Do any Disney long-timers think things are better?

[maxiesmom]

Originally, the DDP included appetizer, entree and desert, and the tip. And because they weren't "giving it away" to fill resort rooms, you could walk in at most restaurants and reasonably expect to get seated fairly quickly.

Fair enough. Like I said, we have only used the dining plan recently. And only a few times. Never when they still included all of the above.

 

[katt789]

I definitely don't think that the magic is disappearing at all!! People think I've gone too much, or think it's a little excessive, but really, every time it's just as magical, and you notice so many new little things here and there, and experience new things. And I mean, rounding that bend and seeing the castle for the first time as you walk down Main Street seeing everything, hearing the music and smelling the mix of the confectionery & the bakery, NOTHING gets better or more magical than that, no matter how many times you've seen it.

Heck, I sat through FOTLK 5 times in one trip, (and that was a 3 day trip!) and it was more and more awesome every time, and the last was the absolute best.

 

[gdrj]

Things were always better in the past, Like when I would walk to the fishing pond with my Pa ....oh wait a minute that was the Andy Griffith Show


Things are better now, I remember when I use to have to walk to school in the snow upill both ways.....

 

[disney1990]

What is better and what is worse? 20 years later?

We now have More thrill type rides to give the whole family what they want.

We have Fast Pass - I remember standing in those long lines snaking though Splash Mountain. No more.

I miss Park specific and Resort specific merchandise.

I miss the variety of foods at the restaurants.

I can't say it's worse; some things are better.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, this. Sorry, I got so annoyed typing out my post above, I forgot about this.

My reality check was the first time we ate at CRT with my daughter as a 10 year old. She didn't want anything from the adult menu, so they made up a bigger portion of chicken nugget meal for her. But it was still $60. Even this hard core CRT loving princess fan had to swallow hard at that one. We used to go twice a trip, now we're down to only once, and have moved back to breakfast to save a few dollars.

 

[Planogirl]

For me it's mixed.

I think that MK is better or at least as good as it ever was. I feel the same way about DHS and I think that AK has improved. Much of Epcot has gone down the tubes though.

As for the rest, the hotels are still nice and there are more options. The Disney Marketplace is still good and so are the golf courses and the water parks. The food is overall worse and the prices are of course out of hand just like everywhere else.

I guess that overall I'd be about neutral on the parks and other entertainment venues.

 

[MrsDuck]

Been going for over 20 years and I think the parks just keep getting better.

I do really miss Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, though!

 

[rorhoshots]

I have been going to Disney for over 20 years. Have stayed off-site and on, have used the dining plan when it first came out and what it is today. Disney has changed but I can honestly say it is for the better of family entertainment. For our family we keep coming back and I foresee that continuing for many years to come.

 

[damo]

There have been lots of improvements and the sheer number of people going make some things harder to enjoy but the only thing that I think has really gotten worse is EPCOT. It has really lost its cool factor.

 

[flicx]

My wife and I have been going for over 30 years. Between the two of us we came up with this list. We hate that characters no longer just walk around freely. Don't like how expensive food has gotten,and the fact they used to give all tickets no expiration and park hopping but now you have to pay.. Wish they still had the sky cars in fantasy land. Don't like all of the price hikes ,weekends are more at hotels, value seasons are shorter. Fast pass and magical express are probably the two biggest plus features. I really think the heydays were the late 80's and early nineties. Seemed like they were always adding on more rides and more parks.

 

[tentaguasu]

Thanks for all of the comments! I really appreciate it.

My two takeaways so far:

1. The biggest negative revolves around dining getting worse/more expensive.

2. The biggest improvement is FastPass.

Overall - there are plenty of long-timers who think DW is just as good, if not better, than ever. That's heartening for me, and a good thing to keep in mind when we get a bit "complainy" about things.

Keep in mind that it is absolutely essential that we keep Disney accountable for maintaining the great parks... but that getting too negative about things can actually make things worse by dampening new people's enthusiasm.

