Lighting maintenance-a sign of the times?

[mariepapa]

We noticed a similar issue at the Spectro Magic Parade last week. Lots of bulbs on the floats were not lit and one float was completely un-lit.

That would be completely unacceptable. The whole point of the parade is to have light up floats!

 

[Telcogirl]

Sorry but I"m going to say this is way too picky. So a few light bulbs were out. It's not the end of the world and no one's vacation is totally ruined by it. If it weren't the holiday time, no one would have cared.

If it weren't the holiday time, then no one would be discussing burnt out holiday lighting.

 

[SuperTink]

They certainly do "set the bar high." They also set the *price* high, so IMO they need to get their act together. Simple.

Is it a big deal? Not for me. But excuses don't work for me, either.

 

[Ted C]

There are WAY too many bulbs out at the Grand Flo. I just sent Norm (the GM of both the Poly and Grand Flo) a link to this thread. It doesn't look good. Strangely Norm is known for his acute level of detail. My bet is at least the Grand Flo bulbs will be fixed very soon. While not a show stopper, this does set a precedence Disney is not known for and people do notice these things (including myself several weeks ago). The CM's notice too and it discourages them. Left not to be resolved it's amazing what a lot of burned out light bulbs system wide may do to both the guests and the CM's attitudes. A very special place can become a very normal place with a few missed steps... The only problem in raising the bar is you have to keep it there.

Did you know that the veteran CM's were trained to pick up trash at the parks even when visiting as a guest? It wasn't a, "You're going to get fired if you don't deal", it was a respect for maintaining the standard, being the best.

 

[ajcolorado]

The Disney parks do such a great job of capturing our affection - as well as our dollars. The first timer is probably just amazed by everything. But I'm in the parks once or twice a year and I think there is a tendency to appraise things differently. It's a little like visiting that dear older person you love - they're still wonderful but you're on the alert for signs that they might not be managing as well as they did before. It's not a critical eye - it's motivated by a hope that everything is going okay. The economy is front and center in the news these days, those of us who love the parks read the reports of quarterly losses, SeaWorld is being sold, etc. And it is natural to get to your beloved WDW and take a look around to see how things are going. It may be that there are always some lights out and you just happen to notice them this time, because you're looking at things differently. There may be budget issues, "Let's see if we can get this to last through another season" - that happens at my house, it probably happens at Mickey's house too.

Some of us love Disney the way we loved our teddy bear, even after the fur was all gone and an eye was missing. We'll fiercely defend Disney even if they start setting random guests on fire. Others are simply consumers - they'll to buy the product as long as it performs to a certain level. Most folks on these boards fall some where in the middle. We'll just ignore the Disney haters - those who didn't want to go to the parks in the first place and spend the whole trip looking for evidence to support their negative perception of the Disney "evil empire".

The person who began this thread wasn't - in my opinion - angry or confrontational. It seemed like a legitimate, "This is what I noticed - what are you seeing?" query. The tone of some of the responses seemed a bit over the top. I think Uncle Walt would want those of us who love WDW to apply some of that "faith and trust and pixie dust" we acquired in the park to our fellow posters.

 

[Ted C]

Complacency is the root of all evil and it will kill from within, especially when you are at the top. The day they actually let their CM"s know it's ok to be second best will be the day the Disney we know will be no more. There is a reason SeaWorld is being sold. Their employees don't care. I was treated terribly last time we went, completely differently than Disney.

The last thing you want to do is quit being your best when times are rough.

I agree the thread is very valid.

 

[Ted C]

As expected, Norm is very aware of the issue and is all over it. He is a VERY sharp man, with great attention to detail, and who holds himself and others accountable. They are in the midst of choosing a newer and more consistent lighting technology for the roof lights as we speak. All will be back to normal very soon at least at the Grand.

 

[WDSearcher]

That would be completely unacceptable. The whole point of the parade is to have light up floats!

Yes ... but having actually worked on Spectro, I can say that there are times when a float is working perfectly backstage, and then it hits something, or something disengages, or there's some electrical or battery malfunction mid-parade and >poof!< -- no lights.

