Is Walt Disney World dying? :(

[BrianTheMute]

I just started planning on taking my girlfriend to WDW for her very first time (I have been there 15+ times). I have been SO excited to show her the place where I basically spent my entire childhood, especially since I have been on a WDW hiatus since 2006, due to budget constraints. But then, I came here, and started seeing multiple threads about the decline of WDW... notably the quality/diversity of the food, and increasing genericness of souvenirs. Not to mention the closing of classic rides. Now, I've grown used to having to say goodbye to rides, especially since Disney is usually good with creating new and exciting ones. But this, now added with the other declines I've seen people speak of, have made my excitement plummet from 10 to 5 rather quickly.

So, my question; is it really as bad as some people make it seem? I still see so many threads about how great and amazing WDW is, so I figure it can't be THAT bad, right? But on the other hand, the food has always been one of my favorite aspects of a Disney vacation, and eating really nice meals was one of the top romantic things I wanted to do with my girlfriend. Is good and unique food a thing of the past at WDW, or are there still places you can find a really good meal? I'm hoping World Showcase hasn't lowered their cuisine standard too much, but I'd like to know I can find some nice dining in MK and DHS as well.

So, give me your input, tell me your stories. Is WDW still worth it? Will she enjoy it? Where can we find the best food?

 

[albertagirl]

I think it is still worth it. Now, I will say that I have only been going since December, 2007. I don't know about some of the rides that people long for, or the unique great food in the days where you didn't need to make reservations 180 days in advance. What I do know is that I love every moment I have in WDW.

The food....well you can go the the same restaurant day in and day out and have different experiences. Different cook, different wait staff. Your experience will never be the same day to day. I just go in thinking that it will be a new experience, every time. I have read time after time here that Hollywood & Vine is horrible. I have never had that. The food has never been horrible, nor has the service. But I experienced it for myself, I didn't base my experience on others.

The souvenirs, well I still manage to find something in one store that I haven't seen in another. And really, if I see something I want, it won't matter if I had only see it once or a thousand times. I want it and I get it.

I appreciate the wisdom I find in these boards and love all the tips, tricks, hints and everything else I find here. At the end though I go back to WDW each time knowing that, good, bad or in between any experience I have at WDW I would never have any where else.

Oh....and the best food....I love Le Cellier (love the new poutine!!!) and I really enjoyed Teppan Edo.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I just started planning on taking my girlfriend to WDW for her very first time (I have been there 15+ times). I have been SO excited to show her the place where I basically spent my entire childhood, especially since I have been on a WDW hiatus since 2006, due to budget constraints. But then, I came here, and started seeing multiple threads about the decline of WDW... notably the quality/diversity of the food, and increasing genericness of souvenirs. Not to mention the closing of classic rides. Now, I've grown used to having to say goodbye to rides, especially since Disney is usually good with creating new and exciting ones. But this, now added with the other declines I've seen people speak of, have made my excitement plummet from 10 to 5 rather quickly.

So, my question; is it really as bad as some people make it seem? I still see so many threads about how great and amazing WDW is, so I figure it can't be THAT bad, right? But on the other hand, the food has always been one of my favorite aspects of a Disney vacation, and eating really nice meals was one of the top romantic things I wanted to do with my girlfriend. Is good and unique food a thing of the past at WDW, or are there still places you can find a really good meal? I'm hoping World Showcase hasn't lowered their cuisine standard too much, but I'd like to know I can find some nice dining in MK and DHS as well.

So, give me your input, tell me your stories. Is WDW still worth it? Will she enjoy it? Where can we find the best food?

Really, you just can't pay attention to all that negative stuff. Mostly (note that I said mostly) it's just a bunch of complaining from people with really unattainable and unrealistic expectations.

Disney is just as wonderful as it has always been. Sure, it's not the same as when it opened it's doors, or even when we all were there as children in the 80s and 90s. And sure, there are some nostalgic rides that aren't there anymore, but there are so many new wonderful rides to enjoy!

