WDW Official Web Site: What Happened?

[dchunk82]

Hello all,

Longtime reader, first-time poster here. First, I just want to say that I'm absolutely nuts about Disney World. The four times I've gone there in my 26-year existence have given me some of the greatest memories of my life. :mickey:

However, as I'm sure many people can relate to, as much as I love the place, I can't afford to go there very often. I know Disney has lowered the prices a little to try to drum up business during the tourism slump, but it's still expensive.

With that said, I have all kinds of junk to help get me in the "Disney World" mood: the parks tour/Walt's life documentary DVD sold at WDW a few years back, one of those old Disney World Explorer CD roms that ran on Windows '98, the Disneyland/Disney World soundtrack CD sold at the now-closed Disney Store at the nearest mall, MP3s and videos of recorded rides and shows, guide books, etc.

One of the best resources to get one in that mood was the official Disney World Web site. With flash videos and slideshows for almost everything, festive music to convey the styles of different resorts and attractions and scrollable panoramic photos, the site perfectly reflected that "Disney magic" we've all come to know and love.

Yesterday, I went to the WDW Web site to find something completely different--something boxy, bland and boringly straightforward. There were still a few intro videos for each theme park and some photos here and there, but the site was a shell of its former self. At first, I thought it was just a low-bandwidth alternative to the full site (as has been the case with several past versions of it), but I quickly found it was the ONLY version... and my heart sank a little. I hate to say it, but for a site representing a company that made its name on imagination, this redesign is very... unimaginative. The navigation is laid out fine, and it's easy to find what you're looking for, but the surprise, intrigue and magic are gone.

So, what happened? Is the Disney World site a victim of Disney's budget cuts? If so, that's a huge bummer. :( Now, I don't have the ego to suggest the site should be upgraded again just to satisfy po' folks such as myself who can't always pony up the dough. But, will the site be upgraded again once (or if) the tourism industry and Disney as a whole start seeing the benefits of the inevitable economic recovery? A recovery has to come eventually, and I hope this downgraded WDW Web site (and if you've seen it and compared it to the last one, you know it's a downgrade) will also recover.

After all, if the tourism industry does turn back around, they'll need to make the site 'purty' to entice people enough to visit.

Thoughts?

[Figaro]

I do web design and it's actually kind of also the result of what's "in" for 2009. Large graphics with multi-column displays of information and plenty of white space and dynamic tabbed menus...out there vibrant colors, also. It's also a little less intensive for browsers to load at the same time. Personally, I like it. I can see the argument for cost cutting, but as far as I know, the website is built and maintained by full time or part time CMs and/or Execs.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Got to admit, I prefer the new site. Its easier to find info in it than the previous one and that's what websites are really about. Yes, I like videos and the other stuff but on the previous site they always seemed to slow me down so I like the direction they are going in.

[bwk99]

the old version was the slowest website I have ever visited. So, I like the new version much better.

[c&d]

First off :welcome:

I have to say the old website drove me crazy. It may have been just me but it always seemed to take forever to load. The new one loads much faster.

[Ian]

Disney's web presence in general is just terrible, IMO.

Their websites are counter-intuitive, slow to respond, poorly organized, and not linked together well. They also have a dramatic lack of consistent look and feel.

Not to mention the fact that half the time I can't get them to load ... I'm trying to pull up waltdisneyworld.com and dvcmember.com right now and neither of them will even load. :mad:

[Jeff G]

I hadn't realized that Disney changed their web site. The site was slow to load and the navigation was never all that user friendly so I quit going on the site a long time ago.

After reading the OP I went to the home site to check it out and I'm in favor of the redesign:thumbsup:. I wonder if the changes have a lot less to do with cost cutting and more to do with speeding things up while making it easy to navigate.

[tinkwest]

Gotta agree with everyone else. The Disney websites are a pain. Half the time I can't get them to load completely, have to stop them and then attempt to reload. No other website I can think of that I visit gives me such trouble. I would think that any changes they make could only be for the better.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

If you are looking for a quick WDW fix U-tube has many videos. I went there once just to look at one and wasted (did I say wasted :eek2:) a couple of hours before I knew it. :mickey:

[Marceline]

The offical Disney website has always been heavy, slow and unreliable. I only use it to verify the rack rate on MYW packages occasionally.

For all my "get in the Disney" mood websurfing I come here or other sites. Also googling images of WDW food is a past-time of mine. :blush: