Is Disney loosing its magic

[CDS Disney]

I have been to WDW 5 time in my life and from trip to trip I have notices little things. But one problem lingers in my mind Is Disney World losing its magic? Rides closing/ constantly breaking down work being done during the day. What do you think?? And who’s to blame?

 

[TURKEY]

Lots of things are to blame. Some of them are management, others are things that can't really be avoided.

Some of these rides are getting pretty old. Things breakdown more frequently and demand more work as they get older. Just like people, rides need more attention when they are young and old.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

the BIG question is though, does anyone think Disney's magic will return? or is it too far gone?

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by CDS Disney
I have been to WDW 5 time in my life and from trip to trip I have notices little things. But one problem lingers in my mind Is Disney World losing its magic? Rides closing/ constantly breaking down work being done during the day. What do you think?? And who’s to blame?

Better stop going before it's all gone.

Seriously, other than some attractions that have closed, I don't think there was much difference between our 97,99,00 and 01 trips. The last time I was there before that was in 1975 as a teenager. I remember being there but not many details.

 

[cymbaldiva]

Originally posted by Dizknee_Phreek
the BIG question is though, does anyone think Disney's magic will return? or is it too far gone?

Very good questions!

For me personally, I have been feeling the "Magic" slipping away for awhile now. For me it's the little details that are being so very neglected now

I had always thought that the great attention to detail was a tremendous part of what made Disney what it is ( or was?)....I can't believe they're letting them all just disappear.

To answer the question - I don't know if the Magic will return. I don't think that it will ever be too far gone for vets like us, but for the Disney nuts in training it may very well be.

That truly disturbs me....I must take a moment now.

 

[helliker]

Well, I went in June for the first time since I was 4 and I thought it was magical. However, I have no idea if it has been getting worse or not because I have no previous memories to base an opinion on. But there is a significant amount of magic still there if you ask me. Can't wait 'till my next trip in November.

 

[jrashadb]

Originally posted by cymbaldiva


Very good questions!

For me personally, I have been feeling the "Magic" slipping away for awhile now. For me it's the little details that are being so very neglected now

I had always thought that the great attention to detail was a tremendous part of what made Disney what it is ( or was?)....I can't believe they're letting them all just disappear.

To answer the question - I don't know if the Magic will return. I don't think that it will ever be too far gone for vets like us, but for the Disney nuts in training it may very well be.

That truly disturbs me....I must take a moment now.

I'm with you, Diva...
I love WDW... I don't think any of my friends or relatives can quite comprehend how much I love it. In fact, I'm thinking of altering my upcoming job search to Florida, simply because I don't want to be too far from it.
However, I can understand what you mean about the Magic slowly slipping away. Sure, I can overlook a lot of things, because I love the parks so much, but there are things that remind me that WDW is still as beholden to the laws of man as anything else...
The lame ending to SE, where they have diorammas instead of animatronic figures, like the rest of the ride. The changes to PoTC, changes to the backstage tour at the Studios, the construction going all over the damn place...
Sure, it's lost some of its Magic, but you know what?...
Like I said to my friend that I went to Epcot to last week when it was pouring... "A day in the rain at Epcot is better than a day studying." FOr all of you, that could mean better than a day working, or a day sitting around at home or a day doing whatever...
Disney may not have the same Magic I remember all those years ago when I was a kid, and they may have problems right now, making it not as magical as it was, like, five years ago... but, I still love it.
So, to me, the answer to the question is this: Yeah, Disney may be losing some of its MAgic, but I'll tell you what... It beats the real world... and Disney is, I believe, on its way to being on a rebound... Not a crazy, "hey-let's-build-a-theme-park-we-won't-be-able-to-finish-completely rebound, but a rebound that will make all us Disneyphiles happy.

 

[ACE]

Originally posted by Dizknee_Phreek
the BIG question is though, does anyone think Disney's magic will return? or is it too far gone?

I don't think Disney has lost it's magic and judging from the folks who post here, neither do alot of other people.

Do I think Disney could make some improvements? Definitely. I think we all agree on that.

Maybe it's just me but Disney is still a magicial place and it's still my #1 vacation spot.

Anyway, just my .02.
:wave: ACE

 

[MinnieFan]

All anyone has to do is read the trip reports to find that Disney is NOT loosing it's magic. It is up to us to keep it alive. If all we do is nag about this and that we loose some of the magic within ourselves. If we go to the parks looking for whats wrong with Disney, we loose some of the magic.

Just the fact that we all love this site seems to prove that the Magic is alive and well.

We have people planning each and every moment for a WDW trip that is 6 months, 1 or even 3 years away. I don't know to many people who do that for other destinations.

For me, the Magic is still strong!

Oh, only 56 more days for me.

 

[Tramp]

Originally posted by CDS Disney
I have been to WDW 5 time in my life and from trip to trip I have notices little things. But one problem lingers in my mind Is Disney World losing its magic? Rides closing/ constantly breaking down work being done during the day. What do you think?? And who’s to blame?

...could it be that those of us who visit so often are simply becoming too familiar with the place?...

...the more we visit, the more critical we become, the more attention we pay to detail, the less overwhelmed we are and the less 'magical' it seems. So maybe it's a combination of aging attractions and aging people!:lol:

...very seldom does anything live up to your expectations or is as exciting, the second time around. (an exception might be a second marriage) Of course, you may be right, maybe Disney is just losing it but that may be more due to the economic downturn and prudent cutbacks than losing it's magic.

