"Not what it used to be..." I disagree!

[rutgers1]

My father, as well as a few relatives, tend to be in the "Not what it used to be" crowd when the conversation turns to Disney.

I have yet to agree with them.

Here is why:
1) When I went to Disney as a kid, all they had was the Contemporary, the Polynesian, River Country, Magic Kingdom. It was GREAT, but I remember the talk back then being, "Look at how much land they have here. We'd come back more often if they built more rides.....more hotels....etc." Still, we kept coming.

2) So, what did they do? They did all of that -- more rides, more hotel, and even more theme parks! On top of that, they retired one water park and built TWO in its place.

3) A few dining options morphed into so many dining options that I have a hard time keeping them straight.

4) DVC came along and solidified our standing as regular visitors and opened up even more hotel options.

I tend to think that people's memories of the "good old days" forget that there were always problems. As a kid, I remember rides breaking down with much greater frequency. I remember garbage on the ground and areas of the park that needed to be painted. But that is the great thing -- the garbage always gets picked up and the unpainted areas always get the coat of paint.

I haven't had a single bad vacation down to Disney. Not one.

If any of you are down there the first two weeks of July, look us up!

 

[bakenatj]

Well put and I agree with you completely. We have very much enjoyed every Disney vacation and are always looking forward to the next. The only difference I have noticed is that the parks are more crowded. That means that the Disney executives are doing their job.

Haven't made our summer plans yet but we were there over the 4th last year and really enjoyed our stay. Have a great time!

 

[rutgers1]

I agree about the crowds. I think it was always crowded at the prime times, but things like Food & Wine are attracting crowds at off-peak times. When I was a kid, we would always go in October and the place was pretty empty.

 

[lilpooh108]

I remember the days before Fastpass (this is for DLR, where I live). I used to "count up" the number of rides planned v number of rides taken on days where our school would take us to Disneyland. Like on my fingers. I'd count up the rides I got in that day.

I am local, have an AP and yesterday caught myself counting the rides. Hehe. Now w/FPs, I am glad that I will get in the important stuff that I really want to do. Everything else is gravy. So yea, good old days is relative I guess.

Oh Oh... just remembered 1 thing about the "good old days". I lived 15 minutes away from Disneyland as a high school student. APs were $99 for years. I would drive up and park right in front of the gate (to the left), where DCA now is. Those were the good old days. The M&F parking structure actually deterred me from getting APs at DLR for 3 years.

 

[drusba]

Depends on how old you are and what you remember. Yes there was a time when there were only three or four resorts (Poly, Cont, Golf Resort, and Fort Wilderness) and just MK. But a lot of the year was in fact off season for crowds, rides were very often walk-ons or just short waits, ticket prices were very reasonable (both the original E tickets and then the later daily pass) and the early Luau at Poly had characters.. You could even ride a Swan Boat, take a Dreamflight, and Magic Journeys ruled the 3D world. You didn't have to walk through a store immediately after exiting a ride and characters just wandered the street meeting people and signing autographs.

Then along came Epcot and for years it had the memorable Horizons before it was replaced with a ride that makes you sick, Journey into Imagination was a fun ride before they decided to ruin it, World of Life was actually open, and you could easily get a restaurant reservation on the same day you wanted it by just going to those outdoor screens in Future World and making the reservation and you could actually afford the meal ... and ticket prices were still reasonable.

You could even go in the water at the beaches on Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. And then for several years in the 1980s there was the best, by far, character breakfast that ever existed, Melvin the Moose at Fort Wilderness. Melvin talked and there was an actual song and dance show with characters.

 

[jade1]

"Not what it used to be"

Agree with your Father-it's now way better.

 

[bcrook]

I wonder if people are saying that parks are not what they used to be, or are they lamenting that the parks aren't what they could be.

When wdw opened it was hard to imagine anything more cool or innovative. Our favorite stories came alive through animatronics, art, and passion. The Magic Kingdom was using the best technology possible. I just watched a documentary on the 1964 Worlds Fair, and Disney created moving dinosaurs, the ford automobile ride, carousel of progress and its a small world. Those rides were cutting edge at the time.

Jump to 2013, and people can envision a monsters inc roller coaster, walking through Star Wars, they want to eat in a Brazilian restaurant and walk through an Egyptian temple in Epcot. They want the wonders of life Pavillion active. They want something that rivals Potter. The attractions are not the most cool and innovative in the field.

It seems that is what I see when I read the negative comments. People asking for more steady improvement.

I sure have a great time, but for me it's all nostalgia. I love riding Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion because I remember being there with my family in 1973, and oohing at Pan and screaming in the Mansion. I don't want anything to change in the MK really, and I hated to lose Snow White.

As for my visits now it is really about spending time in DVC and being with friends. I really enjoy Kidani.

 

[luv2sleep]

I'm a DL vet and still live close by (66 miles...close enough!). What I remember about 'the good ole days' is that there wasn't a frenzy about going to and being at the park. We used to just go, get our tickets, stand in line for whatever and just ride and have fun. We ate whatever, wherever. Nowadays there's this rope drop, everybody split up and get fast passes, and lets rush around and get to those ADRs we planned 6 months ago frenzy. It's just weird. I have never been to the park early enough for rope drop. I get there when I get there, grab fast passes if I'm walking by the kiosk and eat whatever, whenever. I still ride rides and have a great time. I may not get on every popular ride each visit but I get on a couple at least. I've ridden them all and can go back and ride them at some other time also. I seriously don't understand the fret and frenzy over all if it. That's what seems different to me these days.

