Jeff Heimbuch: A Great Big Broken Down Tomorrow

[Malin]

MiceChat Columnist Jeff Heimbuch has written a brand new article on the current decline at Walt Disney World. I absoluely agree with Jeff and feel its time Disney Fans speak up.

http://micechat.com/18766-a-great-bi...down-tomorrow/

[jimmytammy]

Good article. It is sad to see the state of affairs that WDW has become. I dont knock them, it is a HUGE property, so it cant be 100% all the time. But the obvious neglected things that stand out to the most avid fans, that hurts. We pay a HUGE price to get into the parks, stay on property, eat at the restaurants, buy the souvenirs, time and time again. I do agree with the writer, we need to approach with respect, not bashing. As my grandma used to say, you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar

So WDW execs., if you are reading along, take this as constructive criticism, get the parks and resorts in order, we the fans are watching. Dont allow these things to linger for long, otherwise, we the fans may start taking our dollars elsewhere. We love what you do, but we see Walt's ideals sliding away. I cant speak for him, but studying him allows me to say based on what he stood for where his company was concerned, if alive today, I dont think he would be pleased with some of the issues, like those mentioned, and pictured in the article. You were once at the top, set the bar for others to follow. You are not so far removed to be at the top again.

[OKW Lover]

If Disney management won't maintain standards then I guess its up to the fans to point out the issues to them. I wonder how much Disney listens to what's reported in the various on-line media. I'm sure some are accorded more (or less) weight based on the slant of their writers.

I haven't been on CoP in a long time - several years at least so I can't say how good/bad the maintenance has been. Certainly the pictures don't look great. Some of them are perhaps just minor issues but the seats do look pretty bad. I wonder if that was one particular seat or was representative of the entire theater.

No real point to my post here, just hoping that management takes notice and that fans don't go so far overboard in spotlighting little things that management just dismisses them out of hand.

[mrsR123]

Nice article. Thanks for posting. All the examples illustrate bad show, and there's no excuse for bad show.

[TheRustyScupper]

Originally Posted by jimmytammy

. . . the obvious neglected things that stand out to the most avid fans, that hurts . . .

1) There are two reasons for the poor maintenance.
2) Firstly, the budgets have been cut and controlled.
. . . reduces new equipment
. . . reduces supplies
. . . reduces manpower and manpower hours
3) Secondly is flagrantly poor management.
. . . the new "young" managers do not know how to plan or manage
. . . without experience and good training, crews are inefficient *

* One of our neighbors has spent over 17 years in maintenance at WDW.
He speaks poorly about managers. As only one example, they changed the
way work orders are issued and scheduled. The current system has workers
going over the same area 3-5 times per day, instead of staying and fixing
items while they are there. He said they frequently are 2-3 weeks behind on
work orders - thus, equipment and rides break down before they can repair
items or even do preventive maintenance. (As an ex-CEO, I am personally
appalled that a company would cause to delay preventive maintenance.)

[GAN]

Originally Posted by OKW Lover

If Disney management won't maintain standards then I guess its up to the fans to point out the issues to them. I wonder how much Disney listens to what's reported in the various on-line media. I'm sure some are accorded more (or less) weight based on the slant of their writers.

I haven't been on CoP in a long time - several years at least so I can't say how good/bad the maintenance has been. Certainly the pictures don't look great. Some of them are perhaps just minor issues but the seats do look pretty bad. I wonder if that was one particular seat or was representative of the entire theater.

No real point to my post here, just hoping that management takes notice and that fans don't go so far overboard in spotlighting little things that management just dismisses them out of hand.

I love CoP, in fact I drag the family on it every trip. This past August we went and on one of the days it was shut down -no big deal, I had heard of some the issues going on with the attraction and figured we would catch it one of the other days we were in MK. We make it back a couple days later and it's running so we grab a seat -it is maybe 10% full which I understand because let's face it, the attraction isn't as popular as I think it should be. Between the first and second scene the ride stops and finally after 5-10 minutes they ask everyone to leave and it was shut down the rest of the night. While we were waiting in the theater others were making comments about how lame it was and were literally laughing at the situation. I would love to explain to people what a great attraction this is and why it is significant, but it's current state makes that impossible. Meg Crofton(Pres. WDW Resort) is ultimately responsible -I'm pretty sure that she is the woman that Pete has had less than kind words for. Unfortunately, it looks like she is taking the MK down tHe same path as she drove Housekeeping -I'd hate to see the condition of her home. How in the name of Walt Disney they can continue to offer her a salary is beyond me.

[tiki23]

Agreed!

There is less care being taken of the parks now. My husband and I went to WDW in the fall for our anniversary trip. While many cast members added magic to our trip, we were sad to see attractions in disrepair and many of the elements were thickly covered in dust. I would expect that at the local amusement park, but not at Disney.

I hope the Disney execs come to realize that the details are slipping away and that they take action.

I have loved all things Disney since I was a child; it is part of my family history and I want it to continue to be a cherished part of my family culture.

[Peter Pirate 2]

Originally Posted by jimmytammy

Good article. It is sad to see the state of affairs that WDW has become. I dont knock them, it is a HUGE property, so it cant be 100% all the time. But the obvious neglected things that stand out to the most avid fans, that hurts. We pay a HUGE price to get into the parks, stay on property, eat at the restaurants, buy the souvenirs, time and time again. I do agree with the writer, we need to approach with respect, not bashing. As my grandma used to say, you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar

So WDW execs., if you are reading along, take this as constructive criticism, get the parks and resorts in order, we the fans are watching. Dont allow these things to linger for long, otherwise, we the fans may start taking our dollars elsewhere. We love what you do, but we see Walt's ideals sliding away. I cant speak for him, but studying him allows me to say based on what he stood for where his company was concerned, if alive today, I dont think he would be pleased with some of the issues, like those mentioned, and pictured in the article. You were once at the top, set the bar for others to follow. You are not so far removed to be at the top again.

I strongly disagree that because WDW is huge is any kind of excuse for things being any less than PERFECT. Have you seen this companies upper management salaries and company profits? There is NO excuse except to call the money grubbing d bags out. Good article!

[GAN]

Originally Posted by Peter Pirate 2

I strongly disagree that because WDW is huge is any kind of excuse for things being any less than PERFECT. Have you seen this companies upper management salaries and company profits? There is NO excuse except to call the money grubbing d bags out. Good article!

Oh c'mon.... What's a 10,000,000.00 annual bonus between friends(referring to Bob Iger)! Only a true, highly educated business person would cut staff, benefits, and let rides go to $4&7. Let the good times roll baby!

[Peter Pirate 2]

Originally Posted by GAN

Oh c'mon.... What's a 10,000,000.00 annual bonus between friends(referring to Bob Iger)! Only a true, highly educated business person would cut staff, benefits, and let rides go to $4&7. Let the good times roll baby!

Where's the emoticons to let us know you're kidding?Good one!

[GAN]

Originally Posted by Peter Pirate 2

Where's the emoticons to let us know you're kidding?Good one!

Good question -I haven't figured that out yet using the iPad app.....

[WDWCPSydney]

Oh there's a great big broken down tomorrow,
Looming at the end of every day,
There's a great big broken down tomorrow,
And tomorrow's a nightmare away....