Rumors of Light (ROL discussion thread)

[TheFloatingBear]

We're going the last week of the month, but I'm still worrying about crowds now after seeing the EasyWDW post today. We went last year during Easter week and specifically planned to avoid that crowd level this year. I've read on the boards that other schools have a short break around the end of the month - kids have off the 25th and 26th in our MD district - and I'm hoping that doesn't drive crowds up above what I've seen predicted by TP, EasyWDW and others.

I know seeing that freaked me out a bit. I'm sure some if it is more about budget cuts and less staffing and rides not running at full capacity. Or at least I read some posts that suggested that. Next year, our break coincides with Easter, so we won't be visiting in April - that's why I think it will be a while before we come back... I didn't realize so many school districts had breaks at the end of the month...

 

[hamilkm]

I know seeing that freaked me out a bit. I'm sure some if it is more about budget cuts and less staffing and rides not running at full capacity. Or at least I read some posts that suggested that. Next year, our break coincides with Easter, so we won't be visiting in April - that's why I think it will be a while before we come back... I didn't realize so many school districts had breaks at the end of the month...

I do think the capacity issues have come into play some this week. We just got back today and every park but MK didn't seem that bad to us. We had FP+ for our major rides and had plenty of walking space, etc everywhere but MK. Sunday in MK was horrible! We couldn't move at all. Wait times were also insane. It took me a half hour to use my space mountain fast pass. Tuesday night I noticed Space Mountain not operating at full capacity with a 90 minute wait.

Today we did KTTK tour. I noticed all the pathways, etc were less congested than Sunday but with similar wait times. This makes me wonder if rides weren't running at full capacity?

On a ROL note my KTTK guide said it was going to open this "summer" whatever that means, lol!

 

[Paigevon]

Ooh, your field sounds so much more interesting than mine - contract management. (Seriously, say them out loud. )

Seems like you have a pretty solid plan! I can see why you wouldn't want to add baby #2 on top of all of that, though! DH and I are "one and done" and I'm still putting off getting my master's degree (but that's partially because I still don't know exactly what I want to do "when I grow up" and can't decide between an MBA and an MPA).

Thanks. Yours sounds more lucrative! I ended up here because I've always been obsessed with healthy eating, really liked anatomy & physiology, and didn't want to go into nursing. My real dream is to eventually be a P.A. or endocrinologist.

I went straight thru college then grad school worked full time, then 14 years later went for the doctorate while still working full time.

Ah, you're awesome! I always thought I'd want a doctorate, but now I'm just ready to be done with school. Maybe eventually.

 

[GaryDis]

Is anyone buying the "tech issues" reason for the delay?

Haven't they been out there testing on a daily basis?

If it's a tech issue wouldn't they cease testing until the issue is corrected?

This is late, but I didn't see any other answers to this question.

If it were something that they could just analyze and fix in a straightforward manner, it would have been fixed the first day.

It's much more likely that they're tweaking something, testing again, getting more data as to how it's misbehaving, tweaking again, testing again, etc. In other words, they can't just design a solution on paper or computer, know that it will work, and implement it. They have to try different things, hope that it works, and figure out how to refind it when it doesn't

At least one web site is blaming it on the GPS control of the floats. In other words, they're trying to do the boat equivalent of Google's self-driving cars. I can only hope that they're using "GPS" loosely, and have implemented their own location system, because as far as I can tell, the best non-military GPS is only good to a few meters, which probably isn't nearly good enough for the floats. Maybe the problem is indirectly related to location, such as not being able to predict the motion of the water well enough. Who knows?

In any event, the daily testing is totally believable as an approach to getting things working.

 

[rteetz]

This is late, but I didn't see any other answers to this question.

If it were something that they could just analyze and fix in a straightforward manner, it would have been fixed the first day.

