Anna & Elsa Hit The 4 Hour Mark Today

[MakiraMarlena]

We were there from Dec. 29th to Jan. 6th and I thought I heard some say that the lines crept very close to the 8 hr mark.

What one person looks forward to and enjoys another person sees as wasteful. I can't imagine what anyone sees in Space Mountain or the Astro Orbiter, but what does it matter to me?

Nobody ever waited 8 hours for Space Mountain or the Astro Orbiter.

They must have thought it would make the kids incredibly happy if they were willing to come to WDW and then sit in a line for 7 or 8 hours. Then I think that it probably goes somewhat beyond the happiness of the kids.

4 hours is quite a lot but the idea of waiting nearly twice that time for a minute or so schmoozing with a couple of characters blows the mind. And iit's probably pretty much established that it's Elsa most of them are there to see, not Anna.

You can bet Disney is trying to figure out how to milk money out of this kind of demand. This is a powerhouse. Apparently they are not buying that the restaurant is the way to do it. Restaurants have limited capacity. No matter how many guests will want to get in, they can only let so many of them in. WDW has already had to take steps to curb demand in a few of its other restaurants, like Le Cellier and CRT.

 

[glamdring269]

Over/under on # of people passing out due to heat exhaustion in July/August while waiting in an 8 hour Anna/Elsa line?

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

My brother was able to score Fast Passes for Anna and Elsa for me, my younger sister, his girlfriend and my Mom. I'm probably in the minority, but I'm eager to meet Anna and Elsa and I can't wait. Even though I'm almost 30, I still feel like a kid at heart.

 

[SmallWorld71]

It's crazy to me that people are willing to waste an extremely expensive day in the parks to wait to meet a couple of college students dressed in somewhat tacky costumes and bad wigs. I've seen some YouTube footage which is supposed to show how "in character" they are and it actually had me cringing in embarrassment. Sheer insanity.

I had a first grade student return recently from WDW. Her favorite thing she did - meet Anna and Elsa. Her wait - 4 hours. She didn't meet some college kids dressed up, she met Anna and Elsa. Her classmates are in awe.
I know plenty of people who have waited longer for concert tickets or who would wait that long to see their favorite actor/actress. For a child, this is meeting the biggest movie stars they know. I would totally wait in that line for someone who believed.

 

[AmyB2006]

Why doesn't Disney have A&E meet and greets at several places? That would help alleviate part of this problem.

Why couldn't they keep the m&g at Norway and have them at MK? Until the popularity dies down, this could be an option. Little ones don't know that A&E are at a different park at the same time, so it shouldn't affect the "magic". LOL

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I'm going to DL this weekend and was checking wait times today and the A&E meet at DL was 120 minutes, I thought that was crazy, 4 hours is insane.

Part of me thinks the parents waiting in these lines are nuts and part of me really respects a parent willing to endure a 4 hour wait to make their kids happy.

I also respect parents who say "no" to enduring a long wait to make their kids happy. They've already taken them to Disney World. Really, that should be enough. Either the kids are young enough to be steered toward something else and shown A&E in the parade, or they're old enough to understand when you explain why you're not waiting.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Well needless to say.. when my friend saw the 300 minute wait she asked her daughter what she wanted to do and she decided not to wait and just visit Repunzel instead.

She just surprised her 5 year old daughter with this trip yesterday morning, so she had no idea she was going to wdw. But she always told her parents she wanted to go so bad, and my friend kept asking her why and she said the only thing she wanted was to meet Anna and Elsa. So it was a mission to make this happen today but she did not realize that at 8am it would be that long of a wait. They are going to see the parade and she will be able to see Anna and Elsa in the parade.. better than nothing!

 

[Jkpark]

Viva Las Disney - I hope you get a less than 2 hour wait at DL. We had friends there last week (Tuesday) and I was telling them the DL wait is much better than WDW. And the dad waited 5 1/2 hours!! Their daughter doesn't like rides so it was a character trip (and general Disney ambiance). It was one of the busiest weeks at DL - but I had not read reports of their wait being so long. Good luck!

 

[cinmell]

Why doesn't Disney have A&E meet and greets at several places? That would help alleviate part of this problem.

Why couldn't they keep the m&g at Norway and have them at MK? Until the popularity dies down, this could be an option. Little ones don't know that A&E are at a different park at the same time, so it shouldn't affect the "magic". LOL

My thoughts exactly. Have them at MK and Epcot. I can't believe they are not at Akershus. And I know if they are at Akershus obviously they can't also be outside at a meet and greet in Norway when you walk out of breakfast. Maybe have their meet and greet after breakfast hours have ended?

I also think Belle should be at BOG.

 

[FLchick415]

Why doesn't Disney have A&E meet and greets at several places? That would help alleviate part of this problem.

Why couldn't they keep the m&g at Norway and have them at MK? Until the popularity dies down, this could be an option. Little ones don't know that A&E are at a different park at the same time, so it shouldn't affect the "magic". LOL

That's what I don't get. Why not keep them at Epcot? Because now instead of there being a 7 hour line in Norway...it's just migrated to MK. Nothing has changed except for the addition of FP+, which helps only a fraction of the people wanting to meet them. Like you said, little ones would be none the wiser to there being two sets of characters, so what's the deal? I know the set up in Norway was less than ideal, but that's because at the time it was the ONLY location, if they had it in addition to the spot at MK, the line would probably still be pretty long, but maybe not quite as much. I just can't wrap my head around it. lol

 

[mcd2745]

Does the "be there at rope drop and run like heck" strategy still work? Because I'll be solo on this trip and I want to get my picture done with as many characters as possible (I mean, since I've got the Memory Maker, why not?), and of course no FP are available.

