Maintenance, Epcot Drunks and other thoughts

[venny]

After recently returning from a 2 week trip to The World, I thought I’d share a few of my experiences, observations and thoughts. Apologies if this is all over the place, but I’ve tried to condense this into things that interested me before my trip and therefore it is points I would be interested to read (that’s not to say every point will interest everybody).

Let me also preface this with a few things. Our last trip to Disney was two years ago, I think this gives us a long enough period to draw reasonable comparisons, without being too long to forget details or have a rose-tinted view of things. I’d also say, that the below points are based on my experience of things at that particular time and place, they may be different to your experience, but they are my opinions and observations. You may disagree, but these are only either my observations or opinion.

So, onto the details;

Magic Kingdom

-This was the first time we’ve experienced Main Street tarp-free for quite a few trips and it was absolutely spectacular. The buildings all look immaculate and I really got the magic feeling every time I walked up and down.
-Splash Mountain has got be one of Disney’s best attractions, but I’ve heard of many features not working. Well, this time I saw them, in particular the hopping Brer Rabbit and the jumping fountains weren’t working, there was also some audio problems on the final lift hill. Hopefully the rehab in January will address these issues.
-SOFTMK just doesn’t do it for me, I much prefer the ‘real’ action of Agent P to the screens of Sorcerers.
-The burgers in Pecos Bills were the best I had on the trip and the toppings bar there is excellent.
-The new castle walls seem to have a more whimsical appearance to them, which puts me in mind of those at Disneyland Paris – in other words they look great and should perfectly frame the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride when finished.
-The exterior landscaping and themeing to New Fantasyland in absolutely fantastic and it’s great to see the plentiful use of waterfalls and rivers, which provides a good contrast to ‘Old’ Fantasyland.
-The animatronics and effects in Enchanted Tales are very magical, but this only serves to highlight the low tech use of cardboard cut-outs for the meet and greet. There’s something that just doesn’t feel quite right about this.
-I’m still trying to figure out how they get Lumiere’s arms to move like that!
-The Little Mermaid is a good ride, however I will echo what others have said over the lack of animation of some of the animatronics and scenes. The story also seems to abridge the Ursula finale and thus seems to end too quickly.
-Further to the above points, it seems that the exterior themeing outshines the attractions themselves, certainly on the Little Mermaid. It’s almost as though the frontage promises more than what the attractions deliver. I think this might be less obvious once the Mine Train is completed, as I’d imagine this will be the anchor of the new area and Little Mermaid and Enchanted Tales will be the supporting attractions.
-Has anyone noticed that green building peeking over the wall adjacent to the restrooms in Belle’s Village? Hopefully this is temporary, as it ruins a wonderfully themed area.
-Le Fou’s Brew didn’t blow me away, but I love the Gaston Statue, which is absolutely hilarious.
-The queue to the Little Mermaid is one of, if not the best in Disney World.
-Will the moving rocks on the lift hill of BTMR ever work again?

Epcot

-I’ve heard people talk about drunken behaviour in Epcot, but never really noticed it as a problem before, or at least until this trip. If you are going to Epcot during F&W and especially during the weekend (Saturday seems to be the worst), you will probably see at least some drunken people. We had one day at a weekend where they were everywhere, complete with ‘drink around the world’ type t-shirts and in quite large groups. They were loud and rowdy, however we didn’t see any totally unacceptable behaviour. It did however lend a different atmosphere than what we are used to experiencing at a Disney Park and we drink!
-I didn’t notice too much of the image problems that have been mentioned on Soarin’, whilst it wasn’t ‘prefect’, perhaps they have been fixed?
-The refurb of Test Track seemed to emphasise the problem that Epcot only really has two E tickets (I’m not counting Mission:Space, as I don’t consider it a great attraction). It also put a bit more expectation on attractions like Nemo, which for some reason didn’t seem to as good as I remember.
-Innoventions needs more attractions like Sum of All Thrills, instead of construction walls and adverts for Bosch.
-The beer flights at the F&W booths are a great way to sample some quite rare beers.
-The ‘preferred’ Illuminations viewing on the Morocco boat dock is not great, you’d be far better grabbing a space near Mexico or Norway. We did both locations and got a far better view from Norway about five minutes before show time.
-The frozen beer (it’s actually just the head that’s frozen) offered in Japan is not good, stick to the regular Kirin.
-Agent P is a fantastic attraction for all ages, if you haven’t tried it you’re missing out. It will also make you notice parts of the Pavilions you may never have seen before.
-Is it me or are the British Revolution not British (their accents certainly don’t sound it)?
-If you are looking for a cool and quiet time to stroll World Showcase, but aren’t too bothered about doing all the shops and kiosk, EMH was extremely quiet after the first hour. We got a beer from Germany and took a leisurely stroll around the lake. It was the most pleasant and least crowded time to do so.

