My 2 cents on TV while I was at WDW...

[LuvOrlando]

TV while I was at WDW last week was so terrible I promised myself I would mention it on here in case anyone who works at the resorts might be reading and notice.

So I came down with a bug (being tested right now) while I was there and got very very sick. So for one whole day I was trapped in my room and forced to watch WDW TV. Can I say WOW, all they had was news and WDW... or so it seemed. After 1/2hour on my 14th trip I was sick of the many looping channels telling me what I should do in WDW... hello I know. THe Disney Channel was a bore and reg channel daytime TV was even worse so I pretty much dealt with the news. By the end of the night I was so depressed by the news stories I was afraid to go and get my laundry at 10pm. While I was there the crime in the surrounding areas was staggering. My poor DD happened to hear them talking about some poor checkout girl who was over a domestic violence dispute and how the guy ran out of the store and shot himself too. DH was stunned to say the least and my DS12 would bolt all the locks every time he walked by them. It was so bad I sent my DH out to Walmart to buy us a $30 DVD player so I could escape the relentless assault on my senses.

First, I feel horrible for the people who have to live like this down there. BUT, when I am on vacation I would really rather have the room to pretend Ft Apache The Bronx is not right outside my door. No joke, it made me absolutely miserable and acutely aware of all the WDW security. I really think WDW should put some serious consideration into either providing happy sit-coms like they do on airplanes OR spring for some good sit-com Cable stations NOT WDW related. What on earth are they thinking spending all that money to try and put me in a happy mood then giving me almost no choice but to watch constant misery.

OK, that's my 2 cents on the topic. BTW, I am from NY and grew up watching and hearing NYC news so I'm not exactly green, but even for me it was just too much.

 

[tinkntraining]

TV while I was at WDW last week was so terrible I promised myself I would mention it on here in case anyone who works at the resorts might be reading and notice.

So I came down with a bug (being tested right now) while I was there and got very very sick. So for one whole day I was trapped in my room and forced to watch WDW TV. Can I say WOW, all they had was news and WDW... or so it seemed. After 1/2hour on my 14th trip I was sick of the many looping channels telling me what I should do in WDW... hello I know. THe Disney Channel was a bore and reg channel daytime TV was even worse so I pretty much dealt with the news. By the end of the night I was so depressed by the news stories I was afraid to go and get my laundry at 10pm. While I was there the crime in the surrounding areas was staggering. My poor DD happened to hear them talking about some poor checkout girl who was over a domestic violence dispute and how the guy ran out of the store and shot himself too. It was so bad I sent my DH out to Walmart to buy us a $30 DVD player so I could escape the relentless assault on my senses.

First, I feel horrible for the people who have to live like this down there. BUT, when I am on vacation I would really rather have the room to pretend Ft Apache The Bronx is not right outside my door. No joke, it made me absolutely miserable and acutely aware of all the WDW security. I really think WDW should put some serious consideration into either providing happy sit-coms like they do on airplanes OR spring for some good sit-com Cable stations NOT WDW related. What on earth are they thinking spending all that money to try and put me in a happy mood then giving me almost no choice but to watch constant misery.

OK, that's my 2 cents on the topic.

After that experience, do you "LuvOrlando" a little less? Sorry, just couldn't help myself.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

"Live like this" "down [here]"?????

I used to live in the NE, and have had no problems with living here. Not sure why you think it's more dangerous in the central Florida area than in some areas of NYC, but .

 

[java]

Just like in Vegas you are not getting a full local lineup of channels- They don't want you to sit in your room watching tv and not spending money. (I know you had no choice with your illness) The TV you saw is not an indication of the cable available in the orlando area. It's just disney tv.

 

[Scurvy]

I agree that they don't have a very good assortment of channels available in the resort rooms (though I do love the Japanese channel - I wish I could get that at home!). I guess they don't want to encourage people to spend too much time watching TV. Oddly, I do know what you mean about the news changing your view of Orlando. When I used to only stay in WDW resorts it seemed as though most of the news I saw was bad. It did seem like Orlando was a weird mix of the ideal (WDW and the other tourist attractions) and the terrible (tons of crime everywhere else). Now that I've branched out and started exploring more of the "real" central Florida, I've realized it isn't as bad as some of the news made it seem. I think watching Central Florida News 13 helped with that. It isn't available on premises, but I watch it when we stay elsewhere. It seems to provide a more balanced view of central Florida. Now I have friends who actually live there and they agree that the network news seems to focus on the negative more often than not, but of course it seems to be that way just about everywhere. The central Florida area doesn't really seem that different to me than most other areas. Sure, there is crime but everyplace has crime. There are also lots of good things that go on there all the time.

 

[RadioNate]

The Orlando news is HORRIBLE. It is one rape, murder, break in, crazy after another. That is all they talk about. I can't even turn it on.

I live here...and it isn't terrible but the news sure makes it sound like it is. I grew up on the south side of Chicago and I'm sure there was more crime there but the way Orlando news is, you think you are going to be assaulted every time you leave your house.

 

[2Eskiedogs]

When we were down there last year I told my hubby, why can't they play disney movies all day, or disney cartoons. It just seemed like the same shows are played over and over, I kept telling the kids, how many times is Hannah Montana or Zack and Cody are on??

 

[LuvOrlando]

"Live like this" "down [here]"?????

I used to live in the NE, and have had no problems with living here. Not sure why you think it's more dangerous in the central Florida area than in some areas of NYC, but .

The thing is my WDW costs me, on average, about $5,000 a week. Its more than any other vacation we do, but that's ok because I like the product I am buying. However, the whole 'magical day' illusion is just shattered by the news. I'm not saying the news should be banished.... I'm just saying it is foolish for a company with as much riding on impressions as WDW is for them to not address this glaring flaw in the 4th wall especially when it could be such an easy fix.


