nebo
<font color=red>sharkbait<br><font color=teal>Uh o
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2006
- Messages
- 2,524
Hi, this is not your usual trip report, at least it's sure not mine.
This brief thread is not meant to discourage you in any way concerning an upcoming trip you have, it is just here to share some observations that I have made on a recent trip, that's all. If you are like many people, and don't wish to read any in the slightest bit disparaging concerning DisneyWorld, read no further, I will understand.
SO, have the cutbacks had any effect on the magic and pixie dust?
In a word, absolutely.
and, a little.
Let me explain;
If you have never been to the World before, have no fear, you more than likely will not notice anything missing.
However, if you are like us, true Disney veterans, you will either do as I ended up doing, making notes of all the changes, or, on your return back home, think that "Gee, something just didn't seem right, it just wasn't as magical this time."
We are true Disney Fanatics, taken 12 trips from northern Illinois in the last 7 years, driven down most of the times. When we aren't in the World, I am reading any new guide book that comes to press so there isn't too much that we haven't read about and seen.
I have made a list of ten things that came to mind after the trip, and many of them you will scoff at and say, "Big deal". But with Disney it is the small things that make the place so special, and even though crowds are much smaller now, I hope the situation gets turned around soon and goes back to normal.
This is based on a 3 night stay at Caribbean Beach, and an 8 night stay at Pop Century, with free dining.
So, the list.
1. Slower buses. I don't care if the parks aren't near as crowded, the resorts are pretty much booked solid thanks to all the incentives offered, and those are the folks that nead the service.
You won't notice it in the morning, and not too much at park closing, but God help you if you want to leave Epcot at noon and go back for a swim, if you have a car you will learn quickly enough to use it instead of the bus service, that right there takes some pixie dust away from my trip.
Food issues:
2. One of the reasons we booked Pop, over All Star Music was the frozen cokes and frozen raspberry pop you get at Pop for your re-fillable mug. I couldn't believe that somehow I have missed any mention on any site that they have been removed. The cast member told me they have been gone a few months now.
3. Aside from the greasy bag of fries I used to get when I was a kid in Chicago, the very best fries I have ever had in my life were found at the Siesta snack and pool bar at Coronado Springs. They were huge steak fries, just a llittle greasy, lotsa salty and we made a point to take some time and stop at one of our favorite resorts, if just for the fries.
Well, they weren't a snack credit, which I didn't care, the problem is, like the frozen Coke, they don't exist anymore. Now you get the same kind of fries that you get at any of the food courts.
4. I think in the last 6 trips, we have failed to eat at Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom only once, we like it there so much. It still has the best seating at any counter service stand, many hidden gazebos and tables down by the river.
Here's the rub;
If you ordered the half slab of ribs, it used to come with a cup of baked beans and a small chunk of corn on the cob. The last couple of times there the corn/cob was replaced with a corn muffin, a step down. Now, even the muffin is gone, you get a small cup of cole slaw instead.
In the parks;
5. Man-made waits. We had a fastpass for Jungle Cruise, used it around 4 P.M. The entire courtyard in front was empty, yet the sign said ten minutes for standby. Up near the boarding area, the fastpass line was much longer then I ever thought possible, and one guy next to me in standby said he's arlready waited for 20 minutes. We soon found the reason why, they were only running 3 boats!
I know this is probably embarrasing to Disney to have "walk on" attractions, but if you are fortunate enough, or have worked hard enough to pull the right strings that can get you on a Disney trip in a Value season, you shouldn't have to wait for rides like it's in the middle of July.
This was also noticable on Big Thunder, and in some of the "continuous' shows, like Laugh Floor. With the latter, that holding area wasn't going to be let into the theater until it was full.
By restricting the amount of boats/train/ride vehicles/showtimes, they can then infuse a false sense of popularity for the attraction by building lines.
6. This next point sounds ridiculous, even as I write it, but if it's not true then my feelings must be contagious because my wife was in total agreement.
Lighting.
Specifically, attraction lighting, especially in the dark rides.
I have always had a hard time seeing in the dark rides. From Dinosaur to Peter Pan and all in between, I always save them for last, when it becomes dark out, much easier to see if you're not sun-blind.
