Disney is fading on me

[John park hopper]

Kids get bored standing in long lines faster than parents do and they tend to remember ---not a plus for making future Disney fans

 

[Rusty1014]

We’ve noticed lots of changes in the thirty years we’ve traveled to WDW. For now, we come down to Ft Wilderness in early January, and stay until early March. Never go to parks on the weekends, and don’t get fast passes until a few days before a park visit. Its just the best RV Park anywhere. We’re never bored, and with this much time here, we eventually get in everything we want, at a very low stress level. We’ve made some wonderful friends that we look forward to seeing every year. So, no it’s not fading on us, I just hope we can continue for a long time!

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I have never been passed ( and shoved out of the way) at WDW MK for allowing a small gap to exist between me and the person in front of me ( in a single file line )

First hand at SDL in November

Opinions are opinions

This is mine

Max

In Asian culture, that’s not rude. It comes with the territory when you have extremely densely populated cities that rely on train systems for nearly all travel. That issue is cultural... not the result of rude people.

Conversely... I’ve never been in Shanghai Disney (or Hong Kong, or Tokyo for that matter) and had my toes run over by a rascal scooter. Multiple times. I’ve never had the back of my ankles hit by strollers. I’ve never staked out a spot for fireworks and at the last second had two parents shove themselves in front of me and THEN put their kid on their shoulders. In fact, In tokyo everyone sat down and it was fabulous.

To name a small few.

 

[mousehockey37]

Kids get bored standing in long lines faster than parents do and they tend to remember ---not a plus for making future Disney fans

Good parenting teaches kids how to deal with standing in lines, as kids will have to wait for other things, possibly in lines, at other times in their life. Yes, waiting in line sucks, and being introverted makes things tougher. Yet, I find ways to have random conversations with people in line or while waiting for parades or shows. Our last trip, we were standing in Canada waiting for Illuminations and we started talking with a couple that we could tell were Canadian, and it honestly was one of the highlights of our trip.... a random conversation with people we more than likely will never see again.

We all have our theories as to why that might be, but speaking only for myself it's the main reason I have soured on the experience.

American economy was getting better. People were finally recovering from the crash and could afford to go on vacations again. That's a big part of my theory.

 

[amjt660]

In Asian culture, that’s not rude. It comes with the territory when you have extremely densely populated cities that rely on train systems for nearly all travel. That issue is cultural... not the result of rude people.

Conversely... I’ve never been in Shanghai Disney (or Hong Kong, or Tokyo for that matter) and had my toes run over by a rascal scooter. Multiple times. I’ve never had the back of my ankles hit by strollers. I’ve never staked out a spot for fireworks and at the last second had two parents shove themselves in front of me and THEN put their kid on their shoulders. In fact, In tokyo everyone sat down and it was fabulous.

To name a small few.

Please do not confuse root cause with the problem
Whatever the reason , having someone take your spot in line is a problem
And yes I have had people go in front of me at the last minute at WDW- and Shanghai as I was crushed as I tried to stand my ground waiting for the fireworks to start
And do not bring Tokyo into this
Japan is polar opposite to China in terms of respect for others
You know China, where the guest was yelling at the CM who was telling him to take his son down , who was standing on top of a curved garbage can lid?
Then when he did it , and the CM left , decided to get his son back up on the garbage can??

Oh and the DLP guests who do exactly what you said about kids on shoulders, or standing on guardrails, or even worse - telling their son to pee in the flowerbed !!!

With all due respect every park will attract a-holes

Just a few first hand examples of my own

Max

 

[POLY LOVER]

Not to worry this will all be solved soon. My prediction is the extra magic hours ticket will be implemented as a standard. You will buy tickets for designated time windows. Crowds will be less and Disney will make a fortune 119.00 for 6 hours time slots.

 

[POLY LOVER]

Shaming and name calling seems to the common tactic against constructive criticism.

