Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Remember hearing why DL (and later WDW) didn't sell chewing gum anywhere? How Walt knew people spit it anywhere and he didn't want to help them? How DL and WDW used to have CMs whose job was cleaning it off the pavement? Well, those days might as well be ancient history because in my visit this week, all I saw was gum everywhere. Take the walkway down from the MK monorail station and it's all over ... at Epcot take a look at the Six Flags like gum trail on Test Track as soon as you pull out of the loading zone, literally hundreds of blobs ... still at Epcot, take a walk into the newly renovated Land pavilion and look down at the carpeting ... there's blotches of gum all over ... take a walk over to the Beach Club and look down as you walk the hallway leading from the quiet pool to the lobby ... yep, a four-diamond resort with gum in the carpeting. I don't really have anything else to say ... but this is just another example of WalMarting the product ... saying 'our guests are pigs, we can't spend the money to clean up after them.' Discuss.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 when I was young ( many moons ago) in school if you got caught with chewing gum - you had to stick it on your nose and walk around like that until they let you remove it -- sounds like a great rule for WDW.
Originally Posted By figment1986 I noticed embedded gum in some walkways of MK (probably could be pressure washed off...) and some walkways around EPCOT but if you want bad in the walkways, inside the pavilions might be a problem. (Mexico was packed because of the tour groups so I didn't notice much) The parking lots had a small trash problem... apparently trash will fall out of cars and just remain there till later... of course, I was going through the Imagine lot to get to the wonders lot which is not used much... but some gum appeared to be mixed into the old and older pavement.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OK, folks we get it...you don't like Wal*Mart. Please, please, please find a new insult because most of the time that doesn't even fit in. Say the place has gotten really dirty, say that management have their collective heads firmly planted up high, say that the parks are going to ruin but lose the Wal*Mart reference. It is old, only partially accurate and tired. I usually enjoy these observational posts but those continuous references whether they make sense or not are starting to make the just of the message only minor and brings the focus on Wal*Mart. Even Wal*Mart with all its evils still serves a purpose and not all Wal*Marts are dirty. Use your professed Imagineering skills and think up a newer, closer, more accurate comparison. I was going to say "more on Target" but I figured that would push a whole lot of other buttons.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I still believe that the dirtiest place at any Disney park is the Mickey and Friends parking structure. Between the mess left from dripping cars, gum everywhere, general dirt and grime built up everywhere, and just regular old trash, that place is disgusting. Having a white cement floor doesn't help hide any of it, and it just grosses me out every time I'm in there. And Disneyland is supposed to be the really clean place, too...
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Well, I don't like Wal-mart, either! So there! Here in Morva they've taken over our local village market place with a good-for-nothing store called Wal-Morva!! So when the Spirit of 74 uses it to prove a point, I totally agree with him. The nasty old Horned King is behind the whole business, in case you didn't already know it! ORDDU: Chewing gum is such a disgusting habit, anyway. ORGOCH: Oh, yeah? Next thing ya know yer gonna' be sayin' I'm disgustin' fer chewin' tobacca' ORWEN: Well, you are! Why can't you chew on something nice like the rest of us? ORGOCH: Sorry, sister, but I ain't 'bout ta chew the fat with yerself! I'm outta here!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 No, sorry Goof, I'll keep right on using the phrase 'WalMarting' when it comes to declining standards at WDW. I think it is a very fair and true description of the bland, dirty, lowest common denominator approach that WDW management has enacted. And I agree about MIckey and Friends in Anaheim ... it is filthy and disgusting ALL of the time. It's the first thing people see and the last time. Between food and oil stains, fast food remnants, dirty diapers, napkins, paper, bottles ... it really is sickening. Since Michael Eisner claimed responsibility for designing it we should rename it the Michael D. Eisner Memorial Parking Structure and Dump!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Well, I feel bad for you guys because the WalMart here is clean and orderly. So what I was saying is to continue to use that phrase has differing impacts for differing locations. I am not a huge fan of WalMart either but it does serve a function that no one else has come up to bat to deal with, in our area. My point is that anyone reading your use of WalMarting has no meaning for those that are not experiencing the same thing you do. Therefore, you are not making the point you think you are. Not to mention that it is basically a slam at low income people. But I won't mention that. So if you must be stubborn about it and not take a little constructive criticism by all means continue on. Just be aware that your meaning is not registering equally to everyone. BTW, I never thought for a minute that you would actually change anything.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA 'Wallmarting' makes total sense to me. The only Wal-Mart stores I've experienced have been crowded, messy, overstuffed with merchandise and just an overall unpleasant experience. Someone on TV mentioned that shopping at Wal-Mart 'makes you feel like you're poor.' Couldn't agree more. As for the gum. There has always been gum, and while Disney doesn't sell it in the parks, people will still chew gum and toss in on the ground. Why toss it on the ground? I don't know. Why do people talk on their cellphones while driving a car? Thing is, Disney needs to continue to be vigilant about it, and clean the gum each and every night. And pick up trash. And clean Mickey and Friends parking lot.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy I don't see any parallels between Wal-Mart and WDW at all. The entire Wal-Mart business model is based on providing mass merchandise at the lowest possible price. There really isn't any part of the Wal-Mart business model that has anything to do with cleanliness, quality, or attention to details in a store. If customers walk into Wal-Mart and get the lowest price on a bottle of milk that sells at the local Kroger's for 30% more, it doesn't matter how dirty the Wal-Mart is or anything else -- the store met its primary objective. The primary reason to shop at Wal-Mart is to get the lowest price. If you are looking for anything else, you chose the wrong store. WDW on the other hand charges the highest possible price for a product that isn't widely available across the marketplace. Everything from admission tickets to sodas are sold at a premium, and the attractions you find there aren't something you can just drop by the local Chuck E Cheese to consume. It's not like Wal-Mart at all. As for why anyone would be surprised to find messes at WDW in the middle of July, I just have to assume that they don't have much experience going to that place at all. WDW in the peak of summer is miserable, just like it's miserable during Spring Break, and miserable on New Year's Eve. It's a nearly insurmountable challenge to keep up with all the guests in the parks during those peak seasons, particularly these days when the unemployment rate is hovering around 4% and staffing any service-based business is a challenge to achieve. I suppose I could provide a trip report from my summer visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1987 when there was a part of the BTMRR queue covered in gum. It was very noticeable and disgusting. I didn't have an axe to grind with individuals on a management team, and there was no internet discussion board so you didn't hear about it from me then. Gum in theme parks isn't really a news flash here.