It's much more likely that they're tweaking something, testing again, getting more data as to how it's misbehaving, tweaking again, testing again, etc. In other words, they can't just design a solution on paper or computer, know that it will work, and implement it. They have to try different things, hope that it works, and figure out how to refind it when it doesn't

At least one web site is blaming it on the GPS control of the floats. In other words, they're trying to do the boat equivalent of Google's self-driving cars. I can only hope that they're using "GPS" loosely, and have implemented their own location system, because as far as I can tell, the best non-military GPS is only good to a few meters, which probably isn't nearly good enough for the floats. Maybe the problem is indirectly related to location, such as not being able to predict the motion of the water well enough. Who knows?

In any event, the daily testing is totally believable as an approach to getting things working.

Yep, it's the only reason they have been seen testing during the day too. They wouldn't be testing during the day if they weren't having issues.

 

[PaintsWindColors]

Hey friends, does anyone recall (or have an easy link to) the original info on the rumored dining packages?

I'm interested in when the supposed first show might be (time wise) and how many hours prior the dining package must be...

Thx!

Here is one link to an original forum over at The Dibb: http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=935900

I went straight thru college then grad school worked full time, then 14 years later went for the doctorate while still working full time.

Ditto - 6 years of earning that B.S. then M.A. so I found myself ready for a 'career' at just shy of 24 years old and had no idea what the real world was really like. 5 years later and I'm still trying to figure things out...

 

[dachsie]

I am in a slight panic right now. I called WDW to make a payment on my reservation and the lady told me something was wrong that my name was listed twice and not my friend on it and then she said it listed her twice. Then she put me on hold and I was on hold 30mins and it disconnected me. So now I am trying to call back in and make sure the lady didn't screw up my reservation

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I do think the capacity issues have come into play some this week. We just got back today and every park but MK didn't seem that bad to us. We had FP+ for our major rides and had plenty of walking space, etc everywhere but MK. Sunday in MK was horrible! We couldn't move at all. Wait times were also insane. It took me a half hour to use my space mountain fast pass. Tuesday night I noticed Space Mountain not operating at full capacity with a 90 minute wait.

Today we did KTTK tour. I noticed all the pathways, etc were less congested than Sunday but with similar wait times. This makes me wonder if rides weren't running at full capacity?

On a ROL note my KTTK guide said it was going to open this "summer" whatever that means, lol!

"Summer?" - rather vague...I think I find the walking space issues tougher than the waits sometimes! I'm expecting it to be tougher than last April but it sounds like it's hard to know what to expect! At this point, it almost sounds like you're better off if they're expecting big crowds and they're staffed accordingly...

 

[Jfsag123]

My MSW has just been collecting dust on the shelf for the last few years, but as a former family therapist, I'm available to provide assistance to help any loungers struggling with the recent ROL postponement, lol!

Hello fellow mental health fielder! I've got an MS in Counseling (also collecting dust) and am in my last semester of coursework for my psychology Ph.D right now - one more month and no more class! Of course, then I have dissertation and internship so I'm still looking at two more years in the nut house. We can co-facilitate groups. I've been having to use therapeutic techniques on myself to get me through the process of planning this trip.

 

[hamilkm]

"Summer?" - rather vague...I think I find the walking space issues tougher than the waits sometimes! I'm expecting it to be tougher than last April but it sounds like it's hard to know what to expect! At this point, it almost sounds like you're better off if they're expecting big crowds and they're staffed accordingly...

I agree about the walking space. Even with reported level 10 crowds basically every day of my trip the only park I truly had a problem walking in was MK. We finally just gave up on Sunday. The first 2 hours in the morning on Sunday and 10pm til midnight on Tuesday were great. Hopefully this week has taught them a lesson!

 

[Marlyn]

I'm sorry but yes, that's exactly why. Maybe if we can work through these issues, we can get ROL back on track...


I kid! Maybe we should start a group...

I thought this thread was our group?

I am in a slight panic right now. I called WDW to make a payment on my reservation and the lady told me something was wrong that my name was listed twice and not my friend on it and then she said it listed her twice. Then she put me on hold and I was on hold 30mins and it disconnected me. So now I am trying to call back in and make sure the lady didn't screw up my reservation

Oh no.....is it ok?

