Halloween Decorations around the Parks!

[AtomicBear]

Originally Posted by DuffyDad

Really?... Why would people do that? I mean, they pay so much to go there...why would they wanna tear up stuff?

I am sure a few guest feel that by spending a lot of money to go to a park that they can do anything they want.

[gurgi]

Originally Posted by DuffyDad

Really?! It's really that bad!? That's just shocking! Why would people do that? I mean, they pay so much to go there...why would they wanna tear up stuff? Maybe I've forgotten what Americans are really like in public spaces, but I really can't imagine we're that bad...

Unfortunately, it is that bad. I've seen it firsthand. Mostly kids and teens, but I've also seen adults destroy things. Some things I've seen in the parks...

• Kids peeling paint in the queues. They will pick at it until it comes up and pull it off in sheets.
• Writing on the walls, railings, wherever they feel they have a blank slate.
• Climbing into the "Tomorrowland" sign at Disneyland's Tomorrowland entrance...they were up inside the sign on top of the big rocks.
• Punching a hole in a wooden door.
• Spitting in any fountain.
• Climbing into and swimming/splashing in any fountain
• Putting gum onto or under any surface instead of finding a trash can
• Climbing into flower beds and roped off areas to sit or just stomp the flowers.
• Pulling on things in Toontown so hard they break off.

It's no wonder that Disneyland's Toontown is so dumbed down...kids were breaking everything. The "interactive" elements have slowly disappeared for that reason. If a decoration is put within reach, it will be pulled on, written on, scratched up, stolen, or broken. I just don't think American's (and I'm not saying all of us) are that respectful of private property or public spaces.

[Janell]

I see this too in the parks and its sad. I think there isn't enough respect taught to children these days. I see kids doing all sorts of things that I was never allowed to do when I was a kid, because it wasn't right to do or it was disrespectful(my parents let me know it too. lol). Which Im happy I was taught, its a good thing to know, but people don't do that anymore. Why? Im not really sure. I too wish other Disney Parks could have the great level of details.

[Mr. Bungle]

The politeness of the guests and cleanliness is definitely a plus at the Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea Parks.

However I seem to recall maneuvering through crowds was quite a chore at times compared to other Disney Parks...then again I've only been there once in 2007.

[jedimaster7313]

I've seen enough of destruction as well in the US parks-and realize just how trashy the parks get by simple lazieness of the guests. Just last week after watching Aladdin in the Hyperion theater in DCA, we were leaving & had to step over a fully loaded diaper. I guess they changed the kid during the performance & left the badly soiled diaper right at the top of the stairs- god forbid they held it till they reached a trash can by the doors.

But I have seen even worse going on in Disneyland Paris- One year I went within the first few days of the Halloween decorations-and in the few days I was there saw more pieces broken off of the recently installed Pumpkin men and groups of foreign tourists literally trying to destroy some areas around the parks.

I've never seen this at TDR- with the exception of 1 small child- possibly 6 or 7, pulling out some flowers in the park, which was quickly noticed by the parents and he was yelled at for it (or at least I think he was) by his mother, while the father was trying to put everything back in place.

[Janell]

Originally Posted by jedimaster7313

I've never seen this at TDR- with the exception of 1 small child- possibly 6 or 7, pulling out some flowers in the park, which was quickly noticed by the parents and he was yelled at for it (or at least I think he was) by his mother, while the father was trying to put everything back in place.

I am impressed with those parents. You don't see that much state side anymore. Its so sad and madding. I want to scream when i see children being children, and the parents don't stop them from defacing something or breaking off something. Kids are going to do things but parents are suppose to stop them when its not right what they are doing. Because over time it will not make things as nice as it could be for others. Like how the state side parks don't have the detail of TDR.

[DuffyDad]

Originally Posted by gurgi

Unfortunately, it is that bad. I've seen it firsthand. Mostly kids and teens, but I've also seen adults destroy things. Some things I've seen in the parks...

• Kids peeling paint in the queues. They will pick at it until it comes up and pull it off in sheets.
• Writing on the walls, railings, wherever they feel they have a blank slate.
• Climbing into the "Tomorrowland" sign at Disneyland's Tomorrowland entrance...they were up inside the sign on top of the big rocks.
• Punching a hole in a wooden door.
• Spitting in any fountain.
• Climbing into and swimming/splashing in any fountain
• Putting gum onto or under any surface instead of finding a trash can
• Climbing into flower beds and roped off areas to sit or just stomp the flowers.
• Pulling on things in Toontown so hard they break off.

