Spirited Thoughts, News, Observations etc.

OK, hide the women and the children ... most importantly send the fanbois to bed with their plush and tell them to hide under the covers ... waaaay down under them because it's time for some Spirited thoughts, observations, news and anecdotes from a long weekend at The World Maintenance Forgot, yes WDW.

Where to start? With a conclusion? Or should I just work on down?

Should I start with the good ... things like seeing friends, having great weather, appreciating some things that the fan community tends to ignore and seeing EPCOT in its best colors?

Or ... do I focus on everything else? Because all going to WDW did for me this weekend was exceed my already amazingly low expectations for the state of WDW infrastructure and show quality (hey, they did exceed expectations, right?) and get me more excited for my future visits to DLP, possibly BGW, DL ... and, hopefully in the not too distant future, the Asian resorts again too.

Let's start with the basics. Freshness. If you had visited WDW in 2006 and hadn't returned in six years, you would find no appreciable new product in three of four parks.

You would find show quality that already had issues showing more issues than the typical fanboi in therapy. Well, that's if you can actually get to the MK because the crumbling monorail system has to be shut down all day from 11:30 a.m to 6 p.m. to do track work in the midst of one of the busiest times of the year ... imagine paying $500-700 a night for a room at the GF or Poly with monorail convenience touted (wonder what guest recovery they are doing there!) ... but let's assume you find your way there.

Let's start with the stuff the fan community is all lathered up for, namely the Storybook Circus mini-land expansion of Fantasyland. What did I think of it?

Not very much at all.

As usual, the hype was much greater than the product, which can't be viewed in a vacuum in a park that is crumbling and has no wow factor at all anymore.

In the day, Dumbo's primary colors and the red painted construction fences all around come off as garish ... befitting a circus, no doubt ... but Old Man Disney was no more a fan of circuses than he was of amusement parks and piers and the shady elements that all attracted. So, we have a new spinner that is prettier than the last. And it spins high enough to peek over construction walls and we all know how much that has become en vogue in O-Town of late.

It is a beautiful kinetic piece at night when the lighting is largely coming from the white and red bulbs that rim the queue (likely more of a makeshift deal now until the old Dumbo starts spinning across the way) and the LEDs embedded in the fountains underneath. But it is still Dumbo.

Sort of like the Barnstormer is still the Barnstormer, just missing much in the way of theming. Its prior incarnation had some whimsy, this doesn't. But they weren't getting rid of the only kiddie coaster in the park, so this was a cheap fix. Oh, and thanks to Bob Iger working with a chainsaw, you can now watch Disney buses and CMs driving to/fro work behind the MK as you walk up the queue if you peer left. I will never get what Phil and TDO have against trees, but they certainly do.

Nothing else is open beyond a much nicer train station that is still a train station ... and a set of new restrooms (someone needs to page Talking Head to this thread stat!) What I found amazing is that Disney was too cheap to actually connect these facilities to the park's main water supply, so they are using water from the immediate area that is untreated (or perhaps non-filtered/cleansed is more appropriate) so you have bizarre signs saying the water is 'non potable' (that means you can't drink it for those with limited vocabularies) over toilets. I know Disney's prices are crazy for a Coke, but over the toilet?!? ... Of course, the reason is they have colored the water blue because otherwise it would be a very icky color and folks would constantly be complaining that something isn't right.

Are the details nice? Sure. But they are very basic. I was much more excited by leaf patterns in the walkways around Old Man Island at Dixie Landings 20 years ago than I am by various hoof prints and 'peanuts' embedded in this area.

So much of this area also suffers from having both exposed coaster track (Disney fanbois seem to have issues with this at UNI) and show buildings just sticking out like a Duffy alone on a shelf full of Minnies.

If this is what Disney believes will raise the bar in O-Town ... well, no ... they don't. They understand what they have built and why. This is about capacity ... and NEXT GEN ... and keeping folks from being bored out of their minds by offering something 'new'.

