Long wait lines.

[ShayBells]

Just got back. There was some pretty long lines. Never been at this time before so I don't know if it was the time of year or FP+ but I waited 20 minutes for IASW ... Are you kidding me? I've never had more than a minute wait for this ride. I was shocked. And HM was long. And splash mountain was the worst. An hour. I usually go in september and never wait longer than 30. And the worst part was the FP+ line was ridiculously long and the people never stopped coming down it. And by the end I saw why it was an hour wait. For every 10 ppl in FP+ that went through one for stand by went through and I'm telling you the FP+ line was long and never ending. I thought there was a limit to how many are given out in a day?

Other than MK I enjoyed FP+ for the other parks. It worked out great and each FP was easily changed on MDE on my phone but the whole day in MK it wouldn't work and I wasn't able to use any of my FPs I had booked just because it didn't work out with what my son wanted to do at the time and like I said I couldn't change them. I didn't try a kiosk. Didn't want to take the time We still had a good time. We missed out on A lot of rides since we were only there four days but dang if the lines were long because of the time of year I'm going to go back to only going in September I can get a lot more done than. If it's cause of FP+ well that's just sad.

Oh and another thing. People seem more rude than I remember. CMs seemed rude as well which is weird. This one was the worst. It was raining and we did have a FP for the parade and we were in the spot and it was 3:05. I asked if it was still gonna go on or not and the CM rolled his eyes looked at his other CM chuckled than looked at me put his hand to his ear and said yeah I hear the music don't you. Like mocking me and rude. The parade didn't go on the rainy day parade thing did. But I was shocked. People around the park and on buses seemed rude too. I usually think people around are so nice and CMs are usually amazing. Anyone else see a change in people's behavior or just me? Is it all about the money and less about the magic these days?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[prudence64]

Sept. Is the slowest time. Those waits all seem what I saw when I was there in march of 2011 prior to fast pass. I remember we never made it on jungle cruise because wait was always 45 minutes or more.

 

[tim123]

Just got back. There was some pretty long lines. Never been at this time before so I don't know if it was the time of year or FP+ but I waited 20 minutes for IASW ... Are you kidding me? I've never had more than a minute wait for this ride. I was shocked. And HM was long. And splash mountain was the worst. An hour. I usually go in september and never wait longer than 30. And the worst part was the FP+ line was ridiculously long and the people never stopped coming down it. And by the end I saw why it was an hour wait. For every 10 ppl in FP+ that went through one for stand by went through and I'm telling you the FP+ line was long and never ending. I thought there was a limit to how many are given out in a day?

Other than MK I enjoyed FP+ for the other parks. It worked out great and each FP was easily changed on MDE on my phone but the whole day in MK it wouldn't work and I wasn't able to use any of my FPs I had booked just because it didn't work out with what my son wanted to do at the time and like I said I couldn't change them. I didn't try a kiosk. Didn't want to take the time We still had a good time. We missed out on A lot of rides since we were only there four days but dang if the lines were long because of the time of year I'm going to go back to only going in September I can get a lot more done than. If it's cause of FP+ well that's just sad.

Oh and another thing. People seem more rude than I remember. CMs seemed rude as well which is weird. This one was the worst. It was raining and we did have a FP for the parade and we were in the spot and it was 3:05. I asked if it was still gonna go on or not and the CM rolled his eyes looked at his other CM chuckled than looked at me put his hand to his ear and said yeah I hear the music don't you. Like mocking me and rude. The parade didn't go on the rainy day parade thing did. But I was shocked. People around the park and on buses seemed rude too. I usually think people around are so nice and CMs are usually amazing. Anyone else see a change in people's behavior or just me? Is it all about the money and less about the magic these days?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I'm sorry it was so crowded and that people were rude to you..the general public are getting more immoral and disrespectful day by day..but for cast members to be that way is inexcusable that is Disney's fault for not hiring, training, supervising and PAYING for quality staff…it was never that way back in the day…but I'm an old man and I was a hippie and generally wild but my morals and sense of right and wrong were forged in those days and have stayed to this day. Must be hard to be a young person this day and age.I can't imagine Its a little sad. Hope you go back in september and have the opposite experience!

 

[JanaDee]

The longer stand by waits are because of FP+.

 

[shelemm]

A limitation of 3 FP+ in MK is definitely restrictive. Now that you can get 4 (or more?), that should make things much better in the future for savvy travelers.

More and more people are getting FPs for attractions that were previously unnecessary. This has made things worse for those in the know. Previously, even on very crowded days a smart use of FP pretty much bypassed almost all serious lines. Now that is problematic.

