Just back: gripes and opinions

[rrsafety]

Had a wonderful time at WDW Jan 19 - 24, lot's of great stuff, but thought I'd post a few gripes and opinions, along with some kudos, too.

- Disney should seriously look into passenger Trams for parking lot pickups that are not run on diesel/gas. Perhaps natural gas or electric would be a better option. The stink of exhaust doesn't say, "Welcome" like it should.

- "Figment" is a waste of time and has nothing to do with Imagination. Should be scrapped and re-done.

- Also ready for the scrap heap is the Magic of Disney Animation, featuring a lame "live animator" and a pre-taped Mushu. Eddie Murphy's constant wise-cracking and sarcasm spoils what could be a learning opportunity and makes it simply a crass exercise.

- Speaking of crass, someone please shutup the cast member manning the turnstiles at MK as the park closed who kept screaming "I say 'Donald', you say 'Duck'….'DONALD'….(silence). "I said SAY 'DUCK'!!! Fortunately, there were a few other cast members there who appeared aghast.

- In general, cast members not a friendly as in the past, but good help is hard to find.

- The beginning of the Back Lot tour at MGM featuring the PT boat is good, the rest of the tour is a big zero.

- The themeing at Soarin' is bland and boring. Why is the theme set up like a plane flight when it is a hang-glider simulation???

- The FastPass seems not to work quite right at Peter Pan and Pooh. Don't know why, but it doesn't appear to work as seamlessly in those two spots….

- Stitch's Great Escape was so-so, and the final segment of the Carousel of Progress has to be totally redone.

- Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama is ill-thought out. What were they thinking?

- Primeval Whirl was a disappointment. Too herky-jerky for my taste.

- The intensity of Its Tough to Be a Bug still surprises me. Not quite "entertainment" for anyone under 10 years of age (and some who are older, too)

- I still say they should drop the "poacher" storyline from the Safari.

- Festival of the Lion King is good (especially the beginning), but once Timon takes center stage, it loses most of its impact.

- There should be a longer singing program at the American Pavillion.



But all in all, I liked much more stuff than I had problems with. Especially good were:

Princess Breakfast at Norway
Fantasmic - as always
Ellen's Energy - as always
It’s a small world - nice and clean
Philharmagic - great, great stuff
Soarin' - fun
Kidcot Funstops - daughter loved it
Beauty and the Beast show
Disney Playhouse
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
My tuna sandwich at Columbia House
Wishes
Spectromagic
And many many more….

 

[Matty_Disfan]

wow... ummm.... at least you have a good sense of what you don't like.

I disagree with many of your comments. Figment is great. It's a small world is horrific.

oh well.

 

[lillygator]

to each his own!

 

[dreamscometrue47]

We also just got back from a Jan 16-21 trip, and had a great time.

Just a few comments.

I found ALL cast members to be very upbeat and friendly...not a single frown or scowl anywhere to be found.

As for Figment, what would Imagination be without a Figment of your Imagination???? Sorry, Figment makes Imagination for us.....He's what my kids could never express in real words....

We happened to enjoy the queue at Soarin' the one time that we had to use it....We all enjoyed guessing the trivia questions about different lands, countries....

Pan and Pooh were walk ons for us all week, so I can't comment on your fast pass problem.

We didn't do the Backlot tour this trip, for the reason you stated.

Also, I agree about Disney Animation....I remember the good old days when I looked forward to this attraction..

LOVE THOSE VOICES OF LIBERTY!!

But I'm glad you seemed to have had a great time...

 

[JulielovesDisney]

Just a few comments. I agree with some stuff, Disney should get rid of the diesel run vehicles. They smell bad, and I would think with all the technology they have in the parks, they could find an alternate way to run the trams.

I never liked the Figment ride, so I agree they should put something else there, but it is a big hit with other guests.

And Backlot Tours has gotten boring, but they had to cut a whole section out of it because of Lights, Motors, Action.

