False wait times in order to increase the cost of the headliners at the parks

[JZCubed]

How exactly would Disney be able to monetize higher wait times? I agree that 45 to 17 is a pretty big discrepancy, but there are numerous reasons why this number would be so far off in this single instance. Now, if you had multiple data points on multiple days that showed it was this far off, then maybe that would be something to investigate.

Disney controls both capacity and reporting of wait times.

Disney can create long lines by allowing too many people into Parks (capacity) or by simply inflating (reported) wait times.

Long waits, whether real or or faked, will encourage purchases of Genie+ & IA$.

In alternative parlance, the bookie is running the game.

 

[_19disnA]

Does anyone actually know HOW Disney calculates the 'wait times' at ride entrances? Be good to know that before getting all upset over nothing.

 

[Marionnette]

Does anyone actually know HOW Disney calculates the 'wait times' at ride entrances? Be good to know that before getting all upset over nothing.

Pre-COVID, they would scan a card and hand it to a guest who just entered the queue. The guest would hand the card to a CM at the load area and that CM would scan the card. Voila! Instant assessment of the amount of time that guest stood in line.

 

[RoseGold]

The app already says that the wait times are estimated and inaccurate, blah blah. It sure looked like they were playing with Kilimanjaro early in the reopening because the line was so awkward and they didn't want it getting longer. Fine, great.

But yea, engineering the numbers to pay to play seems pretty problematic to me. They better be pretty clear these wait times mean nothing and might be completely wrong.

If only there was a group/website that collected and analyzed hundreds of data points daily to help educate Disney Park goers and assist in maximizing their time while in the parks...

 

[RoseGold]

Pre-COVID, they would scan a card and hand it to a guest who just entered the queue. The guest would hand the card to a CM at the load area and that CM would scan the card. Voila! Instant assessment of the amount of time that guest stood in line.

They have trackers on your phone and wrists and more cameras than a Vegas casino. They already know exactly how long the wait was and will be. Genie should allow them to spread crowd out, maybe up capacity...

 

[Dznefreek]

I have noticed a difference in stated wait times (usually under) for years . . . . .

 

[glocon]

I wonder if Disney will try to be more accurate with posted wait times once genie starts. It would be a really bad look for them if posted waits were high when they really weren’t and people were buying LL on inaccurate times. You know there would be tons of complaints on social media.

 

[Ermise]

The app already says that the wait times are estimated and inaccurate, blah blah. It sure looked like they were playing with Kilimanjaro early in the reopening because the line was so awkward and they didn't want it getting longer. Fine, great.

But yea, engineering the numbers to pay to play seems pretty problematic to me. They better be pretty clear these wait times mean nothing and might be completely wrong.

Whoosh. I'm not talking about MDE.

 

[Upatnoon]

You'd think they'd use Magicbands to track lines, but if they were handing people cards before COVID it would be easy to see how a manual process could go off the rails.

Someone has to enter the time. A cast member could be distracted, forget to do it, etc. With no data, Disney probably just estimated based on historical times.

With people paying money to skip lines it is going to put those times under more of a microscope.

 

[RoseGold]

Whoosh. I'm not talking about MDE.

It's the same technology. MDE and the physical signs (and Genie) are just the displays.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

It seems everyone is in general agreement the wait times are inflated over actual times. The only difference is whether people think this is intentional or an unforeseen estimate.

Now that Disney has chosen to offer a paid option to bypass long wait times, that almost makes Disney’s intent immaterial. If they are shown to intentionally inflate wait times while inducing people to pay to bypass those lanes, that’s a class action waiting fo happen. Even if these inflated times are not necessarily intentional, if Disney is on notice that they’re consistently over-inflated, that has the same effect - an inducement to someone to buy a Lightning Lane pass.

Either way, I hope a good segment of the investment into this new system was put away into a legal defense fund.

