WDW Awakens ...

[doctornick]

I love threads like these. Every post dripping with more acerbic jealousy than the last.

I don't think it's jealousy per se, but there is an odd obsession that exists regarding these folks. For the life of me, I don't see what is the big deal with Disney trying to win and dine people they hope to give them positive reviews and encourage others to visit their parks. It strike me as pretty typical stuff for the travel industry -- the people I know in the industry get free stuff all time in order to create positive vibes for places.

At worse, it's just not effective and is a waste of resources. But since we are talking about drop in the proverbial bucket for a huge media company like Disney, it seems like such a pointless thing to harp on.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

I don't read anything on Twitter or follow any Disney Blogs, I do read here to get info about what that particular facet of multimedia is saying. I click on the occasional link but rely on this forum for an explanation of the event. My first impression of day one of this media event is:

So, Disney Springs is based on some lame turn of the century small town where there was an actual spring? The backstory is supposed to make it Kooler than any other outdoor Mall? Really? Well, to me, it will always be a place to eat a decent dinner on a day I don't go to the parks. The end. The theme matters not. I do not intend to "srtoll through Town Center, admiring the floaties around the "spring" or get my photo taken in front a ...water tower. I may eat at the Boathouse. I may have exactly one overpriced drink at Jock Lindsey's.

There are pretty much no stores there I can't find at the Mall of America a half hour away. BTW, MOA now has a "ride" called Fly Over America with the same type of ride system as Soarin for $17.00 that lasts much longer and is not just California. We are going to check it out and make a comparison. There is also a theme park (Nickelodeon Universe) that you can get single ride tickets, an aquarium and other entertainment. This year, we are doing MOA with an overnight stay so we can barhop the Mall.

WDW will wait for 2018

 

[TalkingHead]

I don't think it's jealousy per se, but there is an odd obsession that exists regarding these folks. For the life of me, I don't see what is the big deal with Disney trying to win and dine people they hope to give them positive reviews and encourage others to visit their parks. It strike me as pretty typical stuff for the travel industry -- the people I know in the industry get free stuff all time in order to create positive vibes for places.

At worse, it's just not effective and is a waste of resources. But since we are talking about drop in the proverbial bucket for a huge media company like Disney, it seems like such a pointless thing to harp on.

Jealousy would be the lifestylers getting to ride a new E-ticket before the rest of us.

By my count, it's been over a decade since we've run the risk of being jealous of the WDW Twitter press.

 

[Cletus]

Yes.

Seriously about the 5-6 price increases?

The price increases are real. Some are up about 12 - 25%. Just like they raised the QS prices in the parks 3 times since March, twice in about a week! Lol

I got that information from an honest blogger. Joshlo Ren shares everything (except his Scotch).

 

[Mike S]

Yes.

The price increases are real. Some are up about 12 - 25%. Just like they raised the QS prices in the parks 3 times since March, twice in about a week! Lol

I got that information from an honest blogger. Joshlo Ren shares everything (except his Scotch).

And yet food quality goes down.

 

[asianway]

Yes.

The price increases are real. Some are up about 12 - 25%. Just like they raised the QS prices in the parks 3 times since March, twice in about a week! Lol

I got that information from an honest blogger. Joshlo Ren shares everything (except his Scotch).

The guy has integrity and as such gets no freebies

 

[George]

And it's like a big foam Mickey middle finger to summer crowds visiting in June as well

My in-laws requested a trip this summer and we're going to be there mid-June. When I say requested a trip, I mean all the lodging is provided by yours truly through expenditure of Disney Vacation Club Points. They really wanted to go so that my 5 year old niece could have a trip (she's never been). I made the Huge mistake of mentioning several things like Rivers of Light that not so long ago seemed like it would be a slam dunk. Trip has been getting worse for a while. The TiW black dates (and the $150 charge) did effect a couple of meals caused us to scale back on how much WDW dining we're doing. There is no way on god's green earth that I'm shelling out for the dining plan now that my kids are 11 and 13. I can multiply and the like. Oh wells. It is what it is. Maybe crowds will be a bit lower. We are going to have several vehicles. Last I checked, Publix still sells beer, our VWL villas will still have fridges, and Uni is still open so all is not lost.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Yeah, really. It was OK. That's about it. It would be considered much worse if not for the near unwatchable prequels and the Disney marketing machine that convinced people it was special. It wasn't.

Yes, why would anyone want to know the details of a place that costs a small-medium sized fortune to visit. You have a MAGICal time, ya hear!

