Poll: What’s Most Irritating at the Parks?

It’s finally time for another WDW Central poll! Let’s talk about the stuff that happens in the parks that we don’t particularly like or enjoy. Not so much what Disney does, but perhaps what the guests do.I experienced every one of these during my last trip to the World, which prompted me to create this poll: what’s the most irritating thing that has happened to you in the Parks?

Feel free to vote and also comment to discuss your answers!

I’m off to the Magic

Wonderful readers of WDW Central, this is just a mini-post to let you know that I will be in Walt Disney World this afternoon through Wednesday afternoon for a Thanksgiving getaway. Thanks for your patience, and there will be a post or two waitingwhen I get back. See ‘ya real soon!

Collection of Ride Breakdowns & Mishaps, from Youtube

I don’t know about you, but I love it when rides at Walt Disney World break down. It just gives me this happy feeling inside, like something that isn’t supposed to happen is. Something that temporarily “ruins” the “show” does – just a little bit, just enough for me to enjoy that. It also gives you more time to enjoy the scene you are in on the ride.

This post is simply a collection of Walt Disney World ride breakdown videos that I have seen on Youtube. They are embedded in this post so you don’t have to keep clicking links back and forth. Enjoy!

Stuck on Soarin’ for 25 Minutes:
Catch a rare glimpse of Soarin’ broken down for a few minutes. Multiple breakdown announcements (one is a prerecorded Patrick). Also see the theater with service lights on, with many shining on the screen.

Riding Dinosaur! with the Lights On:
Here is another rare video, guests getting to ride the entire Dinosaur! attraction with the service lights on, really giving you a new perspective. Very cool to see!

The Land Pavilion’s Fire Alarm:
8 second video showing the chaos that ensues when the fire alarm at The Land Pavilion is accidentally set off.

Firetrucks Driving Through Epcot:
Here you can see guests being roped off as two Reedy Creek fire trucks drive by Innoventions to put out a small electrical fire.

It’s a Small World without the Music:
Lucky, lucky people. Here, “it’s a small world” breaks down and the music stops. See those creepy anamatronic children dancing to nothing.

Haunted Mansion with service lights on:
These folks were stopped in the Graveyard of the Haunted Mansion (Disneyland, sorry) with the service lights on. Two minutes of Heaven for me!

Test Track Breakdown (Surprise, Surprise)
The infamous Test Track’s let’s-go-really-slow-around-all-the-curves-then-break-your-neck-by-starting-fast-again breakdown.

Some might say these videos ruin the magic. For me, they make it even more magical to see even in WDW there might be little problems, yet it amazes me how quick and efficient they are in the long run. What do you think? Which rides have broken down when you’re on them?

The Great Debate: TTA Changes Good or Bad?

Hey there, it’s been a while! I was waiting to post this post until I had been to Walt Disney World myself to see the updated TTA/People Mover. I went last weekend, so now I think it’s time for me to share my opinion.

If you don’t know what happened yet, here it is: Disney closed the Tomorrowland Transit Authority when Space Mountain closed for major refurbishments. People were expecting new lighting and refurbished cars – but something that was completely unexpected to me was a new dialogue.

That’s right, the familiar deep, monotone voice, along with the well known male & female voices that used to be heard throughout the attraction have been removed. No more “Paging Mr. Morrow – Mr. Tom Morrow. Your party from Saturn has arrived. Please give them a ring.”

Instead, there is now a more energetic young man as the narrator. He is softer (I couldn’t even understand him the first half of the ride) and he basically just gives you a tour of Tomorrowland, promoting the rides in the surrounding area.

My thoughts on this are simple. I’m not that upset, for some reason. Sure I will miss the old narrations and such (D-CoT has some of the old announcements to listen to on demand), but I don’t think change is bad. Everyone will get used to the new narrator, and who knows, in a few years he might be the “classic” that everyone wants to keep.

All I’m saying is – are these new changes really that bad? Share your thoughts below; let us know what you think of these changes if you’ve seen them (or at least watched a Youtube video).

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Photo: scottbowling

WDW’s Purple and Pink Monorails Combine and Become Teal

Walt Disney World has announced to build a new monorail train from the undamaged remains of the two trains that collided in a fatal accident this summer. The new monorail, expected to be put in service later this fall, will be given a teal stripe to differentiate it from the other trains.

Even with the addition of this new monorail train, the Resort will be one short of its previous twelve trains before the accident. Disney announced their expectation to add another train to the line next year, giving the monorail system their normal number of twelve trains once again.

The two colors that were involved in the accident, Pink and Purple, are retired out of respect for Austin Wuennenberg, his family, and the other cast member involved in this terrible incident. [Source: Orlando Sentinel, Photo: Disney Top 10]

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Cast Members: Does it Spoil the Magic for Them?

As you may or may not know, I am a loyal member of D-CoT: The Disney Community of Tomorrow. One feature of this friendly community is Forums. One of the topics started a while back was “Where would you most like to work in WDW?”. A few posts later, someone mentioned that actually working at WDW might “ruin the magic”.

A few posts after that, TiggerROCKS came up with a reply that I completely agree with. Read his post below:

“First, a lot of you guys are scared to work in the parks because you don’t want
to ‘ruin the magic.’ I say PHOOEY!!  

Guests like people on this site make EXCEPTIONAL Cast Members. You already love it…Yeah, you learn how a few things work… but that means you get to be IN on it. You become part of the magic… which for me, just intensifies my own magical experience.

