Sweat The Small Stuff (When you are running a theme park)

[Club Cooloholic]

I am up in New Hampshire this week, so we checked out a little regional theme park, StoryLand , up in the mountains.

Well I am blown away by how new many things look, fresh coats of paint, an animatronic stage show where everything is working. It made me lament, the last few times at WDW, I just didn't see the level to details for the parks I had years ago, with light bulbs being out, or railings and rides just not looking as fresh.

I am aware a regional park can spend weeks cleaning things up and sprucing a park up before it opens for a season, time WDW will never be given as a year round park, but I still wish there was more time put into the little details of the hotels and parks. I never realized how much they make the experience better. There was plenty of staff too that might have helped my experience up here.

 

[bwr827]

I only visited WDW for 4 days last year, but we were amazed at how spotless and perfect everything looked.

Makes me wonder how much extra spotless and extra perfect it must have been for y’all years ago.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I am up in New Hampshire this week, so we checked out a little regional theme park, StoryLand , up in the mountains.

Well I am blown away by how new many things look, fresh coats of paint, an animatronic stage show where everything is working. It made me lament, the last few times at WDW, I just didn't see the level to details for the parks I had years ago, with light bulbs being out, or railings and rides just not looking as fresh.

I am aware a regional park can spend weeks cleaning things up and sprucing a park up before it opens for a season, time WDW will never be given as a year round park, but I still wish there was more time put into the little details of the hotels and parks. I never realized how much they make the experience better. There was plenty of staff too that might have helped my experience up here.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but in the old days DLR (and I think) WDW had night shifts and they repainted, changed bulbs, fixed stuff etc.

Not any more....

 

[Hockey89]

I am up in New Hampshire this week, so we checked out a little regional theme park, StoryLand , up in the mountains.

Well I am blown away by how new many things look, fresh coats of paint, an animatronic stage show where everything is working. It made me lament, the last few times at WDW, I just didn't see the level to details for the parks I had years ago, with light bulbs being out, or railings and rides just not looking as fresh.

I am aware a regional park can spend weeks cleaning things up and sprucing a park up before it opens for a season, time WDW will never be given as a year round park, but I still wish there was more time put into the little details of the hotels and parks. I never realized how much they make the experience better. There was plenty of staff too that might have helped my experience up here.

Know the owner well and it's a nice hidden gem... Welcome to my state

 

[Heppenheimer]

I am up in New Hampshire this week, so we checked out a little regional theme park, StoryLand , up in the mountains.

Well I am blown away by how new many things look, fresh coats of paint, an animatronic stage show where everything is working. It made me lament, the last few times at WDW, I just didn't see the level to details for the parks I had years ago, with light bulbs being out, or railings and rides just not looking as fresh.

I am aware a regional park can spend weeks cleaning things up and sprucing a park up before it opens for a season, time WDW will never be given as a year round park, but I still wish there was more time put into the little details of the hotels and parks. I never realized how much they make the experience better. There was plenty of staff too that might have helped my experience up here.

We take our kids here once or twice each summer. Yes, I agree, it is very well run and maintained. It always looks pristine.

Nearby Santa's Village is also immaculately kept.

 

[JoeCamel]

I only visited WDW for 4 days last year, but we were amazed at how spotless and perfect everything looked.

Makes me wonder how much extra spotless and extra perfect it must have been for y’all years ago.

It was legendary

 

[JIMINYCR]

We know StoryLand well. ( And Santas Village) I agree that its well maintained and looks pristine. I also wish Dis could be run at the same level of care as a less expansive regional park. But you cant make comparison to WDW when StoryLand has no where the numbers of guests pouring through each day for the entire year, doesnt require the same level of maintenance for attractions which dont get the same hours of running time, is open seasonally so it gets time to close for major repairs. They dont have the level of competition for staffing.
I am not aware of how SL is owned and run but Id assume Dis board and authorization of how the parks get maintained differs greatly too, so approval of the use of funds and allocating staff is more difficult. Budgets differ and how each category of spending across a huge corporation like Disney can be used makes it harder to maintain.
As you did state that SL is seasonal and operates differently which makes all the difference, you know its non comparable.
I visited Manhattan and saw the filthy state of the streets, unkept buildings, and so forth in the area, so can I justly compare the state of my small town with that area? No, its apples and oranges.

 

[JIMINYCR]

It was legendary

It was a totally different company from top to bottom. Decision making and allocation of funds and staffing was simpler and easier to justify.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

We know StoryLand well. ( And Santas Village) I agree that its well maintained and looks pristine. I also wish Dis could be run at the same level of care as a less expansive regional park. But you cant make comparison to WDW when StoryLand has no where the numbers of guests pouring through each day for the entire year, doesnt require the same level of maintenance for attractions which dont get the same hours of running time, is open seasonally so it gets time to close for major repairs. They dont have the level of competition for staffing.
I am not aware of how SL is owned and run but Id assume Dis board and authorization of how the parks get maintained differs greatly too, so approval of the use of funds and allocating staff is more difficult. Budgets differ and how each category of spending across a huge corporation like Disney can be used makes it harder to maintain.
As you did state that SL is seasonal and operates differently which makes all the difference, you know its non comparable.
I visited Manhattan and saw the filthy state of the streets, unkept buildings, and so forth in the area, so can I justly compare the state of my small town with that area? No, its apples and oranges.

I'm in Montreal too. Pretty nice streets! Not a small town. Things can be kept nice even on a large scale, I saw it once at a place called WDW.
And the reports that it looks great, I hope that is true, maybe they have been making more effort recently.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I am aware a regional park can spend weeks cleaning things up and sprucing a park up before it opens for a season, time WDW will never be given as a year round park

Tokyo DL is open all year too and draws similar crowds. Yet somehow everything is spotless, fresh and impeccably operated.

 

[NickMaio]

We know StoryLand well. ( And Santas Village) I agree that its well maintained and looks pristine. I also wish Dis could be run at the same level of care as a less expansive regional park. But you cant make comparison to WDW when StoryLand has no where the numbers of guests pouring through each day for the entire year, doesnt require the same level of maintenance for attractions which dont get the same hours of running time, is open seasonally so it gets time to close for major repairs. They dont have the level of competition for staffing.
I am not aware of how SL is owned and run but Id assume Dis board and authorization of how the parks get maintained differs greatly too, so approval of the use of funds and allocating staff is more difficult. Budgets differ and how each category of spending across a huge corporation like Disney can be used makes it harder to maintain.
As you did state that SL is seasonal and operates differently which makes all the difference, you know its non comparable.
I visited Manhattan and saw the filthy state of the streets, unkept buildings, and so forth in the area, so can I justly compare the state of my small town with that area? No, its apples and oranges.

You kind of can compare.
Dis makes hundreds of millions from its parks division every year.

If little parks can spend the money on upkeep and staff Dis can too. They just choose not to.