You Hate Everything About It, Yet You Still Go

[copcarguyp71]

It is not so much of the actual selling within the parks (those people are looking very lonely these days at the kiosks). In essence what I see is huge amounts of money being brought in by the up-front money of the buy in without seeing that reinvested in the parks. While FLE expansion looks great I fail to see the congruence between the huge amounts of money being taken in and what is being spent unless it is to build DVC after DVC without seeing the attendance numbers growing by leaps and bounds as I would expect they should if they are selling those timeshares (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_park_rankings#North_America). That taken into account while also seeing all of the issues I noted in my trip report from several weeks ago (see previous post above) just seems to spell a house of cards being built by bonus hungry execs seeking an "atta boy" from shareholders.

 

[luv]

All the the time I'm seeing posts on these and other forums from folks who I can only categorize as hating a laundry list of things about Walt Disney World. It ranges from complaints about upkeep of certain attractions (valid in a lot of cases for sure) to extremes that include being against anything/everything TDO is doing, complaining about resorts/pricing/dining, you name it.

It got me thinking... why, for those of you in the position of having more bad than good to say about WDW, do you go? And furthermore... Why do you belong to forums like these?

I promise you this isn't some (poor) attempt at trolling.I am looking for real answers here because it's perplexed me for years. My assumption has always been that it's one individual member of a family that in general adores WDW so they do it "for the kids" (or something along those lines). Maybe that's the most common response I'll get but truly, please do share!

As you've pointed out, there are things you don't like about the forums. But you keep reading them and posting in them, because there are things you do like!

Same with Disney. There are things we don't like, but we keep going because there are things we do like!

 

[awoogala]

Some hate to hate. Some hate in anger. Some of us Hate because we love it so darn much we feel betrayed, or feel as if they are trampling , nay tap-dancing on our childhood.
It's far too personal, because I spent ALL my formative years there. I literally went there before birth, and I'm still going at 39, which means it's one of the few consistent things in my life (minus those y 20 something years when I was too cool!).
Between them marketing themselves with Walt's image and story, and the tie ins to history and childhood, it's too emotional. It isn't just a business to me (although I can objectively understand that it really is). It's a big dish of childhood, and family, and love, and dreams.
So yes, we get a little touchy when they don't live up to the nostalgia pie they served us. We also get/got tired of defending the Disney obsession to everyone else who might not have the same connections.!

 

[BeastlyKingdomme]

Unfortunately, many people do not understand the operational or business side of running a theme park. They only care about what they either see, hear or read... some of which is sensationalized or not true.

The place is an exceptionally run theme park since it is the most popular resort in the world. No one can argue that, regardless of one's opinions.

Good theme park ops consists of throwing ridiculous amounts of money at MM+, but not paying overtime to get the mine coaster opened at least a little sooner? Or putting up new buildings for DVC while Epcot (which has empty show buildings ready to go) is in dire need of refurbs and additions?

I love WDW, but can not deny that it is not being run at a high level. I just can't fathom how anyone could think that projects TDO are working on are necessary for the "business side".

 

[Yert3]

I still go because in my eyes, being at a poorly managed Walt Disney World is still better than not being at one at all.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I stopped going. For a long time. My last trip to WDW was Jan 2013. My last trip to WDW before that was April 1999. My next trip to WDW is decades away. The resort has become pathetic and I actually spent most of my time there this past winter angry - not "screaming mad" angry, but "slow burn, simmering under the surface" angry.

I will still go to DLR from time to time (i live in the middle of the country and am similar distances from Orlando and Anaheim), but I've written off WDW. My family used to go every summer when I was kid. My parents snorted pixie dust in the 80s and early 90s. TDO has used up every ounce of goodwill it ever had with my family - I hope it was worth it.

And it's not like I can't afford to go. I still travel constantly. Only now it's to locations that respect me as a customer.

So, I suppose I reject the OP's premise.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

the only thing that upset me with my last trip was the handling of their new hotel key card system. It hardly ever worked and we kept going to the lobby to get it fixed. THEN we had an issue with the park hopper options in the cards. We planned to go to Animal Kingdom during the day and Epcot in the evening. For some reason even though we paid for park hopper tickets, the card didn't recognize this and my mom stormed back at the lobby and complained to them long and hard.
We got free passes to Epcot for the day
Oh, Chef Mickey's surprise price spike also did not make for a magical day ><
But even with so much wrong with the parks, it's still the one of the few places you can get any real Disney magic anymore. It certainly isn't the Disney channel X_X

 

[real mad hatter]

Interesting topic...In my wee local pub on a Friday night, I know who's going to moan about something, week in, week out..Same dude..Some people will never change, but yes, I agree..If I got fed up, I'd look for a new destination...

 

[BiffyClyro]

I totally agree! It's like people stop seeing at how hard all the people work at maintaining it and keep it one of the best places to visit. I also think people need to just get over the fact that attractions are taken down and others attractions go in it's place. Yes, it sucks when it is personal to you and you have memories on that attraction, but it's gone for a reason.

Yesterday someone on here called MGM/Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom unoriginal ideas and Epcot has apparently "been left to decay".... Which i think personally is ridiculous and obnoxious. I know people have their own opinions and that's fine, but i just feel that a lot of people come across as spoiled brats who don;t realise how lucky they are to have experienced Disney, whether that was in the 70's 80's etc. or to present day Disney, even with the changes.

The only complaint i have of Disney is the parking charges, because they can NOT justify that amount and the ticket prices being risen, simply because it isolates a lot of hard working families who can;t afford it. For example, last year we got a 2 week unlimited Universal ticket and that cost the same amount as a 1 day disney ticket.