 

[HookdonWDW]

The longer stand by waits are because of FP+.

Some of the lines may be longer, but 20 min. for IASW isn't a FP+ phenomenon. I've seen those types of lines for IASW many times in the past...

 

[nat8199]

Some of the lines may be longer, but 20 min. for IASW isn't a FP+ phenomenon. I've seen those types of lines for IASW many times in the past...

We saw 20+ minute IASW waits when we were there in OCT. FP+ had started, but paper FP were still there. I think people just like this ride, though I have no idea why.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

A limitation of 3 FP+ in MK is definitely restrictive. Now that you can get 4 (or more?), that should make things much better in the future for savvy travelers.

More and more people are getting FPs for attractions that were previously unnecessary. This has made things worse for those in the know. Previously, even on very crowded days a smart use of FP pretty much bypassed almost all serious lines. Now that is problematic.

So wouldn't it stand to reason that being able to get 4 or more FP+'s will actually make the SB lines worse?

 

[prudence64]

So wouldn't it stand to reason that being able to get 4 or more FP+'s will actually make the SB lines worse?

No, because less people will be in the stand by lines if they have a fast pass instead.

 

[wisblue]

The longer stand by waits are because of FP+.

An absolute, bald statement like this is totally false.

Even the people who have studied it (like Josh at easywdw) have concluded that standby lines at SOME attractions are longer at SOME times of the day, and that FP+ (as opposed to larger overall crowd levels) PROBABLY accounts for SOME of that difference. And that difference probably means that a posted standby wait may be 10-15 minutes longer than it might have been before. They have also said that standby lines for some of the most popular attractions (like the mountains) seem to be a little shorter, maybe because guests who were using paper FPs to get multiple rides on one thing are moving on to something else.

I find it interesting that a lot of people seem to have these idyllic memories of rides like the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion being walk ons in the middle of the afternoon. They must have been visiting a different WDW than the one we were at, going all the way back to before there were any FPs at all. An hour wait at Splash Mountain at anything other than the very beginning or very end of the day would have been considered short.

 

[maxiesmom]

Some of the lines may be longer, but 20 min. for IASW isn't a FP+ phenomenon. I've seen those types of lines for IASW many times in the past...

Me too. But I've never been to WDW in September. October, December, and March mostly. 20 minutes for IASW is pretty much a walk on during those months.

Think about it OP. You went now, when many college students are out of school for the year. Compared to September when everyone is in school, I'm sure the lines we longer than what you are used to. It is not a result of FP+, it is because you are going when the parks are busier to start with.

 

[mesaboy2]

I would amend the PP's statement by saying that longer standby lines are in part because of FP+.

 

[wisblue]

No, because less people will be in the stand by lines if they have a fast pass instead.

But, the counter to that is that if a higher percentage of a ride's capacity is devoted to FP it requires fewer people in a standby line to produce a longer wait.

For rides that didn't have FP at all before, like IASW, the whole dynamic of the line is changed, and that does seem to produce longer standby lines (in terms of TIME not number of people) than there might have been before at the same time and the same crowd size. It shouldn't be surprising that what would have been a wait of 15 minutes before might now be 25 minutes.

 

[photo_chick]

OP you should see the standby waits for rides in July. That 20 minutes would seem short.

 

[shelemm]

So wouldn't it stand to reason that being able to get 4 or more FP+'s will actually make the SB lines worse?

The savvy veteran will be able to bypass more lines with proper use of additional FPs. The other folks will REALLY get stuck. Once the system gets going full speed, new strategies will form to get the most out of the system.

As long as the veteran is given more options, new ways will come up to beat the sytem. It is when there are no options that it is harder to take advantage of the knowledge you have. The first time I went to WDW as an adult with kids, I planned the heck out of that trip because I knew I hated waiting on lines and was prepared for the worst.

The good thing about FP in the first place was not the elimination of waiting, but the elimination of waiting ON A LINE. You pulled an FP and then waited in a shop or eating a meal or strolling around or going to less popular attractions.

Anyway, my test for the new system will be the waits at POTC and IASW. Even with very heavy crowds, POTC should be no more than 20 minutes, and IASW 15 minutes. This is for actual wait times, not posted wait times which are sometimes longer.

Jungle cruise was already FP and developed long lines all the time. Haunted Mansion could easily develop long lines at any time, especially if not operating at full capacity. So neither is a very good test IMO.

 

[wisblue]

Anyway, my test for the new system will be the waits at POTC and IASW. Even with very heavy crowds, POTC should be no more than 20 minutes, and IASW 15 minutes. This is for actual wait times, not posted wait times which are sometimes longer.

