Do You think DISNEY has gone down hlll the last few years?

[njmeisje]

I just want to say that I am so glad to see all the fresh food options at WDW. This is a real change for the better. It used to be the only snack options were popcorn, ice pops, etc.....now one can pick up fresh fruit and occasional veggie snack plates all around the parks. This is a change for the better, which I really appreciate.

njmeisje

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Our Seaworld had an amazing sale on kids' tickets this year. Tickets were just $5 for kids ages 3-12 and I thought that was true at all locations.

Our location was always nice and I hope that it still is. The San Diego park is one of the most beautiful parks I've ever seen.

We use to go to the one in Ohio. It was the prettiest park of all of them.

Last year we spent several days at the orlando park. It was not dirty at all, and it is so nicely organized! The park empolyees were exceptional, also. Funny how experiences are different!

 

[Suellen]

Wow, which Wal-mart do you go to? Ours are aweful when to comes to service. Again, I have yet to encounter a truly rude CM as WDW. The majority go above and beyond IMO from what we have experienced. I have seen some that maybe haven't been the "happiest", but everyone is human and can have an off day.

I think you and I shop at the same Walmart ~ and it looks like we will be at the World at the same time.

 

[smidgy]

the 2 wal marts I go to are in East Dundee, IL and Algonquin, IL. and the employees have always been very nice and helpful to me.

 

[BigGreen73]

I think you and I shop at the same Walmart ~ and it looks like we will be at the World at the same time.

and the same resort too I believe. POFQ

 

[Planogirl]

the 2 wal marts I go to are in East Dundee, IL and Algonquin, IL. and the employees have always been very nice and helpful to me.

There's also a Wal-Mart in Plano, TX just outside of Frisco that is very nice. I think that the store Manager has a lot to do with how nice (or not) that the store is.

 

[Suellen]

and the same resort too I believe. POFQ

Close ~ but we are AKV's this time.

oops wrong thread. Sorry!

 

[brunette8706]

Close ~ but we are AKV's this time.

oops wrong thread. Sorry!

*
How do you like AKV? We love, love the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Has anyone stayed at the AKL CL? I've seen pictures and it looks great!

 

[magster50]

And I am sad to report that The Magic Kingdom has definitely gone downhill since the last time I was there (about 3 years ago). Main Street and Fantasyland were the worst. There was so much work/ construction going on...many of the store fronts and ride fronts were a false facade. As I flew around on Dumbo, I got to look over onto all the mounds of dirt and construction equipment where Toon Town used to be. And, I encountered so many employees who at their best looked bored and totally unengaged, to at their worst were downright rude. I found the whole experience quite
sad because it seemed like much of the magic (I have come to known and loved) was lost. I have been to Disney more than 15 times over the past 30 years. And, now it felt more like a Six Flags than a Disney Theme park.


I have to say that Universal and Islands of Adventure have now completely won me over... hands down! With their awesome theming (The town of Hogsmeade was amazing), state of the art rides (Forbidden Journey), and friendly, fun employees... there is just no comparison anymore.

 

[IlliniMouse]

I haven't read all the replies in this thread...there are lots! However, I can say in comparison to other theme parks, Disney is by FAR the better of them.

Went to a Six Flags two summers ago and swore I'd never go back. Things were in horrible shape, workers were really rude, food was way more expensive than WDW, a locker rental was $14, and I felt zero magic.

Went to Legoland in California. It was better than the Six Flags, but again, no magic for me. Many of the workers looked like they were just putting in their time and that was it.

Disneyland and Disney World are fabulous IMO. Dollar for dollar, I get WAY more for my money at Disney. It's truly a magical place. Yes, sometimes you'll run into rude people, or the food might not be the greatest, but I'd rather be there than anywhere else. Disney can afford to do things right. They are the ones setting the bar for all the other theme parks. If you're seeing things go "downhill" at Disney, imagine what's going on at the other places!

 

[Suellen]

We prefer the Jambo house to Kidani ~ so it is basically AKL!

We love, love, love it! Haven't gotten CL ~ though we were told that there are only 10 DVC studios on CL. So they are hard to get.

 

[brunette8706]

We prefer the Jambo house to Kidani ~ so it is basically AKL!

We love, love, love it! Haven't gotten CL ~ though we were told that there are only 10 DVC studios on CL. So they are hard to get.

**
We haven't been to the Jambo House or Kidani yet. Hopefully, we'll check them out on our next trip. Yeah, it does seem like the AKL CL is hard to get. Not sure how many rooms are allocated for CL. Saw pictures of the CL and it really looks, for a lack of a better room, EXOTIC! LOL!

Brunette

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

I just returned from Disney. It was a good trip. The parks were clean and the CM's were friendly. There were no major issues, but the rides were down a lot this trip at each park, which was odd (to me) because the weather was fine except for Friday. Anyway, the rides were never down for long maybe an hour or so.

The only downer was the cancellation of the second showing of Fantasmic this past Sunday. The weather was fine, there was no rain, no lightning but the show was delayed "due to inclement weather" just long enough for everyone to buy light up toys and snacks and be seated. They popped a couple fireworks for 3 minutes and told everyone to get out the park. That was the tackiest thing I've ever witnessed.

I felt bad for the nice people we met from across the pond and the Netherlands who stood in line for 90 minutes wishing to end their trip with a great show. The entire stadium stood up and booed and people booed all the way out of the park. I just had to laugh, I have never seen anything like it.

