Day Guests not allowed in Restroom at 7

[PatMcDuck]

The CM's should not have to keep track of guests without party tickets that stayed past the regular time, the wristbands make it easy to see who belongs and who doesn't. Escorting every guest or even keeping track of exactly who went in and who came out of the restroom among the thousands of guests at the park is really not reasonable. The CM could politely tell people though which ones are open for non-party goers.

I was at the party Friday night, we arrived around 6:45 pm. We got back to the dance floor area in Tomorrowland, and they were struggling to get non-party guests out. By then it was about 7:30. A security CM was actually ON the dance floor, eyeballing people's wrists.

I would love to see them close the park early, and even start the party earlier. The lines for some of the characters were VERY long. Mickey and Minnie, and Jack Skellington were long for example. I have to say, I don't GET the really long lines for candy. Some were super long, and if you walked another 30 feet, there would be one with almost no line.

I have seen the way they used to clear for the party at WDW at MK. they would close off the park, section by section, and "herd" everyone to Tomorrowland. At that point, the rest of the lands were "clear", and they could station CMs at the paths that left that area, and let only wristband guests back in. The hard part was getting the other guests to leave down Main St, of course.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

CMs seem to be doing a great job of ushering out the non-party guests and keeping them from rides and participating in holiday activities. That said, I don't care if some rule-breakers decide to hang out in the bathrooms. Really, I don't see a lot of fun in sitting in a stall for hours, even in Disneyland! There's no party in a potty! lol And they're going to have to come out at some point, and it's *then* that the CMs should be doing their job to catch non-party members and escort them out.

But the issue that only party guests can use the bathrooms within the park after 7:00 p.m. is WRONG. As long as the park has its gates open and there are guests in the park, those bathroom doors should be open to everyone whether or not they have a wristband. This should apply to all the bathrooms, not just ones at the main gate area. Sometimes things unexpectedly start moving fast and furious and you'll be lucky to keep it contained and walk 20 feet, let alone to the other side of the park.

 

[Eeee-va]

Most hardcore Disney visitors (as in the ones who go to messageboards for planning tips) are advised to get in line for a ride before park closing, so they will be allowed to ride and then leave when they get off. If that wasn't allowed for the Halloween parties, Disney should officially close to day guests at 6 PM on a 7 PM party day, which would get almost everyone out by 7 PM. (The other option would be to turn away non-wristband guests from rides when the projected wait+ride time would let them off of the ride past 7, which would really anger day guests, and in my opinion, rightly so.)

The tickets themselves say party guests can enter 3 hours before the party starts, so they can't be blamed for using the time they paid for; it's a rational and allowable choice.

I'm sure some guests would prefer a hard close before the party, coupled with a decrease in prices. Disney, of course, loves the income they can get from the 3-hour overlap (presumably, more day guests go to Disneyland til 7 PM than they would if the park closed earlier; party guests pay a lot more money to get up to 3 extra hours in the park). So as long as many/most guests like things the way they are, Disney is more than happy to keep making more money.

I agree the CM definitely should have handled the situation better. I would guess they were following the letter of their instructions, and may not have been given the leeway to deviate (though I'm guessing some CMs may have made an exception anyway, though they may have gotten in trouble for it).

But on the other hand, if the park had been closed to all guests for 30 minutes (even if it were closing for, say, a corporate party), I would guess CMs would have directed someone to Main Street to use the restroom too, and that letting someone use a non-Main Street restroom would have still been an exception.

Complaining to City Hall about the bathroom policy would have at least brought the problem to Disney's attention, and may have given some clarification as to the official policy.

 

[kevdo]

You knew you were to be out by 7pm, yet you expected Disney to allow you to stay until you finished the ride you were in line for knowing when you got in line you would not be done by 7pm.

You mean how Disney lets you get into the line for a E-ticket ride 15 minutes before park closing time and still lets you into the 60 minute line? They like they do ALL THE TIME?

