Positive WDW remarks?

[drkforce]

I think that this board should be renamed. "Disney B!&(%ings and Moanings". It is just amazing how a handful of people post to this board under the self-imposed delusion that they "love" Disney sooooo much that they just can't bear to watch it devolve under the names of Eisner and Iger. What is even more amazing is how all of these people are experts on the inner workings of Disney and all of it's holdings. I mean c'mon if these are the experts they should be doing a write in campaign to be the next CEO's and board members.

Now I know that this posting will generate a ton of negative remarks and personal attacks against me and that's all right because that is a driving factor of this board. After all it certainly is not about posting news and rumors but rather report EVERYTHING Disney does and how BAD it is and how they could all do it soooooo much better.

I know, I know, "Disney just doesn't have the same magic" or "Disney is outsourcing too much" or "Disney is doing too many film related attractions, primarily with Pixar" (Apparently, Snow White, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, Tom Sawyer, Cinderella, 20,000 Leagues, Dumbo or The Mad Tea Party (Alice in Wonderland) were never movies and Walt certainly would never have based attractions on any of these).

But even all this aside, how many of you have talked to a family who have visited the parks for the first time, or a family who has brought their children their for the first time or a couple whom have just been engaged infront of the castle? You want magic? Take a moment and look into their eyes, you will see more magic there than in any freshly painted trashcan or the AA of Jack Sparrow. That is the magic that Walt wanted. The magic that as you pull away from MK on the monorail and you see the Castle fading into the night sky, you're child leans against you with tear filled eyes and says "Thank you, will we ever get to come back here again?"

What about that magic? It's not sappy, it's not some psychobabble lifestyle, it's real emotion, it's real magic, it's the magic of Walt's legacy.

Sometimes I think that those of you out there who enjoy complaining more than enjoying should take a break from Disney for a bit and try to find the magic that you lost, maybe it's behind the couch

Perhaps, some of the value resorts are cheesy but those who stay there like that. The same way those that stay at Fort Wilderness, any of the MK resorts or Beach & Yatch Club like the features those resorts have to offer. I've stayed almost every resort or the past 20+ years and each have their pros and cons but I have enjoyed my time at each of them.

Perhaps, this board could stop feeding into one another's ill feelings of Disney and try to report actual news and rumors without ripping Disney a new one every time they get the chance.

Let the magic back in, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[DancingBear]

I don't need to talk to a family who has taken their children for the first time, I've done it myself. And we've had "magical" moments and a wonderful time together. I've been to WDW and Paris Disneyland this year, and will be back at WDW in February.

But you sell folks short by classifying everything as moaning and complaining. There's some real observation and discussion on this board, and if you'd like to join in, you're welcome to do so. Just saying you don't like to hear people whine doesn't contribute anything.

And I'm available for a Board nomination.

 

[disneyfan67]

I don't need to talk to a family who has taken their children for the first time, I've done it myself. And we've had "magical" moments and a wonderful time together. I've been to WDW and Paris Disneyland this year, and will be back at WDW in February.

But you sell folks short by classifying everything as moaning and complaining. There's some real observation and discussion on this board, and if you'd like to join in, you're welcome to do so. Just saying you don't like to hear people whine doesn't contribute anything.

Thank you for posting that.


Darkforce, some of point things out or complain because we know Disney can do better. The Disney corporation is the one who set the bar so high in the first place. Almost all of us here, love WDW and Disneyland and those places hold a special place in our hearts and minds. By pointing out the flaws,mistakes, and mis steps, is not only only a way of venting, but hoping that Disney hears and sees our complaints and changes for the better. Disneyland and WDW are part of the American experience and like it or not, cultural icons. You can bet that I want the Disney theme parks to not only improve, but get better. You don't have to come here like a super fan that has drank the proverbial "Koolaid" Disney provides and tell us how wrong we are. If most of us didn't care, we would have taken the time to express how we feel.

 

[ChrisFL]

Thank you for posting that.


