What Defined the Decade at WDW?

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
Ohh, I got a good one..The time when they had tested with Nintendo DS's using it as an Interactive guide called Disney's Magic Connection..Which could have been the first steps to what is now My Disney Experience..Sans Fastpass+
full_disney_connection_pamphlet.jpg
 

NickMaio

Well-Known Member
The way you described it was the way I started out as well, except that in all these years I only stayed onsite once and vowed I would never do it again. It was to limited and way, way to confining. I could easily pay for a weeks car rental for the extra it cost for one day in a Disney Resort.

Admittedly it is tougher now because for years I bought a 10 day park hopper which never expired and I could decide on a whim when I was going and for how many days. I was free to do other things because I didn't have to commit to whatever ticket I bought for the one experience. To me that was the beginning of the end for my many Florida adventures. I hated FP from the first day and wrote to Disney to tell them what a kick in the teeth that was for the common folk but the paper FP did give one a bit more flexibility because you didn't have to commit to a park ahead of time. So to compensate I just spend fewer days there then I did before. I still get to see the other places and don't feel that I have to devote all my time to Disney. If it rained I went to indoor flea markets instead of the parks with no loss of anything.

Other then that the changes had very little affect on my touring. I still stayed offsite, had breakfast before I went in, picked up lunch at a quick service place onsite and left after the 3 O'clock parade and had a full meal at whatever restaurant I had a hankering for. Rested the old bones for a few minutes and then I returned in the evening to the park I was in or whatever other one that hit my mood. I never worried about FP's in the evening.

I don't go to Disney for more then 2 days on any trip now. They want to make my life structured, I don't need them. I can get all the theme park exposure that I want from Uni or the hundreds of tourist traps outside. They have had to be much higher quality now since Disney and Universal have raised the bar. Besides during that long decade of inactivity they quietly began purging the imagineers that had been there long enough to be drawing big salaries out of the company. They went to Universal in many cases and it is getting harder to tell them from a Disney park anymore.

Don't get me wrong I still love WDW and try to go once a year even though I'm hitting close to 72 years old now. I still go solo quite often. But, I enjoy variety and the freedom to wander around and find new things and new places to visit is a bigger draw now that Disney has basically decided that they don't really care if I go there or I don't. They are after much bigger bucks that I don't have. So what I do have I spread around to other deserving enterprises outside those 42 sq. miles.

I agree that losing that early Disney feel was a huge loss! And it all started not with a mouse, but with a Fast Pass. That was the beginning of the end of leisurely Disney vacations and the start of frustrating, anger inducing stand-by lines. I'm at the age now that I cannot count on my health being good enough to go, so each visit I look upon as possibly my last one. The loss of that feeling angers me enough that I can feel better if I get to a point where I cannot go anymore simply because they have sucked the fun right out of it.
Very well put - - thank you for sharing.
 

JediMasterMatt

Well-Known Member
The continued acceleration of the devaluation of the Disney Parks difference. Unfortunately, the guest's burden has been spending more for less and less in return.

Quality, experiences, value all declined rapidly the past decade.

The most glaring thing to me has been how much more time investment is required to accomplish anything. Both in pre-planning and when actually onsite.

Now, with that said - I do think quality has gone up slightly in the last two years after bottoming out (hopefully).
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Pecos Bill started charging $2.00 for a Tablespoonful of guacamole.

That move completely sums up my perception of Disney's short-sighted decision-making and priorities over the last decade, and the way the company has recklessly squandered the goodwill and nostalgia I used to bear toward it with its relentless nickel-and-diming.
 
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ryguy

Well-Known Member
I think Potter is hands down the winner for the Orlando area. Uni put everybody on notice when that opened.

Fastpass and mydisneyexperience has definitely changed fundamentally how one experiences WDW. For better or worse you can decide.