I personally love the themeing for Soarin'. It's supposed to represent flight, not just airplanes. And I love Chester and Hester's Dinorama. I think its wacky and a nice break from the jungle themeing of the rest of AK. Primeval Whirl is one of my favorite rides, but I agree it can get very jerky.

And the poacher storyline is to get guests aware of how dangerous and how poachers ruins animal life. It goes along with the whole idea of Disney rides, not just to thrill the riders, but to teach them a lesson. I think its a great storyline for the ride.

And a lot of people complain about the animatronic elephant at the end. Yes, it does stick out, but they can't stick a real elephant in the truck all day. That would cause many problems for Disney.

 

[TheresaNY]

Just a few more comments....

-How about if the "No Smoking" rules (smoking in DESIGNATED areas ONLY) were actually ENFORCED .

-How about if the "No More Fastpasses Available" sign was at the bottom of the hill to the entrance of The Land instead of at the top.

-How about if line "cutters" were sent back to the end of the line when the CM witness it.

-How about if everyone that is riding in an ECV or w/c for convenience would wait in lines for buses and rides like the rest of us.

-How about if everyone that used mugs from other resorts were asked to go up and pay for their drink.

-How about if guests used pool chairs to sit in and not as towel racks.

 

[binkyboots]

-How about if everyone that is riding in an ECV or w/c for convenience would wait in lines for buses and rides like the rest of us.

*sigh*

hidden disabilities, not non existant. my dh looks pretty good, unless you see him having a seizure, falling over, or just in pain.

I guess (pulls on flame proof suit) what I'm saying is that you dont know, cant know who's disabled, who's ill, who's recovering from something....

we took a bus at wdw, we waited a long time because we were the 5th wc in line! a longer wait than the foot passengers by far.

 

[rascalmom]

-How about if everyone that is riding in an ECV or w/c for convenience would wait in lines for buses and rides like the rest of us.

ECV riders do wait in lines - they may just wait in a different spot. Very rarely can the lines not accomodate the ECV - mostly only in MK. They load wheelchairs and ECV's on the buses first for everyone's safety. And remember, just because you can't SEE a physical limitation does not mean it is not there and that the person is only riding for convenience.

I have had to use an ECV & believe me - they are anything BUT convenient!

 

[LadyDulcinea1]

Just a few quick responses......

-Love Figment as some other people have stated, he makes Imagination for me (although his prominance and importance have been sadly reduced )

-Didn't notice any problem with FP for Pooh or Peter Pan, so I'm not sure exactly what your problem was

-Personally I miss the old Magic of Disney Animation as well, but I do like that you are able to try drawing characters now, DM and I found this quite enjoyable

-Reiterating that the poacher storyline is there to teach guests lessons, since that is a large part of Animal Kingdom, to educate

-Didn't really have a problem with unfriendly CM when I was there in August, we actually met some very friendly and helpful people....I guess it all depends on the day

 

[o2bacelt]

I have to respectfully disagree with you about cast members, as the neice of a cast member who won the Excellence in Disney award a few years ago, I have NEVER in all my times of going to Disney encountered one remotely rude or unfriendly cast member. I think the cast member that was trying to psyche up the crowd was awesome! That's what cast members are supposed to do. Share their excitement for their job.

We absolutely LOVE Figment, he's one of my favorites, and adding Eric Idle to the ride was a brilliant thing for me because, well, I love Monty Python so it's a double bonus for us.

To each his own. Glad you managed to have a good time though!

I know we can't wait to get down there in 6 weeks!

 

[binkyboots]

hehe, I love figment too, in fact, I've now got the song in my head

 

[LindaR]

Gosh, I just LOVE threads like this!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I am going to throw my hat in with those who mourn the loss of the old Magic of Disney Animation. Back in the heyday of Disney Animation, I would make a beeline for MGM and that attraction, as well as the store following the attraction. I would spend so much time there, just wishing I could get up the courage to follow my dream to become an animator as well. I even picked up the printout they used to have "How to be a Disney Animator" that I guess alot of people requested. I don't have a clue whether or not they still have that, although if they did it would be totally a joke as Disney Animation is a pale wisp of what it used to be.

