50 MAGICal Enhancements for the 50th ...

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
Universal is better than it was a decade ago.

And the several Six Flags that I visited are way better today than they were in 1970s and 1980s.

This is sometimes referred to as "The Disney Effect". Disney's historically superior quality has caused the competition to step up their games.

Funny thing about being the front runner; you start to assume you will remain in the lead no matter what you do.

Ask the Atlanta Falcons how that worked out. ;)

Nice to see Disney once again behave like they have to work to earn my business. :)

Yeah, I can see your point on some of those. However, as a CA native, I can assure you that Magic Mountain, Knott's, Great America, Sea World, and Marine World were in much better shape back in the 80's and early 90's (they all went off a cliff in the late 90's and have never recovered- though Knott's is doing their best effort to clean the place up, Raffi really saved that park from total ruin IMO, sad he's gone now). I did not visit many Six Flags parks until around the late 90's, and they were/still are dumps. I've been to all of them multiple times, and besides a few oddball exceptions, I hope to never set foot in any of them ever again unless they clean up their current act. Six Flags America is literally THE.WORST.PARK.ON.EARTH- I've given the place 3 chances and it's gone downhill from there.

Anyway, I do understand and agree with your notion that Disney should feel a bit of industry heat brewing and respond accordingly. Still though, they seem to be coasting to quite a bit of business without trying if you want to look at it that way. And for the most part, that's what they've been doing according to the armchair imagineers/managers here. Still, I view the billions in infrastructure as them working to earn my dollar. New retail, dining, ease of use, transportation and other stuff may not matter to you, but they're doing that for somebody's dollar (mine included). RIdes are of course appreciated too and luckily many are on the way (finally). Billions are being invested all over the resort, every park has a major project underway or will shortly. More rooms are being added, hotels are being constantly refurbished (again, some people say that the refurbs are diminishing their offerings- we'll have to see what occupancy and pricing looks like to see if that's earning/losing them other people's dollar, too). Disney Springs completely crushes what used to be there in my book too.

Go Pats! So lucky to have a wife from New England so I could conveniently hitch my fandom wagon to the Patriots train all those years ago. Still a loyal Eagles fan, but it's just so difficult to root for such ineptitude. That and the Micheal Vick thing, which made it very convenient to simply watch the Patriots winning games while Philly imploded yet again! :happy:
 
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Bocabear

Well-Known Member
So... it was more of a generic shopping mall with a few craft stores back then? Is that supposed to be better or worse now? Because whenever more Disney is inserted into the Springs, people say "OH GAWD, NOT ANOTHER DISNEY STORE". And yet, when they open a huge retail area largely devoid of any Disney content we instead hear "OH GAWD, NOT ANOTHER GENERIC SHOPPING MALL". They do entertainment like Cirque and the Bowling Alley and it's "OH GAWD, MORE TOURIST TRAP FODDER".

I get that some people despise the entire concept. That's fine. I hate shopping malls and I'm not much of a night life person. I love spending a few hours here and there at the Springs. If you don't enjoy your time there, WDW has plenty of other offerings that will probably suit your tastes.
The original LBV Shopping Village was not a generic mall at all...the shops were unique to the village. there were no chain stores at all. They had unusual things you could not find other places.. You could even buy aged steaks and fine wines. And the Disney store there was big for the time, but not even close to the craziness it is now. It was charming and intimate and somehow magical...tucked into the trees on a lake.. Beautiful architecture (for the time)... Now I like what they have done with Disney Springs, but it has WAY too many stores I can go to anywhere... it is less unique, the scale is gigantic...it is just a completely different place... Doesn't even resemble itself anymore.
 

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
I can buy aged steaks and wine at my shopping mall. ;)

Not doubting the intimacy or Disney Magic that the place had though. I get that same feeling about River Country. I guess my point is that a resort that draws tens of millions of people wasn't going to keep something like that. They're adapting the Springs to the demands of the modern customer. If people want that sort of stuff that was offered back in the 70's village era, they can pop over to Artegon (or they could have until it abruptly shut down a couple of months ago).
 

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
You couldn't back in 1974...
Shopping malls were very differnt back then...
and Luxury goods which are common place in every grocery store now were not widely available then...
in 1974 Produce was seasonal... you could not get things all year round... The world has changed since then in so many ways.

No doubt, but I'd expect Disney to adjust accordingly. What made LBV Village so special back then is commonplace now. What's special about the Springs now is the selection of Disney merch! ;) That and Earl of Sammich.

Apologies for the generic mall crack. It was unfair and untrue. But I still don't see any way that something like that could exist today.
 
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rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
Disney Springs is pretty incredible. Was there just last week and it was really nice to see it pretty much complete. They nailed it and I kinda feel like it's our "5th gate."

Um... no on that 5th gate notion. That's not even worth discussing it's such a bad notion.

Besides, it would be the 7th gate since water parks are now water "theme" parks, which are really just theme parks with water slides. :geek::banghead:

So it would be the 7th gate. :p
 

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
8th until DisneyQuest closes. It's an "indoor, interactive theme park," dontcha know?

OMG I'm an idiot. Totally forgot that one. But really, if DisneyQuest counts then we should probably just throw in the TTC too. There are more "rides" there anyway. Busses, boats, monorails, trams. For that matter, TTC might actually outnumber DHS in terms of "rides" if you count 3 monorails as different attractions. The villans and heroes trams could count at two attractions too. So DHS has 5 actual rides + a tram, whereas TTC has 3 different monorail "experiences", 2 tram "experiences", a city bus "experience", a MK bus "experience" and the ferry boat "experience". That settles it, TTC is more of a park than DHS. :cautious:

So I'm at 9 parks currently. Anyone have any other ideas?
 