Originally Posted By SuperDry In Anaheim, I've noticed that they've let the area outside the turnstiles go as far as gum goes. But as soon as you enter DL proper, there's not a piece of gum to be found on the ground. You want to see disgusting gum? Try DLP. That place really doesn't care about cleaning up gum from the ground.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>I don't see any parallels between Wal-Mart and WDW at all.<< Likewise, I see no parallels between WDC and OLC. >>The entire Wal-Mart business model is based on providing mass merchandise at the lowest possible price.<< Likewise the entire WDW business model seems to be based on providing mass merchandise at the highest possible price, because unlike Wal-Mart... Disney has to deal with Unions *and* greedy upper managers. >>really isn't any part of the Wal-Mart business model that has anything to do with cleanliness, quality, or attention to details in a store.<< Likewise the new ways at Disney appear to be that...as long as guests (especially those who matter= infrequent visitors) are happy with the overall experience, there is no need to exceed expectations in cleanliness, quality or attention to detail. However, in regards to attention to details... have you noticed the new theming in the Disney merchandise sections of WalMarts all over Orlando? NICE! for a Walmart that is... :/ >>It's not like Wal-Mart at all.<< Of course not.. and the big diffence is this: I don't have to pay an inflated admission price to go into a (non-union) WalMart, and can walk out without spending a penny's worth of merchandise. Meanwhile, I have to present a ticket to enter WDW, have to pay inflated to eat, for merchandise and such because, even if you paid to enter, you are captived in the parks, and furthermore...the company has to meet that minimun quota from the money they collect off guests... since they have pre-established union agreements that require them to pay higher salaries than those at Walmart, and they have much more people on payroll, and worst! They claim the place to be magical. If it is indeed magical, then...why am I subjected to looking at gum on the walls? Trash on the floors and in queues? Screaming brats all over the place? and inferior quality merchandise and food that adds nothing to my overall level of enjoyment pass a "passable" degree of acceptance? I guess if I could do all those things for free as I can do at walmart, then I would not whine and rant about it.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy Wow, I didn't know that there could be folks out there who despised Disney so much. It probably makes sense to not go there if it doesn't make you happy.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN At what time do you get off your marketing shift Goof? Maybe we can go hang out at the Ale House behind DTD and get some food using your CM discount.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy Right, because Disney makes people so miserable that the only ones who could possibly be happy at WDW are employees?
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Remember... you can get in yourself for free with your main gate pass... unlike us. Maybe having one of my own would make me very very happy....
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy I don't think free passes would make anyone happy that seems to dislike Disney with such a passion.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Wanna bet But you know what? My AP at TDR costs close to $600 a year for non-garrantied admission to both TDL and TDS, and that pass does not give me any perks, no discounts, no AP-exclusive events, no NOTHING! But you know why I pay it? Because in Tokyo, they deliver quality in every aspect of my Disney experience: food, maintenance, CM training, etc etc... I would gladly pay similar prices at WDW if they delivered the same level of greatness across the board, as opposed to a resort that is HUGE. You love WDW that much, well more power to you and I am sincerely happy you get the so much out of it. But call me old school... I prefer my Disney to be a reflection of a better World than that we live in. If I wanted to see mildew on buildings, chewing gum on walls, cracked sidewalls, traffic lights, busses spewing fumes into the air, time share condos, or the like... then why pay so much for an illusion of "magic" that is just that: an illusion, and not a good one at that. Darm me for loving the place so much, so much in fact to give it tough love. It's very easy for you to dismiss me with your "why go if you don't like it?" response... but you will never ever have the pleasure of meeting someone with such feverish love for Disney like I (or Spirit) enough to put the pain aside and fire away. We are trying to protect what WE LOVE BEST. Do not dare put me down for it.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< It's a nearly insurmountable challenge to keep up with all the guests in the parks during those peak seasons, particularly these days when the unemployment rate is hovering around 4% and staffing any service-based business is a challenge to achieve. I suppose I could provide a trip report from my summer visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1987 when there was a part of the BTMRR queue covered in gum. >>> I just want to be sure that I'm understanding you properly: are you claiming that the reason there are obvious failings of WDW custodial standards these days is a result of the tight labor market? That is, that there is money in the custodial budget sitting there unspent that would be used to staff the missing gum-removers and other personnel, if only there were people willing to take the jobs? And that it's not a matter of cutting back on the custodial budget so the money for the needed positions isn't there to begin with?
