mygirlsof2
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
- Messages
- 26
Just back from a great (but VERY chilly) week at Disney. DH, DD 9, DD 7, and I went for 6 days and visited the MK, AK, Epcot, and HS. Let me start by saying that we've been to WDW many many times and we are Disney lovers; however, this time I was a little less impressed with Disney. Let me give you some of the highlights - characters, fastpasses, park opening, new attractions, and lowlights - MK parade, monorail service, MK ride maintenance.
Highlights - The characters made our trip great - again. Saw some new ones (Princess Tiana and Prince Naveed, Daisy Duck, Buzz Lightyear, Pocahontas, Mayor of MK) as well as the old favorites and every interaction was wonderful. We had Chip and Dale dancing, Pooh Tigger and Eeyore playing tricks on one another, Pluto and Daisy dancing with one another, etc. They were all wonderful, took their time with the guests, and were more interactive than I've ever seen before. It was great, great, great. This was the first time that we've been early enough to see the park opening in the morning. We got to the MK just as it was opening and let me tell you - it is worth getting up in the morning to do this!!!! It was a lot of fun, much more than I expected. Really got your excitement level up after a frustrating morning of travel (see below) and the park is relatively empty, so you can proceed to the ride of your choice and ride with no or very little wait. Definitely a positive and we will be doing this more in the future. Also got to see some new attractions that have been added in the last 2 years - American Idol and Toy Story Mania in HS. American Idol was fun if you are in to American Idol. The kids enjoyed it. Toy Story Mania was fun, but definitely not worth the 2-3 hour wait it commanded during our visit there. We got a fast pass and didn't have to wait that long, but I can't see why it was that crowded. It was cute and fun, but I personally wouldn't stand in line more than 30 mins to see it. If you have been in the Toy story ride in MK, the one in HS is similar in concept, just more advanced. Fastpasses again were a great help through all the parks - worked really well and we were glad to have them.
Lowlights - Disney seems to slowly be losing a bit of Disney magic. For you old-timers out there, remember when the parades in MK used to be a sight to see? The parade in AK and HS still is great, but the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade we saw in the MK was not what I've come to expect from Disney. A few floats with the characters, lots of dancers, and 10 mins later it was all over. Very disappointing. We also saw the Celebrate show at the castle. This was good and we enjoyed it, but it is the same show that we saw in 2007 and I think in 2005 also. Come on, Disney, you have talented performers, all the costumes and props you need, and choreographers galore - let them be creative and come up with a few twists if not a whole new show. My biggest disappointment came with the maintenance in Disney. I've been to Disney more than 10 times over the past 20 years and very infrequently have run into any technical gliches. If there was a glich, it was just that, a glich that was an anomaly and fixed quickly and forgotten about. However, this time, we ran into so many "gliches" that it was quite apparent that there is a serious problem with the way the rides and monorails are being maintained. First, we rode on Pirates and It's a Small World two times each. On both rides both times, the boats were jarring and got caught in a "traffic jam", where boats were lined up front to back not going anywhere through the ride. I have never experienced this before. Second, we went on Peter Pan and had our safety bar drop down and then pop up again just as we entered the ride. Had our attendant checked the bar, it probably would have popped up. But she didn't and when the bar did pop up, it was just after we passed the attendant. It wasn't a huge deal, but I had a 4-yr old with me and it was a little scary hanging on to her as you are flying in darkness with nothing to restrain you. I told the attendant as soon as we got off and they did immediately put that particular seat out of service. Third, we went on Space mountain only once. As soon as we were about to board, the ride broke down. We were using a fastpass and were put in the line without the fastpass. Had to wait more than 30 minutes to ride and then noticed that they shut the ride down completely shortly after we rode. What a disappointment for those that may have been on their last night there and waiting to use their fastpass. Fourth, the monorail was horrible. We used the monorail only 4 times and had the monorail break down 2 of those times. The first time it broke down, we were on our way in to the MK first thing in the morning. We had to disembark the monorail, go back down to the ferry, and take the ferry in. Since it was about 30 degrees and the ferry has no doors and few windows, we were not happy about this. On the way out of the park the same day, we waited more than 20 minutes for a monorail to arrive at the MK to get to the T&TC. One finally arrived, we rode to the T&TC, and then sat in the monorail for another 15 minutes waiting for the doors to open. We were at the platform of the T&TC but the doors would not open. This was incredibly frustrating as it was late at night, everyone was tired, and we were all standing because it was so crowded. When the doors finally did open, we missed our last bus back to the hotel and had to take a taxi. A 50% success rate for monorail rides is not good. Disney really needs to work on this and quickly.
