Soarin' SB+ test...Fail

[mom2mickeyfan]

I wondered how much of the SB+ for Soarin' has to do with the amount of people riding well past closing time? Anyone have any figures or CM anecdotes on that? I mean, is the Soarin' queue empty by 10pm on a 9pm close? 11:00pm? Later?

We got on Soarin' at 8:58 on Monday,June 9 on a crowd 7 or 8 day. The park closed at 9. (Doesn't Epcot always close at 9?) The wait said 15 minutes. We walked right on and had to wait for CMs to load the ride. They loaded 3 theaters but only filled the first row on each. There were only a couple of people behind us and the line was closed after them. We walked out of the park with the crowds after the fireworks. Based on this, which I admit is only one example, they are not doing this because the SB line is keeping guest in the park for an hour or more after the park has closed.

 

[mesaboy2]

Is it time for a letter writing campaign? Who has the guest services email?

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[Dan Murphy]

Not sure if posted, did not read all the pages here.

http://www.doctordisney.com/2014/07/30/new-standby-queue-test-soarin-doesnt-go-well/

 

[WikiWiki]

Looks like they are testing today:

https://twitter.com/rob_hampson/status/494504817931587584

Weird that the time on the post was 8:30 am.

I've not read the entire thread, although I read most of it. What strikes me as funny is Disney already has the solution to a Soarin' virtual Standby line. It's over in the Magic Kingdom in the form of Dumbo...With Soarin' you could do something similar, but limit people to the entire land pavilion. That way, if the standby line is an hour or two, you could eat, go on living with the land, see the movie, shop etc, until it was about time to board. Getting notification in that big of an area would be the trick.Unlike the current test, the return time would be unlikely to get 4 or 5 hours in the future because you're limited to the land pavilion. Just like on Dumbo you need to stay in the play area.

This is the best idea I've seen.

Not me. I know many DISBOARDS people are famous for their use of the old FP paper system. You would all get quite a leg up on people like me, scampering here and there to get passes left and right. This new system levels the playing field, and it's understandable that some of you would dislike this.

But for me, who will be at water parks, Disney Quest, and resort pools in the morning so my kids (who sleep in and tend to be night owls) will be able to do late afternoon/night time in the parks, the FP+ is a godsend. I have THIRTY fastpasses ready to go for my 12 day trip next week, and we will get every headliner without a morning dash. We don't re-ride much so for US, this works great.

EDIT: I AGREE though, that this no standby thing was a bad idea; a veritable train wreck waiting to happen.

This is the thing, for me. I think a lot of us are comparing fp+ to legacy fp five+ years ago. Fast pass used to be this amazing thing, and nobody used it, and the return window was more like a guideline. But I think around 5 years ago was when it started to suck. Sometimes the fp line would be longer than the standby. I think it became common knowledge that you could come back any time after your return window, and that caused the lines to fluctuate wildly. So they took that away, and it got worse, because people would stand around and wait for their window, and sometimes you couldn't even get to the cm for all the people asking questions and before you got there your time had run out. I haven't tried fp+ ( I will in September) but there WAS a problem. Disney is trying to fix it. I for one don't want Epcot filled with thrill rides; that's not what that park does. Another interesting and education experience like Soarin would be amazing, but honestly Soarin is the only "ride" in Epcot I really like, and it's my favorite park.

 

[wn01aa]

Not sure if posted, did not read all the pages here.

http://www.doctordisney.com/2014/07/30/new-standby-queue-test-soarin-doesnt-go-well/

I wonder if this test is going on again today. Maybe they will give it another go and try to tweak it like they tried with A&E as in the standby line opens again at 8pm. Maybe for Soarin the line will open up again at 5pm and only give out tickets from times up until that time.

 

[Suvadoo]

It will just come up "stars". It is from a blog called temporary tourist I think. I just Googled "Walt Disney World Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet changes"

Thanks

 

[lovethattink]

It seems like ride opportunities are diminishing for everyone.

First it was with FP and limiting the return times.

Then the change from GAC to DAS for those who qualified.

Then limit set of 3 FP+.

Now testing limiting standby.

 

[ibela]

Every vacation requires research. If a family shows up at a resort in Mexico and leaves the safe area because they didn't research, there won't be a guest services to complain to on the other side.

Not exactly. If a family goes to an all-inclusive, the "research" after selecting a hotel is basically which activities or restaurants need reservations, and those are usually done day of at the resort. Same with a cruise, after researching which cruise line/itinerary I'm interested in, that's basically it. Maybe booking a fancy restaurant one night or a show (depending on the cruise line). Aside from Disney, I can't think of any vacation that requires dining reservations 6 months out or planning out an hourly plan. We leave in less than 30 days and I'm a planner by nature, the amount of effort to plan this trip absolutely perfectly (for us) is about 20x the effort I put in to set up my retirement IRA. That's just not normal.

And I have a question. I know a lot of people have opinions on this but not sure if anyone's gone to personally experience this SB+ feature....anyway my question is say there's a ride we really want to re-ride (doesn't apply to us for Soarin', just hypothetical) then could 1 person go get tickets for 4 with a return time of say 2-3pm. Then 30 minutes later someone else goes back to get tickets for the same family of 4 because they're now distributing for 4-5pm, etc. So in all reality, it's not necessarily that more people have access to the ride because some may be re-rides and then you remove the SB option so a new person that had no idea about the SB+ walks up at 6pm to a closed queue? I would think this would be a problem during busy times.

During our upcoming week most days have crowd levels of 3-4 (1 day is 6 or 8) so I don't anticipate any issues but during another timeframe, I'd be seriously worried.

