Old School WDW or New School WDW?

[dichuy]

Old school WDW without a doubt. I miss the old Main Street at the Magic Kingdom with all the different stores. I loved the market with the penny candy and listening to the telephones on the wall. It was about a 10 minute bit of party line conversations and a mother talking to her daughter at the store and complaining that ham was 9 cents a pound. Now Main Street is practically one giant t-shirt store--NOTHING like what Walt wanted.

We went back twice a year when there was only the Magic Kingdom. We went because we loved it. It doesn't always have to change. The kids will do just fine seeing the same ride next year, trust me.

[Mousekedude]

I'm for old school WDW. Mostly because of the simplier life and times. The technology back in the 70's was amazing and surprising to me. Now, not so much. I mean the parks are still innovative, but they lack that same "wow factor". I blame the internet!!

Very good points! With the internet, and with the technology available in cell-phones, movies and TV now, it's hard to "wow" people anymore. We're all conditioned to flash and pizzaz already, so we're numb to it. Kids these days are 10 times as tech-savvy by the time they get into kindergarten as we adults were in high school or college. It's a tech-crazy world now....

[Jacca5660]

I'm for old school WDW. Mostly because of the simplier life and times. The technology back in the 70's was amazing and surprising to me. Now, not so much. I mean the parks are still innovative, but they lack that same "wow factor". I blame the internet!!

Very good points! With the internet, and with the technology available in cell-phones, movies and TV now, it's hard to "wow" people anymore. We're all conditioned to flash and pizzaz already, so we're numb to it. Kids these days are 10 times as tech-savvy by the time they get into kindergarten as we adults were in high school or college. It's a tech-crazy world now....

I was tech-savvy in high school!! I was on the AV squad!!! Remember I am the high school parent that knows more about the computers then the kids!!

[Amy]

I'm for old school WDW. Mostly because of the simplier life and times. The technology back in the 70's was amazing and surprising to me. Now, not so much. I mean the parks are still innovative, but they lack that same "wow factor". I blame the internet!!

Very good points! With the internet, and with the technology available in cell-phones, movies and TV now, it's hard to "wow" people anymore. We're all conditioned to flash and pizzaz already, so we're numb to it. Kids these days are 10 times as tech-savvy by the time they get into kindergarten as we adults were in high school or college. It's a tech-crazy world now....

I was tech-savvy in high school!! I was on the AV squad!!! Remember I am the high school parent that knows more about the computers then the kids!!

That is good Jacca! But I would guess that is not the norm anymore. Most kids can runs circles around their folks when it comes to technology.

[rphillips14]

I love new school Disney. However, I agree that the changes need to be faster and more efficient. Here are some changes I would like to see.

1. Space Mountain is like a monster I used to be scared of when I was a kid but now just seems lame. It's an old roller coaster in the dark. Terrible...this needs to be updated as soon as possible. I think R&R Rollercoaster (with the SM trappings) would have been perfect as the new space mountain but whatever. Now, how long will Aerosmith host RRR, my kids have no idea who those old guys are. That's why I say it would have been a great NEW Space Mountain.

2. A Fast Pass App for your phone. Allow me to get a fastpass via phone and the guy checking FP's to be able to recall it on his "phone".

3. A moving sidewalk outside of each park to the bus stop. When we leave the park we are crazy tired. It would be nice to be on a moving sidewalk to the end of the bus stop as that always seems where our bus docks.

4. A video screen at the bus stop to give me something to see, read or do while I'm waiting for my bus.

5. Hourly updated announcements about the park your attending on each bus for the ride over. Not hard with sat. technology.

That's just a few I've thought of while sitting here.

[Amy]

I like the paperless technology idea for fastpasses rphillips! And I would be agreeable to seeing something to watch at the bus stops, maybe some fun trivia facts?

[NaCler]

I like the idea of info on your bus ride to each park. Maybe a board showing you all of the wait times for the attractions so you can form a plan of attack before you even walk through the gate.

[Wizzard419]

They kind of have that already with various smartphone apps, Disney and other third parties have some pretty fleshed out apps. The only problem with the 3rd party apps is that they rely on human input, but they are free.

[Mousekedude]

Those were some really good ideas! I could actually see the smartphone fastpass app becoming a reality in the not-so-distant future. It would be the least expensive to implement. (calling out...) Oh, eavesdropping Disney execs, where arrrrrre youuuuu...?

[mindflipper]

I dunno, I don't think the smartphone fast-pass is as great as it would seem...

...what about those people who don't have smart-phones? The current system makes it fair for EVERYONE. The system you're suggesting benefits the smart-phone people over the people standing in line at the kiosk?

...are smart-phones coverages based on national coverage, or world-wide? What about all for foreign tourists who go to the WDW parks?

Disney will try to come up with a system that is fair as well as convenient.

[Mousekedude]

I dunno, I don't think the smartphone fast-pass is as great as it would seem...

...what about those people who don't have smart-phones? The current system makes it fair for EVERYONE. The system you're suggesting benefits the smart-phone people over the people standing in line at the kiosk?

...are smart-phones coverages based on national coverage, or world-wide? What about all for foreign tourists who go to the WDW parks?

Disney will try to come up with a system that is fair as well as convenient.

Well, Disney isn't about Socialism... they're all about Capitalism. They're only "fair" as far as it keeps them from being sued for discrimination. There are all kinds of perks for those who pay more, like with the AP's and such, so I could see where they might do something like the smartphone app... for an extra fee.

[mindflipper]

Yeh, but even the AP holders don't get preferential fast pass treatment over others! And if was all down to capitalism, why don't they do it like Universal Studio's Express Pass? Where they're limited numbers sold each day, and as they sell out the price keeps incrementally rising until they sell out. That's capitalism!

[Wizzard419]

They don't need to get the preferential treatment, they will keep coming back. At DLR the rates for tickets and AP's have gone up each year and they are still having days when Disneyland "sells out".

As for digital fastpasses, I would imagine it wouldn't be terribly likely since it would cost more money without generating any, it would probably require you to link your phone to a specific ticket, and unless they want to start manually scanning a barcode for each pass it would also mean I would just need an app to spoof fastpasses too.

[Mousekedude]

As for digital fastpasses, I would imagine it wouldn't be terribly likely since it would cost more money without generating any, it would probably require you to link your phone to a specific ticket, and unless they want to start manually scanning a barcode for each pass it would also mean I would just need an app to spoof fastpasses too.

Actually, a barcode scanning system would work quite nicely. After you pay for the service, the app has you call a computerized number where you enter your reciept number, and it then generates a barcode that displays on your screen, and you run it under a barcode scanner as you go through. The C.M. on duty only needs to make sure that the scanner gives you a "green light." Since not everybody has a smartphone, like you pointed out earlier, then it's not likely that the system would be overwhelmed, or that "regular people" would be prevented from getting the paper fastpasses. If you think about it, a person with the app would have gotten a regular fastpass anyway if he didn't have the app, so the number of "fast-passing" people is the same in the big picture. The app would just make it faster and easier for some to get them, thereby easing congestion and making Disney a little more dinero by virtue of selling the app privileges.
I predict it's gonna happen.

[Wizzard419]

Yeah, I still can't see it happening unless they start charging extra for fastpases used by the system or paying their rip-off price for use of the app. (I say that since the official verizon disneyland app cost like $8-9 for a 3 month or shorter usage while others are free or less than $2 for unlimited use).

Still, if they did start using barcodes, I can predict spoofing apps/sites to be live within a week.