Is anyone getting as turned off as I am?

[clsteve]

I had every intention of reading every post in this thread , but my post reading came to an abrupt halt when I saw the OP's first post that mentioned the demise of the American Adventure Fife & Drum Corp, and the fact that it will not be replaced with anything 'patriotic'. How very sad to hear that the sounds of liberty will be silenced in Epcot. The Fife & Drum Corp is much more than just a musical performance; it is a living representation of our Nation's heritage, honoring the courage and vigilance of the Americans who defended our country’s independence. I can usually handle any kind of change that Disney throws out there, but this one is a challenge for me. I will miss hearing those wonderful patriotic tunes that were always so proudly played.

I understand shaking up the entertainment schedule once in a while. But I never, ever considered Fife & Drum to be in the same category as Mo Rockin' or Off Kilter. Fife & Drum was part of the overall American pavilion experience, a core segment of the theme and show. Dumping that makes zero sense to me at all.

Just had to give both of you two for this....

 

[Cira]

I have photos, but my memory is vague as to which of the two have more holidays decorations and Christmas "spirit" in general. Am trying to gauge all members who have been there for Christmas in the past couple years. Thanks for your response!

Do you mean Magic Kingdom vs. Epcot? It's ALL Disney, but my preference is Epcot.

 

[Mkrop]

Looking at the attractions/shows I'd love to see change and don't are about as frustrating as the things that change and IMHO shouldn't. I'm looking at you, Stitch/Ellen's Energy Adventure/Figment/Innoventions/Backlot Tour/MSEP, just to name a few.

Exactly! there is enough feedback out there that WDW could do away with some of these attractions or utilize the empty buildings to make change, yet they make change by getting rid of things that have a great following like Off Kilter (I have never seen them, so I am not a groupie).

 

[Cira]

I don't know whether Dumbo is in Tomorrowland or not, I will guess it is not. But I object to a circus theme anywhere in Disney.

I want change, and I want it badly.

I look at the projected shows like Muppets and Philharmagic and I think "my local theater has better pictures than this now, DISNEY NEEDS TO CHANGE IT.

I go on rides with broken animatronics and out of date technology, I think DISNEY NEEDS TO CHANGE IT.

I see what was supposed to be an awe inspiring vision of the future at attractions in Tomorrowland or Future World that became dated 10 years ago, I think DISNEY NEEDS TO CHANGE IT.

I see a princess musical or a stunt show I've seen a dozen times now, I think DISNEY NEEDS TO CHANGE IT.

I am not terribly nostalgic or sentimental and I know most people fall far to the other side of the curve, so I certainly understand why other people want to keep some of these things the same like a comfortable pair of shoes. But THAT's what being resistant to change means.

 

[JanaDee]

I have photos, but my memory is vague as to which of the two have more holidays decorations and Christmas "spirit" in general. Am trying to gauge all members who have been there for Christmas in the past couple years. Thanks for your response!

Magic Kingdom has more Christmas decorations than the other 3 parks combined. The other parks look pretty darn sad at Christmas time.

 

[NancyIL]

Magic Kingdom has more Christmas decorations than the other 3 parks combined. The other parks look pretty darn sad at Christmas time.

I think AK is sparsely decorated in comparison to the others. However, Epcot has the Candlelight Processional and Holidays Around the World, and the Hollywood Studios has the Osborne Lights. I don't recall any special holiday events at the Magic Kingdom unless you pay extra to go to one of the Christmas parties offered 4 nights a week. http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/christmas_world.htm

 

[Cira]

Regarding the comments that America is boring @ Epcot, that should be the ONE country with the most red, white, blue, horns, whistles, movies, rides, etc; Patriotism, salutes, etc; I guess my question is why is it not? This is the country that hosts Epcot. Why not?

I agree. I think the comments about people being afraid of change can be a bit condescending at times. I'm fine with change. I'm not going to wdw to recreate the magic of previous trips. Aside from the fide and drum corps, I hadn't yet seen any of the epcot acts that were released, so it isn't like I'm tied to them.

I was, however, looking forward to an adults only food and wine trip where dh and I could partake of the kiosks and take in more of the entertainment options that we didnt get to do last year because Dd was with us. So yes, this change is now frustrating me not because the acts will be different, but because the new acts may very well not be in place yet at all on our trip. So now we have to prepare for the chance that the food and wine experience we've been looking forward to since march may now be very different.

As I've said before..it isn't change I take issue with. It's removing things and not replacing them with anything, yet continuing to increase prices. There are some changes I may not like (yes, fp+/mm+), but disliking *some* changes does not mean one dislikes *all* change.

 

[L&Lfan]

I don't know whether Dumbo is in Tomorrowland or not, I will guess it is not. But I object to a circus theme anywhere in Disney.

Well, Dumbo is a circus elephant who performs in a.... wait....circus.

 

[kbelle8995]

...and this is what I worry about. That Disney has lost its "Christmas" spirit. I don't want to go to a park that no longer has much holiday spirit. I have photos of all the Christmases I spent at MK and Epcot and it used to be festive. Ten years to date, a little less, but don't really know how much. That is why I am inquiring of board members who have been there in the past couple of years and who love the holidays. I hope they are a better gauge.

I think back in World Showcase is more decorated plus there is the holiday storytellers (unless Disney has cut them too?) Future World is well Meh.

HS at least has Osbourne lights and their entry walk is always well decorated.

MK is a mixed bag. Main street and the castle is well decorated. Last year they had the Jingle Cruise (Jungle with a holiday makeover)

AK I can't remember.

