Rickcat96
Well-Known Member
Do you think the new pricing model will survive the next 12 months? I dont know-even more expensive and less service, I believe they already spent the last of the good will that was left.
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Disney CEO Bob Iger says there has never been a better time to be a Disney fan
- Thread starter Winegent61
- Start date
Joel
Well-Known Member
They replaced FastPass+ with something you have to pay for and most people find to be far inferior (what a cool "experiment"!), and the train (which never should have been closed for that long) is running! You're right, what a time to be alive!
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Birnbaum was/is the official guide. There was also the widely-advertised phone number, 407-WDISNEY. Travel agencies also existed to answer questions.
Bottom line, no matter how much you want to argue equivalence, visiting the parks was far less confusing for guests before the Magic Your Way pass system took effect. It’s only gotten more confusing and less user-friendly since then.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
I'm not saying those things are great. The parks are not in the best shape they've ever been in. I'm saying that for me, those negatives are somewhat balanced out by a bunch of stuff you seem to be dismissive of.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Oof, I was confused! Not sure which one we checked out from the library when we went, but it read like promotional material for every single thing at WDW.
I'm saying that for my college-educated, Disneyland-frequenting, travel-savvy family it was confusing. (BTW, in CA we literally never saw any advertisements for WDW.)
My perspective is this: Travel agencies still exist, updated guide books are still available. Third-party services abound. But if a regular guest (not a super-fan, AP-holder, frequent visitor) uses MDE and takes it at face value, a WDW vacation is about as confusing as it ever was.
Birnbaum’s was the official guide. Bought it, read it, used it and never had a problem getting around in the half-dozen trips we took between 77-91. Maybe because we only started staying on-property in 1991?
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I was confused. The one we checked out from our public library in 1989 was a different one. I'm sure we probably chose it based on the cover, but it read like promotional material.
I distinctly remember the guide telling us about this must-do exhibit in the Wonders of Life pavilion where you could touch pipes that were too hot and too cold for humans because it tricked your brain.
We literally waited in line for this.
Skibum1970
Well-Known Member
In all honesty, I don't know either. I think that Iger will try to continue riding the wave of people attending the parks, in the hopes that it won't end for the next year or two. Thus, he and his team can focus on the other divisions. I can't completely fault him for that as the company has other larger issues that do need addressed.
With that said, I think that it could be a mistake to completely ignore the parks. I believe that the parks are a bit of a mess, especially with Genie+. The parks also need more rides (not in MK but in DHS and AK) added that bring in significant capacity and that don't need to be cutting edge. Maintenance and other areas also need attention. They can probably count on another year of good park results, though, unless a recession does hit. Attendance does not appear to be slowing down yet, although I'm basing that on ride wait times and when looking at trying to book at hotels. I don't have any insider knowledge about that. In listening to their earnings calls, the parks are profitable and Wall Street will focus on the underperforming sectors before exhibiting confidence, as shown by stock prices increasing (although, I did notice that some investment managers believe that the overall downturn in the stock market depressed Disney's stock).
They run the risk of focusing on what the right hand is doing while ignoring that their left hand might be in danger, though.
VJ
Well-Known Member
you're gonna have so many 80s epcot fans on your case in 3... 2... 1...
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
From a theme parks perspective, roughly the early 80s through the early 90s was overall probably the best time to be a fan. And I only say probably because I wasn't alive while the Disney brothers themselves were running the show. According to my mom (who is in her 70s and did visit during that era), the 50s to early/mid 70s were the absolute pinnacle of upkeep. But within my own life time, I can attest that the parks were far higher quality 30-35 years ago than they are today.
Disneyland got a stunning Fantasyland rebuild in 83 and continued to get quality additions through 1995. Peoplemover was still in operation, and the Star Jets were in their proper place. Past the mid 90s was when things started to fall apart at DL. Tomorrowland was ruined. Maintenance went down the toilet and eventually got people killed. And while upkeep improved during the 50th, Iger fired the person in charge of the cleanup, and it is on its way back down the toilet again. If Snow White's recent changes are any indication, I'm hesitant to trust them with future "overhauls" too.
Magic Kingdom was also still in pretty great shape up until late 1994. It got Spectromagic in 1991 (IMO still the best night parade of all time in terms of length, music and float design). Splash in 92 (which in its prime was also the best version of the ride IMO). 20k Leagues was still in operation up until 94. Tomorrowland had a much better and cohesive theme until its 94 redesign (which has only grown worse as time went on). EPCOT was still in its prime up until late 94 and received pretty much universally good additions prior to that. MGM Studios was new and we got Tower of Terror in mid 94. While I do consider Animal Kingdom a great park, by the time it started construction and opened, the rest of WDW property was in rapid decline and had suffered some severe losses. Particularly EPCOT. AK wasn't a remotely acceptable trade-off for the damage done elsewhere at WDW. If I could turn back the clock at WDW to like the late 93 to mid 94 era and prevent the damage that occurred after, I would be glad to do so. And if the price to pay was that AK wouldn't be built, then so be it. I'd also warn Frank Wells not to board that airplane...
