“Disney doesn’t just not care about their fans… they hold us in disdain,” says Pete Werner of Dreams Unlimited Travel and the DIS Unplugged podcast.

Werner, co-owner of one of the largest Disney-centric travel agencies in the country, has never been shy about sharing his strong opinions on all things Disney over the past few decades. But it seems like even he’s had enough of their Mickey Mouse routine as of late.

Werner claims he knows Disney didn’t think much of its fans behind the scenes, but was better at hiding it in the past. Now, he says, they’re not even pretending to care.

On a recent livestreamed episode of DIS Unplugged dated November 16, Werner and his crew discussed not only recent ‘fat shaming’ comments by Disney CFO Christine McCarthy, but a shift in Disney’s attitude toward its fans.

McCarthy said that Disney would either cut its food portion sizes or increase prices, and joked that this would be good for some guests’ waistlines.

While Werner wasn’t thrilled with the CFO’s offhand comments, he cites price gouging and a decline in quality of service as the real issue at hand here.

“They’re talking about cutting portion sizes to hedge against inflation. Which means they will charge more and give less. Which is now the official motto of Walt Disney World.”

Werner, who freely admits his livelihood depends on selling Disney vacations, said he is seriously considering not renewing his Annual Pass, the thought of which would’ve been unthinkable a few years ago.

“But it’s getting to the point where I’m about to say ‘Don’t go to Disney. Go to Universal.’ You want to come to Orlando? There’s so much going on here. There’s so much great stuff. 

(…) Honestly I think for value and experience, and service… go to Universal. They still value people. They still value your business. Disney? Disney has made it clear repeatedly… that old adage when somebody tells you who they are? Believe them.”

Werner isn’t the only Disney influencer to be soured on the “Disney Magic” as of late. Last year, some notable Disney vloggers including Disney Dan and Rob Plays were questioning Disney’s handling of its Cast Members during the pandemic.

It’s hard to defend many of Disney’s decisions as of late, but more and more parks fans are getting fed up with being nickeled, dimed, disrespected and dismissed by the Mouse House.

For the last few years, we’ve been calling out Disney’s rapid decline both here on Pirates & Princesses and our sister vlog, Clownfish TV. And we’ve paid for it by being blacklisted by Disney PR and getting dogpiled by delusional Disney fans on an almost daily basis.

But the truth is the truth, and sometimes there aren’t enough spoonfuls of sugar to make it go down any easier.

Welcome to the party, Pete.

[Source: DIS Unplugged]