Hollywood Studios

-Have the searchlights behind the hat been turned off permanently?
-Tower of Terror is still one of Disney’s best rides.
-The queues at TSM demonstrate that another family ride is needed at the park. At the moment, I count four other rides at the park (six if you include Muppets and Backlot Tour). Cars Land is perhaps the solution to this, but it would be shame to lose LMA if it is built there.
-Is the lighting around the Earful Tower new?
-Reinstating more Fantasmic shows was the right thing to do, it’s still popular and it distributes crowds better.
-Indiana Jones is still a good show, but did they get rid of the guy being hit by the plane propeller at the end?
-The Great Movie Ride needs a major update. A lot of people say Alien should be one of the scenes to leave, but I actually really enjoy this segment, it just needs a bit of an upgrade. It’s difficult to say whether one or several scenes should be removed as I realise that there are several genres trying to be represented, I think the best thing to do would just be to upgrade what is there to include some new technology and add a little excitement. At the moment, the scenes are too static and unengaging.

Animal Kingdom

-This has been talked about for years, but the Yeti needs to be fixed. To have the parks’ signature ride based around a character that is permanently broken is not acceptable. The entire ride builds to the pay off at the end, which is now essentially a massive anticlimax of a flashing yeti doll. Yes, the ride will have to be shut for an extended period, but someone needs to bite the bullet with this.
-Festival of the Lion King is one of the most toe-tapping, engrossing and spectacular shows in Disney. I sincerely hope that the rumours of its permanent removal, rather than relocation for Avatar are false. Animal Kingdom needs more attractions, not less.
-Am I the only one who doesn’t ‘get’ Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade?


