What if Walt was still alive

[THEDISFANS]

As a huge Walt Disney fan I often wonder what if Walt Disney was still alive if those run down parks like Six Flags and Sea World and a few others would be around? I think Walt would have put them out of bussiness. What does everyone else think??

 

[wildernessfamily]

I think he would be sad to see some of the classic rides gone. Not that I don't think Disney needs to keep appealing to the young audience, and make new rides but some things are classic almost historical to Disney.JMO

 

[bballdiva]

I like sea world

 

[slimplaw]

The original Six Flags opened in about 1962 before Walt Disney died in 1966. I do not know about any of the other Six Flags parks they have acquired throughout the years, but the 1st one in Arlington Tx remains busy. I hear about a lot of students going there with their families. I live 15 minutes from there but have not gone there in many years as my kids have been old enough to go by themselves for many years now.

 

[lillygator]

I don't think Walt could have stopped other parks from opening and running.....

things may be different at WDW though...would love to know his thoughts on the monorail going throughout...

 

[ralfrick]

Walt Disney and Walter Knott had a very cordial relationship.

Cheers.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I've often wondered what Walt would think of the parks today. I always thought it was so sad he never got to see Disney World.

 

[WillCAD]

Walt was a pretty good business man, but he wasn't the expert some people like to think. He was more of a dreamer, an idea man, than a business man; he left most of the nitty-gritty business details to Roy.

From what I gather, neither Walt nor Roy were the cutthroat, vindictive type. I doubt that either of them would have intentionally tried to run the other theme parks out of business. However, Walt was a perfectionist, and he would have spent many an hour in the other theme parks observing thier proceedures, and he would have been constantly demanding that the Disney theme parks beat thier socks off in every possible way.

With that in mind, I believe that he would have been appalled by some of the things that have happened at WDW in teh past few years. The huge price increases, the dirty bathrooms, the cracked concrete, the alarming decline in CM wages and bennefits... all of these things would have put Walt off his feed, because Universal and SeaWorld are doing it all better, and Walt hated for Disneyland to be less than the absolute best in any category.

 

[hauntedmansion]

Thank you Mr. Disney for all the wonderful magic you gave us. I feel bad when I think about him never seeing his wonderful creation. I'm sure he is smiling down on all of us.

 

[tnkrbell]

I think Walt would be more concerned with his parks and making sure the parks and Cm were up to par.

ps Have you been to sea world lately? It is imaculate!!!!! I was shocked we went this past Jan and really it was beautiful!

 

[bicker]

I believe that Walt's idealism without Roy's pragmatism would have run Disney into the ground by 1973. As likely as not, on these boards, we'd be discussing our vacations to Six Flags' Disney World.

I don't think Walt would be involved much with the parks. By the time he died he was already thinking ahead to the things he wanted to do with regard to civil engineering.

 

[mitros]

Walt, just before he passed away, was indeed looking to the future with Epcot {his original plan of course,} where he wanted to develop cities the way he developed his theme park {Disneyland} His daughter, Diane, wrote about it in a letter posted on the Disney family museum web site. He had people taking care of Disneyland the way he wanted it to be run, and they knew it. He certainly would not have ignored the park {s} but he was looking to the future trying to do something about the ills of the big city.

 

[Metro West]

As a huge Walt Disney fan I often wonder what if Walt Disney was still alive if those run down parks like Six Flags and Sea World and a few others would be around? I think Walt would have put them out of business.

Walt would not have the power to put all the other "run down" parks out of business.

 

[mitros]

I think what THEDISFANS was getting at would be that the way Walt Disney ran his parks, that they would have been superior to other theme parks, and if those other parks did not keep pace with the way Walt ran his venues, THEN they might go out of business, NOT that Walt would literally "put" them out of business.

 

[Chuck S]

Whatever the OP meant by the question...regional amusement parks have been around longer than Disneyland or Disney World. Walt wanted his parks to be the "class act", but I still think regional parks play a role in family fun and entertainment. Not everyone can afford to travel to a Disney park, nor can Disney parks be a a nearby weekend getaway like a regional park. And truthfully, both the San Diego and Orlando Sea Worlds are lovely parks.

 

[THEDISFANS]

You got just what I was getting at I have been to all of parks and hotels and none are ran like Disney.

 

[ntburns22]

I feel if he was still alive he would make the daily attendance #'s lower during peak season. When the parks are so crowded I think it takes away from the magic of Disney. I don't think he wanted people to wait in long lines when they could on and off the ride and enjoying his creation. Don't get me wrong I love Disney, we just go in the fall when we can bring the magic to our children without the lines.

 

[Chuck S]

I feel if he was still alive he would make the daily attendance #'s lower during peak season. When the parks are so crowded I think it takes away from the magic of Disney. I don't think he wanted people to wait in long lines when they could on and off the ride and enjoying his creation. Don't get me wrong I love Disney, we just go in the fall when we can bring the magic to our children without the lines.

Hour waits were not uncommon for rides at Disneyland in the summer during Walt's life. Also, during his lifetime, Disneyland was closed Mondays and Tuesdays during the off season.

 

[bicker]

Good point. Also, assuming that Disney would be as it is now, a corporation, with stockholder, as would almost surely have been the case, then Walt would go to jail for deliberately making decisions that reduce attendance or, as was suggested earlier in the thread, prevent price increases that are clearly able to be borne by the market.