Ok guys here goes.. This is not a trip report but more of an assessement of what I saw and experienced. Good & Bad.
Prelimenary... My wife and I plus 17yo daughter plus 15 yo nephew and 11 & 6 yo nieces. A nice mix of ages. We stayed off-site at my timeshare so cannot report on resorts except when went to character meal at Chef Mickey's. Weather was very WET. It rained everyday for at least a couple hours so I also experienced how WDW handles poor weather conditions.
Hours: MK was 9 to 11 on my first visit(to midnight on 2nd); Epcot was 9 to 9 with half of Future World closed at 7; Studios 9 to 10 with a 10:30 Fantasmic; AK was 9 to 6; Typhoon Lagoon was 9 to 7:30pm.
Crowds: Practically off-season in size. Longest wait on any ride any park was 60 minutes. Weather may have kept many locals from going but what about travelors like myself. Even though forecasts were so-so plans had been made; money spent so had to go no matter what.
Now match crowds to hours and WHY SHOULD THE PARKS BE OPENED LONGER. I did not complete any one park and extending MK/Studios/Epcot by an hour or two would not have made a difference, especially Epcot as what we missed doing was the Countries. Most young children are not really interested in going into/out of stores. We did stop to see The British Invasion and Shockwave which took time away from rides. So why did we not see everything you ask because with young children in tow you stop and smell the roses more not just rush from ride to ride. We lined up for authographs; we stopped for lunch instead of grabbing a bite on the fly; we lined up for parades and shows early so to get good viewing for my nieces. In past years when just my family we could come later for a parade or show since we can see over the people in front.
Now for LandBaron (who will miss this) and others who talk about things missing. I saw no burnt out light bulbs; no daytime maintenance; clean streets even in the rain; clean rides; friendly CM's under wet circumstances. The overall atmosphere was just like it always was in the 'golden years'. What was bad then? Well, parade in MK cancelled after sitting in rain until almost start time. They could have announced cancellation sooner but I guess they were hoping rain would go away. Wish Living Seas had been updated so that it would be worthwhile to visit.
Experience: Nothing short of Magical. Why because for the first time in a long time I saw WDW thru the eyes of children my nieces. Some have claimed how 'lame' the Pooh ride is well it was not to my 6 yo niece. You had to see her face when the Honey Pot was bouncing along with Tigger and she was waving hello to Tigger. THAT IS MAGIC. Or the look on both their faces when characters would sign their books and pose for pictures. My 11 yo niece got picked to march in the Lion King show at AK and was thrilled.
I honestly believe we here, including myself to some extent, have become jaded. We are frequent visitors, most of us (or all) are adults looking at WDW as adults. My suggestion on your next visit look at the young children around you. Look at their faces when they see the characters, either up close or on parade. Do these children see the Magic fading or maybe a cleaning crew coming by at close instead of waiting to park is empty. NO! Yet this is what 'we' see and say something is wrong.
As for AK.. I went at opening 9am. I was there until 5:15pm and could not complete the Park. I missed 2 shows and Conservation Station plus letting the kids play in the boneyard (rain prevented that). How is that a half-day park? If all someone wants to do is run/walk from ride to ride then I can complete each WDW with time to spare; therefore, each park is 'half-day'. If exploring/watching is not your thing, fine but don't define your likes/dislikes as the definitive answer. Each one of us has our own impression of AK, to some it lacks something and that makes it half-day, to others there is enough present to make it a full-day.
I did not go to Universal/IOA because only 1 or 2 out of our party of 6 would have gotten anything out of IOA and Universal closes too early to waste a day on. We did go to SeaWorld which all of us liked and had dinner with Shamu which thrilled the kids. However, if WDW is overpriced (ie. ripe-off) then SW is the leader and WDW is the follower. It started with parking $7 instead of WDW's $6; followed by starchy parking attendents. My wife has torn cartiledge in her knee; at WDW they allowed us to park at the head of a row to shorten walk to tram; at SW which has no tram that was not allowed. Why, because others may ask for the same privilege. Of course, how would anyone else know why we parked at the head? Then it continued in the park when speaking to guest sevices about it, response was 'tough luck'. Now the ripe-off part. WDW has FastPass; U/IOA has Front-Line (but only onsite guest); well SW has gone one step further, YOU CAN BUY FASTPASS. That's right for an extra price, above admission (already more than WDW) you can pay for going to the front. Nice deal huh. And WDW is so bad????
Final thoughts.. This was a good vacation, not great because the weather did put a damper on things. WDW was not like the car #3 people keep saying. Yes, the hours were less than in the past but there was no need for extended hours. The crowds did not warrant it. In fact if not for having young children with us I would have done everything in each park well within the hours available. Bottom-Line, the MAGIC is there. In the parades, in the shows, in the rides and in the CM's who help pull it all together. Eisner may be squeezing every penny he can out of the parks but he has yet to effect the MAGIC and it is so ingrained in the place that short of tearing it down it is not in danger.
Therefore, I will continue to lurk on this board and even take part in an occasional discussion but I find myself repeating the same things over and over again. We each have our opinion of what WDW is and what it is becoming or not becoming. Like scoops in his thread, if WDW is fading then why go? The day the magic dies is the day I stop going and for me that day is NOT HAPPENING.
