What happened to the WDW I knew and loved?

[ppony]

The worst change was at Casey's Corner where they not only switched the Hot Dog , but the bun. The reason behind this was the old buns wouldn't hold all the toppings for their chicago style and Barbque slaw dogs which is a higher mark-up. Guess I really got a bad bun becuase #1 it was rock hard, and #2 its still managed to fall apart, that I had to eat with a fork.I can go on and on, but like I said the bottom $ wins out over the poast at WDW.

I agree, the buns for hot dogs and the like are just horrendous! I don't eat them, so I guess I save some carbs, but I want the bread dang it!!! On a side note: saw Hawaiian Bread brand hot dog buns today at our Target!!!! OMG! SUPER SOFT BUNS!

 

[xipotec]

Hrm, i love WDW which is why I shell out 6k to go. That does not mean that if i see less for my money then the last time i went that i shouldn't be upset???
In the face of record profits, why should I not be upset for paying more an getting less???
The question people need to ask them selves is "how much less are you willing to pay more for??"
I know disney accountants ask themselves this daily , gotta keep Wall Street as happy as you can, right????
For now, we will continue to pay for those expansions with our vacation dollars, and hope we get a good ROI.
I have not hit the point where i would stop going and i hope i never do, but does that mean we should settle for less?
The fanboys will always settle ......

 

[Planogirl]

I think that the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes that I usually see on these threads. You see those that think all of the good stuff is gone and those that won't admit that Disney can ever do anything wrong. To me the truth is that WDW is not the same - it's not as great as it once was but it's still awfully good. Cost cutting and some other factors have damaged the place but it's not beyond hope and it's still well worth visiting IMO.

 

[princessallegra]

It probably has to do with the amount of visitors to a Disney park like Magic Kingdom but on a visit a couple of months ago I wad comparing the desserts at the counter service restaurants of Sea World(Voyagers Smokehouse for example)to what you get at Magic Kingdom(Cosmic Rays).At the Voyagers smokehouse you had HUGE carrot cakes,chocolate cakes and cheesecakes all freshly made on site,at Cosmic Rays it was this small brownie cake shipped in from who knows where and nowhere as good as any of the ones at Sea World.Pricewise they were all in the $3-$4 range so this is another example of where Disney just falls flat,obviously they can't produce the amount of desserts that are needed with close to 20 million visitors a year while Sea World produces a greater product that's big enough for two to share.And it's also just not desserts as there are other Disney restaurants onsite that I've pretty much given up on and when compared to other theme parks in the area,especially the counter service places they also fall flat.Busch Gardens and Sea World in my opinion have some of the best food of the area parks,Universal used to be clearly in the middle but as it gets more and more visitors the quality also drops off and is now just slightly better than Disney overall.

I can't even imagine comparing Sea World to WDW!

 

[maxiesmom]

Hrm, i love WDW which is why I shell out 6k to go. That does not mean that if i see less for my money then the last time i went that i shouldn't be upset???
In the face of record profits, why should I not be upset for paying more an getting less???
The question people need to ask them selves is "how much less are you willing to pay more for??"
I know disney accountants ask themselves this daily , gotta keep Wall Street as happy as you can, right????
For now, we will continue to pay for those expansions with our vacation dollars, and hope we get a good ROI.
I have not hit the point where i would stop going and i hope i never do, but does that mean we should settle for less?
The fanboys will always settle ......

But you are not getting less. Disney has redone many many rides over the last year or two. They are adding a whole new section to the Magic Kingdom. They have opened a new resort, and have been rampaging thru the rest of them updating the rooms, and even putting new themes into some of the rooms. I would take all of that over napkins with writing on them any day.

 

[jkjs]

On the whole we think the Disney experience has gone down hill. It's the small things that make for the Disney Experience and many of these small things have been removed/eliminated over the last decade or so. Some examples:

Living Statues at EPCOT - gone
Free family pictures at MVMCP or MNSSHP - gone
Street Performers at HS - reduced
Rope drop performances - gone (except for MK)
1/2 yards of beer from Rose & Crown - gone
"Best" areas for watching Illuminations/Fire Works - now cost $ or reserved for parties
Themed Mugs for each resort - gone
Monorail service - reduced
Mac'n'cheese with Mickey Head pasta - gone

On the upside, CS selections have greatly improved. Ten years ago it seems that CS was either a burger or chicken fingers. Now we can go an entire stay without eating either one of those.

