The 5 Biggest Needs at Walt Disney World

[starwarsdisney]

We come to the same conclusion. I would LOVE to buy into DVC, but for us it just doesn't make $en$e. As long as there are some type of specials being offered, DVC is a hard sell to us. And as much as we love Disney, we aren't about to get signed up for a LONG term financial commitment. Including passes would change all of that for us.

I think a Toy Story breakfast in the 50's PTC would be a hit. The focus could be on Woody's Roundup. Fill those TV screens with Woody and the gang cartoons, and faux commercials for slinky dog, Mr Potato head, etc.



I agree with this. We have been to WDW an embarrassing number of times now. I've been thrilled every single time and can't wait to go back. Most recently DW and I finally took "the tour" when approached by a DVC rep in the lobby of our resort. It all sounded fantastic, and we just might have joined. But when it comes right down to it, it means a lot to me to have the freedom to say, should that day come, "Disney, I am done with you" and walk away. They need to sweeten the pot in order for me to give that up. If I'm marrying Disney, then they are going to have to come up with a decent dowry. Until then I'll keep cherry-picking the public deals and PINs as means to plan our trips.

Glad to see we are not the only ones who think this about the DVC. I can't tell you just how close we came to doing this, but again when we did the math it's cheaper to go when they have deals or PINs. We had free dining on our last trip. You can't do that with the DVC. All I'm saying is that you should get park hopper passes included with your points since you can't get the deals. Make it so the passes you get match your points or something like that. Until they do something like this, I think we will just keep doing things the way we have. I can't see spending money for a timeshare and then having to plunk down more money to get into the parks. Especially at the prices they are at.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Glad to see we are not the only ones who think this about the DVC. I can't tell you just how close we came to doing this, but again when we did the math it's cheaper to go when they have deals or PINs. We had free dining on our last trip. You can't do that with the DVC. All I'm saying is that you should get park hopper passes included with your points since you can't get the deals. Make it so the passes you get match your points or something like that. Until they do something like this, I think we will just keep doing things the way we have. I can't see spending money for a timeshare and then having to plunk down more money to get into the parks. Especially at the prices they are at.

I will say this for Disney though. They must be doing their DVC business the right way since they are selling a pretty good volume of DVC memberships. I guess people like us are in the minority. I can't fault them for making money. It just doesn't make sense for me (and a small group of others evidently)

 

[d1gitman]

I will say this for Disney though. They must be doing their DVC business the right way since they are selling a pretty good volume of DVC memberships. I guess people like us are in the minority. I can't fault them for making money. It just doesn't make sense for me (and a small group of others evidently)

Interestingly enough, we came very close until we analyzed the math every which way. When DVC did a follow up call, they asked if we were interested. I told them that I ran through the math, explained it to them and that i just couldn't justify signing up. they said they understood, thanked me and were on their way. I was pleased, a bit surprised and impressed that there was no debate or pressure, one of the most pleasant sales experiences i have ever had.

I even ran the math on buying 'used' DVC points and still couldn't make it worth my while.

If they included base tix for the number of nights booked on DVC ressies it would be interesting to me, but until then....

 

[sewingmolly]

I completely disagree that changes need to be made to AK. We think that it's perfect just the way it is. And if some of you leave early, that just makes it more pleasant for the rest of us to enjoy it.

I think that Epot needs the most of attention. We love the WS countries (more would be welcome), but FW just seems a bit sad - the unused buildings, lack of themeing, - visually it's not very interesting.

I think that the transportation really needs to be addressed. There is nothing magical about a bus. I would like to the monorail or light rail connecting all the resorts and parks.

I'm just home from Disneyland and I went to DL Paris a few years ago. There are several rides at those parks, I'd love to see at WDW. From DLRP, the Crush Coaster ride is one of our all-time favorites. From DL, Roger Rabbit's Toon Spin and the Monster's Inc ride would be great additions to WDW. The Monster's Inc ride could be a lot better, if it focused on the doors or Monstropolis, rather that trying to tell the story of the movie.

I completely agree that Disney should always be trying to improve the parks. Universal certainly is.

