Does it bother any1 else to criticize WDW?

[jcruise86]

"The Discomfort of Criticizing Something You Loved"

When I was a kid in the 70s & early 80s, I looked forward to our one or two days at WDW each summer
much more than I looked forward to my birthday or Christmas, and I loved Christmas.

So when I write posts criticizing the $800,000,000 being spent on MyMagic+,
or the reportedly poor condition of the Carousel of Progress, the Great Movie Ride or Maelstrom,
or the too few e-ticket attractions built in the last ten years
or that none are scheduled to be completed in the next couple of years,
etc.
it kind of hurts.

I LOVED Walt Disney World
and I want my daughter to see a Magic Kingdom and EPCOT that are
as clean as the ones I dreamed about. That's why I want it to be improved--so I feel entirely good about spending money to cross the country to visit WDW instead of other places.

So, just curious, does it also bother any of you when you feel compelled to criticize WDW?

[KingEric]

It did for a while... now it feels like my duty

[Micoofy Duck]

complaining about WDW seems like a waste of time.

When I'm in the parks, whether it be DL or WDW, I just hardly find a reason to complain. I'm just there and enjoying my day. I don't see why people need to call out WDW or DL on a paint job or a cracked door frame and post about it on here as if they achieved something grand.

I honestly believe WDW and DL doesn't care about us here complaining or moaning about the parks. That's how I feel about these kinds of threads.

[Virtual Toad]

Yes.

Because they were so damn good for so very long.

And then they blew it.

[swampymarsh]

"The Discomfort of Criticizing Something You Loved"

When I was a kid in the 70s & early 80s, I looked forward to our one or two days at WDW each summer
much more than I looked forward to my birthday or Christmas, and I loved Christmas.

I want my daughter to see a Magic Kingdom and EPCOT that are
as clean as the ones I dreamed about. That's why I want it to be improved--so I feel entirely good about spending money to cross the country to visit WDW instead of other places.

The good news is, she will probably love the parks, show, rides, fancy hotels, boats, buses, monorail.

Don't whine to her about how it was better, what used to be there, how that paint is chipping etcetra....

Perception is very different when you age. You probably didn't see the bad things as a child, and your memory is of good things only. You got older and noticed things like this boat is on a rail, that person is a robot etcetera...........

[MickeyM]

Because they were so damn good for so very long.

And then they blew it.

I criticize WDW because I hold Walt's standards of show and quality in high regard. Lately, however, those standards have been slipping, and I feel that as a paying customer, I should voice my opinions on new goings-on in the Vacation Kingdom of the World.

[biggsworth]

it doesn't bother me because I don't complain. I go to the parks to lose myself and have fun and they never disappoint me. Nitpicking the parks isn't fun to me. I know the parks aren't perfect but they offer me lots of fun and a chance to escape reality.

[Disneytwins]

I used to not mind a little criticism, but now I just feel like it's getting to the point of over-criticizing. I feel like everyone is starting to whine over the smallest little things, which is getting pretty annoying. I do realize that this is my opinion.

It's maybe because I visit once in a blue moon, but I go to the parks once every year or two and I have absolutely no issues with appearance or attractions. I talk to my other friends who go once a year and they're the same way. I still feel like all the parks are being much more well kept than they were in Walt's day.

I do offer criticism where it's needed, but I try to avoid criticizing every little thing.

In terms of MyMyagic+, I think that we are so against changes from the ordinary, that we absolutely despise change which is something that we complain about in the first place. I'm not a big fan of the Fastpass+ idea, I think it's flawed, but the rest of the MyMagic+ seems pretty interesting and I'm willing to give it a try to see if it does improve the guest experience.

I love you all, but you drive me bonkers.

[ttintagel]

No, it doesn't bother me to criticize. I have an active mind, and evaluating the things I care about is one of its most natural uses.

When I was a kid, and my mother would scold me for something, she always told me, "If I didn't love you, I wouldn't care what you did." I feel the same way about WDW. I care what goes on there and want it to be as good as I know it's capable of being, BECAUSE I'm a fan. Besides, I'm only holding it up to the standards it set for itself.

[sbk1234]

It bothers me only to the point that I don't want it to cut down my enjoyment of it. Yes, I want it to be the best it can be, but I don't want to focus so heavily on the negative. Even with all of its problems, I feel WDW is still an incredible place. I don't know when I'll get back, but I do look forward to that day, and plan on having an incredible time.
And I will also admit that it stings a little to hear other people criticize it. No, I'm not asking anyone to stop. But it's kind of like hearing someone say how ugly your dog is. You still love that dog, and you don't want to hear anyone badmouth him. On the other hand, if your dog is misbehaving, you can choose to do something to improve his behavior if someone lets you know.

