Does anyone else forget the negatives?

[mergatroid]

Anyhow, to bring things back on topic after I hijacked the thread slightly.

We always enjoy our trips despite the majority of the perceived negatives I read about on here. I believe many of us went to Disney as kids and to a large extent we didn't notice stuff then as we do now. We have this idea that everything was perfect in the parks back then and yet the reality is that it probably wasn't. We read posts where a minority can only be described as having a meltdown over the tiniest of issues as though 'back in the day' every attraction appealed to every person, and nobody had any complaints about anything at Disney.

I also think that to some degree, many of us (myself included) are looking at it through different eyes to those who aren't 'Disney nuts' and as such we judge Disney differently to 'normal people'. For instance I've ridden almost everything at Disney multiple times of several decades and as such there's several attractions I just don't bother with anymore, even if they're walk on. From my perspective then I'd be delighted if these attractions were replaced, but there's hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of future guests who'll get a blast from these attractions that no longer appeal to me. We all look at life from a selfish perspective as that's just human nature, there's nothing wrong with that but at times I think we should remind ourselves that Disney isn't just there to satisfy us.

For all the complaining about there not being enough to do at various parks, there's far more to do overall now than there's ever been at Disney. My first visits consisted of going to the Magic Kingdom or River Country and .................................... well that's it! No Epcot, no Animal Kingdom, no Studios, no Typhoon Lagoon, no Blizzard Beach and no Disney Springs (then it was the Disney Marketplace with very little to see). And bear in mind that back then also there was no Splash or Thunder in the Magic Kingdom either and you were restricted to riding attractions by having to pay for books of tickets so if you wanted to ride Space Mountain several times you'd probably have to buy more tickets.

We go so often that we can easily allow ourselves to become somewhat jaded by some of Disney's offerings, many on here complain about new attractions being built before they've even opened or before they've been experienced. People complain about the new paint job coming to Tomorrowland as though they expected Disney to check with them first before deciding which colours to go with. There are legitimate complaints about Disney and I've even contributed some myself, however there's also a lot we read which may be down to us going so often that we judge it too harshly at times.

So after rambling on for far too long, yes I forget the 'negatives' for 99% of the time we're there and just enjoy it.

 

[jimbo mack]

Negatives are a fact of life, but what humours me is that it still doesn’t stop the majority of people on here visiting again. The positives heavily outweigh any negatives for me anyway.

Scooters don’t really bother me. But the number of strollers on the other hand is simply ridiculous (had to get that bit in there!)

 

[The_Jobu]

Just got back.

The one negative that soured things was the penny-pinching staffing keeping ride times inflated when they didnt have to be. I was grumbling about it myself but then I overheard CM's complaining to each other about it a couple of times. I wouldn't mind the blatant over pricing if slow days were actually slow again.

Didn't see any over flowing garbages though. Upkeep seemed fine, ASM was a little rough in some places. Food was good. Service was ok (no magic moments but I did get 2 at Universal. Weird).

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Are there some moves I don't like? Sure, there are, I don't like illumination's replacement from what's coming out of it, and I'm not much of a fan of incredicoaster, but those are just two things. Everything else is fine by me.

In the same vein: I never expect to like everything they have or everything they change. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Still plenty to do, either way.

 

[danyoung56]

Many years back, in the early days of the internet, there was USENET, a way to communicate with others of like mind. Al Lutz (who later went on to found Miceage), was the king of REC.ALT.DISNEY, a discussion board for us Disney park nuts. He was so down on Disneyland - dirty bathrooms, overflowing trashcans, fading paint - that I almost canceled my summer trip to DL, a place I'd loved since my first visit back in 1963. I decided to go anyway, and you know what I found? The music was playing on Main Street, the balloon sellers were selling balloons, the smell of popcorn and caramel was in the air - in short, it was the same DL that I'd known for years!

Don't let the negative Nellys influence you - go, and have a good time!

 

[eliza61nyc]

One of the things I'm always glad about is that I started my wdw love affair fairly recently. Seems like the people who visited during what I've called the 'golden years" are more negative and cranky. I've always felt that if you go somewhere and all you can report on is what was "bad" about the place or how much better it was before, that's a colossal waste of time and my vacation/family time is way to precious to waste.

What tickles me is when someone post thread after thread of negative and then turns around and say "I didn't say we had a bad time, we had a great time"?? Really??

If the first thing you want to do is take a picture of an overflowing trash can so you can complain about it, it's time to find another venue. that's just me.

