Living with the Land Refurbishment 8/2/2009

[RSoxNo1]

What ever happened to the Verizon Application that they were going to make that was supposed to have real time wait times?

 

[Exprcoofto]

What ever happened to the Verizon Application that they were going to make that was supposed to have real time wait times?

Not sure but I hope they make an iPhone App now too. That would be awesome. (as long as they don't charge $5.99 :brick

 

[wdwmagic]

Here is the current scene at The Land.

 

[krankenstein]

Here is the current scene at The Land.

Thanks for the pictures Steve. :wave:

 

[EPCOTPluto]

Here is the current scene at The Land.

Thank you for the pics as well! :wave:

This whole thing has been rather unusual, with no one having a clue of whether it was closed or not...

 

[nibblesandbits]

No, you weren't. I didn't mention consumer rights once in my post.



It can be. There are consumer fraud laws...and generic statements on the back of tickets may or may not be covered. I'll give you an example. A few years ago, my local Six Flags park was opening two rollercoasters and heavily advertising them. Due to problems with the new technology, their opening was delayed. They continued to run the ads. Despite the same ticket disclaimer you refer to, the attorney general of the state threatened them with a suit and fines if they didn't halt all their advertisements of the rides since they were not open. Do not put too much stock in those disclaimers, they don't always shield companies from liability.
If Disney were to shut down/refurbish enough attractions at one time to warrent enough complaints, it is very possible that they could face a similar situation (unlikely, but possible). Do I have a right to go to Disney? Not in the strictest sense of the word. If you can afford the park admission and follow park policies, then you absolutely have the right to go to Disney...they can't legally deny you entry without a valid reason (failure to follow park policies is a valid reason, assuming the policy doesn't violate the law).

A really good example is Broadway. Every ticket says no refunds. Now let's say I bought a ticket to see Hugh Jackman in A Steady Rain (which opens next month on Broadway). Let's say the night I go, he calls out sick. I am legally entitled to a refund under New York's consumer laws, because he is advertised as part of the show (above the title), and I am not seeing him. Since he is considered part of the product I am getting with my money, I have a right to a refund if he's not there. If you bought a DVD player and got home to find the box only contained a brick (which has been known to happen), if the packaging said contents may not be identical to box description, would you just say, "oh well?" No. You'd go back to the store and demand an exchange or your money back. As a consumer, you DO have a right to know what you are getting for your money.

Now, Living With the Land's closure probably won't have any effect on Disney. Most people won't know or care that it's closed. It's not advertised, and Disney's Ticket disclaimer is probably enough to shield Disney from any consumer complaints. But Disney does have an obligation to inform its customers when it's closing rides. A consumer has the right to make an informed decision about a product they are purchasing. I doubt this closure will affect attendance, but if one attraction is the only reason I was going, and its PLANNED closure wasn't announced, I have every right to be upset and demand my money back (assuming I was already in the park).

See...to me this is very different.

Disney is not advertising Living With The Land as a way to get people in the parks. It's not like TSMM, Soarin, Everest, Finding Nemo, it's not something that is currently being advertised as a draw to get into the park. It is an attraction in the parks, yes, but it's not something that's specifically being advertised and not open. That's why (in my eyes) the Attorney General got involved...misleading advertising.

Disney would get in trouble if they were advertising TSMM making you think it was open and then had problems and didn't open it for months, but still advertising making it appear as if people could get on the attraction.

Edit: Probably a better attraction to talk about is Space Mountain. Disney would get a lot more flak if they were advertising making it appear that Space Mountain is open, when really it is closed. (Example, it was taken off the planning DVD because they knew it would be down for the year.)

 

[flashinghelmet]

Not sure but I hope they make an iPhone App now too. That would be awesome. (as long as they don't charge $5.99 :brick

There is an app. was only looking at it on Sunday night!

 

[jakeman]

No, you weren't. I didn't mention consumer rights once in my post.

That's odd. I could have sworn you mention consumers having rights and me commenting on them. Let me check...

That may be true, but when they RAISING ADMISSION and offering LESS, then consumers have a right to know what they AREN'T getting.

Well there seems to be your post with the statement "consumers have a right".

Let me see what I posted...

That may be true, but when they RAISING ADMISSION and offering LESS, then consumers have a right to know what they AREN'T getting.

You should check the back of your park ticket. It pretty clearly spells out your rights upon purchase:

...Parks, attractions or entertainment may can operating hours; close due to refurbishing, capacity, weather or special events; and may otherwise change or be discontinued without notice and without liability to the owners of the Walt Disney World Resort...

Emphasis mine.

I'm sure if you don't agree to these terms, which it appears you don't, you can ask for a refund on your unused portion.

Was this a not so great PR move? Maybe a little. It probably affected literally tens of people.

Is this in your rights? Not according to the conditions that you purchased your tickets under.

Yeah...it kinda looks like you commented on consumer rights and I responded. Did I misunderstand the sequence of events or intention there?

