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

[TalkingHead]

Not so much creepy as people would deem it to be fake and unimportant. I personally have no problem with it, but on these forums I hear so much about those dreadful WDW CM's.

I don't look at CM performance in a vacuum -- it's an extension of the attraction experience. So if I saw a WDW CM acting like this at the end of MK's decrepit Snow White attraction, I'd think the behavior was at odds with quality of the ride.

Admittedly, I don't know anything about TDL's version of Snow White, so it could be as crummy as MK's is.

But what I resent is the thinking that chipper, perky CMs can make up for a crummy ride experience. In fact, it's embarrassing to think that it can.

Think what the reaction would be if you had a WDW CM giving this kind of TDL performance at the exit of Splash Mountain when the finale is broken.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

By European standards, Americans look like that Japanese Snow White CM. :shrug:

 

[drew81]

You'd probably like lawyers even less if you got to know some professionally. I'm not the biggest fan of them, either. At least most of them.

So your comments and jokes (although the word "jokes" implies that you're kidding...) doesn't really faze me.



We travel to non-Disney-branded places all the time. We live in Indianapolis, but probably spend over 50% of our weekends elsewhere. However, it doesn't seem germane to discuss on a Disney forum how I accidentally ended up in some goth bar in New Orleans (got the f^*& out of Dodge as soon as I saw a guy with horn implants and blood red eyes!), went to some modern art festival in Chicago, or climbed a rickety old fire tower while camping at some random state park.



Curiously enough, I typically don't scrutinize much while we're on our trips. It's not until we get back and I start reflecting upon things that I get 'frustrated' by this or that. While we're actually there, I have an excellent time and only focus on the positive.

And in the grand scheme of things, I still think Walt Disney World is a great place to visit.

That said, as I've mentioned previously, we're enjoying Disneyland more and more. I don't make excuses not to go to Disneyland like many others (I find it asinine to not go because it's more expensive--it's not), but we're still going to WDW more at this point because it has a greater variety of experiences.

Since Trader Sam's opened and with Cars Land and (more importantly) Buena Vista Street soon to be open, I don't know if that 'more for us to do at WDW' logic will continue to hold true.




It's funny...that last thing is something that bothers me. I mean, I don't cry about it, but I'll readily admit that I don't like how the real world encroaches upon Disneyland. I guess I like the element of escapism. :shrug:



Interesting. I don't doubt you on this. I will say that if I were running the place, I'd be chasing off some AP-holders or trying to figure out a better way to manage them in certain cases.

Many times, their park touring habits are diametrically opposed to tourists. For example, many AP-holders have no problem showing up right after work and camping out for 3 hours with their iPad while they wait for Fantasmic! or RDCT. The value of the average tourist's time is such that they won't do the same, nor should Disney want them to do that, because then they're sitting in one spot and not visiting gift $hops.

Completely off-topic, but it boggles my mind that even locals are willing to wait in this type of line. This is especially true at Walt Disney World with things like Candlelight Processional where locals could pay a premium for the dining package (I'm sure you're not a fan, but go with me here...) to avoid standing in line. We were there one of the days Neil Patrick Harris was there, and we saw people in line at 1pm. Some of these people in the standby line didn't get into the first show (probably not the ones who arrived right at one, but I wasn't closely monitoring things); on top of that, it poured. Everyone values their time differently, but there's no way on earth I'd stand in a line for four plus hours doing nothing when I could pay $35 to avoid the line. (And that's assuming I get NO meal!)

I likely wouldn't pay for the dinner package in the first place (we received our seats from a D23 event), but if my options were paying for the dinner package or waiting 4 hours in line, I would choose paying for the dinner package every single time.

The coolest people live in Indianapolis

 

[CountryBearFan]

I think you hit the nail on the head. For some people, ANYTHING done at Tokyo is wonderful, and if that same thing were done at WDW, it would be pure evil.

I agree that DisneyInsider made an excellent point.

