Disneyland Needs Help

[disney144]

This post is dripping with self-righteous hypocrisy. You are undermining your own point with by stating it’s a local’s park, that it is your park. Your park? You're local and you pay for an AP every year, how does that make it your park? You are actually implying that it gives you more of a right to be there than those that are not local. I'm not local and I pay for tickets every year, it’s not your park, it’s not my park, it’s everyone’s park, no matter where you live.


From Walt’s own lips… “To ALL who come to this happy place, Welcome. Disneyland is your land.”


Walt created a park that all of us have come to love and enjoy and found wonderful magic in. It’s everyone’s park to enjoy. We’ve all made it a part of our lives, don’t imply that it's anymore your park than it is mine or anyone else's.


Good for you, you live close DL, it’s not your park.

I don't really care how it sounds. It will always be my home and a place that you visit.

 

[Gisele]

I don't really care how it sounds. It will always be my home and a place that you visit.

Lol

 

[pindecisive]

I don't really care how it sounds. It will always be my home and a place that you visit.

My home is a place that I visit. It's a small town up north that I moved away from as a child. Just because I don't live there currently, and don't spend much time there, doesn't make it any less my home.

Yes, when you live in a tourist town, it does seem to become you against them. But for many people coming to Disneyland may feel like coming home. You're both there for a positive experience, so why not whether the storm together?

 

[NannyBeBe]

disney144, I sincerely hope that your opinion does not represent the whole of AP holders. If it does, it would explain a lot.

 

[LizzyS]

I don't really care how it sounds. It will always be my home and a place that you visit.

Honey, you don't live at Disneyland. We get that it is super special to you, but this is a very bratty thing to say. It's special to a lot of people and those out of town visitors also help keep it open and are there to enjoy the very same things that you love. Comments like this make out of town visitors think that locals don't want them there and you should, tbh.

 

[Gisele]

Honey, you don't live at Disneyland. We get that it is super special to you, but this is a very bratty thing to say. It's special to a lot of people and those out of town visitors also help keep it open and are there to enjoy the very same things that you love. Comments like this make out of town visitors think that locals don't want them there and you should, tbh.

"Bratty thing to say." lol!. I love that, too funny man.

 

[1002jennisue]

Honey, you don't live at Disneyland. We get that it is super special to you, but this is a very bratty thing to say. It's special to a lot of people and those out of town visitors also help keep it open and are there to enjoy the very same things that you love. Comments like this make out of town visitors think that locals don't want them there and you should, tbh.

Bratty thing to say, that was very nice I think I would have used that other "B" word. Good one!

 

[JenKate]

Even if they don't "price us out", raising prices might make some visitors choose a different destination. We love Disneyland because one of us (that's me) is a Disney nut and the others are just regular Disney fans. It's an inexpensive flight or a relatively easy drive. (12 hours, but when you live where we do you get used to driving!) That makes it not an inexpensive vacation, but less expensive than many other options.

We're by no means wealthy, but we do make vacation a priority in our budget. Let's just say, for example, that Disneyland costs our family $5000. If they raise prices and it's now $7500, even if we could afford that, we might choose to spend that elsewhere. We do love Disney, but our boys are 13 and 15, and there's a lot of other places we could take them.

 

[SMD]

Honey, you don't live at Disneyland. We get that it is super special to you, but this is a very bratty thing to say. It's special to a lot of people and those out of town visitors also help keep it open and are there to enjoy the very same things that you love. Comments like this make out of town visitors think that locals don't want them there and you should, tbh.

Every day on this board there are multiple questions and complaints. How to avoid locals, the locals make the lines too long, locals got there first and took the fireworks view I wanted and shame on them for spending less money, too. For every 1,000 complaints there's hardly one non-local who acknowledges that we have just as much right to be there as any other paying guest. Then there are posts asking for pictures of all the merchandise available. Really? Who do you think is hanging out on this board (and other sites) offering advice and going around taking pictures of new things as they pop up? You're all welcome, by the way.

