Is Disney starting to lose that genuine quality for you?

[Walt Disney1955]

I voted option 2................only because there just isn't that visionary anymore. Walt was the brains behind the operation while Roy was the business and numbers behind it. That combo created the greatest theme park of all-time and Walt was still approving things before he died. Pirates was approved a month or two before he died. Country Bear Jamboree was in the rough stages when he approved of it.

What I hope it never loses is its charm. Or the music. But some innovation wouldn't hurt either.

 

[FettFan]

Everything eventually falls apart without The Visionary and with too much arrogance:
Roman Empire, AOL, Blockbuster,
LA Lakers w/o DR Buss & West, Anderson Silva, American cars, Whirlpool/Maytag, Sears, toysRus, etc, etc

 

[mergatroid]

People have been asking that question going back to the USENET net.disney days. If it wasn't true in the 1980s, and it wasn't true the 1990s, and wasn't true in the 2000s, then why would it suddenly be true in the 2010s?

Rather, individual people become jaded. They become proprietary. And they become ornery. So those individual people start seeing things in a negative light. Just like there were people like that ten or twenty years earlier, when the newly-negative first visited WDW and fell in love with the place.

It's true of all aspects of life: Your marriage; your job/career; your neighborhood; your church; etc. Remaining interested and satisfied is half "them" and half "you". If you don't do the work to remain engaged and excited, then you won't. You'll become disillusioned, and your relationships - with a loved one, with friends, with the work you do, with the people around you, and with the things that you find interesting and entertaining - will deteriorate.

A good post. I'm 50 now and have been going for the last 44 years. For the last 25 or so years of those I've been going in the hope that I could again feel like I did as a child, but as much as I still love it I never quite can. Just like Christmas, birthdays and teenage love sickness, as you grow older the feelings for these things change.

I sometimes try to imagine if I was 6 now instead of back when there was just the MK how mind blowing it would be, it probably would be even more magical now. But familiarity with things breeds missing out on things that newer guests won't, the excitement of the monorail, getting trams in the parking lot, seeing the castle, rides being fresh to you and being blown away by the sheer scale of everything. I'm sure a tiny minority now go subconsciously just to look for stuff to complain about "There was no napkin on my table until I asked and I had to wait 30 seconds for my change as they'd ran out of quarters, it ruined my day".

That's not excusing the things where Disney's standards may have slipped, I just don't see things anywhere near as bad as some do on here but then again 'enjoyment' is subjective and everyone's entitled to post their opinion. .

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Prices are rising at an unsustainable clip for the long term health of the parks...

I don't see any reason to assume that the rate of increase is somehow locked in. Once they start to see resistance, they can slow the rate of increase or actually reduce prices.* The "clip" doesn't have to be sustainable because it's not on autopilot, it's actively managed.

To answer the OP, no, I haven't lost the feel of WDW. Visiting with my daughters, I'm enjoying it as much as I ever did as a child, and not just in the "dad watching his daughters experience the magic" kind of way, I'm genuinely having as much fun as I always have. Our non-Disney vacations are typically camping trips in and around New England, so we have lots of time in the woods and at beaches when we want something more low key.

There are some price increases and ticketed events that I think are ridiculous, but they haven't impacted my enjoyment. I'll never do a desert party or a paid after hours event, but there are more than enough "regular" park hours for me to always do everything I want to do. I also don't think the crowds are nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Yeah, Fantasyland at 1:00 in the afternoon sucks, but it's always something I can manage around with good scheduling. We're typically in the parks for four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening, every day for eight nights. Between FastPass and rope drop, we're always able to do every attraction without ever waiting in a line more than 20 minutes.

*No, they'll never actually lower rack rates or list prices, but real prices can be reduced through discounting.

People have been asking that question going back to the USENET net.disney days. If it wasn't true in the 1980s, and it wasn't true the 1990s, and wasn't true in the 2000s, then why would it suddenly be true in the 2010s?

Rather, individual people become jaded. They become proprietary. And they become ornery. So those individual people start seeing things in a negative light. Just like there were people like that ten or twenty years earlier, when the newly-negative first visited WDW and fell in love with the place.

It's true of all aspects of life: Your marriage; your job/career; your neighborhood; your church; etc. Remaining interested and satisfied is half "them" and half "you". If you don't do the work to remain engaged and excited, then you won't. You'll become disillusioned, and your relationships - with a loved one, with friends, with the work you do, with the people around you, and with the things that you find interesting and entertaining - will deteriorate.

This is true of adults, but it's especially true in this case because we're talking about a "relationship" (for lack of a better term) that started in childhood and continues into adulthood. That transition alone comes with its own set of challenges.

 

[lightningtap347]

It's true of all aspects of life: Your marriage; your job/career; your neighborhood; your church; etc. Remaining interested and satisfied is half "them" and half "you". If you don't do the work to remain engaged and excited, then you won't. You'll become disillusioned, and your relationships - with a loved one, with friends, with the work you do, with the people around you, and with the things that you find interesting and entertaining - will deteriorate.

