Ahhhhh the good old days

[Missin_Disney]

Hi Guys :wave:

I was reading one of the many guide books i have at home the other day dated 1988............and i thought to myself, was the WDW better then than it is now??

I mean EPCOT was what it was supposed to be, technology, information future, world nations - not a character in site!!

Magic Kingdom, there were places you could get a table service breakfast without it being a character meal, it all seamed simpler. And you didnt get the feeling that all it was about was money (even though it was)

MGM was just about to open and all the excitement that went with it. Animal Kingdom was but a twinkle lol

Pleasure Island was just opening and the first time i visited there it was just amzing.................not like now!!

Now im not saying that i no longer enjoy my visits, far from it, i still love coming to WDW but it just seemed better in the olden days.

I hope this makes sence...............discuss.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Like anywhere else in the world, WDW has to change with the times in order to survive - if demand dictates that people prefer a character meal then Disney opens another character venue. Most things work (but not all) - its called progress

 

[llrain]

Couldnt agree with you more. I think that todays younger generation is much different than when we were younger. Now its more about reality and hip hop and American Idol.
The money thing:
But most of all Corporate greed has taken over just about every company
and its evident at Disney and you are correct, they used to hide it benig all about money, now they are blantently rubbing it in the faces of us, those who can tell, not the average citizen who will only see disney once in their lives.
I work in the utility industry, the Electric company that you have no choice but to use us. In the midst of a horrible recession we could have hiked the rates but for the second straight year we have not touched the rates explaining to the consumer it is because of the economy. Our company chose not to raise rates but to look out for the customer.
Disney is not doing that and keep raising em year after year, just plain greed.

People and generations affecting the parks:
I do miss the old Disney, where you weren't distracted by cell phones everywhere, you did not rely on cell phones to display your wait times
and you actually utilized the wait boards at magic kingdom.
Ya, the days of responsible partons that didnt cut in line thinking they were entitled to. the days where patrons didn't complain over the dumbest things.
The days where being a street performer meant something and the little things mattered, now patrons walk by em as if an afterthought to get the the next ride.
One could go on and on.....but you are right, things used to be so simpler.

Hi Guys :wave:

I was reading one of the many guide books i have at home the other day dated 1988............and i thought to myself, was the WDW better then than it is now??

I mean EPCOT was what it was supposed to be, technology, information future, world nations - not a character in site!!

Magic Kingdom, there were places you could get a table service breakfast without it being a character meal, it all seamed simpler. And you didnt get the feeling that all it was about was money (even though it was)

MGM was just about to open and all the excitement that went with it. Animal Kingdom was but a twinkle lol

Pleasure Island was just opening and the first time i visited there it was just amzing.................not like now!!

Now im not saying that i no longer enjoy my visits, far from it, i still love coming to WDW but it just seemed better in the olden days.

I hope this makes sence...............discuss.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Now im not saying that i no longer enjoy my visits, far from it, i still love coming to WDW but it just seemed better in the olden days.

I hope this makes sence...............discuss.

Sometimes, in my darker moods, I feel as if the world's prettiest, most pleasant place has been taken over by a roving band of Philistines - by which I mean both the company and the guests.

There's no doubt that Disney was a more elegant, more mature, more upscale and even more tranquil place. Now it is loud and abrassive.

They took a high-end department store and turned it into Walmart.


Ah well...in thirty years time, when WDW will feature 'Sleepy and Bashful's interactive Dwarf Tossing contest!' on Main Street, it will be today's youngsters who'll complain about the current WDW having provided a more classy vacation experience.

 

[Missin_Disney]

Thanks for your input guys.

I wasnt trying to be critical of Walt Disney World, hey i still love the place, its just nostalgia i guess.

Things always seem better when looking back.

Oh and there was no Fastpass, Wand or Stitch either hehehehe

 

[Larry Mondello]

Sometimes, in my darker moods, I feel as if the world's prettiest, most pleasant place has been taken over by a roving band of Philistines - by which I mean both the company and the guests.

There's no doubt that Disney was a more elegant, more mature, more upscale and even more tranquil place. Now it is loud and abrassive.

They took a high-end department store and turned it into Walmart.


Ah well...in thirty years time, when WDW will feature 'Sleepy and Bashful's interactive Dwarf Tossing contest!' on Main Street, it will be today's youngsters who'll complain about the current WDW having provided a more classy vacation experience.

Indeed! It's as if the prophecy of this movie is being fulfilled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

 

[Chrononymous]

I agree. I too have all my old guide books from the late 80's forward (both official and non official guides)
and while there is so much more to do and see and experience now...it seems to have lost a bit of innocence in the growing years of it's expansion.

 

[Dizzy Whirled]

I find the honesty of this discussion refreshing. I was beginning to think remarks of this sort simply would not be tolerated on these boards.

I have been going to Disney World since the early 70s, and I cannot tell you how I miss the relatively simple pleasures of vacationing there, back in the day. Back then, Disney was a class act in every respect. And the guests seemed to sense this and behaved accordingly.

On my last trip to Disney -- granted, during peak season -- the crowds were overwhelming, and it quickly became apparent that the discounts offered to attract recession vacationers had succeeded well beyond Disney's ability to maintain the quality for which it is known. And not to sound snide or elitist, but you younger readers who never had the chance to go to Disney "back in the day," you truly do not know how nice it was.

But now ... I think back to June and recall how every attraction that uses a conveyor belt to feed guests onto omnimover vehicles displayed a collection of trash rolling rolling rolling at the head of the belt -- the last thing you'd pass before entering the darkness of the attraction.

And you see, that never used to happen.

Now I know that by saying this, I risk replies along the lines of "I just ignore that sort of thing and try to have fun." Accompanied by a shrugging emoticon.