General Resort

-There has been a noticeable decline in restroom cleanliness since our last visit. This was a consensus between our entire party and I cannot count how many time I personally experienced empty hand towel dispensers, empty soap dispensers and full trash cans.
-Similarly this seemed to be true of the condiment bars, which regularly ran out of napkins and straws. I’m not sure if this is an issue with lack of resource or poor management. It is only anecdotal, but there always seemed to be plenty of staff around to complete these duties, they just didn’t seem to be doing so for whatever reason.
-Maintenance in other areas was mixed, there are some areas which were absolutely pristine, but others not so much. The example I will use is Saratoga Springs, where the lights recessed in the floor to uplight the stone columns around the resort were not working in various locations and in some cases completely grown over by surrounding foliage. It’s a real shame that the time and money has been spent in installing these, but they are not utilised properly – the lighting looks great when it does work. There also seems to be a complete neglect of the bird houses around the resort which had peeling paint and/or rot in several locations. The kitchen units in our Villa had peeling paint next to several handles.
-The bus service at Saratoga, which I have heard people complain about, but never personally had an issue with in the past 4 weeks worth of stay, had noticeably declined. We had several instances of 40 minute waits, same location buses arriving one after another and even half empty buses drive past stops. I appreciate you are always going to have a few bits of bad luck with buses, but our experience indicated something more systemically wrong.
-There’s a lot of good reviews for the food at Artist Palette, but most of our experiences here have not concurred with this.
-Apart from the above, I have to say that in our opinion Saratoga is one of, if not the most, nicely landscaped resorts and the addition of the Paddock Feature Pool means the amenities are also among Disney’s best (3 pool bars, 2 full-size pool slides, 3 water play areas, 2 counter services et cetera).
-The doorman/greeter at Saratoga was also new since our last visit, and a great addition. It lends a personal and high class touch to the lobby.
-Our experience with staff was similar to the maintenance – mixed. There were plenty of excellent CMs and this is what you expect of Disney. There were however also a higher number of mediocre encounters from our last trips and some which were unpleasant. One such experience was on entering Atlantic Dance. The CM requested our ID, which we gladly provided (UK Driving Licence). Not wanting to carry a passport around Disney for obvious reasons we had previously checked with Guest Services what forms of ID were acceptable and were told that a UK Driving Licence was acceptable, indeed we were even shown a picture of this in the Disney Handbook. On presenting said ID we were informed that only a state-issued, military ID or passport were permissible and the driving licence was not acceptable. We explained that we had checked at Guest Services and were told differently and that we had also been admitted to Atlantic Dance with these IDs in three previous years, as well as having the ID accepted everywhere else in Disney. Before we had even finished explaining this the CM had requested ‘assistance’ via radio. Realising that she was neither looking at or listening to us, we tried to explain again, as she repeatedly and quite alarmingly repeated her requests for assistance. Considering that our group consisted of a 50 year old 5ft tall woman, a 62 year old man, myself and my partner (26 & 27 respectively), we were being treated as though we were going to start a fight, whilst also being ignored by the person calling urgently for assistance. After realising that we were being totally ignored and treated as though we were ‘trouble makers’ we decided to leave as three very burly gentleman came through the front door of the establishment to ‘assist’. Suffice to say, we felt quite annoyed and rattled by the experience.
-The Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic was the highlight of the vacation. We arrived early to find small queues, which grew into massive queues by 6:30pm, at which point we were doubting whether the event was worth it. However, these subsided later in the night and the music, location, food, drink and atmosphere was fantastic. It was a step up from the food served at Epcot F&W, definitely more refined and very enjoyable. My only two comments would be that the food lines could have been slightly better managed and there could have been one or two more options for non-wine lovers. This event is clearly successful and rightly so. Maybe next year it could be extended to better deal with its popularity.
-Standing outside listening to live music with a drink and a great atmosphere reminded me of Pleasure Island and demonstrates there is clearly still a market for this type of adult entertainment in Disney. Pleasure Island as it stands now is a disgrace – I think cancelling Hyperion Wharf was a bold move, hopefully in favour of a more adult orientated solution. But please, get on with it.
-The homogenisation of merchandise seems to have gotten worse since our last visit to the point where we stopped bothering to look in shops, as we knew what was there, because it’s also everywhere else. Clearly someone has crunched the numbers to say this is the most profitable way of doing things, but judging only by my experience, we are buying less, because there are less items to buy. It also makes for a less enjoyable experience in general, because it removes the shopping element of a park’s ‘to do’ things. I’d also like to say one thing to Disney, I paid for and took a vacation in Walt Disney World and not Disney Parks, I do therefore not want to buy a pen, hat, t-shirt, bag or anything else that is emblazoned with the logo ‘Disney Parks’. I am obviously in the minority, otherwise they would stop selling this stuff.
-The price of food, drink and merchandise in general is getting to the point where I’m reconsidering my buying options. On a visit to Port Orleans we got a cocktail with a questionable amount of alcohol in, with a $3 glass and a beer, total cost $21 + tip. I’m prepared for inflated prices, because I appreciate where I am and I pay similarly inflated prices at other similar attractions. However, there are some cases now where I feel I am being gauged and when it gets to this stage, it effects the enjoyment of my vacation and therefore makes me question when or whether I will return.
-If the profits from high priced were being ploughed back into improvements and new attractions, I could more easily swallow it, however there are three of the four parks which needs major new rides. The Magic Kingdom is going to be fantastic when New Fantasyland is complete, but Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all need major new attractions. If you speak to most people with the industry they will tell you that the golden rule is reinvestment. At present, there is not a lot going on in ¾ of the Disney Parks (I know Avatar is in the works). When I’m pulling into Epcot on the Disney Bus and being told that I ‘don’t want to miss Epcot’s newest attactions’, the 6 and 7 year old Nemo and Soarin’, it perfectly demonstrates my point. If it is true that there won’t be any major domestic theme park investment for the next few years (barring Avatar), Disney are resting on their laurels more than usual and may bear the brunt of Universal’s aggressive and commendable investment programme.
-The food at Captain's Grill was the best and most refined meal we had all two weeks, a definite recommendation and it was surprisingly quiet.
-The Wave Lounge is a great place for a drink and the Wave restaurant is a bad place for a meal.


