Amazed and Disappointed

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If they didn't, opening of SW could be a true FIASCO!!

Completely agree on that. I do not even want to imagine the outcry if they didn't at least try to do things better.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Disney can't control weather. Even if the parks were open later who's to say that the rain wouldn't continue into the longer hours or something like that. I don't think it is fair to bring weather which is uncontrollable into this.

I agree. when I was there, a few of the storms were at night. So it's not like they're reliably in the afternoon.

Storms shut down surprisingly little, actually. I was expecting them to be a much bigger problem than they were. I'd rather be in the parks during a storm than during the hottest part of the afternoon.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Let me just add this one thought: whether you know historical data or not, your experience leaving MK this summer is apparently a train wreck. That experience could have been better with extended hours. Same with the Pandora EMH fiasco -- whether you tracked past data or not.

I'd suspect some who have NO IDEA about historical data and visit for the first time this summer may be less likely to return because of how they've handled MK and AK late hours.

Or they assume that's how it always is and return anyway. That's what I would assume- the "train wreck" sounds a lot like closing at DL, and I know better than to fight my way out- I entertain myself while the crowds die down. I think most first time visitors would expect summer to be a high crowd season- it's a theme park and they're all crowded in the summer.

Pandora waits would be crazy even if the other rides were open. It's new. No one is expecting it to be uncrowded.

 

[rlp]

No doubt leaving MK has been bad. I think that's been the narrative for a while now but it's been worse because of not having distractions such as parades or later hours). But I will say that just about everywhere I have been with large crowds leaving is just a nightmare. That's my experience but it can't mimic everyones. Doesn't make it any better for sure. What hurts Disney more in that respects is when their transportation system doesn't work as well as it can. Issues with monorails, busses and boats will make the situation much worse than it has to be-extended hrs or not if it was working like a well-oiled machine you would be able to move people quicker with less back up issues.

The last time we attempted to watch fireworks for 4th of july at the best fireworks display in our area, which is in a sprawling office park, it took 1 1/2 hrs to get out because..get this...no one was letting people make a left turn out of the various parking lots and we had made the very poor decision to park in a lot that required left turn to get out to the main road. But that place is always a mess leaving with 20,000 or more people all trying to leave at the same time right after the fireworks end. We just go watch them now from outside of the venue but there still is traffic issues we run into.

As far as the summer issue and not visiting..I want to honestly say that sort of thing can happen at any moment throughout the year. One event, one detail, one this and one that can make someone swear off something. People swore off going because of the crowds in general being soooooo bad in their eyes. People have sworn off going because the CMs were rude to them and they felt there was no magic. Every decision Disney does and well businesses in general has the potential to swear off their clientele. I just honestly don't see this summer hrs issue any less important than something that happens to someone at any other point in the year that could make them swear off Disney. But also to Pete's point....driving off at least some people...may indeed be some of Disney's point at least partially and at least to a point Disney is going to be ok with that (as businesses will as they strive for that balance).

As far as Pandora EMH...it's a brand new experience that is different than before. They could have done better absolutely but I wouldn't have expected perfection for something like this. What would be interesting is did they learn anything from that when Star Wars opens.

I think you have a point about people swearing off the parks for many things but if anything could be a deal breaker for me going in the summer (and staying on site and spending other monies...) it would be shortened hours at MK! I have experienced rude CMs, really bad food, crowds and I never ever thought that I wouldn't return, but for me being in MK and Epcot at night is what I dream of, literally. Less night time in the summer coupled with the heat = a very bad, maybe not worth it experience for me. Most people probably aren't the same but that's my perspective.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think you have a point about people swearing off the parks for many things but if anything could be a deal breaker for me going in the summer (and staying on site and spending other monies...) it would be shortened hours at MK! I have experienced rude CMs, really bad food, crowds and I never ever thought that I wouldn't return, but for me being in MK and Epcot at night is what I dream of, literally. Less night time in the summer coupled with the heat = a very bad, maybe not worth it experience for me. Most people probably aren't the same but that's my perspective.

