Disneyland Needs Help

[corinne76]

Idk about you all, but when i go to DL, I'm just so darn stupid happy to be there that i don't even notice most of the bad stuff. In the queues, I'm looking at my children and how excited they are or at the decor. I dont see the dust or chipped paint even if it's there.

Maybe we were lucky, but our last trip, we only encountered really nice CMs. In fact, the CM at casey jr allowed us to ride again because my train loving 2 yr old cried when the ride was over. Another CM at a shop gave my kids a minnie mouse pin and a sulley toy because they helped him organize the magnets.

 

[Xenorye]

Don't get me wrong. I am not against strollers. I went to DLR for decades with two strollers, first for my twin daughters and then for my twin granddaughters. I'm just wondering if there would be any way to manage the strollers that would help both the parents and the other visitors. I don't have the answer.

What is in the water you (and your kid/s) drink?

 

[taniahappy]

I have NEVER in all my years (and I am also a weekly or more visitor) encountered a grumpy CM or bad customer service...
The day DL stops making AP "affordable" that is the day I stop going.

 

[SD33]

I'm can be a hyper critical, brutally honest kinda guy, but I still can't seem to find much fault in Disneyland. In fact, I think it generally just gets better as the years go on. The technology continues to improve which enhances the grand illusion. DCA is obviously better than ever. Some of the newer (last 10 years) shows are just fantastic (the original WOC and Remember...Dreams Come True especially). The food options are more plentiful and varied--even for people like my wife who have Celiac disease and need gluten free. I could go on and on. I hardly ever notice a grumpy cast member either, though I'm sure they all have their days.

Seems like we all have a tendency to romanticize the past. Perhaps no one does that more than us Disney fans. The warm glow of nostalgia is half of what we appreciate about Disney in the first place. But the reality is, Disney is always looking for ways to improve and most of the time they are nailing it.

Why is attendance through the roof even with all the price hikes? Cause it's still the happiest place on earth. There's nothing else like it. Not even close.

 

[TexasErin]

I'm here now. Having a great time.....but crowds are crazy....and parades do cause major bottlenecks....but the worst thing is how often rides are down. I absolutely do want them to stop a ride if it's unsafe, but BTMRR has been closed repeatedly the past few days. Golden Zephyr has been closed. And Space Mountain was closed earlier today. These are just some examples of closed rides that come to mind.

 

[disney144]

I'm here now. Having a great time.....but crowds are crazy....and parades do cause major bottlenecks....but the worst thing is how often rides are down. I absolutely do want them to stop a ride if it's unsafe, but BTMRR has been closed repeatedly the past few days. Golden Zephyr has been closed. And Space Mountain was closed earlier today. These are just some examples of closed rides that come to mind.

Closures like that do not mean the rides are closed. They mean the ride is just down. Usually it is only for an hour or two. Disney has very high safety requirements for all of its rides. Something as minor as people taking too long to load or unload can cause a ride like space mountain to break down. Evacuating guests and restarting the ride takes time, but they do re-open. Rides being closed here and there doesn't mean they are unsafe or that Disney is out for your time and money. It just means that cast members are following the very strict guidelines put in place for your safety

 

[SMD]

Closures like that do not mean the rides are closed. They mean the ride is just down. Usually it is only for an hour or two. Disney has very high safety requirements for all of its rides. Something as minor as people taking too long to load or unload can cause a ride like space mountain to break down. Evacuating guests and restarting the ride takes time, but they do re-open. Rides being closed here and there doesn't mean they are unsafe or that Disney is out for your time and money. It just means that cast members are following the very strict guidelines put in place for your safety

Or items dropped on the track by guests.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

But now I know your full name and when you are going to be GONE from your home for your vacation. If I were a creeper and a thief, this would be terrific info.

Say what you want to say because your name and face are there (I also know what you look like!), but don't put personal information in the same place.

I considered what you're saying before I made the choice to use my real name, etc., when I signed up, but I only announce (in the tag and in threads) that I'm going away when I know that we'll have people staying at our home. (Otherwise, I just talk about an upcoming vacation in general or talk about it after we're back.)

