Why do you believe WDW has gone downhill?

[MAGICFLOP]

I went to WDW at least yearly from 1982 thru 2015, with 2001 to 2015 (multiple trips/year) as AP holder. Have not been back since, with no plans to go anytime soon.

I have always felt a degradation from about 2005 on. Its certainly not about money, its about the whole experience. My biggest final death nail would be the wonderful invention of the magic bands.. How wonderful to make FP at home and head to the park and have the entire family waltz in to the ride except one. Constant trips to guest services, new bands etc. still never worked.. entering the park, I always had to show my License and my AP, after the band failed... the famous "our records show you already entered the park"

I know I am going to get whacked on this one... but a lot more foreign visitors that don't know our culture or how to act, teamed with the usually degradation of our own people (manner wise).

I think a lot of people couple the whole experience tech glitches, max security, long lines, rude people and pin it all on Disney, in most cases they cannot cover up people iniquities, but in other cases they can.. (ie 100 Brazilian tour/kids chanting) years ago kids were respectful, I know I said Mr and Mrs a million times in my life, today the average kid has never said it once.

This year I finally returned to a theme park and enjoyed myself immensely.. Dollywood..

 

[TrojanUSC]

The Disney Dining Plan was the single biggest detriment to Disney food ever. By forcing people to pre-pay for far more food than they should/would need to eat, they are able to drastically reduce menus, sourcing and options while keeping butts in seats all year round. If one were to visit Chef Mickey's in 2001 then flash foward to today, they'd be appalled. There's still a few options that are outstanding, but these are generally the locations where guests fork over good hard currency, as opposed to their magic band for the dining plan.

 

[RandySavage]

I feel WDW has gone downhill in so many ways and by such significant degrees, it would take thousands of words to detail all the ways how. And I'm a fan of some of the major recent projects that have replaced my childhood favorites (e.g. Star Tours II and New Fantasyland). That's my nostalgia check.

As far as Ops, I can only sum it up by saying WDW feels very déclassé compared to what it was... and not a place where I want to be at the expense of memories of when it was something extraordinary. The decline is an amalgamation of many, many small and large diminishments over the years carried out by an executive management that never really understood or cared for the nuance or sophistication or uniqueness of the place.

As far as Content, EPCOT Center going from what it was to the what it is is by far the biggest example of decline - for me. Shows a total lack of vision or understanding at the top, as noted above. Every park has to regress to the IP-mean rather than being an engine of content. And much, much less originality and real-world enrichment ("People want to meet their favorite Disney-Pixar-Marve characters not get a history lesson!"). WDW-wide, you name the category - from as large as Master Planning and resort architecture to as small as graphics and the types of light bulbs - and I can find endless examples of where I think change during the Rasulo-Staggs-Chapek regimes has been for the worse.

It's a complex question, because they can still produce some top notch stuff for the parks - and some of the great old stuff remains great - but I have no intention of heading back anytime soon.

 

[Dr. Ludwig von Drake]

I don't.

Heading down next week for a quick 2 day visit (Florida AP).

 

[lazyboy97o]

How It Was Done: Part One
How It Was Done: Part Two
How It Was Done: Part Three
How It Was Done: Part Four

 

[RandySavage]

How It Was Done: Part One
How It Was Done: Part Two
How It Was Done: Part Three
How It Was Done: Part Four

Glad it was documented. Sad that that philosophy was ushered out by the execs I mentioned above and their boss.

 

[larryz]

Glad it was documented. Sad that that philosophy was ushered out by the execs I mentioned above and their boss.

Disney bought ABC and was taken over by the grosser culture.

 

[geekza]

As far as Content, EPCOT Center going from what it was to the what it is is by far the biggest example of decline - for me. Shows a total lack of vision or understanding at the top, as noted above. Every park has to regress to the IP-mean rather than being an engine of content. And much, much less originality and real-world enrichment ("People want to meet their favorite Disney-Pixar-Marve characters not get a history lesson!"). WDW-wide, you name the category - from as large as Master Planning and resort architecture to as small as graphics and the types of light bulbs - and I can find endless examples of where I think change during the Rasulo-Staggs-Chapek regimes has been for the worse.

Preach!

