Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Fair enough from the personal financial standpoint, Mr. Show. But does it change the guest experience significantly? Are we really worse off than 10 years ago? Will it be the end of Disney if the current philosophy remains? If so, when will that happen because nothing seems to changing significantly in the big picture?
If that's TRULY what you see, then you are NOT a big picture person. It seems to me that you are looking at it from strictly the point of view as to whether or not it is affecting YOUR vacation.
I can go on and on about the things that are signaling a decline of the Disney company. But to EACH one of those, I will get a "Yeah, but..." from you.
Oh heck, I'm bored, so I'll go on about it.
Adventureland opens one hour after the rest of the park. This is home to two classic Disney attractions - one of which still is pulling significant numbers. This would be BAD SHOW. But that apparently has absolutely no meaning to the current management regime. Now - I have NEVER been to the Magic Kingdom at park opening. So does this decision affect me? Not in the slightest! But that does NOT change the fact that it's bad show. It's against Disney's (the man - not the corporation) philosophy. Sure - people can come back later to see those attractions, but again - it's simply bad show.
Restaurants close an hour before the rest of the park. There are tons of other places that people can go to eat! This does NOT affect me in the least. But the fact remains that it's bad show. Plain and simple. Both of these decisions were made based on the bottom line mentality and philosophy.
A rude cast member acts as though I'm impositioning him. So what? I'm at Disney World! It doesn't really affect my day. But it's bad show. There are more and more of these rude people around.
These are three mere examples that are proving to me that yes, Disney is breaking. You can liken it to a pipe. It has a crack. There's a drip. Nothing major. Throw some tape over it, and temporarily correct the problems. The water is still getting to the rest of the house. But then another crack happens. More tape. But the first batch of tape is loosening. You can see that crack again. The water's still flowing to the rest of the house, but the quality of that one pipe is slowly deteriorating. Instead of fixing the problem, and replacing the pipe, more and more tape is added. And perhaps - you may throw a potted plant or a nice knick-knack next to that pipe. It makes it look a lot better, but it does NOT change the fact that the pipe is slowly breaking. It may take a hell of a long time, but eventually, that pipe is going to give, and the water will NOT flow to the rest of the house unless something is done to salvage that pipe.
There is NO denying that Disney still does what it does better than anybody else that tries to imitate it. But all these teeny, insignificant things begin to add up. Until there comes a point when you can't hide it anymore, and that metaphorical pipe comes crashing down, and it is beyond repair. You can add new rides all you want. The Six Flags nearest Buffalo puts in a new ride almost every year. But that doesn't mean that the park is improving in quality, or coming close to the caliber of Disney.
Disney may not be entirely broken. But as Show said - until there is a philosophy change, it's certainly not in good repair, and is on it's way to being broken.