 

[LarryNabisco]

If they eliminated free dining, and brought back the quality that the program has taken away, I think they are doing just fine.

And bring back the in-room full bar option at coronado springs resort!! best 850.00 I ever spent at wdw.

 

[Laketravis]

The first two times I went, there were only two hotels (Poly and CR) and one park (MK). Space Mountain didn't exist yet.

It was almost 40 years before I went back.

Back then, the technology really was cutting edge, the experience truly unique.

I remember in 2010 when I first went back, it was like seeing the town you grew up in decades later - the trees were bigger, the concrete gray, everything seemed older. If Haunted Mansion or It's A Small World changed, if Delta's "Wings" was replaced with something else, I couldn't remember where it was. If there used to be gondola cars in the Magic Kingdom, I did't notice they weren't there anymore.

I didn't notice because those finer details from 40 years earlier were long forgotten. What I did remember, the impressive technology of the time, was what is now nostalgia for me.

Now there is lots more to do, for sure - more resorts, more parks, more choices. But I don't get that feeling that I'm going somewhere cutting-edge like I did in the '70s. And that was what really made the magic.

 

[FortForever]

I guess I'm the oldest person around here.

I've been going to WDW for 41 years and Disneyland even longer. I have lots of pictures of me in both. I was too young to have any real memories of DL. However, I was eight years old when we started going to WDW and I remember every trip.

I grew up going to WDW, I went there on both my honeymoons, raised my kids going, and now taking my grandchildren.

Things have changed for sure. I don't think it's lost any magic or I wouldn't still be going.

* All inclusive admission - I love it since I am paying now instead of my parents. We never ran out of tickets and used them all, even the A and B ones. Looking back, I guess my parents were very generous.

* Fastpasses - Didn't have it, didn't need it. No crowds back in the day.

* Characters roaming the park - They did this even up to the time my kids were young. I'm sure it would cause a mob scene with today's crowds. I have pictures of my kids getting autographs and nobody near them. I also have a picture of one of the seven dwarfs standing on a bench next to me (70's) while I pretended not to notice.

* Contemporary being a deluxe - That's where we always stayed when I was a kid since it was one of only two resorts. Glad I have lots of memories there, sure can't afford it now. My sister and I would take the monorail to MK and run free all day. Not sure kids can do that these days...

* Dining Plan - I think it has messed things up with all the ADR that are required now. Used to just drop in where we wanted to eat.

One of these days I will upload all my vintage Disney pics and put a link in my signature to them. I even have one of the Jackson Five at WDW in the 70's.

 

[ttintagel]

I think many things have started to turn around in the last few years.

 

[disneylooper]

Can you explain what you feel has been taken away? Because I honestly struggle to come up with much. The only thing I can come up with is the escort to your room. You are not the only poster to say much has been taken away, and I really can't think of more things that have been taken away.

This thread started with a great question. I have been going to WDW since 1978 and Disneyland long before that. I was just there last week. The emporium was expanded all the way to Caseys. There used to be an outside area with a flower cart which was a beautiful spot to take a photo but it was taken away and enclosed to sell more merchandise. There used to be people sweeping the walks all over, I did not even see one last week. In fact I can't remember the last trip that I saw one. The area in Epcot near Universe of Energy used to be a thriving area. The building that housed Body Wars had activities inside. Nothing has been done with that building for Epcot visitors. Journey Into Imagination has been redone twice and neither have been as good as the original. Good rides like Horizons have been removed. The quality of the new rides such as the new Little Mermaid ride, do not compare to the quality of a POTC or HM, and the technology today is lightyears ahead of it was when those rides were built. Merchandise is the same in most of the stores, nothing unique. I couldn't even find anything for Valentines Day last week except rice krispie treats. I was also very disappointed in the New Fantasyland. There are many good things too and I keep going back because I still love it.

