What is Disneys biggest FAIL!?

[Angelhalo]

The American Idol Experience in Hollywood Studios. I really really wish reality tv didn't make an impact on Disney World. Of course that show has millions of fans, I know that, I just hate those tacky shows (also X Factor etc) and I wish reality tv could be kept out of the parks.

I won when we went, so I loved it! The problem is now that we've done it, we have no need to do it again. I like things that I want to do over and over!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I agree with not getting Harry Potter and Stitch.

 

[Tiger926]

1. Dining - too expensive, mediocre food and subpar service

2. Crowds - too many guests and not enough parks, restaurants or attractions to service all guests

3. Avatar - really? this is all they could come up with for AK

4. Lack of characters - used to see tons of characters all over the place, and now, that's not the case, even during peak seasons, characters are sorely lacking, and when you find them, the line ups are astronomical!

*In regards to Avatar, can't judge it, since we haven't experienced it yet, but it's a fail for us, as we would have liked to see something Disney themed, as well as improving AK in that back area. Get rid of the carnival, and add more shows or animals.

5. DHS - not sure what is up with the Studios? It needs some work and much TLC.

Tiger

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Something that has been mentioned over and over - the lack of a good character meal for boys. So many missed oportunities with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story etc.

 

[Kennywife]

Harry Potter. That park was tailor made for Disney honestly.

Dining plan in general. The past couple of times, I have gone without it and gotten tons better service.

Diverting from the classic Disney for Hannah Montana and the like. Where's my barf smiley?

DHS. The only thing that's good there is Star Wars, One Man's Dream and Muppets.

The lack of imagination anymore. It takes forever to update anything. The world moves faster now. lol.

 

[Alsobrook]

I honestly don't know that Disney has "failed" at anything in the park.

 

[spacemermaid]

(Different perspective here, as my Park is Disneyland & not WDW...)

The original California Adventure park...although, slowly but surely, it's being improved. I very much look forward to the Art Deco-revamp of the Hollywood Blvd. area, and to Carsland...it is very impressive so far!

Honorary mention goes to Innoventions...if they can't bring back America Sings (which I LOVED as a kid), and they're not going to tear it down & start from scratch...at least put *something* entertaining in there. Huge waste of space, IMO.

 

[tvguy]

California Adventure.

They assumed people would pay a full second admission to get in, many of us just look at it like a new land at Disneyland, like Toontown. Thus, they had to come up with ParkHopper tickets.

Now they are in the middle of a $1 billion redo of California Adventure, which wasn't even 10 years old when the work started.

 

[stevenpensacola]

I think this whole new Avatar land in AK is dumb. Of all the things they could choose, they picked this lame idea.

. ITA. How does this even begin to fit into the "animal" theme?

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I always find it interesting to hear everyone else's perspectives on questions like this. DCA has been a fail, because a lot of people don't like it, but I've never quite understood the hate. It has some cheesy rides, but also has more "headliner" attractions than Epcot, AK or DHS. We much prefer a day there than a day in any one of the "other" three WDW parks. We also think fast-pass is one of the greatest inventions ever.

The first thing that came to my mind was Alien Encounter/Stitch's Great Escape, but Tiki Room Under New Management is a huge fail as well.

 

[akhenaten]

Journey to the Imagination "update"

"dinoland " carnival area

"Disney Parks" I prefer WDW , Disneyland etc.

Lack of resort specific merchandise

the Main Street USA stores... I miss the unique shops

personally i hate the BBB and pirates dress up things...

 

[badblackpug]

I think EPCOT future world. It used to be such a great, fun interactive area. Journey Into Imagination is terrible, and the interactive area after it has gone waaaaay down hill. Ellen is just good for a nap. The Wonders of Life pavilion is gone. Innoventions no longer has the fun, interactive stuff it used to have. HISTA is old, and dated, and Captain EO sucked 20 years ago. Soarin' is okay. Test track is okay, the kids love Mission Space, it makes me vom. Years ago, I loved EPCOT, it is now the bottom of my list. It needs a serious revamping. So much more could be done with the "space" theme. The wonders of life needs to be brought back. Innoventions needs to look for more, fun, cutting edge interactive things. My kids loved Sum of All Fears" but Innoventions has become the place where we let the baby nap and we put our feet up for an hour while the rest run around, and they are pretty bored. This year we sat out a rainstorm and re-charged our phones. I'm all with the educational aspect, but there is sooooo much more that can be done.