 

[WedgieSock]

On the whole we think the Disney experience has gone down hill. It's the small things that make for the Disney Experience and many of these small things have been removed/eliminated over the last decade or so. Some examples:

Living Statues at EPCOT - gone
Free family pictures at MVMCP or MNSSHP - gone
Street Performers at HS - reduced
Rope drop performances - gone (except for MK)
1/2 yards of beer from Rose & Crown - gone
"Best" areas for watching Illuminations/Fire Works - now cost $ or reserved for parties
Themed Mugs for each resort - gone
Monorail service - reduced
Mac'n'cheese with Mickey Head pasta - gone

On the upside, CS selections have greatly improved. Ten years ago it seems that CS was either a burger or chicken fingers. Now we can go an entire stay without eating either one of those.

By the same token, it would be interesting to see what small things have been added over the years.

 

[disneychic2]

People tend to focus on what's missing from past memories. I also miss things like mints with the "ball" on them that would come with the bill at Epcot table service restaurants and Donald water skiing in the mornings as the ferry would cross the lake. There are also things I enjoy now that my past memories don't have. I love how Disney creates "magic memories" that they commemorate with a certificate. I got one that had a special Tinkerbell pin attached to it once. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom collector cards are special and a nice free souvenir. I don't remember the fun, action packed pool parties the resorts have each afternoon now "back in the day". I also love the free pic with characters we get each year with our Disney Visa card (yes I know this is sponsored by Chase but it's still something extra we didn't use to get). Special occasion buttons are also nice touches that we're missing from the past. Things change, for the better and the worse but most people only remember the worse.

ITA!

Wow, andyman, that was deep. I'm impressed. And I agree. So often we see our past visits through a nostalgic, rosy glow.

I really don't give a rat's patootie what the napkins look like, as long as they're available. I don't spend much on souvenirs, and I rarely drink mixed drinks or eat hot dogs. So I guess it's no wonder that after 35 years we are enjoying our visits as much if not more than we did on our first.

On my first visit there was only one park. I couldn't afford to eat at a TS, and a Tshirt was all I could afford for a souvenir. Now we're staying onsite for 10 nights, eating at signature restaurants, visiting 4 parks and introducing our grandson to The Mouse. What is important to us is the experience; not just what you can buy. WDW continues to grow and provide great new experiences for everyone. Or you can count your hotdog crumbs......

Very well said!

 

[DOOM1001]

I can't even imagine comparing Sea World to WDW!

It's a different park altogether,but believe me they do some things better than Disney.

 

[jkjs]

By the same token, it would be interesting to see what small things have been added over the years.

It would be interesting to see what people could come up with. You should start a spin-off thread.

 

[xipotec]

It would be interesting to see what people could come up with. You should start a spin-off thread.

I actually did , I called it "new every two" or something like that. The basic idea was to see what had changed at WDW in the last 2 years .
The thread died a painful death....

 

[Waltgirl]

I wonder if we should be comparing Disney to itself, what it used to be, rather than comparing it somewhere else?

The problem is it is impossible to compare a theme park that offered free pictures at events, additional entertainment, custom napkins/stirrers/drinks/merchandise to additional hotels, attractions, or interactive queues, etc. I am not saying they are unequal, I am saying they are so different. How do you quantify them? So you say, Disney used to offer this, this and this and now they don't any longer. It's really not fair to say well they cut out the napkins but they built a new resort. We have no way of knowing if A caused B.

You also have to consider that while TDC was doing all those things, eliminating and adding things, they were raising prices across the board. Every year raising prices.

