Dark Times?

[Figment632]

While I still love WDW, it just seems it these days aren't its lightest hour...

For one thing, I hardly hear anything that's really important. Just mostly "Oh, new restaurant menu", or "Oh, park closed until 9:00: etc etc. And yeah, I know the New Fantasyland rehab and Star Tours are coming, but I haven't really seen any construction yet to get me excited, like with Harry Potter, and speaking of which...

I wish Disney would do better then remaking a land and adding one new ride. :I Universal is doing this. Why not do something even better?

And I hate how the parks that need the most are ignored. What I mean is AK and Epcot. Don't get me wrong, AK is amazing, but it still doesn't have that many rides...and what about Beastly Kingdom, Australia, etc? Those would be good attacks against Potter. And while we're at it, how about repairing the Yeti and have Dinosaur become Countdown to Extinction again?

And Epcot...this park seems to be the most disrepair out of all, with the Unfinished SSE, the dumbing down with Disney characters like Nemo, The new JII, etc...yet no rides or attractions has been announced.

Sorry, but I hate how the only two things hitting WDW are just remakes of preexisting attractions. Look at Disney's California Adventure, look at Hong Kong Disneyland, those are getting new lands, and more than one attractions. :brick:

Sorry if i sound like a brat, but I'm just losing my patience kinda.

Things are starting to get better but I agree with you on the dumbing down of EC. Also the idea that FLE will bring more people to the parks or compete with Potterland are ridiculous. All it will do is add to the capacity of MK which is a good thing however.

 

[Dinoman96]

Things are starting to get better but I agree with you on the dumbing down of EC. Also the idea that FLE will bring more people to the parks or compete with Potterland are ridiculous. All it will do is add to the capacity of MK which is a good thing however.

Exactly. Disney could of done much better then that...

 

[musketeer]

I'm starting to think that Disney can do NOTHING to make people on this message board happy. It seems like ANYTHING they do, is terribly wrong...at least according to this message board.

I think the whole resort is WAY better now than it was 15 or 20 years ago.

And I think it will be WAY better in 15 or 20 years from now.

 

[Figment632]

I'm starting to think that Disney can do NOTHING to make people on this message board happy. It seems like ANYTHING they do, is terribly wrong...at least according to this message board.

I think the whole resort is WAY better now than it was 15 or 20 years ago.

And I think it will be WAY better in 15 or 20 years from now.

I love WDW and haven't been to Uni in over 5 years. HP is getting me to go there for the first time in 5 years. The FLE will be nice and I am glad to see MK get some love.

However the main thing FLE will do is add to MK's capacity besides that im am not sure what elses it will do? HP is a game changer FLE is just not.

 

[rodserling27]

---

 

[Master Gracey 5]

I'm starting to think that Disney can do NOTHING to make people on this message board happy. It seems like ANYTHING they do, is terribly wrong...at least according to this message board.

I think the whole resort is WAY better now than it was 15 or 20 years ago.

And I think it will be WAY better in 15 or 20 years from now.

Its easy to find fault in other's work, but harder to praise their successes.

The past decade has seen some decisions that many question, including the changing of classic rides, shoddy updates like Stitch, and the substitution of fluff for content.

That said, there have been bright points and the news this past fall from D23 with the FLE, Star Tours 2 and more is hopefully the start of a new focus on the parks in the oh tens. We have evidence with the HM update that Disney can make changes and please everyone, so I agree that 15 years from now theres a good chance we'll look back and be proud of when Disney turned around and improved on an already great base at the parks.

 

[love disney]

...Why is Fast Pass effectively useless?...



...

Are you serious? Fast Pass is extremely effective! If you know how to use the system, fast pass is great. I have taken 7 trips to WDW over the last year and a half and can't even begin to imagine how many fewer rides I could have gone on without fast pass. I love the fast pass system and am very glad they have it (I remember the old days when there was no such thing).

I agree that there are some, possibly many, things that WDW needs to work on, but for the most part the experience is still wonderful. Seems like far too many people focus on the negative rather than the positive. In my opinion, I feel like things are moving in the right direction at WDW, and I hope I am right!

 

[PurpleDragon]

You gotta take the good with the bad!!