It's no wonder that Disneyland's Toontown is so dumbed down...kids were breaking everything. The "interactive" elements have slowly disappeared for that reason. If a decoration is put within reach, it will be pulled on, written on, scratched up, stolen, or broken. I just don't think American's (and I'm not saying all of us) are that respectful of private property or public spaces.

Originally Posted by Janell

I see this too in the parks and its sad. I think there isn't enough respect taught to children these days. I see kids doing all sorts of things that I was never allowed to do when I was a kid, because it wasn't right to do or it was disrespectful(my parents let me know it too. lol). Which Im happy I was taught, its a good thing to know, but people don't do that anymore. Why? Im not really sure. I too wish other Disney Parks could have the great level of details.

Originally Posted by Janell

...I want to scream when i see children being children, and the parents don't stop them from defacing something or breaking off something. Kids are going to do things but parents are suppose to stop them when its not right what they are doing. Because over time it will not make things as nice as it could be for others. Like how the state side parks don't have the detail of TDR.

This is interesting to me because, honestly, I see lots of kids running and playing at TDS and sometimes doing stuff like picking flowers and of course chasing birds, but I've never seen kids doing stuff I remember now that American kids do - swinging from things, climbing things they shouldn't, actively trying to break things... When kids are wandering past ropes or running too fast or getting too rowdy, I've seen parents correct them. But I've never seen kids even start peeling paint, trying to break something by stomping or jumping or pulling on it, or trying to destroy anything. Kids seem genuinely aware of how fun TDR is the way its designed, and seem happy - and respectful/grateful - to experience it. Actually, this is true of kids on trains, kids in shops, kids in museums. And Japanese parents aren't so strict. I think it's maybe a difference in culture. In Japan, there are very clear yes/no acceptable/unacceptable rules. They are simply followed and generally applicable. In America, I think we always kinda wanna push the envelope and see what we can get away with...just because we can. I think our kids learn it from us actively, not just a lack of discipline. Ours is a much more violent, selfish, destructive society. But I'm still glad I was born there because I like choosing my rules for myself (but I do have some - that's the point), 'much as I wish I could speak Japanese like a native.^^

Originally Posted by jedimaster7313

I've seen enough of destruction as well in the US parks-and realize just how trashy the parks get by simple lazieness of the guests. Just last week after watching Aladdin in the Hyperion theater in DCA, we were leaving & had to step over a fully loaded diaper. I guess they changed the kid during the performance & left the badly soiled diaper right at the top of the stairs- god forbid they held it till they reached a trash can by the doors.

But I have seen even worse going on in Disneyland Paris- One year I went within the first few days of the Halloween decorations-and in the few days I was there saw more pieces broken off of the recently installed Pumpkin men and groups of foreign tourists literally trying to destroy some areas around the parks.

I've never seen this at TDR- with the exception of 1 small child- possibly 6 or 7, pulling out some flowers in the park, which was quickly noticed by the parents and he was yelled at for it (or at least I think he was) by his mother, while the father was trying to put everything back in place.

Whoa! Talk about "poopy diapers!" I really can't believe that! I mean, really. That changes my whole idea of who we are as Americans that there's anyone who would do that. I hope it's just some kind of very particular accidental set of circumstances that I just can't fully imagine. There are always exceptions on either side of the spectrum, but I feel fairly confident in saying that regardless of education, income, social group, etc...that would not happen anywhere here, but certainly not at TDR. I haven't traveled everywhere in Japan, but I cannot imagine that. People get stuuupid drunk and old men and young punks pee in public places (EW!), but with their kids, I've never seen anybody do anything like that.

Yet, only recently I was told that there are beaches with condoms and syringes just like in the US, and just last night a friend explained to me that the reason trash bins are so mysteriously absent in public spaces is because of fanatic bombing, so maybe I just have "chrysanthemum-colored glasses."^^ Yeah, now I'm remembering how old men read porn comics on trains even with high school and junior high school girls around and how these same comics and photo books are sold in used book shops low enough for five-year olds to see and totally open to high school and junior high school boys... This would never happen in schizophrenically "Puritanical" America. Yeah, every culture has its choices.

[jedimaster7313]

To be on the defense for our American parks- even after the few disgusting things I've witnessed about park guests recently- After visiting Disneyland last week, I was pleasantly surprised about just how much cleaner and better maintained it was compared to the past few years. Things have improved greatly since the Eisner/Pressler years.

Other than the hundreds of construction walls all over, it was a very pleasant experience.

I was looking forward to their Halloween decorations, but they won't be up for at least another week or so- so I'm prepping myself for those wonderful decorations at TDR.