On a positive note, we were among the first get to ride Toy Story Mania since the recent refurbishment, the ride opened on the 29th, right on schedule! We had a blast.

Also, Cinderella's Royal Table has a new free dining menu for dinner at least. They removed the prime rib off the menu completely and replace it with beef medallions and whipped potatoes. And the chocolate cream cheese buckle has been replaced with chocolate mouse in the shape of a pyramid. Of course, they are still advertising the "old menu" on their dining website. We had a great dinner, anyway.

 

[Planogirl]

And I am sad to report that The Magic Kingdom has definitely gone downhill since the last time I was there (about 3 years ago). Main Street and Fantasyland were the worst. There was so much work/ construction going on...many of the store fronts and ride fronts were a false facade. As I flew around on Dumbo, I got to look over onto all the mounds of dirt and construction equipment where Toon Town used to be. And, I encountered so many employees who at their best looked bored and totally unengaged, to at their worst were downright rude. I found the whole experience quite
sad because it seemed like much of the magic (I have come to known and loved) was lost. I have been to Disney more than 15 times over the past 30 years. And, now it felt more like a Six Flags than a Disney Theme park.


I have to say that Universal and Islands of Adventure have now completely won me over... hands down! With their awesome theming (The town of Hogsmeade was amazing), state of the art rides (Forbidden Journey), and friendly, fun employees... there is just no comparison anymore.

It's nice to see compliments for the Universal TM's. I have no issues with CM's but I do think that the Universal people get better and better. Plus many of them work for both Universal and Disney.

We were at WDW a few weeks ago and that construction was a bit annoying but expected. Fantasyland was downright ugly.

 

[d1gitman]

And I am sad to report that The Magic Kingdom has definitely gone downhill since the last time I was there (about 3 years ago). Main Street and Fantasyland were the worst. There was so much work/ construction going on...many of the store fronts and ride fronts were a false facade. As I flew around on Dumbo, I got to look over onto all the mounds of dirt and construction equipment where Toon Town used to be. And, I encountered so many employees who at their best looked bored and totally unengaged, to at their worst were downright rude. I found the whole experience quite
sad because it seemed like much of the magic (I have come to known and loved) was lost. I have been to Disney more than 15 times over the past 30 years. And, now it felt more like a Six Flags than a Disney Theme park....

Um, do you think this is going to remain this way permanently? I would hardly call additions, renovations and upgrades 'going downhill'. I don't doubt that it may have affected your experience compared to past trips. It does seem odd that they would have so much going on at once in a single park but I have no doubt that when it's done it will done well. Claiming WDW is more like a six flags now is just silly.

 

[Planogirl]

Um, do you think this is going to remain this way permanently? I would hardly call additions, renovations and upgrades 'going downhill'. I don't doubt that it may have affected your experience compared to past trips. It does seem odd that they would have so much going on at once in a single park but I have no doubt that when it's done it will done well. Claiming WDW is more like a six flags now is just silly.

I agree with you but I understand the other poster's point too. Fantasyland was awful. I kept telling myself that it was just temporary but ugh.

 

[Tiger926]

We prefer the Jambo house to Kidani ~ so it is basically AKL!

We love, love, love it! Haven't gotten CL ~ though we were told that there are only 10 DVC studios on CL. So they are hard to get.

We haven't stayed at Kidani yet either, as we love Jambo too! We've had Concierge booked 2x now, and gave it up (can you believe that!), as it too has been reported to have undergone changes as well - less food/drink offerings have been reported on the DVC boards as of late. Hubby and I would like to do AKV - CL one day when we go alone (yeah right!) without the kids, as we'd like to do the special safari package.

We've stayed Concierge at Contemporary and Yacht Club - Contemporary was absolutely amazing! We got incredible Disney magic - we were checking into our Concierge room, when we were met by our CM to take us upstairs. Once we got upstairs and she started to check us in, she got a huge smile on her face. We had been upgraded to the Presidential Suite (I think this is what she called it) for the night! We were using points, as we had extra Developer Points that had to be used. It was truly incredible - kitchen, dining room, living room, 3 balconies, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and private butler. We had a view of the castle and watched Wishes in our jammies! The lounge was fabulous too - always full of great food/snacks and beverages, and they stocked our fridge as well.

That was some Disney magic for sure! Tiger

 

[TLSnell1981]

**
We haven't been to the Jambo House or Kidani yet. Hopefully, we'll check them out on our next trip. Yeah, it does seem like the AKL CL is hard to get. Not sure how many rooms are allocated for CL. Saw pictures of the CL and it really looks, for a lack of a better room, EXOTIC! LOL!

Brunette

Don't give up, we were able to book AKV CL at 7 months. We are going later this month and doing the Sunrise Safari. I booked a split stay, so this worked for us.

 

[Suellen]

We aren't all that gungho about CL ~ but do ask every time. We don't try to change dates or anything. We used to stay HRH Club Lounge every visit.... but it just doesn't overly entice me anymore.

As far as FL construction..... I'm so confused how there can be complaints about not enough new stuff but also not wanting construction??

I kind of get the feeling that people want the construction and rehabs just not while THEY are there?

It is temporary and seems quite fairly temporary for what they are planning. The facades and walls I didn't think were THAT bad when we were there in May or July. We did not however (I don't think) ride dumbo.

 

[d1gitman]

...As far as FL construction..... I'm so confused how there can be complaints about not enough new stuff but also not wanting construction??

I kind of get the feeling that people want the construction and rehabs just not while THEY are there?...

it's the classic NIMBY type of scenario.