has Disney changed or have you?

[princessrachel!]

My mother was talking to me about how when your younger during Christmas time you can't sleep and your so excited and you just can't control yourself. Yet when you get older it starts to lose its luster and excitment. Well nothing really has changed with Christmas when you age, only now you have to worry about what i'm going to get the family, how im going to cook all the food, and where your going to get all the money to do so. So on this website ive been seeing alot of negativity about how lights have been not working, or other dumb stuff. And i was thinking to myself, when the first time you go to Disney (like christmas) your so excited and cant wait til you go, and how you run around trying to get autographs or how when you first walk down main street. Yet when you get older and over analize things you step back and are like, wow this building could use a refurb, or geez theres dust all over this! But honestly is the paint and dust really that important. I know i'll get alot of heat over this but, (like christmas) has Disney really changed or have you?

 

[Crush Dude!]

My mother was talking to me about how when your younger during Christmas time you can't sleep and your so excited and you just can't control yourself. Yet when you get older it starts to lose its luster and excitment. Well nothing really has changed with Christmas when you age, only now you have to worry about what i'm going to get the family, how im going to cook all the food, and where your going to get all the money to do so. So on this website ive been seeing alot of negativity about how lights have been not working, or other dumb stuff. And i was thinking to myself, when the first time you go to Disney (like christmas) your so excited and cant wait til you go, and how you run around trying to get autographs or how when you first walk down main street. Yet when you get older and over analize things you step back and are like, wow this building could use a refurb, or geez theres dust all over this! But honestly is the paint and dust really that important. I know i'll get alot of heat over this but, (like christmas) has Disney really changed or have you?

Probably a bit of both :lol:

 

[Jacks_Wench]

I guess it just depends if you grow up as you get older. If you are still looking at things through a child's eyes then the magic is still all there. I go twice a yr and still cry when it is time to come home.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

But honestly is the paint and dust really that important.

If your house had burnt out lights, was dusty, had obvious paint chips and broken appliances, would you do nothing? Probably not, because you've invested time and money into a place you care about. The same goes for WDW for some people.

I sometimes feel and get the impression from others that if it's not your house/store/place it's easy to not care about "details" because you assume someone else will take care of it. That's fair since people are paid to do so, but when they don't it's also reasonable (IMO) to get annoyed.

As for the original question, I feel WDW gets both better and worse when you grow up. I know I like certain things better now then I did before (American Adventure, Living With the Land), and certain things are better now than years ago (Star Tours, Haunted Mansion), but some things loose their appeal as you grow older (like a spinner ride). However the worst part of going when your older is paying for everything yourself.

 

[princessrachel!]

If your house had burnt out lights, was dusty, had obvious paint chips and broken appliances, would you do nothing? Probably not, because you've invested time and money into a place you care about. The same goes for WDW for some people.

I sometimes feel and get the impression from others that if it's not your house/store/place it's easy to not care about "details" because you assume someone else will take care of it. That's fair since people are paid to do so, but when they don't it's also reasonable (IMO) to get annoyed.

As for the original question, I feel WDW gets both better and worse when you grow up. I know I like certain things better now then I did before (American Adventure, Living With the Land), and certain things are better now than years ago (Star Tours, Haunted Mansion), but some things loose thier appeal as you grow older (like a spinner ride). However the worst part of going when your older is paying for everything yourself.

hahaha! :lol: i appreciate your opinions as well.

 

[puntagordabob]

I know i'll get alot of heat over this but, (like christmas) has Disney really changed or have you?

I definitely am as excited to go to WDW or as sad as I was to leave as a kid now.... difference is that when you go alot (we are local to WDW) you tend to notice some things....and if you Love something as much as we all do you tend to want to "help"....for example the last time I was at WDW some teenage or early 20s girl was actively leaning on the monorail doors which is not only usafe since they open out but it is also against the rules... so I spoke up and and said in a very kind and diplomatic way that it was dangerous (and why) and that it was against the rules.

The people with her got rude to me and said "REALLY its against the rules? How would you know??"

