George's Epic WDW predictions

Communicore

Communicore

Well-Known Member
Quantity has slipped too. I don't get as much fries in my cup fries. I barely get any with my combo meal. At least fixins bar is still there so I can have sauerkraut and cheese meals.
 
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GrandRoyale

Member
After going to all the parks for their holiday offerings, I'd have to say that despite a few things here and there, they're still great at what they do. Just because they aren't rapidly expanding doesn't mean they're slipping in quality, at least in my opinion. Things could be touched up here and there, sure, but overall Disney still offers one of the best vacation experiences ever.
 
Ryan.'85

Ryan.'85

New Member
I was just at Disney World with my family two weeks ago, and we all had an amazing time! I read one comment on this thread from a while back that said something to the affect of, "...If you're looking for things to complain about, you'll find them, but if you're looking for Disney magic, you'll find that just as easily...". I couldn't agree more. During my family's trip, I noticed a great number of small details on many attractions that didn't always work correctly each and every time I'd ride/experience them. (Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Muppet Vision 3D, Catastrophe Canyon, Mickey's PhilharMagic for a few examples...) Occasionally, I'd encounter a cast member that obviously did not like their job. Still, for every ride experience or cast member encounter that wasn't up to what I know to be Disney's standards, I had ten to twenty experiences that WERE PERFECT. I will say that I had the luxury of a ten day visit to Disney, which is pretty much a minimum amount of time to experience almost every major thing the parks have to offer at an enjoyable pace, in my opinion. The people that I feel for are those who visit Disney World that don't have the time to enjoy their favorite attractions multiple times that might get that one unlucky ride where all the little details and special effects don't quite work as they're supposed to. For instance, during my trip, the speakers on the right (while riding, left if looking at it from the ground) side of the Tower of Terror at the last part of the ride just after the fifth dimension scene were not working. So, both the starfield door split as well as the final Rod Serling narration were not heard. However, if you listened really hard, you could hear those sounds bleed through from the other side of the ride. Knowing the ride well, obviously all that I had to do was take that first right turn in the boiler room queue for the remainder of my trip, and... problem solved! But as for the park guests that only ride it once and don't get the whole experience as intended on their ride (like those who watched Mickey's PhilharMagic but didn't get to see Donald Duck's butt sticking out of the back wall at the end of the show because that AA wasn't working properly that particular time), those are the ones I feel for. In a perfect world, Disney would be able to keep everything performing more consistently. But look, Disney World is an enormous place, and for any one company to operate an entertainment resort of the size and scale that Disney does every day of the year, they're continuing to do one hell of a job, day in and day out!!!
 
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GrammieBee

Well-Known Member
To use a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

We have been going to WDW periodically since the early 70's. Is it the same charming place it was then? Absolutely not. Is there much more to do and experience since then ? Certainly. Do all things change? Of course. Some change we like, some we do not like and some we hardly notice. Are people less coureious and more in a hurry than forty years ago? Definitely. All in all, I think Disney does try to keep up with what the public wants and expects. Do they always succeed? No.

The secret, for us, to keep the magic is to enjoy all things Disney for what they are, not for how we remember them or for how we want them to be.
 
Bparso87

Bparso87

Well-Known Member
I think magic bands have a big issue with this I have been a supporter of them but after my last trip when somehow one of the people in my party fast passes got deleted it was tuff for them to fix with all the computers and systems in place. I think it will take out some of the cast members chance to really go the extra mile like they use to
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Ryan.'85 said:
For instance, during my trip, the speakers on the right (while riding, left if looking at it from the ground) side of the Tower of Terror at the last part of the ride just after the fifth dimension scene were not working. So, both the starfield door split as well as the final Rod Serling narration were not heard. However, if you listened really hard, you could hear those sounds bleed through from the other side of the ride. Knowing the ride well, obviously all that I had to do was take that first right turn in the boiler room queue for the remainder of my trip, and... problem solved! But as for the park guests that only ride it once and don't get the whole experience as intended on their ride (like those who watched Mickey's PhilharMagic but didn't get to see Donald Duck's butt sticking out of the back wall at the end of the show because that AA wasn't working properly that particular time), those are the ones I feel for. In a perfect world, Disney would be able to keep everything performing more consistently. But look, Disney World is an enormous place, and for any one company to operate an entertainment resort of the size and scale that Disney does every day of the year, they're continuing to do one hell of a job, day in and day out!!!
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That ToT issue should have closed the attraction for an immediate fix as it was not show ready. Great thing with Tower is they can keep one side open.
 
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thomas998

Well-Known Member
The easiest way to see the decline is to go into the gift shops. Look at the quality of what they are selling... from toys to clothes. Has it stayed the same to declined? Well when you look back to the 70's the toys you got were the equivalent of what you would find at an FAO Schwartz in terms of quality... now days they are wal-mart quality at best with some falling into the Dollar Tree category of junk. Clothing? Well just look at the material used to make your standard Disney T-shirt, it used to be decent quality cotton, now you could use it great quality if you are comparing it to cheese cloth or gauze, but honestly most t-shirts in a Wal-Mart are better quality.