It's in 'soft opening' now, but let's be blunt: they had to get this open and open now. They have so little capacity in this park due to 15 years of taking away and not adding. MK just isn't a very pleasant place right now at all with crowds and walls and lots of attractions that have seen far better days.

Again, it also seems that Ops and WDI simply can't get on the same page no matter what ... Dumbo opens with small plants where every little kid (and plenty of big ones) are going to stand, so the result is the foliage that was there Monday was trampled and mostly dead or dying by Friday. How they miss these basics is beyond me, although I think communication and common sense are both lacking.

Now, what else was 'new' (to me) at MK? Spin the Fanboi? Pin the Tail on Meg? Dole Whip tees (I mean, REALLY?!?!) ... or how about the latest way to hook OCD fanbois and why it is so important to NEXT GEN.

I'll see you all a little later ... like in the next post!
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So, why invest money on things like refurbishing the Fountain of Nations and cleaning the monorail beams? Surely*, if TDO brass doesn't think guests will notice tarps on boulders or broken effects of which they are not even aware, why spend money on 'unnecessary' things like fountains, monorail beams, etc.?

Also, who decides the budget for attraction maintanence? You mentioned Burbank a couple of times, but I confess I don't understand their role with respect to TDO. In other words, who would you ultimately 'blame' for the state of the WDW parks?

*And don't call me Shirley

Don't call me Lee ... UGH!!!!:eek::ROFLOL:

But there is no easy answer here. I have been trying to find out the procedure for determining what gets done when for the last decade and everyone seems to have a different answer that always makes sense at the time, yet doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny.

I still don't know why the beams were cleaned in EPCOT, but they look great ... but the rest of them don't.

Bigger projects go through Burbank ... like say the relatively small scale (yes, this is designed to provoke fanbois) Fantasyland project.

And each park VP has their own upkeep budgets, but those things don't factor in things like Mansion's redo ... and NEXT GEN queues come from a different place altogether ... and are you confused yet? 'Cause I am.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I asked because I'm trying to get a sense of how often people have to experience attractions before they notice effects that work or don't.

How can I not notice issues on 'Small World' for example? Not sure why I don't see what I don't see, but it's obviously to some extent an issue of familiarity and frequency.

We have been to WDW 9 times in the past 4 years. I don't know how many locals visit, or do so frequently, but those 9 visits is more than any of my friends and family. I only ride 'Small World' about once every second trip, so since January 2008, I've been on it 4 times in 9 visits to WDW. That brings my lifetime total to about 8-9 rides. There is very, very little that I'll see wrong as a result. The boats might move slowly, but I'm singing that annoying song (thinking of Stewie singing "It's a Tiny, Tiny World"), looking at those spinning dolls, snapping a few pics (without a flash), and it's over.

During the past hour here tonight at home, I asked everyone on the ride with me if they noticed the broken eye on the hippo. All of us had the same response...ready...are you sitting down?

"What hippo?"

Understand? You are seeing the World through different eyes than practically all but the seasoned veterans.

(When I get a few minutes later, I am going to post a 1 day trip report with what we did, and what we were saying/thinking at the time. I think it'll help some people appreciate what many of us actually see. I don't think that you, Lee, Martin, '74 and others can relate to what we see during a visit, just as I can't relate to what you see. :))

I am just going to say that you assume here that because you miss things that others do (some most assuredly do, others do not ... even if it's their first visit).

Some items are so obvious you don't need any point of reference or history to understand 'something's wrong' ... I have been on Small World hundreds of times (just in O-town ... not counting all the rides in Anaheim, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo), but when something is in disrepair it should be obvious to most guests if they are just paying attention.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Well, apparently folks have better ways to spend a Friday night than posting on my thread :eek::eek::eek: shocking, I know.

I may spend tomorrow out on the beach (I hear we have them here in FLA as well as stale Disney theme parks ... again, :eek: shocking!) ... but I wanted to end on a very high note and sweetpee's post certainly hits home so many things I 'rant' about here.