I know where you are coming from with this, and these rides are a good measure because they didn't have FP before.

But, I know from visits during the Christmas and Easter seasons that standby lines of 30 minutes or longer at both of these attractions are not unprecedented.

 

[Cais]

I know where you are coming from with this, and these rides are a good measure because they didn't have FP before. But, I know from visits during the Christmas and Easter seasons that standby lines of 30 minutes or longer at both of these attractions are not unprecedented.[/QUOTE
I used to work said ride and 20 minutes is about an average wait for it. During most of the busy season it would be more like 40 minutes with spikes up to 95.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[ilovemk76]

Just got back. There was some pretty long lines. Never been at this time before so I don't know if it was the time of year or FP+ but I waited 20 minutes for IASW ... Are you kidding me? I've never had more than a minute wait for this ride. I was shocked. And HM was long. And splash mountain was the worst. An hour. I usually go in september and never wait longer than 30. And the worst part was the FP+ line was ridiculously long and the people never stopped coming down it. And by the end I saw why it was an hour wait. For every 10 ppl in FP+ that went through one for stand by went through and I'm telling you the FP+ line was long and never ending. I thought there was a limit to how many are given out in a day?

Other than MK I enjoyed FP+ for the other parks. It worked out great and each FP was easily changed on MDE on my phone but the whole day in MK it wouldn't work and I wasn't able to use any of my FPs I had booked just because it didn't work out with what my son wanted to do at the time and like I said I couldn't change them. I didn't try a kiosk. Didn't want to take the time We still had a good time. We missed out on A lot of rides since we were only there four days but dang if the lines were long because of the time of year I'm going to go back to only going in September I can get a lot more done than. If it's cause of FP+ well that's just sad.

Oh and another thing. People seem more rude than I remember. CMs seemed rude as well which is weird. This one was the worst. It was raining and we did have a FP for the parade and we were in the spot and it was 3:05. I asked if it was still gonna go on or not and the CM rolled his eyes looked at his other CM chuckled than looked at me put his hand to his ear and said yeah I hear the music don't you. Like mocking me and rude. The parade didn't go on the rainy day parade thing did. But I was shocked. People around the park and on buses seemed rude too. I usually think people around are so nice and CMs are usually amazing. Anyone else see a change in people's behavior or just me? Is it all about the money and less about the magic these days?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I have been many times, pre-FP+, where the times you listed were common during the busy time of the day.

My friend was there the same time. He said it rained and rained and rained. Maybe that added to the "rudeness" of the guests and CM.

 

[ShayBells]

It'll be interesting to see when I go in September next year and time has gone by and hopefully kinks worn through and we all get use to the system to see how things are at a time I know. This time just seemed so crowded compared to September and crowd level was a three or four I think only which makes me think I'd never be able to take the 8-10 of summer or holidays lol. I'm use to the 1 or 2 crowd level. But I love IASW but would never wait for it though. We usually ride it multiple times but only rode it once cause the wait.

And it did rain practically the whole time I was there but I was also there this past sept and it rained everyday all day as well and people were still not as rude. It wasn't just rudeness either. Usually there is always friendliness and there was just none people just stuck to themselves and pushed and shoved and IDK. I guess different type of crowd.

I guess it seems more like it's just the time of year for the waits I experienced but I can see FP+ having a little to do with it by how long those FP lines were.

And for the few that said they have never seen HM a walk on or POTC a walk on or the mountains less than an hour mid afternoon... Either I just get lucky or you have never been in September. Besides the princesses and for some reason Peter Pan. Nothing ever reaches an hour in MK in September.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[wisblue]

And for the few that said they have never seen HM a walk on or POTC a walk on or the mountains less than an hour mid afternoon... Either I just get lucky or you have never been in September. Besides the princesses and for some reason Peter Pan. Nothing ever reaches an hour in MK in September.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

This is probably the key phrase.

I have never been at WDW in mid September, but I have been there at some other less busy times like the first week or two in December.

And I don't think I ever said that I never saw these rides with short times in mid afternoon, but I can definitely say that they aren't always like that.

If you're trying to blame FP+ for longer lines, you have to make sure you are comparing apples to apples, and the biggest apples are (1) time of year and overall crowd size, and (2) time of day. With something like Splash Mountain, temperature can be a big factor too.

From reading these boards, even year over year comparisons can be misleading because of special promotions and the fact that overall attendance has gone up over the last 5-6 years. Long before FP+ came into existence these boards were flooded with posters saying things like "I've been coming at this same time every year and I've never seen the crowds this large and wait times this long".

FP+ may be a factor in wait times, but it isn't the only one, or even the biggest one.