yepod
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2001
Conclusion & observations
General
We are huge Disney fans but we still are aware of the Disney ¡¥dark side¡¦ & will tell it like it is! Hope the truth offends no one! I believe in reading the Unofficial Guide to WDW, Birnbaums Official Guide & the DIS. In other words I feel you need to be aware of the good, the bad, & the ugly in regard to the truth about Disney. We are HUGE supporters of the CMs as they are the biggest assets to the Disney MAGIC (I can¡¦t emphasize this enough!) Also, I am a big advocate for buying everything separately, as resort packages are overpriced for what you get.
GOOD
- Cast Members, Cast Members, Cast Members. I know I can¡¦t put them on a par with the rescue workers of 9/11 but they are high on my list of persevering in the face of a serious challenge.
- Transportation Buses & Monorail
- New parades & 100 years of Magic attractions
- New attractions like the 2 new spin rides that my DD loves. My DW commented on how long it took Disney to expand the market on the ever-popular Dumbo ride!
- Mousekeeping with their scenarios with the stuffed toys
- DDs reactions to the Magic!
- Great weather
- Low crowds
BAD
Unacceptable
- Dirty bathrooms ¡V Not only did we notice this but we had CMs comment to us on their disgust (& bruised pride)!
- Cut backs ¡V Evident in understaffing of most everything except transportation. Noticed several rides with only one CM running the whole ride resulting in poor cueing. In Fantasyland I noticed a line of baby strollers straight out from one ride & on opposite side of street a line of guests resulting in no where to walk through at. When I asked a CM about the problem they informed me that it was the part time CMs that used to help with the rides.
- Poor cross training - CMs were disoriented & not trained as the result of being relocated or as a result of sudden schedule changes. I am all for Disney trying to save the CMs there jobs but what happened to that excellent training & scheduling that we grew to appreciate with Disney?
Disappointing
- Gum on streets & walks - Not a big deal to me but it shows how Disney is slipping.
- Construction - Out in the open during daylight hours with little or no facade to hide it. You see this everywhere else but I¡¦ve never seen this at Disney before.
- Maintenance - Tree trimming & painting during the day.
- Despite what some might say is a mixed report, we¡¦re going back in October to hopefully see the Not So Scary Halloween party. We will be doing Universal for a couple days of our week (we¡¦ve never even considered this before in our 5 visits to Florida).
- We will NOT be staying on property as we feel some of the magic has left there.
- I still think the Disney Club & our annual passes are good money savers.
WE STILL APPRECIATE THE DISNEY MAGIC!
General
We are huge Disney fans but we still are aware of the Disney ¡¥dark side¡¦ & will tell it like it is! Hope the truth offends no one! I believe in reading the Unofficial Guide to WDW, Birnbaums Official Guide & the DIS. In other words I feel you need to be aware of the good, the bad, & the ugly in regard to the truth about Disney. We are HUGE supporters of the CMs as they are the biggest assets to the Disney MAGIC (I can¡¦t emphasize this enough!) Also, I am a big advocate for buying everything separately, as resort packages are overpriced for what you get.
GOOD
- Cast Members, Cast Members, Cast Members. I know I can¡¦t put them on a par with the rescue workers of 9/11 but they are high on my list of persevering in the face of a serious challenge.
- Transportation Buses & Monorail
- New parades & 100 years of Magic attractions
- New attractions like the 2 new spin rides that my DD loves. My DW commented on how long it took Disney to expand the market on the ever-popular Dumbo ride!
- Mousekeeping with their scenarios with the stuffed toys
- DDs reactions to the Magic!
- Great weather
- Low crowds
BAD
Unacceptable
- Dirty bathrooms ¡V Not only did we notice this but we had CMs comment to us on their disgust (& bruised pride)!
- Cut backs ¡V Evident in understaffing of most everything except transportation. Noticed several rides with only one CM running the whole ride resulting in poor cueing. In Fantasyland I noticed a line of baby strollers straight out from one ride & on opposite side of street a line of guests resulting in no where to walk through at. When I asked a CM about the problem they informed me that it was the part time CMs that used to help with the rides.
- Poor cross training - CMs were disoriented & not trained as the result of being relocated or as a result of sudden schedule changes. I am all for Disney trying to save the CMs there jobs but what happened to that excellent training & scheduling that we grew to appreciate with Disney?
Disappointing
- Gum on streets & walks - Not a big deal to me but it shows how Disney is slipping.
- Construction - Out in the open during daylight hours with little or no facade to hide it. You see this everywhere else but I¡¦ve never seen this at Disney before.
- Maintenance - Tree trimming & painting during the day.
- Despite what some might say is a mixed report, we¡¦re going back in October to hopefully see the Not So Scary Halloween party. We will be doing Universal for a couple days of our week (we¡¦ve never even considered this before in our 5 visits to Florida).
- We will NOT be staying on property as we feel some of the magic has left there.
- I still think the Disney Club & our annual passes are good money savers.
WE STILL APPRECIATE THE DISNEY MAGIC!
! I am looking forward to hearing your observations after your October trip. Hopefully, you will find things much improved. Please post a trip report and let us all know what you thought of wdw, 
!