 

[Snake]

Imaginers of old blow this current generation out of the water. Imagination changes/figment, stitch attraction, tales with belle, they actually have sing a long where guests hold card board cut outs of characters, seriously? This number of lame miss fires is epic an nothing done to rectify, why? The list goes on, compare universal attractions addition on that same period, its no wonder universal is gaining so much their quality only keeps increasing

 

[TwilightZone]

Imaginers of old blow this current generation out of the water. Imagination changes/figment, stitch attraction, tales with belle, they actually have sing a long where guests hold card board cut outs of characters, seriously? This number of lame miss fires is epic an nothing done to rectify, why? The list goes on, compare universal attractions addition on that same period, its no wonder universal is gaining so much their quality only keeps increasing

A lot of those rides you mentioned are from the early 00s. Not that the examples you gave aren't valid, but they can't really be considered recent anymore.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

It started with the Eisner era and has continued unabashed since.

 

[emmieloveswdw]

They only make attractions using IPs now. There hasn’t been an original ride at wdw since EE. They also shove IPs were they don’t belong such as frozen in Norway and Gotg in future world.

 

[TinkMar]

I have been a long timer at Disney ... first trip in 1973, as a child. I think the downhill perception of Disney is also the downhill of our society in general. I concur with earlier posts. At the risk of sounding uptight, and trust me, we enjoy a nice cocktail after the parks at a resort... it’s the guests. I’ve been run over by strollers, trampled at animal kingdom, and my good friend who is blind had her white cane broken by a Disney guest. Part of it is lack of manners; however, Disney has slowed down rides on non busy days, rides are always broken, and they raised the prices. Doing so has created a pressure to “get your money’s worth” for average guests. This leads to the poor behavior.

In addition, too much drinking and fighting at Epcot during festival season. The man climbing the Mexico attraction, last week a mother arrested, fights being broken up by police ... this is not a place to take young children.

We are locals ... try to go and be helpful to guests, give directions, smile ... just be civil. Hopefully it will be contagious. It’s very sad to witness some of what occurs nowadays at the happiest place on earth.

 

[larryz]

The man climbing the Mexico attraction, last week a mother arrested, fights being broken up by police ... this is not a place to take young children.

Wow. I totally didn't hear about that...

 

[Frankie The Beer]

No, it hasn't gone down hill. I visit WDW and Tokyo Disneyland all the time and both still are amazing places to visit. Wouldn't want to live there though.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disney has eliminated the value of their regular park tickets by continuously raising prices, reducing hours and staffing and offering alternative experiences with either shorter waits (DAH) or better entertainment (holiday parties). At this point, you're paying top dollar to spend hours waiting in line to see the same rides and shows that have been there for decades. As a result, a WDW-centric vacation no longer appeals to me, even if it would be fun to ride ToT or see The American Adventure again.

MNSSHP is the only park specifc draw to WDW for me at this point.

 

[GeoffR]

I would say that a few things have contributed to the 'downhill' perception, especially from the older generation.

I think first and foremost is the prices in relation to the value.

People, in general, will pay for quality. But when there are noticeable issues (rides with broken features, dirty attractions, things taken out) while prices are going up, that's when people will be upset. I was there last week, and I noticed several missing/broken features on attractions, as well as broken AC units, and a few very poorly maintained attractions. If prices are increasing every year like they are, I wouldn't mind, so well as the Park and it's attractions remain clean and operable. However, this is not the case, and it's a large reason why I think it's gone downhill. Also, the merch isn't special anymore. What I mean is, you can get any item at any gift shop. The gift shops in TL have the same stuff as the emporium, and MouseGear, etc. It used to be where certain places had certain items, then you had the large ones that had a larger selection. Now it's the same stuff everywhere. The tomorrow land shops shouldn't have mr. toad shirts imo, and the FL shops shouldn't have star wars...it just looks like filler and you're not giving people the quaniity and quality you used to.

Additionally, the parks are just too crowded.

This is cyclical, and at the moment, there has been a huge spike in attendance the last few years, no matter the time of year. Festivals/parties are extended by weeks at a time, so now there are no 'slow times.' Early November used to be slow, so they moved F&W into November rather than ending in Oct. They also moved MVMCP weeks earlier than it used to. MNSSHP is now as early as August, which is just silly to me. Disney saw when their slow times were, and filled them in. Smart for a business, but in my opinion has affected the experience for me. Also, fireworks at MK are a war zone. Having to get your 'spot' two hours before fireworks on a Tuesday is ridiculous. It's just not fun, and too me the consistently full parks has made things go downhill.

