Bad Day at Disneyland

My son informed us that he is taking his family to Disney World soon, and will be able to stop over in Augusta to visit us in our soon-to-be new home. Normally, I would be pleased that he is going to stop and stay with us for a few days, or even overnight. But there is a problem... He’s going to Disney World!

If you haven’t followed my columns for at least five years, you won’t know about my long-standing aversion to the Magic Kingdom. I won’t go into detail about it, but I can summarize the source of my disgust with Disney.

In July of 2004, my wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandson and I went to Southern California. We started in San Diego, visiting Sea World and the San Diego Zoo, both fine attractions. Then we headed north for what was to be the best attraction of the trip, Disneyland in Anaheim.

We arrived at the gates to Disneyland just before the opening, and were pleasantly surprised to be able to get on the first two rides with no wait. Then the trouble began... Of the five premier rides at Disneyland, Space Mountain was closed for renovation until 2005, and Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed for the day. Then, after a 40-minute wait to get into the Indiana Jones Adventure, we were turned away and it was closed indefinitely due to some technical difficulty. It never reopened that day.

Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion were operational and as good as ever. However, our troubles weren’t over. When we stopped at a cart to buy some pretzels at about 10:30 AM, the kid running the concession said, “We’re out of that one right now.” He gave no apology, no courtesy, just a bored response.

His attitude seemed typical of most of the personnel in the park. They just weren't the cheerful and friendly people I remember from past visits. Other than the Disney characters in costume, everybody with a badge on seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere and smiles were a rare commodity.

The capper of the day was an innovation that was new at that time called “Fastpass.” It is a means of signing up for a ride and getting a guaranteed time to enter without standing in a long line.

Anyone can apply for a Fastpass once you are in the park, although nowhere is there any written or verbal notice of that. You have to ask park personnel about Fastpass, and my initial impression was that it was a special type of ticket that you could buy at a premium price.

In fact, they were free and were dispensed at kiosks throughout the park. Once you have one, you merely go to any ride where there is a waiting time posted, visit the Fastpass person there and get a ticket stub with a time on it. You return at the time shown and are given access to a separate queue that bypasses the waiting line of riders.

The problem is that the Fastpass path goes parallel to the waiting line. Not only does it give the appearance of line cutting, but also some of the Fastpass riders are prone to taunting those in line as they go past. This does not create a pleasant atmosphere in which to wait for up to an hour and a half. The Fastpass concept is okay, but the practice leaves something to be desired.

Well, I tried to condense my poor experience at Disneyland, but I managed to use two pages to recap it anyway. I tried to lodge a complaint at the park, but found no desk or office to do so. I did write a letter and sent it to the Disneyland address after I arrived home from the trip. I never got any response at all.

Ever since that trip, I have tried to discourage people from going to Disney World or Disneyland. Maybe some people have good times there, but I was sorely disappointed and felt it was not worth all the money I paid to get the five of us in. I intend to boycott Disney for life.