Ramblings of an old LandBaron

[DisDuck]

I was originally not going to contribute to this thread because all of these things have been said before. But I reconsidered and decided to add my thoughts.

These are:

LB.. My daughter and I find the store issue humorous. Call us weird but we do not find it a distraction. In fact and DL, it was an inconvenience on Splash Mountain as we had to hunt up the picture booth to buy our picture of the drop instead of walking right into it at WDW.

gcurling.. What is the percentage of onsite versus offsite guests? Since you stay onsite EE has a value. In my 19 trips to WDW since 1974, I have only stayed onsite (this includes the old Dutch Inn) 4 times. The last 3 were with EE in existence (I think, I don't remember is EE was available in 1986), all others have been offsite. Therefore, its going away has no impact on me. And if the majority of guests (in good times) are offsite then its impact is really limited in scope.

I live it up to JeffH to compile one of his lists about was is available and added to. But I do want to say that those who have never been to DCA and condemn it outright SHOULD GO AND SEE IT. Yes, it is not TDS but neither is MK. According to the observations of what TDS is like MK pales by comparison so maybe we should condemn MK also.

Finally, we think all of us (including me) have to but this into perspective. Disney is entertainment not 'life/dealth'. I guess my rose-colored glasses are stuck firmly on my face. Even when not at WDW I look at the place like a child not an adult. Adults have a tendency to look for the flaws but a child looks with innocence. In my recent Disney magazine I read a most interesting article. If concerned the IceCapades and the early Disney shows. Since it was not a Disney production the customes were not very elaborate. There were mesh screens under the noses so the actors could see where they were going. One of the first things Disney did when they set up their first 'owned' show was to change this feature. Why?, because children were able to see that a 'person' was behind the character. It destroyed the illusion. This has been and will always be my point and reason for glued to car#1. THE CHILD and the illusion. Disney makes this connection like no other place I have been to. Do you think a 6 yo seeing Mickey 'live' for the first time cares that EE has been removed? Or that CM hours have been reduced. NO. Let's keep this thought in mind as we muse on the workings of Disney. Yes, as a inanimate CORPORATION they screw things up from time to time just like GM or Chrysler or Intel, etc. and when they do they deserve the abuse as a CORPORATION. But flame me if you will, until the day the doors close permanently (and no matter what some may believe that is not happening) when I cross under the arch I am transformed. That MAGIC is not degrading because even LB has said it comes to him when he enters the World.

Have a good Thanksgiving all and I hope what I have said makes sense. It does to my family and that is my most important audience.

 

[JeffJewell]

Have a good Thanksgiving all and I hope what I have said makes sense.

...Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, as well.

And of course everything you said makes sense. What you said boils down to "DisDuck likes everything Disney has done." It's easy to make sense out of that.

The only part that doesn't make sense to me is your apparent conviction that just because it's true for you, then it follows that it must be true for everyone.

Jeff

 

[All Aboard]

gcurling.. What is the percentage of onsite versus offsite guests? Since you stay onsite EE has a value. In my 19 trips to WDW since 1974, I have only stayed onsite (this includes the old Dutch Inn) 4 times. The last 3 were with EE in existence (I think, I don't remember is EE was available in 1986), all others have been offsite. Therefore, its going away has no impact on me. And if the majority of guests (in good times) are offsite then its impact is really limited in scope.

EE is (was) a perk for onsite guests. Sort of a way of showing appreciation to guests for paying more money to stay in WDW resorts. A way of differentiating thier product, a way of driving the "percentage of onsite v. offsite guests" up.

It has value to me, none to you. You won't change a thing, doesn't impact WDW's bottom line one bit. I *might* change something, I *might* decide to save a few bucks and stay offsite. Now, I've changed WDW's bottom line. The majority of $'s WDW gets from me is hotel stays (30-40 nights a year), park admission is minimal with my seasonal pass and we normally don't spend too much on food.

Bottom line is: this past weekend, EE would have been a very beneficial perk to me and many onsite guests who were queued up for busses in the mornings and standing in very long lines at park entrances.

WDW has missed the mark. They have made cuts now to cover for profit losses that occured in Sep & Oct. Crowds have risen now to levels that don't warrant the cutbacks. It's "after the fact" management and it is negatively impacting current guests.