Our bathroom-needing Haunted Mansion fans are no different. They got in line at 6:30. If Disney didn't want them to ride due to the party at 7 they should have been told by a cast member. They weren't. As noted elsewhere in the thread, Main St. stores were open past 7:00.

I seriously don't understand how anyone is defending Disney on this one.

 

[kevdo]

To clarify, the OP was husband and wife, no children.

Okay, how is this for a strategy.

"I really need to use the bathroom. Here's my cellphone/wallet/keys as collateral to prove I'm not trying to stick around during the party"

 

[Malcon10t]

Okay, how is this for a strategy.

"I really need to use the bathroom. Here's my cellphone/wallet/keys as collateral to prove I'm not trying to stick around during the party"

And as CMs usually rotate positions every 20 mins, you handed your stuff to a CM 15 mins into their position, and so they have to hand your wallet off to the next CM, along with wallets of 4 others while they wait for you to come out.... Now you are mad that the new CM handed your wallet off to the wrong person.

 

[MychaelP]

And hopefully you will take the comments here constructively. Your ticket was until 7pm. You knew you were to be out by 7pm, yet you expected Disney to allow you to stay until you finished the ride you were in line for knowing when you got in line you would not be done by 7pm. Guess how many other people felt that same entitlement?
.

I do take the comments constructively, however I do not agree with your comment quoted above.
The wait time indicated on the sign indicated we would have been completed with the ride prior to 7pm. Once in the line for awhile it was obvious the extra party guests increased the wait time significantly. I'm not sure if you've been in the Haunted Mansion line but I don't see an easy way to get out of it without walking backwards. The line for Splash Mountain was much longer so their riders would have exited much later than I did.
That said... and what others have said is that Disney allows guests to enter any line prior to the park closing and continue waiting until through. I believe they make exceptions when the line is more than two hours, so maybe not at Radiator Springs.
This is true for Party Guests also as they are in the park beyond 12am yet can use the restrooms.

Thanks again everyone for the comments. Please don't get me wrong here. I love Disneyland and always have. This is why I recently bought AP's a few weeks ago on my birthday after being away for a few years due to the economy. I may get there this Thursday to avoid the Party crowds and to finally check out the new shops on Buena Vista Street!

 

[Malcon10t]

and what others have said is that Disney allows guests to enter any line prior to the park closing and continue waiting until through. I believe they make exceptions when the line is more than two hours, so maybe not at Radiator Springs.

I want to clarify this slightly. If the park is doing a "hard close" (ie sweeping the park to reopen for a party, prior Grad Nites, Cast Member parties, etc...) you will not be allowed to join a line if the lines expected length is past the close time and you won't be given the extra shopping time. So, if there is a 30 min wait for Space Mountain, and a 6pm hard close, 520-25p is when they would close the line. People weren't happy when they did this in DCA for ToT, and it is why they went to the wristbands and sweeping the park at 7 instead of closing at 5pm.

 

[MissMichigan]

It sounds like your issue is more with CMs that didn't keep the expected wait time updated, not party guests being in the park "early." The people in line aren't the ones that post the wait time, so it doesn't matter who they are or when they got there. This could happen any day and has nothing to do with the MHP or its guests.

 

[sh00tfire]

This is pretty unfortunate. I know we would have been pretty mad if my family would have been treated that way.

 

[BEARCATS07]

This is also a problem at WDW. Nothing really new, they shouldnt let guest into the "private party" until much later in the day. If you want to use a "day pass" to get in before then that is your choice. If you are going to allow those with party tickets only in several hourse before the party then they should allow those with no party tickets to linger around serveral hours after they "close", turn about is fair play! Sorry just had to rant for a moment since this problem seems to always come up around party times.

 

[Sherry E]

This is also a problem at WDW. Nothing really new, they shouldnt let guest into the "private party" until much later in the day. If you want to use a "day pass" to get in before then that is your choice. If you are going to allow those with party tickets only in several hourse before the party then they should allow those with no party tickets to linger around serveral hours after they "close", turn about is fair play! Sorry just had to rant for a moment since this problem seems to always come up around party times.

