Disney should be ashamed!

[morethananyonex]

Because obviously Disney gets its sustenance from little girl's tears... Seriously, though, Disney IS doing something to improve wait times. They've moved Anna and Elsa to Princess Storybook Hall and added Fastpass. And, from what I've heard, there's been a casting call for more Annas and Elsas, though even if they've been successful in finding some, the training can still take awhile. I'm sure Norway is VERY happy to have them out of their pavilion!

Exactly!

They did improve the meet and greet. They should be getting double the amount of people through than in Norway. The wait times are still bad because now more people are getting in the line and waiting, bringing it back up to the crazy numbers we're seeing. Double (at the least) the number of friends, FP+ option and an indoor queue. That's an improvement to me.

 

[surferdave]

OP,

Nothing you say after "Shame on Disney" matters, they could be pimping Disney guests in the shadiest parts of Buena Vista and would be beyond that sort of reproach here. Of course, a pimp can just as easily say "hey, nobody's forcing them on that street corner!"

But I think more appropriate than shame on Disney would be "c'mon, man you can do better than this." It's been 4 months since they found out that these characters are far far more popular than they anticipated. I understand they don't just slap a wig and dress on a college student and push her out there, but this isn't Daniel Day-Lewis doing a study for a period piece either.

 

[morethananyonex]

We visited Santa at Harrods at Christmas in London. This is extremely popular and is booked up months in advance. There are of course several Santas meeting the children but you are never in danger of a child seeing more than one Santa at a time as they are all in different rooms. I think Disney could easily have something set up like this for Anna and Elsa. I wouldn't dream of joining a 4 hour line but I do feel sorry for mums with little girls who would love to meet Anna and Elsa. So I do think that Disney should set something like this up to enable as many people to see them as reasonably possible.

That is what they've done. That's why they moved.

Short of constructing a new building for them, which would be crazy IMO, they'd have to kick out even more princesses to make room for even more Anna and Elsa. No thanks.

 

[wallskm]

And while I don't have kids, let's be honest ... you can tell them no. It won't be the end of their world.

Yes! Before they moved them to MK and added FP+ for them we had ZERO plans for our kids to meet them. We thought they'd love them but not wait in line for 4 hours love them. Now we have a FP+ for them and it's all good but there is nobody I'd wait in line for 4 hours for my kids to see.

 

[SuperRob]

Yes! Before they moved them to MK and added FP+ for them we had ZERO plans for our kids to meet them. We thought they'd love them but not wait in line for 4 hours love them. Now we have a FP+ for them and it's all good but there is nobody I'd wait in line for 4 hours for my kids to see.

Here's my question. Has anyone gone through that full line, come out the other end of it, and said, "Yeah, that was totally worth waiting half the day for."

I don't even wait more than 45 minutes to go on a ride, and that's only for something brand new. My threshold is closer to 15-20 minutes. That's why I always go in September over my anniversary, and educate myself on the best ways to tour. My time is too valuable to me to spend it waiting on anything.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

OP,

Nothing you say after "Shame on Disney" matters, they could be pimping Disney guests in the shadiest parts of Buena Vista and would be beyond that sort of reproach here. Of course, a pimp can just as easily say "hey, nobody's forcing them on that street corner!" .

Worst analogy ever?

 

[wendyt_ca]

I don't think Disney has anything to be ashamed of. They didn't know that Frozen would take off like it has. People are making the decision to stand in line. And they did try to help by adding them to FP+. So it's not as though they have done nothing. I do think that they should have kept them in Norway as well. I think having the same characters in the same park could take away the magic. But due to popularity I hope that eventually they add them somewhere else. Who knows they may already be working on this. As others have stated there is training and such involved with this and on the flip side they don't know how long this will continue. They could add more of them and in a few months the hype may have calmed down.

I don't think Disney owes us anything. Yes you pay $100 per day (if you only go for one day, if you go for say 7 days it's more like $50/day). But it's not like you are only paying for this M&G, the park has a LOT in it that is well worth even $100/day. So you are still getting your moneys worth even if you skip the M&G. And Disney is giving everyone what they pay for. They can't control how many people decide they all want on the same attraction unless they start turning people away to control crowd, but I am pretty sure that would cause a much bigger outrage..

