What has Disney removed that makes you the saddest?

[Merida DunBroch]

I would've loved to see Disney's Toontown Fair...and 20k Leagues Under the Sea!

 

[Quicklabs]

The need for planning rides and meals all in advance really takes away from what I am looking for in a Disney vacation--being as free as a child. No longer. People seemed so much happier and nicer back then, too. Probably because they were less stressed about following a touring plan that is just chock full of reservations.

I also miss the great food that the restaurants used to have before DDP and free dining. EPCOT Future World is but a shadow of its former self. The hot air seasons balloons used to move up and down in the Land pavilion-no more!

Miss the Tapestry of Nation parade, Horizons, and the King Stefan's Banquet Hall experience. Miss Akershus before it went to Character dining. What lovely, unusual foods they used to have!

Miss riding at the front of the monorail.

So many things....

 

[W.E.D.]

Wow everybody. What a depressing thread.

I can say I agree with almost everything mentioned by OP and PPs. I know I haven't hit that mark yet where I wont want to visit, but i agree that much of what created the memories that keep me coming back is now gone or a very pale comparison to what it once was.


Geez. I'm gonna go cry now.

 

[JanaDee]

Wow everybody. What a depressing thread.

I can say I agree with almost everything mentioned by OP and PPs. I know I haven't hit that mark yet where I wont want to visit, but i agree that much of what created the memories that keep me coming back is now gone or a very pale comparison to what it once was.


Geez. I'm gonna go cry now.

You can come sit by me. We'll cry together.

 

[dobtia]

SpectroMagic. I miss it immensely.

This, very much so. Only watched new parade once and decided to use time to get in some ride time.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

None of it makes me "sad", but what I didn't like was....

Tip not being covered in Dining Plan (we no longer buy it)
The ORIGINAL proposal for the Fantasyland Expansion
Original FastPass System
Gnocchi at Tutto Italia
Included Picture from the high-dollar Special Ticket Events

 

[Praying Colonel]

We were just at WDW and I really did miss the original future world attractions. Imagination and Figment were my favorite things abotu Epcot as a kid--many memories.

I also miss Alfredos in Italy--my family always ate there whenever we went to WDW and they were so sad to learn its gone I remember when you made your dining reservations when you arrived at Epcot in the morning--you used kiosks and spoke with a CM via video. I thought that was the coolest thing as a kid.

I also miss when there was actual low crowd times at WDW. We used to go in May as a kid and it was noteably less crowded then. This past May visit was more crowded than I expected it to be.

And lastly, I miss not being so scheduled. I found we were often running from place to place to make sure we didn't miss our fast pass slots.
Deidre

I thought I knew what love was. Then I had the alfredo at Alfredos.

 

[L&Lfan]

The layout of the deluxes before the DVC, spreading like a cancer, ruined their beauty.
Plaza Swan Boats
Dining before the DDP when eating at WDW was actually a treat.
Original fastpass.
EMH that actually meant something.
Halloween Parties in October only and Christmas Parties in December only.
An unblocked Chinese Theater.
Akershus before it was characters only.
Mr Toad's Wild Ride.
Stores with unique merchandise.
8-Traxx
An uncongested Adventureland and World Showcase
The original Spaceship Earth and World of Motion.
Kitchen Kabaret and Food Rocks.
When MOST people didn't visit Disney Parks til the kids could walk.

 

[AquaDame]

FP- hands down. Nothing else really comes to mind, but we've only been since 2008 and only a few times.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Magic Kingdom
Skyway
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Mickey and Minnie's houses and Donald's boat
The quaintness of Main Street Bakery
"Fireflies" in the trees (which are also gone) around the hub
Aunt Polly's cold fried chicken

Epcot
Horizons
Journey Into Imagination
Wonders of Life (especially Cranium Command)
Walter Cronkite or Jeremy Irons on Spaceship Earth (It didn't have the stupid jokes like "Think of it as the world's first back up system."
Ziti Sisters - It seems they always ended up picking me to be Santa Maria and my husband to be Caesar.
The characters riding around in that double decker bus
Surprise in the Sky


Hollywood Studios
Superstar Television
Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade
Backlot Tour as it once was, specially seeing the Golden Girls and Empty Test Houses.
Gabrielle Huntington


Other
Rock n Roll Beach Club at Pleasure Island
River Country
How the dining plan used to be with appetizers and tip included
Character breakfast on the Empress Lilly

 

[freediverdude]

Wasn't there a boat ride at AK in the beginning?

Would also miss Jungle Jammin Parade were to go back.

Yes, there was! And each boat had it's own freely roaming animal that the boat captain or assistant could talk about- the one on mine when I went to the previews was a small monkey. And pretty much within the first year those boats were gone, don't know the reasoning behind that.

Also I miss the ROAR at the end of the Universe of Energy pavilion as you're exiting, and I miss the pre-show with all the moving tiles. That was very expensive and done by a famous artist, and they ripped it out to put the screens with Ellen up there.