BTW, to everyone from there... I'm not knocking you. But come on, sit down and watch your local news and try to see it through the eyes of a visitor. If first impressions are everything the TV selections are doing your entire region a pretty serious dis-service. I am not saying it's a good idea to pretend bad things aren't going on... but there simply has to be a better way. WDW needs to let me find something else to watch for goodness sake. I'd even be happy with old family friendly one's like Family Ties, Golden Girls, Cheers, Who's the Boss, Cosby show... anything just make it entertaining and not miserable.

 

[cm8]

The thing is my WDW costs me, on average, about $5,000 a week. Its more than any other vacation we do, but that's ok because I like the product I am buying. However, the whole 'magical day' illusion is just shattered by the news. I'm not saying the news should be banished.... I'm just saying it is foolish for a company with as much riding on impressions as WDW is for them to not address this glaring flaw in the 4th wall especially when it could be such an easy fix.


BTW, to everyone from there... I'm not knocking you. But come on, sit down and watch your local news and try to see it through the eyes of a visitor. If first impressions are everything the TV selections are doing your entire region a pretty serious dis-service. I am not saying it's a good idea to pretend bad things aren't going on... but there simply has to be a better way. WDW needs to let me find something else to watch for goodness sake. I'd even be happy with old family friendly one's like Family Ties, Golden Girls, Cheers, Who's the Boss, Cosby show... anything just make it entertaining and not miserable.

. I totally loved all the shows you mention and I agree with you!! Stacy on every channel is overkill!!

 

[Tess]

I couldn't agree more about the television viewing selection at WDW. I, too, had the misfortune of being ill for nearly an entire 10 day vacation (nothing communicable). While I did my best to get out and go in the a.m., by afternoon I was ready for bed. Most days I would end my day around 4:30-5:00 p.m. while my family went back out to play. There was nothing on TV to entertain and I felt too cruddy to read. Thankfully, I was also very worn out and dozed more than I was awake. That said, it would have been nice to have something to watch.

I enjoy watching the various ESPN channels among others. One would think that Disney could offer the full complement of ESPN viewing options. That alone would increase the number of channels offered.

 

[FireDancer]

Disney doesn't want to offer many channels because they don't want you in your room. If you are stuck watching something they want you watching their content, not a competitor.

As for the news, WDW is not in a crime-less vacuum. Orlando is a large city and any large city, regardless of it's proximity to Mickey Mouse, will have crime. The news shouldn't refrain from reporting the news because there are people on vacation.

If you would like more options I would recommend using a laptop to get content via the Interwebs. Everything you might want to watch is available out there somewhere.

 

[MarilIncredible]

We actually watched the Asian news channel last year in the mornings while getting dressed/eating breakfast. After we caught the Orlando forecast, of course. We tried watching the Orlando news once or twice, but it was all crime, all the time.

Stacy is obnoxious and annoying.

 

[Pikester]

I totally agree about the selection of TV channels. None of us were sick but we did have a rainy day where we took a break at the resort and watched a little TV to dry out. We also like to watch TV while getting ready in the morning or getting ready for bed at night.

 

[kaytieeldr]

BTW, to everyone from there... I'm not knocking you. But come on, sit down and watch your local news and try to see it through the eyes of a visitor. If first impressions are everything the TV selections are doing your entire region a pretty serious dis-service.

But the thing (or one major thing, anyway) is that what we see in our Disney resort rooms ISN'T a fair representation of the TV selections in the Central Florida region, by ANY means. Even just staying at an offsite hotel would demonstrate that. Most likely even the Swan & Dolphin have a broader selection of channels; I know they have pay-per-view movies.

Local residents would have an even greater variety of tv channels from which to choose than offsite hotel guests. Disney provides only what they do because, well, they expect the Guest to be out of the room enjoying the parks (and of course spending money). But what WE see on television in NO way reflects life in Central Florida!

I'd even be happy with old family friendly one's like Family Ties, Golden Girls, Cheers, Who's the Boss, Cosby show... anything just make it entertaining and not miserable.

Disney needs to buy Nickelodeon/TVLand, or at least the rights to air the older sitcoms. But again, they don't want us in the rooms watching tv

 

[Robinrs]

We stay at vacation homes in Orlando and they usually have a good selection of stations if you have expanded cable, which I ask for. I cannot stand hotel room TV, rather read!

 

[RangerPooh]

I agree about the channel line up too. We were there two weeks ago and on different days both DH and DD5 were sick with a stomach bug so we spent a considerable amount of time in the room. The news gets old, daytime programming is terrible, and the Disney Channel is from providing a variety. The brightside was that I saw a few Jonas and Hannah episodes for the first time, while others for the 100th.

I too wish that Disnhey would create their own version of TvLand airing old ABC (or any other network) or Disney Channel shows. It would be refreshing. Also, if they would just bring back channel 96 it wouldbe nice. We were at POR and I tried to manually enter it but it wasn't there

 

[kaytieeldr]

Don't get the impression that I've got a 'thing' for him, but I could spend a (single!) day watching reruns of "The Drew Carey Show", "Whose Line is it Anyway", and "The Price is Right".

 

[peyjax]

the reality is most people are not going to stay in their room to watch tv. It is usually people who are sick or parents with napping kids. They should be more like the Disney cruise line and have a line up of movies. Disney owns tons of movies that it can show!

 

[Kelrykengab]

I have to say that I was surprised that I could very rarely find any TV for my 6 and 3 year olds during our "down time" or before bed in the hotel room last time we were there. It was kind of a bummer, because a show and a milk was what calms our kids down after a day of excitement.