 

[mom2rtk]

Forgive me if this has been mentioned before but I think the Stand By passes actually increases the number of riders. If I I use my FP+ and get off the ride and can get a Stand By return pass I am very likely to do that. If I get off a ride and my only choice is to stand in a long stand by line for another ride then I am much more likely to go on to another attraction.

It looks like Stand By passes would increase repeat riders and therefore add to the overall number of riders. I don't see this happening as much with a character line. Meeting a princess once would be enough (unless you are stalking her).

It also increases the number of riders by removing one's willingness to wait through a long line as a condition of accessing the ride. Before a number of people would see a long line and decide to pass it up. Now they'll just take a card and come back. The fewer barriers you have, the more demand you have. Disney needs less demand, not more.

I guess one way to get guests into stores and restaurants is just to not allow them on attractions at all. Bravo, Disney.

I for one don't want Epcot filled with thrill rides; that's not what that park does. Another interesting and education experience like Soarin would be amazing, but honestly Soarin is the only "ride" in Epcot I really like, and it's my favorite park.

The sheer quantity of people seeking access to the 2 headline rides in Epcot says you are in the minority.

 

[ktlm]

UM- is this the first step leading toward an all FP+ totally scheduled day?

There is no way I'm going to get to the park and then run from popular attraction to popular attraction to collect cards telling me when to come back and ride that attraction, and have no standby line allowed all day because you are solely dependant on a card. Can you imagine if your flight arrives at noon and you get to a park at 3:00 only to find out you are not even allowed to get in line for the popular attractions because all of the cards with ride times for those attractions were disbursed at 9:00 a.m. What about park hopping? That becomes an impossibility. I have this vague nagging in the back of my head that says are they working toward designated times for all rides you want to do in a day that may eventually all be done by computer in some misguided attempt to avoid lines and divert people into the shops and restaurants?

I could see it for A&E because of the total craziness surrounding them, but even a friend of mine kind of opened my eyes on that one. They had planned to do A&E on arrival day instead of skipping the parks like they usually do. She called it a bonus day. They would go to MK and either she or her DH would get in line for A&E even if it was a 4 hour line. They didn't care because normally they wouldn't hit a park that day anyway and would just come in on a later flight or hang out at the hotel. This way one parent would wait in the huge line while the other took the Frozen obsessed toddler around the parks to have some fun. They would get A&E knocked out the first day; toddler is happy because she saw them; and they would not have to disrupt their trip later trying to run to them in the morning, and she would not have to repeatedly stalk the website trying to get a FP time that worked with their schedule. This run in the morning and get a card with no standby totally pulverized her plan. I hadn't really thought of it in those terms, but I can see where it doesn't seem fair even for A&E to not allow people to wait in line if they are willing to do so.


I just spent a wonderful 5 days at DL- we walked up to Soarin in the early evening and didn't pull a fast pass because the standby wait was only 10 minutes. Suddenly, cancelling WDW and going back to DL instead is sounding better although I do love WS and those Grey Goose slushes in France!

 

[lovin diz]

Hey Everyone, I am just finding out about this. We were the "testers" in Pop last year (Nov 2013). We were not allowed to do FP- only fastpass +. And cant stand it.. However, it seems to me like disney isnt going to admit that fp+ is a major FAIL, so they are trying to bring FP- back and have both?? I for one would just wish they would admit it since it is still "testing" (yeah right) and scrap it. You still have the same problems...Too many people using FP now, with not enough attractions (or want to do attractions)...Sorry, its a small world, doesnt count. lol..

 

[g-dad66]

You still have the same problems...Too many people using FP now, with not enough attractions (or want to do attractions)...Sorry, its a small world, doesnt count. lol..

It occurs to me that the problem will slowly correct itself, as fewer and fewer people will plan to go to WDW...

And voila! finally enough attractions for the right number of people.

 

[Mad Hattered]

It occurs to me that the problem will slowly correct itself, as fewer and fewer people will plan to go to WDW...

And voila! finally enough attractions for the right number of people.

Mmmmmmm....progress.

 

[maarowak]

I'm a bit confused... So we have FP+, FP, and... SB?

So, I can FP+ 3 attractions, and use FP tickets to other attractions? I thought they retired FP tickets...

I'm confused by the concept of SB tickets ):

 

[lovin diz]

It occurs to me that the problem will slowly correct itself, as fewer and fewer people will plan to go to WDW...

And voila! finally enough attractions for the right number of people.

exactly --cause guess what? We left a day early last year, and this year (actually Friday) we are leaving for Gatlinburg, then up to Sandusky oh at cedar point. Then in May, we are going to NY. Im just not spending my money on this mess. Did it in November and refuse to be a guiena pig again.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm a bit confused... So we have FP+, FP, and... SB?

So, I can FP+ 3 attractions, and use FP tickets to other attractions? I thought they retired FP tickets...

I'm confused by the concept of SB tickets ):

There is no more "FP"--gone since January. These "SB tickets" function much like "FP" however, and posters are using the terms interchangeably.

 

[DopeyDame]

It occurs to me that the problem will slowly correct itself, as fewer and fewer people will plan to go to WDW...

And voila! finally enough attractions for the right number of people.

As Yogi Bera said: Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded.

 

[tsme]

Honestly, this sounds horrible, I hope Disney scraps this idea quickly.

 

[surferdave]

It occurs to me that the problem will slowly correct itself, as fewer and fewer people will plan to go to WDW...

And voila! finally enough attractions for the right number of people.

Nah, they've tapped into enough markets now internationally that they can keep the parks (or at least MK) filled to the gills no matter what. There will be an insanely long lead time before this sort of thing affects park attendance and they know it.

 

[maarowak]

There is no more "FP"--gone since January. These "SB tickets" function much like "FP" however, and posters are using the terms interchangeably.

Ah, I see! They are like FP but with longer waiting times, then?

Thank you for the info!~