Disney Giveth, and Disney Taketh Away

[stuart]

You could also add the removal of every day morning EMH at the water parks in the summer. Prefer going to BB on a day that starts off cooler/cloudy and wont be a scorcher as the place will be quieter. When you had the EMH everyday you had plenty opportunities to go and between the EMH and the cooler day, get a lot more done, without being burnt at the same time

 

[John]

I think you're right. Someone mentioned it, but I didn't think this was still missing.

That someone was me, I remember the report of the torches being snuffed but never a follow up report of them being relit. Havnt seen them for myself....yet. Thanks for the updated info....guess we can cross it off the list.

 

[MarkTwain]

 

[RSoxNo1]

I've got that on the front page. I thought I had heard some other Holiday related things have been removed (perhaps from the Parties). Does anyone recall anything not already on the front page?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Its a bit like a dose, cause what they are giving you dont really want.

 

[mickey2008.1]

While there are things on the decline, there is alot on the up. Look at the detail of the new FLE and redone Main Street. Like others have said about the resorts, better beds and refrigerators, WIFI. It's got to be very hard to keep everything up at the same time. Now as for non-working main features, that should be addressed immediately. Yeti, Dinosaur come to mind first. As for outdated attractions like UOE and Imagination, they should be on a waiting list to be redone within 3 years. Overall though, it's a great place to visit, and would never discourage anyone from going, because unless you want to look for the problems, you really won't notice them.

 

[Tip Top Club]

What's outdated about UOE? The animatronics are a little sketchy (Especially Ellen herself), but other then that...

 

[mickey2008.1]

It's the movie that needs help. I love the dinosaur part.

 

[Bairstow]

It's the movie that needs help. I love the dinosaur part.

What ARE they going to do with Universe of Energy?
I wonder if it ever will get a full-scale re-theming that will see some of the animatronics used to finish their other dinosaur ride.

 

[flynnibus]

What's outdated about UOE? The animatronics are a little sketchy (Especially Ellen herself), but other then that...

Let's see... the early 90s TV references... the out of date Science Guy... Dinorama scaled back.. Oh, and removing just about everything else that was grand about the original UoE.

 

[Bairstow]

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Oi, you didn't include the stripping of the Empress Lilly! By which I don't mean my part-time job. I mean a paddle wheel steam boat without either a paddle wheel or steam, for lack of a smokestack. An obvious decline. As are giant neon signs on a 19th century boat.

But it's still not included in the list. Hrmpf...

Oh well, I shan't be Grumpy, but Happy, and continue undaunted with summing up the vandalisation of WDW:


More boat madness! The Amazing Disappearing Boats of the Magic Kingdom:

• RoA went from two riverboats to one. Once, there was both a sidewheeler and a sternwheeler.
• Mike Fink Keel Boats
• Canoes
• Swan Boats
• To which I'd also add: submarines.

The marine of the MK is so much less fun, so much more limited, less varied, less fun, less magical.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The decline of Main Street. Gone are:

• Cinema
• Penny Arcade
• Flower Market
• West Street
• Specialty shops, most notably the Magic Shop

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Sticking with just the Magic Kingdom:

Longer lines at the MK, owing to:
Fewer operating hours
More guests
Less attractions

More hard-ticket events

Less restaurants:
Aunt Polly's
Tomorrowland Terrace (the noodle place, not Cosmic Ray's)
Adventureland Veranda

Thematic intrusions:
Splash Mountain
Alladin's Magic Carpets
Cartoons outside of Fantasyland
(I would also include the ill-fitting 'Where's Waldo' show at PotC. The movie and the ride are different universes)

 

[The Empress Lilly]

EPCOT. The removal of genuine artistic expression everywhere:

Radok Cubes
Ceiling painting at The Land
Wall Painting at the Land (first floor, not the mural at the loading area of LwtL)
Mural at Imagination
Dreamfinder's amazing painting with the changing colours
Sculpture at Imagination at the staircase. Well, it's still there, but can't be properly seen/experienced
Sculpture at the Imagination fountain. Imagination is not two pyramids, but two crystals
Mural at Horizons
The Fountain of Communication (?) at Communicore. An installation you'd expect to see at the MOMA
Sculpture in front of SSE
I would also include the 'mural' along the entrance to the Living Seas. Hey, at least it formed a thematic unity with the pavilion

 

[John]

EPCOT. The removal of genuine artistic expression everywhere:

Radok Cubes
Ceiling painting at The Land
Wall Painting at the Land (first floor, not the mural at the loading area of LwtL)
Mural at Imagination
Dreamfinder's amazing painting with the changing colours
Sculpture at Imagination at the staircase. Well, it's still there, but can't be properly seen/experienced
Sculpture at the Imagination fountain. Imagination is not two pyramids, but two crystals
Mural at Horizons
The Fountain of Communication (?) at Communicore. An installation you'd expect to see at the MOMA
Sculpture in front of SSE
I would also include the 'mural' along the entrance to the Living Seas. Hey, at least it formed a thematic unity with the pavilion

If you were busy enjoying yourself you would never notice these things.....shhheeeesh

 

[prberk]

The loss of River Country is indicative of other things "lost" from childhood these days with so many people afraid to swim in real lakes. If Disney owned Daytona Beach, you wouldn't be able to drive on the beach or swim in the ocean -- you MIGHT get bit by a shark!!

Beyond the "shut the whole thing down 'cause we could get sued" mentality that has caused the swimming stoppage at Bay Lake, you still have the rest of River Country sitting there. It was a wonderful, timeless "swimmin' hole"... across the bay from DISCOVERY ISLAND, another peaceful, serene attraction that has been left to rot.

I miss a lot of these purposefully serene adventures at WDW. Off the beaten path, and wonderful.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

If you were busy enjoying yourself you would never notice these things.....shhheeeesh

I must assure you I was very busy enjoying all this wonderful, classic Disney creativity.

Compare this handpainted ceiling with the one below:
(And the painted walls. And the fun electric umbrella's. And the lighting which doesn't make it all look like a hospital)
(Which also reminds me to add the Fountain inside the Land to the list)

What Disney artists used to do before 'Giant Oversized Fiberglass Objects' and 'Cartoony Stuff' became the norm. The mural at Horizons:

 

[Bairstow]

Wow.
Those pictures are pretty telling.
You may have a point.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The loss of River Country is indicative of other things "lost" from childhood these days with so many people afraid to swim in real lakes. If Disney owned Daytona Beach, you wouldn't be able to drive on the beach or swim in the ocean -- you MIGHT get bit by a shark!!

Beyond the "shut the whole thing down 'cause we could get sued" mentality that has caused the swimming stoppage at Bay Lake, you still have the rest of River Country sitting there. It was a wonderful, timeless "swimmin' hole"... across the bay from DISCOVERY ISLAND, another peaceful, serene attraction that has been left to rot.

I miss a lot of these purposefully serene adventures at WDW. Off the beaten path, and wonderful.

And to think BB was closed for capacity this week! RC would've come in handy.

I've sometimes wondered if they could not have reduced RC to just the soft sand area and used it as the swimming hole for Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge. Now that would be a perk for these these hotels.

As for DI...it really saddens me that such a slice of paradise is just sitting there, unused.