The Magic has gone for us

[hwdelien]

That's a good point. I was thinking about this the other day. My wife and I both have jobs that seem stable and with all the good deals we've found the last month or two we've been stimulating the heck out of the economy. It sure seems that Disney could do the same, assuming the bottom hasn't fallen out of the bottom line which I don't think it has.

Yeah, my family too. My wife injured her back and is on disabiity, but with her laptop she's managed to add $1,400 to Amazon.com's bottom line this holiday.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

What's offensive about that?

I'm a Disney geek. I would say everyone here is.

It's not a derogatory term unless you choose it to be.

I am a Disney geek and a Disney fangirl.

I DO have to throw that in that GEEK is not a derogatory remark unless you want it to be (NERD is the derogatory phrase for this in question)

Loving Video Games, Movies, TV, Anime, Disney, and all things sci-fi I proudly call myself an Otaku and a Geek.

I am a self-proclaimed geek / nerd (and proud of it).

Why must you barge into threads throwing the weight of your Mickeyer-than-thou attitude?

Why must every thread you enter involve you constantly reminding people that you may know more than us?

I'll admit your ego is immensely entertaining, but it is growing tired very fast.

You constantly belittle and insult people and paint those that have anything positive to say with a very wide and demeaning brush.

Your version of passion and caring seems the equivalent of a someone that thinks a slap is a hug that stings.

Oh, that's great! I love it! :ROFLOL:

I wouldn't term myself 'abrasive' naturally ... honest would be one word, blunt would be another, passionate would be another, opinionated would definitely be another. But abrasive always sounds like it's someone being nasty or combative just for the sake of being and I am not.

I have yet to learn to soften my abrupt personality. Some people think I'm rude, but I'm just honest. :shrug:

 

[jakeman]

Well, I wasn't aware I was doing that. But I do know a lot and am proud of my knowledge. If I know something I'm going to share it .. after all, it is holiday season and it's supposed to be better to give then receive although I'd like a brand new red Mercedes ... E Class please.

Well you do. You should search your old post and see how many of them reference the fact that you claim to know more than any of the other posters.

You know alot about Disney. Guess what, in the grand scheme of the world, that's really not that big of a deal. It might make you a superstar and pad your ego on an internet message board, but that is really about it.

I know at this point it is the pot calling the kettle black about abrasivness, but the information you provide is overshadowed by the way you present it.

I will not put you on ignore, but this is the last time I respond to any of your post. I hope others who share my sentiment regarding you do the same. It would be interesting to see what happens when you stop getting reactions and the attention you seem to thrive on.

 

[captainkidd]

Boy you sure told him. I'm with you all the way. How dare those foreigners spell tire tyre or color colour. Where in the world did they learn to speak, and write English anyway?
By the way, what is a Bon Jovi? is that a choclate covered ice cream treat or something? Please excuse any misspellings or incorrect punctuations that I may have committed.

Sorry dude. I'm not as good with insults. I kind of try to pride myself on not being a miserable person to others.

Fuuny line about Bon Jovi though. What 80's TV on DVD show did you steal that one from?

 

[yankspy]

If you look at the ticket structure for the UK 09

5 day - £215
7 Day - £215
14 day £ 229
21 day £249

Despite the £70 increase since this summer, it does limit what you can save if you are getting tired of Disney and want to take your custom else where. Next year, If we go, we will take the Orlando Flex TicketPlus and visit all the other attractions and dependent on cost that may mean we further reduce the length of time we stay on property, especially as next year I will not be using my DVC points as they are not good value if you are not staying in a DVC resort.

On food, those who keep stating oh its theme parks you should expect to pay more, I can have an ala carte meal at Gordon Ramsays Claridges restaurant for less than I paid at Cali, Artits or Jikos. All great meals, and all a major part of my trip, but helllooooooo.....................

In fact a three course set lunch at Clarridges is less than what I paid for two courses at SciFi Dine in.

But hey its Disney, dontcha just love em

I assume you mean Claridges in London unless he opened another one somewhere else. If this is correct, then it is an unfair comparison. First off, it is Gordon Ramsay. World class Chefs like him do not only know how to cook, they also know how to run a much tighter ship than any Disney Chef. Lower costs=lower prices.

Second, I am willing to bet that the entire structure of how a restaurant is run is entirely different in London as opposed to Florida.

If you compare Disney's prices with other U.S. tourist destinations the restaurants are on par as far as pricing. You mentioned Artist Point. Try eating for less at a Ruth's Chris. Even so, every restaurant is run differently, pays different prices for their food, pays staff differently, etc. It is sometimes very hard to make a fair comparison.

Trust me, there are some things about the dining there that upset me. The holiday surcharge is a little ridiculous to me.

 

[Mystic]

I think you guys are taking out of context what DisneyDiva72 was saying. They were responding to this quote, which was making an excuse for bad service.