I don't consider myself anywhere near the knowledgable type the guys here are by faaaaar. However, I could go to WDW with you and show you the bulk of what '74 talks about. My teenage sons can do the same. I couldn't tell you how many times I've been to WDW in my lifetime. First trip was in '76 as a toddler. I lived in the Orlando metro area/'burbs from age 6 to 16. I grew up on WDW. There was a big gap in my visits eliminating the 90s for me. The old man & I went to the MK & Epcot in October '99 then we took our sons for the first time in January 2004. Since '04 I've been 10 times. I think when we first took our boys the entire thing was about them and seeing things thru their eyes. I'd say until...oh...2009 or so I was pretty much sportin' my pixie-colored glasses and didn't notice the sheer number of things that were amiss. Starting in 2010 things really started looking different to me. Mostly it was an overall grubbiness of everything. Everything. To stand in the hub and see stuff that you never saw even in the "off-season" when there really was an "off-season" irked me in a whole new way. It was aggravating! The hubby & the kids started noticing things as well. It starts out lots of little things but then it started taking over. Before long you're talking about things and questioning what the heck is going on. I differ from my husband in that I went to WDW as a child. I remember the way things were back in the '80s. My parents and grandparents were fans. They would brag to non-Disney peeps how immaculently clean everything was. Bathrooms had a CM in each what seemed continuously and there was never ~ever~ anything out of place. Mom would swear you could eat off the floors..:eek:..yes! Of a public restroom!

We should get our folks together. My Spirited Dad uttered that line frequently in the 70s and 80s ... now he says 'thanks for the free tickets, but we'd rather not go ... they haven't added anything new in a lifetime.'

My grandfather likewise didn't go to WDW until 1984, but was wowed by MK and, especially EPCOT Center, so much so he and his girlfriend bought seasonal passes and went frequently into the early 90s when she became ill. My one regret is not getting him to DAK before he passed away as he would have loved that place -- Disney and animals. I doubt he'd think much of Epcot nowadays ... or the MK, but can't really ask him unless I summon his Spirit tonight (and if I did, I'd have other questions first!)

I think your kids sorta caused a delayed reaction in seeing things the way they are. By 2004, WDW was already in its toilet bowl spiral. Some things (not many) have actually gotten better since.


You never saw chipped paint or, my personal favorite, woodwork that had been painted over so many times (vs. being refinished properly) that the details were coated over and lost in the countless layers.

HUGE pet peeve of mine. I don't want to hear about new painting at WDW when all they do is slather coat no. 9 on the same wood with no stripping down, no treatment, nothing. It is cheap, tacky and shoddy work.

Cast members always looked perfect. Costumes fit like they were tailored to each person. There was never a discheveled look at all even if it was hot as Hades outside. I don't ever remember seeing dirty carpet or floors. ((Look at the totally trashed floors in the attractions! Carpet that's so stained you can't even see what the original color was!))

Take a look at your resort room if it wasn't rehabbed in the last year or so ... I have gotten the filthiest of carpeting at WDW resorts. A famous WDW lifestyle blogger once stood in the middle of a deluxe room with filthy carpeting and said 'I never look down' ... I guess that's what Disney is counting on.

I don't want to get a call from Disney Legal or I'd tell you the name of the consultant who got paid millions to tell Disney that Mousekeepers didn't need vacuums because carpets didn't need cleaning.

I believe they have gone back to them, but some may simply have sweepers to pick up cereal or push it under the beds (where they never clean!):eek::rolleyes:


My grandparents loved WDW for the rich, perfectly manicured landscapes. There was never a bare plot. Water features and fountains speckled the parks. Planters, beautiful trees, flowers w/color, etc....it was always there and never looked imperfect in any way. What's more: you virtually never saw landscape CMs touching anything during the day. I think we spotted one pruning a topiary once and there was a crowd gathered to watch because it was such a rare thing to see the magic happening. Imagine seeing the Oompa-Loompas at work at the chocolate factory. That's what it was like! Amazing! You never saw maintenance workers in the parks. And, you never saw cranes hanging around the castle in the middle of the day. Ever. Because back then show was everything. It all had to look perfect and you weren't supposed to see how it got that way. You just arrived in an idealistic perfect place and it was utter bliss filled with wonder and amazement. It's just not like that anymore.

