Kind of disapointed in MK

[Metallicat]

US and IOA are always empty so perhaps Disney is doing something right.

You have got to be kidding. I go to the Universal parks quite often since I'm an annual passholder and the parks are always very crowded. esp. IOA.

I enjoy ALL the parks with the MK being my very favorite, but I also enjoy US/IOA and Seaworld too. the parks are like Ice cream. why limit yourself to just one flavor? they are all fun and have their different "feel" to them.

I have never understood people who act like they are cheating /having an affair on WDW by venturing off to another park. not everything has to have Mickey Mouse on it to be fun and this is coming from someone who REALLY loves Mickey but, I also love seeing Shrek and Shamu too.

 

[peter11435]

You have got to be kidding. I go to the Universal parks quite often since I'm an annual passholder and the parks are always very crowded. esp. IOA.

They may seem crowded but they are not. MK's annual attendance is higher than US and IOA combined. AK (Disney's lowest attended park) has higher attendance than either US or IOA. In 2005 US and IOA attendance dropped an additional 16% while Disneys went up slightly. Their 2005 profits also droped by 25%. I think the primary reason their parks seem busy is their very poor crowd management skills.

 

[Metallicat]

I hear someone on the bus back to resort say something along these lines every trip.. this is what I say to them:

MK (Epcot, etc) is a theme park. Universal is an amusement park. There's a difference.

Actually, "Universal" is two completly separate theme parks next door to each other.
IOA, may seem like an amusement park with its thrill rides, but the Studios does not. in fact, it has a real working movie studios feel to it that no other park outside of Hollywood has.
Not to be rude, but people shouldn't listen to what tourists on buses say about other parks/attractions. they may have had a bad experience and by listening and going by what they say, well, you may miss out on alot. I have overheard lots of people talking about attractions and they didn't know what they were talking about and you want to but in and say something to correct them, but you just let it go.
Just like the man I overheard talking about the RNR telling people that it didn't go upside down. HA!

 

[Metallicat]

They may seem crowded but they are not. MK's annual attendance is higher than US and IOA combined. AK (Disney's lowest attended park) has higher attendance than either US or IOA. In 2005 US and IOA attendance dropped an additional 16% while Disneys went up slightly. Their 2005 profits also droped by 25%. I think the primary reason their parks seem busy is their very poor crowd management skills.

They may seem crowded but are not? if the wait times are 30-60 minutes then it certainly seems crowded to me.
I'm sure the MK's attendance is always higher. it is the "biggie" as far as the theme parks go, but half of the people in there bring two or three kids with them, so attendance will always be higher there mainly because of the children coming into the parks with their families.

 

[micknpluto]

I love thrill rides as well, but I can go to the local 6 flags if I want to ride rides like that. I love the MK, its actuallyt my FAV park at WDW. I do like to visit MGM for TOT and RRC.. But nothing compares to the magic of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[curiouser]

Actually, "Universal" is two completly separate theme parks next door to each other.
IOA, may seem like an amusement park with its thrill rides, but the Studios does not. in fact, it has a real working movie studios feel to it that no other park outside of Hollywood has.
Not to be rude, but people shouldn't listen to what tourists on buses say about other parks/attractions. they may have had a bad experience and by listening and going by what they say, well, you may miss out on alot. I have overheard lots of people talking about attractions and they didn't know what they were talking about and you want to but in and say something to correct them, but you just let it go.
Just like the man I overheard talking about the RNR telling people that it didn't go upside down. HA!

I'm talking in regards to people complaining about why MK doesn't have a ton of roller coasters. I usually just try to explain the difference.. that MK is about a "theme" of a fairy tale kind of world.. other places with tons of coasters (like my beloved Cedar Point) are less concerned with "theming" and put more effort into coasters/thrill rides. I don't knock one or other, just try to help put into perspective why MK probably won't have one of the tallest/fastest/most G forces type of coaster anytime soon.

And I don't just butt in to people's conversations, that's rude. And if I shouldn't listen to other tourists, I might as well leave this site cos that's mostly what its incorporated of.

 

[snowbunny]

There is some hope that someday, again, someone will see the light and give us something really great to replace JC, just like they did with Toad.

Really Great is subjective of course, but the Pooh ride is one of the lamest I've ever been on, certainly not a worthy replacement for the classic antics of Mr. Toad. I hope no one else 'sees the light' anytime soon.

And in agreement with what another poster said...replacement of the wonderful penny arcade on Main Street USA with wall to wall retail

 

[leighe]

I think it's silly to act like MK has never changed at all from Walt Disney's vision of it. I can think of things that are totally different from when I used to go as a child in the 80's. Mr. Toad is gone as is 20,000 Leagues. I dislike the fact that both sides of Main Street is nothing but a massive souvie shop. I loved it when there were more distinct stores and the penny arcade with the old-fashioned games. I agree that the main attraction of MK is the theming and the "magic" but I also think that there are ways that the super-talented Imagineers could come up with to incorporate thrill-type rides into what is already there.

 

[civileng68]

Keep in mind that they already have -- at least, Disneyland is rather significantly different, in many ways, than it was when it opened. The breadth of WDW allows MK more time to change, but it still will change. Rifle around the archives and you'll find lots of discussions about the radical changes that have already occurred, most notably on Main Street USA. Change will occur, and it will reflect what guests vote for with their wallets.

This is true but,,,, in Ca they DO have a delima that they do not have in Orlando, again, space.

In Disneyland, they are trying to fit all of the popular attractions in between two parks (one being the MK/disneyland), whereas in Florida they dont HAVE to put them in the MK and can put them elsewhere.

