It's being called the "entitlement generation". You see it more and more every day. People that are incapable of taking 'no' for an answer. People that don't just want to be treated fairly, but demand to be treated specially. Those that believe their very presence entitles them to something more than everyone else has.
People have said that one of the best things about Walt Disney World is the escape from reality. The ability to leave the real world at the gates and step into a childhood fantasy. However, that bubble is being popped more and more frequently and perhaps the social media age is helping to kill the "magic".
The amount of information available to Disney guests is larger than ever before. Websites, forums, blogs and Facebook groups discuss every subject possible. While some of this information is invaluable to people trying to plan the perfect vacation, I sometimes wonder if there really can be "too much of a good thing".
Of course, people are thrilled to share the good news when they get an extra sprinkle of magic whether it's a surprise upgrade, some extra fastpasses, free merchandise or even a towel animal. Yes, no matter who you are, a washcloth twisted into a bunny on your bed will make you smile! However, sharing these special stories have led to a growing number of people wanting to know "why them and not me?". It's becoming common on social groups to see questions such as "what complaints have you used to get a room upgrade?" or "who can I contact to get a refund because they cancelled the parade due to rain?" or "how can I get a free replacement for my coffee mug because I dropped mine and broke it?". People have lost sight of the fact that magical moments are magical because of their spontaneity, their randomness. If everyone receives special pixie dust, it's not special anymore. You can't possibly feel good about receiving something you had to ask for or demand. That is NOT a magical moment.
But, probably the most disturbing of all the discussions I've seen have to be the ones about "cheating the system". People proudly sharing advice on how to get around the rules, how to get something for nothing, or how to get what you want without considering the effect it has on everyone else. The most common justification for these actions is simple: the Disney company makes billions of dollars every year, they can afford it. Well, let's think about that for a minute. Yes, it's true that Walt Disney World sees upwards of 19 MILLION visitors every year, so how likely do you think it is that you are the only one doing these things? People have become so focused on themselves that they really believe nobody will notice when they skirt the rules. They can't comprehend that when thousands of people are doing things to beat the system, it affects EVERY single guest in the long run, including themselves. Disney is a business. It's the purpose of a business to make a profit. As guests, we have come to expect a certain standard of service. We demand new attractions and upgrades. If the parks remained the same year after year, we would all be disappointed. Well, those things cost money. So when the abuse of privileges becomes too overwhelming, the company is obligated to do something about it. Everyone hates when they increase prices. We hate when they cut back on offerings. We complain that the promos offered aren't as "good" as they used to be and there has been plenty of grumbling about the high price tags attached to all the new offerings. But the plain truth is that some of us, as guests, brought a lot of this on ourselves.
There has been plenty of evidence to support the fact that Disney DOES notice behavior that is harmful to their operations and they WILL do what they can to stop it. Don't believe me? Here are just a few examples:
Remember how up-in-arms people became when they made changes to the Guest Assistance Cards? People were so outraged, they filed lawsuits against Disney. Now do you remember who we had to thank for those changes? The guests who were "faking it" to abuse the system.
Are you annoyed that money is being spent to gate the resort pools? Well, you can thank all the people who insisted on making use of the pools without paying for the rooms they belong to.
Are you thirsty? Well, you have to wait for the timer to allow that RFID chip to fill your resort mug and hope the machine is working properly that day. Know why? That's right, all the guests brought every cup, bottle or container they ever owned to fill up all day, every day.
Currently, there are two widespread "schemes" being shared freely on the internet that really bug me. They bug me because I don't like seeing people take an unfair advantage over other people. They bug me because I don't like seeing people piggyback off Disney to make a profit for themselves. And they bug me, most of all, because I can foresee changes coming that none of us will like and I don't like being punished for someone else's wrongdoing like with all the examples listed above.
The first of these schemes is the Memory Maker "share". I love the Memory Maker with all the special videos and enhancements. I love the professional look of the photos. Yes, they are expensive, but worth it to me. Being able to "share" this service with family and friends is a really great perk, and yes, it is a perk! I definitely took advantage of it on my last trip I took with my sister's family. We were able to connect our reservations as Family and Friends and have all our photos on one account. Naturally, between the two of us, we split the cost. That is really helpful to a lot of people, especially for extended families traveling together. However, it didn't take long for the schemers to find a way to exploit that perk. They flocked to the internet finding people who happened to be traveling in the same time frame to share the cost. Actual groups are set up for this. They will share between 6, 8, even 10 or more families just to pay as little as possible! And don't think for a minute that the people coordinating these shares aren't getting theirs for free or even making money! These people are strangers. They aren't traveling "together". Most have never and will never meet. Of course, Disney soon found out about it and contacted them to stop. But, all they did was "go underground" and continue about their business. You don't think this is cheating the system? Well, it is. Don't believe me? Here it is in black and white.