My wife cringed with my response "Why yes it is....and if any of you can read it is clearly written a few inches above your friend's head"..... Yeah I imagine they felt pretty ignorant. After we got off the next stop a passenger (who claimed they were a CM...not sure why they were not in uniform) came up to me to shake my hand for actually caring. Lets be clear if this girl would have fallen out somehow they would have blamed Disney.

Same thing applies to the other side of the coin (how WDW is maintained, run, etc..) most of us have invested a lot of our hearts to WDW or the DLR or wherever you visit Mickey.....and when you feel a connection like that you tend to want to "help"/ Granted they usually do just fine without all of us But still it is human nature to WANT to make the world a better place.

Please be aware though that there is a big difference between most of us and some of the "Haters" that hate everything just because they are never happy with anything!

 

[captainkidd]

Obviously, everybody changes a bit as they grow up. That being said, most of my trips to Disney have come after I was 20. I was certainly old enough at that point to see things that a child wouldn't. Disney has changed. I still love it, can't sleep the night before I go and hate the night before I come home, but the threads about light bulbs and what not are dead on accurate. When you see a light bulb that's been out for your entire trip, or trash on the ground in Tomorrowland before and after you rode Space Mountain, or several Tiki torches not lit at the Polynesian - You know something has changed.

 

[WDW1974]

What a deep philosophical topic. Kinda like mental health and the Disney fan community (No, pixie dust and MAGIC are not real) ... or Disney Social Media buying 'independent' web voices.

I've been to WDW since 1974. I've been visiting DL since 1990. Both resorts annually (multiple times) with APs. I've visited DLP, TDR and HKDL. Had an AP for DLP for four of the past seven years and had an AP for HKDL that recently expired. I've stayed at every resort at WDW and DL multiple times with the exception of ASMovies and the DVC resorts that have opened since 2009. I have cruised with Disney multiple times, including a two-week transatlantic voyage. I have stayed at their resorts in Hilton Head and Vero Beach. ... I have also visited many other theme parks and destination resorts and traveled extensively. I'm planning on being in Shanghai on opening day, just as I was at EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios and DCA.

While I love joking that it makes me fanboi royalty, I know the product inside and out. I work in media and have friends who work (or did) for Disney, UNI and other themed entertainment organizations. I have consulted in similar businesses. I know some of the execs who make the decisions that affect your experience and others who were run out of the company because they wouldn't compromise the principles that made Disney the leader in immersive themed family entertainment for over four decades.

I have steadily expanded my horizons and learned that WDW is NOT the best place in the world to vacation and that the USA doesn't have the best of any/every thing and that the entire world isn't envious of us at all either (another discussion).

As I have improved and grown more worldly and knowledgable, WDW has declined. I guess if I had a very low IQ or were blind, I might not have noticed the past 15 years of WDW constantly and consistently lowering the bar (often in devious ways and often blaming the consumer for it). But I'm not ... and I have. And sadly I don't enjoy WDW nearly as much as I once did. I also don't spend nearly as much time and money at the resort as I once did because it is more than obvious that despite me being a whale (using the Vegas vernacular) Disney would rather a family of four from Anytown, USA (or UK) who first came in 2001, bought into DVC in 2005, added points in 2008 and now comes twice a year for a week to 10 days each time and thinks the place has never been better. ... I know better. I know Disney is doing the least it can do in O-Town. And I know it wants guests who don't know better, don't care or have such a mental atttachment to the place (in an unhealthy way) that they'll spend their money there anyway.

I do look at things with a critical eye, but that doesn't mean I look for things to be wrong.

I've given this speech before so many times I should have it ready so I don't have to retype it and I generally get attacked for it. I'm sure a lot of that is flat out jealousy. But some of it is because folks don't know better. They have never been to a WDW without a single traffic light ... one with no character meals ... one that closed its only park at 6 p.m. regularly ... and later left three of its parks open until midnight or later regularly for ALL guests ... one that didn't cater everything to special 8-year-olds ... one that wasn't afraid to call guests on boorish behavior ... or fire CMs on the spot if they broke policies etc.