 

[beesly]

I am in a slight panic right now. I called WDW to make a payment on my reservation and the lady told me something was wrong that my name was listed twice and not my friend on it and then she said it listed her twice. Then she put me on hold and I was on hold 30mins and it disconnected me. So now I am trying to call back in and make sure the lady didn't screw up my reservation

Hopefully it was just a temporary glitch in the CM's view of your reservation. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[cdnjason]

My MSW has just been collecting dust on the shelf for the last few years, but as a former family therapist, I'm available to provide assistance to help any loungers struggling with the recent ROL postponement, lol!

Hello fellow mental health fielder! I've got an MS in Counseling (also collecting dust) and am in my last semester of coursework for my psychology Ph.D right now - one more month and no more class! Of course, then I have dissertation and internship so I'm still looking at two more years in the nut house. We can co-facilitate groups. I've been having to use therapeutic techniques on myself to get me through the process of planning this trip.

I refer folks to professionals like you all the time. You do good work.

 

[Marlyn]

Just read of Facebook that the new StarvWars Fireworks is rumoured to debut June 5 in case anyone had t heard that...

 

[dachsie]

They fixed it. Apparently MDE put info in twice for me and it was blocking everything else. Whew! I was going to freak if they lost all my FP and ADRs.

I have noticed that they don't have times out for the entertainment in May - when does that usually happen?

 

[BridgetR3]

Ha! That's funny we're all booking this now - we'll have a Extra Magic roll call instead! I would rather be going to a ROL preview party, but I'm super excited for this tour! I was thinking the same thing about the $ - I should save it but it was burning a hole in my pocket!

I was reading @beesly 's post when I was on the phone, so I asked the CM- she said that on some of the back stage tours they say no backpacks for security reasons, but not this one? but who knows? Often CMs give different answers - maybe someone who has done can chime in?

Yes. I'm also searching for groups of 7 for both BOG (1:15 pm) and Scifi (1:30 pm) plus Akershus (6:30 pm) but no luck so far. I still have 3 weeks to go so fingers crossed.

We did the Family tour last June and had a backpack. It was HOT and we walked around a LOT but backpacks were allowed at least back then!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I know seeing that freaked me out a bit. I'm sure some if it is more about budget cuts and less staffing and rides not running at full capacity. Or at least I read some posts that suggested that. Next year, our break coincides with Easter, so we won't be visiting in April - that's why I think it will be a while before we come back... I didn't realize so many school districts had breaks at the end of the month...

Which post? Is it on his page? I see a post from yesterday but not today. @beesly

I am in a slight panic right now. I called WDW to make a payment on my reservation and the lady told me something was wrong that my name was listed twice and not my friend on it and then she said it listed her twice. Then she put me on hold and I was on hold 30mins and it disconnected me. So now I am trying to call back in and make sure the lady didn't screw up my reservation

Something like this happened to me. One day my boyfriend's name had changed to mine with his middle initial. I thought it was a glitch and would fix itself but I finally ended up calling after a week and the tech guy seemed annoyed it happened and was able to fix it quickly.

 

[Paigevon]

I have a Be Our Guest lunch for 3, at 12:10 on Tuesday 5/31.

Please let me know by Sunday evening if you'd like it.

Shared on the May ADR thread, thought I'd mention it here too.

I also think I will be dropping a BOG dinner for 6, at approx 6:55 pm for Wednesday, 5/4.

 

[princessemsmom]

We're going the last week of the month, but I'm still worrying about crowds now after seeing the EasyWDW post today. We went last year during Easter week and specifically planned to avoid that crowd level this year. I've read on the boards that other schools have a short break around the end of the month - kids have off the 25th and 26th in our MD district - and I'm hoping that doesn't drive crowds up above what I've seen predicted by TP, EasyWDW and others.

NYC Public Schools have spring break the 25th - 29th. It's also Passover. Not sure how that will affect the crowds.

 

[Paigevon]

NYC Public Schools have spring break the 25th - 29th. It's also Passover. Not sure how that will affect the crowds.

Based on the dibbs FP+ availability... I'm thinking the first week of May may be busier than the end of April. Early May was essentially unavailable FP for Anna/Elsa, parades and fireworks while there was still a lot of availability for mid/late April. Which is unfortunate for us.