Anna & Elsa Wait Times - anybody wait with a 5yr old for 2 hrs?

[BobH]

I wrote an email to Disney Customer Service explaining that although my family has been going to Disney since 1976 and we continue to travel there as DVC members with our adult children and grand children that the "Magic" is gone when you can't take your grand daughter to see Anna & Elsa without a 2 to 3hr wait time. A nice young Disney representative called me back tonight but could offer no suggestions other than a Fastpass which seem pretty tough to get. I suggested that Disney could have left the Epcot meeting place open as well as Fairytale Hall, but the rep was not at a high enough pay grade to offer any hope regarding that. I told her I felt Disney could be excused last fall for not anticipating the crowds, but now they have had 6 months to come up with solutions to allow more of these little children a better opportunity to have a good experience. I just can't see how my 5 year old grand daughter (or any child) is going to last several hours in line on our next trip.

 

[Mom2Luci]

we did 4.5 hours in Feb at Epcot the day after DD's 6th birthday with minimal breaks from the line. Ideal? No way! Doable? When it's something she really wants she has the patience LOL

 

[Kristina4109]

I am so grateful that I was able to get a FP+. I don't think I would be able to handle that line otherwise.

 

[ferd]

I'm really sorry you are so upset about the A & E situation. I can understand your frustration, but can only offer you my experience and advice. First off, I don't think we've seen anyone on the board admit to acutally waiting the posted time of 5 hours. It's been largely assumed that the wait times are inflated. I have personally waited 2 1/2 hours alone with my 2 year old daughter while they were in Norway (and only one set of A & E could meet at a time). Honestly, the wait was not bad and time passed quickly and my daughter was entertained by the birds and the other kids and the items I brought with us that day.

Since they have moved to MK, I have seen them an additional 6 times (we saw them in Epcot one other time before the movie opened) and out of the 6 times at MK, we had FP+ for five of them. I am an AP who lives close to the park, but as such I cannot book 60 days out like onsite guests, I can only book 30 days out and can only hold 7 days of FP+ selections at a time. I'm sharing that to prove that FP+ CAN be obtained if you are tenacious and persistent enough. Many, MANY onsite guests have an advantage over someone like me ( a whole month ahead of me) and yet, I have been able to get passes to see the characters with my daughter for several weekends including Easter and Mother's Day.

I have seen wait times posted as low as 120 minutes for them (much better than 5 hours) and even on busy Mother's Day weekend, the wait was posted at 155 mins and I assume even that was inflated. One couple I spoke with were at the park at rope drop on Mother's Day, and got in standby and waited only 30 minutes.

One evening, we were in PFTH after 7pm and walked in with NO WAIT and saw Anna and Elsa (without a FP+). This was after their official meet was supposed to be done and they weren't advertised as being there, but it has happened for others besides me.

The truth of the matter is, YES, they are very popular, and a lot of children want to see them, but it is hardly impossible to do so. A lot of people are inflating the situation and making it out to be some chaotic battle to get in line, and it's just simply not. I say this as someone who has photographed the line and times every weekend and witnessed it first hand.

Cast members can only do so much to appease those who are just predicting that they won't be able to see the characters without actually attempting it, and Disney is *trying* to fix the issue with the immense popularity to their meet and greet. The move to MK from Norway DOUBLED the amount of meets A & E can do in a day (There are now two sets working all day) and they added them to the FOF parade so daily guests can see them.

 

[Spoiledshells]

I waited 3.5 hours with my 5 year old last week. We planned our trip last minute and I tried multiple times to get fastpasses but I had no luck. Although my 5 year old was a bit impatient, she had fun playing with all of the other girls waiting in line.

 

[asmit4]

I have read that some characters are now 'FP only'.....call me crazy but I distinctly remember being told last week that Pooh at Epcot was FP only. Why not just make AE FP only....do 30 minute time slots, and book however many they know they can get through in that time? That way no kid/family has to wait for 5 hours....just come back at your 1/2 hour slot.

If Disney can do this with Pooh- they can certainly do it with AE.

 

[ferd]

I have read that some characters are now 'FP only'.....call me crazy but I distinctly remember being told last week that Pooh at Epcot was FP only. Why not just make AE FP only....do 30 minute time slots, and book however many they know they can get through in that time? That way no kid/family has to wait for 5 hours....just come back at your 1/2 hour slot.

If Disney can do this with Pooh- they can certainly do it with AE.

