Constructive Comments from Our Recent 7 Day Trip

[CanadianGuy]

We went in early June for a week, myself and two adult friends. No kids.. This post is a virtual duplicate of the one I sent to the guys who do the Unofficial Guidebook.

One thing I did notice on this trip was the maintenance, repair and upkeep of the parks and attractions overall seems lacking. And for Disney - that was disappointing. On my first trip in 95 and a series of trips in 96, 97 and 98.. I found the parks to be impeccably clean and well maintained. Not so much this time around.

Comments from our trip :

- the leapfrog fountains at Epcot, mentioned in the Unofficial Guide, are woefully in need of work. They were so badly out of whack that I could barely explain what they were supposed to be to my travelling companion who had never seen them before. His comment was "You dragged me over here to see broken fountains?" If they aren't going to maintain them, they should shut them off.

- a number of rides and attractions were clearly showing wear & tear that needed attention; cracks in the skin of animatronic figures; obviously very old guest garbage mixed in with scenes in Splash Mountain etc. Very disappointing for Disney parks. I half expect that at other parks, but not at Disney.

- The Great Movie Ride was an absolute disgrace. Whoever trained the cast members operating the ride during our visit should be fired along with the castmembers. (or at least demoted to backstage services or something) While hearing the host on that ride has always been troublesome, during our ride, they sincerely may as well not have been there at all. They simply couldn't be heard, were speaking too fast and completely ignoring the microphones placed in the scenes that would allow them to be heard. The delivery was flat, bored and tiresome. My friend said to me - "Clearly the castmembers were as bored with that ride as I was."

- I tried without success to find the mural from the old "Walt Disney Story" attraction on Main Street USA. I asked in the store beside Tony's Restaurant and over at Guest Relations and not surprisingly, nobody knew what I was talking about. Not unexpectedly, several of the younger cast members weren't even aware of the old attraction. We walked around and around.. Several security guards stopped us, we explained they tried to help but we never did find it.

- A small word of warning, my friend lost his designer sunglasses on Journey into Imagination. The blast of wind was sudden and strong. And there was no getting them back. We stayed in the park till the attraction closed in hopes of a castmember retrieving them, but they could not be found. They say to hold on to your hats and glasses - and they are not kidding guests should really pay attention to that. A guy in the car next to us lost a brand new Goofy Hat.. he was miffed.. same deal - never got it back.

- I was not as impressed with "Its a Bug Life 3-D" as the comments in the UG or on this forum. Frankly, I found the concept kind of flat and lifeless except for the spiders from the ceiling which just seemed to absolutely terrify the children in the crowd. Several were crying and upset well after the movie was over. I was kinda shocked at just how scary that part was for kids. Overall tho.. Muppets and Honey have a better storyline. This just seemed very cheap and stupid; perhaps hastily thrown together?

- Soarin' was an amazing attraction and worth every minute of the 49 minute wait in line. (incidentally the longest wait we had for anything thanks to the tips in the Unofficial Guide) I cannot express how much we all really enjoyed this attraction.

- Muppet 3-D and Honey I Shrunk seemed to be the best 3-D movies still; even after all these years they still hold up very well.. While Philharmagic was good.. We all had trouble seeing the 3-D effect properly in that film. The other films it worked much better. Wonder why that was?

- We went to Pleasure Island and despite the construction and general mess, we still had a fantastic time there. I'll probably be sad to see Pleasure Island as we know it today go away. Its a fun spot even still.

- We ate at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe at Downtown Disney and wow! The food was really good, certainly better than we expected. Portion sizes were more than adequate and the prices weren't unexpectedly high.

- Expedition Everest was amazing but overall we were disappointed with Animal Kingdom. Possibly because it was so darned busy it was almost impossible to move. Traffic flow in that park sure is a huge problem.

And finally for the parks.....

Kilimanjaro Safaris - Someone needs to tell the Disney suits and imagineers to knock off the stupid story line with the poachers. Nobody gives a rats patootie about it. Its trite, tired and boring and nobody buys it - not even the kids. It's completely unnecessary - I'd be thrilled to see them drop it.

Just take people out and let them see the animals - keep it simple. That's all anyone was interested in. The so-called storyline actually significantly detracted from an otherwise amazing view of some magnificent animals. The guide was trying to get people into the storyline and everyone was ignoring her completely.

We would have much preferred the guide to tell us what the animal on the ridge to our left was.. instead of conversing with some pre-recorded soundtrack. Sometimes Disney really messes up - this is one of those times and to their detriment. They need to fix this mess.

We stayed at Pop and while busy, it was kept clean and service was good for a value resort. Noise was not a problem but we weren't facing a pool area either. We didn't hear people in adjoining rooms or their showers. Got lucky I guess.