ETA: I'm going to WDW for the first time this year and the whole frenzied culture of it is overwhelming....touring plans, ADRs, Fast passes, rope drop, etc. Will see how it goes. I'd prefer to just go with the flow but I keep hearing about how my visit will suck if I don't plan obsessively, lol.

 

[bakerworld]

I was only to DL once in 72 and it was hot, crowded and somewhat boring. When first opened WDW was a 3 day trip max - 4 day w/ Epcot.

Now with the hotels that are resorts all on their own plus the parks and the surrounding venues a 2 week stay would be an easy decision - with some good down time for complete relaxation that stay could spread that into a much longer vacation.

I think people just like to grumble because bread isn't 32 cents a loaf.

 

[a742246]

ETA: I'm going to WDW for the first time this year and the whole frenzied culture of it is overwhelming....touring plans, ADRs, Fast passes, rope drop, etc. Will see how it goes. I'd prefer to just go with the flow but I keep hearing about how my visit will suck if I don't plan obsessively, lol.

When are you going?

 

[tgropp]

The overall expeirence is better but I somehow feel that the castmember interaction has changed. These people are getting wore down by some vacationers who think that they are intitled to the world when they visit. Some of the things that I have witnessed in restaurants by some rude diners using free dining is degrading.

 

[Dean]

My father, as well as a few relatives, tend to be in the "Not what it used to be" crowd when the conversation turns to Disney.

I have yet to agree with them.

Here is why:
1) When I went to Disney as a kid, all they had was the Contemporary, the Polynesian, River Country, Magic Kingdom. It was GREAT, but I remember the talk back then being, "Look at how much land they have here. We'd come back more often if they built more rides.....more hotels....etc." Still, we kept coming.

2) So, what did they do? They did all of that -- more rides, more hotel, and even more theme parks! On top of that, they retired one water park and built TWO in its place.

3) A few dining options morphed into so many dining options that I have a hard time keeping them straight.

4) DVC came along and solidified our standing as regular visitors and opened up even more hotel options.

I tend to think that people's memories of the "good old days" forget that there were always problems. As a kid, I remember rides breaking down with much greater frequency. I remember garbage on the ground and areas of the park that needed to be painted. But that is the great thing -- the garbage always gets picked up and the unpainted areas always get the coat of paint.

I haven't had a single bad vacation down to Disney. Not one.

If any of you are down there the first two weeks of July, look us up!

Things change, some for the better and some for the worse and that's true for DVC and Disney in general, IMO. There have certainly been negative changes from say 10 years ago for both, but it's still a great place to vacation with and without family.

 

[luv2sleep]

When are you going?

I'm limited by the school calendar so we are going this summer.

 

[beer dave]

As for the frenzy-- We as DVC members have created a lifetime of trip availability for ourselves due to being fortunate enough to handle the financial burden of ownership. While on our frequent trips, I occasionally have to remind my children ( and myself) that a large amount of the people in the parks are those who have saved and borrowed for the "trip of a lifetime", and as such havel the need to get to everything they can due to probably not returning for a long time or even never.

We as DVC members are very fortunate and I try to remember that as I see people rushing through the parks..

 

[luv2sleep]

As for the frenzy-- We as DVC members have created a lifetime of trip availability for ourselves due to being fortunate enough to handle the financial burden of ownership. While on our frequent trips, I occasionally have to remind my children ( and myself) that a large amount of the people in the parks are those who have saved and borrowed for the "trip of a lifetime", and as such havel the need to get to everything they can due to probably not returning for a long time or even never.

We as DVC members are very fortunate and I try to remember that as I see people rushing through the parks..

Oh I completely understand that. If it was my one and only trip I'd want to be there as early as I can. I still wouldn't want to feel like I had to rush around for fast passes though and do things in a certain order.. I think that part is crazy. I feel bad for the once in a lifetime trip people in that respect.

 

[wulfekamp]

If there was area that I feel Disney has fallen off it's in the shops. The quality of a lot of the stuff isn't what it was.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

While there is more to do and see at Disney today, the overall philosophy of Disney "is not what it used to be." The prices are out of control expensive for park entry and food. I think Walt would turn over in his grave if he saw the emphasis on making money.

 

[amypetecar]

I think that as the resort gets bigger, its harder to maintain the quality control over everything. WDW employs 60k cast members...... Larger than most towns.

While disney has always been more expensive than other theme parks and tourist attractions, their pricing has grown exponentially over the past 5 years, thus the consumers expectations for quality also grow exponentially

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

ETA: I'm going to WDW for the first time this year and the whole frenzied culture of it is overwhelming....touring plans, ADRs, Fast passes, rope drop, etc. Will see how it goes. I'd prefer to just go with the flow but I keep hearing about how my visit will suck if I don't plan obsessively, lol.

It doesn't have to be that frenzied. I could imagine that rope drop could be problematic for someone that lives on Pacific time. However, I hope this will help.

If a park is open really late the night before, get to that park first thing the next morning. i.e., if MK is open until 2AM on Monday night/Tuesday morning...then make rope drop at 9AM Tuesday morning...and schedule lunch at Crystal Palace (for instance) for that Tuesday. Then do your own thing.

There are websites that will tell you what the best parks are for certain days. www.easywdw.com has crowd calendars that will tell you what the best parks are. We do not go by touring plans. Its too regimented for us.

We do not feel over planned because we figure out what parks and ADRs we have several months ahead of time, and pull it out when we leave for our trip. Plus, you can change some of your adrs pretty last minute. Just don't expect to get in at Ohana last minute.

 

[jcf]

While I remember way more decorations at Christmas in the late 90's then there was last month

I have only 1 child who at age 11 is considered an adult at Disney World for the $$$ - I don't like that at all and doubt Walt would