New Functions Testing on the Wish

[dreamer17555]

So DCL is trying a test pilot where you reserve time at the Aqua Mouse and adding in more reserved Character times (sounds like beyond Royal Gathering). I really, really hate this idea. I cruise so I can go with the flow- and I do not trust Disney to not find a way to monetize this (lightening lane for the Aqua Mouse anyone?)

But What are your thoughts? Would you like this? Hate this?

 

[ironz]

I'm intrigued. In a way, if it lessens some lines, that would be great.
Do you know if this notice was sent prior to boarding, or on embarkation day?

I feel like (so far), they have been decent at keeping upcharges off of basic ship activities. Hope that holds out.

 

[dreamer17555]

I'm intrigued. In a way, if it lessens some lines, that would be great.
Do you know if this notice was sent prior to boarding, or on embarkation day?

I feel like (so far), they have been decent at keeping upcharges off of basic ship activities. Hope that holds out.

It was sent today for the people boarding on the 21st.

I really don’t understand how this is going to work in practice. Especially for outdoor activities like the aqua mouse. What if the weather is particularly bad windy, stormy and they can’t open it and you have a reservation does it get moved or just canceled? It’s not exactly like at the parks where they can replace your reservation with a lightning lane you can use on other activities.

The idea of waiting in less lines is attractive, but I understand that something like this could easily be up charged very quickly- considering the way the company has been heading, I would not put it past them

 

[Mommb]

If Disney Cruise is not charging for reservations, then if your reservation gets cancelled, you are no worse off than if you had not made one at all.

This reads to me as a way to give first-time (or few-time) cruisers who are frustrated at not being able to book activities before the cruise because they were full a chance to book something.

 

[dreamer17555]

If Disney Cruise is not charging for reservations, then if your reservation gets cancelled, you are no worse off than if you had not made one at all.

This reads to me as a way to give first-time (or few-time) cruisers who are frustrated at not being able to book activities before the cruise because they were full a chance to book something.

I’m not reading it that way.

I actually think that veteran cruisers are going to be the ones that are able to snatch most of these up if they are free. They tend to know how quickly you can connect to the ships Wi-Fi while you’re waiting at Port. They are familiar with the app and know how to navigate it.

To me, this is going to be a lot like Marvel day or Pixar day at sea, where certain cruisers- often new ones- still get locked out and then are even more disappointed

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Dreamer17555, Would you mind giving feedback on how this new test pilot program worked for booking the Aqua Mouse while you were on your cruise?

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

Tbh I dont feel like reserved character meets have a shorter wait. If you dont have the first time slot of that session you still end up waiting easily half an hour during mdax, pixar and even rg if you have bad luck

 

[peder]

This reads to me as a way to give first-time (or few-time) cruisers who are frustrated at not being able to book activities before the cruise because they were full a chance to book something.

The AquaMouse line is really too long on average. I can see where some folks would not want to deal with standing in line for 30 minutes, especially in poor weather. And if you never get an opportunity to go on the AquaMouse, your overall opinion of your cruise might be largely negative.

I personally think it's really weird to go on a cruise and stand in line for anything, and yet on DCL, it felt like it was a lot of lines everywhere. Lines to see characters, rushing to get to the theater early for shows, lines on the AquaMouse. Contrast this with Aulani, for instance, where my kids can see characters and there's often no line, where we can grab a boogie board for the beach with no line and no reservations, and where even the line for the waterslides is pretty quick, and it starts to feel like DCL has too many people onboard and not enough to do.

Anyway, I think the reservation system makes sense for the planning types.

 

[scroogie]

I wonder how much of this is in anticipation of the Adventure entering service. Having a rollercoaster and the fact that Asian guests in particularly will line up for HOURS to see characters (especially with Duffy and Friends being confirmed), it would make sense to roll something like this out. Work out all the kinks elsewhere in the fleet before you launch it for 6,000 guests at once.

This reads to me as a way to give first-time (or few-time) cruisers who are frustrated at not being able to book activities before the cruise because they were full a chance to book something.

That doesn't make sense when it's for things that haven't previously required a reservation.

 

[Flcruising]

Other lines are doing similar things and yes in some instances they are charging for a quicker lane. Seems to be working. But they charge significantly less for the cruise.

 

[brentm77]

So DCL is trying a test pilot where you reserve time at the Aqua Mouse and adding in more reserved Character times (sounds like beyond Royal Gathering). I really, really hate this idea. I cruise so I can go with the flow- and I do not trust Disney to not find a way to monetize this (lightening lane for the Aqua Mouse anyone?)

But What are your thoughts? Would you like this? Hate this?


View attachment 958312

That's terrible. Let's not parkify the cruises. The best part about cruising is how little planning is required compared to the parks. This is the opposite of what I want as a customer. I would rather wait in line than both have to snag yet another reservation on Disney's epicly bad IT, and plan my day around showing up at a certain time.

 

[brentm77]

If Disney Cruise is not charging for reservations, then if your reservation gets cancelled, you are no worse off than if you had not made one at all.

