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WDW's Heyday
- Thread starter lpet11984
- Start date
SteveAZee
Premium Member
Kungaloosh!!
That's one of the things I wish I had the chance to experience was the Adventurer's Club... would've been awesome to check out. My husband and I would've loved it.
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copcarguyp71
Well-Known Member
Been going since 1977... in my own personal opinion as it pertains to our particular visits 1996 was the peak (with the exception of Cinderella Cakestle)
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I can only comment with hands-on opinions regarding 1991 and later. But logically it does seem a lot of people think the early-mid 90s being WDW's heyday overall. At least in certain ways. But i'd also say it depends on what areas of the resort you're comparing, as well as what aspect you're judging it on. Specific parks have basically had their primes at different times. And aspects such as hotel quality and cleanliness have varied as well.
In terms of pure attraction roster, Magic Kingdom's prime was probably between when Splash Mountain opened (1992) but before 20k Leagues Under the Sea closed forever (1994) and they made a mess of Tomorrowland. Spectromagic had also just opened too and was awesome.
While I can't speak for personally having experienced it in the 80s, EPCOT's prime in terms of attraction roster was probably between 1989 and 1993-ish. Between 82 and 89 the park added Imagination, Horizons, SSE's Walter Cronkite narration, Norway and Wonders of Life. So i'd say it peaked its attraction roster in 89 and maintained that for a few years. Food quality was also excellent in this time period. 1994 admittedly had an excellent SSE refurb, but it's also the year that Communicore was replaced by Innoventions and Horizons lost its sponsor and began operating seasonally. So i'd pinpoint 94 as the year it all started its downward spiral, getting worse and worse (and it has yet to pull out of this).
Hollywood Studios formerly MGM Studios probably reached its prime somewhere in the mid-late 90s in terms of attraction roster. The Tower of Terror opened in 94, and 95 saw the addition of the Osborne Lights that was set up in the residential street of the Backlot Tour (also still intact). You could argue up to 99 for the opening of the Rock n Roller Coaster, though the Backlot Tour was starting to be neglected at the time (the working studio section began to fade after the early-mid 90s).
Animal Kingdom is difficult. On the one hand, it has lost some elements over the years since opening, including the Discovery River boats. Dinosaur and Everest are also missing some of their major original effects. I never saw the Jungle Book or Tarzan rocks in person, but from videos I can tell i far prefer them to Nemo. But with Rivers of Light (and the Tree Awakenings), the nightly additions to the Safari and now Avatar, it's actually a very fair argument that AK has reached a prime attraction-wise.
Maintenance and cleanliness was probably at its prime in 1971 (obvious reasons) and perhaps into the early-mid 80s. It was still fantastic in the 90s, but the closer you get to Walt and Roy still being alive the better. The decline starting becoming rather noticeable around the mid-late 90s, and ramped up considerably in the 2000s. Upkeep was probably at its absolutely all time low around 2010-2013 (bathrooms were nasty and many attractions were in horrible shape). It has actually gotten a little better during the past 2 years or so in some aspects, likely due to gearing up for the 50th. We'll see if it continues, but it will probably never again reach the levels of quality it used to have.
Hotels were managed VERY well in the 90s. Great staff, amenities, cleanliness and service overall. Can't comment on the 70s and 80s but most were run in a quite decently upscale manner (at least relative to many other hotels) all throughout my 90s visits. The 2010s have been a joke in comparison. The interior decor has also taken a nosedive in most of the recent room rehabs (particularly removing a lot of the custom Disney-infused "vintage" style of the EPCOT resorts and Grand Floridian rooms and giving them a generic modern makeover, this generic modernization has affected the other resorts as well).
In terms of pure attraction roster, Magic Kingdom's prime was probably between when Splash Mountain opened (1992) but before 20k Leagues Under the Sea closed forever (1994) and they made a mess of Tomorrowland. Spectromagic had also just opened too and was awesome.