 

[davedmaine]

A couple of things:
1 - The Disney Dining Plan has truly killed the dining experience. Here are the reasons why: Spontaneaity is gone - dining used to be relaxing, now it's a crowded mess. The atmopshere at signatures is gone - people in flip-flops, cut-off shorts and ball caps on backwards, toddlers running around in diapers -- with few exceptions you didn't see that pre-DDP. Variety is diminishing -- how about all the restaurants that have combined their lunch/dinner menus into one? Lobster at Coral Reef? Yes, but gone when the DDP started. Quality is waaaayy down - restaurants are jammed with people so it was bound to happen. Desserts - now mass-produced off-site somewhere (for the most-part) and catered almost exclusively for DDPers -- not many desserts left out there you'd want to pay OOP.
2 - Disney used to be cool but now it's classic. Universal has grabbed the coolness factor and is running with it. Univeral attendance is seeing 30% jumps at the gate. Disney is steady, but how much of that is due to free dining and huge resort discounts?

 

[davedmaine]

I guess I'm the oldest person around here.

I've been going to WDW for 41 years and Disneyland even longer. I have lots of pictures of me in both. I was too young to have any real memories of DL. However, I was eight years old when we started going to WDW and I remember every trip.

I grew up going to WDW, I went there on both my honeymoons, raised my kids going, and now taking my grandchildren.

Things have changed for sure. I don't think it's lost any magic or I wouldn't still be going.

* All inclusive admission - I love it since I am paying now instead of my parents. We never ran out of tickets and used them all, even the A and B ones. Looking back, I guess my parents were very generous.

* Fastpasses - Didn't have it, didn't need it. No crowds back in the day.

* Characters roaming the park - They did this even up to the time my kids were young. I'm sure it would cause a mob scene with today's crowds. I have pictures of my kids getting autographs and nobody near them. I also have a picture of one of the seven dwarfs standing on a bench next to me (70's) while I pretended not to notice.

* Contemporary being a deluxe - That's where we always stayed when I was a kid since it was one of only two resorts. Glad I have lots of memories there, sure can't afford it now. My sister and I would take the monorail to MK and run free all day. Not sure kids can do that these days...

* Dining Plan - I think it has messed things up with all the ADR that are required now. Used to just drop in where we wanted to eat.

One of these days I will upload all my vintage Disney pics and put a link in my signature to them. I even have one of the Jackson Five at WDW in the 70's.

Would love to see those pics..

 

[LarryNabisco]

A couple of things:
1 - The Disney Dining Plan has truly killed the dining experience. Here are the reasons why: Spontaneaity is gone - dining used to be relaxing, now it's a crowded mess. The atmopshere at signatures is gone - people in flip-flops, cut-off shorts and ball caps on backwards, toddlers running around in diapers -- with few exceptions you didn't see that pre-DDP. Variety is diminishing -- how about all the restaurants that have combined their lunch/dinner menus into one? Lobster at Coral Reef? Yes, but gone when the DDP started. Quality is waaaayy down - restaurants are jammed with people so it was bound to happen. Desserts - now mass-produced off-site somewhere (for the most-part) and catered almost exclusively for DDPers -- not many desserts left out there you'd want to pay OOP.
2 - Disney used to be cool but now it's classic. Universal has grabbed the coolness factor and is running with it. Univeral attendance is seeing 30% jumps at the gate. Disney is steady, but how much of that is due to free dining and huge resort discounts?

One of the best posts I've ever read here. Well, well said. The dining plan has destroyed the dining experience at WDW.

 

[FortForever]

Would love to see those pics..

I'll try to put a few tonight and link to them.

Edit: May take longer than expected. My dad transferred them from slides to digital. They are huge file sizes and a format I've never heard of (tiff.) Will have to convert and resize them after finding the proper software to do so.

Sorry for getting a bit OT. These photos are related to the changes at Disney, though, and I would like to share them with those who would appreciate.