So many people here can be such hypocrites.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

TalkingHead's comment was excellent. There's a certain balance of quality between attractions and cast members. If you get off a ride that is completely half-a**ed in terms of either maintenance or whatever, and the cast member pours on the happiness, it's going to make eyes roll. The experience was already compromised beyond repair, the canned happiness just feels like patronization or a mocking nature more than actual friendliness. It's like having a bad dinner at a restaurant but the employees are laying on the fake niceness. You're going to feel a little irritated and feel like you're actually being mocked. If your entire experience was nice however, a sane person wouldn't feel that way and would definitely enjoy themselves.

That Japanese cast member may have seemed somewhat overly happy, but it's not something i would likely think of if the ride and experience was amazing. Either way though, I'd rather have that by far than the cast member acting downright mean (which has happened more than once). I liked that video somewhat despite the weirdness. It's more shocking than creepy because WDW's cast members don't act like that at all. It's different, not really what i'd call unpleasant. We who visit WDW are just conditioned to expect less in every respect.

 

[WDWFigment]

^Right. Depending upon the circumstances, the exact same behavior can seem completely disingenuous or completely appropriate and 'nice.'

 

[TP2000]

I was just watching a story on McDonalds on CNBC few nights back. They were talking about how they expanded into Asian markets such as China.

Just like the video posted about the female CM, there was clearly a service level difference between the McDonalds workers in Asia verses here.

Their uniforms were neatly pressed like in the military, and even the hamburger cook took pride in his job.

This is after I ate at my local McDonalds to get some sloppy kid with his hat on backwards and my order screwed up...as usual.

Yes, that Tokyo Cast Member video represents a much broader cultural issue, not so much an example of the different management between Orlando and Tokyo.

Walk into a Tokyo Starbucks and they treat you like you are the CEO visiting from Seattle for a quality check. A trip to a middle-class department store in Tokyo makes you think you must be a hot celebrity with an American Express Black Card dangling from your shirt.

Tokyo Disneyland takes that highly profesional service standard that Americans lost 30 years ago and layers a Disney-level of quality showmanship over it. The result at Tokyo Disneyland is truly magical, and I normally don't use that trite word.

I only mentioned it, knowing its a broad cultural issue, as an example of the hilarious fun I have visiting Disneyland back home in SoCal within a day or two of any other trip to a Disney theme park in other parts of the world. The interesting compare/contrast of Disney theme park experiences is part of what brings me back, as an adult with no children and no personal afinity for Princesses or rubberhead characters.

 

[TP2000]

That Japanese cast member may have seemed somewhat overly happy, but it's not something i would likely think of if the ride and experience was amazing. Either way though, I'd rather have that by far than the cast member acting downright mean (which has happened more than once). I liked that video somewhat despite the weirdness. It's more shocking than creepy because WDW's cast members don't act like that at all. It's different, not really what i'd call unpleasant. We who visit WDW are just conditioned to expect less in every respect.

For those who have never been to Japan and have no working knowledge of the Japanese culture, that video may seem shocking. But if you've been to Tokyo and Tokyo Disneyland, it makes a lot more sense. And for me, it just makes me want to go back to Tokyo!

Now, that same behavior by someone else could get really creepy really fast.

It helps that this Tokyo Cast Member is a young, attractive, perfectly uniformed and groomed young lady of barely 20 years old at a meticulously maintained ride in a perfectly maintained park. If it was a 48 year old balding man with a wrinkled shirt and droopy pants and a potbelly at the end of a dusty old ride with broken effects, it would be downright scary no matter how sincere he might be. :lol:

 

[wedway71]

The coolest people live in Indianapolis

I agree...Franklin Township(SE SIDE) here..

 

[jeff59rt]

At least they have one extra day this year to fix everything!

 

[WDW1974]

You'd probably like lawyers even less if you got to know some professionally. I'm not the biggest fan of them, either. At least most of them.

So your comments and jokes (although the word "jokes" implies that you're kidding...) doesn't really faze me.

