Jeff Heimbuch: A Great Big Broken Tomorrow

dopeylover

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
I don't consider myself a 'doom and gloomer' by any means :D but I did feel compelled to write after reading that article and a lot of stuff on here over the past couple of weeks. Here's what I wrote to The Disney Co., and I tweeted WDW as well. We spend hours and countless posts and threads complaining, I hope that each of us complaining about something or other will take a few minutes to get off the forum and write a letter, or a tweet. I know a lot of people think complaining on here will affect change, but it hasn't thus far, and it's always best to go right to the source. I think it's time for everyone to but your money where your mouth is, proverbially speaking.

Hello!

I am a life long fan and guest of Walt Disney World. It is a huge part of my life, and I look forward to sharing this love with my child as she grows. The entertainment and experience you provide is second to none.

I am writing after quite a while of going back and forth as to whether or not I should, but my love for the parks has finally pushed me to do so. Our next trip will be my 13th trip in my lifetime, our second with our now 2 1/2 year old girl. Our last trip was in 2011, and I enjoyed it immensely. However, I was disappointed to see WDW was not all I usually expect. To be frank, the standards that I expect and assume will always be the Disney standard were not all there. Some Cast Members were not in the most magical mood. I saw paint chips, missing pieces in attractions, and a creaky Carousel of Progress, one of my most beloved attractions. We still had a wonderful vacation, but I was disappointed to see things not up to the bar that your company has set for so many decades.

For the first time ever, we have considered taking a trip shorter than a week and a half next year. In times like these, money is an issue for everyone, and I truly did question why I was spending the amount I do on a Disney vacation when I personally feel things were not up to par. When you set the bar for theme parks everywhere, people expect it to be that way all the time.

As I stated above, I did not feel compelled to write until now. I had convinced myself things would get better without me saying anything, that your company had such high standards that they would take care of the issues on their own. I am also a frequent visitor to many WDW forums and websites because I love to talk vacation planning and what's in store for WDW in the future. Throughout the past few weeks, I have seen and read while reading peoples trip reports that in fact none of these issues have been taken care of, and I read this article, http://micechat.com/18766-a-great-big-broken-down-tomorrow, and I was compelled to reach out to you.

I know I am only one person, but please know that there are many ardent fans like myself that have such a love of WDW that seeing a decline in your standards is truly a disappointment. I am hoping others will reach out to you, and the love we have of your parks, and the money we're willing to spend will compel someone to make our vacations all we have expected from The Disney Company in the past, and make it a brighter future for our family and friends we're introducing to a lifelong love of WDW.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kelly xxxxx
 
copcarguyp71

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
I wrote one of these too...got an "oh we're sorry but we hope to welcome you home again soon" phone call...that was it.

I hope you get more than I did but don't hope for too much. Sadly TDO it seems could care less what individual letter writers have to say when attendance does not drop and DVC sells like hotcakes. I would love nothing more than to have the new DVC at GF go unsold and turn into a ghost town to force them to open their eyes but they have very potent "magic cool-aid" that they feed you while you are at the parks and until someone finds an antidote DVC will continue to be the cash cow they just love to milk.

Please keep us up to date if you hear back.
 
fngoofy

fngoofy

Well-Known Member
Disneydreamer23 said:
I can see where he is talking about on the attractions i go every year but don't ever seem to notice these things
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Same here, because I'm not taking flash pictures in dark rides. I agree on a couple of points, but I think some of these shots look odd because they are black light painted scenes, not meant to be seen in flash lighting. The open rock is an issue, although I didn't notice it in Oct this year.

I think the scuffs on the floor and inner door at CoP is nit picky, although the ride could use an overhaul for sure.

I think to state that the state of the parks is horrible is no where near accurate. Having been there in Oct of 12 I thought things where good and would rank WDW on the whole at a solid A-.
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
I think the problem with the quality WDW of attractions comes from a few different reasons:

1) People do not notice or know about broken effects
2) People don't have a reference point for theme park quality beyond something like Six Flags because they've never been to DLR, TDR or USO and therefore think WDW is the best based on their own (although limited) experience
3) People don't care if 10% of WDW attractions they ride are in obvious poor shape if the other 90% are "good" when what they pay for is a day at the park, not individual rides like people used to, and that in the end is what is judged
4) There is no easy way to report or complain about broken or missing ride elements, since Guest Relations doesn't hear such complaints anymore and emails fall on deaf ears
5) Disney doesn't spend the money like the used to on maintenance as reported here by CMs who mention the significant decrease in the size of maintenance crews, the process with which parts are replaced among other things
6) For most guests and management, going on rides and having them open is more important than having everything on them work.
7) Nobody cares about a ride if it's in poor shape, if nobody cares about the ride to begin with (see CoP)

The following points are no doubt obvious, repeat information for most here, but they deserve to be said again in order to stress why things are the way they are. I suggest both "sides" of the DaG/PD crowd read these points over and think about how true they are both broadly speaking and for their own standards.

