Posted wait times are wrong this week (May 15th)

[mickeyluv'r]

Posted wait times are an automated system. There isn't a CM at each attraction typing in a random time, they occasionally scan a red card on a lanyard at the entrance of the queue, and then hand it to a random guest.

Do they still do it this way? I used to see those all the time, but have not seen them on our more recent trips.

If so, it seems wildly outdated when (at least) 50% of their customers are wearing tracking bands. Disney automatically tracks us for the purpose of taking our photo.
It doesn't make sense they aren't also accurately tracking how long we wait in each queue.

Why would they ignore such valuable information?

 

[monkyby87]

Call me crazy, but there are many differences between dining locally and dining at WDW. I don't pay $30 per hour to be in my local city! I pay something for parking perhaps, but not an entry fee just to be in the city.

I expect WDW to value my time differently because I'm paying a hefty price to be there. I expect Disney to provide the kind of quality they claim to deliver.

If we are ever seated more than a few minutes late at our local restaurants (assuming we were on time), they apologize AND often give us a free dessert or appetizer.

Disney, not so much these days; and that makes me sad. Disney used to be great about such things; it was long one of the things I loved about WDW.

Disney planning also used to be FAR more flexible, and far less expensive. If a ride is down during my FP window, WDW SHOULD issue us an automatic anytime FP. That is the right thing to do.

Likewise, they should bake other kinds of compensation into their system every time THEIR mistakes cost us a valuable experience, like seeing the fireworks.

Florida should pass a kind of 'lemon law' for theme parks.

They do issue an anytime FP, right? Or at least one that can be used within a certain period of time.

Disney has far too many people that visit nowadays to offer all of these concessions that you want. It maybe was viable back in the day, but not anymore. They can't offer all of these things to everyone; there are just too many people.

I think the solution to all of your problems is to stop going, if they've become a park you don't like to visit anymore.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Disney has far too many people that visit nowadays to offer all of these concessions that you want.

Huh?

The solution is for WDW to listen to their customers.


The rest of your post makes no sense.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I never go according to wait times. If large groups arriveright before you the wait time won't be accurate. I go according to where the line ends.

 

[monkyby87]

Huh?

The solution is for WDW to listen to their customers.


The rest of your post makes no sense.

Not sure what you're confused about, but ok.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Parts of WDW are great, and parts of WDW could be much better. It is gibberish to say we can't differentiate between the two, or to say we shouldn't provide feedback when they don't deliver a quality product.

Every technology update should equate to a improvement of some kind. Ideally, every update should benefit both the business and the customer.

Every time my cell phone updates, my services get faster and the interface improves.

Disney's no different. They now collect far more data on every customer than they did just a few years ago. If they aren't using that data and technology to improve our experience, than their investment was an epic failure.

Within reason, Disney should be able to provide accurate wait times across every part of their property. It is just good business practice.

 

[cisco911]

Call me crazy, but there are many differences between dining locally and dining at WDW. I don't pay $30 per hour to be in my local city! I pay something for parking perhaps, but not an entry fee just to be in the city.

I expect WDW to value my time differently because I'm paying a hefty price to be there. I expect Disney to provide the kind of quality they claim to deliver.

If we are ever seated more than a few minutes late at our local restaurants (assuming we were on time), they apologize AND often give us a free dessert or appetizer.

Disney, not so much these days; and that makes me sad. Disney used to be great about such things; it was long one of the things I loved about WDW.

Disney planning also used to be FAR more flexible, and far less expensive. If a ride is down during my FP window, WDW SHOULD issue us an automatic anytime FP. That is the right thing to do.

Likewise, they should bake other kinds of compensation into their system every time THEIR mistakes cost us a valuable experience, like seeing the fireworks.

Florida should pass a kind of 'lemon law' for theme parks.

Why should Disney value your time differently than anyone else? Because they charge more for something? You do realize that you are paying more at disney not because they will provide you better service, but because they provide you a more expansive experience. Your local theme park charges you something like $60 for a day pass and disney charges you $150 for a day pass for magic kindgom. So according to your theory, disney is obligated to serve you 2.5 times better than your local theme park. However, they are not charging you more because of service. They charge you more because last year your local theme park spent maybe a couple of million dollars putting up a new ride, while Disney spent $1 billion building a new land. They spend $100k a day on fireworks shows across the parks.

