Disney's HUGE mistakes

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Every so often, Disney slips up and makes a huge mistake. Name an example below!

I'm going to be controversial and nominate the termination of the Alien Encounter Extra Terrorestrial ride. It was pretty damn scary but it was unique. And if you had an idea of what you were getting yourself into, it was unparalleled.

 

[starvenger]

Leaving Marvel Television under Ike Perlmutter when they moved the Marvel Studios under the Disney films umbrella.

Having JJ Abrams oversee 7-9

 

[tvguy]

Making California Adventure a separate park with it's own admission fee instead of a new land at Disneyland. It opened in 2001 and in 2007 it was clear Disney knew they blew it, because they launched a $1 billion remodel. Yup, only six years after it opened.

 

[BrianL]

Firing James Gunn and letting Warner snatch him up only to rehire him for a delayed GotG3.

 

[RedAngie]

Making California Adventure a separate park with it's own admission fee instead of a new land at Disneyland. It opened in 2001 and in 2007 it was clear Disney knew they blew it, because they launched a $1 billion remodel. Yup, only six years after it opened.

And not only that, Disney charged the same price for CA as DL. Word of mouth spread quickly in Southern California that it was a ripoff. Only good for a few hours if you had a multi-day or annual pass.

 

[tvguy]

And not only that, Disney charged the same price for CA as DL. Word of mouth spread quickly in Southern California that it was a ripoff. Only good for a few hours if you had a multi-day or annual pass.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy California Adventure, but in the way I enjoy the lands in Disneyland, not as a stand alone park.

 

[Buckeye218]

Removing Gary Sinise from the Mission Space role as Capcom. HUGE mistake. The current narrator, while not awful, doesn't come close to filling his shoes.

 

[RedAngie]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy California Adventure, but in the way I enjoy the lands in Disneyland, not as a stand alone park.

Now I enjoy CA as a stand alone park. Back then it wasn’t worth it. Indeed it was barely larger than a “land.” I heard that a few of the shows that premiered with the park were so lame they were discontinued within six months. And many complained about the gussied-up off-the-shelf rides in the Paradise Pier area. Strangely enough I actually enjoyed how they did that part.

Many didn’t understand the overall California theme. I think our first visit was in 2005 with a two day park hopper for about five hours.

Of course, there were a few “Disney can do no wrong” fanboys who praised it.

 

[superme80]

Gummi Bear cutouts for the Boat Ride in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. It was AWFUL!

 

[fly girl]

IT who works on their parks website.

The circle of death, Stitch eating the page, the home page not loading the menu bar, or the page just not loading and getting a white screen. I don't think there has been one trip I have planned that I didn't have an issue with the website or the app.

Lord help us all when they debut Genie. I hope they prove me wrong.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Can I also nominate opening up the "Flying Saucer" ride? I never rode it, but by all accounts it was terrible!

 

[VandVsmama]

Turning the People Mover at Disneyland into Rocket Rods, thus ruining the People Mover track forever and ruining any chances of it coming back ever again.

 

[RedAngie]

Turning the People Mover at Disneyland into Rocket Rods, thus ruining the People Mover track forever and ruining any chances of it coming back ever again.

Rocket Rods was a problem since Day One. I don’t think I ever visited when it wasn’t down for at least part of the day.

I never got a complete ride on it. It broke down while my family was riding and we were evacuated with a cherry picker lift.

But we received free return tickets for the inconvenience, which was way more than expected.

 

[Mysterian]

Superstar Limo - never rode it but I’ve seen the whole length of it, and it’s really meh. Not to mention it would not have aged well.

Every so often, Disney slips up and makes a huge mistake. Name an example below!

I'm going to be controversial and nominate the termination of the Alien Encounter Extra Terrorestrial ride. It was pretty damn scary but it was unique. And if you had an idea of what you were getting yourself into, it was unparalleled.

I would have loved to have seen them go forth with the original idea of the ride being based around ALIEN, but it is what it is.

Since Disney owns that license today, I’d love to see them bring back the Alien now that The Great Movie Ride is gone. FOX actually had plans to build a theme park in Korea, which was to include a huge Aliens attraction.

Kids would love it!

 

[Buzz Rules]

Although it may happen in the future, my pick is them not going through with the German pavilion ride. I still hope they do it one day.
http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2012/2/17/rhine-river-cruise-mysteries.html

 

[neverlandsky]

Lightening Lane

 

[overdisney]

Hiring Bob Capek

 

[Babs Johnson]

IT who works on their parks website.

The circle of death, Stitch eating the page, the home page not loading the menu bar, or the page just not loading and getting a white screen. I don't think there has been one trip I have planned that I didn't have an issue with the website or the app.

Lord help us all when they debut Genie. I hope they prove me wrong.

Disney IT has always been mediocre at best. I can’t understand how they always mess up when they make updates or introduce something new. They have the big bucks to hire the best people.

 

[fly girl]

Disney IT has always been mediocre at best. I can’t understand how they always mess up when they make updates or introduce something new. They have the big bucks to hire the best people.

You’re absolutely correct. They have the money. Problem is they don’t utilize it for employees that are not top tier.

Why go to Disney if you’re a seasoned IT employee and get paid significantly less? You wouldn’t. And hence, here we are.

It’s true with a lot of companies though. Corporate uses the bare minimum they can get away with. IT is so important and yet way too often overlooked.

 

[leebee]

I'll say cutting back on in-park entertainment. Used to be that WDW was an all-immersive experience, and this was highlighted by things like the Streetsmosphere actors at the Studios, roaming bands at AK (and Devine- is she still around?), afternoon parades, opening shows outside the park (Awakening at AK was AMAZING), pre-show entertainment (remember 4 for a Dollar before B&TB, jugglers to keep you entertained while waiting for Fantasmic to start), MK afternoon parade with scheduled stops so they could pull kids from the crowd to be in the parade (dancing with dwarfs, helping set the table at Be Our Guest), etc. The early 2000s were a pretty amazing time at Disney. WDW has gotten away from so much... starting to feel like just another amusement park- an OVERPRICED amusement park.