 

[bigAWL]

I think the reports of Disney's imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. I just looked up the 2009 amusement park attendance reports, which showed Disney parks still comfortably atop every category. In fact, comparing 2008 to 2009 numbers, the four WDW main parks and two water parks, and DLRs two theme parks all showed steady or increased attendance numbers. They were the only North American parks listed in the top 20 that did not have a decrease in attendance from 2008-2009 (except for Busch Gardens in VA).

Will WWoHP bring Universal back to a positive attendance curve this year. Probably. But looking at the two Universal parks separately, even AK alone (9.5M visitors) blows each of them (5.5M and 4.6M) out of the water.

That's not to say I think WDW should be complacent. I love that they are investing in the parks between the FL expansion and the DCA makeover, they a not exactly standing still. What comes after that? Maybe they need a little time to evaluate the new changes, and then prioritize the next big projects. And I definitely think DHS should be at the top of the list. I agree with a lot that has been posted on this thread.

I haven't used Disney busus much in the past, but my impression is that they do a pretty good job. However, I would support a new monorail line. It doesn't need to hit all the resorts, but should start at Epcot's current stop, and run to Crescent Lake for the resorts in that area (also serving the Epcot international gateway), then on to DHS, AK and AKL. Or maybe (someone mentioned this) an actual people mover system, the way Walt had intended.

The one project I'd like to see that hasn't been mentioned much here is an Adventureland expansion. There was a thread a while back asking which land people would like to see re-done next. This was my response:

I can already feel the flames tickling my toes... but here goes....

Adventureland.

Starting relatively simple I'd take it back a little to its roots. I'd get rid of the Carpets ride and re-theme the area back to an open plaza (I don't remember what exactly was there before) – something interesting and better fitting with the buildings surrounding it. Bring back the Adventureland Veranda, or better yet, another TS restaurant with a cool island theme. Revert the Tiki room to it's original show. There should be some regular entertainment or "streetmosphere" in the plaza - make it a real destination.

Second thing I'd do is get rid of the Jungle cruise and the Tree house. Maybe the Treehouse could stay, I'm just not a big fan. But the Jungle Cruise IMO is obsolete now that we have AK. In its place, I'd put a new Aladdin area. The problem with the carpets wasn't the theming, it was the ride mechanism (aka Dumbo) and the location. There should be a new sub-land here all Agrabah-themed, with a market, some snack carts (“Fresh fish!”), and a forced-perspective view of the Sultan’s Palace off in the distance. Around the corner, across a small desert, visitors would stumble upon the façade of a new e-ticket attraction – the Cave of Wonders. The preshow would have the voice of the cave: “Who disturbs my slumber, etc.” Inside you would descend into the dark cave and eventually come to a huge treasure room, with an audio-animatronics Abu trying to steal a gem. The cave goes nuts and you board your “Flying Carpet” for a great themed roller coaster ride past falling boulders and over a boiling pool of lava. It would be a “suspended” roller coaster so you are flying underneath with the track above you. And you would be sort of laying down on top of a “carpet” (something like the new Sea World Manta coaster).

One more thing I’d like to see (and if you thought getting rid of the Jungle cruise was controversial – wait for this one) is a bigger, badder Pirates of the Caribbean. I don’t know specifically what I want to see here, but it should be more exciting, fast-paced…, more adventurous. Maybe a different ride mechanism, definitely a swashbuckling sword fight, a cursed crew that turns from man to skeleton under the moonlight, a more elaborate sacking of the town. Now this would probably require some serious R&D on the effects front: some more advanced audio-animatronics, new visual effects, and a lot of pyrotechnics. But I bet the imagineers have some ideas up their sleeves.

 

[eeyorepixie]

more thrill rides, and HS need something more...not sure what but...something

I would love to see AK get the "Magical Beast" section too, it needs a little something too... I hate the pathetic run down, horrible rides of Dino land...give me a break...so does not live up to the Disney standard!

 

[Markstudy]

So many folks mentioned Star Wars... just a heads-up

The National Star Wars convention is in Orlando this year at the convention center- Aug 12th-15th

I just found out myself. Pretty cool

 

[Glencora]

LOVE the idea of a steampunk Tomorrowland. And I agree that the Speedway needs a major update - how about miniature mag lev cars? Some kind of motorized zeppelin ride?