Spoke to someone on the bus back from MK yesterday, she said they basically sprinted straight to A&E right at RD, got there at 8:04 and it was 120 minutes already.

Thankfully, we had a FP (10:30am). We were in and out in about 10 minutes. All part of a great day yesterday as just a short time earlier before meeting A&E, we were finishing up breakfast at Crystal Palace when a CM came up and started chatting with us and then asked if we wanted to be the Grand Marshalls of the Festival of Fantasy parade!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

That's what I don't get. Why not keep them at Epcot? Because now instead of there being a 7 hour line in Norway...it's just migrated to MK.

Because with Princess Fairytale Hall, MK has the infrastructure to handle character meets with long waits - the Hall was built for that kind of "magic" - although I'm not sure they were anticipating 7 hours. The Norway pavilion couldn't handle the crowd. They were having to set up ropes for lines that meandered around 2 buildings and into the China paviliion. The pavilion was clogged and you couldn't walk through it. Guests who had someone waiting in line were doing things like riding Maelstrom over and over. Huge lines out the door and difficulty accessing Kringla Bakery if you were not there for A&E. Extra CMs needed for line and merchandise issues.

And it can't handle their demand even though they are also meeting in MK. If they wanted to have infrastructure in Norway that can handle the current popularity of this meet and greet, they'd have to tear it down and build it over again.

 

[morethananyonex]

Didn't the move to MK allow them to have a more organized line up that doesn't clog up an area, more than one set of friends, and FP? That's definitely an improvement, I don't think that's just shifting the line to MK.

I'm glad they've been moved out of Norway and didn't stay at both locations. Norway does not need that kind of crowd to clog it up for anyone actually wanting to be there for non A&E reasons. It's not equipped for the insanity A&E bring with them.

 

[FLchick415]

I meant the length of time waiting really, but yeah I get your point. I definitely agree that Norway was way too clogged and that's why I think they should still have more than one meeting place. Whether it be at Akershus or wherever. Putting them in Fairytale was a very smart move, I just wish they were also meeting somewhere else.

 

[morethananyonex]

I meant the length of time waiting really, but yeah I get your point. I definitely agree that Norway was way too clogged and that's why I think they should still have more than one meeting place. Whether it be at Akershus or wherever. Putting them in Fairytale was a very smart move, I just wish they were also meeting somewhere else.

But if there's multiple sets of friends, wouldn't the Norway wait have been worse than what we're seeing? Even if there's not multiple sets yet at least they can do it there.

It would be nice to have them at multiple places, I agree. Norway just wasn't the place for them, it's just not equipped for that kind of crowd. An already very busy princess meal doesn't really help much either. Maybe somewhere in DHS just to take the heat off the one location for a while? I don't really care, I'm just glad they're not clogging up Norway anymore.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If I can think of somewhere else that was built to withstand this kind of demand, then maybe I'd write WDW and suggest they have them meet there too..maybe if they cleared all the classic characters out of the Character Spot and had it be only A&E.

 

[FLchick415]

But if there's multiple sets of friends, wouldn't the Norway wait have been worse than what we're seeing? Even if there's not multiple sets yet at least they can do it there.

It would be nice to have them at multiple places, I agree. Norway just wasn't the place for them, it's just not equipped for that kind of crowd. An already very busy princess meal doesn't really help much either. Maybe somewhere in DHS just to take the heat off the one location for a while? I don't really care, I'm just glad they're not clogging up Norway anymore.

I'm with you, it doesn't matter to me one way or the other really, I'm mostly just thinking out loud. lol I just hate the idea of families spending so much time just waiting in ONE line if they don't have a FP. I mean, ultimately that's their choice, it's just an unfortunate situation.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

That's what I don't get. Why not keep them at Epcot? Because now instead of there being a 7 hour line in Norway...it's just migrated to MK. Nothing has changed except for the addition of FP+, which helps only a fraction of the people wanting to meet them. Like you said, little ones would be none the wiser to there being two sets of characters, so what's the deal? I know the set up in Norway was less than ideal, but that's because at the time it was the ONLY location, if they had it in addition to the spot at MK, the line would probably still be pretty long, but maybe not quite as much. I just can't wrap my head around it. lol

Same here, they need more ways to meet them. Bell for example I can meet at a meal, at the story time and in France and it does not ruin the magic, it actually makes it more magical so we have a better chance of meeting her.

 

[buggy2727]

Elsa isn't suppose to be. She spent her life locked up in her room. She's socially backwards and shy. She's now free to be out but that doesn't change the years behind her. I'm laughing at myself for even saying all that like it matters....lol.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Totally agree. I saw a picture of a friend's daughter with them. Elsa looked like a college girl who had been out partying all night. Her make up and hair were so tacky. Thankfully I have boys so I don't have to worry about this issue when we go next week.

I have seen a lot of pictures too and I think seriously why can't they just hire more girls to disperse in the parks? Obviously they are not going for a "look" here so what is the problem? It must be that they are having a problem manufacturing the Elsa costume for them to wear?