Fast Passes shut down

[RayaniFoxmur]

However it really doesn't surpise me considering they just layed off 1500 people.

When and where exactly was this now?

And I have to say, fastpasses being down and trams not running some days and/or times is not exactly a new phenomenon. I know it's been going on for at least the last 4 years cause we've seen it at least once on every trip.

And sorry, but I am far from a Disney apologist. But fastpass machine's being down or trams not running on a certain day/time is just not a hill I want to die on.

But like it or not, this thread has gotten repetitive and even nasty on both sides at points. That's why I think the thread should be closed. When it devolves into petty arguing, what's the point anymore?

 

[Planogirl]

I keep repeating this ---- it doesn't really matter if you agree with the OP or not. These things bother him and don't bother you and that's fine. You won't change his mind no matter how many times you tell him he's wrong because he's not wrong. Neither are you.

It always seems so odd when people voice their opinions and others tell them that they're wrong. An opinion can't be wrong because it's just an opinion.

Again, I would be annoyed if the trams weren't running unless I was parked close by. That's just the way I feel and nothing will change that. On a quieter day I could do without the fastpasses though.

 

[peter11435]

Certain attractions (Space Mountain, etc.) offer Fastpass everyday regardless of park attendance. Other attractions such as Kali River Rapids and Primevil Whirl offer Fastpass based on the forecasted attendance for the day. If the attendance forecast is over a certain number they will offer fastpass. The attendance forecasts are set months in advance and revised as time goes by. Eventually times guides are printed that indicate which attractions will offer fastpass on which days. If on a given day park attendance is below the magic number for Fastpass at a given attractions the Park Duty manager can make the call to close or not open Fastpass for that attraction. There really is no cost savings with closing Fastpass for most attractions, as most positions would still need to be up to handle GAC cards and other special circumstances. At most they may be able to drop one position. I’m reality it is done by park management to make the guest experience smoother. There is no reason to offer Fastpass at some attractions on a slow day. Kali ended up with a 40 minute wait that day due to some unexpected downtimes that could not be planned for.

As for park trams. The only time trams are not offered is if they are only parking guests in the lots closest to the main entrance. There really is no reason to run trams from these lots because the distance from most cars to the tram route is as long as the distance from those cars to the main entrance. There is no way you spent 15 minutes walking across the parking lot unless you were walking in slow motion. You can walk across the entire lot to the furthest space in Wonder and it would not take 15 minutes.

Some people will always find something to be upset about.

 

[TenderDonkey]

Certain attractions (Space Mountain, etc.) offer Fastpass everyday regardless of park attendance. Other attractions such as Kali River Rapids and Primevil Whirl offer Fastpass based on the forecasted attendance for the day. If the attendance forecast is over a certain number they will offer fastpass. The attendance forecasts are set months in advance and revised as time goes by. Eventually times guides are printed that indicate which attractions will offer fastpass on which days. If on a given day park attendance is below the magic number for Fastpass at a given attractions the Park Duty manager can make the call to close or not open Fastpass for that attraction. There really is no cost savings with closing Fastpass for most attractions, as most positions would still need to be up to handle GAC cards and other special circumstances. At most they may be able to drop one position. I’m reality it is done by park management to make the guest experience smoother. There is no reason to offer Fastpass at some attractions on a slow day. Kali ended up with a 40 minute wait that day due to some unexpected downtimes that could not be planned for.

As for park trams. The only time trams are not offered is if they are only parking guests in the lots closest to the main entrance. There really is no reason to run trams from these lots because the distance from most cars to the tram route is as long as the distance from those cars to the main entrance. There is no way you spent 15 minutes walking across the parking lot unless you were walking in slow motion. You can walk across the entire lot to the furthest space in Wonder and it would not take 15 minutes.

Some people will always find something to be upset about.

Your logic is just wrong. What if you cannot walk or you need to rent a stroller? Those are done inside the park. A 5 minute walk may be no biggie for you but Everst for a disabled person. It is cost cutting pure and simple. And to be honest, I'm sick of people pretending to be experts on everything Disney. As we have discussed and proven all three main forms of official communication are flawed to the point where they are unreliable. Honestly, every opinion on these boards is based on prior experience, which does not translate day to day.

 

[flicx]

When and where exactly was this now?

The layoffs are fact, not sure how long ago. I'm sure one of the other posters could tell you when.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

The layoffs are fact, not sure how long ago. I'm sure one of the other posters could tell you when.