No, it's not, but I so love the way you put things in your post. It sums up my experiences and history so well.:)

I'm not saying I want things to be like "back in the day". I'm one who definitely subscribes to the belief that life is something that evolves and you can't reproduce moments in time. To expect that would be unrealistic. However, you can create a better tomorrow. Sounds a little familiar, huh? Unfortunately, WDW has failed to create a better tomorrow. Failed miserably.

I, too, like hearing what those in the know have to say. It explains a lot. Sad, but it doesn make sense.

My only answer is Disney P&R has always been run strangely (even in the golden years) and now Wall Street seems to determine all.


I noticed that as well. I was out of pocket all day, too. Aaaand, missed the show. Dangit!

I can only guess the troll (in his latest incarnation was shown the door) ... alas, I was not around either. I tend to miss the fun here.
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I can only guess the troll (in his latest incarnation was shown the door) ... alas, I was not around either. I tend to miss the fun here.

You didn't miss anything this time. There was no interesting debate in my opinion or really much of any sort of insightful discussion or opinions going on this time. From what i read here and there, it was pretty much all just that pitchfork guy calling you a lying scumbag in every post. I can't say anything was really lost in the mod purge. He'll probably be back under a different account though.:lol:

On a side note, it was sad to hear that DL Paris had deteriorated so horribly over the last few years. But it gives me joy to hear it's being given major refurbs everywhere lately. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my youth when i visited (not once but twice) in the mid 90's. I was very lucky to do so. I'd love to return someday, maybe if i'm ever so lucky again.:animwink:

I can only hope that one day, WDW gets the same miracle of attention it deserves and desperately needs.
 

Alektronic

Well-Known Member
Take a look at your resort room if it wasn't rehabbed in the last year or so ... I have gotten the filthiest of carpeting at WDW resorts. A famous WDW lifestyle blogger once stood in the middle of a deluxe room with filthy carpeting and said 'I never look down' ... I guess that's what Disney is counting on.

I don't want to get a call from Disney Legal or I'd tell you the name of the consultant who got paid millions to tell Disney that Mousekeepers didn't need vacuums because carpets didn't need cleaning.

I believe they have gone back to them, but some may simply have sweepers to pick up cereal or push it under the beds (where they never clean!):eek::rolleyes:

They contracted out the carpet cleaning also, they have a company called Capital Carpet Cleaning doing a lot of the carpet cleaning now.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Aaah...the sweet smell of succes :
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is one shining example of hyperbole.
It is! :D

For effect, I gave a spirited verdict of DLP. Just to, as it were, turn the tables. My post about Paris reads to Paris fans the way critical posts about WDW sometimes read to WDW fans: harsh, very critical of something close to somebody's heart.
It goes to show how fun and witty sarcasm can be easily understood as spiteful hatred or unecessary hyperbole.


~ What loser considers a provoked reaction on the internets a sign of succes? ~
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Where do you find the information to label DLP a ghetto? I'm not looking for an argument. Far from it. I just don't see where the hatred for DLP comes from. I'm going back there in 4 months. Even with my critical eye I'm so looking forward to it.
I don't hate DLP. I rather like the park. What Paris does well it does oh so very well. Some parts are shockingly good: the skull island / caves / pirate ship area; the plentiful offerings in Fantasyland; the area in and around the castle (that dragon is pure win); superior versions of classics such as Pirates and Big Thunder.

I was there in 1992 and I will be there this autumn. I've gotten into the habit of visiting once or twice every year for the last few years. I can make day trips I live so close.

My gripe is with DLP being presented in role of the current 'more pure foreigner'. Together with DL. They are hailed as how a Disney park ought to be run.
I think this is unwarranted. DLP is overidealised. It has always been a rundown dump. It is this idealisation that I rile against. DLP is a good park, it is not the more perfect park, never mind the park that is everything the MK should've been.