 

[surferdave]

Worst analogy ever?

Don't knock mine, give me yours.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I understand the complaint. I see no reason why A&E can't be at multiple venues, like other princesses, and I think Disney likes the insanity, just like toy and electronic manufacturers have encouraged similar craziness with insufficient supply. Disney has had plenty of time to find more girls to play the parts and is anyone actually going to be upset if they're at multiple parks? I would put them at MK, Epcot, and DHS. Kids little enough to get upset about multiple A&E are not going to realize there are multiple sets. They're much more likely to get upset because they can't meet them.

BUT, in the end, it's up to parents to put their foot down and refuse to join the insanity. Try to get a FP+ if it's a big priority, and if you can't or didn't know before that you needed one, refuse to get in line. Little kids can be distracted and bigger kids can accept that there are better ways to spend five hours at MK. My Frozen obsessed five-year-old loved seeing A&E in the parade. I admit my kids have never been really into characters, but it worries me that so many parents are putting themselves through that much torture to avoid disappointing kids who already got a trip to Disney World.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Kind of contradicting yourself here, don't you think.

No one is making anyone stand in a line except the people who decide to stand in the line.

Not at all. I'm acknowledging that people standing in the line own that decision for themselves, so I'm not going to feel sorry for an individual who chooses to do that. However, I can have that opinion while also asking the question why Disney isn't handling this better. Why can't they give return passes so people don't have to physically stand there? Why can't they set more M&Gs up? All valid questions.

OP,
But I think more appropriate than shame on Disney would be "c'mon, man you can do better than this." It's been 4 months since they found out that these characters are far far more popular than they anticipated. I understand they don't just slap a wig and dress on a college student and push her out there, but this isn't Daniel Day-Lewis doing a study for a period piece either.

Well said.

 

[declansdad]

Don't knock mine, give me yours.

If you were trying to say people here will always defend Disney, you are wrong. If you think that you haven't been paying attention.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Yeah, Disney doesn't care. If parents want to wait 4 hours then that's their choice.

 

[declansdad]

Not at all. I'm acknowledging that people standing in the line own that decision for themselves, so I'm not going to feel sorry for an individual who chooses to do that. However, I can have that opinion while also asking the question why Disney isn't handling this better. Why can't they give return passes so people don't have to physically stand there? Why can't they set more M&Gs up? All valid questions

OK but the way you worded it didn't say that.

Don't they know have FPs for this meet? If so they have done something to handle it better.

 

[SuperRob]

... and I think Disney likes the insanity, just like toy and electronic manufacturers have encouraged similar craziness with insufficient supply ...

This is often a misunderstood theory behind marketing a product. Yes, high demand is a good thing, particularly when substitute products are scarce and you effectively have a monopoly on the product. However, if that demand goes unmet too long, it quickly turns to anger (for a variety of reasons I won't get into). You cannot afford to allow demand to build beyond your ability to meet the demand for too long.

The fact is, Disney exists to make money. All those shops, carts, restaurants are all there to get you to take out your wallet (in fact, they don't even want you thinking about that, which is why they allow you to charge to your room, and even use a Magic Band now). Disney considers on average how much a guest spends over and above the cost of admission. They want to see that number rising.

Waiting in line is BAD FOR BUSINESS. First, it makes guests angry (demand not being met in a reasonable amount of time), and angry guests spend less. Second, if you're waiting in a line, you're not spending money at all! This is why Disney created FastPass. They want you to spend your time "waiting" in a shop or restaurant, not standing out of the reach of a cash register.

No matter which way you cut it, a five hour line for anything that doesn't have a register at the end of it is bad for Disney. Yes, the popularity is a good thing, short term, if they can find better ways to turn it into a revenue stream. But suffice it to say, there is no pay off at the end of a line that long that is worth what it costs to Disney. The memory of the meet simply won't be strong enough to overcome the wait, and they didn't get any additional revenue.