It can be. There are consumer fraud laws...and generic statements on the back of tickets may or may not be covered. I'll give you an example. A few years ago, my local Six Flags park was opening two rollercoasters and heavily advertising them. Due to problems with the new technology, their opening was delayed. They continued to run the ads. Despite the same ticket disclaimer you refer to, the attorney general of the state threatened them with a suit and fines if they didn't halt all their advertisements of the rides since they were not open. Do not put too much stock in those disclaimers, they don't always shield companies from liability.

If Disney were to shut down/refurbish enough attractions at one time to warrent enough complaints, it is very possible that they could face a similar situation (unlikely, but possible). Do I have a right to go to Disney? Not in the strictest sense of the word. If you can afford the park admission and follow park policies, then you absolutely have the right to go to Disney...they can't legally deny you entry without a valid reason (failure to follow park policies is a valid reason, assuming the policy doesn't violate the law).

A really good example is Broadway. Every ticket says no refunds. Now let's say I bought a ticket to see Hugh Jackman in A Steady Rain (which opens next month on Broadway). Let's say the night I go, he calls out sick. I am legally entitled to a refund under New York's consumer laws, because he is advertised as part of the show (above the title), and I am not seeing him. Since he is considered part of the product I am getting with my money, I have a right to a refund if he's not there. If you bought a DVD player and got home to find the box only contained a brick (which has been known to happen), if the packaging said contents may not be identical to box description, would you just say, "oh well?" No. You'd go back to the store and demand an exchange or your money back. As a consumer, you DO have a right to know what you are getting for your money.

Now, Living With the Land's closure probably won't have any effect on Disney. Most people won't know or care that it's closed. It's not advertised, and Disney's Ticket disclaimer is probably enough to shield Disney from any consumer complaints. But Disney does have an obligation to inform its customers when it's closing rides. A consumer has the right to make an informed decision about a product they are purchasing. I doubt this closure will affect attendance, but if one attraction is the only reason I was going, and its PLANNED closure wasn't announced, I have every right to be upset and demand my money back (assuming I was already in the park).

Apples to oranges. I would agree with you if there was a massive shut down of attractions at WDW. Alas, there is not. It is one of three attractions in one of seven pavilions in one of two lands in one of four theme parks. This is also the only one that is currently closed without notice.

You can't take one instance and then compare it to several extreme circumstance, whether real or not, and say, "Your point isn't valid!"

Two major attractions not being completed, a brick in a box, half of WDW being shut down is not the same as LwtL being closed unexpectedly and a couple of wires being crossed with the information.

 

[RSoxNo1]

What would happen if you took one of the covers of one of those fast pass machines, and then put your ticket in it? Would it give you one of the "not a valid fastpass" tickets?

 

[mitchk]

Well, it's closed, there's nothing we can do about it I will miss it in September (it reminds me of the old EPCOT CENTER), but at least there improving it, instead of getting rid of it. Let's all be happy that it's still around, and should be for a long time. :wave:

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

On the bright side things are looking good for most things being complete by the time I get there. And thats the main thing.


Jaques B'Stard

 

[tirian]

More than anything else, the issue is that the refurb information was not distributed to cast members, who continued giving Guests incorrect information. I want to know who dropped the ball on this.

 

[mickey2008.1]

thanks for the pics, at least now we know its closed. so now sm is down, lwtl is down, tta, whats next? something has to close at dhs? if it doesnt, my trip just wont be ruined all the way. another half--- by disney.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Thanks for the pics! So it is closed after all. :lol:

 

[wickedfan07]

If my memory is correct, the LWtL's refurbishment to convert from live narrators to the recordd narration (which took place around the same time of year) was not advertised either. (the fn forums knew about the rumors, but it was never posted on Disney's website.) Can they not advertise closures of this attraction for some reason?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Here is the current scene at The Land.

Sad...

Oh well. Hope it gets a ton of TLC.:lol:

 

[mike7904]

Does anyone know if the behind the seeds tour is still being offered?

 

[RoRo]

This is going to affect my birthday trip because this ride is one of my favorites and it relaxes me. I am going to miss the smell of the rain scene . Epcot without this ride won't be the same.

 

[jessfriends]

What's up with The Garden Grill? Are the effects off?

 

[DarthGrady]

Well, it's closed, there's nothing we can do about it I will miss it in September (it reminds me of the old EPCOT CENTER), but at least there improving it, instead of getting rid of it. Let's all be happy that it's still around, and should be for a long time. :wave:

Totally agree! Thank god it is still mostly in its original form! There are,,, well,,,,,,almost no rides at EPCOT that can make that claim, save for The Maelstrom. SSE is still kinda close (and I stress kinda), but the new Dench Stench version is horrid.

Lets just all hope that whatever they do to LWTL doesn't involve such nuggets as "then we hit a roadblock!", "the first backup system!" or "thank the Phoenicians!".