This Old Park: Sentinel expose on maintenance

[GaryT977]

Originally posted by pan11435
I find it impossible to believe that three consecutive letters all had their lights go out at the same time. It is far more likely that those three were on the same circuit or that the problem was not a bulb. I seriously doubt the statement that it could have been fixed when there was only one letter out. Since I don't think this was ever the case.

You're missing the point. The letters being out are not the problem. They're a symptom of a much larger problem; the overall drop in the maintenance quality at WDW. You don't have to go out your your way to find it. I find myself going out of my way to ignore it.

Blaming the CM's is ridiculous. They don't make up the maintenance budget.

I know some of you think this is Disney bashing. It seems you can't have an honest discussion or disagreement these days without it being bashing of some kind.

It costs a small fortune to go to WDW. More now than when the maintenance was being properly kept up, and by that I mean to Walt's standards.

I will continue my twice yearly visits because I love WDW. However, I reserve the right to notice and comment when things aren't as magical as they could/should be.

 

[pan11435]

It costs a small fortune to go to WDW.

And it costs a huge fortune to operate WDW. I am not missing the point. However I think it is crazy to think that a light should nevewr go out. You cannot always replace these things before thay go out. Haven't You ever had a bulb go out just after you replaced it, while others last for years. There is no way to predict this stuff. Disney is good but they can't predict the future.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

this jumped out at me:

"To see people painting the attractions is a distraction. It's like a cell phone going off in a movie. It destroys the make-believe world you've entered," says Bauer, 39. "They always used to do painting and other maintenance at night, after the park closed."

That's a myth, says Disney's Larsen. "It's become part of the folklore that we're magically able to get things done before the guests arrive every day."

Certain tasks have always been done during the day, he says. "Paint needs a temperature of at least 70 degrees to dry properly, so painting must be done during the day."

Is this a legitimate rebuttal? If that's true, then wouldn't that mean that they've always had to do painting during the day?

 

[GaryT977]

Originally posted by Wilt Dasney
Certain tasks have always been done during the day, he says. "Paint needs a temperature of at least 70 degrees to dry properly, so painting must be done during the day."

Is this a legitimate rebuttal? If that's true, then wouldn't that mean that they've always had to do painting during the day?

Ummm....

Central Florida is a tropical climate. Most of the year the temp is above 70 at night. It's not a vaild defense, It's excuse making and denial.

 

[GaryT977]

Originally posted by pan11435
And it costs a huge fortune to operate WDW. I am not missing the point.

Yes, you are. You're obsessing on a light bulb and not the overall maintenance.

Since you want to obssess on it, fine. Light bulbs have a known life span. Disney knows how long each light is on every day. Would it then be possible to extrapolate when a bulb should be replaced before it burns out? Of course.

Stay in denial if you like, but the overall maintenance of the park has been in decline for some time.

BTW - I don't buy the "we're building new attractions" argument either. They've been building new attractions since the park opened.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

As I stated in a earlier post, (I think) the reason this is a big deal is because Disney has BRAGGED for years about how CLEAN and WELL KEPT their parks are. Not to harp on the "light bulb" subject but several years ago I read article about WDW after hours. To use Main Street as an example, they scraped and repainted door frames and the such every night (they'd start at the end of Main St. and when they finished - a week or so later, they'd start all over again). They would have routine replacement of the lights along the tops of the buildings on Main Street, BEFORE they blew out.

My point all along has been, that the routine maintenance that Disney was famous for is either gone or so cut back it might as well be.

I am NOT a Disney basher, I love Disney...but it's all part of putting on a good show.

Thanks.

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by GaryT977
Ummm....

Central Florida is a tropical climate. Most of the year the temp is above 70 at night. It's not a vaild defense, It's excuse making and denial.

Could it be true and the only time it's over 70 right now (and during the winter/early spring) is during the day?

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by cloudboy
If by CM you mean not just the on stage workers but lower management as well, yes I will agree with you. And that comes right down to company managment again. What are they doing to train the employees? What are they doing to motivate and appreciate the employees? If your employer is your enemy, are you going to go out of your way to do a good job?