 

[dliddi]

I don't think it lost it's magic at all, why are we all on this forum, because we want a little of the Disney magic. Yes, it's different then it was in the mid 80's when I first went, but still magical, just a little different magic, and who can deny it when walking down main street with the castle in front t of you, and the smells of things backing (for me cinnamon).

 

[dreamer]

I have been going to DW since 1972. I have been there A LOT, especially in the first 15 years. I was there last week and I can tell you Disney has not lost it's magic.

The more you visit, though, the more your perception will change. It's just like anything else -- you grow up. You begin to see the reality. Has Christmas lost its magic because you see it differently than you did at age 5?

Maintaining a gem like Disney World will always be a constant struggle. A battle against decay and decline and people. It will need to adapt to changes in society and technology. Someday it will fail, I'm sure. Everything else does. But for now the magic is still there -- you just have to let yourself see it.

 

[bearboysnc]

Originally posted by CDS Disney
I have been to WDW 5 time in my life and from trip to trip I have notices little things. But one problem lingers in my mind Is Disney World losing its magic? Rides closing/ constantly breaking down work being done during the day. What do you think?? And who’s to blame?

No, you're just getting older.

Do you think a little kid cares about peeling paint on a hand rail? NO.

If you constantly compare it to how it USED to be, you'll always find something to be disappointed about.

 

[WDWFanatic]

I dont think the magic is going anywhere. Disney is working on new ideas and new ways to amaze us all the time. At 27 i still get goosebumps on a lot of the attractions and wonder how they make some of their special effects work. The biggets thing i always hear about disney is that it is clean and the castmembers are the most friendly. I still think that holds up today. No where else can i get such great service. Castmembers go out of their way for you sometimes to make your stay better. Disney is also the one place i dont see trash pile up ever, or a mess go unattended for any amount of time. As for the construction, When else are they going to do it? they cant take all the scaffolding down during the day just so you dont see it. They need to constantly make improvements at all hours. That way we get the finished product faster for our enjoyment. I just feel very lucky I can go every year, and to me nothing has made me feel like any magic has really left.

 

[JasonCajun]

I used to think Disney was losing its magic until I went last week. The place still holds a special place in my heart. Yes, I am older now and it does not have the same effect on me as it did when I was 10 years old almost 20 years ago. The thrill rides are not as thrilling. Nothing much has changed.

But I still love the place, it always takes away my troubles and cares when I go there, and it will always make me feel like a kid again.

 

[Sherm00]

I don't think the magic dwindled just changed. kinda like how big 80's hair used to be cool or go go boots used to be cool. The magic at disney is still there it just changed. yes we have grown up. when you first went the parks were newer, rides had less where and tear, people think diffrently. the world is so much bigger now and time has taken it's tole. no longer is it a matter of just a coat of paint to fix something. more people needed to be accomidated, and new attractions are needed to bring people in. old attractions fade away, either too costly to fix or maintain or just broken down to the point of it being unfixable. disney will always have a mnagic and a nostalgia that no other parks have. and the older the parks get the more maintanace it requires. Right now disney is in a rutt. Eisner is not going to be in power forever. I believe disney has grown so large in the past 20 years since eisner took over that they do not have the means to manage it all properly. they got greedy as most companies do. will the magic we rememberd for years come back? I think if we open our minds and hearts and try some of the new generation, who's ideas on the world are so much diffrent then our own, then yes the magic will return and maybe even be more exciting. so is the magic gone no, just changed.

 

[SamatBCV]

I gotta agree with jrashadb and Tramp.

For people who get to go every year or even more often than that, we can't really help but take some things for granted. There are some things that Disney has let me down on, but there are other things that they have made better. On my last trip we went with family that hadn't been there in a long time. While going always makes me feel great, the amazement that they had for the place reminded me how special WDW is.

 

[Fievel]

I agree with Tramp. As Usual.

I've been there 5 times in the last 3 years...and to Disneyland twice. Stepping into the parks is like visiting an old friend......comfortable but predictable because I've been there so much. I'm not overwhelmed (as much) anymore. Certain things still get me...like the first time I saw the hat at MGM...that thing was huge....

Think of it this way - You're in your car and you turn the radio on...as you adjust to the volume, you occasionally turn it up and up and up....then when you go away you don't turn it down...

Go away for awhile and come back and that volume is huge.

I'm betting if we wouldn't visit for many years in between, that magic would still be there.



Also take in mind that as we get older and smarter, we are able to logically explain how things are done. In our younger days, we were simply amaed that hippos and alligators hung out all day by the jungle cruise and nobody was eaten. Now we know they're robots, and that takes away some of the fun

 

[mickey04]

I must admit- when I read about budget cuts, or closed attractions, etc., I start to lose confidence in Disney. I start thinking that Disney World has in fact lost some of its magic. But all it takes for me is a trip to the Magic Kingdom, and I realize how rediculous my thoughts were. As long as WDW remains a place where I can go and look aroung and feel- happy, safe, childlike, and amazed, then I realize Disney has not lost its magic. It can still make me feel that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.

 

[bearboysnc]

Originally posted by dreamer
It will need to adapt to changes in society and technology. Someday it will fail, I'm sure. Everything else does.

OMG wash your mouth out!