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

[Kiff]

Very sad to see WDW in this state. I'd like to say it's hit rock bottom and it's only up from here but I have a feeling things will descend further and much more time will go by before significant change happens. Hopefully Potter will eventually accelerate that.

I just got back from a short trip to DLR. Did a quick stop over in LA on the way back from Maui. It's been a couple years but things are looking as good as ever. Upkeep seemed to be top notch, and the Christmas decorations at DL were amazing when compared to WDW. Haunted Mansion exterior was looking great at night with the candles.

There are still some areas of the park in need of some refreshing. Tomorrowland comes to mind with Inoventions, EO, and the old People Mover track. And DL's pooh was as bad as I remember (not that the WDW version blows anyone away). Overall though, DL wins hands down as far as an American parks go. My quick stop in Paris in 2008 was definitely an eye opener in what a magic kingdom park can look like. Would love to hop across the pacific and check out Tokyo but I think I would be ruined for life on WDW. :animwink:

 

[freediverdude]

I still do not understand the reasoning behind the cost cutting and decline at WDW the past 5 years or so especially. Is it milking the parks for money to pay for other Disney ventures?? Executives who don't care? Wall Street unrealistically demanding that profit increase every quarter no matter what? I really would like to understand why, because it doesn't make sense, given the money the parks pull in.

 

[HMF]

Despite living on the East Coast ,If I were offered a trip to either WDW or Disneyland, I would pick Disneyland in a heartbeat.

 

[ChrisFL]

headless chickens! zombie robots waiting to capture you and drag you into the bayou! i think this ride gets better and better! really though, for some people they only get one chance, one ride....and its better to see it like this than to have never seen it at all. So with all the problems going on in the world...i'll take a log ride with headless chickens over a refurbishment sign any day

While I disagree with this, its also necessary to note that refurbishments have to happen anyway, especially on water-based attractions like this one.

Annual maintenace happens, and the ride gets shut down at that time, so its perfect to make repairs to ALL of the attraction, not just some parts

 

[Jimmy Thick]

I was at Disney World a couple of weeks ago and did not see anything wrong with the ride.

But for every person whining about how the parks are declining, can anyone prove when this video was actually filmed? Was it off hours? Can anyone actually prove this was happening during actual park hours? Or can people only say they saw this and that AFTER the fact which seems to be peoples MO around here.

In other words, the video is pointless, prove it was taken during actual operating hours and then and only then I'll believe this nonsense.


Jimmy Thick-Wait, cryptic e-mail coming up...

 

[RSoxNo1]

I was at Disney World a couple of weeks ago and did not see anything wrong with the ride.

But for every person whining about how the parks are declining, can anyone prove when this video was actually filmed? Was it off hours? Can anyone actually prove this was happening during actual park hours? Or can people only say they saw this and that AFTER the fact which seems to be peoples MO around here.

In other words, the video is pointless, prove it was taken during actual operating hours and then and only then I'll believe this nonsense.


Jimmy Thick-Wait, cryptic e-mail coming up...

Is this a joke?

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Is this a joke?

Ride was fine when I went, can anyone prove that video was not a joke?




Jimmy Thick-No, they won't.

 

[menamechris]

Ride was fine when I went, can anyone prove that video was not a joke?

Multiple people have mentioned that they have seen this at different times on Splash. Myself included. It is an ongoing problem.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Multiple people have mentioned that they have seen this at different times on Splash. Myself included. It is an ongoing problem.

Sorry, I didn't see anything close to what was shown in that video, and have never seen any attraction in that state in all the years I have been going to Disney World.

Disney World is not in the disarray some people for some odd reason want you to believe it is, and it insults the people reading these boards who are fans. If you don't like the parks and feel they are below this standard from long ago, and they are not btw, then do what you should do and stay home and leave the parks for the people who want to believe the magic.


Jimmy Thick-Why can't people comprehend?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I was at Disney World a couple of weeks ago and did not see anything wrong with the ride.

But for every person whining about how the parks are declining, can anyone prove when this video was actually filmed? Was it off hours? Can anyone actually prove this was happening during actual park hours? Or can people only say they saw this and that AFTER the fact which seems to be peoples MO around here.

