Jiminy76
New Member
That will make Journey of the Mermaid a very immersive experience
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News Disney's own survey is a list of Walt Disney World's 50-anniversary shortcomings
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Disney4family
Well-Known Member
Then why do I have to call myself? And if I am calling myself, why do I have to answer?
And if the magic feels like home, I don't know if I want to go to my home. It's messy. I'm too busy being the magic, and calling myself and answering my own calls. Can I choose someone else's home? Like someone in Golden Oak?
V_L_Raptor
Well-Known Member
I wish I could have sat in on the rollout meeting for this (and the new Epcot soundtrack). I wonder if it looked like the old Tijuana Taxi locker room pep talk SNL sketch.
We were just there the week before Easter. My kids, 15 and 18, have been going since they were both 16months. I've been going since Aug 1972, my wife since 1985. There was literally no heart in this celebration. My daughter said they slapped a 50th logo on and called it a day. Very true.
This is why our WDW 50th Anniversary Celebration didn't work for us!
Fireworks: They should have kept Happily Ever After and added a 50th tag at the end. That show was fantastic. Jordan Fisher would have sang a new 50th song. Enchantment is just plain wrong. No tugging on the heartstrings.
Parades: Ah what parades? Exactly! What a missed opportunity. Could have brought back Main Street Electrical or Spectromagic. Add a 50th float at the beginning and ending.
Shows: What 50th shows. This would have been the best opportunity to bring songs back from previous years into one big emotional cry fest. There was a fantastic show in the Tomorrowland Theater (now gone). Some of the songs were fantastic. Let's just admit it, KiteTails should never have happened. All they needed to do is create a mini World of Color show and keep the park open at night. During the day it could have been a fountain show to music.
Attractions/Restaurants: True the pandemic sorta dealt this blow. Yes, we are getting Tron, yes we are getting Guardians (actually during the 50th, whoah!). But what about adding smaller attractions that would take little to no theming? Toy Story Land could have added an RC Racer ride and a Green Army Men Parachute attraction (similar to Jumping Jellyfish at DCA) from one of the other parks. Bad timing to shut the Nemo show (people eater) and the spinning coaster in Dino Land.
Don't get me started on these items:
Magical Express. Ah yes, a train will come through to Disney Springs. Great. So a family of five with luggage flying in will need to purchase train tickets and get to DS. Then get off and walk to the bus transportation area to get to their resort. Good planning Disney. Just the way I want to start my vacation. Why didn't you keep Magical Express until the train is ready to function? Greed. They could have charged a small amount per person ($25). Still would make money, keep people on Disney property.
Park Reservations. STUPID. I understand the concept, but it was not thought through. So my family made park reservations way in advance at DAK. We parkhop so we made dinner reservations at Epcot. That morning decided to sleep in and go to the pool (which is our right, it is our vacation). AFTER 2pm, I asked at Guest Services if we needed to go to DAK since it is after 2pm. We were told YES. So we got in our car, drove to DAK, parked a mile and an half away, walked to the front gate, scanned in, left through the exit, walked back the mile and a half to our car, drove to Epcot, parked a mile away, and was too exhausted to really enjoy our very expensive dinner at Le Cellier. ? If parks are available, we should be able to switch. The system I'm told is loved by Chapek (go figure).
Genie+ and Lightning Lane. DISASTER! Why did they need to get rid of Fastpass. One word: Greed! It's bad enough to charge huge prices to get in the parks, but then to charge $15 per person per day to possibly be in less of a line. Then if you want the big attraction per park, let's shell out yet another $15 just for a quick ride.
No ability to visit Resorts. If you are on the monorail line, sure you can visit any of them. If you are not, NOPE. As DVC members, we would be able to visit and park for free at other DVC resorts. Loved going to grab lunch at Captain Cooks or relax at Geyser Point Bar & Grill.
We've already said that our yearly trips will not be spent at WDW. Will try DL and possibly get to Paris. The crux of the matter is WDW executives know that they don't have to do anything special to get people to go. And that right there sums it up.
