a four day trip report.. some grievances.. is Disney losing its Magic?

[ggarriso]

Just back from a quick 4 day-er at Disney World. I went with my friend and we had a pretty good time.. A few notes from our trip are a little disturbing..

First -- Disney seems to be skimming us on the AC.. especially in the Magic Kingdom.. Going into Pirates used to be so refreshing, now it just appears that Eisner is sacrificing our comfort for his bottom line.. Sad sad..

Next -- is it just us or are they not hiding refurbs much anymore and they seem to be more rampant.. It felt like a good portion of the parks were under rehab. Instead of erecting a wood wall, they just threw plants infront of things.. pretty cheap.. One of the more offensive instances was the robot in the starlight cafe.. it appears they are now too cheap to run him?? so they just threw plants infront of him.

Next -- the cast members.. there was ALOT of horsing around and out of character instances.. we saw a girl from Germany eating subway, and at one point at the starlight cafe, we saw 5 cast members pile into a janitor closet and start horsing around.. not good..

Next -- why are they trying to force me to take pictures on the way into the park?? I expect that from Six Flags not Disney.

Next -- we were specifically told that the Pop century food court closed at midnight.. well I go down at 1130 and all of it is closed but the pizza place.. I didnt want pizza!!!. Closing 5 minutes early is one thing.. 30 is another..

Next -- whats the deal with Fastpass on rides that dont need it.. they turn a 10 minute wait for anyone into 10 for fastpass users and 40 for anyone else.. Fastpass on living with the land?? give me a break! Im starting to go back to my old position that fastpass blows you know what..

Also the crowds were pretty hectic !! I was surprised by how crowded it was..

Also what was all the hype on Mission Space motion sickness. You all had me scared sick, as I get motion sick EASY.. but i had no problem.. however there was one lady on the way out that was completely blown up, laying down in the fetile position with a towel over her head..

also what the heck is saratoga springs?

anyway all questions and comments are welcome.. !

 

[LYNSUE]

Sorry you were disappointed with a few things at WDW. Please tell me... during this trip were there any positive experiences that might have made those other things more tolerable? I would love to hear about any magical momments as well.

 

[maximom]

While we did have a few "magical moments" they were few and far between. Since this was our first trip I guess I was expecting to be blown away.

A few of my issues were:

DisneyQuest:
I couldn't believe how many attractions were "broken" or "out of order". DQ was included on my ticket or I would have probably pitched a fit.

Epcot:
Probably the most BORING park I've ever been to. We walked around the world to get DH a beer and pretzel, DS17 an itailian gillato (sp?), DS 5 wanted a cookie from anywhere and I wanted a Beaver Tail. When we finally get to Canada the Beaver Tail place was closed and wouldn't open til 4:00. It was 1:00 and we were already tired of the place. BTW, HISTA terrified DS 5 and practically ruined the whole trip. I shouldn't have taken him in there though. He normally isn't scared of such things but this really freaked him out.

MGM:
Much smaller than I expected but my disappointment here was Backlot Tour. I was really excited about this one and it was EXTREMELY BORING!!!

I did enjoy MK and thanks to advice I got here and at Mousesavers we were able to ride in front with the pilot on the monorail 3 times!

Also, it was probably worth the money spent on all parks to see DS 5's reaction to Buzz, Woody and Jessie!!!

 

[heffalump9]

Sorry your trip was less than Magical, I ran into some of the same problems on my Spring Break trip. The food court at POR had limited hours for hot food service. There were no hot breakfast items available before 7AM and nothing but pizza after 10PM. This did not work out well with the extended park hours. Plus the Grab and Go area ran out of salads and sandwiches 3 out of 4 evenings. I finally started bringing food back from the parks.

 

[tweetylori]

I honestly don't see how anyone could think Epcot is boring! Even my teen boys were fascinated with the different countries!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Sorry you didn't have a better trip but I would like to hear any positive remarks on your trip. I agree with the maintenance problems--things need to be fixed and fixed at night after the park closes!

Epcot will never be a boring park to me but that's JMHO. Everyone has different opinions which is what makes us unique.

 

[OhMari]

also what the heck is saratoga springs?

I think Saratoga Springs is a Resort or time share resort. (DVC).


Sorry you didn't have a good time, some people just don't like WDW. You seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. When I went to Epcot, it was our last day and I was just to tired to enjoy it. After we got home, I read on the DIS boards all the things I missed at Epcot, I was just to tired and worn out and just wanted to go back home. (I was a chaperone for our local h.s. band).

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Yes, Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR) is the newest DVC resort. Phase one is complete and phase 2 should be finished March 2005. I believe there will be a phase 3 open by 2007.

 

[Suedrews]

This is a perfect example of how planning ahead is a good thing....Especially for Epcot.....there is so much hidden within the countries, you could very easily miss 80% of the great stuff if you didn't read about it ahead of time.....who would know that Mexico & Norway had cool boat rides!! Thank you dis boards!