I've met plenty. And even ones with degrees from places like Yale and honors and awards lining walls and shelves have all been slime balls. I don't (believe it or not) like to stereotype, but in this group I'll make an exception.

I'd say a good 95% of the profession in the USA aren't worth the air they breathe and take from the rest of us. ... Oh, and Disney lawyers aren't exactly MAGICal either!:fork:

We travel to non-Disney-branded places all the time. We live in Indianapolis, but probably spend over 50% of our weekends elsewhere. However, it doesn't seem germane to discuss on a Disney forum how I accidentally ended up in some goth bar in New Orleans (got the f^*& out of Dodge as soon as I saw a guy with horn implants and blood red eyes!), went to some modern art festival in Chicago, or climbed a rickety old fire tower while camping at some random state park.

Actually, hearing stuff like that just makes my assumption that you are fairly (notice I said fairly :animwink well-balanced guy appear more sound. While I love Disney (and other) theme parks, I travel to all sorts of places and do so as often as I possibly can. And I gladly give up WDW trips for other places.
While I (obviously) understand why folks go to Disney Parks, I don't understand say the dude in NJ who brings the wife and two kids down to Disney's BW for an 11-day stay every July and that's all they do. EVER. And plenty of Disney fans fall into that category.

Curiously enough, I typically don't scrutinize much while we're on our trips. It's not until we get back and I start reflecting upon things that I get 'frustrated' by this or that. While we're actually there, I have an excellent time and only focus on the positive.

And in the grand scheme of things, I still think Walt Disney World is a great place to visit.

That said, as I've mentioned previously, we're enjoying Disneyland more and more. I don't make excuses not to go to Disneyland like many others (I find it asinine to not go because it's more expensive--it's not), but we're still going to WDW more at this point because it has a greater variety of experiences.

I scrutinize as you put it all the time. It has been part of my work to notice things and I can't shut my mind off (without a lot of alcohol!) just because I am on vacation. Like sitting in the Grand Cali lobby last week and looking at how shabby the furniture was looking (and the PIGS who think that putting their filthy shoes on it is fine because it is Disney -- although I didn't see that behavior when staying down the road at the 4-star Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach or up the road at the 3.5-star Marriott Fullerton) ... and then looking down at the carpeting and seeing it was so worn the threads were coming apart and realizing it should have likely been replaced 3-4 years ago. Or walking into the restroom and seeing ... well, I really don't want to talk about what I saw or Disney's reaction to it.:hurl:

I don't make excuses for poor job perfromance and poor service whether it is at WDW, DL, DLP or any location I travel to.

Oh, and while I agree WDW certainly has more variety of experiences, I can't help but get bored there (very bored at MK and TPFKaTD-MGMS often), which has never, ever happened at DL. Even when I was a real (40 minutes away) local.

Since Trader Sam's opened and with Cars Land and (more importantly) Buena Vista Street soon to be open, I don't know if that 'more for us to do at WDW' logic will continue to hold true.

Love Trader Sam's. Spent a few nights there again recently. I know folks compare it to AC, but I enjoy it even more as AC was getting (is Lee around with his blow dart gun?:wave tired near the end (and the regulars weren't helping).

WDW will ALWAYS have more. But do you golf? Does the Mrs play tennis (certainly not at the GF anymore!)? Do you do his/hers massages at the SS spa? When's the last time you parasailed or went horse back riding at WDW? Because that's where WDW wins and always will ... thing is, I think that 98% of all fans who post on sites like this never bother with those things opting to ride Space Mountain 21 times in two days instead! ... I think DLR will certainly have two great parks (I think they do now) this summer. WDW has four good parks that are all stale to one degree or another.

It's funny...that last thing is something that bothers me. I mean, I don't cry about it, but I'll readily admit that I don't like how the real world encroaches upon Disneyland. I guess I like the element of escapism. :shrug:

The real world has encroached on every visit to WDW (and every theme park) because it lets anyone who pays in the gates. Other guests constantly remind me of the real world in uglier ways than seeing Mimi's or Harbor Blvd traffic from the monorail.