Yes, I know about the WDW layoffs that happened about 2 years ago, but it's certainly not recently. They streamlined quite a bit of the management within the parks. Your post made it sound like happened last month.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

And to be honest, I'm sick of people pretending to be experts on everything Disney.

So why do you continue to get into discussions with people you're sick of?

 

[mousermerf]

Certain attractions (Space Mountain, etc.) offer Fastpass everyday regardless of park attendance. Other attractions such as Kali River Rapids and Primevil Whirl offer Fastpass based on the forecasted attendance for the day. If the attendance forecast is over a certain number they will offer fastpass. The attendance forecasts are set months in advance and revised as time goes by. Eventually times guides are printed that indicate which attractions will offer fastpass on which days. If on a given day park attendance is below the magic number for Fastpass at a given attractions the Park Duty manager can make the call to close or not open Fastpass for that attraction. There really is no cost savings with closing Fastpass for most attractions, as most positions would still need to be up to handle GAC cards and other special circumstances. At most they may be able to drop one position. I’m reality it is done by park management to make the guest experience smoother. There is no reason to offer Fastpass at some attractions on a slow day. Kali ended up with a 40 minute wait that day due to some unexpected downtimes that could not be planned for.

As for park trams. The only time trams are not offered is if they are only parking guests in the lots closest to the main entrance. There really is no reason to run trams from these lots because the distance from most cars to the tram route is as long as the distance from those cars to the main entrance. There is no way you spent 15 minutes walking across the parking lot unless you were walking in slow motion. You can walk across the entire lot to the furthest space in Wonder and it would not take 15 minutes.

Some people will always find something to be upset about.

Your information is incorrect. Epcot has not operated the trams on multiple days when they were parking the 5 main lots (front 3, rear 2).

It's almost certain Imagine wont have tram service as it's the early morning parking lot (1st of front 3) but they typically have it up and running by the time anything more then the first 3 rows of Journey and Amaze are parking. They are -supposed- to have it running anytime Discover and Create (rear two of the primary lots parked in a typical day) are parking, but it happens frequently enough that it's shut down / not running while those lots are open and accepting guests.

What supposed to happen and what happens are vastly different things at WDW and it's been that way since the early '00s.

 

[mousermerf]

And most people who have actually walked it would agree - the walk from Epcot's main entrance to Wonder is a good 10-15mins hike even for the most brisk walker due to the lack of a good direct path.

 

[flicx]

Yes, I know about the WDW layoffs that happened about 2 years ago, but it's certainly not recently. They streamlined quite a bit of the management within the parks. Your post made it sound like happened last month.

Why did you ask where and when if you knew? I didn't know the exact date and I am not 100% sure this is the exact one they were talking about on another thread.Fact is if there is a cutback in people there will be a cutback in service.Thats the point here and that is what the OP was seeing!

 

[flicx]

And most people who have actually walked it would agree - the walk from Epcot's main entrance to Wonder is a good 10-15mins hike even for the most brisk walker due to the lack of a good direct path.

Yes and for an elderly person a handicap person or children it could be quite taxing.Especially in the hot weather in August.Now if you are on vacation and spending mega money this shouldn't be.I chalk it up to more disney cutbacks to save money.

 

[mousermerf]

Ta-da! Epcot parking. Notice how far away you can be in the front 3 lots without tram service, it's pretty ridiculous and explains why they -try- not to parking Imagine past 3/4 of the way and why they try to get tram service running by the time Journey and Amaze hit their midway points.

Bad days occur when Imagine is overwhelmed and they either start having to use Explore until traffic can be rerouted to Journey/Amaze (sucks to be those people) but those days are also typically when the tram service is scheduled to "go live" later in the day so they don't get the tram running until they're well into Discover/Create.

Sucks for everyone. And why is it that way? Projections erring on the side of saving the company tiny amounts of money rather then expecting to offer full services. God forbid a tram driver call in sick or a tram breakdown - Epcot doesn't even keep gas in a spare tram most days meaning if the main one breaks down they're out of luck for an hour or more until a second is brought up and running.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

Why did you ask where and when if you knew? I didn't know the exact date and I am not 100% sure this is the exact one they were talking about on another thread.Fact is if there is a cutback in people there will be a cutback in service.Thats the point here and that is what the OP was seeing!

Again, because you made it sound like it had happened like a month ago, which surprised me because usually I would have heard about it.

