A thread of complaints made on Reddit by Walt Disney World Resort visitors has gone viral, exposing what they think of the “lacking” experience at the Lake Buena Vista, Florida, park.
The original post, titled “Disney lacking,” read: “Currently at the beginning of a ten day trip at WDW and feel like some of the pixie dust is missing. Disney is lacking maintenance on many rides. … [There is] chipped paint and even the grass areas at EPCOT which are normally perfect are brown or simply missing in spots, I’ve never seen it like this in our 18 years coming here.”
Other Reddit users and fellow Disney fans soon chimed in Thursday with their own complaints, many placing the blame on Disney executives, including new CEO Bob Chapek.
“This is what the new Disney is all about. Cutting costs and making more for the board of directors,” user GrannyMine commented.
Other users took issue with how often the rides need maintenance, and how many rides break down all at the same time.
“During my last trip to Epcot the only functioning rides after about 5pm were Soarin, Frozen, Grand fiesta tour, and the Nemo ride. We broke down on Journey Into Imagination and when I looked at the app I was shocked at how many rides were all down at the exact same time,” user Weakace88 wrote.
A response to that comment from user _bruceho concurred, noting “We got a fast pass for Haunted Mansion, broke down, went to Peter Pan, broke down, went to Splash, broke down. We wasted 5 hours standing in lines and didn’t get on a single ride.”
Others were more circumspect, suggesting that people were wearing rose-colored nostalgia glasses for the Walt Disney World of the past.
“I think WDW has been grimy and chipping for 10 years; however rising costs and some key unfavorable decisions have made people (especially frequent visitors) hypervigilant about their experience. The WDW people want to see is a romanticized version that doesn’t exist anymore, and possibly never existed to begin with,” user onexbigxhebrew wrote.
Mr. Chapek, on the other hand, addressed the complaints of Disney superfans when it came to reserving park trips ahead of time and limiting the supply of annual passes.
“We’ve got to make sure that not only are we heeding the needs of our superfans, but we’re heeding the needs of everyone who travels from across the country one time every five years,” Mr. Chapek told the Hollywood Reporter.
Walt Disney World has not yet responded to a request for comment.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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