It's kind of awful this week.

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I agree that somehow Genie+ isn’t working as well as FP/MP did, but I don’t understand how. FP was free. Aren’t fewer people using paid Genie+, and if fewer people are using it, shouldn’t it have less of an impact? How does it seem to be working worse than FP did?

I really can’t understand it, the only thing I can come up with is Disney is purposely marking the standby lines longer with their LL return procedure to force people to buy Genie+.

 

[DLgal]

I really can’t understand it, the only thing I can come up with is Disney is purposely marking the standby lines longer with their LL return procedure to force people to buy Genie+.

Yep. Part of it is the ratio of LL to standby guests being INSANE. And the other part is the frequent "ride breakdowns." I'm pretty convinced that rides going down so frequently is a strategy.

 

[denisejk]

These reports are making me less excited about our tentative plans to visit mid-August. We haven't been since 2017 and only make the trip every few years. Planning a summer trip, we knew we would need to be prepared for lines longer than we've experienced during our previous "off-season" visits, but it sounds like things are worse than a "typical summer."

I know it's impossible to predict, but for those of you who better understand some of the factors at play here, do you think there's any hope that some of these problems get improved (e.g. fewer breakdowns, lines closer to "normal") in the next few weeks?

 

[Aurora0427]

Yep. Part of it is the ratio of LL to standby guests being INSANE. And the other part is the frequent "ride breakdowns." I'm pretty convinced that rides going down so frequently is a strategy.

We returned for guardians and the LL was insane, and a CM got on the loudspeaker and told the standby line that their already 90 minute wait time had just increased by 30 minutes…. To basically get all the LL people through the line. Nightmare!

 

[DLgal]

These reports are making me less excited about our tentative plans to visit mid-August. We haven't been since 2017 and only make the trip every few years. Planning a summer trip, we knew we would need to be prepared for lines longer than we've experienced during our previous "off-season" visits, but it sounds like things are worse than a "typical summer."

I know it's impossible to predict, but for those of you who better understand some of the factors at play here, do you think there's any hope that some of these problems get improved (e.g. fewer breakdowns, lines closer to "normal") in the next few weeks?

The ride breakdowns have been a thing since at least March. It's an ongoing issue.

Mid August is when the Magic Keys who were blocked out all summer can finally return. Be ready for crowds.

The unknown is honestly the staffing issues. And covid.

 

[Bossy22]

It seems you can still have a good trip if you get lucky and you buy genie +. Otherwise I don’t think so!

 

[sophy1996]

The ride breakdowns have been a thing since at least Match. It's an ongoing issue.

Mid August is when the Magic Keys who were blocked out all summer can finally return. Be ready for crowds.

The unknown is honestly the staffing issues. And covid.

Even earlier than March — we saw quite a few breakdowns/temporary closures/late openings in November. Definitely an ongoing issue.

 

[DLgal]

Even earlier than March — we saw quite a few breakdowns/temporary closures/late openings in November. Definitely an ongoing issue.

You're right, although it's really ramped up significantly since around March. Like, to the point that at any given time, you can pretty much count on at least 2 rides being down simultaneously at DL park.

 

[Jgc014]

The ride breakdowns have been a thing since at least March. It's an ongoing issue.

Mid August is when the Magic Keys who were blocked out all summer can finally return. Be ready for crowds.

The unknown is honestly the staffing issues. And covid.

Curious as I don’t know DL that well, but did the Magic Key passes significantly change block out dates? We had friends who went to DL late August 2019 and said it was their best trip ever with virtually nonexistent crowds.

Fully recognizing that 2019 is practically a lifetime away with all that has happened since, but it didn’t seem like the surge of AP guests after summer block outs effected them at all (unless block outs were just that different then)?

 

[dieumeye]

We returned for guardians and the LL was insane, and a CM got on the loudspeaker and told the standby line that their already 90 minute wait time had just increased by 30 minutes…. To basically get all the LL people through the line. Nightmare!

Yeah, but if they are prioritizing LL lines, then shouldn't the LL lines always be short? How can standby lines be long due to letting so many people through LL, but also the LL lines are long?

Unless there are many more people using Genie+ than used FP, but that doesn't seem right.

Or they are operating rides far below their usual (historical) capacity. Hmm. Actually, does it take more staff to operate rides at greater capacity? If so, that could be part of the answer.

 

[Aurora0427]

Yeah, but if they are prioritizing LL lines, then shouldn't the LL lines always be short? How can standby lines be long due to letting so many people through LL, but also the LL lines are long?

Unless there are many more people using Genie+ than used FP, but that doesn't seem right.

Or they are operating rides far below their usual (historical) capacity. Hmm. Actually, does it take more staff to operate rides at greater capacity? If so, that could be part of the answer.

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it! And I don’t think more people are using genie plus than maxpass……

 

[sophy1996]

You're right, although it's really ramped up significantly since around March. Like, to the point that at any given time, you can pretty much count on at least 2 rides being down simultaneously at DL park.

Yeah, during our May trip, I was pretty successful fishing for Multi-experience passes because so many rides kept going down. Several were down more than once on the same day.

