75 mins for HM!?!?!? Time to fire current Disney parks MGMT

[clsteve]

A little more from Josh.

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...lemonades-is-there-anything-to-do-here-32514/

Yeah but, where's the "real" data, huh??!! Who's gonna take the word of a guy who does as much or more of this than anybody??!!

Purely anecdotal......

 

[FlipHipster]

A little more from Josh.

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...lemonades-is-there-anything-to-do-here-32514/

That's just nuts. They better get their stuff in line (pun intended), only ~2 months to go before the fecal matter hits the rotating oscillator...

The one takeaway I get from the back and forth in all these FP+/MM+ threads is, creating a Guest Experience Engine ® that manages guest behavior with any degree of guest satisfaction is a zero sum game at best.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Today, as I sit, I think of several major issues haunting MDE (see below), specifically fast pass plus.

1. Faulty technology, app has major reliability issues, reservations are lost, magic bands not consistently working, fast pass scanners at the front of fast pass lines are slow and inconsistent. Disney's servers are inadequate. The databases behind the scenes do not seem to be communicated correctly.

2. Technology will be outdated by the time Disney fixes the current issues. This particular RFID technology will be seen as outdated and antiquated in the not so distant future thus dubbing the technology a waste of money.

3. Lines are much longer. People eater rides are now on average much longer than times before. Fast pass plus slows things down by a lot. Most realize that at the very least, Disney mishandled picking which attractions should have fast passes. Worst yet, many must stand in line to stand in line again, meaning wait at kiosks with long lines in order to obtain fast passes.

4. Cost, we are now staring at 2 billion dollars on this project. There has been no return on this investment. Disney has gone over the budget by a lot of money, conservatively at least 1 billion dollars over budget.

5. Unhappy cast members. Imagine being a front line cast member and dealing with these complaints. Imagine attempting to calm a patron whose fast passes are lost, band not working, etc. The cast member is already underpaid. The college program has harmed a lot of the desire for cast members to provide adequate front line customer service (transient).

With these issues, and many more, Disney is losing the faith of a great deal of regulars. Financial impacts will be felt in FY16 and no sooner. The backlash is building. Vacations are being cancelled and not for typical internal and external variables but rather based on MDE, specifically the perception of the unreliability and general lower quality of the wdw product.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

2. Technology will be outdated by the time Disney fixes the current issues. This particular RFID technology will be seen as outdated and antiquated in the not so distant future thus dubbing the technology a waste of money.

3. Lines are much longer. People eater rides are now on average much longer than times before. Fast pass plus slows things down by a lot.

4. Cost, we are now staring at 2 billion dollars on this project. There has been no return on this investment. Disney has gone over the budget by a lot of money, conservatively at least 1 billion dollars over budget.

2. You mean like how short-lived bar codes were? All RFID is, is a bar code that you don't have to "see". How in the world could it be outdated?

3. If lines are longer, it can ONLY be because there's more people in the park, or the people in the park are riding more rides. FP+ has not made CM's put less people on the ride per hour.

4. The same could be said about building the monorail.

 

[Angel Ariel]

3. If lines are longer, it can ONLY be because there's more people in the park, or the people in the park are riding more rides. FP+ has not made CM's put less people on the ride per hour.

Despite reports that exactly that is happening at rides like Pirates...

As a general rule, I agree that I don't think FP+ is making CMs put less people on the ride/hour for MOST rides - there are some rides, Pirates being one of them, that are clearly having that problem.

That said - I do believe that FP+ is causing more people to get in lines for things they might have previously skipped in the past.

The data that sites like Josh's are posting, indicating that there ARE lines that are longer, and that attendance cannot account for the change in wait times, aren't just making things up

 

[PaulaVonSchweetz]

3. If lines are longer, it can ONLY be because there's more people in the park, or the people in the park are riding more rides. FP+ has not made CM's put less people on the ride per hour.

There are more people in the park..... The new Fantasyland expansion increased park capacity by 40000 people. I think most people forget that fact..... more people = longer lines.
The lines are not solely because of FP+.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Despite reports that exactly that is happening at rides like Pirates...

As a general rule, I agree that I don't think FP+ is making CMs put less people on the ride/hour for MOST rides - there are some rides, Pirates being one of them, that are clearly having that problem.

That said - I do believe that FP+ is causing more people to get in lines for things they might have previously skipped in the past.

The data that sites like Josh's are posting, indicating that there ARE lines that are longer, and that attendance cannot account for the change in wait times, aren't just making things up

So then you're saying that somehow FP+ changed how fast people can board the rides. How is that possible. What is happening at POTC that fewer people can ride in a time span. Are they sending empty ride-cars?

 

[Disney_Princess83]

2. You mean like how short-lived bar codes were? All RFID is, is a bar code that you don't have to "see". How in the world could it be outdated?

3. If lines are longer, it can ONLY be because there's more people in the park, or the people in the park are riding more rides. FP+ has not made CM's put less people on the ride per hour.

4. The same could be said about building the monorail.

3. If lines are longer, it can ONLY be because there's more people in the park, or the people in the park are riding more rides. FP+ has not made CM's put less people on the ride per hour.
The lines are getting longer because (as countless people have shown and explained) CM's are sending many rides out half full, especially those that didn't have FP before FP+. Also, the standby is getting longer and the guests are waiting longer as FP+ has priority over stand by.

