Has Anna and Elsa split had a positive effect on wait times?

[TAngel84]

Not sure of the effects on wait times or whatever. Will say that the interaction between these characters and the kids was more than worth the wait! We had FPs and then my 6 yo needed to go back bc she forgot to ask Anna something so we ended up waiting 90mins the following night to meet them again.

 

[Aurora0427]

We were there last Friday, 6-27, and got there at rope drop and followed the crowd to Anna & Elsa. We waited just under 20 minutes to see them, they were in the same room, but across from each other. First we saw Anna and talked to her, and got pics, then we saw Elsa , talked to her and got pics. My youngest 6yo daughter enjoyed it, but not as much as I though she would. We didn't prepare her for it very much, in case the line was going to be unbearable I didn't want to disappoint her, so we didn't tell her about it until rope drop. She liked it, but was a little shell-shocked I think to really appreciate it. It's so hectic getting there and then it's only a couple minutes and bam you're done. Her face was filled with amazement though. My older 11 yo daughter wasn't as impressed, she thought Elsa had a bad wig; it did look kind of funny.

The rest of the day when we passed by the wait seemed to be 90-110 minutes, not nearly as bad as the 180-240 minutes we had heard about in the past month or so. The opening was madness to get there, but maybe some of the mid-day craziness settled down. Although 90 minutes would have been too long for our family to wait.

I thought the same thing when we were there in February, and I think it every time I see a photo online of a CM as Elsa. They just can't get the hair right for some reason.

 

[Aurora0427]

I would say yes, the wait times have gone down. I'm not sure if this is due to splitting up on opposite sides of one room, or having more than one set of sisters doing M&Gs at the same time (they have to have multiple sets, since people who were not in line in front or behind us were coming out of another door at the same time we were and talking about how they just met them). We were there from 6/22-6/28 and the longest wait we saw was 120 minutes, with the average being 90. The mornings were the worst, so I'd say skip them first thing and wait until at least late morning/afternoon. It was only 30 minutes at 12am last Thursday night. We spent all but one day in MK and my husband and youngest daughter rode the carousel approximately eleventy billion times, so I had ample opportunity to check the A&E wait times.

OOOH, that's interesting. Did not know that!

 

[Aurora0427]

I would consider it an epic fail if the girls were not out during the Christmas party....whether they are together or with additional member of the cast or not remains to be seen of course...

I hope they incorporate them into the Christmas parade. That would be amazing. Maybe if they have them as a meet and greet it will shorten the line for the Seven Dwarves! My daughter has decided she wants to meet Grumpy. Sigh.

 

[fla4fun]

I thought the same thing when we were there in February, and I think it every time I see a photo online of a CM as Elsa. They just can't get the hair right for some reason.

If you look at Elsa's hair in the movie, it is extremely thick in the back, but not overly thick on the sides and front. I think they are having trouble recreating that with wigs because it makes them too back heavy, so they make the front heavier to compensate. The wig is always too thick around the face.

 

[Priory]

When I heard about this I assumed it was for crowd control. However, reading this thread made me realize that people will want to buy 2 photos each or better yet let that become the "might as well" factor in going for memory maker. How diabolically clever.

 

[omurice]

When I heard about this I assumed it was for crowd control. However, reading this thread made me realize that people will want to buy 2 photos each or better yet let that become the "might as well" factor in going for memory maker. How diabolically clever.

Yes this was done to keep the line moving. One party can visit Anna for a couple of minutes, then move on to Elsa for a couple of minutes.
Either way you're getting about 4 minutes with the pair of them combined. However by sequencing them, they can move twice as many people through. It's very smart because it doubles the capacity, but as other posters have said, I agree it is really unfortunate for those expecting to see both in photo with you.
Perhaps the offerings at DHS will add another M&G, making the waits at MK shorter, and they can be visited as a pair again.

 

[andeesings]

Would be hard not to notice....Anna is in one spot, and Elsa is in another. But, they are only about 10' away from each other. My big issue? It was nice to get a photo of them together. Now, you have to get two photos.

I agree-- this is annoying and irritating, plus you could see more princesses. I think A&E are fine- but I hate to see access to the other girls so much more limited now.

 

[karensi]

I thought the same thing when we were there in February, and I think it every time I see a photo online of a CM as Elsa. They just can't get the hair right for some reason.

We will be there this coming February. Just wondering if you remember if the wait times were shorter when you were there in Feb than what is being posted now. I'm hoping that since it's now the summer, the wait times we're hearing about will go down once the summer is over.
Also, where is this M&G for A&E?

Thanks,


Karen

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

They really should have a door between them.

Anna....GO AWAY

ROFLMAO

 

[cel_disney]

We will be there this coming February. Just wondering if you remember if the wait times were shorter when you were there in Feb than what is being posted now. I'm hoping that since it's now the summer, the wait times we're hearing about will go down once the summer is over. Also, where is this M&G for A&E? Thanks, Karen

Wait times from this past February were not really comparable to now...the sisters were at Epcot without FP and routinely had a 4 hour line...when the sisters moved to MK we introduced FP but the lines were extremely long (standby would reach 6 hours). Recently we saw the girls split up, add a ton more hours (park hours now), and have enough of 'friends' to run both rooms and the parade daily. Wait times have decreased significantly.

For February, we don't know if they will run both rooms all day which could drive wait times back to the same level even though crowds are lower/less obsessed with the sisters. Maybe you would get a glimpse looking at October crowds?

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Thank you for the laugh!

 

[bryanb]

90 minute wait times! Gosh...

Growing up at Disneyland, my childhood memories were that the characters wandered around the park and you could walk right up to them. If there was any line, it was spontaneously created by the guests and was never more than a few minutes. What changed? Maybe I was oblivious at the time.

Now, characters don't seem to wander the park... they would get mobbed. Most encounters are a formal meet-and-greet.

When I was a kid, the one formal meet-and-greet at Mickey's Toontown, where you were ushered into a private dressing room to greet him after touring his house. By having multiple dressing rooms, they could keep capacity high. Perhaps this is a solution to increase capacity. Build multiple meeting areas, each hidden from each other.

It also makes it easier for the princesses to take breaks. How do they handle breaks now?

 

[mystery222184]

90 minute wait times! Gosh... Growing up at Disneyland, my childhood memories were that the characters wandered around the park and you could walk right up to them. If there was any line, it was spontaneously created by the guests and was never more than a few minutes. What changed? Maybe I was oblivious at the time. Now, characters don't seem to wander the park... they would get mobbed. Most encounters are a formal meet-and-greet. When I was a kid, the one formal meet-and-greet at Mickey's Toontown, where you were ushered into a private dressing room to greet him after touring his house. By having multiple dressing rooms, they could keep capacity high. Perhaps this is a solution to increase capacity. Build multiple meeting areas, each hidden from each other. It also makes it easier for the princesses to take breaks. How do they handle breaks now?

I remember this from our first trip to WDW in 1998 - Ahh the good old days

 

[hakepb]

90 minute wait times! Gosh...

Growing up at Disneyland, my childhood memories were that the characters wandered around the park and you could walk right up to them. If there was any line, it was spontaneously created by the guests and was never more than a few minutes. What changed? Maybe I was oblivious at the time.

Now, characters don't seem to wander the park... they would get mobbed. Most encounters are a formal meet-and-greet.

When I was a kid, the one formal meet-and-greet at Mickey's Toontown, where you were ushered into a private dressing room to greet him after touring his house. By having multiple dressing rooms, they could keep capacity high. Perhaps this is a solution to increase capacity. Build multiple meeting areas, each hidden from each other.

It also makes it easier for the princesses to take breaks. How do they handle breaks now?

Its hotter in Fla...characters can't be outside as long as they could do in CA.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Now, characters don't seem to wander the park... they would get mobbed. Most encounters are a formal meet-and-greet.

Yes

By having multiple dressing rooms, they could keep capacity high. Perhaps this is a solution to increase capacity. Build multiple meeting areas, each hidden from each other.

They already do this

How do they handle breaks now?

They have rotating sets, while one set is "on stage" meeting guests the others are "back stage" taking a break. I think the notion is two sets per room.

 

[surferdave]

Now, characters don't seem to wander the park... they would get mobbed. Most encounters are a formal meet-and-greet.

There are a few left, mainly face characters that can interact without handlers (the masked characters have a very poor range of vision) that aren't so wildly popular that they would get mobbed. Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia will wander Fantasyland most mornings and interact with guests. Last time I made it to MK at rope drop Alice went skipping by me alone on Main Street, probably headed for the Mad Tea Party where she sometimes rides with guests early on.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

There are a few left, mainly face characters that can interact without handlers (the masked characters have a very poor range of vision) that aren't so wildly popular that they would get mobbed. Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia will wander Fantasyland most mornings and interact with guests. Last time I made it to MK at rope drop Alice went skipping by me alone on Main Street, probably headed for the Mad Tea Party where she sometimes rides with guests early on.

Yes, we have often seen Alice skipping up Main street right after Rope Drop. I love it, I love how she plays with visitors and will gently tap on kids shoulders, wave and skip on by. Ive seen people try to get her to stop and yell after her, but I'm pretty sure she is not allowed to stop. I could see her getting mobbed if she did