I hope you all enjoy your trips as they come up. I tried to see Safari Steve and OnWithTheShow but missed them. Maybe next time.
from your committed Car #1 DisDuck
Prelimenary... My wife and I plus 17yo daughter plus 15 yo nephew and 11 & 6 yo nieces. A nice mix of ages. We stayed off-site at my timeshare so cannot report on resorts except when went to character meal at Chef Mickey's. Weather was very WET. It rained everyday for at least a couple hours so I also experienced how WDW handles poor weather conditions.
Hours: MK was 9 to 11 on my first visit(to midnight on 2nd); Epcot was 9 to 9 with half of Future World closed at 7; Studios 9 to 10 with a 10:30 Fantasmic; AK was 9 to 6; Typhoon Lagoon was 9 to 7:30pm.
Crowds: Practically off-season in size. Longest wait on any ride any park was 60 minutes. Weather may have kept many locals from going but what about travelors like myself. Even though forecasts were so-so plans had been made; money spent so had to go no matter what.
Now match crowds to hours and WHY SHOULD THE PARKS BE OPENED LONGER. I did not complete any one park and extending MK/Studios/Epcot by an hour or two would not have made a difference, especially Epcot as what we missed doing was the Countries. Most young children are not really interested in going into/out of stores. We did stop to see The British Invasion and Shockwave which took time away from rides. So why did we not see everything you ask because with young children in tow you stop and smell the roses more not just rush from ride to ride. We lined up for authographs; we stopped for lunch instead of grabbing a bite on the fly; we lined up for parades and shows early so to get good viewing for my nieces. In past years when just my family we could come later for a parade or show since we can see over the people in front.
Now for LandBaron (who will miss this) and others who talk about things missing. I saw no burnt out light bulbs; no daytime maintenance; clean streets even in the rain; clean rides; friendly CM's under wet circumstances. The overall atmosphere was just like it always was in the 'golden years'. What was bad then? Well, parade in MK cancelled after sitting in rain until almost start time. They could have announced cancellation sooner but I guess they were hoping rain would go away. Wish Living Seas had been updated so that it would be worthwhile to visit.
Experience: Nothing short of Magical. Why because for the first time in a long time I saw WDW thru the eyes of children my nieces. Some have claimed how 'lame' the Pooh ride is well it was not to my 6 yo niece. You had to see her face when the Honey Pot was bouncing along with Tigger and she was waving hello to Tigger. THAT IS MAGIC. Or the look on both their faces when characters would sign their books and pose for pictures. My 11 yo niece got picked to march in the Lion King show at AK and was thrilled.
I honestly believe we here, including myself to some extent, have become jaded. We are frequent visitors, most of us (or all) are adults looking at WDW as adults. My suggestion on your next visit look at the young children around you. Look at their faces when they see the characters, either up close or on parade. Do these children see the Magic fading or maybe a cleaning crew coming by at close instead of waiting to park is empty. NO! Yet this is what 'we' see and say something is wrong.
As for AK.. I went at opening 9am. I was there until 5:15pm and could not complete the Park. I missed 2 shows and Conservation Station plus letting the kids play in the boneyard (rain prevented that). How is that a half-day park? If all someone wants to do is run/walk from ride to ride then I can complete each WDW with time to spare; therefore, each park is 'half-day'. If exploring/watching is not your thing, fine but don't define your likes/dislikes as the definitive answer. Each one of us has our own impression of AK, to some it lacks something and that makes it half-day, to others there is enough present to make it a full-day.
I did not go to Universal/IOA because only 1 or 2 out of our party of 6 would have gotten anything out of IOA and Universal closes too early to waste a day on. We did go to SeaWorld which all of us liked and had dinner with Shamu which thrilled the kids. However, if WDW is overpriced (ie. ripe-off) then SW is the leader and WDW is the follower. It started with parking $7 instead of WDW's $6; followed by starchy parking attendents. My wife has torn cartiledge in her knee; at WDW they allowed us to park at the head of a row to shorten walk to tram; at SW which has no tram that was not allowed. Why, because others may ask for the same privilege. Of course, how would anyone else know why we parked at the head? Then it continued in the park when speaking to guest sevices about it, response was 'tough luck'. Now the ripe-off part. WDW has FastPass; U/IOA has Front-Line (but only onsite guest); well SW has gone one step further, YOU CAN BUY FASTPASS. That's right for an extra price, above admission (already more than WDW) you can pay for going to the front. Nice deal huh. And WDW is so bad????
Final thoughts.. This was a good vacation, not great because the weather did put a damper on things. WDW was not like the car #3 people keep saying. Yes, the hours were less than in the past but there was no need for extended hours. The crowds did not warrant it. In fact if not for having young children with us I would have done everything in each park well within the hours available. Bottom-Line, the MAGIC is there. In the parades, in the shows, in the rides and in the CM's who help pull it all together. Eisner may be squeezing every penny he can out of the parks but he has yet to effect the MAGIC and it is so ingrained in the place that short of tearing it down it is not in danger.
Therefore, I will continue to lurk on this board and even take part in an occasional discussion but I find myself repeating the same things over and over again. We each have our opinion of what WDW is and what it is becoming or not becoming. Like scoops in his thread, if WDW is fading then why go? The day the magic dies is the day I stop going and for me that day is NOT HAPPENING.
I hope you all enjoy your trips as they come up. I tried to see Safari Steve and OnWithTheShow but missed them. Maybe next time.
from your committed Car #1 DisDuck