What has become of Disney?

[matt9112]

I am sorry for a negative post but I have written to Disney and also posted a review on facebook which was deleted. I am not sure why as my review was not rude or inflammatory, just not real positive--two stars. Disney also never replied to my complaint which I sent them via mail and e-mail. Again, the content was polite and not aggressive or rude in any way so I just don't understand.

I recently visited Disney World for a week in the middle of September. I had been to the park once before in the 90's. There are a lot of positives to say about the experience--there is plenty to do and the hotel accommodations at the Pop Century resort were very nice. As it is considered one of the cheaper venues, I was expecting something less than what I got. Very clean and well done. The train and tram system runs flawlessly and I never once had to wait longer than five minutes, even after the fireworks and rush. They have to be commended for this. I don't know how they manage it but they move a lot of people efficiently. I was on the dining plan and the dining options were plentiful. The German Oktoboerfest dining at Epcot was great.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak positively for the rest of the experience. From the get-go, things went wrong. The first time I tried to get into the park with the wristband they supply you, it wouldn't take. It took fifteen minutes dealing with one of the customer service people to get it straightened out. Trying to get into Epcot that evening after the Magic Kingdom, the same thing happened--this after being told the issue was fixed. Another long wait to sort things out.During the week-long stay, issues with my account were a recurring theme. On the third day we dined at the Chef Mickeys with the characters. When the bill came, there was some sort of issue which I was told was resolved. Something was causing an issue that required the server to enter the information from my band twice. I asked for verification that It didn't go through twice as it seemed a bit odd. I was assured I was only billed for one table meal. On my second-to-last day, while dining I was I was using my last table service. I told them I had only used four and had six scheduled. They referred me to guest services. Apparently, the server at Chef Mickeys did somehow bill me for two table service meals.

On the second day I rode the Splash Mountain ride and had left my prescription sunglasses in the pouch in the boat. Realizing this, I went back to the gate attendant and asked how I might retrieve them. I was told I would need to check Lost and Found at the end of the day as they cannot do sweeps of the boats. Understandable. At the end of day, I went to lost and found near the main entrance area. It had not shown up and I asked if I could leave my number. I was told they cannot offer this service to call back and I would have to check back periodically. The guy seemed pretty flustered and basically annoyed I was asking. Unfortunately, the glasses never showed up.Entirely my fault for leaving them on the ride but Lost and Found seemed indifferent.

Fortunately, the fast pass system never malfunctioned on my band. We found ourselves planning what we would ride and where. This was nice at first but In the end, this led to feeling like we were on the clock, rushing somewhere and missing everything in-between. This is not something that is Disney's fault but the result was that the experience ;lacked any spontaneity in the end. Oftentimes, we felt herded.This is just not the Disney I knew before. It has become something else. I am not sure what to call it but it is not the original..Perhaps the franchise has grown too large and popular for it's own good? The crowds were quite overwhelming. I was told September was a good time to visit. I would hate to see the crowd in July.

We were also a bit overwhelmed by the number of shops. At times it seemed like were were visiting a giant shopping mall with a few attractions thrown in. Nothing wrong with commercial success but the 'magic' can get deflated pretty quick by the constant in-your-face commercialism that pervades the parks.

What is with people on scooters? Strollers are expected. Wheelchairs here and there yes. But tons of people are riding around on scooters that don't look in any way disabled. It is crowded enough without having to dodge electric vehicles rushing to get wherever they are going.

Overall, customer service was wishy-washy, some employees seemed burned out, indifferent, and seemed like they would rather be anywhere else. With all the planning and rushing to be somewhere, we returned home feeling more burned out than when we left work. The experience was just too sterile and mechanical compared to what we experienced in the past. Disney has lost something.

Also, I am not in any way after a freebie, I wouldn't have the time to rerun any time soon and given the amount of effort in planning etc, vacation time is probably best spent elsewhere. I am just perplexed of the lack of acknowledgement by Disney in any kind of reply.

Ok so some of your complaints are unrealistic and some have merit. The easiest thing to tackle first is the crowds. Historically crowd levels are light in September (early September is best) HOWEVER a trend that has been noted around the forums is that the off peak seasons are filling in more so each year. Essentially slow seasons are slowly disappearing. Now as to the shopping merchandise is a huge revenue generation source and there's nothing you can really do except avoid the shops. I will agree with you that scooters are abundant and they do Take up space and surely some people may Tae advantage but you cant discount disabled people. As there is no way to tell from looking at somebody. And as for the magic bands I have never had issues but things happen.