Darkforce, some of point things out or complain because we know Disney can do better. The Disney corporation is the one who set the bar so high in the first place. Almost all of us here, love WDW and Disneyland and those places hold a special place in our hearts and minds. By pointing out the flaws,mistakes, and mis steps, is not only only a way of venting, but hoping that Disney hears and sees our complaints and changes for the better. Disneyland and WDW are part of the American experience and like it or not, cultural icons. You can bet that I want the Disney theme parks to not only improve, but get better. You don't have to come here like a super fan that has drank the proverbial "Koolaid" Disney provides and tell us how wrong we are. If most of us didn't care, we would have taken the time to express how we feel.

Agreed, if we lost all faith in Disney we wouldn't be posting here...but often times people go to Disney only recently think that it's the best they can do, when the veterans like some of the people we have here know better.

Besides, if no one is pushing the company to improve, then what will happen when the steady decline in service were to continue?

Look at Disney pre-1995 and from 1995 to now and see what's happened, it's a major difference in a lot of ways

Having said that, I do think there are some improvements slowly being made, at DL for the past few years and finally at WDW

 

[wdwdreamin2]

I was born in LA and visited DL a lot as a young child. When I was 5 we moved out of state, but would visit friends periodically. I think my last visit was around 10. Very dear friends, second parents to me, kept saying how wonderful and magical Disney World was. We finally went for my graduation in 1989. (Me, my parents and our friends). It was my last family trip before I very suddenly lost my Mom.

Subsequent visits (about 15) have been with my new husband in 1994, pregnant with first child 2000, new baby 2001, dear friends many times, extended family 2006, 6 yr old 2007...My point is, WDW is the place we go, and it is fabulous. But what keeps me coming back are the memories I have with the people I love, and knowing that I will keep making more. Is it different? Sure. But it still is a magical, happy place with the ability to provide an amazing backdrop for memories.

The next 2 trips won't be onsite. Being at the parks with my friends and family outweighs the "whole immersion" onsite experience. And that train of thought saves me a lot of $$$$.

So...that's why I keep going back...Memories. Of People, not so much the place.

Can we all hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" now?"

AV...Keep it comin'!!

 

[YoHo]

I applied for the CEO job, but I got rejected. Not enough uses of the word Synergy in my interview.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I applied for the CEO job, but I got rejected. Not enough uses of the word Synergy in my interview.

Pretty short sighted on your part.

 

[mrsR123]

Pretty short sighted on your part.

Great Caesar's Ghost!! Peter Pirate is back? Next Baron will be posting again.

And AV, what have you done? Hired your own ferns?

 

[YoHo]

Pretty short sighted on your part.

I did call Disney Guests Horse faced red state living Tigger fondling pin ...."women of ill repute."

They almost hired me on the spot after that, but then they asked what I'd do if a poorly run 4th rate internet startup with mountains of debt was suggested as a good way to grow the brand. I hesitated and it killed any chance I had.

 

[Another Voice]

The magic that as you pull away from MK on the monorail and you see the Castle fading into the night sky, you're child leans against you with tear filled eyes and says "Thank you, will we ever get to come back here again?"

Okay – let’s talk about “magic”

The “magic” in that little child’s eyes is not cause by fairies. It is not caused because “Disney is great”. The magic is not caused this is a special place in Florida.

The magic was created. It was created when an artist took his brush and painted the castle he had seen in his imagination. The magic was created when an architect said ‘I can figure out how to build that’. The magic was created when planners spent hundreds of hours making the surroundings and the approach to the castle feel like a movie. The magic is created by ever cast member that smiles as the child throughout the day.

The magic is the result of the hard work and talent of thousands of people over decades of effort.

The magic is a human creation.

The magic is fragile, an illusion as transitory as a dream and as substantive as a cloud. Without constant work to maintain it, without great struggle to create it in the first place – it doesn’t exist. Haven’t you every wondered why so few other places are like Disney despite all the money spent?

Some people can see the hard work that goes on; others want to remain ignorant of it. The people who understand want the hard work, the talent, the effort to continue and keep the “magic” going. To the others this may look like b’ing and moaning. Well, the world behind the curtain is not for them. Not everyone wants to know how the tricks are performed; their life is made easier without the complications of facts and reality.

I want my son to have as many “magical” memories of Disneyland as I have of trips with him and of my trips with my own father. But I am not dim enough to think that there is a natural force that creates “magic” all on its own. Instead it is the result of talented men and women that are working for a good, if misguided, corporation. I’m sorry if that view isn’t warm and fluffy enough for you – but it’s the truth. I have concerns, I have worries, and I will voice them as a consumer, as a stockholder, and as someone that wants to keep the “magic” around.

