Is it "okay" to expect better?

[Model3 McQueen]

This is a topic I've wanted to dive into for quite some time. Few would argue that Disney Parks in CA are on a rapid change of pace. Many of my loved ones, and many personalities on the internet, like / appreciate / enjoy Disney's newest offerings, and frankly I don't believe there's anything wrong with that. I'll always respect others opinions and in the discourse of public opinion, there's no %100 right or wrong answer

But is it okay to expect more from Disney?.. Realistically speaking, do you?
-Is it reasonable to expect better food quality in the parks?
-Am I wrong to think the People Mover tracks & Tomorrowland in general deserved way more attention than the Bug's Land & Paradise Pier conversion(s)?
-What about the (seemingly dead to Disney) idea that IP's are way overused and an all-original attraction is way overdue?
-Is it okay to consistently pay more & more money for what feels like advertisement overlays and movie experiences?
-Why are the CM's under-payed & overworked, literally working for one of the richest companies in the world? And what has happened to our park & culture in that people are seemingly getting nastier?


I want to go deeper than just speaking of IP's and quality. Disney Parks are engraved into my life and I hate to see it change so rapidly, away from what I remember made it special in the first place.

But maybe you don't see it that way, and maybe my thought process needs to change. Let's have an honest discussion!

 

[Phroobar]

Hell yeah! We should expect more from Disney especially when the competition does things so much better. We should have live entertainment every night. We should have a ground up new version of Tomorrowland. We should have a world class theme park that actually measures up to Disneyland next door. We should have rides that have plenty of capacity and that are reliable. We should have friendly cast members that are happy to be there and not marking time until their class at Fullerton JC starts. We should have good food for the money. We should have parades that have more characters than princesses and different movies besides Frozen/Tangled/B&tB/TLM/Lion King. The park should focus on show quality instead of how many can be packed in without the fire marshall finding out. We expect something better than Fast Pass/Maxi Pass/Board Groups in managing lines.

We desire more for the money and Disney should work hard for it!

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Hell yeah! We should expect more from Disney especially when the competition does things so much better. We should have live entertainment every night. We should have a ground up new version of Tomorrowland. We should have a world class theme park that actually measures up to Disneyland next door. We should have rides that have plenty of capacity and that are reliable. We should have friendly cast members that are happy to be there and not marking time until their class at Fullerton JC starts. We should have good food for the money. We should have parades that have more characters than princesses and different movies besides Frozen/Tangled/B&tB/TLM/Lion King. The park should focus on show quality instead of how many can be packed in without the fire marshall finding out. We expect something better than Fast Pass/Maxi Pass/Board Groups in managing lines.

We desire more for the money and Disney should work hard for it!

You said what I was thinking, better than what I said in my OP. Thank you!!

Based on how a solid (dare I say majority) number of folks seem to be accepting of what Disneyland has become, I started questioning my own reality and expectations.

 

[DanielBB8]

You need to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySeas. They are the pinnacle of Disney food, attractions, and design. Don't worry about the language barrier since they are translated into English. Admission is much cheaper than in the US. Perhaps wait a few months longer when the coronavirus scare alleviates.

Anyways, there's no point to complain about IP used in the parks. There's plenty of non-IP parks out there.

Many other companies are nickel and dimeing just as much as Disney, sometimes even more.

 

[Phroobar]

You need to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySeas. They are the pinnacle of Disney food, attractions, and design. Don't worry about the language barrier since they are translated into English. Admission is much cheaper than in the US. Perhaps wait a few months longer when the coronavirus scare alleviates.

Anyways, there's no point to complain about IP used in the parks. There's plenty of non-IP parks out there.

Many other companies are nickel and dimeing just as much as Disney, sometimes even more.

Y
So you are saying we shouldn't expect more because others are nickeling and dimeing too? Disney will never change as long as there is a mindless hord of Disney worshipping geeks out there that are happy to pay their annual pass dues before the rent. What man-child would repeatively get up before dawn to play a lottery to ride an attraction made for children?

 

[Model3 McQueen]

You need to take a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySeas. They are the pinnacle of Disney food, attractions, and design. Don't worry about the language barrier since they are translated into English. Admission is much cheaper than in the US. Perhaps wait a few months longer when the coronavirus scare alleviates.

I'd love to! I'd be nervous though, I've only been to Canada & Mexico, but my friend swears it's doable to travel to Beijing / Shanghai and not break the bank. Tokyo Disney is on my bucketlist.

 

[DanielBB8]

Y
So you are saying we shouldn't expect more because others are nickeling and dimeing too? Disney will never change as long as there is a mindless hord of Disney worshipping geeks out there that are happy to pay their annual pass dues before the rent. What man-child would repeatively get up before dawn to play a lottery to ride an attraction made for children?

No, you should expect even more nickel and dimeing regardless. Your expectations are irrelevant. You can expect anything you want.

 

[Phroobar]

I'd love to! I'd be nervous though, I've only been to Canada & Mexico, but my friend swears it's doable to travel to Beijing / Shanghai and not break the bank. Tokyo Disney is on my bucketlist.

I'd love to do Disneyland Paris but it would be a small part of such a trip. Tokyo would be a blast too not just for Disney Sea but also all the video game stores.

 

[NateD1226]

Absolutely! If I am going to spend my own time and money at their place, I better be getting great quality stuff. I feel like they have been getting better at things like listening to what people want, but they still have a lot to go. I don't want to sound like I am blaming this all on one person, but Iger has a lot to do with this. IMO, I don't think he has that strong connection with the parks like some of us do. All he cares about is the money. With all the money him and the company is collecting, cast members should be getting paid WAY more than what they are getting now and us, the guests, should be getting much more than crappy food and half finished work.