As for the food, again, it's still good. We have been going to Disney for years - pre Dining Plan and post Dining Plan - and I can honestly say that I have NEVER had a bad meal at WDW, ever. Period. Of course, some places are better than others, but none are bad. I think Ohana is the best meal in all of WDW. We also love, LeCellier, Coral Reef, Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree Tavern, 50's Primetime Cafe, Mama Melrose's, Whispering Canyon Cafe, 1900 Park Fare (love those step-sisters!) and of course, Chef Mickey's!

Enjoy your trip and enjoy the magic!

 

[BrianTheMute]

Thank you, you both have eased my fears quite a bit and brought my excitement back up

As for dining, where has the most unique food? I want to plan at least one really fancy dinner.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Thank you, you both have eased my fears quite a bit and brought my excitement back up

As for dining, where has the most unique food? I want to plan at least one really fancy dinner.

Check out http://allears.net/din/dining.htm and read each of the menus and review of each WDW restaurant.

 

[papamouse1]

Let me just chime in and say our Family have been Disney addicts for more than a decade, but WDW is fairly new to us. I hear all the complaints in the drop of food quality/uniqueness and souvenirs, etc... and while I can't deny they are changing ( I have little to compare it to) I can honestly say that every single year we wiat with such anitcipation for our Disney trip to arrive! It is magical every single time? Have we had poor service/dirty rooms/broken items/disappointing experiences? Yes, but the fact is Disney on its worst day still destroys the alternatives.

Every year I go to my family and say "Are you guys sick of Disney? Want to try something new? Sea World.. Grand Canyon.. Universal.. ?"
Every year it is the same response.. "No Way Dad!"
Decide right now you are going to enjoy your trip and you will.. even if things are different than you remember.

As far as unique meals, that is truly subjective and dependent on your likes/dislikes. Alot of folks pick Cali Grill, but the menu doesn't appeal to us so much. I highly recommend Narcoossee's near fireworks time for the MK area. For Boardwalk area, try the Flying Fish. And Jiko is very unique and memorable at AKL.
Hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[minandmick]

No, Disney World isn't dying. It's just as great as it has always been, even if some things have changed.

No worries.

 

[suemom2kay]

Sometimes I think we should rename the these forums the DISwhiners.

A lot of people see the glass as half empty. The economy has affected everyone includig Disney and they have made some cuts. We have a great time every time we go.

Have a magical vacation.

 

[BrianTheMute]

What about the souvenirs? Is it true that there are no longer souvenirs for each park or resort? Only generalized merchandise everywhere?

 

[SIMJUN]

There are still park/resort themed souvenirs.

WDW is still a wonderful place

 

[2Tiggies]

No, Disney World isn't dying. It's just as great as it has always been, even if some things have changed.

No worries.

Another thing to remember is that you can't see something as improved or declining if you have nothing to compare it to. Sometimes I think it is a mixed blessing for those who have never been; they just get to soak it up and enjoy the magic trying to measure up each trip against the last one.

Go have fun, enjoy yourself. You're going to love it!!

Sometimes I think we should rename the these forums the DISwhiners.

Who's bringin' the cheese?

 

[nicpries]

I like to think of it this way. The old that they got rid of is the new to us and will one day be a classic to us. Our kids will ride these rides and one day they will comeplain of our classics going away and the new coming in. It's a never ending circle, but I think I like it. Like Walt said. You can always add and change to it. I think thats the beauty of it. Every generation will have their own classics, just like music and movies. The world keeps changing.

 

[darlaya]

I agree that you have to take what you read on these boards with a grain of salt.

I have been going to Disney consistently for the past 15 years. We keep going back because no one does it better than Disney. I love the hospitality, the theming, the cleanliness of the parks, the magic and all the memories we have in the parks and resorts.

Vacations are what you make it. Disney gives you such a wonderful stage to have a magical experience.

As for restaurants, we have had mostly great meals. In our last trip in May, we loved the Biergarten, Raglan Rd Irish Pub (DTD), San Angel Inn...with good meals at Bomas and dining in France. For our upcoming trip in September, we will be going to Ohanas, Biergartern, Cap May Cafe and Raglan Rd (teen boys travelling with us so we are planning mostly buffets).