 

[TenderDonkey]

So why do you continue to get into discussions with people you're sick of?

Because these boards are way more entertaining than the actual parks. Where else can you have people arguing over organic milk and bubbles! I mean this is just too good. None of us were at the park with the OP yet person after person will tell him he was wrong about his walk to the park.

And just because you or you husband or your 3rd cousin on your great grandmothers side works at Disney does not make you an expert. Does he sit on the board? Is he the external audit partner? Are you majority shareholders? If not chances are you know just about as much as anyone else, which is not much since every single attraction and service is subject to change at any time.

And everyone elses expert knowledge is just based on a time they visited the park. Which we determined does not carry over from visit to visit.

 

[snowy76]

For fun I just went and dug out 3 different pieces of Disney park literature. Know what phrase they all have on them? "Subject to change". Like it or not, find it fair or not, everything is subject to change. They can keep the Fast Pass kiosks closed if they want to. They can not run trams if they want to. If you don't find that agreeable, then you don't have to give Disney your vacation dollars. But don't fail to read the papers Disney gives you, and then complain because you don't like the way they handle things.

This makes me think of all the times I've been in WDW when weather shuts down a ride, sometimes for the remainder of a day. If I had my heart set on riding that ride, and I can't do so, I don't get a partial refund of my ticket.

Heck, some people go to WDW and don't ride any rides (I'm thinking of my parents who have no interest in rides but would go to watch my kids enjoy the park, and to enjoy a meal). It's a paid admission to the park; the days of buying separate tickets for attractions ended decades ago.

 

[brunette8706]

Because these boards are way more entertaining than the actual parks. Where else can you have people arguing over organic milk and bubbles! I mean this is just too good. None of us were at the park with the OP yet person after person will tell him he was wrong about his walk to the park.

And just because you or you husband or your 3rd cousin on your great grandmothers side works at Disney does not make you an expert. Does he sit on the board? Is he the external audit partner? Are you majority shareholders? If not chances are you know just about as much as anyone else, which is not much since every single attraction and service is subject to change at any time.

And everyone elses expert knowledge is just based on a time they visited the park. Which we determined does not carry over from visit to visit.

^^

Totally AGREE!

 

[brunette8706]

Article on the Disney World Layoffs

http://thedisneyblog.com/2009/03/25/layoffs-at-the-magic-kingdom-of-disney/

 

[TenderDonkey]

This makes me think of all the times I've been in WDW when weather shuts down a ride, sometimes for the remainder of a day. If I had my heart set on riding that ride, and I can't do so, I don't get a partial refund of my ticket.

Heck, some people go to WDW and don't ride any rides (I'm thinking of my parents who have no interest in rides but would go to watch my kids enjoy the park, and to enjoy a meal). It's a paid admission to the park; the days of buying separate tickets for attractions ended decades ago.

Most reasonable people would not argue about rides shutting down due to weather. The arguments come from when Disney stops/cuts back on a service (fastpass, tram, hot burgers) because the revenue for the day is not as high as they would like.

My real world example, which I hope will clarify my point is my recent new truck search. I'm looking at a new truck. In my county there are three Ford dealerships. One of these dealers is advertising that they will throw in free oil changes, free car wash coupons and 1 year of Sirius radio. Not a bad deal considering all 3 dealerships are even on price. Now before I bought the truck I looked through the fine print and there it was "subject to availability." Which upon further talks with the dealer really means that they will do the oil change if they have staff, car washes same deal and the Sirius is actually something that is not available yet. They still can deliver the truck I want at the price I was willing to pay. But I may not have wasted my time with the dealer if all the "free" extras were really not available or only available if their business was generating revenue - thus fully staffed. At the end of the day, they could not deliver what they advertised to get me in the door so I took my $ elsewhere. I'm doing the same with Disney.

 

[flicx]

Article on the Disney World Layoffs

http://thedisneyblog.com/2009/03/25/layoffs-at-the-magic-kingdom-of-disney/

Thanks for posting this brunette.Looks like the layoffs started alot less than 2 years ago.However the trickle down effect is still being felt!

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

And just because you or you husband or your 3rd cousin on your great grandmothers side works at Disney does not make you an expert. Does he sit on the board? Is he the external audit partner? Are you majority shareholders? If not chances are you know just about as much as anyone else, which is not much since every single attraction and service is subject to change at any time.