 

[ellie05]

It probably has to do with the amount of visitors to a Disney park like Magic Kingdom but on a visit a couple of months ago I wad comparing the desserts at the counter service restaurants of Sea World(Voyagers Smokehouse for example)to what you get at Magic Kingdom(Cosmic Rays).At the Voyagers smokehouse you had HUGE carrot cakes,chocolate cakes and cheesecakes all freshly made on site,at Cosmic Rays it was this small brownie cake shipped in from who knows where and nowhere as good as any of the ones at Sea World.Pricewise they were all in the $3-$4 range so this is another example of where Disney just falls flat,obviously they can't produce the amount of desserts that are needed with close to 20 million visitors a year while Sea World produces a greater product that's big enough for two to share.And it's also just not desserts as there are other Disney restaurants onsite that I've pretty much given up on and when compared to other theme parks in the area,especially the counter service places they also fall flat.Busch Gardens and Sea World in my opinion have some of the best food of the area parks,Universal used to be clearly in the middle but as it gets more and more visitors the quality also drops off and is now just slightly better than Disney overall.

I am going to disagree with you with universal food. Hands down their CS are the nastiest food I ever tasted in theme parks. We were there in January and there was 5 of us. Not even one of us finish our food because it was that bad and DH is use to eating MRE's and he didn't even finish his food. My salad was not fresh it was just plain nasty I had two bites and I just couldn't eat anymore. I don't remember what everyone else got but I know we all had something different.

On the other hand we ate at Mythos and the food was very good. I can't said I had awful food that I won't eat at Disney ever. Last time we were at sea world was too long ago for me to remember the food.

 

[Magpie]

On the whole we think the Disney experience has gone down hill. It's the small things that make for the Disney Experience and many of these small things have been removed/eliminated over the last decade or so. Some examples:

Living Statues at EPCOT - gone
Free family pictures at MVMCP or MNSSHP - gone
Street Performers at HS - reduced
Rope drop performances - gone (except for MK)
1/2 yards of beer from Rose & Crown - gone
"Best" areas for watching Illuminations/Fire Works - now cost $ or reserved for parties
Themed Mugs for each resort - gone
Monorail service - reduced
Mac'n'cheese with Mickey Head pasta - gone

On the upside, CS selections have greatly improved. Ten years ago it seems that CS was either a burger or chicken fingers. Now we can go an entire stay without eating either one of those.

Hmm...

But there's so much that's new!

The Art of Animation Resort
The Interactive Queue in Winnie the Pooh
The Interactive Queue and an extra Dumbo ride at Dumbo
The Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom game with FREE cards!
A new theme for Test Track
A new Little Mermaid Ride
An awesome storytelling with Belle experience.
Many new Meet-and-Greet opportunities
The Draw-a-Character experience at Hollywood Studios
Movie-at-the-pool nights at all the resorts, not just the fancy ones
FREE Internet at your resort hotel! (This one was a big, big deal for me.)
The Be Our Guest Restaurant
A new Snow White roller coaster
That Pirate make-over thing, for the whole family.
Soon, something new for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride... mermaids, maybe?
Being able to prebook some fastpasses, and parade spots, for FREE!
New Scenes in the Star Wars ride.
Bigger and better Star Wars days.
Refurbished hotel rooms, now with themes.
Better counter service food, with more healthy options.
"Sundowner" celebrations at Animal Kingdom.
The Jungle Trek at Animal Kingdom.
Duffy - yeah, I actually like that fuzzy guy.
Captain Eo came back!

I'm sure I've missed a ton, but basically the thing I love about Disney is that every year I go there's always something new to see. New things are always being built, and new experiences are always available. I'm always so busy looking for what's new, that I barely notice what's gone.

 

[mjp12831]

Some of the things that have been mentioned in this thread as missing are not that big of a deal to me. Nostalgia always makes the past seem better, and the general trend almost everywhere you go is to expect less and pay more - it's not limited to WDW.

However, there is some validity in saying that it aint what it used to be. Just in the last 4 years I've seen reductions in character availability and rope drop shows, an elimination of PM emh at AK, reductions in emh offerings overall, an upcoming cut of pmemh from 3 hours to 2, and a significant revision in FP policy. These are significant changes that have/will reduce my enjoyment of a trip, but I'm still going back.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

I love WDW. Still. And I can't wait to get back in Feb.

But I am bummed about the FP change (no late returns) and the whole FP+ system (even though I don't fully understand the nuances, I've read enough to conclude I wish it wasn't happening).

So for new FP rules I would say, what happened to the WDW I knew and loved?

 

[MikeyTex]

Who in the (blank) cares about the petty little stuff like napkins and hot dog buns..........

