Originally Posted By libertysquare76 <LibertySquare don't forget to get your birthday pin.> Wouldn't dream of it, can't think of a better place to spend that special day. Do they change or are they the large buttons with your name put on in magic marker? <Is it still better than most vacation spots of this genre? Hell yes> I agree with my honourable friend here (as we say in Westminster!)
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Wouldn't dream of it, can't think of a better place to spend that special day. Do they change or are they the large buttons with your name put on in magic marker?<<< Still the same.
Originally Posted By danyoung >Is it the WDW of the 1970's - 1990's? No and it probably won't ever be. Is it still better than most vacation spots of this genre? Hell yes!< Dad, I completely agree with you. What irritates me are the people who are so down on the place that they try to convince others that there is no value at all in the World. And this just isn't so. Or, on the flip side, if I say something nice about WDW, I'm a defender of mediocrity. And again, this just isn't so.
Originally Posted By Ursula <Maybe it's because we come from Australia where distances dictate you MUST drive and have a car, for us it was just a GIVEN. > I am just the opposite. I've had a car since the age of 15.5. You must have a car here in Los Angeles. So, on vacation, that LAST thing I want to do is drive a car on vacation. I want to have drinks and not be responsible for a week or two. If the buses fail us, we get a cab.
Originally Posted By Ursula <What irritates me are the people who are so down on the place that they try to convince others that there is no value at all in the World. And this just isn't so. Or, on the flip side, if I say something nice about WDW, I'm a defender of mediocrity. And again, this just isn't so. > I agree, too. I don't run into many rude cast members, nor do I seek them out. When something goes wrong, we immediately make mention of it to the right people so they can make corrections as needed. And I enjoy WDW. So there.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I think, that the most of us just try to look at WDW objectively and logically. Nothing is black and white, and I don't expect people to think that way about the people that have a mixed bag of opinions. If you really think that we "dislike" WDW just because we mention several things that are wrong, I think you're just looking to ostracize. Not directed at any one in particular.... ...on this website...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 >>>I mean I get kind of depressed when I have to leave. <<< I am a horrid person on the last day of a trip. ------------------- try a 20 hour car trip after leaving -- one angry mob in the Hertz mini van
Originally Posted By KatieKate123 oh I wish I lived 3 hours away from Disney World I would be there every weekend. But I don't I live about 14 hours away in the car 2, or maybe more that is why there is a plane. Plus I find the plane to be part of the fun, but truely I couldn't imagine have 2 girls ages 4,6 in a car for 14 hours unless it was overnight. LIke we would leave at 10 and get there at 12 the next day.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 14 hours in a car with them at that age probably would be a nightmare, and the drive home would seem neverending. But they should be tons of fun at the parks.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>oh I wish I lived 3 hours away from Disney World I would be there every weeken<<< You'd have to be pretty affluent to do that.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Having visited WDW countless times and having worked there I can be as critical of the place as anybody. But, my 4 year old doesn't know that the painting isn't kept up as nice as it was back in the day and she could care less that the show in the Tiki Room changed. When I go in the parks with my children there is only magic.>> As it should be, wahoo. BUT ... I'll bet you can say the same about a family trip to the ocean, the mountains or even a holiday weekend at your local park. Your kids are the magic. The place really doesn't matter.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >Yeah, you definitely need a car...How else do you dine offsite when sick of Disney food?< <<While I agree that prices have gone sky high and menu choices have diminished, I've never gotten tired of eating at one of the many fine restaurants in the World.>> I'd love to take a cheapshot at your girth here just to honor my pal, TDLFAN ... but I won't, I'll just think it! ;-) <<I like to mix it up - hit a few fav's but also try something new. Just enjoyed my first meal at the Yak & Yeti, & I'm happy to say it won't be the last.>> I do like Y&Y ... they have great soup and desserts ... and tasty entrees, although the price points are a bit high for my liking. >When the Disney family ran WDW it was a fun place.