The New WDW Guest -- Nastier than ever

[mapo]

Has anyone else noticed that the guests are even nastier than ever these days?

I mean just NASTY...arrogant, entitled, seeking compensation for the littlest thing, and miserable people. Could it be the fact that ticket prices have increased 107% since 2008? Or that food prices are smaller but still up 60% in that same time? BTW food and merchandise prices are increasing really soon. And food portions will get smaller.

Ironically, these price increases are the sole thing that is driving the growth of the Company in that same time period.

Did Disney build a "new" Fantasyland area at WDW...yeah, kinda. And the pent up demand for all the hoopla surrounding the new Fantasyland did get people in the gates BUT guest reaction in the park is not good.

The repeat ride value of Little Mermaid is horribly low.

Guests waiting with their electronic leashes now think that the waiting area for Dumbo is like built in child care. They are dumping their kids off in there and wandering away until the buzzer tells them it is time for their ride. And I cannot even speak in Disney terms the backlash if the kid leaves the Dumbo tent waiting area without the parent.

Oh, and now we are draining the moat so they can concrete in areas for guests to watch fireworks and maybe eat a hot dog. Of course, I anticipate that these areas will just be more access for your FP+ reservation.

How long do you think it will take for one of these new and improved guests to climb the embankments? Yeah, that will be interesting.

Finally, has anyone else noticed that the exact same updates we are getting on the Hub are merely links to the Disney Parks Blog??? Well, that is unless the computer you are using does not have an internet block on it. So the guests are being told the same information EARLIER than cast! No wonder so many of these guests think that they know my job better than I do.

For the record, money does not buy CLASS...if you are not sure about that, come to any WDW park.


mapo

[mapo]

UPDATE

No, the nastiness has not stopped. No, not even one little iota.

But here is something else to chew on. The new 3 pm parade, Festival of Fantasy (FoF), is bringing them in by droves. I mean HUGE crowds camping out 4 hours before the parade. As one veteran CM put it proudly, "It is a return to the old days. It is a return to a decent parade". MK is very, very proud to host our newest parade. And it has some of the latest safety features, the least of which makes sure that the Dragon does not have fire under many different scenarios.

Even with reductions in entertainment in other areas, MK has FoF with 3 runs of MI SI CI *and*, most nights, two night parades.

Now here is the interesting part....wait for it. After the 3 PM FoF parade, well the hoards of people flood out of MK. The remaining people in MK stay for the first parade and then fireworks...then MK becomes pretty much a ghost town. If there is no night parade, well you get the picture.

So, the new parade is bringing in people to the MK park. Great news! Too bad they are not staying for the rest of the day.

What do they leave behind? The nasty people. OH JOY....

mapo

[Csaks]

What the heck is with people these days?

[felinefan]

Maybe the dragon could flame-broil the nasty guests.

[Tinker Bell]

Oh Mapo I hear you! They truly are horrible lately. Usually out of a couple guests you always find nice people. Lately there is not one you can take out. They are miserable and grumpy.
However, considering what is going on lately, I can't say that I blame them. I really do think that the increase in prices combined with the FP and Magic Bands mess is really making them miserable. Most guests take Disney as a vacation to just wing it go have fun and get away from having to plan, and stick to a schedule. The most they want to plan is when to have dinner. It's a chance to relax. Now it's all gone and many have a hard time even getting their FP options. If I payed what they are paying for a vacation and had to go thru all that trouble I honestly would just cancel and go home. It's just too much trouble. Yes a few people plan, but that's not the majority of the guests and lately they can't even get to the rides. For the first time in my career I honestly feel like we are treating them like ATM's. Which is not exactly the best feeling in the world. So people lash out and at the slightest hint of trouble and want something in return. It's a vicious cycle.
Some people are extra nasty for no good reason, but those are easy to spot easily. At least they are for me.

[Zazu]

It's almost as if Disney has decided to cater only to Type A personalities and chase off the Type B.

As a stockholder, I'm pretty happy with the results. As a CM and guest, not so much.

[WEDFan]

I think WDW has never been kind to non-planners. There's just too much, and some experiences are constrained to the number of guests that can be handled. Frequent visitors can back off the planning to a great degree, but that comes with knowing what the tradeoffs are. There are some things that you have to plan ahead for no matter what your level of experience. Right now, the changes being made are pushing things towards more planning, even for us, but I think over time it will level out more. In the meantime, for me, it isn't greatly impacting my experience, although I haven't tested that since last December.

[shugotenchi]

[...]Right now, the changes being made are pushing things towards more planning, even for us, but I think over time it will level out more. In the meantime, for me, it isn't greatly impacting my experience, although I haven't tested that since last December.

Three of us tried for a walk-up the second week of January at Sci-Fi Dine-in and were bluntly told, no, you're not allowed to go on the list because "we don't deal with groups of your size". That and the traffic management kerfuffle in New Fantasyland really brought home for me with a gut punch that spur-of-the moment trips are completely off the table now. As is, I suspect, anything other than lip service to capacity safety issues*. Too many people, all in one place, all trying to do exactly the same things. Without completely planning your day around Fastpass times (and I will bet real authentic-looking play money they have an app for this now), you aren't going very far.

Watching bunnies chase the ducks by the castle is still free, though. :)



* Holy Jeebus, who thought the Hub was the best place to gather eleventeen thousand people for Wishes?! It's geographically the worst gorram place you can have a static crowd of any size! It's specifically designed to be a choke point! GAH!