Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Wow, I was hoping it was a one off. Good to know about the cab situation.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Dave, sorry to go off topic but. Three weeks ago we were at the Poly and decided to go to MGM. After waiting 30 minutes and seeing several buses for Downtown and for AK we decided to take whatever the next bus was and had a great time at AK. The next day we tried for MGM. While waiting, a woman sat near us and recognized us from the day before so started talking. She said they waited over an hour. Finally she went inside a d complained at the desk. They told her that if you have to wait for more than 30 minutes the hotel will get you a cab and PAY your fare to whatever park you were going to. I thought of your experience at AKL. << Bobbe did the woman in question get a free cab ride?
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 She said she did. I didn't ask how long she had to wait for the cab because our bus to MGM showed up after a 10-15 minute wait.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ok folks, now to share the rationale for doing this, the hypothesis and the results. As many of you are likely aware, I am very worried about Disney's direction of travel when it comes to the parks. And although World of Color does look amazing, and the Little Mermaid and Carsland are likely to make a huge difference too, I am worried that most of what Disney is doing is synergising, and frankly moving somewhat away from what I fell in love with, the idea of going to another place that takes us to another place and time, and wraps us up in it - like Adventureland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland of old, DHS Hollywood Bvd, World Showcase or DAK. But when people complained about DCA or WDSP saying they wanted more Disney, it seems WDC, TDA and WDI interpretted that of wanting more characters. In fact, I was accused of being out of touch on a WDW thread recently. This is what sparked my interest in running the survey, to see if I would be alone. If maybe I was indeed out of touch. I tried to craft it so as not to seem to biased with the questions. And indeed I suspect most of us like a little of all 4 options (I know I do). But my hypothesis was that people like the attention to detail and themed environments. Now it would be funny to see how the splits would come in towards liking fantasy or edutainment or other directions within this paradigm, but I wanted to get a simple feel. Thank you for answering folks and proving my hypothesis that people indeed like the overall themed environments that look at attention to detail of music, architecture, attractions, and menues. I love that it takes me to a different place. Of the 46 people that answered, this took 76% of the votes, a clear majority. In comparison, the votes for the experience where I can see my favorite characters from film and TV. I can ride the rides or watch the films that bring them back to life or explore the characters in new ways took 0% of the votes. Or where multiple disqualified votes were taken out, it would still only muster 2%. And yet this is the direction Disney is moving into. To fill out the rest of the results, for those that stated they like the parks as a place where there is something for everyone and is a vacation we all enjoy together, they accounted for 9% of the vote. And lastly, for those that mainly enjoyed the convenience and good sense of value/nostalgia accounted for 2% (much higher if we counted where people ranked their votes). Sadly, 13% of the votes were disqualified for multiple answers. But again the prime options voted for were either due to immersion or a place for the whole family. So it is very interesting to see what will happen next. If the synergy and tooning of the parks continue, I wonder if the votes would be similar in 10, 30 or 50 years time? My guess is nostalgia and convenience may continue to grow. And if that is the case, it would be a real shame. I welcome your thoughts and comments, and thanks to all who took part.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt Thanks for the summary! Is anyone surprised by Dave's results? I'm not. It really was difficult to pick just one. Thanks again Dave.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I'm not. But with some of the things going on with the House of Mouse and indeed some of the inside threads here and elsewhere. I sometimes wonder. I doubt things like the subs, or Buzz or World of Color enjoy the popularity due to the synergy with Disney. I bet that the Subs with an ecological slant, a Lazerblast/Astroblasters set in the future or a World of Color that showed things other than toons, would have been just as popular. I fear however, we will never find out until the Weatherman and Rasulo dissapear. And by then, it may be too late as new execs are clueless of Disney's legacy.
Originally Posted By u k fan Interesting results. To be fair though, we are not representative of the average Disney guest I suspect. I'd love to know what the results would be if we asked guests as they leave the parks and/or include children in the mix. I suspect the votes for option 2 would be higher than 0% then!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think you are right. We are kind of asking the choir here what they think of the preacher I suppose. And I think we would get hugely different results dependent where we were. PAris and Tokyo would likely score higher with the character thing, whereas California they would probably score lowest.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I did ask my two (but did not tally their results), Jess chose the immersion, Mikey chose a place where the whole family have fun. Lol
Originally Posted By leobloom >> And lastly, for those that mainly enjoyed the convenience and good sense of value/nostalgia accounted for 2% (much higher if we counted where people ranked their votes). << I was one of these votes (or maybe the only one), but in my response I stressed convenience (being a Floridian) over any "sense of value," which I feel is almost completely lacking from WDW. If I had to pay face-value for tickets, I would go even less than I do. Since almost no one choose this option on the survey, I guess it doesn't really matter. But I see a clear difference between being close to WDW and perceiving it to be a good financial value.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo But are they not synonomous? I felt ripped off last time I went to WDW. After travelling for 20 hours and spending about 10% of my at the time annual net income, I was very angry at the experience. Yet Legoland, 90 mins away and free on my AP that covers about 18 parks/attractions, I give more of a pass as I do not feel ripped off (though legoland's cast are superior to WDW in our experience).
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt When I vacation, I like to stay in a resort that is nicer than my own home which means a Deluxe. NOT a value! One week at a deluxe is 2x my mortage & I live in a more expensive part of the country. Lots of friends rav about Pop but, I enjoy my week of luxury! If WDW were less expensive we would go more often.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> But are they not synonomous? I felt ripped off last time I went to WDW. After travelling for 20 hours and spending about 10% of my at the time annual net income, I was very angry at the experience. Yet Legoland, 90 mins away and free on my AP that covers about 18 parks/attractions, I give more of a pass as I do not feel ripped off (though legoland's cast are superior to WDW in our experience). << I think they're different; for me, at least, proximity doesn't automatically affect good value. A "sense of value" would exist regardless if I live five miles away or five-hundred miles away. I don't own an AP because I think it's overpriced. I don't pay sticker-price for tickets because they are overpriced. My family only goes if we get free (or heavily-discounted) tickets. So for me, at least, the "sense of value" is connected with not paying Disney's prices. If you don't have to pay, it's a hell of a value (but I don't think that's what the survey was asking).
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 Thanks for the summery Dave, I find it intersting how it all turned out.
Originally Posted By standor In the 80s a family could afford to go to WDW, enjoy themselves and get a good bang for their buck. Now you wonder if it is worth while going there. You feel at every turn that their hand is out and they don't want to give much in return
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer It's worth going, by all means. It's just that the quality has slipped, and competitors are doing the same thing, just better, now.