The food quality, especially in EPCOT, was also far superior in that era to what it is today. Despite prices also being far more reasonable. I gather from reports from friends that this quality continued into the early 2000s. I can attest that with the exception of the extremely expensive high end restaurants (or certain ones operated by third parties such as Via Napoli), food quality across WDW property has been quite poor throughout the 2010s onward. And is still getting worse. Morocco was a rare exception (even Tangerine Cafe, until Covid happened). Hotels were immensely better maintained, cleaner, superior service/amenities and were also cheaper etc (Polynesian still had its beautiful water feature too). The monorails weren't falling apart with air conditioning that stinks like an elephant cage. Overall every aspect of the WDW property was far better maintained, cleaned etc.
Disneyland Paris was/is also a stunningly beautiful park and opened in 1992. I was lucky to have experienced it back when it was still pristine. I'm glad to hear reports that it is being better kept up again these days after suffering through a very very ugly era of mismanagement. I've even heard it's currently better maintained than either American resort. Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 and remains the last bastion of true classic Disney quality today. That includes the stunning Disneysea, which Frank Wells had a massive hand in pushing for prior to his death.
Disneyland got a stunning Fantasyland rebuild in 83 and continued to get quality additions through 1995. Peoplemover was still in operation, and the Star Jets were in their proper place. Past the mid 90s was when things started to fall apart at DL. Tomorrowland was ruined. Maintenance went down the toilet and eventually got people killed. And while upkeep improved during the 50th, Iger fired the person in charge of the cleanup, and it is on its way back down the toilet again. If Snow White's recent changes are any indication, I'm hesitant to trust them with future "overhauls" too.
Magic Kingdom was also still in pretty great shape up until late 1994. It got Spectromagic in 1991 (IMO still the best night parade of all time in terms of length, music and float design). Splash in 92 (which in its prime was also the best version of the ride IMO). 20k Leagues was still in operation up until 94. Tomorrowland had a much better and cohesive theme until its 94 redesign (which has only grown worse as time went on). EPCOT was still in its prime up until late 94 and received pretty much universally good additions prior to that. MGM Studios was new and we got Tower of Terror in mid 94. While I do consider Animal Kingdom a great park, by the time it started construction and opened, the rest of WDW property was in rapid decline and had suffered some severe losses. Particularly EPCOT. AK wasn't a remotely acceptable trade-off for the damage done elsewhere at WDW. If I could turn back the clock at WDW to like the late 93 to mid 94 era and prevent the damage that occurred after, I would be glad to do so. And if the price to pay was that AK wouldn't be built, then so be it. I'd also warn Frank Wells not to board that airplane...
The food quality, especially in EPCOT, was also far superior in that era to what it is today. Despite prices also being far more reasonable. I gather from reports from friends that this quality continued into the early 2000s. I can attest that with the exception of the extremely expensive high end restaurants (or certain ones operated by third parties such as Via Napoli), food quality across WDW property has been quite poor throughout the 2010s onward. And is still getting worse. Morocco was a rare exception (even Tangerine Cafe, until Covid happened). Hotels were immensely better maintained, cleaner, superior service/amenities and were also cheaper etc (Polynesian still had its beautiful water feature too). The monorails weren't falling apart with air conditioning that stinks like an elephant cage. Overall every aspect of the WDW property was far better maintained, cleaned etc.
Disneyland Paris was/is also a stunningly beautiful park and opened in 1992. I was lucky to have experienced it back when it was still pristine. I'm glad to hear reports that it is being better kept up again these days after suffering through a very very ugly era of mismanagement. I've even heard it's currently better maintained than either American resort. Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 and remains the last bastion of true classic Disney quality today. That includes the stunning Disneysea, which Frank Wells had a massive hand in pushing for prior to his death.
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Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
There's never been a better time to be a Disney HATER, it would seem.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
I don’t hate Disney, but they sure keep giving us things to become more and more frustrated about unfortunately
bcoachable
Well-Known Member
Random thought- I wonder if there has been no replacement for a nighttime parade B/C the congestion in the park renders them an unsafe re - introduction. This would be another case for expansion… Things moving towards blue sky ideas like this would make the place feel as if it was never a better time to be a park fan…
If that’s how I feel then I’d be vacationing elsewhere.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Many are beginning to or will after their post Covid trip and experiencing genie+, park reservations, no magical express, no dining plan, higher prices, more frequent ride down times, etc etc
