NBC aired an excellent docu about Walt Disney tonight.

[whatsit]

Not to mention that coaster does something many don't in the middle of the ride, and something no outdoor coaster could ever do.

Another big thing you're paying for at Disney parks is that the high prices and physical distance from "the real world" at WDW weed out some of the riff-raff. Criminals in a park are miles from any "getaway" as the parks are on a massive piece of land and have limited roads in/out. Disneyland is at a disadvantage in this regard, and in years past they had a real problem with "locals" getting cheap annual passes and using the Magic Kingdom there as a hangout.

So, they may be fat, annoying, disgusting rude tourists, but they're probably not going to rob or attack or intimidate you like the wolf packs at the redneck thrill ride parks. The parks at WDW make me feel like a badass.

Universal Studios, on the other hand...more biker types and heavily tatoo'd individuals. Different vibe.

excellent point but they have had to up their security big time.

When I was a kid, all the high schools in two counties did Grad Nite there. But when the gang stuff got too bad they stopped it.

[slipkid69]

Hoo boy. Where to start...

The dining plan has created homogenization of the restaurant menus property wide. The menus used to all be vastly different . now to cut costs, its the same primary ingredients everywhere with slight tweaks. The best cuts of meat (prime rib, etc) are now only offered at a select few locations, where they used to be all over. It's also caused them to drastically increase food prices park wide in order to create false value in the dining plan. Each year, they've cut back what is included in the dining plan as well... When it first came out, each person would receive an app, main course, drink, and dessert, and the tip was covered. Now, it's just main course, drink, and dessert, and the tip isn't included... All while the dining plan cost has increased in price. So much less food of lower quality all while prices have increased. Also because of the dining plan, if you haven't made dinner reservations literally months before your trip, you won't be able to get a table. It's created hyper planning. You have to decide months in advance now which park or resort you'll be at on which day and what sort of food you'll be in the mood for. Gone are the days of wandering around Epcot and choosing a country to eat at based on your mood.

Maintenance. The list of broken or turned off effects on attractions is INSANE. I could list off 100 of them. Literally. Theyve cut back maintenance crews so badly that they just cant fix it all and instead they turn stuff off. The 25 foot tall yeti in expedition Everest hasn't worked since 2005. 2005!!!! And it's the focal point of the attraction!! When it worked, it hung above the train and leaned down and swooped its huge arm at the train. It was terrifying. Now theres no movement at all. It's a 5 million dollar mannequin. Instead of fixing it, they put strobe lights on it and fans to blow its hair to give it the illusion of movement. And most people have no idea what it did when it worked, so they don't know any better. The list goes on and on. Splash mountain is literally falling apart... It was closed a couple weeks ago because some rock work fell into the flume. It opened the following morning with giant tarps above your head in the load area. At pirates of the Caribbean, most of it still has 1970's sound technology through the ride , while its sisters around the world have been upgraded multiple times. That's a decision made by FLA management. To the trained eye, the attractions are largely a mess.. And more and more of it is getting easy for first timers to notice even.

Monorails. There have been MASSIVE failures with the monorail system, with one driver being killed a few years back. YouTube "monorail accident Disney world" for video just seconds after it happened. Trains are constantly down because they've cut maintenance crews. And they no longer run trains till after park close on some nights... How pissed would you be if you were staying at a resort on the monorail line, only to find out it wasn't running and you had to wait in a 20 minute line for a bus or boat instead? They've cut the benefits of those monorail resorts, yet continue to raise prices.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on.

If you want to visit a Disney resort in the US, Disneyland in Cali is BY FAR the better option right now. The parks are immaculate, they've just opened new rides and areas, and there's no dining plan, meaning food selections are worlds better, and you can still walk up to any restaurant there and get a table. And I know people might think because there are 4 parks in FLA there is more to do... But if you actually count the number of attractions, Disneyland in Cali has almost the same number of rides and shows in their two parks as WDW does in their four!!