For what you pay to visit WDW, no ride should be in the shape Maelstrom is now, but things will never get better if shoulders are shrugged and blind eyes are turned. It's your money and vacation too.
 
Malin

Malin

Active Member
Original Poster
Same here, because I'm not taking flash pictures in dark rides. I agree on a couple of points, but I think some of these shots look odd because they are black light painted scenes, not meant to be seen in flash lighting.
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Perhaps more of this style of photography needs to be taken. Its obvious WDW won't care if the issue can be hidden out of sight by lighting. (See Disco Yheti)

AGREED, I just love being in Disney and Dont try to find things wrong I go there to have FUn
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But its this kind of soft approuch towards Disney World that are allowing them to get away with the decline. And why Jeff wrote the article in the first place. The fact you read the article and commented proves you care for the product. Show your love for Disney by not letting them get away with things when standards slip. You can still visit the parks and have fun. If you can't do that then I question if you truly do love and care for the product. Because if you did then you'd be upset over the images shown in Jeff's column and want to stand up against them.
 
dopeylover

dopeylover

Well-Known Member
copcarguyp71 said:
I wrote one of these too...got an "oh we're sorry but we hope to welcome you home again soon" phone call...that was it.

I hope you get more than I did but don't hope for too much. Sadly TDO it seems could care less what individual letter writers have to say when attendance does not drop and DVC sells like hotcakes. I would love nothing more than to have the new DVC at GF go unsold and turn into a ghost town to force them to open their eyes but they have very potent "magic cool-aid" that they feed you while you are at the parks and until someone finds an antidote DVC will continue to be the cash cow they just love to milk.

Please keep us up to date if you hear back.
Click to expand...


I am assuming I will get very much the same, but I get very irritated with people in general who complain and do nothing to fix their problems, so I'd rather take action, even though I'm sure, as with many, many companies, it will make little to no difference. I just really get irritated when people gripe on here constantly (and I'm not saying that's you by ANY means!!!), and then when someone says, 'Take action!" their response is to say 'Nope, it doesn't matter anyway the evil men in suits don't listen to peons' and then the next post their talking about how they've booked their next trip!! It makes no sense whatsoever. I wasn't expecting anything in return.

I too have too much fun to notice much of this, and some of the COP wear and tear is to be expected in any place, esp. in entrances and exits, but it does make me sad when I see mold and whatnot in WDW for goodness sake!

All of that being said- it needs a ton of help, but it's far from a leftover wasteland, it's still the most magical place on Earth, to me at least.
 
DisneyPrincess5

DisneyPrincess5

Well-Known Member
Disneydreamer23 said:
I can see where he is talking about on the attractions i go every year but don't ever seem to notice these things
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I agree. I look at Disney through the most rose colored glasses there are.
I love it for what it means to me and what it brings to our lives. Clearly there are issues, some more slight and some more significant than others-there is no denying that. But I was never one to complain about or even notice small details such as the ugly color of the Contemporary CMs uniforms (said in a tread years ago) or the fact that something near a ceiling may be dusty.
I get it. Disney isn't known for what it has become at times. But I've been through too much in my life to care about such things. Enjoy it and appreciate it.
Until the place looks like it was hit by a meteor, were still going to go and love it.
 
Pumbas Nakasak

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
DisneyPrincess5 said:
I agree. I look at Disney through the most rose colored glasses there are.
I love it for what it means to me and what it brings to our lives. Clearly there are issues, some more slight and some more significant than others-there is no denying that. But I was never one to complain about or even notice small details such as the ugly color of the Contemporary CMs uniforms (said in a tread years ago) or the fact that something near a ceiling may be dusty.
I get it. Disney isn't known for what it has become at times. But I've been through too much in my life to care about such things. Enjoy it and appreciate it.
Until the place looks like it was hit by a meteor, were still going to go and love it.
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As they say its all about what you are willing to accept. Each to their own. My money is hard earned.
 
