Things That are Better Now Than in the Old Days

[SimonSez]

So many of us seem to pine away for the Disney of old sometimes (including me), but what do you think is better now at Disney than in the past? It could be rides, magic bands, FP+, etc. The way they used to seat people on Space Mountain comes to mind. Do you remember how you had to sit up against the person behind you? Not the most comfortable situation, and sometimes quite awkward

 

[SimonSez]

Oops! forgot to change forums before I started this thread. Sorry, and thanks mods for moving it. Wrong forum posting is beginning to be my modus operandi I need a GPS to navigate the Dis

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Better?

Um...the overall reduction of smoking areas (i'm sorry...but that's almost the only habit that affects the people around you against their will...)

That's more of a society thing though...

Disney changes? I love the refillable mugs...much easier/more convenient. The kids centers are really a good thing...Resort charging...

I do like the fastpass system and have since day one...it is a nice feature. What I don't like is the customers allowing disney to get a pass on not adding attractions commensurate with crowd growth because of the existence of fast pass...

 

[jknezek]

I would point to FPs and Magic Bands. I loved having the FPs linked to MDE as well. Depending on how far you want to go back, things like Splash Mountain and Philharmagic are great. Midway Mania, R&R, Tower of Terror are all very cool. Buzz Lightyear was extremely cool when it first opened, showing some age now, especially in comparison to Midway Mania. Having 4 parks instead of 1 or 2, having 2 water parks, though it was better when there were 3, having more on property resorts. These are all good things as far as I'm concerned. I think the number of dining options has improved. There was a time when it felt like QS (although that wasn't what it was called then!) was a burger and fries or nothing.

There is a lot of nostalgia, and some things just shouldn't have been done over the years. And certainly with the things they could have done, they have come up short of the highest expectations. I could probably name more changes I don't like, and more missed opportunities, than anyone would care to read. But that doesn't mean that everything has been bad. We just expect a lot from Disney, probably too much to be honest, but for the prices we charge, we should hold them to a high standard as well.

On the other hand, WDW is still 4 of the best theme parks in the world. So there is a lot that has gone right.

 

[MDH]

everything but the price. Nostalgia is the sneakiest devil in the world.

edit: And the crowds. I guess even price can't stop everyone from coming. Goes to show that no matter how much we complain in NA, we obviously still have a lot of disposable income.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

everything but the price. Nostalgia is the sneakiest devil in the world.

edit: And the crowds. I guess even price can't stop everyone from coming. Goes to show that no matter how much we complain in NA, we obviously still have a lot of disposable income.

The overall quality of the experience has not improved since the end of the 90's boom.

Combine that with price and it's bad.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Change as it has, it still feels like love to me when I walk through the turnstiles. I bring most of that with me, but it all started there. It feels like home, and I suspect that it always will.

I can't pretend that everything is better, but I am better, so everything feels better.

These are the good old days.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Change as it has, it still feels like love to me when I walk through the turnstiles. I bring most of that with me, but it all started there. It feels like home, and I suspect that it always will.

I can't pretend that everything is better, but I am better, so everything feels better.

These are the good old days.

 

[Alice Sr.]

The food

 

[ilovevacation]

So not related but I read the title and my first thought was air conditioning

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I remember the days before FP, taking a trip in August and standing in long lines on just about every attraction-so to me FP was an improvement. FP+ can be a PITA with all the tiering of attractions, but I still like it overall. I feel it levels the playing field YMMV.

I agree with a previous poster. The food is better, at least I think so. I'm no gourmet foodie, but I've had waaay more good meals than bad.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Dueling Dumbos. Gone are the days of waiting in a long line in the hot sun with a bunch of crying children (and crying adults) to ride one spinner. Now you get to wait inside an air-conditioned circus tent to ride one of two spinners while the kids (and adults) burn off steam in the play area.

In fact, queues overall have gotten better over the years. The interactive elements have their drawbacks, but there's definitely more things to see and do while you're waiting to enter your next attraction.