I disagree with this. People are paying for the right to be allowed into the park at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. on party nights - they are entering the park as soon as they are allowed to. If non-party guests are lingering for hours after the park "closes" (which would be at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. on party nights), they are doing something they are not allowed to do.

 

[mouseymommy]

This is also a problem at WDW. Nothing really new, they shouldnt let guest into the "private party" until much later in the day. If you want to use a "day pass" to get in before then that is your choice. If you are going to allow those with party tickets only in several hourse before the party then they should allow those with no party tickets to linger around serveral hours after they "close", turn about is fair play! Sorry just had to rant for a moment since this problem seems to always come up around party times.

I paid for a ticket that allows me access to the park at 3pm. I am getting nothing "extra" People who do not have tickets to the party bought tickets that allow them access to the parks until 6 or 7 pm. They are not getting less than what they have paid for.

 

[Mary09]

I sort of wish there was some discount for being a non-party visitor on a party day, given the short hours, but I guess you can just go to DCA. And how would they even administer a cheaper day, with so many people on multi-day tix.

I have to admit I probably won't go again in Oct., given all the events and limited hours. Then again the Gay Days tix are a good deal.

 

[Girimama33]

On non-party days the hours are 10am to 8pm during the week. On party days, the hours are 8am to 6pm (Tuesday night). It is the same # of hours, so you were not cheated park hours due to the HP.

 

[cmwade77]

If I were there I would have said that I am going to end up going right there, they need to have something in place for this. Sorry, but closing restrooms is one thing I do not tolerate (except for repairs/rehabs of course, but not closing all of them like that), it is a health and safety issue.

 

[Malcon10t]

On non-party days the hours are 10am to 8pm during the week. On party days, the hours are 8am to 6pm (Tuesday night). It is the same # of hours, so you were not cheated park hours due to the HP.

And if you are going to discount, then shouldn't they discount for shorter hours on Mon-Thurs (10-8) compared to Sat and Sun (9-mid).

 

[MrsWendy]

This is also a problem at WDW. Nothing really new, they shouldnt let guest into the "private party" until much later in the day. If you want to use a "day pass" to get in before then that is your choice. If you are going to allow those with party tickets only in several hourse before the party then they should allow those with no party tickets to linger around serveral hours after they "close", turn about is fair play! Sorry just had to rant for a moment since this problem seems to always come up around party times.

The primary benefits of the Halloween parties are the parades and fireworks. If non-party guest are allowed to linger, then they would get to experience the best part of the parties for free. That's not going to happen.

One problem that I can see with not allowing party guests in until it's time for the party to start is that there would be a mob of people entering the park at the same time that a mob of people would be leaving the park. It would likely be chaos on Main Street. Letting the party guests enter earlier eliminates such a problem.

 

[Mary09]

On non-party days the hours are 10am to 8pm during the week. On party days, the hours are 8am to 6pm (Tuesday night). It is the same # of hours, so you were not cheated park hours due to the HP.

That's good to know. On Fri. w/o parties DL hours are 9am-11pm (14 hours). On Fridays in Oct. they're 8am-7pm and I feel like we'll need to be out by 4pm (8 hours) because it sounds like both parks get unmanageable after that.

There was no F! during our stay due to the parties so I extended our hotel to stay Sat. night, leaving Sun. We probably can't visit the parks Sunday because they don't open until 10am due to the CHOC Walk.

It's all good. It just seems like we'll be dodging events that weekend.

 

[Girimama33]

There was no F! during our stay due to the parties so I extended our hotel to stay Sat. night, leaving Sun. We probably can't visit the parks Sunday because they don't open until 10am due to the CHOC Walk.

It's all good. It just seems like we'll be dodging events that weekend.

F! was not affected by the HP either. During the low season (which occurs in October), F! is only available on Saturday and Sunday. In past years, they have offered an additional show on Thursday during the busy weeks in the first two weeks, but that does not appear to be happening this year.
If you want to catch F! during the low season, you have to plan a park day on Sat or Sun.

Unfortunately, it is just a freakishly busy (and hot) fall this year.