While I can't speak for personally having experienced it in the 80s, EPCOT's prime in terms of attraction roster was probably between 1989 and 1993-ish. Between 82 and 89 the park added Imagination, Horizons, SSE's Walter Cronkite narration, Norway and Wonders of Life. So i'd say it peaked its attraction roster in 89 and maintained that for a few years. Food quality was also excellent in this time period. 1994 admittedly had an excellent SSE refurb, but it's also the year that Communicore was replaced by Innoventions and Horizons lost its sponsor and began operating seasonally. So i'd pinpoint 94 as the year it all started its downward spiral, getting worse and worse (and it has yet to pull out of this).
Hollywood Studios formerly MGM Studios probably reached its prime somewhere in the mid-late 90s in terms of attraction roster. The Tower of Terror opened in 94, and 95 saw the addition of the Osborne Lights that was set up in the residential street of the Backlot Tour (also still intact). You could argue up to 99 for the opening of the Rock n Roller Coaster, though the Backlot Tour was starting to be neglected at the time (the working studio section began to fade after the early-mid 90s).
Animal Kingdom is difficult. On the one hand, it has lost some elements over the years since opening, including the Discovery River boats. Dinosaur and Everest are also missing some of their major original effects. I never saw the Jungle Book or Tarzan rocks in person, but from videos I can tell i far prefer them to Nemo. But with Rivers of Light (and the Tree Awakenings), the nightly additions to the Safari and now Avatar, it's actually a very fair argument that AK has reached a prime attraction-wise.
Maintenance and cleanliness was probably at its prime in 1971 (obvious reasons) and perhaps into the early-mid 80s. It was still fantastic in the 90s, but the closer you get to Walt and Roy still being alive the better. The decline starting becoming rather noticeable around the mid-late 90s, and ramped up considerably in the 2000s. Upkeep was probably at its absolutely all time low around 2010-2013 (bathrooms were nasty and many attractions were in horrible shape). It has actually gotten a little better during the past 2 years or so in some aspects, likely due to gearing up for the 50th. We'll see if it continues, but it will probably never again reach the levels of quality it used to have.
Hotels were managed VERY well in the 90s. Great staff, amenities, cleanliness and service overall. Can't comment on the 70s and 80s but most were run in a quite decently upscale manner (at least relative to many other hotels) all throughout my 90s visits. The 2010s have been a joke in comparison. The interior decor has also taken a nosedive in most of the recent room rehabs (particularly removing a lot of the custom Disney-infused "vintage" style of the EPCOT resorts and Grand Floridian rooms and giving them a generic modern makeover, this generic modernization has affected the other resorts as well).
Mickey5150
Well-Known Member
I'd say WDW was in it's prime in the 80s and early 90s, because back then it didn't cost me anything to go. Now I have to pay for hotel, food, airfare.
graphite1326
Well-Known Member
My first visit was in 1979. I was in my mid 20s. I was disappointed. My next visit was 1996 with my family. What big difference. I enjoyed myself to the point that we have been going back every other year since then. But was the 90s the heyday? NO! I liked most rides, loved others and thought others were bad. I thought AE in Tomorrowland was awesome but didn't like If You Had Wings at all and thought then it was just a repeat of Journey Into Imagination. HS was my favorite park at the time and rode TGMR more than a couple of times. Now I hate SGE and like BLSS. Sourin is one of favorites which wasn't around in the 90s. And HS is a half day park. So as they change the parks my favorites change. I think WDW hasn't seen its heyday yet.
wdwfan4ver
Well-Known Member
While I first went to WDW in summer of 1991, I really can't say in general. My reasoning is AK's peak may have happened yet and I'm saying that because the Dinoland changes could make the park at its best to this date.
DHS is something I have time to say a heyday because their peak is so short that I feel at some point after Star Wars Land will be at its peak. The fact is DHS needs help after Star Wars Land is open.
Epcot's peak to me in the early 90's. MK is very hard to say.
DHS is something I have time to say a heyday because their peak is so short that I feel at some point after Star Wars Land will be at its peak. The fact is DHS needs help after Star Wars Land is open.
Epcot's peak to me in the early 90's. MK is very hard to say.
