I recently returned from a trip to the parks last weekend and, well, the title says it all. It’s still a fun place to go, don’t get me wrong, but that feeling is kind of gone now. The “Disney Difference” is only found in a few attractions still left over from what seems to now be a bygone era. Strangely enough I did find great enjoyment with the CircleVision films in World Showcase which we don’t always do.
Moving on though attractions like Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, and Test Track seem to be in terrible shape. Dinosaur has a ton of busted AAs, timing on the lighting is completely off in some areas, and what used to be a deafening roar from the photo Carnotaurus has been severely muted. We were held for far too long at both track switches on Everest and our car crawled through the mountainous handling test(?) on Test Track. I don’t know what’s causing these issues.
Then, the realization that these parks are just simply changing from what I used to know. The absence of The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy hit once again while gazing at Splash Mountain undergoing construction and seeing how the tree at the top being removed throws off the entire forced perspective. There’s also the idea that Dinoland will be leaving for Moana and Zootopia which could likely be why Dinosaur has been allowed to get to the shape it’s currently in. As a man that loved Dinosaurs as a child and still does to this very day, this is going to hurt after having already lost UoE. Rise of the Resistance and the Millenium Falcon are also in rough shape concerning their animatronics which also brings me to my next point.
The newer rides that have opened the past few years, while fun and impressive, don’t feel “Disney.” The only major ride that does imo is Flight of Passage. Guardians really feels like Disney trying to be Universal and even with Rise being as technically impressive as it is I think it could fall into that camp as well a bit. The Falcon remains a fun video game like ride but you really need to be a pilot to have the most fun with it (right pilot for hyperspace). Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a fun ride that should’ve been an addition and not a replacement. Disneyland wins on that case. Tron is fun and the inside portion is cool but if I had the choice of what to bring from Shanghai it would’ve definitely been Pirates. I hope Tiana is worthy of what it’s replacing. I really, really do.
To end this little rant I will give a few positives. I’ve heard the animatronics had some work done in the American Adventure and it definitely shows. I don’t know if I missed It’s a Small World getting a refurb but it looks better than I’ve seen in a LONG time. The lighting package on Spaceship Earth is fantastic. The new Jungle Cruise which I was finally able to see was a much better update than the auction scene in Pirates and I had possibly one of the top Skippers EVER. She was a riot
I know Disney can still deliver but it seems for the most part they just refuse to make the right decisions these days. I don’t know, maybe I’m just trying to chase something that was never there in the first place. Maybe “The Magic” is just being a kid and now that I’m almost 30 I’ll never be able to replicate it with a place like Disney. The closest I’ve felt to that feeling of amazement in recent years was a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana with my father.
These thoughts have been buzzing around my head the last few days and I just wanted to put them out there and possibly discuss them further. I’m going to get some sleep now since I’m writing this pretty late lol.
unless of course one is the inventor of the thing. 
