Okay... So far. At the event

[NHMickey]

This has been a joke... I saw (I did not do it) people stand in line for not 1... not 2 but over 3 to 4 hours to buy a LE 3500 pin... We got to the park a little late and got stuck in the back of this line from.... Well you can guess. They had one turnstile area open to let us in. So after an hour wait the park opens and you could just walk up and in.... That was the worst planning I had ever seen... I mean they could not figure out how to get 1000 people in to a park in less than an hour... PLEASE... The funiest part was the breakfast... Picture 1000 people walking in the heat to the building for the event... You walk in the front door and bam... They have the food lined up in 4 rows... Not the tables just the food. So you can't get in to the place to put your bag down cause the food lines are filling the whole place.... Well now we have a plate full of food as well as our pin bags and the start of a very bad morning... Well we eat and then leave to go the logo store... Now I have seen lines before and this was a dozzy... There was well over 1500 people in line (strange when you figure only 1000 tickets were sold... SO we skiped the line and went in to just the logo store and by passed the LE pins (le3500) and after watching no one move for well over an hour (I was sitting at a table with Sandy) I went around the corner and there was yet another line.... Okay same line but it was just growing... 12 registers... that was all that was there... Well after seeing a friend in line for over 2 hours I decided...

This was not worth it. I packed up the pins and Sandy and I went swimming at the resort.

So far I am glad I came as I got to see a lot of old friends.... As for the event. Disney makes me laugh... Thank god it was not 2000 people... I would still be waiting for breakfast....

 

[~Kathie]

Sounds EXACTLY like the breakfast at the Disneyana Mystery Event. Same place....same set up. And tell me.....were the drinks and coffee were on the other side of the room from the food and hard to find??? I guess the people planning this have never been to an event meal.

 

[Sorcerer]

Holy Cow...sounds vaguely familiar

Just got off the phone with Mom. She is STILL in that line, Nat, and has been for over FIVE hours. She said it's all worse than Disneyana. People are cranky, hot, tired...did I mention the line was in the sun for four of those hours? She, Cynthia, Mary, etc. (from what I could understand on the cell...she kept breaking up) were taking turns getting water. Disney CMs were telling people if they got out of line they were out of luck. Um, yeah, right. Try telling MOM that. She said she growled at someone when they tried to tell her she couldn't get back in line. It's not a good scene.

Nat, be glad you ducked out when you could...I think I would have followed you if I was there!

 

[Raulandpinboy]

That's why I went to work Nat

Here I sit in air conditioning its almost 4 o'clock and people are still in line from what they tell me.

But remember to old saying if you build-a-pin they will buy it.

Psst people they are LE3500 I'll get mine tonight when everybody goes to trade at the contemporary.

 

[NHMickey]

Psst people they are LE3500 I'll get mine tonight when everybody goes to trade at the contemporary

 

[NHMickey]

Jonie.... I don't think Disney has a clue.... But I do want to thank them. They just saved me a lot of money cause I will never do one of these again till they can fix even half the issues. I can't believe that a company that has 30 to 40,000 people come in to the parks each day can't get 1000 of us in to one area in an hour.... And now I still have heart burn from the stupid bacon....

Can ya tell I'm having fun.... Cause I am. I really love the fact that I am getting to see all my friends that I have made over the years doing this...

 

[Sorcerer]

Good news...Mom is safely on her way to OKW for a cold shower. I have no idea what, if anything, she was able to buy.

Even with all the mishaps I still wish I was there to see everyone! I finally have an organized pin bag, ready to trade, and no-one is here to trade with me

Nat, we KNOW you're having fun. Have you had any cheese soup yet? Did you know they'll fix it for you to go?!

 

[Engr-Chas]

Nat,
If it makes you feel any better, we must have the same event "planners" doing our events at DLR. LE3500 pins, 1000 to 1500 people, 4 to 5 hour wait sounds very familiar. Ed is right, just wait and get your pins later in the day when the crowd goes away.

Engr-Chas
Lord of the Been There, Done That

 

[bekeating]

Just off the phone with Shawn. Same story - long lines, over 4 hours and the heat is unbearable. He said not only were the lines long, but there were two lines, one for the open stock and one for the LE pins so you had to stand in line twice! But like others he was still having fun seeing people and I still wish I was there!

Bonnie

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

Um, yeah, right. Try telling MOM that. She said she growled at someone when they tried to tell her she couldn't get back in line. It's not a good scene.

Now I know where you get it Jonie!!

There is no way that I would wait in line that long for a pin. I think you made a good choice Nat.

Now, you are really getting the WDW bug and will have to stay longer in December... right?!?!?

Debbie

 

[Sorcerer]

Hey wait, isn't December Nat's official month at WDW?

 

[bonzie1]

Boy, sounds like a nightmare! Let's hope the Happy Haunts Ball is better organized!

 

[wdw4us2]

Just returned home, I can confirm everything Nat said.

ALL the Cast Members at the event (including supervisors) told us to make sure we write plenty of complaint letters about the fiasco on Friday.

Funny, I spent my 4 hours and 5 minutes in line mentally composing my letter.

Some good news, though. I heard a rumor on Friday night that Disney had actually sold 2000 tickets to the Happy Haunts Ball instead of the 999 they advertised. When I mentioned this to a CM at the Pinformation booth, she became very upset and informed me that she knew for a FACT that only 950 tickets were sold for the HHB. She is working the event and promised it would be nothing like the Epcot Event. A different manager is in charge, so I am very hopeful this will be the case.

It was great seeing everyone - wait until Matt & Laurie get home and post their pictures of Ed in his Speedo!

Lisa

 

[3kids4me]

--Waves to Lisa--
--Waves to everyone--

I'm back home with my wonderful family and really loved meeting all of you. I could have done without the standing in line part though!

Nat, I'll bet you were still able to get those pins later! What a fiasco. The next day, there was a guy wearing a t-shirt that said:

Pins: $50
Pin Bag: $53
Standing in line for six hours to buy pins: Priceless


Okay, the shirt was funny, but there was a rumor that this guy was a CM which I think would be very politically incorrect!

 

[JudithM]

Sharon, Welcome Home! Hope you enjoyed your girls weekend at WDW! Hope your family survived as well as can be expected!