My list can go on and on, but I'm sure I have bored many of you.
This is why our WDW 50th Anniversary Celebration didn't work for us!
Fireworks: They should have kept Happily Ever After and added a 50th tag at the end. That show was fantastic. Jordan Fisher would have sang a new 50th song. Enchantment is just plain wrong. No tugging on the heartstrings.
Parades: Ah what parades? Exactly! What a missed opportunity. Could have brought back Main Street Electrical or Spectromagic. Add a 50th float at the beginning and ending.
Shows: What 50th shows. This would have been the best opportunity to bring songs back from previous years into one big emotional cry fest. There was a fantastic show in the Tomorrowland Theater (now gone). Some of the songs were fantastic. Let's just admit it, KiteTails should never have happened. All they needed to do is create a mini World of Color show and keep the park open at night. During the day it could have been a fountain show to music.
Attractions/Restaurants: True the pandemic sorta dealt this blow. Yes, we are getting Tron, yes we are getting Guardians (actually during the 50th, whoah!). But what about adding smaller attractions that would take little to no theming? Toy Story Land could have added an RC Racer ride and a Green Army Men Parachute attraction (similar to Jumping Jellyfish at DCA) from one of the other parks. Bad timing to shut the Nemo show (people eater) and the spinning coaster in Dino Land.
Don't get me started on these items:
Magical Express. Ah yes, a train will come through to Disney Springs. Great. So a family of five with luggage flying in will need to purchase train tickets and get to DS. Then get off and walk to the bus transportation area to get to their resort. Good planning Disney. Just the way I want to start my vacation. Why didn't you keep Magical Express until the train is ready to function? Greed. They could have charged a small amount per person ($25). Still would make money, keep people on Disney property.
Park Reservations. STUPID. I understand the concept, but it was not thought through. So my family made park reservations way in advance at DAK. We parkhop so we made dinner reservations at Epcot. That morning decided to sleep in and go to the pool (which is our right, it is our vacation). AFTER 2pm, I asked at Guest Services if we needed to go to DAK since it is after 2pm. We were told YES. So we got in our car, drove to DAK, parked a mile and an half away, walked to the front gate, scanned in, left through the exit, walked back the mile and a half to our car, drove to Epcot, parked a mile away, and was too exhausted to really enjoy our very expensive dinner at Le Cellier. ? If parks are available, we should be able to switch. The system I'm told is loved by Chapek (go figure).
Genie+ and Lightning Lane. DISASTER! Why did they need to get rid of Fastpass. One word: Greed! It's bad enough to charge huge prices to get in the parks, but then to charge $15 per person per day to possibly be in less of a line. Then if you want the big attraction per park, let's shell out yet another $15 just for a quick ride.
No ability to visit Resorts. If you are on the monorail line, sure you can visit any of them. If you are not, NOPE. As DVC members, we would be able to visit and park for free at other DVC resorts. Loved going to grab lunch at Captain Cooks or relax at Geyser Point Bar & Grill.
We've already said that our yearly trips will not be spent at WDW. Will try DL and possibly get to Paris. The crux of the matter is WDW executives know that they don't have to do anything special to get people to go. And that right there sums it up.
My list can go on and on, but I'm sure I have bored many of you.
brb1006
Well-Known Member
To be fair on the electrical parade bit, MSEP actually deserved to stay a DL.
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
IMO the MSEP needs to die, peacefully.
Dear Prudence
Well-Known Member
This nailed it for me.
It was a cheap, ugly commercial for Disney Plus, and that's it.
It was a cheap, ugly commercial for Disney Plus, and that's it.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Yup.
Time to just start calling the place 'Walt Disney+ World ( tm ) '.
The 50th is all about merchandise and novelty food.
Nothing else, for the most part.
Exceptions -
Those lights on Spaceship Earth and the Monorails are nice touches.
And this - the fact we still have the truly historic 'Electrical Water Pageant' operating, AND was ACTUALLY 'plussed' with meaningful 50th specific enhancements!
Still amazed that actually happened....and I'd say it's the highlight.
