点评:I’m convinced Disney World may be the world’s largest group-think experiment.
We spent thousands of dollars and weeks planning this “vacation,” stayed on Disney property for Early Entry, and apparently paid for the privilege of waking up earlier to discover the rides were broken before everyone else. Slinky Dog Dash: DOWN. Guardians: DOWN.
We brought our own car thinking we could avoid transportation headaches. Disney said, “How adorable.” Park in a lot the size of Rhode Island, wait for a tram, ride the tram, wait for a boat, ride the boat, walk another quarter mile, then stand in another line to enter. WE HAVEN’T EVEN MADE IT INTO THE PARK YET.
Once inside, congratulations on your new position as an unpaid Disney Logistics Coordinator. Check app. Refresh. Ride down. Change plans. Walk. Wait. Refresh. Repeat.
Then there’s what I call the Sacrificial Line Lamb. One family member gets in line while everyone else disappears. Forty minutes later: “Excuse me, my family is up there!”
Here comes Cousin Karen with popcorn, Kevin carrying six drinks, Aunt Katie, three teenagers, Grandma, two kids and half the family reunion — pushing past, stepping on your toes and somehow acting irritated because YOU didn’t move fast enough to let THEM get in front of you.
And the FOOD may be the greatest evidence for my group-think theory.
People praise the Mickey pretzel like it’s the second coming. Folks, it’s a frozen pretzel with ears.
The chicken fingers at 50’s Prime Time were worse than a frozen bag from Sam’s Club. And Sanaa? People talk about it like it deserves a Michelin star. If you’ve always dreamed of becoming best friends with the Morton Salt Girl, make your reservation immediately. Our meal was practically a sodium challenge.
The crepes in France, however, were fantastic. Credit where it’s due.
Add enormous waits, rude people, rides constantly going down, stroller cities and thousands of people staring at their phones while everyone continues repeating, “It’s MAGICAL!”
Are we all seeing the same thing?
By our fourth park day, my daughter had apparently escaped the experiment. She didn’t want another ride. She wanted “peace, happiness and real food.”
We had TWO MORE DAYS PAID FOR. Hotel paid. Unused park days. Money already spent.
WE LEFT ANYWAY.
Two days early.
That tells you more than anything else I could write. We literally decided losing money was preferable to completing another two days of this “vacation.”
Were there good moments? Absolutely. We laughed, made memories and enjoyed some attractions.
But overall, Disney felt like an extremely expensive psychological experiment testing how much waiting, inconvenience, mediocre food and chaos people will voluntarily endure while continuing to call it magical.
Judging by how many people immediately book another trip, the experiment is going exceptionally well.
We still have unused Disney days good until 2035.
Mickey can hold onto those for a while.
翻译:我深信,迪士尼世界或许是世界上最大规模的“从众行为实验”。
我们花了数千美元,还花了好几周时间来策划这次“度假”。为了能提前入园,我们特意住在迪士尼园区内。结果呢?我们不过是花钱买了个特权——一大早醒来后发现所有游乐设施都坏了,而其他人还蒙在鼓里罢了。“斯林基狗飞车”:停用;“银河护卫队过山车”:也停用。
我们自带汽车,本以为这样就能避开交通方面的麻烦。迪士尼则回应道:“真贴心呢。”然后让我们把车停在那个大得像罗德岛州一样的停车场里。等有轨电车、坐上有轨电车,接着等船、乘上船,再走四分之一英里,然后又排队等候入园。我们甚至都还没进公园呢。
进了园后,恭喜你获得了“无薪迪士尼物流协调员”这一新职位。打开应用程序,刷新页面,乘下行电梯,更改计划,然后走路、等待、刷新页面……如此循环往复。
还有我称之为“牺牲型排队者”的现象:某个家庭成员去排队,而其他人都走开了。40分钟后:“打扰一下……”“我的家人都在上面呢!”
这时,表姐凯伦端着爆米花走了过来;凯文手里拿着六杯饮料;凯蒂阿姨、三个青少年、奶奶、两个小孩——整个家庭聚会的人几乎都来了。他们挤着你、踩到你的脚趾,还因为你没有迅速让路给他们走到前面而显得很不耐烦。
而食物或许就是我“群体思维”理论最有力的证据。
人们把米奇造型的椒盐卷饼捧得跟什么稀世珍宝似的。其实呢,不过是个带着“耳朵”的冷冻椒盐卷饼罢了。在50’s Prime Time餐厅里,那些鸡柳条的口感甚至比山姆会员店卖的冷冻鸡柳还要差。至于Sanaa餐厅?人们说起它时仿佛它配得上一颗米其林星一般。如果你一直梦想着能和“莫顿盐女孩”成为最好的朋友,那就赶紧预订吧。我们那顿饭简直就是一场“钠摄入量挑战赛”。
不过,法国的可丽饼倒是棒极了。该夸就得夸。
此外还有漫长的等待时间、态度恶劣的服务员,以及频繁停运的游乐设施……到处都是推着婴儿车的人,成千上万人都盯着自己的手机,而所有人还在不断喊着:“太神奇了!”
我们看到的真的是同一景象吗?
到了我们计划的第四次游乐园之行时,我的女儿显然已经“逃离”了这个“实验”。她不想再坐任何游乐设施了,只想要“宁静、快乐以及真正的食物”。
我们还付了另外两天的门票费用。酒店费用也早已支付。那些游乐园的入园天数也白白浪费了——钱已经花出去了。
但我们还是离开了。
提前了两天。
这一点比我能写的任何话都更能说明问题。我们真心觉得,宁愿亏钱也不想再经历两天的这种“度假”了。
有没有愉快的时刻呢?当然有。我们开怀大笑、留下了美好回忆,还玩了不少游乐项目。
但总体而言,迪士尼就像一场极其昂贵的心理学实验——用来测试人们愿意忍受多少等待、多少不便、多糟糕的食物以及多少混乱场面,却仍能将其称作“神奇体验”。
从那么多人立刻又预订下一次行程这一事实来看……实验进行得异常顺利。
我们还有未使用的迪士尼纪念券,有效期到2035年呢。
米奇可以先把它们保存起来啦。