Disney - Bad Vibe All Around

[Monorail Man]

Roy gives up, 2 deaths at WDW, a lackluster 50th party, Teen nearly drowns at WDW, an accident at DCA, Disney loses McDonalds happy-meal deals, fireworks failure.

It's been quite a summer for Disney. Maybe this is some sort of sign of things to come? Or will this stretch of bad vibe end for Disney?

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

All we need now is bladder failure...

[mousepod]

And then there's this from today's New York Times: (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/travel/31disney.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1122822046-C1x0SYFIlL5zhAzwziTaPQ&pagewanted=print)

here's the first bit...

July 31, 2005
Some Ask if the Disney Magic Is Slipping
By CHARLES PASSY

MAYBE it was the rollaway bed that didn't materialize because it was suddenly deemed a fire hazard.

Or maybe it was the air mattress that surfaced in its place with a pile of bedding that included 20 - yes, 20 - pillowcases and one sheet.

Or maybe it was the manager who called and apologized for the mistakes - at nearly 1 a.m.

But as tipping points go, it was hard to top the bill with a $750 error - in the resort's favor. Such a mistake was proof positive that something was terribly amiss, leaving my wife and me to ask, "What kind of a Mickey Mouse operation is this?"

It was a question meant in the most literal sense. We weren't staying at some budget motel off the Interstate. We were spending more than $300 a night for a one-bedroom "turn-of-the-century style vacation villa" at Walt Disney World's one-year-old Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. But we were experiencing little of the celebrated Disney "magic," that bend-over-backward brand of service. Instead, our family vacation was turning into a part-nightmarish, part-comical adventure that I quickly took to describing as Disney meets "Fawlty Towers" meets the "Twilight Zone."

And apparently, we weren't the only ones on this ride. To hear some other guests tell similar stories of inept service at Disney World theme parks and resorts is to realize the Mouse may no longer be as mighty.

As Disney marks the 50th birthday of its first theme park - Disneyland in California - with a companywide 18-month celebration that began in May, it is facing great scrutiny, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney World - a 30,000-plus-acre complex in Florida that comprises four theme parks and more than 20 resorts and that attracted 40.5 million visitors in 2004, according to the trade journal Amusement Business.

Much of the focus stems from the recent corporate shakeup that ended with the decision by Michael D. Eisner, the longtime chief executive, to resign effective this September. (He is being replaced by Disney's president, Robert A. Iger.) It's a tale of boardroom intrigue that inspired James B. Stewart's "Disney War," published this year. At the heart of the drama is the question of whether Disney has put profits ahead of the need to deliver that "magic," especially at the parks and resorts.

The issue has been raised repeatedly by Roy E. Disney (Walt's nephew), former Disney board member and executive. In "Disney War," he is quoted telling a group of investors, "If you've been [to the parks] in recent years, you will have noticed the lack of maintenance, the fewer number of characters on the streets. The cast members ... have been pared back unmercifully. Their hours have been cut, benefits taken away. That gets reflected in their attitude toward the guests." (Mr. Disney declined comment for this article, although he recently came to an agreement with Disney's board and management to withdraw a lawsuit challenging the selection process behind Mr. Iger's appointment.)

[€uroMeinke]

And yet Disneyland hasn't looked so good in years - Whatever the case this is certainly a benchmark year for Disney.

[Tref]

And yet Disneyland hasn't looked so good in years - Whatever the case this is certainly a benchmark year for Disney.

I beg to differ. DL looked pretty dirty to me -- overflowing garbage cans, missing props, horrible food service, graffiti. Heck, I ate lunch in New Orleans Square with my feel ankle high in discarded crap. It was disgusting.

The paint may be fresh but don't look down at your feet -- that is a whole different story.

Granted, that was just one day in a year of several hundred (we're up to 365, right?) but that is why YOU CAN NEVER SLACK!!