I don't forget about the negatives because I never stress about them in the first place. I keep my expectations firmly in the present. I know Disney is a crowded place, I either accept that or my trip will not be enjoyable. I choose to accept it. I've worked with John q. public and know what a pita they can be so I don't expect every cm to be singing zippe doo da all the day long simply because they are working for Disney.
I also don't expect to find perfection in any vacation destination.

It is still my happy place and my family's number one vacation destination. I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak down next year.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I am actually very guilty of projecting a lot of negative emotions towards Disney this year (a BIG first for me). Disney has always been my go-to "happy place", heck even when I am at the dentist to lessen my stress of being there I just think about Disney. However, this year has been really hard (family issues and what not...and there is a LOT of background stuff and it actually does incorporate Disney World somewhat) that I started to manifest a lot of negative emotions towards Disney. I got so upset that I began to hate the place I love which I just realized this about a week ago after feeling this hatred towards them for a few months. HOWEVER, my hubby told me that he is very thankful I projected my anger towards Disney and not him, lol. But all in all, past the small negatives and recent changes, Disney still holds a big place in my heart (yes, very sappy I know), and I am beginning to picture it as my "happy place" once more.

 

[PplMover]

Go every year and will bump it up to twice a year when my kids grow a bit. I look for all the positives and replace negatives with new positives. I know people get jaded for whatever reason. I go knowing I’m not entitled and for the most part everyone is looking to enjoy themselves..
I’m happy the parks evolve- do I miss certain attractions and land marks? Of course...thankful for videos of older stuff being preserved on the internet.

I rarely nitpick because I know if something isn’t fix or running right in that small window of the year I’m there- I know it will be right the next time I go.

With that said, bring back the sweet cream cheese pretzel!!!!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

We usually go every 2 years...you plan and plan and plan for that trip, read all the negativity and just BLOCK it out for the 7 or 10 days you're there...there's so much negativity in current events right now, I'm not going to let a "ripe" monorail (never smelled a "ripe" monorail---I live in NJ, so in some parts of the state, that's the normal smell) lol, or an overflowing trash can (which we've also NEVER seen) ruin our trip. We've had favorite rides down, oh well, it's life and you get over your disappointment with the next attraction. As I've said before, life's too short to sweat the small stuff...life isn't perfect, and neither is WDW.

 

[mergatroid]

Went 2 months ago and just booked for September next year, I'm a happy man tonight

 

[Goofyernmost]

One of the things I'm always glad about is that I started my wdw love affair fairly recently. Seems like the people who visited during what I've called the 'golden years" are more negative and cranky. I've always felt that if you go somewhere and all you can report on is what was "bad" about the place or how much better it was before, that's a colossal waste of time and my vacation/family time is way to precious to waste.

What tickles me is when someone post thread after thread of negative and then turns around and say "I didn't say we had a bad time, we had a great time"?? Really??

If the first thing you want to do is take a picture of an overflowing trash can so you can complain about it, it's time to find another venue. that's just me.

I don't forget about the negatives because I never stress about them in the first place. I keep my expectations firmly in the present. I know Disney is a crowded place, I either accept that or my trip will not be enjoyable. I choose to accept it. I've worked with John q. public and know what a pita they can be so I don't expect every cm to be singing zippe doo da all the day long simply because they are working for Disney. I also don't expect to find perfection in any vacation destination.

It is still my happy place and my family's number one vacation destination. I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak down next year.

I am one that made frequent trips to WDW in the alleged "golden years". However, I never went there as a child. I was 35 years old on my first visit. I have stated repeatedly that with the exception of the cost of going there, the place is hugely better then it was back then. It was nice back then too, but, new technology and changing designs have greatly improve the visual part of the parks and the classiness of the surroundings. I saw the flaws back when I first went, but, they never bothered me, they surprised me more then anything.

Many of the heaviest complainers made their first visit during that time as a child and saw the park as this magical place, with everything perfect and the sensory overload was huge for a kid. Kids never see the imperfections. They only see the colors, feel the vibe and plant them in those memory banks as perfection. Later when they get older, that childhood acceptance of perfection is disrupted by the reality of adult life. It's understandable, but, it is also annoying when you are trying to accept reality and enjoy what is offered as opposed to what some think should be offered based on a child tainted memory.

 

[Corgi]

That's a great viewpoint to have, OP!

 

[Nottamus]

You know....it’s not just Disney posts...it’s the whole internet. Any place where people can comment, always turns negative.

