Is the MK looking DIRTY?

[leopardspot]

My friends just got back from the MK and they said it looked dirty to them...Any opinions from you?

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

I was there in November looked clean to me...This time of year is when they do repairs. Getting ready for busy Spring Break.

 

[disney queen]

i agree w/MagicinmyHeart. we were there in early december and it looked great!!

 

[WDW Fun]

We were there in mid-January and it was sparkling clean, as usual.

 

[plutojudy]

We were there Jan. 10-18 and it looked great.

 

[Terk-1]

I found it clean while I was there in December.

 

[sherry8253]

When we were there in December, I noticed the MK is showing its age in some spots. My DH also remarked that several lights were burned out in a few spots and you never saw burned out lights in the old days. But there was no litter on the ground and the park was clean.

 

[horner5]

We were there at the end of January, and although we thought the park itself was immaculate, we felt that some of the rides and queuing areas were in need of TLC, i.e. paint, general upkeep. Nevertheless, it didn't affect our trip, but it was noticeable!

 

[sherry8253]

Hi Horner5 - The signs of wear are what my DH & I remarked about last December. It wasn't as noticeable the year before. Before the last year or so everything always looked bright and new. I don't know if Disney is just not keeping up with general maintenance like painting etc like they used to or if it is simply that the MK is just getting older like the rest of us. The other thing I noticed in Epcot & MK is that when part of the pavement is replaced sometimes the color is quite different than the surrounding color and not just from the other color fading. It is like Disney didn't keep track of their colors and they are now just guessing. My DH used to work for CSR Rinker who provided the concrete for the parks. I don't know if they still use the company or not. But when my husband worked at the Disney plant if a color of concrete wasn't exact Disney wouldn't accpt it and they would have to mix a new batch. Now, it seems like they use it whether it matches or not.

 

[SuBeat]

We were there at Christmas and it seemed clean to me. I believe it's one of those things though, where if you are really looking for it, you just might find it.

 

[lucysdad]

I didn't notice that the parks were dirty last summer, but I did notice changes in the landscaping and lighting. Where there were once fabulous flower beds, there now is grass. Where the trees were all aglow, there now seems to be a few strategic trees lighted. It definately was a disappointing sign of the economic times. I did notice that the Japanese gardens and the train village in Germany needed servicing. I hope it gets addressed before we get back there. it's sad when your personal favorites seem to be in decline.

 

[dreamalittledream]

We just got back Saturday from a wonderful week. The only "dirty" places I noticed were a few rest rooms, specificially the ones in Epcot. One near the rear exit door of Mouse Gear (a GREAT shop) and in a few of the countries. I wonder if they are responsible for their own cleaning?
MK was spotless and well kept. AK and MGM were as well. I have a 2 yr old who often found herself on the ground and I never worried. I did notice one or 2 of the queing areas had rubbed paint on the crowd control bars but they may not have gotten to those rides to touch up yet. The flowers were beautiful, even for Feb and it was a treat to see green grass instead of snow!

 

[noseybuddy]

The last time I was at Disney was August 2002. I did notice that things just weren't the same as they used to be. I wouldn't say the parks were dirty, but they weren't as clean as they were before. I don't remember ever seeing a dirty bathroom in prior visits and if there was a piece of trash on the ground, one of the employees was there in a second to pick it up. I was a little disappointed but not enough to never go back. I was told that many employees were laid off since 9/11. Maybe that is what is lacking. Not enough help to make it the way it use to be.

 

[jaguar9748]

I was there 2/7 and 2/8 and found MK and my resort to be spotless. Sure, there are always areas that need a dab of paint, but that's just a few spots. MK is as beautiful as always! They've painted Splash Mountain. Also, the new fireworks show Wishes is superb! Our resort, Ft. Wilderness cabins, was so clean and outstanding - very impressed! I for one, think that Disney hit some rough times just after the 2000 celebration - dirty resorts and some park areas - but I think that within the last year or so things have been outstanding.

 

[Brianhog]

I found your post interesting since I read today one of Roy Disney's complaint with Eisener (sp?) was the parks were not being kept up as in the past.

 

[Safari Steve]

Burned out lightbulbs are generally there for one of two reasons:
a)Repairs are being done on a fixture which require that the entire circuit be switched off (if you see 4 lamps out in one spot, that's what's going on)
-or-
b) Maintenance has not been notified.
Since lightbulbs are fairly easy to replace (unless they're up very high), Parts don't have to be ordered, and once maintenance is notified they usually show up in a matter of minutes. Let a CM know, they can call it in, and it can be taken care of.
Burned out lightbulbs are generally not a result of "cost cutting."

 

[WhispyPixie]

I dont think that it is looking dirty, but you certainly dont have people hopping on things like you used to. We are big people watchers and it used to be....an item of trash wouldnt stay on the ground more than a heartbeat...they still get it up, but it appears to take a bit longer theses days
.

 

[Linda in sunny SC]

I hate to disagree with most posters, but in my opinion, the MK was not as well kept when I was there this Dec. as in previous years. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that some of the guests are messy. I thought some of the restrooms weren't very clean. It was worse at Epcot. Also some of the queue areas were trashy. Buzz Lightyear comes to mind. It seems as if people leave a lot of trash in that area for some reason. As to burnt out bulbs, I happened to notice that one of the letters in the Disney Studios sign was burnt out for several nights of our stay when we passed it on the bus. I don't know what the delay in fixing that could have been. Being in such a visible location I would have thought fixing that would be a priority. Anyway, the MK is still probably the best maintained of the parks, although AK is also kept pretty clean.

 

[Chicago526]

I was there in May '03. I noticed no difference, but my mother did say that she got the overall impresion that things were slipping. But I also go to Six Flags a lot, and Disney on it's worst day is a million times cleaner!

I think it has a lot to do with the manners of the guests. Many guests are just not considerate of other people and the CM's!!! How hard is it to put something in the trash? Why do people need to pile heaps of tp on the bathroom floor? (I never could figure how or why that happens!)

It also could depend on when you go. Rehab work is done over the winter, so if you go in the fall it will look worse than in the spring, because they haven't had a chance to do a lot of work yet.

I'm sure the staff cut backs and overall decline of Disney has something to do with it too. But I'd rather put up with with a bit of rubbed off paint and some dim bulbs than risk Disney going belly up. Just look at this whole Comcast thing!

In any event, even if the parks really aren't kept as they used to be, they're still the best run theme parks on the planet.

 

[Synonymous]

There's no doubt that standards are not what they used to be. I've noticed even from trip to trip that some things still haven't been fixed. Our last trip, I saw garbage lying around, which never would have happened before.

The attitude seems to be that they'll let things go until people stop coming because of it. It's a lowest-common denominator strategy.

Let's all pull for Roy, so this kind of thing can come to an end.