Anyone Ever Been During a " Phase 4 " Closure?!!

[parrothead24]

We were at MK last Tuesday when it closed. It was the first day of our trip at MK so we got there early to do lots of rides. By lunch we did most of Fantasyland and Toontown and had FPs in hand for BTMR, Space Mt and Peter Pan. After lunch we used our FPs and child swaps (we have three kids, 6, 3, and 1) so we were able to get on rides without much of a wait. In the afternoon (around 3:00) it was shoulder to shoulder moving from one place to another and that's when we heard the park was closed because it reached capacity. Honestly, the morning was great and we never waited in line more than 20 minutes the entire day by going early and using FPs. We left before right before dinner because the kids were done and we had an early morning scheduled for the next day. There will be crowds at Disney, but if you get there early and have a plan it's not bad at all.

 

[andrews_dad]

Yeap. I go every year Xmas-New Years. Was almost not able to get in one day to MK .... but I was with a CM who sweet talked us in!! Expect long waits for everything ... even lines for snacks and bathroom!!

 

[bonybroad]

These threads are the reason why I will never ever get to celebrate my birthday in Disney.
My husband has repeatedly refused to go to Disney on New Years Eve. So no birthday celebration for me.

 

[typod]

I went last week and did the keys to the kingdom tour and during the tour our guide told us that they had to close magic kingdom on wed. The wait times were crazy. The fastpass for buzz was out the door.

 

[serene56]

Its only a curious question-- buy why do people spend thousands of dollars for a vacation that turns out like that?

I can only imagine the first time there people--- thinking its like that all the time

 

[Px4]

Its only a curious question-- buy why do people spend thousands of dollars for a vacation that turns out like that?

I can only imagine the first time there people--- thinking its like that all the time

Well, for us, we had to go during that week or not at all. DH called and said he wanted to go to DisneyWorld when he got his dates for RnR. I called TWO weeks out and was lucky enough to get a room. New Years Eve at MK + a Soldier straight out of a war zone = BAD IDEA!

 

[jenfur]

I'm calling Shenanigans on this.

I find it hard to believe that a CM would not only speak to a Guest in that manner but would then deny them access back to their hotel.

I have heard and seen CMs do a lot of things I thought they wouldn't do! One CM operating POTC closed the gate on my mom and started the ride when she was trying to sit down next to me- yes there was room and they had already counted her and everything. He was also making rude comments to all the guest getting on! This was MVMCP 2 years ago.

ANYBODY can be rude and some people like power trips even if it is simply controlling who gets on the monorail. CR Resort Fan 4 Life is a very trustworthy poster and very helpful, especially if you are staying anywhere near the Contemporary.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have heard and seen CMs do a lot of things I thought they wouldn't do! One CM operating POTC closed the gate on my mom and started the ride when she was trying to sit down next to me- yes there was room and they had already counted her and everything. He was also making rude comments to all the guest getting on! This was MVMCP 2 years ago.

ANYBODY can be rude and some people like power trips even if it is simply controlling who gets on the monorail. CR Resort Fan 4 Life is a very trustworthy poster and very helpful, especially if you are staying anywhere near the Contemporary.

Thank you for those nice comments.

 

[Mikailova]

I was working there several years ago during a Phase 4 closing on the 4th of July. It was a mad house in Tomorrowland. As a CM I practically had to shove my way through people just to get from the break room to my attraction. I did have to shove people out of the way at one point so one of the "ambulance" golf carts could get through to a woman on the point of heat stroke. There was a line for Space MTN, don't remember the time exactly, but it snaked through all the zig-zags in the cue inside (which they almost never open), out the door and across Tomorroland, from the front of Space back to the Buzz side of the TTA/Asto-Oribiter tower.

Now it was hot and packed and very chaotic, but I think if you don't have anxiety in crowds, you know what to expect, and you have a good touring plan, you can survive a Phase 4 at WDW.

 

[wahoostampingirl]

These threads are the reason why I will never ever get to celebrate my birthday in Disney.
My husband has repeatedly refused to go to Disney on New Years Eve. So no birthday celebration for me.

I'm a New Year's Eve baby too! And I'm the one who refuses to go to WDW on my birthday.

 

[chisnpeke]

I'm calling Shenanigans on this.

I find it hard to believe that a CM would not only speak to a Guest in that manner but would then deny them access back to their hotel.

I know someone who works at the parks. He said he and a few other CMs told a pesky lady to shut up.

I'm sure it happens at Disney.

I work at an amusement park around here and one of the girls I worked with in sales one day asked a guest if they were "retarded" because they didn't understand what she was saying.