Well, apologies for my ramblings, but just thought I’d get it out there. No doubt, not everyone will agree with me, but I’d like to hear your opinions.

 

[kkbookmom]

Thanks for posting your review and experiences.

Just as an FYI - I too am not one for the same souvenirs in all locations. I don't particularly care for the Disney Parks theme, as I'd rather buy something specific to the park itself or to the resort itself. To me at least half the fun of shopping at WDW is seeing what each store has and deciding from there.

Take care!

 

[parkhopping]

-The homogenisation of merchandise seems to have gotten worse since our last visit to the point where we stopped bothering to look in shops, as we knew what was there, because it’s also everywhere else. Clearly someone has crunched the numbers to say this is the most profitable way of doing things, but judging only by my experience, we are buying less, because there are less items to buy. It also makes for a less enjoyable experience in general, because it removes the shopping element of a park’s ‘to do’ things. I’d also like to say one thing to Disney, I paid for and took a vacation in Walt Disney World and not Disney Parks, I do therefore not want to buy a pen, hat, t-shirt, bag or anything else that is emblazoned with the logo ‘Disney Parks’. I am obviously in the minority, otherwise they would stop selling this stuff.
-The price of food, drink and merchandise in general is getting to the point where I’m reconsidering my buying options. On a visit to Port Orleans we got a cocktail with a questionable amount of alcohol in, with a $3 glass and a beer, total cost $21 + tip. I’m prepared for inflated prices, because I appreciate where I am and I pay similarly inflated prices at other similar attractions. However, there are some cases now where I feel I am being gauged and when it gets to this stage, it effects the enjoyment of my vacation and therefore makes me question when or whether I will return.
-If the profits from high priced were being ploughed back into improvements and new attractions, I could more easily swallow it, however there are three of the four parks which needs major new rides. The Magic Kingdom is going to be fantastic when New Fantasyland is complete, but Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all need major new attractions. If you speak to most people with the industry they will tell you that the golden rule is reinvestment. At present, there is not a lot going on in ¾ of the Disney Parks (I know Avatar is in the works). When I’m pulling into Epcot on the Disney Bus and being told that I ‘don’t want to miss Epcot’s newest attactions’, the 6 and 7 year old Nemo and Soarin’, it perfectly demonstrates my point. If it is true that there won’t be any major domestic theme park investment for the next few years (barring Avatar), Disney are resting on their laurels more than usual and may bear the brunt of Universal’s aggressive and commendable investment programme.

Thanks for sharing your observations. I am in wholehearted agreement with these two points, especially. I have been very glad to see the tshirts and other merchandise created for Epcot celebrating its 30th anniversary, and I wish there were more park-specific items like this. I also agree that it would be nice if they would diversify the items available in each shopping location. Though I rarely buy anything, it is fun to browse - but I'm less likely to do that when I know the items available are the same as those in the shop on the other side of the park (or even in DTD/other parks). And the less I browse, the less likely I am to be convinced I really need something

I also feel there is a disconnect between higher prices and quality/amount of new attractions. Right now I'm not seeing much of the result of my $$$ and that makes it even harder for me to swallow buying overpriced food. Certainly you expect things to be more expensive at a place like Disney - that just comes with the territory - but when you aren't seeing that money being put to good use, you wonder why you're spending so much. That doesn't necessarily mean Disney isn't working to re-invest its profits, but they aren't doing it in a way that is easily visible to the guest. That's a problem. Hopefully the suits are starting to wake up and realize that their competition is gaining on them. I know many people have decided to cut their WDW vacations short to spend a day at Harry Potter World.

And FYI, rumor has it (from reputable sources) that Avatarland has been put on indefinite hold. Personally I'm not shedding any tears over this - I think it would not be a good fit for Disney - but the other 3 parks are in desperate need of attention. They need to come up with something else, and fast.