DfromATX
Well-Known Member
I can't wait for all those things! AK used to be my least favorite park. We went in July, so no Pandora, but it was open at night, which made it a little more fun. Also, we still enjoyed HS even though there's lots of complaints for that one now, thought the Star Wars fireworks show was awesome. My youngest son finally tried Rockin' Roller Coaster and loved it. He used to be scared of it, but declared it is now his favorite ride. We love all the parks. Everyone in my family has a different favorite (except Epcot). Mine is MK. I agree - lots of exciting changes coming! We're going back summer 2018, but I'd love to go for the 50th anniversary!
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geekza
Well-Known Member
I think the peak is different for different sections of the parks and for each person. These are just my opinions.
For example, I definitely think Main St. was absolutely amazing before Eisner took away all of the individual shops and turned it into one giant gift shop selling the same souvenirs you could get at lots of other places. I have very fond memories of going to the Magic Shop, the Penny Arcade, and Main Street Theater as a kid. Main St. was an attraction in and of itself. Now, it's the shopping center, pretty though it be, that you walk through in order to get to the good stuff. Fantasyland peaked in the early-90's before the demise of 20,000 Leagues. I haven't experienced New Fantasyland yet; I will this September. Still, I will really miss Snow White, Mr. Toad, and 20,000 Leagues. Liberty Square hasn't changed a great deal, so I still think it's top notch. Adventureland peaked before the addition of the Flying Carpets and before Pirates started adding the movie characters, so early 90's. It's still pretty decent, though. I don't hate the movie pirates, but I miss the original figures. I'm glad that the Tiki Birds came back, even in their shortened form. Frontierland also peaked in the 1990's when Splash Mountain was built but before the closure of the Diamond Horseshoe Revue. It's still pretty great, for the most part. Tomorrowland peaked, for me at least, in the 1980's before the closure of If You Had Wings. Granted, it has always had an issue with actually having attractions that fit with the supposed theme of the land, but, aside from Alien Encounter, I haven't really been a fan of any of the attractions added since the late-80's.
As for Epcot, Future World peaked in the late-80's. Since then, it's been like going back to your childhood home, only to see that the new owners have let most of it deteriorate, put garish paint on the remaining parts, and added in a suspect swingset and algae-infested hot tub. World Showcase survived intact for longer than I had thought possible, and is still quite pleasant, but the addition of Frozen is a definite bellwether of potential trouble on the horizon.
I've never been as big a fan of The Studios or Animal Kingdom, but I've only visited the Studios twice and AK once, so I don't feel like I can really make an educated comment about them. I was sad to see the production aspect and theme of DHS never pan out and finally go away. I know that wasn't really the fault of Disney. Lots of different forces, both internal and external, dictated that the plan of making DHS a working, viable studio would never happen. It's a sad, missed opportunity. I'm actually excited about going back to AK to see what has been done to it. With the opening of Pandora, it feels like Disney is finally putting some real effort into the park.
For example, I definitely think Main St. was absolutely amazing before Eisner took away all of the individual shops and turned it into one giant gift shop selling the same souvenirs you could get at lots of other places. I have very fond memories of going to the Magic Shop, the Penny Arcade, and Main Street Theater as a kid. Main St. was an attraction in and of itself. Now, it's the shopping center, pretty though it be, that you walk through in order to get to the good stuff. Fantasyland peaked in the early-90's before the demise of 20,000 Leagues. I haven't experienced New Fantasyland yet; I will this September. Still, I will really miss Snow White, Mr. Toad, and 20,000 Leagues. Liberty Square hasn't changed a great deal, so I still think it's top notch. Adventureland peaked before the addition of the Flying Carpets and before Pirates started adding the movie characters, so early 90's. It's still pretty decent, though. I don't hate the movie pirates, but I miss the original figures. I'm glad that the Tiki Birds came back, even in their shortened form. Frontierland also peaked in the 1990's when Splash Mountain was built but before the closure of the Diamond Horseshoe Revue. It's still pretty great, for the most part. Tomorrowland peaked, for me at least, in the 1980's before the closure of If You Had Wings. Granted, it has always had an issue with actually having attractions that fit with the supposed theme of the land, but, aside from Alien Encounter, I haven't really been a fan of any of the attractions added since the late-80's.
