Video - Splash Mtn finale Jan 22 (all animatronics broken)

[captainkidd]

And it has also been stated several times that is no longer accurate. Do a little homework, since 2010 Disneylands numbers have been close or equal to Disney World in terms of first time visitors and out of town tourists, Disneyland does still have more locals but the logic that rehabs ruin vacations is centered around first time guests or guest who return every 3 to 5 years.

Think of all the E-Ticket attractions at Disneyland:

Space Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Matterhorn
Star Tours
Indiana Jones
Tower of Terror
Soarin'
Grizzly River Run
California Screamin'
Ariel's Under Sea Adventure

All of these are within walking distance of one another.

Now, think of the E-ticket attractions at the Magic Kingdom:

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain

It's a lot easier to have 2 E-tickets down at Disneyland than the Magic Kingdom.

By no means am I making excuses for TDO. This problem is their own doing. However, if you don't think people would flip out if 2 of the 3 mountains at the Magic Kingdom were both down at the same time, you're mistaken.

 

[Bolna]

WDW management has dug itself into a hole in terms of maintenance budgets, staffing, and priorities. To suggest that is somehow a result of too many tourists instead of "locals" is absurd.

Yes, and the Splash issues were already reported sometime in fall (or even summer). Maybe not as bad as now, but bad enough.

They could have given Splash a refurbishment before BTMRR went down if they had cared!

And the shocking thing is that Splash was down for a long refurbishment 12 months ago - why were things already falling apart half a year after the last refurbishment. It just shows that they did not plan at all for how to schedule refurbishments sensibly. Which they ought to if they can't possibly close two E-tickets at the same time.

 

[janoimagine]

Think of all the E-Ticket attractions at Disneyland:

Space Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Matterhorn
Star Tours
Indiana Jones
Tower of Terror
Soarin'
Grizzly River Run
California Screamin'
Ariel's Under Sea Adventure

All of these are within walking distance of one another.

Now, think of the E-ticket attractions at the Magic Kingdom:

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain

It's a lot easier to have 2 E-tickets down at Disneyland than the Magic Kingdom.

By no means am I making excuses for TDO. This problem is their own doing. However, if you don't think people would flip out if 2 of the 3 mountains at the Magic Kingdom were both down at the same time, you're mistaken.

I agree people would flip, however guest relations could be coached to handle the situation by offering park hoppers to those who complain, what that would take is time and training, and training requires capital, which means Meg, Bob and Tom would be taking less home one their bonuses, which means it won't be happening.

My point is even with Splash and BTMRR Down, you still have a long list of attractions to satisfy guests:

Jungle Cruise
Magic Carpets
Tiki Room
Pirates
Tom Sawyers Island
The Riverboat
The Country Bears
Haunted Mansion
Hall of Presidents
Small World
Peter Pan
Philharmagic
Snow White
Pooh
Tea Cups
Tomorrowland Speedway
Astro Orbiter
People Mover
Carousel of Progress
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear
Monsters Inc
(stitch)
Disney World Railroad

and even more by Monorail and bus ... I still think its BS that they run attractions into the ground before they get back to show quality.

 

[Brian_B]

Everyone is seriously overreacting about this. It's one scene. They have been working on it over night but there is just not enough time and no way will we be allowed to have both splash and thunder down at the same time for refurb.
Guys, it's really not that bad. Yes, slightly bad show but not disgusting and horrible enough to cancel a vacation. It's one scene on a 12 minute ride. Not one person complained to the cast yesterday and thousands of people rode and enjoyed splash, many riding several times. It's not worth shutting it down.

Ugh. This is the mentality that led to the situation we're in. You need to refresh your understanding of 'good show', dude, and how it applies to The mouse's highly touted "Disney Difference"...which nowadays seems to be based solely on the company's reputation. TDO keeps writing checks that they will soon find their reputation alone can't cash. Potter is just the beginning.

 

[captainkidd]

Ugh. This is the mentality that led to the situation we're in. You need to refresh your understanding of 'good show', dude, and how it applies to The mouse's highly touted "Disney Difference"...which nowadays seems to be based solely on the company's reputation. TDO keeps writing checks that they will soon find their reputation alone can't cash. Potter is just the beginning.

Yup.

And the way Universal has been stepping up it's game at the parks and looking to buy more space......I'm just sayin'.

 

[alphac2005]

Ugh. This is the mentality that led to the situation we're in. You need to refresh your understanding of 'good show', dude, and how it applies to The mouse's highly touted "Disney Difference"...which nowadays seems to be based solely on the company's reputation. TDO keeps writing checks that they will soon find their reputation alone can't cash. Potter is just the beginning.

Spot on, man. The company's reputation and reality have been on two totally divulgent paths over the past decade in Orlando. They continue to have astronomical revenue due to their long-standing reputation, which based in reality, Orlando no longer deserves.