 

[drkforce]

Of course the magic is man-made, no one has ever said different. Now without using your "Not everyone wants to know how the tricks are performed; their life is made easier without the complications of facts and reality" logic (however flawed that may be) would you agree that what is magical to one person is not magical to another?

 

[Another Voice]

would you agree that what is magical to one person is not magical to another?

That doesn't matter. Disney is in mass entertainment, it must appeal to a vast audience.

People can tell the difference between personal taste and commerical appeal. Just because you see "magic" doesn't mean the majority of other people do. The special talent that the Disney organization used to have was the ability to find the common threads among people. It was the ability to appeal to universal dreams and fantasies of the public that brought millions of people to an orange grove in Anaheim and a swamp in Florida.

But most of what we hear these days are the cries to appeal just to very narrow base of fans. The people that want to put Donald Duck in an adult attraction about Mexico, the ones that think POP Century is "magical" just because it has a mound of fiberglass painted to look like a Pixar character.

The normal public looks at this as bizarre.

But Disney sees it as a cheap and easy way to money. It takes less work to get someone with a room filled with Cinderella trinkets to cough up an extra fifty bucks for a "princess make-over" than it is to appeal to a person hesitant to spend five grand on their first trip to WDW.

Your "magic" really is only in your eyes. But Disney needs you and 19,999,999 other people to visit each and every year just to keep the place going. I have no doubt that you will go...but I have serious questions about the others. The further Disney strays from the ways that made them successful, the greater the chance for failure becomes.

Witness Califorina Adventure.

"Magic" to a few, a waste of a parking to most.

 

[drkforce]

So I am to understand that you are the voice for the "normal" public? I am curious as to what you have personally done to establish the sampling of the normal public. I truely hope it is not based soley on the posting on the few people on this board. I am amazed that if Disney has sunk to such levels as you and others continue to insist, why it remains as one of the largest tourist destinations in the world. Apparently people are still being to that aforementioned swampland. Perhaps, it is not such a popular destination but rather that image has been fabricated by the likes of Eisner and company.

Overall, I guess I'm glad to be part of the "normal" population. I like being able to see a "magic trick" without knowing how it is done. I don't think that places me in a group that so many of you associate as mindless sheep being led by Disney but rather recognizing it is entertainment and allowing myself to take a break from "reality" and become immersed in the "fantasy" for awhile.

 

[Another Voice]

I am amazed that if Disney has sunk to such levels as you and others continue to insist, why it remains as one of the largest tourist destinations in the world.

Because the parks began more than half a century ago and so much work, talent and imagination went into them that they still are standing, if nor strongly, against the onslaght.

Compare Disneyland's attendance against the modern, wonderful, so filled with magic is oozzes pixiedust Disney's California Adventure.

I like being able to see a "magic trick" without knowing how it is done.

Then you can't possbily judge what's going to work for the business, can you. Just as there is no force of nature that makes Disney "magical", there is no force of nature that makes DCA "unmagical".

It's all the work of people who are trying to use experience, past lessons, and their judgement. If you don't care about what it really takes to make the place work - then how do you know if they are making the right decisions?

 

[ChrisFL]

So I am to understand that you are the voice for the "normal" public? I am curious as to what you have personally done to establish the sampling of the normal public. I truely hope it is not based soley on the posting on the few people on this board. I am amazed that if Disney has sunk to such levels as you and others continue to insist, why it remains as one of the largest tourist destinations in the world. Apparently people are still being to that aforementioned swampland. Perhaps, it is not such a popular destination but rather that image has been fabricated by the likes of Eisner and company.

Overall, I guess I'm glad to be part of the "normal" population. I like being able to see a "magic trick" without knowing how it is done. I don't think that places me in a group that so many of you associate as mindless sheep being led by Disney but rather recognizing it is entertainment and allowing myself to take a break from "reality" and become immersed in the "fantasy" for awhile.

The magic of Disney used to be knowing that you would find unique experiences that entertained nearly everyone at any age in one way or another. The idea that you couldn't find a truly immersive experience that started with the entire land and went to the most minor detail.