 

[drizgirl]

I actually have found lowering my expectations to be a key part of enjoying a Disney trip recently.

 

[PirateFrank]

But is it okay to expect more from Disney?...

...And what has happened to our park & culture in that people are seemingly getting nastier?

I want to focus on just two of your questions, and bring in a third....is it ok to pay significantly more than inflation/COLA (cost of living adjustment) year after year and expect the same or less?

these three questions really govern pretty much everything else above.

the cost of a Disney theme park ticket has pretty much doubled or tripled over the past 10-15 years. inflation has *not* paced these increases even remotely. The way I see it, it is absolutely OK to expect more from Disney. You’re paying three times for the same product you got in 2010. Your waiting on longer lines, your incidental costs are through the roof (food, air travel, parking, lodging)....and Disney has done nothing but make this product harder to enjoy through increased crowds, poor long-term planning, fastpass, gac abuses....don’t get me started about whatever idiot thought a ride like Rise of the resistance with its limited capacity was a good idea.

people see the degrading value in the product, endure the nauseating ticket prices and the natural reaction is to demand more. When they don’t get it, they get nasty/entitled. I don’t blame these people. I blame Disney for encouraging this culture through greed. At some point that nasty/entitled emotion is going to turn to apathy.

I see a critical mass coming. A day of reckoning. Disney, at some point is either going to have to cut ticket prices or they are going to start seeing massive fall offs of ticket sales. Last summer was a precursor to that. A warning. Sadly, RoTR will embolden them to not take action....but when the honeymoon of this new attraction dies off, attendance is going to hit the crapper again.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I want to focus on just two of your questions, and bring in a third....is it ok to pay significantly more than inflation/COLA (cost of living adjustment) year after year and expect the same or less?

these three questions really govern pretty much everything else above.

the cost of a Disney theme park ticket has pretty much doubled or tripled over the past 10-15 years. inflation has *not* paced these increases even remotely. The way I see it, it is absolutely OK to expect more from Disney. You’re paying three times for the same product you got in 2010. Your waiting on longer lines, your incidental costs are through the roof (food, air travel, parking, lodging)....and Disney has done nothing but make this product harder to enjoy through increased crowds, **** poor long-term planning, fastpass, gac abuses....don’t get me started about whatever idiot thought a ride like Rise of the resistance with its limited capacity was a good idea.

people see the degrading value in the product, endure the nauseating ticket prices and the natural reaction is to demand more. When they don’t get it, they get nasty/entitled. I don’t blame these people. I blame Disney for encouraging this culture through greed. At some point that nasty/entitled emotion is going to turn to apathy.

I see a critical mass coming. A day of reckoning. Disney, at some point is either going to have to cut ticket prices or they are going to start seeing massive fall offs of ticket sales. Last summer was a precursor to that. A warning. Sadly, RoTR will embolden them to not take action....but when the honeymoon of this new attraction dies off, attendance is going to hit the crapper again.

Well said!!

 

[Phroobar]

I actually have found lowering my expectations to be a key part of enjoying a Disney trip recently.

Sad thing is, it doesn't have to be that way. Before DCA, it was better. Before the dark times. Before Pressler.

 

[NateD1226]

I feel like the only good thing Disney has down in the Iger era was open Cars Land. Even though it didn't stick to the original theme, it is magnificently made. I would prefer going into Cars Land over SW:GE anytime. It really proves that not everything has to be on a big scale to impress us. I hope that they learned their lesson with SW:GE. Use the money wisely and listen to what the people want, and we will be happy.

 

[Phroobar]

I feel like the only good thing Disney has down in the Iger era was open Cars Land. Even though it didn't stick to the original theme, it is magnificently made. I would prefer going into Cars Land over SW:GE anytime. It really proves that not everything has to be on a big scale to impress us. I hope that they learned their lesson with SW:GE. Use the money wisely and listen to what the people want, and we will be happy.

Even Cars Land could have been better with a mini autopia and Sci-fi a drive in restaurant.

 

[Disney Analyst]

It really depends for me. Everyone has different and varying expectations, and I believe we always should expect quality from Disney, but some have (dare I say) very unrealistic expectations. Not naming any names on these forums.

 

[shambolicdefending]

But is it okay to expect more from Disney?

The customer is always right.

It's the most enduring principle of business. You are the customer. You are the sole and final judge of every product or service you have an opportunity to purchase. You are free to set your expectations wherever you wish, and choose your patronage accordingly.

Of course, everybody else also has that same independent right and may choose to set expectations in a different place than yours. They shouldn't have to apologize for their expectations any more than you should.

 

[Kram Sacul]

It really depends for me. Everyone has different and varying expectations, and I believe we always should expect quality from Disney, but some have (dare I say) very unrealistic expectations. Not naming any names on these forums.

You mean the naive people that look at the early concept art and totally expect it be just like that?

 

[Curious Constance]

Oh brother.

 

[D.Silentu]

I do think it is fine to expect more and it really seems as though Disney is promoting those expectations by the gaps they create. Essentially, if the experience is measurably greater in the past but the ticket prices are higher now, then fan expectations are righteous. As every arguable improvement to the park, even the restoration of suspended features, becomes a premise for price raising I'm not sure if any other attitude is reasonable. However, at the same time it is important that we acknowledge the fact that these are flaws that can be temporarily overlooked as we all enjoy visiting the parks from time to time.