Clearing MK before a party

[BoardWalkBelle]

Isn't it possible that Disney is also selling more tickets making it more crowded?

no, they arent selling more..its 25,000 max.

 

[GreatLakes]

I think clearing the park is a non-starter. The MBs could be used to help identify people without party tickets attached to their band. I suspect we'll start to see CMs carrying around something that can ping bands from a short distance away as a way to help identify people who aren't supposed to be in the park.

It would be hard to identify a specific person who shouldn't be there but could help identify that someone within, say, a 5 foot radius of them shouldn't be there and they need to pay close attention to the wrists of those around them while looking for the party bands.

 

[DebbieB]

They sell far too many tickets for the whole park but that's another discussion. It's a riot to think of people being packed into Tomorrowland.

I was there when they did that. It wasn't that bad, it wasn't packed. At that time you got a free picture taken, we got that done in what is now Monsters. Rode Space Mountain with little wait and the other Tomorrowland rides. They usually allowed you to go to Fantasyland around 6:45. Headed back to PP and HM with litte wait. I miss those days.

 

[Robo]

Busy parties!

 

[fairy oma]

Are the special event tickets such as MNSSHP & MVMCP tied to our MBs yet? They were not the last time we attended a special hard ticket event, but we were in the beta test group for MBs in late 2013.

 

[jhaig]

They must have fixed the problem from the first night as far as clearing out non-party guests, probably because of the number of complaints and refunds they gave back stemming from that night. Believe me, it was a madhouse compared to other parties we have been to.

If it is a matter of losing money, you can be sure Disney will get right on it. If it deals with fixing the guest experience, tough luck.

 

[mickey1968]

Maybe they can start having the MBs flash red after 7p if you don't have a party ticket! lol

 

[Robo]

Are the special event tickets such as MNSSHP & MVMCP tied to our MBs yet?

Yes.

 

[Disneyliscious]

no, they arent selling more..its 25,000 max.

I have heard before that they limit it to 25k people per night. Where is this info taken from?

Regarding the OP, for me personally, I would rather enter the park at 4pm and risk having a crowded evening (if Disney dropped the ball on escorting those without armbands out) than to not be let in until 6:30 or later. I would lose a minimum of 2.5 hours of park time that way, whereas the way it is now, extra crowds won't cost me 2.5 hours of extra park time by them being there.

As someone said earlier, that snafu on opening night cost them $$. You can bet they will be correcting that issue pronto.

I've not been to a halloween party since 2009. It was LOVELY in 2009 but from everything Ive read, I'm prepared for the worst this time around. We dont care about M&G's at all so at least thats one line I dont have to worry about. This will be our last MNSSHP unless they extend the hours to 2am like US does. I don't mind the crowds too bad as long as I have sufficient time to enjoy a good portion of the event. We do MNSSHP for the short ride lines, fireworks, parade, and atmosphere. When I can no longer enjoy those things because of short party hours and big crowds, I know its time to stop going.

 

[mummabear]

Maybe they can start having the MBs flash red after 7p if you don't have a party ticket! lol

Not a totally crazy idea. Of course people will just take them off and put them in their bags

 

[maxiesmom]

[QUOTE="Disneyliscious, post: 54484457, member: 227954"

I've not been to a halloween party since 2009. It was LOVELY in 2009 but from everything Ive read, I'm prepared for the worst this time around. We dont care about M&G's at all so at least thats one line I dont have to worry about. This will be our last MNSSHP unless they extend the hours to 2am like US does. I don't mind the crowds too bad as long as I have sufficient time to enjoy a good portion of the event. We do MNSSHP for the short ride lines, fireworks, parade, and atmosphere. When I can no longer enjoy those things because of short party hours and big crowds, I know its time to stop going.[/QUOTE]


Those are the reasons I go to the parties too. And I can tell you that at least last year, I was still able to enjoy the parade, fireworks, and get on many rides. Main Street always feels crushed, because that is where a lot of the people like to hang out. But otherwise I have never felt packed in.

 

[Nancyg56]

[QUOTE="Disneyliscious, post: 54484457, member: 227954"

I've not been to a halloween party since 2009. It was LOVELY in 2009 but from everything Ive read, I'm prepared for the worst this time around. We dont care about M&G's at all so at least thats one line I dont have to worry about. This will be our last MNSSHP unless they extend the hours to 2am like US does. I don't mind the crowds too bad as long as I have sufficient time to enjoy a good portion of the event. We do MNSSHP for the short ride lines, fireworks, parade, and atmosphere. When I can no longer enjoy those things because of short party hours and big crowds, I know its time to stop going.

Those are the reasons I go to the parties too. And I can tell you that at least last year, I was still able to enjoy the parade, fireworks, and get on many rides. Main Street always feels crushed, because that is where a lot of the people like to hang out. But otherwise I have never felt packed in.[/QUOTE]

Our last MVMCP was 3 years ago, so perhaps things have changed, but I also found that the only area that was crowded was Main Street. FOlks congregated there, but that seems to be the place folks want to be. We watched the Parade from Frontier Land and that was a geat spot. The attractions and the shows were all manageable and stressfree.