 

[canopynut66]

So what do we all consider Disney's biggest failure inside the parks.

WDW putting all the same junk stuff in all the gift shops and stores. part of the fun was going to each resort gift shop to see what they had. We (my sister and myself and BIL) used to drop $5,000 each--- every trip and we go twice a year. sure has saved us some money. they used to have such nice things you could only get down there. DTD had so many nice shops and had some really nice clothes like even in Captain Jacks as small as it was had some nice things..now if your in a Wal Mart can buy a Disney shirt for $8 bucks and still see it down there for $25. also used to have really nice nite gowns now they all so short in the sleeves and so small says they "one size" for who a 12 year old? in DTD they used to have beautiful wood framed mirrors and brass coffee pots and just things that could not find other places. that has all been torn out and replaced with----more toys ---that again can be bought at Wal Mart or Target for half the price and same brand of toys. Every store is same shirts and pants and purses. Yes they have Dooney & Burke but how many does one need? and again can get online for 35% off a lot of times....on a Disney site. It is sad to see this and no resort merchandise at all anymore. it has went all generic. they used to have lamps we have one with the first edition of Life magizine on it and I have one that is a Mickey head that is about 28 inches tall that they had in the Grand Floridian years ago. and sister has a huge red Mickey head ottoman that my BIL thought she could not live without one trip...and a glass top table etched with Mickey heads and the chairs with Mickey heads in the backs of them. All these things just gone to make room for more generic clothes or now guess it is make your own $30 tee shirts...

 

[EverestSherpa]

. ITA. How does this even begin to fit into the "animal" theme?

That's my home park so I feel equipped to Answer this. Love "Avatar" or hate it, the choice is perfect. Animal Kingdom is a suffering park (although surpassed DHS this past year in attendance). Animal Kingdom is all about The Past (Dinosaur), Present (Safari) and the Mythical (Everest Yeti). If you've seen "Avatar" then you would know there are literally dozens of different creatures in the movie, all mythical. Plus the entire theme of "Avatar" is very VERY green. It fits into Animal Kingdom flawlessly. It's a way to attract a different group of people at Disney. It's not for the typical crowd, it's for the hardcore fanboys that would spend a week at Universal but will now buy a ticket to Animal Kingdom to see Avatarland. Plus Disney decided to buy this project before the release of the second and third movies (a bold gamble, but the decision might pay off).

 

[EverestSherpa]

Not enough Pixar. Why is there nothing from The Incredibles in the parks yet? Build the Monster Inc coaster already. Build something. And get moving on the Marvel stuff you paid billions for too.

They can't do anything with Marvel. Marvel had an original agreement with Universal that they maintain sole theme park rights no matter what. Disney can not change that agreement. It's a funny situation if you think about it. Disney owns an entity that their theme park rival profits off of. Disney is currently producing "The Avengers" movie along with some more Marvel flicks. Basically they can make films, merchandise and video games.

If you've ever been to IOA none of the Marvel rides are based off of movies, rather the Comic Books. Universal will not be able to sell "The Avengers: The Movie" t-shirts or make a ride off of that, but instead will be able to sell "The Avengers: Comic Book" t-shirt. It's a very strange arrangement and I don't know all of the details. Long story short, if Disney could make A Marvel themed land, they would.

 

[EverestSherpa]

"dinoland " carnival area
\

I'm surprised more people don't dislike this area. Everyone is going off about "Avatar" and the Food, but IMO, Chester and Hester's "Dino-Rama" is the worst thing in the parks. It looks so cheap. Even the backstory is a stretch. I get that it's a roadside carnival, but can't you make it a bit more appealing? That is my least favorite part of work, walking past DinoRama.

 

[kellyg403]

I will agree with Avatar, but I guess I will hold total judgement until its there and finished. Just can't imagine I will personally like it.

I also agree with the merchandise. I remember loving to stop at the shops and resorts. When dh and I go as adults only, I used to spend tons of times shopping, now it just seems I don't. I also don't spend anywhere near what I used to. I can go on Disney shopping and with a code/free shipping buy the same exact stuff for half the price. Honestly, I think I spent 150.00 at WDW last year. Most of it was buying WDW themed candy. Seriously. I put out a big basket of candy with my Christmas cards for work for the employees. That is ALL I bought last trip.