That depends on whether the attraction always requires a reservation or if it's only for small windows. Without a reservation system, if the weather is bad you can just come back later and wait in line under the previous system. If only reservations are allowed for all or most of the time, but they are all taken, then you don't have the option to ride later if your reservation time doesn't work.

 

[imbelle]

If it means having to stare at a phone all day trying to score a time slot while on vacation, then no. It's bad enough in the parks.

 

[FightingIrishman]

We just got off the Wish on Friday.

We rode the AquaMouse after lunch Day 1 and after coming back from Castaway Cay Day 2 and there was less than a five minute wait.

I can imagine for days at sea a reservation system may alleviate long lines but I would not prefer to have to prebook a time slot ahead of time not knowing our last minute family plans or weather.

I guess it is only time until DCL adds a Lightning Lane for the AquaMouse for a price.

 

[yowcruiser]

When it comes to pre-booking characters meet and great, I am all for this... On our last 2 cruises, we actually did end up cancelling the photo package because the lines were so long, that even with clever line-up strategies, we ended up getting very little value. There is no way I am waiting in line 45 minutes just for a picture, especially on the new ships where there is so much else to do. Depending how this work, this could reduce the wait time significantly, and also allow DCL to better plan ahead. Not exactly the same, but Disneyland Paris had been using virtual queue for select meet and greet in the past, and the system worked really well - at no extra costs.

I am less convinced on AquaMouse which is more a spur of a moment activity - but if it is temporary to test technology ahead of the launch of the Disney Adventure, for implementation on that ship, then doing it on the Wish makes a lot of sense as length of cruise is also similar

 

[dreamer17555]

When it comes to pre-booking characters meet and great, I am all for this... On our last 2 cruises, we actually did end up cancelling the photo package because the lines were so long, that even with clever line-up strategies, we ended up getting very little value. There is no way I am waiting in line 45 minutes just for a picture, especially on the new ships where there is so much else to do. Depending how this work, this could reduce the wait time significantly, and also allow DCL to better plan ahead. Not exactly the same, but Disneyland Paris had been using virtual queue for select meet and greet in the past, and the system worked really well - at no extra costs.

I am less convinced on AquaMouse which is more a spur of a moment activity - but if it is temporary to test technology ahead of the launch of the Disney Adventure, for implementation on that ship, then doing it on the Wish makes a lot of sense as length of cruise is also similar

I’m going to take a guess that you have never actually done Royal gathering or some of the pre-booked characters like at Marvel Day or Pixar day- even with a spot you will still wait quite a long time.

Royal gathering is normally 30 minutes. Marvel characters with pre-booked spots were easily 45 minutes.

 

[yowcruiser]

I’m going to take a guess that you have never actually done Royal gathering or some of the pre-booked characters like at Marvel Day or Pixar day- even with a spot you will still wait quite a long time.

Royal gathering is normally 30 minutes. Marvel characters with pre-booked spots were easily 45 minutes.

I have several times, and no, I have not been waiting long... at least not long in comparison to a standard unreserved meet and greet line. For Royal Gathering, the worse I have been in line is 15 minutes (usually about 10), and the one Pixar was about 15. Maybe it is the times I have picked, or just when I showed up but for me, the wait times you are quoting above - I have never experienced. But to be clear, I am not arguing that 30 minutes for Royal (or 45 for Pixar) is impossible... especially if there is one or two groups ahead of you taking 28 different permutations of a picture...

 

[BlueRibbon]

Having a reserved time for things takes away from the spontaneity that I look forward to on DCL. Aside from Palo brunch, I don't want to have to work my schedule around things.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I’m going to take a guess that you have never actually done Royal gathering or some of the pre-booked characters like at Marvel Day or Pixar day- even with a spot you will still wait quite a long time.

Royal gathering is normally 30 minutes. Marvel characters with pre-booked spots were easily 45 minutes.

Exactly what I meant with my post… they are longer than often open meets

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I have several times, and no, I have not been waiting long... at least not long in comparison to a standard unreserved meet and greet line. For Royal Gathering, the worse I have been in line is 15 minutes (usually about 10), and the one Pixar was about 15. Maybe it is the times I have picked, or just when I showed up but for me, the wait times you are quoting above - I have never experienced. But to be clear, I am not arguing that 30 minutes for Royal (or 45 for Pixar) is impossible... especially if there is one or two groups ahead of you taking 28 different permutations of a picture...

I have 31 disney cruises under my belt and my experience of long waits is exactly the same as the previous poster unless you have the very first timeslot of the m&g. They divide these meets usually in 15 lin timeslots and all theee people of those 15 min pretty much show up at the same Time, or try to get in earlier (Im happy they got stricter about that in the past year and a half or so) so as soon as a timeslot takes longer per group and/or literally everyone shows up, they start to back up. For Marvel and Pixar often the switch out of characters was very slow as well so the next group would be starting 5-10 min late… on my mdas the line for the galaxy characters was from the door of animators all the way to past the side door of royal court. The only open m&g I waited for longer was capt America and he only had 2 open meets that whole cruise. I hate reservations for a m&g; I could do with a virtual queue however the lines on dcl are usually that short that people rent gonna be doing anytjing else in that 20 min til their meet so they ll be hanging around and still blocking the area