Has Disney dropped the magic ball?

[mesaboy2]

Things on any ride can break and then work again multiple times a day. It is impossible to extrapolate from a few anecdotal experiences what works and what doesn't, much less what will or won't next week or even tomorrow. (Not to mention what Disney nerds like us will notice versus a relative newcomer.)

Except for Betty. She's broke.

 

[Kalliope]

Things on any ride can break and then work again multiple times a day. It is impossible to extrapolate from a few anecdotal experiences what works and what doesn't, much less what will or won't next week or even tomorrow. (Not to mention what Disney nerds like us will notice versus a relative newcomer.)

Except for Betty. She's broke.

When you make multiple trips and the same things aren't working from the trip before, that falls into the "broken" category for me.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Things on any ride can break and then work again multiple times a day. It is impossible to extrapolate from a few anecdotal experiences what works and what doesn't, much less what will or won't next week or even tomorrow. (Not to mention what Disney nerds like us will notice versus a relative newcomer.)

Except for Betty. She's broke.

Ah but therein lies the rub. If someone says something didn't work, the discussion ends, because it didn't work during that person's experience, which IMO, is unacceptable for the amount of money people are paying. And clearly when you've got multiple people reporting the same issues, that means the ride has failed at least multiple times. Someone then posting that it worked during their trip is meaningless to the people who didn't experience that.

 

[PamNC]

$105.00 tickets to Magic Kingdom

$400 per night deluxe resort

Being expected to create your own magic at Disney...Priceless.

Good point.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I think this is the biggest problem. Things have been broken so long that many visitors never saw them work and have no clue these things used to move and interact. I know they're clueless and happy but it makes me sad that they are blissfully unaware of what they are missing.

Bingo. I didn't even know there was supposed to be an eagle on Everest, until it was fixed recently. A first time visitor wouldn't know to expect the shaking boulder on Big Thunder, which doesn't ruin the ride for them, but it would certainly be a heck of a lot more fun if it worked.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Bingo. I didn't even know there was supposed to be an eagle on Everest, until it was fixed recently. A first time visitor wouldn't know to expect the shaking boulder on Big Thunder, which doesn't ruin the ride for them, but it would certainly be a heck of a lot more fun if it worked.

Wonder if that's Disney objective. Get rid of the seasoned Disney veterans and replace them with easier to please newbies.

 

[JimmyV]

And so all of these laments about "lost magic" to me come down to a jaded viewpoint and sometimes misplaced nostalgia and selective memory....

And so all of this praise about "no lost magic" to me come down to a jaded viewpoint and sometimes non-existent nostalgia and selective observational skills.

See what I did there? Just a different way of looking at it. I found this blog from 2010 that discusses DLR. But the point being made is the same, and the issues are identical. And it has pictures. http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2010/2/20/why-the-decline-in-park-maintenance.html

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Wonder if that's Disney objective. Get rid of the seasoned Disney veterans and replace them with easier to please newbies.

Probably. That would explain why they're pushing the user-friendly FP+ so hard. Vets prefer the steep-learning curve of legacy FP while newer guests like the intuitive, hassle-free FP+.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Bingo. I didn't even know there was supposed to be an eagle on Everest, until it was fixed recently. A first time visitor wouldn't know to expect the shaking boulder on Big Thunder, which doesn't ruin the ride for them, but it would certainly be a heck of a lot more fun if it worked.

I didn't know about either of these things until your post, and I've been to Disney 7 times since 2011. I've never seen these effects working.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I didn't know about either of these things until your post, and I've been to Disney 7 times since 2011. I've never seen these effects working.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

And so all of this praise about "no lost magic" to me come down to a jaded viewpoint and sometimes non-existent nostalgia and selective observational skills.

See what I did there? Just a different way of looking at it. I found this blog from 2010 that discusses DLR. But the point being made is the same, and the issues are identical. And it has pictures. http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2010/2/20/why-the-decline-in-park-maintenance.html

Yes, I've made that point several times already...there are different ways of looking at it, agreed.

As for the blog, I think it just shows that there will ALWAYS be people complaining. Now and in 2010. And if the internet was a thing in 1978 or 1987 there would have been a blog back then too complaining about the chipped paint on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the dirt and grime on Cranium Command or the lack of a bubble effect on 20,000 Leagues.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

I do miss the shaking boulder...is it broken or was it permanently removed after the last refurb?

Also - I recall from my last ride a forced perspective track thing...where the track looked like it was going straight but actually you drop down under. Was that always there?

 

[cornflkgrl]

The towel animals are gone across Disney property.

I just returned after a weeklong stay. We had towel animals every single day. I wasn't expecting them after reading on the boards about their absence. The kids loved them. So they are not gone "across Disney property." Maybe just being done sporadically.