 

[JanaDee]

I think AK is sparsely decorated in comparison to the others. However, Epcot has the Candlelight Processional and Holidays Around the World, and the Hollywood Studios has the Osborne Lights. I don't recall any special holiday events at the Magic Kingdom unless you pay extra to go to one of the Christmas parties offered 4 nights a week. http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/christmas_world.htm

I am talking about Christmas decorations you see walking around, not special events.

Yes, DHS has the Osborn lights and the xmas tree out front, but not much else.

Epcot is just sad and other than the one big tree in front of AK, I don't think they have much anymore, either.

 

[mom2rtk]

If early reports are right, the MK will look a lot less festive this year. Early reports were that the floats in the new parade are so high they won't be able to put the garlands across Main Street any more.

 

[NancyIL]

I don't know whether Dumbo is in Tomorrowland or not, I will guess it is not. But I object to a circus theme anywhere in Disney.

Well...the new Dumbo ride is in the new Fantasyland - complete with a circus theme!

 

[NancyIL]

I am talking about Christmas decorations you see walking around, not special events.

Yes, DHS has the Osborn lights and the xmas tree out front, but not much else.

Epcot is just sad and other than the one big tree in front of AK, I don't think they have much anymore, either.

I have spent most of my Epcot time in World Showcase, and the decorations were plentiful there.

 

[L&Lfan]

Maybe they're cutting down on the Christmas emphasis due to the fact that as the USA becomes more diverse (less Christian) and more secular (less Christian/religious) fewer people celebrate the holiday and may even find all the Christmas décor to be offensive.....just a thought. My hometown has cut back on all the Christmas stuff in the name of diversity and secularism.

 

[Cira]

Sorry, I didn't express my feelings well enough. A circus to me, at WDW, CHEAPENS the MK, imo. There are plenty of other rides there could be. One Dumbo was great, this new theme they have, I could do without. Haven't seen it in person yet, but in photos, to me, it is out of place. I might be wrong.

Well, Dumbo is a circus elephant who performs in a.... wait....circus.

 

[Cira]

My question then is: is it possible to walk up to ANY restaurant in Epcot, say, 11:30 am for lunch or 4:30 or 5 pm for dinner, and get seated??? In reading the boards, it seems that UNLESS you have a reservation at a Disney or Epcot sit-down restaurant NO ONE will be able to be seated. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Thank you.

I guess that may depend on what you idea of a walk up is. Because last year I was able to get an evening ADR in Epcot for only a few hours later in the day. But walk up to Le Ceiller at 6 pm and expect to get seated immediately? Nope.

I've used FP+ twice now, and like it. I like knowing I have a FP for a popular ride like Toy Story Mania ahead of time, instead of having to get to the park before open and try not to get mowed over as everyone head that way. I like not having to walk around the park to get to Splash, only to see the FPs are all gone, or that the time is 5 hours in the future. So for me FP+ is way more + than it is-.

 

[HM]

My question then is: is it possible to walk up to ANY restaurant in Epcot, say, 11:30 am for lunch or 4:30 or 5 pm for dinner, and get seated??? In reading the boards, it seems that UNLESS you have a reservation at a Disney or Epcot sit-down restaurant NO ONE will be able to be seated. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Thank you.

I don't know about walking up.

What we did was look at all the openings on my MDE account for that night around when we thought we'd be wanting to eat and then chose one and made an ADR for it that day. There were a lot of openings the night we did that. This was around Dec 18.

 

[msb578]

My question then is: is it possible to walk up to ANY restaurant in Epcot, say, 11:30 am for lunch or 4:30 or 5 pm for dinner, and get seated??? In reading the boards, it seems that UNLESS you have a reservation at a Disney or Epcot sit-down restaurant NO ONE will be able to be seated. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Thank you.

You can walk into Restaurant Marrakesh in the Morocco pavilion any time, any day. The majority of Disney guests are not adventurous diners.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

My question then is: is it possible to walk up to ANY restaurant in Epcot, say, 11:30 am for lunch or 4:30 or 5 pm for dinner, and get seated??? In reading the boards, it seems that UNLESS you have a reservation at a Disney or Epcot sit-down restaurant NO ONE will be able to be seated. Maybe I am misunderstanding. Thank you.

Anything is possible. Is it likely, depends on the restaurant, the time of year and whether you've selected peak mealtimes.

I've gotten walkups before at several Epcot restaurants: Via Napoli, Teppan Edo, Tutto Italia, San Angel, I haven't tried it but you can usually get in at Nine Dragons or Marrakesh when everything else is full. Maybe Biergarten (it's a huge place when it's fully staffed) or Tokyo Dining also. It probably won't work at very popular places (I think Le Cellier may be a bit easier for lunch now as there's no great demand to pay those prices for lunch) or peak mealtimes. Like, you are probably not going to be able to just walk up to Rose and Crown and get a seat with an Illuminations view.

Of course you could end up waiting...so a previous night reservation is probably better than taking the chance on having to wait, if you aren't determined to make the selection completely on the fly.

 

[OtherScott]

I agree that they know it. But still most of the moves they've made public recently have been geared toward short-term profit.

If they do have a long-range strategy in mind, what is it that they're not sharing? Could it be that they just plan to squeeze as much as possible out of existing attractions until their profits stop increasing? Then come up with a new plan?

Sadly, I am one of those suckers that won't stop going no matter what (within reason) I would go just to soak up the atmosphere- because of an attachment I formed as a kid. But, maybe my own kids won't feel that way as they get older, if Disney continues with this strategy.

I didn't form that attachment, so I guess it's why I don't relate to arguments that, to me, seem based on that.

I think I see where Disney is going with MM+ and to me it makes the most sense to do it first. If they don't follow it up with updating parks and stronger tie-ins with their other assets, then it will probably fail.

Other than TSMM, I loved legacy FP - because it was so ineffective at drawing in substantial numbers of guests.