So, without going on too much (and posts like this have a bizarre history of disappearing into the ether), I've changed for the better, but Disney has gone in the other direction. I am saddened by it, but I'm not living in denial. I do what I can to help change things, but I do realize there's no going back.

''It's the new normal.'' -- now 'cuse me while I go vomit.

 

[a2grafix]

Disney has changed. I still love it, can't sleep the night before I go and hate the night before I come home ...

Ditto. Disney has changed and I have changed with and without Disney. I have had the privilege of visiting Walt Disney World several times since my childhood for over 35 years. I grew up with Disney and from a child's aspect and a big child's aspect, I have been always in awe of Disney and the magic and the coolness of it all.

My first visit to WDW was in 1976 when I was 6 and my last visit was in October when I was 41. My first visit to Disneyland was in 1999 and my last visit was in 2010.

Disney has changed and evolved and rolled with the times but it remains timeless. Things (shows, parades, rides, things) go out of style, are eliminated and/or replaced or get plussed / upgraded.

I see things differently as an adult. I didn't see things that I now see as a child and I appreciate Disney more or have a respect at the awesome power that Disney has that it can remain timeless in a time-speeding world. There are subtle hints at reality but when you enter Disney property you are whisked into "any day is a Disney day" time.

I'm just amazed and continue to be amazed how Disney survives and keeps sort of reinvesting itself, keeps plussing itself and remains on top. It's the small things, and sometimes the big things that shock me.

At times, though I think I have outgrown Disney; that I have become tired of going back four times to WDW from 2007-2011 and one time to Disneyland in 2010. I get into a routine. I know the ride, I know the music, I know what to expect. Things are familiar, yet inviting.

But each time I think I get tired of seeing the same old thing, I try to see something new, or something I have not experienced in year's past, to help complete the picture, the experience of Disney throughout the years.

It used to be all Disney, but my tastes have changed. I now incorporate Disney in my vacation plans, and it's always a base. But I also visit other parks outside of the Disney realm - Universal Studios Orlando / Hollywood, Knotts Berry Farm, Sea World, Cedar Point, Kings Island. I don't compare everything to Disney, but appreciate and respect what Disney has done.

 

[Laura]

First of all, I am still ridiculously excited about Christmas every year and can't sleep on Christmas Eve. :lol:

Anyway, what changed for me with Disney World was having the ability to plan, pay for, and take my own trips whenever I wanted (because I became an adult). Once I was able to do that, I went overboard and took a ton of trips in a short amount of time. Then I moved to California near Disneyland and went there a million times. The overkill of visits drained a lot of the magic out of Disney for me. The fun thing about Christmas is it only comes once a year. These days, Disney comes about 25 times a year. It's more of a diversion than anything worthy of excitement.

 

[Unomas]

I don't think I have changed a bit. And perhaps I am even more excited than when I was younger. It's 2 am in the morning and I can't sleep because I'm too excited about our Disneymoon that starts today. We fly out at 6am. FINALLY HERE!!!!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I have changed in the way that I am a grown man, married with an infant son. I've matured in many, many ways. However for the OP, I still love Christmas as much today as I did when I was 10, or even when I believed in Santa.

10 years old was my first trip to Disney. I loved it. I went throughout my teens and then took a long break and didnt go until my wife came with me in 2009. I told myself "look, don't be sad if the place just doesn't have the same feel anymore". I was wrong. Not only did it have that exact same feel that I had in my teens, I also appreciated things a lot more. The theming, the architecture, the history, the mood, the shows.

I know people complain on here about things, but even in the 45 years that Walt has died, his legend still lives on. Yes Disney might have done things a little different than if Walt was still alive, but in a strange way he is still running this place because things are done with the magic in mind. Some companies do a 180 and are never the same, Disney isn't like this. They tend to keep one foot in the future and one foot in the past and that makes for a classic park.

So the day I don't enjoy WDW is the day I am a grinch so to speak

 

[real mad hatter]

Dream a little dream.