In other words, the video is pointless, prove it was taken during actual operating hours and then and only then I'll believe this nonsense.


Jimmy Thick-Wait, cryptic e-mail coming up...

I can tell you that video was shot during park hours last Sunday. I know it was because I was there with Kevin right before he went on the ride and took that video. I also went on the ride the night before and saw with my own eyes that the boat still wasn't working. So, I can tell you for a fact that the boat wasn't working Sat night, was shut down, and then it reopened on Sun morning still looking the same way. So believe what you want, however I guarantee that the boat was broken and that video was shot on last Sunday evening.

 

[MAF]

Let me guess, someone cried to a mod to have my post removed? :ROFLOL:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Let me guess, someone cried to a mod to have my post removed? :ROFLOL:

No one complained, I saw it myself. Personal attacks against anyone have never been allowed on this forum, so it shouldn't be surprising that the post was taken down.

 

[HMF]

I think this may sum up the problem.
http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al100907a.jpg

 

[jeepster93]

BINGO!

I've wondered that exact thing myself.

Why are they spending over a Billion dollars to keep over-medicated ADD children and their over-stimulated parents with surgically attached iPhones entertained in a 30 minute queue when the ride they are about to go on hasn't had a rehab in years and looks like utter garbage?

If the rides have dozens of non-working animatronic robots and the CM's working them have low enough standards as to not think it's a problem, why bother with the rides at all?

Why not just have a Next Gen queue to slap your way through for 15 minutes and then exit and go play whack-a-mole in another Next Gen queue for a bit before your Next Gen lunch reservation with blinking characters who can confirm in character voices that you pre-ordered the gluten-free sandwich? Who needs good rides at this theme park? :lookaroun

I agree with the whole next gen thing. I teach and the job has been transformed into an entertainment position instead of an education position.

However, and forgive me if this was not your intent, some of us unlucky few have no choice but to order the gluten free sandwich. I wouldn't wish my Celiac disease on anyone. Disney is one of the few places that I can go where I can be assured that I can actually order a meal and know it won't make me double over in pain

 

[RandySavage]

I still do not understand the reasoning behind the cost cutting and decline at WDW the past 5 years or so especially. Is it milking the parks for money to pay for other Disney ventures?? Executives who don't care? Wall Street unrealistically demanding that profit increase every quarter no matter what? I really would like to understand why, because it doesn't make sense, given the money the parks pull in.

Part of it is that most of executive annual pay comes in the form of a Short-term or Annual Incentive/Performance Plan (bonus). There is a whole matrix of operation & financial goals, and how close they come to making or surpassing these targets is directly connected to how much bacon they bring home.

I imagine reaching a particular profit margin is very heavily weighted, so if an exec thinks he can get away with lower guest experience (e.g., non-working AAs) by gutting maintenance staff & budgets in order to make a performance target, they will likely do so. They get paid more for it. Some execs are revolving door and not very concerned with the longer term quality issues, not particularly caring if they are at Disney, Starbucks or The Gap.

To those who want parks in stellar condition (which would equal longer-term sustained profitability for the company), it's a failure of leadership and buck would stop at the highest tiers, who sign off on the executive incentive programs and position the execs who make the maintenance budget calls (Iger, Rasulo, Staggs, Crofton, etc.).

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I was at Disney World a couple of weeks ago and did not see anything wrong with the ride.

But for every person whining about how the parks are declining, can anyone prove when this video was actually filmed? Was it off hours? Can anyone actually prove this was happening during actual park hours? Or can people only say they saw this and that AFTER the fact which seems to be peoples MO around here.

In other words, the video is pointless, prove it was taken during actual operating hours and then and only then I'll believe this nonsense.


Jimmy Thick-Wait, cryptic e-mail coming up...

I was at Disney for two weeks this fall. I noticed all sorts of problems with Splash, including dysfunctional AA's on the showboat.

I also noticed that Splash ran in all sorts of different states - from completely down to working alright to mostly broken. This differed from day-to-day. This would suggest to me the ride is kept together with tape and chicken wire. Patched up, running on its last legs, near breaking point.
Well, this breaking point seems to have been reached.

