Why Disney World may be losing some of its magic

There are two kinds of people: those who absolutely love Disney without question, and those who don’t. When it comes to visiting a Disney theme park, especially in Orlando, it can be an expensive trip that breaks your bank.

This isn’t a surprise to anyone. Disney prices have soared since the COVID-19 pandemic ended. In the first week of June, 2026, a one-day pass to Magic Kingdom was listed at the gate for $189.00.

While Magic Kingdom is the most expensive park, the others are not too far behind. For the purpose of this piece, we are going to focus on EPCOT, and the value that has practically disappeared.

There are four festivals at the park throughout the year. The Food and Wine Festival, the Garden Festival, the Festival of the Arts, and the Festival of the Holidays.

When a festival is going on, EPCOT is a fun place to be, but there is a stark difference between those dates and the ones that don’t include anything extra.

We managed to catch the end of the Garden Festival this year. My kids were thrilled to make it to the final day and were looking forward to the food sampling throughout the park, but when we finally arrived, we were once again met with pretty much the exact same menu as a year ago.

This has become a problem over the years, as the menus change little, but the real disappointment is that, without the festivals, EPCOT offers little more than an expensive shopping trip.

Let’s get one thing right: Guardians of the Galaxy is the best ride of any Disney park, period. Debate with yourself if you don’t agree. It’s the one ride I have no problem waiting more than an hour for, but it ends there, at least for us.

SOARIN has become stagnant, even with the “Around America” change for the 250th celebration. Let’s just say SOARIN didn’t soar with the new ideation.

The park was so different when we went back following the Monday night finale of the Garden Festival. Empty and closed kiosks stood abandoned. The next festival won’t come until late August, when the Food and Wine Festival begins.

The F&WF used to run throughout the summer, starting shortly after the Garden Fest ended, but now it starts in late August, and for many Disney-goers, the draw of visiting the park in 100-degree weather doesn’t offer much of a benefit.

For all the construction Disney put into EPCOT, it falls flat. The stage where they have an Encanto show is usually bare, the lights are rarely on, and it has become quite boring after repeat visits and no festivals.

Of all the parks at Disney, EPCOT should have a festival of some kind running almost all year long with American Pavilion stage concerts weekly, if not daily. The gap between the Garden and F&W is far too long, making summer an almost needless trip.