They were temporarily going to do a 'test' with making a few meet & greets FP+Only (Pooh in UK, Donald and Daisy in AK, and Minnie in HS) However, that was cancelled and NO meet and greets or any attractions are FP+ Only.

 

[BlueFairy]

I'm really sorry you are so upset about the A & E situation. I can understand your frustration, but can only offer you my experience and advice. First off, I don't think we've seen anyone on the board admit to acutally waiting the posted time of 5 hours. It's been largely assumed that the wait times are inflated. I have personally waited 2 1/2 hours alone with my 2 year old daughter while they were in Norway (and only one set of A & E could meet at a time). Honestly, the wait was not bad and time passed quickly and my daughter was entertained by the birds and the other kids and the items I brought with us that day.

Since they have moved to MK, I have seen them an additional 6 times (we saw them in Epcot one other time before the movie opened) and out of the 6 times at MK, we had FP+ for five of them. I am an AP who lives close to the park, but as such I cannot book 60 days out like onsite guests, I can only book 30 days out and can only hold 7 days of FP+ selections at a time. I'm sharing that to prove that FP+ CAN be obtained if you are tenacious and persistent enough. Many, MANY onsite guests have an advantage over someone like me ( a whole month ahead of me) and yet, I have been able to get passes to see the characters with my daughter for several weekends including Easter and Mother's Day.

I have seen wait times posted as low as 120 minutes for them (much better than 5 hours) and even on busy Mother's Day weekend, the wait was posted at 155 mins and I assume even that was inflated. One couple I spoke with were at the park at rope drop on Mother's Day, and got in standby and waited only 30 minutes.

One evening, we were in PFTH after 7pm and walked in with NO WAIT and saw Anna and Elsa (without a FP+). This was after their official meet was supposed to be done and they weren't advertised as being there, but it has happened for others besides me.

The truth of the matter is, YES, they are very popular, and a lot of children want to see them, but it is hardly impossible to do so. A lot of people are inflating the situation and making it out to be some chaotic battle to get in line, and it's just simply not. I say this as someone who has photographed the line and times every weekend and witnessed it first hand.

Cast members can only do so much to appease those who are just predicting that they won't be able to see the characters without actually attempting it, and Disney is *trying* to fix the issue with the immense popularity to their meet and greet. The move to MK from Norway DOUBLED the amount of meets A & E can do in a day (There are now two sets working all day) and they added them to the FOF parade so daily guests can see them.

I have read a number of your posts and I agree with you on many points, but respectfully I do have to take issue with a few things.

I personally know a family who did in fact wait longer than 5 hours at Epcot. So it was happening, at least during Easter week. Not sure about now, but there was a time posted today greater than 360 min. by Dan Murphy, long time DISer.

I really don't think they are doing all they can. Demand generates buzz and this has the buzz going greater than any I've seen in a long time. If they had a location in Epcot, they can bring it back. They can hire more princess friends to help extend the M&G well past 5pm with the double capacity in MK. They can temporarily put them in a character meal. All that without much overhead other than payroll. I'm still scratching my head and the only thing that makes sense to me is that "they" prefer to have these ridiculous waits. And there aren't enough people calling like the OP has done.

They were temporarily going to do a 'test' with making a few meet & greets FP+Only (Pooh in UK, Donald and Daisy in AK, and Minnie in HS) However, that was cancelled and NO meet and greets or any attractions are FP+ Only.

Did this happen this week? I've been in the boards a lot every day this week and I haven't seen anything about canceling this plan.

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

Did this happen this week? I've been in the boards a lot every day this week and I haven't seen anything about canceling this plan.

It happened within a day or two of it being announced. Kenny the pirate updated that it was not going to happen now and there was a thread on here discussing peoples unhappiness about the fastpass only and then it was acknowledged that it was not going to happen now.

 

[ferd]

I have read a number of your posts and I agree with you on many points, but respectfully I do have to take issue with a few things.

I personally know a family who did in fact wait longer than 5 hours at Epcot. So it was happening, at least during Easter week. Not sure about now, but there was a time posted today greater than 360 min. by Dan Murphy, long time DISer.