Well i was a young 51 yrd old when we first went to WDW,with our 6 yr old.At first i wasnt sure if i was going to like this vacation,but lo and behold when we stepped out of the real world (wars,depression,stressful jobs,etc)and entered this world of magic,wow,if only life could be as much fun as this,now we are all Disney geeks,for a better word of it,and we love planning our vacations every two years,for that magical moment of 14 days in this amazing world.God bless you Walt.:wave:

 

[draybook]

What a deep philosophical topic. Kinda like mental health and the Disney fan community (No, pixie dust and MAGIC are not real) ... or Disney Social Media buying 'independent' web voices.

I've been to WDW since 1974. I've been visiting DL since 1990. Both resorts annually (multiple times) with APs. I've visited DLP, TDR and HKDL. Had an AP for DLP for four of the past seven years and had an AP for HKDL that recently expired. I've stayed at every resort at WDW and DL multiple times with the exception of ASMovies and the DVC resorts that have opened since 2009. I have cruised with Disney multiple times, including a two-week transatlantic voyage. I have stayed at their resorts in Hilton Head and Vero Beach. ... I have also visited many other theme parks and destination resorts and traveled extensively. I'm planning on being in Shanghai on opening day, just as I was at EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios and DCA.

While I love joking that it makes me fanboi royalty, I know the product inside and out. I work in media and have friends who work (or did) for Disney, UNI and other themed entertainment organizations. I have consulted in similar businesses. I know some of the execs who make the decisions that affect your experience and others who were run out of the company because they wouldn't compromise the principles that made Disney the leader in immersive themed family entertainment for over four decades.

I have steadily expanded my horizons and learned that WDW is NOT the best place in the world to vacation and that the USA doesn't have the best of any/every thing and that the entire world isn't envious of us at all either (another discussion).

As I have improved and grown more worldly and knowledgable, WDW has declined. I guess if I had a very low IQ or were blind, I might not have noticed the past 15 years of WDW constantly and consistently lowering the bar (often in devious ways and often blaming the consumer for it). But I'm not ... and I have. And sadly I don't enjoy WDW nearly as much as I once did. I also don't spend nearly as much time and money at the resort as I once did because it is more than obvious that despite me being a whale (using the Vegas vernacular) Disney would rather a family of four from Anytown, USA (or UK) who first came in 2001, bought into DVC in 2005, added points in 2008 and now comes twice a year for a week to 10 days each time and thinks the place has never been better. ... I know better. I know Disney is doing the least it can do in O-Town. And I know it wants guests who don't know better, don't care or have such a mental atttachment to the place (in an unhealthy way) that they'll spend their money there anyway.

I do look at things with a critical eye, but that doesn't mean I look for things to be wrong.

I've given this speech before so many times I should have it ready so I don't have to retype it and I generally get attacked for it. I'm sure a lot of that is flat out jealousy. But some of it is because folks don't know better. They have never been to a WDW without a single traffic light ... one with no character meals ... one that closed its only park at 6 p.m. regularly ... and later left three of its parks open until midnight or later regularly for ALL guests ... one that didn't cater everything to special 8-year-olds ... one that wasn't afraid to call guests on boorish behavior ... or fire CMs on the spot if they broke policies etc.

So, without going on too much (and posts like this have a bizarre history of disappearing into the ether), I've changed for the better, but Disney has gone in the other direction. I am saddened by it, but I'm not living in denial. I do what I can to help change things, but I do realize there's no going back.

''It's the new normal.'' -- now 'cuse me while I go vomit.

With all due respect, I would wager that most attacks are brought upon you because of the arrogance oozing out of posts like this one. I don't know if you mean to come off that way, but that's just what I got from it. I'm not jealous of your experience with Disney history, but rather impressed. I would love to say that I've been to those places and have that much knowledge about the parks. Unfortunately, I am one of those low IQ, Joe Schmoe from Anytown, USA, with a family of 4. Our first trip there wasn't until 2008, when I was already 30. My kids were 8 and 7, and they loved the experience. They didn't notice a single light bulb or any dust or anything. They noticed the characters, the rides and they had a blast. If the place starts getting bad enough that it impacts our trips there, we'll just stop going. That makes a bigger statement to the company than complaining on random boards IMO.

