Why All the Vitriol Against Disney?

[Mrhappyplace]

It's difficult, but it can be done. Look at Harry Potter- I'm not a fan, but I can respect how the franchise has built an impressive fandom, almost on par with Star Wars.

You have likely identified the last franchise that will have lasting power and I will also concede that it can still be done. But these things happen organically and I don't think it can forced.

 

[Matt_Black]

No, it can't be forced, but I also don't think it's the last. Social media makes it much easier for cult hits to develop, and the Internet has given a new life to many films. TRON got a sequel two decades later thanks to internet fans, Hocus Pocus is now considered a classic and is part of WDW's Halloween festivities due in no small part to it trending on Twitter whenever it's on TV, etc.

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm sorry. I hate to be all pie eyed, but without exaggeration, 15 trips in a row since '03 and I've never, ever had anything wrong with any of my rooms. Caribbean Beach, Riverside, French Quarter, Wilderness, Poly, Boardwalk and Yacht so far and I kid you not, not once have I had a complaint about something not working in my room or my room being dirty. I asked for extra shampoo one trip at Yacht recently and got a garbage pail size bag full of shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. I can't be extremely lucky. Something is still going right.

Good for you. You have been lucky, Try a grand villa with a non-functioning refrigerator and a front desk with the attitude of 'what do you want US to do' - Fix the bloody thing without me needing to haunt the front desk for hours. The room was not ready until 7PM 4 hours AFTER official check in time and obviously QA was skipped because with a broken refrigerator room was NOT ready for occupancy.

 

[pax_65]

I think it's really important to point out that there are still many cast members at Disney who absolutely still uphold the Disney standards I'm talking about. Some of them are old, some new, but they all really take pride in what they do - even if that's serving you food or cleaning your room. If they ever lose those people, I shudder to think what Disney will become. My recent vacations have been magical more because of the hard work of these cast members than because of anything top management has done.

 

[SorcererMC]

I think it's really important to point out that there are still many cast members at Disney who absolutely still uphold the Disney standards I'm talking about. Some of them are old, some new, but they all really take pride in what they do - even if that's serving you food or cleaning your room. If they ever lose those people, I shudder to think what Disney will become. My recent vacations have been magical more because of the hard work of these cast members than because of anything top management has done.

Any time I see a complaint about how a CM responded poorly, I generally think that it is not the fault of the CM. Rather, it is the result of poor training and management, and a sign that Disney is not empowering their CMs to take action when appropriate. I'll say again that Disney should be investing more in their CMs, b/c quite often they do make all of the difference in terms of the guests' perception of a quality experience. It factors heavily into guests deciding if they got value for the price they've paid for their vacation or not, eg, 'I had a problem/issue and the CM handled it effectively' vs. 'the CM did nothing and I'm paying for this kind of service?'. When problems (small or not) aren't handled effectively, it definitely tarnishes the experience.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Any time I see a complaint about how a CM responded poorly, I generally think that it is not the fault of the CM. Rather, it is the result of poor training and management, and a sign that Disney is not empowering their CMs to take action when appropriate. I'll say again that Disney should be investing more in their CMs, b/c quite often they do make all of the difference in terms of the guests' perception of a quality experience. It factors heavily into guests deciding if they got value for the price they've paid for their vacation or not, eg, 'I had a problem/issue and the CM handled it effectively' vs. 'the CM did nothing and I'm paying for this kind of service?'. When problems (small or not) aren't handled effectively, it definitely tarnishes the experience.

Or it also could be from someone with unrealistic expectations that think the world revolves around them, are rude and nasty toward a CM and then wonder why that person didn't just fall all over themselves to make them happy. Many things change in life, but, one that I don't think ever will is... What goes around, comes around! Karma can be a nasty thing. To bad people don't have the intellectual level to figure that out. They subscribe to the theory that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and forgetting that many of them get cut up and thrown in the fire.

 

[SorcererMC]

Or it also could be from someone with unrealistic expectations that think the world revolves around them, are rude and nasty toward a CM and then wonder why that person didn't just fall all over themselves to make them happy. Many things change in life, but, one that I don't think ever will is... What goes around, comes around! Karma can be a nasty thing. To bad people don't have the intellectual level to figure that out. They subscribe to the theory that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and forgetting that many of them get cut up and thrown in the fire.

Sorry, I should have qualified that I'm talking about an actual problem, and not 'guest entitlement'....in which case, a few (or many?) bad apples may be spoiling it for everyone else.