DHS also needs some major help - it seems like something as simple as changing up the meet and greet characters more often would help keep the interest in older movies alive. Robin Hood, characters from Fantasia, Bambi - any animated Disney flim - would fit right in. Especially if they add an animation department, which would be brilliant.

And I really don't understand the reluctance to use the villains. There is basically NOTHING villain related - even the store in DHS is mostly Jack Skellington stuff. I would pay good money for a stuffed Maleficent hat, or a Wicked Queen (or is it Evil Queen?) cape (with a nice, high collar) - or maybe a black hood with her crown on top. I think the villains are one of the most underutilized resources Disney has.

 

[Shreggor]

************************************************************************************TOY STORY 3 SPOILER ALERT ********** *************************************
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Regarding characters:

I agree that the Villains are underused. They have a few of them walking around, including apparently Lotso (who I find to be the most disturbing and probably the most likely to make little kids cry because he looks like he should be a "nice" character but as anyone who has seen Toy Story 3 knows he is downright pure evil). Why not make a villain theme dinner? If Fantasmic isn't too much for kids, I doubt a Villain dinner would be. Or it could appeal to older kids.

I also like the idea of a Heros dinner for little boys. Buzz, Woody, Hercules, Robin Hood to name a few could walk around and greet kids. Little guys kinda get shortchanged when it comes to character meals. I mean, yeah, they have Donald, Goofy and Mickey. But there are at least two princess themed breakfasts. How about a pirates character meal?

I also really think Disney could benefit from some of the Miyazaki characters if they marketed them more. These are amazing animated films with very memorable characters. Disney was smart to get in with Studi Ghibli and start distributing. I'm not sure how much rights they have to them though. I know Disney has distributed some of the films. How cool would it be to see Totoro walking around the Japan part of Epcot? Totoro would be a perfect theme for a play area for very little kids. They put him in Toy Story 3 so they must have some rights to him. Actually a whole Miyazaki ride in Japan's pavillion would be amazing. Imagine riding through the Kodama forest or joining Kiki on a delivery?

 

[hookedonears]

For the most part, Universals is not a destination. Disney is a destination and people take side trips to Universal. Universal has received a spike in popularity with Harry Potter Land, and HP Land has helped move Universal in the direction of becoming a destination, but they still have a long, long way to go.

Disney's smart enough to know that if they sit still and only try to maintain there lead over the competition, they'll get passed up in a hurry. My issues with Disney are as follows:
1) One of Disney's major failures is infrastructure design. For the most part, the lines for Disney's most popular attractions are way, way too long. At peak capacity of the parks, there shouldn't be a wait for any one attraction longer than 45 minutes. The 2 biggest reasons for this are budget and space constraints. Space Mountain has 2 tracks. Rock'n Roller coaster should also. TofT should have triple the number of Elevators.
2) MK - Yes, Tomorrowland needs to be completely reimagioneered. Adventureland is okay with the exception of the Aladdin ride which is completely out of place.
DHS - Indiana Jones needs to be completely reimagioneered, as well as the stupid Star Search.
AK - Kali RR needs major improvements, the County Fair Area needs to be dozed and completely reimagioneered and many, many more attractions need to be added (small and large) to make it an all day park.
EPCOT - Figment needs to be completely remagioneered.
3) Disney's food quality is way way too inconsistent. The more entertainment and atmosphere a restaurant has and when ever Disney has a captured audience, they step on their guest throats by providing as poor quality food as possible. I.e. San Angels, Cindy's Castle, Whispering Canyon, Aloha Polynesian Luau.
4) Bus waits are way, way too long. They could easily double the number of busses during peak season. And peak season is now just about year around.

 

[Markstudy]

For the most part, Universals is not a destination. Disney is a destination and people take side trips to Universal.

I agree- "for the most part, not a destination" But...

...after 3 GREAT trips to Disney, we skipped Disney last year and spent a week at Universal. Their on-site resorts are very nice. We really enjoyed the Royal Pacific, its like a brand new version of the Poly Their deluxe resorts are as nice as Disney's but noticeably lower in price.