[jcruise86]

The good news is, she will probably love the parks, show, rides, fancy hotels, boats, buses, monorail.

Don't whine to her about how it was better, what used to be there, how that paint is chipping etc. . .

This should have been obvious to me, but I read it and thought, "Oh, yeah. Duh." Then I added it to my WDW list. Thanks, Swampy!

[redrhino54]

Ive been to WDW every decade that its been open. Is it the same now as it was in the past? Nope. Can i accept the changes that have accured? Mostly. While i think critisism is good to a point, i think some on here get carried away, and some jump on the band wagon just to up their post counts....lol....BUT....when i comes to complaining about neglect, it needs to be voiced in public, with hopes that someone is listening. For instance, if Maelstrom is as bad as the pics on here look, what a shame !
I love everything Disney, always have, always will, but WDW is my oasis away from the real world. Does it need cleaned up and improved, YUP . Will the seldom to visit tourist notice what us fanatics see ? Probably not. Does it make it right that its not as clean and spotless like it used to be, heck no. Will i quit going because of it? I dont see that happening, because as much as we on MC can see whats wrong, i like to enjoy everything about WDW thats right !

[aimster]

I complain/criticize because I care. Because I KNOW Disney can do better.

[KingEric]

I worked for Disney, I have family and friends who work for Disney, I live in Orlando, and my real world job somewhat relies on Disney.

So that being said, I want Disney to be successful. I want Orlando and Central Florida to be success. This is my home, this is my place in the world.

So when I aim my hyper critical eye at the Walt Disney World resort, it isn't to "stick it to the man" or to have a "Gotcha" moment.

It is simply to express, that what I believe they are doing is harming my home. They are putting all of Central Florida at risk.

When first time visitors come away from WDW saying it looks "dated' and "dirty" and "old" and "stale" and "a 1980's mall" those are big issues for people like myself who are truly invested in the long term success of Central Florida.

So long story short... I criticize because I care, and they can do better.

[Dapper Dan]

When I'm home I can look at things much more critically. I'm more harsh in my judgement because I can be more objective. For example. I think El Rio del Tiempo is better for EPCOT than Gran Fiesta Tour even though I find Gran Fiesta tour more entertaining. The screens in the Aztec room are really awkward though and the store window scene was way better than the Donald being pulled away from the ladies scene that's there now.

See what I mean? Anyway, when I'm at the parks it's vacation time. I try not to think about the little things that bother me and enjoy myself. Usually this works and I have an amazing time. However on my last trip in November the place was in the absolute worst condition I have ever seen it.

For the first time ever, I had to wait over an hour for a bus and our wait only ended because we decided to go somewhere else instead. This was in the middle of the day not exactly peak travel time. We got to hang out on a stationary monorail for over 45 minutes at the Epcot station while the train at the TTC was moved into the barn. Splash Mountain was barely functional. Several small world figures were missing or non functional for days. The roof of the Contemporary was leaking and dripping into a bucket by the registers at the Contempo Cafe. I tried really really hard to ignore these things and be like, "well, nobody's perfect." but it never used to be like this. It used to be lightyears closer to perfect and there is absolutely no reason why it wouldn't be as well maintained now that Disney is one of the biggest media companies on the planet as when it was a company on the verge of a takeover.

I don't criticize because I'm a mean nasty nasty pants or because I'm super concerned with getting my money's worth. I complain because I have seen with the eyes in my very own face how much better this resort can be run, and nothing has changed that would make it that much more difficult to operate properly other than the will to do so.

It does bother me that I criticize Walt Disney World. It bothers me that I feel like I have to, that if I don't things will either stay the same or get worse. We shouldn't have to point these things out. They should be fixed before we even notice them. Moldy anything shouldn't happen. Broken sets or show elements should be fixed in a matter of days not months. If they were maintained right in the first place they wouldn't break down as much to begin with. The monorail fleet is 22 years old. We should not have to post about this. I'd much rather be writing about how pretty New Fantasyland is or how the best decision of my trip was to run over to Frontierland so we could watch the fireworks while riding Big Thunder Mountain, which was totally amazing. However, it was completely overshadowed by my experience on Splash Mountain the very next day. It was so dreadful that I actually felt embarrassed for Disney. I hate having to be critical, but if I wasn't, I wouldn't be honest and that's worse.