Disney Giveth, and Disney Taketh Away

[RSoxNo1]

There have been multiple posts on here discussing declining by degrees, cuts, etc. There has also been some efforts by myself and others to chronicle some of these things. While I expect this thread to be a discussion of sorts, I will also attempt to update the front page with offerings that have been cut while prices have increased.

To start us off:

General Cuts/Policy Changes/Permanent Ride Changes:

• Late returns for Fastpass no longer honored
• Monorail Hours cut to one hour after park closing during EMH
• Extra Magic Hour Evenings cut at DAK
• Extra Magic Hour Evenings cut from 3 hours to 2
• Dining plan cuts (Removal of Appetizer, Gratuity no longer included, reduced selections, many restaurants switched from 1 credit to 2)
• Lights of Winter
• Luxo the Lamp in Pixar Place
• $10 Per Person fee for Restaurant No Shows at Signature and Character Dining Locations
• Falling Rocks - Big Thunder Mountain
• Jumping Compys - Dinosaur
• Pleasure Island
• Printed Napkins
• The Odyssey
• Wonders of Life
• Spotlights at DHS
• Resort Specific Merchandise
• Discovery River Boats
• Mike Fink Keel Boats
• Davey Crockett Explorer Canoes
• Plaza Swan Boats
• Admiral Fowler Boat Cut from Rivers of America
• The Empress Lilly at Disney's Marketplace had the Smokestacks and Paddlewheels removed when it was converted to Fulton's Crabhouse
• Country Bear Christmas
• Pirates and Princess party
• HalloWishes Cuts
• Paintbrushes removed from Tom Sawyer's Island
• Character meet and greet cuts
• Roger Rabbit silhouette in Streets of America no longer resembles Roger Rabbit
• Live Narrators on Backlot Tour and Living with the Land
• Refillable Mug rule changes
• Photopass no longer included in Wild Africa Trek. Replaced with tour only photos.
• Shorter park hours
• Aunt Polly's
• Tomorrowland Terrace
• The Diamond Horseshoe
• Adventureland Veranda
• Imageworks
• Breakfast at Boatwright's
• Macaws at Polynesian Lobby (possibly moved to DAK?)
• Flamingoes in Epcot (moved to DAK)
• Lunch Buffet at Trail's End
• Bonfamille's Cafe
• Closed restaurants in UK, Canada and France
• WDW Easter Parade
• Petting Zoo at Fort Wilderness
• Sword in the Stone ceremony
• Galaxy Palace Theater Removed for Cast Member Parking
• Pocahontas and her Forest Friends
• Four For a Dollar cut from Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage Pre Show
• Prime Rib cut from Chef Mickey's and Boma
• Future Corps band cut from Epcot
• Charging Chum the Shark - The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Betsey Ross and Ben Franklin cut from 4th of July Entertainment
• Epcot Daytime entertainment: Surprise in the Skys, Tapestry of Nations, Tapestry of Dreams
• Premier Theater Unused
• ESPN The Weekend
• Super Soap Weekends
• Flower and Garden Cuts: Characters in Bloom & I Dig Bugs
• Malayan Tapir not replaced - Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Disney Dollars not as widely produced
• Splash Mountain replaced by Enchanted Tiki Room for Evening Extra Magic Hours
• Turf Club at Saratoga Springs no longer serving lunch
• Burning Fort on Tom Sawyer's Island

Longtime broken attraction effects:

• Yeti - Expedition Everest
• The Laughin' Place - Splash Mountain
• Time Travel Tunnel Lasers - Dinosaur
• Tree of Life/Discovery Island exhibits have netting over them due to Tree of Life issues - Paths have been closed as a result
• Footlight Parade Turntable - The Great Movie Ride
• Less motion, slime in Aliens - The Great Movie Ride
• Wind in Fantasia Scene - The Great Movie Ride
• Shaking Bridge - Kilimanjaro Safaris

Outsourcing

• Golf
• Valet Parking
• Garner Holt taking over Animatronic maintenance
• Maintenance
• Joffrey's Coffee Kiosks

Thematic intrusions

• Splash Mountain
• The Flying Carpets of Aladdin
• Soarin'
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
• Sorcerer Mickey Hat
• Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
• Swan and Dolphin visible within Epcot
• Soarin' building visible behind Canada
• Back of Expedition Everest Show Building visible from Parking Lot

Easy Fixes

• Space Mountain - Timing of audio in Re-Entry Tunnel, it comes too late
• Spaceship Earth - Timing of the line, "On this our Spaceship Earth" should sync with the reveal of Spaceship Earth.

 

[Tip Top Club]

Fastpass changes will make more sense soon.
Monorail hours were cut for maintenence. We all complain about Monorail downtimes and that was their solution.
EMH nights at DAK are basically just Everest and Dinosaur, Why not do two mornings a week where guests can ride the safari, which is what they want? Why is that an issue?
Falling rocks were a safety thing.

