P & P Party Rant.

[mking624]

I don't understand why people feel the OP was 'wrong'. The park closes every night, and every night, people stroll through the park after it has closed and are not out of the park at the posted closing time. Disney, in the training of their ride CM, showed that it was perfectly acceptable for the guest to be in the park entering a ride at 6:58. So obviously, you are not supposed to have exited the park by 7:00 pm even though those that have purchased the P&P ticket seem to feel an entitlement to the park at that exact time. Disney will allow people into the parks for an hour to make a purchase and does so without having a CM hover over the guest. Lighten up folks, the OP wasn't in the wrong, just doing what we do everyday but doing so at a time when the regular rules weren't in place.

Yes, the OP was in the wrong. You cannot compare a regular night to a hard ticket night because it is not the same thing. When the OP went on the ride, it was not yet 7pm. But once 7pm hit, that meant they needed to leave. But instead of leaving, they took their time doing other things. Sitting down, eating snacks, and continuing to shop even though they were told they couldn't be shopping without a wristband. Finally 45 minutes after 7pm, they were confronted and escorted out. They broke the rules and now they're upset because they were confronted on breaking the rules. As I stated before, Disney has no obligation to fulfill your shopping desires but you do have an obligation to follow their rules.

No offense, but I can tell you've never attended a hard ticket event.

 

[MissyDVC]

just doing what we do everyday but doing so at a time when the regular rules weren't in place.

Exactly. There were different rules which the OP was aware of and chose ignore them. That's why they are wrong.

 

[MissyDVC]

As I stated before, Disney has no obligation to fulfill your shopping desires but you do have an obligation to follow their rules.

Yes!!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Walking down maistreet we walked into the ice cream shop and bakery thinking nothing of it because nobody said the stores were closed to us. Ate our snack and headed to the front. My wife wanted a postcard so she headed toward a shop. She was told" you can't shop at this store unless you have a wristband, but if you are leaving the park you can make a final purchase.

Okay, so let's see...
You know the park closed at 7
A CM let you board one last ride at 6:58
A Guest in line told you about the P & P Party
By the time you got off the ride, the park was closed (Buzz being more than a two-minute-long ride)
You stopped at the bakery and bought ice cream and baked goods and proceeded to sit at a table to eat your purchase; nobody said anything
Twenty minutes after the park closed your wife was told she could make ONE purchase since she was on her way out of the park
There were CMs at every store except one, preventing non-wristbanded Guests from entering
You decided all the rules didn't apply to that one store, despite your wife having made her one last permitted purchase
What's the problem, again?

I attended two MVMCP's and both times the signs outside indicated the closing time AND had MVMCP on it.

Now that you mention it... we don't know what time the OP entered the Magic Kingdom, but that MNSSHP night that I entered the park about 45 minutes before closing? MOST of the turnstiles were designated for party attendees. If you didn't have a ticket, you were directed to one of only a few entrances to the far left. It was pretty obvious that "something" was going on. I know there were sandwich-board signs; I don't remember what was on them, but then I entered knowing that I had to leave at/by 7 PM (although, okay, at 6:55 or so I was at First Aid - but once I left there, I headed down Main Street to the exit and nobody bothered me.

 

[maxiesmom]

Maybe it is just me, but I always check park hours before I decide where I am going for that day. I don't expect Disney to inform me personally. That is my job as an informed consumer. Like a previous poster pointed out, too many people were trying to stay in the parks for the parties without buying a ticket. Be mad at them for making it hard on you, not at Disney for having to be so ridgid with its rules.

 

[calgarygary]

We were approached by a woman asking to see our wristband and if we didn't have them we would have to leave immediatly. I kindly tole her that my wife was in line for a purchse and we would leave as soon as she was finished. She stood there basically scolding me and my kids that the park closed at 7:00 and now was only open to P & P guests. I told her I understand, I will be leaving as soon as my wife was finished. My wife exited the store at about 7:45 and we walked out of the park with this woman following us.

The OP has done nothing wrong here, yet the CM found it necessary to follow him out of the park - something that I would have also found upsetting. At no time does Disney tell it's guests that they must be out of the park prior to 7:00 pm but rather the announcement is that the park is closing at 7:00 pm for a special event. Whether the OP is a member of the Dis or not, the public should be properly informed (all shops, restaurants & rides will be closing to the general public at 7:00) to the difference in the closing procedures for that evening.