Interesting. I don't doubt you on this. I will say that if I were running the place, I'd be chasing off some AP-holders or trying to figure out a better way to manage them in certain cases.

That part they are trying to do. The program is going to change in the near future (not sure whether it will be next year, two years down the road etc), but the idea isn't to cull the herd. Rather to expand it, but better handle it. The idea Disney wants fewer APers is great for Al Lutz to spew, but it isn't reality.

Many times, their park touring habits are diametrically opposed to tourists. For example, many AP-holders have no problem showing up right after work and camping out for 3 hours with their iPad while they wait for Fantasmic! or RDCT. The value of the average tourist's time is such that they won't do the same, nor should Disney want them to do that, because then they're sitting in one spot and not visiting gift $hops.

Completely off-topic, but it boggles my mind that even locals are willing to wait in this type of line. This is especially true at Walt Disney World with things like Candlelight Processional where locals could pay a premium for the dining package (I'm sure you're not a fan, but go with me here...) to avoid standing in line. We were there one of the days Neil Patrick Harris was there, and we saw people in line at 1pm. Some of these people in the standby line didn't get into the first show (probably not the ones who arrived right at one, but I wasn't closely monitoring things); on top of that, it poured. Everyone values their time differently, but there's no way on earth I'd stand in a line for four plus hours doing nothing when I could pay $35 to avoid the line. (And that's assuming I get NO meal!)

I likely wouldn't pay for the dinner package in the first place (we received our seats from a D23 event), but if my options were paying for the dinner package or waiting 4 hours in line, I would choose paying for the dinner package every single time.

You are right, I wouldn't pay for the package. But I do get what you are saying. Personally, I won't wait longer than 30 minutes for much at ANY theme park (remember, I didn't wait longer than 35 minutes for anything at TDR on a first visit during Christmas season ). My time is too valuable and my patience is too short. ... If I had the options above, I'd choose my own one: stand outside the theater and listen to the show without waiting at all. I do that regularly for CP when I am there that time of year.

Oh, and Neil Patrick Harris earned a lot of respect by me when I found out he dines at Fuddrucker's!

~Man knows his burgers!~

 

[WDW1974]

I have been trying to get out to DL for a while now. We're planning a Disney trip for the fall. I started pricing both DL and WDW. Long story short, airfare to DL puts it out of reach for us. Maybe prices will come down to within our budget between now and then. But for now, it's a deal breaker even with the savings of being able to get a room off property.

Some people may be making excuses not to go. But some of us really want to go and price really is the deciding factor.

Airfare can greatly fluctuate. My recent trip wasn't planned as I had a death in the family on that coast. But one week ahead of time, I got a $252 (all taxes and fees) trip from SoFla to LAX fare. Even better, got my free First Class upgrade on the outbound too, due to my status!

But the point is fares aren't always much more and can be less depending on where you are coming from, when you are going and how flexible you are (I have friends that aren't flexible at all and will spend $678 to fly on a Friday when if they flew Sunday the fare is half the price etc).

As to lodging, all I can say is if you stay on property at WDW and do off at DL, you can save HUGE sums of money (unless you regularly stay at WDW resorts for $45 a night).

I never rent a car in O-Town as I am either driving up or sometimes using DME and relying on friends to head off property, but I just had a brand new and very nice mid size rental for $93 a week in SoCal.

Everyone is different, so one piece of advice certainly doesn't fit all (and may not fit you). BUT ... I so often hear that DL is just so much pricier an option than WDW and my experience and perspective is that it largely isn't.

~A new sister? Who knew?~

 

[Lee]

I know folks compare it to AC, but I enjoy it even more as AC was getting (is Lee around with his blow dart gun?:wave tired near the end (and the regulars weren't helping).

No, I don't have a blow dart gun handy...but hold still a second...

 

[WDW1974]

Since were slightly OT now, we did manage to go to DL and WDW on one trip. ROE one night, Magical the next. Briefly since I've mentioned this before but even being learned in the ways of the Mouse, I found DLs maintainence was head and shoulders above WDW. As were food options etc.