-
Time to just start calling the place 'Walt Disney+ World ( tm ) '.
The 50th is all about merchandise and novelty food.
Nothing else, for the most part.
Exceptions -
Those lights on Spaceship Earth and the Monorails are nice touches.
And this - the fact we still have the truly historic 'Electrical Water Pageant' operating, AND was ACTUALLY 'plussed' with meaningful 50th specific enhancements!
Still amazed that actually happened....and I'd say it's the highlight.
-
DznyGrlSD
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
BINGO
mattpeto
Well-Known Member
I don't understand all the comparisons in the video (like the attractions opening at DL vs WDW), but it was a good watch.
The beacons and castle decorations were done well in my opinion. There are plenty of "new experiences" for the 50th, just none of it celebrated the park's history. And that's the biggest failure for me about the 50th.
We will see if they learn their lesson for EPCOT's 40th, but I'm not counting on it. (Ironically, Epcot Forever, honored more of it's past than anything Disney World did for it's 50th). Even a small ToN cavalcade at EPCOT would do wonders. Or add a ROE tag at Harmonious.
With fireworks finally returning in July 2021, who knows how much time they had to sort some things out. But even when they had a chance to do a shift, they took the easy way out.
The best example of a tweak that could have made the 50th special was to pivot away from Festival of Fantasy and create an 50th celebration parade. You had the original song "Magic is Calling", the float (used in the cavalcade). Use some more legacy characters, throw in some attraction music (iasmw, CoP) - this doesn't seem that complex. Add some Wishes and HEA music in there too, people would eat that up. I mean that's seriously low hanging fruit and it was missed.
And then FoF could have returned in April 2023.
I'd love to know what the alternative plans of the 50th were before Covid. But it's clear they got to a point where they just decided to punt anything substantial to get through it.
Beacon Joe
Well-Known Member
I was lucky enough to visit during EPCOT Center's 10th Anniversary and Disneyland's 30th Anniversary.
Now I didn't expect they'd go all out like they did back in 1985, but WDW's 50th is a heap of nothing but advertising and merchandise.
Now I didn't expect they'd go all out like they did back in 1985, but WDW's 50th is a heap of nothing but advertising and merchandise.
Ayla
Well-Known Member
I will make a positive remark about the 50th ~ I loved the lights/show on Spaceship Earth, the Electric Water Pageant with the 50th additions, and the colored lights underneath the monorails.
Dear Prudence
Well-Known Member
They have had literally years to prepare for the 50th, and they should built up to this starting in at least 2019. Plenty of remote work happened for other projects (not just Disney) remotely. The efforts just felt...amateurish? if that makes sense.
wtyy21
Well-Known Member
Assuming that no COVID pandemic happens, we will get water fountains utilized for MK fireworks in front of Cinderella Castle like what TDL does for Celebrate!, not just for EPCOT now, better entertainment offerings, on-time TRON opening for 50th, etc.
I also believe that for plans of Castle fountains at MK, the imagineers visit TDL for see Celebrate! and examined whether water fountains will also be used for future MK (50th) firework show giving the similar of Castles between two parks. Plans to utilize it were in works since 2018 to 2019, but COVID pandemic scrapped the project, along with supposedly planned attractions like Mary Poppins in EPCOT. And here, we get mediocre firework show (Enchantment).
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
I just saw some on Amazon and Targets websites. https://www.target.com/p/a-portrait...V1XtvBB04UgpUEAQYAiABEgJZ0_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
Yes, several other parks have the fountains, but why were they not installed for the 50th when they had the moat drained? It is crazy to then after your big celebration (that was a flop) to go in and start plussing things that should have been done a decade before... The DLP Dreams Castle show was designed for WDW and they passed on it... according to those that know...
The fountain upgrade seemed like a complete no-brainer as an addition...
but like much of the 50th Celebration, it was a lackluster plan from the beginning... WDW deserved better...
Why plus when the pixie dusters are throwing their credit cards at you?
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
It's kind of true I suppose...but I don't know why so many people are thrilled with the half baked mess we got for the company's landmark anniversary....