First Time Back at Disney World in 8 Years: The Magic Is Still There… But So Is the Madness
First trip back to WDW since April 2018 first time in 8 years. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
I’ve been to Disney World around 8 times in my life, so this wasn’t my first rodeo, but it was my first time back in almost a decade. Overall, we still had a great trip, but a lot has changed some for the better, some absolutely not.
The Good
Dining is still excellent
For an amusement park, Disney dining is still on another level. We genuinely did not have a bad meal the entire trip. Even quick service was consistently solid considering you’re feeding thousands of people a day. Disney still does food better than almost any theme park in the country.
Alcohol prices were surprisingly reasonable
Coming from NYC, I expected sticker shock, but honestly the drink prices felt about the same as your average Manhattan bar. Expensive? Sure. But not outrageous by 2026 standards.
Transportation is still easy
Getting around the property is still incredibly convenient and mostly idiot-proof. The Skyliner was fantastic. We stayed at Caribbean Beach, which made getting to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios ridiculously easy.
The new Hollywood Studios areas are awesome
Galaxy’s Edge is genuinely impressive. Even if you’re not a massive Star Wars fan, the detail and atmosphere are incredible. Toy Story Land was also much better than I expected.
Ohana was a great experience
Probably not the best food we had all trip, but the atmosphere and overall experience carried it. Even with the construction happening right outside the windows, it still felt.
Best overall meal: Jiko
Jiko was easily the standout. Best food and best service of the trip without question.
The Bad
Losing Magical Express sucks
The death of Magical Express really hurts the “Disney bubble” experience. The replacement transportation options just don’t feel nearly as seamless.
Resort housekeeping has definitely declined
During a 6-day stay, our room was only cleaned/refreshed twice. Maybe this is just the new normal post-COVID, but it definitely stood out compared to previous trips.
Disney desperately needs another park
The crowds are just too much now. Every park felt packed. There simply isn’t enough capacity for the number of people attending. I genuinely cannot imagine what this place looks like during spring break or peak holiday weeks anymore.
Fantasmic was a disaster
We got to Fantasmic around 40 minutes early and ended up shoved into what felt like overflow seating in the highest back corner above the walkway. The kids couldn’t see anything, so we left.
On the way out we were told:
- get there 90+ minutes early, or
- buy a dining package.
That really summed up modern Disney for me. Everything feels increasingly designed around upselling priority access.
The Ugly
Lightning Lane absolutely kills immersion
This was easily my least favorite part of the trip.
Lightning Lane is tedious, distracting, and completely pulls you out of the experience. Nobody wants to spend their Disney vacation glued to their phone refreshing an app all day trying to optimize ride times, but you’re basically forced into it now.
It honestly feels intentionally frustrating so you eventually cave and buy the more premium options next trip.
The “Disney Adult” stereotype absolutely exists
Before anyone gets mad:
I know Disney adults. I’m friends with Disney adults. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with loving Disney as an adult. I understand the nostalgia obviously, or I wouldn’t have gone back 8 times. But holy hell, this place enables mental illness. The amount of times my kids got nudged aside so adults covered head-to-toe in pins could get their perfect photo was insane. There were multiple moments throughout the trip where I genuinely thought, “You cannot be serious.”
My favorite example:
Packed monorail leaving Magic Kingdom. Absolute sardine can. Parents folding strollers, kids sitting on laps, everyone squeezing together trying to make room.
Except one woman with pink hair and a stuffed parrot on her shoulder refused to fold her stroller.
Doors close. Train starts moving.
She dramatically lifts the stroller shade to reveal… a tiny live poodle with braided bangs. Then she takes the dog out, puts it on her lap, and starts taking selfies with it while everyone around her is crammed together shoulder-to-shoulder.
Hollywood & Vine was rough
This was the one genuinely bad dining experience we had. The restaurant felt completely overwhelmed. They were seriously understaffed, service was chaotic, and they seemed unable to keep up with demand. At one point they had a single carver trying to manage two carving stations. The character interactions also felt cramped because there just wasn’t enough room for them to move around properly. Definitely would not go back.
Final Thoughts
We still had a good trip. There’s still magic there, especially seeing it through your kids’ eyes. But Disney in 2026 feels a lot more transactional than it used to. The nickel-and-diming is much more noticeable, crowd levels are borderline unsustainable, and the app-heavy experience takes away from the escapism that made Disney special in the first place.