Emailed Disney and Got a Call Back

wdw47

Active Member
Original Poster
Hey Everyone--
I've been a lurker in here for over a decade checking in a few times a day to see what everyone was talking about but since there has been so much chatter about the current state of the parks, I thought I'd share some info on this.
Real quick background...I was born and raised in NYC, am 34 and grew up going to Disney. I am one of the many people that loved Epcot of the 80s. I've made 17 trips to the world.

I used the form on the Disney website so I don't have the full email but some of the issues I brought up were:
•The recent practice of closing attractions and not replacing them
•The continuous declining value of the dining plan along with just about everything else
•The overuse of hard ticket events
•The practice of opening a new restaraunt, establishing it's reputation as quality and then dumbing it down
•The nickel and diming of guests across the board
•The embarrassment of what the Imagination Pavilion (still can't believe something called the Imagination Pavilion so such garbage at Disney World)
• The fact the Universal is beating them at their own game
•The fact that Disney hotels are grossly overpriced esp deluxe
• The preying on nostalgia nature of selling old Future World attractions while the current Future World needs so much help

...and a few other things but I got a call back the very next day and was pretty shocked. Anyway, I spoke with Holly for about 20 minutes and she let me tear them a new one with very little interruption...other than to say she agreed with a lot of what I was saying. We discussed the Frozen overlay (which I'm not crazy about) and I said if they were going to do that to not repeat the disaster that is El Rio de Tiempo.

She said she'd share this info with the "folks that want feedback like this" but I know it's kind of like shouting down a well. That's about it...just thought I'd share.
 

TestTrack Dummy

Well-Known Member
Imagine a documentary like Blackfish was made about Disney but instead of the whole Orca thing It could be about the decline of quality. It would go viral and all the average Disney guest would be aware and Disney would be hit right where it hurts, their stocks. That would be the Ideal situation, forcing them to live up to their old standards :). one can dream right.
 

tigger1968

Well-Known Member
I am afraid that the "folks that want feedback like this" have little influence over the "folks that make the short sighted and bottom line focused decisions". I think it sooooo needs to be the other way around. I really wish the mantra of "What would Walt think of this?" would come back into favor with this company...

On an completely different note....BRAVO to you for taking the initiative to make your thoughts and feelings known. We are all passionate about WDW. It's time the rest of us step up and say something. I will be doing that over this weekend. I challenge everyone of us to do the same. TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.
 

wdw47

Active Member
Original Poster
I am afraid that the "folks that want feedback like this" have little influence over the "folks that make the short sighted and bottom line focused decisions". I think it sooooo needs to be the other way around. I really wish the mantra of "What would Walt think of this?" would come back into favor with this company...

On an completely different note....BRAVO to you for taking the initiative to make your thoughts and feelings known. We are all passionate about WDW. It's time the rest of us step up and say something. I will be doing that over this weekend. I challenge everyone of us to do the same. TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.

I agree. If only for the reason that it feels good to vent.
 

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
Imagine a documentary like Blackfish was made about Disney but instead of the whole Orca thing It could be about the decline of quality. It would go viral and all the average Disney guest would be aware and Disney would be hit right where it hurts, their stocks. That would be the Ideal situation, forcing them to live up to their old standards :). one can dream right.

Do you mean quality as in appearance quality, or something more of quality of attractions, value/dollar, etc???
 

jlsHouston

Well-Known Member
Well I have never had more disappointing encounters with Disney workers as I have on this last trip, but my DD who is pregnant used that excuse for everything and my grandkids got more passes to the front of the line, got seated with no ressie at Chef Mickey, got to use FP's that were expired hours earlier.....she had more magical moments than I had sour moments and that's alot....
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
I am afraid that the "folks that want feedback like this" have little influence over the "folks that make the short sighted and bottom line focused decisions". I think it sooooo needs to be the other way around. I really wish the mantra of "What would Walt think of this?" would come back into favor with this company...

On an completely different note....BRAVO to you for taking the initiative to make your thoughts and feelings known. We are all passionate about WDW. It's time the rest of us step up and say something. I will be doing that over this weekend. I challenge everyone of us to do the same. TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.