The Paris resort outside of the castle park is a disaster zone. A dangerous train ride to and from the city, ugly hotels, a studio park that is the world's worst theme park, and a 'Downtown Disney' area that I consider of offensively poor taste. I'd sooner be caught drunk on live camera running around the Louvre in lederhosen yelling 'Ich bin ein Escargot', than be caught dead in Downtown Disney Paris.

The castle park itself too has safety, hospitality, and maintenance issues - although their 20th anniversary has been a great catalyst to clean house. (Got to love anniversaries. But does WDW have to wait for her 50th like DL to shake things up? Good grief, another nine years.)

I'll keep an eye out for you and Spirit in Paris at the end of summer! I'll be there for my annual trip too. :wave:


And I still don't understand the ghetto comment.
Ghetto - me trying my hand at colloquial US English.

Anything that is jury rigged, broken in some way, or otherwise of generally poor quality.

The students called their portable classroom "ghetto" because one of the windows is broken, the walls are covered with mold and ancient spitwads, the desks are falling apart, and the whiteboard has a number of inexplicable dents in it.



~This thread is a gentrification process of the ghetto of obscurity it was relegated to ~
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Thanks Empress for some clarification. I Guess we have differing views of the DLP resort outside the parks... I'd take it over the DL resort anyday and wouldn't call Newport ugly, but the place has had serious flaws that are being corrected, some quicker than others. WDSP was an Eisner travesty. The government owned public plaza outside the TGV station is and has been so wrong, the ugliest public owned area sandwiched between Mouse property. Yes, aesthetics went out the window for operations, but I hope 20 years later the Mouse finally pulls ownership in house.

There are multiple issues elsewhere... Swinging AAs that don't, duelling AAs that take so much upkeep, Soundtracker cards that work loose too easily (thats first gen for you) but I still find ops issues in Paris less intrusive and less of them than Orlando.

PM me if you're around in late July :wave:

74- you bet I'm looking forward to Dreams. I got a laser test photo last night that looks just awesome. Now they've tweaked the issues they had with them earlier.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Poor maintenance and sloppy standards do lead to dangerous situations.

They certainly can and do ...

Take for example DLP. The park that is hailed as the shining example of how to properly run a park by Paris fanbois such as WDW1974. In reality, Paris from day one has been a rundown ghetto. Twice last year there were serious accidents at Paris' Big Thunder. These even made headlines outside of the Disneysphere. If WDW's Thunder has had black tarps instead of moving boulders, Paris has boulders that actually move. And then some. They come lose from the ceiling and crash on unsuspecting guests riding the coaster.
That is, when they are riding at all instead of being on one of those trains that simply derail.

DLP has been a rundown ghetto since Day 1? Really? How do you expect to be taken seriously with statements like that? Why don't you go ask Eddie Sotto if he thinks the park was ghetto from Day 1 because he was one of its top designers.

And DLP has had serious issues with maintaining the park (much of it due to money issues, which WDW has never had!) ... oh, and the BTMRR issues that you raise, while serious, have been fixed and didn't kill or seriously injure anyone. ... unlike say what happened in Anaheim.

And lest you think I'm a big defender of bad show ANYWHERE, I'll point out that when I came back from my first visit to DLP, I was amazed that attractions like the Treehouse (where you walked on boards that were rotting thru about 15-20 feet over a concrete pedestrian walkway) were allowed to be open. In the states, the lawyers would have shut them down ... and then to return nine months later ... 18 months later and the same wood is still there, just was amazing to me.

But interior show quality at DLP has never dropped (in my experience) to the level it is at daily at the ghetto MK in O-Town.

Riding Paris' Big Thunder is like playing Donkey Kong you have to jump so many holes in the platform and dodge so many boulders hurled at you.

I enjoy hyperbole, but sometimes it's best left to the experts!:king:

~ Paris should give guests three lives to play with. ~

And please don't ape JT ... come up with your own schtick instead of copying others.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Incorrect I'm afraid. One small fibreglass piece of rock fell onto the engine chassis. Fragments hit some guests nearest the impact. They didn't "crash onto guests".