I personally could not care less who the other guests are in the park. When I talk to people, out of town guests are great. They love meeting locals, they ask questions, they say how lucky I am to visit, they give me advice for visiting their town, they say thank you, they're the nicest. On this board, it's not the same experience. We get animosity, we got told our money is worth less than out of town guests, we get told we ruin their experience, we get told we have less right to be there. That's a lot of entitlement coming from out of town guests. It's even in this thread. So while I think disney144 is choosing their words poorly and certainly doesn't reflect how I feel about tourists, I have to say that for all of you pointing your fingers at locals, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

 

[Sweetpea2011]

Our upcoming summer trip will be the 3rd time my kids (now 14) have been to DL. We have been once to Florida and once to DL Paris. We live in Canada and honestly can't afford to travel every year (flights are so expensive from here). But we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have been to three parks, and have enjoyed ourselves tremendously on each of our visits. Honestly, we're just happy to be there! My sister would love to go again with her family, she says she just loves to sit and relax where it is so clean and pretty (houseful of kids will do that to your thinking!)....we've never really noticed any chipped paint or disrepair. I don't know, sometimes I think the term "with familiarity comes contempt" applies in these situations. To the casual visitor, just happy to have scrapped enough cash to be there, it is most definitely still a place of magic and fun.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Thank you, SMD, for your post. Your points are valid and I appreciate your posting them. I believe that part of the problem is the overall lack of manners, courtesy, and kindness. We've talked about this before on the DIS. I encounter it everywhere -- in the grocery store, at the movies, etc. I wish I could fix everybody, but I can only control myself and teach my grandchildren how to behave. I will be at DLR soon and I am going to go out of my way to be a class act.

 

[rizzle64]

I don't really care how it sounds. It will always be my home and a place that you visit.

Well, you completely missed the boat on this one...

Every day on this board there are multiple questions and complaints. How to avoid locals, the locals make the lines too long, locals got there first and took the fireworks view I wanted and shame on them for spending less money, too. For every 1,000 complaints there's hardly one non-local who acknowledges that we have just as much right to be there as any other paying guest. Then there are posts asking for pictures of all the merchandise available. Really? Who do you think is hanging out on this board (and other sites) offering advice and going around taking pictures of new things as they pop up? You're all welcome, by the way.

I personally could not care less who the other guests are in the park. When I talk to people, out of town guests are great. They love meeting locals, they ask questions, they say how lucky I am to visit, they give me advice for visiting their town, they say thank you, they're the nicest. On this board, it's not the same experience. We get animosity, we got told our money is worth less than out of town guests, we get told we ruin their experience, we get told we have less right to be there. That's a lot of entitlement coming from out of town guests. It's even in this thread. So while I think disney144 is choosing their words poorly and certainly doesn't reflect how I feel about tourists, I have to say that for all of you pointing your fingers at locals, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

Refreshing, thank you. I think this an excellent post.

I have always greatly appreciated those local to Disneyland, especially on these boards. I am an obsessive planner. And having local visitors share their tips, insights, pictures and seasonal information due to their frequent visits make my trips infinitely more enjoyable. One of my favorite boards here is the resort picture of the day, it's gives me my daily Disneyland fill because I can't be there, and I'm willing to bet most of the pictures come from locals. I just had a hard time with a local that feels slighted, and immediately retaliates with additional negativity and entitlement. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

I love Disneyland, it's a place where I, a 6'5" 230lb man with a beard, can wear a Mickey t-shirt and fit it. I also do not care who else is in the park, in fact I love the variety, people from all walks of life, makes it an amazing place.

Thank you locals for helping make Disneyland what it is for my family and continuing to share tips, info and your own experiences, yes, I'll admit it, I'm jealous you get to go so much, I often live vicariously through you!

 

[LizzyS]

Every day on this board there are multiple questions and complaints. How to avoid locals, the locals make the lines too long, locals got there first and took the fireworks view I wanted and shame on them for spending less money, too. For every 1,000 complaints there's hardly one non-local who acknowledges that we have just as much right to be there as any other paying guest. Then there are posts asking for pictures of all the merchandise available. Really? Who do you think is hanging out on this board (and other sites) offering advice and going around taking pictures of new things as they pop up? You're all welcome, by the way.

