Negativity

[awilliams4]

You are right in line with the OP camp.

I on the other hand have expectations. If Disney can create a fake tree that guests can climb through over 40 years ago at the MK, that doesn't need nets my expectation is Disney should be able to at least as good of a job creating a safe tree for AK.

My board and I unloaded our IT Director around 1 1/2 years ago. Everything was an excuse, everything lingered around not being fixed and there was always an excuse and topped with we likely couldn't understand. We now have a new dude, things still go off course, the difference is they get fixed timely and he doesn't waste time concocting up excuses he fixes what is broken. I am a fan of action.

Have expectations about things you don't know anything about? You have no way of knowing what the hold up is. What if it is now a liability issue and Disney is saying well now that 1 fell, 'we should have known' if another falls and we are liable so we have to go back to the drawing board. How long do you think it takes to go back to the drawing board on something like that? How do you know what is on that drawing board? Do you know if they use permanent ink on that board? I mean, come on. You know damn well, you have no clue what is going on with the AK Tree besides Disney just doesn't feel like spending the money.

 

[Gabe1]

Have expectations about things you don't know anything about? You have no way of knowing what the hold up is. What if it is now a liability issue and Disney is saying well now that 1 fell, 'we should have known' if another falls and we are liable so we have to go back to the drawing board. How long do you think it takes to go back to the drawing board on something like that? How do you know what is on that drawing board? Do you know if they use permanent ink on that board? I mean, come on. You know damn well, you have no clue what is going on with the AK Tree besides Disney just doesn't feel like spending the money.

What if? Giggle.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I think a lot of the negativity towards WDW today comes from that frame of mind that "the golden age was never the present one." We value WDW as a place of nostalgia, and any change -whether good or bad- seems to chip away at that nostalgic fondness we remember from days long past.
Take the Avatar announcement for example. Many greeted this planned expansion (whether or not it'll still come to pass) with sorrow & aggression. Why? Nobody knew what the proposed "Land" would look like, or what attraction(s) it would consist of. Nothing was known when first revealed..yet they already made up their minds it was bad for Disney. I myself found it rather odd picturing a union of blue aliens at a Disney animal park...it just wasn't usual; it wasn't what I'm used to. Prime example of me being negative about something I knew nothing of, and basing my negativity off of what I "expect" from Disney, or what "should" be at the parks. That is just one prime example, but there are numerous others.

Now as far as maintenance neglect, effects being eliminated, etc...yes, that is a prime example of decline from the standards which have been set. This upsets many people, and for good reason. It may not have taken away any from my Disney experiences, but it has certainly bothered some...and they should be able to sing praises & voice concerns about a place they love. It doesn't make them any less of a "fan" than the guests who still see Disney as pristine & majestic as they did on their first visit.

And this is why Bob Saget > Bob Iger...

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

The Swiss Family Robinson and the Tree Of Life are two totally different structures though. The TOL was always more for aesthetics. You don't climb it or otherwise really interact with it, so it was built totally differently.

I'm not saying that I don't have expectations. I absolutely do! But I want the solutions to match my expectations, and not simple adhesive bandage type fixes.

 

[luv]

Been in IT my whole life so I am accustomed to and always expect things to be much more complicated than anticipated, always things that weren't thought about, constant repercussions to other things that were never anticipated and the always frustrating predictable users who complain about whatever the subject may be only to know with absolute certainty that the user has no idea as to the details.

So I go into most things that I am not involved with thinking that there is probably more to it than I am aware of.

Using the AK Tree as an example, many complain and say it is downright pathetic......maybe.....I look at it as I wonder what it is that is causing the slowdown, there is something I don't know, I wonder what many details came up that they are dealing with, waiting on, anticipating.

I can say this, most if not all that complain about the AK Tree can in no way know what exactly the hold up is. So when I see complaints using this example, it reminds me of my IT world and users complaining about something they know nothing about.

Again, maybe it is Disney being pathetic, but I know that I and probably you have no way to know that. And the complaints aren't speculation either, they are mostly toned as factual. That Disney is really pathetic and has been for years and is screwing everybody over every chance they get. And I know that Disney just chooses not to fix the Tree because they don't want to spend the money.