This is No excuse. I was a CM at the MK. If I was having a bad day I had to leave those feelings at the cast parking lot. You took the complaint that DisneyDiva had and turned it around on them. You guys make me laugh sometimes reading this stuff. You make excuses for Disney no matter what. It' amazing. Of course everyone should treat each other with respect. This was not the issue. It was poor customer service plain and simple

Actually for your information I was not making an excuse for bad service seeing as we did not actually RECEIVE bad service. By talking with the CM we ended up having a very pleasant interaction with her. I've been on both sides of the register and I know the kind of crap that goes on and it was nice and made my day a little better when a customer treated me with respect.

 

[KingdomHeart]

I always feel awkward about joining in on these discussions because I never want to make anyone feel bad about their feelings. I totally get the feelings - like at Disneyland - I was given terrible service, the CMs were not knowledgable or friendly, it was like doing brain surgery to get the attention of a waiter/waitress, and I didn't find the rides to be of a superior quality to those at WDW (except 3 or 4, though WDW still won out by a GREAT majority). Meanwhile, everyone seems to think DLR is soooo superior to WDW which leaves me a bit confused.

Did I have the epic time at DLR everyone seems to have? No. I had a good time, despite the things that happened. I basically did everything in 3 1/2 days (there were NO crowds) so I had time to just stare at the majesty that was Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday which BLEW MY EVER LOVING MIND and go on things 5 times (like those 2 and Indy, except omg the lines for Indy were nuts but so worth it).

I'm sorry WDW didn't work out for you. I'd say a break from it for a bit, do a cruise or something with you money, and take a look back in 2012 or after a few years. The magic should be there when you're ready for it. I know I rallied against the magic from the ages of 13-18, but then something happened and I just LOVED it again. I know I've had a few not amazing trips but it always gets better again. I hope you find something that makes you happy until then.
-Nicholas

 

[tirian]

One word:

Disneyland.

Why? To deal with the crowds and die-hard APs there? To be sickened at how useless DCA currently is? To deal with unhappy CMs and be happy that merely two rides are truly better than WDW? To pull out a microscope so they can see the castle? (just kidding)

Every Disney park can have problems, even the glorious Tokyo—which has the stalest MK park on earth, IMO. (Except for Pooh's Hunny Hunt, which is AMAZING)

My suggestion: go back to WDW in a few years. You'll always have an off-trip when you go frequently. I stay in different resorts for fun, and I've had some very bad experiences in addition to the good ones.

Don't take this as a defense of Disney—the last three hotels I've stayed in (all Deluxe) were dirty, and I agree that MVMCP is no longer as splendid as it was in the past—but there's still enough that's good to give WDW another chance in the future. :wave:

 

[tirian]

I always feel awkward about joining in on these discussions because I never want to make anyone feel bad about their feelings. I totally get the feelings - like at Disneyland - I was given terrible service, the CMs were not knowledgable or friendly, it was like doing brain surgery to get the attention of a waiter/waitress, and I didn't find the rides to be of a superior quality to those at WDW (except 3 or 4, though WDW still won out by a GREAT majority). Meanwhile, everyone seems to think DLR is soooo superior to WDW which leaves me a bit confused.

Major case of "grass is always greener," because I don't agree with that either. POTC and Space are better. That's it IMO.

EDIT: Space Mt's condition is better at DL because it was refurbished, but WDW's track layout is MUCH better.

 

[tirian]

Just got back from WDW, for which may have been our last time. This was our 7th visit in 10 years. To be honest, a lot of the magical pixie dust we had on our first and second trips has long since evaporated. Whilst our trip wasn't a complete bust - we finally got to go on the new Everest ride and saw the new Nemo show in AK as well as a few other minor changes which had appeared since our last trip in '05. We trudged around these parks and heaving pushing crowds with a sense of "not much has changed" and "we've already seen and done everything years ago". We chose this time of year because the place is decorated up and of supposed "light attendance".

We managed Mickey's Very Merry Party on the 4th Dec and even now, I'm wondering what it was I paid my money for. I expected something better than a free cup of tepid brown sludge with a circle of sickly sugar biscuit I couldn't eat. Yes all the rides were open, but we'd been in the park all day and already done everything. I just felt as if I'd been ripped off. Probably not as ripped off as those people who paid to go into the park to find that Wishes and Spectromagic parades had been cancelled because of it. I heard a lot of people moan about who spent a lot of money to come to WDW and have a lot of the best stuff cancelled because of this party.

We came to WDW at this time because of I wanted to see the Osborne Lights. We turned up to watch them, only to have them turned off an hour later - and the park close early - because of some 'private function' at Hollywood Studios. I hadn't finished filming them and I don't pay to be thrown out of a park early, why can't they have functions AFTER park hours? It was upsetting to see the lights switched back on just as we were driving out the car park lot. Again, it left us feeling disappointed and left out. We saw a lot of this "second-class" treatment outside of WDW in Seaworld and IoA. I am paying guest to WDW, and if it were not for paying guests, WDW would not exist. So why are paying guests being treated like this?

We decided not to bothered with any of the late magical hours, as by the time the parks close, we'd simply had enough and wanted to leave. Every night it was tiredness and boredom which drove us back to the hotel with no incentive to prolong our stay in the parks.

