"The more things change . . ." well, what would you do?

[Disstevefan1]

Parades work and they have been cut down to one per resort (one in California, one in Florida). There used to be 1 per park, 2 per castle park.

Osborne Lights worked.... this is Disney, they could have kept the streets and still built Star Wars, or created a new area for the lights.

I miss the Osborne lights! My most favorite thing at WDW... Now I am sad....

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I stayed in one of the new Pop Century rooms about six months ago, and I didn't have any problems.

I didn’t say I had problems. I said I noticed a decline in upkeep and services. The service standards at Disney used to be something better than “well I didn’t have any problems.”

 

[bryanfze55]

I’m pretty forgiving of Disney for the most part. All I ask for is quality dark rides. If Rise of the Resistance is primarily dark ride based and less screen based and is as great as we’ve been led to believe, I will not complain for a long time. Tokyo Disney has been building great dark rides for a long time and are building a trackless Beauty and the Beast dark ride that is supposedly costing half a billion dollars. Rise of the Resistance better be at least on par with BatB ride. Otherwise Tokyo will continue to hold its reputation as the best Disney resort in the world. RotR and the GotG rides need to be great, because I’ve heard that Ratatouille is very underwhelming and Tron is fun but way too short for an E-ticket.

It’s not all bad, though. For as much grief as Toy Story Land gets, the WDW version is by far the best iteration out of all four. It has two D-ticket rides (some might call them E-ticket?), while none of the other Toy Story Lands even have one D-ticket.

 

[Anders Limpar]

Let's not close an EPCOT pavilion (except as a a festival center) for a decade.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Let's not close an EPCOT pavilion (except as a a festival center) for a decade.

Or close an Epcot pavilion to make it a Q for a new marvel coaster.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Not my post but I'll jump in: Mission Breakout and Pixar Pier worked before. I like MBO fine (my views on Pixar Pier are less charitable) but don't see either change as a "net gain" considering the amount of money spent. For some contrast, I loved Wishes, Illuminations, GMR and UoE but understand the rationale behind those changes. Dino-Rama is probably the most glaring thing that doesn't work...its existence is an embarrassment IMO, it needs to be replaced ASAP. The level of "urgency" TDO/A assign certain projects vs. others is kind of incomprehensible to me, but then...I don't have the numbers, so my opinion doesn't mean much here.

Your opinion does mean a lot, but, not when it comes to understanding why Disney does what it does. And that was my point. You don't like Mission: Space, but, that is also a personal stand. Horizons had run it's course and it no longer pulled anyone other then those that needed our nostalgia fix. Mission: Space was a step forward into a new time and a new demand. If it hadn't been for that unfortunate deaths that slowed what had started out to be a great beginning it was and for that matter, still is a viable attraction. Was it the best choice, who knows. I still enjoy it, but, it is far from my favorite. I had grown very bored with Horizons. The same thing year after year after year. They just upgraded M.S. to make it different. I can't tell you anything about Pixar Pier, I've never been there, but, it was all part of an overall change because DCA always needs help. You said it yourself in the sentence "I like MBO fine, etc." These decisions are not based on one individuals likes or dislikes. I don't see Disney of ever trashing stuff that is working for something else. Not that they shouldn't because change is a good thing for a theme park, but, they just don't do that like Walt used to do.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Remember "If we can dream it, we can do it.™" The key part is "dream." Not photocopy Universal. Not cram IP in just for the sake of it. That said, we'll see how SWGE, Rat and GotG actually work out. Hopefully better than TSL... A land of harsh sun and broken tails.

That saying was invented by imagineers as a motivational phrase for Horizons. It was not a goal of Disney, just a clever saying. Walt never said that. But, even if it were what is wrong with dreaming about doing something better then Universal. I'll be so glad when this IP crap dies out. It is meaningless as the definition E Ticket status. I have been to both Disney and Uni numerous times and have yet to see anything that was copying Universal.

 

[DisAl]

The thing is, MOST top management stinks. Seldom are they in touch with what the real world wants or the issues that their front line employees face. Their two top priorities are how much money they can put in their pocket and holding on to their job. And to do that, they only really answer to the bean counters.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I can't tell you anything about Pixar Pier, I've never been there, but, it was all part of an overall change because DCA always needs help.

DHS needs way more help than DCA. And Pixar Pier wasn’t about “helping” DCA as it didn’t add any attractions, it just rebranded them. Parts of Pixar Pier work, but in general it’s six flags level tacky. The critter carousel is the single worst thing I’ve ever seen in a Disney park, it’s embersssing. Well... the Dino-Rama stuff is close, but at least it’s supposed to be tacky?