I would suggest that it makes no sense that Disney is just being pathetic with the Tree. There are reasons that we don't know about. Up to and including that there wasn't any money in the budget to antipcate this and now that one branch has fallen, we are going to fix this but we aren't going to be half-assed about it. We are going to put it into the budget, look at long term solutions, get folk in here to consult with and brain storm on what we need to do to prevent this from happening....especially considering that if you put it into context, global weather changes are probably being considered as well. Maybe they are planning to replace all the branches with something more sturdy but it is taking a thorough study to evaulate this option.

And if I am right, how ridiculous do all the complaints about the AK Tree look?

All of that is not our problem. The people running the theme park should attend to these things. In fact, they should have attended to them BEFORE the park opened. All of that stuff is not our problem.

In the end, nobody wants excuses. They don't want to learn about how hard it is or hear about how you've scheduled a meeting and are doing your best and all that crap.

They just want tree fixed. And the Yeti fixed. And everything to work and look good. Nobody pays to hear excuses about why things don't work and how gosh darn hard it is to fix them.

How long has it been now?

 

[Gabe1]

All of that is not our problem. The people running the theme park should attend to these things. In fact, they should have attended to them BEFORE the park opened. All of that stuff is not our problem.

In the end, nobody wants excuses. They don't want to learn about how hard it is or hear about how you've scheduled a meeting and are doing your best and all that crap.

They just want tree fixed. And the Yeti fixed. And everything to work and look good. Nobody pays to hear excuses about why things don't work and how gosh darn hard it is to fix them.

How long has it been now?

Tree, Third week of April 2012, during my vacation. And subsequently a lamp post blew magically over onto a loaded Everest coaster in the load area, but I'm sure there is an excuse for that happening too. Just like the excuses that were slung for Primeval Whirls sad events and now Kali River Rapids coming out of rehab in about the same shape it went into rehab. Leads me to believe some of these rehabs are just to cut CM/operating costs during colder months instead of actually attending to maintenance in recent years.

 

[Beholder]

Perhaps part of the problem is perception? If in fact there are elements or details we (general public) aren't privy to, then it seems WDW would/could do a better job keeping fans/guests/media informed? Instead of letting us make assumptions as to why things have fallen apart, tell us why. Tell us why, what's being considered as a fix, and maybe why it takes what seems like a long time. Disney tends to treat these things as secret, as if talking about it will admit that there is a problem. I'm not suggesting that his how it should be done, but I think by letting us in on some of the maintenance issues would go a long way towards combating some of the growing cynicism. God knows they could spin it with a "In our effort to make WDW the safest place in the world for your family, we're closing ________ to make it better than before!" kind of line. I really don't know how any of this works, but it's just an idea.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I love Disney. I adore Disney. I've studied Disney. I've spent over a year of my life at WDW. I've done two school projects on Walt. Heck, I want to work for Disney, hopefully managing and improving guest experiences. A guidebook that I was reading for Disneyland put it very well recently: that while remaining mostly positive about DL, they weren't going to sugarcoat what wasn't on par. Honesty is best.
That being said, I come on here mainly to advise and calmly discuss. If a guest tells me that their family wants to eat at a restaurant that is genuinely bad based on my experience, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Biergarten is just...bad. The final decision is, of course, up to them, but not being honest about it doesn't help them out any.
Similarly, we have discussions on here. Personally, I hated the new Test Track. That's been a topic for discussion recently. I'm not going to lie and say I loved it when I thought it was terrible and the old one is better. Neither would I discourage anyone from trying it and forming their own opinion about it. We're all individuals.
I also hear my parents talking about how things used to be. Sometimes, I wonder if they're being fuddy dutties or if legitimately, the experience was better years ago in some respects. But that does not detract from their enjoyment now. Disney will always be Disney.
And sometimes, there are problems. My father and I were having issues with Disney's website. When I asked if others were having issues, it helped us determine that the issue is with the way the new site is designed, not in our accounts or a problem with our computers. The point is to enhance our experiences in Disney and discuss what we did or didn't like. Negativity does have a place. Many complaints are legitimate. For example, Splash Mountain has issues. There's no excuse for these issues. Recently, the quiet pool at the Boardwalk was too heavily chlorinated and it ruined one of my bathing suits. Also, no excuse, just purely poor management for not checking the pool more frequently. I told management and they gave me a credit, but I will warn other guests going to that hotel in the next few months to be wary of the pool. That's legitimate. But complaining not the entire point of this site. Having healthy discussions about Disney and giving each other tips for future trips is the point. Just my philosophy.