It seems to be the new approach. If you can't win then trash the person. I wonder when that trend started? Hmmmmm

 

[mousehockey37]

I've only started going to Disney annually a few years ago and my first visit to WDW was in Dec 2014.

Disney definitely has done some things wrong, (Not adding anything new to WDW for a decade, Treatment of epcot, ect)

But in general it's not all gloom and doom that's commonly complained about here. In fact my most recent visit to WDW was one of my most enjoyable, never waited an hour for any ride and managed to do FOP and all the rides.

A trip to Disney is what you make of it. Everyone is different so everyone's perceptions/expectations are different.

For some people, just being there is enough. For others, if they see a CM talk to a guest, it's a crime that they're not getting that special treatment too.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Please do not confuse root cause with the problem
Whatever the reason , having someone take your spot in line is a problem
And yes I have had people go in front of me at the last minute at WDW- and Shanghai as I was crushed as I tried to stand my ground waiting for the fireworks to start
And do not bring Tokyo into this
Japan is polar opposite to China in terms of respect for others
You know China, where the guest was yelling at the CM who was telling him to take his son down , who was standing on top of a curved garbage can lid?
Then when he did it , and the CM left , decided to get his son back up on the garbage can??

Oh and the DLP guests who do exactly what you said about kids on shoulders, or standing on guardrails, or even worse - telling their son to pee in the flowerbed !!!

With all due respect every park will attract a-holes

Just a few first hand examples of my own

Max

Fair enough.

All I know for certain is I would happily fly half way around the planet for my Disney fix rather than fight it out if given the choice.

The only resort I put below WDW is DLP. And it’s close.

That being said, I’m two weeks away from wading back into the swamps for the first time in three years. I hope they prove me wrong. Though I’m not sure how optimistic I should be.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Shaming and name calling seems to the common tactic against constructive criticism.

Show me the constructive criticism.

 

[disneyflush]

I completely agree with a lot of these posts. MK is a mess, HS is half a park, Epcot is a bar, but AK is good and it is therefore my favorite. I just hope someone with authority is reading this and taking note. These posts are becoming more and more frequent.

Not sure what the note would be. The ultimate goal of the Disney Parks is to get as many guests as possible in order to make as much money as possible.

Lets say its you or I that gets the job of President of Magic Kingdom and we now have the ability to make change happen. We are judged on attendance and guest spending. We institute a change that drives down attendance by 15% year over year and the guests are much happier because crowds are lighter. We lose our job immediately and DIS stock plummets. Who in current or future management would ever champion an idea or notion that would get them fired? Crowds are a huge issue for us but are the exact opposite for the people who could do something about them.

Its comforting to think that Walt is looking down on us and nodding approvingly at our wish that the parks were emptier and less expensive. That ship has sailed though. Those days will never come back. It will always be crowded now and the MBAs at the top only care about increasing the numbers we lament. We can post constantly, write letters, sign petitions, it won't matter in the slightest. Enjoy them as they are or be okay with complaining simply to complain and not because it will drive any change.

Or stop going, which crowd levels don't suggest is happening.

 

[eliza61nyc]

This year I decided to only do 2 days, you know... They make cut back I make mine. Magic Kingdom was the worse day of my entire trip and the crowds are unbearable, on the other hand I had a great time at Epcot and wish I did both days there. The other parks can kiss my tucas. Anyone else feel the same way?

not yet

 

[eliza61nyc]

The MK is a zoo. Visited by the worst theme park audience of any global Disney park, and permanently under attack from TDO. Somehow they managed to turn the world's greatest castle park into the world's worst.

Remember how one day you could sit on a bench anywhere, listen to live music in every land, and browse for antiques in LS and for flowers on MS?

DHS is a park I adored even a few years ago, but with the closure of the GMR it is now well and truly dead. The verdict on the new park is not in yet. But TSL and weirdo Mickey so far hold little appeal to me.
t.

