PDA

View Full Version : Castle Rock - Why the "bad show"?



Darkbeer
04-19-2003, 02:03 PM
OK, this is going to be a gripe post, so if you are not interested in hearing some of the negative, then skip this post!

Dear Disney, why have the standards changed???

OK, last summer you decided (with help from your legal department), to close off the Castle Rock section of Tom Sawyer's Island. Now, even though it had about 40 years worth of kids (of all ages) playing in and around the rock, and caves without a serious injury, you felt there was a liability issue. Now, I personally think this is overkill, yes a few kids got some scrapes, but heck, kids gets scrapes everyday. Heck, how many kids fall down in the parking structure, and get a scrap on their knee from the rough concrete??? Anyways, you made a decision, so be it, it is yours to make.

So, you know that you are planning to close down the Rivers of America for about three months, in fact, last year, you had folks go out and decide what to do with the rock (and we knew, because you used spray paint to write words like "remove", "fill", etc.), that was a "bit" of bad show, but mostly it was only the people on the upper decks of the Mark Twain that saw it. I can accept that as a necessary evil to prepare for the rehab.

So, you close down the island in January, and start to work on lots of things to do, you did fix the Suspension bridge, and re-built the stairs (The kid in me says Thanks!), and you brought back a Keel Boat as a prop along the river, which is a nice touch.

But why did you not work on Castle Rock when the Rivers were closed, and you had all those walls up? Yes, I know that people did find ways to see behind the walls, but for the most part, you didn't have to see the work, unless you wanted to.

For some reason you decided to not work on a segment of the island that you knew needed to be addressed months before the rehab?

Now, we have this MAJOR "bad show", you reopen the river, bring back the river craft, and now you get to see the work,, the piles of dirt, wood, construction equipment, etc...

Now, yes, you placed a few green walls along the edge of the river, but the rock is located on a raised part of the island!

Heck, just walking around Critter Country you can see the work...

Let alone if you ride a river craft!

Talk about ruining the "magic"!

You know, that many folks complain that DCA lakes berms and other structures to keep the outside views for that park, I thought you might have heard their opinions...

I can understand when you need to make an emergency repair (even though much of that used to be done after closing, but you have decided to do a lot more of the work during the day, and while I preferred the old policy, you usually have tried to keep the distraction down to a minimum).

But what were you thinking here, a lot of lead time before you needed to start the project, and you knew what needed to be done around the island. Did you not have enough CM's and contractors? So, why didn't you hire more, or place the project out to bid if you couldn't do it yourself. (And it seems you have been in favor of closing down segments of the staff (such as the old in-house parade float makers) and replacing them with outside companies...

But for what ever reason, you decided NOT to start the Castle Rock rehab until just before the Rivers were refilled, and now we have a major ugly distraction in the middle of the Rivers of America!

So thanks for the planning and forethought, and for your caring about the guests experience:rolleyes:

Sigh, it used to be that Disney meant better than other options, going the extra step, but lately, your actions don't show it (but maybe you guys really like watching the Direct-to-Video sequels, and think they help show that Disney means quality).

But of course, I guess it would have had a higher priority if it was the Castle Rock "store".

Also, way to go for NOT fixing the Burning Cabin, maybe we will get this back for the 50th, as I still have some hope in Disney... but how this was handled didn't help in that department, at all!

BryanPeek
04-19-2003, 03:15 PM
I wonder what we would be saying about all of this Disney stuff if Walt was still around. Whoa, the many things I see in my mind with Walt around to take care of business...Anyways, I sort of see your point, actually, I do see your point. The management of Disneyland isn't quite up to par as it should be.

Hopefully the management will get it's act together soon...Magically. :)

Germboy
04-19-2003, 10:48 PM
I enjoyed the gripe, Darkbeer. Well put.

Darkbeer
04-19-2003, 11:21 PM
I just found this quote made by Walt Disney in his opening day speech on July 17, 1955.


I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in Disneyland. I want them to feel they’re in another world.

Darkbeer
04-19-2003, 11:59 PM
Here are some more...


Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.


There is a natural hootchy-kootchy motion to a goldfish.

Ok, that one had no bearing on anything, I just liked it:p


Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.

And one of my favorites...


Your dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.

10krbell
04-20-2003, 11:03 AM
I have to totally agree, we were just there on 4/17. While walking to Pooh (which I dodn't mind all that much...but thats another subject all together!) I noticed they were painting the railing around ROA. Rolled my eyes, knowing that it would never have been done during park hours before...but hey its just a railing! But just a little ways down, you could look over to the Island and there was also painting going on over there...but not a railing!!! No they were painting one of the trees!!!!! Now that made my blood boil!!!

TerryTiger
04-23-2003, 11:37 PM
Originally posted by 10krbell
...I noticed they were painting the railing around ROA. Rolled my eyes, knowing that it would never have been done during park hours before...but hey its just a railing! But just a little ways down, you could look over to the Island and there was also painting going on over there...but not a railing!!! No they were painting one of the trees!!!!! Now that made my blood boil!!!

Over in "Alice in Wonderland", they have been painting the trees (or at least the roses on them) continuously for over 45 years!

