FYI - prepare to wait a LONG time to enter parks!

[cbnsoul]

Just a warning for all of those coming this summer. Park entrance this week has been a nightmare. We have been at each park prior to opening every day for the last 7 days and the lines have been ridiculous. We have gone to the "recommended" parks each day - I can't imagine how bad the lines may have been on other days. It's been taking routinely 30 minutes just to get into each park. The "scanner" turnstiles are basically a disaster and a big reason why things are taking so long. I'm so irritated I'm to the point where I'm actually contemplating selling my DVC membership - yes, it's been that bad. I've never seen it like this and we've been here all times of the year including the hyper-busy times.

 

[ChristineOH]

Did you arrive at the back of the pre-RD crowd? Sometimes it's best to get there a bit after to allow them time to clear out. Or get there early enough to be ahead of them. We were there over the week of Memorial Day and didn't have any issues, even on the days where we were at the back of the pack for RD. We did easywdw recommended parks.

 

[Couchy]

Are you going through the old turnstiles or are you using the RFID Mickey tap and go style entrance?

 

[Lisaren]

Our first day to Magic Kingdom, we arrived at the parking area at 9:05 am and did not get through the entrance to Magic Kingdom until 11:00 am. It was horrible. This was on May 28th.

 

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

Just a warning for all of those coming this summer. Park entrance this week has been a nightmare. We have been at each park prior to opening every day for the last 7 days and the lines have been ridiculous. We have gone to the "recommended" parks each day - I can't imagine how bad the lines may have been on other days. It's been taking routinely 30 minutes just to get into each park. The "scanner" turnstiles are basically a disaster and a big reason why things are taking so long. I'm so irritated I'm to the point where I'm actually contemplating selling my DVC membership - yes, it's been that bad. I've never seen it like this and we've been here all times of the year including the hyper-busy times.

Wow ... That sounds like a big issue we are not used to seeing. 30 minutes!

If you can provide any more details, I would appreciate your insight. We arrive at the end of the month and will be there for 12 days over 4th of July so any advice you have is welcome... Which turnstiles were worst at which parks? Any tips for making most of it? What type of tickets did you have? What is causing such a delY in your opinion? What time did you actually arrive at parks before opening?

Sorry it has been disappointing to you. That is a lot of time wasted.

 

[mrsltg]

We were there 5/11-5/19, and I complained about the RFID scanners due to the long waits and unpredictability of the machines. It seemed to be a 50/50 chance of the RFID scanner accepting a ticket at any given time. One morning my ticket (and lots of others) weren't scanning. The CM was getting a little snippy and said to me, "You just have to scan your finger!" like I was an idiot. I snapped right back, "Oh really? Is that how it works? You mean like this?" I was scanning my finger at the time and the machine STILL wouldn't take the flippin' thing! Happily, a manager was right behind the snappy CM and did something manually while apologizing to me. The apology wasn't necessary, but I did tell the manager that the new system has a lot of bugs to be worked out, and that it seemed to be adding a lot of time to the turnstiles. I am not a fan!

 

[DaisyDew]

Just a warning for all of those coming this summer. Park entrance this week has been a nightmare. We have been at each park prior to opening every day for the last 7 days and the lines have been ridiculous. We have gone to the "recommended" parks each day - I can't imagine how bad the lines may have been on other days. It's been taking routinely 30 minutes just to get into each park. The "scanner" turnstiles are basically a disaster and a big reason why things are taking so long. I'm so irritated I'm to the point where I'm actually contemplating selling my DVC membership - yes, it's been that bad. I've never seen it like this and we've been here all times of the year including the hyper-busy times.

That sounds like a terrible way to start the day. Hopefully it will be fixed soon!

 

[bbn1122]

Funny just read on these boards that RFID lines were really short and it was very efficient...??

So, what the real story....

 

[DaisyDew]

Funny just read on these boards that RFID lines were really short and it was very efficient...??

So, what the real story....

Honestly, I think it depends on the day whether RFID is working correctly or not. It seems to go in spurts.

 

[ilovemk76]

Just a warning for all of those coming this summer. Park entrance this week has been a nightmare. We have been at each park prior to opening every day for the last 7 days and the lines have been ridiculous. We have gone to the "recommended" parks each day - I can't imagine how bad the lines may have been on other days. It's been taking routinely 30 minutes just to get into each park. The "scanner" turnstiles are basically a disaster and a big reason why things are taking so long. I'm so irritated I'm to the point where I'm actually contemplating selling my DVC membership - yes, it's been that bad. I've never seen it like this and we've been here all times of the year including the hyper-busy times.

Was just got back on Saturday and we had the opposite experience. The new entry was a breeze. Only the ones who cannot follow instructions had problems. We loved the easy entry.

 

[cbnsoul]

I'm using the RFID annual pass. We've had no issues ourselves with getting through the scanners but plenty of people appear to be.

