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

[Magpie]

• Arrive early
• Tour like a commando from RD until lunch
• Use your 3 FPs
• Leave
• Come back tomorrow
• Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

It's that simple.

Alternate plan:

*Arrive early

*Tour like a commando from RD until lunch

*Head back to your resort for a nap or swim.

*Go to a second park and use your FPs, and then see some shows/parades/'anytime' rides. Stay late. Ride the big rides again near close.

*Stagger back to your resort.

*Come back tomorrow

*Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I can't wait!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

I saw a photo taken in the World Showcase yesterday. Shoulder to shoulder people. On a Wednesday, and they were not waiting for attractions - just walking around. They wanted crowds, they got em.

The lines at HM that I saw in the middle of March were about 30-40 minutes. 25 a couple of times and 10 right before closing.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

According to a 2011 article, HM wait times on a non-recommended MK day during a crowd 9 spring break week peaked at 70 minutes. The analysis noted that this "higher than normal" peak was due to the "semi-unveiling" of the interactive queue.

 

[slickpoetry]

stands to be verified that more people are at the parks currently than at the same time last year. "Lots of people showing up" does not mean park attendance increased from years prior during this time of the year. Whereas mishandled congestion and a rising number of complaints will eventually lead to less business.

Fair enough. Disney will see in their year-end or quarterly reports whether or not people need to be fired--the numbers will tell them that. One number they won't be looking at, though, is the wait time for Haunted Mansion on a random Thursday in March.

 

[ajwolfe]

I'm not seeing the big deal....I saw that kinda wait time for HM when we were there once in December and I even saw it last year in February. On busier days it has a wait.

 

[mom2rtk]

Can you give some specific examples of the negative PR they're getting from this? Negative opinions of the boards here are one thing but public negative PR I haven't seen too much if anything on personally and I'd be interested to read the articles.

Well, you won't see it on their Facebook page since they are removing the negative posts.

 

[slickpoetry]

According to a 2011 article, HM wait times on a non-recommended MK day during a crowd 9 spring break week peaked at 70 minutes. The analysis noted that this "higher than normal" peak was due to the "semi-unveiling" of the interactive queue.

2011's economy was not as healthy as 2014's economy. Also, although I haven't verified this, I'm willing to bet the winter wasn't as bad for northerners as 2014's was.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Can you give some specific examples of the negative PR they're getting from this? Negative opinions of the boards here are one thing but public negative PR I haven't seen too much if anything on personally and I'd be interested to read the articles.

seriously? Just listening to the dis podcast discuss their survey results should give you a good idea what the hardline disney park fans are thinking. Add publications such as themepark advisor, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Weekly, and pretty much every single major wdw message board, blog, etc. and one should have a fair idea how bad it is getting. I am not even sure why I responded to you.

 

[Laz]

you could also come back at like 7 or 8 pm if you're up for a late night, right? Surely lines aren't that bad all the way up til closing?

Even under FP-, that is what we would do. During the 4th of July week, we would go back in the evening, pick one ride (even Soarin), and just wait it out, enjoy some family time, and plan the next day. I am an old FP- commando. However, eventually FP+ improvements and family pressure will take me back. The RD-- rinse and repeat with your suggestion will be the order of the days.

 

[JZCubed]

so let me get this straight....you think management should be fired because lots of people are showing up to the theme parks?


excuse me a moment...

I'm reminded of the Yogi Berra quote, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

I've been to many rock'n'roll concerts in my life - sold out shows are seemingly more fun than half empty venues.

............................

To the OP,

I'm sorry you experienced crowds during the Spring Break period.

 

[BrianL]

It seems like everyone wants to blame FP+, but it's actually just an extremely busy day/week. Yesterday the MK parking lot closed to capacity. How can that be blamed on FP+? I get that FP+ may not be helping lines that much, but when there's a boat-load of people, well, waits are going to be high.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Fair enough. Disney will see in their year-end or quarterly reports whether or not people need to be fired--the numbers will tell them that. One number they won't be looking at, though, is the wait time for Haunted Mansion on a random Thursday in March.

