So is WDW “declining by degrees”, or not?
Well, Kevin Yee has written a rather odd column today for Mice Age. In a departure from his normal chronicling of bird-droppings and barely noticeable paint chips, Mr. Yee has written his top 15 reasons why one should use their vacation time at Walt Disney World. Why is this strange, you ask? Good question.
The problem I have here is not in Mr. Yee’s reasons for going to WDW. I agree with nearly all of them. In fact, most of us probably do, or we wouldn’t be writing blogs, participating in forums, or running podcasts all about Disney. We love the place. But it is Mr. Yee that is the supposed critic, and in reason #2 he deflates nearly all of his own criticisms…
2. Infrequent visitors may not notice the problems. Not only was I at Disney front-line CM for fifteen years, I also visit Disney parks twice every week, so my eye sees things that others miss. Often, I bet those things stay completely invisible. So it’s quite possible that an infrequent visitor wouldn’t have any problems whatsoever, even if cleanliness or maintenance isn’t what it should be. You should still choose WDW for your vacation
I completely agree with Mr. Yee on this. Nearly all of what he points out is not noticed by the masses and yet he makes them seem like symptoms in the decline of western civilization. But that’s for me to say on Mouse Extra not for him to say in the same column. What Mr. Yee does here is attack his own ability to affect the changes he hopes to affect. If he truly feels the place is “declining by degrees”, does this mean the decline will go mostly unnoticed? And if it does go largely unnoticed, is it truly worth a weekly column?
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Tom Corless said,
September 25, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
hahahahaha, I love making fun of Kevin Yee’s work!!! Sorry to sound mean, but it’s personal.
KINGCRAB said,
September 25, 2007 @ 3:51 pm
Here, here.
I’ve never liked Kevin Yee. He complains too much and has a poor writing style, even going so far as to include the obligatory negative slur in even his most positive-at-first-glance articles.
Mike said,
September 25, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
I suppose we can start a Fan Club
Raidermatt said,
September 27, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
I understand the criticism of Mr. Yee, but at the same time, I think it’s good to have people at both ends of the spectrum speaking out so there’s some balance.
I’m actually working on a column that addresses the very point you made Dave. If a departed detail goes unnoticed in a Disney theme park, is it important? But I’ve actually been working on that one off and on for awhile now, and I’m still having trouble getting the piece to convey what I want it to.
But the gist is I think it does matter. Whether it’s a burned out light, an uncleaned railing, an unrepaired effect, whatever, I think it matters regardless of how many people can tell you about it when they leave the park. I’ll try to work out the column in the next few days.