Oh Disney World... What Happened to you?

[Tony the Tigger]

That's just a difference in ideas of "fun" then. Watching my child's eyes light up, riding space mountain with him, watching wishes together, seeing his excitement when a character comes to our table at a meal, or running through Casey Junior's Splash & Soak, getting soaked together.. This is all extremely "fun" and magical to me as well .

My absolute favorite photo, out of more than 500, was at Ohana, but not with Stitch. The photo pass photog caught a photo of my son hugging his own Stitch stuffed animal..right after the "real" Stitch had hugged it. This may sound lame, but the way my kid lit up and was over the moon at something so simple, reinforces (to me) why WDW is such a magical place. That moment was one of the highlights of our trip. This is the epitome of my idea of "fun". View attachment 155334

As an adult with no kids who only goes to WDW with other adults - I completely agree with you.

I think some people take Walt's quotes too far, as if children were incidental to the whole thing. I think he wanted the parents/adults to be engaged as well, as opposed to ignored or marginalized as they may have been at other parks; but no good parents I know put themselves above or even on the same level as their kids - especially in a setting such as WDW or other vacations.

Of course there is "parent time," but the focus of those families is generally on the kids. And if the parents enjoy it, they're more likely to bring their kids back.

It's also a great time to teach kids not to be brats, especially by parents not being brats by example. Having realistic expectations, waiting your turn, handling disappointment, being kind to others.

Disney World wouldn't bring out the kid in adults if it was designed for adults.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Haha I can relate since I'm originally from New Jersey. I try to fully take advantage of my AP now that I live 2.5 hours away. Not a bad ride up to the Orlando area if I do say so myself.

I'm from New Jersey also - now in Fort Lauderdale, so it's more of a 3+ hour drive.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I'm from New Jersey also - now in Fort Lauderdale, so it's more of a 3+ hour drive.

Hello fellow transplant haha...really? I've over in Cape Coral near Fort Myers and it takes me around 2.5 hours. Figured it would be about the same for the Ft. Lauderdale area.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I think it's more of an issue of me not wanting to admit that I'm old enough to have childhood movies remade already!!!!lol

The Pete's Dragon thing has me totally confused though. From what I've read and the trailers that I've watched.. It's an entirely different movie. 2 characters remain- Pete and Elliot (the Dragon). Why not just use different names and have it be it's own movie? I just don't understand. .

Oh, come now - they remade Spider-Man like 10 minutes after 3 other remakes of Spider-Man LOL.

But I get it. I've never seen (and will never see) the new Willy Wonka movie. There are few movies about which I can say this, but the original was perfection, and I don't want any other options in my head when I see it.

My Disney Chase Rewards Fall 2016 booklet that came yesterday claims the new Pete's Dragon will "complement" the original. It's a new storyline, not a sequel.

I just tried to watch the original last night but didn't feel like paying $3.99 on Amazon when I have all those free Amazon Prime videos LOL. Don't we have Helen Reddy in there? It's been ages...sigh.

 

[Foltzy]

@gljvd
Yes, Disney could do that....for the next 20 years. The money it would take for each of those redevelopments, especially the POTC one, would be ridiculous. Also, don't forget how long it took for Disney to reconstruct maelstrom. Imagine how long each would take.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Hello fellow transplant haha...really? I've over in Cape Coral near Fort Myers and it takes me around 2.5 hours. Figured it would be about the same for the Ft. Lauderdale area.

Union Township. UHS class of '89 LOL. There's pretty much always traffic somewhere along the way from here. That's why we've gotten into the habit of going up on Sunday nights. (Plus my husband drives like his Grandma and we take turns, or I finish up work in the car.) Everything's a trade-off LOL.

I do miss the Jersey Shore, though. They actually had waves in the ocean when there was no hurricane coming LOL. Love the beaches down here for the actual beach itself, but there's no character (i.e. boardwalk.)

 

[gljvd]

You had me until "tear down Tom Sawyer island".

Sorry bro , I make the trip from Jersey to Disney 2-3 times a year and that place is always dead . I think they can make a better experience at one of the water parks

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

As an adult with no kids who only goes to WDW with other adults - I completely agree with you.

I think some people take Walt's quotes too far, as if children were incidental to the whole thing. I think he wanted the parents/adults to be engaged as well, as opposed to ignored or marginalized as they may have been at other parks; but no good parents I know put themselves above or even on the same level as their kids - especially in a setting such as WDW or other vacations.

Of course there is "parent time," but the focus of those families is generally on the kids. And if the parents enjoy it, they're more likely to bring their kids back.

It's also a great time to teach kids not to be brats, especially by parents not being brats by example. Having realistic expectations, waiting your turn, handling disappointment, being kind to others.

Disney World wouldn't bring out the kid in adults if it was designed for adults.

This is so true. Before my wife and I had our daughter, we would go to WDW all the time and enjoy all the rides, characters and shows. Once she was pregnant we couldn't stop thinking about how much fun we'll have bringing our child. Now that our daughter is 2 and a half, we have so many fun memories of WDW and we don't go to for ourselves anymore...I go strictly for her and to see the smile on her face.

