Article on WDW ............not being kept up

[jarestel]

Originally posted by WDSearcher
The man is the Prez of WDW. Do you think he's going to state, in public, "yup ... you're right ... we've slipped." Of course not.

He'd have a lot more credibility if he did. If it's raining outside and everyone can see that it's raining outside, why is it somehow a good thing to pretend it's sunny and balmy?

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by jarestel
He'd have a lot more credibility if he did. If it's raining outside and everyone can see that it's raining outside, why is it somehow a good thing to pretend it's sunny and balmy?

That's only true if the parks, as a whole, have truly slipped to a point where everyone -- new guests and old alike -- notice. To a point where it's obvious to anyone who walks in. But even the guys in the article admitted that a lot of the stuff they documented would probably not be noticed by the average Disney guest. If WDW had piles of trash in the gutters on Main Street or banks of brown grass and dead trees throughout Epcot and Al Weiss was saying, "We have the best custodial and maintenance crews around," that's one thing. But that's not the case here. There were a handful of examples over a small area, and it's fairly obvious that the Sentinel gang was sent in to look for things that were wrong, not to take an objective look at how things were holding up at the parks.

 

[grinningghost]

Mr. Weiss is obviously an expert in the "brag and dash" dance that Disney employees like to do. Same routine you'll get if you call Guest Services with a comment or (shudder) complaint.

You can point out specific areas that need serious help, and they'll completely ignore what you've said and seize the opportunity to brag about something they're doing well. It's so predictable.

I am a WDW fan, no doubt about it. I love it and despite it's problems, it's still better than any of the theme parks we have around here - so I bite the bullet and I pay the long buck. But as someone who has been going to WDW since 1972, and remembers it in it's very pristine days, it's painful to watch the decline.

 

[thumpersfriend]

Off topic maybe but what did it mean when they said 20,000 Leagues would be reclaimed? Will it be back? Thanks

 

[eleanor]

Gosh I thought I was in WDW orlando in Feb, I must have been somewhere else . I sure didn't see all this stuff that you are talking about. I must have been in a different place.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm not going to weigh in on either side of the debate. Frankly it's been over a year since we were last at WDW.

But it's ironic that wdwmagic.com just today posted a news item, photos included, indicating that the entire parking lot of the TTC is being resurfaced.

The parking lot critique seemed to be such a big part of the article that I really had to laugh when I saw it.

So, you've gotta give WDW credit for one of two things:

1. Their impeccable timing if this project had been in the pipeline for a while, or

2. The speed with which they were able to turn this project around if it was a direct result of a story printed just 4 days ago.

 

[manning]

yet it was after almost ten minutes and a child slipping on one of the fries before they broke from their conversation and started cleaning.

In Disney's days of quality that would be grounds for being fired!!!

The man is the Prez of WDW. Do you think he's going to state, in public, "yup ... you're right ... we've slipped." Of course not.

A problem will get solved only when those in charge admit there is a problem. Not much leadership here.

I have a 15yr WDW employee friend who backs that up...painting was ONLY done at night)...you NEVER saw any sort of work being done,gardners,maintainance... notta...until I remember about 5 years ago walking down Main St and scaffolding up and a guy painting,I thought "how tacky! "

WDSearcher, maybe you ought to help the Prez out on this one. He needs to do a little more research on his facts.

my bathroom is normally quite clean, but occasionally it's a mess. So if someone happened to see it on the one day of the week it's a mess, is it fair for them to assume it's always that way and to tell all my friends that I'm a slob?

Ah, but it's that one day that everyone remembers, and there seems to be a lot to remember if you count the number of complaints.

 

[SueM in MN]

quote:
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I have a 15yr WDW employee friend who backs that up...painting was ONLY done at night)...you NEVER saw any sort of work being done,gardners,maintainance... notta...until I remember about 5 years ago walking down Main St and scaffolding up and a guy painting,I thought "how tacky! "
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WDSearcher, maybe you ought to help the Prez out on this one. He needs to do a little more research on his facts.

Actually, the Prez is right on this one. We've been visiting WDW for 18 years and make at least one or 2 trips to WDW each year. On our very first trip, we saw people painting in MK and we have seen people scraping and painting on every trip since then someplace in WDW. I noticed because my Grandfather was a painter and the painters make me think of him whenever I see them. They are dressed in themed clothing. The ones on Main Street and wear the same sort of white bib overalls that my GF used to wear.
Same thing for gardening; we've seen gardeners all along too.