We rode Pirates well after sunset and it was a major chore to even find Jack Sparrow inside. I remember a time when you could actually see the hairs on the pirates leg hanging down from the bridge your boat passes under. Now, you're lucky if you can even see the leg!
I don't know if most of the lighting is on a rheostat/dimmer switch or if they have to go around and change the bulbs to a smaller wattage, but I'm sure with the way Disney watches the budget it could be a sizeable savings after a while in the electric bill.
Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't the only culprit, in Splash Mountain the Laughing Place seemed almost non-existent, if the jumping fountains were still there you couldn't tell because you couldn't see them, it was so dark there.
7. Here, was almost a deal breaker for me, the most disappointing observation.
The fireworks!
I have been a huge fan of both Wishes and Illuminations, if you have never seen them before, or maybe only once, you won't notice a thing.
While most of the shows are choreagraphed to music, there isn't much they can change to save money, the shells have to go off at a designated time. The finale is another story!
Instead of hundreds of shells going off at once filling the sky during Wishes, it seemed to be cut in half. The timing was still there matching Jiminy and the music, just nowhere near as impressive as it was.
During Illuminations the same thing has happened. Plus in the beginning of the show, the barge that ignites the propane that creates the effect of rolling flames across the lagoon has severly been cut back, now it seems like a grill that has been knocked over.
In the resorts;
8. The big check-in day at Disney is Sunday, we checked into Pop on a Wednsday. No Magical Express bus had pulled up, only four people in line ahead of us. All four of those people checked in using the same teller, as she was the only one manning a window. A twenty minute wait to check in with these few people in front of us is ridiculous.
9. Cleanliness.
While the parks all still seemed totally **** and span to me, not so at the resorts, in particular Pop Century. Tables in the food court took forever to be cleaned, the designated smoking areas were disasters, overflowing garbage cans,,,,,,,,,,, part of the reason for some of this uncleanliness is going to lead to the final observation I made.
10. The guests
I truly hesitate to bring this last issue up, I think no matter how I try it's going to sound snooty, some may be offended, or I just may come across as a real jerk. Trust me please, from my 3 years as a dis member and a year lurking before I joined, this doesn't apply to any of you.
In all walks of life, from inner city neighborhoods, to Pleasant Valley suburbia, to overseas foreigners to folks from real rural areas, (say those last words three times fast), there are different classes of people. Race, nationality, or even religeon have little to do with it. And it's not just education, but that and how you were brought up.
And let's face it, some folks just don't get it, while others are just jerks.
Have you ever spent time in an All Star Resort during Pop Warner week?
We have, and believe me, it's not a good time to be there.
This is what I believe has happened, as convoluted as it's going to sound.
Many of the true Disney followers spend great deals of their time on the Dis, All Ears, Mousesavers, Mouseplanet and so forth watching out for special codes and deals. And when they are released, we jump on them.
And over the last year and a half, there have been almost continuous deals available, not to mention special PIN codes many of us have received, and we book until our budget just can't afford another trip.
Well, this main, "secret code fan base" is just about all spent out, and now the "secret" codes are shown on TV five times every night.
Remember when if you didn't know the code, the Central Office Ressy taker wouldn't help you? Not anymore, they want to fill the rooms.
On our first night at Pop, two families with adjoing rooms about 4 doors down from us on the second floor decided the room wasn't big enough, so moved all the chairs and the kids out onto the shared walkway.
At 11 at night.
Then the kids were told if they wanted to play hide and seek or tag, just to stay on the second floor, this went on until 12:30, the entire time all the adults were smoking just outside their room.
I'm not sure if someone complained eventually, but soon all the kids were gone, no, not to bed, they were down in the bowling pin pool, screaming and hollering. At two in the morning they were finally shooed away.
This is not the kind of thing that bothers me, when I sleep it takes a lot to wake me, but not so my wife.
It gets better.
This may have been their last night, don't recall seeing them again but it does show the lack of respect these folks had for others. Did I mention I counted ten of them in two rooms that sleep four each?