I think of it this way; kids will watch shows and movies and love the characters they see, so by taking them to WDW for them to meet those characters, it makes it become real and magical. As an adult we like certain actors, musicians, athletes, etc. We pay lots of money to go to see their shows, games, etc. and then wait in lines to get their autographs and a picture. They are to adults as Disney characters are to kids. Sure I'd love to get my picture taken with Tiger Woods or Jordan Speith...but I'd much rather see my daughter run up to Minnie or Daisy and give them a huge hug and melt into their arms.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Union Township. UHS class of '89 LOL. There's pretty much always traffic somewhere along the way from here. That's why we've gotten into the habit of going up on Sunday nights. (Plus my husband drives like his Grandma and we take turns, or I finish up work in the car.) Everything's a trade-off LOL.

I do miss the Jersey Shore, though. They actually had waves in the ocean when there was no hurricane coming LOL. Love the beaches down here for the actual beach itself, but there's no character (i.e. boardwalk.)

Union Twp in Union County?? Haha makes sense. I-75 usually is a nice quick ride up until you get to the Tampa area. Same here. The beaches are great but I really miss the boardwalks back in like Point Pleasant and Wildwood. I guess our trade off is going to and enjoying Disney instead of the shore haha

 

[21stamps]

As an adult with no kids who only goes to WDW with other adults - I completely agree with you.

I think some people take Walt's quotes too far, as if children were incidental to the whole thing. I think he wanted the parents/adults to be engaged as well, as opposed to ignored or marginalized as they may have been at other parks; but no good parents I know put themselves above or even on the same level as their kids - especially in a setting such as WDW or other vacations.

Of course there is "parent time," but the focus of those families is generally on the kids. And if the parents enjoy it, they're more likely to bring their kids back.

It's also a great time to teach kids not to be brats, especially by parents not being brats by example. Having realistic expectations, waiting your turn, handling disappointment, being kind to others.

Disney World wouldn't bring out the kid in adults if it was designed for adults.

I've said it before- I'm a little envious of your trips!!
I absolutely loved WDW adult trips. I'm from Boca Raton and we would always drive up for Food & Wine, for 2 or 3 nights, not a week. I never went to HS or AK on those adult trips. We stuck to Epcot, and a few hours at MK.

We also did Halloween Horror Nights every year, and my summertime 30th birthday was celebrated at IoA. Not once did I ever compare Disney and Universal, or wish that one had something the other had. They are both unique in their own right.

I also have close friends in Orlando, and visited them plenty of times without ever stepping foot in any theme park. There is plenty to do in Orlando. If Disney isn't for you (general) then by all means choose something else to spend time and money at.

 

[21stamps]

Union Twp in Union County?? Haha makes sense. I-75 usually is a nice quick ride up until you get to the Tampa area. Same here. The beaches are great but I really miss the boardwalks back in like Point Pleasant and Wildwood. I guess our trade off is going to and enjoying Disney instead of the shore haha

Union Township. UHS class of '89 LOL. There's pretty much always traffic somewhere along the way from here. That's why we've gotten into the habit of going up on Sunday nights. (Plus my husband drives like his Grandma and we take turns, or I finish up work in the car.) Everything's a trade-off LOL.

I do miss the Jersey Shore, though. They actually had waves in the ocean when there was no hurricane coming LOL. Love the beaches down here for the actual beach itself, but there's no character (i.e. boardwalk.)

Watch the tram car!!!

Omg I LOVE Wildwood!!!!
Spent every summer in Cape May as a kid.
Awesome memories.

My favorite ride at Old Town Orlando is one that is?/was on the Boardwalk-- and is such a nostalgic wonderful ride!!. Where you're in a car spinning around in a circle forward then backwards to loud music. I forget the name.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Watch the tram car!!!

Omg I LOVE Wildwood!!!!
Spent every summer in Cape May as a kid.
Awesome memories.

My favorite ride at Old Town Orlando is one that is?/was on the Boardwalk-- and is such a nostalgic wonderful ride!!. Where you're in a car spinning around in a circle forward then backwards to loud music. I forget the name.

Wa-wa-wa-Watch the tram car please! haha love it. Cape May is amazing. The Boardwalk at Disney kinda brings me back there. Hm I think you are talking about Musik Express maybe?

 

[gljvd]

@gljvd
Yes, Disney could do that....for the next 20 years. The money it would take for each of those redevelopments, especially the POTC one, would be ridiculous. Also, don't forget how long it took for Disney to reconstruct maelstrom. Imagine how long each would take.

I don't see this as any different than what they are doing now. Go back to before FLE and think of how long it will take for them to be done with refurbishing 3 of the parks. Its easily going to be over a decade.

Anyway with pirates that's the easy one. You close down the island and get to work. Leave the original running until the new one is done. Then close the original and make a new ride inside of it.