 

[brb1006]

A few main reasons for the 'moods':
1) Most folks don't like change. Think about it....when your favorite TV show loses a character and adds a replacement one, your fave band or performer changes their music direction or puts out a 'new' sounding album... "They suck now!". The same principle applies here. Now, if you just started listening to the band when that new album comes out or watching that show after the 'old' character left, you don't care or didn't know what it was like before. WDW is no different. At all.
2) A lot of the folks who gripe about 'back in the day' go A LOT. They fixate on a 'rotating space station' or an AA who 'doesn't move it's hand like it used to' or "Man, this restroom sure didn't used to have so many shreds of TP on the floor." because they have the perspective of time and the damnation of it too. They see, A LOT, how the AA is still busted, the TP is till stuck to the shoe and that dadgum space station DOESN'T ROTATE.....ARRRGHHHH! Does this matter much to the once in a lifetime visitor, the 'every 5 year family'? Nope. Not a bit. They likely never even notice. An example is a guy I work with who's a lot younger than me...he's 22 and I'm 58. We both are big WDW fans. In conversation the other day I found out that he never knew that the Yeti on EE was a moving AA. He never experienced it like that so...no harm, no foul. PS...the idea of it sweeping it's arm down and bending towards you blew his mind. Now, is this symptomatic or corporate decline? Yeah, some. But folks keep going....A LOT.
3) Our country just seems a lot grumpier and less tolerant lately. Just an opinion.

Great point. I agree 100% and I think your Yeti example is spot-on. I myself have been frustrated talking to a friend who loves Expedition Everest and thinks the Yeti moves. Like your friend, she never rode the ride in A mode and doesn't know what she's missing.

But to me, that's part of the shame of it. Most people don't realize how good it used to be. When I first went in 92 my in-laws challenged me to find one scrap of trash in the parks or one single thing wrong with any attraction. I couldn't do it.

Is Disney still great? Yes. Is it still one of the best vacation spots in America? Definitely. Is it as good as it used to be? Sadly, no.

I remember when the Yeti was still moving. Heck the PBS Kids show "Fetch With Ruff Ruff Man" was actually shot at WDW going behind the scenes and there was this moment where Fetch the Dog got freaked out by the moving Yeti.

 

[brb1006]

This I think encapsulates the whole issue, Yes Disney is one of the BEST places to go for a vacation still, that being said those who never got to experience the parks prior to 2005 or so will never understand what the 'Disney Difference' really meant and why us 'old timers' are so disgusted with the trajectory of the parks.

Being long time DVC before 2012 or so there were NEVER problems with the rooms, Now every visit there is something major like broken fixtures/appliances. This is a real letdown because it means the FIRST thing you need to do is visit the front desk to go on record that X is broken (so you don't get billed for it post checkout) That's NOT the way Disney USED to work and lets face it colors your vacation experience.

The great irony is that the only parks which maintain the old time Disney standards don't belong to Disney and you need to visit Japan to see them.

I'm so glad OCL still keeps this spirit alive with Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

It all started going down hill when the turkey legs became more like sparrow wings

 

[Aqueeta]

Zika is about to get in their pockets and I am glad. Anyone who participates in price-gouging like they did over the last 6 to 8 years should suffer horribly. Greedy SOB's!!

 

[Matt_Black]

Zika is about to get in their pockets and I am glad. Anyone who participates in price-gouging like they did over the last 6 to 8 years should suffer horribly. Greedy SOB's!!

Compared to the pharmaceutical industry, Disney is a gosh-darn charity.

 

[MrWarners14]

Ever since I came onto this site, I wanted to convey my thoughts on some of the parks. I do it out of love for Disney and for the creativity of the past attractions and wanting to see honest improvements from the Imagineers. Though people tend to be vitriolic on forums (not just here) so I won't discount their existence. Some people are just straight up toxic but I like to avoid that.

 

[mergatroid]

There's also a lot of people on here who are maybe so familiar with the parks that they take much for granted and fail to appreciate certain things any longer? For instance if you go regularly it's quite easy to not be impressed any longer by the beauty of the parks, it's maybe still there but it's at the back of your mind because it's the norm for you now. If you've ridden an attraction countless times, it's far easier to start noticing a spot of dust or a finger of an animatronic no longer working. I'd imagine most first time guests would still be blown away by much, if not all Disney has to offer. Of course there'll be things they don't like but that was the case when the park opened though many will insist differently. Also Disney is a family park and as such people need to appreciate that they still need to add attractions to appeal to very young children. So many times on here you read criticism about things like Toy Story Land or Fantasyland not appealing to adults and being too childish, they're meant to be! It's easy to grow up and expect Disney to create new stuff that still always appeals to you personally, it won't always happen as we all get older and our tastes change.