Keep it all in perspective, Disney is run by human beings and humans make mistakes. The good news is the people in management are working to fix those mistakes by slowly improving the parks, even if its not up to our own personal standards they are at least trying with what they have as far as budget. After so many years of stagnation the fact that they are doing something is a positive, even if its a minor one, its still a positive.

You all are also forgetting the little things they are doing as far as bringing the standards of park maintenance back up to par. Over the last couple years they have done a lot of repaints/refurbs/cleanings/etc... to bring the WDW standard back up to where it should be.

I think a lot of the lackluster updates we've seen as of late are more caused by the budget committees capping budgets more so than WDW management just not caring. They need to take the bankers/pencil pushers out of the equation before we can see the massive growth we saw back in the 80's.

 

[Krack]

I'm starting to think that Disney can do NOTHING to make people on this message board happy. It seems like ANYTHING they do, is terribly wrong...at least according to this message board.

It's a tired line and simply not true. Everyone loved the Haunted Mansion refurbs (one guy out of the entire board complained). A strong majority loved the Pirates refurb. Almost everybody likes Soarin and Toy Story Mania. Almost everybody likes that Figment was brought back, even if the ride still sucks. Almost everybody likes Expedition Everest (although they dislike that the AA never works). Most people liked the Space Mountain refurb (most also felt it didn't go far enough, but they still liked what was accomplished).

It is simply not true to say "Disney can do nothing to make people on this message board happy." I have no doubt that is the attitude WDI and TDO have adopted towards the fanbase, but it doesn't make it true.

I can prove it's not true. If tomorrow they rebuilt JII exactly as it was on the day it opened, what do you think the reaction on this message board would be? I know what it would be. Here's another one ... is there a single person that would complain if Disney would ditch the "Disney Parks" merchandise and went back to attraction/park/resort/land-specific merchandise? Of course not.

 

[love disney]

krack, while I agree with you to a point that there are indeed things that Disney does that make people happy/pleased, I think the point being made was that the vast majority of posts are people complaining about things. I would estimate that well over 80% of the comments on the Space Mountain refurb were negative. Even those that were positive to a degree were often times more negative. (For example something to the effect of "while the games make waiting in line better what a waste of time any money.")

Another example is Spalsh Mountain. People complaining about rumors of lap bars, complaining that all the logs weren't replaced, etc., but very little mention of the incredible job that was done in this short refurb on the lighting inside the ride. I went on it a couple of weeks ago and was blown away at how much better the interior looks, but most folks it seems would rather focus on the negatives than the positives. Just my thoughts based on my short time on this site.

 

[Krack]

krack, while I agree with you to a point that there are indeed things that Disney does that make people happy/pleased, I think the point being made was that the vast majority of posts are people complaining about things. I would estimate that well over 80% of the comments on the Space Mountain refurb were negative. Even those that were positive to a degree were often times more negative. (For example something to the effect of "while the games make waiting in line better what a waste of time any money.")

Another example is Spalsh Mountain. People complaining about rumors of lap bars, complaining that all the logs weren't replaced, etc., but very little mention of the incredible job that was done in this short refurb on the lighting inside the ride. I went on it a couple of weeks ago and was blown away at how much better the interior looks, but most folks it seems would rather focus on the negatives than the positives. Just my thoughts based on my short time on this site.

With all due respect, there are things Disney can choose to do that would almost universally (over 95%) make the inhabitants of this message board happy. In my previous post, I pointed out past accomplishments (Haunted Mansion refurb, Soarin') where this occurred and suggested future changes that would also have the same result (Original JII, park merchandise diversity). If I had to, I could probably rattle off the top of my head 25 to 50 "suggested future changes" that would delight the vast majority of the wdwmagic user base; it's not just one or two things.

It is not the fault of the Disney fanbase, that whoever is in charge at Disney has done, and often continues to do, things that do not make the diehard fanbase happy. I am under no delusions that Disney cares about the fanbase's opinion; those are people who are hooked like addicts and whose dollar is already counted for the next couple decades. However, that doesn't mean that when Disney continues to do things I don't (or in this case the message board fanbase doesn't) like, that I shouldn't feel comfortable pointing out that they are doing so and taking my dollar for granted.

EDIT: To clarify, I believe that there are some things Disney does thinking it will make the fanbase happy, but (for whatever reason), just didn't satisfy like they had hoped. And I think there are other things they do, fully believing it will infuriate the diehard fanbase, but will make them a dollar from some other demographic. I don't feel bad complaining about category two.

