A&E Stampede this morning was insane!!!

[jtowntoflorida]

Surely there is an empty spot somewhere in Epcot beside Norway that Disney could throw up a Frozen theme backdrop and put another A&E there to take some of the pressure off for a few months.

As you probably know, there is very little empty space around Epcot. It isn't like they just have buildings sitting there, totally empty and unused.

 

[morethananyonex]

Surely there is an empty spot somewhere in Epcot beside Norway that Disney could throw up a Frozen theme backdrop and put another A&E there to take some of the pressure off for a few months. Wouldn't cost a lot of money and sure would make some parents and kids awfully happy and help get them out of that line and spending money.

So thankful I have a boy that has no interest in waiting in line to see a princess!

How much pressure would this really take off? The wait times did not decrease when Disney increased the capacity with the move to the MK. More people are just getting through the lines, which is good for those people, but doesn't change the waits.

There has got to be a number of Anna and Elsas in the park that would decrease the wait times, but I don't think the addition of one more group (especially at another park) would do it.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

As you probably know, there is very little empty space around Epcot. It isn't like they just have buildings sitting there, totally empty and unused.

Hah! Forgot about that.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Last time I went to Disney World , I REALLY wanted to ride Expedition Everest. I love roller coasters and this seems like the best one at Disney, and I had never been on it before.

It was kind of what I was most looking forward to in terms of rides.

We got to AK, and went to the Safari. When we got over to EE, the wait was like 150 minutes.


I didn't ride it. Just sayin...

Yep. We go to Disney and HOPE to do everything we want - ride Everest, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain (the headliners) 10 times each. But I'm not going to spend between $5,000-10,000 to go to Orlando and stand in line for 4 hours for ANY ride or character. In fact, 30 minutes is the max line for me, and that's only for a few rides.

 

[ConnieB]

MK EMH this morning and we were at the front of the rope. Luckily my kids have little to no interest in characters so we weren't trying for the A&E meet. I was stunned at the hundred+ people who ran full speed down Main Street. I've never seen anything like it!

I've done the Dumbo dash back when it was necessary and have been first to TSMM a few times, but this was like nothing that I've ever seen.

I'm sure they're going to have to do something different soon so people don't get hurt. It was madness.

TSMM used to be that way......and people would fall and get trampled....scary times. Then the CMs started WALKING people back to TSMM. It's only a matter of time before MK realizes they too need to walk people all the way to the back of the park.

 

[ucfknight]

How much pressure would this really take off? The wait times did not decrease when Disney increased the capacity with the move to the MK. More people are just getting through the lines, which is good for those people, but doesn't change the waits.

Disney increased throughput by 100% by moving them to MK.
On the other hand, Disney moved them to a park which has 60% more people on the average day.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I understand it would be different than FP+ but it is similar to what FP- was which doesn't work when you also run FP+. If this was the experience they want, just open up more FP+ and don't even bother with this name taking system.

Back when they had FP- there was also standby. If they were to do as you suggest there would effectively be no standby. FP+ would take the bulk of the spots and this new form of FP- would sell out the remainder to the racing RD people. So anybody who gets to the park after that has no opportunity to see A&E.

Now, while it isn't ideal they at least have a way which is called standby. And please don't argue that if my points were the case nobody in line after 9:30am would get to see them and it isn't an eight hour wait. We all know that far more people would try and get a paper ticket to do something else and come back later than would line up for even 2-3 hours. I actually think the stampede would be worse as people would see this as a way to get an extra FP and not have to waste one of their 60 day FP+.

Disney needs to have both a FP and viable Standby option. The suggestions that keep coming through is to not have standby which just doesn't seem acceptable to Disney's point of view.

What's a viable standby option though? Is a 300 minute wait a viable standby option? I don't see the big deal with giving return passes and when they run out they run out but I don't believe 300 minutes is ok.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Nobody's going to die in the 300 minute line. Nobody died in the 400 minute line at Epcot.

 

[morethananyonex]

Disney increased throughput by 100% by moving them to MK.
On the other hand, Disney moved them to a park which has 60% more people on the average day.

Exactly.