That's my take, Anyway. Not saying you don't have a valid point, just sayin'.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Fastpass changes will make more sense soon.

If you'll be able to schedule Fastpasses while in the park on a certain day I will have much less of a problem with no late returns, but until that happens there's no need to cut it.

Monorail hours were cut for maintenence. We all complain about Monorail downtimes and that was their solution.

Perhaps if the trains weren't 23 years old there would be less of a need for downtime?

EMH nights at DAK are basically just Everest and Dinosaur, Why not do two mornings a week where guests can ride the safari, which is what they want? Why is that an issue?

Do they currently offer two morning EMH? Also, riding Everest at night is a lot of fun. This speaks more to the lack of attractions in the park than EMH.

Falling rocks were a safety thing.

Why isn't that safety an issue in Japan?

 

[John]

One glaring omission.....PI and cant forget those Napkins...the torches at poly....the spotlights at DHS....off the top of my head. How far do you want to go back?...this could go on and on.

But in the spirit ( no pun intended...this time) of being fair we should compile list of things that have been added.

 

[flynnibus]

you should set a time window if you want to keep the discussion on track. Otherwise it will derail into inconsequential periods when trying to discuss the current company.

 

[John]

you should set a time window if you want to keep the discussion on track. Otherwise it will derail into inconsequential periods when trying to discuss the current company.

mind reader

 

[WDW1974]

Disney gave me the desire to enjoy its products in Orlando over a two-decade indoctrination and then has spent the last dozen or so years taking that desire away from me one spoonful of Pixie Dust at a time.

How's that work?

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was going to save some money and head out to Florida for the first time to visit WDW in honor of my college graduation next year. Should I even bother at this point? Honestly, I don't want to go if the parks are in such bad shape and quality. I'm thinking I should just stick to Disneyland, for now.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Excellent thread idea. Cheers! Let me begin with the obvious:

The painful decline of the Empress Lilly.

Well, it started when I stopped working out and picked up smoking and drinking and

wait...wrong thread...that's the AA...

It started when Fulton (curse the name) took over. Decline by degrees is sometimes subjective. Me, I think it an obvious decline that the unique restaurants of the Empress Lilly were replaced by a single one, an outside (small) food chain. But whereas some prefer upscale fine dining, others prefer run-of-the-mill seafood.
What is objective, however, is that a riverboat needs to look like a riverboat. As an outside vendor, Fulton has no direct incentive to add to the overall show and theme of WDW. WDW in turn, has already rented the place out to the outside company, so it in turn feels no direct incentive to invest further in the boat. The result is devastating:

The paddle wheel is gone. The Empress had a spinning one at that.
The smokestacks are gone.
Present however, is a huge non-period neon sign, 'Fulton's Crap House'.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I was going to save some money and head out to Florida for the first time to visit WDW in honor of my college graduation next year. Should I even bother at this point? Honestly, I don't want to go if the parks are in such bad shape and quality. I'm thinking I should just stick to Disneyland, for now.

WDW is always a good idea. Come on, you haven't lived until you've seen the splendour that is Spaceship Earth.

 

[Californian Elitist]

WDW is always a good idea. Come on, you haven't lived until you've seen the splendour that is Spaceship Earth.

Oh I'm definitely going to visit before I leave this earth! I just don't think I want to visit as of right now. Maybe in a few years, I'm thinking.

 

[John]

Oh I'm definitely going to visit before I leave this earth! I just don't think I want to visit as of right now. Maybe in a few years, I'm thinking.

ummmmm the way things are going you might decide never to go. If what has been going on in the last few years is any indication what the next few years will be like......the present will quickly become the "Golden days" in the not so distant future. I can see it now, remember when there was EMH....Illuminations every night, when going to the parks cost $87...there was resort specific merch.....ooops

 

[BrerPete]

Falling rocks were a safety thing.

Safety? Sitting in a 3 X 3 cart linked to 14 others going 30 to 40 mph isn't a safety issue? Dropping five stories in a plastic log isn't a safety issue? People driving all day in EMV's, then getting up and walking on the moving conveyor belt on Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion isn't a safety issue?

 

[olinecoach61]

There have been multiple posts on here discussing declining by degrees, cuts, etc. There has also been some efforts by myself and others to chronicle some of these things. While I expect this thread to be a discussion of sorts, I will also attempt to update the front page with offerings that have been cut while prices have increased.