 

[rodserling27]

And I think there are other things they do, fully believing it will infuriate the diehard fanbase, but will make them a dollar from some other demographic.

I could not agree with you more. Going to WDW with some first-timers and casual fans really puts it in perspective sometimes. There were so many things I was kinda iffy about, or just flat out hated, but the casual fans and newbies loved. Heck, even some of them claimed things like "Disney parks" logos, SGE or the MGM Hat were "totally cool" or "awesome!" :hurl:

It's a bit of a sticky sitauation that WDI and TDO have to be careful with, ya know, not alienating one group or the other....or both, in rare cases.

 

[fosse76]

There is nothing wrong with Disney World at all, its still amazing.

How many people have actually been there in the past year?

* Jimmy raises hand *

Me! In the past twelve months, I have left me safe haven of Manhattan to the wilds of Walt Disney World five times.

Its one thing to read about gripes of others who don't actually go, I figure its all they can do, complain about this and that because they cant go, but if you actually visited often, you would know first hand, you really have nothing to complain about.

I had plenty to complain about during my penultimate trip...though they were mostly operational issues that actually did affect me in a non-subjective way (i.e., abnormally long waits for busses back to my resort, longer-than-standby single rider lines and longer-than-regular-check-in Online Check-in lines).

And if you do go and still complain, you have too much time on your hands, get a life.

I have the right, as a consumer, to express my disatisfaction. Though I agree that some of the complants on this board are a bit over-the-top.

 

[C&D]

Been to the 'World' at least twice a year since '02 (and annual visits for some years before that); never been dissappointed. JMO

 

[memster]

There is nothing wrong with Disney World at all, its still amazing.

How many people have actually been there in the past year?

* Jimmy raises hand *


Its one thing to read about gripes of others who don't actually go, I figure its all they can do, complain about this and that because they cant go, but if you actually visited often, you would know first hand, you really have nothing to complain about.

And if you do go and still complain, you have too much time on your hands, get a life.


Jimmy Thick-Quit whining, just do it.

Awesome could'nt said it better myself:sohappy:

 

[PurpleDragon]

As others here have said, Disney has 2 separate demographics to deal with. The die hard fans like those of us who visit this message board, and the casual visitor. What will appeal to one will not always appeal to the other, so finding a balance is often hard. Some things they do may not make some die hard fans happy, but it does make the casual visitor happy and potentially lock in a repeat visit, which is what they want. They want all of us to come back so they have to give a little to both sides to keep everyone content. But you can't make everyone happy 100% of the time and I think there are some people here who expect Disney to do just that, to go out of there way to appeal to the die hard fan base 100% of the time and its just not possible.

While some of us would love to see things like Mr. Toads Wild Ride come back, to the casual visitor that ride will seem old and outdated because its based on unfamiliar characters, so it will probably not be memorable to their trip and thus will not be something that will bring people back. Whether you like it or not, we die hard fans are in the minority, so our voice isn't going to be heard as often as the casual visitor when it comes to feedback.


There are always going to be things that Disney does that some of us here will not like or agree with, its a fact of life so people just need to come to terms with it. Like I said before, you have to take the bad with the good.

 

[Dinoman96]

Are you serious? Fast Pass is extremely effective! If you know how to use the system, fast pass is great. I have taken 7 trips to WDW over the last year and a half and can't even begin to imagine how many fewer rides I could have gone on without fast pass. I love the fast pass system and am very glad they have it (I remember the old days when there was no such thing).

Most of the time it just tells me to come back five hours later...I know the whole point is to wait and go elsewhere in the park, but I could just do that without fast pass.

 

[love disney]

Sorry that most of the time fast past tells you to come back in 5 hours, no wonder you don't like it! Aside from Soarin' and TSMM I have never had that problem (knock on wood!). With those two I try and grab a fast pass and ride first thing in the morning. All other rides I have had pretty darn good luck with it and love the system.

 

[marni1971]

Everything we complain about today was not an issue 13 years ago. Gimme a break. :brick:

1996-7 was roughly the time period when Eisners plans he made without the guidence of Frank Wells began to come to fruition.

 

[Dinoman96]

1996-7 was roughly the time period when Eisners plans he made without the guidence of Frank Wells began to come to fruition.

Weren't most attractions planned for the "Disney Decade" cancelled?