This feels like a personal attack based on the summer I've been having. I gotta stop being an a$$.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Not at all. It’s my favorite food court - and they have rides.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

They lost that quality some years ago, IMO. It's an issue from the top down but I'm more bitter toward DisneyParks and Imagineering these days... not because I think I could do a better job, I can't. But because I'm not sure they can. Imagineering fails more often than not at delivering quality rides and attractions. There's exceptions of course but in general I've been unimpressed now for a while. And even if something is grand or of "Disney quality" it doesn't remain that way. When an attraction costs 300% more than it should you'd at least expect it to be good, and if not good at least constructed well. Then there's Management, a bunch of wimps. And Corporate, just a bunch of "Yes, men" It's sickens me.

I think part of the problem is that Disney has forgotten what makes them Disney. That, and they've misplaced their keys. Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency.

(Morning cynicism. My opinion won't change but might brighten a bit more once I've had a cup or three of coffee)

 

[RustySpork]

That's been the case for me for almost a decade now give or take. I still throw money at them though, because it still beats being home bored.

 

[DisneyDoctor]

People have been asking that question going back to the USENET net.disney days. If it wasn't true in the 1980s, and it wasn't true the 1990s, and wasn't true in the 2000s, then why would it suddenly be true in the 2010s?

Rather, individual people become jaded. They become proprietary. And they become ornery. So those individual people start seeing things in a negative light. Just like there were people like that ten or twenty years earlier, when the newly-negative first visited WDW and fell in love with the place.

It's true of all aspects of life: Your marriage; your job/career; your neighborhood; your church; etc. Remaining interested and satisfied is half "them" and half "you". If you don't do the work to remain engaged and excited, then you won't. You'll become disillusioned, and your relationships - with a loved one, with friends, with the work you do, with the people around you, and with the things that you find interesting and entertaining - will deteriorate.

This forum is microcosm for society as a whole. Less people find satisfaction in the things they once loved more than ever before. Heck, I'm complaining about my dissatisfaction with society's dissatisfaction.

This forum is likely representative of other forums spanning many different topics. Even if we were in the "hey-day" of Disney years ago many of the complainers would still be loud and proud.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That's been the case for me for almost a decade now give or take. I still throw money at them though, because it still beats being home bored.

I think the numbers of people who think exactly the same as you are shocking...and growing.

Not bad for a spork

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't see any reason to assume that the rate of increase is somehow locked in. Once they start to see resistance, they can slow the rate of increase or actually reduce prices.* The "clip" doesn't have to be sustainable because it's not on autopilot, it's actively managed.

To answer the OP, no, I haven't lost the feel of WDW. Visiting with my daughters, I'm enjoying it as much as I ever did as a child, and not just in the "dad watching his daughters experience the magic" kind of way, I'm genuinely having as much fun as I always have. Our non-Disney vacations are typically camping trips in and around New England, so we have lots of time in the woods and at beaches when we want something more low key.

There are some price increases and ticketed events that I think are ridiculous, but they haven't impacted my enjoyment. I'll never do a desert party or a paid after hours event, but there are more than enough "regular" park hours for me to always do everything I want to do. I also don't think the crowds are nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Yeah, Fantasyland at 1:00 in the afternoon sucks, but it's always something I can manage around with good scheduling. We're typically in the parks for four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening, every day for eight nights. Between FastPass and rope drop, we're always able to do every attraction without ever waiting in a line more than 20 minutes.

*No, they'll never actually lower rack rates or list prices, but real prices can be reduced through discounting.

They can mitigate prices with discounts...but only to a certain point.

During the last crash they raised prices and then discounted them 30% - it worked on fools - but now your starting point is much higher.

Can they discount 45% for 2-3 years? How about 50? 60%?

My instincts based on a tiny bit of experience tell me that’s where it will need to go in rough waters. I don’t think they can do it. And unlike the first 65 years of the Walt Disney company - this is not management’s problem to think about.

 

[erasure fan1]

I know a lot of people think the loss of magic is looking at things though adult eyes. I don't buy it, at least for me anyway. Since I've been going for around 40years, it's only been the last 3 or 4 years that I've crossed that point. My adult eyes did just fine for 20yrs of seeing the magic. Do I love some of the decisions like frozen and guardians in epcot or the general under building of attractions and lands? No, absolutely not. But for me it's the crazy pricing that has really turned me off to the parks. I just have a hard time with the rate of price increases and nickle and diming, vs the expansion of the parks. Everyone has their tipping point, and unfortunately for me, I've hit mine.

