If You Can't Say Anything Nice...

[Epcot82Guy]

Hey everyone. So, this has obviously been a week for WDW! And, a lot of the events have brought about splits in the Disney fan community. You hear things like pixie duster, doom and gloomer, negativity, etc. being thrown around. I hope everyone agrees that there are some great things happening and some not so great. To help build bridges, I thought it might be fun for everyone to list the top 3 things Disney has done recently you like and the top 3 things you wish would change. Maybe this can help us see where everyone is coming from!

Top 3 Best:
1. Gran Destino Tower/Coronado Springs Redo
2. The food offerings at Disney Springs.
3. The cast quality. Over the last few years, the quality overall has been really, really good!

Top 3 Needs Improvement:
1. Not requiring fit for attractions/developments.
2. The price increases.
3. The forced IP mandate.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Top 3 good...
-mobile order. Time saver. Plus its easier to search for a table before you have a tray full of food
-food options. I'm a picky eater but not like a 5 year old that will eat mac n cheese and nuggets all day every day so I feel like Disney has stepped up their game offering more choices that are not exactly adventurous but also not the same old same old.
-EPCOT overall changes. EPCOT needs a face lift and I am happy with most changes that are coming.

Top 3 "bad"...
-SWGE. I'm not a Star Wars fan so I won't spend much time there but also it seems like it was a bust for Disney and therefore I wish they would have spent money somewhere else.
-HS tier changes. Moving TOT to tier 1 when it has always been tier 2 irks me. I could see moving RNC back to tier 1 but not taking an always tier 2 up to tier 1.
-straw/lid debate. I think had Disney said they were replacing plastic with paper straws instead of saying no more straws period it would have gone over better. I am glad that they are now offering paper straws since I do like to use straws when I have ice. I don't even want ice in my drink but when I ask for no ice it never happens. As for lids I think they need to have them. They fill their drinks so full and then load up the trays and you have to walk around the restaurant to your table through the crowd and drinks start sloshing. Once someone bumped into me while I had a milkshake on my try and my white shirt was never the same.

To me the annoyances are fairly small compared to some.

 

[eliza61nyc]

These are the things I remember from my 2018 trips. I had two, one in April and the last one in August
1) restaurant offerings. I've enjoyed the new dining offerings especially in Disney springs. Had some really tasty meals there last visit.
2) Resorts. Stayed in 3 different resorts (OKW, AKL and Broadwalk), all 3 were awesome. clean as a whistle and great cast members. although I really didn't need anything special, just the daily interaction was happy, charming and infectious.
3)Improvements to parks. I'm over the moon that they have gotten ride of old boring rides like GMR, Ellen and Maelstrom. I realize that I'm the outlier here in that I enjoyed TSL, was it life affirming top tier rides? no. but we enjoyed the new slinky roller coaster and we thought it was bright and colorful and we had fun. We've never had issues with park cleanliness, never once seen an overflowing trash can or light bulbs burnt out (not sure if I would even notice that).

Top "needs improvement. Actually only have two that Disney has control over.
1) "seating and shade" in parks. I wish the parks especially MK and HS had more "seating" through out. not everyone runs from ride to ride and some times I wish there were more places just to "chill"
2) price increases.
3) Distracted guest. I think this is simply a product of todays society, I've been crashed into more folks who walk while having their faces in their cell phones than ever before. I don't get it, pay all that money and spend your entire time with your face in a phone. go figure?

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Good.

1. They're putting money into the parks.
2. They're putting money into the resorts (some at least).
3. The food options at non-Disney run establishments is vast and pretty good.

The Bad

1. Quality/Value of food and entertainment options, along with the overall experience has diminished because of cost cutting measures, short cuts being taken, and the nickel and dime approach being utilized by the TWDC.
2. Quality/Value of food and entertainment options, along with the overall experience has diminished because of cost cutting measures, short cuts being taken, and the nickel and dime approach being utilized by the TWDC.
3. Quality/Value of food and entertainment options, along with the overall experience has diminished because of cost cutting measures, short cuts being taken, and the nickel and dime approach being utilized by the TWDC.

Honorable Mention: TSL needs more shade. As a big SW fan, I felt no connection to SWGE. Was great seeing the falcon, the X-Wing, the Tie-Fighter. Overall the land is very immersive. I was impressed by the immersiveness. But again, no connection. They should have given more prominence to the OT. Star Wars is Luke, Han, Leia, Vader, Kenobi, Yoda, Chewy, Palpatine. - Little to no reference to them. It's akin to Uni not referencing Harry Potter at WWoHP.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

3) Distracted guest. I think this is simply a product of todays society, I've been crashed into more folks who walk while having their faces in their cell phones than ever before. I don't get it, pay all that money and spend your entire time with your face in a phone. go figure?

^^THIS.
Its a pet peeve of mine.
Yes we all need our smartphone and at WDW it is pretty much impossible to put it away with MDE and the fact that most use their phone as their camera.
HOWEVER you should not be looking at it 24/7. You should be enjoying the atmosphere and magic around you. Leave the phone for when you want to take a pic or when you are in a place that you can look at your phone without running into people.

