Hypothetical 10/16

[pjweaver]

Todays hypothetical comes to us from Bryan aka Accident

"You just got hired and now in charge of WDW, you are told you have the budget to make 3 changes without any approval required. What 3 changes would you make to wdw?"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

1) Create a task force or whatever needed to figure out what is needed to get all customer service back to being best in the industry (have Traditions go back to be 3 days, double maintenance staff so there is never a bathroom in anything other than pristine conditions, give CMs power to grant more pixie dust, increase pay to CMs if that is shown to help, whatever it takes) - people are willing to pay more for Disney if they think they are getting the best possible experience

2) fully modernize the monorail system and expand to be at all themeparks and Disney Springs

3) Double the budget or whatever it takes to get the new lands open as quick as possible - the "3 years to build a parking garage" view of Disney has to change

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I'm too un-creative (is that a word?) and don't have enough business sense to think of these things on my own, but very interested to hear what great ideas my fellow posters come up with. I'm sure I'll have plenty of "gee - wish I had thought of that!" moments reading them.

Another great thread idea, PJ!

 

[pjweaver]

Makeover Atlantic Dance hall to be a cruise ship style entertainment club where a different event happens each night. Dust off the equipment from Who Wants to be a Millionaire and have trivia night. Invite local talent to perform and have guests rate them to have a nightly winner with the buzzers from American Idol Experience. Provide a basic bar menu and a good wait staff. Throw in some boardwalk games on the side wall like skeeball that give out tickets for drink discounts.

Update transportation systems to be less bus dependant on busses. Add a new monorail loop that runs from AKL to AK to Coronado Springs to AOA to Blizzard Beach. Now CS is a deluxe and AOA is a moderate. Monorail entrances will be added behind Asia at AK and near Pixar Place at HS. An expanded water taxi service will be made with OKW serving as a hub or as I call Water Transportation Facility or ***. Friendships will run from the *** to Disney Springs Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot and will service the resorts PO and SS with a new loop added from OKW to Caribbean Beach to Epcot.

Completely redesign the smoking policy to make everyone happy. Every park will have at least 6 targeted tobacco areas to cut out the rouge smokers who think no one can smell them sneaking around, and the smoking areas would be like the one in AK near Dinosaur where it is isolated at least 50 feet from the main path. Theme the areas with plants, provide plenty of benches, shade, and drinking fountain. Make sure these are well marked on all maps and have large signs stating "warning...smoking area ahead". Now smokers aren't bothing anyone or treated like second class and nonsmokers have nothing complain about except the lines. One rule in the smoking area is NO ONE UNDER 18 PERMITTED. I hate parents pushing strollers into my cancer air. I made a choice, those babies didn't.

 

[disneysteve]

First one that came to mind was to bring back the old FP system. Either that or switch to a system like Universal has where you can get a pass that gets you preferred access to all of the attractions that offer it. The whole "book your 2:15pm ride on Soarin' 60 days in advance" nonsense needs to stop.

 

[NeuroCindy]

Put updated and interactive science areas back into innoventions

Take Frozen out of the World Showcase and put it into DHS or MK

I'd have to think on a third.

 

[ToddyLu]

I agree completely with TheMaxRebo...but would have to write in somewhere...they have to bring back the Fried Calamari sticks at Fulton's...and of course bring back the old Fultons.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

First one that came to mind was to bring back the old FP system. Either that or switch to a system like Universal has where you can get a pass that gets you preferred access to all of the attractions that offer it. The whole "book your 2:15pm ride on Soarin' 60 days in advance" nonsense needs to stop.

Funny that I greatly prefer the new system - I like knowing ahead of time what we have FP for and when rather than having to stress about getting there for rope drop and do the running of the bulls for a FP and not knowing what the return window will be until that moment, etc

That said I know a lot of people agree with you so fee like there should be something that could make more people happy - maybe hold some FP for day or or at least reduce the window to like 14 days instead of 60 (and reduce the ADR window to less than 180 days while they are at it)

 

[loves to dive]

Make the ADR system like the old one where you actually couldn't make an ADR farther than a month in advance. Make walkups more readily available for those who don't make ADRs.

Change the bus system so it goes resort to resort, I know that's a nightmare given how many combinations there could be but we are dreaming.

I agree with MaxRobo about bring back the old customer service level.

