Well, today I finally spoke with the person who was trying to contact me from the WDW executive offices. I had wrote an email protesting the elimination of early entry mornings (a favorite of ours) and the closing of the COP. I wasn't told anything that particularly surprised me.....the character caravan was explained to be a replacement for surprise mornings, which I was told were not being utilized by many guests (hmmm..then why was the ee park always the most crowded after regular opening hours? and why did we always have to be sure to get there right away to ride things without a wait for a little while?) and that the majority of WDW resort guests were requesting special character interaction opportunities. I was told that with COP they've been trying to keep it open and running for a long time, but its finally hit the point where they just can no longer justify it....I'm not sure how much I believe of this either...but hey, I don't know the business side of things and I don't work there to really see the numbers.
We did discuss a bit the issue of "quality of experience". The CM agreed to pass along my concerns here...about meeting some less than friendly CM's in the parks and resorts, cleanliness, and the issue of maintanence being done in view of guests. The CM did say, in response to my concerns about CM's "It used to be we'd hire 2 out of every 10 we interviewed...more recently it was like "hey, are you breathing?" okay"
Which brings me to what popped into my mind shortly after our conversation. Perhaps to have the level of service that was once the standard, WDW *needs* to downsize. If they just can't find enough people to fill their CM roles in a positive way, perhaps they need to cut back on how many CM's they need. In this case the cutbacks would be a good thing. Perhaps there really is no such thing as a "bigger, better WDW".....maybe its downfall has been laid out by the endless expansion. Or perhaps the downsizing will put WDW in a better position to give the quality of experience we expect.
Another thing I was thinking about is something I think I just need to come to terms with.....WDW will never be the same place I remember from when I was a kid, and from my visits in the early 90's. Things change, and we can't go back. This doesn't make me ready to sell my DVC points and quit going to WDW......but it does make me sad. Its kinda like watching my 20mo dd becoming a kid from being a baby and missing her being a baby. Yes, there are problems and the standards have changed but WDW is still quite an enjoyable place. As long as it remains enjoyable and there is still some of that pixie dust floating around I'll probably be there. I may or may not enjoy it as much as in "the good old days"....but its still the only place I can have that WDW experience...whatever that turns into in the coming years.
And, well, maybe I've just been schmoozed by a particularly persuasive CM into thinking all this...but whatever. I'm still sitting in the same car....concerned about the future of WDW, but looking forward to my upcoming trip!
We did discuss a bit the issue of "quality of experience". The CM agreed to pass along my concerns here...about meeting some less than friendly CM's in the parks and resorts, cleanliness, and the issue of maintanence being done in view of guests. The CM did say, in response to my concerns about CM's "It used to be we'd hire 2 out of every 10 we interviewed...more recently it was like "hey, are you breathing?" okay"
Which brings me to what popped into my mind shortly after our conversation. Perhaps to have the level of service that was once the standard, WDW *needs* to downsize. If they just can't find enough people to fill their CM roles in a positive way, perhaps they need to cut back on how many CM's they need. In this case the cutbacks would be a good thing. Perhaps there really is no such thing as a "bigger, better WDW".....maybe its downfall has been laid out by the endless expansion. Or perhaps the downsizing will put WDW in a better position to give the quality of experience we expect.
Another thing I was thinking about is something I think I just need to come to terms with.....WDW will never be the same place I remember from when I was a kid, and from my visits in the early 90's. Things change, and we can't go back. This doesn't make me ready to sell my DVC points and quit going to WDW......but it does make me sad. Its kinda like watching my 20mo dd becoming a kid from being a baby and missing her being a baby. Yes, there are problems and the standards have changed but WDW is still quite an enjoyable place. As long as it remains enjoyable and there is still some of that pixie dust floating around I'll probably be there. I may or may not enjoy it as much as in "the good old days"....but its still the only place I can have that WDW experience...whatever that turns into in the coming years.
And, well, maybe I've just been schmoozed by a particularly persuasive CM into thinking all this...but whatever. I'm still sitting in the same car....concerned about the future of WDW, but looking forward to my upcoming trip!