We just got back yesterday from a long trip and actually looked at the parks after seeing that article in the paper. We did notice things like chipped paint that would not have been seen 10 years ago (in fact, one of the things we noticed 10 years ago was painting and scraping of things that did not look like the needed painting). But, we also noticed a lot of things that visitors are responsible for. Like the messy bathroom in the article pitures. That toilet paper on the floor didn't just jump off the rolls onto the floor. And paper towels on the floor when the basket was not full. At OKW, in the ladies room by the main pool, people just left pool towels all over and left pieces of paper towel, toliet paper and tissues all over.

We did see some new things too. All the attractions or at least all that I noticed) had new signs with a format listing the name of the ride, a short description, any warnings or restrictions and then an icon to indicate how wheelchair access was done for that ride. All the rides with height restrictions also had new looking permanently installed height measuring bars themed to the ride.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by manning
A problem will get solved only when those in charge admit there is a problem. Not much leadership here.

But a leader doesn't need to admit to a problem publicly in order to solve it. Ask anyone in politics. The measure of good leadership is maintaining the morale and loyalty of your staff while also being able to urge them on to fix things that are wrong. You don't get tagged as a great leader by standing up in public and saying that your staff is doing a lousy job and, darn it, you're going to do something about it. Might impress a half-dozen people on a chat board, but the hundreds of people who are already busting their butts in Custodial probably aren't going to be inspired. You work WITH the people on your staff to solve a problem. You don't alienate them.

 

[Peter Pirate]

It sounds like many here are elevating Weiss to Eisner's hated or at least incompetent level...And that's too bad. Weiss is a good leader, a loyal Disney CM who I believe understands Walt's philosphy and does the absolute best he can to preserve that feel. I think WDW's continuing populartity is a testament to this.

Sue, thanks for setting the record straight...Although it'll go unoticed by those who take the believeing in 'fairy tale' business about WDW a little too seriously.

grinningghost, as a WDW goer since the opening year and an AP holder for 6 years I can honestly say that you and I do not see the same things. You obviously are finding material faults in the Parks while I am enjoying them with only the occasional chink in the armour...Never anything serious. I think maintenance is still as important as it ever was but I think three factors have perhaps led to a minor decline in the end result (1) the ability to find enough responsible people to fill the positions necessary to keep the Parks clean. Let's face it, America's work ethic ain't what it used to be (2) Disney expansion has taxed the infrastructure to a tremendous degree and while it may be true that each individual unit is unto itself, the sum of the whole becomes a bigger issue to keep track of (3) The number of guests visiting WDW is much greater and accordingly so is the wear and tear and let us not forget the facilities are aging.

This article was a typical hatchet piece. Of course there is some truth in evidence but in my humble opinion the decline of maintenance is much ado about nothing.

 

[lenshanem]

Weiss's response is a joke. I'm sorry, but I'm sick of hearing 9/11 used as an excuse. My last couple trips to WDW the crowds were the largest I have ever seen. Give me a break, they are not hurting.

I have seen the parks going downhill for years now and I have been vocal about my concerns. I have emailed WDW several times, the last regarding bathrooms and this time I did not get a response back even after they sent me three emails saying someone would be contacting me.

True, I go alot and maybe I pick up on more things than others, but when I took my parents who hadn't been in years and they noticed the same things? Well, I just don't see how anyone can say the parks haven't seen MUCH better days.

I'm taking the kids to Six Flags next week for spring break. I can't wait to see how things look. I took them to American Adventures last weekend, which is owned by Six Flags, and I was actually surprised at how good things looked.

I love WDW, but when I've invested thousands in DVC and APs I expect a somewhat clean park when I arrive. I would be stupid to say I don't care. I want toilet paper, soap and paper towels in the bathrooms for the price we pay in admission!

Like the ketchup story last trip I saw a kid get sick. A CM in tie walking by radioed in. Shortly a worker came by, looked at the mess and walked away. FORTY-FIVE minutes later that mess was still there and we saw NUMEROUS people walking in it unknowingly. (We were in a line for a ride.) Who knows how long it ended up staying there. Maybe some birds finally cleaned it up for them.

That sums up everything in my opinion.

 

[lenshanem]

I would like to point out something else, too. If WDW would have kept up with things all along it wouldn't be so bad. The damage is done. It will now take more money, not to mention a HUGE undertaking, to get the parks back up to par. You have to keep up with things, or in the long run you will end up spending ALOT more money than you would have if things had been attended to as was needed. JMO

 

[grinningghost]

I really wish I had taken pictures of the problems I saw in August. I can deal with a little peeling paint here and there, but horrendous bathrooms are inexcusable. And to say that it may have just been messed up before I entered would be ridiculous. ALL the toilets were unflushed, paper products all over the floors, trash bins overflowing. That doesn't happen in a minute.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Len & gg, I spent 34 days in the parks last year and 28 the year before that...How is it even possible that I never saw anything approaching the scale of these problems? One of us is anomolous in what we're seeing...I'm not saying it can't be me, but it is weird...

