Do any Disney long-timers think things are better?

[jane2073]

I really miss the variety of parades. MGM used to have a different parade every year based on the current new release. We loved the Aladdin Caravan parade.
I miss the fun street shows they had (Goosebumps, TMNT, etc...)

I miss all of the original pavilions at EPCOT. The current incarnations are ok but not all are an improvement-I'm looking at you, Imagination.

I hate that they have been using the same floats for the parade at MK for the past decade. Disneyland gets a new parade every couple of years.


I guess ultimately that is my biggest gripe- the character entertainment rarely changes.
I like Dream along with Mickey but the show has been running for at least six years.

 

[wvaspartan]

RFID is not my idea of wowing us. I meant with making new rides more visually impressive.

I don't want roller coasters either. I enjoy the few thrill rides that they have, but never want Disney to be like Six Flags or one of the other parks. What I expected from Little Mermaid is more along the lines of Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Peter Pan. Something the entire family can enjoy together. Visually impressive, but done Disney style.

The new generation may never feel the awe that we kids in the 70's felt. With all the technology they're exposed to, they are growing up jaded. Even so, I'm glad they can still love Disney for what it is.

I also dont want Disney to become like Six Flags or Cedar Point it adding a couple roller coasters is not a bad thing and something that can be themed in The Disney way.

I don't want to seem mean here but I think todays children who have even ever set foot in a park not called Disney before going to Disney will only see Disney as what it has become...outdated. Unfortunately, I am of the mind set that you have to adapt to the now...Disney has not done this. They think that what worked before with only some subtle changes will work today. This is far from a fact. You can make a family park while also meeting the needs of teenagers. The people who didn't grow up on Disney but the Six Flags and Cedar Point's of the world right now will not be interested in Disney in the years to come as they are not catering whatsoever to the teenager and even the pre-teen crowd but rather the 5-10 crowd. It is fine but they will really start to lose market share unless they start waking up to the reality of today.

people one here who say that Universal is a mess are right... But the issue is the park was fully built (for the most part) before Comcast bought them out. ok cast is now tearing things down and replacing with new rides or even spending money to theme the popular areas like Simpsons. I am not saying Universal will trump Disney overnight but they seem to be more mindful of what people want as a whole than Disney does at this point.

 

[Laketravis]

The new generation may never feel the awe that we kids in the 70's felt. With all the technology they're exposed to, they are growing up jaded. Even so, I'm glad they can still love Disney for what it is.

I completely agree. When I went in the early '70s, Hall of Presidents was the kind of thing that made the cover of Popular Science. Country Bear Jamboree, Haunted Mansion, and Tiki Room were the things TV specials were made of.

Of course, you couldn't even buy "Pong" yet for home gaming. The most sophisticated toys at the time were Rock-M-Sock-M robots and Erector Sets.

While I still appreciate the nostalgic value of many of the attractions, it's lost on my seven year old. Mickey's Philharmonic was to him at 5 years old what Haunted Mansion was to me at 12. But even in the space of two years he's lost interest in MP. There really isn't any NEW magic in the sense that Disney can wow kids like they can be at home or are used to with the current state of consumer electronics.

And I think that's important, because the reason those attractions became nostalgic for me was the novelty cutting-edge value they originally held.

 

[Q-man]

The dining plans and the "free' dining have both led to a severe dumbing down of the one wonderful dining experiences.

They raise the price on the OOP prices, people think the only way to beat the horrific prices is to get the DDP, Disney, with a prepaid dining group, lowers the quality of the food.

To me the DP and free dining is a byproduct of building ~1K on property rooms per year, that they need to fill at a premium rate, for the last ~15-20 years. That is going from ~10K to ~25K rooms. I'd also venture the rise of the family cruise industry and beach all inclusive properties fighting for the family vacation dollar is a large part of free dining as you pay for your food upfront for both of those. We don't buy the DP anymore. Disney's little * save up to XX% doesn't tell you you'd have to order the most expensive option every time to realize those savings.

I started going to to Disneyland in the mid 70s and WDW in the late 80s. Whoever said what was cutting edge back then is quaint nostalgia now hit it dead on. Disney is now about sharing/reliving my childhood through my kids eyes and not the WOW factor.