I think you will share Disney with your GF through your eyes. It is a wonderous place with so much to do in and out of the parks.

Don't let comments on these boards take your joy away from planning and visiting Disney. Sometimes....you just have to stop reading posts or pass up the ones that have a negative slant.

Go for it!

 

[d-r]

There have been some subtle changes, but 99% of the guests would never even notice. WDW is still the happiest place on earth, well, the second happiest after Disneyland, I guess. The place is still full of magic, there are still wonderful cast members, there is still pixie dust and dreams coming true.

IMHO, what you see is a subtle change in priorities from the top. When Eisner was CEO he did a lot of things wrong. Let's face that. There were times the parks weren't kept up as well as they should, when things needed to be painted and maintained. But one thing that Eisner focused on was getting people who weren't just family units to come to walt disney world (and trying for disneyland). You saw things like pleasure island open, the disney institute, and marketing focused on dinks. And so there was more of a focus on things like dining and merchandise. In fact, the dining got much better than it was before Eisner. It was a source of pride, and it was used as a marketing tool to draw in people that weren't just coming to take their kids to the parks. But under Eisner there were always bean counters making sure that the accounting added up, don't forget that. And the money made in the parks was always paying for money lost in other parts of the company. You probably don't remember the theme parks providing the billions in cash to buy the fox family channel, for example.

With Igor there is a different focus. They really have lost a lot of the focus on marketing to dinks. The attitude is that it never really worked. Those adults who were coming to wdw (and remember they tried like heck to make disneyland a "destination" resort also) would have come anyway, is the though. So you see pleasure island close. No adventurers club. No disney institute, because the philosophy is that people weren't coming here to take cooking lessons anyway. More of a focus on KEEPING people on property (have no doubt, that was always the philosophy) through things like magical express (no rental cars to drive away in) and the dining plan (if the guests have the meals payed for, they won't go off-property). Now, things like free bus rides and free meals cost money. So there has been a bit of move towards homogenization, towards standardizing. Sometimes this feels like they are just moving people in ad moving them out. but guess what, it works. The parks are full most of the year and so are the restaurants. And there is money going in to the parks for expansions, improvements, upkeep.

It isn't perfect, and it never was and it never will be. But have no worries it is still a place filled with fun. Like I said 99% of guests would never notice anything has changed, and it is subtle. What you see here are a very small number of experienced guests who make a hobby out of talking about wdw. So of course they are going to notice things wrong. But that demographic has been finding things wrong for at least the past 10 years, I know for a fact, and probably the last 25. So have fun and don't worry. Walt Disney World is absolutely not dying.

 

[Cee]

My first trip was early 70's. It just gets better and better in my opinion. We love everything about it. Breakfast at Boma in AKL is amazing. You will be together in Walt Disney World. What could be more wonderful and romantic than that? Have the time of your lives.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Several years ago Disney decided they wanted to fill the restaurants. At that time you could walk in almost anywhere most of the time. So they came up with dining plans. NOw tables are tough to come by and this frustrates people who have been going for as long as I have(25+ years). They also changed menus to include items that are ordered more often. Now Disney actually makes money on dining. Some unique items have gone away, but others have arrived. I've eaten TS meals on every trip, and other than hating Boma and finding H&V mediocre, every meal has been great. And I keep finding new places to love.
Npw on the merchandise, very little is park or resort exclusive. Most tags now read Disney parks. I always like wearing DL stuff at WDW and vice versa. Oh well...

 

[OhThePain]

I agree about taking everything you read on these boards with a grain of salt. Make that a BIG grain of salt. Don't read to much into anyones reviews or opinions on anything. It is always best to make your own opinions. What one person loves another person will hate. This goes for resorts, restaurants, parks, rides, shows, transportation and anything else you can think of. For every Ying theres a Yang.

