Originally Posted By leobloom >> Far too many are complaining about the most trivial, nit-picking details that only they would notice. Posts like, "I was walking down Main St. and I counted 3 burned out light bulbs! Walt would hang his head in shame!". << That's a misleading statement. Many of the WDW critics here have more serious gripes than burnt-out lightbulbs. If only that was the extent of WDW's problems! Now, a broken Yeti is a slightly different story...
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I did DTD last week at WDW and I want to go to The Parks when the Christmas decorations are up in December... << ...won't be as many decorations since they cost money to install and operate. Like Lights of Winter at Epcot (RIP).
Originally Posted By danyoung >How rude, nobody has answered the OP's question< The OP's question was - "My question is, why do so many people in the WDW section on these boards put WDW down so much?" And there have been nothing but valid answers. Look, I've been accused of being a Pollyanna before, and that's fine, even though it's inaccurate. I see the problems that WDW and the Disney Company and even DL have, and enjoy discussions about what's wrong and what needs to happen to make it right. The danger is that people read all of this negativity and start to question whether there's any value there at all, and maybe put off a vacation due to the constant harping that we all tend to do. I'll tell you a story that happened to me many years ago, way before LP or Miceage, back in the USENET days. Al Lutz had a regular thing going there, and he was all over the place about how horrible DL was, how there was trash everywhere, CM's were horribly rude, rides were broken down, lightbulbs were out, etc. It was so bad that I was seriously considering not visiting DL on my next L.A. visit. But my longstanding love of the place overcame the negativity, and I went anyway. And you know what I found? The train station was right there where I left it, Main Street totally sparkled with magic, the rides were fun and the food was good and the entire vibe was just as incredible as I'd always remembered. That night I looked closely at Main Street, and yeah, you could see some lightbulbs out. And that's not cool, and Disney needs to be held to a higher standard. But did it really affect my visit? Not at all - it was barely a blip on my consciousness. So I say it again - people tend to see what they want to see. If they're looking for the negative, they'll find it. But you can see the negative and still not let it affect your enjoyment of the parks.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Nothing is really BAD about WDW... I just feel that there needs to be unique offerings, more creativity, and a general return to attention to basic quality. But in the end, it's still very, very, very well done. Their legacy is what keeps me going at this point.
Originally Posted By MousDad >>The OP's question was - "My question is, why do so many people in the WDW section on these boards put WDW down so much?"<< First, it was a joke. Second, I was looking at the thread title. Third, doesn't matter, my answers work with either question. lol.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Indy and the rehabbed subs. Personally I wouldn't trade the TTA and Carousel of Progress for either one of them.>> You're insane, haha. <<today's Imagination isn't that much better or worse than the original.>> Yup, insane, haha.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Ah the good old, "The People Who Criticize Disney World Don't Know How to Have Fun Thread". Can't go a few months without it. I love WDW. I have fun every time I'm there. But I also have fun every time I'm at my local Six Flags. I expect more from Disney, and for the past 10 years they haven't been delivering. Bland, overpriced counter service meals don't do it for me. Poor maintenance doesn't do it for me. Poor writing and pandering to 5 year olds in basically every new Magic Kingdom attraction since Tomorrowland '94 ended doesn't do it for me. Cut entertainment, firing great performers, and cutting one of the nighttime spectaculars to 2 or 3 days a week doesn't do it for me. Homogenizing merchandise so you can find the same thing in basically every shop doesn't do it for me. The lack of a nightlife for the 20-40 crowd doesn't do it for me. In summary, WDW is still a wonderful place to visit. I'm not going to say it's not, because that'd be a lie. But I will say that WDW has been failing to make good on the promises and ideals of the company's founder, and to me that's just not good enough.
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Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<How rude, nobody has answered the OP's question: - Efficiency trumps show. - Synergy trumps creativity. - Discounting trumps value. - Peripherals trump core products. - Customer manipulation trumps customer satisfaction. - Disney dividends trump the Disney difference. - Characters trump cohesiveness. - Brand trumps 'Bringing It.' - Marketing trumps...well, everything. Disneyland has all of the above in better balance. WDW doesn't because it can get away with it. And that's what's wrong.>> Love this post. Nail meet head.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<The Spirit is in the house....waiting for it.....>> Hope he delivered for his favorite North Dakotan! Unfortunately (or not) he won't be back for likely a week or more to see the havoc he brought about. But did he mention he's about to visit TDR (oh and also back to HKDL and DLR too before he heads home?) ... IF that place in Tokyo is half as good as he thinks it is, well 2011 is likely to be very ugly in the LP if folks are going to defend Walmarting and mediocrity and treat WDW like a church that can't be criticized.