 

[waikiki]

First, sorry for my bad english I normally speak french.
Disney characters should be free to walk around. We set Willy free in Seaworld, free Cendrillon too !
Fastpass is something that should not exist. This is indicative of excess visitor compared to the actual capacity of a park.For the privilege of a few visitors, a majority is disadvantaged, and my eyes no legitimate right.The idea "to pay for an express pass" is for me like an economic racism. Rich on the left side, poor on the right side...Scooge McDuck love that idea, but Walt
Magic Kingdom yesterday we would dream of a better world, today this is no longer a utopia. Same problem Epcot who wanted innovative and futuristic which is now a part of the nostalgic past. What about Animal Kingdom? Preservation of what we no longer see the future?
In my opinion, the park is sorely lacking innovations built quickly, Disney suffers from a lack of novelty and lack of Walt Disney World capacity of the client in the parks. New extensions with new attractions could improve things in meaningful ways.

 

[Abharmagic]

Been going since a little kid in the 70's. Some things are better, some are worse.

Better:
- New Fantasyland
- More resort choices (than in the 70s and 80s)

Worse:
-Food
-Cleanliness
-EPCOT I love EPCOT
- Main Street used to be full of neat stores and interesting things

I miss
- 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (yes, I know it's where New Fantasyland is- I am just sentimental)
- Skyway
- Horizons, Imagination and so many other things about EPCOT

I don't miss
- If You Had Wings (don't shoot)

 

[shademan]

I think a few factors are at play:

1. Nostalgia always wins. Things were awesome when we first did them. Going back year after year kind of wears thin on many. It's natural that as you do something time after time, the magic slowly gets lost.

2. Yes, new technology is changing things. That's exactly the point of My Magic Plus. Disney is looking to capitalize on that and bring some sort of magic to the technology world.

3. I can't understand some of you comparing Disney to Six Flags and Cedar Point. Disney blows them all away by a mile. Yeah, the thrill rides aren't all amazing, and yes, for teenagers whose ONLY desire is to be constantly "scared", Disney isn't going to work.

But lets face it, Disney isn't catering to teenagers. They are catering to adults and children. My children are 3 and 8 and absolutely are nuts about Disney. Will my 3 year old son think things are silly in about 10 years? Probably. But for now we drop money left and right because they love it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think some thigns are better, and some things are worse. When I started going to WDW it was one park, and three hotels. In many ways, WDW is MUCH more than it once was.

One important consideration, IMO, are things that go beyond WDW, like the economy in general, general guest civility/behavior.

Another is something like food trends. When super-size was all the rage, Disney sold supersize fries. As healthier food becomes part of the culture, so goes Disney. Food is one area where Disney has changed quite a bit over the years. Now that economy is weak, of course Disney is going to cut back. I remember steam cooked burgers....then for a while Disney's way of improving the Disney experience was to constantly add new, fun foods. Then the recession happened. I'm sure food will continue to evolve at WDW.

In my opinion, Disney is perhaps guilty not so much of getting worse....but rather of staying too much the same sometimes. I love it when Disney makes (nearly) unseen changes. Like when they replace a primitive animatronic figure with a more advanced one. Disney needs more of that kind of change.

I also think the internet/technology has changed WDW quite dramatically, and not (all) for the better. Cell phones are the sucessor of the cigarette. In some ways, having a cell phone at WDW is amazing, in other ways they make WDW less fun. (I'm talking about you folks who talk on the phone/take flash photos on rides!) Why bother? There's already a 1,000 videos of HM online!

It's sad how many folks research every nook and cranny of WDW before they go. That takes away the fun of discovering WDW. I REALLY think a big part of the idea behind WDW was for guests to explore and discover it, layer by layer. Hidden mickeys are my proof!

That said, since technology is here, the best thing WDW can do is to find interesting ways to incorporate new technology into the park experience. It would be neat, I think, if you could use your cell phone to unlock hidden secrets- kinD of like the new Agent P. We are in a technology revolution where smart phones are going to replace many devices we now don't carry around. Even now, smart phones can act like: telescopes (or at least smart astrolabs), cameras, heart monitors, GPS's, music players, flashlights, tracking devices, and so much more. Like everything else in our lives, a trip to WDW is about to get very intersting, and very different from what it was in the past. Many things that were just hinted at in the Tomorrowland of yesterday are coming true today. Disney will do well to add guest layers via technology - "smart phone hidden Mickeys" if you will.

 

[Q-man]

!
Fastpass is something that should not exist. This is indicative of excess visitor compared to the actual capacity of a park.For the privilege of a few visitors, a majority is disadvantaged, and my eyes no legitimate right.The idea "to pay for an express pass" is for me like an economic racism. Rich on the left side, poor on the right side...Scooge McDuck love that idea, but Walt

Fastpass is free and available to all vs the buying ride tickets and the headliners(E-tickets) costing more that was the past system. It is far more equitable now. Knowledge of how to best use the system being the difference now.