As for knowing what I look like, I'm in a profession in which my name/picture is out there in a lot of places on the Internet (I'm an author and I speak at conferences, etc.), so having my face/name attached to each other online here is no different to me than it is on Facebook (where I have a lot of "friends" I've never met IRL), Twitter, etc.

I'm certainly not saying everyone would want to make this choice. I was just pointing out that people who use their real names on these forums might do so understanding the risks but doing it as a conscious choice. (This is why I don't post pics of my kids on this forum and why when I do so on Facebook, I do so with a filter so that people I don't know well don't see those specific posts.)

 

[disneydadazut2]

Yeah, actually it would be best if Disneyland was made to be solely for rich adult's with no children. That makes the most sense for me. Than nobody would have to deal with the poor riffraff (who are so rude and selfish), or snotty nosed, ice cream covered screaming kids in strollers. Then you could take leisure walks down the main street, surrounded by other rich couples in fascinators. Lets just price it right out the realm of reality so that only, say, a few hundred very wealthy patrons can enjoy the park each day…

This made my day. Now you are speaking my language

Let me give you a scenario. Let's assume you go to Disneyland once every two years for $5000. However, Disney called you and proposed the following: "we would like to offer you a 50% full park, but the rate for your trip is now $6500. Also, you can't come back for 3 years. After that three year period, you would be able to revert back to $5000/2year plan." Would you consider this offer?

I would.

 

[bumbershoot]

I only announce (in the tag and in threads) that I'm going away when I know that we'll have people staying at our home.

For your houseguests' sake I hope you publicize that there will be someone home. Would hate for them to become victims of a home invasion when the bad guys thought it was empty.

(we're condo dwellers with a doubly secure building and a few months ago the building got broken into, and now I'm scared...and we're looking for a house and that's so scary, just feels so "out there" and in peril...and if I were housesitting for someone who was telling people when they would be away, well, actually, I wouldn't housesit for them. too scary!)

 

[SMD]

This made my day. Now you are speaking my language

Let me give you a scenario. Let's assume you go to Disneyland once every two years for $5000. However, Disney called you and proposed the following: "we would like to offer you a 50% full park, but the rate for your trip is now $6500. Also, you can't come back for 3 years. After that three year period, you would be able to revert back to $5000/2year plan." Would you consider this offer?

I would.

For a half full park shouldn't you pay twice as much, or $10,000 in your example? Why should they clear out half the park for only 30% more money?

 

[sheetz]

Hey, maybe a few DISers can get together and rent the whole park for a few hours! Anyone know the going rates?

 

[peterpanandwendy]

Lol, while I don't like the ethics of Disneyland telling me when I can and can't use the park (I guess AP's have that all the time)… yes. Yes I would go for it

But SMD makes a valid point, why would they clear out 50% of the park for only a 30% increase in profit? I'm not going to spend more money IN the park, because I already spent all my extra savings on my $6500 entry… so now instead of Blue Bayou and Goofy's Kitchen I'm eating at Award Wieners and packing my own water… not exactly profitable to Disney if they are clearing out 50% of the crowd for me…

And the following year I won't be able to go because I'll be on my 3 year no-entry… which means they will miss out on another $5000 from me that year, plus the extras I would have spent in the park….

Despite the fact that I'm Canadian… I still understand capitalism And I do understand that first and foremost Disneyland is a business…

 

[rizzle64]

It is our park. Disneyland needs us, just like we need it. Disneyland is and always will be a locals park. Just because you are visiting from out of town or out state does not give you more of a right to our park. You are not entitled to a day free of APs just because you forked over $100 for a day ticket. At the end of the day, Disneyland is still ours, and we are still theirs.

This post is dripping with self-righteous hypocrisy. You are undermining your own point with by stating it’s a local’s park, that it is your park. Your park? You're local and you pay for an AP every year, how does that make it your park? You are actually implying that it gives you more of a right to be there than those that are not local. I'm not local and I pay for tickets every year, it’s not your park, it’s not my park, it’s everyone’s park, no matter where you live.


