Is this REALLY true??

[roymccoy]

Are they REALLY, for sure stopping the boats that go between DD and Port Orleans/Dixie Landings?
If they are, I know a couple of groups who will cancel their trips. Please let me know if you can confirm this!

Roy :-)

[VickiVM]

Can't confirm or deny, but just curious...You know a couple of groups who would cancel their entire vacation based on one boat ride?? I really don't want to incite anything, but I just can't imagine the entire success of my WDW vacation hinging on one boat ride? I took this boat ride several years ago and unless they have added more features to it, I just don't recall it being "all that"? What am I missing about this?

[roymccoy]

No, they won't be cancelling because of "one less boat ride", it would be more of a "straw that broke the camel's back" thing. First, they heard about PO/FQ closing (their favorite hotel) then there was no more early entry days, then shorter hours, then Carousel of Progress closing, (favorite ride) and now, no more boats taking them to DD. (They went every night of their stay to a different restaurant in DD). Taking a bus to DD just isn't the same. I think that the reason they will cancel is that they don't want to pay top dollar (Disney hasn't taken a dollar off their trips) for a Disney World experience that will be below par for the next year or two. I don't think we want "WDW-Lite" ! We'll be back, but not until Disney returns to more of a "normal" schedule.

Roy :-)

[YoHo]

According to the other thread, there were all of 46 people staying at the French Quarter on its last day and only slightly more at PO Riverside.

I understand that its the straw that broke the camel's back, but keeping those boats open for what amounts to maybe 100 Guests isn't what I'd call smart.

[roymccoy]

Spending $10,000.00+ dollars on a "Disney-lite" trip isn't smart either....works both ways. It may not be economically feasible for Disney to be running everything right now, so I'll just wait until it is. Me and my money can wait.

Roy :-)

[CarolMN]

Perhaps you and your friends could consider staying at OKW. The boat ride from OKW to DD will continue (it's paid for by DVC member dues, not Disney). Of course there is bus service, too. It is also possible to walk to DD (but I don't believe it is lit the entire way). Here's a link to the path description that includes photos:

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39529

Accomodations at OKW may be more expensive than those at FQ, but there have been some very good discounts here lately, and you could also explore renting points from a DVC member. The studio rooms are much larger than those at any of the moderates and include a kitchenette. If your party reserves a 1 or 2 bedroom unit, you will have a VERY large kitchen and living room area. This could be an economical choice if you don't mind staying together. The 2 bedrooms accomodate 8 (6 if you want each couple to have "private" sleeping space.

If the weekday crowds are as reported, you won't even notice that EE or E-nights are gone. You'll be able to do lots more than you now imagine during the scheduled hours, even if they are shorter. Not much anyone can do about CoP - it appears to be permanently closed. Don't think it got much traffic in the last few years.

Best wishes
Carol

[All Aboard]

Hold the phone, YoHo! If I read your post correctly there are only about 50 people staying at POFQ (which makes sense, they've been slowly closing buildings for weeks.) BUT, are you telling me that there are only about 50 folks at Riverside right now!?!? That's nuts if it's true. Where did you hear this???

[DC7800]

BUT, are you telling me that there are only about 50 folks at Riverside right now!?!? That's nuts if it's true.

I was thinking the same thing! Now, FQ makes sense - the only people left would be those checking out on it's last morning (wonder if anyone went just for the "last night"?). But, if Riverside is so deserted, WDW is in far more trouble than anyone realizes. However, I don't think that's accurate either - in fact, my only criticism of recent WDW cutbacks has been they went too far, too fast to be justified by the current downturn in business. I'm not yet convinced things are as bad as some people make them out to be.

Also, there have been an awful lot of people over on the Resorts board talking about where they were being bumped to from French Quarter. If so few are actually in the while PO complex, why are so many persons' on the DIS affected by this closure? Only a tiny percentage (growing, I'm certain) of Port Orleans guests are likely found on these boards, which (by DIS's unscientific sampling) suggests quite a few people were booked at FQ for the coming months.

[YoHo]

In the other thrad, by Tinkerbelle Rules

Well, DH came back with more information from a CM at the front desk of POFQ. She had been there many years and stated the employees only recently found out about the closures. She said out of all the rooms at POFQ only 48 were occupied, POR wasn't much better. She stated that “we” knew before they did about the closing. She also stated all access to POFQ will be denied. There will be bars put in the water so that boats cannot get through. There will be fences/bars to block access from POR. All rooms are being emptied of beds, tvs, etc. are being removed. The food court is being emptied of cooking equipment and more. She stated she didn't think POFQ would ever open again, at least not the way we knew it. She said that closure fits the scenario of when Shades of Green was created (don’t know the previous resort name). She said she expected POR to follow (which is what the boat driver had told DH a few days prior) and basically be turned into the same type of place like Shades.

DH felt POFQ was busier than POR from just walking through. Course, maybe everyone was at the parks.


I apologize. I inferred less people at Riverside from these quote (read the post at work. Wrote to this one at home) Still the implication is staggering.

[All Aboard]

I've always found that the one group of CMs that:

1. Have the information concerning occupancy % and,
2. Are willing to tell guests for some reason

are the ladies working the cash registers at the food courts.

During recent trips, I've asked them each time and they tell me. Wonder if anyone staying at Riverside soon might be able to dig out the same information?

[dcedwards]

Our DU travel agent, Diana, wonderful person she is, called WDW Transportation and got confirmation that the boat ride would be closing on November 4th. Boats are being drained of gas and put in storage. No plans for starting this form of transportation up in the near future. Yes, it is official.

[addicted_to_WDW]

I was at Riverside from 10/19-24 and it was absolutely packed. I tried mightily to get into a closer building, but the best I could do was building 35. It was busier during this trip than it was during my trip in May, by far.

It seemed that at least 25% of the people on the standing room only buses I took were staying at FQ. I don't think occupancy is as low as we are being led to believe.

[All Aboard]

YoHo, there is some really, really disturbing information in that post that you quoted. That's a much worse scenario than I had imagined. I assumed that POFQ would be closing until a resurgance in travel. That paints a completely different picture with the removal of all of those things listed.

What strikes me as odd is that just one year ago POFQ was sold out around the calendar. Clearly (if this stuff is true) WDW doesn't see that happening for a long, long time. Carting off 1,000 beds, TVs, Dressers, etc. Removing kitchen equipment. These are not signs of a resort closing for 6-12 months. This is a whole different ball of wax.

[dcedwards]

I asked our travel agent about this. She said she didn't know but said it might be that it is time to refurbish PO-FQ, anyways. They have quarterly (or something like that) auctions at WDW where they get rid of stuff they don't need anymore. She said it is possible that they are going to do a complete refurbishment of the resort since it is being closed. However, she said there are so many rumors flying around that you never know.

When we were there in Dec. I could tell that the rooms were in need of some maintenance. Disney usually does this about once every ten years so the PO-FQ would be at the right time for this...who knows...we will have to wait and see.

[All Aboard]

This posted on Resorts Board today.

Crowds- Just back
We just returned from the 10 fun filled days at the world. The crowds were a little lighter than usual for this time of year. The parks were never "empty" and the average wait time at the rides was 20 minutes or less. Our buses were always full. We stayed 1/2 of the time at POFQ and it seemed busy to us. The food court was crowded and the pool was very crowded. The 2nd half we spent at the Poly which seemed less crowded. Each time we took the boat from POFQ to DD it was full. Also, I noticed that since the parks are closing so early, DD is VERY crowded in the evening. All in all, even with the cutbacks, we still had a GREAT time.

I'm not sure what to believe anymore.

[YoHo]

Maybe they were looking for an excuse.

[hopemax]

For what it's worth, and I have no facts to back up my gut feelings...but this June while we were staying at Riverside like usual, my Dad and I were joking with our CM friends asking when they were going to close, sell off, or turn the FQ into a DVC property. No, they didn't know anything. But we felt that the name changes, closing of Bonfamille's and emptying the marina were actions used to make FQ seem like not such a good place to stay anymore. The same way they mucked up operating hours of certain attractions, and then announced those things were being closed because the ride counts had dropped. And I think 9/11 just gave Disney the excuse to close it NOW instead of in 3 years.

Just a gut feeling I have that the margin from running the 1000 room FQ even with a 95% occupancy rate, is lower than the margins at the 2000 room CS, Riverside and CB resorts.

[DC7800]

She also stated all access to POFQ will be denied. There will be bars put in the water so that boats cannot get through. There will be fences/bars to block access from POR. All rooms are being emptied of beds, tvs, etc. are being removed. The food court is being emptied of cooking equipment and more. She stated she didn't think POFQ would ever open again, at least not the way we knew it. She said that closure fits the scenario of when Shades of Green was created (don?t know the previous resort name). She said she expected POR to follow (which is what the boat driver had told DH a few days prior) and basically be turned into the same type of place like Shades.


Apparently boat transportation to DD has to stop, financially driven or otherwise.

Emptying the PO-FQ rooms suggest several ominious signs - all of them bad. I just don't understand this. EE, park hours, and ride closures can largely be undone on short notice, but it would take weeks or months to re-open FQ. So, if attendance picks up sooner than expected FQ will still be closed, and it's potential revenue lost even during peak seasons. An article in this mornings paper indicated economic recovery might be expected to come as early as January 2002, but no later than next summer (according to predictions). French Quarter's closure can now be confirmed as long-term; probably the two years rumored (if it ever reopens). I didn't believe the closure would be very long before now.

But, why go to such great lengths to block access? If this is a resort refurbishment or permanant closure I can understand it. However, if French Quarter (and Riverside???) is never to reopen in current form, what would it become?

Finally, the permanant loss of FQ would be a bit short-sighted. The economy is always cyclical - and the Sept. 11th effect on travel temporary - and eventually (as during the Millenium Celebration) Disney will again be booked solid - Port Orleans French Quarter will be needed then (I basically agree WDW has overbuilt resorts, but the theme parks can "catch-up" to resort capacity given time).

[dcedwards]

According to the travel agent and from a business perspective they almost have to restrict access. If for some reason they did not do this and a guest who was just exploring got hurt the liability would be tremendous. On the other hand if you block access, post signs and do everything in your power to protect the public's safety...then responsibility shifts to the individual. This, as far as I can tell, would need to happen whether they were going to open it in 6 months or two years.

And, yes, I can see where the profit margin for running the PO-FQ would be less than the other resorts. You would need about the same staff as the other resorts with only 1/2 the rooms. But, I think it would be short sighted to close both FQ and Riverside. The number of trips we take would definitely drop. While we probably would save longer and stay at a deluxe I would not be as excited to come and thus my budget probably wouldn't be as big. But, who knows. Things are changing so fast at DW right now...the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Oh well....nothing ever stays the same. I know we will miss the PO-FQ. We just loved the theme and alligators.

[Spectro is #1]

If the resort is due for a rehab, wouldn't they just close each building down one at a time like they did with the Poly?

[DC7800]

Originally posted by dcedwards
they almost have to restrict access. If for some reason they did not do this and a guest who was just exploring got hurt the liability would be tremendous. On the other hand if you block access, post signs and do everything in your power to protect the public's safety...then responsibility shifts to the individual.

You're right, I wouldn't ever expect Disney would permit guests to casually stroll around the closed FQ buildings. Yes, that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. If Disney is planning a refurbishment, it would be even more important to keep people out of a "construction site". Also, before this I was thinking the closure would be relatively short-term; elaborate fencing (viewblocks?) suggests something long-term.

What I was really thinking when I said that was blocking the Sassagoula River, closing down passage by both rental boats from Riverside and Downtown Disney water transportation. This seems unecessary merely to "secure" the FQ complex; there are other places on WDW waters where people can access closed-off or non-public areas (Discovery Island, for one) but the waterway remains "open". Actually, the most compelling reason I can think of to block the river is to hide the closed resort ("bad show") from passing boats.

[DisneyMim]

hopemax I agree with you. I posted this on another thread, but we were there in August and my husband commented to me that he thought they would be closing POFQ soon. It was so empty. Nothing was the same as before. Both my husband and I had been wondering about this even before we were there because of all the changes that took place with PO/DXL. I believe that Disney had this planned all along. Of course I realize that this is just my opinion, but I am basing it on years of visiting PO/DXL since it was built. It was just a feeling we had especially after we were there in August.

[Amor4Pooh]

With the closure of the POFQ resort, there will be more guests to "fill up" the new resort when it opens, since it has such a huge amount of rooms. Disney could then use the spot for POFQ for something else, and not have to worry about where all those guests will be staying. I wonder if they had the closure in mind when they were building Pop Century? It certainly could replace a couple of resorts in terms of the number of rooms, and it's price range will help help to entice more of the guests who stay offf site in order to save money in that area of their vacation budget. That way instead of losing a number of guests who would be staying at POFQ, the Disney resorts would balance and could even gain more guests from off-site hotels.
Nichole

[Safari Steve]

We have a number for each attraction know as the OHRC (Operational Hourly Ride Capacity). Every hour the counts are taken either by hand or electronically from the turnstiles and alt. entrance "add one" buttons (we're still not done integrating the electronic counters, but we're close). This information is put down on a sheet. For each hour, we divide the actual attendance number by our OHRC to get our hourly percentage. Since percentages are judged by the hour and not by the day, an attraction that is open 6 hours with 90% capacity is still more highly attended than an attraction that is open for 12 hours with 60% capacity. Therefore, shortening an attraction's hours will not automatically drive the numbers down. (It would if we used a Operational Daily Ride Capacity... but we don't.) I seriously doubt (I mean SERIOUSLY) that ANYONE, especially those who are ultimately responsible for performance and attendance records, would intentionally try to make something seem less popular, in fact, the point of shortening hours is to increase the attendance per show, making it seem more popular and ultimately earning it a larger budget.

[Peter Pirate]

Nice explanation, Steve. Thanks :D

BTW, what has happened to On With The Show? We haven't heard form him in a while, any idea?
:cool: :cool: :bounce: :cool: :cool:

[King Triton]

The boat ride between Dixie Landings and DD is awesome at night. It's a part of the Disney experience. By all means....keep the boats running.:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

King Triton

[TinkerbellRules]

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crowds- Just back
We just returned from the 10 fun filled days at the world. The crowds were a little lighter than usual for this time of year. The parks were never "empty" and the average wait time at the rides was 20 minutes or less. Our buses were always full. We stayed 1/2 of the time at POFQ and it seemed busy to us. The food court was crowded and the pool was very crowded. The 2nd half we spent at the Poly which seemed less crowded. Each time we took the boat from POFQ to DD it was full. Also, I noticed that since the parks are closing so early, DD is VERY crowded in the evening. All in all, even with the cutbacks, we still had a GREAT time. **

It would be interesting to know when this person stayed there. We were there from Oct 13 - 20, like I stated in my original post and it was NOT crowded by any means at POFQ. DH was there from Oct 29 - Nov 1 and it wasn't either (maybe they had already moved people by then since only 48 rooms were booked). During our trip, I commented that I thought we were the only ones in Building 1 during midweek. I didn't see but maybe few people then. The pool was never crowded when we were in it. I have pix to prove that ;) Course, maybe everyone stayed out of the pool while we were there ;) DTD seemed the usual crowd. World of Disney was crowded on the 19th. I stood in line for about 15mins. We've gone the last three Octs now and this was the lightest I've seen. We went on our fall break (like the last two).

The CM's we talked with stated WDW was having attendence problems before the attack, but that after 9/11, it was much worse. On a brighter note, the CM said the holidays were looking good for attendence, so maybe hours will lengthen. Also, the room we were in did need a little TLC. Nothing bad, but just a little care. I really wish we had heard better news from the CM's we talked with and had seen better "signs" from the resort. I really liked it.

I forgot to add. We didn't ride the buses so I can't comment about it. I did, however, see there weren't that many people waiting to board. Maybe the bus had already come though.