 

[mking624]

The OP has done nothing wrong here, yet the CM found it necessary to follow him out of the park - something that I would have also found upsetting. At no time does Disney tell it's guests that they must be out of the park prior to 7:00 pm but rather the announcement is that the park is closing at 7:00 pm for a special event. Whether the OP is a member of the Dis or not, the public should be properly informed (all shops, restaurants & rides will be closing to the general public at 7:00) to the difference in the closing procedures for that evening.

The times were published, signage was up with the times, AND announcements were made. Hand holding isn't necessary by this point.
The OP was made well aware that they needed to leave. They chose not to and they chose to continue shopping though they had been specifically told "not without a wristband." There is nothing "right" about that behavior. The CM had every right to escort out a family that didn't pay to be a part of that event...and had even more of a right to escort the family out when by the OP's own admission, they weren't exactly making it a priority to leave.

 

[MissyDVC]

Why are people defending a grown man who was told to leave the park a number of times? They were told in one store that they couldn't buy anything there and knew that they had to leave the park and yet went on the another store and then posts about the CM telling them to exit the park and making sure they did. These are grown people who are having to be told a number of times to leave and they knew why. If there was any question as to why they couldn't make any more purchases or whether or not they could stay for a few more minutes, they could have asked the CMs who had already told them to leave and asked for their bracelets. They knew what they were doing and were, perhaps, not happy witht the Disney rules, so they made there own. That is wrong.

 

[3DisneyGals&1Grumpy]

I would be curious to know how many of the posters that agree with the OP have actually paid for and have been to a hard ticket event. I would guess very few. If you have paid for an after hours/ hard ticket event than you would know how aggravating it is to have others think that it is ok to hang around, shop, maybe catch a few more characters on the way out, etc,

Like it was posted many times before, it was made extremely clear that the park was closing before it closed and then extremely clear that it was closed for a special event. It would have been almost impossible not to notice.

 

[MichelleVW]

Why are people defending a grown man who was told to leave the park a number of times? They were told in one store that they couldn't buy anything there and knew that they had to leave the park and yet went on the another store and then posts about the CM telling them to exit the park and making sure they did. These are grown people who are having to be told a number of times to leave and they knew why. If there was any question as to why they couldn't make any more purchases or whether or not they could stay for a few more minutes, they could have asked the CMs who had already told them to leave and asked for their bracelets. They knew what they were doing and were, perhaps, not happy witht the Disney rules, so they made there own. That is wrong.

I'm with you.... I just don't get it the arguement on his side....and as someone who was at the first party I say, "Good for you CM!!"

 

[calgarygary]

Correct me if my memory fails, I believe the announcement that is made is something along the line of "The Magic Kingdom will be closing at 7:00 pm for a special event...." If so, whether or not the OP is a member of the Dis and should know what the "revised" rules are, it is encumbant upon Disney to manage the situation in a better manner. Escorting people like they are law breakers and causing those with P&P passes to be upset with the lingering crowd is obvious proof that the current system is not working.

 

[mking624]

Correct me if my memory fails, I believe the announcement that is made is something along the line of "The Magic Kingdom will be closing at 7:00 pm for a special event...." If so, whether or not the OP is a member of the Dis and should know what the "revised" rules are, it is encumbant upon Disney to manage the situation in a better manner. Escorting people like they are law breakers and causing those with P&P passes to be upset with the lingering crowd is obvious proof that the current system is not working.

Seems like everyone else managed to leave the park without attempting to stay longer. The OP was knew, the OP was told, the OP didn't care and stayed any way. He has no one to blame but himself.

 

[timkin]

This is Mrs. Timkin......this is getting out of hand!!!! My husband was just trying to express his disappointment in the CM. We have been to Disney 5 times now and have always had a wonderful time. We have always ended the MK park with a stroll down Main Street looking one last time. Every trip we have ever taken has been researched completely before we have gone. This trip was a little different. We were in Tampa for the week visiting my parents and decided at the last minute to make a day trip to Disney. We went for the day without having researched any info going on at Disney. I can honestly say that we did see a sign at the entrance but did not pay much attention to it. (We knew we were not going to the party) Yes, we knew the park closed at 7pm but did not realize that the P&P party was that night. Maybe they did announce it, as a previous post stated, but we never heard it. All I am trying to say is that we did what we do everytime we are leaving the park....stroll down Main Street on the way out. You can say over and over that we were doing wrong but we will disagree. You can say that it was not right for us to stay after 7:00 but all we were doing was shopping for a few extra minutes. It was our only day there and we were not coming back....my kids wanted Mickey Ears that you could only get at the front of the park and I had a family of 8-10 people in front of me buying ears so I had to wait!! I was not trying to watch a show, parade or go on a ride. I was just trying to keep the "Magic" with my kids who were so excited we surprised them with this day trip! It is no different than the people who got to get in at 4pm.....they DID get to go on rides for an extra three hours which is totally wrong if you want to make an issue!!! The main thing my husband was trying to say is that the CM did not have to be so rude with her attitude and tone of her voice. Disney is a Magical place and that CM is not making "dreams come true!" This post really needs to end.....