[innerSpaceman]

Yep, the shininess is centimeters deep. Just below the surface, and apparently just below waist level is a bunch of unsightly waste. Some of the quality spit-shining done in May is already in need of fixing or replacement (cough* Haunted Mansion PhotoMontage *cough), and I get the distinct impression that maintenance is thought of by the Ouimet regime as a May 4th thing only.

The way they celebrated, or rather didn't celebrate Disneyland's birthday has me really bummed, despite all the incredible fun I had. I just don't feel like spending my customary near-hundred-dollars per week there anymore, and so I am embarking on a personal Disneyland spending boycott - which you can read all about here (http://www.xenarchy.com/LoT/showthread.php?p=35289#post35289).

I will still go the Park pretty often, but they're gonna have to pry the money from me rather than me throwing it at them.

[lindyhop]

I was going to post something along the lines of "If you're looking for something negative you're going to find it" but then I realized I have my own gripes against the DL powers that be.

Because I'm a much bigger dance geek than Disney geek I've been loyally attending the Friday night swing dances. They do Fridays only during the summer so I want to take advantage and support their efforts. Well, this summer it's been pretty disappointing. Again. There are very few dancers there most weeks and those that do come usually give up early and go find something else to do. Part of the reason is that there are now other dancing options on Friday nights in the OC and environs but, as one of my friends said, this is Disneyland, why would you go anywhere else?

They would bring more people in if they offered lessons the way they used to. I've heard several reasons why they don't from being too cheap to having trouble scheduling it around the parade and fireworks. The staff at PBDA want to do the lessons but apparently they couldn't get there early enough for DL. Personally I think something could have been worked out if the park really wanted them there.

Then there's the sort of lackluster way they do things at Plaza Gardens. The dance floor is always sticky, how hard would it be to clean it in the late afternoon on Fridays? Absolutely no characters have come by any Friday night and that's something they did last year to build a crowd and it always worked. They're playing better canned music during the band breaks (last year it was the same few songs over and over) but a week ago when the fireworks were cancelled and there was still 20 or 30 minutes before the band's next set they didn't even get the canned swing music going again.

There's a long tradition of swing dancing at Disneyland. Years and years ago they had it every night of the week. I don't expect that but I would like to see it treated with a little care on the nights they do have it on the schedule. There are a lot of dancers out there who are also annual passholders, give us a reason to come!

[blueerica]

That's something I never thought about -- that they used to offer dance lessons. I've been looking into places that offer something like that, and I never remembered that Disneyland did.

[Not Afraid]

Yes! 2 years ago they had Mambo Fridays and Chris and I learned to Mambo. I LOVED the lessons!

[blueerica]

I really want to learn just basic steps, so that I can be asked to dance (say, at a wedding) and not look like an asterisk* ;)

[HTHBellcaptain]

Roy gives up, 2 deaths at WDW, a lackluster 50th party, Teen nearly drowns at WDW, an accident at DCA, Disney loses McDonalds happy-meal deals, fireworks failure.

It's been quite a summer for Disney. Maybe this is some sort of sign of things to come? Or will this stretch of bad vibe end for Disney?

Please forgive me everyone for being a little too much of a Pollyanna, but I think the company may actually be starting to turn around. Granted there is a long way to go to get back to what the company should be, but at least there is a glimmer of hope.

*Roy coming back to the company could be a good thing, not to say that it couldn't be a bad thing either. We just don't have enough information. I lean toward the side of it being a good thing, because Roy is no idiot. For Roy to come back to the company, the company must have made a lot of concession. What these are we won't know until someone writes a book about it in another twenty years or so. We'll see.

*I only know of one death at WDW. That was the one at Mision Space. I don't know of a second one, unless I've just missed it somehow. There was an illness at the Tower of Terror, but last I heard she is still alive. Both the Mission Space and the Tower incidents were not ride related they were health problems that the people didn't know they had. I don't know much about the Mission Space situation, but from what I understand about the one at Tower that could have just as easily happened in her hotel room or while getting on a bus. When you concider that 30 million people go to WDW every year, it's amazing that there aren't more issues like the ones at Mision Space and Tower.