On the morning after our second night, we were awaken by 4 cast members outside our door. It was barely six in the morning, still pitch black out but there they were, in full uniforms and all talking on walky talkies.
A half hour later when I left to go have a smoke they were still there, they appeared to be fixated on the room 3 doors down from us. (hmm, good name for a band), I tried to overhear what they were saying but they all clammed up when I stood there leaning over the railing, so I went down to the smoking area.
When I came back they were still there, another hour later, they were gone.
My wife then went out and called me to join her.
Apparently, there had been a terrible fight in that room that night, surprised we didn't hear it, but they had pilons set up in front of the window with a bucket in between.
The bucket was filled with the broken glass made from the huge hole in the picture window. Not sure if it came from a fist, a thrown bottle, or what, never did find out but believe me, it was a first for us at Disney.
What I am getting at, is all the fans have used the specials, and are basically spent out, the hidden codes that we used to use are still there, not booked up like before and folks that never dreamed of being able to go to DisneyWorld are now going after seeing the ads on tv every night.
I'm sorry, these are not the people that worship the ground Mickey walks on, just those that are there cuz it's "cheap."
For the next 2 nights we had a cast member actually patrolling our floor on a Segway.
From people smoking wherever they wanted, to families filling up half gallon containers in the food court fountains it was obvious that something had changed.
One last observation on the people;
In our total of 15 trips down to Disney, it wasn't until our last trip in February that we came across a "code brown."
A code brown is when they have to close the pool because someone, to put it bluntly, had taken a dump in it.
In an hour and a half sitting by the Hippy Dippy Pool, we had TWO code browns. They closed the pool, removed the offending "snickers bar", 45 minutes later they re-opened the pool, then, 20 minutes later had to do it all again.
I left and went swimming in my bathtub.
Ok, I guess I am done. I'm sorry if this information casts a palor on an upcoming trip, please, don't let it, you will still have a great time. Those of you who know me and have read my trip reports know that almost all of my focus is on making people laugh, and praising the virtues of DisneyWorld. Much of what happened at Pop could have been isolated incidences, but maybe, if enough of us complain and talk about it, they will right the ship.
nebo
This brief thread is not meant to discourage you in any way concerning an upcoming trip you have, it is just here to share some observations that I have made on a recent trip, that's all. If you are like many people, and don't wish to read any in the slightest bit disparaging concerning DisneyWorld, read no further, I will understand.
SO, have the cutbacks had any effect on the magic and pixie dust?
In a word, absolutely.
and, a little.
Let me explain;
If you have never been to the World before, have no fear, you more than likely will not notice anything missing.
However, if you are like us, true Disney veterans, you will either do as I ended up doing, making notes of all the changes, or, on your return back home, think that "Gee, something just didn't seem right, it just wasn't as magical this time."
We are true Disney Fanatics, taken 12 trips from northern Illinois in the last 7 years, driven down most of the times. When we aren't in the World, I am reading any new guide book that comes to press so there isn't too much that we haven't read about and seen.
I have made a list of ten things that came to mind after the trip, and many of them you will scoff at and say, "Big deal". But with Disney it is the small things that make the place so special, and even though crowds are much smaller now, I hope the situation gets turned around soon and goes back to normal.
This is based on a 3 night stay at Caribbean Beach, and an 8 night stay at Pop Century, with free dining.
So, the list.
1. Slower buses. I don't care if the parks aren't near as crowded, the resorts are pretty much booked solid thanks to all the incentives offered, and those are the folks that nead the service.
You won't notice it in the morning, and not too much at park closing, but God help you if you want to leave Epcot at noon and go back for a swim, if you have a car you will learn quickly enough to use it instead of the bus service, that right there takes some pixie dust away from my trip.
Food issues:
2. One of the reasons we booked Pop, over All Star Music was the frozen cokes and frozen raspberry pop you get at Pop for your re-fillable mug. I couldn't believe that somehow I have missed any mention on any site that they have been removed. The cast member told me they have been gone a few months now.
3. Aside from the greasy bag of fries I used to get when I was a kid in Chicago, the very best fries I have ever had in my life were found at the Siesta snack and pool bar at Coronado Springs. They were huge steak fries, just a llittle greasy, lotsa salty and we made a point to take some time and stop at one of our favorite resorts, if just for the fries.
Well, they weren't a snack credit, which I didn't care, the problem is, like the frozen Coke, they don't exist anymore. Now you get the same kind of fries that you get at any of the food courts.
4. I think in the last 6 trips, we have failed to eat at Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom only once, we like it there so much. It still has the best seating at any counter service stand, many hidden gazebos and tables down by the river.
Here's the rub;
If you ordered the half slab of ribs, it used to come with a cup of baked beans and a small chunk of corn on the cob. The last couple of times there the corn/cob was replaced with a corn muffin, a step down. Now, even the muffin is gone, you get a small cup of cole slaw instead.
In the parks;
5. Man-made waits. We had a fastpass for Jungle Cruise, used it around 4 P.M. The entire courtyard in front was empty, yet the sign said ten minutes for standby. Up near the boarding area, the fastpass line was much longer then I ever thought possible, and one guy next to me in standby said he's arlready waited for 20 minutes. We soon found the reason why, they were only running 3 boats!
I know this is probably embarrasing to Disney to have "walk on" attractions, but if you are fortunate enough, or have worked hard enough to pull the right strings that can get you on a Disney trip in a Value season, you shouldn't have to wait for rides like it's in the middle of July.
This was also noticable on Big Thunder, and in some of the "continuous' shows, like Laugh Floor. With the latter, that holding area wasn't going to be let into the theater until it was full.
By restricting the amount of boats/train/ride vehicles/showtimes, they can then infuse a false sense of popularity for the attraction by building lines.
6. This next point sounds ridiculous, even as I write it, but if it's not true then my feelings must be contagious because my wife was in total agreement.
Lighting.
Specifically, attraction lighting, especially in the dark rides.
I have always had a hard time seeing in the dark rides. From Dinosaur to Peter Pan and all in between, I always save them for last, when it becomes dark out, much easier to see if you're not sun-blind.
We rode Pirates well after sunset and it was a major chore to even find Jack Sparrow inside. I remember a time when you could actually see the hairs on the pirates leg hanging down from the bridge your boat passes under. Now, you're lucky if you can even see the leg!
I don't know if most of the lighting is on a rheostat/dimmer switch or if they have to go around and change the bulbs to a smaller wattage, but I'm sure with the way Disney watches the budget it could be a sizeable savings after a while in the electric bill.
Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't the only culprit, in Splash Mountain the Laughing Place seemed almost non-existent, if the jumping fountains were still there you couldn't tell because you couldn't see them, it was so dark there.
7. Here, was almost a deal breaker for me, the most disappointing observation.
The fireworks!
I have been a huge fan of both Wishes and Illuminations, if you have never seen them before, or maybe only once, you won't notice a thing.
While most of the shows are choreagraphed to music, there isn't much they can change to save money, the shells have to go off at a designated time. The finale is another story!
Instead of hundreds of shells going off at once filling the sky during Wishes, it seemed to be cut in half. The timing was still there matching Jiminy and the music, just nowhere near as impressive as it was.
During Illuminations the same thing has happened. Plus in the beginning of the show, the barge that ignites the propane that creates the effect of rolling flames across the lagoon has severly been cut back, now it seems like a grill that has been knocked over.
In the resorts;
8. The big check-in day at Disney is Sunday, we checked into Pop on a Wednsday. No Magical Express bus had pulled up, only four people in line ahead of us. All four of those people checked in using the same teller, as she was the only one manning a window. A twenty minute wait to check in with these few people in front of us is ridiculous.
9. Cleanliness.
While the parks all still seemed totally **** and span to me, not so at the resorts, in particular Pop Century. Tables in the food court took forever to be cleaned, the designated smoking areas were disasters, overflowing garbage cans,,,,,,,,,,, part of the reason for some of this uncleanliness is going to lead to the final observation I made.
10. The guests
I truly hesitate to bring this last issue up, I think no matter how I try it's going to sound snooty, some may be offended, or I just may come across as a real jerk. Trust me please, from my 3 years as a dis member and a year lurking before I joined, this doesn't apply to any of you.