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

Correct me if my memory fails, I believe the announcement that is made is something along the line of "The Magic Kingdom will be closing at 7:00 pm for a special event...." If so, whether or not the OP is a member of the Dis and should know what the "revised" rules are, it is encumbant upon Disney to manage the situation in a better manner. Escorting people like they are law breakers and causing those with P&P passes to be upset with the lingering crowd is obvious proof that the current system is not working.

I'm sorry, did you miss the part of the story where they were allowed one more purchase, and decided to make more than that? Or where they were told there was no shopping without a wristband and were told to leave?

What OP did was wrong, period. They knew they were supposed to leave, they were told about it. They knew there was a party going on. They were told they could not buy things without wristbands. They decided to stay anyway, 45 minutes after they knew the park closed! That's WAY too much of a stretch for me to feel an ounce sorry for them, and I'm quite glad that the CMs are enforcing the wristband rule and will be quite glad of it when we're there on the 8th of March for our P&P party!

 

[beattyfamily]

It is no different than the people who got to get in at 4pm.....they DID get to go on rides for an extra three hours which is totally wrong if you want to make an issue!!! The main thing my husband was trying to say is that the CM did not have to be so rude with her attitude and tone of her voice. Disney is a Magical place and that CM is not making "dreams come true!" This post really needs to end.....

As many have already stated YES it is very different. Disney's policy is to let party goers in starting at 4:00p so if a party goer comes in after 4:00p they are doing NOTHING wrong. It is not publicized and only seasoned Disney visitors know about it.

It is also Disney's policy that on party nights, the park closes at 7:00p sharp to non-party guests so that party guests, who pay $40 to attend, can enjoy the special after hours festivities, and rides with low crowds and do so without people hanging around who didn't pay for it.

The CMs have had to get tough and stricker about this over the years because many people have tried to stay for the party for free. Please blame them and not the CM trying to enforce Disney's policy.

 

[mking624]

You can say over and over that we were doing wrong but we will disagree. You can say that it was not right for us to stay after 7:00 but all we were doing was shopping for a few extra minutes.

This was not a few extra minutes. Your husband admitted you all were there already for 45 minutes past closing. That's anot a "few" extra minutes. On top of that your husband also stated you had been taking your time leaving even though you knew the park was closed. You sat down to eat snacks, and you were even turned away at one shop yet you disregarded that and attempted to get into another store anyway.

It is no different than the people who got to get in at 4pm.....they DID get to go on rides for an extra three hours which is totally wrong if you want to make an issue!!!

Yes it is different than people getting in at 4pm because Disney allows them to do that. They are not breaking any rules. They are not disregarding what CMs tell them. They are doing exactly what Disney allows them to do.

The main thing my husband was trying to say is that the CM did not have to be so rude with her attitude and tone of her voice. Disney is a Magical place and that CM is not making "dreams come true!"

Being that neither you were there with the CM (since you were shopping) and neither were we, none of us can comment on the CM's tone. But honestly is does surprise me that you expected the CM to just let you do whatever you want when you knew full well you were supposed to leave. The CM was doing her job and I applaud her for actually enforcing the rules so that it remained fair to those who paid to be at that party.

 

[MichelleVW]

This is Mrs. Timkin......this is getting out of hand!!!! My husband was just trying to express his disappointment in the CM. We have been to Disney 5 times now and have always had a wonderful time. We have always ended the MK park with a stroll down Main Street looking one last time. Every trip we have ever taken has been researched completely before we have gone. This trip was a little different. We were in Tampa for the week visiting my parents and decided at the last minute to make a day trip to Disney. We went for the day without having researched any info going on at Disney. I can honestly say that we did see a sign at the entrance but did not pay much attention to it. (We knew we were not going to the party) Yes, we knew the park closed at 7pm but did not realize that the P&P party was that night. Maybe they did announce it, as a previous post stated, but we never heard it. All I am trying to say is that we did what we do everytime we are leaving the park....stroll down Main Street on the way out. You can say over and over that we were doing wrong but we will disagree. You can say that it was not right for us to stay after 7:00 but all we were doing was shopping for a few extra minutes. It was our only day there and we were not coming back....my kids wanted Mickey Ears that you could only get at the front of the park and I had a family of 8-10 people in front of me buying ears so I had to wait!! I was not trying to watch a show, parade or go on a ride. I was just trying to keep the "Magic" with my kids who were so excited we surprised them with this day trip! It is no different than the people who got to get in at 4pm.....they DID get to go on rides for an extra three hours which is totally wrong if you want to make an issue!!! The main thing my husband was trying to say is that the CM did not have to be so rude with her attitude and tone of her voice. Disney is a Magical place and that CM is not making "dreams come true!" This post really needs to end.....