I'm looking forward to see what Rian Johnson has in store for episode 8. I haven't been back to WDW since 2011. I really don't know what I'm in store for, good or bad.

 

[zooey]

I don't read anything on Twitter or follow any Disney Blogs, I do read here to get info about what that particular facet of multimedia is saying. I click on the occasional link but rely on this forum for an explanation of the event. My first impression of day one of this media event is:

So, Disney Springs is based on some lame turn of the century small town where there was an actual spring? The backstory is supposed to make it Kooler than any other outdoor Mall? Really? Well, to me, it will always be a place to eat a decent dinner on a day I don't go to the parks. The end. The theme matters not. I do not intend to "srtoll through Town Center, admiring the floaties around the "spring" or get my photo taken in front a ...water tower. I may eat at the Boathouse. I may have exactly one overpriced drink at Jock Lindsey's.

There are pretty much no stores there I can't find at the Mall of America a half hour away. BTW, MOA now has a "ride" called Fly Over America with the same type of ride system as Soarin for $17.00 that lasts much longer and is not just California. We are going to check it out and make a comparison. There is also a theme park (Nickelodeon Universe) that you can get single ride tickets, an aquarium and other entertainment. This year, we are doing MOA with an overnight stay so we can barhop the Mall.

WDW will wait for 2018

I live in MN and go to the mall often for about 15 minutes because that's all I can stand ( there's a milk tea place that is out of this world, slight obsession there). I hope you have fun while you're there but comparing WDW to the MOA is like comparing a Geo to a Mercedes. They're both cars but brother, one drives a whole lot better

 

[tirian]

I stopped reading after you said Force Awakens was mediocre. REALLY??!?!?!!

its probably one of the best scripts that has been written in a very long time, the casting is amazing, the acting was amazing, probably one of harrisons best performances as well and totally blew away my expectations after watching Crystal Skull and thinking he'd lost his touch.

all in all though, i've decided to stop visiting these forums, i loved them at first, but then realised that 90% of people here just hate on WDW and i don't want to hear all the little details that i will notice when i go in May.

Chow!

Ciao. It's Italian.

Incidentally, you don't need to worry about your trip in May. Unlike a few years ago when attractions were falling apart, most of the problems are behind the scenes for now. On my last trip in late February, I found WDW to be in much better shape than the forums had led me to believe. Animatronics in POTC were smoother than they'd been in years. Food portions were large again.

But as a former CM with many friends at high levels inside the company, I also know that @WDW1974 isn't blowing smoke. Don't confuse show quality with overall management; maintenance is high again, and the Studios park is finally getting its deserved TLC, but the mantra going forward is "raise prices and cut operating expenses." We'll see where things land.

 

[tirian]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that QS prices rose within the last two weeks. Refillable mugs are now $17.99 and bottled drinks went up 25¢.

I'm also hearing that demand for free ice water has risen so much, QS locations are preparing cups in advance. Can anyone verify? If this is legit, paying customers—let's not call them Guests because they're treated like wh0res—are finally reacting to the nickel-and-dime mentality.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Agreed! And I do have to say, these forums used to be so much better without WDW1974, and all the other folks on here who do nothing but moan endlessly. I have decided to stop visiting these forums as well, even though I have paid occasional visits here.

And yet you're here, reading Spirit's thread. LOL.

Used to be better without WDW1974? Looking at your registration date, Spirit has been a member here almost four whole years longer than you have. How would you know how the forums were before Spirit was here if you weren't a member?

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

I live in MN and go to the mall often for about 15 minutes because that's all I can stand ( there's a milk tea place that is out of this world, slight obsession there). I hope you have fun while you're here but comparing WDW to the MOA is like comparing a Geo to a Mercedes. They're both cars but brother, one drives a whole lot better

I know that. I already made the decision to skip WDW this year because my personal "value" decision made me do it. I'm just saving up for a future trip. Hubby and I enjoy the Mall but, of course, it is not on a par with a WDW vacation. We do those infrequently due to the requirement of "new stuff" and go to Orlando for about 16 days. We enjoy a lot of parks. Not just WDW. That is just something we will do for a weekend this year. Our "real"summer vacation is a 16 day driving trip to the west coast for my daughter's wedding and some National Parks visits.

 

[Cletus]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that QS prices rose within the last two weeks. Refillable mugs are now $17.99 and bottled drinks went up 25¢.

I'm also hearing that demand for free ice water has risen so much, QS locations are preparing cups in advance. Can anyone verify? If this is legit, paying customers—let's not call them Guests because they're treated like wh0res—are finally reacting to the nickel-and-dime mentality.