[members only]

Unfortunately, it is that bad. I've seen it firsthand. Mostly kids and teens, but I've also seen adults destroy things. Some things I've seen in the parks...

• Kids peeling paint in the queues. They will pick at it until it comes up and pull it off in sheets.
• Writing on the walls, railings, wherever they feel they have a blank slate.
• Climbing into the "Tomorrowland" sign at Disneyland's Tomorrowland entrance...they were up inside the sign on top of the big rocks.
• Punching a hole in a wooden door.
• Spitting in any fountain.
• Climbing into and swimming/splashing in any fountain
• Putting gum onto or under any surface instead of finding a trash can
• Climbing into flower beds and roped off areas to sit or just stomp the flowers.
• Pulling on things in Toontown so hard they break off.

It's no wonder that Disneyland's Toontown is so dumbed down...kids were breaking everything. The "interactive" elements have slowly disappeared for that reason. If a decoration is put within reach, it will be pulled on, written on, scratched up, stolen, or broken. I just don't think American's (and I'm not saying all of us) are that respectful of private property or public spaces.

I think in the end it comes from a lack of respect. Obviously the root causes for such aberrant behavior run very deep, starting with the system itself. If you have a system which promotes self-interested behavior, with a lack of concern for the environment, you are going to produce self-interested people, with a lack of concern for their environment.

Obviously the Japanese also have their own set of problems relating to their own set of particular environmental conditions.

Personally speaking, having been an International College Program participant at WDW, I believe the environmental conditions at WDW create a large portion of the so called ‘bad’ CM behavior people complain about. If you have a pristine, highly maintained environment such as TDR, this will inspire large amounts of respect in the CM’s and the guests visiting the park. If you have an environment in which the regular upkeep and maintenance of the park is not of the highest quality, such as WDW, it will not inspire the highest standards of respect in the CM’s and guests. There is a large disconnect at WDW between what WDW expects of their CM’s (Going above and beyond in every area etc…) and what WDW provides to their guests in terms of attractions, maintenance and upkeep. If WDW can not maintain the highest standards of excellence in terms of the attractions they offer and the upkeep of the parks, then how can they possibly expect their CM’s to offer constant world class service on minimum wage pay; the answer is they can’t, it is unreasonable to expect this unless the resort as a whole strives to meet the standards it has set for itself. I’d say in general, relatively compared to TDR, WDW has ‘decent’ maintenance, upkeep and attractions, and I’d also say correlated to that, WDW has ‘decent’ CM’s. Obviously ‘decent’ is not what WDW or Disney as a whole prides itself on, but the simple observation is you reap what you sow.

I’m going to give one quick example of poor upkeep, all though there are many, many more I could give and I’m sure some of the other examples are all ready common knowledge (Yeti broke, Dinosaur a mess, Splash Mountain effects etc…)

Everyday on my way to work I walked past the upward shooting vertical fountain outside of the Imagination Institute in Future World. There are around 30 nozzles that spray the water upwards at a 90 degree angle to produce the upwards waterfall effect. I would say around 5 of these nozzles were off angle, 5 were spraying at a 60 degree angle, 1 was even spraying completely sideways at a 20 degree angle. Now this might seem minor, but in my 6 months as a CM walking past this fountain everyday, not 1 of the off angle nozzles was ever corrected. Such a simple fix, and yet maintenance never rectified the problem. All of these little things add up, guests might not consciously notice the off angle nozzles consistently, but sub-consciously these things all help to form an overall impression of WDW. If WDW as a whole does not have the respect to fix and rectify these simple problems, then why should CM’s and guests have the respect to treat WDW as a whole in the best possible way they can?

[TDLFAN]

Good points. But there are no excuses for WDW to have bad maintenance practices, especially when it is the most expensive of the resorts to visit. Problem with WDW is what many of you consider it's asset: SIZE. The place is just too darn big to keep. But the problems at WDW go deeper than poor maintenance.. it's also about the lack of staffing, the bad behaviors of guests, poor training among the CM, poor management of policy..(like castzooming, letting CMs have facial hair or wear tennis style shoes, kids games on Main Street, etc) <--things they do not do at TDR. Then you have outdated attractions like most of the MK attraction list happens to be. The atmosphere of the parks there is simply adequate but not charming like DL's or HKDL's, nor inspiring like TDS' or crafted like DLP's. It's just one HUGE average vacation resort for any commom frump that goes to Disney for the name and not for the love of the brand. THAT is the problem with WDW as a whole. Maintenance issues (which have been a problem as well in Paris) are just the tip of the mediocre iceberg known as WDW.

