My impressions on the state of the parks, Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups, "On Season" vs "Off Season" visits etc.
So to close out this TR I just wanted to give a few thoughts on some things.
#1 - My biggest peeve of the trip - Rise of the Resistance boarding groups. This is one of the worst systems I have ever come across. To have to arrive before park opening with your whole group, wait in a jam packed crowd. Everyone itching to get into the park to get a boarding group number, kids getting separated from their parents, strollers repeatedly banging into your ankles all while standing in the pouring rain. Just to have all the boarding passes gone by 30 minutes after park opening. Yeah, I paid thousands of dollars for this stellar experience. I dont care how good the ride is, how many millions of dollars they spent building it that hour and a half wait and the ride was not worth the rest I could have had by staying in bed.
I dont understand why they could not stagger the release of boarding groups. Do an initial release at park opening, then two hours before they are due to be complete release another set and so on through out the day. That way people could get a fair chance at getting one and would not have to get up at the crack of dawn and suffer for an hour or two just to experience the ride. Its a great ride but not that great.
#2 - The state of the parks. I have never seen the parks so disgustingly filthy. At one point my wife used the "Tangled" bathroom in the Magic Kingdom. She said that the trash bins were overflowing all over the floor and the feminine hygiene receptacles in the stalls were also. COME ON! Really? This is a Disney Theme Park not some back water rest stop on some god forsaken highway.
Everywhere I looked in the park there was trash all over the ground. In every queue, trash stuck in every nook and cranny. This is totally inexcusable. I have been told that they have made huge cuts in the custodial dept to save money. Not what I would call a good move on Disney's part. I have been to the parks at the busies times of the year before. New Years Eve for example and I did not see this kind of filth. Not even close.
#3 - Holiday Overlays - Space Mountain & Living with the Land - The holiday overlay for SM was just a bunch of flashing Christmas colored lights that brought the light level up to a point where you can clearly see the track. It took the whole "dont know where you are going" thrill out of the ride. Both my wife and I felt they should not have done it. Living was the Land was similar. It looked like a half hearted attempt at putting up Christmas lights. I was very disappointed. They could have done some much better. In the scheme of the trip these were very minor things but still not up to Disney standards in my book.
#4 - Cast Members - Every single CM we met, talked to, had any kind of interaction with were absolutely awesome. I enjoyed talking to them all and they added a lot of enjoyment to our trip. Our server, Nick, at Toledo the first night we were there was above and beyond excellent. The next two times we dined there he made it a point to come over and talk to us. They were all wonderful.
#5 - Visiting WDW during peak season. I would not recommend this if you were a first time visitor. BUT if you have been and dont feel the need to ride every ride and can get the FP's you want I say go for it. Go to the parks early and then go back to the hotel, close out the parks, hit your FP's and take it easy. My wife and I got into a good relaxed rhythm and the longest queue we waited in was 45 min for MFSR. We were able to hit all our favorite rides multiply times with little or no wait by closing out the parks at night. We had some great magical moments that just happened like seeing the fireworks while on BTMRR. It can be done and be relaxing and loads of fun.
#6 - Closing thoughts. I have been a bit critical in parts of this TR but dont get me wrong. I am not a hater. I actually love the Disney Theme Parks. I have many exceedingly special memories there over the course of the last 35 years. It pains me greatly to see some of what Disney is doing now to pull cash out of the parks rather than focus on providing the best guest experience possible. This cycle has happened before and will again I am sure. Disney Imagineering has proven once again they are the top dog in theme park design and that is no small feat. The bad stuff I experienced on this trip wont keep me from going back. We are already planning a family trip in September with 12 of us going.... I need to do some research on large group accommodations.
Thank You for reading my TR. I hope you all found it enjoyable.
Till Next time Mouseketeers,
WDI 1998