Ive gone so far as to say to friends that if it were as cheap, USF IOA were there, and all my friends were too then DL would be a more appealing option than WDW.

And that's me speaking.

Another WDW hater talking!!! Why don't you go to Six Flags and then the lines will be shorter for me!:ROFLOL:

BTW, I've heard someone who used to post here done been talking smack about you and the status of the new/not happening MK pyro show, so clearly you are NO INSIDER!:lol::wave:

~Feel Better Soon, J!~

 

[WDW1974]

It's quite an interesting comparison to make, isn't it?! :wave:

Taking a trip on WDW's Pirates ride one day, and then riding Disneyland's Pirates a scant 24 hours later is an utterly fascinating experience of compare/contrast when it comes to Animatronic maintenance, sound and audio, special effects, overall spit n' polish, etc.

The same can be said for just about every major attraction that is found in both WDW and Disneyland. It's something that really fascinates me, and is now part of the fun of visiting both properties back-to-back.

Show quality is day and night ... if DL is an 8 most days, I'd say MK is about a 5 and TDL is a 10. It really is that stark a difference.

If you've been to DL or 'blessed' to have been to TDR, or even remember a pre-DVC, pre-pins, pre-vinyl, pre-30,000 hotel room WDW, there's no way to simply pretend things are fine.

They aren't.

~That hat has gotta go!~

 

[WDW1974]

I was just watching a story on McDonalds on CNBC few nights back. They were talking about how they expanded into Asian markets such as China.

Just like the video posted about the female CM, there was clearly a service level difference between the McDonalds workers in Asia verses here.

Their uniforms were neatly pressed like in the military, and even the hamburger cook took pride in his job.

This is after I ate at my local McDonalds to get some sloppy kid with his hat on backwards and my order screwed up...as usual.

There is a HUGE difference in service in Asia, absolutely. Going into McD's is like stepping back to the 1970s American version only with amazing modern units. You have no idea the difference in getting a fresh Big Mac and fries at a perfectly clean modern McD's in Beijing versus stepping into a typical ghetto FLA locale. Stepping into a Pizza Hut in Kowloon is like stepping into an upscale Italian bistro, not a cheap pizza joint. And the service almost anywhere you go (at least in big cities in China and Japan) is just incredible and goes back to cultural norms.

BUT ... and this is a big but ... that shouldn't be an excuse for Walmart level service at premium prices. That is the excuse you hear in the USA whether it's WDW or your local mall or local auto dealer or doc's office or etc. The undercurrent is 'we're all fat, lazy Americans who only want to pay as little as possible for anything and don't care what we get for the money anyway' ... that may well describe some folks here, but it doesn't describe me and I doubt very much it describes the vast majority either.

WDW didn't use to have attractions that were run in such appalling shape as Splash Mountain is now. And it didn't have so many fervent fans who jumped to WDW's defense like beetles on a pile of cow excrement.

Maybe I am wrong ... and confused ... but I believe most folks ... most Americans still want things done right and want to get their money's worth and not make excuses for Big Business screwing them over.

~Maybe I'm wrong~

 

[WDW1974]

I don't look at CM performance in a vacuum -- it's an extension of the attraction experience. So if I saw a WDW CM acting like this at the end of MK's decrepit Snow White attraction, I'd think the behavior was at odds with quality of the ride.

Admittedly, I don't know anything about TDL's version of Snow White, so it could be as crummy as MK's is.

Nope, it's up there with DLP for best version. DLP's facade and queue is certainly nicer, but TDL's looks like it opened yesterday too -- perfect lighting, sound and effects.

But what I resent is the thinking that chipper, perky CMs can make up for a crummy ride experience. In fact, it's embarrassing to think that it can.

Think what the reaction would be if you had a WDW CM giving this kind of TDL performance at the exit of Splash Mountain when the finale is broken.

Much of the TDR CM behavior, like that seen on the video, is typical. It could be grating to a non-Japanese person who doesn't get it ... but the people seem to love it and it is genuine. It isn't fake, phony or smarmy.