Yes, I do, why I did that last May (see the picture). I sat on the bench right outside of Peco's bill for about 60 minutes and just people watched. It was great and then went to Epcot on another day and sat on that stone bench outside of France while stuffing my face with ice cream and "chilling"

did some thing happen since then where they are not allowing folks to sit??

 

[OneofThree]

I sat on the bench right outside of Peco's bill for about 60 minutes and just people watched. It was great and then went to Epcot on another day and sat on that stone bench outside of France while stuffing my face with ice cream and "chilling"

Whatever "does it" for you; but that's an awful lot of coin for the privilege of sitting and eating.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Whatever "does it" for you; but that's an awful lot of coin for the privilege of sitting and eating.

I've never been a "commando" tourer. I've gone to the MK and been absolutely slap happy with just doing my two favorite rides. Haunted mansion and Buzz lightyear.

but I was actually questioning the poster who said she/he cannot just sit on a bench and relax anymore. why not? I do it all the time.

lol one of the great advantages of being a DVC owner is you can go and have a good time without having to "do" all or any of the rides. you know you'll be back.

Heck I just got back from Savannah GA. most of the trip was on eating great food.

 

[OneofThree]

I've never been a "commando" tourer. I've gone to the MK and been absolutely slap happy with just doing my two favorite rides. Haunted mansion and Buzz lightyear.

but I was actually questioning the poster who said she/he cannot just sit on a bench and relax anymore. why not? I do it all the time.

lol one of the great advantages of being a DVC owner is you can go and have a good time without having to "do" all or any of the rides. you know you'll be back.

Heck I just got back from Savannah GA. most of the trip was on eating great food.

I wasn't as much making reference to touring style, as I was just saying that conditions in the parks shouldn't relegate people to either the mode you mention, or donning a combat helmet and entering the melee -especially for the price of admission.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I wasn't as much making reference to touring style, as I was just saying that conditions in the parks shouldn't relegate people to either the mode you mention, or donning a combat helmet and entering the melee -especially for the price of admission.

??? conditions have always determined how folks travel. no matter where you go. My family are going to London this year, we know if we go during June and July the attractions are going to be packed. I want to go to the national parks, same thing. I've never been but I've read and hear that if you go to Yellowstone in the middle of summer you can assume the hordes will be there and don't even think about staying in Old faithful inn if you don't jump on it 2 years out.
And I live in Philadelphia, I assure you if you want to come here during the labor day weekend, Jay Z has his annual concert, the weather is usually hot but sunny, it's a madhouse.

Why do folks think Disney would be different. conditions no matter where you go or the price you pay are going to dictate what you encounter.

In my opinion knowledge is power. right now it seems the parks are packed. Disney evidently is doing some thing right because as you say the price is a premium and yet folks are still coming. To assume that because one shells out 3K you won't encounter the same issues is silly IMO.

 

[OneofThree]

Why do folks think Disney would be different.

Because the experience for price now isn't anywhere near what it has been. This is particularly apparent for people who have been going to Disney for some time.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I think the title of the posts should be "Disney leaves an impression on me".

I mean no matter the conditions (or changes that disrupt the old school Disney crazies like yours truly) and like some other pps said, with the crowd sizes, Disney is obviously doing something right.

Some things fade and nostalgia changes because time doesn't stand still, but I always am ready to go back to Disney...like yesterday.

 

[OneofThree]

I think the title of the posts should be "Disney leaves an impression on me".

I mean no matter the conditions (or changes that disrupt the old school Disney crazies like yours truly) and like some other pps said, with the crowd sizes, Disney is obviously doing something right.

Some things fade and nostalgia changes because time doesn't stand still, but I always am ready to go back to Disney...like yesterday.

I appreciate your thoughts here. I have to wonder though, for those "old school crazies", just how much of our current Disney experiences are held up the nostalgia you mention. I don't really think about in the front of my mind while I'm there, but I have to believe that I wouldn't be as positive about my time there if the Disney World of Old were not somehow indelibly imprinted within.