We just got back from an eight day WDW trip and we had a really great time.
If there have been cutbacks there, I couldn't see them as a returning guest. Everything seemed to be just as good as our trips in '96, '98 and 2000.
Some highlights (and lowlights)
We stayed at PO Riverside and the boats that go from the resort to DD are up and running and are at full strength. The boats were larger and brand new. They now play Disney music.
The toilet paper should be criminal. Next time, we'll bring our own. I'd gladly pay a couple extra bucks a night for something a little softer and thicker.
The rides were all maintained and operating. There are a few areas that need a little touch-up paint, but overall they were in very good shape.
Early Entry is back.
There were a lot more characters in the parks.
Carousel of Progress wasn't open....why did I go?
CM's are friendlier than DL.
A large coke costs $2.29 and is twice the size of the coke at DL that costs $2.19. (Tastes better, too)
A warning to Disney - if the two most recent additions to both Resorts (Chester and Hester's Dinoland at AK and Flik's Fun Fair at DCA) are indicative of the future quality that we can expect from Disney, they had better re-evaluate that thinking. Both "lands" stand-out like sore thumbs against the Disney quality from the past. As I think has been proven with DCA, a whole park of "new" (read cheap) ideas won't work.
Epcot was my favorite. MGM was my wife's favorite. MK was my 3 1/2 DD's favorite and AK was my brothers favorite.
I hope attendance at the parks is doing okay...I'm not complaining but many of the days we were the only people on certain rides. At Epcot, they started JIYI just for us! We were the first people on it and the park had been open for 20 minutes! We also had our own boat on The Land ride.
Favorite rides:
Tower of Terror
RnR
Test Track
Spaceship Earth (what a great old ride in true Walt style!)
Tomorrowland Transit Authority (Peoplemover) - we don't have this anymore at DL
Neat little surprises:
Ice station Cool at Epcot - you can sample soda's from around the world. (Watch out for "Beverly" soda from Italy....very nasty.)
Campfire at Old Man Island at POR with Smore makins'!
Sci-fi Drive-in (anytime something can fool my senses into believing that I'm in a car, outside at a drive-in theater it gets my vote!)
Bob in the lounge at POR. Nuff said.
Overall I would have to say that the rumors of WDW's death have been greatly exaggerated. We had a great time. We will be going back. I'm not a regular at WDW, so it's impossible for me to see the minute little details that the regulars can see and I'm just speaking from an infrequent WDW guest's opinion. If you are planning a trip to WDW, don't hesitate to go. It is just as good or better than the other three times that we have made the trip in past years. All seems well at WDW.
Roy
P.S. If you have any questions, fire away.
If there have been cutbacks there, I couldn't see them as a returning guest. Everything seemed to be just as good as our trips in '96, '98 and 2000.
Some highlights (and lowlights)
We stayed at PO Riverside and the boats that go from the resort to DD are up and running and are at full strength. The boats were larger and brand new. They now play Disney music.
The toilet paper should be criminal. Next time, we'll bring our own. I'd gladly pay a couple extra bucks a night for something a little softer and thicker.
The rides were all maintained and operating. There are a few areas that need a little touch-up paint, but overall they were in very good shape.
Early Entry is back.
There were a lot more characters in the parks.
Carousel of Progress wasn't open....why did I go?
CM's are friendlier than DL.
A large coke costs $2.29 and is twice the size of the coke at DL that costs $2.19. (Tastes better, too)
A warning to Disney - if the two most recent additions to both Resorts (Chester and Hester's Dinoland at AK and Flik's Fun Fair at DCA) are indicative of the future quality that we can expect from Disney, they had better re-evaluate that thinking. Both "lands" stand-out like sore thumbs against the Disney quality from the past. As I think has been proven with DCA, a whole park of "new" (read cheap) ideas won't work.
Epcot was my favorite. MGM was my wife's favorite. MK was my 3 1/2 DD's favorite and AK was my brothers favorite.
I hope attendance at the parks is doing okay...I'm not complaining but many of the days we were the only people on certain rides. At Epcot, they started JIYI just for us! We were the first people on it and the park had been open for 20 minutes! We also had our own boat on The Land ride.
Favorite rides:
Tower of Terror
RnR
Test Track
Spaceship Earth (what a great old ride in true Walt style!)
Tomorrowland Transit Authority (Peoplemover) - we don't have this anymore at DL
Neat little surprises:
Ice station Cool at Epcot - you can sample soda's from around the world. (Watch out for "Beverly" soda from Italy....very nasty.)
Campfire at Old Man Island at POR with Smore makins'!
Sci-fi Drive-in (anytime something can fool my senses into believing that I'm in a car, outside at a drive-in theater it gets my vote!)
Bob in the lounge at POR. Nuff said.
Overall I would have to say that the rumors of WDW's death have been greatly exaggerated. We had a great time. We will be going back. I'm not a regular at WDW, so it's impossible for me to see the minute little details that the regulars can see and I'm just speaking from an infrequent WDW guest's opinion. If you are planning a trip to WDW, don't hesitate to go. It is just as good or better than the other three times that we have made the trip in past years. All seems well at WDW.
Roy
P.S. If you have any questions, fire away.
Yes, the cutbacks are over, and the crowds are back. if you found a time when there was no one around, consider yourself lucky. We live in florida and go to wdw every month practically. {during less crowded months anyway} The problem with the COP not being open can be any one of a number of reasons. The latest being that it's costly to operate it, and they are considering replacing it with a more energy efficeint {cheaper?} ride. But thats a whole other story! 