As for Epcot, Future World peaked in the late-80's. Since then, it's been like going back to your childhood home, only to see that the new owners have let most of it deteriorate, put garish paint on the remaining parts, and added in a suspect swingset and algae-infested hot tub. World Showcase survived intact for longer than I had thought possible, and is still quite pleasant, but the addition of Frozen is a definite bellwether of potential trouble on the horizon.
I've never been as big a fan of The Studios or Animal Kingdom, but I've only visited the Studios twice and AK once, so I don't feel like I can really make an educated comment about them. I was sad to see the production aspect and theme of DHS never pan out and finally go away. I know that wasn't really the fault of Disney. Lots of different forces, both internal and external, dictated that the plan of making DHS a working, viable studio would never happen. It's a sad, missed opportunity. I'm actually excited about going back to AK to see what has been done to it. With the opening of Pandora, it feels like Disney is finally putting some real effort into the park.
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WEDwaydatamover
Well-Known Member
Well put geekza! I don't think I disagree with one thing you said.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
MK - it withstood the onslaught of barbarism better than most of WDW, but the heyday is definitely before NFL (rubbish), the Tomorrowland expansion (well like the Fantasyland expansion, it wasn't really one) which if inferior is however not without merit, the slow deterioration of AL (none of the gorgeous, theme-making fountains apparantly have a water source, but the crass plastic spitting camel does), and the wholesale stripmallification of Main Street. Mickey's Birthday Land was awesome, so the heyday is between 1988-1994.
EPCOT - a supernova. It burst open brilliantly with the force of a thousand stars. All who saw EPCOT Center are forever blinded by it, the brightest light in the world. But it faded out too fast, assaulted by Eisner as the folly of the regime he replaced. Heyday is 1983 already, once Horizons opened, itself the dual symbol of both EPCOT'S brilliance and short life span.
DHS - difficult. Sometime after Sunset boulevard from 1994, and before the closures of the backlot and animation tours.
DAK - now is the best time of your life!
Lake Buena Vista area - toss-up between the supreme serenity of the early eighties and the excitement of Pleasure Island from 1989.
EPCOT - a supernova. It burst open brilliantly with the force of a thousand stars. All who saw EPCOT Center are forever blinded by it, the brightest light in the world. But it faded out too fast, assaulted by Eisner as the folly of the regime he replaced. Heyday is 1983 already, once Horizons opened, itself the dual symbol of both EPCOT'S brilliance and short life span.
DHS - difficult. Sometime after Sunset boulevard from 1994, and before the closures of the backlot and animation tours.
DAK - now is the best time of your life!
Lake Buena Vista area - toss-up between the supreme serenity of the early eighties and the excitement of Pleasure Island from 1989.
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WEDwaydatamover
Well-Known Member
Ahhhh the fountains of Adventureland...
I really miss the sounds of Adventureland.
The cannons firing from the Pirates also the squawking Barker Bird and Artemus outside of the Tiki Room.
I think that around the time MK V.P. Bill Sullivan (Club 55) was driven out along with the other old schoolers was when things started to turn.
I really miss the sounds of Adventureland.
The cannons firing from the Pirates also the squawking Barker Bird and Artemus outside of the Tiki Room.
I think that around the time MK V.P. Bill Sullivan (Club 55) was driven out along with the other old schoolers was when things started to turn.
Coozi
New Member
I haven't been to Hollywood Studios lately due to all the closures; however, I've seen the Star Wars fire works on YouTube and they look amazing! I want the chance to go check em out. I'm beyond excited for the land. At AK, I really enjoyed killamanjaro at night. The lions were very lively. You definitely have to get back there to see Pandora!
DfromATX
Well-Known Member
I've also seen the videos of the Star Wars show and they really don't do it justice. It's one of those things best in person. We are all excited about Pandora. I've heard FOP is awesome so we can't wait!
I think so, too. On a personal level I would say the most magical years for me were 2002-2008. Ever since then I've been trying to recreate certain experiences from those years and the crowd levels have been getting in the way of that. I haven't been able to get my bearings to navigate the parks as effortlessly as I used to. I'm still figuring out a game plan that works for me.
The_Jobu
Well-Known Member
The lack of an "off-season" thanks to predictive staffing is also my biggest disappointment with the current parks.