I'm still amazed by the apologists out there. In my business, I stay ahead by having our company always keeping up with things, it's called maintenance, so that we don't have to deal with problems in things failing (and actually costing more money to our company in the end) and TDO wants nothing to do with it. In all honestly, I hope that Disney's safety reputation is more than just a reputation nowadays because I have about no confidence in the team running the Orlando property. This will be the first calendar year (more than two decades, btw) ever that our family does not visit Walt Disney World and it's a direct connection between their nosediving quality and cost. I know the apologists will continue, but there needs to be a grip on reality here, the product is a mess.

 

[wedway71]

I agree about bad show. It is Disney that sets the bar for itself as a leader in entertainment. It is Disney who says they are better than any other theme park. It is Disney that has a phrase "The Disney Difference".

We have bought into this for many years as Disney being a quality brand that even though it was hard, we paid MORE to go there verses the competition.

If a BMW is really not any better than a Ford, I am just going to buy a Ford.

Love Disney, but shame on the Bean Counters for only looking at budgets rather than the quality of their brand that makes them Disney.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I'll bet my house that they didn't replace any of the literally DOZENS of burned out popcorn lights on the riverboat while they were apparently getting it working again.

Sad.

 

[TP2000]

Sorry but I honestly have to call Shenanigans on the logic that you cannot have 2 E-ticket attractions down in the same park at the same time ... Anaheim does it all the time people. You have 3 other parks to absorb the overflow of refurbishments, Anaheim currently has what ... 1/2 a park in DCA but they still do it, it clearly works as Disneyland's attendance numbers are getting closer and closer to the World's and more first timers are going to Disneyland now than Disney World. To say that you cannot shut down 2 headliners simultaneously is total BS. The suits would rather have poor show that deal with guest complaints, it comes down to sheer laziness and their year end bonuses.

Bingo.

Disneyland currently has two E Tickets closed right next to each other in Fantasyland.

It's a Small World is closed for two weeks to remove the Holiday overlay, and Matterhorn Bobsleds is closed for a six month refurbishment and won't open until June. Plus five stores and restaurants on the northwest block of Main Street USA are all currently closed for a six month long re-Imagineering and major refurbishment into new locations. And the Sailing Ship Columbia is also closed for five weeks of refurbishment, with only the Mark Twain Riverboat acting as the one "big boat" on the River in addition to the daily Rafts and weekend Canoe operation. And they are doing major cosmetic rehabs throughout Adventureland right now. Rehabs, rehabs, rehabs all over the place.

I was at Disneyland last week and it was busy for the off-season, and the queues were full of people speaking in Japanese, Taiwanese, Aussie and New Zealand accents, plus all the usual Pacific Northwesterners and Canadians wearing shorts in 65 degree weather. :lookaroun And yet they all seemed happy and weren't crying because their VACATION WAS RUINED with two E Tickets closed. :lol:

Anyone who wants to trot out the sad old "Disneyland is just a little locals park so no one cares that rides are closed there" excuse should read the amazing visitor demographic statistics for fiscal year 2011 for Disneyland. It busts that old myth into a million pieces.

Simultaneous Rehabs can be done in a busy theme park hosting millions of foreign visitors each year. And it's being done at Disneyland this week. And in Tokyo Disneyland they just had Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain closed simultaneously for two weeks, with Thunder still closed next week while they shut down Mickey's Philharmagic for a two week rehab. (Mickey's Philharmagic just opened there a year ago, but it's already time for a rehab, which is why Tokyo Disneyland always looks so amazing).

Current Tokyo Disneyland Rehab Schedule http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/schedule/stop/index.html

Current Disneyland Resort USA Rehab Tracker Thread at wdwmagic.com http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=830063

The noticeably different operation of nearly identical Disney theme parks in California and Japan proves to me that the rehab situation in WDW is an issue of local management and local decisions being made very differently from similar decisions being made in Anaheim or Tokyo. I can't see another way around that conclusion.

 

[wdwfan22]

I visit Disneyland at least 12 times a year and everytime i'm there the majority of Guests are locals, so you will never get me to believe the demographics have changed as much as the folks at miceage would like you to believe.

 

[menamechris]

I visit Disneyland at least 12 times a year and everytime i'm there the majority of Guests are locals, so you will never get me to believe the demographics have changed as much as the folks at miceage would like you to believe.

TDO will be pleased to hear that. And probably hope that more people believe as you do. After all, it really is their only excuse for 3/4 of their ignorant decisions.

 

[njDizFan]

I visit Disneyland at least 12 times a year and everytime i'm there the majority of Guests are locals, so you will never get me to believe the demographics have changed as much as the folks at miceage would like you to believe.

I'm sure the majority are still locals(although I don't know how you could possibily quantify that yourself without taking a formal poll) but is the ratio 80/20 as people seem to think or the more accurate number of 60/40.

 

[DubyooDeeDubyoo]

I think the "different visitors" thing doesn't hold up.

Disneyland has more rides than MK, though; while MK has fewer rides with a much larger capacity. This means that everytime an entire ride goes kaputsky, efficiently is severely impacted while Disneyland can refurb Haunted Mansion and Small World and Matterhorn (they're doing this right now) at the same time without causing too much chaos.