 

[pax_65]

Fortunately, the fast pass system never malfunctioned on my band. We found ourselves planning what we would ride and where. This was nice at first but In the end, this led to feeling like we were on the clock, rushing somewhere and missing everything in-between. This is not something that is Disney's fault but the result was that the experience ;lacked any spontaneity in the end. Oftentimes, we felt herded.This is just not the Disney I knew before. It has become something else.

This has been my feeling since My Magic + was introduced. Actually, I've had issues with planning every meal for many years. When I first started visiting WDW in the 90s, I felt like it was a place where I could be a kid again. When my kids were young, we would wake them up early and say, "Where do you want to go today? What do you want to do? Where do you want to eat?" We'd let them be impulsive and we'd go do it. Sure, maybe we weren't perfectly efficient but who cares? We were acting like kids, having fun.

Those days are gone. Now you must plan every meal, every Fastpass months in advance. Some people like that level of planning, I get it. But you're comment is exactly right: it's simply not the Disney I knew before.

 

[Tom P.]

I'm so sick of people on scooters being the sacrosanct group that no one is allowed to have an opinion on for fear of public shaming.

You know what? There are lots of people using scooters who have legitimate medical issues and need them, many of which are not immediately visible to the casual observer. You know what else? There are lots of really fat, really lazy people who are using them for no reason other than that they are really fat and really lazy. Those people are making things harder not only for those of us who are walking, but also for those who legitimately need scooters and now have to wait longer to get the assistance they need.

If you think that's an offensive comment, that's fine. I don't really care. But take a look at the statistics about obesity in this country. It is undeniable fact. We are a fat, lazy, unhealthy country and many people -- not a handful, but many -- are taking advantage of Disney's accessibility to support their fat, lazy lifestyles.

 

[JoeV]

Every single one of the situations in the OPs note is exacerbated by there not being enough content (ie. attractions) in the parks. To me, the biggest failing in Disney right now is that the ratio of content to cost (what I define as value) is not what it used to be. When there is too much competition for that quality content, then what happens? Overcrowding in popular areas, stressed CMs, rude guests (well, rude people are always going to be rude - they'll just get ruder), fast pass and dining resv scarcity, etc. The answer is to expand - this is expensive and slow moving because most decisions have to be completely vetted by the Accounting and Exec depts .. so you end up with the situation we have now. Simple! ha.

Of course, at the end of the day it is what you make it. We just got back from a week trip and it was wonderful as usual - but if I had to complain about anything, it's the general competition for everything .. attractions, sit down restaurants, parade and fireworks viewing space, food lines, you name it. You have to re-calibrate your brain and expectations now - it's just not what it used to be and probably never will be. If you can find contentment with that situation, then you'll probably have a good time again.

Considering just Disney World on it's own, I think there is enough to do in the parks if your stay is a couple of days. As a destination spot, however, I think most adults would probably grow somewhat bored after a few days..But given that there is much more to do in the area--Busch gardens, Cocoa Beach, Universal, SeaWorld, etc....Disney itself is a good destination spot for a week-long vacation if you stay at one of the lower priced resorts.

The cost for a daily admission is high but in line with most other theme parks when all the extras are added in. I had a special package that included hotel and daily tickets/meals so it wasn't too bad. The total was roughly $700 for five days hotel, five days park hopper, and meal plan.That really isn't that bad when you consider how much it would be to stay in a hotel in Orlando and buy daily admission tickets to a theme park in the area each day plus food and meals, parking etc. Everyone has their own cutoff point so it's all subjective. Would I spend $100 to get into any of the individual Disney World parks? No. Probably not. The only way I consider it acceptable is on a special plan like I had through a discount.

 

[Baltar]

I'm not going to get into customer service issues. We all get annoyed by different things. However, I feel as a society we are all too quickl to label all or too many scooter users as just being obese. Or labeling too many stroller users as "lazy kids." Now has the occasional person almost ran me over with a scooter or pushing a stroller for that matter? Yeah but the vast majority haven't bothered me. I've had just as many people walking run into me without apologizing.