That's okay. I don't claim to know it all, just what I have experienced. And I may not have been clear, but I don't doubt at all the wait times at Norway when only one set of A & E were meeting and often not beginning until 11am. I personally waited 2 1/2 hours and that was arriving at rope drop. I know people at 9:30am had to wait hours and hours. I don't think anyone at MK has had to wait 5 hours despite the posted wait times. I have seen even Easter morning at 9:15 a wait time posted at 5 hours when they simply had no way of knowing how long the wait would be because the park hadn't been open 5 hours and the girls had never met at PFTH before. They are doing a lot of tweaking to the process and the wait times will be 300 minutes one minute and drop down to 155 the next. I'm willing to wager not a single person in standby at MK has waited the actual posted wait time, but less than that. I don't doubt a high post time being posted (such as you said was done today) I'm simply stating that the wait times and all of the 'hype' surrounding this meet and greet has been inflated a bit. The wait times will not remain this way (just as Rapunzel's haven't) and in time the stores will be restocked with merchandise. They were taken off guard by the popularity of this movie (as was everyone) and clearly they weren't prepared for it. But at the end of the day, at Disney you will have to stand in line for things that are popular, just like Soarin' had a 5 or 6 hour wait last December. That's just my personal opinion.

Did this happen this week? I've been in the boards a lot every day this week and I haven't seen anything about canceling this plan.

This change was done 5/9 and was documented by several sites, including KTP. Here's the thread about it:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3274211&page=31

 

[asmit4]

I think DW missed the point. People were LIVID that Pooh would be tier 1 FP only- total waste!......now if AE was tier 1 FP only THAT would make SENSE. STOP this 5 hour line nonsense!

 

[asmit4]

I really just don't get these 5 hour waits....for Soarin???...for ANYTHING. They KNOW capacity.....FP the ENTIRE day's worth of rides....

What is the problem with Disney and this 5 hour line sh*t.

I totally understand stand by lines for classics like IASW, Pirates- those lines are not 5 hours long. If a ride consistently has a 2 hour or more wait- FP the ENTIRE days worth of rides. NO standby.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

if a&e were fastpass only though it be even harder to get in, even 60 day out at midnight people are having issues getting fp for them.

 

[BlueFairy]

That's okay. I don't claim to know it all, just what I have experienced. And I may not have been clear, but I don't doubt at all the wait times at Norway when only one set of A & E were meeting and often not beginning until 11am. I personally waited 2 1/2 hours and that was arriving at rope drop. I know people at 9:30am had to wait hours and hours. I don't think anyone at MK has had to wait 5 hours despite the posted wait times. I have seen even Easter morning at 9:15 a wait time posted at 5 hours when they simply had no way of knowing how long the wait would be because the park hadn't been open 5 hours and the girls had never met at PFTH before. They are doing a lot of tweaking to the process and the wait times will be 300 minutes one minute and drop down to 155 the next. I'm willing to wager not a single person in standby at MK has waited the actual posted wait time, but less than that. I don't doubt a high post time being posted (such as you said was done today) I'm simply stating that the wait times and all of the 'hype' surrounding this meet and greet has been inflated a bit. The wait times will not remain this way (just as Rapunzel's haven't) and in time the stores will be restocked with merchandise. They were taken off guard by the popularity of this movie (as was everyone) and clearly they weren't prepared for it. But at the end of the day, at Disney you will have to stand in line for things that are popular, just like Soarin' had a 5 or 6 hour wait last December. That's just my personal opinion.

Gotcha. Points well made. I just really do agree with the OP that they could be doing much more without turning the World upside down to do it.

This change was done 5/9 and was documented by several sites, including KTP. Here's the thread about it:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3274211&page=31

Thanks for the link. Apparently that one flew right by me. I wasn't watching closely since we're only planning MK this year.

 

[ferd]

I think DW missed the point. People were LIVID that Pooh would be tier 1 FP only- total waste!......now if AE was tier 1 FP only THAT would make SENSE. STOP this 5 hour line nonsense!

I can't speak for everyone, but I think a lot of the upset regarding the FP+ONLY situation that was voiced in that thread was the fear that ALL meet and greets and possibly ALL RIDES would be going that way, and people (myself included) didn't like the spontaneity of standby being taken away from them.

I think the 5 hour wait time for Anna and Elsa has become a water cooler topic and it's a punchline on the radio and such, but my opinion is that the super long waits like that are far more the exception than the rule. Just like Splash Mountain may have a far longer wait in the blazing afternoon heat of the summer, certain days and times draw longer lines for Anna and Elsa (like rope drop because everyone thinks if they get there first they will have less of a wait and when too many people do that obviously there is more of a wait.) It's been consistently reported that later morning and later afternoon have substantially lesser waits. I think on average most people have waited 2 1/2 hours in standby, and while that is very VERY long to wait for a meet and greet, it's not quite as shocking as 5 hours.