 

[YoHo]

Just a Few comments about haunted mansion.

When I was in DisneyLAND last Christmas (stopped admitting people at like 1:30 3 days in a row) I rode the Haunted Mansion a number of times. The line was rarely long and the park was bursting. Every time I went on the ride there was a huge line once you left the stretch room. this corridor is designed to have a line. I don't quite remember if its exactly the same at WDW, but I wouldn't be surprised.


As to EE. I stand by my conviction that either it will return, OR they will re-extend hours if the situation warrants it.

Also, a New Question, gcurling, did they seem to be funneling you to bag check areas? I wouldn't be surprised if part of the park entrence problems are security related. That would also be a good reason to remove EE. To concentrate the When and hows of security.

 

[DisDuck]

YoHo, I do not know how they handled gate security at WDW but if anything like DL & DCA it does have the potential to backup the entrance lines. The 'search' CM's were stationed before the turnstiles so that no one entered until after inspection. On a Monday this was no big deal as crowds were small to begin with but on Friday it did have an impact.

 

[wdw4us2]

I can answer YoHo's question to gcurling regarding funneling of guests to security check points. At MK, that is what they are doing which creates a huge backlog of guests trying to get in. At Epcot and the Studios, they have tables set up at each turnstile to check bags. I don't understand your comment about the elimination of EE helping security - if they still had it there would be less people going in a once, thereby making the security checks at later times less gridlocked. Just a thought IMHO.

 

[All Aboard]

YoHo, indeed the bag checks cause entry to be more time consuming. However, when you have a 100 yard long line at every turnstile at quarter 9 at the studios BEFORE the turnstiles have been opened, that has nothing to do with security. Remember, we were at the gates each morning before the turnstiles had been opened. At the Studios, there was a security table at each and every turnstile, no funnelling going on.

I wish I had video to show, I've never seen anything like it. Picture the entrance to the studios. Often, the morning queue stretches from the turnstiles back to the ticket-window building. That's a distance of maybe 20 yards. Sunday, the lines continued back beyond that almost to the water, easily 100 yards in length. I couldn't believe my eyes. Why not scatter some of the guests onto Hollywood Blvd, sell some merchandise?

 

[YoHo]

But, those security people are probably getting payed big bucks (especially now) The cost of providing an extra hour or 2 of time for those security people could be cutting into the financial viablity of EE. Combined with the facts that EE isn't needed as often as it used to be makes it impractical.

It would make more sense to open MK earlier on the weekend, OR do EE for MK on the Weekend.

 

[daannzzz]

In regards to the waiting area after the stretch room in the HM. I had been to Disneyland many, many times before getting to Florida. I was surprised when we left the stretch room at the MK that there was very little area between the room and the loading belt. At Disneyland you walk through the hall of portraits, around the corner by the concave bust and down the walkway to the loading belt. At the MK there is hardly any area to wait in and it gets a little uncomfortable and tense as people push forward.

 

[YoHo]

Hmm, Okay, I can see the problem gcurling. Its possible they aren't getting employees in Early enough to open the shops early too. That would be something for Safari Steve to comment on.

 

[Safari Steve]

But I can explain the Mansion back-ups.
It all boils down to the difficulty in communications from Load position to Stretch Position. The intercom phone in the foyer is inside of a secret panel in the wall, and that (coupled with the fact that CMs are constantly moving between the door and the stretch rooms) makes it nearly impossible for Stretch CMs to hear the intercom buzz. Backups usually occur when there is a ride stop (either for guests in wheelchairs or cut-ups at load). Since Load can't contact Stretch directly, we don't usually figure out that there's been a stop (which means we need to bring in smaller groups) until the hallway backs up. as soon as we see it happening, we make the necessary adjustments, but once the problem is apparent to us, it's more than apparent to our guests. We sincerely apologize (I've been there too), and it's just as frustrating for us. Another common cause of hallway backups is the guests themselves. Sometimes we just have "slow days", where no one wants to move. (I've had groups that walked so slowly that even though they took up their entire time interval getting into the room, they only half-filled it.) Sometimes it's a combination of slow herds and a ride stop. This is, however a minor problem that doesn't occur as much as one might think (often we go days without a single back-up).

 

[DisOrBust]

Here is another oldie...