Disney Disappointments

RScottyL

RScottyL

Well-Known Member
mousehockey37 said:
For myself, I would say the introducing of Starbucks into the parks is a pretty big disappointment.
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EXACTLY!

You would like to be able to go on vacation into this magical world away from reality, but as you mentioned, if they bring name brand places in, you are taken back to reality!

They at least could have changed the name in the park to:

"When you wish upon a Starbucks"!
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
mousehockey37 said:
Sitting here conversing with my DGF, we were talking about the food at Disney and saw an older picture of something you could get at the Main St. Bakery. With the renovations, that particular food item is no longer offered and it led me to posting this question:

What is one of the biggest disappointments from Disney?

For myself, I would say the introducing of Starbucks into the parks is a pretty big disappointment. From a business standpoint it's ingenious and they're making a killing off of it. From a person who is on vacation and trying to "escape reality" or at least in a way, alter the reality I'm in (even if just for a few days), it was fun when you saw shops and themed areas that sold items from now, but still fit in with the "lands" they were in. Not so with Starbucks. It's just like any other Starbucks anywhere... Just, inside the Disney Parks.

Another would be the lack of differentiating merchandise. On my trip last month, the day we arrived, we went to Downtown Disney. I went and window shopped to see what items were going to be out in the parks. Low and behold, we went to the parks in the following days and there was everything I saw at Downtown Disney! I said when we got back: For the toy monorails, instead of just selling 2 colors each year, why don't they sell all the train colors and the trains individually as well as in the big box set. If I want to collect all of them, I'd have to get the big set with all the track in it, EACH TIME! That gives me enough track to make probably a rather large scale real life version of the Express and Resort lines. If they just sold the train itself, without all the track included, people who already have enough monorail track at home would maybe be more inclined to purchase just the train to add onto the track they have.

I know there are threads on the my answers I used, but it's more the question I pose to everyone in the beginning. What's your biggest disappointment that you see or are starting to see?
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** I agree on the lack of differentiating merchandise, but would add the ever decreasing quality of the merchandise that is sold.
** Turning Main St. into one big enclosed strip mall by removing the Flower Vendors and Fruit Vendors that used to break up what is now the Emporium.
** I have no problem with Starbucks. My disappointment is in the selection and quality of the baked goods offered for sale in the last 5 -8 years or so.
** FP+ : Having to schedule your attractions months in advance instead of waking up at the resort and deciding what park to visit. I don't care what Disney Management says, this was a project done exclusively for their benefit, not the guests.
** The ever increasing price of food at table service resturants, especially buffets, while the number and types of offerings decrease at the same rate as the quality of the food.
** The removal of almost every shred of Disney identity from the lobby of the Contemporary Resort. Once you walk in the front door you could be in any Hyatt Hotel in the world and it would look the same.

Ok, that's enough for now. To sum it up, Ever increasing prices on ever decreasing quality across the board.
And yes, we still plan to go back eventually, but will first give our money to DCL and DLR.
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
rob0519 said:
** FP+ : Having to schedule your attractions months in advance instead of waking up at the resort and deciding what park to visit. I don't care what Disney Management says, this was a project done exclusively for their benefit, not the guests.
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I've thought and said for a long time now that Disney is just playing a real life, real time version of RollerCoaster Tycoon. This FP+ is just the start. I mean, like you said, when you schedule everything months in advance, you're basically giving them the crowd flow for the day, just months in advance with a few variables left out.
 
BJones82

BJones82

Well-Known Member
Endor Sightseer said:
Just as Weather_Lady alluded to above, EPCOT Center used to have a clear theme. It was a tribute to the best aspects of humanity and its accomplishments. Where we've come from, where we're going and who we are. Now it's about cartoons, food and booze, I guess? That Walt Disney Roddenberry-esque optimism and vision of a utopian future is all but gone! Even the newest park, Animal Kingdom, will soon abandon its theme of the planet Earth and its creatures for a ******* fictional movie alien world.
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you do realize AK was "ORIGINALLY" supposed to have a dragon area which was based off fictional monsters right? Just like 90% of all plans change this is how this plan changed because of corporate sponsors and everything else that goes into making a big decision in a multi-billion dollar company
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
Just the fact that the sense of "Disney magic" has left the building. Things are too cookie cutter now, adding movie and merchandise tie-ins, cutting back on unique and worthwhile entertainment, selling out (in a more obvious way at least) to the likes of Starbucks, etc. It's like they gave up on trying.
 
H

Hockey89

Well-Known Member
mousehockey37 said:
Sitting here conversing with my DGF, we were talking about the food at Disney and saw an older picture of something you could get at the Main St. Bakery. With the renovations, that particular food item is no longer offered and it led me to posting this question:

What is one of the biggest disappointments from Disney?

For myself, I would say the introducing of Starbucks into the parks is a pretty big disappointment. From a business standpoint it's ingenious and they're making a killing off of it. From a person who is on vacation and trying to "escape reality" or at least in a way, alter the reality I'm in (even if just for a few days), it was fun when you saw shops and themed areas that sold items from now, but still fit in with the "lands" they were in. Not so with Starbucks. It's just like any other Starbucks anywhere... Just, inside the Disney Parks.

Another would be the lack of differentiating merchandise. On my trip last month, the day we arrived, we went to Downtown Disney. I went and window shopped to see what items were going to be out in the parks. Low and behold, we went to the parks in the following days and there was everything I saw at Downtown Disney! I said when we got back: For the toy monorails, instead of just selling 2 colors each year, why don't they sell all the train colors and the trains individually as well as in the big box set. If I want to collect all of them, I'd have to get the big set with all the track in it, EACH TIME! That gives me enough track to make probably a rather large scale real life version of the Express and Resort lines. If they just sold the train itself, without all the track included, people who already have enough monorail track at home would maybe be more inclined to purchase just the train to add onto the track they have.

I know there are threads on the my answers I used, but it's more the question I pose to everyone in the beginning. What's your biggest disappointment that you see or are starting to see?
Click to expand...
They needed starbucks bc the coffee at Disney sucks...Awful...Not drinkable...
 
DVCOwner

DVCOwner

A Long Time DVC Member
My disappointment is always that Walt Disney World relies to much on buses to move people around the park property. I know expanding the monorail may cost to much, but other forms of transportation could be used. How about street cars on light rail or something else that might add to the Magic?
 
MattOrk

MattOrk

New Member
BoarderPhreak said:
Just the fact that the sense of "Disney magic" has left the building. Things are too cookie cutter now, adding movie and merchandise tie-ins, cutting back on unique and worthwhile entertainment, selling out (in a more obvious way at least) to the likes of Starbucks, etc. It's like they gave up on trying.
Click to expand...

Maybe they need to bring Monsanto back?
 
Glasgow

Glasgow

Well-Known Member
Biggest disappoint is declining value - cost vs content. We are still huge Disney fans and still go every year and a half or so .. but we used to go every year. Whereas I used to be able to favorably compare the actual cost to other week long vacations due to the value received, I can no longer do that - WDW is pricing us out of our yearly vacation and I can't argue on WDW's behalf anymore simply based on the fact that it's worth more. Universal, beach vacations, etc are now earning more of our money little by little, and it's disappointing to me.
 

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