PrincessJulia1207

Well-Known Member
It has absolutely been talked about as one of a few plusses that could happen.

I don't have any strong feeling for that. He became an Internet thing because he was a blink and you missed him piece of Anaheim history. I get why he was added there. We don't have the same history with Hattie in FL.
yeah but he wasn't in the plans for WDW because they couldn't get him to work in DL so they gave up on the concept
right?
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
OMG I'm an idiot. Totally forgot that one. But really, if DisneyQuest counts then we should probably just throw in the TTC too. There are more "rides" there anyway. Busses, boats, monorails, trams. For that matter, TTC might actually outnumber DHS in terms of "rides" if you count 3 monorails as different attractions. The villans and heroes trams could count at two attractions too. So DHS has 5 actual rides + a tram, whereas TTC has 3 different monorail "experiences", 2 tram "experiences", a city bus "experience", a MK bus "experience" and the ferry boat "experience". That settles it, TTC is more of a park than DHS. :cautious:

So I'm at 9 parks currently. Anyone have any other ideas?
World Of Disney store in Disney Springs...It is practically it's own theme park! ...count that one....
 

rioriz

Well-Known Member
Disney-Springs-Boat-House.jpg

Disney Springs Entertainment and Shopping Theme Park! It's a theme park like no other! It is founded on the belief that Springs Water is life and Money equals Joy. You can reveal wondrous surprises with a swipe of your credit card. The 7th Amazing Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort!
 

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
This thread is winning so much right now. Sorry for the derail, but it's been fun!

Maybe the "50 MAGICal Enhancements" is really Disney planning to have 50 parks by then? :cool:

BREAKING:
AMC Dining and a movie: it's practically a theme park!
"Virtual gaming experiences" at all of the resort arcades: it's practically a theme park (20 of them really)!

We still need more though. Gotta get to 50.
 

michmousefan

Well-Known Member
Universal is better than it was a decade ago.

And the several Six Flags that I visited are way better today than they were in 1970s and 1980s.

This is sometimes referred to as "The Disney Effect". Disney's historically superior quality has caused the competition to step up their games.

Good point... being a Cedar Fair guy, I have seen first-hand the many improvements and enhancements that Matt Ouimet has brought to just about all of their parks. Across the board – in terms of attractions/rides, food, entertainment and accommodations. They are lucky to have him.
 

RandySavage

Well-Known Member
Disney-Springs-Boat-House.jpg

Disney Springs Entertainment and Shopping Theme Park! It's a theme park like no other! It is founded on the belief that Springs Water is life and Money equals Joy. You can reveal wondrous surprises with a swipe of your credit card. The 7th Amazing Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort!
amazing!
 

WDWFanDave

Well-Known Member
I'm somewhere between you and @WDW1974. Don't know if you'd consider me a young whipper-snapper too! ;)

Part of what made WDW so special, especially in the 1970s, was the time. Between urban decay, Watergate, CIA revelations, the gas crisis, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Stagflation, and an endless stream of depressing news, it felt like the world was falling apart.

Unlike today, other amusement parks were skeevy places to visit. For someone from the Northeast, Disneyland was practically on the other side of the World.

When Walt Disney World opened, we finally had our own haven from the woes that so troubled us.

The old Disney was deeply committed to quality. When Epcot was in the works, executives were genuinely concerned about the quality of Cast Members, thinking they had already hired the best Florida had to offer.

In keeping with Walt's vision, shops were intended to be part of the entertainment, not sell the same generic merchandise found at local stores.

The commitment to quality was uncompromising. I've told the story of the chipped park bench my brother and friends found during one of our early trips. When we came back the next day, that chip had been repaired and the bench looked brand new.

I remember food being pretty bad though. I don't think that picked up until the 1990s.

Prices truly were much more affordable. After the opening of Epcot, a three-day theme park ticket cost today's equivalent of about $85. A tower room at the Contemporary could be booked for today's equivalent of around $200-250 per night depending on the season.

These were not cheap prices in the 1970s and 1980s; WDW was still the most expensive theme park in the United States. But these prices pale in comparison to today's WDW.

Although I am pleased to see WDW once again trending upward, it's got a long way to go before it will come close to its former glory.

I'll come clean and say that I celebrate my age right along with the Magic Kingdom :) So, I'm hopeful that the 50th for both of us is a great entry into 'middle age'!

I won't add anything further, as I think your articulation above is spot on.
 

rushtest4echo

Well-Known Member
Disney-Springs-Boat-House.jpg

Disney Springs Entertainment and Shopping Theme Park! It's a theme park like no other! It is founded on the belief that Springs Water is life and Money equals Joy. You can reveal wondrous surprises with a swipe of your credit card. The 7th Amazing Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort!

To be honest, I've seen description of malls that are close enough to that.

Ikspiari comes to mind. Some of their English marketing is hilarious.
 

csmat99

Well-Known Member
It wasn't gutted, it had an ending that didn't work well. The whole Vader part at the end was a last minute addition.
And that last minute addition was pure gold. Why can't they just make movie about Darth Vader going around kicking butt and ripping people apart? Not asking for much. Would make 1.5 billion might even challenge the big blue people for their box office belt.
 

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