And hey your experience/perspective is valid. I don't think I would swear off just because of a rude CM but I have seen plenty of threads about decline in the magic and wanting to not go back to WDW for a while if not for an uncertain time frame and some have directly called out that for them they perceived the level of service from the CMs to be part of why the magic is declining. And def. the crowds have been why people complained about not wanting to go back; the long lines to get into attractions (and that isn't just from the DIS I've seen crowd complaints on many reviews on review sites). But that just brings in that people have their own straw that broke the camel's back.

But as far as not going in the summer (and other times of the year too).....that may very well be at least part of the goal as was already mentioned. If enough people stay away during the summer it alleviates some of those awful crowds people have always complained about. But the balance is not to shoo away too many guests..that's where I think part of the unusual discounts comes into play. But honestly I think it's more complicated than just one or two things interacting with each other I think it's a combination of things.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Just wrote to Disney to complain about the August hours and quickly got back the standard reply others have posted here. I'll post when I receive a real response.

Quick question - so with the nightmare of actually getting OUT of MK in the evening, how late do the buses run back to the resorts? I'm trying to figure out if we could go to one of the hotels nearby (Contemporary, Poly, WL, GF) and have a late meal at the QS there or a drink or two before trying to get back to the resort. Thanks!

Getting to either the Poly or GF would be difficult because of the huge crowds on the monorail. Going to CR would be much easier since you can walk. Our first two nights we were at WL and our last nine at POR. It wasn't any easier getting to WL. Any form of transportation was jam packed!

 

[maryj11]

Getting to either the Poly or GF would be difficult because of the huge crowds on the monorail. Going to CR would be much easier since you can walk. Our first two nights we were at WL and our last nine at POR. It wasn't any easier getting to WL. Any form of transportation was jam packed!

This is not good. We will be staying at the poly in 2 weeks. I'm so unhappy with MK closing at 10:00. Are we going to have to leave even earlier to avoid the crowds? I'm not happy with Disney right now with their decision to close at 10:00 . Hoards of people leaving at the same time is crazy. With a later closing people tend to leave off and on after the fireworks.

 

[maryj11]

Just wrote to Disney to complain about the August hours and quickly got back the standard reply others have posted here. I'll post when I receive a real response.

Quick question - so with the nightmare of actually getting OUT of MK in the evening, how late do the buses run back to the resorts? I'm trying to figure out if we could go to one of the hotels nearby (Contemporary, Poly, WL, GF) and have a late meal at the QS there or a drink or two before trying to get back to the resort. Thanks!

Good for you! I think we should all send a letter to Disney about this. Better yet just send the link to this thread.

 

[disneybree]

I went to Hollywood Studios today, the weather was NOT what I expected, so hot and humid I was this close of dying. Wish they extended evening hours, around 8:00-8:30 it became a bit cooler and windy.

 

[whiporee]

This is not good. We will be staying at the poly in 2 weeks. I'm so unhappy with MK closing at 10:00. Are we going to have to leave even earlier to avoid the crowds? I'm not happy with Disney right now with their decision to close at 10:00 . Hoards of people leaving at the same time is crazy. With a later closing people tend to leave off and on after the fireworks.

I'd plan on using the resort ferry. It gets backed up, too, but not as bad as the monorail.

The other suggestion for the Poly is using the steamboat to get to the TTC and walk to the Poly. My experience has been the steamboat is never as long a wait as the monorail.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd plan on using the resort ferry. It gets backed up, too, but not as bad as the monorail.

The other suggestion for the Poly is using the steamboat to get to the TTC and walk to the Poly. My experience has been the steamboat is never as long a wait as the monorail.

I don't think that the resort launch takes as long as the monorail either. I might be biased because I love the boats though.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I don't think that the resort launch takes as long as the monorail either. I might be biased because I love the boats though.

