Has anybody NOT had a disappointing trip lately?

[jade1]

Jade, I'm starting to think your eyes are embedded Go-Pros. What do you NOT have a picture of??

(And before anyone reports my comment as a personal attack, please know it's a friendly chide)

HaHa-not everything by a long shot.

 

[jade1]

Hate the feeling of leaving-yes we all have things we want them to improve on, and esp thing for ourselves in particular, but it's still the hardest place to leave in the whole world IMO. That weather has been insane as well. Hope you had a good time.

 

[Laketravis]

I know - I was just saying to DS earlier that it hasn't rained since I got here on the 6th.

 

[mom2rtk]

Why do you see the smoking areas as a people problem and not a Disney problem? When I've looked at the smoking areas the ashtrays are overflowing. Why aren't the CM's emptying the ashtrays? I think this is also a Disney problem.

I agree. Are the guests supposed to empty the ashtrays or something? Take their butts with them? I'm lost on this one.

 

[jade1]

Pretty much the same bathroom complaints 10 years ago.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-has-gone-downhill.839703/

http://www.disboards.com/threads/anyone-notice-a-dirty-bathroom-theme-in-the-parks-lately.2305917/

Not that its good-just prob some hit or miss situations (no pun intended), can leave a lasting impression on folks.

 

[luvsJack]

Why do you see the smoking areas as a people problem and not a Disney problem? When I've looked at the smoking areas the ashtrays are overflowing. Why aren't the CM's emptying the ashtrays? I think this is also a Disney problem.

Sorry should have been more clear. The full ashtrays are not a people problem. The butts on the ground and in the planters and the cups left where the person was sitting-- thats the people problem.

I think part of the issue with full ashtrays is the reduced number of areas to smoke. There would be a crowd of people in each area except at Epcot and those were very clean. Which I guess that would be Disney's fault but then it seems to be what most people want.

At AK, I went to the one down from Lion King and it was packed. And a mess.When it got close to the next show most of those people left. A CM did come in and clean it all up. It would have been hard for her to do anything with all those people.

So I should say that its a combination of a people problem and Disney's problem.

 

[MolonLabe]

I think as long as guests continue to eat the way they do, this is probably true.

EDIT TO ADD:
Here is a quick synopsis. We all know that WDW is seeing record crowds, right?





In addition to the layoffs, you also have to look at the way the workforce has shifted from full time to part time and college program employees. Workers with less personal investment in the company they work for are simply different from employees who are heavily invested. The last relative I had who worked there finally gave up after he could not get scheduled for more than 20 hours a week after routinely working 35. And most of his co-workers followed him out the door (if they didn't beat him to the door). It was no longer worth their while. So the company replaces people with 5-10 years under their belt with college program kids or part time workers. It seems almost obvious to us now that working in a theme park should be a summer job or a short term gig. But believe it or not, it used to be a career.

It did.

I expect to see a further reduction in employee hours as the affordable care act kicks in fully for employers at the end of the year. With increasing rates it's just too expensive to try providing insurance for 53,000+ employees and their families.

The domino effect trickles down as you've noted.

I too remember the "napkin barely hit the floor" pick ups.

It was rare to *not* see a supervisor walking around with someone from that area.

I have hardly seen that more recently.

The parks aren't dirty but the near perfection push is gone.

You all aren't the only ones to have noticed.

 

[soniam]

If your hesitant maybe you shouldn't go. There's too many people here anyway It's actually really great. We are on vacation now and went in July. We are having a wonderful time. You tend to read the most negative comments on the web, because people rarely post and say "life's awesome, having a wonderful time"

 

[Kona65]

I want to go, but am hesitant given such widespread complaints here about oversalted food, disgusting bathrooms, declining service, broken technology, layoffs and defections, crowds, construction, nothing new in years and decay/abandonment of whole areas of parks, rising costs in an increasingly poorly disguised effort to gouge the guest, and diminishing value. Oh, and loss of spontaneity due to FP+. So...still a good destination? Do we all just need an antidepressant and lessons in gratitude? I'm honestly not sure what to expect and whether even to go.

All part of the Disney Magic.

 

[kbelle8995]

Here's my thing. If you want to go, GO. It is your vacation.

I have not had great times as Disney lately. However, I think that if a person wants to go than they should go, just manage your expectations.

 

[luvsJack]

Op, you should go. I wasn't looking forward to the trip we just went on. Partly because it was a school group and partly from things I read here. We had a great time.

Other than whether you love or hate FP+, most of the stuff you are reading complaints about you aren't likely to notice.

WDW is still magical. Its still a great place to be.