I'm spending time with my family. I don't waste time judging or trying to figure out who "really needs" a scooter or stroller. I think if people spent far more time being concerned with themselves and not looking for things to get outraged over, we'd be better off. (This by no means discounts things that we should be critical of. I just choose to not worry about the other people using scooters/strollers)

 

[JoeV]

This has been my feeling since My Magic + was introduced. Actually, I've had issues with planning every meal for many years. When I first started visiting WDW in the 90s, I felt like it was a place where I could be a kid again. When my kids were young, we would wake them up early and say, "Where do you want to go today? What do you want to do? Where do you want to eat?" We'd let them be impulsive and we'd go do it. Sure, maybe we weren't perfectly efficient but who cares? We were acting like kids, having fun.

Those days are gone. Now you must plan every meal, every Fastpass months in advance. Some people like that level of planning, I get it. But you're comment is exactly right: it's simply not the Disney I knew before.

Trying to be fair and objective about it. I don't think there is much else Disney can do at the moment. Based on the high crowd levels I saw on a September visit and considering the resulting demand for services and dining etc..I can't think of any other way to accommodate the crowds other than using some type of scheduling system. The only other option is people wait in line for a couple hours for a table service meal.

Based on my experience of the parks in 92 and comparing it to what I see now, I think it is obvious that demand for Disney is growing faster than it's ability to accommodate, given its current park resources and size. They must expand or people will find that even scheduling meals months in advance will be difficult.

I see the planners and execs being between a rock and a hard place. I am sure they are scratching their heads trying to find ways to deal with the issue of accommodation vs expansion .I just know that what I saw had little resemblance to the Disney World of the past, outside of the imagery and themes.Demand has probably grown too fast for its own good and that is its Achilles heel at the moment.

 

[216bruce]

This is the kind of behavior that CAN happen and occasionally does. But as noted above, you get the same kind of 'tude with people walking, running, skipping, prancing, strolling. Mean, rude behaviors are blind to mobility capability as is decency. I agree with an above post that states if we look for fault, we can find it. Just enjoy yourself.

 

[rucifee]

I've always wanted to tour the world on a scooter.

Trying to be fair and objective about it. I don't think there is much else Disney can do at the moment. Based on the high crowd levels I saw on a September visit and considering the resulting demand for services and dining etc..I can't think of any other way to accommodate the crowds other than using some type of scheduling system. The only other option is people wait in line for a couple hours for a table service meal.

Based on my experience of the parks in 92 and comparing it to what I see now, I think it is obvious that demand for Disney is growing faster than it's ability to accommodate, given its current park resources and size. They must expand or people will find that even scheduling meals months in advance will be difficult.

I see the planners and execs being between a rock and a hard place. I am sure they are scratching their heads trying to find ways to deal with the issue of accommodation vs expansion .I just know that what I saw had little resemblance to the Disney World of the past, outside of the imagery and themes.Demand has probably grown too fast for its own good and that is its Achilles heel at the moment.

I think the lines and crowds are somewhat artificial and created by the near forced scheduling of visits and their closing down parks and attractions far earlier than they should be to save money. There's no reason HS should close at 7PM except to reduce the value of your daily admission and reduce the overhead of paying cast members that staff the parks. What does everyone who has park hopper do at 7:00PM? They go to a park that's open, usually Magic Kingdom or Epcot which half of also closes at 7PM.

The "crowds" are people rushing to and or waiting for their ADRs and FP+ schedules to go active, in between they aren't going to be doing anything else except maybe look at the merchandise because they don't really have enough time. I visit the parks all the time, often more than once weekly and it's rare to see people buying merchandise and very common to see people staring at their phones or trying to get from FP+ A to ADR B.

You know you have a serious problem when your FP+ lines spill out into the walk paths and the People Mover has a CM with a sign stating the line starts here and that line stretches almost completely around the lunching pad.

 

[SandraAnn]

But the people who need them because of obesity-related issues really need the scooter or they can't tour.

I've never had a run-in with a scooter driver but I've had many run-ins with strollers, particularly the jogging strollers. And my favorite, the double wide jogging stroller. A jogging stroller is TWENTY inches longer than a regular stroller. 20 inches! Why are are those allowed?

I think if they banned those it would make a huge difference in the parks. There is no reason that you need a jogging stroller in the parks, those were invented for people to go running on trails, like over dirt and tree roots and stuff, that's why the wheels are so big.

In the end, I see this is Disney's problem to solve. If people are bigger now and need scooters and 7 year olds need to pushed in strollers and all of the above, then Disney can't let as many people in.