 

[waikiki]

Fastpass is free and available to all vs the buying ride tickets and the headliners(E-tickets) costing more that was the past system. It is far more equitable now. Knowledge of how to best use the system being the difference now.

What I mean is FP are like people who cut the queue with permission. Hence my logic is the more people cut the waiting line with FP, the longer you wait in the queue. Single riders is the best solution for optimisation.
Another logic of my post is to highlight a truth: Parks, primarily attractions, do not have the capacity to accommodate too many visitors. More attraction: less waiting and generally returning visitor, because there is always something new to try/to see.
Here we somms adults to discuss this topic. But children think? They are happy to spend 60 minutes in a queue with great heat? Is this is a dream? I think the truth lies elsewhere.

Maybe it's the dream for older (That's why I like Disney !) with attractions for children

 

[eliza61]

I've softened my stance lately. I won't say that disney is going downhill, now I just say that disney has shifted it's practices. IMO Disneys primary focus use to be offering top notch quality services now Disneys primary focus is enhancing the profit margin.

whenever you have the choice between quality and increased profit. Increase profit will become the focus to the detriment of quality.

So for me the mouse world use to be the standard to which I measured every other vacation. Now many other places blow the mouse world out of the water.

So nope imo it has not gotten better.

Generally speaking:
Food C
accomodations C
entertainment B
shopping C
Cleanliness C
Customer service C

I knew my feelings toward the mouse were changing a few years back when we recommended a cruise for our family instead of the mouse world.

Disclaimer: we use to go annually so I am thinking that maybe it's simply "old" to us.

 

[cyros]

Twice while we were there last week, we were asked to answer survey questions in the park. One was about cleanliness and staff, and another about customer service in the Mexico pavillion. I think they want to listen to the needs of guests. We saw several more survey takers at various points in the park asking for opinions.

 

[Q-man]

What I mean is FP are like people who cut the queue with permission. Hence my logic is the more people cut the waiting line with FP, the longer you wait in the queue. Single riders is the best solution for optimisation.
Another logic of my post is to highlight a truth: Parks, primarily attractions, do not have the capacity to accommodate too many visitors. More attraction: less waiting and generally returning visitor, because there is always something new to try/to see.
Here we somms adults to discuss this topic. But children think? They are happy to spend 60 minutes in a queue with great heat? Is this is a dream? I think the truth lies elsewhere.

Maybe it's the dream for older (That's why I like Disney !) with attractions for children

I really don't think FP has any major effect on standing in line time for the standby lines. If FP users are forced into the standby line then aren't the same number of people still in line? In other words, if the number of riders by the hour stays the same then the standby line isn't going to be any faster by eliminating FP they would just be in the standby line. You would increase the number of people dissatisfied about standing in lines all day.

What you're getting into is the idea that FP is about people standing in lines can't be in the gift shops or food service outlets spending money. Therefor there is a premium attached to FP as Disney expects the FP user to have more shopping/eating and drinking time from FP use and thus spend more money.

Agree that Disney needs more attractions. Disney keeps adding more rooms while guest satisfaction is going down. Disney has to have a place for all those people to go. They are running out characters for meet and greets to suck up people.

Pulling FPs is presently the best way to not have your kid stand in line for an hour.

 

[texasteacher35]

The crowds are crazy!!!


Off peak and peak season crowds seem bigger and bigger! It would help with the frustration level if people would STAY TO THE RIGHT when walking! Omg That is soooo annoying! People walking towards you thinking it is a one way street. That makes for some interesting communication. Especially in Fantasyland...there is a CM (a lot of times) in front of Peter Pan and Small World, but they need them to help in other areas of MK, for sure! LOL

 

[North of Mouse]

So we've all grown used to threads where Disney long-timers complain that, "it just ain't like it used to be... the magic is fading."

Do any of you long-timers think the opposite? That things are getting better? That you prefer the parks now to what they were?

No, the magic is *not* fading for us!

We have been going to Disney since 1972 (second year of MK) when MK was the only park to go to. There was also only the 3 hotels close, then the ones that were at Lake Buena Vista. We loved it then, and we have loved it all through the many years and visits we've had.

We have *literally grown* with WDW. Have embraced each park as it came into being, and feel so at home anywhere there, as it's all so familiar.

Do we miss certain things? Yes, to a degree, but we love all the new additions that keep things lively.

The Dis Boards are an addition that is both *good & bad* IMO. We hear from a lot of whiners and complainers about *anything* Disney. Some people seem to be very hard to impress or please. (no flames, I *said IMO*).