Mori Anne

Mori Anne

Active Member
In the Parks
No
When I am there I don't sit there and pin point every detail that is crappy. I want to make the most of my time there especially since many many people dream of going to WDW but never have the chance/funds to do it. I feel blessed just to go..That being said, when I get home and look at the pics and think about it...... it frustrates:mad: me as to the decline of WDW as well.

The inflated cost of disney today vs. 7 years ago can't be justified. Especially for the food! in 06 the food was FANTASTIC..now....it is just okay.. I wrote a letter to WDW thanking them for all that is still good, but I also wrote about what I noticed as a huge decline in the quality they offer. So many neat things have been scaled back, eliminated, or just left go. Disney is still great, but when you saw WDW in its glory days..... today, it just seems like a mere shadow of what it was. And.... that makes me sad :(. As far as the cost, I feel like I am paying way more for way less....like paying double for a used car. I will still try to continue to go for now...but after this trip, we will probably only go every other year for 4 days vs. 8.
edited to shorten content:)Edit: Added the original message back in:) It is how I feel in full. Tried to scale it back...but changed mind:)
 
DisneyPrincess5

DisneyPrincess5

Well-Known Member
moriah said:
When I am there I don't sit there and pin point every detail that is crappy. I want to make the most of my time there especially since many many people dream of going to WDW but never have the chance/funds to do it. I feel blessed just to go..That being said, when I get home and look at the pics and think about it...... it frustrates:mad: me as to the decline of WDW as well.

The inflated cost of disney today vs. 7 years ago can't be justified. Especially for the food! in 06 the food was FANTASTIC..now....it is just okay.. I wrote a letter to WDW thanking them for all that is still good, but I also wrote about what I noticed as a huge decline in the quality they offer. So many neat things have been scaled back, eliminated, or just left go. Disney is still great, but when you saw WDW in its glory days..... today, it just seems like a mere shadow of what it was. And.... that makes me sad :(. As far as the cost, I feel like I am paying way more for way less....like paying double for a used car. I will still try to continue to go for now...but after this trip, we will probably only go every other year for 4 days vs. 8.
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I hear you on this. I spoke to someone some time ago who told me that the decline in food quality/service/portions is an issue basically caused by the DDP, which makes sense in many ways. Wonder if this is really the deal.
 
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
Deja vu. Let's face it, the parks are screwed. They can get away with letting things deteriorate. Like the lawyer said in Jurassic Park, "And we can charge anything we want: 2,000 a day, 10,000 a day and people will pay it." As long as they're raking in the dough, there's no reason to improve anything. Just look at everything they've been doing to the parks. More character meet and greets, restaurants, apps for your phone, stupid video games and playland crap in lines to keep your attention, Fastpass for you to schedule all your rides in advance and blow through the regular line. Why the hell are they going to fix anything on Splash Mountain other than the flume itself when the point is to get you in and out as quickly as possible? The rides themselves are becoming a by-product.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
I just finished reading the article. I scrolled down to read the comments and I couldn't believe how many people were basically brushing it off or saying the problems weren't that bad. Wow. With that kind of thinking, the resort will continue to fall apart. Some of the WDW fanbase is seriously odd and the way of thinking is almost brainwashed and distorted. Sorry if I offend anyone.
 
Mori Anne

Mori Anne

Active Member
In the Parks
No
Endor Sightseer said:
Deja vu. Let's face it, the parks are screwed. They can get away with letting things deteriorate. Like the lawyer said in Jurassic Park, "And we can charge anything we want: 2,000 a day, 10,000 a day and people will pay it." As long as they're raking in the dough, there's no reason to improve anything. Just look at everything they've been doing to the parks. More character meet and greets, restaurants, apps for your phone, stupid video games and playland crap in lines to keep your attention, Fastpass for you to schedule all your rides in advance and blow through the regular line. Why the hell are they going to fix anything on Splash Mountain other than the flume itself when the point is to get you in and out as quickly as possible? The rides themselves are becoming a by-product.
Click to expand...

Very true! Scary true!! I think/hope they will only get away with it for so long. At some point, WDW will have to stop focusing on building new things because people (in masses) will eventually start noticing and talking about (the product) being moldy, broken, or encased in safety nets etc. Don't get me wrong.. Disney is still fantastic, but it is the pattern they seem to be following (in my eyes) that has me worried for my future love of WDW.
 

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