*I didn't see the 50th party. I have heard good things aoubt the way DL looks. I hope they start fixing up the WDW parks the way they did DL. There is some hope of that happening. They recently re-did Small World at WDW. It looks great. I hope they continue to show attention to some of the older attractions.

*I didn't hear about the teen almost drowning at WDW, but that's something that can happen anywhere that there's water. I think the reason these things (Teen almost drowning, child dies after riding Mission Space, teen has anuerism (sp?) after getting off Tower of Terror) make news is because they're on Disney property. It sells newspapers. If someone had drowned in a public swimming pool somewhere in Kansas, we'd never hear about it. But if someone almost drowns at WDW it makes the news.

*I don't know much about the DCA accident on California Screamin'. Poor DL has not had the best of luck when it comes to having those type of incidents. Let's just hope this is the last one.

*I think Disney losing the happy meal deal with McDonalds could be a very good thing in deed. I hope Disney goes back to promotional deals with Burger King. Burger King used to have the best Disney toys. McDonald's toys were a lot less fun. I wish Disney would distance itself from McDonalds. They're the Walmart of fast food. That sort of image isn't really what Disney needs right now.

*I'm not familiar with the fireworks failure. What happened?

I guess my point is that things may not be as bad as we think they are. I know, for myself, I am so used to bad decisions coming out of company headquaters that it's way to easy to assume that everything going bad for the company. But who knows, maybe we're starting to see the beginning of a whole new era for Disney. Here's hoping!!!




If this post was too sickeningly sweet, you may start too induce vomitting now.:D

[alphabassettgrrl]

I'm a PollyAnna, too. Either that or I'm too stupid to know when something's gone bad.

I plan to be at DL for the meet on the 21st. My coworker and I will likely make a few trips of our own. I can't be there for Bats day, but such is life. I've never spent a *whole* lot of money at Disney, just for basic food and all, so maybe I have less "invested" in some of these issues.

Such as my needs are, DL still fulfills them. Maybe my bar is lower than some other folks'. That's certainly been suggested before. That's fine.

[Morrigoon]

Lindyhop: I agree, the Friday night lessons MADE swing dancing. I learned to dance at DL.

They're fools for losing the food location in that area though, it used to be very popular. They should put in a soda fountain and make money off the crowd that swing can generate (especially when, as you point out, the characters show up)

[Matterhorn Fan]

I agree with HTH. Things seem to be getting better. As long as there's some upward trend, I don't see any reason to complain or be bitter.

[innerSpaceman]

Oh, there's definitely an upward trend. But that's in cosmetics. Safety is another issue entirely. WDW's 4-theme park, 2-water park safety record of excellence simply serves to point out how dismal, and too-often deadly, the safety record of Disneyland is.

With another coaster accident that we hoped had been put behind us, many of the May 4th cosmetic upgrades already in disrepair and suffering from inattention, and a really shameful, lackluster, disappointing 50th birthday celebration - we on the west coast are experiencing an unexpected bout of Disney Blues.

[Monorail Man]

Wow. The bad on-Disney-property deaths continue:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12306652.htm

[Not Afraid]

ACK! I don't want to sign up for this paper. Can you give us a snipit?

[Monorail Man]

Alternate Link:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fdisney05aug05,0,6199795.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

[mousepod]

That's a sad story. I've been thinking a lot about this topic, and I'm wondering how much of this is real and how much is spin. I'm not contesting the facts, it's just that I question how much this is backlash to the media coverage (paid and otherwise) of the 50th. Like last years "Year of The Shark," when shark attack stories dominated the news every night - even though there were no more shark attacks than normal that season, could this be the "Month of Bad Disney Vibes"?

Just a feeling...