 

[HoldenC]

Yes and no. I will always be attached to Walt Disney World because it is a place I've been visiting since I was a child. But after living here in Orlando and visiting it weekly for the last four years, I am "over it" in a sense. I still enjoy the occasional visit but its no longer a priority for me. I still find value in my AP even with its $13 increase soon BUT only from the standpoint that I have the ability to afford that and have a job that allows me to take advantage of the unlimited visits. I think, despite questionable decisions regarding nighttime shows and new ride placement, the future of the resort is more interesting than its been in years and that's one reason I will continue visiting.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I know a lot of people think the loss of magic is looking at things though adult eyes. I don't buy it, at least for me anyway. Since I've been going for around 40years, it's only been the last 3 or 4 years that I've crossed that point. My adult eyes did just fine for 20yrs of seeing the magic. Do I love some of the decisions like frozen and guardians in epcot or the general under building of attractions and lands? No, absolutely not. But for me it's the crazy pricing that has really turned me off to the parks. I just have a hard time with the rate of price increases and nickle and diming, vs the expansion of the parks. Everyone has their tipping point, and unfortunately for me, I've hit mine.

Yes...yes...yes.

Not only Disney parks...but for me a certain Disney IP I’ve been known to spew about.

The idea that I can’t be enthused about something in my 40’s - with kids - because I’m “too old” is just completely insane

I would be more geeked if the product was good. Amplified.

No...it’s just not cutting it on a product level - whatever it is.

We Gen Xers made adult immaturity the fashionable thing to do. It’s not about age or boredom. Unless the stuff is boring.

 

[bUU]

Orlando is loosing its value for money across the board.

"Officials with the tourism marketing agency announced Thursday that a record 75 million people visited Central Florida in 2018, a 4.2 percent jump from the previous year."

Surge in Latin American visitors pushes Visit Orlando tourism to record 2018

A rise in tourists from Latin America helped push Visit Orlando to yet another record number of visitors last year, solidifying the region’s position as the country’s most-visited desti…

www.orlandosentinel.com

Prices are rising at an unsustainable clip for the long term health of the parks...

There is no reason to think that.

I don't see any reason to assume that the rate of increase is somehow locked in. Once they start to see resistance, they can slow the rate of increase or actually reduce prices.

Without a doubt. So when the rate of increase slows, then there is reason to think what Sirwalterraleigh wrote would have been true if the rate of increase hadn't slowed.

This forum is microcosm for society as a whole.

This forum's membership is a concentration of a very specific, niche interest. It does not reflect society as a whole, not even a little.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

"Officials with the tourism marketing agency announced Thursday that a record 75 million people visited Central Florida in 2018, a 4.2 percent jump from the previous year."

Surge in Latin American visitors pushes Visit Orlando tourism to record 2018

A rise in tourists from Latin America helped push Visit Orlando to yet another record number of visitors last year, solidifying the region’s position as the country’s most-visited desti…

www.orlandosentinel.com

There is no reason to think that.

Without a doubt. So when the rate of increase slows, then there is reason to think what Sirwalterraleigh wrote would have been true if the rate of increase hadn't slowed.

This forum's membership is a concentration of a very specific, niche interest. It does not reflect society as a whole, not even a little.

Good god, are you like “king of the argumentative millennials”??

State your opinion and move on...trying to “prove” things with quotes from the Orlando tourism board?!??

You do understand what there goal is, correct?

Travel has been heavy for 8 years...not a news flash.

The OPINIONS on this thread are about the current environment, if it’s a developing soft market, and why?

I’m not sure....you are not sure (breaking news)...DISNEY May be sure...may.

Time to move on.

 

[bUU]

Good god, are you like “king of the argumentative millennials”??

Try to come up with a different inanely childish insult. This kind of dodge of yours is getting old. Try to show some creativity, if you cannot muster maturity.

The fact is that the previous poster posted something that is directly contradicted by what I linked to. She posted her personal assessment and I posted the fact that indicates the assessment of the market as a whole. That's the way these things are supposed to go. Now people have the entire picture, and it underscores what I just posted, that this forum is not a microcosm of society, but rather is quite a bit skewed away from society, in a niche. A mature outlook would put one and one together and get two: That the personal assessments of those that reflect the bulk of this community doesn't shed any light on what are the behaviors of the full complement of vacationers.

 

[marni1971]

"Officials with the tourism marketing agency announced Thursday that a record 75 million people visited Central Florida in 2018, a 4.2 percent jump from the previous year.".

You didn’t clock that I was answering the OP then?

Not that I usually base what I type on tourist information.

 

[Nemo14]

For me, it has been pretty much a downhill slide for the past 20 years or so. I was an adult taking my kids there when I first started going, so it's not my childhood memories that are clouding the issues I see. I did get to experience it this year with my grandkids, and as much as it was neat to see it through their eyes, the adult me still mourned the loss of a place I loved years ago.

 

[John park hopper]

For me, it has been pretty much a downhill slide for the past 20 years or so. I was an adult taking my kids there when I first started going, so it's not my childhood memories that are clouding the issues I see. I did get to experience it this year with my grandkids, and as much as it was neat to see it through their eyes, the adult me still mourned the loss of a place I loved years ago.

I have been going since 1972 as a young adult and what you posted I could have written. Did WDW with grandkids this year also