News Disney's own survey is a list of Walt Disney World's 50-anniversary shortcomings

[Vegas Disney Fan]

That, and taco barges were already in the works before Covid as well, and succeeded...... Disney World was on a downward spiral before the pandemic ever started.

If I remember correctly the taco barges were supposed to be accompanied by a bigger backstage storage area to store them during the day, had that happened (and they disappeared during the day) many of the Harmonious complaints would have likely disappeared also.

Enchantments on the other hand is just a train wreck though. No excuse for that one.

 

[networkpro]

I thought global warming is going to kill all of us all long before that?

When WDW opened, it was fear of a new ice age that was the rage.

 

[HauntedPirate]

If I remember correctly the taco barges were supposed to be accompanied by a bigger backstage storage area to store them during the day, had that happened (and they disappeared during the day) many of the Harmonious complaints would have likely disappeared also.

Enchantments on the other hand is just a train wreck though. No excuse for that one.

From what I’m remembering, the bridge would have to be widened to accommodate the tacos (not really a problem, in the grand scheme of things) but park ops thought it would take too long to bring the barges out each day, so they killed that plan and decided anchoring oil rigs and a star gate in WSL was a better idea.

The story of how management ****ed up what should have been an easy, sure-fire win with the 50th will be fascinating read some day. They needed only to focus on nostalgia and the history of the resort and couldn’t even do that correctly, instead focusing almost exclusively on what the crap peddler knows - merchandise and food. Given that, they don’t have a chance in hell of fixing what needs to be fixed in the parks. This division needs a lobotomy, and if that also reached into $lappie’s office, all the better.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

When WDW opened, it was fear of a new ice age that was the rage.

There’s one big difference

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If I remember correctly the taco barges were supposed to be accompanied by a bigger backstage storage area to store them during the day, had that happened (and they disappeared during the day) many of the Harmonious complaints would have likely disappeared also.

Enchantments on the other hand is just a train wreck though. No excuse for that one.

I don’t think they ever had any intention of moving the kraken…

“Operational inefficiency”

Which means this probably happened: somebody in WDI assumed that would happen - cause they put a quote from Walt about “show” on the wall next to the Starbucks in the imagineering building - and went overboard in the design…

The result is the kraken feasts on the eyes of visitors all day long

 

[WondersOfLife]

If I remember correctly the taco barges were supposed to be accompanied by a bigger backstage storage area to store them during the day, had that happened (and they disappeared during the day) many of the Harmonious complaints would have likely disappeared also.

Enchantments on the other hand is just a train wreck though. No excuse for that one.

With that in mind, Harmonious still became a train wreck. So, whether intentions were good or not, is all for nothing.

 

[wutisgood]

From what I’m remembering, the bridge would have to be widened to accommodate the tacos (not really a problem, in the grand scheme of things) but park ops thought it would take too long to bring the barges out each day, so they killed that plan and decided anchoring oil rigs and a star gate in WSL was a better idea.

Maybe they should have done that because they are one of the most popular and expensive parks in the world. Disney blows 450million on a roller coaster but ugh moving barges is too much work!

 

[Walt d]

I bet he’s high in the ranks. What was really sad was the other guy was likely a newbie and was on some sort of training mission, based on the way he was being spoken to. Bragging about cutting corners and being cheap is not something one should be doing in front of newcomers, no matter what the job is.

If

WDW's 25th anniversary was so completely superior in almost every way imaginable. A resort near the peak of its existence. A fantastic night parade, attractions running on all cylinders, extended park hours all year long, incredible value and quality at parks and hotels, and yes, even the castle cake, tacky as it was, had more sincerity in a single oversized gumdrop than the entirety of the IP-driven, nostalgia-lacking, soulless, joyless, half-hearted and tired cliche that the 50th anniversary has turned out to be. I feel sad for those who never got to see the 25th. At least Disney's at least pretending to be aware of how badly they missed the mark.

if they held a ball, they dropped it. A lot of merc never saw the light of day, like 25th did it was amazing. Even the pins.. were lame. The companies that made merch for the 25th must of not got the memo for 50…. Who was driving that bus as they went off into the jungle never to be seen again. Makes you wonder if they will actually be a 60th. And will the dreamers never wake up??

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

if they held a ball, they dropped it. A lot of merc never saw the light of day, like 25th did it was amazing. Even the pins.. were lame. The companies that made merch for the 25th must of not got the memo for 50…. Who was driving that bus as they went off into the jungle never to be seen again. Makes you wonder if they will actually be a 60th. And will the dreamers never wake up??