Of course, I’m one of those ‘How do they DO that?’ kind of guys… But usually, when I find out, knowing the secret makes it 100 times cooler! I’ve worked at all 4 parks and many of the resorts… (Entertainment is global)… Getting to see the inner workings across property made me really appreciate the genius of the Imagineers and front-line CMs who keep this magical monster alive.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. What do you think? Would being a CM ruin the magic, or make it better? I want to hear from CM’s (past/present) is there are any here, as well as everyone else. Share your thoughts!

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Photo: gumption

The Elements of Disney Theming: Part One

Welcome to Part One of a new series here at WDW Central, The Elements of Disney Theming. This time, we’re going to look at something that really makes or breaks many themed attractions – this one factor is so important regarding the theme of an attraction and its believability. It is: The MUSIC.

MUSIC sparks MEMORIES. When you’re at home sitting in your chair all depressed because your next Disney trip isn’t for a year, what would happen when you heard a few bars of a classic Disney song? It would probably perk you up – whether it be It’s a Small World, Grim Grinning Ghosts, or Soarin’, music is important – when heard, it will bring back many pleasant memories.

MUSIC creates MOODS. This is one of the main reasons music is so vital to an attraction’s theming! Music sets the mood and tone of the whole experience, whether you consciously think about the music or not. Take The Haunted Mansion, for example. From the moment you walk in, you hear that slow, creepy organ playing in the background. This takes the experience to a whole new level by adding that emotion that heightens the experience’s reality.

MUSIC in the BACKGROUND. Music is not only used in these themed attractions; it’s also in the background pretty much every second of your time in the parks. Whether you officially “notice” it or not, area music is always playing in most areas – and Magic Kingdom, Epcot, DHS, and Animal Kingdom all have different areas with different styles of area music, always matching the theme of the area you are in.

On a side note, Disney is very clever about disguising their speakers on attractions and in walking areas. Look to the right (from left to right: In Tomorrowland, these rounded ultra-modern speakers fit right in; On Splash Mountain, speakers are disguised as birdhouses to keep the music flowing; At Animal Kingdom, the speakers blend right in with the polls and African-style design). Click pictures to enlarge.

Parades are no exception. I went to the Universal Christmas Day Parade, and was disappointed. The individual floats were the only things producing music – so when there were gaps between floats (pretty much every time), it was awkward silence. Of course Disney has this covered. They have hidden speakers on 2nd story windows and balconies that play the instrumental background music of the parade, while the floats each have an individual different arrangement that accompanies the BG music. Just another way Disney has thought of everything!

This has been an extremely long post – there’s just so much to talk about! Agree? Disagree? I’d like to hear your opinions on this article – how Music is a vital part and one of the main elements of the Disney theming. The Disney difference.

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The Elements of Disney Theming: Introduction

Coming soon to WDW Central is a series titled “The Elements of Disney Theming”, a spinoff of the series “Why Disney World is so Great”. The goal of this fresh new series is to give everyone a new appreciation for the Walt Disney World attractions. Theming is one of the key factors that sets Disney apart, it’s a trademark that gives all the attractions their distinct quality.

Walt Disney envisioned the Parks as a “show” – and anything the guests can see is thought of as the “stage”. In this series we’re going to take a look at what makes the “show” complete – we’ll look at all the detailed elements that come together for each attraction, making the show a believable presentation.

And so the tour begins. We’re going to look at lots of different elements of Disney theming that work together to make the show possible – so stay tuned! The first post will be here in a day or so.

Feedback is welcome, as always. We’d love to hear your thoughts! Whether you hate this series or love it, we want you to comment on every post (but especially this one so we know how we’re starting off) – so don’t be shy, leave a comment now!

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Logo by Jahfer.

The 2010 Free Admission Promotion for Disney Parks – Volunteering

Update: The promotion is called “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day”.

A blog post on Touring Plans has announced that the new promotion Disney Parks will use in 2010 for giving out free admission is Volunteering. This replaces the 2009 promotion of coming in free on your birthday.

According to the commercial (video below), beginning in January, if you “give a day of service to a participating organization”, you will get a free one-day ticket to a park! The birthday celebration will end on December 31, 2009, as announced on the Disney website.

As you can see, they are still keeping the “What Will You Celebrate?” slogan. More details and an “official” announcement of this promotion may be announced at 7:30 AM on Good Morning America. This post may be updated (or another post added) later this afternoon with more details.

What’s Your Vacationing Style?

I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’ve been to Walt Disney World lots of times. And I’m sure you have too (why else would you be here?). Anyways, every time I visit WDW, I can see that there are two kinds of vacationers. Sure there can be variations on these two types, but this is the general idea I have gotten.

Hurry up – I Want to Get Everything Done Before We Leave!

I fall in this group. And while sometimes it is impossible to get everything done, I sure do like to try. We’re the people that get to the Magic Kingdom and head straight for a Splash Mountain fastpass. We know (and care about) when certain rides are more crowded, when certain areas are less crowded, and we always can plan around parades/fireworks to get more done when needed.

Let’s Slowly Stroll Through Epcot, then maybe eat and ride a thing or two.

These types of people don’t hurry. They think a vacation should be relaxing – whether they get everything done or not. They sometimes leave the park in the middle of the day to take a nap, swim in the pool, or grab a bite to eat at their resort. While these vacationers do get rides done, they also slowly walk through the parks, look in gift shops, and utilize benches.

Which type are you?

I have presented the two extremes of the two types of vacationers. There are so many variations on this – you could hurry up to get rides done yet still enjoy the resort pool. No way is right or wrong – it’s just a person’s personal preference. What’s your take? What is your vacationing style?

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Photos: seanosh, thislslt2