venting my frustrations to guest services

[jecon]

I will preface this post by saying that I still love and plan to go to WDW, but I just had to email them to let them know my disappointment in some recent experiences - another sign of "offer less, charge more". Haven't received a response yet from WDW but had to share with my fellow disboard-ers! Bums me out.

Here's my email:


I visited EPCOT on March 8, 2016 and want to share my disappointment with some park experiences that have changed and I find to be not of the same quality as in the past. Two of my favorite experiences at EPCOT are listening to the mariachi band in Mexico and the Voices of Liberty at the American Pavilion. Although the performers remain top notch, I was disappointed with both experiences.


The mariachi performers did not include the typical arrangement with trumpets, etc. It was just three performers - two guitarists and and a xylophone player. In my 30+ years of seeing that experience, that’s the first time there was such a small group! Again, they were absolutely wonderful but not the full experience I expect.



The Voices of Liberty were outside (what?!), did not dress in colonial costumes and sang Disney songs! (UGH - Let it Go! The entire audience groaned when they starting singing). I mentioned it to one of the performers. Again, wonderful and amazing singing but why change a good thing!?!


I LOVE Disney World and the memories it brings for me and my family. However, the prices continue to rise and now they are thinking about charing a resort fee!!! It seems like we are paying more for less. I just wanted to get this off my chest and share my disappointment. It seems to be all about stock prices and making money anymore. Most people won’t notice but your loyal fans that chose to continue to spend their discretionary money on a Disney World experience may start questioning if it’s worth it anymore.


I hope I never get to that point.

 

[larryz]

Thanks for taking the time to express your displeasure. Please update us with any reply you might get.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The Voices of Liberty alternate between performing Disney tunes outside and performing as usual in the rotunda. Just in case you thought they didn't do the rotunda show at all anymore, because they do. They are currently in the outside theater Monday and Tuesday and inside Wednesday-Sunday.

The 3 mariachi thing is not every day either. That may be a cut, because on some days they have more of them.

 

[AnnaKat]

OP, thank you for sharing this. We also like to enjoy those 2 entertainments. I am very disappointed that they have taken away from the authenticity of the Voices of Liberty. Also, the elimination of the authentic trumpet players seems like yet another Disney move to take the Cukture out of the World Showcase, & " Frozen " the experience to sell more Frozen merchandise & appeal to folks whom aren't interested in entertainment unique to a WS nation's history or culture.
So much favorite entertainment @ WS has been let go in the last year, with NO replacement @ all, OR with substandard replacement, such as the lumberjack show for Off Kilter.
WHERE does this end?! The drum & fife corp. was eliminated. Maybe NEXT they will eliminate the Mariachi Band altogether,
and the Voices of Liberty, ALSO.
After all, they have already taken the culture out of Norway to make it a Frozen attraction.

 

[nco91590]

There were about 6 Mariachi band members when we were there in the beginning of February. And the Voices of Liberty singers were in their full costumes. Perhaps you were there on an off day? Or some of the singers were ill?

 

[Otter49]

There were about 6 Mariachi band members when we were there in the beginning of February. And the Voices of Liberty singers were in their full costumes. Perhaps you were there on an off day? Or some of the singers were ill?

There were six mariachi band members last Friday.

 

[AngiTN]

There were about 6 Mariachi band members when we were there in the beginning of February. And the Voices of Liberty singers were in their full costumes. Perhaps you were there on an off day? Or some of the singers were ill?

Yeah, I'm thinking there were members of the band that couldn't make it that day, not a change.

 

[Robo]

So much favorite entertainment @ WS has been let go in the last year, with NO replacement @ all, OR with substandard replacement, such as the lumberjack show for Off Kilter.
WHERE does this end?!

To be clear, the Lumberjacks show has now been replaced with the musical group, TradNation, which reflects the cultural heritage of French Quebec.

 

[yulilin3]

OP, thank you for sharing this. We also like to enjoy those 2 entertainments. I am very disappointed that they have taken away from the authenticity of the Voices of Liberty. Also, the elimination of the authentic trumpet players seems like yet another Disney move to take the Cukture out of the World Showcase, & " Frozen " the experience to sell more Frozen merchandise & appeal to folks whom aren't interested in entertainment unique to a WS nation's history or culture.
So much favorite entertainment @ WS has been let go in the last year, with NO replacement @ all, OR with substandard replacement, such as the lumberjack show for Off Kilter.
WHERE does this end?! The drum & fife corp. was eliminated. Maybe NEXT they will eliminate the Mariachi Band altogether,
and the Voices of Liberty, ALSO.
After all, they have already taken the culture out of Norway to make it a Frozen attraction.