I think it might actually take a bit longer between boarding and unboarding. But I love the boats too and I think the difference is that time goes by faster on the boats. Monorail feels claustrophobic to me when crowded, boat does not.

 

[whiporee]

Also, remember even with a 10 pm close, there's a solid 40 minutes after the fireworks before the rides stop, and you don't really start getting nudged out for 15 minutes after that. So you really don't have to be caught in the mass exodus if you don't want to. We squeezed in a couple of Tommorowland rides post fireworks in July, and never felt crowded leaving at 1015 or so.

We were staying at BLT, so we walked home. I'm sure the busses were a nightmare, but they're almost always a nightmare.

 

[robl45]

Also, remember even with a 10 pm close, there's a solid 40 minutes after the fireworks before the rides stop, and you don't really start getting nudged out for 15 minutes after that. So you really don't have to be caught in the mass exodus if you don't want to. We squeezed in a couple of Tommorowland rides post fireworks in July, and never felt crowded leaving at 1015 or so.

We were staying at BLT, so we walked home. I'm sure the busses were a nightmare, but they're almost always a nightmare.

I've been checking the lines and they are still long between 9 and 10. Not to mention I've left at 12:15 or later when the park was open till midnight and still getting back to Poly was a pain. For those thinking of taking the boats. I've never done it at 10, but I can tell you at 11 or 12 closes, those boats are packed and the boats going to the resort are small. We did the boat one time when the line was short but almost every time, the line was long enough that you'd have to wait for a second boat and that's a good amount of time. The monorails are packed too, but usually the best option because the ferry line is usually almost back to the fingerprint gates.

 

[Amy&Dan]

This is not good. We will be staying at the poly in 2 weeks. I'm so unhappy with MK closing at 10:00. Are we going to have to leave even earlier to avoid the crowds? I'm not happy with Disney right now with their decision to close at 10:00 . Hoards of people leaving at the same time is crazy. With a later closing people tend to leave off and on after the fireworks.

They have a bus to the TTC which I had never noticed before. It was a very packed que however they just kept sending busses one right after the other. Some of which were big charter busses. The lines for the boats and monorail were insane and I think the night of EMH they weren't running them past a certain time. I heard a lot of frustrated people asking about that.

We just learned to live with it but yeah we weren't happy.

 

[McKelly]

They do bring a bigger boat out at closing time for the Poly-GF-Mk loop. We always got on the smaller boat, but there was a bigger one that they normally don't use.

Another thing that bothered me with the 10pm closings, was that most of the food and beverage places closed before that. At 9:30pm, after the fireworks, I had a heck of a time finding someone to sell me a bottle of water!

 

[maxiesmom]

This is not good. We will be staying at the poly in 2 weeks. I'm so unhappy with MK closing at 10:00. Are we going to have to leave even earlier to avoid the crowds? I'm not happy with Disney right now with their decision to close at 10:00 . Hoards of people leaving at the same time is crazy. With a later closing people tend to leave off and on after the fireworks.

No. Watch the fireworks show from the end of Main Street. Then you only have a short walk to the boats/monorail/buses and not too many people in front of you.

 

[maryj11]

They have a bus to the TTC which I had never noticed before. It was a very packed que however they just kept sending busses one right after the other. Some of which were big charter busses. The lines for the boats and monorail were insane and I think the night of EMH they weren't running them past a certain time. I heard a lot of frustrated people asking about that.

We just learned to live with it but yeah we weren't happy.

OK thank you for the info. Not happy about it but will have to live with it.

 

[maryj11]

No. Watch the fireworks show from the end of Main Street. Then you only have a short walk to the boats/monorail/buses and not too many people in front of you.

Well the one night at MK we have the dessert party booked.

 

[Kindermouse]

Does it help to dilly daily as long s possible after 10:00 or not? I am not used to the a rolling up of main street at the chime of closing time so my plan to avoid the end of he nigh traffic jam was to save a purchase of two for the end of the night as well as to just plain old dawdle while the bus line were at their worst. Will this not work?