We did 3 days in the parks, one day at Sea World, NASA, and one day at Disney. We really enjoyed the nightlife at City Walk, great food, and caught the Blue Man show one night. Very cool

I'm still the biggest Disney fan you will find, but Universal is catching up fast, and I highly recommend it. Another nice perk is that you get FRONT OF THE LINE FAST PASS for all the rides if you are a resort guest.

 

[mom2cinderella]

Around the corner, across a small desert, visitors would stumble upon the façade of a new e-ticket attraction – the Cave of Wonders. The preshow would have the voice of the cave: “Who disturbs my slumber, etc.” Inside you would descend into the dark cave and eventually come to a huge treasure room, with an audio-animatronics Abu trying to steal a gem. The cave goes nuts and you board your “Flying Carpet” for a great themed roller coaster ride past falling boulders and over a boiling pool of lava. It would be a “suspended” roller coaster so you are flying underneath with the track above you. And you would be sort of laying down on top of a “carpet” (something like the new Sea World Manta coaster).

this idea!!

Why not make a villain theme dinner? If Fantasmic isn't too much for kids, I doubt a Villain dinner would be. Or it could appeal to older kids.

DH threw away my outdated Unofficial Guide but I *thought* it mentioned that there was a Villains dinner and little kids were terrified of it so it was removed? I'd love to see it make a comeback.

 

[Shreggor]

For the most part, Universals is not a destination. Disney is a destination and people take side trips to Universal. Universal has received a spike in popularity with Harry Potter Land, and HP Land has helped move Universal in the direction of becoming a destination, but they still have a long, long way to go.

I agree. I couldn't spend more than a long weekend at Universal. I enjoy it but there just isn't that much IMO to do there. I also have to wonder how long the HP stuff will last? I mean Disney's been around for almost a century in some format or another. HP has been around about a decade.

1) One of Disney's major failures is infrastructure design. For the most part, the lines for Disney's most popular attractions are way, way too long. At peak capacity of the parks, there shouldn't be a wait for any one attraction longer than 45 minutes. The 2 biggest reasons for this are budget and space constraints. Space Mountain has 2 tracks. Rock'n Roller coaster should also. TofT should have triple the number of Elevators.

I've honestly never waited in line for more than 15 minutes since the advent of Fast Pass. Granted, I don't travel at peak seasons, but still, I've seen lines up to 120 minutes before and I just don't wait in them. I get a FP. I'd rather see them spend the money to add new things rather than lessen the standby wait times.

2) MK - Yes, Tomorrowland needs to be completely reimagioneered. Adventureland is okay with the exception of the Aladdin ride which is completely out of place.

There is just not much to Adventureland. The Swiss House needs to go faster than Aladdin IMO. It's neat but it's just kind of generic and honestly how many kids even remember this movie? it's also a physically strenuous attraction that I think keeps many people away. I couldn't imagine trying to keep track of a few kids through that, esp. if one got tired and needed to be carried.

DHS - Indiana Jones needs to be completely reimagioneered, as well as the stupid Star Search.

I agree. Switch out the show with the ride from CA. As for AI, I just could not forsee myself or anyone I will ever travel with caring or taking part in this.

AK - Kali RR needs major improvements, the County Fair Area needs to be dozed and completely reimagioneered and many, many more attractions need to be added (small and large) to make it an all day park.

I like DinoRama but it does kind of seem out of place. I actually have no problems spending an entire day at AK. I spend my time looking at the animals, watching shows etc. To me, AK is a large zoo with a few rides thrown in for fun. But the focus should be on the animals.

EPCOT - Figment needs to be completely remagioneered.

I wonder if they still have all the stuff from the original ride. They should just put it back to that.

3) Disney's food quality is way way too inconsistent. The more entertainment and atmosphere a restaurant has and when ever Disney has a captured audience, they step on their guest throats by providing as poor quality food as possible. I.e. San Angels, Cindy's Castle, Whispering Canyon, Aloha Polynesian Luau.

I love San Angel Inn. It's some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. I think the food quality and variety is fine.

4) Bus waits are way, way too long. They could easily double the number of busses during peak season. And peak season is now just about year around.

