The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SuddenStorm said:
I think the problem is that many of us aren't willing to spend thousands a year to keep visiting.

I try to keep my complaints limited to maintenance and future management decisions (like Galaxy's Edge and this Project Curb Removal). I keep my complaints on crowding to a minimum, since I agree- it's incredibly disingenuous to complain about overcrowding while still attending.

My complaints with crowds don't stem from the crowds themselves- but instead how Disney has been handling the crowds. Project Stardust is an ill conceived band aid attempt to correct management and creative mistakes from the last few decades.

I've noticed on my last couple visits that the park didn't have the same feel. For me, this likely has to do with seeing my favorite two attractions- Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion rot. And the closure of the original Fantasmic!- which I consider to be one of Disney's crowning achievements, and the new version to be a soulless mess by comparison. Or having Mickey's Mix Magic playing instead of an actual fireworks show that attempts to act as an emotional climax for the day at Disneyland. Or the construction walls everywhere throughout the park, though that's more of a temporary issue.

I've also noticed a decline in Cast Member quality. Perhaps I was more oblivious before- but the quality of service received, in many cases, was what I'd expect from Taco Bell, not Disney. I appreciate the higher wage initiatives since Disney does typically expect higher levels of service from their cast members, I just hope that the higher wages actually correlates to higher quality cast members.

I think the next couple years will act as a sort of test for myself personally- seeing if Splash Mountain gets the maintenance it deserves, if Galaxy's Edge ends up being a net positive for the resort, if Marvel Land is better than what we're seeing so far. If not, I could very easily see myself drastically cutting back on the amount I visit- instead of a couple times a year, maybe a couple times every few years, or only for special occasions. I could also see my self drastically cutting back on the merchandise I purchase, which has already been happening since most of what Disneyana is selling isn't super great.
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I think “outright hates the place” applies to almost nobody. More like we don’t like where things are currently heading or some of the recent boneheaded decisions but I’ve gotten into this many times before. There is still a lot we do like about the parks so until the bad outweighs the good they ll have my business in some capacity. That doesn’t mean one can’t complain about dumb decisions or crowds in a Disneyland chat room. It’s not disingenuous at all. So am I disingenuous because I still ride GOTG:MB even though I complained about it replacing TOT more than just about anybody? No, because it’s still a thrill ride in a park that has very few. So I enjoy that part of it. In the same way, we enjoy a lot about DL, just not the crowds. However, like I said in another post, crowds have already impacted me in a way where DL will be getting less of my business.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Chairman Bob said:
I mean, its like one day you sit in your Jetta finishing your third can of Chef Boyardee ravioli and you think to yourself, "Is this even real food? What have I been doing to myself?" And you check yourself into rehab.

^ Not my own personal experience, but you know, you hear things in board meetings...
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The trick to Chef Boyardee is to pour the ravioli into a colander, wash the gross sauce off, put the sauceless ravioli on a plate, pour Ragu on it and microwave. Makes a huge difference.
 
Travel Junkie

Travel Junkie

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
I think “outright hates the place” applies to almost nobody. More like we don’t like where things are currently heading or some of the recent boneheaded decisions but I’ve gotten into this many times before. There is still a lot we do like about the parks so until the bad outweighs the good they ll have my business in some capacity. That doesn’t mean one can’t complain about dumb decisions or crowds in a Disneyland chat room. It’s not disingenuous at all. So am I disingenuous because I still ride GOTG:MB even though I complained about it replacing TOT more than just about anybody? No, because it’s still a thrill ride in a park that has very few. So I enjoy that part of it. In the same way, we enjoy a lot about DL, just not the crowds. However, like I said in another post, crowds have already impacted me in a way where DL will be getting less of my business.
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I'll go out on a limb and say no one posting on these boards hates the place. It's a rather ridiculous claim.

It's also not disingenuous to disagree with decisions a company makes yet still patronage them. I don't agree with where they are putting Galaxy's Edge, but I'll still go see it. If someone stopped doing business with a company when you stopped agreeing with them all the time you wouldn't be able to buy anything. If you stopped being friends with anyone you didn't agree with 100% of the time you would be a loner.

I find it interesting in how they are marketing GE. By some reports they spent a billion dollars per land (that's 2 billion if you are counting at home) and in many ways they are trying to scare people away from going. It's pretty unprecedented. Obviously Disney knows crowding is an issue. It's a great problem for a business to have and one not easy to solve when your goal is to make as much money as possible. It's a problem a lot of major tourist attractions have.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Travel Junkie said:
I'll go out on a limb and say no one posting on these boards hates the place. It's a rather ridiculous claim.