A regular soda went up 40 cents this week. I'm pretty sure the mark up is like "4 billion" % at your lowly McDonalds. This is Disney....do the math. Anything to make that bottom line look good at the end of the quarter.

 

[tirian]

A regular soda went up 40 cents this week. I'm pretty sure the mark up is like "4 billion" % at your lowly McDonalds. This is Disney....do the math. Anything to make that bottom line look good at the end of the quarter.

That's outrageous.

 

[Cletus]

I know that. I already made the decision to skip WDW this year because my personal "value" decision made me do it. I'm just saving up for a future trip. Hubby and I enjoy the Mall but, of course, it is not on a par with a WDW vacation. We do those infrequently due to the requirement of "new stuff" and go to Orlando for about 16 days. We enjoy a lot of parks. Not just WDW. That is just something we will do for a weekend this year. Our "real"summer vacation is a 16 day driving trip to the west coast for my daughter's wedding and some National Parks visits.

Our "multi-annual trips per year to WDW" money is being spent on a week long stay in Maui in May and a week at Hard Rock at Uni for HHN26 and KONG.

 

[Filby61]

...I actually find it very odd that people who complain so much about "Pixie Dusters" who are addicted to Disney seem to go out of their way to actually pay attention to what those hated folks do.

Not odd at all, really. Online and in-parks, the non-critical segment of Disney lifestyle consumers contributes to the decline in quality of Disney's domestic parks in several ways. Their fawning acceptance of Disney's decreasing quality and service, and increasing prices, tells management exactly what they want to hear. Their public praise of an ever-diminishing status quo is an enabling tool for those in Disney management who believe there's no line too low that Disney customers won't cross. As collective fandom, they're fodder for manipulation by management (I'm looking at you, D23). Online, their sheer numbers spin the narrative of what Corporate Disney really is, turning it into a Wall Street wet dream of cult-consumerism. Knowingly or not, they're shills for the sharp-pencil brigade that dominates Disney's domestic parks -- sycophants for the only corporation on the planet that gets love when it stamps "sucker" on the foreheads of its customers and then upcharges them for the ink.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

Our "multi-annual trips per year to WDW" money is being spent on a week long stay in Maui in May and a week at Hard Rock at Uni for HHN26 and KONG.

Exactly! You should get great value for that vacation. I am, unfortnately, going to have to wait for Kong, and Mako for a while longer.

 

[zooey]

Not odd at all, really. Online and in-parks, the non-critical segment of Disney lifestyle consumers contributes to the decline in quality of Disney's domestic parks in several ways. Their fawning acceptance of Disney's decreasing quality and service, and increasing prices, tells management exactly what they want to hear. Their public praise of an ever-diminishing status quo is an enabling tool for those in Disney management who believe there's no line too low that Disney customers won't cross. As collective fandom, they're fodder for manipulation by management (I'm looking at you, D23). Online, their sheer numbers spin the narrative of what Corporate Disney really is, turning it into a Wall Street wet dream of cult-consumerism. Knowingly or not, they're shills for the sharp-pencil brigade that dominates Disney's domestic parks -- sycophants for the only corporation on the planet that gets love when it stamps "sucker" on the foreheads of its customers and then upcharges them for the ink.

Isn't it an issue with incoming upper management seeing their new policies and number crunching culture as a trick on the consumer? I think Disney used to believe in what it was doing, and that's one reason the quality was so high. I don't think what they're doing with D23 and stuff like that is bad at all, it's great, but what you're saying is that it's all a facade for vapid hollow money men. I can jive with that. But I would not blame consumers. Disney still does what Disney does best... Makes people FEEL. I would say most brands can't approach that. Disney is adding a sinister element to it all sadly, a bait and switch, and most consumers aren't going to notice that for a long time as long as those feelings are still there. Fans are definitely seeing the forest (which is also valid btw) where people like us on this forum are stuck on the trees. Im okay with recognizing both takes on the same thing as the truth.

 

[Mike S]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that QS prices rose within the last two weeks. Refillable mugs are now $17.99 and bottled drinks went up 25¢.

I'm also hearing that demand for free ice water has risen so much, QS locations are preparing cups in advance. Can anyone verify? If this is legit, paying customers—let's not call them Guests because they're treated like wh0res—are finally reacting to the nickel-and-dime mentality.

Just use the water fountains people. Barely any line, free, and unlike what some think they're not riddled with death.