Possible big reduction in Future Worlds hours.

[WDWHound]

The following is from Screamscape:

"...for the months of April and May (except the 2 weeks of Spring Break) Future World will now be closing at 6pm... THREE HOURS before the start of Illuminations."

This does seem a tad extreme. If its true, I hope they don't extend it beyond May.

 

[tonyk]

What does "closed" mean? Just Future World attractions are closed - or all areas including rides, shops and restaurants?

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Unfortunately, It doesnt sound too extreme to me. Starting around 4 or 5 PM Future World is a total Ghost Town. The only places you can really find any people are at Spaceship Earth (which will probably stay open til 9) and Test Track (which will probably stay open til 9). Although there is some work that can be done to increase the draw to Future World it just cant stand up to the night time draw of the World Showcase. The restaurants, food, drink, serene beauty, previously Tapestry, and Illuminations, all draw the people out of Future World, which is not neccesarily a bad thing as long as guests got their fill of Future World.

 

[KMovies]

It is only moving what closes at 7 pm to 6 pm - so it's not a big three hour reduction - only one hour.

 

[All Aboard]

My take - if FW is a ghost town at 4pm, it is in desperate need of some revitalization.

 

[Another Voice]

"…Future World is a total Ghost Town."

Yea, they should just put a gate around the whole place so they can close it whenever they want and not have to worry about people seeing both Future World and World Showcase on the same ticket.

Why bother making Future World interesting at night when you can simple force people into another park?

 

[Bob O]

Just another example of more cutbacks from wdw with no concern shown at all towards their guests.
I guess if they decided to close MK at 300pm some would still defend that decision and defend it!!!

 

[wdwguide]

I could live with the 7 pm closing, but 6 is a bit early for my taste. What they need is a major attraction on the Land/Living Seas side of Future World to distribute the crowds - with Test Track, Mission: Space and something else Future World would be a Ghost Town no more.

Of course The Living Seas, The Land, Universe of Energy and Wonders of Life all need a major re-imagineering to give them a higher repeat value.

 

[Figmentrocks]

To the quote of it being only a one hour difference, umm, well that's not the case. Future World always closed at 9 PM until they decided to take away and give less for the money with a 7 PM closure. Disney really doesn't give a cent about the customer. I'm now paying more money to go to a park for 3 hours less a day vs. a year ago. Welcome to the new Walt Disney Company.

 

[HB2K]

:Start Sarcasm
It's the guest's fault. It's not like the company did anything to make them leave before 4PM...
:End Sarcasm

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

We just back from WDW after a 2 year absence. I thought it would be awful with all the cut back in the hours, etc. But I found that because of the lower crowds, we were able to accomplish everything we wanted and were ready to leave before closing time. We are, of course, people who take advantage of early openings and are there first thing when the parks open.

I didn't have a problem at all with FW closing early. We were aware of it and just made sure that we had done the sites earlier in the day.

I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about ... do you all get upset when your local store closes and you want to buy something after hours? No, you probably "plan" to do your shopping during posted store hours.

Just use the shortened park hours to get to bed early so that you can be there when the park opens -- or to take advantage of the various lounges/restaurants at the resorts ... you should have more than enough time to see everything, especially with the current low attendance.

I know, this is not a popular opinion ... but it is based on my experience having just been there last week (4 parks in 3 days).

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by TRAPPED-PARENT

I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about ... do you all get upset when your local store closes and you want to buy something after hours? No, you probably "plan" to do your shopping during posted store hours.

Do you pay a cover charge to get into your "local store" ?

 

[Don Karnage]

Simply put.... It's supposed to be a vacation.... for me that means having to do as little thinking as possible.

All this planning around 'only can do this between 2 and 3' and 'that is only open for 3 minutes on the second Friday of a month beginning with the letter 'J'' is starting to be alot like work.

And I hate being rushed.

Seriously... isn't it supposed to be about OUR convenience? (It's not like we are asking for the park to be open 24 hours a day, are we?)

 

[BRERALEX]

once again im getting less for what i paid for when i bought my season pass and everyone else that buys tickets to get in and its bullcrap already. ahhh there thinking of our best interest. we spoke and they listened, FW was a ghost town after 4pm lets close it!!

Hey during parades and night time shows maybe they'll close the rides since there less crowded!!!! thats a great idea during the midday parade at Mk they close all rides and shops so we can be forced to watch the parade!!!!!! awesome!!!!!!! they anounce it soon i know it cause we're talking and their listening!!!!

 

[All Aboard]

Hey, just be happy that you can still go to Epcot. It's Disney, smile, you're on vacation! It's better than being at the office. An hour here, an hour there, a parade here. So what, quit whining, there's plenty to do after 6pm. Here's a list:

Disney Quest
Pleasure Island
Fantasia Gardens
Winter/Summerland
Cirque du Soleil
Restaurants in the Resorts

 

[mudhen]

The "be happy because it's still Disney" attitude
is exacatly what the TDA beancounters want to hear,
as a matter of fact, it's probably their new
motto.
It's not still "Disney", when a partial part
of the park is closed, it's flat out bad show.

What some people want to do after 6:00 is enjoy
the park they paid money for. If FW has thin
crowds after 4:00, then why not invest in it to
entice crowds to stay. Mission:Space is a good beginning, but it's been so darn long from ground
breaking to opening, the sense of excitement has
gone away, now people are just interested in if
their going puke or not on the ride portion.

I love FW, but c'mon, a little update on Body Wars
and Cranium Command would be nice, and with the
new ride technologies, imagine what they COULD have
done with Figment and Journey into Imagination.

But no, do it on the cheap, cut corners, people will still flock just because we're "Disney".
Well, seems their not flocking as much anymore.

I know, I know, the war, terrorism, bad economy...
whatever. For me personally, it's current management thinking. Individually these cutbacks
may not seem like a big deal. But collectively,
they make me seriously consider whether or not I want to invest my vacation dollars at Disney.

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by gcurling
Hey, just be happy that you can still go to Epcot. It's Disney, smile, you're on vacation! It's better than being at the office. An hour here, an hour there, a parade here. So what, quit whining, there's plenty to do after 6pm. Here's a list:

Disney Quest
Pleasure Island
Fantasia Gardens
Winter/Summerland
Cirque du Soleil
Restaurants in the Resorts

They have you hooked...notice that everything on your list cost more money.

 

[Gillian]

Originally posted by Figmentrocks
I'm now paying more money to go to a park for 3 hours less a day vs. a year ago.

The 7 PM FW closing went into effect in November 2001.

Changing it to 6 PM isn't really a big deal for us. We like to travel during less busy times, and it doesn't take long to see it all. There just isn't that much to do in Future World.

 

[raidermatt]

Changing it to 6 PM isn't really a big deal for us.

There probably isn't a single thing that IS a big deal for EVERYBODY. But just because something isn't a big deal to you or me, it doesn't mean its not a big deal for somebody.

Further, to reiterate something I said on another post, when you get nickel and dimed, very few of the nickels and dimes are big deal by themselves.


All that said, in Epcot's case, the hours reduction is really just Disney's reaction to the real problem, which AV, Show, and gcurling touched on.... Epcot in general has been allowed to stagnate and needs some updates and/or additions to draw more people in, and also give them a reason to spend more time there.

 

[grinningghost]

I think a serious rehab of the Living Seas would be a huge draw. People spend alot of money to go to SeaWorld. People love sea life. With today's technology and some creative Imagineering (there still must be some), that could be FW's biggest attraction. Cutting hours isn't the answer. Revitalizing what's there is. With the ever sky-rocketing price of WDW passes, there has to be SOME money that isn't going directly into Eisner's wallet.