Why not talk about the injured guests on Orlandos ToT? Or Space Mountain? Both directly due to ride system malfunctions. And so Many more near misses and actual issues not reported in the press? Next time you drop down the plunge in PotC for example hope your boat clears the splashdown area. For example. Or those facade refurbs that seem to be just for aesthetics? Or that Omnimover you are in won't rip it's gears and crash into unload? For example.

Or Disneylands BTM and the sad accident. Or the Columbias accident. Or how close their Space Mountain came to the unthinkable.

Where do you find the information to label DLP a ghetto? I'm not looking for an argument. Far from it. I just don't see where the hatred for DLP comes from. I'm going back there in 4 months. Even with my critical eye I'm so looking forward to it.

I'm getting the feeling the Empress is just looking for a good scrum.

I wonder if he/she is a neighbor of yours because we know that UKers hate DLP largely with a passion (and the French as well) and would rather visit O-Town for three-four weeks a year with the great exchange rate for them that makes a very pricey location into quite a discounted one.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Overall, I really can't say that I ever saw DLP in a state that can be called ghetto.

Me neither. I would say the worst I ever saw the resort was in 2006 leading up to the 15th ... but work was already going on all over the place.
I recall seeing with disgust how bad the paint was fading and peeling (totally gone in places) on the sides of the DLH, but one wing had already started getting new pink paint and looked amazing.

So, I think I saw it just about at its worst. It's never been close to that bad since.

And a lot of the issues I saw last year have been part of the refurbishment projects that they started for the 20th anniversary. So I truly hope that DLP in 2012 is coming close to 1995 again!!

All Disney parks seem to get major renewals before major anniversaries are celebrated.

Did you ever think that may be why WDW stopped acknowledging them after the 25th in 1996?:rolleyes::drevil::king:

I think one of the reason why there are so differing opinions about DLP maintenance as compared to WDW maintenance might be that they let different things slip. Show quality at WDW and the outside appearance at DLP. I have no knowledge about this - but one reason for DLP keeping up show quality is that they are operated by a seperate company and surely do have some sort of a license agreement with TWDC which might very well stipulate certain standards. So if they want to save money on maintenance it has to be things like repainting the pirate ship. And compared to WDW DLP really needs to try to save money as they have so much debt hanging over them.

I do feel the debt issues have played a major role in maintenance slipping there. It affects everything ... the Ratatouille ride/expansion was supposed to be the centerpiece of the 20th (along with the Dreams show), but the money wasn't approved until months ago. That's just how things work over there.

But I can't wait for my upcoming visit!
:)
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
For your example of the monorail beams, I would love for Lee or Martin to chime in on how many times and why TDO keeps putting off a fleet replacement. But I imagine that beam cleaning is MUCH less expensive than fleet replacement or upgrades. So I wouldn't look at it as why is money being spent on beam cleaning and not on Splash Mountain, but what is being neglected in the Transportation Department at WDW while the monorail beams are getting cleaned. It appears to usually be let's do A or B or C...even though all of them should be done.

I was reminded by a few folks that the monorail track cleaning bill was paid for by WDS Marketing because of the Tron-o-rail, which is why only the EPCOT beams were cleaned.

Apparently, some marketing folks were appalled at how dirty they looked when they scouted filming locations.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
There are certainly problems at all of the parks, but for me, those DLP pictures of the Pirate Ship are perhaps the worst I have ever seen in an open area of a Disney park. I don't think anything at WDW approaches that.

Indeed. It is unforgivable. Not to defend the time it took, I do
Know a lot of DLP was built using wood where appropriate. Appropriate for Glendale maybe but not Marne le Valles climate. I have pictures of the Newport Bays exterior from 2005 almost as bad. Thankfully two lots of three year rolling refurbishments have now really got to the root of the problem.

But to allow things to get so bad is very much late 90s DL.

