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Why I'm Not Excited for Walt Disney World 2025

 Frequent readers of Disney Darling blog are familiar with my annual series where I explain all of the new things coming to Walt Disney World at the start of each new year. I've sat down to complete the series for 2025 multiple times, and each time my heart becomes heavy with disappointment. 

I've got to get the disclaimer out of the way: I love Disney. I love Walt Disney World. And as a former cast member, I've seen first-hand the magic created there. This negativity is not coming from a place of hatred, but a place of love. I'm disappointed because I know Disney can be better than what it has become. 

And Disney Darling readers know that I am normally not one to complain. I generally am an advocate for the new changes in the parks, even if they are controversial amongst other stans. I was more pumped for Pandora land than anyone else. I wrote two posts in 2020 about how excited I was for Splash Mountain (Tiana's Version). Unfortunately, every single announcement for Walt Disney World within the past couple of years has been met with dread. 

Previously free perks have been yanked away from guests and now costs hundreds of dollars. Hotel rooms are being stripped of creativity in favor of a minimalist Beset Western beige aesthetic. Beloved attractions are being needlessly destroyed and space is being wasted. Plans are constantly falling through due to a lack of artistic risk and penny pinching. Walt Disney World is even trying to erase the very foundation of the parks. Walt Disney World wouldn't exist if it weren't for a Midwestern farm boy from a small town on the railroad, not too far from the mighty Mississippi, and the company should not disrespect their own origin story. 

The park that I -and many others- love is being destroyed. 

Walt Disney World is normally my happy place. Even if I can't physically go there all of the time, I love escaping in my mind through this blog. Lately, the exact opposite has been happening. 

I'm not exactly sure why I'm writing this post - it's mostly a stream of consciousness. I guess I feel like I owe you the truth. I cannot report these shitty choices without my personal bias getting in the way. I do not want to sugarcoat things on my blog for the coin. 

I also want to know if any of y'all feel the same way as me. (Feel free to leave a comment!)

I'm not writing to say I'm quitting my blog or anything. I fully intend to keep chugging along. I guess I wanted to explain my delay in posts as I grapple with my personal feelings. How do I report what to look forward to in 2025 when there is nothing but doom and destruction in the horizon? 

Anyways thanks for reading my blog and I'll see you in the next post. 

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