It's no secret, The Wakelin Family spends a good majority of our time, and our money, on Disney. It has been "home" to us for a long time. Even after some admittedly negative experiences as a Cast Member AND as a Guest, I have always loved all things, Disney, because I have loved what it has stood for. I love the notion of working hard to make your dreams a reality, that magic is possible and that love can conquer all. I love how walking into a park, or even starting up a movie can shut out the miserable stuff happening in the 'real world', and take us into our own Fantasyland. I adore all of the amazing memories that we have as a couple and as a family, that are woven all around the Disney parks and products. And to this day, nothing makes me smile quite the same way that seeing Mickey does. Disney has always been a part of us, and we have gladly been a part of it.
But the time for change has come. There is more than one reason, but for starters, it's become totally unaffordable. Prices seem to rise every couple of months, while more and more offerings and entertainment get removed. Guests are charged $20 a person for an 'ok' burger meal, (with magically shrinking portions), $50 to park their car, $100+ a day to get inside the gates, and then even more if they want to use the Genie+ system to reduce their wait times, which they could have previously done for free with a Fastpass. All the while, the housekeepers that clean the trashed resort rooms, the custodians that clean up everything from spilled popcorn to puke, the Guest Relations agents that field complaints and get yelled at all day long... they are all being paid a completely unliveable wage and being asked to work totally unreasonable schedules, that take them away from their families when they are needed the most. Cast Members are living paycheck to paycheck and are constantly having their 'perks' reduced while being asked to work harder, faster, and with bigger smiles on their faces.
Faithful Annual Passholders like us, who spend THOUSANDS of dollars a year on admission, food, and merchandise, have been cast aside, told we don't bring enough revenue into the parks, and our benefits have gotten stripped down to a crappy car magnet and a 10% dining discount in extremely limited locations. Under Chapek's leadership, Disney is catering more and more to the uber-rich, pedaling exclusive events, limited edition, crazy-expensive merchandise, ($1000 mouse ears!), upgraded suites, and villas in the already premium resorts. It's all far more than any of us 'normal' folk could ever imagine. And before you say it, no, Disney has never been cheap, but it was an attainable dream vacation for most middle-class families to experience once a decade or so. Now it seems to be more of a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and even THAT will break the bank for most.
Let's imagine for a moment that we were one of those families that could spend money without a care. Or even better, let's imagine prices were reasonable for a Disney experience... Even still, I'm not so sure I want one anymore. What??? But Jenn, you LOVE Disney!!! I do. But they've broken my heart.
I think we can all agree that Disney has pretty much the master controlls over Florida. If there were never Disney parks, the Florida economy would be reliant on agriculture instead of tourism, and probably failing, at best. Yes, there are now other tourist draws like Universal, Sea World, even Legoland, and Busch Gardens, but none of them would likely be here without their big brother, The Mouse. And they all still take their lead from Disney. Price hikes at Disney? All parks will follow suit. Disney park policy changes? All the theme parks are on board and changing right behind them. So why the hell did Disney, a company located heavily in Central Florida, where a large percentage of the population is part of the LGBTQIA+ community... A company that just recently added a new "Inclusivity" value to their branding... A company that employs a large number of LGBTQIA+ Cast Members... NOT immediately speak up against Ron DeSantis and his ludicrous "Don't Say Gay' bill??? Why did they not immediately support their Cast and shut the bill down? They have the financial power to do it. So why not? In fact, why are they contributing thousands of dollars to politicians who are now backing this insane bill? Yes, Chapek came out and said that Disney has given to BOTH sides and that the donations were not based on any political stances in this bill and that Disney doesn't back this bill... Blah, blah, blah... Too little, too late. You're supposed to be a family company. How about treating the LGBTQIA+ families that work for you like they are, oh, I don't know... Human? Like they matter as much as everyone else? Instead, Disney is punishing Cast Members for participating in a walk-out over the bill and telling Cast Members they can't wear rainbow pins in support of the walk-out. WHAT????? If you couldn't tell, I'm pretty outraged by this.
Jay and I have made the very hard decision to no longer be Annual Passholders. In a few weeks, we will be done with Disney... For now. I really truly hope that things get better. I have seen many improvements, like Disney's effort to tell stories from non-white perspectives in their newer movies, and their creating of solutions for out-of-date and offensive attractions and films, but it's not enough yet. We will miss the parks a lot. The kids have wonderful memories all over Disney property, and we may still pop into a resort to look around and have some fun, but we are going to save our money until we feel better about backing the organization, and like the organization is backing ALL families.
Mickey, we are genuinely hoping to 'see ya real soon!', but you're gonna have to do better, pal.
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