 

[HMF]

Part of it is that most of executive annual pay comes in the form of a Short-term or Annual Incentive/Performance Plan (bonus). There is a whole matrix of operation & financial goals, and how close they come to making or surpassing these targets is directly connected to how much bacon they bring home.

I imagine reaching a particular profit margin is very heavily weighted, so if an exec thinks he can get away with lower guest experience (e.g., non-working AAs) by gutting maintenance staff & budgets in order to make a performance target, they will likely do so. They get paid more for it. Some execs are revolving door and not very concerned with the longer term quality issues, not particularly caring if they are at Disney, Starbucks or The Gap.

To those who want parks in stellar condition (which would equal longer-term sustained profitability for the company), it's a failure of leadership and buck would stop at the highest tiers, who sign off on the executive incentive programs and position the execs who make the maintenance budget calls (Iger, Rasulo, Staggs, Crofton, etc.).

Wall Street is responsible for most of the worlds problems these days.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Part of it is that most of executive annual pay comes in the form of a Short-term or Annual Incentive/Performance Plan (bonus). There is a whole matrix of operation & financial goals, and how close they come to making or surpassing these targets is directly connected to how much bacon they bring home.

I imagine reaching a particular profit margin is very heavily weighted, so if an exec thinks he can get away with lower guest experience (e.g., non-working AAs) by gutting maintenance staff & budgets in order to make a performance target, they will likely do so. They get paid more for it. Some execs are revolving door and not very concerned with the longer term quality issues, not particularly caring if they are at Disney, Starbucks or The Gap.

To those who want parks in stellar condition (which would equal longer-term sustained profitability for the company), it's a failure of leadership and buck would stop at the highest tiers, who sign off on the executive incentive programs and position the execs who make the maintenance budget calls (Iger, Rasulo, Staggs, Crofton, etc.).

This, yes. WDW's operation sounds like a classic case of being run by managers with short-term incentives.

If you have a park with a revenue of 100 and costs of 80, who wants to be the manager who implements policies that bring it to 100 revenue, 85 costs? Better to bring costs down to 75 - say, by cutting long-term maintenance - and after you the deluge. You will long since have gotten your promotion for having increased profitibality before the chickens have come home to roost.

 

[RandySavage]

This, yes. WDW's operation sounds like a classic case of being run by managers with short-term incentives.

If you have a park with a revenue of 100 and costs of 80, who wants to be the manager who implements policies that bring it to 100 revenue, 85 costs? Better to bring costs down to 75 - say, by cutting long-term maintenance - and after you the deluge. You will long since have gotten your promotion for having increased profitibality before the chickens have come home to roost.

^ Exactly. This is why I was hoping there would be a shake-up post-Iger, because for things to change at WDW, the Company would need a CEO who:

1. Cares about & "gets" the theme parks division to the point where something like the current Splash Mtn fiasco would infuriate him (if he were ever to learn about it). A CEO who would dispatch a new P&R czar to Florida to knock heads and clean house.

2. Has a mandate vis-a-vis the shareholders (represented by the Board): the power to install execs & incentive programs that say it's okay to make the cost 85 from 80 because it will strengthen long-term quality and customer loyalty. Someone who has the ego to want to surpass all previous levels of quality & execution in creative, operations, etc.

Disney stock doesn't have to hover in the $20-$40 range as it has for 15 years. If they put out an ultra-hiqh quality, innovative product that everyone had to have, the stock could skyrocket like Apple's (or Pixar's).

Unfortunately, if Staggs or Rasulo succeed Iger (very likely), not much will change.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Despite living on the East Coast ,If I were offered a trip to either WDW or Disneyland, I would pick Disneyland in a heartbeat.

I actually had that opportunity in late 2005. I won a grand prize trip from McDonalds for the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, and I am so glad that I chose to take a DLR vacation!

I had previously been to DL a few times, but I took my free trip in late March/early April 2006 - right in the middle of the 50th celebration. I hadn't felt that way in a Disney theme park since I was a kid. Everything felt new, crisp, and pleasantly nostalgic at the same time.

I haven't been back to DLR since, but given the choice again, I'd still choose them over WDW, easily.