Disney Giveth, and Disney Taketh Away

[asianway]

I'm not. Like I said, many things at WDW need to change. Most of the gripes that come up in every one of these threads are not among them and really shouldn't be our focus.

Would you really rather have printed napkins than a functioning Yeti?

All I'm saying is that battles need to be chosen.

What battles? TDO will do what TDO will do. Until new leadership comes in, there are much better options.

Oh, and I want both, but fully expect neither

 

[asianway]

no offense to anyone but you all drive me crazy...the napkins being blank(the world will now end)is because the manufacturer messed up they were printed when I was there yesterday...and yes there are problems but some things just cant be perfect all the time...I still love Disney and going to the parks and nothing will ever change my mind

Where? I just passed two CS and they are blank.

And I pray for the day they price complacent consumers like you out of the parks-you're part of the problem.

 

[unkadug]

no offense to anyone but you all drive me crazy...the napkins being blank(the world will now end)is because the manufacturer messed up they were printed when I was there yesterday...and yes there are problems but some things just cant be perfect all the time...I still love Disney and going to the parks and nothing will ever change my mind

Are you sure?


The person who told us that the napkins were a misprint has since admitted that everything he posted was a lie, a complete fabrication on his part in a desperate plea for attention.

And no, the world will not end until December 21st.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Add the decaying broken Roger Rabbit silhouette in the window to this list!

 

[sgtmgd]

As far as P&R offerings in the year 2012, WDW is dead last in terms of quality. No one should have to endure the product as a first timer. DL, TDR, a cruise are all much better values. That, is exactly what a community should be doing-not shilling for a management team that doesn't deserve it

While you are entitled to your opinion..as we all are...I'm lost on your logic as to what a better value is..and what management team deserves it..and to suggest someone who has never been ..not go....it just baffles me. I doubt a good many even remember the early years at Disney..or were fortunate enough to go on a regular basis..to have enough insight to compare the two . WDW is still a magical place...change is inevitable...But to suggest a first timer wouldn't enjoy Disney..seems very narrow minded

 

[asianway]

While you are entitled to your opinion..as we all are...I'm lost on your logic as to what a better value is..and what management team deserves it..and to suggest someone who has never been ..not go....it just baffles me. I doubt a good many even remember the early years at Disney..or were fortunate enough to go on a regular basis..to have enough insight to compare the two . WDW is still a magical place...change is inevitable...But to suggest a first timer wouldn't enjoy Disney..seems very narrow minded

And to suggest paying a premium price for an inferior product makes sense is very simple minded

 

[Witchy Chick]

What about the Tom Sawyer paint brush hunt being removed???

I was going to mention this as well. Is it a major issue -- like Splash being the hot mess that it is or Future World being a shell of what it once was? No. But little things like the TSI paintbrushes (or lack thereof, now) are things that add up to a less than magical experience IMO.

One other (possible?) "taketh" -- refillable mugs limited to refills only at resorts. I'm not sure when this happened, but I do remember years ago toting all of our mugs to the parks with us for "free" sodas throughout the day. Again, it's a "little thing" but it adds up.

For the record -- I am squarely in the demographic that TDO is apparently catering to. Family of four, two small children (4-year-old girl totally into princesses and 2-year-old boy who cannot get enough of McQueen). From Aug 2007 to Jan 2013 -- we will have made three trips to Disney: Disneymoon '07, W&D Oct '11, and family trip Jan 2013. I cannot even begin to express how displeased I am with the upcoming cuts to EMH. With two small children, we will be "losing" 3+ hours a day in the parks to return to our resort for naps. I was realllllllly looking forward to being in the parks "late" a couple of nights during our trip.

Although we have these small kiddos and I'm certain they will LOVE Disney when we go in January -- I cannot see us visiting again for quite some time (if ever again). We are paying A LOT of money to stay in a MK resort -- and an important perk (to us) just got reduced. No reduction in my costs, though. On the contrary, hotel rates, ticket prices, and DDP all see an increase in 2013. Thanks Disney.


Witchy

 

[bubbles1812]

If you zoom in on google maps you can still see some of the buildings on the island. I did a quick google search and found this.
http://shaneperez.blogspot.com/2009/12/discovery-island.html

No clue if this is true and i am not supporting trespassing or other illegal acts, but it must have been pretty cool to see.

I wonder if they could build a small resort on the island or something. Seems like such a waste of a great spot.

Muy interesante! I've read a few stories of people sneaking over there. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it's that hard to do if you plan it right. 300 feet (approx 100 yards) isn't that hard to do if you know how to swim well. The place looks so eirie in all those pictures. It seems like a pretty terrible waster of space (along with River Country).

 

[GoofGoof]

And to suggest paying a premium price for an inferior product makes sense is very simple minded

I know these "debates" always turn into this, but if you are that unhappy with the product and that displeased with the value then why go back? A lot of people have posted issues or things that have been taken away that bother them. I get from most people's posts that while they believe the quality has slipped or they are not happy with some changes they still enjoy WDW and go back regularly. Could things improve, yes. Are there certain major issues (Yeti, Splash) that need attwntion, yes. Saying that it is simple minded to pay the premium price for WDW while the product has slipped is calling most people on here simple minded. If that is your opinion I am sure you are not alone. Many of my friends and family members think its crazy to go to WDW as often as I do since it is very expensive. I am just not sure what the point is to posting that on here to a bunch of people who do go back pretty regularly.