 

[Disney Wanderer]

Back On Topic: a related Question

Is The MK The Only Park that Reaches "Phase 4" ? Have any of the other Parks Gotten that far??

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Back On Topic: a related Question

Is The MK The Only Park that Reaches "Phase 4" ? Have any of the other Parks Gotten that far??

I think there has been a few times when Epcot has been at Phase 4.

 

[mass02703]

I'm going to post my reply to another thread on here....we were in a phase 4 closure last Thursday!

We just arrived home last night. I know that it must have been really crowded because last Thursday they shut the gate shortly after we entered the park due to being filled to capacity. I would have never guessed it. It was busy during the day, but not like I haven't seen it before. By 9 pm we were walking on rides of our choice with little to no line. Easter Sunday MK was open until 3 for EMH by midnight our children were going on rides continuously because there were no lines. We spent the day at downtown Disney and only went for the parade and after. We took full advantage of fast pass and never did we wait in a line the entire time that we were there for more then 20 minutes. We did every ride that we wanted. It was obvious during Fantasmic how many people were at Hollywood Studios that day, luckily we had the Fantasmic package and our area was almost empty until 2 minutes before the show started. The only ride that we had any difficulty getting fast passes for was Soaring. Our first day at Epcot we had gone to Chef Mickey's and arrived to late to receive a fast pass. The next day we arrived earlier and were able to get fast passes for later in the day. I know that it was really busy last week but I didn't feel it. If you play your fast passes right you and leave certain rides for later in the day you will never have to wait in a line. I remember the days before fast passes and you could go to MK and only be able to ride a few rides all day. Those days are over. It still amazes me to watch people stand in a stand-by line for over 2 hours (like I saw this week at Soaring, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain). My Disney time is precious and I want to make the most of it.

 

[PJAY]

DW and I went Millennium NYE, our first visit since we were kids and we had no clue. We had driven arriving Christmas Day and decided to sleep in NYE because we knew we would be there all day. Well imagine our surprise to see cars backed up and people being turned away. We almost cried but we continued on our way to the booths where we noticed CM's allowing some cars through. When we made it to a booth the CM asked if we had tickets and when we said yes, he waved us through. The lots were jammed and MK was packed too. We basically staked out a spot and sat there ALL DAY. Not very fun but the fireworks that night were amazing. The crowds were crazy though. Glad we did it because we will never do that again.

 

[missesdisney]

We were there a few years ago on July 4th when MK was closed but we knew better than to go to MK on a holiday and were at MGM. It was empty. EMPTY. We walked on and off the rides - there were a million characters around. Two separate years on Thanksgiving same deal - Thanksgiving 07 we walked into fantasmic five minutes before with no trouble.

If you are going for a holiday - my best advice is avoid MK.

Now during Easter week there was no way to know which day it would be that bad I'm sure.

 

[fla4fun]

I swear that it really happened and why would I make that up?

I can believe it for a couple reasons.

One - if MK is at Phase 4, then it's pretty much chaotic crowding property wide. Everyone's temper gets a little shorter.

Which brings me to reason two: I have a feeling that when you flashed the KTTW, the CM didn't know how to read it to know if you were staying in a monorail resort or not. It doesn't give the resort name on the card - it's a part of the code number - and I'm sure that a lot of the CM's on property don't know how to read that code to know what resort you are staying in.

Combination of point one and two? You come across a CM at the end of their rope who doesn't want you to know that they can't tell where you're staying, so you get a very brisk brush off. If they had been a little calmer, they probably would have said something like there was currently no monorail access at the TTC due to the Phase 4 closing and that you would have to detour to Poly to access the monorail.

Not trying to excuse rudeness - just explain it a bit.

 

[bringmethathorizon]

we where at mk on 12/31/08.had allready heard stories and did not want to risk not getting in so we got there early.had also heard they would not deny acsess to someone staying on property.dont know if it is true or not so we were there close to opening and stayed for the firewrks show.it was a very long day.was told they closed the gates around 11 am.at several times i think i could have picked my feet up and not fallen.it was packed.heard epcot was the same way.odd thing was new years day at epcot it was great almost empty compaired to what we went thought the day before.I think every disney fan needs to do it once .ONCE.

 

[DisCopper]

I have. I went Easter Week 07. Right after we walked into the MK the closed the gates. There were soooooo many ppl there. Ride times were 45+.

I'm kind of laughing at this. 45 minutes +? Nothing! I just got back from Tokyo Disney (which wasn't in any type of phase closure) and EVERY attraction had a wait time of 140 minutes or more.

 

[ajleone]

If you manage expectations going in to the experience, it's fine. If not, it's an insult to your existence as a human being.

Damn that made me laugh!!