We have been to all the parks on numerous mornings, generally at 8:30 but sometimes earlier, for a 9am opening. The Epcot lines at this time were WAY back - very close to bag check. The only "good" MK day was on Sat 6/8 where the lines were "only" half way to bag check at 8:30.

Part of the problem is the large crowds and late opening times. During spring break, MK has EMH beginning each day at 7am. The crowds aren't a whole lot better now than they were then and all the parks are opening most days at 9. It's a lot easier for people to get to a park at 9 than it is 7. Though the planning sites generally don't recommend days with morning EMH, I would probably go those days at this point to get a jump on at least SOME of the crowds.

I really wouldn't want to be coming in the heavier crowd periods in July when it's not only more crowded but miserable hot by 9am (like it has been this week!)

 

[ilovemk76]

Honestly, I think it depends on the day whether RFID is working correctly or not. It seems to go in spurts.

We were ther for 14 days and never had a problem withthe RFID scanners.

 

[cbnsoul]

Honestly, I think it depends on the day whether RFID is working correctly or not. It seems to go in spurts.

Then there must be issues all this week or we are having some very bad luck. We literally turned around and went back to the hotel today when we saw the lines this AM at MK they were so bad. Based on our wait times earlier in the week, it would have taken us 20-30 minutes to get in after we went through the huge bag check line. IT was backed up because it was so full there was no room for people to go between the bag check area and turnstiles.

 

[ChristineOH]

I sent myself texts throughout the day, so I could write a trip report with accurate timing.

5/26 8:02 On bus from POR to AK, 8:22 in park (no lines, so the 20 minutes is pretty much all bus)

5/27 8:48 Off bus at Epcot, 9:07 in line for TT

5/28 8:13 Off bus at DHS, 8:41 at TSMM

5/29 8:58 Off bus at MK, 9:05 in MK

5/30 8:05 Off bus at DHS, I didn't record what time they let us in, but it was a little after 8:30, we were first in line

5/31 Didn't record what time we arrived at MK, but our bus left the last stop at 8:22. We arrived and watched the opening show. I pulled a princess FP at 9:00

We didn't experience any issues getting into the parks. Maybe we were lucky with our park picks, or we got lucky with timing. This was the week of Memorial Day, and the parks were crowded.

 

[DaisyDew]

We were ther for 14 days and never had a problem withthe RFID scanners.

We didn't have issues, either, but I heard reports both before and after our trip of issues at the turnstiles.

 

[DaisyDew]

Then there must be issues all this week or we are having some very bad luck. We literally turned around and went back to the hotel today when we saw the lines this AM at MK they were so bad. Based on our wait times earlier in the week, it would have taken us 20-30 minutes to get in after we went through the huge bag check line. IT was backed up because it was so full there was no room for people to go between the bag check area and turnstiles.

Sorry, that sounds awful.

 

[jennylyn_b]

That's strange. We were there May 6-17 and found the lines for RFID non existent and we were in the park within minutes. Wonder what changed?
It's up to you but I wouldn't sell my dvc due to lines being bad one trip. We also have dvc. Sorry its been so frustrating for you. Hope you have had a good trip otherwise and hopefully you Le next trip will be a breeze!

 

[capegirl]

OP, sorry you had so much trouble. I think they are having a difficult time with their new system, there seem to be inconsistencies with reports; some breeze through, while others face big delays. With the summer crowds increasing, I sure do hope they work out all the bugs so things will run smoothly at the park entrances. I can understand your frustration, but don't sell the farm yet.
Funny, I was just over on the CSR thread, and one poster reported that they had to wait for an AK bus for over one hour this morning, and many guests missed ADR's. Complaints rolled in, and they sent an extra bus out. This is unusual for CSR, who normally has pretty good bus service. I've got my fingers crossed for July!

 

[cbnsoul]

OP, sorry you had so much trouble. I think they are having a difficult time with their new system, there seem to be inconsistencies with reports; some breeze through, while others face big delays. With the summer crowds increasing, I sure do hope they work out all the bugs so things will run smoothly at the park entrances. I can understand your frustration, but don't sell the farm yet.
Funny, I was just over on the CSR thread, and one poster reported that they had to wait for an AK bus for over one hour this morning, and many guests missed ADR's. Complaints rolled in, and they sent an extra bus out. This is unusual for CSR, who normally has pretty good bus service. I've got my fingers crossed for July!

Just WAY frustrated. I can understand lines/long FastPass return times when it's crowded but taking so long just to get in, especially when the old system seemed to be much more efficient, is beyond annoying.

 

[WorldWacky]

We went over Easter break. The lines weren't terribly long for the RFID scanners, but they were unpredictable. For five days in the parks, my KTTW card only scanned properly on two of the days. It took longer than it ever did with the old system for us to get into the parks. We were pulled aside and I had to answer a few questions to verify my identity. I didn't realize that when this was going to be put into practice that we would still have to do the fingerprint thing. Just tapping the card would save time. Adding the fingerprint scan to the process is just as time-consuming as putting your card through the machine imho.