To start us off:

General Cuts/Policy Changes/Permanent Ride Changes:

• Late returns for Fastpass no longer honored
• Monorail Hours cut to one hour after park closing during EMH
• Extra Magic Hour Evenings cut at DAK
• Extra Magic Hour Evenings cut from 3 hours to 2
• Dining plan cuts
• Lights of Winter
• Luxo the Lamp in Pixar Place
• $10 Per Person fee for Restaurant No Shows at Signature and Character Dining Locations
• Falling Rocks - Big Thunder Mountain
• Jumping Compys - Dinosaur

Longtime broken attraction effects:

• Yeti - Expedition Everest
• The Laughin' Place - Splash Mountain
• Time Travel Tunnel Lasers - Dinosaur

To be honest I'm surprised the list is so short.

 

[Tip Top Club]

Safety? Sitting in a 3 X 3 cart linked to 14 others going 30 to 40 mph isn't a safety issue? Dropping five stories in a plastic log isn't a safety issue? People driving all day in EMV's, then getting up and walking on the moving conveyor belt on Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion isn't a safety issue?

Why is going 30-40 MPH a safety issue? Do you not go 70 or more on the highway? Or are you one of those idiots that sits in the left lane going 25 on the freeway?

The Log isn't plastic, it's a boat, that floats on water, where do you expect the boat to go? Do you expect gravity to be defied and the boat to just randomly jump out of the trough?

Peter Pan and Mansion are not EMVs, so I'm not sure what the connection there is, but let's pretend these are two different issues that you didn't put into a run-on sentence. The moving platforms move at the same speed as the vehicle, so how is this any less safe then an escalator, or elevator? And as long as one pays attention to safety warnings, (Heart, back, or neck problems, for example) why would that be a safety issue?

Are the intimately familiar with the Falling rocks, and the system behind them at all the different thunder mountain attractions worldwide? I'm not, but I imagine that if maintenance turned them off, they had a reason.

 

[Tip Top Club]

If you'll be able to schedule Fastpasses while in the park on a certain day I will have much less of a problem with no late returns, but until that happens there's no need to cut it.

Perhaps if the trains weren't 23 years old there would be less of a need for downtime?

Do they currently offer two morning EMH? Also, riding Everest at night is a lot of fun. This speaks more to the lack of attractions in the park than EMH.

Why isn't that safety an issue in Japan?

Obviously the trains need to be replaced, excellent point. But as they haven't been...

Yes DAK currently offers two morning EMH a week, that was the switch, and it has been ever since they let go of evening EMH, for the reasons that I stated.

I'm not a Rah Rah Disney type, obviously there's a lot that needs fixing, but there are things that we complain about that I just don't understand sometimes. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Lucky]

The Taketh Away may be related to the Giveth. When they Commiteth themselves to major additions they probably think they have the resources and management capacity to deliver it and maintain what they already have. But then they find themselves spread too thinly. So they add AK - a huge net plus to WDW - but can't deliver a full-length Kali Rapids ride, or BK, as envisioned. They add FLE - another huge net plus - but can't keep Splash and other attractions up to par. The end result overall is they Giveth more quantity - and they Deserveth some credit for that - but they Taketh away some of the quality.

On the resort side, you also have to give them credit for fridges in values rooms and queen beds in mod rooms.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Dining plan cuts include:

• Removal of appetizer from Dining Plan
• Gratuity no longer included in Dining Plan
• Reduced selections - some of the best (and most expensive) options have been removed from menus. My DW is extremely disappointed that several of her favorite QS options have been removed from menus.
• More retaurants added to Signature Dining list, making these more expensive
• Perceived decline in the quality of food, apparently to reduce costs

 

[RSoxNo1]

One glaring omission.....PI and cant forget those Napkins...the torches at poly....the spotlights at DHS....off the top of my head. How far do you want to go back?...this could go on and on.

But in the spirit ( no pun intended...this time) of being fair we should compile list of things that have been added.

I've added this stuff. As to the "Stuff that's been added", count me amongst those that feel when something is cut something better should take it's place. If there's no direct correlation than I'd put it on this list. Something like The Seas going to The Seas with Nemo and Friends was intended to be a better replacement. Same with Imagination, whether you agree is one thing, but the intent was there.

 

[gwhb75]

I was going to save some money and head out to Florida for the first time to visit WDW in honor of my college graduation next year. Should I even bother at this point? Honestly, I don't want to go if the parks are in such bad shape and quality. I'm thinking I should just stick to Disneyland, for now.

I would definately go as soon as you can. Please, other posters and the OP, don't take this as a shot at any of you, but there are a lot of gloom and doomers on many of the Disney boards, who make it sound like you're entering a third world country when you pass under the Walt Disney World gates. Is maintenance what it used to be? Probably not. Are all the rides in opening-day shape? No. But the fact is, I would take Disney at less than 100% to a lot of other places that are.

Yes there have been cutbacks, but also additions (FLE, cue enhancements (which, I know, some people don't like, but for the sake of this post, it is something that has been added)). I really don't think waiting a few more years will change much.