 

[GoofGoof]

Muy interesante! I've read a few stories of people sneaking over there. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it's that hard to do if you plan it right. 300 feet (approx 100 yards) isn't that hard to do if you know how to swim well. The place looks so eirie in all those pictures. It seems like a pretty terrible waster of space (along with River Country).

I was planning my swim until he mentioned gators. I am from a part of the country where gators only live at the zoo. I don't mess with any animal that has been around since the time of dinosaurs.

 

[bubbles1812]

I was planning my swim until he mentioned gators. I am from a part of the country where gators only live at the zoo. I don't mess with any animal that has been around since the time of dinosaurs.

Haha. You mean you don't want to be eaten? Honestly, I would be tempted (I am tempted to see if I can check out River Country. I know I know trespassing is bad, blah blah ) except I'm not too keen on getting chomped on while on vacation or in general ... and I would totally believe there are alligators in the lake. If alligators can find their way to Tom Sawyer's Island (happened when I was 7 and my dad flipped out and ran away from it as fast as he could when I asked if we could take a closer look, lol), they can certainly find their way into an open lake.

 

[GoofGoof]

Haha. You mean you don't want to be eaten? Honestly, I would be tempted (I am tempted to see if I can check out River Country. I know I know trespassing is bad, blah blah ) except I'm not too keen on getting chomped on while on vacation or in general ... and I would totally believe there are alligators in the lake. If alligators can find their way to Tom Sawyer's Island (happened when I was 7 and my dad flipped out and ran away from it as fast as he could when I asked if we could take a closer look, lol), they can certainly find their way into an open lake.

Not sure if I am supposed to post links to another message board, but here are some amazing, creepy and just plain sad pictures from River Country in 2009

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523

 

[menamechris]

Also, if you go back far enough there were no extra magic hours at all. So If you compare now to then we actually have 2 hours of EMH now vs none back in the day so you could flip that to the additions list.

Some form of Extra Magic Hours have been around AT LEAST since the early 90s. I believe the original design was that resort guests could get in the park an hour early.. If you go back before that, there wasn't a need to entice people to stay on site. There were limited number of rooms and they were always full. Oh, and the prices were actually more reasonable then, as well...

 

[bubbles1812]

Not sure if I am supposed to post links to another message board, but here are some amazing, creepy and just plain sad pictures from River Country in 2009

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523

So very weird and sad. I remember going on those Slippery Slide Falls slides over and over because I loved the drop into the water. It's honestly kind of shocking (yet not at the same time) that Disney is literally letting it rot away. At a certain point, they will have do bulldoze it at least...or I would hope so anyways. At some point it could hurt the environment around there once things really start degrading. And granted, very few people see it, but it's such an eyesore. It's the perfect example where I would expect especially Disney to do better...but they haven't. Very sad.

 

[Tip Top Club]

No I am not "are the intimately familiar with the Falling rocks" Grammar Master. Not sure of the run on sentence but if you read it again I was commenting on the fact that people who have been sitting and riding most of the day then get up from their EMV and getting on the conveyor. I have seen many a stumble and stoppage of the belt as a result, which to my understanding, they usually stop the belt when a disabled person wants to board.

The rest is sarcasm, but as one "idiot" to another, I guess you don't have the skills to break that down. Have a magical day.

I never called you an idiot, nor do I think you are one.

After reading this post however I have realized that you most likely meant ECV (Electronic Convenience Vehicle, or Motorized Scooter Wheelchair) and not EMV (Enhanced Motion Vehicle, the ride vehicle on Dinosaur, and Indiana Jones). Which makes more sense. If that's not what you meant, then I'm very confused. (Imagine Dinosaur with a moving platform, people already don't understand what that ride is, imagine making them attempt to board quickly, it would be a disaster!)

 

[asianway]

I was going to mention this as well. Is it a major issue -- like Splash being the hot mess that it is or Future World being a shell of what it once was? No. But little things like the TSI paintbrushes (or lack thereof, now) are things that add up to a less than magical experience IMO.

One other (possible?) "taketh" -- refillable mugs limited to refills only at resorts. I'm not sure when this happened, but I do remember years ago toting all of our mugs to the parks with us for "free" sodas throughout the day. Again, it's a "little thing" but it adds up.

For the record -- I am squarely in the demographic that TDO is apparently catering to. Family of four, two small children (4-year-old girl totally into princesses and 2-year-old boy who cannot get enough of McQueen). From Aug 2007 to Jan 2013 -- we will have made three trips to Disney: Disneymoon '07, W&D Oct '11, and family trip Jan 2013. I cannot even begin to express how displeased I am with the upcoming cuts to EMH. With two small children, we will be "losing" 3+ hours a day in the parks to return to our resort for naps. I was realllllllly looking forward to being in the parks "late" a couple of nights during our trip.