No Spectro parade float is ever sent out with no lights. But once it's out of the gate, there's nothing we can do about a malfunction or problem with the lights until it gets through the parade. It's not like we can pull it out mid-parade, fix it, and then work it back in, KWIM?

 

[dioxide45]

Yes ... but having actually worked on Spectro, I can say that there are times when a float is working perfectly backstage, and then it hits something, or something disengages, or there's some electrical or battery malfunction mid-parade and >poof!< -- no lights.

No Spectro parade float is ever sent out with no lights. But once it's out of the gate, there's nothing we can do about a malfunction or problem with the lights until it gets through the parade. It's not like we can pull it out mid-parade, fix it, and then work it back in, KWIM?

The parade was delayed for 20 minutes, perhaps that was why. We were standing at the begining of the route, so the float went out early in the parade.

 

[WDSearcher]

The parade was delayed for 20 minutes, perhaps that was why. We were standing at the begining of the route, so the float went out early in the parade.

The floats have to travel a bit of distance between the parade area and the actual beginning of the parade. Unfortunately, there's a lot of opportunity for stuff to go wrong in transit. I'm surprised we don't have float black-outs happen more often!

 

[rlmas]

As expected, Norm is very aware of the issue and is all over it. He is a VERY sharp man, with great attention to detail, and who holds himself and others accountable. They are in the midst of choosing a newer and more consistent lighting technology for the roof lights as we speak. All will be back to normal very soon at least at the Grand.

We just returned and i stumbled upon this old thread when looking about for something on this issue. Relative to the above quote, the Grand Flo lights are still in shambles. Nothing has changed in two years. Entire sections of the tower and roof ridges were out in addition to many, many bulbs. I do think they are looking into LED, etc. Many of the boats have them now and I have heard and seen the new LED popcorn lights on the tea party ride. It just looks like they are letting the old go while the new is being developed. Bad show in my opinion. Having said this, a lot of maintenance was going on all over the place. My only gripe about is is the same as the lights, they let it go too far and then do a large scale renovation. I wish they would do smaller spruce-ups more often. Thunder Mountain and Dumbo are two great examples. They really looked tired and trashy. The trashy is an easy fix. Both went down for rehab a few days later, but the issues were at least months old. I still really enjoy the place as there is no other like it. 99% of things were perfect and that's an "A" in my book.

 

[captinhookedondisney]

ScottOKW2K you make a great point about not havin genies and lifts on a resort! Never thought of that!

I stayed at the BWV and I tried to count the very few burnt out bulbs it was somewhere around 10-15 I was super impressed!

 

[rlmas]

I too agree with the point about cranes, etc. I also think things could be better. I just looked at one of my photos from our recent trip of the main street train station from outside the park and I counted 21 lights out on that side of that building alone during Christmas - New Years week when you would expect them to be at their best.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't expect other operators to be as proficient and meticulous as Disney.

The Boardwalk area has lots of lights incorporated into the building facades and signage. All part of the design scheme.

I've seen far too many of those bulbs burned-out during some of our visits, too.

And, those are supposed to be operational every day.

It's not just lights and ugly tarps...it's soooo much more. I don't believe, it's a sign of the times, but more of a trend. Look at what ABCD has done to Soaps/Daytime TV. They handled that one VERY badly. iMO

Complacency is the root of all evil and it will kill from within, especially when you are at the top. The day they actually let their CM"s know it's ok to be second best will be the day the Disney we know will be no more. There is a reason SeaWorld is being sold. Their employees don't care. I was treated terribly last time we went, completely differently than Disney.

The last thing you want to do is quit being your best when times are rough.

I agree the thread is very valid.

I agree 10000%!!! I am amazed, how many find, the "changes" at Disney acceptable. This hasn't happened overnight, more of a "chip away"... You don't stay #1, when you're happy being "okay". Disney needs to shape up, they can't ride their own coattails forever. What's going to happen, when they stop "free dinig" and they've p/o'd their "reliable regulars"?