The majority of the rides are the same as they were 10 years ago, of course that means that they are in fact the same ride with 10 years of wear showing... but if you don't want to accept that there has been a slow decline, you don't have to. Sadly most of us that have been there in the better times know your wrong.
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Could not agree more. The merchandise quality has declined severely in the last 15 years while the prices continue to rise. The selection of different and unique types of merchandise continues to shrink. FOOD quality continues to decline and even the high end restaurants are removing signature dishes. Those guests who were not fortunate enough to be around WDW 10-20 years ago have no idea how truly magical it was. It has been a long, slow decline no doubt.

That having been said, there is still no place on the planet that can provide the vast range of entertainment and activities found at WDW. My family and I are fans and will be back after a visit to DEL and probably a DCL cruise.
 
loriloughs

loriloughs

Member
George said:
Wow! Thanks for the posts! Jesserin does make a good point! WDW is still the vacation I look forward to most. However, /nerdy types like me are a large part of WDW's base audience. We're picky. I don't want to brag to my friends about the cool Yeti AA, have them travel to Orlando and find out they weren't impressed at all because it was running in "plan B" mode the whole time. If things like this happen too much, we'll quit going. Its good to complain before it gets to this point. I've actually seen my complaints affect changes for the better.
Neverwhere - Great point about the changing of types of rides. One thing I used to think was sweet about Disney was the amount of time in line to the amount of time on cool attraction ratio was small. Now its not as high. Prime example - TT and MS replacing WoM and Horizons. I like TT and MS, but I also like the other two attractions and there does seem to be a dearth of traditional longer dark rides in the works (I hope there are some being planned I don't know about).
Everyone makes a good point about society changing.
One more random thought - I know a lot of people think Lasseter is going to be better for the theme parks than Eisner. What is Lasseter's history with theme parks? I only know of his time with Pixar.
STR8Fan and Epcot82Guy - Thanks for posting. You're both in my pantheon of wdwmagic super posters.
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loriloughs

loriloughs

Member
I was not fortunate enough as a child to have parents with the means to take us to DisneyWorld. I didn't get there until 1991 and was already in my 30's! I do miss those days when there were no fastpasses, but if you went in September you could walk on ANY attraction with no wait. We always stayed outside the parks for financial reasons but I never felt I was missing anything. Now I feel almost compelled to be in the "middle of the Magic." Disney surely has changed over the last 23 years! There are never "quiet" low-crowd weeks anymore and you need to plan everything from where and when you are going to eat to when you are going to certain attractions! So much work for a vacation! Yet, no matter what Disney does, I will still love it and will adapt to anything they do. Life changes all the time and we can either "go with it" and be happy or "fight city hall" and lose. I don't mind new attractions, but I the Disney hotel construction should definitely stop!
 
BrerJon

BrerJon

Well-Known Member
Is the Pope catholic?

Anyone who visited WDW in the mid 90s or before would be painfully aware of how much it has gone downhill. Vastly higher prices and worse value for money, worse quality merchandise, a new big attraction and parade every decade instead of every year, and food that has become Dining Plan mush instead of the envy of the travel world.

There are positive signs; a couple of years ago maintenance was a big issue but they seem to be improving that, for example fixing up Splash and repainting MK, but there's still a long way to go and too many broken things never get fixed.

The only thing that has stayed consistent, and WDW's biggest asset to this day, is the Cast Members, who are still fantastic and living up to Walt's vision. It's just a shame management doesn't have a clue about how to care for their parks and give an experience to justify the prices guests pay.
 
righttrack

righttrack

Well-Known Member
WDW has always been about the castmembers. The ones who care. The ones who smile. The ones who find somebody who isn't having a good time and helps them find a good time. That's the real difference.

I come from the NYC area. I board planes, trains and automobiles to get there. The first person I meet there, always has a smile and an above-and-beyond service attitude. That makes a huge difference and transports me to another place. The buildings and attractions only take it so far. The people do the rest.
 
alissafalco

alissafalco

Well-Known Member
George said:
I predict in 8 years there will be a mine train ride dedicated to Snow White in the New Fantasyland area. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if after decades and decades of the same restaurant lineup in MK a nice, new sit down restaurant that was based on the Beast's castle opened in the aforementioned new Fantasyland area. Finally, I think that James Cameron will make an outer space movie called Avarice and a land based on that will be put in Animal Kingdom, say 10 or 11 years from now. Also, either Dora the Explorer or Jack Sparrow will be added to MGM.

Finally, in 2019 there will be a SW expansion in MGM (will be re-branded Movie Magic Kingdom) and it will consist of an X-Wing spinner and two restaurants - Jabba's Hamburger Hutt and Cinnabon's Organa Rolls.
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Wow, can you also predict lotto numbers? Mega millions would be good. Thanks :D
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
Could not agree more. The merchandise quality has declined severely in the last 15 years while the prices continue to rise. The selection of different and unique types of merchandise continues to shrink. FOOD quality continues to decline and even the high end restaurants are removing signature dishes. Those guests who were not fortunate enough to be around WDW 10-20 years ago have no idea how truly magical it was. It has been a long, slow decline no doubt.

That having been said, there is still no place on the planet that can provide the vast range of entertainment and activities found at WDW. My family and I are fans and will be back after a visit to DEL and probably a DCL cruise.
Click to expand...
Not for all of us. It wouldn't matter to me if the stores only had empty boxes on the shelves. I don't go to WDW to buy things, I have all the Disney junk that anyone might need. (about 4 things and those were bought for me by someone else) I'm sure that I am not one of Disney's favorite Guests, but, who cares I get what I want out of the place.
 

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