Problem is, MK has the Fantasyland expansion going on. Fantasyland is probably only about 30% of what it once was. While it may not count for much efficiency wise since the majority of the work was in the wasted space of the 20K lagoon, the overall guest experience is one of a park that feels half open.

Disneyland simply went and bit this bullet in 2005 with the 50th renovations that put half the park behind construction walls for paint and adjustment. These kinds of refurbs are only necessary if you sit back and let a park decline for 20 years, and now it's MK's turn to suck it up.

 

[TarzanRocked99-]

Giving the current track record TDO will continue running WDW into the ground while Disneyland continues to become Disney's premium offering stateside.

 

[thelookingglass]

This is far from an isolated incident, too. Management will usually use to keep an attraction open with an important effect or scene not functioning than have the ride not available to guests and lose their numbers.

Part of the problem, though, is that not enough guests complain, if any. WDW's guests are so concerned about just getting on the rides that they just don't seem to care when the ride itself looks bad.

Hey, you know what? From now on, when you spot something like this, whip out your camera, film it, and upload it to Youtube. Spread awareness.

 

[janoimagine]

I visit Disneyland at least 12 times a year and everytime i'm there the majority of Guests are locals, so you will never get me to believe the demographics have changed as much as the folks at miceage would like you to believe.

Ummm might want to get a little hipper to what is going on friend. I am not quoting MiceAge, I am looking at the numbers that Disney has released for 2010 ... now in 2011 they did something sneaky and lumped both together for the first time not releasing the numbers as separate entities ... and you know why? Because Potter siphoned a lot of traffic away from Disney Worlds business and Disneylands numbers had increased exponentially.

To add even more fuel ... Universal continues to up the stakes ... Google the new Cinematic Spectacular show they will be debuting this summer ... the show will rival World of Color ... Disney really needs to up their game and start investing more in new rides and shows, and less on interactive ques, reservation systems for their rides and new park entry systems.

Your name will only get you so far ...

 

[aladdin2007]

This is far from an isolated incident, too. Management will usually use to keep an attraction open with an important effect or scene not functioning than have the ride not available to guests and lose their numbers.

Part of the problem, though, is that not enough guests complain, if any. WDW's guests are so concerned about just getting on the rides that they just don't seem to care when the ride itself looks bad.

Hey, you know what? From now on, when you spot something like this, whip out your camera, film it, and upload it to Youtube. Spread awareness.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Discussing all of this on here is great but if were not complaining directly to Disney were getting nowhere. Not that complaining to them is going to really change anything either, until new management is in place its just going to get worse. It wouldnt hurt though for Staggs office to receive some heart felt letters with some of the sentiments shared in this thread. Go beyond TDO, they arent going to listen anyway. They are making money and its just bean counters/statistic majors there anyway.
I cringe at having to agree with Al but his post today was right on.

 

[TarzanRocked99-]

Judging by the concept art as well as the ridiculous amount of infastructure that being installed all around the central lagoon right now the new Uni night show will be nothing short of spectacular. I cannot wait to see it.

 

[alphac2005]

Exactly. Discussing all of this on here is great but if were not complaining directly to Disney were getting nowhere. Not that complaining to them is going to really change anything either, until new management is in place its just going to get worse. It wouldnt hurt though for Staggs office to receive some heart felt letters with some of the sentiments shared in this thread. Go beyond TDO, they arent going to listen anyway. They are making money and its just bean counters/statistic majors there anyway.
I cringe at having to agree with Al but his post today was right on.

One of the things that I really am humored by is how TDO has loaded surveys for guests. They're usually constructed in a manner that avoids the survey taker from being overtly negative and the vast majority of the time, it gets them the answer that everything is just magical at the Walt Disney World Resort. It's akin to political polling and using nuanced language to get the answer you want. It's so pathetic. I do hold out a sliver hope, though. When Paul Pressler sent Disneyland into a state of where the Orlando property is now, it did recover, and now Disneyland Resort is the jewel of the U.S. properties, however, the Orlando is such a vast operation, that the "new" way of doing things there is so systemic, it would take an awful lot of cleansing of personnel to get things right.

 

[alphac2005]

I'll bet my house that they didn't replace any of the literally DOZENS of burned out popcorn lights on the riverboat while they were apparently getting it working again.

Sad.

Great point. My wife and I lived in Orlando when the Disneyland was going really downhill and while WDW was going down as well, it's wasn't atrocious. Our general gripes were about the fact that there were burnt out lightbulbs and peeling paint. Things in Orlando are so bad now that those are minor to the fact that many attractions have failing components, don't work, or work in a horrible manner. It's insulting to our intelligence that they continue to raise pricing and lower quality to the point that things aren't operational.

This coming from the company that now runs ad spots for Walt Disney World that only show Disneyland and Disneyland attractions and then Cinderella Castle at the end with 407-WDISNEY. They can't even spend the money to show the proper property. It's symbolic of the culture that has taken over the theme parks division.