On a side note ... think about scheduling FastPass+. What's the angle for Disney there? What if I told you that Disney makes roughly the same amount of money per guest that walks through a turnstile no matter how long they spend inside the park? And if there is finite capacity inside the park (which is why they have to close on the busiest of days), maybe the strategy is to get someone in the park, onto rides as quickly as you can, get them into a restaurant or shop ... and then out of the park. If you know exactly WHEN you can ride your rides, and can plan around that, you don't need to spend your entire day inside the Magic Kingdom, making more room for other guests spending just about as much as you did.

Crafty.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Well, I don't think they should put multiple characters in the same park. It does take away from the fun and magic..

What I would do? Split the characters up or add more characters from the movie. Maybe split up the characters and put Anna with a backdrop of the castle, and Elsa in another area with a backdrop of her ice castle. Sure, at the end of the movie they were together and happy, but does it really matter? This would break up the crowd a bit. People would say "oh it's 2 hours to only meet Anna, let's check Elsa's line." People line up for four hours because they figure "well it's two characters, let's wait it out.."

Another idea is add a character. Maybe Olaf could meet and greet guests at another area in Norway or another part of the park. I guarantee he'd be almost as popular as A&E.

 

[Anc96]

OP,

Nothing you say after "Shame on Disney" matters, they could be pimping Disney guests in the shadiest parts of Buena Vista and would be beyond that sort of reproach here. Of course, a pimp can just as easily say "hey, nobody's forcing them on that street corner!"

But I think more appropriate than shame on Disney would be "c'mon, man you can do better than this." It's been 4 months since they found out that these characters are far far more popular than they anticipated. I understand they don't just slap a wig and dress on a college student and push her out there, but this isn't Daniel Day-Lewis doing a study for a period piece either.

ITA!!

Poor OP... Hopefully it was enough for her to get to say it to get it off her chest, and ignore the... uh, rest

BTW... WONDERFUL ANALOGY

 

[mom2rtk]

We visited Santa at Harrods at Christmas in London. This is extremely popular and is booked up months in advance. There are of course several Santas meeting the children but you are never in danger of a child seeing more than one Santa at a time as they are all in different rooms. I think Disney could easily have something set up like this for Anna and Elsa. I wouldn't dream of joining a 4 hour line but I do feel sorry for mums with little girls who would love to meet Anna and Elsa. So I do think that Disney should set something like this up to enable as many people to see them as reasonably possible.

Ummm...... they do this already. I'm sure that's part of the reason for the relocation to Fairytale Hall.

 

[chrismb22]

Another idea is add a character. Maybe Olaf could meet and greet guests at another area in Norway or another part of the park. I guarantee he'd be almost as popular as A&E.

I am actually SHOCKED there is no Olaf meet and greet (or for that matter even Kristoff and Sven). Kinda glad, though, my son could care less about the sisters but he thinks that silly reindeer is awesome.

 

[AngiTN]

Multiple Meet and Greets? Here's how you do it.

1. Create identical M&G rooms at each location.
2. Near the end of the queue, just before you enter the M&G room, have a doorway (possibly with some sort of special effect) that is a "portal" to the princesses location.

Stepping through the portal magically transports you to the "one" location of the princesses.

You do know that is what they have already done? That's how the current M&G works. Same for Mickey in Town Square

Well, I don't think they should put multiple characters in the same park. It does take away from the fun and magic..

What I would do? Split the characters up or add more characters from the movie. Maybe split up the characters and put Anna with a backdrop of the castle, and Elsa in another area with a backdrop of her ice castle. Sure, at the end of the movie they were together and happy, but does it really matter? This would break up the crowd a bit. People would say "oh it's 2 hours to only meet Anna, let's check Elsa's line." People line up for four hours because they figure "well it's two characters, let's wait it out.."

Another idea is add a character. Maybe Olaf could meet and greet guests at another area in Norway or another part of the park. I guarantee he'd be almost as popular as A&E.

Oh my, I think Olaf would surpass A&E quite honestly. I don't know if adding him would make it worse or better. Still wish he was there though.

 

[FLchick415]

I would love a M&G with Kristoff and Sven. They need to get on this. lol