 

[devoy1701]

Those that just started going there, do not know the greatness that Epcot once was. The basically paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The new attractions are fine, Soarin, Test Track and Mission: Space (despite bad press) are great entertainment, but they never should have torn out what they had, they should have just added to it. There is plenty of room. DHS is nothing compared to what opened up. Perhaps what was there wasn't sustainable, but they sure didn't go out of their way to impress us with what they did do, other then ToT and RcRC. Neither Epcot or DHS currently has a mission or purpose, if you will. They are just plots of land with stuff on them. You new folks are not affected by all this because you don't know what was. That said, you shouldn't, because it is still a magical place and most of that magic comes from attitude.

I think Epcot is the best example by far of the lull that Walt Disney World currently finds itself in. I never got to experience EPCOT during it's prime...I think my first trip was in 1994 and I was too young to remember it. But it was eye opening to me being at Epcot this past July with a bunch of co-workers who were older than me and hadn't been in quite some time. A lot of the comments I was hearing were "wow, this place still looks like it did in the 80s" and "I remember how futuristic all of this used to be" and "I would never bring my kids here...there isn't that much to do (I did counter this last comment). Epcot truly looks like a dated and dying theme park. There is a lot of dead space, closed off buildings, a lot of "abandoned areas" that are mostly void of guests, and areas that get roped off after 7pm. The attractions in Future World are not so futuristic...even the newest members the land. The "wow" and "awe" just isn't as apparent as it used to be and the only reason for that is poor management. I wish Epcot could once again be the flagship theme park of this company that we all love so much.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Thank you ALL for these responses! This was exactly what I was looking for. Like I said the post was purely out of curiosity. All of these responses are great in sort of opening my eyes to why some folks who seemingly have such negativity around the property still go and/or still like to be members of forums like these.

As I said, it wasn't a troll attempt nor was I trying to imply in anyway that if you don't have anything but wonderful, happy, pixie dusty things to say about WDW you shouldn't be here. I personally love forums like these because you can have conversation and debate and share opinions. Of course I'm not a fan of having my opinion shot down as wrong, no one is, and that's a different topic entirely.

Reading through everyone's responses has really helped me to understand that the line between not being happy with the state of the property and loving to go there for your vacations is really a fine one. Anyone who has read through posts I've made here will know that while I tend to be very "pro-WDW" and often have a hard time accepting the negative, I do occasionally admit to being displeased with decisions/changes they've made. Anyone who says they can't find one single thing about WDW property they aren't pleased with is probably not being honest with themselves. Me, the little things I'm not happy about don't get to me. I still see all the postives and to me they far outweigh the negatives.

I personally try to avoid thinking of the business side of a lot of the decisions made by TDO. Mostly this is because my trips to the world are the one time I truly can forget about my job and the extremely red-taped business I happen to have chosen to work in. That's me though and yet another reason why the answers to this post are incredibly eye opening and do truly thank you all. See... told you I wasn't trolling. LOL!

 

[marni1971]

Because we care.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Because we care.

That really does kind of sum up all the responses doesn't it? Leave it to you Martin! It's true for sure... most folks that have responded it really comes down to the reason they are so "upset" with TDO/WDW/Disney is because they care and don't like what they are doing.

 

[bebert]

I must be extremely lucky to never have had a bad customer service experience at WDW. We have averaged about 2 trips per year since 2004, which is not as many as some on here but, more than enough to have some bad experiences. CM managers have always been accomodating even when we were doing or asking for things we maybe should not have been.
My biggest complaint are the other guests but, maybe that is just a reflection of our culture not WDW.

 

[cynic710]

the good have always outweighed the bad at wdw, thats why i have refrained from complaining (with the exception of stitchs great escape and tour groups, of course )

 

[wm49rs]

Because we care.

And hope....

 

[ExtinctJenn]

And hope....

Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.

(sorry couldn't resist)

 

[The Empress Lilly]

WDW is the most magical place I've ever been to. A lifelong obsession.

Even at fifty percent it is still pretty close to the greatest place on earth. Sadly, Disney has discovered this too, and so runs WDW at fifty percent of its potential (well, knowingly at seventy-fice percent of potential, the remaining quarter is absent through misunderstanding and incompetence).

So around here I extoll half of WDW, and moan and complain about the other half.

 

[3WaltFans]

All the the time I'm seeing posts on these and other forums from folks who I can only categorize as hating a laundry list of things about Walt Disney World. It ranges from complaints about upkeep of certain attractions (valid in a lot of cases for sure) to extremes that include being against anything/everything TDO is doing, complaining about resorts/pricing/dining, you name it.

It got me thinking... why, for those of you in the position of having more bad than good to say about WDW, do you go? And furthermore... Why do you belong to forums like these?

I promise you this isn't some (poor) attempt at trolling.I am looking for real answers here because it's perplexed me for years. My assumption has always been that it's one individual member of a family that in general adores WDW so they do it "for the kids" (or something along those lines). Maybe that's the most common response I'll get but truly, please do share!

EDIT: My response to the posts and my true thanks for them can be seen here. Figured I'd add it to the main post because it'll get lost in the shuffle. LOL!

We Love WDW. It truely is the happiest place on earth, for us! I agree with the forum part, I'm not sure why some people even come here, as all they do is complain. It's all good, enjoy the four parks, one world.

Anyway, everyone have a good day and think positive.

 

[3WaltFans]

Unfortunately, many people do not understand the operational or business side of running a theme park. They only care about what they either see, hear or read... some of which is sensationalized or not true.

The place is an exceptionally run theme park since it is the most popular resort in the world. No one can argue that, regardless of one's opinions.

Well said.