The Disney Headache: 8 Things We Wish Walt Disney World Would Do Away With

We love Disney World! That said, loving something doesn’t necessarily mean you think it’s perfect, and in this case, we definitely see room for improvement. Don’t get us wrong, Disney is still the most magical place on earth, but if we had our way, here are some things we would get rid of in a heartbeat.

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1. Cheer (and Other Teen-Oriented) Events

Here’s the thing: We love to see kids having a good time. However, at the risk of sounding a bit grumpy, we do not particularly enjoy the enormous hoards of teens brought about by the annual Disney-hosted cheerleading events. During these events, kids seem to flood every pathway, and if you happen to be staying in the All-Star Sports Resort, there is no escape because that’s where they tend to stay too. The problem isn’t with the kids necessarily, but more with the enormous crowds and lack of adequate supervision for groups of rowdy teens. We’d be perfectly okay with it if these events never happened again.

2. Old Monorail System

The monorail system at Disney World is amazing and innovative and a wonderful way to get around the resort…when it’s working. Unfortunately, the system is old and these days it’s broken down almost as often as it’s working. A new set of monorails would solve so many transportation problems at Disney World and make the experience of guests much more pleasant. There are some (well-supported) rumors out there that this could be coming, so hopefully the old monorail system is on its way out the door.

3. Gift Shops at Ride Exits

If there’s one place that’s sure to induce a case of the “I wannas” in every kid, it’s Disney World. The amazing number of toys and trinkets found in this resort is incredible, and you’re likely to find yourself wandering into more than one gift shop. What we really don’t love about all of this is the fact that we don’t necessarily have a say in the matter. Disney has strategically planned for a large number of their rides to dump guests out into gift shops, meaning you’re stuck looking at even more souvenirs whether you like it or not. Not only that, pulling kids away from all the items on display is sometimes nearly impossible, and when a kid is hungry or tired it could quickly lead to a meltdown—something no parent wants to deal with in Disney World. Come on Disney, is making an extra buck really worth adding to a parent’s stress while they’re on vacation?

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4. Early Closing Times

It’s no secret that Florida is hot. Therefore, spending time in the parks after the sun goes down is often the very best way to have a good time without melting away. Unfortunately, many of the parks aren’t open all that long after dark, meaning this trick doesn’t always work out very well, leaving us all to face the Florida sunshine in order to get in our time with Mickey. Because of this, we’d love to see Disney World do away with early closing times. This would make things so much more pleasant for so many visitors.

5. Tiny Hotel Rooms

Disney World is for families, but apparently only families of a certain size. The hotel rooms in the Disney resorts are small at best, and even many of the “family suites” aren’t enough space for a larger family. This means big families are often left with few affordable options, and in most cases, they end up staying offsite in order to find affordable, reasonably sized accommodations. Admittedly, this won’t be an easy issue to fix. Luckily, we are already seeing positive changes being made. Just look at the awesome family suites in the Art of Animation Resort. These are exactly what Disney World needs more of.

6. Limited Soda Options

Perhaps this is a silly complaint, but for a company with the goal of making everyone as happy as possible, they sure do limit you on what kinds of soft drinks you can order. Currently, when it comes to soda, Disney offers Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Root Beer, and sometimes Cherry Coke or Orange Fanta. This means if you prefer something like Dr. Pepper or Strawberry soda, you’re out of luck. Meanwhile, numerous fast food restaurants are providing their guests with Coke Freestyle machines that can spit out just about any flavor combo you could think of. This is one way in which Disney is not keeping up with the times, and it certainly shows for anyone who isn’t a fan of Coke or Sprite.

7. Outdoor Queues

As mentioned before, Florida is hot. It’s also often rainy or extremely muggy, and that means standing outside is rarely pleasant. Fortunately, many Disney World attractions are indoors, meaning there’s still plenty to do when the weather is less than agreeable. Unfortunately, many queues are still outdoors, even when the attractions are indoors. This can make waiting in line an even more miserable experience. Therefore, we’d love to see the outdoor queue disappear entirely.

8. Paid Parking

When you pay over $100 to visit a theme park, the last thing you want to do is pay even more for parking, but pay you must—and it’s no small sum either. Don’t want to pay? Your options are to purchase an Annual Pass or fly in and stay onsite without a car. You see, even Disney hotel guests are charged a daily parking fee these days, bringing the cost of a Disney vacation up that much higher. Sure, these are the things we would change if we could. However, in all honesty, Disney World is about as good as it gets, and if these are all the complaints we ever have, we’re doing pretty good.

What do you wish Disney World would get rid of?