Going along with this the other type of distracted guest is one that pays no attention to the line in front of them and creates large gaps or is more interested in the interactive queue than going on the ride.
It makes the line longer for those in back of them and also in the case of an attraciton with FP it allows more FP people to go in front of the SB line people making it longer yet.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Best
1 A diverse selection of entertaining venues... 4 parks, DS, golf, mini golf, water parks.
2 CM's throughout property that are helpful, courteous and add to the experience you are paying for.
3 A constant variety of food options and snack selections that please.

Needs improvement
1 If they continue to add more rooms and bring in more people, they need more than the few added attractions in each park that are being built.
2 They need more dinner shows that provide quality entertainment, not just character meals.
3 More availability of FP+ to guests throughout their trip time.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Awesome:
1. Cast Members that are nice and want to help
2. Food choices are plenty
3. The shopping's good

Could use improvement:
1. More shady areas at Animal Kingdom
2. More benches in the parks
3. Ticket prices

 

[Nottamus]

Best:
1) the money put in to the parks, with new lands, attractions, layouts, restaurants, shows
2) Upgrades to the resorts.
3) Kind of goes with above, but just the new things in the world for the next few years, and last few years to give us more to do

Needs Improvement:
1) bottled water pricing increase has to stop somewhere
2) stop cancelling performers that we all like!
3) walking path from AKL to AK

 

[ninjaprincesst]

Best:
1) More transportation offering besides just buses (yes the Skyliner had a mishap but it happens)
2) Getting rid of CE and CW building and giving Epcot more of a unified theme.
3) SWGE, I don't think it is a bust I think people are waiting until it is completely open.
Worst:
1) Changing the total story line of Spaceship Earth.
2) Resort changes concerning food delivery and strollers scooters, making it harder on people.
3) The never ending list of before and after hours events and dessert parties.

 

[Djsfantasi]

The Best;

1. The detail. The detail on top of the detail. The transition detail. The detail
2. The storytelling mostly, in all of its various forms. Everything has a backstory
3. If you let it happen, a totally immersive experience can happen.

The Worst:

1. Dino Land! What were they thinking? Every time I pass through, I can feel Walt turning over in his grave.
2. Lack of mid-level dining. Need a senior plate option (smaller than adult; larger and more varied than a child)
3. Eliminate experiences that take you out of the story line. Ie., create themed wagons with themed costumes for maintenance cast members for trash removal. Not just trash, but applicable to all non-story line experiences.

 

[JustAFan]

Good:
1. Disney customer service, attention to detail, moments of extra delight, etc. are top notch.
2. Fastpass. I like being able to schedule ride times and bypass standby queues. Sure it has room for improvement, but overall I feel it's a good feature
3. Good mix of nostalgia and innovation. I love the classic rides, but also enjoy the new features and am excited about what's to come.

'Bad':
1. Cost is high. I get it. A Disney trip is special, but it sure hurts the pocketbook.
2. Updates can be slow to come. Again, I get it, but Spaceship Earth's update is long overdue. Others need updating or refurbishment. Ratatouille opened in theaters in 2007, more than a decade before the ride. A Moana ride or Ralph Breaks the Internet ride could be fun. Do we have to wait 10 more years for those?
3. Inconsiderate guests. It's not just strollers or selfie sticks. It's people that think the world revolves around them and we're all just guests in their space.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

Hey everyone. So, this has obviously been a week for WDW! And, a lot of the events have brought about splits in the Disney fan community. You hear things like pixie duster, doom and gloomer, negativity, etc. being thrown around. I hope everyone agrees that there are some great things happening and some not so great. To help build bridges, I thought it might be fun for everyone to list the top 3 things Disney has done recently you like and the top 3 things you wish would change. Maybe this can help us see where everyone is coming from!

Top 3 Best:
1. Gran Destino Tower/Coronado Springs Redo
2. The food offerings at Disney Springs.
3. The cast quality. Over the last few years, the quality overall has been really, really good!

Top 3 Needs Improvement:
1. Not requiring fit for attractions/developments.
2. The price increases.
3. The forced IP mandate.

The execution of the Destino interior design is impressive but everything else about that project is atrocious.

 

[The_Jobu]

This should be fun. Hmmm, lets see...

THE GOOD:
1. Theming. Disney is still the gold standard, they really put you in a bubble, and it still feels special. I feel like there's still effort being made.
2. Food. The options are fantastic, even at Disney Springs lately. They keep adding new things and its fun to think of what you want to try each visit.
3. The staff. I haven't got any of the "Disney Magic Moments" that some do, but they've always been friendly and helpful.
3.5 The rides, when they're not being lazy, they can make some real magic.

THE BAD:
1. PREDICTIVE STAFFING. I will always despise this. My number one gripe.
2. The non-stop price increases and penny squeezing. I get the premium for captive audiences, but they have just been relentless lately. Not just tickets and APs and hotels, but merch and food. Oga's and Enchanted Rose are a joke, and the event tickets are out of control. Why are there upcharge events INSIDE upcharge events? It's actively keeping me away from visiting more often.
3. Umm... turning Epcot into Ipcot I guess. Mostly the first two. But I needed to think of a 3rd