Voice of Liberty perform outside at the American Garden Theater only 2 days a week, Mondays and Tuesdays and they perform modern music, all other days they are inside with their traditional set.
The Viva Mexico band (the one you saw) is only there seasonally, other than that Mariachi Cobre is there every day.
When dealing with entertainment you have to check the schedules

 

[CAS239]

The mariachi band has not changed. People forget that performances and shows are put on by live people and sometimes it's not always going to be the full group or show. Technical issues, people call off or sick, injuries, etc

 

[AnnaKat]

Thanks Robo. I saw TradNation mentioned on some thread somewhere, but had no idea who they are.

 

[Magpie]

OP, thank you for sharing this. We also like to enjoy those 2 entertainments. I am very disappointed that they have taken away from the authenticity of the Voices of Liberty. Also, the elimination of the authentic trumpet players seems like yet another Disney move to take the Cukture out of the World Showcase, & " Frozen " the experience to sell more Frozen merchandise & appeal to folks whom aren't interested in entertainment unique to a WS nation's history or culture.
So much favorite entertainment @ WS has been let go in the last year, with NO replacement @ all, OR with substandard replacement, such as the lumberjack show for Off Kilter.
WHERE does this end?! The drum & fife corp. was eliminated. Maybe NEXT they will eliminate the Mariachi Band altogether,
and the Voices of Liberty, ALSO.
After all, they have already taken the culture out of Norway to make it a Frozen attraction.

Just fyi...

The Voices of Liberty only sing Disney tunes outside on Mondays and Tuesday. The rest of the week, they're in the Rotunda being just as authentic as ever. Personally, I'm kind of excited to hear their rendition of "Frozen" and very pleased that they're broadening their repertoire and offering more variety. I adore them!

The trumpeters haven't been eliminated. I'm not sure if they're on weekly rotation, or if one of the fellows was simply sick that day, but rest assured the mariachi band still has trumpets... most of the time.

The lumberjack show has been replaced with another musical act. I haven't heard it yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing them soon! (Four weeks to go!)

Yes, the Norway movie is gone (and I'm sorry for that, because I loved it in all it's cheesy 80's glory - the hair!!!), and I imagine the Stave Church's current display (how Norway inspired Frozen) is not to your taste. But, you can still purchase Norwegian food and souvenirs and chat with Norwegian cast members.

While I do agree that Epcot desperately needs some TLC, it is far from turning into a wasteland. In fact, with the new and improved Soarin', the new Frozen ride (yeah, I know you're not into that, but plenty of other folks are), the new-ish restaurant Spice Road (very good food!) and the new meet-and-greet with Joy and Sadness, as well as the regularly recurring Food and Wine and Flower and Garden Festivals, I believe Epcot's finally beginning to make steps in the right direction. I'm excited to see what the future holds for this park!

I think it's great that the OP wrote the guest services, and I hope they get a reply that satisfies them. However, I am somewhat reminded of a post I saw several weeks ago asking why the tumble monkeys were no longer in the Lion King show. Contrary to that poster's fears, they hadn't been permanently eliminated. They just didn't perform in that particular show (most likely due to injury or illness or technical difficulties).

To the OP: Sorry you missed the trumpeters and the Voices of Liberty! Here's hoping you can catch them on your next trip.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Thanks Yuli...didn't realize there were two Mexican bands. I know I've seen Mariachi Cobre recently.

 

[patty57]

I'm on the monorail as I write this after just hearing Trad Nation. Very good musicians. Two women and three men. Young man on violin and guitar. Older man on violin and mandolin. Older man with bones and a dancer. One woman on guitar and bass. One woman on flute. Very entertaining. Some vocals as well but in French so don't know what they were singing.
I saw the full mariachi band yesterday. Also great.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I've seen 3 different schools of thought on TradNation (whom I haven't seen perform yet.)

1) They're great!
2) I don't understand them. I don't know if people will stop to watch them.
3) They're not Off Kilter.

 

[patty57]

I've seen 3 different schools of thought on TradNation (whom I haven't seen perform yet.)

1) They're great!
2) I don't understand them. I don't know if people will stop to watch them.
3) They're not Off Kilter.

I don't know that I would say great because I couldn't understand the lyrics. I will say they were excellent musicians and I tend to like trad music, whether it's Dixieland jazz or trad from other places.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I figured you were in the "they're great" category. Or at least pretty good. I think it's been established that they are talented.

There aren't that many in #2 that I have seen, and for those in #3 it will never matter whether they are good or not.

 

[GeneralTso]

I think you were definitely there on an off day. Both were in full regalia when we saw them. They were great.

 

[GPC0321]

The lesson here is: Stop and consider other possibilities before assuming that Disney has done something nefarious to ruin your vacation. There might be a totally logical explanation.

I would never have dreamed of complaining about either situation. The idea would never have entered my head.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

wdwent.com is a great site to bookmark for the week's entertainment scheduling.