 

[JimmyV]

And if the internet was a thing in 1978 or 1987 there would have been a blog back then too complaining about the chipped paint on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the dirt and grime on Cranium Command or the lack of a bubble effect on 20,000 Leagues.

People would have complained back then if there had been something to complain about. Your assumption would be valid if there had been the same level of disrepair on Mr. Toad, Cranium Command and 20,000 Leagues as there is today on Pirates, Splash Mountain and Spaceship Earth. You are of the belief that things were just as bad then as they are now. And there is obviously nothing that anyone is going to do or say to convince you otherwise. But there are a whole lot of people here who have been going to WDW since the 1970s that are reporting that things were not as bad from 1971-1999 as they are today. And they either all suffer from nostalgic disillusions and selective memories,...or....they are on to something. All I can say is that one of the hallmarks of WDW, and one of the first thing people noticed upon their first visit in, say, 1980, was how amazingly clean everything was. There wasn't a cigarette butt out of place. Not a single trash can overflowing. The people with brooms and ash cans descended on trash the moment it hit the street. The guys in white overalls were painting the window frames on Main Street 'round the clock. It truly was noticeable. When someone starts a thread here that says that things just aren't the way they used to be, I don't think they are making it up. I can't recall any feature of any ride in 1984 being out of order for three straight years the way that things on Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain have been. Maybe that is selective memory. But I really doubt it.

 

[cornflkgrl]

In reference to the post above...I would strongly agree that one should take note (I mean actually write down the name on their name tag, when and where the incident occurred, etc.) of CMs who are doing a lousy job or simply being rude. Then you can tell Disney management exactly who is ruining the magic for you. If you rely on your memory, you will likely draw a blank when it comes to remembering specifics.

Reminds me of "The Out of Towners"?
"And you're not getting away with anything! I got all your names and your addresses!"

 

[JimmyV]

I just returned after a weeklong stay. We had towel animals every single day. I wasn't expecting them after reading on the boards about their absence. The kids loved them. So they are not gone "across Disney property." Maybe just being done sporadically.

Cool! Was that at WL??

 

[cornflkgrl]

Cool! Was that at WL??

Yes -- but shhhhhh. Our housekeeper was incredible and I don't want anyone to punish her for her towel creations!

 

[JimmyV]

Yes -- but shhhhhh. Our housekeeper was incredible and I don't want anyone to punish her for her towel creations!

Sounds like she is in line for "re-training" by the Disney Politburo!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

People would have complained back then if there had been something to complain about. Your assumption would be valid if there had been the same level of disrepair on Mr. Toad, Cranium Command and 20,000 Leagues as there is today on Pirates, Splash Mountain and Spaceship Earth. You are of the belief that things were just as bad then as they are now. And there is obviously nothing that anyone is going to do or say to convince you otherwise. But there are a whole lot of people here who have been going to WDW since the 1970s that are reporting that things were not as bad from 1971-1999 as they are today. And they either all suffer from nostalgic disillusions and selective memories,...or....they are on to something. All I can say is that one of the hallmarks of WDW, and one of the first thing people noticed upon their first visit in, say, 1980, was how amazingly clean everything was. There wasn't a cigarette butt out of place. Not a single trash can overflowing. The people with brooms and ash cans descended on trash the moment it hit the street. The guys in white overalls were painting the window frames on Main Street 'round the clock. It truly was noticeable. When someone starts a thread here that says that things just aren't the way they used to be, I don't think they are making it up. I can't recall any feature of any ride in 1984 being out of order for three straight years the way that things on Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain have been. Maybe that is selective memory. But I really doubt it.

20,000 Leagues was always breaking down! I can't imagine the threads that would have existed on that ride alone if we had internet.

I am not "of the belief that things were just as bad then as they are now". I am of the belief that things are just as great now as they were then! Actually, probably even better. There is more of everything.

I think the parks are just as clean as they ever were, I really do. What people forget is how horrifically dirty everything else was in the 1970s and early 80s. Remember the famous commercial with the Indian crying by the side of the highway? It was totally normal to just throw your garbage out the window of a moving car. Theme parks back then were disasters. Gum stuck everywhere. everyone smoked and cigarette butts and smoke were everywhere. Cities were gross and filthy (certainly my city, NYC...you couldn't walk down 42nd street without being accosted by drug dealers and pimps).

So in comparison people walked into MK and were stunned. And rightfully so. But the contrast no longer exists. Littering is no longer acceptable. So now people see a dirty bathroom and claim "the magic is gone".

So yeah...I do think a lot of the complaints are selective memory and nostalgia bias.

I am sorry to keep posting and hope it isn't annoying...I am bored and it is fun to chat about.

 

[JimmyV]

20,000 Leagues was always breaking down!

...and they got rid of it. Sometimes the attention to detail means abandoning a failed attraction. Now, attention to detail means, "Leave it alone. Maybe no one will notice."