 

[Phroobar]

Those people with the jogging strollers get their dues when they try to collapse it to get on the tram. It's a huge pain and it takes up two adult seats. The cheap umbrella strollers are great because they collapse, take up no room in the tram and don't care if they are stolen.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Based on my experience of the parks in 92 and comparing it to what I see now

Don't forget to take into account the change in your personal perceptions based on the change in your age. Someone in their 20's is going to perceive the parks in a much different way than they do when they are in their 50's. I know that I do.

 

[pax_65]

Trying to be fair and objective about it. I don't think there is much else Disney can do at the moment. Based on the high crowd levels I saw on a September visit and considering the resulting demand for services and dining etc..I can't think of any other way to accommodate the crowds other than using some type of scheduling system.

I think your point is totally valid, but Disney isn't blameless in this situation. They've helped create this demand and haven't added attractions to handle it. If they had spent the $$$ on attractions instead of MM+, we'd be having a much different conversation.

To a lesser extent the same is true with dining. They created the demand with the dining plans, and only a few restaurants have been added since the dining plans were developed.

 

[Baltar]

I think your point is totally valid, but Disney isn't blameless in this situation. They've helped create this demand and haven't added attractions to handle it. If they had spent the $$$ on attractions instead of MM+, we'd be having a much different conversation.

To a lesser extent the same is true with dining. They created the demand with the dining plans, and only a few restaurants have been added since the dining plans were developed.

Definitely!

 

[rucifee]

I think your point is totally valid, but Disney isn't blameless in this situation. They've helped create this demand and haven't added attractions to handle it. If they had spent the $$$ on attractions instead of MM+, we'd be having a much different conversation.

To a lesser extent the same is true with dining. They created the demand with the dining plans, and only a few restaurants have been added since the dining plans were developed.

They haven't only not added, they've actually reduced the attractions available. As you walk through Magic Kingdom make note of all of the previous locations where children could and did meet their favorite characters, now empty space. Make note of the main street entertainment now merely a glimmer of what once was. Now leave Magic Kingdom and go to any of the other parks where it's even worse.

 

[JoeV]

Don't forget to take into account the change in your personal perceptions based on the change in your age. Someone in their 20's is going to perceive the parks in a much different way than they do when they are in their 50's. I know that I do.

True. But the main change really was the crowds and pace. The Disney I experienced was more laid back. Characters would roam the park. You din't have to wait an hour to see one. You could walk into a restaurant without reserving six weeks in advance etc. People were taking the time to view the sights.

Today, most everyone is rushing frantically so as to not miss a fast pass time. After the rides, its more rushing so as not to risk losing a seat at a dinner five miles away in another park because that's the only slot available when scheduling thee months prior,. Then people are rushing for the gates before the fireworks end so as not get trampled in the stampede. People fall asleep exhausted, wake up the next day, rinse, and repeat.It all seems like it has got sterile and mechanical, lacking any spontaneity.

Obviously my impressions are skewed by time. Someone who experiences the parks for the first time today will probably have a much different view. But for me, today's Disney Word has plenty of character but it lacks a heart and soul.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Then they also need a stroller-only path.

One easy thing they could do is ban the jogging strollers.

They should also have a path for those people with little kids who let them wander into the pathways of those strollers, scooters, and everyone else. Please watch your kids people! No one wants to run over a little one, but those devices do not stop on a dime.

They should also have a path for people who walks with their cell phones in their faces and walk into strollers, scooters, etc. Those people are a big problem, IMHO.

just saying.........................................................let's all have a little compassion!

 

[bristol's mom]

The question remains, why are there so many morbidly obese scooter riders at WDW and not at other Orlando parks? Is it that Disney offers better accommodations for these so-called "disabled" people (I think not) or is it that WDW offers more food options, in particular the 38 buffet-style meals?

 

[The Mighty Tim]

Those days are gone. Now you must plan every meal, every Fastpass months in advance. Some people like that level of planning, I get it. But you're comment is exactly right: it's simply not the Disney I knew before.

I went in September this year, and got by just fine without using FP+ at all, and booking one ADR (it was somewhere we knew we wanted to go to, so we booked it advance).

Rest of the time, we just winged it. Granted it was harder to do that this year than in previous instances, but it wasn't impossible.

 

[rucifee]

I went in September this year, and got by just fine without using FP+ at all, and booking one ADR (it was somewhere we knew we wanted to go to, so we booked it advance).

Rest of the time, we just winged it. Granted it was harder to do that this year than in previous instances, but it wasn't impossible.

I'd love to read that trip report.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

I'd love to read that trip report.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wdw-trip-8-insert-snappy-title-here.888052/