Then there was our hotel, the Coronado Springs Resort. Firstly, we had issues with basic cleanliness on arrival, our keys which never worked in the barriers, the lack of information given to us by Concierge (a long story here) then there is that rather useless and confusing Pepper Market restaurant and its lack of service.
We had to be shown to a table (As if we can't find our own empty table in an empty room), we then had to get our own food and then - because the staff were too busy talking with themselves, get up and get our own drinks from the cafe next door. Then I had an argument about why I should pay a service charge when I haven’t received any service.
After that, we never bothered going in there again. Compared to Riverside and French Quarter, this place is bottom of the list and the only time we would go back is only if everywhere else is full. (assuming we do go back). Don't even get me started on the bus services at Colorando Springs....one 40 min wait to MK one morning was enough, so we drove to each park everyday even though I didn't want to. As for trying to get a dining table anywhere in WDW, forget it. So we had to go outside WDW for a decent meal, having tired of greasy burgers and pizzas.

As I said, it wasn't a total loss but there was no magical experience to be had for us. What good times we had were washed away with heaving crowds, short-changing of times and events, unstable weather and long lines to go on "the same old stuff". Along with regular bouts of ride breakdowns, people cutting in lines, idiots waving camcorders in my face (when they have a clear view already) and the countless other activities by thoughtless people.

We have no plans to go back - simply because we would rather go somewhere else on vacation and put up with all that again. If we do, it won't be for a very long time.

"The place of a million dreams"? Sorry.

Contact Disney about the stuff they can actually control: hotel cleanliness, park refreshment, restaurant quality. I agree that the Dining Plan has destroyed dining for the most part in the parks, but they're not willing to get rid of it. :fork: Nevertheless, they should offer better quick service as an option, and they're not going to until enough Guests demand it.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Can I just say that there are many reasons why people have complained, just as there are many factors behind the staunch defence of the mouse.

HOWEVER:

I dont believe its too big an ask to have Disney (a studio) ensure that its movie centred attractions have decent quality prints running in them. Yes overlays and updates would be nice but surely a regular replacement of the film is simple preventative maintenance. Worse still how difficult is it to ensure the damn thing is in focus, school boy stuff.

Now I know it was exceptional but on Sat 6th Big Thunder, Splash and HM were all down at the same time, I was evacuated from the first two. And I know rides break, but the CM doing the announcement really needs to go back to school and improve his literacy. Fair play the guy was confident enough on the mic but those of us stuck in our logs for 20 mins hadnt a clue what he was telling us such was his inability to read the script more than two syllables at a time. Had it been a more serious reason for evacuation that would have been dangerous.

The parks were immaculate, as clean as Universal in fact, resplendent in their Christmas clothing, the service immense and I even enjoyed The Candle light doings, but the parks are all about the attractions, the rest is froth and WDW needs to have a bit more of a push at all 4 parks with one E ticket at each, but especially DHS and AK who also need a couple of minor attractions

and as a final thing, Nemo show is even worse than Tarzan. Liked SSE though

 

[DTM93]

I'd be interested to know what night you were at the Party because the CMs asked for wristbands constantly the night I was there. Yes they allowed day guests to remain on Main Street for the first parade and the fireworks BUT these same day guests were NOT allowed past Main Street or into any of the stores either. Anytime we wanted to enter one of the lands, an attraction or even a store we were asked for our wrist bands.

And as for DHS closing early, it is fairly common knowledge that Pop Warner takes place the second week of December like clockwork and that they have a private function at DHS on the Friday before their competitions take place. This is probably the private function you ran into.

Judging by your posts it sounds to me like a little more planning was needed in order to fully enjoy Christmas at Disney.

So that's what it was at DHS? I wondered what it was.

We were willing to stay to the normal closing hours to get our money's worth - and in most cases we did. But I wanted to see more of the Lights at DHS - it was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to WDW, but this function got in the way.

MVMCP - in our opinion was a rip. We stayed late in the park for it and left about 1/2 hour before it closed because we had enough of it. We had no idea what to expect and was disappointed with what there was. Also there was a large number of people there who had not paid for the event (no wristbands) who were helping themselves to eveything going. At no time were we asked to show these to any CM's. With no enforcement, we could have saved ourselves a lot of money.

We went to WDW in anticipation of a magical time, but by the end, we left disillusioned and bored. It was not one single thing, but a collection of things which took away any magic there was. We loved WDW the first few times, we even had our honeymoon there. Now the place does nothing for us and is far too expensive for what there is. Maybe in a few years time, things may change. But for now, we look to other places to go.

That was one thing that really annoyed me.
I loved Disney but I went the same night as you btw I loved it but it just annoyed me the way people had no wristbands and never got checked and also the way people were going in with the night befores wristbands. I thought the MVMCP was good; yeah we sat down infront of the castle for I think one and a half to two hours but it was worth it sitting at the front for the parade and seeing Wishes, the only thing we never saw was Mickeys Twas The Night Before Christmas.

 

[CBOMB]

Sorry dude. I'm not as good with insults. I kind of try to pride myself on not being a miserable person to others.

Fuuny line about Bon Jovi though. What 80's TV on DVD show did you steal that one from?

Funny you sure fooled me. and I write my on material dude.