That magic was being chipped away by making things like DinoRama, DCA and Disney Studios Paris, suddenly the low budget add-ons were immediately obvious to anyone with half a brain. The uniqueness which made Disney "magical" and special was dying quickly.

So what's the Disney enthusiast to do? One who has been going to the parks for 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years? Do we stand back and watch the company deteriorate under their own pompous stupidity?

 

[danj]

Well aside from all of WDW's shortcomings as of late my family and I continue to go every year because we enjoy the magic, the peaceful tranquilty of separation from the problems in the real world. We have all sat outside our resorts at night and basked in the peacefulness of the parks, no sirens, no road rage, that feeling that you are on a private island. The bottom line is we have all had something bad happen at WDW, but when we get back to real life we all tell the stories of how great of a trip it was.

 

[dwaters]

Just wondering what some of the purists think of "Expedition Everest"?

I've only been on it once, but it seems to be a Disney original free from any "Stitch" type tie-ins, with some well done theming and some storytelling involved.

The fact that it's a coaster may not make it as accessible to families as Pirates or the Mansion, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the parks.

Agree/Disagree?

 

[ChrisFL]

Just wondering what some of the purists think of "Expedition Everest"?

I've only been on it once, but it seems to be a Disney original free from any "Stitch" type tie-ins, with some well done theming and some storytelling involved.

The fact that it's a coaster may not make it as accessible to families as Pirates or the Mansion, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the parks.

Agree/Disagree?

I agree for the most part, it has quite unique elements you won't find anywhere, theming throughout, massive high quality AA yeti, and its accessible for most of the family like the other coasters.

The only part I don't like is the flat parts of the back of the mountain which can be viewed by certain areas outside the park.

It's also something they should have had when AK opened, not 7+ years later.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

It's also something they should have had when AK opened, not 7+ years later.

While I agree, that's really a different issue altogether.

Yes I think E:E is a great modern addition. Is it groundbreaking or earthshattering? No. But it's a solid ride with great Disney theming.

 

[hopemax]

Just wondering what some of the purists think of "Expedition Everest"?

I've only been on it once, but it seems to be a Disney original free from any "Stitch" type tie-ins, with some well done theming and some storytelling involved.

The fact that it's a coaster may not make it as accessible to families as Pirates or the Mansion, but I think it's a step in the right direction for the parks.

Agree/Disagree?

I think it's a shame that the Imagineers found the value of spending so much time in Nepal, and the research expedition that found several new species of plants and animals, and yet they didn't bother to translate the feelings of awe and wonder that THEY felt into something that guests could appreciate. There are snippets of the research in the queue, but, really, how do you take the time to appreciate that while you know 100 people are backing up behind you? How do you make it accessible to someone who might not have a pre-existing interest in the material, not by a ride queue you might blow through.

If they wanted to build a roller coaster with a Yeti attack, I don't see how they couldn't have accomplished that with lots of trips to the library, and all the tools the internet provides (more research opportunities, video conferencing, etc.) Would the difference in design, really have been that different?

I know that when people ride Kilamanjaro Safaris, the experience of being close to those animals, stimulates them. You can hear the excitement in their voices as they point out the animals, and I think the experience sticks in their mind. A Bongo is no longer just a set of drums. I wonder what sticks with people when they get off E:E about the culture of the people of Nepal? If the ride was one part of a larger experience, if they could manage it, some of the animals and plants that they discovered.

The coaster is fun, no doubt, aside from the back, it looks great. But it's a big helping of empty calories. The Imagineers were changed by their visits to Nepal, and I think the guests deserve a little bit of that experience too. I don't think people are that turned off by learning new things (just as long as it doesn't remind them of school, and if you think Disney is wonderful, do you really think they are going to make it like school?). And if guests don't want to have more of an exposure to the world around them, maybe Busch Gardens would be a better fit. I would rather Disney fail, by being commited to more loftier aspirations, than succeed by appealing to people's love of roller coasters. And no, Disney doesn't have to be super serious, and super educational, all the time. But I think they should say, "life and the world is interesting, don't shut yourself off from it, just because you like our characters. And we won't shut you off from it, just because we want to sell our characters."