Yes, guys, it is disgusting. But the Treehouse presented clear and present dangers for guest safety for years and Euro Disney SCA did nothing about it. I was afraid I was going to fall through the boards when crossing the bridge, I have never seen something so unsafe in a Disney Park.

But if you move from safety to show quality, then there are plenty of horrific examples at WDW.

That's what I tried to bring out in my first few posts in this thread ... it isn't simply the big things -- Disco Yeti, Dinosaur, Splash Mountain, BTMRR -- that are having issues, it literally is endemic to the entire resort. I am convinced if OLC were forced to run the parks that 75% of what you see would have to be shut down immediately because it wouldn't meet the show quality covenants in the contract.

I can't make this (pooh) up. It is that bad. And who knows what I am not even seeing?
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Someone mentioned the dirty carpet in attractions, queues, etc. Many resort wide are absolutely black. I was most surprised at how filthy the carpet in the Magic Kingdom baby care center was. Children of course crawl and toddle around in that area. My wife and little one took a nursing break there on our last trip. After letting our baby crawl around for a moment, his knees looked as though he had been crawling on an asphalt parking lot. Really not exaggerating here.

Do they need to strike a deal with Rug Doctor? Maybe like the "how to wash your hands" plaques we'll soon see ones just above the baseboards that say "walking surfaces magically cleaned by Rug Doctor".

Nice to see North Dakota checking in!:wave:

In the late 90s, a very wealthy, very successful consultant told Disney it was wasting far too much time (labor) and money on vacuuming carpets. That guests didn't look down, they were too wowed by the MAGIC, the Pixie Dust ... he convinced Disney to stop vacuuming hotel rooms and hotel hallways regularly (with the exception of the GF) and use sweepers or just brooms (like you might use on your front porch or back porch or side porch etc) ... the result was the filthiest carpeting I've seen anywhere that wasn't the Red Roof Inn in Tallahassee:eek:

They didn't even care if they just put it in. It wouldn't be cleaned regularly.

And some choices made no common sense ... putting carpeting under the tables in the Pop Century food court. I stayed there a month after it opened and the carpet looked like it was four years old and had never been cleaned.

I do think the pendulum has switched back a bit on this, but I will never understand how cheap Disney was to even think this was a reasonable way to 'cut' and make the bottom line better.

Next time you're at a WDW Resort, check and see if the housekeeper has a vacuum and if it is used ... because clean carpet is more MAGICal than towel animals.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've seen this paint build-up thing quite frequently all over where there's painted wooden surfaces at WDW. You can tell without really looking for very long. I first really noticed it in the Crystal Palace several years back. Since the big refurb there it looks somewhat better but you know it's only a matter of time before it's back to the same.

Yeah, I kinda turned a big corner of sorts last September when we got off the Dream and checked into the Yacht Club. Standing at the main elevators was the beginning of the "Wow. Really?" moments. The surfaces of the walls and woodwork had the heavy painted over look. Near the elevator buttons the surface was grubby, dirty, chipped, and marred. The floor indicator arrows above the elevators were all tarnished & broken. All of them. Not 1 working. I think maybe 1 of the 4 on the club level floor was working but all looked pretty tarnished. The walls and surfaces weren't much different than the bottom floor. Walking down the hall to our room I leaned over and whispered to the old man, "Is it just me or is this place pretty dumpy?" Granted, it's a lot older than the brand new beautiful cruise ship we had just left but why was the place allowed to become so run down to begin with? Certainly wasn't very ship-shape... :rolleyes:

One all-important question here: Did you ask to speak to a manager and complain?

You weren't staying at a Days Inn on OBT and you weren't paying $39.99 a night, so .... did ya?:)
 

Bolna

Well-Known Member
And some choices made no common sense ... putting carpeting under the tables in the Pop Century food court. I stayed there a month after it opened and the carpet looked like it was four years old and had never been cleaned.

