Soarin' SB+ test...Fail

[Mad Hattered]

Well...apparently it started today. I think the following comments sum up what happens when you pull this stunt on an actual ride.

It started, and ended, today. They issued cards until they ran out (which was around 5:00). When they ran out and closed the Standby line, not allowing anyone else to ride for the day...it got ugly, and the line was reopened by 5:30. Not sure if the test will continue tomorrow.

From what I heard it is a disaster now as they still have people returning with their cards plus they opened the regular standby line and it currently has a three hour wait.

And then a response...

It got ugly?! What?! You mean people were upset that they were not allowed to wait - in ANY capacity - for one of the most popular attractions in WDW and one of two headline attractions at Epcot?! My goodness, who could have ever predicted such a result? It's not as if any of those guests turned away spent upwards of $100 per person to be there...right? Still, who do these guests think they are, getting upset over being forbidden to ride a ride they paid to have access to?

Hmmmmm....

 

[mesaboy2]

Maybe Disney is finally finding the limits of how structured the average guest wants their vacation to be.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Maybe Disney is finally finding the limits of how structured the average guest wants their vacation to be.

It makes the Qbot at that other place look genius. If only one could wear it on their wrist.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I'm actually glad to hear this. I have had a lot of anxiety over the idea of doing this for rides in the first place. I can understand implementing it for A&E... but to me that is a horse of a different color... and a color that doesn't happen elsewhere!

Don't touch the standby lines for our rides!!!!!!!!!

 

[wn01aa]

Knowing them they won't give up on it. Maybe next they will move to having 3 lines. The FP+ line which gets you onto the ride in less than 5 minutes, SB+ which gets you into the ride in about 30 minutes, and then a regular standby with no time guarantees (enter at your own risk).

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe Disney is finally finding the limits of how structured the average guest wants their vacation to be.

Ya think?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Knowing them they won't give up on it. Maybe next they will move to having 3 lines. The FP+ line which gets you onto the ride in less than 5 minutes, SB+ which gets you into the ride in about 30 minutes, and then a regular standby with no time guarantees (enter at your own risk).

I wouldn't be surprised!

 

[DOOM1001]

When I first read this I wasn't even sure if I read it correctly,I told myself I couldn't have as there's no way they would just shut down the standby line and nobody else will be allowed to ride it standby for the rest of the day.I mean whoever thought of this stunt should not be in a position to make these decisions,either reassign them to another position or let them go because standby option should always be available from opening to close.

 

[Planogirl]

Knowing them they won't give up on it. Maybe next they will move to having 3 lines. The FP+ line which gets you onto the ride in less than 5 minutes, SB+ which gets you into the ride in about 30 minutes, and then a regular standby with no time guarantees (enter at your own risk).

How would the CM's ever coordinate that? Plus would the regular standby actually ever move?

 

[crusoe2]

Okay, this is the first I've heard of this. Let me see if I've got this straight. We are now supposed to book Fastpasses for three rides a day, weeks before our trip. And for some attractions that we can't book a FP for - in order to get to do them at all - we're going to have to rush to the park to get a card. (Wait, that sounds familiar doesn't it? Oh yeah, that's pretty much what we were doing with the original fastpass system.) And if we don't get there in time to get a card for the standby line, we might be allowed to stand in line but we may not actually get to ride?

Ok, sarcasm off now - do I have this correct? Cause this really is the first mention I've seen about this.

 

[Always Dream]

This is really getting unbelievable. If I had planned to go SB I would have been livid. What exactly does park admission include if not the attractions? Are we now supposed to be grateful just to be allowed to wander around the park? Is this ride-rationing Disney's plan to force people to visit more days? Do they think we're all sheeple to corporate America?

I have been to Disney more than 6 times. I HATE FPplus - it ruins what used to be a good time. I am not interested in planning my hour-by-hour activities months in advance and am even less interested in waiting in line for an hour.

I am currently planning a trip with a newbie. We plan to spend our last two park days re-visiting our favorite parks. How are we supposed to plan our FP plus for those days when we don't know what attractions we like yet? Does Disney expect us to be content booking FPplus for mediocre attractions the night before? Why should we be? Ticket prices have gone up, not down. Why are we getting less?

I am already planning to ditch my Disney Visa seeing as I don't envision many trips until they get this BS sorted out. What is it they think is going to happen when word gets out that families can go, spend vast sums of money, and only be allowed to see a fraction of what they think they're buying?

 

[Itinkso]

Ok, sarcasm off now - do I have this correct? Cause this really is the first mention I've seen about this.

Yes, you've got it! You must have missed the "No Standby for A&E" Thread. Some people explain this system as FP1 = a wait of less then 10 minutes; FP2 = a wait of 30 minutes; Standby at Disney's discretion.

 

[crusoe2]

Yes, you've got it! You must have missed the "No Standby for A&E" Thread. Some people explain this system as FP1 = a wait of less then 10 minutes; FP2 = a wait of 30 minutes; Standby at Disney's discretion.

Oh crud. Thanks for verifying that for me. But I was really hoping I'd misunderstood. You are correct, by the way. I had noticed the long thread about A&E but I hadn't looked at it since DD didn't seem that interested in meeting them.

I'm with Always Dream - this is seriously starting to suck. My DH will blow a gasket if we get down there and are told we can't even get in the standby line. Or that doing so doesn't guarantee we'll get to ride.

 

[magicbob]

When they ran out and closed the Standby line, not allowing anyone else to ride for the day...it got ugly, and the line was reopened by 5:30.

From what I heard it is a disaster now as they still have people returning with their cards plus they opened the regular standby line and it currently has a three hour wait.

Remember those second and third order effects that I referenced in the A&E thread? This is exactly the kind of thing that I was referring to. As I said, I didn't have time to really ponder the details, but my gut told me there would be issues when they turned people away altogether, as well as issues when people with SB+ cards returned and the line was still long.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

I didn't read the A & E post because for one we don't have a trip planned at the moment and for two, we wouldn't stand in line for that with or without a FP. So I wasn't aware of any "experiment".
Walt must be spinning.
How sad that such an idea even came about and sadder yet that they put it into practice.
Just what was this exercise supposed to prove or disprove??? Don't think I want to know. Just me rambling in my mind.

 

[my4girls10]

Really hoping they get this crap sorted out by December. My youngest is finally tall enough to ride Soarin'. I will not be happy if we get cut out. This will be our last trip for a long time, as we have other trips in the works for the next several years.

Whose goofy idea was this anyway?!?

 

[patty57]

I can see WDW attempting this, but just can't imagine it would stick. I think there would be a very public uproar with so much bad publicity that they would need to rescind this incredibly stupid idea.

 

[Whizzer Wilkins]

Seems like a good idea on the face of it---the same number of guests get to ride standby, and get the added benefit of not having to queue for an hour to do so. It'll take some time to train guests to take advantage of it, though.

 

[Suvadoo]

I can see the logic behind this fabulous idea, FP+ is basically a loser, so lets add another layer of aggravation to the Disney experience! IMO airline customer service may be slightly better than Disney's.

There are very few popular attractions in Epcot. Wouldn't it have been smarter to invest in new E ticket attractions prior to introducing FP+ ? I resent Disney trying to convince guests to book FP+ on rides like Figment or EO. What a joke!

 

[ArwenMarie]

What a mess.

They won't give up though.