 

[GovieMom]

Thank you for such a wonderfully detailed report! I appreciate your observations, and agree with them all. I've also noticed a decline in such things as restroom cleanliness and how food stations are kept up. My biggest disappointment though has to be with the paring down of food selections and quality in TS restaurants; sad but true. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Captains Grille, as we'll by trying it for the first time in a few days. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

 

[PSUGuy]

Just back on Thurs., 10/18 from a 7 day stay, 2 observations:

The left side concourse in Soarin' was noticeably more 'scratchy' than the right IMO.

Also, IMO, the British Revolution differs from the BI in that they don't pertend to 'be' the acts whose music they play thus no faux accents, and, again, IMO, they're better all around musicians. I thought I'd miss the originals after more than 10 years of visits and I never did catch all of the BI's sets in one day as I intended, but I like the change.

Bill From PA

 

[PSUGuy]

Just back on Thurs., 10/18 from a 7 day stay, 2 observations:

The left side concourse in Soarin' was noticeably more 'scratchy' than the right IMO.

Also, IMO, the British Revolution differs from the BI in that they don't pertend to 'be' the acts whose music they play thus no faux accents, and, again, IMO, they're better all around musicians. I thought I'd miss the originals after more than 10 years of visits and I never did catch all of the BI's sets in one day as I intended, but I like the change.

Bill From PA

 

[Cyrano]

Just moving to trip report board

 

[TeresaNJ]

Enjoyed your review very much! I agree wholeheartedly regarding the overall cleanliness and upkeep seeming to be lacking, as well as the lack of specifically themed merchandise. I'll be eating at Captain's Grille this upcoming trip. Glad to hear you liked it!

 

[Geordietyke]

Very detailed report, thanks!

Re. British driving licences for ID purposes. Did you have any problems showing these for any of the F&WF booths or around within Disney? We are both 40 but I know the are very strict in the US about ID so will my card driving licence suffice? Cheers

 

[venny]

Very detailed report, thanks!

Re. British driving licences for ID purposes. Did you have any problems showing these for any of the F&WF booths or around within Disney? We are both 40 but I know the are very strict in the US about ID so will my card driving licence suffice? Cheers

To be honest we were asked for ID a lot less than previous years and only at a few F&W booths, they accepted our UK Driving Licence in every case (except the one occasion at Atlantic Dance). In every previous visit, we have never had a licence declined as ID either, so you should be okay as long as you don't get the same CM we did on the Boardwalk. We must be getting older, or at least looking it!

The left side concourse in Soarin' was noticeably more 'scratchy' than the right IMO.

Also, IMO, the British Revolution differs from the BI in that they don't pertend to 'be' the acts whose music they play thus no faux accents, and, again, IMO, they're better all around musicians. I thought I'd miss the originals after more than 10 years of visits and I never did catch all of the BI's sets in one day as I intended, but I like the change.

This was the first time we have ever made a point of watching the music in the UK and I have to say they were excellent, I had just always assumed they were actually British for some reason. Not really a problem where they come from, especially when they play so well.

 

[Dan Murphy]

What a great review, Venny. Should help others in their planning.

 

[Princess-ish]

-...The Magic Kingdom is going to be fantastic when New Fantasyland is complete, but Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all need major new attractions. If you speak to most people with the industry they will tell you that the golden rule is reinvestment. At present, there is not a lot going on in ¾ of the Disney Parks (I know Avatar is in the works)

Highly unlikely we'll see an Avatar project come to light. Latest rumors and insider remarks have it "off" the drawing board, perhaps just for now, but most likely for good.

With that being said... I completely agree the parks need a breath of fresh air. I'm anxiously awaiting DHS's new entertainment and potential attractions/expansion. Hopefully the TT refurb will give Epcot a push in the right direction as well.

Thanks for your report! I'm contemplating a trip around the same time (with a goal of the F&W Classic)... and your report was extremely helpful. I'm a tad bit nervous of the potential "drunks" at Epcot (yours was not the first I've seen to mention this) but hopefully we'll time it right with everyone's advice!

Thanks again