Previously if you were 500th in line for POTC, you were 500th to ride. Now, with the addition of FP+, you might be 500th in "line" but you'll be the 800th on the ride. There has been reports of guests waiting 10-15 minutes + at the front of the line while dozens of FP_ guests were given priority. Many rides simply don't need FP+ (POTC, HM, IASW)

Some people might be getting in line for rides they wouldn't have before (Finding Nemo, Figment, Captain EO at EPCOT for example) or it has changed the way they might tour (For us personally, we rode Big Thunder at 2pm in the afternoon - something we never would have done before. We always waited until midnight-1am and ride during late or EMH hours)

4. The same could be said about building the monorail.
The monorail can carry more people than a bus. It can move people with less man power (CM's) to run it. It also is a factor for many people staying at the three Deluxe Resorts close to MK, convincing people to stay at some of the most expensive resorts. The monorail has a good return on the investment.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

That said - I do believe that FP+ is causing more people to get in lines for things they might have previously skipped in the past.

Is this a bad thing? Seems like that is the purpose of FP+. To allow people to experience more rides in a day.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

So then you're saying that somehow FP+ changed how fast people can board the rides. How is that possible. What is happening at POTC that fewer people can ride in a time span. Are they sending empty ride-cars?

Yes, they are. The line divides into two very separate lines, each loading on opposite sides of the "lake". If the stand by line is full and the FP+ is slow/empty, they send those boats empty or half full while people wait in the standby line. Previously these boats would have been full because everyone was standby, the line just divided for fast loading.

FP+ is make the lines slower. Firstly, they have started offering many more FP+return times per hour. Also, everyone must return in that hour slow or miss out. So if 500 people have a POTC reservation for 2pm - 3pm, there is a good change at least 450+ people will be coming through. They all have priority over standby.

Previously, when there was no FP+, if you were the 500th person to enter a line ride, you were (approximately) 500th to get on the ride. Now, you might be 500th in line BUT all FP+ holders have priority over you. So instead you might be 800th on the ride because 300 people have gone ahead of you over the time you've been in the line. Previously, you might have waited 20 mins for POTC, now you'll wait 40 mins+ as those extra few hundred guests get on the ride first.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Is this a bad thing? Seems like that is the purpose of FP+. To allow people to experience more rides in a day.

What Disney are trying to do is push people toward rides that few people really want to ride (Captain EO? Figment?) There is a reason guests skipped them before. Few people skip POTC or IASW.

Most people have reported being able to ride less in a regular day, not more. This isn't just on the Dis either.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

There are more people in the park..... The new Fantasyland expansion increased park capacity by 40000 people. I think most people forget that fact..... more people = longer lines.
The lines are not solely because of FP+.

The new expansion expanded capacity but there is no evidence to suggest that increased attendance. It wasn't like they were turning people away daily due to reaching capacity before the new expansion (aside from a few days during the year)

 

[JeremyGNJ]

What Disney are trying to do is push people toward rides that few people really want to ride (Captain EO? Figment?) There is a reason guests skipped them before. Few people skip POTC or IASW.

Most people have reported being able to ride less in a regular day, not more. This isn't just on the Dis either.

I don't think it's people being pushed. but rather they say "Since I didn't have to wait for Malestorm, I think i'll go to Captain EO.

whereas before, after waiting an hour for a ride and the last thing they wanted to do was watch Captian EO.

Thus...they are getting an extra ride in, and it reduces the amount of rides a commando can do.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Is this a bad thing? Seems like that is the purpose of FP+. To allow people to experience more rides in a day.

It is not inherently bad, but: (1) It affects touring strategy and therefore is important to talk about, (2) It eliminates everyone's ability to ride certain "second tier" rides without preplanning, and (3) Each person's enjoyment of each ride is not equal. Examples: A person books FP+ on Great Movie Ride and Star Tours merely because they have two spare FP+ after TSMM. They would have been equally happy going from show to show, meeting characters, and forgetting about those rides, which they didn't really love anyway. Meanwhile, Star Wars Fanatic has a longer line to see multiple scenes, and Ride Fan is waiting in longer lines or having less fun at shows. And at Epcot, one family is utterly bored at Living with the Land. Meanwhile, a family with a kid who is about to meltdown over crowds can't quickly escape to a quiet boat ride (That was me and DS several years ago.)

 

[Texas Crude]

Most people have reported being able to ride less in a regular day, not more. This isn't just on the Dis either.

Not sure I buy this. Total ride capacity remains unchanged, which means the same number of rides are being given with FP+ and FP-. If 20 people are now going on fewer rides, it means someone else is now going on more rides.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Recommended sticky's for DIS:

- Operations Research class / source materials link
- Correlation vs. causality

 

[Angel Ariel]

So then you're saying that somehow FP+ changed how fast people can board the rides. How is that possible. What is happening at POTC that fewer people can ride in a time span. Are they sending empty ride-cars?

There have been quite a few reports of exactly that (the bolded, to be clear) happening at pirates specifically.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Is this a bad thing? Seems like that is the purpose of FP+. To allow people to experience more rides in a day.

I didn't say it was a bad thing. It is exactly what fp+ is intended for. That is, however, making for longer than previously normal waits at those attractions.

To say fp+ is being successful, and also say that fp+ isn't at all responsible for longer lines at secondary attractions seems....well, highly unlikely to me.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

[/b]

There have been quite a few reports of exactly that (the bolded, to be clear) happening at pirates specifically.

Too many reports to not believe it's happening. I've been on POTC pre-FP+ when it wasn't running at full capacity, but that was during low crowds, when it was a complete walk-on. These reports are coming from a wide range of crowd levels and standby times.

 

[surferdave]

[/b]

There have been quite a few reports of exactly that (the bolded, to be clear) happening at pirates specifically.

The Hub replied in this thread about PoTC (page 2), merging the lines and ride utilization. From the perspective of a cast member managing the lines, it looks like they know they've had some problems with this (and not just PoTC).

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3255787