No reservations

[Deb1993]

View attachment 672197

Shhh, don't tell anyone! LOL

 

[brightlined]

No more crowded than before Covid

The combination of rides, restaurants, and shows still has lower capacity than it did before covid. If the parks had the same number of people inside as they did before covid, the parks would be legitimately more crowded because there's less for them to do.

That's borne out in this simple fact: if Disney really wanted to make more money, all they would have to do is let more people in.

 

[greeneyedchick]

The frustrating thing about threads complaining about park reservations:

1) When the parks are overcrowded, we see a lot more complaints about how terrible things are at the parks.

2) Imagine how much more crowded the parks would be if park reservations didn't exist.

I don't think it would be because people use to hop to another park when one was too crowded. At 2pm, people leave to go to where they really wanted to go in the beginning, so after 2pm, the crowds are no longer controlled anyway. Besides from forcing people to buy park hoppers (which now have less value since you can't use them until 2pm), I don't see how this really benefits Disney since their parks are mostly at capacity anyway. Therefore, they already know how many people they need to have working there that day. The answer is that they really need to have as many people as possible working every day if they cared about the parks running as efficiently and as smoothly as they used to,

 

[Jrb1979]

The combination of rides, restaurants, and shows still has lower capacity than it did before covid. If the parks had the same number of people inside as they did before covid, the parks would be legitimately more crowded because there's less for them to do.

That's borne out in this simple fact: if Disney really wanted to make more money, all they would have to do is let more people in.

They are making more money due to the reservation system. It lets control labor costs much better now.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don't think it would be because people use to hop to another park when one was too crowded. At 2pm, people leave to go to where they really wanted to go in the beginning, so after 2pm, the crowds are no longer controlled anyway. Besides from forcing people to buy park hoppers (which now have less value since you can't use them until 2pm), I don't see how this really benefits Disney since their parks are mostly at capacity anyway. Therefore, they already know how many people they need to have working there that day. The answer is that they really need to have as many people as possible working every day if they cared about the parks running as efficiently and as smoothly as they used to,

The thing is they don't care. The reservation system let's them have the exact CMs for the day. It helps them control costs.

 

[disneydreamer781]

We are a party of 6 with reservations from June 5-12. This reservation system is totally new to me and it looks like we will be sitting in our hotel room all week since there are not many park reservations available. I am tempted to cancel the entire trip and just forget it. What are the chance of actually getting into the parks?

When we were down there earlier this month the parks were sold out but they did open up availability the day before. The only thing is you would have to wait until that happens to book availability but I did notice it happening frequently on our trip.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

The frustrating thing about threads complaining about park reservations:

1) When the parks are overcrowded, we see a lot more complaints about how terrible things are at the parks.

2) Imagine how much more crowded the parks would be if park reservations didn't exist.

THIS ^^^^^^

 

[Jrb1979]

The frustrating thing about threads complaining about park reservations:

1) When the parks are overcrowded, we see a lot more complaints about how terrible things are at the parks.

2) Imagine how much more crowded the parks would be if park reservations didn't exist.

Don't worry once the recession goes into full swing soon parks being crowded will the last thing people will have to worry about.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

The combination of rides, restaurants, and shows still has lower capacity than it did before covid. If the parks had the same number of people inside as they did before covid, the parks would be legitimately more crowded because there's less for them to do.

That's borne out in this simple fact: if Disney really wanted to make more money, all they would have to do is let more people in.

At this point not any more. They’ve got the shows and rides back up to pretty much full capacity. Or darn close to it. That wasn’t the case a month ago but it is now. I’ve seen it at every stage. It’s quite obvious the difference. Lines are lower now because of the higher volume on rides and shows

Disney has found a balance they are happy with and we’ll never understand it all

 

[Jrb1979]

At this point not any more. They’ve got the shows and rides back up to pretty much full capacity. Or darn close to it. That wasn’t the case a month ago but it is now. I’ve seen it at every stage. It’s quite obvious the difference. Lines are lower now because of the higher volume on rides and shows

Disney has found a balance they are happy with and we’ll never understand it all

They are still hurting for CMs. The reservation system is here to stay

 

[Mrs.AMC]

They are still hurting for CMs. The reservation system is here to stay

I’m fully aware. Never said any different. Told the op of this thread that exact thing. They better learn to use them or opt not to go. Going without them is not an option

 

[brightlined]

I don't think it would be because people use to hop to another park when one was too crowded. At 2pm, people leave to go to where they really wanted to go in the beginning, so after 2pm, the crowds are no longer controlled anyway. Besides from forcing people to buy park hoppers (which now have less value since you can't use them until 2pm), I don't see how this really benefits Disney since their parks are mostly at capacity anyway. Therefore, they already know how many people they need to have working there that day. The answer is that they really need to have as many people as possible working every day if they cared about the parks running as efficiently and as smoothly as they used to,

It's all about logistics.

The problem in the old days with no park reservations - you had situations like the Magic Kingdom on Christmas, where the park would be so slammed that Small World would have a 90-minute wait.

There's no benefit to anybody for Small World to have a 90-minute wait. People pay top-dollar for those days, and get a dumpster-fire experience for it.

Beyond the other noted benefits (ie, labor), Disney can now avoid those kinds of nightmares. The parks are still crowded, but they'll never again be as crowded as they were on those days. (And, again, even under the current system, people are already complaining about how long the lines are.)

The other key difference - by restricting access before 2pm, they know that people will also be leaving the "sold out" park at 2pm. They don't need to restrict the later part of the day (with exceptions like the MK on the 50th) because it all pretty much evens out. The morning folks might not go back - and, even if they do, they likely won't do the same experiences twice, so there's some experience capacity to spare.

