Magic Kingdom Looks Its Age

[Rodj]

Not that I've seen it myself, but people here have stated that the original film used in the hallway scene - where, at one point, it changed to a star field with a deep, velvet black (that gave me chills when I first saw it) has been replaced from film with newer projectors where there is no more deep velvet black, but a watery black where you can still see the corridor, destroying the illusion that you have entered another dimension.

The original projectors were never film. Check out my thread which shows the original projectors, which were "CRT Projectors": https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-original-projectors-of-the-tower-of-terror.956485/
The new projectors at least do cut off now right after the projection finishes, so as the doors are closing the projector is shut off so you are just seeing the fiber optic stars. Bravo is the only shaft where the window projector is too bright, the other ones are not as bright and noticeable.

 

[SeaCastle]

They are pinching pennies right now. Record profits because they are not maintaining things very well. Heck, the Skyliner is less that a month old and it goes down. Then the monorails. They cut maintenance and regular staff and expect things to be all ok.

For what the are charging, and what they are bringing in, no park in Florida should be the way it is.

In my experience of visiting once every other year or every three years or so the parks go through these fits of looking good and then quickly regressing. This is with all due respect to the hardworking and clearly skilled maintenance workers and with suspicion towards the folks scheduling and allocating funds towards maintenance. One year I'll go and be shocked at how nice everything looks, like when they do the Main Street facade refurbs or after Splash went down from an extended refurb and it came back looking amazing. Then it's as if they leave it on autopilot and don't do anything until it starts looking bad again. That story of how the parks used to preventatively change lightbulbs comes up from time to time but is useful for understanding how they think about maintenance--- now they'll fix things when they break (eventually) instead of maintaining things in such a way that they do not break.

 

[Tom Morrow]

On my last visit to MK, yeah, many of the attractions were in pretty poor shape, notably Big Thunder, Splash, and Haunted Mansion. However i think the park itself is looking pretty great still. Universal Orlando has the opposite problem - their rides are typically in good show quality conditions moreso than WDW, but their parks themselves are very beat up and tired and clearly do not receive as much touching up and polishing as Disney's parks. (if you don't believe me, pay closer attention next time).

But still, it's the number one visited theme park in the world. The attractions are mostly very old, but they wouldn't feel tired and rundown if they just matched Disneyland's show quality.

 

[Victor Kelly]

It really comes down to mismanagement for the Florida parks. I have been going since I was 6 months old. Last trip was January 2015. Even then the parks and resorts were showing neglect. I discount the work walls ok MK and AK on that trip because they were working hard to improve things.

But trash on the ground and dirty bathrooms? I remember when trash was swept up or picked up quickly. Each bathroom used to have its own attendant. Neither of these things happens anymore.

I get it. MK is old. But if things are maintained properly it does not cost as much to fix them over time. It is when you let things go, that is when you incur major costs. An example: a drain pipe is leaking under your kitchen sink. You do nothing about it and it will rot the cabinet and floor. Then you have to replace 8x8 feet of subfloor and flooring because the previous owners of my house just let it rot. A 50 cent fix cost me well of $1500 of my time and materials.

But the managers at TDO do not get it. Would be better if the Oriental Land Company had bought WDW. Different direction but probably better quality of show.

 

[cjkeating]

I've said this in another thread somewhere but after my visit in September I couldn't believe how aged and neglected Magic Kingdom looked compared to Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris gets a bad rep from its issues in the past but nowadays it is showing Magic Kingdom up massively with show standards.

 

[DisneyAndUniversalFan]

Yup, not surprised. There’s a reason Magic Kingdom has been the weakest castle park for a WHILE now. Easily the most outdated castle park and needs some new additions.

 

[networkpro]

The guests demographics and technologies have changed since the park opened. Some of the technology has been updated, but the physical infrastructure has not. The garbage cans are the same distances apart, but the guests ability or willingness to use them has declined. Capacities have remained static, but the attendance has grown.

I'd say that guests are more of an issue than the facilities.

 

[ABQ]

The guests demographics and technologies have changed since the park opened. Some of the technology has been updated, but the physical infrastructure has not. The garbage cans are the same distances apart, but the guests ability or willingness to use them has declined. Capacities have remained static, but the attendance has grown.

I'd say that guests are more of an issue than the facilities.

I'll agree the garbage cans are the same distance apart as they had been over the years, but I have trouble believing that they are emptied at the same frequency they once were.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I'd say that guests are more of an issue than the facilities.

While guests habits can affect how clean the sidewalks and bathrooms are, it's not their responsibility to make sure the robots, lights, water features and so forth on the rides themselves work.

 

[PiratesMansion]

It's truly stunning how the most expensive, most visited Disney resort in the world is easily in the worst maintenance condition of all the parks right now.

The Asian parks absolutely shine. Everything is in fantastic shape, even in perpetually money-starved Hong Kong.

Tokyo Disneyland offers the most direct comparison, as much of the park borrows heavily from Magic Kingdom. The park looks like it opened yesterday, with every effect working in every attraction, all attractions are regularly refurbed, and there is never a shortage of staff. It makes the shortcomings of MK all the more obvious.

Disneyland isn't quite at that level, but the attractions are regularly refurbished and there are still clearly people there that care about maintenance and the guest experience.

