EMH No Wristband Test

[LeesyUD]

So I am sure many of you have heard that WDW is doing a test for EMH at the parks where instead of getting your card swiped and getting a wristband, they are trying to see how it goes by just having people present their room keys at the rides. Supposedly it is to help clear out non resort guests, but all I could see is that this will make things worse. Already I have seen reports that the staff are not looking closely at the dates and alot are not even asking to see the cards at all. It seems to me anyone who can get a hold of an old room key could get on the rides pretty easily. And I am sure there are going to be more non resort guests hanging around and trying to sneak themselves on the rides. Plus I think it is much more of an incovenience for guests to constantly be getting their cards out. I really hope that they find the test is unsucessful and go back to the wristbands. The only way I could see this working is if resort guests were to have to swipe their card at each ride. But even then it would still be a hassle. I never thought I would like wristbands so much. I wonder who thought this would work better. But then again maybe their is a method to their madness that I do not know about. Anyway just my two cents.

 

[kevw67]

I agree. EMH should be for guests staying on site. That is one of the priveledges we pay for by staying on site. I can see this becoming a big hassle every time you get to an attraction. With a wristband all you do is flash your wrist. Now you have to pull out your card,let them check to make sure it is valid, etc. etc. This has potential to create more problems than it will solve.

 

[Shir Kahn]

Really, the amount of time it takes between you getting on a ride, riding it, getting off, walking to a new ride and getting through the line, that's not that much of a hassle to take out the card. It's not as if you're going through a checkpoint every 5 minutes.

 

[Matt71]

From what I have read, there was a problem with non guests buying wristbands from people after they left the park.

There will always be people trying to get around the rules. There will likely be ways around any reasonable system they try.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I agree that EMH should use wristbands instead of just flashing your KTTW card all the time. You don't see WDW changing the rules for hard ticket events at the Magic Kingdom by making guests who purchase tickets to MVMCP show the ticket they purchased, instead of getting a wristbad and from what I have read on here that keeps guests out who did not purchase tickets. So why should it not be the same for EMH?

 

[jfulcer]

From what I have read, there was a problem with non guests buying wristbands from people after they left the park.

There will always be people trying to get around the rules. There will likely be ways around any reasonable system they try.

Then have the wristbands numbered. You get a wristband that has a number and initially swipe your card for that band. If that band is involved in cheating, then that person is barred from the park(s).

This would solve the problem of people selling the wristbands IMHO.

 

[MousekaMaddi]

never liked the wristbands much untill I read of the alternative, now the wristbands seem MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE than dragging our cards out every ride....uggh

 

[LeesyUD]

Really, the amount of time it takes between you getting on a ride, riding it, getting off, walking to a new ride and getting through the line, that's not that much of a hassle to take out the card. It's not as if you're going through a checkpoint every 5 minutes.

While I agree it is not an extreme hassle, I still think it will be a bit of a hassle getting the card in and out at each ride. And my personal opinion is why not get the minor hassle out of the way of waiting in line to get the wrist band and be hassle free the rest of the night? Again IMHO I just feel that the wristbands are easier.

 

[Jamie77]

From what I have read, there was a problem with non guests buying wristbands from people after they left the park.

There will always be people trying to get around the rules. There will likely be ways around any reasonable system they try.

See, that's what I don't get. Those wristbands are hard to take off without totally ruining them (or cutting them off). Can't the CMs see that the wristbands are no longer in one piece?

 

[tiggger1]

those bands are not as hard as you think to remove, especially if they are not put on correctly.

 

[heathermm]

Having to get the cards out for each ride just has so much potential of losing one too (at least for me).

I hope they decide it isn't worth it.

 

[GGOOFY1]

I agree with the PP, stick to the wristbands

 

[bleeps]

Hello, all!

I've been reading these threads about wristbands vs. resort id cards ever since the topic was first raised, when WDW announced the trial of the new (resort id) system. It has taken me a long time to come up with what for me is the REAL question:

What is the goal of WDW management in terms of offering evening EMH?

And then it follows:

How important is it to WDW management that evening EMH are truly an on-site guest ONLY privilege?

And from there, I guess:

How much money is WDW management willing to invest in running the evening EMH program?

No, I don't think it's necessarily the cost of the wristbands themselves, but certainly there's extra cost for additional staff -- right? But understanding how WDW management views this "on-site guest-only" perk is really key, I think.

And I'm currently thinking that, along with the "on-site guest only" transportation system on which we have ridden, what, hundreds of times and never been asked (nor seen anyone else asked) to show resort id, it starts to seem as though on-site guest only evening EMH hours are more lip-service than anything else. Does WDW management REALLY care that some people may be selling their wristbands? Given all the other kinds of crime generated by apparently not policed/monitored by the parks (selling FPs online being just one small example), I don't think they care that much. Wouldn't it be "fairly" easy to keep a watch over guests leaving the parks, being approached by people, money and wristbands being exchanged in plain sight?

How's this for a totally different approach? Not saying I'm right, just throwing this out there -- if WDW management honestly wants to provide special on-site guest only experiences in the park, what about instead expanding morning EMH, when you can EASILY control who is in the parks? Instead of one hour -- well, heck, open at 8 a.m. and stay open to on-site guest only until -- 11? 12? And then let the park stay open late that night to all guests so that day-trippers/non-resort guests could still get a "full day" out of their ticket. is this crazy?