You could post a fluffy puppy picture and 6-7 comments in there with be someone who hates puppies and starts calling people names

I get in trouble in THESE forums for being too
Positive...but I strongly feel if you go looking for stuff wrong, you’ll find it. Better to just let the moment take over and enjoy the time you have anywhere.

We are not here forever!

 

[Shouldigo12]

Are things different? Yes. Could things be better? Obviously. I'm no sunshine-pumper. I miss plenty of things that are bygone, and I get frustrated when rides are down. However, the good still outweighs the bad by a substantial margin.

I just did a three-generation trip that included a 3 year old, a pair of 66 year olds, and a wife who isn't a huge Disney person (like the rest of us are). And EVERY SINGLE PERSON HAD A BLAST. All the fretting over ADRs and Fastpasses; the notoriously fickle Florida weather; and all of the variables that go into a WDW vacation - they all go away when you get in the bubble. We had an absolute cluster of a day on Day 2 at MGM. By the flight home, I had forgotten all about it because of how great everything else was. Maybe if I went 2-3 times/year, it would be different. But I go every 2-4 years, and I love it. And as long as my family does as well, I don't see that changing.

Because making my daughter, my wife and my parents happy at my happiest place on earth is something that I just cannot do anywhere else.

I really believe that this is part of the problem for some people. You can, unfortunately, have too much of a good thing . I see how often some people on here say they go and I just think "Well, yeah, no wonder you're sick of the place!"

 

[Shouldigo12]

An unexamined life is not worth living.

No one is suggesting we don't examine Disney World. With how high the cost is to go, I'm pretty sure everybody on here has thought about whether they enjoyed Disney World and if it was worth the cost. But there's examining, and then there's obsessing. I mean, there's a thread right now with people complaining about the toilet paper quality of all things.

 

[eliza61nyc]

An unexamined life is not worth living.

I totally agree to some degree. Do I try and examine my character (if I'm a decent human being, flaws to work on etc) absolutely. my choices in life? yes. If I was a good parent? again yes. Nitpicking about a vacation venue when there are about a gazillon other vacation venues, is wasted energy for me (and just my thoughts).
A trip to Disney is not some thing that would go on my list of things needed for a well lived life.

but you do bring up an interesting point, maybe one of the things we need to examine is in the realm of living how important is Disneyworld? maybe we assign far more value to it than is warranted.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I'd think that anyone who's posted on this forum more than 200 times is a bit obsessed. Granted, I'm super obsessed... It's not just those who dare to criticize.




Again, within the context of a Disney discussion board, I'd say the place demonstrates a lot of importance.

Those two hundred posts were spread out over two years. That's less than one post a day. So no, I wouldn't say I have an obsession or fixation on Disney World. I love it, I think it's fun, sure, but I'm definitely not obsessed. We've already gone over this whole spiel before, but I have zero issue with people criticizing the place. And I definitely would not consider it daring to do so. But I agree with eliza; some people put too much value in Disney World. It seems like for many people if they can't go to Disney World, then they can't go on vacation period. Disney World is the only option, and since they don't like that option they come on here and complain non stop about how terrible everything is, down to the tiniest detail (I would like to bring about that toilet paper thread again). Why put so much energy into trying to convince fans of the park that it's this awful place when you (general you) could just....find a place you actually like going?

 

[SourcererMark79]

As it's been said over and over again on these threads..If you don't like it, don't go. That's one less person in front of me.

Also, why does the ramp before load in BTMRR always smell like someone crop dusted?

 

[eliza61nyc]

As it's been said over and over again on these threads..If you don't like it, don't go. That's one less person in front of me.

Also, why does the ramp before load in BTMRR always smell like someone crop dusted?

OMG don't ever say that, lol for some reason saying that annoys them. some thing about it dismisses their opinions or some thing to that effect. I always thought that made a lot of sense but I've been literally called stupid and told "I accept mediocrity" so don't go by me.

 

[SourcererMark79]

OMG don't ever say that, lol for some reason saying that annoys them. some thing about it dismisses their opinions or some thing to that effect. I always thought that made a lot of sense but I've been literally called stupid and told "I accept mediocrity" so don't go by me.

I can see both sides. But if accepting mediocrity means I'm enjoying my escape from life in the most magical place on earth, I'll take it.

No one is wrong in wanting things better, it's when the expectations are set too high is when the negative nellies come out. D doesn't set the bar so low that they want us to trip over it, but maybe we need to watch where we walk once in awhile.