Based on my own experiences over the last 40 years the Disney/Orlando tourist has become very diverse. When I was a kid in the 80's it was primarily white middle class suburbia going to WDW. Now when I stand in line I see and hear all sorts of diversity. Truly a global destination.

Disney Springs was a pretty big change, and I think for the better.

On a personal note the decade was defined by the Polynesian being transformed into a hot mess. I hate the crap in the lagoon, the lobby is just okay, restaurants/bars always very crowded. It certainly has lost its charm, at least for me.
 

Twirlnhurl

Well-Known Member
For me, the last decade can be summed up with the word infrastructure. From the really good--Peter Pan indoor queue, Tangled restrooms, DHS Parking Lot highway access, Skyliner, Disney Springs parking and Buena Vista Drive updates, bridge from Grand Floridian to MK, DHS fireworks launching site--to the mixed-bags--My Magic+, the new restrooms at the end of Grand Avenue in DHS, and continued monorail neglect.

I think that the past decade has seen some much-needed infrastructure investment that improves the parks without necessarily being attendance or spending drivers. This should be commended, and I hope it continues for the next decade.
 

Ninja Mom

Well-Known Member
  • The transition to using WDW as the cash cow to prop up the stock price at any cost.
  • Disney became a media company. They no longer care about the Disney legacy for excellence or creativity.
  • Everything at the theme parks is viewed from the perspective of how much can we charge for it and how little can we offer the guest.
  • The refusal to pay Cast Members a living wage and the transition toward employing a temporary workforce who cycles in and out and has little vested interest in staying with the company.
  • Company management who is solely focused on profitability at ANY expense to the Disney legacy.
~NM
 

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
  • The transition to using WDW as the cash cow to prop up the stock price at any cost.
  • Disney became a media company. They no longer care about the Disney legacy for excellence or creativity.
  • Everything at the theme parks is viewed from the perspective of how much can we charge for it and how little can we offer the guest.
  • The refusal to pay Cast Members a living wage and the transition toward employing a temporary workforce who cycles in and out and has little vested interest in staying with the company.
  • Company management who is solely focused on profitability at ANY expense to the Disney legacy.
~NM
[/QUOTE]
I agree with you when WDW opened it was about guest satisfaction now it is stockholder satisfaction and all about $$$$$$$$ IMO it began in the late 90's
 

FigmentForver96

Well-Known Member
The beginning of MyMagic+ and FP+, changing the way one vacations at WDW

Major infrastructure changes across the resort from roads to resorts to expanded pathways and parking lots.

Transformation of Downtown Disney into Disney Springs. One of my favorite moments of the decade.

Drastic increase in prices across the board from tickets to rooms.

The addition of upcharges and add-ons.

The creation of some of the best lands and rides developed in theme parks from Pandora to Galaxy Edge.

The death of classics such as The Great Movie Ride and Illuminations.

Some things really good, some not so great.
 

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
I resumed going to WDW in 2017, after a rather long break (since summer 2001). I can’t speak to the intervening period, but the differences I saw between my trips were largely positive. For me, the two most significant changes are:

- FastPass+. Yes, I know most of you hate it, but I love the new system. I especially enjoy snapping up really hard-to-get tickets by refreshing the app while waiting in lines—it’s a different kind of spontaneity, and one that suits me better.

- The food. The choices and quality are far superior to what they were at the start of the century, especially if you’re a vegetarian or vegan.

The rest for me is a wash, with some things being better and others worse. The only thing I really mourn is the loss of a nighttime parade. As to the cost, the price increases certainly don’t look good on paper, but for me, personally, a holiday at WDW still represents excellent value for money.
 

matt clark

Active Member
I have mild ADHD and OCD... I honestly love what Disney is now.
Its funny, because I understand why people DONT like it.
But its like a big game and always active trying to pull off the perfect vacation, weekend, etc.
All the pre-planning and all the activity of trying to snag fast passes and dinner reservations.
LOL I booked a reservation for Mother's day for Ohana and I feel like I won a high school football game lol.
 

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