It's time to give up the old "if Walt could come back, he would......" "What would Walt do?" routines. We have no idea what Walt would do today. He was conducting business in a very different time and under very different circumstances. Under today's pressure his decision making process might only not be completely different, he might have lost control of his own company decades ago. Shareholder value and bottom line profitability are the two drivers of the current Disney Corporate Management. The stock price is driven by whether or not the company met the estimated quarterly earnings set by some Wall St. analyst, not long term profitability or customer satisfaction.

My family and I are Disney fans. We've been to WDW, Disneyland and been on DCL more than two dozen times since 1996 and have seen the declines the OP listed. Unfortunately, I don't see things getting better any time soon. What I do see is the beginning of a "new normal". One nowhere near the quality of the "old normal".
 

natatomic

Well-Known Member
Well I have never had more disappointing encounters with Disney workers as I have on this last trip, but my DD who is pregnant used that excuse for everything and my grandkids got more passes to the front of the line, got seated with no ressie at Chef Mickey, got to use FP's that were expired hours earlier.....she had more magical moments than I had sour moments and that's alot....

She got front of the line passes because she was pregnant...?
 

HatboxGhost

Well-Known Member
Hey Everyone--
I've been a lurker in here for over a decade checking in a few times a day to see what everyone was talking about but since there has been so much chatter about the current state of the parks, I thought I'd share some info on this.
Real quick background...I was born and raised in NYC, am 34 and grew up going to Disney. I am one of the many people that loved Epcot of the 80s. I've made 17 trips to the world.

I used the form on the Disney website so I don't have the full email but some of the issues I brought up were:
•The recent practice of closing attractions and not replacing them
•The continuous declining value of the dining plan along with just about everything else
•The overuse of hard ticket events
•The practice of opening a new restaraunt, establishing it's reputation as quality and then dumbing it down
•The nickel and diming of guests across the board
•The embarrassment of what the Imagination Pavilion (still can't believe something called the Imagination Pavilion so such garbage at Disney World)
• The fact the Universal is beating them at their own game
•The fact that Disney hotels are grossly overpriced esp deluxe
• The preying on nostalgia nature of selling old Future World attractions while the current Future World needs so much help

...and a few other things but I got a call back the very next day and was pretty shocked. Anyway, I spoke with Holly for about 20 minutes and she let me tear them a new one with very little interruption...other than to say she agreed with a lot of what I was saying. We discussed the Frozen overlay (which I'm not crazy about) and I said if they were going to do that to not repeat the disaster that is El Rio de Tiempo.

She said she'd share this info with the "folks that want feedback like this" but I know it's kind of like shouting down a well. That's about it...just thought I'd share.
Great job and welcome!!!
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Imagine a documentary like Blackfish was made about Disney but instead of the whole Orca thing It could be about the decline of quality. It would go viral and all the average Disney guest would be aware and Disney would be hit right where it hurts, their stocks. That would be the Ideal situation, forcing them to live up to their old standards :). one can dream right.
I don't think you'd ever get the kind of following that Blackfish did. Animals suffering* tugs at people's heartstrings and gets people outraged enough to take action... or just share it on social media. "Declining value of park admission" doesn't really have that kind of pull.

*Blackfish analysis (.PDF file)
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
I don't think you'd ever get the kind of following that Blackfish did. Animals suffering* tugs at people's heartstrings and gets people outraged enough to take action... or just share it on social media. "Declining value of park admission" doesn't really have that kind of pull.

*Blackfish analysis (.PDF file)
Still would be nice to get the word out in a way that could grab a lot of attention. Make Iger squirm I say.
 

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
I don't think you'd ever get the kind of following that Blackfish did. Animals suffering* tugs at people's heartstrings and gets people outraged enough to take action... or just share it on social media. "Declining value of park admission" doesn't really have that kind of pull.

*Blackfish analysis (.PDF file)

Not to mention that Sea World made the stupid mistake of making several public comments about how wrong the documentary was, inadvertently giving the film a ton of free advertising. Disney would not make a similar mistake.
 

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