While Disneyland is the original, MK Orlando still has COP, and I think that while neither is the "original" dream, the one in Orlando has the ability to maintain more originality than in Anaheim.

 

[civileng68]

Really Great is subjective of course, but the Pooh ride is one of the lamest I've ever been on, certainly not a worthy replacement for the classic antics of Mr. Toad. I hope no one else 'sees the light' anytime soon.

And in agreement with what another poster said...replacement of the wonderful penny arcade on Main Street USA with wall to wall retail

I agree with this...........I like the Pooh attraction but, while I don't want them to replace classic attractions (especially dark rides), I do have a problem with them having so many retail locations that great attractions could fill. They could rip out several of those retail locations in Frontierland (and not destroy the buildings or facade) and put in a great dark ride.

I think this is the sign of modern management and one that likely wont change..........while the rides bring you, they like to feed you retail.

 

[boomhauer]

I still love Main Street, and love the shops there, but I agree - I miss the attraction experience of it as well.

However, the Confectionary is pretty much a national treasure in my opinion.

 

[scanne]

The MK is a theme park - not an amusement park. It's all about details and creating lands that seemed to have jumped out from the pages of a storybook. My DH loves thrill rides - he makes it a point to go to Great Adventure each year to ride the biggest coasters. But he loves the MK - it's his favorite WDW theme park. Not b/c of the rides, but because of Walt and what his vision was and how that vision was brought about. We truly LOVED Disneyland. You really could "feel" Walt's stamp on it!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I always go to Universal in the off season, so it is never very crowded excpet for the Mummy. Even with FoTL, I waited an hour to get on that...I think we went three times? Great ride. I was very displeased that they removed that great Hitchcock attraction, which actually made me and my husband a fan of Alfred Hitchcock films (we have seen over 35 of them to this point, thanks to Universal!) for that ghastly Shrek ride. The one bit about Universal besides Lucy that gives me a fuzzy feel and they go and remove it. They better not touch Lucy.

 

[Demon Llama]

A lot of attractions at Disney are driven by the movies they originated from. In the case of PoC they created an awesome movie out of the basic theme of the all-time-favorite ride. They had huge success with that movie and are planning on making 2 sequels. In light of that success, I would think they might want to consider updating the ride a little to match the movie so they promote each other. Nothing crazy, but maybe they could add more of a story to that ride, or a cool new sound track to give it more excitement. They really could make that ride a lot more fun.

 

[Demon Llama]

I hear there's an all-new Space Mountain at Disneyland - from the commercial it looks very similar to the RnR at MGM, but they could consider upgrading that ride too....for consistency and something new at MK other than Stitch (no thanks).

 

[civileng68]

I still love Main Street, and love the shops there, but I agree - I miss the attraction experience of it as well.

However, the Confectionary is pretty much a national treasure in my opinion.

Well I dont think they need to de-retail Main St. at all. That is a classic look and a great place for park retail.

However I think at times they "over-do-it" at other areas of the park. I also don't mind the exit to rides having stores about the rides.

However, in the last 5 -10 years I think the little "stands" set up everywhere have become incredible. they are everywhere! In many areas they are just annoying and give a "fair" type of look to the place.

I do think there are areas though that they could "de-retail" a little. I think primarily the strip in Frontierland.

Even more concerning is, minus the retail the lack of doing "something" with the former Skyway station in Tomorrowland. The one in Fantasyland just fits in with the theming, but in Tomorrowland, they just need to do something with it. It just looks bad.

 

[elastigirlfan]

I love MK and so does my family. It's our favorite park!! I love the classic rides like Peter Pan, ITSASW, etc... I don't really mind that there aren't more "thrill" rides in MK because they are scattered throughout the 4 parks and I like that. What I love about WDW is that it isn't just about rides...it's the atmosphere, the fireworks, the shows and the rides. There's no place else like it!!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I'm talking in regards to people complaining about why MK doesn't have a ton of roller coasters. I usually just try to explain the difference.. that MK is about a "theme" of a fairy tale kind of world.. other places with tons of coasters (like my beloved Cedar Point) are less concerned with "theming" and put more effort into coasters/thrill rides. I don't knock one or other, just try to help put into perspective why MK probably won't have one of the tallest/fastest/most G forces type of coaster anytime soon.

And I don't just butt in to people's conversations, that's rude. And if I shouldn't listen to other tourists, I might as well leave this site cos that's mostly what its incorporated of.

Actually, I personally think that Universal Orlando lives up to the theme park name. I agree whole-heartedly that Cedar Point and any given Six Flags park is an amusement park - however, I think that Universal has poured a lot of well-spent money into ensuring their theme every bit as much as Disney has.

Universal Studios carries the same theme as Disney-MGM Studios - a working movie studio. And actually, I've always thought that Universal carried out the theme much better than Disney did.

And Islands of Adventure works just as hard. Each island absolutely carries its own feel and theme. I feel like I have walked onto Isla Nublar when I walk into the Jurassic Park are of the park. And the Lost Continent is amazing. It's every bit as rich in detail to me as Frontierland.

I don't choose between the two. I love Disney for it's Disney-ness and I love Universal for its Universal-ness.

But this thread was about disappointment in the Magic Kingdom. The OP is absolutely entitled to his or her opinion. I just choose to disagree.

 

[Sammie]

I love it the way it is,

 

[bicker]

Personally I believe anyone that thinks MK needs to change does not believe in the Magic. I love the way it is. It's about history. Not thrill seeking rides.

I don't like thrill rides, myself, but I think your statement is "Prejudicial Language" -- a logical fallacy of distraction. Reasonable people can disasgree about matters of philosophy, and indeed, what the MK should or shouldn't be is indeed a matter of philosophy.