Although we have these small kiddos and I'm certain they will LOVE Disney when we go in January -- I cannot see us visiting again for quite some time (if ever again). We are paying A LOT of money to stay in a MK resort -- and an important perk (to us) just got reduced. No reduction in my costs, though. On the contrary, hotel rates, ticket prices, and DDP all see an increase in 2013. Thanks Disney.


Witchy

Nice to see someone gets it. Welcome to the club.

 

[Tip Top Club]

I would suggest going on a Disney cruise or maybe going to Tokyo.



I wonder how many people would get their feathers ruffled if the constant down times at their favorite attractions caused them to only be open half of each day. Or what happens when maintenance issues at several attractions in one park has Disney decide to keep that park open for just half a day...but the price doesn't decrease. The room rates at the monorail resorts certainly hasn't gone down. Right??? Maintenance issues is NOT an excuse to cut hours. I mean, geez, if something at my house isn't working properly I fix it rather than stop using it so much. Duh. It's a no-brainer. TDO doesn't care so much about their house nowadays, I suppose. Sure feels that way.

EMH nights at DAK could be much ore than Everest & Dinosaur. All of Dinoland can function. Nemo & FotLK can still operate. Characters can still greet guests. Shops can still offer shopping. Restaurants can still serve food. That's just another of TDO's lame excuses to cut offerings...but NOT the prices.

I don't disagree that we need new trains, but in light of NOT currently having them, which is a reality, that is what they've chosen to do to attempt to alleviate some of the pressure. And the Monorail resort room rates are high because they are deluxe resorts, not just because they are on the Monorail Line.

EMH nights could be more than just Everest and Dinosaur, but were they? Do we have any resounding fans of Primeval Whirl on here? Was there anyone who Couldn't experience "It's Tough to Be a Bug" because of long waits during normal operating hours? Not to mention that Characters don't really have big part of any PM EMH across property. Let me emphasize again that the offering was not cut it was changed. Having two morning EMH days allows more time for guests to experience the safari, which is the flagship attraction of that park anyway, and it's not open for PM EMH due to Animal Restrictions.

We as a community cannot complain that DAK is a half-day park, and then complain that it's not open all day. In it's current state with much of the pressure on Safaris for the guest experience, I'd much rather that be open during the extra offerings.

Also: An an unrelated note, What's wrong with the Poly Torches? They were functioning on my last visit a few weeks ago.

 

[GoofGoof]

Some form of Extra Magic Hours have been around AT LEAST since the early 90s. I believe the original design was that resort guests could get in the park an hour early.. If you go back before that, there wasn't a need to entice people to stay on site. There were limited number of rooms and they were always full. Oh, and the prices were actually more reasonable then, as well...

If my memory is correct and it may not be prior to magic your way tickets if you stayed 7 nights on property and bought a 7 day park ticket it automatically included park hooping, water parks, pleasure island and as an added bonus If you were a resort guest the parks would open at 8am every day (I can't remember if all 3 parks were open early or if it was staggered). People offsite couldn't get in until 9am. This started some time in th 90s and ended after Jan 2000. I think EMHs was introduced to replace this and something called e ride night or something like that where you paid extra to stay late at MK to ride the top rides (not sure if it was just MK but that is what i seem to remember). It was limited to the number of people so no waits. My memory fails me on how many hours you got, but I am pretty sure you didn't need to be staying on property to participate but it had an extra charge.

If we are listing things Disney has taken away since 2000 my point is that we actually have 2 extra hours of free EMHs more than what you got in 2000. I know it's a lame point, but still technically true. I have no way of defending the overall price increases. I blame it on the lawyers. I blame everything on them.

 

[menamechris]

If we are listing things Disney has taken away since 2000 my point is that we actually have 2 extra hours of free EMHs more than what you got in 2000. I know it's a lame point, but still technically true. I have no way of defending the overall price increases. I blame it on the lawyers. I blame everything on them.

If memory serves me right - in the old structure of EMH in the 90's, you were able to choose which park you wanted to go early to (which I believe was just 3 parks at the time). So no...it roughly would be the same. You wouldn't have as much TIME in the park, but the number of guests was also distributed, which would have brought wait times down. Just my recollection however...

 

[unkadug]

If my memory is correct and it may not be prior to magic your way tickets if you stayed 7 nights on property and bought a 7 day park ticket it automatically included park hooping, water parks, pleasure island and as an added bonus If you were a resort guest the parks would open at 8am every day (I can't remember if all 3 parks were open early or if it was staggered). People offsite couldn't get in until 9am. This started some time in th 90s and ended after Jan 2000. I think EMHs was introduced to replace this and something called e ride night or something like that where you paid extra to stay late at MK to ride the top rides (not sure if it was just MK but that is what i seem to remember). It was limited to the number of people so no waits. My memory fails me on how many hours you got, but I am pretty sure you didn't need to be staying on property to participate but it had an extra charge.

If we are listing things Disney has taken away since 2000 my point is that we actually have 2 extra hours of free EMHs more than what you got in 2000. I know it's a lame point, but still technically true. I have no way of defending the overall price increases. I blame it on the lawyers. I blame everything on them.

That's because it's all their fault.