A&E FP+ How would you fix it?

[dkrauss]

I thought jhaig had a great solution a few months ago.

Move Anna and Elsa to the old Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot and transform the entire building into "Frozen Central".

Note that this was three months ago and plenty of people were poo-pooing the idea because Frozen was a fad that would blow over shortly.

Transforming the building into a big multi-room A&E M&G (maybe not the whole Frozen transition described there) could meet the demand, ease the traffic at MK, move the line out of the way of other attractions, and take up space nobody else is using anyway. If the fad finally blows over like so many people keep predicting, so be it, move them back to something typical of the other princesses. If it refuses to go away, incorporate them into whatever attraction or land suits the demand in one of the parks that needs the attraction.

People keep talking about character meals. I actually prefer the meals to waiting in line to meet a character but when demand is this high I understand the need to keep the character in the venue with the highest throughput, so I hope they don't add them to one for awhile.

I really like this idea...........of making a "Frozen Central". That building is perfect for it!

Some good ideas but no thoughts on how to deal with FP+. That actually makes sense given how difficult it would be to work something out.

Doug

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I don't think Disney would ever put these characters somewhere where park admission wouldn't be a requirement to see them (i.e., a resort or DTD). They get the most money out of a property by requiring people to pay to see them. A restaurant just doesn't get you there, plus there is a ton of overhead in running a restaurant.

The only solution like with every line is to increase the availability of the characters. I'd put them in every park. They'd go in the (empty) Wonders of Life pavilion in Epcot, temporarily where they have the Frozen Funland in DHS (it's already decorated!) and maybe build a permanent exhibit where the Jack Sparrow thing is now. Or American Idol could be canned and you could convert that building (though I'd rather see that turned into a new place for JTA). DHS is more problematic to come up with a location off the top of your head, but I'm sure that they can find some place to put them with all the construction going on there. The theming doesn't really work, but if it's just a temporary stop gap, who cares?

Absolutely. Mickey is in every park, dressed in various garb. I fail to see how this would be an issue for A&E. So it's not the Disney Way? Well, 380 minute times shouldn't be anybody's "way". Nor should refreshing a computer as it glitches and crashes and getting closed out of a 60 DAY BOOKING IN ADVANCE WINDOW.

If this were me and my husband, I would punt Anna and Elsa. Who cares about a meet and greet, I sure don't. My 4 year old daughter, however, would disagree. Rides can frighten her, but this would be a highlight. I'll be damned if I am going to fork over thousands of dollars and get shut out of the one thing I KNOW she wants to do.

Figure it out, Disney. Or I'll take my vacation dollars elsewhere.

 

[alicat8]

It's easier to put a mickey head on someone than to find a face character who has to talk and interact beyond nodding and head shaking.

But I also definitely wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a Disney vacation for a kid who didn't like the rides. Why bother?

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

It's easier to put a mickey head on someone than to find a face character who has to talk and interact beyond nodding and head shaking.

But I also definitely wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a Disney vacation for a kid who didn't like the rides. Why bother?

Excuse me, but I have a son who loves the rides and a daughter who loves Frozen and a DVC membership. So keep your opinions about our vacation plans to yourself.

 

[alicat8]

Wow....mad much??? It just seems like for someone who is so angry about it, it would be worth it to just set your alarm an hour earlier for one day on the trip and get there for rope drop. I mean if it's important enough that you're spending as much time as it sounds like you are trying to get a FP and yelling at people on the internet over it....

 

[Mary7116]

There is only one Anna and one Elsa. How could they flood the park with them? You didn't think they just hire people to pretend to be them did you? I suppose the line for the Mall Santa could be shortened if they just lined six of them side by side but that probably wouldn't be the best idea.

They have multiple Santas at Macys in NYC with maze like lines and high walls to help lessen the wait times. Sounds Iike that would work for A&E. We are paying enough for our Disney Vacation we shouldn't have to spend so much time waiting on these lines.

 

[surferdave]

Wow....mad much???

"Surly Mermaid" not a good enough hint for you?

 

[alicat8]

"Surly Mermaid" not a good enough hint for you?

You mean it's not just a clever name??

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Wow....mad much??? It just seems like for someone who is so angry about it, it would be worth it to just set your alarm an hour earlier for one day on the trip and get there for rope drop. I mean if it's important enough that you're spending as much time as it sounds like you are trying to get a FP and yelling at people on the internet over it....

You bet I'm mad. I would love to be there at rope drop (never mind of course that I've never had to do it ever before and still did every ride I wanted to multiple times in the past) but I have a party of 8 to wrangle this go round. None of whom seem the slightest bit interested in anything other than having me plan everything and even if they did, there are WAY too many weird glitches with MDE to have multiple people with access to it.

 

[uccats97]

There are only 9 FP+ available for A&E per hour. That is why it is so difficult to get one.

I was just at MK for the KTTK tour on Sunday. Our tour was at 9 and so was park opening. We were there at 8 and allowed entry at that time. On the way in we passed people standing at the rope. There were only about 20 people at that time. This is absolutely the best bet to seeing A&E w/o a FP+ or 8am ADR.

 

[AndreaA]

I'm pretty surprised that no one has mentioned that they SHOULD have been added to the Frozen celebration at HS. They have the building with the ice skating and "snowman" area, etc.. Why the heck didn't they plop a couple of Annas and Elsas there?

I realize that the Frozen event is supposed to only be temporary, but I'm guessing that the long lines to meet "the girls" will drop significantly once the summer crush is over and we get to the "low" season and perhaps by next summer there won't be such crazy demand.

