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Fast forward 28 years later and the opportunity to visit Kissimee, Florida and Disney World presented itself. Although I had quite a few miles on me by then, the old magic was still there, (maybe not as great, but I put that down to looking through the wrong end of the adulthood telescope). In 1988, we revisited Anaheim, CA and Disneyland. After 32 years, the luster was off the park a bit. It was a bit less clean, a bit less magical, but it was still a place that renewed those dreams of a 10 year old. (By then, Walt was gone, but Roy, his brother, was in charge and the family vision was still being followed).
Hit the fast forward button once more to 1996 and Orlando. Both Disney brothers were gone, and, although the place "looked" the same, (mostly, a bit more litter and a bit of attitude change on the part of the "cast" members), the corporate types had taken over and the feeling of being grabbed by the ankles and turned upside down and shaken to separate you from your pocket change was a palpable presence. Things were changing and not for the better.
Now, it's 2013, and having just returned from 6 days and 5 nights at Disney World with a new wife and a 9 year old adopted son, I am sad to report to my fellow baby-boomers that the dream that Walt Disney created for us has been murdered and replaced with a Las Vegas mousetrap attitude. For the first time, I purchased a "Disney family package" and stayed at one of the Disney-owned properties on-site. The "resort" was called the "All Star Movie Resort" and, if it were to be classified as a movie, it would be titled "Attack of the Brain Eaters"
To start off, even with the package discount, the cost of the room was equivalent to an arm, a leg and your first-born child. I would have thought at those prices there would be hot and cold running women. Not so bunky. The place was filthy. There was mold build up in the bathroom. There were mouse feces, (I guess that makes sense since it IS Mickey's place), in the dresser drawers and the carpet looked as though it hadn't seen a vacuum in months. Light bulbs were burned out and towels, (what there were of them), were thinner than generic tissue.
The staff basically are not native English speakers and many of them cop an attitude. My complaints about the shortcomings finally got a "manager" who spoke enough English to offer me a 1/2 night refund "for the inconvenience". This all happened as we were ther the first night and hadn't even been to any of the parks yet.
"Quick meals", (basically fast food), were O.K. for the 9 year old, (who is a bottomless pit and would eat your shoes if there were enough catchup), but I find $9.50 for a hamburger and $8.50 for a waffle in the shape of Mickey's head and $3.50 for a poor excuse for coffee to be less than gourmet fare. I'm a controlled diabetic and my sugar number got a bit out of hand during the stay.
The Walt Disney dream of Disney Florida can be seen in the "attractions" but the years of corporate indifference has taken it's toll. The parks are more old-time carney, (I know the life since I worked as a Carney in my misspent youth), than "The Happiest Place on Earth" (tm). Pack 'em in, get their money, move 'em out. The majority of "cast members" do not speak any understandable dialect of English, many are rude and some have not made the acquaintance of soap and water for some time, (Disney does cater to the European and South American crowd, so maybe this is an attempt at diversity and making those guests feel at home).
As a child, I remember my parents keeping close track of me all of the time, but especially in a large crowded venue like Disneyland. Apparently this is no longer expected or accepted behavior. It was amazing to me, (I was in a motorized scooter for mobility since my knees are about totally shot), how the little savages would run in front of the scooter and expect me to stop for them, (if they saw me at all. Some of them made a most satisfying SPLAT when I did inadvertently hit them). The adults were no better, (one asshole started berating me when he walked in front of me & got clipped in the ankle... I came very close to throwing an elbow into his groinal area
.)Disney has a policy that the weather is not their concern, (in Disney terms, there is no such thing as a rainout). That is unfortunate, since we had rain on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It did not rain on Friday... but we went home on Friday.
All in all, I guess you could say that the likelihood of me returning to any Disney operation for the balance of this baby-boomers life is Slim & None, (and Slim is on the bus out of town). I believe that I would prefer to sit through 12 hours of Barack Obama speeches than to return to the "Happiest Place of Earth"