 

[jsh1975]

I'm really sorry you are so upset about the A & E situation. I can understand your frustration, but can only offer you my experience and advice. First off, I don't think we've seen anyone on the board admit to acutally waiting the posted time of 5 hours. It's been largely assumed that the wait times are inflated. I have personally waited 2 1/2 hours alone with my 2 year old daughter while they were in Norway (and only one set of A & E could meet at a time). Honestly, the wait was not bad and time passed quickly and my daughter was entertained by the birds and the other kids and the items I brought with us that day.

Since they have moved to MK, I have seen them an additional 6 times (we saw them in Epcot one other time before the movie opened) and out of the 6 times at MK, we had FP+ for five of them. I am an AP who lives close to the park, but as such I cannot book 60 days out like onsite guests, I can only book 30 days out and can only hold 7 days of FP+ selections at a time. I'm sharing that to prove that FP+ CAN be obtained if you are tenacious and persistent enough. Many, MANY onsite guests have an advantage over someone like me ( a whole month ahead of me) and yet, I have been able to get passes to see the characters with my daughter for several weekends including Easter and Mother's Day.

I have seen wait times posted as low as 120 minutes for them (much better than 5 hours) and even on busy Mother's Day weekend, the wait was posted at 155 mins and I assume even that was inflated. One couple I spoke with were at the park at rope drop on Mother's Day, and got in standby and waited only 30 minutes.

One evening, we were in PFTH after 7pm and walked in with NO WAIT and saw Anna and Elsa (without a FP+). This was after their official meet was supposed to be done and they weren't advertised as being there, but it has happened for others besides me.

The truth of the matter is, YES, they are very popular, and a lot of children want to see them, but it is hardly impossible to do so. A lot of people are inflating the situation and making it out to be some chaotic battle to get in line, and it's just simply not. I say this as someone who has photographed the line and times every weekend and witnessed it first hand.

Cast members can only do so much to appease those who are just predicting that they won't be able to see the characters without actually attempting it, and Disney is *trying* to fix the issue with the immense popularity to their meet and greet. The move to MK from Norway DOUBLED the amount of meets A & E can do in a day (There are now two sets working all day) and they added them to the FOF parade so daily guests can see them.

Why would you go see a character meet and greet 7 times?

 

[MuddyTires]

These Anna & Elsa wait time threads are too funny.

 

[foohpah]

I really just don't get these 5 hour waits....for Soarin???...for ANYTHING. They KNOW capacity.....FP the ENTIRE day's worth of rides....

What is the problem with Disney and this 5 hour line sh*t.

I totally understand stand by lines for classics like IASW, Pirates- those lines are not 5 hours long. If a ride consistently has a 2 hour or more wait- FP the ENTIRE days worth of rides. NO standby.

If you FP the entire capacity then FP = Standby. How does that help anyone?

 

[BobH]

Thanks to all that answered my original post. I have to agree with Blue Fairy that Disney needs to do more. I have been following the wait times for several weeks now on the My Disney Experience app and the Lines app even if Disney has doubled up on the number of Anna & Elsa characters it has not significantly improved anything when wait times are 2 -3hrs consistently.As far as I am concerned Disney has us all brainwashed if they get us to think that even 2hrs is an acceptable wait time. They could put more of the characters in circulation at character meals, spontaneous appearances etc etc A set of park tickets for only one family of four would probably pay an entire days salary for some of the nice young people they employ as characters.

 

[asmit4]

If you FP the entire capacity then FP = Standby. How does that help anyone?

No, it doesn't......basically if DW knows that AE can handle 200 guests per hour...then they know capacity in an 8 hour period is 1600....so they offer up 200 FPs PER HOUR....
that means the average person will spend LESS than 1 hour in line. No reason to be guest # 1000 at 8am and have to wait in line for 5 hours...because 1000 guests lined up first.

If they can wing it, I'd do AE FP in 1/2 hour increments....thereby spreading out the line even more....at 100 per 1/2 hour....or whatever the case may be. It reminds me of call ahead at Olive Garden....I call ahead for my family of 4. they tell me the wait is 2 hours and to head to OG for dinner in 1.5 hours. I show up and my wait is only 20 minutes instead of standing around in the OG line for 2 hours wasting time with cranky kids