Great info but sad at the same time. Wish it wasn't that way. But for someone like me I would never notice. We just watched a couple Disney specials on cable today. They sure spin things differently to their favor but that's not really suprising.

[buried20kleague]

Great info but sad at the same time. Wish it wasn't that way. But for someone like me I would never notice. We just watched a couple Disney specials on cable today. They sure spin things differently to their favor but that's not really suprising.

They still show an episode of modern marvels that is all about the ride Expedition:Everest and the technological wonder that is the Yeti... Even though it hasn't been functional for years. It's maddening.

[CCMaguire]

Whichever park has Space Mountain is the one I would still be interested in going to.

Is that Cali of Florida ?

both Disney has parks inside of parks.

Space Mountain in California is way better than the one in Florida.

[buried20kleague]

Space Mountain in California is way better than the one in Florida.

Absolutely. If you knew what I knew about the structural stability of the track in Florida, you'd probably never ride it again.

A complete gut and redesign was planned for Florida, and management canceled it because they didn't want to negatively impact the bottom line with an 18 month down time.

[slipkid69]

Absolutely. If you knew what I knew about the structural stability of the track in Florida, you'd probably never ride it again.

A complete gut and redesign was planned for Florida, and management canceled it because they didn't want to negatively impact the bottom line with an 18 month down time.

That's a damn shame

[Snotty]

Davie was in no way a midget

Through my Teens, I looked like Davy.....As I was told....Over and over......

[Snotty]

They still show an episode of modern marvels that is all about the ride Expedition:Everest and the technological wonder that is the Yeti... Even though it hasn't been functional for years. It's maddening.

Thanks for the info......Really!!!! Any info on what is the best bang for the buck amusement park wise?

[Snotty]

Lenny Kravitz rockin' Halftime on the Jets/Pats game............Really good!!!!

[buried20kleague]

Thanks for the info......Really!!!! Any info on what is the best bang for the buck amusement park wise?

Honestly? Universal Orlando Resort. Two parks with a wide variety of rides... Their second park "Islands of Adventure" has the two best rides on the planet: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man. On top of that, they're building a huge HP section in the other park and linking the two together with the train from the movie , and from what I know it's going to be INSANE. Imagine a rolling simulator. They're also building a Gringott's Bank indoor roller coaster and a transformers ride... All being built at the same time. Add to that a year round theatre for the Blue Man Group and a 30 minute version of Wicked coming to the park as a stage show... There's a TON going on just down the street from the Mouse in Orlando. They're seriously closing the gap in quantity and quality. While WDW is slipping, Universal is on the rise. And it's priced a little better than WDW.

[Thedomina]

the Floridians are ugh, nevermind.

I grew up in fl and whichever disney is there-could never get land and world straight- would go practically every year- even in high school. There was a six guns nearby and six flags in georgia i went to a few times. Now i am in LA, BUT I THINK MY AMUSEMENT park days are behind me

[wanker]

a good friend of my family .george stevens was a designer and engineer of the subs for 20 k under the sea ...

[buried20kleague]

a good friend of my family .george stevens was a designer and engineer of the subs for 20 k under the sea ...

That is awesome. I believe I love that man.

I wonder if he's aware of tokyo's current version of 20k they have at Disney Sea? It's a very different take on it, but still very cool. It's the only 20k ride left on the planet.

[CaptainFrank]

I've never been to Disney World . . .

DisneyWorld is the white man's Mecca. You must make the pilgrimage at least once in your lifetime.


The best part about DisneyWorld is that the tickets are priced high enough to keep the schvoogies out!

[CaptainFrank]

If youre thinking of going to disney for the first, or fifteenth time.. go to disboards.com.

There are people on there who have been to every park, know every angle, etc.. and love to answer questions. Its a forum like this one...


by the way, disney closed and reworked the downtown disney area because too many "locals" were hanging out there every night. They put in a "BET soundstage" bar and well, you can guess the rest. Fat people from iowa don't want to see schvoogies stabbing each other at the Happiest place on earth.