 

[BeerMe]

Unworkable

 

[Plaid Princess]

]While it may be logistically difficult, my idea would be to have all park guests leave the park at lets say, 6:30 and only allow party guests back in once all guests have been cleared out. This might delay the party for a bit but might also give the guests a much better experience with a less crowded party.

I think it is a compromise between the non-party guests being asked to leave a little earlier and the party guests potentially having to wait a little longer.

They used to hard close the whole park (every shop, every ride, had to clear completely and wait until party start to re-open). It was a nightmare. Removing day guests from the park at 7pm is challenging no matter how you slice it. Most people don't check park times, and the early closing still catches a large chunk of people by surprise. The current system of slowly funneling them out of the park is the most efficient, and the least stressful for everyone involved. Not to mention the fact that logistically, there's nowhere to put all the party guests outside while they wait, if they're kicked out and not allowed in until 7:00.

I never quite understood why they allowed party only guests in at 4:00pm. That seems very early to me for a 7:00pm party.

To cut down on the crowds at the gate at 7:00. Everything takes longer for a party entrance (checking wristbands, distributing goody bags etc). By allowing guests to enter as early as 4:00, they get a large chunk of that done early, and the lines at the gate are greatly reduced. It also allows people to eat dinner in the park before the official festivities begin. (It's also a really nice selling point.)

 

[si-am]

I went to several of the early Christmas parties where they cleared the park before opening again. I don't remember it being a nightmare. We lined up at the turnstiles and CMs went up and down handing out special buttons.... Then when we were let in, Main Street was empty with "snow" falling and Christmas music playing. It was spectacular and totally worth the money.

The last (and final) time we did MVMCP, it was during the current policy of overlapping day and party guests, and we experienced a crowded and unpleasant Main Street as we lined up for the parade while thousands of guests trampled on us as they exited the park, many of them lingering in the middle to experience the "snow" and atmosphere that we had paid extra for.

 

[Nancyg56]

They used to hard close the whole park (every shop, every ride, had to clear completely and wait until party start to re-open). It was a nightmare. Removing day guests from the park at 7pm is challenging no matter how you slice it. Most people don't check park times, and the early closing still catches a large chunk of people by surprise. The current system of slowly funneling them out of the park is the most efficient, and the least stressful for everyone involved. Not to mention the fact that logistically, there's nowhere to put all the party guests outside while they wait, if they're kicked out and not allowed in until 7:00.



To cut down on the crowds at the gate at 7:00. Everything takes longer for a party entrance (checking wristbands, distributing goody bags etc). By allowing guests to enter as early as 4:00, they get a large chunk of that done early, and the lines at the gate are greatly reduced. It also allows people to eat dinner in the park before the official festivities begin. (It's also a really nice selling point.)

Yes. I think it is the most efficienat and least disruptive method. I like entering early and having dinner inthe park so that my family is already inside and god to go once the party begons.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

That was my guess. Since they started parties later this year (which I guess means less parties?), maybe they increased the amount of tickets allowed per party to make up revenue.

I think there are almost the same number of parties as before. They increased the number of parties in a week from 3 to 4. Last year only the last weeks of October had more than 3 parties a week. Which of course makes MK crazy busy on the 3 days it doesn't close early, two of which are also EMH days this year.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

They are not paying much attention then.
We've gone into MK various ways on party days. They make announcements about 'today's hours' on the buses, parking lot trams, monorails, and ferries.
The park time guide and signs in the park say when closing is for the day.

I know. I was wondering how in the world anyone could miss the fact that the park closes at 7!

 

[Hopelessly_Devoted]

It seems that Disney struggles to get MK totally clear of non-party guests during their holiday parties. At least based on the feedback from the first Halloween party of the year and how crowded it was, being partially blamed on non-party guests.

While it may be logistically difficult, my idea would be to have all park guests leave the park at lets say, 6:30 and only allow party guests back in once all guests have been cleared out. This might delay the party for a bit but might also give the guests a much better experience with a less crowded party.

I think it is a compromise between the non-party guests being asked to leave a little earlier and the party guests potentially having to wait a little longer.

I never quite understood why they allowed party only guests in at 4:00pm. That seems very early to me for a 7:00pm party.

At one point they held everybody in tomorrowland. The only way to ensure ticket holders are the only ones there is to clear the park around 4 and start letting people with tickets in the gate around 6 PM. The most cost effective way for Disney, and they are all about money, is to keep people in the park and try to push people to the gate. CMs will tell the guests to leave, but they are not forced to. I have seen them shopping (no party merch) and buying food. They get a free parade and fireworks and Disney still makes money.

 

[Planogirl]

Not a totally crazy idea. Of course people will just take them off and put them in their bags

Plus many people don't use the bands.