True, except Disney very much reads this board per Pete Werner et al. No doubt this is the busiest time being thrown at these magic bands since the paper passes were removed from the parks.

Sad times for Disney Parks. We will remember these years as the darkest years for wdw.

 

[Planogirl]

The... public reception (which is what I think you mean by "PR") has been far from universally negative.

I wouldn't presume to label this a "debacle" at this point, especially without seeing (or understanding!) the quarterly and annual returns.

All I know is that I had a wonderful time last December, and I expect I'll be having an equally wonderful time this upcoming April. I see no reason to believe differently! And the only thing I know of the management side of things is that George Kalogridis is the current president of Walt Disney World Resort and I absolutely adore him for his participation in Disney's "It Gets Better" YouTube message. Which I readily acknowledge isn't relevant to the running of the business. It's just warm fuzzies.

I had a wonderful time last December too and we used FP- exclusively. I sincerely hope that you're right but I think that customer satisfaction is a little hard to gauge this early.

 

[pooch]

just which line that is in the picture. The rope area to the left looks almost empty, isn't that the standby area? Is it the FP+ entrance that has the line?

and for what its worth, we used FP+ in December with no issues.

 

[slickpoetry]

seriously? Just listening to the dis podcast discuss their survey results should give you a good idea what the hardline disney park fans are thinking. Add publications such as themepark advisor, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Weekly, and pretty much every single major wdw message board, blog, etc. and one should have a fair idea how bad it is getting. I am not even sure why I responded to you.

I'd venture that if you add together every single reader of every blog/journal/messageboard/publication you listed, it would add to less than 10% of park visitors...probably far less.

 

[Planogirl]

True, except Disney very much reads this board per Pete Werner et al. No doubt this is the busiest time being thrown at these magic bands since the paper passes were removed from the parks.

Sad times for Disney Parks. We will remember these years as the darkest years for wdw.

And I hope that you're wrong. But I have a feeling that if this continues then you will be very right. I'm hoping for changes that will help some of this because the Haunted Mansion is one of the main reasons I continue to go to WDW. If they make it and others like it a lot harder to ride then I see that as a big loss.

 

[nolanboys]

Seems like all the wait times are average for Spring Break.

Have to disagree. We often come during spring break, and HM and POTC are never that bad. Wait times for stand by lines are insane. FP+ has definitely change how we tour. Yes, it is nice that we were able to sleep in and not go to HS until late in the afternoon, but it will stop me from buying PH option, as less popular rides that we would do later in the afternoon and evening have insane wait times. Even in the morning, we were there fir RD at epcot. Got onto TT and were done at 9:17. The wait was already at 40. Same with MK today. Went to EMH to ride SM. The ride was down, so we rode Buzz. SM then opened, so we hopped on - literally in the first 20 people. When we got done, the wait was already at 40. No thank you. We are DVC owners, and really enjoying OKW, but will spend less on park tickets - one day each park, no hoppers.can hit the main rides and the standbys are too crazy for us. Hope Disney fixes this.

 

[slickpoetry]

My dad went to Disney two weeks ago for a week, with my sister's family (4 adults, four kids). Disney picked him to do a customer satisfaction survey for them after the trip.

He offered only one negative comment about his trip: He didn't like the way the park's maps were printed.


That's the average Disney World consumer.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd venture that if you add together every single reader of every blog/journal/messageboard/publication you listed, it would add to less than 10% of park visitors...probably far less.

Sampling principles would consider that a very large sample of park visitors. The question is whether they are representative of the other 90%.

 

[Golf4283]

seriously? Just listening to the dis podcast discuss their survey results should give you a good idea what the hardline disney park fans are thinking. Add publications such as themepark advisor, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Weekly, and pretty much every single major wdw message board, blog, etc. and one should have a fair idea how bad it is getting. I am not even sure why I responded to you.

Herein lies the problem with the discussion. The "hardline" fans no matter what you say are not the big picture that Disney is trying to attract. They've already got those people coming 1, 2, 3 times a year sometimes. They want new people to come, they want to impress them with the technology (when it works right), they want to create more guests that will come more than once every 5-10 years or so.