IP is everywhere.

Adding Nemo to Living Seas seemed like a good idea...at the time. The wait is never over 10 minutes; from what I've seen. My point being they shoehorned in IP on an awesome attraction and made it worse.
You can't escape Star Wars in the parks. Almost every giftshop has star wars merch, and they release a new film every year. My point being, when it's so force-fed it's no longer special. Loved Animation Academy in DHS, now it's a Star Wars showroom...
Sometimes it works (JS in Pirates, Three Caballeros) but it's not meant for everything, and I feel like it's being forced. Original ideas and concepts are their classics (Space Moutain, Big Thunder, Pirates, HM, old EPCOT), and they used to handle IP so well (Splash Mountain, TOT even though it's CBS, SW before owning it) but now it feels forced imo.

I could go on, but as an adult I can say that these three things have made my last two trips not as magical

 

[GeoffR]

They only make attractions using IPs now. There hasn’t been an original ride at wdw since EE. They also shove IPs were they don’t belong such as frozen in Norway and Gotg in future world.

I would also argue that they used to habdle IPs better. Splash Mountain, amazing usage of IP. TOT, and Star Wars, despite not owning them at the time, were fantastic and TOT remains the most well-themed attraction imo in WDW. Post 2005, everything is shoehorned...Nemo at Living Seas...I mean come on.

 

[Wrangler-Rick]

Here is the big difference in my Disney experience..the internet. Take the Yaki as an example. If I had gone on this ride before the internet I first would not have known all the details of the Yaki and would say "what a great ride." Today I go on the ride and say, "still the Yake is not working."

And that is why if you answer yes to the question on a Disney survey asking if you are on any fan sites, you are quickly shown the door....

 

[Stitch826]

I have been a long timer at Disney ... first trip in 1973, as a child. I think the downhill perception of Disney is also the downhill of our society in general. I concur with earlier posts. At the risk of sounding uptight, and trust me, we enjoy a nice cocktail after the parks at a resort... it’s the guests. I’ve been run over by strollers, trampled at animal kingdom, and my good friend who is blind had her white cane broken by a Disney guest. Part of it is lack of manners; however, Disney has slowed down rides on non busy days, rides are always broken, and they raised the prices. Doing so has created a pressure to “get your money’s worth” for average guests. This leads to the poor behavior.

In addition, too much drinking and fighting at Epcot during festival season. The man climbing the Mexico attraction, last week a mother arrested, fights being broken up by police ... this is not a place to take young children.

We are locals ... try to go and be helpful to guests, give directions, smile ... just be civil. Hopefully it will be contagious. It’s very sad to witness some of what occurs nowadays at the happiest place on earth.

I was reading through everyone else's posts before making one of my own, but I had to stop and comment on this one. I was at Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival and was disgusted by the behavior of a number of other park guests there that night. It was a Saturday evening. Not only was the park packed (Food and Wine Festival, weekend day, plus it was a Disney marathon weekend), but there were numerous groups of drunk individuals being loud and disorderly. There was trash (beer cups, napkins, gum wrappers, etc.) spread throughout the queues of rides (Frozen, Test Track to name two). Drunk groups (wearing t-shirts with phrases like "when you wish upon a bar" and "you've got a drinking buddy in me") filled these queues and were loudly singing. (I feel sorry for the people directly around them.) The final ride I took that night was on Test Track. A group of about 10-15 drunks got into the standby line in front of me. One female (who was clearly the most intoxicated member of the party) told the ride attendant at one point in the queue that she wasn't going to be separated from her group (despite numerous signs that say otherwise). When the group made it to the point in the line when the ride attendants assign people to cars, this female solo rider was assigned to one car. As the rest of the five guests in that car were boarding, she walked away over to another car that was in the process of boarding. She then got rude with the ride attendant, making a comment about how the ride attendant couldn't count. The ride attendant ended up letting her ride in the car she wanted, with only two or three other guests. I thought for sure that she would have security waiting for her when the ride returned to escort her out of the park. Nope. When I got off the ride, I saw her with her group of friends in the Photopass area, like nothing had happened. Maybe it was because it was after ten o'clock, the park's closing time. I don't know. Disney needs to step up both their security and their park cleanliness during festival seasons at Epcot. At the end of the day, Disney is still a family park.