I can't speak of Paris now, but I've heard nothing but glowing things recently. And when their parks were in rough shape, they were experiencing legitimate financial issues.

No excuse for WDW to operate in the sorry state it does right now.

 

[The_Jobu]

I have trouble believing that they are emptied at the same frequency they once were.

How can they be when Disney has been cutting staffing to bare minimums.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

The Magic Kingdom, the second oldest Disney theme park in the world, is looking very tired and old right about now.

I visited the park last Friday for the first time in just over a year, and after seeing Tokyo and Hong Kong Disneylands for the first time, and it has seen better days.

Totally independent of criticisms over high food prices, overcrowding, minimal staffing or how humid the place can get, the actual show the park puts on needs a lot of help.

Several E-tickets had effects that were either broken or not working very well. Pirates had characters that barely moved and one had a dislocated neck that was like something out of a Simpsons parody. Haunted Mansion was so dark you could hardly see certain effects and the scrims in the graveyard were so dirty everything looked out of focus, neither of which was an issue in the near-identical Tokyo version. The teacups on the Mad Tea Party looked very scratched and beat up on the inside and Space Mountain...well, its been 10 years since it was supposed to get a top-to-bottom upgrade and its only gotten worse since then. Big Thunder Mountain might as well have no effects since so few are working outside of the Tumbleweed set.

There are rumors of major refurbs happening soon in preparation for the 50th Anniversary, but what the park really needs to get back to is REGULAR maintenance. Not just fixing rides every 5-10 years and then only having them in good shape for a couple of months. Pirates looked great back in Feb 2018, what they heck happened? Did they just let the rest of it go when they changed the Auction scene?

For what they're charging to get in EVERYTHING should be in great shape, or at least very good on a consistent basis. It's Disney parks basics, or at least was.

If we can't get a new night time parade, or a show at the Diamond Horseshoe, or a replacement for Stitch, or the Country Bear Christmas, or the Main Street Theater, can we at least get the rides we have now working properly for the 50th and beyond?

Is there a dropbox at City Hall? I feel like I need to print this out and drop it in the box on my next visit. This sums up how I feel about the current conditions of MK perfectly. Rose-colored nostalgia goggles only work for so long. Eventually you start to see the flaws, cracks and garbage that litter the park. Magic Kingdom needs some TLC to bring it back up to it's own standards.

 

[VJ]

The reason simply boils down to: Guests don't want attractions closed during their once-in-a-lifetime visit. What will little Johnny do if his absolute favorite ride in the entire universe Big Thunder is down during his trip!?! He'll never live it down!

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Shoddier maintenance is the price to pay for increased uptime.

 

[Mickeyboof]

The reason simply boils down to: Guests don't want attractions closed during their once-in-a-lifetime visit. What will little Johnny do if his absolute favorite ride in the entire universe Big Thunder is down during his trip!?! He'll never live it down!

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Shoddier maintenance is the price to pay for increased uptime.

That most certainly is not the reason.

Money and greed is the reason.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Not that I've seen it myself, but people here have stated that the original film used in the hallway scene - where, at one point, it changed to a star field with a deep, velvet black (that gave me chills when I first saw it) has been replaced from film with newer projectors where there is no more deep velvet black, but a watery black where you can still see the corridor, destroying the illusion that you have entered another dimension. Very bad show, but typical for the lazy, cheap, contemptuous Iger era.

It's less that you can see the corridor and more that the black of the projection isn't a true black. It doesn't really cast any extra light into the hallway, which is good, but the window feels less like it's floating in space and more like it's a projection on a not-quite-dark enough screen, which is frustrating. Especially because true-black digital projection technology has come far in recent times.

It doesn't destroy the ride, but that bit could be, should be, and used to be better.

 

[The_Jobu]

Typically I post satirical messages here, but I wanted to share a serious thought regarding this.

I have noticed that guests are treated like cattle instead of people now. On a recent trip, I was trying to look at one of the plaques by the flag pole on Main Street, but I was yelled at by a Cast Member telling me to keep moving because that area was "closed". I've never been treated so rudely by a CM and that moment came back to me reading this thread, because after that happened, I was thinking about how things are going downhill.

**Bob Chapek Mode Reactivated**

You know there's a problem when even Chappie complains about poor show...

 

[Tanna Eros]

Then don't post in it.

I heard that in Yakko's voice.

 

[bUU]

That story of how the parks used to preventatively change lightbulbs comes up from time to time but is useful for understanding how they think about maintenance--- now they'll fix things when they break (eventually) instead of maintaining things in such a way that they do not break.

There have been broken light bulbs for over thirty years. Moreover, rip away the "political" motivations of the people telling it and that "story" becomes dismaying specifically because it is outlining a practice whereby the parks engaged in the deliberate generation of waste, something which doesn't make sense in the context of the environmental consciousness of eliminating single-use plastic. Even if people are going to rivet rose-colored glasses for the past on their faces, it is still a good idea to try to express that bias acknowledging how ethics have advanced over time.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Please don't respond to buu's posts in my thread. Thank you.

 

[networkpro]

Please don't respond to buu's posts in my thread. Thank you.

Nope, public forum and you're not Steve or The Mom.