 

[Suzabella]

Vloggers have been reporting this for several weeks. I commented when I started seeing a pattern that Disney didn't want people to know that the crowd numbers were decreasing ahead of the anniversary. Now I'm not convinced that the wait times aren't inflated to justify the LL cost. That's called marketing - convince people they need something. Barnum said, 'there's a sucker born every minute'. It's the same as marking prices up just to put things 'on sale'. Illegal? Likely not. Unethical? Likely so.

 

[Jennasis]

That’s not the point. The point is that Disney could artificially inflate wait times for the headliners which have the new “pay to ride” option because people will look at that wait time and say, heck no, I’d rather pay X dollars to ride quickly than stand in line for X minutes when really it would’ve been much shorter.

in essence, it is Disney monetizing inflated wait times

Sorry for the run-on sentence

Dan

Well yes. That was also my point. They've always done it. They will continue to do it, and as you pointed out they now have a $$ reason to do it.

 

[gharter]

I think there are several concerns as to how the wait times are inflated.
With the MDE app or MB, they can track a person from when you enter the queue to when you get on a ride. Its not hard to program that into a wait time app, if they want accurate times.
When Genie arrives, if they continue to use inaccurate wait times, it may not really spread out the crowds.

How do inflated wait times help Disney? Once Genie and LL arrive, if you inflate the wait times for the pay to ride attractions, instead of waiting an hour + (which as previous posts have shown may be much less), many will spend the money to get the paid LL pass for that ride.

 

[MrWreckless]

Disney controls both capacity and reporting of wait times.

Disney can create long lines by allowing too many people into Parks (capacity) or by simply inflating (reported) wait times.

Long waits, whether real or or faked, will encourage purchases of Genie+ & IA$.

In alternative parlance, the bookie is running the game.

Not to mention they can further increase wait times by not running rides at full capacity by shutting down theaters, tracks, or removing vehicles.

 

[RoseGold]

Illegal? Likely not. Unethical? Likely so.

It's one thing to say Kilimanjaro is 50 minutes, when you know its 25, so people quit getting in that awkward line. You paid to be in the park, and you are in the park whether you ride Kilimanjaro or not.

It's a whole different thing for Disney to say it's 50 minutes, when they know that isn't true, and ask for $20 to skip the line.

I expect some very lawyerly disclosures about what the wait times actually mean and maybe some changes in policy or calculations. I wouldn't be surprised to see a range on the headliners. 35-55 minutes.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Pre-COVID, they would scan a card and hand it to a guest who just entered the queue. The guest would hand the card to a CM at the load area and that CM would scan the card. Voila! Instant assessment of the amount of time that guest stood in line.

They stopped doing that around 2017, brought it back for a month or two (maybe a few, but not very long), then stopped it again.

 

[Ermise]

It's the same technology. MDE and the physical signs (and Genie) are just the displays.

Touringplans is not the same technology. They are independent of Disney technology.

 

[StuckInKS]

It also doesn't want 2-hour lines at park close, it wants people to go home. Hence, the inflated wait times.

Lol this reminds me of the CMs at SDMT that call out to us "You can get on, but the wait is about 60 minutes!" when we try to get in line too close to closing time. We just say "OK, thank you!" as we continue on into the line because we can obviously tell it is more like a 10 minute wait. So, yes, I also think the wait times are sometimes inflated to discourage people form getting in line. I also think they might use this strategy during the day to keep people shopping and dining instead of standing in line for a ride.

 

[wisblue]

Even if they wanted to post precisely accurate wait times, exactly how would they do it? They can track when someone enters the line and when they reach the ride, like they did with the red cards, but that wait time might not be the same for someone entering the line at the time that the first person is riding. It’s always going to be a lagging indicator.

I think they intentionally post longer times largely for the psychological reason others have mentioned. Post 20 and wait 30 and customer is upset. Post 40 and wait 30 and customer is happy.

I always refer to the Touring Plans estimated wait times and find them to be a pretty accurate reflection of what the actual wait time will be.