The thing with park-hoppers - of course they're more expensive. OP arguing that Disney is profiting by selling access to a "blocked park" - that's just cynicism. A one-day ticket gives you access to the 30-50 experiences at any one park, and the limited hours of that park's operating day. A park-hopper gives you access to the all of the 120-200 experiences at the entire resort, with the bonus of more hours if you start at the earliest park and end at the latest. Those tickets are only available because there's still available capacity at the other parks.

The park reservation system is no different than a concert ticket. If you want to go, you have to act before it sells out.

 

[brightlined]

At this point not any more. They’ve got the shows and rides back up to pretty much full capacity. Or darn close to it. That wasn’t the case a month ago but it is now. I’ve seen it at every stage. It’s quite obvious the difference. Lines are lower now because of the higher volume on rides and shows

Disney has found a balance they are happy with and we’ll never understand it all

Your second sentence contradicts the first - and I'll nudge that Fantasmic is still closed, which is a substantial amount of evening capacity-time at DHS. (That also changes guest behavior - DHS is still relatively light at night without it.) Nemo at AK is still closed - and the abbreviated Lion King (soon to be restored to full-length) eats less capacity-time because of its shorter length. There's a lot of that throughout the resort, sometimes in not obvious ways. They're closer than they were, but they're definitely not at 100% compared to where they were pre-covid.

But, again, I don't blame Disney for using the park reservation system to keep lines and experiences more manageable, which is in and of itself a major benefit of the park reservation system.

Which would be among my response to this:

Certainly. They’ve thought it through without a doubt. There’s nothing good about reservations. Nothing. At. All.

Another very good thing about reservations: I now know in advance which days will be busy at which parks. (Sometimes, that's not obvious.)

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Spontaneous trips are still an option just not during the most crowded times of the year. We are getting ready for our third trip post covid and there was never a day on the first two where I couldn’t switch my park reservations the day of, if we’d wanted to. DHS is definitely the one that fills up fastest, but the other 3 were always available to switch around as needed. The thing that surprises me is how many complaining admit that they haven’t been back. Or somehow missed all the notices that tell them park reservations are required before you even buy tickets. You can’t even look up prices without getting that notice.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Spontaneous trips are still an option just not during the most crowded times of the year. We are getting ready for our third trip post covid and there was never a day on the first two where I couldn’t switch my park reservations the day of, if we’d wanted to. DHS is definitely the one that fills up fastest, but the other 3 were always available to switch around as needed. The thing that surprises me is how many complaining admit that they haven’t been back. Or somehow missed all the notices that tell them park reservations are required before you even buy tickets. You can’t even look up prices without getting that notice.

^^^ THIS we aren't even booked yet, but I've done tons of research and also plugged in various dates and resorts to price compare and it's made abundtly clear well before you confirm anything that you need to check availability and make theme park reservations. Disney has been very clear on that. Not knowing you need a reservation or not making one on time is 100% on the customer... I do think Disney gets a lot wrong lately but making people aware of the necessity to make TPR's is not one of them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Another very good thing about reservations: I now know in advance which days will be busy at which parks. (Sometimes, that's not obvious.)

IDK when we were there there were crowds but not for what I would have expected for MK having been sold out for the whole week at least that's what the TTC parking said and what another article said as well although I never actually checked once I was down there. The only time I felt there was a large amount of crowds such that you might be like "yup I know now why it was sold out" was MK fireworks the night we watched them and I know people like to watch those. See that's the thing you don't actually know how crowded it would be...after 2pm..that is.

And Epcot on sold out days wasn't nearly as bad as one would have thought with all the previews (2 of which we attended).

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Folks keep confusing sold out park reservations with full parks
That is not an assumption you should make
We aren’t privy to all the reasons behind the limits on reservation numbers but I can assure you park capacity numbers are not high on the list of consideration

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Your second sentence contradicts the first - and I'll nudge that Fantasmic is still closed, which is a substantial amount of evening capacity-time at DHS. (That also changes guest behavior - DHS is still relatively light at night without it.) Nemo at AK is still closed - and the abbreviated Lion King (soon to be restored to full-length) eats less capacity-time because of its shorter length. There's a lot of that throughout the resort, sometimes in not obvious ways. They're closer than they were, but they're definitely not at 100% compared to where they were pre-covid.

But, again, I don't blame Disney for using the park reservation system to keep lines and experiences more manageable, which is in and of itself a major benefit of the park reservation system.

Which would be among my response to this:


Another very good thing about reservations: I now know in advance which days will be busy at which parks. (Sometimes, that's not obvious.)

If you say so, I disagree on both after visiting on many sold out days

And nope, no contradiction. Guess just over your head in explaining
I’m relating personal experience attending parks starting with AP preview days pre covid reopening through today, covering every holiday since, along with a lot of non holiday trips

 

[Jrb1979]

Folks keep confusing sold out park reservations with full parks
That is not an assumption you should make
We aren’t privy to all the reasons behind the limits on reservation numbers but I can assure you park capacity numbers are not high on the list of consideration

Sold out is not equal to park capacity. It's probably going to stay that way. I have no problem with it. It sucks for AP holders but Chapek doesn't like AP holders.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Sold out is not equal to park capacity. It's probably going to stay that way. I have no problem with it. It sucks for AP holders but Chapek doesn't like AP holders.

Yeah, exactly what I said
Though you lost me with bringing AP in to it. Doesn’t suck at all