I personally could not care less who the other guests are in the park. When I talk to people, out of town guests are great. They love meeting locals, they ask questions, they say how lucky I am to visit, they give me advice for visiting their town, they say thank you, they're the nicest. On this board, it's not the same experience. We get animosity, we got told our money is worth less than out of town guests, we get told we ruin their experience, we get told we have less right to be there. That's a lot of entitlement coming from out of town guests. It's even in this thread. So while I think disney144 is choosing their words poorly and certainly doesn't reflect how I feel about tourists, I have to say that for all of you pointing your fingers at locals, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

Chosen "poorly" is an understatement, if you ask me. I genuinely appreciate every bit of advice I get from frequent visitors, but I don't have to like it when people straight up say Disneyland belongs to locals and everyone else just visits. I grew up going to Dollywood quite frequently and lived pretty close, but I wouldn't ever think of telling out of town tourists that it belonged to me and they were just visiting. It's a problem in attitude, clearly. I'm not pointing my finger at any locals at all, but I did find issue with what disney144 said, that is a fact.

 

[SMD]

Chosen "poorly" is an understatement, if you ask me. I genuinely appreciate every bit of advice I get from frequent visitors, but I don't have to like it when people straight up say Disneyland belongs to locals and everyone else just visits. I grew up going to Dollywood quite frequently and lived pretty close, but I wouldn't ever think of telling out of town tourists that it belonged to me and they were just visiting. It's a problem in attitude, clearly. I'm not pointing my finger at any locals at all, but I did find issue with what disney144 said, that is a fact.

But you also wouldn't like it if someone said that locals drive away the rest of us who would like to visit but they make it too awful. And that for what it costs I'll spend my money, which is more than a local would spend somewhere else. Like I said, I'm not defending disney144, but I understand why this board drives away the friendly, helpful, aw shucks I'll let you cut the line and have the last Mickey bar locals that everyone wants to post here.

 

[DizMe]

Just out of curiosity, I compared the cost of going to Disneyland in 1966 with a family of 5 (like mine) to what it costs today.

In 1966, adults paid $2 and Juniors (12-17) paid $1.60 for admission. In addition, a ticket book was $5 adult and $4.50 Junior for the largest size (Deluxe 15). Additional tickets could be purchased at booths inside the park.

I used my current family to see the cost difference. It would have cost us $25.50 for ticket books and admission for one day for the 5 of us in 1966.

The closest I could think of to compare was to do a 1-park, 1-day ticket in 2015, which would cost my family of 5 $495 today (for Disney, all 3 of my kids are considered adults in 2015 but none of them would have been in 1966).

Ok, but obviously there have been tremendous changes in money value and the parks themselves. Using an inflation calculator, it comes out that the $25.50 in 1966 = $187.68 today. Today, though, a trip to Disneyland would include unlimited rides, and most people don't purchase single day tickets so it's not possible to compare them side by side with exactness. It's still interesting to see that if the cost from 1966 were adjusted to today, my family would only have to pay $187.68 for a day at the park instead of $495.

One other thing that's interesting is that in 1966, parents could buy admission into DL without buying tickets. My parents used to do that--they'd buy tickets for us kids but none for themselves, or they'd share a ticket book. I was 10 in 1966, btw.

 

[coaches24]

I take offense to anyone from both sides who talk down to people from the other side. I can care less about Locals or visitors. When I am at Disneyland I and everyone else there are visitors to DL. We are all on the same level and all have the exact same rights to be there and have fun (or not have fun as some seem to be better at). AP holder or not the park belongs to anyone and everyone who has a ticket that day.

 

[tiffjoy]

Wow...

I am an AP holder this year for the first time. We aren't local, though, but from the Bay Area. I have never minded the locals. I have never minded the tourists.

DLR doesn't "belong" to the people who call Anaheim home. It belongs to the Disney company. This is not why Walt created the park, and that just makes me really sad for the people who arrogantly think that only they, who randomly live there, can truly be a part of that magical place and everyone else is somehow less.

Locals are not less. Tourists are not less. Everyone is there to participate in the magic and no one is more deserving. Well, I stand corrected. I have seen people there who are obviously part of a Make A Wish visit or persons with disabilities... if anyone truly "belongs to Disneyland" and gets a pass on feeling entitled to special treatment, I'm going to go with them.

 

[4Siamese]

TBH, I am quite surprised this thread hasn't been shut down.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I am glad it has not been shut down. It's good to talk about these things and for each of us to look at our own feelings. Hopefully something good will come out of it.

 

[finchy3]

We have travelled 6000 miles from the UK 11 times to visit DL and we don't notice who is from where when we're in the park, it's one big happy family as far as we can see. #DisneylandForever.