I'm really sorry you were offended by the CM, I wasn't there to hear the tone of her voice and maybe she could/should have handled it differently but other than that you were still in the wrong. Standing in line in a shop can be in the way of a paid party guest, I paid for the party, I didn't want to be in line behind non party guests.

I think we can/should all agree to disagree now because neither side is going to change their mind on this one...luckily I have Disney on my side!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

PS For all those complaining that at 7PM all the day guests should be ready to leave, letting P&P ticket holders in early seems to be a decision that was not well thought out by the powers that be.

Ah, but Disney has done that for several years - even when the park closed between regular and party hours. It enables the Party Guests to enjoy the event from start to finish.

That is not what I was asking. I'm strictly talking about guests who ONLY have a P&P ticket. Do they get admitted early for the P&P event?

Yes - as do MNSSHP Guests and MVMCP Guests when those parties are held.

Like I said, the powers that be didn't seem to give this much thought.

No, really, they've given it plenty of thought. Any idea how long it would take to get 20,000 Guests (+/- 10,000) into the Magic Kingdom? Let's figure each turnstile can process ten Guests per minute (if everything worked perfectly smoothly, which we know it doesn't - tickets don't work, people ask questions, etc.) and there are what, thirty turnstiles? That's 300 Guests per minute. 20,000 Guest would take over an hour. Those Guests have paid for five hours of party -
they're entitled to five hours of party. Not to mention trying to get exiting Guests through the throng waiting in the Entrance Plaza...

If special P&P merchadise is an issue, then CMs could easy restrict that to wristbanded guests. Just don't allow those w/o wristbands to buy the P&P merchadise. But let them make their normal purchases. <and> I also think that the escort out was overkill. The OP said he told the CM he was leaving when his wife got back. The CMs could have just watched to make sure they left and if they did not then done something about it.

That's your opinion. The business owners' opinion is different. Regarding the special party merchandise - the OP already stated that another Guest offered to pay for the taffy (so, by the way, the OP's family apparently got EVERYTHING they intended - a ride on Buzz Lightyear, ice cream and baked goods, a postcard, the taffy and the Mickey Ears), so chances are a different kind-hearted Guest would be willing to front a purchase for a non-party attendeed. As for the escort out being 'overkill', well, that too was DISNEY'S (not the CM's) decision. With any luck, the OP's was the last family that needed to be escorted out, so the CM was doing her job by waiting with them to escort them out.

That's all I was trying to say. Its just confusing when this is the procedure for days when there is no party, and a hard closing for days when it is.

But when you're told at 7:20 that you need to be wearing a wristband to make any purchase but since you're on your way out of the park you can make one last purchase, and you make it, and then you enter another store to make another purchase, well, by that time you KNOW the rules.

on WDW boards I would know they don't stay open, but that's just me out of how many? Also, I think it's pretty ridiculous for people to be upset about someone staying 45 minutes late when you are allowed to enter THREE hours before your party is suppose to start without using a day of your ticket.

Again, Disney makes the rules... but I don't think people are upset so much with the OP staying in the park 45 minutes beyond it closing to the general public, but rather with the OP being upset about it.

I do agree that people should leave, so don't flame me. I don't think non paying ticket holders should be in there to see any special events

Ah, but there WAS a special event starting in a mere fifteen minutes.

Maybe the OP's wife was stuck in a long line at the check-out because so many P & P people were in line buying stuff.

Maybe the OP's wife entered that shop and line more than twenty minutes after the park closed to the public AND after they'd already been told they could not make purchases if they did not have wristbands. That's not a supposition - go back and read the OP's timeline.

Disney will allow people into the parks for an hour to make a purchase and does so without having a CM hover over the guest.

