boilerbabe wrote:The magic is all still there.
If I thought that were true, I'd still be going to the parks.
Why are you so bitter about Disney Captain Schnemo?!
Long-time forum readers have heard this from me many times over, so I'll try to keep it relatively short. (Ha ha.)
Basically, I fell in love with WDW growing up in the 70s and 80s. During that time it had a well-deserved reputation for unparalleled quality, and even when something they tried failed, it was clear that they were really trying to construct unique and diverse experiences.
Starting roughly 15 years ago (although with some signs even before that which I managed to ignore, even though they are kind of obvious in retrospect), mostly due to Eisner, the quality and service started to noticeably decline. Around 10 years ago, it went into freefall, with the closing of large number of classic attractions (with the insult compounded by dismal replacements) and contempt for the fans.
That was when I decided to stop going to the parks, although I've been watching hopefully from the sidelines ever since. Things seemed to get worse and worse as the years went by, but there was a glimmer of hope when Eisner was ejected and Lasseter was put in charge of the parks.
I've been waiting for a positive sign from Lasseter, but I haven't seen much hope. They managed to not completely destroy Spaceship Earth, which is nothing to crow about really, but is what passes for good news these days.
They've completely abandoned almost all aspects of coherent theming and respect for the customer, so until I see some sort of seismic shift, I'll just keep watch and hope for the best.
There have been some symbolic moves, but Lasseter doesn't seem much interested in anything that doesn't involve Pixar, and I've not been terribly impressed with most of his work in that area either.
Anyway, I guess I didn't keep it all that short, but that's the history behind my request in this thread.
A baby giraffe is pretty frickin' great, but what I'm looking for is some evidence of a turnaround in the company's respect for the customer and Disney ideals. The first thing I read when I came back was the Kim Possible thing, which is not a disaster, but certainly doesn't give me anything like hope.
I've seen what they did with the Toy Story ride and while it looks like it's good fun, it's not exactly creative or innovative or indeed interesting in any significant way. Better than some of their other stuff, and, like I said, fun, but embarrassingly-designed for Imagineer work. The queue seems to be the best part, from a design standpoint.
I'm not a huge Xmas fan, but it is a good sign that they continue to do some of these extras. It means someone somewhere doesn't mind spending a little money just on atmosphere, but they really need a new Big Brain who understands Disney if they're ever going to get back on track.
I recently visited Atlanta and finally got to see their awesome aquarium. I'm pretty sure their Ocean Voyager exhibit is the greatest thing I've ever seen in my entire life and is exactly the kind of thing my younger self would have imagined Disney would be doing these days. (It'd be a perfect fit for the AK.)
Today, I'm slightly amazed that they don't spit on you when you check in.
I have been back a couple times to wander the grounds (although I can't bring myself to pay to visit a park that will leave me deeply depressed), and I can still catch a whiff of the old magic. They haven't destroyed it all and some of the employees know exactly what I'm talking about but continue to give it their best. It's still undeniably one of the most impressive entertainment centers on the planet, if nothing for the sheer scale of it all.
Of course, that was all true in the 70s, back when Disney wasn't afraid to give us hopeful and optimistic entertainment. If I want cynical marketing packaged as entertainment, I'll visit the World of Coke.
Ahem.
See what happens when you press the "Rant" button?
You should be happy that you have the oppurtunity to enjoy it 
