This past Christmas I had the delight of traveling to Disney. I hadn’t been there in nearly 10 years, so I went into the trip with high expectations and the hope of being hit with some nostalgia. After spending a week there, my expectations were not met on any level, and I left disappointed and abject for the future of this unpleasant place.

Millions of people travel to Disney World every year. All of the characters, theme-rides and shows attract children from around the globe, but to their parent’s dismay, they are paying way too much for what it’s worth. To start off, the admission fee is nearly $100, and that is just for a child. In other words, visitors pay $30 more than theme parks in other parts of the country that are twice its size.

This disparityreveals asecond issue: the so-called “Magic Kingdom”lets in an astonishing52,000 people per day on their 142 acres of land. These numbers areoutrageous compared to Cedar Point’s 20,000 people to 364-acre ratio. It is almost impossible to see the ground at Disney, even on their least busy days. There are about 5 roller coasters located throughout the Magic Kingdom, compared to Cedar Point’s 17, which is not proportional in any world. As a result, some of the shortest wait-times for Disney stack up next to some of the longest waits at other parks. At the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train ride, the wait is nearly 3 hours for a terrible roller coaster that lasts 45 seconds.

Another concern with Disney is their FastPass system. FastPasses are a common item in most theme parks that allow you to skip lengthy lines for a mere extra fee. At most parks, you buy a fast pass and have access to any ride using it. At Disney, however, you have to pick an hour-long window for one specific ride, and can only go on it once.

The worst part about Disney is that all of these issues occur just within their most popular and arguably best park (The Magic Kingdom)!

Finally, a problem that doesn’t have to do so much with the actual theme parks is the area they are located in. Orlando is a depressing city that has been kept alive by tourist destinations that were only put there just because it is an easy place to get to. The city is practically a swamp, and there are still restaurant chains located there that everybody thought went out of business 30 years ago.

Despite all of these cons, there is one thing Disney is good at: making money. The ponchos, the FastPasses, the souvenirs and the food are all set up with money as the first goal in mind, and nothing else is considered. So please, don’t support this brand name that is taking advantage of their fame;your money would be better used in other areas.