 

[TDC Nala]

They have multiple Santas at Macys in NYC with maze like lines and high walls to help lessen the wait times. Sounds Iike that would work for A&E. We are paying enough for our Disney Vacation we shouldn't have to spend so much time waiting on these lines.

But they are already arranging it so that you don't have to wait in line longer than 30 minutes. Or is the issue that they don't have enough Annas and Elsas to allow EVERYONE who wants to meet them to do so without a wait? How can they possibly do that? Even one set in each park won't be enough. If you want to meet them, there's only one way to be sure to do it - get a fast pass or plan to get a wait time. And yes, some people won't get it becuase there will never be enough for everybody. They do not need to bring Frozen to every park.

 

[jon18uk]

Not Disney's way...........I don't believe you'll see any duplicate characters in the same park at the same time......(although not sure what happens during the parades )

Doug

You never see duplicates but that doesn't mean there isn't. There is usually multiple Mickeys in town square theatre but the way the doors and corridors work you'll never know. We sorta noticed when he was in judges tent at toontown.

And that's how I'd solve A&E too, they should have built fairytale hall in same way, hidden rooms so they can have several meets without you realising. Also they should greet in ahollywood studios too.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

But they are already arranging it so that you don't have to wait in line longer than 30 minutes. Or is the issue that they don't have enough Annas and Elsas to allow EVERYONE who wants to meet them to do so without a wait? How can they possibly do that? Even one set in each park won't be enough. If you want to meet them, there's only one way to be sure to do it - get a fast pass or plan to get a wait time. And yes, some people won't get it becuase there will never be enough for everybody. They do not need to bring Frozen to every park.

If that actually works, then great. I'd be willing to wait even an hour to meet E and A for the kids. What I'm angry about is the fact that I'm almost certainly going to be shut out of the 60 day window due to the fact I have a six day vacation planned and not a 10 day one AND the current standby time is something crazy like 380 minutes.

 

[dkrauss]

Interestingly TouringPlans and MDE are no longer showing wait times for A&E at WDW. That must be apart of the test they're doing. In reading about this test it seems they're hoping that with the pseudo-FP solution would reduce wait times to 30 minutes. No way to know how that's working out during this test since the wait times aren't available.

Interesting

Doug

 

[dkrauss]

If that actually works, then great. I'd be willing to wait even an hour to meet E and A for the kids. What I'm angry about is the fact that I'm almost certainly going to be shut out of the 60 day window due to the fact I have a six day vacation planned and not a 10 day one AND the current standby time is something crazy like 380 minutes.

Appreciate your frustration............but is the only resolution more locations?

Doug

 

[GAJulie]

If this were me and my husband, I would punt Anna and Elsa. Who cares about a meet and greet, I sure don't. My 4 year old daughter, however, would disagree. Rides can frighten her, but this would be a highlight. I'll be damned if I am going to fork over thousands of dollars and get shut out of the one thing I KNOW she wants to do.

Figure it out, Disney. Or I'll take my vacation dollars elsewhere.

This is exactly how I feel. I hate that I'm so desperate to get this fp+. But I am, for my 3 yr old, who sleeps every night on her Frozen sheets and drifts off to sleep gazing at her Frozen wall decals. I've put in the money throughout the years on all the Disney merchandise. I've put in the planning on this vacation. I logged on to MDE at 60 days/midnight. Nothing available for my entire vacation. Now I try about 15x a day/every day. And yet, it's still not my payment deadline for another week, which makes it VERY hard for me to actually cough up the 4 grand.

But to answer the call of the question...I agree that A&E in every park would solve most or all of the problem by distributing the fp+ demand.

 

[GAJulie]

But they are already arranging it so that you don't have to wait in line longer than 30 minutes. Or is the issue that they don't have enough Annas and Elsas to allow EVERYONE who wants to meet them to do so without a wait? How can they possibly do that? Even one set in each park won't be enough. If you want to meet them, there's only one way to be sure to do it - get a fast pass or plan to get a wait time. And yes, some people won't get it becuase there will never be enough for everybody. They do not need to bring Frozen to every park.

I would certainly not argue that EVERYONE should be able to see them without a wait. But for those of us who logged on at 60 days out, at the stroke of midnight, and still can't get a fastpass for ANY of our 6 days...this is unbelievably frustrating. And I think that when it is THAT difficult to get a fastpass, there is a real problem. (because I am a Sunday arrival, all of the fastpasses for the week were gone before my fastpass window even opened, by those who check in on Saturday.)

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I would certainly not argue that EVERYONE should be able to see them without a wait. But for those of us who logged on at 60 days out, at the stroke of midnight, and still can't get a fastpass for ANY of our 6 days...this is unbelievably frustrating. And I think that when it is THAT difficult to get a fastpass, there is a real problem. (because I am a Sunday arrival, all of the fastpasses for the week were gone before my fastpass window even opened, by those who check in on Saturday.)

I am so sorry you got shut out. You will be in great company with me next week, when I get shut out, as I most assuredly will. Like you, I am staying a week, so people staying 10-14 days and leaving the same day I am have already booked up the dates.

It is so patently unfair to reward those staying for long vacations. A week isn't long enough anymore? RIDICULOUS.

 

[dkrauss]

I am so sorry you got shut out. You will be in great company with me next week, when I get shut out, as I most assuredly will. Like you, I am staying a week, so people staying 10-14 days and leaving the same day I am have already booked up the dates.

It is so patently unfair to reward those staying for long vacations. A week isn't long enough anymore? RIDICULOUS.

Again.............frustration aside............... how would you resolve the FP dilemma?

Doug