In all walks of life, from inner city neighborhoods, to Pleasant Valley suburbia, to overseas foreigners to folks from real rural areas, (say those last words three times fast), there are different classes of people. Race, nationality, or even religeon have little to do with it. And it's not just education, but that and how you were brought up.
And let's face it, some folks just don't get it, while others are just jerks.
Have you ever spent time in an All Star Resort during Pop Warner week?
We have, and believe me, it's not a good time to be there.
This is what I believe has happened, as convoluted as it's going to sound.
Many of the true Disney followers spend great deals of their time on the Dis, All Ears, Mousesavers, Mouseplanet and so forth watching out for special codes and deals. And when they are released, we jump on them.
And over the last year and a half, there have been almost continuous deals available, not to mention special PIN codes many of us have received, and we book until our budget just can't afford another trip.
Well, this main, "secret code fan base" is just about all spent out, and now the "secret" codes are shown on TV five times every night.
Remember when if you didn't know the code, the Central Office Ressy taker wouldn't help you? Not anymore, they want to fill the rooms.
On our first night at Pop, two families with adjoing rooms about 4 doors down from us on the second floor decided the room wasn't big enough, so moved all the chairs and the kids out onto the shared walkway.
At 11 at night.
Then the kids were told if they wanted to play hide and seek or tag, just to stay on the second floor, this went on until 12:30, the entire time all the adults were smoking just outside their room.
I'm not sure if someone complained eventually, but soon all the kids were gone, no, not to bed, they were down in the bowling pin pool, screaming and hollering. At two in the morning they were finally shooed away.
This is not the kind of thing that bothers me, when I sleep it takes a lot to wake me, but not so my wife.
It gets better.
This may have been their last night, don't recall seeing them again but it does show the lack of respect these folks had for others. Did I mention I counted ten of them in two rooms that sleep four each?
On the morning after our second night, we were awaken by 4 cast members outside our door. It was barely six in the morning, still pitch black out but there they were, in full uniforms and all talking on walky talkies.
A half hour later when I left to go have a smoke they were still there, they appeared to be fixated on the room 3 doors down from us. (hmm, good name for a band), I tried to overhear what they were saying but they all clammed up when I stood there leaning over the railing, so I went down to the smoking area.
When I came back they were still there, another hour later, they were gone.
My wife then went out and called me to join her.
Apparently, there had been a terrible fight in that room that night, surprised we didn't hear it, but they had pilons set up in front of the window with a bucket in between.
The bucket was filled with the broken glass made from the huge hole in the picture window. Not sure if it came from a fist, a thrown bottle, or what, never did find out but believe me, it was a first for us at Disney.
What I am getting at, is all the fans have used the specials, and are basically spent out, the hidden codes that we used to use are still there, not booked up like before and folks that never dreamed of being able to go to DisneyWorld are now going after seeing the ads on tv every night.
I'm sorry, these are not the people that worship the ground Mickey walks on, just those that are there cuz it's "cheap."
For the next 2 nights we had a cast member actually patrolling our floor on a Segway.
From people smoking wherever they wanted, to families filling up half gallon containers in the food court fountains it was obvious that something had changed.
One last observation on the people;
In our total of 15 trips down to Disney, it wasn't until our last trip in February that we came across a "code brown."
A code brown is when they have to close the pool because someone, to put it bluntly, had taken a dump in it.
In an hour and a half sitting by the Hippy Dippy Pool, we had TWO code browns. They closed the pool, removed the offending "snickers bar", 45 minutes later they re-opened the pool, then, 20 minutes later had to do it all again.
I left and went swimming in my bathtub.
Ok, I guess I am done. I'm sorry if this information casts a palor on an upcoming trip, please, don't let it, you will still have a great time. Those of you who know me and have read my trip reports know that almost all of my focus is on making people laugh, and praising the virtues of DisneyWorld. Much of what happened at Pop could have been isolated incidences, but maybe, if enough of us complain and talk about it, they will right the ship.
nebo
)