 

[captainkidd]

With all due respect, I would wager that most attacks are brought upon you because of the arrogance oozing out of posts like this one. I don't know if you mean to come off that way, but that's just what I got from it. I'm not jealous of your experience with Disney history, but rather impressed. I would love to say that I've been to those places and have that much knowledge about the parks. Unfortunately, I am one of those low IQ, Joe Schmoe from Anytown, USA, with a family of 4. Our first trip there wasn't until 2008, when I was already 30. My kids were 8 and 7, and they loved the experience. They didn't notice a single light bulb or any dust or anything. They noticed the characters, the rides and they had a blast. If the place starts getting bad enough that it impacts our trips there, we'll just stop going. That makes a bigger statement to the company than complaining on random boards IMO.

Not saying I agree or disagree with your take on it. But the middle paragraph about Disney doing as little as possible in Florida over the past 15 years is true - Sadly. Though I'd say more like 10 years.

However, I actually envy you. You didn't experience Disney from the mid 80's up until about 2001. I know that sounds like like a weird statement, but it's true. Doesn't make your dollar or current park knowledge worth any less. You just haven't had to see the sad decline the company has taken. I still love WDW and will continue to go there, as at it's worst, it's still the greatest place on Earth to me. However, knowing how much more they are capable of, it does sadden me at times.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Have I changed since my first trip? The has to be yes. There is nothing like the excitement/nervousness from doing something the first time. That will never happen again, but I am always excited to visit Disney parks.

As far as complaining about the lights, I do not think it has to do with a change in the way I envision WDW. I will bring this back to my first visit to WDW.

Since I was a young boy I had always visited the local theme park which is now owned by Six Flags. I would go there and got used to seeing broken rides, peeling paint, light bulbs out and spotty landscaping. Then in my mid 20's I had a job and money to make a trip to WDW. I was floored seeing no trash, perfect paint, washed walkways and not a single lightbulb out. Everything was perfect and it took me to a world that I never knew existed. Reality is that paint does peel and lights blow out, but on that trip Disney proved to me that they could take me away from that reality and showed me a perfect world. That world unfortunately does not currently exist right now and I have not seen that in a long time. I do hold out hope that some day I will be transported back.

 

[sbkline]

I remember once several years ago, my Dad traded his truck and he was telling me how the car dealer was talking it up like "you get to drive home in your brand new truck!". And my Dad replied something to the effect that the excitement of getting a new vehicle went away a long time ago. lol

I tell that story to illustrate that to a large extent, it's US who change, not Disney. I remember when my wife and I went on our honeymoon trip in 2003, I just couldn't wait to go back. I had such warm fuzzy memories associated with the whole experience: brand new wife, first road trip with her, first major vacation in a long time and just the "newness" of going to Disney as an adult with a brand new wife, etc. We went back in 2004 and had a blast. I was obsessed with WDW and couldn't wait for the next trip. We went briefly in 2005, and had to skip 2006 because our son was born that year. Went back in 2007 and enjoyed it, but when we went in 2008, it just wasn't the same anymore. I think the "new car feel" was starting to wear off and the trip to WDW was no longer quite living up to the high expectations that I had been setting for it over the years. Even the trips after that, I have enjoyed and looked forward to, but I guess my wife and I have been married long enough and we have been to WDW enough times, that the magic of it has started to fade a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I still love going, and I still look forward to the trip, but the excitement has worn off to some degree, and I know WDW hasn't changed all that much. It just doesn't have the same magic that it used to, and I think it's because I'm just too used to it by now.

 

[Susan Savia]

I still get very excited when a trip is coming up...48 days to go! I think about all the little things that rev me up like the packing, driving to get there, stopping for my orange juice in Florida, the first sight of Spaceship Earth, etc. I do not worry about a chip of paint, or a missing light bulb while in line for rides. Why should I waste precious time worrying about if their going to replace that lightbulb today or not...I do think I preferred the Epcot Attractions of years gone past to the ones now, in Future World, but ya go with the flo and if thats what is there now, fine. I love it regardless.

 

[Computer Magic]

What a deep philosophical topic. Kinda like mental health and the Disney fan community (No, pixie dust and MAGIC are not real) ... or Disney Social Media buying 'independent' web voices.

