Disney Then and Now

[DfromATX]

This made me giggle. I love being considered an "old timer".

And it's meant with the utmost respect!

 

[disney4life2008]

I could not agree with you more. We have noticed this and it's disheartening and sad. I realize that not everyone loves their job and there has been a decline in the work ethic of many people from generation to generation but it takes away from the magic and fantasy of it all.


Kudos to the AWESOME CMs who stay in character and make it a magical experience!!!

One of the problems is that in the past - CMs were happy to work at disneyworld (regardless of age group). It was almost a privilege to have the opportunity to work for a Fortune 500 company. I have found that some of my worst experiences with CMs tend to be those from the College Program (assuming they are the ones that show what school they are from). And overall the worst overall CMs tends to be in food and beverage. Even checking into the resorts (Sports) - a lot of the magic has been taken away. I am someone who enjoys checking in and getting my envelope and having them explain stuff. But in the last 4 trips to sports - there is a mad dash to get you checked in and on your way (sorry, I am old school, lol). Ironically, the mousekeeping staff tends to remain with high marks from me. I do not think I have ever come across a rude or had an unpleasant experience with them. One time my bathroom was not adequately cleaned when I checked in and they immediately came out and left me extra soaps - its the small stuff that counts.

 

[Goofnut1980]

So I was watching some home videos and it got me thinking. On how dead the MK and Epcot was in the early 90s. This was about 90 or 91. Seriously, think on how fast the MK pathways empty out during heavy rain and then those remaining people on the paths is attendance back then. And I saw an article that has a price of a ticket as $38 in 1994. The MK actually had trees. Epcot had Figment and Dreamfinder. Both parks had characters without handlers and no lines. The shows were better.

What are your experiences on past and present Disney.

I calculated the inflation on $38 from 1994 is equivalent to only $55 in todays dollar. So they have doubled and haven't added too much.

 

[Annalise Davis]

My biggest concern is the shift in "customer service". During the 90s - you truly felt VIP regardless of where you stayed - just being at the park - you were VIP. In the last 15 years (even more so within the last 5 years) - there has been a steadily decline in how CMs interact with guests. In the last 3 years, I have come across more and more rude CMs who look bored out their mind. When I was at sports and saw the guy cooking on the grill then proceed to scratch his crotch and look at me like I was crazy - I was done.

I just miss the days when people used to interact with life, not from behind their giant tablet (that obstructs the view for everyone else). I do prefer the WDW of the 90's mostly because I prefer the people of the 90's.

I think these two things are interchangeable and also the reason that the parks (and the world, generally speaking) have changed. The reason we all loved the 90s parks? Because almost no CMs had their noses buried in a cell phone, tablet, phablet, laptop, etc. I'm a "younger" generation and I find the lack of communication of our younger generations just plain frightening. I think Disney should lead the way in bringing us back to reality... It could be a game changer for organizations and their training programs.

 

[disney4life2008]

I think these two things are interchangeable and also the reason that the parks (and the world, generally speaking) have changed. The reason we all loved the 90s parks? Because almost no CMs had their noses buried in a cell phone, tablet, phablet, laptop, etc. I'm a "younger" generation and I find the lack of communication of our younger generations just plain frightening. I think Disney should lead the way in bringing us back to reality... It could be a game changer for organizations and their training programs.

Well said. Unfortunately - the shift now is that all CMs are on iphones and tablets thanks to FP+. I have found that CMs are more concerned with the technology and less about the conversation.

 

[Disney Shib]

Kudos to the AWESOME CMs who stay in character and make it a magical experience!!!

You hit the nail on the head here. At least there is one thing that hasn't completely changed and that's the CM's who try to make the guests experience as magic as possible. Don't get me wrong, I have seen my fair share of rude or "out of character" CM's. However, as a whole I think the good ones stick in my mind alot more than the negative. Yes, you can start the arguement of how Disney has cut back on their magic moments and give-a-ways and whatever else but sometimes something as simple as seeing a CM go out of their way to find you an item your looking for in a gift shop or put you and your fiance on the front of space mountain because you just got engaged makes a world of difference to me.

That's why I go. It's not the benches, it's not the trees, it's not the changing of classic attractions but it's the way I feel when I am there. You need to find your own positivity in the changes. If you don't you're never going to be satisfied or you are always going to find something wrong with everything. I have my own opinions on some of the newer attractions and potential rumors that I am completely against as well. Trust me, you'll still go. You'll still have a blast and you will make new memories.

 

[Tom 55]

Here are some of my pictures from back then. These were taken in May of 1982 during the 10th anniversary of MK being open. Many of the pictures are from the Gondola ride that has been closed for so many years.Pictures show some of the crowd levels and some of the trees that were there in 82. These were slides that I scanned and for some reason I can not load the scan file onto this web site. So i took pictures of my screen.

 

[Figaro928]

Well said. Unfortunately - the shift now is that all CMs are on iphones and tablets thanks to FP+. I have found that CMs are more concerned with the technology and less about the conversation.

The same can be said for 99% of the guests there too. How many times on much earlier trips did you strike up a conversation with the family in front of you on line? Now most guests are instagramming selfies, checking sport scores and changing reservations....

When we went in the early 90s my parents would bring a calling card - one calling card- for the "just in cases." There were no outside distractions. You were 100% immersed in Disney because you had no other choice. Best example - we were at WDW the week that Princess Diana died. We found out once we got home and turned on the news.

So, I think the whole dynamic of any vacation has now changed. We used to take a vacation to "get away from it all" and be completely immersed with our family in a non-reality. Now with technology it's becoming harder and harder to.