Originally posted by Disneyland1970
Darn I picked the wrong weekend to go to WDW! I missed this thread!
Please excuse me as I go back a few pages and reply to some people on here.
LadyDarling.. I am also a California Native( until 2 years ago) and was quite dismayed my first and only visit to DCA. Yes Soaring is cool and the idea of the entire park was pleasant,but.... they fell far short for all the HYPE, Like i've said earlier on other threads Knotts Berry Farm had this park( Roaring 20's and river ride) 20 years ago. I applaud your positive thinking, but I miss the parking lot more than I like this park. They took the cheap way out. Yes Walt had trouble opening DL. But considering this was the first undertaking of its kind anywhere and completed in a year... I think it is incredible what he had! And not to be smart, but 14th generation Californian?? Lets see if everyone in your family had there first kid at 15X14=210. California Had its 150th in 1998. Are you a Native American?
Peteralt....Hmm where do I start. Eisner did great 20 years..... We have all heard it! I have been to DL at least 35 times in my life and WDW 10 times in past 2 years. Whatever Mike did before it's not working now. I'm not looking at stock and t.v or sports just Disney Parks. He has let the parks go to H**L! I caught myself getting excited at Splash Mountain being Painted. Then I thought it probably hasn't been done in so long they had to! Then I rode it ,half of the AA is not working, and was not working on my trip in Dec. How long should these things take to be fixed?? Some AA was not working in Sept also. DO we just forget about these?? They do not lower the price to get and all but refuse to fix this ride you give him credit for building. WHY?
Mike is still charging full price though. Mike keeps every Register in working order. I did not find one broke! Plus Mike Considers this a PREMIUM time frame to enjoy the parks. So Hotels on property are more expensive. But Mike forgot to Extend the park hours. So it cost more to stay for same amount of time. I'm not sure if you spent your childhood in Disney Parks like many of us on here have. But I can remember DL being open from 7am to 1am. Plus 2 day parades, 2 electrical parades,fireworks, clean restrooms, friendly CM's ( not that Cm's arent friendly now)and it was a big deal for 1 ride to be down. Granted this was summer hours.
Now 20 years later some rides are vacant and have been for a while(SUBS for example) Park hours are short Fireworks are great, but go off right before closing. Have to fight crowds to get out. There are many more examples of decline that have been repeated many times on here. Parks are needing paint. Anyone rent a stroller at MGM lately?
Thats what I want back, the parks of my memories. I know it takes a strong company to do the things I remember. Mike did have a strong company. It is strong now, on paper maybe, but Mike has paid too little attention to the things that built it, the parks and animation. Yes he has a hit now and then,but more failures than hits lately.(on a company as a whole..please take note I have not mentioned that studio that starts with a P) The Theme Parks used to set the example, but lately they have fallen short of what they could be. But of course this is only my opinion. People are always saying,"Don't be quick to blame Mike for everything!" but these same people want to give Mike Credit for every good thing that has happened since he took the job. What gives?? You take all credit good or bad if thats how we are keeping score.
And you said Mike did not have to build DCA... Like he did us a favor. You keep bringing up stock and bottom lines. What would Disneys Bottom line look like if DCA, DLP and his other ventures where not bought or built. What if he just did creative rides or little things in a big way instead of the other way around??? There are only so many rich shieks to keep the party going!
Besides if your stock was doing so good why did you sell?? And when is the last time it split? And yes I do own 250 shares. Did you sell at the same time Mike did?
Thank you. I appreciate the response and the opportunity to answer your questions. Now, where should I begin? I'll start with park quality. To respond to this point, I have to go back to Eisner's first decade at Disney, talk about the 94-95 period, talk about the Pressler period, and talk about the now period. We're talking about four very different periods here.
Okay, let's start with the 80's. (I'm sorry to all those who just want to talk about recent years, but I have to bring up all time periods to put my opinion into perspective) I remember going to the Magic Kingdom during (I'd say) mid-80's. I remember a horrible experience on Its a Small World. AA figures all over the place weren't operational. Props were litterally falling to peices. The up-keep of this attraction was (you could tell) non-existent for years! This is only one example.
Why was Its a Small World kept this way? Why weren't these classics kept in good condition? On top of that, NO new attractions were added to the MK during the 80's, except for the temporary Mickey's Birthdayland in 1988. Why? The answer lies in pre-Eisner management. Pre-Eisner management decided that the MK was finished. ALL (and I do mean ALL quite litterally) new spending on attractions at WDW went to EPCOT Center, who's cost were spirally out of control (multiples of what had been projected). I will give credit to pre-Eisner management for finding money to rebuilt Fantasyland at DL during this time period.
Now, Eisner has been on the job for a few years. Mickey's Birthdayland was a quick, cheap fix. But, starting in the 90's, real money started pouring into the MK. I remember a trip to WDW during the early 90's and seeing It's a Small Work FIXED! I was so happy that finally Disney management was at least FIXING what was broken!! Then, in 1992, Splash Mountain! You can imagine the delight I had in seeing the first new major attraction open at MK since BTMRR! And it kept coming...
In 1994-95, after Frank Wells died, Eisner made HIMSELF President and CFO of the company. This time period was if the flood gates opened on funds for rehabs. Almost every attraction at Fantasyland was rennovated (though, I would have loved to have seen a 1983-style DL Fantasyland rehab), Tomorrowland was completely redone (and with a budget of $100 million, including two new major attractions, and Walt Disney's Caroussel of Progress in 1994), and Adventureland began a rebuild. Also during this period, Future World at EPCOT went through a major rehab and Disney-MGM Studios was gearing up for major expansion.
Little things here and there were added all over the place over the past few years (example, the eyes that open and close on the tomb stone at the Haunted Mansion). Things slowed during the Pressler years. During the Pressler years, more gift shops started to sprout (Emporium on Main Street...ugggh). Only one (cheap) attraction was approved (Aladdin's Magic Carpets). During this period, Pressler cancelled construction on what would have been the New Adventureland's flagship attraction... Fire Mountain!
Then Pressler was forced out. Much of the disarray that exists today at the MK can be directly blamed on Pressler. But now things are starting to get back into gear. Stitch Escape is being built at a comfortable budget (with new technology and a new generation of AA figures... yeah!) and plans for new E-tickets (such as Fire Mountain) are being dusted off. While I have no idea if Fire Mountain will ever get built, I do know one thing: There are BIG plans for the 20KUtS Lagoon!!!!
Additionally, I read a recent article stating that Imagineers are working on a HUGE Pirates of the Caribbean rehab, including updated AA's and the sword battle found in the Paris version. We all know that Its a Small World will be rehabbed again, but this time with a big budget. Next year, the Haunted Mansion will be upgraded, making way for the seasonal Nightmare before Christmas overlay.
Shifting gears, about my Disney stock. I sold it at the beginning of the 90's recession, just in the nick of time. After I sold it, the stock took a nose dive and took many years to finally recover.
for those interested, i've got a few articles that i've found on the net for my research..they're rather good!