 

[KYMickey]

As mentioned earlier about the other thing I feel it's better is the lack of smoking throughout the parks. Other than that I don't see were anything has improved. Especially when you factor in the huge price increases that have occurred the overall experience has gone no place but down.

Somebody early on in this thread mentioned "food", they obviously were never at WDW early on when dining was truly an experience on par with many fine restaurants across the nation. This was especially true in Epcot and the resorts. Nowadays partly due to free dining program switches all become mundane and uninspiring. It's also basically the same to matter where you go that's a Disney restaurant.

FP, and all the other bells and whistles that have come along are just ways to overcome the problems that have been generated by not developing new attractions. Instead Disney keeps building accommodations and crowding the attractions I have. Sure there been a few new attractions added but nowhere near as many that should have been added over the years. Also take into account the fact that several major attractions, especially in Epcot have been lost over the years.

 

[Alice Sr.]

As mentioned earlier about the other thing I feel it's better is the lack of smoking throughout the parks. Other than that I don't see were anything has improved. Especially when you factor in the huge price increases that have occurred the overall experience has gone no place but down.

Somebody early on in this thread mentioned "food", they obviously were never at WDW early on when dining was truly an experience on par with many fine restaurants across the nation. This was especially true in Epcot and the resorts. Nowadays partly due to free dining program switches all become mundane and uninspiring. It's also basically the same to matter where you go that's a Disney restaurant.

FP, and all the other bells and whistles that have come along are just ways to overcome the problems that have been generated by not developing new attractions. Instead Disney keeps building accommodations and crowding the attractions I have. Sure there been a few new attractions added but nowhere near as many that should have been added over the years. Also take into account the fact that several major attractions, especially in Epcot have been lost over the years.

That was me regarding the food, I totally agree with all of your comments about the food. It has gone down over the last 10-15 years since they centralized all of the restaurants and they lost their true individualism but it is still better than it was back in the day. You need to put your way back hat on

 

[glassslippergirl]

I remember the days before FP, taking a trip in August and standing in long lines on just about every attraction-so to me FP was an improvement. FP+ can be a PITA with all the tiering of attractions, but I still like it overall. I feel it levels the playing field YMMV.

I agree with a previous poster. The food is better, at least I think so. I'm no gourmet foodie, but I've had waaay more good meals than bad.

This was my first thought. The lines are much better. My dad still talks about the day we spent in MK one July in the 80's. The lines were so long we only got on about 7 rides even though we stayed until the last tram to the parking lot. FP (legacy FP and FP+) really does make lines more manageable.

I also like the interactive queues in the lines we have to stand in-- I'm thinking about Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, TSMM (more immersive than interactive with the exception of Mr. Potatohead), FEA (we are big fans of Oaken's store-- also more immersive). TT takes it to a new level where you create something in line that is integrated in to the attraction itself.

 

[bettybooplove]

I like the FastPass system. I think it's more convenient and for me it's more relaxing to choose my 3 passes 60 days in advance from my bed instead of feeling like an NFL coach with a clipboard, trying to strategize who is going to collect passes around the park.

 

[goofyernmost]

In spite of distorted memories of so many, the overall look of MK in particular, and the entire resort in general is so much brighter, cleaner looking and sharp then it was in the early day. The quick service food places carried packaged sandwiches like you find now in any gas station, convenience store. The technology for the new stuff is far advanced.

Many have mentioned FP. FP while good if you had one, was before when it first started and even with the new system still limited in its numbers. Yes, most of the lines back then were fairly long in people, but, the wait generally was shorter. You got in a line and it moved continuously. No long delays while you watched busloads of people legally cut in front of you. A whole lot less frustrating back then because everyone was treated equally and first come were first served. Now if you have a FP your time in that particular line is less, but, since you cannot get a FP for everything during your visit, you will lose all the time you made up from FP waiting in Standby in the other lines. There is no real improvement overall. It is just an allusion of time saving, and we all know how good Disney is at allusion.

So generally, many improvements have been made, but, not all of the things that were established were really as beneficial as everyone seems to think they were.