So are these wait times the new norm for a 5?

[TippeeCanoe]

There are a lot of reasons that this could be true. The most obvious - you could be trying to ride different attractions within the same park, or you could be in a different park.

Within the same park, not a chance. I was on MDE often, checking wait times on rides for the park we were in. We had 3 rides we 'walked on' during our trip and 2 of them were at MK right before closing.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Within the same park, not a chance. I was on MDE often, checking wait times on rides for the park we were in. We had 3 rides we 'walked on' during our trip and 2 of them were at MK right before closing.

So, you are saying that it is not possible that 2 different groups could have totally different experiences with wait times in the same park?

 

[bc7ate9]

I don't have hard numbers, obviously, but there is no way that 10% of people are using multiple magic bands. It is probably more like 1%. To use those you have to know about it, be willing to do it, set everything up properly, then execute it. I doubt 10% of people even know about it, much less do all the rest.



The Disney empire didn't come about by accident, so I'm pretty sure the folks in charge are not purposefully creating a bad experience for their consumers.

Even on the most crowded of days, tons of people still say they have an excellent experience. I think a lot of people totally expect lines that long all the time.

I see what you're saying, but I just don't think Disney would seriously consider relatively high wait times in the mid-afternoon to be a problem in need of solving.

 

[JimmyV]

I see what you're saying, but I just don't think Disney would seriously consider relatively high wait times in the mid-afternoon to be a problem in need of solving.

To be fair though, one of the main purposes of FP+ was to move people out of lines and into shops, restaurants and other cash-rich environments.
The one and only place where a guest at WDW does not spend a dime is in an attraction line. (Unless they are shopping on their smartphone.) So it certainly can be argued that having people in long lines in the mid-afternoon (or any time for that matter) is frustrating Disney's intended goals of FP+. The multi-billion dollar investment in all this technology was supposed to be recouped through added spending, so Disney should consider stagnant lines to be a problem in need of solving. I think you are conflating "high attendance" with "long lines". Disney wants the former but wants to discourage the latter.

 

[HopperFan]

i don't know crowd prediction for today, I never bother anymore, but MK is very crowded. Last I looked 7DMT was 2 hours, long queue for Dole Whips, difficult to walk. Speedway app said 10 minutes, sign said 20 and actual wait was 30. CM are adding rope queues and saw online report of beginning of phase closure.....for "low season" .

Have been this week often, never seen like this. Ride capacity is fixed, how you get on irrelevant. If it's crowded, unless everyone is only eating or shopping .. lines will be longer.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

To be fair though, one of the main purposes of FP+ was to move people out of lines and into shops, restaurants and other cash-rich environments. The one and only place where a guest at WDW does not spend a dime is in an attraction line.

I suspect that this is why stand-by wait times are so consistently over-reported. Times are inflated a lot more now than I ever remember in the past.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

That's "parks", plural. The problem seems to be that the contraction of DHS (in order to later expand it) is putting adverse pressure on the MK more so than any other park. It is not Disney's goal for people to leave saying: "Epcot was OK. Animal Kingdom was OK. Hollywood Studios was kind of a mess. And the Magic Kingdom was so crowded that we didn't have a very good time." That is the scenario that the poster was envisioning when they suggested that Disney needs to find a solution. (Though I am at a loss to figure out what that solution is. Can't very well cut off attendance at the MK on a day that is supposed to be a "4" as soon as the crowd level hits "7".)

Though the sample size is small and statistically insignificant, the last two families that I know who took their very first WDW vacation in 2015 both came back with an almost verbatim critique. "Disney World wasn't that much fun. It was too crowded and we didn't really do much. Universal Studios, on the other hand, was a blast and our kids can't wait to go back." This is a reaction that Disney really has to deal with, because it is becoming far more frequent. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, it was really, really hard to find a family that did not enjoy their first visit to WDW. Now, it is startlingly easy to find such families.

This. It certainly seems like Universal has gone from being the thorn in WDW's side to the entire rose bush . We love Disney and I'm sure it will always hold a special place in my heart. I grew up going to Disneyland and my kids are about to go on their third Disney World trip; but I have to say that Universal and other Orlando area theme parks have been on our radar for awhile now. Just waiting for the two year old to get a little bigger before we head over to the Wizarding World

 

[OchreHand]

Busy is the new normal for Magic Kingdom. On my trip two weeks ago I noticed a ton of families (parents / kids / grand parents) or large groups. So with more people traveling off season and international guests it's going to always feel crowded.

Having said that, that same week Epcot was really manageable.

Disney must be happy, tho.

 

[epcotty]

As having recently realized I could easily do this (get 6 fast passes per day) (And being able to do it at 30 days out because I still have an active (non-expiration) ticket on my current MDE account).

I'll be honest, even though it is "gaming" the system, if I am going to book another trip, I will be tempted to make a new MDE account to do that (especially for MK).

But, if 10% of the people in the park are using two sets of bands, that is like having 10% more people in the park (for wait times, not "congestion").
It's a loophole I am surprised they haven't closed (and I would expect them TO close it eventually).

I really don't understand how this is done. So you would need 2 current tickets and 2 magicbands tied to those tickets (1 to each) with 2 different MDE accounts and then you use 1 ticket to enter the park but use both magicbands at the FP? So confusing

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

BTMRR had an actual wait of 48 minutes at 11am. I really wonder if they have reduced capacity on days like this. (Compared to previous "off season times." I obviously don't expect them to run with the same capacity as New Year's Eve all the time.)