I was half expecting to see trash everywhere, obnoxious CMs at every turn and things falling apart. Lol. It wasn't like that at all. Our last trip was 3 yeara prior and honestly I saw no difference or from the one 11 years ago.

I am not saying that those who are complaining are wrong but maybe just have a differnt perspective. I don't know.

Go on your trip and have a magical time.


ETA: I realized that I sound like I am contradicting myself from an earlier post. I had a lot of reservations about our trip in the months that the choir spent planning it. I didn't want them to sing at DTD because of the construction--it turned out great. I was worried about the things that had been said here about being dirty and such and was half wishing he would change the trip to Universal. So, I did our group's FPs when I got the ticket numbers (wasn't a half bad experience and we got everything the teens wanted) and then said, "you know what, Disney is still Disney. I just can't see it being that bad". So, at that point I went in expecting what I experienced before and I wasn't disappointed at all.

 

[mom2rtk]

Here's my thing. If you want to go, GO. It is your vacation.

I have not had great times as Disney lately. However, I think that if a person wants to go than they should go, just manage your expectations.

By "manage your expectations", do you mean "lower your expectations"?

 

[kbelle8995]

By "manage your expectations", do you mean "lower your expectations"?

It just means more realistic. And I hate telling people that. If the OP really really wants to go, why should I jeopardize her or his vacation just because mine was not so great.

I struggle with that because lately I don't want to tell people to go to Disney because in the last two years I lost my excitement for being in the parks. It's tough when you know someone's who going and they tell you "I'm not a planner." or "I'm worried about the state of the parks

Yet there is a big part of me that still loves Disney. I chose a complete break but I can't make that decision for the OP.

 

[JimmyV]

The parks aren't dirty but the near perfection push is gone.

I think this is the absolutely perfect way to say it. Disney used to hold itself to the highest of highest standards. Now, they simply hold themselves to a high standard. Which isn't bad. But most people who have followed the evolution of the WDW from 1971 to the present would notice a difference. Folks who have followed WDW for the past 15 years might not.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think this is the absolutely perfect way to say it. Disney used to hold itself to the highest of highest standards. Now, they simply hold themselves to a high standard. Which isn't bad. But most people who have followed the evolution of the WDW from 1971 to the present would notice a difference. Folks who have followed WDW for the past 15 years might not.

I agree with that prior post as well, and think it sums things up nicely.

Compared with other companies these days, Disney's customer service is not "bad". But it's not the gold standard it used to be either. The same could be said for so many things going on at Disney right now.

 

[YesMickey]

Wow. I thought I was the only one that didn't feel the same about our last trip. Over salted food etc. My ankles got swollen after the first day, and that doesn't happen. It took two days back home for the swelling to go down. My wife and I complained the whole time how bloated we felt and we work out every morning (except of course not while at Disney) Also we were disappointed at HS. Just not that much to do, and the Movie ride is getting tired, and we stopped going to AK the last 2 trips we were there. Looks like we aren't the only ones as, according to my disney app, the line for the Yeti roller coaster was only 5 minutes around lunch time on the Monday we were there. Disney raises their rates and fees, but not really many updates, except for new fantasyland, I guess. Hoping for big things coming to HS in the future as my wife and I are looking forward to going by ourselves in the future. Oh yea, and the new fast pass system is dumb. Why would you have to get two fast passes you won't use when you just need one for one ride at a time.

 

[linskypens]

We were there this week, and after 27 times there, I still found helpful CM's, good quality food, great attractions, clean parks, good staff at the All Stars, and the same great vacation we always have...disregard the constant complaints here, and go enjoy what is still the premier vacation destination on earth.

 

[Wcpedorc]

I say a bad day at a Disney park is better than a good day at work. Some things vary from trip to trip, and yes there is probably a downward trend in a lot of the areas mentioned, but trip after trip, you and I are shelling out the money, because we love the good that is still there. I hope that the trend begins to turn around soon, before it's no longer the place that we fell in love with.

 

[mom2rtk]

I say a bad day at a Disney park is better than a good day at work. Some things vary from trip to trip, and yes there is probably a downward trend in a lot of the areas mentioned, but trip after trip, you and I are shelling out the money, because we love the good that is still there. I hope that the trend begins to turn around soon, before it's no longer the place that we fell in love with.

But work pays you to be there, so that's not really a fair comparison.

 

[JimmyV]

But work pays you to be there, so that's not really a fair comparison.

I've never really understood the "A bad day of ________ is better than a good day at work" sentiment. If that is true for someone, then perhaps they need to look for a new line of work. If I have a "good day" at work and achieve some positive result that has people stopping by to congratulate me, or results in my CEO personally recognizing me, I can tell you that that feeling is a whole lot better than a bad day at Disney World. It is a whole lot better than my best day at Disney World.