I've never really had a major issue with bus waits. My one gripe though is that if a person in an ECV comes up (which happens a lot) they and their entire family get on the bus first and then sometimes (often in my experience) there is only room for maybe 20 more people to sit on the bus. This is not good for anyone. It frustrates the people who had been waiting in line and it has to be annoying for the ECV user to see other people getting frustrated. I think WDW should be able to provide better transportation options to people with mobility issues. Maybe have a special transport vehicle just for this purpose and also have it be on call so if a person with special needs needs to go back to their resort asap they can call or page for their transport and have it be ready to go (ie. not need to spend 15 minutes putting the seats down, setting it up for them).

 

[helloconnie]

Glad to see we are not the only ones who think this about the DVC. I can't tell you just how close we came to doing this, but again when we did the math it's cheaper to go when they have deals or PINs. We had free dining on our last trip. You can't do that with the DVC. All I'm saying is that you should get park hopper passes included with your points since you can't get the deals. Make it so the passes you get match your points or something like that. Until they do something like this, I think we will just keep doing things the way we have. I can't see spending money for a timeshare and then having to plunk down more money to get into the parks. Especially at the prices they are at.

Ahhh...what makes DVC attractive is that you are locking in today's prices for accomodations. The points to stay at the DVC resorts will never change. They can be reallocated over the calendar year, but they must always equal the same. Plus, it all depends on what type of accomodation you want to stay in. We typically stay in the Deluxe Resorts. For us, being able to have a 1 or 2 bedroom villa versus a hotel room was a great option. DVC members also get discounts on Annual Passes. We also ran the numbers, and based on how often we go to WDW and the way we like to vacation, the numbers made perfect sense. (I have a huge spreadsheet. ) With that said, every person has to evaluate DVC based on their own vacationing needs and style.

As far as incentives from Disney such as free dining or extra nights free, those really just started when the economy went into recession. The CEO, Iger, has already stated in one of his earnings calls that they will phase these incentives out by 2011. You can read his comments online, just search the DIS stock exchange code on www.money.cnn.com and click on the various tabs to read about the company.

 

[jkstewart1800]

Monorail, monorail monorail.... I should be able to get from the airport/train station to a 'central hub' on property and then take another monorail to my hotel....

Everywhere I go I should be able to take a monorail... from the hotel, to ANY park, to DTD.... etc etc

NO MORE buses!!!! It completely goes against what Walt had envisioned for the place and if it hadn't been for Mr. Isner putting all the 80-90's money into movies... we would have a modern, green, effcient way to get around the 'world'

Disney use to be the leader in innovation and transportation and such..... they need to play some serious catch up!

 

[ntsammy5]

Disney use to be the leader in innovation and transportation and such..... they need to play some serious catch up!

They'd also be bankrupt. Do you have any idea what it costs to build a monorail right now? Probabaly magnitudes more that Disneys total market capitalization.

 

[jkstewart1800]

They'd also be bankrupt. Do you have any idea what it costs to build a monorail right now? Probabaly magnitudes more that Disneys total market capitalization.

If they had put transportation as a priority instead of hotel building 20 years ago .............. i'm just sayin'

 

[Birdman1511]

if they had put transportation as a priority instead of hotel building 20 years ago .............. i'm just sayin'

ohhhh!!!! Buuuurrrrnnnn!!!!!!!!

 

[chartle]

If they had put transportation as a priority instead of hotel building 20 years ago .............. i'm just sayin'

They would have a 20 year old transpiration system and no where to go and no one to ride.

Oh and still be bankrupt.

Hotels make money, monorails cost money and you can't say if they built it 20 years ago that more people would have come or stayed longer because of it because thats the only way to justify the 100's of million dollars, way north of 500, its would have taken even then.

Sorry buses are the cheapest (even 20 years ago) most flexible way to move people from from multiple points to multiple other points.

 

[jkstewart1800]

They would have a 20 year old transpiration system and no where to go and no one to ride.

Oh and still be bankrupt.

Hotels make money, monorails cost money and you can't say if they built it 20 years ago that more people would have come or stayed longer because of it because thats the only way to justify the 100's of million dollars, way north of 500, its would have taken even then.

Sorry buses are the cheapest (even 20 years ago) most flexible way to move people from from multiple points to multiple other points.

isn't the monorail they have now like 30+ years old?
I know they are the cheapest, but there once was a time when Disney did stuff for the joy magic and innovation ....not just to make a buck.