'Tough to Be a Bug' and Tree of Life trails closed due to urgent Tree of Life work

HMF

Well-Known Member
Two out of the three I could care less about. The third, well, you really think Disney really thinks that highly of him?

Maybe not highly but without him it's possible DCA would still be the Six Flags-style park it was in 2001. Also, he has not said a bad thing about TDA since Ed Grier left.
 

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
I first went to WDW in 1999 so I cannot comment on what period things started going wrong. It has been in the last few years (since I visited Disneyland, to be precise) that I noticed the decline at WDW.

I started going when I was very young in the late 80s and remember things distinctly from the early 90s on. I'm more observant now than I was as a kid obviously, but not everything was roses all the time. In addition, I also went to Disneyland since the Pressler/Harris era and they had their problems too. If I wanted to I could go to any park probably (perhaps with the exception of Tokyo) and take 500 pictures that would make you think that the park was in an awful state. Perception is so easily influenced by what is put in front of your face.

Maybe not highly but without him it's possible DCA would still be the Six Flags-style park it was in 2001. Also, he has not said a bad thing about TDA since Ed Grier left.

I went to DCA before they put a shovel in the ground for the current billion dollar do over. I also lived 20 minutes from a Six Flags when I lived in NJ where I had a season pass for 10 years and even worked for a season as an EMT. In DCA's worst state it was nothing like a Six Flags. Nothing that Disney does, even on its absolute worst days can compare to six flags...and I have a lot of experience comparing the two. I also would imagine that Lutz wouldn't say a bad thing about DCA or anything post Pressler (and Grier) since he probably feels that he was the main driving factor that anything took place. I feel like he now likes to spin everything at Disneyland as almost being a good idea...like the princesses being thrown practically on main street in a fairly historical park venue.
 

jakeman

Well-Known Member
I started going when I was very young in the late 80s and remember things distinctly from the early 90s on. I'm more observant now than I was as a kid obviously, but not everything was roses all the time. In addition, I also went to Disneyland since the Pressler/Harris era and they had their problems too. If I wanted to I could go to any park probably (perhaps with the exception of Tokyo) and take 500 pictures that would make you think that the park was in an awful state. Perception is so easily influenced by what is put in front of your face.
Just to piggyback on this and the myth of the grandeur of WDW in the 80s. While I was just a wee lad, my parents, who grew up in Florida, were multi-year attendees but got so disgusted with the upkeep and general cleanliness of the parks that they did not go back from 1984-1988.

So, it's not all unicorns and rainbows in the "good old days" despite what people will tell you.

General internet disclaimer: These statements are anecdotal and comprised of opinion and should no way be mistaken for fact.
 

pax_65

Well-Known Member
Just to piggyback on this and the myth of the grandeur of WDW in the 80s.

My first trip to WDW was 1991, so I'm really commenting more on the 90s than the 80s. I've heard Epcot looked pretty amazing in its early years but I have no personal experience. I do remember seeing issues back in the 90s but they were dealt with fairly quickly. I remember commenting on some trash in Tomorrowland and my wife telling me to look again tomorrow. When I looked the next day the area was spotless.

Keep in mind, I'm not saying the same isn't true today. For the record, on my last trip in November 2011 I thought the parks looked really good, and attractions generally looked decent. I have no doubt there are a lot of very dedicated cast members keeping the parks looking and operating at a high level. I recognize them for that effort - it's part of what I love about WDW.

I'm just curious if those cast members feel they are getting support from management - is management willing to spend the $ to keep the parks at an optimal level, or is "good enough" good enough? I'm just asking the question as I don't have any inside knowledge, just an impression from what I'm seeing in the parks - that the more costly repairs and maintenance tends to take a while to fix (if ever).
 

Gabe1

Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
We were at AK Friday and it got pretty windy when the storm blew thru - the bamboo was clanking like wind chimes. On a maintenance note we were at MK Thursday when it was raining and I asked jokingly to the CM at the Frontierland train station if management was aware of the leaking gutters causing the huge puddle on the platform. He replied "yes probably, but they would just say it was part of the rustic theming and that would be their reason for not fixing it" along with the electrical tape wraped around the copper downspouts stopping the leaks. He was pretty funny and very nice, unlike the CM who was rude about us being 30 minutes past our FP window at SM earlier in the week. I understand the time is being strictly enforced now and to be honest it seems to be working well, but wow she was pretty unfriendly.

I was in AK too on Friday. We did get a great deal of rain in a short amount of time and yes it was a strong wind but not anything that should have done any damage to any attraction. These structures are designed to withstand hurricane wind forces. If the damage was due to the thunderstorm we experienced, yep it does need emergency attention because Disney Parks experience those types of storms throughout the summer and fall and are the norm.

And I was the unprepared guest. Thursday I bought two umbrellas and Friday ponchos. Disney has to love the unprepared guests like me. :hammer:
 

RunnerEd

Well-Known Member
I wasn't at WDW when this happened but was it during a storm? Could it have been lightning instead of wind related? I have no insight but some experience with lightning. I've seen it fry a stove but the microwave above it be just fine while a computer 3 rooms away and a television on a different floor are damaged. Just a hypothesis.
 

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
Those are some killer termites. :eek:

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