I'm just getting cynical and a little depressed about what WDW management's real intents are these days, and I'm not sure we've hit this nail on the head yet. Just my wacky 2 cents -- no flames, please!

 

[vettechick99]

Oh man, that would be a huge mess. Can you imagine the bottleneck that occurs because someone can't find their card? And yes, people will lose theirs having to take it out so often.

Boy I miss e-ride nights!!

 

[One Year Pin]

Hello, all!

I'm just getting cynical and a little depressed about what WDW management's real intents are these days, and I'm not sure we've hit this nail on the head yet. Just my wacky 2 cents -- no flames, please!

First I want you to know that this is not a flame, and if it seems that way, I certainly don't intend it to. Also, I shortened your post to save space for everyone.

Now, I'm not Disney Management. I'm just a front-line CM so they don't ask my opinion on policy decisions. but my "feeling" is that the no wristband/room key test is just a test to see if there is an easier way. We all know that Disney is about innovation and trying new things. This is probably just a way to see if it's easier for the guests. I don't know what the outcome will be.

I don't worry about what the motivation of the Walt Disney company is. When you're sitting in Adventureland, eating a Dole Whip, and watching kids trying to dodge the camel spit at Alladdin on a beautiful sunny day, who really CARES what WDW Management was thinking when they made one decision or another. Me personally, I just enjoy the moment.

Also, you can't fault Disney for unscrupulous people selling FastPasses on the internet. It's not Disneys fault and they have no power over anyone outside of company property. Look how tough it is for Law Enforcement to stop predators and child molesters on the internet.

Just my 1/50th of a dollar.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I don't think that this 'test' (which was in late February) was viewed as much of a success in most areas of operation.

Time will tell of course.

Knox

 

[bleeps]

First I want you to know that this is not a flame, and if it seems that way, I certainly don't intend it to. Also, I shortened your post to save space for everyone.

I don't worry about what the motivation of the Walt Disney company is. When you're sitting in Adventureland, eating a Dole Whip, and watching kids trying to dodge the camel spit at Alladdin on a beautiful sunny day, who really CARES what WDW Management was thinking when they made one decision or another. Me personally, I just enjoy the moment.

Hello! Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply -- no flames intended so none taken!

If you're game, I'd just like to clarify and maybe take another little step forward. I don't fault Disney for people who do horribly unscrupulous things like sell FPs on EBay or sell wristbands to other guests -- Disney has a LOT of magic but it can't prevent crime! But what it can do, I *think* (but seriously, I'm open to being wrong here, too!) is come down harder to prevent crime or to enforce its rights. So if the "right" that it (management) wants to enforce is on-site guests only at EMHs, then it could (I think?) find effective ways to do it.

Hey -- I hear ya about having nary a care in the world when I've got a Dole Whip, I've just gotten off Jungle Cruise, and I'm soaking in the sun, sights, smells, and just total delights of WDW. That's why we keep going back! But when I get a little less than thrilled is when I've been sold on the idea that I'm getting benefits for all the big $$ I'm spending at a WDW resort, but it doesn't appear that the company really cares if i get that benefit or not. That's all. Is it enough to make us stop going? Nah. But I'm just trying to wrap my tiny little brain around all the discussion about wristbands vs. resort ids, and trying to imagine what the suits are thinking.

I guess I think from that perspective because I'm a business person myself. I take your point about Disney and innovation, but I'd say that a company *generally* doesn't take a process that's working well, doing what it's supposed to do, and then just change it for the sake of change. They change either because the intents, the business goals were not being met, or because they want/need to save money. Isn't that fair to say of Disney, as much as any other company?

Meanwhile, what do you think about my idea of longer a.m. EMHs? Seriously -- would that work?

 

[bellebud]

how do they do the hard ticket events, and why can't they do the same for evening emh's?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

How's this for a totally different approach? Not saying I'm right, just throwing this out there -- if WDW management honestly wants to provide special on-site guest only experiences in the park, what about instead expanding morning EMH, when you can EASILY control who is in the parks? Instead of one hour -- well, heck, open at 8 a.m. and stay open to on-site guest only until -- 11? 12? And then let the park stay open late that night to all guests so that day-trippers/non-resort guests could still get a "full day" out of their ticket. is this crazy?

I am not flaming you for suggesting that idea, I just don't think it would happen. While it sounds like a very nice perk for guests who stay onsite considering they get an extra 3 hours at night on selected days, I think having just the one hour on selected mornings is more then fair. If you look at the EMH history the same parks do not have the AM one and PM one on the same day. Besides if the Magic Kingdom were open to just the Resort guests from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM for an extra long AM EMH, wouldn't that cause one of the other 3 parks to be even more busy with the offsite guests who could not go to the Magic Kingdom, plus the onsite guests who did not want to visit the Magic Kingdom on that specific day.

 

[kevw67]

See, that's what I don't get. Those wristbands are hard to take off without totally ruining them (or cutting them off). Can't the CMs see that the wristbands are no longer in one piece?

If the carnies at my local county fair can spot fake or cut-off wristbands, Im sure a CM at Disney can do this.