It's a much more deeper problem than whether or not they fix something. Sure, none of these issues is particulalry severe by itself, But it is a bad indication of the direction that things are headed - a bad indication of a lack of training and motivation by management, and a lack of attention to functionality iinstead of the bottom line by management. What needs to be fixed is the management, then.

I had a manager come in at 4:30 am and cook breakfast (omelettes, sausage, bacon, eggs, pancakes) for the overnight crew the other day.

 

[GaryT977]

Originally posted by turkey leg boy
Could it be true and the only time it's over 70 right now (and during the winter/early spring) is during the day?

I honestly don't know, dude. I'm not a paint expert.

However, isn't Anaheim pretty cool all year round? How do they keep their park fresh?

 

[pan11435]

Light bulbs have a known life span. Disney knows how long each light is on every day. Would it then be possible to extrapolate when a bulb should be replaced before it burns out? Of course.

I am not missing the point. I agree that maintenance is not what it used to be, and they need to better. However, I think that everyone is making too big of a deal about a burnt out sign. That was promptly fixed. And yes, bulbs have a "known" life span. However, this is only an estimate. A bulb could last for many hours more of less than this estimate. There is no way to accurately predict the life span of a light bulb and always be correct.

 

[Dayma]

Painting is handled not just by the temperature but the humidity.

 

[GaryT977]

Whatever.

The point is not the lightbulbs or one sign. It's about park maintenance as a whole. What's so hard to understand?

:brick:

 

[pan11435]

The point is not the lightbulbs or one sign. It's about park maintenance as a whole. What's so hard to understand?

I understand park maintenance has been a problem lately. All I am saying is that a bulb going out is inevitable. Regardless of bulb life span you cannot predict and prevent a bulb from going out. All you can do is promptly fix it, which they seem to have done.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

I think (and hope) that we all agree park maintenance needs to be improved and upgraded. What heading do you think the following story falls under?

I chaperoned a High School Senior trip to WDW at the end of February. We stayed at the All-Star Movies in the Love Bug section on the third floor. When we checked into our rooms, one of the girl's rooms made a *disgusting* discovery: When they pulled back the covers on a bed made up by housekeeping, they found a large amount of curly short black hairs all over the sheet. We had to convince management to change ALL the bedding: they only wanted to change the sheet at first. The manager on duty called it an "oversight".

Is this the result of cutbacks? I don't really know but it is a certain lowering of standards/procedures within Disney.

I'm not sure if this is off-topic...if it is, I apologize.

 

[GaryT977]

*edited*

My post was just too harsh. All this lightbulb garbage is starting to get to me.

:brick:

 

[downwitheisner]

About 3 years ago my family went to WDW and at some point we got to talking about the great maintainance. We went back last year, and the kids would joke about the magic "failing." Afterwards I thought about how bad it really was. I don't want to think about what it will be like, especially becuase I forgot to buy the tickets last week, and I have to suffer the raised prices.

 

[Bill]

Easy way to fix this... replace the light bulbs with LEDs. They never burn out.

 

[imagineer boy]

No matter how messed up and worn down Disney may ever get, it will never look as bad as Six Flags. Ever.

 

[cherrynegra]

Originally posted by imagineer boy
No matter how messed up and worn down Disney may ever get, it will never look as bad as Six Flags. Ever.

Yeah. The closest park to me is Six Flags Great America. After my last visit, I christened it with a new name. Six Flags Ghetto America.:lol:

 

[OnWithTheShow]

They are experimenting with LED lights but they are still trying to get the look right to capture the atmosphere of what Main Street should look like.

I also think that is incredibly unfair to label the cast and management as uncaring and terrible. While you will occasionally find a cast member of manager who is not up to the Disney Standard, the vast majority of the cast and management are truly caring individuals who do everything they can to embody the Disney spirit. It is unfortunate that a few bad apples are ruining the rep of the rest of us.