WDW - Has it Lost Its 'Quaintness'?

[AmyBWV99]

I read this on another post and it got me thinking. The quote was (paraphrasing here) that 'DTD used to be quaint when it was the Village Marketplace'. I was thinking about that comment and realized that the poster was right-on. DTD, as well as many other parts of WDW, are less quaint and intimate than they used to be, I think. Its lots of little things brought about by environment and Disney's corporate synergy, but it sometimes seems like Disney has lost it's 'quaintness'. To me, a perfect example is the new Bonnet Creek resort area. Disney doesn't own the resorts or the land, but there will be a Ritz essentially on Disney property. Another is adding McDonald's food to the Disney parks. Yet another is the addition of 'garishness' that was until fairly recently atypical of Disney (POP, ASR, black light in many of the rides making fluorescent paint stand out).

Any other viewpoints?

 

[Max Rebo]

I tend to agree, Amy.

I think it's the old rides — like It's a Small World and the Teacups — that give Disney its charm. It seems like many of these are being replaced. I posted in another thread that I used to love the old Mission to Mars ride at what is now the Stich ride. Mission to Mars was cheesy and outdated, but it was cool to explore what mankind thought the future would be like 20-30 years ago.

While park updates and upgrades are unavoidable in the modern business world, I hope Disney never eliminates all the old classics.

(Then again, perhaps in 30 years, people will refer to rides like ToT and EE as the "old classics" that Disney must never eliminate )

 

[kenny]

I agree. Maybe this is a bad example, but I miss the "old rides". For as much fun as the new rides (i.e dinosaur, tot, etc) are, my favorites are the old stand-byes such as Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Snow White, POTC, etc. I am afraid that in time they will be gone because of Disney's need to bring more thrill rides to the park's to compete with "other" theme parks.

But that is what I always liked about Disney. The rides were nothing like anything you could find anywhere else.