Merch is - to be fair - vastly different than in 1996. It was a one shot deal and people hauled 50 lbs of souvies on the plane with their $100 flight…for free.

Online sales/resells…smartphones…apps…Touch ID payment systems has made much of the merch an after thought. The Disney parks still sell tons but they have pivoted away from really caring what theyre actually selling. It’s all high quantity, low cost Production runs from the sweatshops behind Shanghai Disneyland now

 

[Californian Elitist]

If

if they held a ball, they dropped it. A lot of merc never saw the light of day, like 25th did it was amazing. Even the pins.. were lame. The companies that made merch for the 25th must of not got the memo for 50…. Who was driving that bus as they went off into the jungle never to be seen again. Makes you wonder if they will actually be a 60th. And will the dreamers never wake up??

Given that the guy was mocking TDA for spending money on Disneyland and DCA, if that was the mindset heading into WDW’s 50th, I’m not surprised to hear about the lackluster merchandise.

I’ll be there a week after this upcoming Monday to see for myself.

 

[gerarar]

Two things that I really liked that came out of the 50th are l..

Beacons of Magic at the 4 different parks. MK hits the hardest, but HS's is nice too. Epcot's just beautiful and AK is a nice sight (when it does run lol)

And the other being the new castle stage show. "Where the magic feels like home.." is such a catchy tune/song.

Actually, all the new songs produced for the 50th — You are the magic, The magic is calling, etc. — They're all great tunes!

However, it's sad they got so so much wrong... I still had fun when I was actually there for the 50th, but it's hard to not ponder, what if..

 

[IanDLBZF]

However, it's sad they got so so much wrong... I still had fun when I was actually there for the 50th, but it's hard to not ponder, what if..

Yeah, they could have gotten Disney Enchantment right. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THEIR CHANCE!
Harmonious could be replaced within a year or two, just watch.

 

[DJS_MKE]

The 25th was "Remember The Magic" The simple answer is that Disney has Lost the Magic.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Yeah, they could have gotten Disney Enchantment right. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THEIR CHANCE!
Harmonious could be replaced within a year or two, just watch.

Enchantment is an easy swap back to HEA but I don’t think Harmonious is going anywhere anytime soon, they’ve got a fortune invested in all those barges, I’ll be shocked if they don’t use them for at least 5-10 years to get their moneys worth, especially since the show itself has been pretty popular with a lot of people.

 

[No Name]

This question from Disney doesn’t say a thing about how they feel, except that they’re self-aware and non-corrupt enough to ask the question and come up with options. It’s just part of decent surveying. Depending on your answer to the previous questions, you might be asked why you liked it instead, with a positive list of options, yet that isn’t quite as newsworthy.

I do like seeing the list of answer options though.

 

[Den Carter]

What baffles me is that the same company that created this lacklustre 50th celebration also created Disneyland Paris' 30th, which is soooo much better. I've been to both a couple of times in the last few months and DLP wins hands down in the magic stakes.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Two things that I really liked that came out of the 50th are l..

Beacons of Magic at the 4 different parks. MK hits the hardest, but HS's is nice too. Epcot's just beautiful and AK is a nice sight (when it does run lol)

And the other being the new castle stage show. "Where the magic feels like home.." is such a catchy tune/song.

Actually, all the new songs produced for the 50th — You are the magic, The magic is calling, etc. — They're all great tunes!

However, it's sad they got so so much wrong... I still had fun when I was actually there for the 50th, but it's hard to not ponder, what if..

I felt like it was kind of silly that they wrote several different "Theme Songs" for the 50th, since the net result was that I heard them several times each but don't remember much of any of them.

There should have been just one great one that summed up the messaging for the 50th, showed up everywhere, and latched itself to your heart. Instead the music sort of telegraphs that they had no real idea what they wanted the 50th to be about for the guests. Which seems to be the most consistent messaging of this whole celebration.

 

[LSLS]

Cedar point had a much better celebration for their 150th then what Disney put out. They even had a night time parade

We planned a trip to cedar point for their 150th. We did not for WDW 50th.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Would love to know what was originally planned to happen before March 2020 hit. I can appreciate that time frame of uncertainty could have really Fd up plans and available money for a lot of things.

 

[Jrb1979]

Would love to know what was originally planned to happen before March 2020 hit. I can appreciate that time frame of uncertainty could have really Fd up plans and available money for a lot of things.

Outside of maybe better evening shows and maybe a night parade, I don't know how much of the in park stuff changed. I don't think they ever going to go big on nastaglia