 

[bUU]

Well, what would it take to make you happy? Clone Walt? Spend money to get his head thawed and re-animated? Hire one of the many members here who obviously have more/better experience running a multi-national entertainment conglomerate? What?

LOL! There are a lot of people online who think they know how to run businesses; yet if they really did they wouldn't be chatting about it online. Magnates-in-their-own minds.

The reality is that the probability that some random, semi-anonymous poster online, without benefit of one of the best market research operations in the world, actually would make a better decision about something than that made by some of the most experienced and successful professionals in the world, with benefit of the best market research operations in the world, is so small as to be practically zero.

It is one thing to say what we like and don't like, but when someone goes beyond reason and actually project that the company is making a bad move or otherwise messed up, they're spewing absolute nonsense, and generally driven by some ax they have to grind with the company - some change the company made that they personally didn't like. It is actually not that unusual for people to feel that their voice is too small for their personal preferences to be noted. What is strange, as in the cases you have highlighted, is when people try to mischaracterize their voice in order to make their personal preferences seem more important than they are.

 

[bUU]

Try to remain optimistic...and that's a BIG emphasis on try

Yes, definitely. It's really pitiful seeing such energy wasted on rationalization rather than directed toward continually positioning one's self to get the most out of whatever you do (Disney included, but really this is a life lesson that goes way beyond Disney).

 

[bUU]

I come to this board for information that I can’t find anywhere else. Unfortunately, besides the news it is mostly filled with negativity. That is what a fan board is, complaints about the present being nowhere as good as the past.

I don't think a fan board is necessarily filled with negativity. That's a choice made by the predominating posters.

 

[bryanfze55]

DHS needs way more help than DCA. And Pixar Pier wasn’t about “helping” DCA as it didn’t add any attractions, it just rebranded them. Parts of Pixar Pier work, but in general it’s six flags level tacky. The critter carousel is the single worst thing I’ve ever seen in a Disney park, it’s embersssing. Well... the Dino-Rama stuff is close, but at least it’s supposed to be tacky?

By the end of the year, and particularly once Mickey & Minnie’s Railway is complete, DHS will be a better theme park than DCA. Yes, DCA has Radiator Springs Racers. But DHS has far more coherent theming and does old Hollywood well, unlike DCA.

 

[Amidala]

Your opinion does mean a lot, but, not when it comes to understanding why Disney does what it does. And that was my point. You don't like Mission: Space, but, that is also a personal stand. Horizons had run it's course and it no longer pulled anyone other then those that needed our nostalgia fix. Mission: Space was a step forward into a new time and a new demand. If it hadn't been for that unfortunate deaths that slowed what had started out to be a great beginning it was and for that matter, still is a viable attraction. Was it the best choice, who knows. I still enjoy it, but, it is far from my favorite. I had grown very bored with Horizons. The same thing year after year after year. They just upgraded M.S. to make it different. I can't tell you anything about Pixar Pier, I've never been there, but, it was all part of an overall change because DCA always needs help. You said it yourself in the sentence "I like MBO fine, etc." These decisions are not based on one individuals likes or dislikes. I don't see Disney of ever trashing stuff that is working for something else. Not that they shouldn't because change is a good thing for a theme park, but, they just don't do that like Walt used to do.

I mentioned Mission: Break Out, not Mission: Space! Mission: Space is not my cup of tea either, but I'm not naming rides simply because I don't like them, or prefer the ride they replaced. My point is that California Adventure's ToT was not in "dire" need of replacement, relative to other areas of the park, and I don't think that's purely my opinion. I'm not saying I take issue with M:BO or dislike Guardians, or anything like that; I don't have a sentimental attachment to ToT on any coast, I'm petrified of drop rides so the theme is immaterial to me personally. What I'm saying is that it seems like an odd thing to prioritize. Same w/ Paradise/Pixar Pier, which was popular and beloved long before the reskin. Another example is GMR to MMRR. Personally, I'm over the moon about MMRR and am more excited for this attraction than Tron or the GOTG coaster, among other announcements. But of all the available real estate in DHS (Star Tours which is about to become redundant, or any area of Animation Courtyard - Launch Bay is also now redundant, and TLM, Disney Jr. and other staples of AC either wouldn't be missed or could easily be relocated) why GMR? Again, it's not that I'm clinging to GMR, but rather that areas like Echo Lake and Animation Courtyard are the more logical areas to gut. I understand GMR is not the technical marvel it once was, but must draw more guests & do more to bolster the park thematically than, say, Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

I'm more open to change than most, and I'm not really "grieving" any of the lost areas or attractions I've mentioned. I just consider them to be kind of weird decisions (lateral moves at best) and have trouble understanding how & why Disney prioritizes changing certain areas (which are "fine" in my estimation and many others') while letting areas like Dino-Rama sit untouched for decades. Obviously I'll never really understand these decisions & there could be underlying reasons I'm not aware of, I get that! But I'm on these forums to speculate, so I'm speculating.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Stop cutting corners. Give us better food quality for the ridiculous prices you charge. - I get it. Disney will always be overpriced.