Villans...Jack Skellington is not the only villan. As an adult, I love the Disney villians. I don't care for Jack Kellington stuff.

I don't mind the dining plan. World Showcase is o.k. Miss having so many performers in all the parks. My dh loves the performers. He always commenting on what happened to, weren't they in Epcot etc etc. So for him, the lack of performers is a really big issue. He doesn't necessarily do any rides and will sit on a bench all day people/performer watching. But hey its his vacation too.

Kelly

 

[PeterPan09]

They can't do anything with Marvel. Marvel had an original agreement with Universal that they maintain sole theme park rights no matter what. Disney can not change that agreement. It's a funny situation if you think about it. Disney owns an entity that their theme park rival profits off of. Disney is currently producing "The Avengers" movie along with some more Marvel flicks. Basically they can make films, merchandise and video games.

If you've ever been to IOA none of the Marvel rides are based off of movies, rather the Comic Books. Universal will not be able to sell "The Avengers: The Movie" t-shirts or make a ride off of that, but instead will be able to sell "The Avengers: Comic Book" t-shirt. It's a very strange arrangement and I don't know all of the details. Long story short, if Disney could make A Marvel themed land, they would.

What about the newer Marvel titles? I know IOA gets to keep their existing Marvel rides, but couldn't Disney do attractions with the films they haven't touched? That would be a nice jolt for DHS if they could.

 

[Tiger926]

That's my home park so I feel equipped to Answer this. Love "Avatar" or hate it, the choice is perfect. Animal Kingdom is a suffering park (although surpassed DHS this past year in attendance). Animal Kingdom is all about The Past (Dinosaur), Present (Safari) and the Mythical (Everest Yeti). If you've seen "Avatar" then you would know there are literally dozens of different creatures in the movie, all mythical. Plus the entire theme of "Avatar" is very VERY green. It fits into Animal Kingdom flawlessly. It's a way to attract a different group of people at Disney. It's not for the typical crowd, it's for the hardcore fanboys that would spend a week at Universal but will now buy a ticket to Animal Kingdom to see Avatarland. Plus Disney decided to buy this project before the release of the second and third movies (a bold gamble, but the decision might pay off).

Haven't seen Avatar, so as I said, I can't judge or assess the actual scope of the project in this regard, plus, we haven't seen the actual park yet, but I still don't think it's a great fit, except to compete with Universal, as you mentioned.

How about improve AK, and as several of us mentioned, get rid of the carnival! Add more animals, maybe design some new attractions shows with nature/animals/environmental themes?

What about use some of that money to fix DHS and Innoventions at Epcot?

We absolutely need more parks, as there are too many guests for what is currently there, but fixing current park issues/problems would have been a better idea, and then work on a new park.

I realize that James Cameron puts his all into projects, but I'm still not sure if the giant egos on his end, and I'm sure there are some on Disney's end are going to keep this project from being built in a timely manner. Blue people...really? This is the vision for AK.

Just like with the carnival, I'm not so sure it's a good fit, so I'll have to reserve judgment until I see it. The theme as you mentioned above, really hasn't been pursued that well (really, the Yeti can't be fixed?), so perhaps this is the only way to make that work?

We like AK as well - we actually don't really go on rides. We like to walk around and see animals, a few shows, tree, etc., but it does need some updating and fixing, and I'm not sure that blue people are the answer to that.

Just my .02 cents, Tiger

 

[Geoff_M]

I'm surprised more people don't dislike this area. Everyone is going off about "Avatar" and the Food, but IMO, Chester and Hester's "Dino-Rama" is the worst thing in the parks. It looks so cheap. Even the backstory is a stretch. I get that it's a roadside carnival, but can't you make it a bit more appealing? That is my least favorite part of work, walking past DinoRama.

I too don't like it, and would call it a "fail". I find it quite ironic that Disney park management went out of their way to reproduce the type of "carnival" park that Walt Disney couldn't stand and worked so hard to deviate from when he designed DL.

Other "Fails" (past and present):

The 25th anniversary pink "cake castle" monstrosity.
"Magic Your Way" ticket program. (good for Disney, bad for us)
Pop Century (I know many people like it as a place to stay, but let's be honest... it's butt-ugly)