[DuffyDad]

I'm from Georgia, so I always regretted that we never had a family trip to WDW, but listening to you guys talk, I'm SO happy that my first time in a Disney park was in Tokyo, even if I had to be a "big kid" (paying for it himself^^) before my childhood vacation dream came true.

[jedimaster7313]

I hope we're not painting too bad a picture for WDW Duffster-

It's not that it's a bad place- For many first time and one time visitors, it's completely magical- they don't worry about a few pieces of trash, they don't look for peeling paint or rotting wood on the buildings. The parades, entertainment and shows are really very good for the average person. When you visit often, the shows become a little boring since they run the same show for years- you notice when a float is missing from a parade, or when an attraction closes for good with no replacement for it & you start to become critical in trying to figure out why Disney is allowing WDW to become so stale.

But when you visit often- then have the opportunity to visit Disney's other parks like Disneyland-it becomes even more magical & then very few have the opportunity to get to Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo which are very different, yet similar. You then realize that there are better shows and offerings at the other parks.

Then when you have the opportunity to see first hand most or all of the parks around the world, you do become somewhat opinionated & think "Why is Disneyland Paris so beautiful, yet so run-down", or "How does Tokyo have spectacular 45 minute shows and parades that change every few months while Florida has been running the same parades and shows for 5 years now"

DuffyDad- you are priveledged to have visited one of the best maintained and well run of the Disney parks first- I hope you equally enjoy someday visiting Disneyland, Disneyworld, Disneyland Paris or Hong Kong Disneyland- so then you can formulate your own opinions about Disney parks worldwide- rather than listening to us grumpy Disney fanatics rip the company to shreds.

I still do like visiting all of the parks & will make Hong Kong someday, but still I realize which parks I like better than others.

[DuffyDad]

Originally Posted by jedimaster7313

DuffyDad- you are priveledged to have visited one of the best maintained and well run of the Disney parks first- I hope you equally enjoy someday visiting Disneyland, Disneyworld, Disneyland Paris or Hong Kong Disneyland- so then you can formulate your own opinions about Disney parks worldwide- rather than listening to us grumpy Disney fanatics rip the company to shreds.

I still do like visiting all of the parks & will make Hong Kong someday, but still I realize which parks I like better than others.

Yeah, I'll still make up my own mind, but I certainly wouldn't make a point of going to WDW from Japan, from what folks here and some of my students have said. I really wanna go to HKDL for Mystic Manor when it opens! International connection of Harrison Hightower and S.E.A.!?! - Heck YEAH!!!

[gurgi]

First, TDLFAN, I am curious what you think of the upcoming major overhaul of the MK's Fantasyland? I understand your complaints about the MK specifically. I share most of them...especially for poor, tired Fantasyland. Do you think the makeover is a good thing and will help MK "compete" with it's sister style parks?

Second, Jedimaster7313 is right, that most first time visitors to any of the parks aren't seeing the same things the repeat visitors are seeing. I've never been to any of the overseas parks, but have been many times to both WDW and DL. I can even see the differences in quality and upkeep between our own US resorts. The thing is, you notice that more upon going over and over. Although, sometimes even the casual guest will notice something major broken...like the Yeti AA on Everest. I think if it's something they saw in advertising and were hoping to see when they arrived, they will notice if it's not working or absent. But, something like a 5 or 10 year old show or parade, the first-time guest won't notice.

I'm not making excuses for the parks, but the people on this forum are certainly more discriminating, and have a lot more opinions on the details between the parks. I think that's good though, as it breeds discussion, and hopefully, changes.

[jedimaster7313]

I'm looking forward to the Fantasyland Expansion very much- but wish it would be a little bit more than what seems like an elaborate meet and greet, a copy of the Little Mermaid and Dueling Dumbo's- They need just a bit more and a standout attraction that is exclusive to WDW's Magic Kingdom.

I'm sure it will be beautiful and appealing to look at, and don't get me wrong- I love the Little Mermaid and will appreciate the attraction as well-even if it is a copy from DCA- but they really need something more innovative and exclusive.

Speaking about copies of rides-I'm looking forward to Monsters Inc in TDR next week- just hope I don't have to wait hours for it, but I hope it's more than DCA's version with flashlights. I'm sure it will be- but I wish even the OLC would have done a bit more of an original Monsters Inc attraction - but I will reserve any opinions after I've experienced it.

I'll have to see about Talk Turtle- I was never that thrilled about the WDW or DL versions to begin with & I'm sure not being able to speak Japanese- I'll miss out on any of the jokes and dialog.