Fine we'll pay. But for $18 give me a better chicken sandwich combo than I can get for $8 at Chick-Fil-A

That would be a start.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I mentioned Mission: Break Out, not Mission: Space! Mission: Space is not my cup of tea either, but I'm not naming rides simply because I don't like them, or prefer the ride they replaced. My point is that California Adventure's ToT was not in "dire" need of replacement, relative to other areas of the park, and I don't think that's purely my opinion. I'm not saying I take issue with M:BO or dislike Guardians, or anything like that; I don't have a sentimental attachment to ToT on any coast, I'm petrified of drop rides so the theme is immaterial to me personally. What I'm saying is that it seems like an odd thing to prioritize. Same w/ Paradise/Pixar Pier, which was popular and beloved long before the reskin. Another example is GMR to MMRR. Personally, I'm over the moon about MMRR and am more excited for this attraction than Tron or the GOTG coaster, among other announcements. But of all the available real estate in DHS (Star Tours which is about to become redundant, or any area of Animation Courtyard - Launch Bay is also now redundant, and TLM, Disney Jr. and other staples of AC either wouldn't be missed or could easily be relocated) why GMR? Again, it's not that I'm clinging to GMR, but rather that areas like Echo Lake and Animation Courtyard are the more logical areas to gut.

I'm more open to change than most, and I'm not really "grieving" any of the lost areas or attractions I've mentioned. I just consider them to be kind of weird decisions (lateral moves at best) and have trouble understanding how & why Disney prioritizes changing certain areas (which are "fine" in my estimation and many others') while letting areas like Dino-Rama sit untouched for decades. Obviously I'll never really understand these decisions & there could be underlying reasons I'm not aware of, I get that! But I'm on these forums to speculate, so I'm speculating.

My mistake, but, this is a WDW thread so I just read it real quick and thought that you were talking about M.S. I don't even know what Mission Break Out is. Is that the one that they put in the old ToT? I still think that they know their audience. You'll notice that, at least for now, they haven't touched ToT in Florida. I don't understand it, but, I will bet that they know something that I don't. What I don't know can and does fill volumes of books.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

By the end of the year, and particularly once Mickey & Minnie’s Railway is complete, DHS will be a better theme park than DCA. Yes, DCA has Radiator Springs Racers. But DHS has far more coherent theming and does old Hollywood well, unlike DCA.

Eh.... both parks need some help ha.

Both parks do old Hollywood good in some places and a miss in others. With the Chinese theatre and echo lake, I’ll give a small win to DHS, but when the trolleys are running and the great five and dime band is playing that area feels very alive.

Both Hollywood courtyard and Animation courtyard are complete messes at both parks.

 

[bryanfze55]

My mistake, but, this is a WDW thread so I just read it real quick and thought that you were talking about M.S. I don't even know what Mission Break Out is. Is that the one that they put in the old ToT? I still think that they know their audience. You'll notice that, at least for now, they haven't touched ToT in Florida. I don't understand it, but, I will bet that they know something that I don't. What I don't know can and does fill volumes of books.

Tower of Terror was significantly better in WDW than it was in Disneyland. It’s a situation similar to Pirates of the Caribbean. That ride is 15 minutes in Disneyland and half that at WDW. It was never meant for WDW, they wanted to build a totally different ride. But the public wanted Pirates so they just threw it together with no heart or soul in Orlando.

Well, Tower of Terror was built with tremendous passion in Orlando. It was never intended for DCA. But when DCA flopped, Disney wanted a quick fix so they built a lesser version of ToT there just to stop the bleeding.

So it was an easy target for replacement, but I think it did temporary thematic damage to DCA. Still, Guardians is a fun ride.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

So it was an easy target for replacement, but I think it did temporary thematic damage to DCA. Still, Guardians is a fun ride.

Agreed. The actual ride is fun, I think it’s pretty silly to replace a timeless brand like twilight zone with a time specific Chris Pratt Guardians but it’s stull fun. Theme wise, it really hurts what Disney spent so much money to fix at DCA. The red car trolley linking the entrance to the Hollywood tower hotel was a really special moment in time.

 

[Janir]

We bought our first AP's about a week after the increase...bought them online from Sam's Club at the old price...

Got my Gold AP's about the same time. I was going to wait to buy until closer to actual trip, but once I had the money I really wanted those passes "In hand" knowing the general trend of price increases without much predictability. Paid off, if i didn't, AP prices probably wouldn't have gone up, so its all my fault I guess.