Napkins and buns I can deal with.............1-ply toilet paper is a whole 'nother issue. IMO bean counters are more to blame that grads......they messed up the industry I'm in back in '95.......you had people that came in telling you how long to it was going to take to do a project that had no clue as to how long it would take to do a project after you had people that knew how long it took to do a project tell them the duration....maybe not totally akin to DW cut-backs, but the bottom line is king......if overall customer satisfaction declines, then they may rethink their approach.

 

[QueenElinor]

Or to quote Josh of easywdw.com, whenever he spots a generic brown napkin: "VACATION RUINED! MEMORIES FORGOTTEN!"

Threads like these are the reason why I love his blog so very much (besides for the excellent touring advice, I mean).

I love his twisted sense of humor, for sure.

....
On a side note, this thread had me wondering so I looked:

Our 2013 planned trip for indentical dates, tickets, resort etc is 3.5% per year more than our 2011 trip (7% total increase, over 2 years).

I can live with that.

PS the dining plan has gone up more I think, but we don't pay for that.

That is still higher than inflation. Which makes one wonder why Disney would feel compelled to cut out anything at all unless there is some hidden cost of which we're unaware.

At the end of the day, it IS a business. It always has been.

I'd rather have generic napkins, less themed mixed drinks, and a lesser assortment of souvenirs than pay more for a ticket.

Not me. I'd pay more for a better experience, considering the price of the ticket is only a fraction of what I pay to attend WDW. It's a destination resort, and that's why destination resorts (ski, beach, whatever) are so much nicer than local affairs, and why they have deals for people who live nearby. Also, people who stay at the Grand Floridian are shelling out a lot of bucks, but are going to the same park as the ones who stay at the All Stars. I think the day is coming that they have VIP tickets like Busch Gardens & Universal, to keep those Deluxe Resort denizens happy.

We were actually the very first people to sign up for VIP tickets at Busch Gardens, years ago. It was an absolute madhouse that day, we got there late, we had little kids and it was hotter than Hades. There was a little card table set up at the front of the park and a very pleasant lady asked if we wanted to be the first to try it. My DH said, "We've traveled 2500 miles to get here, I'm not going to spend the day in line if I can help it." It was money well-spent.

The management, collage or otherwise is obviously doing something right. We are going in November, and I'll wait in lines for 60+ minutes to go on the same attractions I've gone on over the past 15 years. And yes, I'll love every minute of it.

I won't wait in line for 60 minutes to see anything, except maybe the Pope. And he's not coming to Disney!

I actually did , I called it "new every two" or something like that. The basic idea was to see what had changed at WDW in the last 2 years .
The thread died a painful death....

Why? I would love to see that thread, as it has been much longer than two years since I've visited. Would it still be in the archives somewhere?

I love WDW. Still. And I can't wait to get back in Feb.

But I am bummed about the FP change (no late returns) and the whole FP+ system (even though I don't fully understand the nuances, I've read enough to conclude I wish it wasn't happening).

So for new FP rules I would say, what happened to the WDW I knew and loved?

I'm very unhappy with it, too. Simply put, Disney feels that they need to find a way to pack more people into the park and still have them leave (fairly) happy. That is the sole purpose of the FP+ system, for sure, and I hope its recent trial will probably convince them not to do it. I'm a big fan of planning to the nth degree, but not even I want the added stress of having to make a reservation for a ride. That's nuts.

 

[loveysbydesign]

At the end of the day, it IS a business. It always has been.

I'd rather have generic napkins, less themed mixed drinks, and a lesser assortment of souvenirs than pay more for a ticket.

They raise ticket prices every year anyway
While I do miss some of the little extras we still have a magical time there!

 

[hollygolitely93]

That's what happens when the newer generation of college graduates get into the management positions. Saw the same kind of thing at Ditch Witch. The legacy management retired and the newer management folks started treating the employee's like they are resources and not people. Everything was about the $, not the employee's. I get it that you must have $ to maintain the business, but used to be the employees and customers were a lot more important than they seem to be today.

This is really offensive! I am not sure what generation you are from but age has very little to do with talent and competency. Also, not sure what 'college graduates' (assuming you mean recent graduates) are in any management position of heightened responsibility to be making executive decisions...most upper management is still baby boomers and some generation x'ers.

And given that Disney attendance and profits are at an all time high I would say management is doing just fine!