< <<Well, to be fair, the Disney family NEVER ran WDW. Roy was big in the design and construction phase, but he died shortly after it opened in '71. So it was corporate right from the beginning, not a family operation.>> True, but not really in spirit. Walt Disney Productions ran WDW much the way Walt would have as it was his people, his team doing it ... in the 70s and 80s. That all started going out the window in the 90s and is totally gone now that Disney is a media Goliath. You can very clearly see when Eisner and Wells started massive building/expanding (and hiring) that the whole mindset and the whole WDW experience changed fundamentally. From 1982-1994, I think Disney was constantly expanding, but also improving ... but then ... it got too big and it became simply an ATM for Burbank in good times.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Dad, I completely agree with you. What irritates me are the people who are so down on the place that they try to convince others that there is no value at all in the World. And this just isn't so.>> I don't know any regulars here who have ever said there is no value in WDW. So, either I am missing a lot ... or you are engaging in hyperbole. <<Or, on the flip side, if I say something nice about WDW, I'm a defender of mediocrity. And again, this just isn't so.>> Touchy? ... I say plenty of nice things about WDW and I am NO DoM ... but I tend to praise things that improve the overall experience for all.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I agree, too. I don't run into many rude cast members, nor do I seek them out. When something goes wrong, we immediately make mention of it to the right people so they can make corrections as needed. >> If you want to meet rude boorish CMs, let me suggest you spend sometime with execs or PR hacks. Those people (not all, but a majority) are nasty, sad, ordinary beings. BUT ... having recently returned from nine days at Da World (after a 14-night DCL cruise) I can tell you the CM experience between the two was very different. On DCL, each and EVERY CM I encountered, from folks working in janitorial to guest services to servers to retail to the captain and exec crew were EXCEPTIONAL. They all smiled at you and constantly asked how your day/cruise was ... and if anything could be done to make it better etc. It's been a very long time since Disney exceeded MY expectations, but they did here. And they all seemed genuine. It did remind me of WDW back in the 70s or 80s. Less than two weeks late with my pixie dust halo, I headed for WDW. I didn't have any bad/rude CMs. But I had plenty that obviously didn't give a damn. They were simply working jobs and weren't into show or guest service. I looked at some and smiled, only to see them look away ... and that includes managers. I had a few standout CMs at WDW, but overall they were very, very ordinary. And it's been like that for well over a decade. Best will always be internationals, retirees and college kids. Worst will be all the others who actually need the paychecks to survive.
Originally Posted By danyoung >I don't know any regulars here who have ever said there is no value in WDW. So, either I am missing a lot ... or you are engaging in hyperbole.< You're missing a lot. It happens all the time - someone's all excited about a trip to WDW, and someone else posts "hey, WDW sucks - you should spend your money at Tokyo Disney Seas!" And that's not just from TDLFAN, whose constant rags and nags I really don't miss at all.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Speaking of WDW's birthday pin...they used to be different at each park. Are you saying all parks are the same now?...just like the free-refillmugs? So sad if true. Please bring back resort specific Mugs,really please.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Speaking of WDW's birthday pin...they used to be different at each park. Are you saying all parks are the same now?...just like the free-refillmugs? So sad if true. Please bring back resort specific Mugs,really please.<<< Yep...all the same. I miss the EPCOT one..
Originally Posted By MPierce >> On DCL, each and EVERY CM I encountered, from folks working in janitorial to guest services to servers to retail to the captain and exec crew were EXCEPTIONAL. They all smiled at you and constantly asked how your day/cruise was ... and if anything could be done to make it better etc. It's been a very long time since Disney exceeded MY expectations, but they did here. And they all seemed genuine. It did remind me of WDW back in the 70s or 80s. Less than two weeks late with my pixie dust halo, I headed for WDW. I didn't have any bad/rude CMs. But I had plenty that obviously didn't give a damn. They were simply working jobs and weren't into show or guest service. I looked at some and smiled, only to see them look away ... and that includes managers. << I'm curious to know what the pay scale, for CM's, between the two is.
