Have Disneyland fans finally reached their limit?
TBH, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on this.<p>I lived two miles from Disneyland for a decade (Old Towne Orange). I proposed to my wife there (now ex-wife). We named our daughter after the &quot;Emma&quot; from &quot;Once Upon a Time.&quot; We had an annual pass for about a decade, and my life and free time centered around Disneyland.<p>For years I went to DL&#x2F;DCA several times a week. But, gradually, it became a horrid thing. Disneyland, when I arrived in the early 2000s was a place where I could forget the stresses of the daily world. I worked so close to it (Cypress and Santa Ana), that I would sometimes take an extended lunch and ride one or two rides and then go back to work.<p>Psychologically, Disneyland was a place that allowed me to let go and enjoy myself.<p>Then, they started offering financing on their Annual Passes. I used to have to layout 1k for my families passes. But now, you could get them on an installment basis. The parks were always crowded, and even when they weren&#x27;t, the powers that be understaffed the park such that ride times were long. I had a friend who could barely afford food but had a $400 AP. She would often crash in our living room to go to the park.<p>What was once my refuge from reality became this horrid thing where we were waiting 60 mins for a 90-second ride. The last two years the (ex)wife and I had passes, we just, would stand in line, look at each other, and think, &quot;Why are we here? We could be at home, not standing in the sun, not paying $7 for a bottle of water.&quot; We weren&#x27;t enjoying ourselves, and it cost us about 1k&#x2F;yr for the passes and 
parking, plus incidental expenses in the park.<p>The company I used to work for was located a couple of miles from Dl, and when we had guests from other countries, I would take them to Disneyland. It was an amazing thing for the folks because I could give them a world-class tour of the park (being a regular), and we would all have a great time. But gradually, that became impossible.<p>I remember the exact day I gave up on Disneyland. We drove over there, and they were doing some construction, and detour, after the detour, we ended up at some nearly abandoned mall, which is only a little bit from my house, then we had to board a bus which drove us to the transportation hub. It took 75 mins to get into the park, and the whole time, I was literally one exit from my home. It took 75 mins for us to get to the front gate back to our car. Never again.<p>While my failures as a husband are my own fault, and my marriage was probably doomed from the beginning... In a real way, my marriage was based on Disneyland. It was something my wife and I bonded over and looked forward to and, was special to us. When we stopped going, the magic in our relationship died.<p>Someday I&#x27;ll go back, but not today, and not anytime soon. I live 100 miles from Disneyland now. If it were enjoyable again, I&#x27;d move back to Orange County. But it&#x27;s not. Disneyland is a broken dream, and their tilt towards Star Wars is a joke that is not funny. Disney must constantly reinvent itself, and the last decade has been a mistake.<p>I interviewed for Disney Research a year ago and, was amazed by the brilliant folks working there. Ultimately, Disney will prevail just because of the amazing folks who work there. I don&#x27;t know if I&#x27;m just an old fart wishing for his more formative years, or if things are really different.<p>Anyways, I love you Disneyland. I hope we can both get our act together. But you&#x27;ve broken my heart and I&#x27;m weary.