I've been to WDW since 1974. I've been visiting DL since 1990. Both resorts annually (multiple times) with APs. I've visited DLP, TDR and HKDL. Had an AP for DLP for four of the past seven years and had an AP for HKDL that recently expired. I've stayed at every resort at WDW and DL multiple times with the exception of ASMovies and the DVC resorts that have opened since 2009. I have cruised with Disney multiple times, including a two-week transatlantic voyage. I have stayed at their resorts in Hilton Head and Vero Beach. ... I have also visited many other theme parks and destination resorts and traveled extensively. I'm planning on being in Shanghai on opening day, just as I was at EPCOT, Disney-MGM Studios and DCA.

While I love joking that it makes me fanboi royalty, I know the product inside and out. I work in media and have friends who work (or did) for Disney, UNI and other themed entertainment organizations. I have consulted in similar businesses. I know some of the execs who make the decisions that affect your experience and others who were run out of the company because they wouldn't compromise the principles that made Disney the leader in immersive themed family entertainment for over four decades.

I have steadily expanded my horizons and learned that WDW is NOT the best place in the world to vacation and that the USA doesn't have the best of any/every thing and that the entire world isn't envious of us at all either (another discussion).

As I have improved and grown more worldly and knowledgable, WDW has declined. I guess if I had a very low IQ or were blind, I might not have noticed the past 15 years of WDW constantly and consistently lowering the bar (often in devious ways and often blaming the consumer for it). But I'm not ... and I have. And sadly I don't enjoy WDW nearly as much as I once did. I also don't spend nearly as much time and money at the resort as I once did because it is more than obvious that despite me being a whale (using the Vegas vernacular) Disney would rather a family of four from Anytown, USA (or UK) who first came in 2001, bought into DVC in 2005, added points in 2008 and now comes twice a year for a week to 10 days each time and thinks the place has never been better. ... I know better. I know Disney is doing the least it can do in O-Town. And I know it wants guests who don't know better, don't care or have such a mental atttachment to the place (in an unhealthy way) that they'll spend their money there anyway.

I do look at things with a critical eye, but that doesn't mean I look for things to be wrong.

I've given this speech before so many times I should have it ready so I don't have to retype it and I generally get attacked for it. I'm sure a lot of that is flat out jealousy. But some of it is because folks don't know better. They have never been to a WDW without a single traffic light ... one with no character meals ... one that closed its only park at 6 p.m. regularly ... and later left three of its parks open until midnight or later regularly for ALL guests ... one that didn't cater everything to special 8-year-olds ... one that wasn't afraid to call guests on boorish behavior ... or fire CMs on the spot if they broke policies etc.

So, without going on too much (and posts like this have a bizarre history of disappearing into the ether), I've changed for the better, but Disney has gone in the other direction. I am saddened by it, but I'm not living in denial. I do what I can to help change things, but I do realize there's no going back.

''It's the new normal.'' -- now 'cuse me while I go vomit.

Well stated... although I hope you are wrong and WDW does realize their mistake and goes back. I'm not naive as I see what is going on with more DVC, DDP and the changes gearing for a family of 4. I guess that is the change as in 1980's - 90's WDW needed to get adults into the parks as WDW was new and needed a starting point. Now they are trying to get those adults on emotions by returning with their kids or grandkids and buy into DVC.

 

[draybook]

Not saying I agree or disagree with your take on it. But the middle paragraph about Disney doing as little as possible in Florida over the past 15 years is true - Sadly. Though I'd say more like 10 years.

However, I actually envy you. You didn't experience Disney from the mid 80's up until about 2001. I know that sounds like like a weird statement, but it's true. Doesn't make your dollar or current park knowledge worth any less. You just haven't had to see the sad decline the company has taken. I still love WDW and will continue to go there, as at it's worst, it's still the greatest place on Earth to me. However, knowing how much more they are capable of, it does sadden me at times.

Oh, I truly believe what WDW1974 is saying is accurate, I'm just saying that his presentation is probably what gets some arguments started. We have noticed some declining since just 2008 but we're still going to visit until it's gotten to the point where it makes it "un-magical".