Overall, we had a great time. But it seems like Disney is becoming more corporate trying to get by with as little as possible. I don't want to see WDW turn into just another theme park, but it seems like that is the direction that they are going. Let's hope they turn these maintenance issues around.
Highlights - The characters made our trip great - again. Saw some new ones (Princess Tiana and Prince Naveed, Daisy Duck, Buzz Lightyear, Pocahontas, Mayor of MK) as well as the old favorites and every interaction was wonderful. We had Chip and Dale dancing, Pooh Tigger and Eeyore playing tricks on one another, Pluto and Daisy dancing with one another, etc. They were all wonderful, took their time with the guests, and were more interactive than I've ever seen before. It was great, great, great. This was the first time that we've been early enough to see the park opening in the morning. We got to the MK just as it was opening and let me tell you - it is worth getting up in the morning to do this!!!! It was a lot of fun, much more than I expected. Really got your excitement level up after a frustrating morning of travel (see below) and the park is relatively empty, so you can proceed to the ride of your choice and ride with no or very little wait. Definitely a positive and we will be doing this more in the future. Also got to see some new attractions that have been added in the last 2 years - American Idol and Toy Story Mania in HS. American Idol was fun if you are in to American Idol. The kids enjoyed it. Toy Story Mania was fun, but definitely not worth the 2-3 hour wait it commanded during our visit there. We got a fast pass and didn't have to wait that long, but I can't see why it was that crowded. It was cute and fun, but I personally wouldn't stand in line more than 30 mins to see it. If you have been in the Toy story ride in MK, the one in HS is similar in concept, just more advanced. Fastpasses again were a great help through all the parks - worked really well and we were glad to have them.
Lowlights - Disney seems to slowly be losing a bit of Disney magic. For you old-timers out there, remember when the parades in MK used to be a sight to see? The parade in AK and HS still is great, but the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade we saw in the MK was not what I've come to expect from Disney. A few floats with the characters, lots of dancers, and 10 mins later it was all over. Very disappointing. We also saw the Celebrate show at the castle. This was good and we enjoyed it, but it is the same show that we saw in 2007 and I think in 2005 also. Come on, Disney, you have talented performers, all the costumes and props you need, and choreographers galore - let them be creative and come up with a few twists if not a whole new show. My biggest disappointment came with the maintenance in Disney. I've been to Disney more than 10 times over the past 20 years and very infrequently have run into any technical gliches. If there was a glich, it was just that, a glich that was an anomaly and fixed quickly and forgotten about. However, this time, we ran into so many "gliches" that it was quite apparent that there is a serious problem with the way the rides and monorails are being maintained. First, we rode on Pirates and It's a Small World two times each. On both rides both times, the boats were jarring and got caught in a "traffic jam", where boats were lined up front to back not going anywhere through the ride. I have never experienced this before. Second, we went on Peter Pan and had our safety bar drop down and then pop up again just as we entered the ride. Had our attendant checked the bar, it probably would have popped up. But she didn't and when the bar did pop up, it was just after we passed the attendant. It wasn't a huge deal, but I had a 4-yr old with me and it was a little scary hanging on to her as you are flying in darkness with nothing to restrain you. I told the attendant as soon as we got off and they did immediately put that particular seat out of service. Third, we went on Space mountain only once. As soon as we were about to board, the ride broke down. We were using a fastpass and were put in the line without the fastpass. Had to wait more than 30 minutes to ride and then noticed that they shut the ride down completely shortly after we rode. What a disappointment for those that may have been on their last night there and waiting to use their fastpass. Fourth, the monorail was horrible. We used the monorail only 4 times and had the monorail break down 2 of those times. The first time it broke down, we were on our way in to the MK first thing in the morning. We had to disembark the monorail, go back down to the ferry, and take the ferry in. Since it was about 30 degrees and the ferry has no doors and few windows, we were not happy about this. On the way out of the park the same day, we waited more than 20 minutes for a monorail to arrive at the MK to get to the T&TC. One finally arrived, we rode to the T&TC, and then sat in the monorail for another 15 minutes waiting for the doors to open. We were at the platform of the T&TC but the doors would not open. This was incredibly frustrating as it was late at night, everyone was tired, and we were all standing because it was so crowded. When the doors finally did open, we missed our last bus back to the hotel and had to take a taxi. A 50% success rate for monorail rides is not good. Disney really needs to work on this and quickly.
Overall, we had a great time. But it seems like Disney is becoming more corporate trying to get by with as little as possible. I don't want to see WDW turn into just another theme park, but it seems like that is the direction that they are going. Let's hope they turn these maintenance issues around.