Actually, if I'm going to have a disappointment about WDW, that would be it. THat place was the place of dreams for me...now it's a basement of what used to be. It's almost painful for me to go there anymore.

Oh, I just returned as well, and I thought all the cast members were great. Never had a problem.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

How about if the "No Smoking" rules (smoking in DESIGNATED areas ONLY) were actually ENFORCED .

I agree - I was amazed at the number of people smoking all over the parks when I was there earlier this month.

 

[flea1267]

as for Cast Members, we were there January 18th through January 22nd and found all the CMs to be especially friendly and helpful...much better than what we ran into when we were there in May.....I figured that most of the CMs there in the slower months were the full time/seasoned CMs who actually take their jobs seriously. anyway an CMs reading this, thanks for being so great in January!

 

[mamacatnv]

We just returned from 8 days and we have not a single complaint, loved it all!
Did things go wrong? Sure.
Did people/CM's go out of their way for us even though they didn't have to? Yes many times.
Did we have to be inconvenienced? Of Course.
Did we have an awesome family trip? Absolutely.
Does the whole wide world revolve around me and my family? NO.
Was a Disney World Vacation made with just ME in mind? No. Disney accomodates all persons and that is part of their attraction.

IMHO No one else in the world can provide the type and quality of a vacation that Disney offers. We can go to a number of other places and have different experiences, but no one does the "Theme" park/resort experience like Disney.

 

[andromedaslove]

I just don't understand why anyone who had a "wonderful" trip would come back with so many negative things to say. What was so wrong with a CM trying to play around by getting everyone to scream Donald Duck. I myself would have joined in!! I LOVE FIGMENT, and so do my husband and kids.

I am not saying you don't have a right to voice your opinions about what needs to be changed at the park. I just don't get it I guess. You listed in detail everything that upset you, yet in the things that you enjoyed you didn't even care to really explain. Maybe you should focus more on the things that did go good, instead of the things that annoyed you.

Dana

 

[terribm]

I completly get the whole "everyone is entitled to his/her opinion" thing. I just got the feeling from the tone of your post that you were not in a very Disney state of mind during your trip. Why would someone cheering about Donald Duck bother you so much. Do you realize where you are? My opinion is that you could lighten up a bit.

T

 

[kelleigh1]

I was there from Jan. 15th-22nd and am also confused about the fastpass issue for the rides you mentioned. We walked on at all times so fastpass was never an issue.

 

[airtime]

How about if everyone that is riding in an ECV or w/c for convenience would wait in lines for buses and rides like the rest of us.

I think you need to be cautious about this point of view. My dw fortunately is not confined to an ECV or wheelchair day to day at home. However, she does suffer from severe arthritis that would keep her from joining us on our family vacations, so I rent her a scooter every time we go to Orlando. Is that "for convenience"? From our point of view, it's a necessity, or we would have no family WDW or USF vacation.

Furthermore, she waits just as long as anyone else at attractions. We were at USF two weeks ago, and she sometimes was allowed to use an elevator where everyone else uses stairs, but she still had to wait approximately the same time for all the attractions as anyone else. From prior WDW trips we have taken, I remember that being the same situation there.

I understand your comment as directed toward those who would impersonate being disabled or needing assistance to gain some unfair advantage over others (and those people probably deserve their own special place in hell ) but be careful in judging those who those people are as opposed to those who really need the device. Instead, be glad that you are able to enjoy a vacation at WDW without needing to deal with the inconvenience of a wheelchair or ECV. (My back ached for 3 days after returning from Orlando due to loading and unloading the ECV to/from our minivan.)

Tim, who really doesn't mean any ill will, but wants his dw to enjoy her trip without thinking people believe her to be lazy and inconsiderate for using an ECV.