Going Back to the way it was.

[Farro]

Alfredo's!!! Sure, I was only about 10, but I remember I loved it!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

1. Bring back Wishes, the soundtrack still gives me goosebumps.
2. Bring back the old EMH. There was nothing better than being at MK at 3am!
3. Get rid of FP+ and do Maxpass like Disneyland!

 

[GoingSince1990]

Bring back Major Domo’s Favorite Pie to Cinderella’s Royal Table.

 

[jo-jo]

Lights of winter

 

[North of Mouse]

1. Paper fastpasses for the day
2. The great food at CRT when it was King Stephan's Banquet Hall
3. Non expiring tickets
4. Smaller strollers - wasn't a rule, but just 'was'.
5. No hard tickets limiting the park hours for day guests
6. Full evening parades
7. Full original Back Lot Tour - not the shortened version.
8. Main Street Bakery with its great cinnamon buns and croissant breakfast sandwich - not the poor excuse of the now Starbucks.

In other words, mostly the years 1985-2000 (approx.) era.

 

[JeninTexas]

There is not much I would change, especially those things that involve advance planning. The only things that are a big problem for us now are when Disney changes things late in the game, like changing park opening so your PPO Breakfast is no longer PPO or not announcing the schedule for DAH far enough in advance to work it into your plans.
I would definitely never go back to paper fastpasses. That was a nightmare and I would not go at all if it had to be done that way again.

 

[HitchHikingGhost00]

Plastic straws would be nice. The paper ones are a soggy mess.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Plastic straws would be nice. The paper ones are a soggy mess.

for sure and they're even worse with milk shakes because you can't get good suction.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Bumping this old thread to add something to the Disney archive wish list;
Does anyone else remember when they used serve BREAKFAST in Cinderella's castle? My wife and I stumbled upon this MANY (25?) years ago - had to be our first trip ever to WDW. We were looking for a place to have breakfast and didn't even know you could go up in the castle and we didn't need a reservation. It was just us, no kids, and I don't even think we were married yet. I don't remember if it was a character meal but it must have been. I would LOVE it if they brought that back even without the characters. It was just so cool having breakfast in the early morning light in the castle.

 

[Ben E N]

Bumping this old thread to add something to the Disney archive wish list;
Does anyone else remember when they used serve BREAKFAST in Cinderella's castle? My wife and I stumbled upon this MANY (25?) years ago - had to be our first trip ever to WDW. We were looking for a place to have breakfast and didn't even know you could go up in the castle and we didn't need a reservation. It was just us, no kids, and I don't even think we were married yet. I don't remember if it was a character meal but it must have been. I would LOVE it if they brought that back even without the characters. It was just so cool having breakfast in the early morning light in the castle.

They got rid of that!? Cinderella's Royal Table is one of their best cash grabs, especially at breakfast! I'm pretty sure you can still feel free to dish out $50 or so to have eggs and toast with a couple of princesses.

 

[fla4fun]

Those ticket books were the worst. Plus Disney would lose money.

If I remember correctly, way back when you didn't pay to enter the park, you just bought the book.

Not quite. I have been going to WDW since it first opened and entrance wasn’t free. The ticket book included the transportation ticket (to ride the monorail or ferry to the park), the general admission ticket (to get you into the park), and a set number of attraction tickets. You could buy the transportation and/or general admission tickets separately if you wanted or needed to (so if Grandma was with you and didn’t want to go on any rides, all she needed was a transportation ticket and an admission ticket). I remember having to show my (paper) resort ID to access transportation in lieu of a transportation ticket.

I feel the golden age for WDW is from approximately 1986-1996. MK was good, Epcot had hit its stride, and overall it was a really pleasant experience going to WDW. If I had a time machine, that would be the WDW I would visit. I am not saying there aren’t good things that came later, but there is an awful lot of mediocre and just plain bad that came along with them.

 

[Lumpy1106]

They got rid of that!? Cinderella's Royal Table is one of their best cash grabs, especially at breakfast! I'm pretty sure you can still feel free to dish out $50 or so to have eggs and toast with a couple of princesses.

Ohmygosh, you are right - should have googled that! We've done the dinner with our daughters but I thought they had discontinued the breakfast. It was not the double-credit cost it is now all those years ago. Maybe if they could just bring back the reasonable prices and skip the princess part?

 

[TaraWasHere]

I agree with the old EMH especially during the summer when we were staying till 12-1 am.
Night time Parades! I miss them so much.
Wishes! I loved wishes so much more than HEA
Not up charging everything and anything that is considered a "premium. (the good viewing spots for the fireworks, the good seats at the concerts, the EMM that costs almost as much as a full day in the park)
The Great Movie Ride. I missed that so much this year.
The Concourse Steak House! The place was kind of like a little hideaway in the CR.

 

[LiteBrite]

Breakfast at Tony's

This, absolutely. Breakfast at Tony's was the BEST.

 

[SamFaniam]

if you wanted or needed to (so if Grandma was with you and didn’t want to go on any rides, all she needed was a transportation ticket and an admission ticket).

We used to do this exact thing. We would drive over for the day from Cocoa Beach, race around the park with Grandad, and Grandma would be comfortable by Dumbo. They used to be some wonderful umbrella picnic tables in that part of Fantasyland. As we ran around through the day we could stop back by and see her regularly.

 

[Someluck]

MORE BENCH SPACE so I can sit when I am weary and people-watch!

I wish for this too! With each passing year, I fantasize about benches, shade and maybe a few charmingly themed hop-on rides from the front of the park to the boats in Epcot.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

How do you think these "returns to innocence" would work, under today's current crowd loads?

 

[fla4fun]

How do you think these "returns to innocence" would work, under today's current crowd loads?

I am under the assumption that if I use a time machine to go back to 1986, that only the people alive in 1986 will exist at that point in time. I wouldn’t turn back the clock to 1986 on Disney property and still have it be 2019 everywhere else.

I could see some of the things people are suggesting working today, although people would have to change their mindset and that could be difficult. Take something like ADRs. I remember when resort guests could make reservations up to seven days out, and non resort guests could only make same day reservations. It doesn’t matter what point the booking opens, because until then the restaurants are empty. You are just moving a line from one point in time to another. Personally, I would like to book FP first and dining after, because sometimes it’s better to be really flexible about which day you are going to which park to be able to book FoP or SDD. But if you go into FP day knowing you have to go to DHS on day two of your trip because you have all these special dining things booked, you stand a greater chance of being disappointed than if you could switch your DHS day to day four or five of necessary. Now, it wouldn’t have to go back to a one week window, but what if on site booked FP at 60 and dining at 50, and off property booked FP at 30 and dining at 25? The current dining procedures are a carryover from the paper FP days, when they made more sense. Is it time to review the process and maybe tweak it? Perhaps, and this is just one of many ways the guest experience can be improved.

I think there could be a happy medium between how it used to be and how it is that would improve the guest experience while still accommodating today’s crowd levels. Sometimes I don’t think Disney sees the big picture when it comes to planning, which is really evident in how they release, and modify, park hours. Everything should fit together like an easy jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes it feels like I am pounding those puzzle pieces with a fist to get them to fit.

 

[Nanceliz319]

Millennium village Epcot
Tapestry of Dreams parade
Night time parade MK
Disneyquest
Horizons
Same day fast passes
Norway boat ride (the one with the troll)
world of motion
As you can see, I have a lot of love for nostalgic WDW. I have enjoyed the newer rides. I just really miss these!