And of course I miss the Epcot parade (see my tag by the tag fairy- is that person still around?), and Lights of Winter (can't replace it because the tech is too outdated my butt).

I could go on and on, the old ride in Mexico pavilion, Disney logos on the napkins, benches, picture included with MVMCP ticket, and prices at the deluxe resorts, that, while high, were still doable/aspirational if you really really wanted to stay, instead of today's absurd prices that make you automatically say "well I guess I can't ever stay there again".

 

[PEC]

Mickey and Minnies houses!!!

My girls enjoyed them when they were 5 y/o.

 

[CatelynnMarie]

ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. I went on it during my first trip when I was 11 years old, and I was terrified, but now that I'm older, I wish I could experience it. Also the parade during MVMCP. I prefer the older version.

 

[Trooper8286]

Mickey and Minnie's houses......

 

[DrHfuhruhurr]

I miss quite a few attractions, mainly in Epcot, and also a simpler time when characters could appear anywhere in the parks...

This is definitely what I miss most about WDW, but just in a more general sense. I'm sure when my parents used to take us as kids in the 80s and early 90s, there were still a lot of people at the parks. But, the #1 biggest disappointment I have with WDW today is the impact that crowds have had, and the types of experiences that just aren't possible anymore. Obviously, there isn't really much Disney can do about this--the world just gets bigger every day--but I have some great memories of when everything was much less crowded.

For example, can anyone imagine now that there was once a time when characters just roamed the park, and you might run into them any number of different places? Compare the 3+ hour line for Anna and Elsa, or even a 30-45 minute wait for one of the Fab Four, to just chancing upon the characters on the sidewalk, with only a handful of people lining up with cameras. Seems nuts, in retrospect. Today, they'd be mobbed.

Another couple great memories:

- I've seen it mentioned here a couple of times before, but making my ADRs for this trip, I was struck dumb by how difficult some of it is. I still haven't managed to snag a Crystal Palace breakfast on either of our MK days. Whereas, once upon a time, we would gather under Spaceship Earth and make day-of reservations using a touchscreen and a live video operator.

- Probably my biggest nostalgia memory for WDW: Our resort of choice for the longest time was the Fairway Villas. Gosh, did I love that place. I'm not sure it's still around, but the sense of seclusion and quiet was really second to none for a theme park resort. Also, it seems insane now, but Disney allowed us to rent golf carts that we could use for transportation between the Villas and DTD (or was it just called the Disney Marketplace back then?). Does it seem possible that Disney used to allow young teenagers to drive golf carts across the greens and between resorts, plugging in to charge at little parking spaces with outlets at Disney Marketplace or back at the resort, throughout the day?

Things used to be crazy simple, but there are just too many people at this point.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Fp-

 

[DisneyFive]

--Legacy FP

--Four For A Dollar

What was Four for a Dollar?

I also miss the open space that used to be in front of Spaceship Earth. You used to be able to see everything. I'm not fond of the stone monuments. I know people paid money for that. I try not to dwell.

This!!! The monuments are an abomination in my opinion, no offense to those with photos there. It's just SO MUCH hard surface in that area, and it's right smack in your way of getting in to the rest of the park. It looks terrible. I remember on our very first visit to Epcot, walking in, and very distinctly thinking how this area didn't feel very "Disney" at all.

I miss PUSH!

He was still there the last two years we've been there. Has he recently been removed? I remember PUSH asking my 5 year old son (at the time) "Hey, do you know why you should be nice to your sisters?" ..."because someday they'll have hot friends" I laughed so hard, and so did everyone else around us. My son had no idea what PUSH was talking about, but everyone else did.

The ORIGINAL proposal for the Fantasyland Expansion

Can you give a brief summary of how it originally was proposed, versus what it ended up as? I'd love to hear the original idea.

Dan

 

[mummabear]

I totally miss Mr. Toad. I am also sad to see the build-up around the MK lakes, plus all the buildings and deforestation of Disney in general. It also makes me sad that the value resorts look so very "value", like a motel 6. Would it kill Disney to make beautiful value hotels? That could be lovely and fit into the environment? I worked at the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Studio, and he believed in creating buildings that flowed with the environment and looked good - and that cheap could be beautiful. Why doesn't Disney do that? No, we get ugly huge value hotels. Ick.

Really I wouldn't call AOA value looking.

 

[mummabear]

I miss the longer (and more frequent) evening EMH.
Now they are so short the line from regular hours has barely cleared before it ends. I'm not sure why the run morning EMH more often, there are plenty of people who prefer the evenings.

 

[mummabear]

For example, can anyone imagine now that there was once a time when characters just roamed the park, and you might run into them any number of different places? Compare the 3+ hour line for Anna and Elsa, or even a 30-45 minute wait for one of the Fab Four, to just chancing upon the characters on the sidewalk, with only a handful of people lining up with cameras. Seems nuts, in retrospect. Today, they'd be mobbed.

This with only a couple of exceptions is exactly what happens at DLR (except the handful of people) and it is a pain in the ***. You never know when or where you can find your child's favorite and if there isn't a handler nearby there isn't even an orderly line.