I always wondered about the love for carpets as well - the same at Sunshine Seasons. I always thought it was an American thing as it surprises me in American airports as well. Personally I think a non-carpet surface would be way more hygienic in a restaurant. :shrug:
 

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
I always wondered about the love for carpets as well - the same at Sunshine Seasons. I always thought it was an American thing as it surprises me in American airports as well. Personally I think a non-carpet surface would be way more hygienic in a restaurant. :shrug:

Probably done more for aesthetics and noise reduction than for cleanliness.
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I can't make this (pooh) up. It is that bad. And who knows what I am not even seeing?

That's exactly my thinking: if the stuff I see is this bad and poorly kept I don't even want to think about the stuff I can't see. I'd love to sit around thinking maintenance's shoestring budget and limited time are being consumed by keeping the actual ride systems in tip-top shape but somehow I'm not entirely convinced. :lookaroun


One all-important question here: Did you ask to speak to a manager and complain?

You weren't staying at a Days Inn on OBT and you weren't paying $39.99 a night, so .... did ya?:)

You're very right. I damned well didn't pay Days Inn prices to stay upstairs at the YC even with 40% off rack. This is part of my ever-expanding problem with WDW right now. Even their so-called "best" offerings aren't worth discounted prices. Value at any level is evaporated.

To answer your question, no, I didn't say anything to any management about the state of things at the YC. Few reasons:

1. It was our 18th anniversary the day we checked-in. Just like the slap-in-the-face crappy steaks for an insulting amount of money (even after the 20% TiW discount) at the Yachtsman that night, we were trying very hard to have a positive experience without allowing negativity into such an important day. If either of us had spoken our disappointments on that day we might've been in that rut. We're both redheaded w/that temperament. Sometimes its harder to resolve anger than others. Ya know? :animwink:

2. The elevator exterior description was only the beginning of the shabbiness. I say this stuff with total honesty. I don't make it a habit to be a grumbler & pick stuff apart. Once we were upstairs being delivered to our room it was no different. The baseboards & corridor trim were scuffed & beat up. You could tell which doors led to service areas because they looked really beat up & dirty compared to the room doors. And there were no less than 6 rooms with room service trays sitting on the floor outside loaded with food scraps and dirty dishes. The time was approx. 9:30 am. Not like it was 6:30 am. There was a musky/musty smell in the air. The curtains looked old and bordering outdated on the heavily condensated dirty windows we walked past. There was a section of the hallway that was always frigid cold. Freezing! But the rest of the hall was comfortable. I have a 2 story house in an extreme hot summertime climate not far from the coast. If my a/c functioned that way it'd be time to call in service or replace some units. In the room was cracked marble flooring, warn furnishings, and a filthy patio covered in bugs. The room certainly felt more fresh than the rest of what we passed to get there. The beds were comfy and I was grateful for the nicer bedding. I think as an overall thought it was like none of those things we saw weren't things you had to really look for to notice. So you're left with a clear sense of: this is how the YC keeps their house. Saying something felt pointless because it was an overall run-down-ness. To be honest, it wasn't that different than so much of what WDW as a whole had decended to so what's the point in puting it to words in that moment? We found some drinks and spent the next week seeking that sweet spot of relaxation to make the most of what we had where we were.

Saying it now like I have pretty much sounds like we resolved ourselves to our surroundings, huh? I guess it makes sense that we have no real urge to go back. I'd rather take that chunk we spent at WDW before & after the cruise to fund more time on the ship(s) or for seeking adventure at other Disney destinations. :animwink:


I always wondered about the love for carpets as well - the same at Sunshine Seasons. I always thought it was an American thing as it surprises me in American airports as well. Personally I think a non-carpet surface would be way more hygienic in a restaurant. :shrug:

Oh no! Filthy unkept carpets are not an Americsn thing at all! I keep my installed carpets clean enough to sit on & not be afraid (& we have a toy schnauzer). Our area rugs downstairs get hauled out every year or so for steam cleaning or I replace them. I'm not a clean freak by far but visible filth isn't just disgusting to look at, it's unsanitary and gross. :D. :wave:
 

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