Of course Disney shouldn't be above criticism where it's deserved. There's many posters on here who whilst stating negative views on certain things, do so because of their love for the parks and their desire for them to be as good as they can be. I respect many of their views even if I don't always agree with them. But then we get those posters who seem to see nothing good about the parks at Disney, ever. It's like whatever happens they're looking to view it from a negative perspective, regardless of the merits of it. Many of them post in numerous threads trying to get little digs in to see what responses they can get and it does become rather tedious laboring the same point over and over. The downside to this is that sometimes somebody with a genuinely valid negative point will receive criticism as they're accused of trolling when they're not, people get that tired of certain people's negativity that they lump everyone into that bracket and it goes from there.

So is Disney always right and do they always offer the best quality they can, certainly not. Do I wish they didn't cut back on certain things or maybe maintained some attractions slightly better, of course. However every year when I visit the parks, I still marvel at the beauty of the parks and how much enjoyment my wife and I get from our trips. I wonder where all the festering piles of garbage I read about on here in the monorails have gone and wonder why It's a small world isn't literally falling to bits as people have claimed on here. I almost expect to see dead cats floating in Pirates such is the decline described by some of the quality in Disney and look out for cast members swearing, spitting and scowling at guests as apparently they just don't care anymore. It's never anywhere near as bad as I fear it will be after reading certain posts, in fact it's still pretty, pretty, pretty darn good if not superb!

 

[Goofyernmost]

There's also a lot of people on here who are maybe so familiar with the parks that they take much for granted and fail to appreciate certain things any longer? For instance if you go regularly it's quite easy to not be impressed any longer by the beauty of the parks, it's maybe still there but it's at the back of your mind because it's the norm for you now. If you've ridden an attraction countless times, it's far easier to start noticing a spot of dust or a finger of an animatronic no longer working. I'd imagine most first time guests would still be blown away by much, if not all Disney has to offer. Of course there'll be things they don't like but that was the case when the park opened though many will insist differently. Also Disney is a family park and as such people need to appreciate that they still need to add attractions to appeal to very young children. So many times on here you read criticism about things like Toy Story Land or Fantasyland not appealing to adults and being too childish, they're meant to be! It's easy to grow up and expect Disney to create new stuff that still always appeals to you personally, it won't always happen as we all get older and our tastes change.

Of course Disney shouldn't be above criticism where it's deserved. There's many posters on here who whilst stating negative views on certain things, do so because of their love for the parks and their desire for them to be as good as they can be. I respect many of their views even if I don't always agree with them. But then we get those posters who seem to see nothing good about the parks at Disney, ever. It's like whatever happens they're looking to view it from a negative perspective, regardless of the merits of it. Many of them post in numerous threads trying to get little digs in to see what responses they can get and it does become rather tedious laboring the same point over and over. The downside to this is that sometimes somebody with a genuinely valid negative point will receive criticism as they're accused of trolling when they're not, people get that tired of certain people's negativity that they lump everyone into that bracket and it goes from there.

So is Disney always right and do they always offer the best quality they can, certainly not. Do I wish they didn't cut back on certain things or maybe maintained some attractions slightly better, of course. However every year when I visit the parks, I still marvel at the beauty of the parks and how much enjoyment my wife and I get from our trips. I wonder where all the festering piles of garbage I read about on here in the monorails have gone and wonder why It's a small world isn't literally falling to bits as people have claimed on here. I almost expect to see dead cats floating in Pirates such is the decline described by some of the quality in Disney and look out for cast members swearing, spitting and scowling at guests as apparently they just don't care anymore. It's never anywhere near as bad as I fear it will be after reading certain posts, in fact it's still pretty, pretty, pretty darn good if not superb!

Couldn't have said it better myself. I now spend more time looking for the evil that are projected on the boards constantly, and are yet to find them. Even if I do see a few things they are never of anything more then what should be expected in a place swarming with entitled individuals. Couple that with the distorted memories of children and you have a picture of destruction that is equaled only by Hiroshima. I never went there until I was thirty five (1983) and today's MK is so much brighter and so much more artistically landscaped now then it was then that it is almost not even comparable. Attractions that have been operating 365 days a year since 35 years ago, (and beyond) on my first visit are still clean, no deterioration appearance with problems that should be occasionally expected from a piece of machinery that has been working flat out for that many years. Try and get your automobile to last that long. And to add insult to injury they claim that Disney doesn't do maintenance. As if all that would still be working today without intense maintenance.

Common sense should tell you that something could have broken or trash might have been left just seconds before you see it. So, as a society that now believes that if they pick up a loose paper napkin it will give them the plague and that their immune system is just a catch phrase, instead of fixing the problem themselves or even telling a CM about it at the time, they go on line and complain about how Disney has gone to hell in a hand-basket.