So, to sum up, Disney is still fantastic and magical to us, and we will continue to feel that way and enjoy to the fullest our trips there as long as we can. It isn't perfect, (what is?) but we aren't looking for perfection, just the total immersion and relaxation of what we have known for many years.
What others say, or think, is theirs, doesn't affect us. We've *never* had a bad trip, or even close - our expectations have been/are met, and usually exceeded.

 

[Q-man]

It would help with the frustration level if people would STAY TO THE RIGHT when walking!

I loved to see how Disney would communicate that to guests from the quarter of the world where it is the left side is the correct side instead.

 

[mom2rtk]

I loved to see how Disney would communicate that to guests from the quarter of the world where it is the left side is the correct side instead.

I do believe since that's the custom here, they should figure that out. But I gave up on that already. Heck, people who live here don't even do that. You can be approaching a door someone else is coming out of and half the time they will go to their left just where you were going to enter.

We were in the MK on a busy Saturday afternoon in December. It was so busy CMs were taping down "lanes" on the waterfront walkway in Frontierland. It drove me absolutely nuts that they were putting arrows down directing people to walk to the left!

 

[gwmort]

I am 40 years old and have been going to WDW as long as I can remember. We used to stay at the Poly when "on property" meant poly or CR. The tech was cutting edge and impressive.

They've added more parks and resorts and attractions and things to do (like all the cool back stage tours). I loved pleasure island, I really miss Discovery Island and river country, I love typhoon lagoon.

Before there was an internet I remember spending half a day in Communicore learning about new technologies coming down the pike no one at home had ever heard of. I remember one of my favorite things about test track (World of Motion) was the mini car show at the exit where you could see GM prototypes and things.

I think they are staying cutting edge with the technology. SotMK is awesome, I can't even wrap my head around how much something like that would have amazed me as a kid, and it does amaze my kids. As does the opportunity to interact and affect the world like in the agent P missions in Epcot.

They are captivating and amazing kids, it can be tough to conceptualize but my kids aren't disappointed that 10,000 leagues under the sea isn't there, they are mesmerized by falling snow in the windows of beasts castle while they eat after having danced with Belle.

When my kids were very small there was no where that they could do as much as they can do at WDW (compared to 6flags or other theme parks) as they grow they are able to adapt to new rides they were too small or scared for before, but still enjoy some of their favorites, they are building their own nostalgia.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I disagree with the poster who said there were no lines in the 70's. As far back as I can recall, there were lines. I remember when HM was one of the BIG attractions and would get long lines. In the afternoon, it regularly had waits that were over an hour. Space Mouintain opened a few years after the rest of the park, and it has had long lines ever since. Right from the get-go, my family was pretty good at dodging the worst of the lines, but I remember that space Mountain, was one of the exceptions. I imagine there were slow(er) times of year back then too - but we alwys used to go in February, which is still kind of a slow time.

I also remember the first year that Epcot was open, the French bakery had a HUGE line!
***************


Something I neglected to mention, and a big change I see, is that kids today don't get World of Disney every Sunday night. Kids get to see movies like Cinderella on DVD frequently, but not Chip and Dale. I don't think they know the personalities of many of the characters because they don't see much of the classic cartoons.

that's something I can't understand. Why doesn't Disney do much of anything with those classic characters? Why don't they make any feature length releases with classic characters (or feature length releases that are a series of shorts)?

Truly, Disney has been dropping the ball in a big way when it comes to animated movies.

 

[WDW1979]

This is not Disney's fault, it's more of a cultural thing, but way-back-when you could ride a roller coaster and there would only be screams at the most extreme parts of the ride. In about the last decade and a half, the cool thing to do is to scream ALL THE TIME. I've been on Disney coasters (which are not the most extreme coasters) where other riders scream from beginning to end, just for the sake of screaming. "The ride car is moving....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

I can only guess that the next step in this trend will be screaming all through the queue.

One young lady riding on her own behind me uttered ear-splitting screams all the way through the Big Thunder Mountain ride, but not cause she was scared (she was pretty cool getting on & off the ride), but must be because she figures that is what she's supposed to do. "Better to look good than to feel good" as Billy Crystal's character would say. It's almost as if it is more important to show off how much fun you want people to think you are having than anything else.

Funny thing is, if the roller coaster was very extreme and scary, there might actually be less screaming as the riders would be too petrified to utter a sound.

Now some people may be different and may love to listen to such fake screaming, but it's not for me: too distracting and sometimes painful on the ears.

As a result of this cultural change, I try to avoid riding on a roller coaster adjacent to females (guys just can't pull off ear-splitting screams) between the ages of about 13 and 35. "No, it's okay, you go ahead, I'll catch the next ride car".