 

[bc7ate9]

To be fair though, one of the main purposes of FP+ was to move people out of lines and into shops, restaurants and other cash-rich environments.
The one and only place where a guest at WDW does not spend a dime is in an attraction line. (Unless they are shopping on their smartphone.) So it certainly can be argued that having people in long lines in the mid-afternoon (or any time for that matter) is frustrating Disney's intended goals of FP+. The multi-billion dollar investment in all this technology was supposed to be recouped through added spending, so Disney should consider stagnant lines to be a problem in need of solving. I think you are conflating "high attendance" with "long lines". Disney wants the former but wants to discourage the latter.

I guess...I think they probably want to find a balance between waiting and spending, but I still don't think long lines are going to set off any red flags. They make those elaborate queues for a reason. However, I also tend to think Disney knows EXACTLY what they're doing - and that they know how long their lines really are - far better than we do. Maybe they use these "lower crowd" times to experiment with variables like staffing and FP availability.

 

[epcotty]

To be fair though, one of the main purposes of FP+ was to move people out of lines and into shops, restaurants and other cash-rich environments.
The one and only place where a guest at WDW does not spend a dime is in an attraction line. (Unless they are shopping on their smartphone.) So it certainly can be argued that having people in long lines in the mid-afternoon (or any time for that matter) is frustrating Disney's intended goals of FP+. The multi-billion dollar investment in all this technology was supposed to be recouped through added spending, so Disney should consider stagnant lines to be a problem in need of solving. I think you are conflating "high attendance" with "long lines". Disney wants the former but wants to discourage the latter.

I would think in reality it would be really rare that people would buy more stuff because a line is too long for them. We've never even thought about doing that and don't know anyone who has. Most would either try to get a FP for it later or go to something else instead, or both

 

[3DisneyFanz]

BTMRR had an actual wait of 48 minutes at 11am. I really wonder if they have reduced capacity on days like this. (Compared to previous "off season times." I obviously don't expect them to run with the same capacity as New Year's Eve all the time.)

Clearly that was really only 15 minutes. They were just trying to scare people into trying the new Pecos Bill menu.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I would think in reality it would be really rare that people would buy more stuff because a line is too long for them. We've never even thought about doing that and don't know anyone who has. Most would either try to get a FP for it later or go to something else instead, or both

Yes but you're thinking like a theme park quest not a theme park accountant.

 

[DIS_MERI]

I would think in reality it would be really rare that people would buy more stuff because a line is too long for them. We've never even thought about doing that and don't know anyone who has. Most would either try to get a FP for it later or go to something else instead, or both

Actually, it is more likely that if I am stuck in a longer line, I will have less time for shopping....

 

[marinejjh]

We were at MK yesterday also and rode quite a few rides by 10am,used our fastpasses and 2 extras and rode many more rides. Now epcot today was a joke. Got there at rope drop and TT was down until about 1030, the a few other rides went down. Definitely not worth it. I have also noticed that the restaurants we eat at that share a kitchen have pretty slow service, we ate at San Angel and my kids had fun flashing the flashlight from our phone at people thay were taking pictures with there flash on the boat ride that goes through that restaurant.

 

[JimmyV]

Actually, it is more likely that if I am stuck in a longer line, I will have less time for shopping....

BINGO!

 

[petitephlox]

These are standby wait times- not using the FP?

How are people getting extra Fast passes from CM? Is this a normal thing that happens?

 

[memo10]

I would say that's pretty average for that time in the afternoon. We had a very similar experience 1/4. However, we went to MK Sunday Evening 1/10 (4-9pm) and Friday Evening 1/22 (8-10pm) and literally rode 4+ rides both nights and walked in the A&E, C&R, and Ariel meet and greets.

 

[Rileygirl]

Yep. Josh had a recent post where he used Figment to illustrate the effects of FP+ on wait times:

"Do you know how many days Journey into Imagination with Figment saw a 30-or-more minute wait in 2012? 17. Do you know how many days Journey into Imagination with Figment saw a 30-or-more minute wait in 2015? 187. That’s a 1000% increase. Do you know how much attendance is up in those four years? Less than 4%. But keep telling yourself FastPass+ doesn’t affect wait times."

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/disney-world-new-years-eve-2015-wait-times/

Gee, Its almost like someone predicted this a few years ago...... a year before fast pass + was on the playing field.....

It is interesting that users are finding the posted wait times, and the actual wait times are very different on this thread for January. Do you think Disney is using a new marketing strategy during slower times of the year - train the general public not to wait more then 30 minutes for a ride because they have learned to enjoy the fastpass+ on the headliners, and subtly and psychologically keep them off the rides during the slower times of the years by over stating the standby line - so people go into the stores and restaurants instead???

Perhaps a new dis strategy will be WHEN to ignore the standby times - simply ask the people exiting if they waited the 'posted' 75 minutes.

EDITED TO ADD: You will have more time for shopping if you DONT get into the line for the ride: thats the marketing strategy.

Along with being incredibly cost effective on staffing, : here is the idea: Disney always WANTS a line up at every b and c ride to be at 60 minutes: its a 'reasonable' amount of time for a theme park guest to wait for a ride, so they can staff all rides according to the very accurate forecast of how many people will be in the parks that day 30 days in advance : and we all give them that knowledge by booking our fast passes 30/60 days in advance - both on site and off site