I read the original article in the Orlando Sentinel and have been following this thread for the last few days with interest.
Just a couple of thoughts from a lover of WDW and a very regular visitor.
- A lot of the complaints you hear expressed here and were discussed in that article are based on a fundamental principle. I've heard it articulated many times in some of the Travel Channel shows about the parks. 'Disney is held to a higher standard, because Disney started out holding itself to a higher standard'.
In short, we have all developed very high expectations of the environment we experience in a WDW visit not because we made it up, but because for many, many years Disney consistently delivered and exceeded those expectations.
Over the last few years those of us with those expectations have become disappointed when we noticed our expectations were no longer being exceeded, and in fact sometimes they weren't even being met. Yes you can isolate incidents where a bulb was out and replaced within 24 hours. However I suspect many of us are very much aware of times when we've seen strings of bulbs on main street out for the entire duration of our visit. (I swore I wouldn't get into the bulb thing here).
- Many times in the last few years I've been in a queue line for an attraction only to find the line strewn with trash and frankly just disgusting. Okay, we can use the concept that it was just put there. Sorry, I don't buy it. It's not too hard to tell when some of it has been there for quite a while. I have to acknowledge that some of this comes from a slackening of the old practice of no food in a queue. We've all whined in the past when we couldn't get in a line with that soda cup but now that you can, how many have we seen piled up in the queue because people are too lazy to hold it for another 30 seconds until they get to trash can. Or what about the situation where they tried but couldn't find a trash can so it ends up on the floor.
This area is part our (the collective guest community) and part of it is Disney getting lax on their own practices that frankly helped to maintain the cleanliness of the environment. Sure they don't want to have a conflict with a guest, but it is about maintaining the experience in the park, as well as keeping it clean and safe. After all who hasn't slipped on some kids dropped ice cream while waiting in line.
- As for the guest surveys, I'm quite sure that they say the things that are suggested in the Disney response to all of this. But let's be realistic here and accept that when you're formulating the question, selecting the interviewees and defining the tabulation methodology, you can achieve any result you want.
- Let's also accept that those of us who frequent these boards and WDW regularly have a very special place in our hearts for anything that has to do with WDW and Disney. To us, this sort of stuff is like watching a lazy family member not living up to their potential and it frustrates the living daylights out of us. We know from our own experience what they are capable of, and we get very disappointed when they are no longer doing so.
The bottom line of all this goes back to an overall management philosophy of someone running the business for the last few years (Paul Pressler) who truly did not understand the concept of operating these things. While he may have been very effective running the retail operations (Disney Stores) operating these parks is something totally different. I often wonder what someone like ________ Nunis would think now walking through the parks and seeing many of the things that are described throughout this thread. He was the type who truly understood the special experience that is a visit to WDW and spent his career making that happen.
We also need to understand that there are now some different people in these sr. management roles now, and at least right now they seem to be trying to deal with things. They've only been in place for a short time now but I'm hoping to give them a chance to turn the experience back into that something special we all remember. It won't be forever, but at least at first glance, they do seem to be trying now so I'll give them a little time to see of they can stem the tide and get things back on track.
It didn't get this way overnight and unfortunately it is likely to take them a little while to get things back on track. I'll be keeping my eyes open.