;-)

rexfarms
04-23-2003, 11:47 PM
This post has just made me angree in agreement. Soon, I fear that I will totally loose all my interest in Disney if it keeps doing just plain STUPID things like this. It was always there, and we all knew about it, but Darkbeer saying this, got me more angry. More power to you Darkbeer because you spoke what I felt all along.

Germboy
04-24-2003, 01:19 AM
I agree, rexfarms.

The thing that makes me the maddest, is that while things like this are happening, people actually defend the company and cannot understand why anyone is complaining. Disney is succeeding in taking advantage of the fact that newer generations are now buying tickets for the park. The company knows that they won't remember how DL was before, and what they don't know won't hurt them. Meanwhile, Disney assumes that their name will continue to generate huge profits.

Well, I have another thought for them--maybe, very soon, the older generation of people who expect more, will stop buying into it (because they realize that Disney now bears no resemblance to the company that Walt founded), and MORE IMPORTANTLY, the younger generation will not be able to draw a distinction between DL and Knotts or Sea World or Universal Studios. That is something the company should fear.

But with their continued selling-off of the company's assets, it looks like they are planning for that instead of preventing it.

Ghoulish Delight
04-24-2003, 11:24 AM
Originally posted by Darkbeer
OK, this is going to be a gripe post, so if you are not interested in hearing some of the negative, then skip this post!

Dear Disney, why have the standards changed???

OK, last summer you decided (with help from your legal department), to close off the Castle Rock section of Tom Sawyer's Island. Now, even though it had about 40 years worth of kids (of all ages) playing in and around the rock, and caves without a serious injury, you felt there was a liability issue. Now, I personally think this is overkill, yes a few kids got some scrapes, but heck, kids gets scrapes everyday. Heck, how many kids fall down in the parking structure, and get a scrap on their knee from the rough concrete??? Anyways, you made a decision, so be it, it is yours to make.
Two things I would like to point out to be fair.

1) Shortly before they began the quest to "saftify" TSI, there were two incidents. A girl's finger was severed when whe got it stuck in the trigger guard of the rifles in fort, and a young boy fell while playing on the rocks and I believe broke his leg. While I agree that the saftey pendulum has gone too far, there have been serious injuries, and I doubt those were the only two over 40 years, just the most recent.

2) I think blame has continually been placed on the wrong entity on the matter of safety. The real blame is on the US civil justice system. It's the fact that they continually reward people for suing because they can't keep their balance that Disney is forced to live in fear of lawsuits. The lawyers are simply protecting their company's assets from a system that has made it okay to not have any personal responsibility. It's sad and I wish it would change.

I guess agree with you on the other points. Although I understand their train of thought. TSI was not the only project while the river was drained. Rebuilding the dock, repairing the Fantasmic show elements were high on the list as well. But Castle Rock was the most time consuming of the projects. But they knew they had to get the river up and running before the busy Spring Break season, not enough time to complete work on the rocks. So, no matter what, they were going to have construction visible from the boats. It was unavoidable. So they figured they'd at least have some portion of the TSI work done (the bridges) to allow some guests on there.

Germboy
04-24-2003, 01:31 PM
I wonder if lawsuits have increased. In other words, Disney has always secretly settled many many lawsuits out of court. I've also heard that it is next to impossible to "win" a lawsuit against the company. Money was apparently no object.

Is it that the sheer NUMBER of suits have increased so dramatically since the late 90's, or is it that there has been a directive from the top down to cut expenditures in all forms?

Tref
04-24-2003, 03:00 PM
Darkbeer, I knew there were things that you and I agreed upon and this 'gripe' is certainly one of them. The carelessness and indifference by Disney towards Tom Sawyer's island is indicative of their current tight budgeted & chaotic state. Germboy makes a good point, too, in ten years what will separate DL from the other theme parks? Disney must take risks -- that is the only answer, certainly, its what made Disney Disney, dig?

Well written, DB.

I remain,

newhdplayer
04-24-2003, 05:29 PM
Personally, TSI should be flattened, paved, and the ground covered with the Playground safetymats, thus minimizing injury risks, and making the lawyers happy.

Germboy
04-24-2003, 07:35 PM
Yes! With knee pads, teeth retainers, helmets, defibrilators, morphine, a nursing staff, vision test, hazmat suits, safety video, bulletproof vests, jaws of life, weapons inspectors, mace, hmm what else? Maybe they could just put the kids on a virtual reality machine and just make the kids THINK they are really on the island. (With a defibrilator nearby, just in case the "reality" proves too convincing...)

rexfarms
04-24-2003, 07:36 PM
Originally posted by newhdplayer
Personally, TSI should be flattened, paved, and the ground covered with the Playground safetymats, thus minimizing injury risks, and making the lawyers happy.

Funny.....:rolleyes:

ryguy
04-24-2003, 09:08 PM
Disney has lost its key for creativeness its inovation and not that revolving thing in tommorow land either. Its about time to let the artists give there expressions and ideas rather the executives in the offices that dont really know anything but numbers and profit. People come to disney land to escape from the real world, not to visit a construction zone or to pay more bills.

rexfarms
04-24-2003, 09:22 PM
Not totally, but we will see what happens with the Subs in their construction.