Originally Posted By danyoung >I love WDW. I have fun every time I'm there. But I also have fun every time I'm at my local Six Flags. I expect more from Disney, and for the past 10 years they haven't been delivering.< Hokie, I don't disagree with any of the items on your list. My feeling is that the balance in people's responses is way off. As the OP alluded to, there's so much negativity that it's hard for some people to believe that there's any value in a WDW vacation these days. And that just isn't true. The Spirit has been to WDW so many times that he's just bored with it, as any human being would be bored with something that they've experienced way too many times. So for him the value has gone way down, and he's not wrong for feeling the way he does. Again, the problem comes in when all there is is negativity, and it has no value other than to reinforce itself. Someone coming to this site looking for current information about WDW might be driven screaming from the forum, thinking that everything in WDW is all bad all the time. And of course that just isn't true.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>>As the OP alluded to, there's so much negativity that it's hard for some people to believe that there's any value in a WDW vacation these days. And that just isn't true<<<< If there are really people that believe that, and I hate to sounds harsh, but, these people need to think for themselves. Just because our opinions are in the red here, doesn't mean that the whole Disney experience is down the tubes. Sure, there is a reason for us thinking this way, as we've had different experiences, and think differently, but I don't see why these conclusions should sway anyone else that much. I mean, my OWN thoughts on WDW don't sway me. I know there's a lot wrong. But there's still fun to be had, and it's still special, and still something good. There's a balance. Not everything is so black and white.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I had a great time visiting a few years ago. I wrote that I thought the place looked nice, was fun, and the CM's I met were very friendly and talkative. My comments were ripped to shreds. ------------------------------------------ --- well X there's a certain fanboi population that believes Disney was placed on earth to spend as much money as they can to entertain them with unique attractions around the world - regardless of business accumen or common sense, or if more than a representative handful of people would ever experience the demands. E-tickets fix everything in that mind set. Huge sums of money being spend to build HK and redo DCA are ignored as there is no big picture view. WDW especially takes a beating because - well it runs the most people thru it yearly and could use some tlc in some places- that is acknowledged. I still find WDW very enjoyable- as does my entire extended family, enough so to go every year. We also really like the DVC arrangement even though it gets blamed for all sorts of WDW ills. In some cases that also seems to make me 'part of the problem'. In some circles that somehow makes us rubes, idiots, know nothings and somehow not followers of some imagined Disney vision. I only ask a few things from Disney - quality in all they do ( even if they miss the mark sometimes always shoot for it) - so that there is perceived return on investment of vacation dollars. Maintain a family atmosphere as there are plenty of other avenues to get other entertainment - and be good stewards of what we think Walt was trying to do - ensuring WDW will be here for my grandkids.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 But there's still fun to be had, and it's still special, and still something good. There's a balance. Not everything is so black and white. -------------- unfortunately EE I think the negativity being alluded to by the OP is not tied to your viewpoints. Yes you have concerns - some I agree with - some I don't but you're fairly well balanced - and one thing you admit to - that WDW is still a great place-- others do not. Good healthy discussions on issues is fine- but after almost 10 years here I can totally see why some newer readers would get the impression from some repeat posters that WDW is a crapfest - not worthy of anyone ever attending again. That is dangerous territory because some people are much more influenced by what they read than others - especially if they are not Disney addicts like many of us.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>>Agreed, EE! Well said.<<<<< YAYYYYYYYYYYY, I'm not alone on this issue. I thought I'd get crucified. LOL.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>unfortunately EE I think the negativity being alluded to by the OP is not tied to your viewpoints. Yes you have concerns - some I agree with - some I don't but you're fairly well balanced - and one thing you admit to - that WDW is still a great place-- others do not. Good healthy discussions on issues is fine- but after almost 10 years here I can totally see why some newer readers would get the impression from some repeat posters that WDW is a crapfest - not worthy of anyone ever attending again. That is dangerous territory because some people are much more influenced by what they read than others - especially if they are not Disney addicts like many of us.<<< Well, thanks for acknowledging that, I appreciate that. However...I see no difference in my posts than in other more "concerning" and negative ones. Those that are "negative" say positive things too. And even if there is a lot of this "crapfest" talk, there probably IS an issue. Might not effect YOU, per-say, but something is amiss.
Originally Posted By danyoung EE, there's a difference between saying something like "I just got back from a week at WDW, love the place, but have these concerns . . .", and "I won't go to WDW anymore, because the MK is a hole and they haven't put in a new attraction in years and DHS is totally screwed up and there's trash everywhere and the CMs are idiot teenagers who don't know anything about customer service and blah blah blah blah blah!!!" And there really are a lot of the latter comments, and it's very easy to imagine someone being influenced by them.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> and it's very easy to imagine someone being influenced by them.<<< Again... Are people really that impressionable?! If that were so, they'd all be agreeing, not giving us hell for saying that. And honestly, I don't see people saying the "blah blah blah blah blah!!" version. Sure, some have more concerns than others, but I don't think anyone that hates the company that much is going to be activly posting on a WDW Forum.
