Back in the day...

[mcurtiss]

I'm fairly certain that on our first two trips, all my parents reserved was Hoop-Dee-Do and the Empress Lilly breakfast. Maybe the Polynesian dinner show? it certainly wasn't as orchestrated as it has to be today.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I've thought about this and while I agree that seeing it through adult eyes vs. how it was to us as kids is part of it...I think knowledge can breed a certain amount of disappointment. Cliché as it may sound...ignorance is bliss. Of course- nostalgic attachment has some blame in this too.

People step foot in the Disney parks every day for the first time ever and most find it amazingly magical. I'm sure most of us fanatics would love to be able to experience this first time feeling again - sort of chasing the dragon WDW style - but we've been so many times and seen so much that we've sort of opened Pandora's box. That leaves us with questioning changes and asking ourselves...is it so much that these changes are for the worse to the point of giving up or are we too caught up in nostalgia, inflexibility and personal opinions on things to be able to appreciate what goodness/greatness is still there as well as being created? Contrary to popular belief- there is no right answer to this. Some people may be so bothered about changes that they opt to abandon it altogether while others may harbor some disappointment but still be able to see that it's a place they can go and have an amazing time.

I've been going since the mid80s and while there are things that disappoint me, some of which are to the point where I'll passionately complain...the reality is that I still love going. I mean, I miss things sorely like the original Imagination and Horizons and would love to see their respective returns, but their individual disappearances don't prevent me from having a magical WDW trip with my family. My kids didn't start going to WDW until 2010, but seeing it through the eyes of our children made me realize that for me at least- it's all about making great memories with those that I love most.

 

[copcarguyp71]

- Dedication to guest satisfaction
- No closed down buildings
- Regular major attraction refurbs
- Less crowds (sign of the times I suppose)
- All effects working 100%
- No emphasis on DVC (actually no DVC)
- Cast members paid for and encouraged to share/foster the magic
- MUCH less emphasis on stockholder satisfaction over guest satisfaction
- Less Moichandising/Whimsy taking precedence over product sales
- No alcohol in parks (sorry, I enjoy a beer or ultimate margarita as much..maybe more than the next guy but it is true)
- No overlays...original and groundbreaking ideas everywhere. Imagineers running rampant (YAY!)
- No DDP...we DO IN FACT take advantage of it but nonetheless it has been the #1 reason for decline in dining quality IMO.

I gave myself a five minute limit on this response....there you have it.

OK...I am going back on my word...
- No 180 Day ADR's
- No crane 3 months out of the year in every dang picture of the castle

 

[Nemo14]

I was not a kid back then, but the parks, EPCOT specifically, were just such an awesome experience back then. Attention to detail, intelligent well-maintained exhibits, amazing music, beautiful gardens,...the list goes on and on. But if you never experienced it, you can never really understand what you've missed.

 

[TubaGeek]

One of the big things, I think, is MOMENTUM. Ignoring price, there's a lot more to do now than there was then. However, there was an excitement back then because things were held to a higher caliber and there were more exciting projects in the pipeline.

 

[bethymouse]

I would have to agree with @75disney . The size of Disney World in Florida has become amazingly overwhelming!

 

[Kuzcotopia]

One of my strongest memories was sitting at home, pouring over the park maps. I liked planning what I wanted to do, even then. Was I a weird, obsessive kid, or did anyone else do that?

I had maps from around 1979, and several from the 80s for both MK and Epcot. Someday I need to comb through my Mom's garage. I'll bet they're still in there somewhere, wrinked and dog-eared beyond recognition.

 

[flynnibus]

they called it the 'vacation kingdom of the world' for a reason

Now it's just the 'money grab kingdom of the world'

 

[MaryMcMagic]

I remember going in the mid-70's. There was Smucker's in MK as well as See's Candies on Main St... When Starbuck's was announced last year, there was a grumble heard around the world. I don't mind it at all. To me, those store fronts were nostalgic and unique in comparison to the same old thing in every location or eatery in the parks. I'm all over the place in my thoughts, but I guess what I'm saying is, I miss uniqueness and differences from one shop to another, one eatery to another, one park to another. It's getting less homogenized again, and I like it.

 

[Communicore]

It was EPCOT Center and not Epcot theme park.

 

[Robin Of Loxley]

DuckTales was shown on TV every weekday afternoon. All was well with the world back then.

(That catchy, nostalgic theme song is going through your head right now. If you say it isn't, you're only kidding yourself).

 

[AdventureHasAName]

If you didn't experience it you wouldn't get it.

Probably.

I started typing, then decided to scroll down to make sure I wasn't rehashing what had already been said over and over again ... then I saw this post and said "This probably sums it up best," and deleted what I had originally wrote.

