So, Ride Reservations or Not?

[MouseEarsForAll]

Based off the 'Shifting Strategies at WDW' thread, would you agree to have ride reservations? I say 'Why not?'. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, and I think Disney is perfectly capable of making it all work it out, one way or another.

It would be easy, get on the site, choose your ride, reserve it, see the time, and you're off! I am not saying plan every ride, but the ones that are most popular, or the ones that you love the most.

So, let the voting begin!

Here's the link if you haven't already seen this thread: http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2810007

And by the way, just honest opinions, no name-calling and such please...I really don't want to have another one of those threads!

[tramjaw]

i don't like the idea but maybe it will work much better than i am thinking it will

[lizabu]

It might be good but it would have to be kind of flexible like maybe a 1 hour window just in case you planned to be there at a certain time but if there was a parade or you child hurt himself or something it could delay you getting to the ride on time

[bcrook]

I like the idea. I park hop anyway, so I can totally see myself catching the boat from epcot after lunch to head over to DHS for 6:15 pm fast pass reservation for TSM or RR. I could also spend the day at AK and ride the bus over to MK for the evening fireworks and a ride on Splash Mountain. Plus it will be fun to give advice and feedback on touring and dining plans with this new wrinkle.

[palmtreegirl]

Really stupid idea.

[PoohsFan1]

I'm not really liking this idea. I stress way too much over what ADRs to make, why in the world would I want to stress over what time I am going to ride a ride that is months from now. Also, we like to go from one part of a park and slowly make our way over to the other side, hitting the rides as they come a long. I don't want to be on one side of a park and then having to hike to the other side to make our FP. Just a thought...I wonder if the new Next Gen FPs are going to be like the ones they have now, if you get the FP do they have to be used at that exact time or will they honor them for a later time....something to ponder.

[wdwmom0f3]

The thought of having to do this makes me want to

[minijeanie]

feel it would leave out most people who will not realize they can reserve a ride and infuriate them.

Personally I love seeing all the happy people in wdw....makes me love humanity

[FairydustyPrincesses]

I agree with the thought that ADR are enough of a pain I don't want to be scheduling rides now too. Of course you don't HAVE to but it would likely getto the point where dining is - no ADR no ts.

I got so tired of being certain places at certain times that though we love character meals I am thinking this time to just do the qs meal plan and pay a character meal or two oop instead of a week of ADR

[Planogirl]

It wouldn't feel like a vacation but just a series of appointments or otherwise much like work. I can stay home and work.

[fla4fun]

It depends on how they do it. In a way, FP is doing that now, but you are waiting until the day you are in the park to make the reservation (similar to the way TS dining used to be when it first started).

I would have no problem with adding this as a perk for resort guests (similar to US front of the line access is for their guests). However, I think you need to keep the timeline tight. What happens if you book your favorite ride six months out, and then it goes down for an unscheduled refurb a month before your trip? All the other "rides" would be booked. If you are going to AK, and EE is all of a sudden out of commission, and the safari, Dinosaur, and Kali are all booked solid, what do you do? What if you park hopped specifically to do that ride? Are they only going to do this with the current FP rides, or are all shows and attractions going to be by reservation only?

I think it should be limited to the same 10 day period as online check in. You go in, check into your resort, select your ride schedule, and do it all at one time. That would minimize the risk that the ride you want wouldn't be available (you can't get rid of the risk completely), the park hours should be firmly set at that point, and you would be ahead of the game.

I still think FP should be available for those staying off property and for locals, and should remain a first come, first served commodity. So the priorities would be resort guest (if they plan ahead), FP guest, stand by. The resort guests and FP visitors could use the same line - maybe having color coded slips (white for FP, maybe orange or some other bright color for resort guests) to make it easy for the CM's to identify who's who.

The idea has some merits, but it's all in the execution.

[MrRomance]

I think this is a bit of a minefield for Disney to be honest. It is the type of development that will divide people and while some are going to love it, others will certainly hate it. I call this the "Marmite Effect".

For me the difficulty is that there are 3 distinctly different types of Disney visitor (and this seems to be backed up through the forum discussions and debates). There are the compulsive planners, who plan to the enth degree. There are those who only plan for things they absolutely want to do, for example, people who have kids who want to eat with their favourite character, but otherwise go with the flow. Finally there are the completely relaxed visitors, who do what they want to do when they want to do it and just let their vacation happen as it happens.

(come on, you all know which you are!)

Those who plan with military precision will see some of the "challenge" go out of their trips but it will be just another part of their extensively planning process. Those who plan to some degree will probably like this development for the most part because it will secure their "must do" plans while still leaving them some freedom. Those who like to just go where the mood takes them and do whatever they feel like doing, when they feel like doing it, will no doubt hate this development. They may find themselves stuck in a system that mitigates against them.

It is a mistake to think that a ride reservation system will work like the current ADR system. It can't work that way and it won't. Anyone who has had to wait beyond their ADR time for a table might worry that this will be the case with ride reservations. However, unlike dining reservations, the rides and attractions have a set "run time". No one can accurately predict how long any individual party will take to eat because some people like to eat and get going, others like to sit and chat about their day while they eat or take a break from walking around. ADR's are always affected by the type of diners that are in the restaurant at any given time.

For my family, I don't think this development will have any negative affects. We are middle of the road visitors who don't like to run to a strict schedule but equally like to ensure that the "must do" things are planned for. It will be interesting to see how things play themselves out but one thing that will benefit EVERY type of visitor regardless of their vacationing style is that they won't get locked in to expensive ticket upgrades similar to that we've seen at Universal.

I looked into express passes for Universal for our July trip and was horrified to see they were charging $70 + tax per person and yet it didn't include any of the Harry Potter attractions.

[Oomiak]

I think there are a great number of people that plan to much already, can you imagine what this would do? Think of all the reservations to keep track of on any given day, sounds more like a job than a vacation to me. I like to make a loose basic plan and then go with the flow.

I do not like the ride reservation idea. No way, no how.

[FigNewton]

I'm a planner, but at some point I say enough is enough. No to ride reservations.

[Murfee17]

Originally Posted by FigNewton

I'm a planner, but at some point I say enough is enough. No to ride reservations.

I agree. I like to plan, but not that much. How much fun would that be. I could see my family now.

DD:"Can I have a Mickey ice cream?"
DH: "Yeah, that sounds good! We can sit on that bench and rest for a few minutes."
Me: "Absolutely Not! You can eat ice cream anyday, We are at Disney and have exactly 5 minutes to make it to our reservation for Peter Pan."
Them: "Huh?"-Then let meltdown commence.

. A few fastpasses everyday, ADRs, and which park which day is enough structure for my group.