Disney seems to be very packed and very expensive nowadays, but everything I see is that the 50th anniversary has been a failure and Disney has no bullets left in the gun before Epic Universe opens in 2-3 years.
My experience this past week resulted in a few observations:
(1) I will no longer recommend Disney to anyone else and I will push back when someone references it as a life checkbox item.
(2) The experience was interesting.
Disney is presently protected by in-group psychology at an astounding rate. Middle-class individuals who have wrapped their identity in with "the Disney experience" spend relatively large amounts of money at Disney world, not due to an objectively perceived value, but instead to support a subjective alignment with their perceived self.
If you go, you'll notice things like the vast majority of park-goers wearing a Disney shirt or other Disney apparel. Unbelievable markup on otherwise mediocre products, simply due to affiliation with Disney. For example, medium-sized shrimp and flank steak with a starch at $65/plate. Little Mermaid themed plastic bubble wand at $30. Six pack of 12 oz bud light cans at $14. Six pack of 12 oz Coke cans at $8. A 20 oz coke at $5.50.
What's interesting to me is that a large number of park attendees don't seem to care at all about the price. They seem to be "in the moment," and 100% about the "experience." I lost count of the number of times that I couldn't find a price for an item, but people around me were ripping them from the shelves hand over fist while I was trying to determine the cost. It didn't matter if it was a toy sword, a turkey leg, or a T-shirt.
Gone are the days where Grandma and Grandpa walk hand-in-hand with their grandchildren from the tea cup ride to Thunder Mountain. Now, there's an app for that.
It was obvious that Disney has spent a considerable amount of time and effort on "people logistics." Their forecasts on ride wait times were scary accurate. The paths were carefully crafted to direct traffic in a way that rarely became over-crowded or overwhelming. The app seems to have been a devil's bargain in this regard - it funnels people into lower-density areas, but at the cost of roughly 3/5 observed adults looking at their phones at any given point while walking.
Pre-gaming and "getting smart" about Disney is now at a premium. I hired a travel agent, but made a huge mistake in relying on them to tell me everything I needed to know. I think I could have enhanced my children's experience by spending 20-30 hours browsing online forums and other "tip rich" areas.
In sum, Disney probably knows best, but I've always held the belief that the low-income masses hold heavy sway on the cultural zeitgeist - and Disney is not catering to those people at it's parks. Those people are straight up priced the fuck out of going to that place.