It is against the terms of the Memory Maker to accept any consideration or remuneration (they mean money) from other people for access to the downloads and can result in the loss of everyone's photos.
So, do you honestly think Disney doesn't notice this is happening? A dozen families, traveling at different times over a month, not appearing in ANY photos together but they are supposed to be "friends and family"? Really? Like all other abuses, they will be forced to step in and do something about it. I fear that this will be the first one on the chopping block because it's the easiest to deal with. The solution is obvious. It would be very simple for Disney to remove the "friends and family" option from Memory Maker. Then it will only take photos from the magic bands of people listed on your reservation. Every reservation will have to purchase their own Memory Maker. Is this really not obvious to anyone but me? I doubt it. So once again, we will all have to pay the penalty because of a few bad apples. My advice: if you don't want to pay for the Memory Maker, DON'T GET IT. It's not necessary. People have tons of devices these days to take photos, so use them. You are free to take as many pictures as you want with your own camera. Heck, Photopass photographers will even do it for you! But don't ruin a good thing for people that really like it.
The second one that really infuriates me is the selling and buying of dining reservations, even the notification of dining openings. This is the most frustrating because it's the "chicken and the egg". People insist they need to pay a fee to secure the reservations they want, but they fail to see that is the reason the reservations aren't available in the first place! First, it was the "services" that will notify you the minute a reservation opens up. People thought this was so great, but what they didn't realize is these companies are using unauthorized software to get these notifications. So that BOG reservation you've been checking for 3 times a day? Well, it just opened up. The problem is this software just instantly notified thousands of other people that it's now open. So your chances of getting it? Slim to none, even if you paid to get this notification.. Of course, greed always makes people go one step further and people starting actually booking all the reservations under fake names and accounts. Then, for a fee, they would release them to guests who wanted them. You pay the ransom, you get the reservations. Disney quickly stepped in to put a stop to this activity. However, there is plenty of evidence that it is still happening. It's just kept quiet now. So whose fault is it that even at 180 days out, there is NO availability at any of the restaurants you want? Well, if you are someone who pays for this "service", it's YOURS. It's really very simple. People won't stop doing this if they can make money. So the people that keep paying for reservations and notifications are the ones making it impossible for us to find any. Even though some companies are no longer charging for "notifications", they still offer the service on the same websites and forums where they advertise their paid services. It's simple advertising to draw you in and generate business for their other products. And they are still using the same software that will make it impossible for the average user to find their own reservations using Disney's website. It's business. And if you keep supporting that business, the problem keeps growing. This is the finest example of the Entitlement Generation yet. Trust me, no one has ever died from not eating at Cinderella Castle. No child has ever exploded from being told, "sorry, we can't do it this time". It's OK not to get every single thing you want on every trip. It's OK to leave some new experiences to look forward to next time. Walt Disney World offers more than enough experiences to fill up every day of your trip. When all is said and done, people will remember what they DID do way more than they will remember that they didn't eat at Be Our Guest. Disney has already tried to make changes to the reservation system to stop these third-party people from interfering with our reservation experience, but it clearly hasn't been enough. So it's inevitable that more changes will come and I can almost guarantee, like many of the others, we won't like them.
I'm all for cutting corners and saving money. My budget may be tighter than most, and I definitely don't visit as often as I would like. Every time changes are announced, they are followed by days of complaints by guests, myself included. Every price increase means it's that much longer before I can go back. But, we need to ask ourselves who is to blame. Can we blame corporate greed? Maybe, sometimes. Can we blame Stacey for convincing us that "Must Do Disney" means our trip will be ruined if we don't do everything on the list? Not likely. Or do we finally hold accountable those that feel they should get more at the expense of everyone else? We are not all special snowflakes. We are not the only ones who paid "good money" to be there. Disney doesn't owe us anything, and none of us deserves anything more than what we paid for. If you need to park at resorts to avoid parking fees or slip extra people into your room to sleep on the floor, maybe you need more time to save up for your vacation. You think the few bucks you are shaving off won't be missed? Well, I bet there are thousands of other people who think the same thing. Our actions do have an effect on those around us. We have to start realizing that the "magic" is not disappearing on its own, it's being stolen from us. Then ask yourself if you are part of the problem. Maybe a quote from one of my favorite non-Disney franchises will show us just how "non-Disney" some people are becoming.
"Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy."
Albus Dumbledore
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Well said! Very well said! Thank you!! I will share it to my personal page and my Disney FB page.
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