It's also not disingenuous to disagree with decisions a company makes yet still patronage them. I don't agree with where they are putting Galaxy's Edge, but I'll still go see it. If someone stopped doing business with a company when you stopped agreeing with them all the time you wouldn't be able to buy anything. If you stopped being friends with anyone you didn't agree with 100% of the time you would be a loner.

I find it interesting in how they are marketing GE. By some reports they spent a billion dollars per land (that's 2 billion if you are counting at home) and in many ways they are trying to scare people away from going. It's pretty unprecedented. Obviously Disney knows crowding is an issue. It's a great problem for a business to have and one not easy to solve when your goal is to make as much money as possible. It's a problem a lot of major tourist attractions have.
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Lol ya it would be pretty odd if anyone that hated DL was hanging around here.

Yeah it’s not an easy solution. Obviously the prices increases aren’t doing much to stop folks from going. I think a lot of APs just upgraded to next tier up when they discontinued the So Cal APs. Capped APs could be a solution. But again, as you said, why would they want to make less on merch and food etc? Only when they can prove the crowds are negatively impacting business will they do something about it. That it’ll probably take a long time. Or they can just raze the rest of the trees and planters.
 
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

Well-Known Member
SuddenStorm said:
I think the problem is that many of us aren't willing to spend thousands a year to keep visiting.

I try to keep my complaints limited to maintenance and future management decisions (like Galaxy's Edge and this Project Curb Removal). I keep my complaints on crowding to a minimum, since I agree- it's incredibly disingenuous to complain about overcrowding while still attending.

My complaints with crowds don't stem from the crowds themselves- but instead how Disney has been handling the crowds. Project Stardust is an ill conceived band aid attempt to correct management and creative mistakes from the last few decades.

I've noticed on my last couple visits that the park didn't have the same feel. For me, this likely has to do with seeing my favorite two attractions- Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion rot. And the closure of the original Fantasmic!- which I consider to be one of Disney's crowning achievements, and the new version to be a soulless mess by comparison. Or having Mickey's Mix Magic playing instead of an actual fireworks show that attempts to act as an emotional climax for the day at Disneyland. Or the construction walls everywhere throughout the park, though that's more of a temporary issue.

I've also noticed a decline in Cast Member quality. Perhaps I was more oblivious before- but the quality of service received, in many cases, was what I'd expect from Taco Bell, not Disney. I appreciate the higher wage initiatives since Disney does typically expect higher levels of service from their cast members, I just hope that the higher wages actually correlates to higher quality cast members.

I think the next couple years will act as a sort of test for myself personally- seeing if Splash Mountain gets the maintenance it deserves, if Galaxy's Edge ends up being a net positive for the resort, if Marvel Land is better than what we're seeing so far. If not, I could very easily see myself drastically cutting back on the amount I visit- instead of a couple times a year, maybe a couple times every few years, or only for special occasions. I could also see my self drastically cutting back on the merchandise I purchase, which has already been happening since most of what Disneyana is selling isn't super great.
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can you clarify your comment on the haunted mansion being left to rot. from what I have seen of vidoes of the manson lately it is still in great shape inside and out. is there something I am not seeing?
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Does anyone know why the Grand Californian is completely booked on 4/30 on a random Wednesday after Spring Break? Is something big going on or is this not out of the ordinary? We re going to DL on 5/1 and I just want to make sure that it’s not going to be packed because 30,000 people from Utah are flying down or something. @Darkbeer1 do you have any insight?
 
SuddenStorm

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT said:
can you clarify your comment on the haunted mansion being left to rot. from what I have seen of vidoes of the manson lately it is still in great shape inside and out. is there something I am not seeing?
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Yep... was at the park Monday and Tuesday last week. Rode the ride 5 times. On the first ride, the audio on the doom buggy was cutting in and out- the poor Ghost Host couldn't finish a statement. Another ride missed a whole chunk of the narration, the "Beware of hitch hiking ghosts"

Multiple static effects in the seance room, and the ectoplasm projection in the seance room was missing. Lighting in the graveyard was inconsistent. The Doom Buggies were beat up showing visible signs of wear.
 
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

Well-Known Member
SuddenStorm said:
Yep... was at the park Monday and Tuesday last week. Rode the ride 5 times. On the first ride, the audio on the doom buggy was cutting in and out- the poor Ghost Host couldn't finish a statement. Another ride missed a whole chunk of the narration, the "Beware of hitch hiking ghosts"

Multiple static effects in the seance room, and the ectoplasm projection in the seance room was missing. Lighting in the graveyard was inconsistent. The Doom Buggies were beat up showing visible signs of wear.
Click to expand...
Interesting. That is a shame. From all accounts disneyland's mansion is one of the best upkept mansions in all of the parks. Sorry you had some bad experiences and hope the issues with the audio get addressed.
 

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