In my opinion every business is obligated to provide the best service they can regardless of the price they charge. Whether I go to my local diner or the fanciest restaurant in town, I would expect to be treated with the same care.

It seems like you feel that every time something doesn't go exactly to plan, you feel like you should be compensated. Do you really feel like a restaurant needs to comp you a meal for seating you a few minutes late? So does that mean if you show up a few minutes late to your reservation they have the right to charge you an extra meal for waiting for you?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Within reason, Disney should be able to provide accurate wait times across every part of their property. It is just good business practice.

We learned a few years ago that the monitor at the gate attendant station at each attraction lists two times, the posted wait time and the actual wait time. There are a few of these that are situated where you can take a quick peek when you walk by, but most are set up where guests cannot easily view them.

The posted wait times are for crowd control purposes and are likely to be intentionally inaccurate. However, the gate attendant does know the actual wait times and will often tell you if you ask politely.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Why should Disney value your time differently than anyone else?

Exaggerate much?

Disney should value OUR time, not me personally.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We learned a few years ago that the monitor at the gate attendant station at each attraction lists two times, the posted wait time and the actual wait time.

The posted wait times are for crowd control purposes and are likely to be intentionally inaccurate. However, the gate attendant does know the actual wait times and will often tell you if you ask politely.

Thank You!

I wasn't aware of this.

Interesting!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Thank You!

I wasn't aware of this.

Interesting!

We first found out about this at Toy Story Mania shortly after it opened in 2008. We found an 80 minute posted wait time about an hour before the park closed, but there really didn't seem to be anyone around and there were very few strollers in the parking area which is a telltale sign that the line is short.

I asked the attendant if 80 minutes was accurate and he took a quick look at his monitor and said that it's really closer to 20. The actual wait was about 15 minutes and we rode 4 times in that hour, while many potential riders saw the 80 minutes, shooked their heads and walked away.

The exaggerated wait times are definitely intentional, especially late at night.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The exaggerated wait times are definitely intentional, especially late at night.

Sorry, yes, we too have long been aware of inaccurate posted wait times. A number of times, we have also poked our heads into the TSM queue, and noticed that the line wasn't nearly as long as posted.

Under the category of "General skills we have learned from going to WDW," quickly sizing up a line wait is one of them. It has come in handy when visiting many places, not just amusement parks.

I fully get why WDW would want to be deceptive at times.

Long waits are also sometimes good for promoting a new ride.

 

[cisco911]

Exaggerate much?

Disney should value OUR time, not me personally.

No my comment was why would Disney value your time more than any other company would.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

No my comment was why would Disney value your time more than any other company would.

Many companies and businesses DO value their customer's time!

And most of us appreciate it when they do.

 

[cisco911]

Many companies and businesses DO value their customer's time!

And most of us appreciate it when they do.

Your not getting my point. You originally correlated the high cost of Disney with the level of attention Disney should pay. My point was that no matter what you are paying, the company needs to have the same level of consideration for the customer time.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Your not getting my point. You originally correlated the high cost of Disney with the level of attention Disney should pay. My point was that no matter what you are paying, the company needs to have the same level of consideration for the customer time.

No, you said people don't want to wait at WDW because they overplan, and said these same people don't complain about waiting an non-WDW locations.

I'm said when I go to city...and my only plan is to do one thing ( eat? or see one show?) and the movie starts 15 minutes late, then the loss of 15 minutes isn't a big deal. (Unless I get parking ticket because I over stayed a parking meter?)

OUR (all of us) time at WDW is structured differently. In the old days, I hardly planned anything in advance. We actually often did walk-ups, and if we had to wait for a table, we did. if we felt like staying out late, we paid $10 for extra PM MK hours, we paid that DAY. If we didn't, it was no loss.

There was no option to pre-plan FP except which one to try to get 1st.

Now our expectations are vastly different; partly due to rising costs, but mostly due to all the time spend pre-booking, and oh heaven forbid- expecting to do the activities that WDW sold to us.

We- all of us- now have pre-booked FP, pre-booked before and after-hour parties, prebooked dessert parties, no-show ADR fees, specific ticket dates, and those dinner+ROL combo packages.

if we- as in ALL of us- didn't use our park ticket from 2003, it is STILL viable! If you can't use a 2019 ticket? Goodbye $100! We can't even use it 4 DAYS late- Ouch!

Disney's policies keep raising the VALUE of our WDW time.

I didn't change the system, WDW did.

 

[monkyby87]

lol, this has gotten out of control.