Anyone else have this complaint? You go low season and the rides...

[Ned Land]

...are at half capacity.

This happends all the time with rides like Space Mountain, Star Tours, etc. They only operate at half capacity so the benefit of going during the low season is gone because you still stand in long lines.

 

[krismom]

I totally agree. The tickets are still FULL price, but the parks are open half the time at half capacity.

 

[Eponine1]

Or they are only operating the rides that are not "seasonal". Aghhhh! Or they opend rides at certain times after the park is already opened. So, you run all the way to an attraction only to find out that it doesn't open until 10am!!!

 

[oogieboogie]

We usually go off-season and I guess I just never noticed that they operate at half capacity because I've never encountered the long lines. Even there were long lines, that's where Fastpass comes in handy.

My only complaint during off-season are the shortened hours for the parks. MK closing at 6pm really sucks, because then you're stuck with only 2 parks to go to - MGM or Epcot and even then Epcot closes at 9pm. So now it's 9pm and you have nothing to do, especially if you have kids which you can't take to PI.

I guess my point is I'm just happy to be at WDW and not here in Akron, that I really don't mind it that much. We just arrange our schedule accordingly and go with the flow.

Side note: where in Akron are you, Ned?

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

No problem here. We typically go during value seasons and the wait times rarely go beyord 20 minutes. Why have 2 X the employees if half of them will be standing around doing nothing? Doesn't make much sense. Besides, the money saved goes toward park upkeep and new rides like Soarin' and Expedition Everest. I'll take that trade off any day!!

 

[Gymbomom]

I understand the reason for low staff. I have been on certain rides where you could ride over and over again without getting off.
We always stay for 2 weeks or more so we always experience some moments of crowds. But, we are spoiled a 20- 30 minute wait for a ride is a long one for us. LOL
We still enjoy getting to the parks early because you can walk onto everything.

I still would go low season over peak and holiday periods.

 

[Harambe]

This is exactly why DH wanted to go this August. He, too, believes they slow everything down, including bus service to the resorts, wait staff at the restaurants.

The killer was the evening we went to Epcot and both the Mexico and the Norway boat rides were closed, and many of the ice cream/snack kiosks were closed down. We tried Space Ship Earth and that was closed as well.

 

[eeyore0062]

We go all of the time at low season, always did when we didn't live here, too. We have never had any problems with the lines being long because of them running at lower capacity. Also, it is understandable that when the parks are not entertaining a high capacity of guests, they will not employ the castmembers it takes to run the park at full capacity--- that's just good business sense. As for the hours... true hours are those used when the parks are at low capacity and are what the prices are based on. Magic Kingdom usually closes between 6 and 7 during the winter... long enough to have the Wishes during the dark. AK always closes at 5 pm then, Epcot is always 9 am to 9 pm depending on which area you are in, and the Studios usually close at 7 pm. Hours are extended in the summer, during Spring Break and the winter holidays because there are more people, and it gets darker later in the summer. We have always found that we can do more in off season with shorter hours, than we can during the high season with longer hours. Also, take into consideration, that during the peak seasons, guests are leaving to go to water parks, the pools and just getting out of the parks due to the heat and the crowds. It also makes great sense that at a park that stays open 365 days a year that rides would close during the slower seasons for rehab so they can be in working order during the peak seasons when most people go to the parks. When choosing to go to the parks during the slower times, those who go, have to expect that with the advantage of lower crowds and cooler temperatures there will be other "disadvantages".

 

[C.Ann]

I see it as a trade-off.. Normally flights are cheaper during the value seasons, rooms are cheaper, and you're not packed into the parks like sardines..

I was there the first week of April and in my estimation it was quite crowded (a spontaneous trip that coincided with my visiting my sister in Florida).. If I had to choose those crowds over the minor inconveniences of the low season, I'd take the low season - hands down!

 

[opal]

With the evening EMH, most nights there is a park to go.

 

[risy]

Ned,

I know what you mean! But I think we off-season visitor get spoiled...Like it makes me furious that they only run half of the Tomorrowland Speedway and we must wait 25 minutes. However, the rest of the year the wait is at least 45 minutes...and people really do stand in those lines!

DH took our youngest on Saturday (Memorial Day weekend), which we would not usually do. There was a 55 minute standby line for Buzz Lightyear. During off-season, we usually ride it 5 times in a row with a 5 minute wait in-between each ride!
We didn't even know that it could generate a line that long!!

He said that they used FP for almost everything - out of necessity. That's just not something we normally need to worry about. His experience has made us all more appreciative of being "off-season" folk!

 

[mhingher]

I actually disagree... DH and I were in WDW the first week in March this year and we thought it was great! We never waited more than 20 minutes on line, and didn't have to use fastpass until the last day of our trip when cheerleading teams were arriving for a competition. We're used to going in June or July, so this was great for us!!!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

When I went to DL off season, I used to have that complaint alot. Why do I have to wait 20-30 minutes when they can put on the other half of the ride.... Then I visited during peak season and got in all of about 5 rides all day because the crowds were so big.

3 of these for off season.

 

[Mysteria]

I see it as a trade-off.. Normally flights are cheaper during the value seasons, rooms are cheaper, and you're not packed into the parks like sardines..

I was there the first week of April and in my estimation it was quite crowded (a spontaneous trip that coincided with my visiting my sister in Florida).. If I had to choose those crowds over the minor inconveniences of the low season, I'd take the low season - hands down!

Ditto!

Myst

 

[HaleyB]

Ditto for me too. I have decided it is easier to have the kids make up a week of school than to go at peak season.

 

[bubba73]

I went last year during September for the first time. We had absolutely no lines at all. Walked right onto Mission Space, TT, and JII. We had a wonderful time. It wasn't too hot and the crowds were almost nothing. It was the first time that we went and didn't have to wait in line for over 20 minutes for everything.



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