Being told to HAVE A MAGICal Day 143 times in an hour can be ... and it's worst of all used as another way to tell someone to 'go (blank) yourself' when you attempt to resolve a problem at Guest Relations or with a location manager who doesn't want to do a damn thing for you. I'm sure there are thousands of times a day when it is uttered at WDW in a sincere way by great CMs trying to make MAGIC for guests. But you have to walk the walk if you're going to talk the talk.

~Both is OK!~

 

[ChrisFL]

There is a HUGE difference in service in Asia, absolutely. Going into McD's is like stepping back to the 1970s American version only with amazing modern units. You have no idea the difference in getting a fresh Big Mac and fries at a perfectly clean modern McD's in Beijing versus stepping into a typical ghetto FLA locale. Stepping into a Pizza Hut in Kowloon is like stepping into an upscale Italian bistro, not a cheap pizza joint. And the service almost anywhere you go (at least in big cities in China and Japan) is just incredible and goes back to cultural norms.

BUT ... and this is a big but ... that shouldn't be an excuse for Walmart level service at premium prices. That is the excuse you hear in the USA whether it's WDW or your local mall or local auto dealer or doc's office or etc. The undercurrent is 'we're all fat, lazy Americans who only want to pay as little as possible for anything and don't care what we get for the money anyway' ... that may well describe some folks here, but it doesn't describe me and I doubt very much it describes the vast majority either.

WDW didn't use to have attractions that were run in such appalling shape as Splash Mountain is now. And it didn't have so many fervent fans who jumped to WDW's defense like beetles on a pile of cow excrement.

Maybe I am wrong ... and confused ... but I believe most folks ... most Americans still want things done right and want to get their money's worth and not make excuses for Big Business screwing them over.

~Maybe I'm wrong~

I have visited Manila, Hong Kong and Tokyo and noticed the same things overall.

I think that it has to do a lot more to do with the decline of American cultural values. For example, McDonald's (because its easy to recognize and most countries have them) type of jobs here are considered that you're either unskilled, or are a young kid in high school, and just waiting to move up in the world.

There, based on values as a society or just merely taking pride in one's work, they are always trying their best, its not about "this job sucks and I don't care until I get a good job" because their thought process is completely different.

In Tokyo I noticed great friendliness and politeness everywhere, not just in the Disney parks.

I was in Narita Airport (Tokyo) waiting for my connecting flight to Manila a few years ago and decided to ask about switching U.S. currency to Philippine currency. The man at the counter apologized PROFUSELY that they don't do that kind of exchange (although realistically I could but it would be 2 transactions = expensive), and seemed genuinely sorry he couldn't help, yet was also cheerful and friendly at the same time. It never once came across as fake or anything of that nature.

Part of it is expected of them, they aren't being more polite than the next person, they're all polite because that is what's always been expected. Its as if I say "hello" to a person, which by the way isn't even A WORD in the native tagalog language of the philippines :S. I don't say hello to be extra polite, it's just what everyone does here.

Taking that video into account, like is taught at Disney, all CM's are playing a role. She can't be friendly to one group of guests and dis-interested the next. Every group of people she encounters have to be greeted as if they're still in the happiest place on earth.

Its easier to do when the rest of your culture expects politeness and provides it in return, without questioning AT ALL whether they're being "too happy"

 

[Tom Morrow]

If that video was from WDW, there's a good chance the CM would be shouting "WATCH YOUR STEP!!! EXIT TO YOUR LEFT!!! MOVE ALL THE WAY DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then complaining about how "stupid" the guests are to the CM next to them loud enough for other nearby guests to hear.

 

[unkadug]

If that video was from WDW, there's a good chance the CM would be shouting "WATCH YOUR STEP!!! EXIT TO YOUR LEFT!!! MOVE ALL THE WAY DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then complaining about how "stupid" the guests are to the CM next to them loud enough for other nearby guests to hear.

and they would be correct.