA.

I understand that companies raise pricing due to inflation but I have a problem with how often Disney is raising prices. Once every 2-3 years would be ok but it seems like it’s at least yearly at this point. The reservation system doesn’t seem as bad to me at WDW as it does at Disneyland. At WDW there is almost always a reservation available for one park or another even last minute. At Disneyland it is not uncommon for me to have to book 6-8 weeks out especially for weekends. What really is upsetting especially at Disneyland is the priority single and multi day tickets get over pass holders. I know Chapek had a thing with passhilders because we spend less money per visit but what he fails to realize is we have far more visits over a 1-2 year period. Those add up. They are still holding passport sales in Florida for this reason even though pass holders only makeup about 20% of the crowd at WDW. He seriously had a vendetta against passholders. At Disneyland we make up 80% and instead of embracing that he tried to price us out. Now we have blackout days even on the highest pass. He basically said f-you to the most loyal customers. That is a bad business model. So an overhaul of the reservation and annual passports are a must or Disney will find itself without loyal customers to love its product which is worse than a low point they are experiencing now.

When Disney + came out in uk it was just £4.99 now it’s £7.99. I know they need to earn money but if Disney keep hiking up the price then they are going to discourage people from paying for the service.

After those remakes I don't go out of my way to watch any Disney movie unless I hear stellar reviews on it

Last time I was there Disney was nickel and dime-ing me to death. They would charge to breathe the air and drink the water if they could get away with it. The place is no longer the Happiest Place on Earth but the most Grifting Place on Earth. Hardly a value for your vacation dollar's worth.

Makes you really miss Michael Eisner

Disneyland used to be our primo vacation when Walt was alive. Eisner maintained some but it has declined since him. Best trip I ever had was when it poured at 5 pm and everyone went home. We dried off by hitting the (new) Pirates of the Caribbean repeatedly with no lines. Kids were ecstatic. Where did the magic go?

So Cheapass is gone? Hope that Iger can bring the magic back. But don’t know. Thanks for the video.

Thanks DFB! Love your content. I’m curious what’s going to happen with the film/show content now.

I don't think it's just his fault... or maybe it is. I won't ever visit Disney again until they fix the REAL problems at the parks. and I feel many may also agree with this. Universal lines are much shorter, easier to manage. Less people in the parks. I love Disney, but I cant fathom spending all that money for a mediocre experience at best

I think of it this way.... What would Walt Do? What would Roy do?

Lighting Lanes and Genie+ might not go away, but they need to be reworked.

What Disney parks now are not what Walt had in mind, read National Geographic Magazine August 1963 (V 124, No.2).

The only thing I want to see changed is park reservations and the late park hopping it could possibly incentive more people to buy park hopper

I myself believe that Walt Disney himself would be extremely upset: I definitely do not believe he would like this ticketing reservation system one bit. Not just because he understands how his resorts are supposed to run, but, also because he understands Americans. While it's all well and good to have statistics and numbers on the number of people coming in and out of your resorts, Walt Disney understood that most Americans do not like the idea of being thought of as a statistic or a number. Disney would most likely fire the person keeping something like this in place and do a total reversal on not only the reservation system, but even ticket prices themselves. Disney resorts were never supposed to be a place where only the super rich and exclusive could come in, and those were Disney's actual words on the subject.

After our recent visit I was shocked at how shabby and tattered disney parks have become around the edges. We even saw mildew on water rides - yuck! I hope that the parks go back to their high standards where you feel that you are getting what you pay for!

We were planning to go to Disney world in 2024 but if prices are this high and crowds this big we will make a different choice.

I went last year and was curious, so I talked to many cast members. The majority of whom I talked to were long-time employees. Most felt that when Chapek took over, Disney lost the magic. Kinda sad, honestly. I hope that with Igers return, he will bring the magic back.

Disney has lost their way.

A visit to Disney is a working vacation. This is true regardless of price, even if they nixed the entrance fee. The only way to visit is to spend five to seven days in the park and enjoy it at as slow a pace as you can manage. Best wishes.

Well did it ever accur to them that the losses might have something to do with how they treat the fans & their stories? Like the Parks for one - the Ticket prices are rising every year but they don’t do much to become better or listen to what we the Fans would like. And they just pump out these LiveAction Remakes of movies that are perfectly Fine masterpieces as they are and do Not Need to be remade. Instead of focusing on art and Innovation that were always focused on in the past, especially under Walt and also bringing back Animation as it is what made Disney the megacompany it is today and Classic Animation is an art Form that needs to come back. And there are so many great stories and fairytales that could be used. But maybe that‘s just me

Park pass reservations are ridiculous and they will sell tickets to you and not even guarantee you access to any of the parks. We ran into the problem last year when we went in March.

Went to Disney with the family a few years back. You couldn’t pay me to go into another theme park. I will spend my money and go somewhere real.

How did they expect Disney+ to do well when almost all the movies and original series since 2020 have been absolute trash? Pure nostalgia isn't enough to drive a platform.

We as a family decided not to return after the Magic mountain removal. I prefer to spend my money elsewhere.

Personally, I’m sick of paying for programs that should be payed for by commercials and not app. memberships.

Disney should really bring back fast passes and bring them back as a perk for deluxe hotels...why pay 500+ a night and barely get any perks? Especially when universal still gives out fast passes to their guests who stay at their deluxe hotels.

I’ve got an ad for Disney in the middle of watching this…

I foresee a change to Genie and Genie+, not because of the CEO switchup, but because of the current lawsuit claiming Disney ripped off another existing software to make the base of Genie. I have a feeling Disney is just going to cut their losses and get rid of Genie and Genie+, then relaunch Lightning Lane as a separate thing with a new name. Or, at the very least, same name but without the AI planning feature.

Granted, we're a small family of 3, so Genie+ for 3 park days wasn't as much $$ as it was for others, but it was the best experience we had for rides and shows at Disney ever! We did so much and waited in line so little!

I will not pay for parking on there own properties, insane

They’ll never get rid of that reservation system. I just bought tickets for Magic Kingdom and it required selecting a park (which were all different prices, not just once price per day like it was a year ago).

I have been a big fan of the Disney parks and always bragged that it was hard to find fault in them, but that changed last year when I visited Disneyland. For the first time I noticed things were not as clean or well maintained as the Disney standards I had come to expect and staff seemed fatigued and not as enthusiastic. I also noticed food prices had gone up at least 30% while the size of servings had gone down at least 30%. We also were still paying full price for park entrance even though some Covid restrictions were still in place meaning shorter park hours and no parades, among other regular things that we had experienced for the same price in previous visits. And for the first time I hardly spent anything on souvenirs. I found them more tacky, cheaply made, and far more expensive for what you were getting. All in all I experienced my first disappointments with this visit and was sad to have to admit it. I really hope Disney finds its way back and doesn’t hijack our park experience to make up for the losses in their streaming services. There are too many of us old school Disney lovers out there to ignore.

I, for one, will not be going to Disney anytime soon. It's a torture.