 

[Mackie's Mommy]

I feel like I was at a completely different place last week! We went to 3 parks (MK, MGM and Epcot) a total of 8 times and were never even solicited for a picture. We finally found the photog at one and had a family photo taken. They were more than willing to accomodate us!

It was hot as he@# though! There were places I thought should be cooler and I just marked it up to the high tempertures. Last Monday (8/3) MK was only at 35% capacity according to one of the managers so I know the crowds could have been a lot worse.

Maybe I was just so caught up in all the fun we were having that I overlooked some of the stuff you mentioned. There was construction but what we saw (in Future World, at the castle, at Epcot) was well hidden and usually boarded. You really couldn't see what was behind most of the places.

I do have to admit that Epcot is not my fav but I have a plan when I arrive and this way I don't get bored. A lot of times we will actually split up at Epcot with me going to World Showcase and DH and DD going to the rides. We went to Epcot 3 times-- one time just for DD to get her mask and country charms completed at the Kid Spots at each of the 11 countries.

I will have to qualify my statements by saying that I did an ENORMOUS amount of research prior to our trip and that really paid off. I had warned DH and DD5 that Small World was being rehabbed so they were not disappointed when we arrived, I had given DD the low down on HISTA and gave her the choice-- she went and did fine. The snake and mice scared the pee out of me.

I am sorry your trip wasn't all you had expected it to be. We did encounter just two less than perfect moments in the whole 8 days-- the CMs at the Mickey Maui shop at the Poly and the CMs at the Mercantile at the WL. I think they were having less than Magical days. But, hey, I was at Disney World and I wasn't going to let them ruin it for me!

Hope you try it again and have a better experience!

 

[ggarriso]

Just to clarify there are two seperate sets of grievances here, one is me (the thread starter) and someone else who didnt like Epcot..

I have been to Disney every summer for like 12 years so planning and attention is not an issue.. I cant believe someone would be in favor of a fastpass machine for living with the land!..

Though I cant wait for Expedition Everest and Soarin ..

 

[dbal]

maximom-



For the life of me, I can't figure out what HISTA is that terrified your son. Could somebody enlighten me please?


Thanks

 

[Sammy]

Originally posted by dbal
maximom-



For the life of me, I can't figure out what HISTA is that terrified your son. Could somebody enlighten me please?


Thanks

HISTA = Honey I Shrunk the Audience

 

[maximom]

Thanks for clarifying that Sammy! Just wanted to mention that we didn't even get to the "scary" parts, the 3D effects just immediately freaked him out

I also wanted to mention that I have been planning this trip since December either on these boards, all ears, mousesavers or two books that I read, one being Birnbaums so I don't think my disappontment in Epcot was due to lack of "planning ahead" it was JMHO.

I probably shouldn't have used the word "boring" as it may have offended some DieHard Disney lovers. I'm sorry if it did, but again it was just my opinion. If I were to do the trip over again I would either skip Epcot all together or maybe try do it with only DH because I can assure you that DS 5 definately became uninterested very quickly.

Overall we did enjoy the vacation but I didn't experience all the "warm fuzzies" that I hear so many people on this board talk about. I'm glad we went and I think everyone should go at least once in their lifetime, but our next vacation will probably be somewhere else.

PLEASE no flaming for my honest opinion!

 

[ggarriso]

I can say with all honesty, from two people that have
upwards of 30 trips to disney, that that warm fuzzy feeling
is declining.. quick..

 

[zurgswife]

I've done close to 15 trips in the past 9 years and I think we have a better time each trip.....we have more and more CM's that we are friends with...it is so easy to stay in touch now with email....though some are better then others...

Epcot is one of our families favorite parks...the WS part has so many little things that if you just walk through you will miss....

I'm sorry that some of you think the magic is waning...but for me the magic is getting better....

 

[EileenAmI]

I totally agree, zurgswife! My DH and I have gone at least once a year for the past 7 years, and we still get chills when we walk down Main Street for the first time. People keep asking me, "Why do you go every year? Don't you ever get bored?" My answer is always, "Don't you get bored going to the shore every year? For us, the magic begins all over again each time we enter a park."

I do see though, that it can be boring or just not some people's scene. To each his/her own!

 

[2Disneybuggs]

I was sorry to read such a disappointing trip report. I can't wait to go back . The countries in Epcot are what Im looking forward to because last trip we couldn't explore them all cause my DD was sick. I know my DH and DS will also want to do TT and MS this trip too. I guess Mickey can't be everything to everyone.

 

[boston1029]

I agree with Zurgswife too. I get so totally excited about going and being there. I act like a kid more than my 2 DS's(11 & 13) do. We went this past January and had the time of our lives. I think the magic just keeps getting better.

 

[ggarriso]

All --

Please dont get me wrong, its not that we dont have the magic how would we have 30 trips between us if we dont love the magic.. But just in our opinion quality of service / experience is declining a little the last few years.. I think its pretty hard to debate that fact..