Regarding Weiss's comments they were exactly what he should have done. He responded logically and stuck up for his position. What else would he do? If it (the article) spurs change in any area that will be good but I think it an egregious assualt on a man who has performed well under a variety of pressures during his tenure (i.e. failing economy, 9/11 and its repercussions, Paul Pressler and most notably Michael Eisner). Al has kept WDW going and responded as necessary despite being handstrung by world circumstances AND corporate cutbacks, of which he has no control over.

 

[jarestel]

Originally posted by WDSearcher
But a leader doesn't need to admit to a problem publicly in order to solve it. Ask anyone in politics.

Crikey, you're not pointing to politicians as an example of efficient management I hope. LOL!

 

[manning]

But a leader doesn't need to admit to a problem publicly in order to solve it. Ask anyone in politics.

And you don't publicly say everything is OK when it is not. You do want to maintain credibility with the public AND your employees.

Did you know honesty is a key factor in good leadership?

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by manning
And you don't publicly say everything is OK when it is not. You do want to maintain credibility with the public AND your employees.

Did you know honesty is a key factor in good leadership?

OK ... so what would you have had him say? Just out of curiousity. Give me a response that would have made you sit up and say, "here's a good leader." Put yourself in Weiss' shoes, and tell me what you'd say.

Here's a guy who read an article that he had been interviewed for. He spent a lot of time, by all accounts -- his and the Sentinel's -- talking to the Sentinel team and discussing upkeep and maintenance and cleanliness in the parks. Then the people he'd met and talked to went into the MK and wrote the article they wrote, using a handful of examples to imply that Disney as a whole was not being maintained. And to imply that the MK, in particular, was a mess.

Now, I can't believe that even YOU would look at the article and say it was fair and unbiased reporting. An unbiased reporter would have brought those areas to someone's attention that day to find out whether or not they were already scheduled for maintenance, or at least to find out why they were looking as they did. They would have checked back on the bathroom in question a couple of times to see if it was a recurring problem. An unbiased reporter would have also checked all the bathrooms (or at least a decently-sized sample) at WDW and compared it to the one stall they found with toilet paper on the floor to at least determine whether that was a pattern or an isolated incident. Same with the brown grass -- pattern or isolated incident?

If they had done all that and WDW got a negative report card and then Al Weiss wrote the letter he wrote ... OK. I'd be with you. I'd say that a solid, fair investigation had showed things to be one way, and he was trying to gloss it over. But I don't think you get any leadership points for reading a biased report and then saying that the conclusions these guys came to are automatically right, no matter what. You defend your staff and figure out where the weak links are. You don't dis everyone in Custodial and Maintenance over four or five specific examples.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by jarestel
Crikey, you're not pointing to politicians as an example of efficient management I hope. LOL!

No. I was being sarcastic.

 

[tzvdmd]

Last 4th of July after the fireworks in EPCOT, we waited untill the majority of the people were gone before we started to leave. We could not believe how much garbage people left. Every where you looked there was trash.
It made me think to myself, is it that the parks are not being kept up as much or are there more lazy pigs out there?
I agree that the peeling paint is a maint. issue but the gum on the ground and the T.P. on the floor of the restroom? I think a lot has to do with the lack of common courtesy for fellow park guests and the CMs. Yes the CMs sweep and pick up but there are trash cans every where. Have some respect. Teach your kids to have respect. Leave it how you found it.
Where as humans are we headed?
This isnt directed at any one person of corse I dont know any of you. I am sure the majority of you are fine people. But there seems to be a lot of lazy in the parks these days.

 

[raidermatt]

Preaching to the public about picking up after themselves is not going to solve the problem.

OK ... so what would you have had him say? Just out of curiousity. Give me a response that would have made you sit up and say, "here's a good leader." Put yourself in Weiss' shoes, and tell me what you'd say.

Depends on what he is going to actually do about it.

If he is addressing the issue, or is planning to, then a statement that largely defends their practices, but acknowledges room for improvement, would have been appropriate. One that says "We do a heckuva job, but we see a chink in the armor here and there and we're going to fix it".

If he is not going to do anything about it, he shouldn't have said anything. Just ignore the article the same way they ignore just about every other news article written.