Even though I don't buy into it, I have to admit that type of discussion has made my enjoyment diminish because now instead of focusing on the amazing things, I am looking for the flaws. I get angry at those that think that going to a Theme Park like Disney is guaranteed in the Constitution and no appreciation of the cost of operating and maintaining something as spectacular and detailed as they are is discouraging.

When it comes to price, yes it is expensive but just as a point of reference. Today I am going to a two hour faux Beatles show/concert and admission to a middle quality location is $100.00. Two hours and it's done. I can go to Disney and spend less then that if I buy multiple day and spend 12 hours and beyond constantly bombarded by quality entertainment. If one cannot see the value in that, they aren't looking very hard.

 

[Minthorne]

This is what a good post looks like unlike the other guy who calls people trolls or laughs at them.

View attachment 266351View attachment 266351

 

[Pirate Magic]

I have never been fortunate enough to go to Disney World until I was older. I so excited to go there in 2001 with my sister, niece and my niece's son ( my nephew) went Disney a dream come true. So many things went wrong with that trip and I wouldn't have changed anything for that time or any time since then. I too get a little peeved about the decisions that are made (for money) with Disney, sometimes some of the decisions looks like the person who makes those decisions never had kids with them ( or even stepped in to the parks), but that is my opinion.

But like Walt Disney said about Disneyland the parks will never be finished and they will be a work in progress. I myself I was not a fan of Avatar ( I was not expecting much) but I was blow away by Flight of Passage, I think it is a fantastic ride. On the same note I didn't like that fact they closed down the Great Movie Ride ( with so little rides to choose from in that park) for Mickey Mouse Ride they are going to put there (I myself I don't have great expectations). Again this is my opinion, my sister on the other hand thought it was time for the ride to go ( I have a soft spot for The Wizard of Oz part with the munchkins and the witch if Disney took that part out and put it somewhere else I wouldn't have a problem with the ride).

Some people who post here have very strong opinions about what is going on in the parks, but at the end of the day Disney is going to what Disney is going to do. And after all the complaining that goes on this forum that is the bottom line it is Disney love it or leave it. All the people on this forum are good people who are passionate about the parks some of them remember Walt Disney on tv (I do) I think they feel (again my opinion) someone needs to keep Walt's memory alive. But they do ever time they enter those parks every complaint and bit of Magic that dose go on in those parks every single day. I wouldn't change it one thing at all ( again just my opinion).

 

[MileZXO]

Haha, i'd love for people to experience UK theme parks. they won't be moaning after that!!!

Wasp infested tips!!!

 

[NickMaio]

I haven't been here in a while, other than checking in every now and then and making a comment or two. My wife just had our baby(her second, my first), so we've been very busy with that. Hopefully we can make her a Disney baby in two or three years Anyway, it seems like lately, there are lots of negative posts and comments about Disney. I'm sure there have always been those types of posts since the beginning of these forums, but it sure seems like a lot lately. Disney has fallen from grace. Disney just isn't like it used to be. Disney changed it, now it sucks. Disney *didn't* change it, now it sucks. Disney is only in it for the money. Disney will keep raising prices until only the rich can go. Walt would be spinning in his grave to see what Disney has become. The list goes on and on.

Anyone who disagrees with these posts, or tries to point out positive things about Disney, is labeled as a "Pixie Duster" and dismissed or railed against. I mean, everyone has an opinion, but if you don't agree with the negativity, you're in the wrong. This is a Disney fan site, is it not? Of course people are entitled to say what they want about Disney, but it just seems like people who don't sink down into the depths of anger and despair that some seem to inhabit on here are more or less attacked.

I can understand disappointment if your favorite ride is closed, for example, or you've had a bad experience. World of Motion and Horizons are just two examples of rides that I dearly miss. I have very fond memories of riding them when as I was growing up, many times, because my family was fortunate enough to be able to go to WDW every couple of years. However, even though they've been closed for many years, my memories of them are still happy ones. I haven't devolved into a raging hatemonster because of their closing, nor would I try to dissuade people from going to Disney, or not go myself, because of that. Businesses change, and Disney is a business. Lamenting a loss or change is one thing, but hating on that change and letting everyone know about it is quite another. For those for whom Disney can do no right, I just wonder why they're so bitter, and what could happen to bring them back to positivity. I appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.

Why do you think..... Dis does a lot of cool and great things, but lately a lot of things have been not so great.

 

[Incomudro]

Or it also could be from someone with unrealistic expectations that think the world revolves around them, are rude and nasty toward a CM and then wonder why that person didn't just fall all over themselves to make them happy. Many things change in life, but, one that I don't think ever will is... What goes around, comes around! Karma can be a nasty thing. To bad people don't have the intellectual level to figure that out. They subscribe to the theory that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and forgetting that many of them get cut up and thrown in the fire.

That's the other side of the coin.