So how much impact on the MK line would having 1 more set at Epcot really have? Probably not enough to bring it down to a level that's anything resembling reasonable.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

What's a viable standby option though? Is a 300 minute wait a viable standby option? I don't see the big deal with giving return passes and when they run out they run out but I don't believe 300 minutes is ok.

Obviously the people joining the line feel a 300 minute wait is a viable option. If they didn't feel it was, they wouldn't get in the line.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Obviously the people joining the line feel a 300 minute wait is a viable option. If they didn't feel it was, they wouldn't get in the line.

I guess, from their POV.

I still think Disney should either turn it all into FP+ even if it meant holding some for same day or use a return pass of some sort given at the attraction day of. I see no reason to have people standing in line for 300 minutes.

 

[sarkell]

Surely there is an empty spot somewhere in Epcot beside Norway that Disney could throw up a Frozen theme backdrop and put another A&E there to take some of the pressure off for a few months. Wouldn't cost a lot of money and sure would make some parents and kids awfully happy and help get them out of that line and spending money.

So thankful I have a boy that has no interest in waiting in line to see a princess!

Ita rumored that their casting more. I'm sure they have more than. 2 sets no one could work 8am-8pm 7 days a week. I thought I saw at spring break 90 min waits for just rapunzel. I think probably after a few more weeks they'll reevauluate.

 

[ilovemk76]

I have a feeling many people don't want to "waste" a FP+ on A&E when there are so many hot attractions at MK that they want FP+s for...especially if you plan on doing RD. Considering this, I'm not sure moving A&E to MK was a good thing.

A&E FP+s are gone quickly. These are all the once who could not get that FP+.

 

[acebatonfan]

I cannot understand why Disney isn't kicking out the princesses at Akershaus and replacing them with A&E. It goes well with the Norway theme, and Disney can charge $50+ per plate... or they can scrap the new Fantasyland and make it into Frozenland.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

As you probably know, there is very little empty space around Epcot. It isn't like they just have buildings sitting there, totally empty and unused.

Congrats!!! You just won the internet!


They really should do this or something, they need more than one place to meet Anne and Elsa. Period. They can easily set up something here and also they could have them meet at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall even with a few other classic princes and they easily charge 2 credits for it, so Disney would make tons of money from it. Most of the disney classic princesses you can meet at multiple places, they need to do it with Frozen too.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Sounds like the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

More like Lemmings-To-The-Sea !

 

[emilyyvic]

Slightly off topic but does anyone know if the Anna and Elsa from the parade also do the M&G at Magic Kingdom (I know they did M&G over in Epcot). If so, any idea on what time they meet guests?

 

[ferd]

Slightly off topic but does anyone know if the Anna and Elsa from the parade also do the M&G at Magic Kingdom (I know they did M&G over in Epcot). If so, any idea on what time they meet guests?

Not to ruin the magic, but there are a couple of rooms in PFTH so there is no guarantee which room you will be in and which A & E you will see. The next available group (standby and FP+ alternating according to their count) will go in the next room with open availability. The same A & E don't do the parade everyday either, though the 'original' A & E do it and meet and greets as well. There have been a few A & E's for a while now. (And I say this as someone who has seen A & E three times for a meet and greet and has seen the parade 5 times. )

 

[Rosebud123]

OP here. I saw no CM's try to stop anyone. At the rope at the castle, I heard being being told not to run, (it was hard to hear as I was not near the front then) but tons of people ran full speed down Main Street. It was way worse than TSMM dash.

 

[emilyyvic]

Not to ruin the magic, but there are a couple of rooms in PFTH so there is no guarantee which room you will be in and which A & E you will see. The next available group (standby and FP+ alternating according to their count) will go in the next room with open availability. The same A & E don't do the parade everyday either, though the 'original' A & E do it and meet and greets as well. There have been a few A & E's for a while now. (And I say this as someone who has seen A & E three times for a meet and greet and has seen the parade 5 times. )

Thanks for the info! I want to meet the 'original' A&E but our FP+ is for 1:55-2:55pm. I didn't know they switched out A&Es at the FoF (this makes sense though) and figured there was little chance of us meeting the originals if we went so close to the parade time. Now I know it's random so I don't feel too bad!

I did see the originals in December at Epcot though! Didn't meet them, just spied them through the window in Norway.