NOT on special/hard-ticket event nights. The OP knew BEFORE they entered the last store that they could not shop in ANY store unless they were wearing Party wristbands - but because they found ONE store with no CMs at the door, they entered that store, somehow expecting to be able to make purchases.

The OP has done nothing wrong here, yet the CM found it necessary to follow him out of the park - something that I would have also found upsetting.

Educated guess - that was the CM's designated assignment at that time and place. She was just doing her job.

All I am trying to say is that we did what we do everytime we are leaving the park....stroll down Main Street on the way out. You can say over and over that we were doing wrong but we will disagree. You can say that it was not right for us to stay after 7:00 but all we were doing was shopping for a few extra minutes.

But after being told you couldn't stay in the park and shop, you proceeded to stay in the park and shop. Not the postcard - the taffy and the ears. Sure, your kids wanted them, but after all four of you were told you couldn't shop except for that one last postcard purchase since you were on your way out, you entered the one store that wasn't being "guarded" and, well, shopped.

As for the party Guests who entered the park up to three hours before the party with Disney's full knowledge, permission, and even encouragement - MOST of them likely had 'regular' tickets, too.

 

[Pedler]

..We have always ended the MK park with a stroll down Main Street looking one last time. Every trip we have ever taken has been researched completely before we have gone. ... You can say over and over that we were doing wrong but we will disagree. You can say that it was not right for us to stay after 7:00 but all we were doing was shopping for a few extra minutes. It was our only day there and we were not coming back....my kids wanted Mickey Ears that you could only get at the front of the park and I had a family of 8-10 people in front of me buying ears so I had to wait!! I was not trying to watch a show, parade or go on a ride. I was just trying to keep the "Magic" with my kids who were so excited we surprised them with this day trip! It is no different than the people who got to get in at 4pm.....they DID get to go on rides for an extra three hours which is totally wrong if you want to make an issue!!! The main thing my husband was trying to say is that the CM did not have to be so rude with her attitude and tone of her voice. Disney is a Magical place and that CM is not making "dreams come true!" This post really needs to end.....

I think your issue is more with Disney's policy. Disney appears to have two sets of rules. On nights that do not have hard ticketed events they want people to linger and prolong the magic, i.e. shop on main street. It makes sense as it puts more money in Disney's pocket. However on hard ticketed nights a different set of rules apply. On those nights they want regular guests to leave the park as soon as possible so that the guests that paid for the extra event have the park to themselves. Not just the rides and the parades but the whole thing, gift shops, main street, everything. Also the guests that paid for the event get a few hours at the end of the day that regular guests paid for thus increasing the crowd a bit for those guests.

Those are the rules that Disney put into place and I don't think anyone disputes that those are Disney's rules and they can make them what they want to be. While it would be interesting to have a thread discussing if those rules are appropriate or not it doesn't change the fact that it is Disney's park and Disney can set the rules. I think your problem is that you don't agree with Disney's rules and Disney's enforcement of the rules. Maybe the CM was rude but you were clearly breaking the rule and from your post you were knowingly breaking a rule you don't agree with. The CM was there to make sure that the guests that paid for the event had as much of the park for as long as possible to themselves. I know you may not agree with the rule and I understand your desire for a few more minutes of magic for your kids but unfortunately Disney decided that the rules for private events is the magic for regular guests ends promptly at park closing. You may not like the rule and some may agree with you but its Disney rule to set. They had more money to make from hard guests that paid to not mingle with regular guests than from the money regular guests buying some extra souvenirs and they chose to go with the money. They don't have these private parties because they like to throw parties. They have them because they can make money off of the people willing to pay for it and if it means changing the rules on those days for regular guests then they go where the money is.

Its always disenchanting when at times the mouses ultimate goal of maximizing profit peeks through the veneer of the magic. Its always there but most of the time we can't see it. In this case it appears that for regular guests it is up front and center. Unfortunate but it is their rules and they get to set them.

 

[JazzySteph]

I'm sorry you had a negative experience timkin. Just like it wasn't your intention to cause any trouble and I do not think it was the CM's intention to push you away so forcefully. I'm sure there are a lot of trouble makers looking to bend the rules and they have to be pushy because that is their job. I know from experience going on Voyage of The Little Mermaid they ask people to fill every available seat and if they don't they really have to be really pushy with people to follow instructions.

I do not think you should take it so personally, things happen we all make mistakes. Just next time I'd be really cautious about what is going on in the parks and ask around. As someone posted before at least now we know how strict they are about enforcing this policy. I just see things this way from every bad experience we have there is an opportunity to learn something from it.