Likes and Dislikes

[JRawkSteady]

For my 2,000th post, I would like to pose this theory...bear with me...

Even though the majority of us know in our hearts how awful Fastpass Plus is... Even though, due to the dining plan, many restaurants have raised their prices, yet cut back on their menu.... Even though the lines for transportation have grown due to seemingly pointless cutbacks.... Even though millions of dollars are going wasted with the creation of the "who-cares-about-this-movie-anymore" Avatarland instead of something that actually has tons of fans and would work really well like Star Wars Land...Even though Splash Mountain is in desperate need of refurb, but no one seems to be doing anything...

Even though these little annoyances exist, it will never deter me from going to Walt Disney World. Don't get me wrong, I will bash and lambaste the terrible decisions and ideas Imagineering comes up with. Most of it will be based on opinion, but hey - that's what message boards were created for. But for every anti-consumer decision they make, they make hundreds of tiny to significant changes that affect every one of us in a positive way. While I know I'm never going to love every decision that is made...in fact, I will downright loathe some of them :cough cough:: FP+ ::cough:: ::cough:.. but the only thing that's going to stop me from going to Walt Disney World is if the price becomes higher than what I'm getting in return...and as for now, I'm still getting way more than I pay for.

Yeah, I'll just pretend there is no Fastpass, and I'll tour the way I used to in pre-1999....If I think a restaurant has lowered their standards, I'll complain and not eat there until I hear otherwise. I'll get to the park at rope drop (which I do anyway) to avoid all the people taking transportation from 9-11. I'll check out Avatarland for myself when it finally opens, even though I thought the movie was awful and has no business having it's own land...and you know what...regardless of how I feel about the movie, Disney rarely disappoints on the attraction side of things...sure there has been a few flubs...but for the most part, I'll probably end up loving it in the end! Will I wish for Star Wars? YES!!! But will I take what I can get? Absolutely! And will I ride & love Splash Mountain even though a lot of the animatronics don't work? You bet! It's still my favorite ride!!!!

These are just my thoughts and musings. I will go back to complaining about the things I dislike...because just as you all are, I'm entitled to my opinion, but you will never see me threaten to boycott Disney because I don't like an idea they came up with. That is just childish.

Happy 2,000th Post to me!

 

[OKW Lover]

First, Congratulations on 2K posts!!!

I appreciate the thoughtful post as well. Some very good points made, and done in a fair and rational presentation. I'm sure not everybody will agree with everything said, but that's the beauty of a place like the DIS Boards. Its a discussion forum where we can all share our opinions.

 

[wyurm]

I have no intention of boycotting Disney. I will say that my next vacation is most likely going to be Universal and after my upcoming October trip I don't have any Disney plans in the future but I'm not boycotting. I simply don't have an urge to continue to spend money on a company that isn't listening to customers. RIM (Blackberry) was in the same boat Disney is in now. They had tons of loyal fans and even still do. Those die hard fans would never leave Blackberry no matter what. However the majority of BB's customers wanted a better OS, more mainstream apps, and a good web browser. RIM didn't listen and they paid dearly for it.

You can find consistent requests for a villains theme park/area and for a Star Wars theme park/area. I don't see many Disney fans saying "Avatarland is what we really need". Pffft. Actually I along with many others are opposed to Avatarland. It's RIM syndrome. The company thinks it knows better than it's customers. FP+ is another example. They are calling it a beta still but not offering an alternative.

Disney is a profitable company and is more than just the theme parks. I am not suggesting they will go the way of RIM I'm just saying they are acting like Blackberry by not listening to their fans but rather just listening to themselves. I do think their lack of attention to customer demands will help Universal out a lot but I don't think US will suddenly become #1.

I love Disney but they will have to return to caring about their customers to regain my business.

 

[linskypens]

I agree with the OP. FP+ probably the worst idea in a while for those among us who exploited the hell out of the old system (including when you could hoard all day and use them at night)
But for the folks who who used to mutter under their breath at us as we passed them using fast pass "I wish I could afford Fastpasses", this new system, and the heavy promotion of it, will be better than them standing in line for everything as they now are probably aware its free. For the casual user, its not a bad system.
Avatarland will be awesome in landscaping, and whatever attractions they put there. As to whether or not it should have been created in the first place, probably not....who cares about this movie by the time it opens?

With every decision they make, Disney has one thing and one thing only in mind...the bottom line. Its always been that way, it always will be.

But every time I walk in, or drive under the sign, or sit in Philharmagic, or see my daughters face while she's eating a turkey leg in HS, or sitting on Splash, or Space, or Thunder, or TSMM, or any of the 100's of things they have done right, I am reminded of why I go, and probably why you go.. in the end it's about the time spent with family, in a place that lets us all forget about everything else. I'll always go, and frankly you probably will as well.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

We also are not boycotting Disney. However, FP+ is one factor when we decide how often and how many WDW park days, because it affects our experience and our return on the dollar. MK cannot be compared to other theme parks, but I don't feel that way about DHS, AK, or even Epcot. MK classic attractions make me happy, but I want more from the other parks. Star Wars is probably the only thing that could draw us back to DHS. We're very excited to see IoA for the first time and will be back to see the Harry Potter expansion in a year or so. My kids loved LEGOLAND. We like to cruise. FP+ was intended to lock in guests, but it's had the opposite effect on us, along with the lack of investment in Epcot and DHS. I would include AK too, since I haven't even seen Avatar.