Disney not what it used to be

[Kala]

We were there in October of 2000, then again in February of this year. We did find alot of worn areas on both trips...paint chipped and peeling on the hand rails leading up to the entrance of the castle (of all places!) and in Minnie's house seemed to be the worst. We also noticed trash in the water and on the ground everywhere. I know that Disney does not throw trash or make things dirty, but we pay alot more to go to WDW for that touch of magic that makes things seem better than anywhere else. I have always believed that Disney CM's should make more money than other service people because of the level of service they provide. Does anyone else find it ironic that Mr. Eisner finds it necessary to cut back on CM's and hours at the same time it is announced on the news page of this site that he has such a surplus of cash that he will be "shopping" for new acquisitions. My vote is to reinvest in what has made you so rich, so that we continue to want to spend every vacation there...not diversify into things that have nothing to do with the "Magic of WDW". I wonder how clean, well maintained and well staffed Universal is these days?

 

[Wishydoo]

It started with a mouse...it could end with a donkey.

Ooops, did I say that out loud?

 

[Pixeldust]

We were there the last week of April with our two oldest granddaughters (9 and 5). We stayed at the Contemporary.

As a long time visitor, I notice the little changes, the little differences, trip to trip. For the most part, our trip was wonderful, but we did experience some of the things that the original poster mentioned...CMs who are less than friendly, shops with fewer CMs working...longer lines to make purchases (this is a bad move on Disney's part...take our money before we change our minds!! ). We waited in line TWENTY minutes to purchase fudge in the candy shop on Main Street. One poor CM was trying to do everything and it was slow going. If the kids didn't want the fudge and a marshmallow thingy so bad, we never would have waited. BTW -- this long wait happened again, two days later. And we were there during a "slow" week.

However, the CMs in the hotel were fabulous; the problems seem to be in the parks and seemed worse at MGM than the MK. In fact, some of the MGM CMs just didn't seem like Disney employees. The attitude seemed to be one of indifference. Food stands were running out of their specialty food items at 5:00 -- and didn't bother to tell the folks waiting in line until they got to the front and were told to come back in 20 minutes, etc. I would say this was an isolated incident, but it happened to us, on two different days, in two different areas of MGM. We started laughing the second time and looking for the hidden Candid Camera.

The saddest thing for us is seeing the decline in upkeep at the Magic Kingdom. Perhaps it's because we've made som many trips since 1972 and remember how it was in the 70s and 80s. It was remarkable how clean and neat the MK was back then. Since I remember it then, I notice very well how much it has changed. This last trip, we noticed things more and more...dirty walls, chipped paint, mildew on the buildings, trash on the grounds. First time visitors, or people new to Disney in the past 10 years or so, probably wonder what in the world I'm talking about...they probably don't notice the things I notice, because they didn't see how it use to be.

But it's still the best place to be, and I'll be there every chance I get (and lucky me...I'm 2.5 hours away!!).

 

[LAWalz23]

Just adding my 2 cents. My family was at WDW this past May and we had a wonderful time. The CMs at the Poly were great and most at the parks were great. My biggest problems was that we could not find Jesse (from ToyStory2) in 8 days for my 3 1/2 year old niece. She still talks about how she brought her Jesse doll all the way from home to meet the "real Jesse" and we could not find her. We were even told several times that she might appear and rushed to MGM only to be told that she would not appear that day. Once I was told by a CM that she and Bullseye were at a rodeo, I know I was at Disney, but I am an obvious adult and I was insulted to be told a fairytale. We also noticed long lines at the stores but figured it was par for the course. That aside we really did have a great trip and nobody wanted to come home after 8 days.
You are probably right about oldtimers and newcomers, Pixeldust. It was my first visit onsite, and first time in 10 years and to me everything looked fine. Of course, my family and I did not expect perfection and did not have any problems with rude CMs.

 

[Tiger Fan]

I am very sorry to the original poster that your vacation is not as you expected. I hope things did get better. To ease some others who are worried, we too were at WDW during the poster's stay (June 2-14). We stayed at All Star Sports and The Yacht Club and only encountered wonderful and knowledgeable CM's at each resort. I also felt that while the crowds were HUGE this year, Disney was doing a good job working through this. We dined at many restaurants, both sit down and counter service as well as foodcourts and felt like the service was average or above at all times. I encourage everyone to be positive about your vacation and have a great time.

Lisa