What is your favor WDW decade?

[ParentsOf4]

It recently occurred to me that despite concerns I have with park maintenance, as a whole, WDW has never been better. With 4 major theme parks, 2 water parks, an indoor interactive park, a shopping & dining area, recreational areas, and numerous resorts, WDW has never had so much to offer. This has made me realize that, IMHO, WDW has never been better.

Others might have different opinions. Some might view WDW’s first few years (1971) as its Golden Age. Others might prefer to have been there when Epcot (1982), Disney-MGM Studios (1989), or Animal Kingdom (1998) were new. Some might miss old attractions such as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (closed in 1994). Others might miss the days when crowds were light for several months each year.

What is your favorite decade at WDW? When do you think WDW was at its most “magical”?

 

[Bob Saget]

Eisner's Disney Decade of the 90's for sure. Largest growth of resorts & attractions on record. Epic commercials, TV specials. Just a great time to be at WDW.

Edit: Not that now or other times were "bad" times to be at WDW. But the 90's era seemed the most memorable in my book.

 

[mergatroid]

I've voted 2010's purely as there's so much more to do now than when it opened in the 70's. As I've been coming regularly since around 76 that is something that has helped keep me occupied on my return visits. However I doubt I'll ever relive the magic of seeing it again through the eyes of a child as I did back in the 70's and 80's.

 

[captainkidd]

90's, for sure. Despite what people think about Eisner, the man did more for WDW than anyone ever has. 75% of the resorts we all love staying in - Thank Eisner. The water parks we have so much fun in - Thank Eisner. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom - Thank Eisner.

 

[Crush Dude!]

90's, for sure. Despite what people think about Eisner, the man did more for WDW than anyone ever has. 75% of the resorts we all love staying in - Thank Eisner. The water parks we have so much fun in - Thank Eisner. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom - Thank Eisner.

The MK under tarps and Scrims for the last 2 to 3 years.....

Thank Eisner :lookaroun

 

[Tom Morrow]

I never visited before the 90's, but in general that seems to have been the best time for WDW (although I would also include 1989). SO much growth - it seemed like nothing could stop WDW or bring it down. DHS may have opened in 1989, but it saw most of it's growth in the 90's. And then there was the addition of countless resorts, Blizzard Beach, DAK, expansion of Downtown Disney... multiple e-tickets...

Oh, and then there was still great upkeep, attractions weren't being dumbed down or replaced with mediocre versions, Fastpass, for the most part did not exist...

 

[wolf359]

I have to go with now as my favorite. Nostalgia is a great thing, but the parks are what they are today, and no matter how I think the current reality compares to my fond memories today's Walt Disney World is the only one I can still visit.

 

[Bob Saget]

I never visited before the 90's, but in general that seems to have been the best time for WDW (although I would also include 1989). SO much growth - it seemed like nothing could stop WDW or bring it down. DHS may have opened in 1989, but it saw most of it's growth in the 90's. And then there was the addition of countless resorts, Blizzard Beach, DAK, expansion of Downtown Disney... multiple e-tickets...

Oh, and then there was still great upkeep, attractions weren't being dumbed down or replaced with mediocre versions, Fastpass, for the most part did not exist...

That was also a great era for Disney on the big screen. Little Mermaid in '89 all the way through Lion King in '94. Not to mention great, retro Disney Channel (Avonlea, Good Morning Mickey, Welcome To Pooh Corner, Wonderful World of Disney...etc). Probably the best decade to be a Disney fan (imo).

 

[Freshee61]

I voted for and loved Disney in the early 2000s.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

90's because the Cast Members were amazing then...ok, I chose 90's because that's when I worked there.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I find it interesting that, so far, no one has voted for the 1970s as their favorite decade. I guess WDW wasn't so "magical" when it only included the Magic Kingdom.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Why have people voted for the 1980s? I understand voting for the 1990s since there was a lot of WDW growth. The 1980s featured the opening of the "educational" Epcot (since made more child friendly or dumbed-down, depending on your point of view) and a relatively incomplete Disney-MGM Studios (which was rushed into opening before many of the current areas were complete in the attempt to beat Universal Studios to the punch). Typhoon Lagoon opened in June 1989, squeezing into the 1980s but I recall Disney-MGM Studios and Typhoon Lagoon both having growing pains when they first opened. They didn't really blossom until the 1990s.

 

[captainkidd]

The MK under tarps and Scrims for the last 2 to 3 years.....

Thank Eisner :lookaroun

How in the world is that Eisner's fault? He has no control over the weather conditions in Orlando.

That's current management milking projects to their cheapest possible outcome. Under Eisner, if a tarp was up, it was down in days as he got the work done as fast as possible. This whole Main Street debacle is a perfect example of how things have fallen apart without Eisner.

 

[captainkidd]

Why have people voted for the 1980s? I understand voting for the 1990s since there was a lot of WDW growth. The 1980s featured the opening of the "educational" Epcot (since made more child friendly or dumbed-down, depending on your point of view) and a relatively incomplete Disney-MGM Studios (which was rushed into opening before many of the current areas were complete in the attempt to beat Universal Studios to the punch). Typhoon Lagoon opened in June 1989, squeezing into the 1980s but I recall Disney-MGM Studios and Typhoon Lagoon both having growing pains when they first opened. They didn't really blossom until the 1990s.

Pleasure Island opened in 1989, and look how that has prospered.:lookaroun

 

[sgtmgd]

I will vote the late 70's and early 80's. Disney left a lasting impression on me as a kid...Ive carried that love of Disney forward and my Daughter who graduates this year also has the Disney Bug. She reports to College in August for pre season training and made me promise I would'nt plan a Disney Vaction during her Soccer season..lol. So my next trip will be over Xmas in 2013.

 

[Communicore]

I picked the 70's even if I didn't exist. 70's WDW is just the best. The architecture, the interiors, the clothing! :sohappy:

 

[DisneySaint]

Uniquivocally the 80's, a period of discovery and imagination with the openings of both Epcot and MGM.

 

[scoobygirl39541]

Easy, gonna say 2000's. Yes all the development happened in the 90's, but by the 2000's, the new parks had settled and were able to grow even more. The yeti still worked, AKL was brand new, spectro was still around, etc. Loved that era.

 

[Prototype82]

!980s with the birth of Epcot. Not that I'm old enough to remember it. It could be this decade if Avatar is going to be the technologically ground-breaking thing they say it will be. And I have a good feeling we'll be seeing that.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I chose today. I don't know, you know it is probably better today than ever before though. But 1991 was the first time I was there. I guess for an "old time's sake" perspective I like the 1990s. Put it this way, my generation someday is going to be talking about the 1990s (in society in general) the way our parents talk about the 1950s. It is 2012, think about just how long ago the 1990s actually was.

But the company progresses and right now we have the Fantasyland expansion. I really don't long for the "old days" so much as WDW because there are so many attractions still there from the 1990s, or the beginning.