That's fine. But excuse me for living long enough to know what has been lost.

Pardon me if that makes a difference in how I perceive the place.

And understand that it wouldn't matter to me if I did not love Disney the way I do.

 

[foreverbelle]

I haven't been going for as long, and when I did go in the 80's it was as a child so I don't remember to much. But I can see what you guys are saying and I am sad that I didn't get to see Disney as it was back then.

 

[WishIwasThere]

I totally agree with the OP. It was a 'better' time back then. I was actually living in Orlando at the time. WDW was simpler back then. Two parks to worry about. Only the Poly, CR, Golf/Disney Inn for hotels, GF and CBR just opened. Swan, Dolphin, Y&B were all being built. MGM and Universal were still being built. All the original Epcot, sorry EPCOT, pavilions were in their prime. It was, it my opinion, a better time...that and I could get a one day pass for $25.

 

[janoimagine]

I totally agree with the OP. It was a 'better' time back then. I was actually living in Orlando at the time. WDW was simpler back then. Two parks to worry about. Only the Poly, CR, Golf/Disney Inn for hotels, GF and CBR just opened. Swan, Dolphin, Y&B were all being built. MGM and Universal were still being built. All the original Epcot, sorry EPCOT, pavilions were in their prime. It was, it my opinion, a better time...that and I could get a one day pass for $25.

Life was simpler back then wasn't it? I remember the $25 one day pass too. I think I still have one in my nightstand drawer.

 

[Mouse Man]

I have never been to WDW in peak season. We always go late September to Mid October. Lines are pretty short, parks are very clean and I can get dinning reservations for most of the places I want to eat pretty easy. Yes places like LeCellar and such I do need to plan prior to my arrival. but for the most part havenever really experienced rude or bad behavior during this time frame. Now I remember going to Disney World when Space Mountian first opened. I was in 5th grade and my sister and her soon to be husband took me on a two weeks vacation with them. I remeber going on Space Mountain with my brother-in law and was completely in awe. The second time we rode the ride I still coul'nt take it all in. We were in line for a third time about 20 feet from getting on when the ride broke down and they had to turn the light on to take the people off the ride. I also remeber the Pan Am ride and of course loved the COP. THe HM and Pirates were just so cool. I remember a small little movie theater that you had to sit on the floor and you watched steam boat willy. Now there was a really cool candy store that sold nothing but those old time great big lolly pops. Yes I know those were the days, but coming forward evolving I feel the only thing that is missing is that epople while on vacation needs to slow down and stop and smell the roses and have just a tad more manors and follow the old rule "treat others like you would like to be treated" you just might see that old time feeling come back if these two things were followed.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

Another day another "Disney World was better when I was little" thread :lol:
Though I gotta agree on the part about Patrons. People today are so stupid and self centered.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Nostalgia is not what it used to be

 

[jakeman]

The golden age is never the current age.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I haven't been going for as long, and when I did go in the 80's it was as a child so I don't remember to much. But I can see what you guys are saying and I am sad that I didn't get to see Disney as it was back then.

Times change, people change, there's the nostalgia factor too - some true and deserved, some false.

WDW is still great. Lots of things didn't exist at all, or have improved.
For example, the Magic Kingdom does not feature visual jokes about women being raped for sport anymore (Pirates). Times change. Us old farts are not here to tell newer visitors that the present WDW sucks. It doesn't.

But some things have been lost over the years too. WDW was a more 'innocent' experience. And not all of the lost innocence can be attributed to mere inevitable changes in taste and in society in general.

For example:
- The decline of Main Street. The generations before us saw real life Mainstreets succumb to commercial pressures. That is why an idealized Main Street was build in Disney. Alas, in a streak of bitter irony, Disney's idealized Main Street was vandalized too. 'Specialty' shops and entertainment were driven out, in real life and in the Disney parks, to make way for large commercial enterprises. The cinema used to show silent movies, Steamboat Willy. MS West was a gorgeous flower market. The Penny Arcade had marvellous turn-of-the-century machines. All were destroyed to make way for more merchandise.
- Merchandise has become more generic. Specialty shopping experiences used to be all over the place. Now, virtually non-existent. One has a more surprising and entertaining shopping experience by turning into a new aisle at Walmart.
- Characters had a limited presence. Nowadays, characters burp you in your face.
- The entrance of EPCOT was formed of splendid flower bassins, topped off by a great sculture in the fountain. Then, to make a quick buck, it was sold for scrap to allow guests to leave their tag on a set of walls resembling a war memorial. I love the concept of LAL in itself, but the seling off of such a beautiful entrance to make a short term profit was an act of cynicism and vandalism.

 

[Imagineer3000]

Before I make this post I admit that I was born 1993 and can only remember Disney from 2002 on and only know what I read in old vacation books, in old vacation movies, and old commercials. With that being said I continue with my post. I know it's natural to look back at old times with nostalgia, but from where I see it, although you lose something, in the end you usually gain more. For example, Characters in toontown fair (I know it's gone, but they'll probobly make something like it again)
What was lost:
The magic of randomly meeting one of the characters from your childhood

What was gained:
Knowing where and when the characters are, and centrilizing them, making it easier for families.

Also generally things turn out better, and never forget the fact that Disney is a businees, albeit a business that makes money off of caring for guests, but still a business that has to make money, so don't be too suprised when prices are raised or a gift shop is created.

I leave you with a quote from the man himself

"Keep moving forward" Walt Disney

 

[DisneyNut2007]

People today are so stupid and self centered.

That very statement is also extremely true about the fanboys that enjoy putting down every new thing that Disney has done over the past 10+ years. :hammer: