Here and Dissapointed

[lustergirl]

OP: sorry you are having a rough time and I hope it gets better for you.

 

[foohpah]

I feel this way about a lot of these types of posts. We usuallyl travel in the less busy times and it's nothing to encounter these types of waits in the afternoons/early evenings.

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's memories.

 

[brockash]

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's

.

 

[brockash]

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's memories.

We generally only wait at most 5 mins. for either HM or PoC. We go in Sept. so definitely a slow time, however this past September when we went was the first time in years that we encountered consistent lines at things like HM and PoC. We go the same time every year the only thing that changed was the fastpass system. They were only doing limited testing of fastpass+ @ that time, yet we still definitely saw a difference. The only reasonable explanation was the change in the fastpass system.

 

[TinkerElsasMom]

Another thing changing is with the recovery of the economy more people can afford to go to Disney. So generally speaking more people can go now, so lines for things like that are going to be. A little longer.

 

[Suzanne74]

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's memories.

I don't know. We were there in mid August this past year and we walked on POTC multiple times that week. We also never saw HM get past 20min in the morning and night (we left daily from 1-4pm.) Most times we walked right in HM too. The kids barely got to "play" in the line. Wait for IASM was 10-20min. Teacups was 5min, Aladdin's carpets was 15min. We even saw the new Mermaid ride get to 10-15min multiple times at night. This happened all while the bands were being introduced but not being used across the board. We did not use them and did the basic FP way and it was great. I am not looking forward to pre-planning what park I will be in what day and hope the other rides are just not long. We normally plan on weather and go from there. We only do 2-3 TS meals a week and none of them are in park but maybe a WS restaurant. Our last 2 days are usually left open to what we all agree we need to go back and do again.

I agree with OP that is like a job. Most people on the DIS may not feel like this because we all tend to be planners and thats why we are here. But there is zero spontaneity on your trip anymore. Planning which park, what rides and where I will eat months before my arrival may work but once you get there the flexibility of seeing a long wait and picking up a FP is gone.

 

[TimothyG]

I do think lines have generally increased, but I disagree that there was a major increase in wait times. I've noticed only very modest increases for most attractions.

I was on the Disney quarterly conference call yesterday and at one point they were discussing park flows.

The said that FastPass+ is a fix to the system to improve distribution within the parks. This allows a greater amount of people to enter the theme park. FastPass+ is an attempt to increase capacity and distribute crowds more evenly.

Disney could have chosen instead to increase ticket prices so that fewer people entered the parks. But instead, they chose to implement FP+. At the prices that tickets are now, I'm happy with FP+ and slightly longer lines than with an even higher ticket price and shorter lines.

 

[MuddyTires]

We generally only wait at most 5 mins. for either HM or PoC. We go in Sept. so definitely a slow time, however this past September when we went was the first time in years that we encountered consistent lines at things like HM and PoC. We go the same time every year the only thing that changed was the fastpass system. They were only doing limited testing of fastpass+ @ that time, yet we still definitely saw a difference. The only reasonable explanation was the change in the fastpass system.

The primary phase of New Fantasyland with Ariel's Grotto, Under the Sea, and Enchanted Tales, and Be Our Guest Restaurant wasn't completed until December 2012. Even Storybook Circus wasn't completely finished until October 2012.

Travel and tourism has been up in the last year with a somewhat improved economy.

Disney reported an 8% increase in Parks/Resorts revenues for 4Q 2013 (July 1 to September 30), primarily due to increased attendance and occupancy at Disney World and increased spending at WDW and DL/CA, and partially offset by decreased attendance at DL/CA and DL Paris.

So it's not correct to say the only thing that has changed before your September 2013 visit was FP+.

 

[foohpah]

Don't get me wrong here. I will admit I think there is evidence that lines for attractions like POTC and HM have probably increased on average but I just have not seen it going from walk on -> 60 minute waits just because of FP+. Going from 25 mins -> 40 mins makes much more sense to me as being caused by FP+.

Having to wait in line is never fun for anyone but I guess we have just not been lucky to see many of these rides as actual "walk ons" unless it was very early or quite late in the day on all of our trips. There may very well be people who go during the really slow times that have experienced those attractions as walk-ons but it seems to be repeated over and over on the boards lately that it just makes me wonder if there are some wishful memories going on. It also makes me wonder what someone's definition of walk-on is. For some people it might literally be walking without stopping basically until you are on the ride. For others it is <5 minutes. Maybe for some it is less than <15 mins. For me walk on would imply <5 minute wait but I still consider a 20 minute wait to be pretty short with all things considered. However there are people that insist they would never stand on a line > 15 minutes. Our different perspectives here might be an issue.

Every year the parks seems to be busier and that was pre-FP+. I think there is definitely an increase in attendance helping to drive some of these lines up. That and with the introduction of FP+ may be kind of the perfect storm to start seeing wait times increase across the board.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

Just an FYI. Sometimes those wait times are not accurate. We were there last year and the parks were busy. We went to go on TSM and the wait time was 90 minutes. We did decide to wait since it was one of the last rides we wanted to do and the last day at DS.

I actually timed it and the wait was actually 35 minutes. Same with Soarin. Wait said 100 minutes and we actually waited 40.

I'm thinking that they're either trying to scare people away or trying to make a business case for more attractions to alleviate the crowds.

I vote for the latter.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

Well, it is subjective; but what I mean by walk on is that we either only wait for theater doors to open, or one or two ride vehicles (or one stretch room) to fill before it's our turn because the rest of the "line" moved as fast as I wanted to walk - so it felt like no wait.
We were there using FP+ starting Jan3 for a week - so probably not so long ago that nostalgia was my issue. The only ride to us that was different for walk-ons from what it had been prior to FP+ was Spaceship Earth - other things we had always done without FPs (like PotC) worked in January as they had on previous trips. I worry about our upcoming trip and sympathize with those blaming FP+ as explained below.
Before FP+ everyone was waiting together at non-FP experiences when it was crowded enough for there to be waits. Since FP+ implementation, many rides we had been able to count on enjoying without FP (usually because there was no FP in effect) have FP+ lines in addition to stand-by lines. If my wait for an experience that did not used to have FP is longer because I am in a stand-by line stopped for those in an FP+ line, it will certainly feel to me that my wait is longer because of the FP+ system. There are, since FP+, much fewer lines where everyone waits equally - that is why waits are longer "because of FP+." That's my subjective perspective...

 

[erin1715]

We've been going to Disney for 10+ years (and I know there are those on this board that have been going much longer), and until our most recent trip in February 2014, we have never seen the que lined up OUTSIDE of It's a Small World, or lines winding around the outside of POTC. I have always been able to walk right into the building for POTC, and maybe we had to wait 15-20 minutes inside, but the lines are building outside.

Having seen FP+ in person, I won't believe anyone that says that it isn't largely effecting the standby lines of attractions that were always short waits.

 

[jenniferma]

OP-- sorry your trip is not going as well as you would have hoped. I hope it gets better!

We have a trip planned for around Halloween and I am so nervous about the exact same thing happening. We only usually use a few FP and are a rope drop family, but we really LOVE counting on those short line favorites for us like Aladdins Carpets, POTC and IASW. I am going to be so bummed if our staples are 30+ minute waits

I hope everything improves!

 

[wendow]

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's memories.

I wonder about this too. We normally go in September and we've never walked on POTC or HM. In fact, one year, we kept having to put off riding POTC b/c the wait time was 45-50 mins every time we went by. Finally, we caught it at 15 mins and rode but that still isn't really a 'walk-on'.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Sorry you feel that way. We haven't been to WDW since the introduction of FastPass+ but you have confirmed one of my biggest fears. Which is it seems like you need to do more planning than you had to do previously.

Yes, fp+ has forced everyone to plan. If you don't, you risk not being able to do as much as you could if you planned ahead. I'm sure there are going to be many more posts like the OP's post here about being disappointed. Many people are not aware of how much Disney has changed and don't know that planning ahead is a MUST now.

I have been 3x since FP+, the most recent this past week. OP is correct--if you are not a RD person you need to be OR you need to accept that you will stand in a 30-45 minute line for every attraction that used to be 5-15 min.

The first hour MK was open on Monday, all the mountains were 15 min or less. By noon, IASSW was 35 min. Space 70 min, BTMRR 60 min, SM 70 min PoTC 40 min, HM 40 min.

Rope drop is going to be more beneficial now than ever. What scares me is that once some time passes, and more and more people realize this, rope drop is going to get busier and nothing will be a walk on even at the earliest times of day. This doesn't mean everyone will suddenly arrive at rope drop but I do think it will have an impact and it will never be like before. This is what Disney wants. People in the park earlier and staying longer. It translates to more money being spent by the guest at their parks. That's why they are going to see fp+ as a huge success. To them it is. To us, its a nightmare. We will be waiting longer for everything.

Another one that does not get it. I am especially confused by all the POTC and HM are normally walk on comments I constantly see. We have often seen waits of 30+ minutes for these rides and stood in those lines so I know those were the real wait times. I sometimes wonder if a bit of nostalgia is playing a role with people's memories.

I guess that depends on when you go to WDW. I have NEVER EVER waited more than 10 min for POTC and never waited more than 20 min for HM. These are rides that I would go on in the afternoon during busier times of day to avoid long waits. People are now saying these are 30-60 min waits??? That's only something I might expect during Christmas week or mid summer at the most. For waits to be that long now is outrageous. School isn't even out yet. The capacity of these rides are huge. Fp+ messed it all up. I'm going to assume if its this bad now, we can expect POTC and HM to have waits of around 90 min+ in mid summer and Christmas week...These are rides that are now going to require a fp but shouldn't.

 

[SuperRob]

We are in MK now enjoying the backside while the craziness is up front. Tonight, no, it doesn't feel overly crowded, at lest not back here. We have been to HS and Epcot and yes, they were crowded, but nothing like MK has been. As stated, Weve been Disney people for 16 years, going at least once a year, sometimes 2, and have never seen it like it has been so far. At least tonight is enjoyable.

Glad to hear things are getting a bit better. I wonder what caused the spike? It'll be interesting to see TouringPlans report next week.

 

[prudence64]

We were last there in early March 2011, well before FP+. At that time Small World was a 15 minute wait, HM was 25 minutes, and Jungle Cruise was over 45 minutes the entire time.

 

[PrincessTiggy]

We just returned yesterday and I thought the FP+ worked out very well for us. I was in MK on Thurs and Sunday (Extra Magic Hours). Thursday the weather was a little crummy so the wait times were reasonable. Sunday MK was PACKED to the rafters. It was hard to walk around. We bailed out in the afternoon to nap and swim and returned in the evening for EMH and fireworks, During EMH we walked on every ride no problem. I thought having to use FP+ killed some spontaneity, but I think this week the wait times were due to massive volume. I saw a ton of school trips, band trips and cheerleading trips too.

now I am home.... boooooo, my kids refuse to take off their magic bands... lol

 

[jessicus]

We went to Disney World in October (the 16th to the 20th) for a quick trip, and I have been to Disney many, many times before, and usually during the busiest times of the year-- summer vacation and Christmas-- and I was SHOCKED by the lines. We went for my birthday and kind of thought, well October all the kids are in school, plus Touring Plans and several other websites said it was a slower period (not slow, but certainly not a huge busy time).

FP+ was still being implemented then-- my brother works for Team Disney so he used his silver pass to get us in free every day (so generous of him and thank goodness), so we didn't really get to use the Magic Bands/FP+ booking times and relied on regular old Fastpass, but we were still amazed by how long the lines were, at *every* park, *every* day. We stayed at the Poly and the hotel was packed!! My husband's not a Disney person and I kinda lured him there by being like, 'it's a quiet time of the year!' and he was not too thrilled with me! But as I've researched further, I can see October is getting to be a busy season as well, so I do think a big part of it is more and more people are just coming to the parks due to a variety of factors-- better economy, free dining/room discounts, special events (Food & Wine)... I live in NYC and there is a certain WDW commercial on about every half hour regardless of the station, much more than I've noticed in the past. So they are definitely hiking up the advertising budget!

We also just went the week after Christmas, so not the best time to judge how the system was working since the parks were at their max. We did go to Animal Kingdom one morning and got FP+ reservations the day of (just went up to a kiosk) for Everest, Dinosaur, and Safaris, and it worked perfectly. It was kind of a rainy day, though, and the park wasn't that busy (shocking, for that time of year), but we liked that little experience, but I also recognize that's not the norm.

Going forward will be different, as if we go to the parks using my brother's pass (even if staying at a resort, I believe you have to have purchased tickets to book FP+ in advance), we will have to book at a kiosk once we arrive at the parks. From everything I've been reading, it sounds like things will be booked up or have really late FP+ return times, plus you also have to 'waste' some time getting in line and booking what you want. The trade-off is we don't have to pay for tickets, and that is a huge cost-saver, but lines are up all over every park, and you either wait in them or miss out (and I don't want to miss out!).

I'm sorry your visit hasn't been the best! I hope it's getting better!

 

[irishdancemomma]

I'm here now. I was in MK on Sunday and it was incredibly crowded. It was the first day of our trip and I was concerned the crowds were going to stay that way. We went to Epcot on Monday and lines were longish, but not outrageously so. Tuesday we were in HS every line was short. RnR had a 15 min wait at 1:30 pm. That was a great day! Today we headed back to brave magic kingdom but did rope drop and that worked like a charm. Between 9 and 3 we saw tinker bell, rode potc, Peter Pan, iasw, pooh, etwb, votm, barnstormer, dumbo, buzz, carousel, and had lunch at bog. We have 4th fast passes for laugh floor and will do that, tta, and wishes tonight. The crowds seem smaller than they were on Sunday thank goodness! I think that fastpass + should take some blame for the lines, but the majority of the lines last week were probably due to the insane crowds.