I will say, however, to say it's simply nostalgia or youth-bias would be incredibly wrong, imho. There are stark differences between pre-1994 WDW and post-1994 WDW.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Ive only ever seen it as an adult so my perception of declining standards is not skewed by that influence. The fact that there are fewer attractions and diversions at MK is incontestable, yes AK has been added but that too has seen little expansion activity since its arrival 15 years ago, Epcot = fewer attractions, Studios probably breaks even in attractions but is a shell of what was on offer a decade ago.
The food was fine during our first trip so I cant tell if it cyclical, all I know is the prices are too high for the product being offered and the menus aimed at the mac and tenders brigade with Michelin star prices.
There are alternatives, I now choose to take them.

 

[Disney Shib]

Nostalgia definitely plays a role in why I think people feel Disney is "loosing it's magic" and "declining" or whatever. A Disney vacation was simpler 15-20 years ago. Yes, maybe you needed dining reservations for a few places but it wasn't completely unheard of not to have them. There was something about not having to plan every single detail that made WDW feel more like a vacation destination then a battle for FP+ and dining reservations. I'm a planner. I always have been. I find magic in that so for me the aspect of preparing in advance doesn't take anything out of my vacation but i'm sure for some it does. I don't understand why people harp so much on buildings that are empty or attractions that once were. I am one who is also guilty of this and i'll admit it. However, when I sit back and really think about it I can honestly say that each trip i've experienced in recent years i've been able to try something new whether it be a restaurant, an attraction or even a hotel and i've been able to find some sort of new "magic" through that. I'm not saying lower your expectations because for the constant increasing prices no one should we expected to do that but if you stopped for a moment, slowed down and really took in everything around you I think you would see there is alot more to Disney than just increased prices, rude guests and declining parks. You're going to experience what you want to experience. But hey, if you want to keep over anaylzing the place, stop going and free up some dining and FP+ reservations for the rest of us lol.

 

[Susan Savia]

It seems like you have to reserve everything...a dining reservation, a FP to go on a ride or see a parade etc. What happened to just planning your trip and going and just having a good time without having every single minute of it mapped out. Next thing, you'll have to book a ride on the monorail in advance. Our familiy doesn't use the FP+ system and it's rare that we have a dining reservation and we have a fantastic time just the same.

 

[Master Yoda]

It seems like you have to reserve everything...a dining reservation, a FP to go on a ride or see a parade etc. What happened to just planning your trip and going and just having a good time without having every single minute of it mapped out. Next thing, you'll have to book a ride on the monorail in advance. Our familiy doesn't use the FP+ system and it's rare that we have a dining reservation and we have a fantastic time just the same.

It went out the window when the 4 parks combined total annual attendance approached nearly 50 million.

 

[FerretAfros]

To me, a huge part of it is the Disney branding around every turn. The things that I remember as being incredible were things where Disney took ‘generic’ concepts and presented them in a high-quality engaging format like only Disney could. Things like Big Thunder, World Showcase, and (to a lesser extent) the MGM studio tours really lit up my imagination and let me believe that anything was possible; now it’s all tied into characters and franchises that I’ve seen countless times before, so it’s just not as exciting as something completely new

Now, it seems like it’s more of a place where you can go down a checklist to experience things you already know, and have been branded Disney just in case you forgot. Instead of learning new things and having new experiences in WDW, it seemed to be designed to spark nostalgia and remind you of old experiences, whether from previous visits or from recognizable characters around every corner. And just in case you’ve somehow missed the Disney-branded magic, they’ve titled everything to constantly remind you: Disney Dining Plan, Disney FastPass+, Disney’s Magical Express.

It also seemed like there was a lot more development going on, so there was always something to look forward to. Granted, I visit more often now (plus everything is ‘new’ on your first visit) and do a much better job of following the news between visits, but when we get a single attraction every 3-5 years, it’s a lot less exciting than something new for each park every year or so.

Plus there’s that whole being a kid thing. Additional nostalgia, increased sense of wonder and awe, and having no sense of finances certainly color my memories of those early visits

 

[lunchbox1175]

For me it is the lack of updating, I guess it mostly applies to Epcot for me. I just feel like it is supposed to be an area for learning and exploring the present and future, and it bothers me that the technology represented is mostly from the past, as well as I would like to see the nations in the World Showcase made a little more current.

 

[wedway71]

Big difference was as a Kid... did not have to pay for it.

But for real.. I will say, I do hear about lack of upkeep over the years BUT... in almost every photo I have, there is some chip in the paint or some other issue. The pics I am talking about span from early 70's all the way to recent.

Has Disney really slipped or are we just spending more time looking for imperfections with the help of Disney sites?

 

[Figaro928]

These boards are heaving with comments referring to 'the good old days' or something similar.

My question to you all is... What made Disney that much more magical in its heyday in comparison to now?

I was younger more fun-going and less cynical.....