 

[Accident]

Funny that I greatly prefer the new system - I like knowing ahead of time what we have FP for and when rather than having to stress about getting there for rope drop and do the running of the bulls for a FP and not knowing what the return window will be until that moment, etc

Now living here and seeing how same day has improved, I like this system better. I never got a fastpass I actually used on the old system, by the time I got there, they were just out or so late you never made it back and just got in line... they have really improved some things in this area like not letting a fastpass overlap an adr (stopped horders for better adrs and stopped people scheduling thigns they cannot do). they also have white lanyards they send into the fastpass line now to see it's wait time and it tosses out more fastpasses that same day if there is capacity for it on the ride) which is great for the non-planner. It's getting better and right now it's better than I ever had with the old system.

I don't like this 30 and 60 day method though and I don't think that works with adrs that are 180 days out. either adrs need to move to line up with fastpass times or some other way to be fair to the spontaneous guest but also the book very early guest.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Put updated and interactive science areas back into innoventions

Take Frozen out of the World Showcase and put it into DHS or MK

I'd have to think on a third.

Liking all the ideas so far, but I really REALLY like these, @NeuroCindy- and wholeheartedly agree with both!! - I definitely remember the days I couldn't WAIT to get to Innoventions to see what "new fangled stuff" they had there!!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Change the bus system so it goes resort to resort, I know that's a nightmare given how many combinations there could be but we are dreaming..

Not ever driving, and especially loving to go during the holiday season to see how all the resorts are decorated, and also loving different dining options, I agree with this idea BIG TIME. Yes - it would be a logistical nightmare, but Disney has always impressed me with thinking outside the box, and somehow making it happen, so I'm sure they could come up with SOMETHING great!! (And hopefully not just an "extra cost" Uber type service they seemed to have been/be test bedding)

 

[rteetz]

I am trying to think realistically so no monorail expansion for example.

1. Put traditions back in place, CMs should have more training than they get now.

2. Fix future world in Epcot. Imagination, Innoventions, Wonders of life, UoE, Odyssey, they all need major work.

3. Give Jelly rolls and the atlantic dance hall new life with new dining, or clubs to bring in locals and tourists to the boardwalk area.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

1. Maintenance (painting, cleaning and repairs)
2. Traditions
3. More construction workers for the new projects

 

[KingLlama]

1. Get rid of Duffy.
2. Make sure he's really gone.
3. Never let him return.

 

[Aerin75]

More training for CM's/upgrade customer service
Throw resources at construction projects so they are completed in more timely a manner
Upgrade the food (particularly in the buffets) so that it is more worth the cost

 

[mcd2745]

1) Turn the Boardwalk essentially into Pleasure Island 2.0, complete with a return of the Adventurer's Club. Probably wouldn't re-create all of the other clubs. Just build a few clubs and rotate the theme of each to all of other clubs from PI. Included in this would be improved transportation options.

2) ALL resort pools would generally be open 24 hours (closing only for a couple of hours overnight for cleaning/maintenance).

3) Change the dining plan to allow it to be completely customized. It would take a lot of thought, but off the top of my head...maybe some type of point-based systems where as an example snacks are 1 point, QS meal is 3 or 4 points, regular TS meal 12 points, signature restaurant 20 points, etc. So, if you want 2 TS credits and snacks per day or maybe only one QS credit and 5 snacks per day (certainly would be useful for Food & Wine), sure! Just purchase enough points.

 

[tgbanks3]

Go big or go home!!

1. New gate. Villains park with more thrill rides/attractions. For example, BRING BACK EXTRATERRORESTRIAL ALIEN ENCOUNTER!!!

2. Sponsor a Disney podcast channel on XM/Sirius featuring all the Disney podcasts including DisUnplugged. Yes, I know you can download them all and play them whenever you choose, but that can be a lot of trouble when you want to listen to podcasts daily while you travel.

3. Upgrade Epcot. Add new countries to the WS with actual rides. It's still my favorite park but it has lost a lot of luster over the years.

 

[disneysteve]

3. Upgrade Epcot. Add new countries to the WS with actual rides. It's still my favorite park but it has lost a lot of luster over the years.

Yes to this. It obviously won't happen any time soon with the DHS construction going on, but I think Epcot is long overdue for a major rehab. Replacing Maelstrom with Frozen and giving Soarin' a new film (which isn't nearly as good as the original) just isn't cutting it. They need to put a new occupant in Wonders of Life. They need to update/upgrade/replace a couple of others. They need to do something with the Innoventions spaces. And it would be great to see them add one or more of the countries that were supposed to go in World Showcase. The land is there. It was in the original plans and just never happened.

 

[Gorechick]

1. Update Future World. Refurbish/reimagine existing pavilions and Innoventions.
2. Bring back Discovery Magic vacation packages where you could use your entitlements for dining, recreation, or merchandise.
3. Build a Villains area in an existing park or create new park. I always thought it would fit into Hollywood studios.