To me the Magic kingdom stuff is the least important . At the next D23 announce big epcot changes . By then Avatar land will be done and only Hollywood studios projects will be running. Announce the epcot changes and get to work. The d23 after that the Hollywood stuff should be coming to an end. So again announce the Magic kingdom stuff so that only epcot work will be taking place as they start reving up for new MK work.

The parks need a lot of work and universal seems willing to invest a lot of money and seem to continue to do so for awhile into the future. Disney needs to do the same

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Watch the tram car!!!

Omg I LOVE Wildwood!!!!
Spent every summer in Cape May as a kid.
Awesome memories.

My favorite ride at Old Town Orlando is one that is?/was on the Boardwalk-- and is such a nostalgic wonderful ride!!. Where you're in a car spinning around in a circle forward then backwards to loud music. I forget the name.

Wa-wa-wa-Watch the tram car please! haha love it. Cape May is amazing. The Boardwalk at Disney kinda brings me back there. Hm I think you are talking about Musik Express maybe?

omg watch the tramcar, please! LOL.

 

[21stamps]

omg watch the tramcar, please! LOL.

That tramcar speaker is the soundtrack of my childhood.lol
Speaking of old...I haven't been to Wildwood/Cape May since 1999. My mom's from Philly originally and I think it's like a law or something that you have to have a summer house in Cape May lol. My family sold it years ago though . Now I'm going to have to look at Wildwood as a vacation option for my kid. Ugh...Work really gets in the way of all of my vacation plans!

Wa-wa-wa-Watch the tram car please! haha love it. Cape May is amazing. The Boardwalk at Disney kinda brings me back there. Hm I think you are talking about Musik Express maybe?

That sounds familiar. I wouldn't complain if Disney got one of those...but as long as one is in Orlando I'm good. If you haven't been to Old Town you really should go...it's a lot of the Boardwalk style rides.

 

[TXDisney]

This might sound blount... But it sounds like you need to lower your expectations.

Have I seen a lil drop off in quality over the last few years? Perhaps. But WDW is also becoming more and more popular every year. I think people associate the price of a WDW trip with expectations. People expect some crazy vacation bc they drop $6,000 on their trip. When the fact is that you're trip is/was probably great, but didn't live up to the price you paid. Also a factor is the more guests the harder it is to maintain. And answer to this would be more employees. So that's a start. But at what point is it where they're convenient or in the way?

 

[rob0519]

They could start improving things by not hiring completely dumb front line people to work the parks. Truly amazes me how many Cast lack common sense or manners, this week's trip has really opened my eyes to how broken WDW is. It's time for a purge from the top ranks all the way down to the bottom. I hope it comes sooner than later

I'm not looking to start a whole horrible cast member thread, but could you provide a few examples of "dumb" and "lack common sense or manners"? We've been going to WDW regularly for over 20 years and while there have been a few annoying interactions, we've found most front line people to be at least adequate to great at what they do.

 

[Foltzy]

Anyway with pirates that's the easy one. You close down the island and get to work. Leave the original running until the new one is done. Then close the original and make a new ride inside of it.

I really don't think Pirates will move. The amount of excavation that it will require is ridiculous. The whole ride is built on the first level of MK. I don't know what the deal is utilildors under Tom Sawyer Island, but the work required for something unnecessary seems a little ridiculous.
Also, if you're gonna do that, why not fill in RoA

 

[Kylo Ken]

That tramcar speaker is the soundtrack of my childhood.lol
Speaking of old...I haven't been to Wildwood/Cape May since 1999. My mom's from Philly originally and I think it's like a law or something that you have to have a summer house in Cape May lol. My family sold it years ago though . Now I'm going to have to look at Wildwood as a vacation option for my kid. Ugh...Work really gets in the way of all of my vacation plans!

That sounds familiar. I wouldn't complain if Disney got one of those...but as long as one is in Orlando I'm good. If you haven't been to Old Town you really should go...it's a lot of the Boardwalk style rides.

I'm going to take a ride over there one day. I haven't been to Old Town in almost 20 years so I'm interested in seeing it.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Love it! Moments like that are why we pay such crazy prices for Disney World, and somehow justify it as "worth it".

WDW isn't magical because of the intensity of their rides, there's parks all over the country who have great coasters. It's a combination of so many things, but the heart of it is a child's innocence and excitement...including the memories of our own childhoods. I'm not saying that Disney isn't a good time for adults, but I would hate to see it become an Islands of Adventure type place.

One of the things I loath about the current WDW is how everything has been dumbed down and toddlerized. WDW didn't used to be all about the children. It used to be a classy well rounded resort. Now it is Legoland on steroids. Trading out the Jules Verne/Robin Williams Timekeeper for cartoon characters. Trading Alien Attack for a cartoon character. Losing 20K Leagues to eventually be replaced by cartoon characters. Replacing the actual history of Norway with cartoon characters. Replacing the science of energy with comic book characters. Now WDW's target demo is just arrested development adults with kids under 7.