 

[DLgal]

Not everyone using the LL paid for G+. It's also the DAS return line.

But the answer is, the LL are long sometimes because of BREAKDOWNS. Remember, people are constantly getting Multiple Experience passes and they then all flock to one of the popular rides to use it, enmasse. OR, the ride was broken down for a lengthy period and when it comes back up, EVERYONE who is holding a return time from earlier shows up at the same time, overwhelming it. This happens a lot at the ILL rides.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it! And I don’t think more people are using genie plus than maxpass……

MaxPass PLUS the free fast passes. I mean, basically EVERYONE was using “fast passes” back in the day and yes, some standby ride lines were notoriously long (RSR, Indy, Space, etc.), but you could always count on lower waits for Star Tours, Buzz, HM, IASM, Big Thunder, etc. Now practically every standby line (for rides with LL) is just painfully long all the time. It’s honestly horrible!

 

[Aurora0427]

MaxPass PLUS the free fast passes. I mean, basically EVERYONE was using “fast passes” back in the day and yes, some standby ride lines were notoriously long (RSR, Indy, Space, etc.), but you could always count on lower waits for Star Tours, Buzz, HM, IASM, Big Thunder, etc. Now practically every standby line (for rides with LL) is just painfully long all the time. It’s honestly horrible!

Ohhhhhhh yeah! I forgot about that. You could still go to the fast pass machines and pull fast passes for free!

 

[denisejk]

Yep. Part of it is the ratio of LL to standby guests being INSANE.

Are the majority of people buying Genie+?

Mid August is when the Magic Keys who were blocked out all summer can finally return. Be ready for crowds.

I looked at the Magic Key blockout calendar, but I'm not familiar with the different levels of Magic Key, etc. About when, would you say, will the return of the Magic Key holders begin to most impact crowds?

 

[sophy1996]

I looked at the Magic Key blockout calendar, but I'm not familiar with the different levels of Magic Key, etc. About when, would you say, will the return of the Magic Key holders begin to most impact crowds?

August 15. From August 15-31, there are no Key reservations of any types available now. They have pretty much been sold out for weeks. Enchant Key and Imagine Key have been blocked for the summer and that's when they open up.

Plus now they will be ending MSEP and Disneyland Forever on September 1, so those holding those reservations have extra incentive to show up.

 

[DontSpamMe]

We returned for guardians and the LL was insane, and a CM got on the loudspeaker and told the standby line that their already 90 minute wait time had just increased by 30 minutes…. To basically get all the LL people through the line. Nightmare!

This is fairly routine now at the park for a lot of rides. Toward the end of the night especially. LL should be renamed to "standby express" as there is nothing lightning about it. We rode Big Thunder at night. The lightning lane line was just about out to the entrance. When we passed the merge point, there was only ONE person waiting in the standby line.

Also, we had mined a few multi-experience passes and thought we'd hit Space "real quick" just before closing and that LL was backed up to the middle of the ramp. It took 40 minutes.

The backup has to be due to all the ride breakdowns that cause the multi-experience build-up. I suppose it is better than Disneyworld, but why Max Pass was so efficient compared to this is baffling to me.

 

[Aurora0427]

This is fairly routine now at the park for a lot of rides. Toward the end of the night especially. LL should be renamed to "standby express" as there is nothing lightning about it. We rode Big Thunder at night. The lightning lane line was just about out to the entrance. When we passed the merge point, there was only ONE person waiting in the standby line.

Also, we had mined a few multi-experience passes and thought we'd hit Space "real quick" just before closing and that LL was backed up to the middle of the ramp. It took 40 minutes.

The backup has to be due to all the ride breakdowns that cause the multi-experience build-up. I suppose it is better than Disneyworld, but why Max Pass was so efficient compared to this is baffling to me.

We waited in line for 40 minutes in LL for Space back in March. I’ve seen the chaos at Big Thunder as well. We also can’t figure out why max pass worked so much better. I miss the old Disneyland.

 

[elenex]

Just a comment on CM understaffing and issues with CMs.

In May I stayed on the hotel side of GCH and was out on the balcony in the evening when i started chatting with the couple on the balcony next to mine. They were a couple of younger CMs doing a one night staycation. Despite their age they had both been CMs for many years. The 3 major points about CM staffing I took away from the conversation:

1. Disney is not intentionally understaffing the parks/hotels, they simply can't find people to do the jobs. No one wants to work there anymore, mainly because staffing has worsened, management is worse, and guests are more entitled and rude than pre-COVID. If they could dramatically increase the number of employees, they would.

2. As a result, they have lowered their standards on who they hire (even hitting CMs who were previously fired) and tolerance of behavior (ie CMs breaking character, using phones etc).

3. The new attendance system is worse for the longer-termed, senior employees who actually care about their jobs, and is only going to make the above situations worse.

This is based on my interaction with these 2 CMs and should not be taken as fact, but opinion as I can't validate them. To the OP, I'm very sorry you're having such a rough time and hope it gets better.