J

 

[nibby]

Excellent review - it's good to hear someone point out that not everything at Disney is sprinkled with stardust I totally agree with your criticism of the cheesy safari commentary. Glad to hear you liked Soarin' - we tried it in Disney California a few years ago and can't wait to try it again. Good to hear you enjoyed Wolfgang Puck - another favourite

 

[lucysdad]

Every now and again the World needs a good wake up call. Disney needs to not become just another amusement park. Keeping the attractions clean and the landscaping fresh are a Disney trademark. There is a history to WDW and a magical philosophy that transcends time (which is precisely why I do not want to see Johnny Depp in POC, but that's another post). I can't wait to get back to WDW next year, but I wouldn't be traveling across the country to go to an amusement park. I hope they take your comments seriously.
Lucy's Mom

 

[grinningghost]

Very good constructive criticism.

I agree on the trash in the attractions thing. I saw so much of that at Disneyland in California, I thought I seriously might start to cry. It was so Six Flags and so un-Disney.

I think fresh paint and paying attention to general maintenance on things like the fountains has become unimportant to Disney. Does ANYONE in that company remember the old days? Does ANYONE remember when you could practically eat off the pavement in WDW - it was THAT flawless!?

I don't know how many more times it can be said on these boards. I'm glad you've forwarded your review to the UG - and hopefully, you'll forward it to the Disney Company as well.

I often feel like we're a thousand people screaming into a giant vortex. Everybody hears us, and nobody hears us.

Oh, and ITA on the poacher thing on the safari. Time to scrap that. It was dumb the first time around and it hasn't got any better over time.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Thanks for the comments.. we had some great times on this trip.. notably ..

- at Pleasure Island both times we went - met a ton of people and really enjoyed ourselves at the various clubs

- at the pool at Pop late at night.. again, met lots of great folks and made some new friends while taking a dip at 1am... (quietly I might add)

I was kind of surprised by the pricing of stuff in the Disney park stores. It seemed more reasonable this time around than previous trips. Probably all in my head, but I was less shy about buying stuff there cause I thought the prices weren't nearly as bad this time around.

We had a rental car and used it for access to the parks, but rode the Disney buses to Pleasure Island. Worked like a charm.

And by all means, I posted the criticism parts here because I thought some might want to comment. I didn't mean to make it sound all negative. There was PLENTY we enjoyed about the trip and the parks and I will no doubt go again ....

J

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Good post, Canadian Guy. Good ol' constructive criticism is one of teh most valuable things any company can have.

I truly do not wish to start a debate, but I think on the point of cleanliness in the parks, it is a two-way street. For whatever reason, I think guests feel more free to just throw trash in the common areas and rides, mark the paint as they pass by walls, ignore rules that are posted for everyone's safety and enjoyment. The way peopel act like pigs at WDW (and elsewhere at times) just aggravates me to no end. Some guests act like the world -and the World -revolves around them. At the same time Disney's corporate values have led to some belt-tightening in the maintenance department. I think the two trends have been showing up the last few years in some very noticeable ways. Disney will probably end losing business in the long run over this.

On the poacher storyline... ITA

A note for next time: That mural you refer to in your OP is now located deep inside Exposition Hall. The only reason I know this is I spent 45 minutes in there one evening waiting out a thunderstorm. DD and I wound up having one of those unexpected parent/child magical moments as we studied all those characters from the Disney universe and talked about the imagination from which they were born.

 

[safetymom]

I like the storyline of being on safari and trying to catch the poachers. It is a good excuse to bounce down the trail. It's Disney, it isn't a zoo.

As far as cleanliness I think guests are to blame more than Disney. If everyone cleaned up after themselves Disney would have time for other maintenance issues.

 

[pkp]

I too think cleanliness is two way street. Disney needs to keep after it more. But, I first went to Disney as a kid in 84 and again in 86. Granted, Epcot was basically brand new, there were only two parks (I'm not even sure there was reallya bus service) and 3-4 hotels (if I remember). But I know as a kid, I didn't throw trash on the ground, vandelize, etc... and neither did anyone else for the most part. Every generation says it, but people today just don't take care of things as much as they used to.

 

[BamaFan121s]

I like the storyline of being on safari and trying to catch the poachers. It is a good excuse to bounce down the trail. It's Disney, it isn't a zoo.

Me too! I am always dissapointed when the things I feel like I can count on aren't there...like the bridge is supposed to 'give way' when you cross it, we rode it once and it didn't.
But that's OK, not everyone has to like the same things. I.e...they could completely get rid of Pleasure Island altogether and it wouldn't hurt my feelings, but I understand some people really enjoy it. That's the great things about WDW...there is something for everyone.

 

[Karnak]

Outstanding post. Well written. There's plenty of food for thought there. My next trip to WDW I'll look to see if any of those things have been corrected. I sometimes wonder if anyone with clout from WDW reads these comments. If not, they are sure missing the boat. (My next visit to WDW will be a solo one, so I'll have plenty of time to observe.)

Thanks for the thoughts.