I went every couple of years as a kid. Then from the time I was about 15 until a few years ago, I just never made it down. I took my girlfriend on her very first trip and now we have our third trip togethere planned. She loves it as much as I still do. And don't worry if she doesn't really get into the planning process, she won't really understand it the first time. I know my girlfriend didn't (she thought she was too old for Disney when we first went). But the second she saw Cindy's castle for the first time in person, she teared up. Made the whole trip worth it.

We personally aren't too fond of most of the buffet dinners, but the buffet breakfasts are just fine (you can't really mess up breakfast). Biergarten and Boma stand out as dinner buffets that are pretty good. We tend to do a lot of signature dinners. The meals are good, the atmospheres are nice, we usually have later meals so there are less kids around. The 2 signatures we go to that are usually on the louder side are Flying Fish (which is one of our favorite meals on property) and Cali. Grill (good sushi, great view of Wishes). Jiko and Citricos are also on the top of our signature meal list. Also, when it comes to counter service meals, don't think that you are going to be eating burgers and fries every day. I mean if you want to you can, but there is enough variety where you can go a whole trip without eating burgers, pizza or chicken nuggets. A little research goes a long way.

As a side note, you are never too old for character meals. My girlfriend and I have done just about all of them and hardly ever feel out of place. Some of the best character interactions we have had have been at 1900 Park Fare for breakfast, Akershus for any meal and Garden Grill dinner.

Once you are 100% that this is a trip you want to take, don't be affraid to ask questions on the Dis. There are tons of things you can see and do that most WDW guides don't have too much information on.

 

[PJAY]

Every time I hear that Disney is going down hill, I simply head down to a local fair or the closest amusement park and I am reminded why Disney is the best.
While my local fair will offer traditional park fare, not enough can be said about the atmosphere Disney has to offer. To immerse yourself in a world that is "better" than the one you live in is enough to make me excited to go each and every time. Yes, souvenir quality is down from 10 years ago, but I feel some of it is improving from three years ago.
I agree with PP who said food at a given restaurant can be different from day to day depending on the chef's wait staff etc. but we still have at least two or three amazing meals a trip.
And then there's the magic. Some people complain that its gone, but I think it's still there, you just need to keep your eyes open to it. The joy I see in other people's eyes when they see the castle for the first time or meet Mickey--there's still nothing quite like it.

 

[glammadiva]

No, WDW is not dying. One cannot kill magic. I go solo, with adults only and with kids. Each trip is magical. I don't eat signature, but I do eat TS and buffet. Crystal Palace is wonderful and the eggplant @ Villa Napoli is to die for! My brother thinks the ribs at Ray's are good and I must give a shout out to Zebra domes, chocolate croissants, the blueberry croissnt bread pudding and the bread pudding at Tusker House! Disney had taken a middle aged woman who did not "do rides" and who had no interest in WDW and turned her into a WDW addict who loves ALL rides, including the dark ones -- all in the time span of 2 years. No WDW is not dying, it will evolve and change, but dead -- never!!!!

 

[TisBit]

Others have summed it up pretty well.

I remember in the 1980's as a kid going to WDW and my parents talking about how Disney was changing so much and it was just getting worse and worse. It is a never ending theme that people have. WDW has built a business that its own reputation can hurt itself. Whenever there is a change or someone sees something they don't like, it is usually blown out of proportion, because it was at Disney. Anywhere else, they wouldn't even notice or worry about it.

As for some recent changes in food. Here is my theorey or belief on the matter. One, the economy has been bad for a few years and yes they have cut back to some degree....but they have to or lose money. Second, this country has gone to extreme's about food. NY and CA have actually made some radical laws in most people's opinions and the food service industry across the board is rattled because of it. No one, especially Disney wants a national news article on how its such and such meal is 8k calories and create an outrage. I have especially noticed this in the childrens menu, my kids are just not huge fans of the food...but because you can't even get pepperoni pizza at 95% of the restaurants...it has to be a grilled chicken pizza...sorry, kids don't get that, but it passes the "health" test.

Souvineers are in the same boat with some of the food. The economy is down, people are not buying a ton of souvineers and the resort specific ones are not being reordered in quantity. Lately, I have actually heard that some of it is coming back and as the economy/travel increases I am sure the changes will swing back the other way.