From Walt’s own lips… “To ALL who come to this happy place, Welcome. Disneyland is your land.”


Walt created a park that all of us have come to love and enjoy and found wonderful magic in. It’s everyone’s park to enjoy. We’ve all made it a part of our lives, don’t imply that it's anymore your park than it is mine or anyone else's.


Good for you, you live close DL, it’s not your park.

 

[TexasErin]

Closures like that do not mean the rides are closed. They mean the ride is just down. Usually it is only for an hour or two. Disney has very high safety requirements for all of its rides. Something as minor as people taking too long to load or unload can cause a ride like space mountain to break down. Evacuating guests and restarting the ride takes time, but they do re-open. Rides being closed here and there doesn't mean they are unsafe or that Disney is out for your time and money. It just means that cast members are following the very strict guidelines put in place for your safety

Yes, I know all of that already- thanks.

And I NEVER said anything about them being out for my time or money.

 

[pindecisive]

I wanted to add something that I didn't see addressed.

Yes, DL could change the crowds. Easily. They could have a low max limit of people welcomed into the park. With that limit would probably come higher ticket costs and higher food prices.

The crowds mean lots of people of different economic backgrounds can come and enjoy the "magic." It means ticket prices stay on the lower end and food isn't beyond pricy.

I don't like the crowds much either, but - I do like the ability for many different people to have a great experience, and not have the Disney experience be simply for the rich, or those chosen at random from a lottery system.

 

[lovebug33]

I believe it's all attitude. I went to WDW on Easter break a few years back. I wrote what a lovely time we had and we didn't find it terribly crowded. Somebody else posted how rude people were and how crowded it was and it was the worst time ever. They were there the same time as us. My hubs and I teach. We have to do everything we do during crowded times. We know that going in and we are just like okay, whatever. We have a positive attitude and when bad things happen, we let it roll. I refuse to spend 2000 dollars on a vacation to let everything make me mad. I insist on happiness!

 

[LizzyS]

Mr. Disney said that the hope was that Disneyland would be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. The park belongs to everyone. We all should be able to enjoy it on the same level, regardless of what we paid to get in or how far we traveled.

I like this line of thought.

I think the negativity towards APs is in part jealousy (no, I am not one, for the record) and also the thought that the crowds are so bad because of APs visiting so frequently. That's just my two cents. I wholeheartedly agree that proximity to the parks nor frequency of visits makes it any more yours than anyone else's.

 

[LizzyS]

That is a very simplistic explanation which does not take into account any number of factors; however, there is a definite point to your argument--our society has elevated sports to a level that makes it possible to charge what they do. However, I see the same thing with sports as with Disney. It simply isn't going to be in the realm of possibility for many if the prices keep increasing the way they have. It's economics, certainly. It's just that Disney at one time was not primarily about profit. Some quotes from Walt:
"When we opened Disneyland, a lot of people got the impressions that it was a get-rich-quick thing, but they didn't realize that behind Disneyland was this great organization that I built here at the Studio, and they all got into it and we were doing it because we loved to do it."

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."

Rich people certainly have their pet projects that they love and for Walt, Disneyland and the future Walt Disney World fell into that category. Walt's been gone since 1966, though, and Disney is and always was a business, not a charity. It has that magical quality, for sure, but it has grown into a huge corporation. Is Disney more expensive than other theme parks? Yes, but in my opinion, they offer SO much more than other theme parks that charge less. It's worth every penny to me when I go to visit. I also shell out for Denver Broncos tickets, airfare, and hotel stays to see my favorite team play, too. I choose what's important to me and invest in those experiences.

 

[DharmaLou]

I think what it comes down to is that it is what you make it. Sure, we have had one recent trip where it was ridiculously crowded and we waited in long lines and didn't get to do as much as we would have liked - but we still spend the day at Disneyland! I would rather be stuck in a line at Disneyland than stuck in rush hour traffic trying to get home from work.

If you go in with that line of thinking, you'll manage to have a good time. If you let yourself get irritated by things out of your control, it will be impossible to enjoy yourself.