Soarin' SB+ test...Fail

[mesaboy2]

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

Thank you for the info!~

They are like FP but give access to the Standby queue, otherwise you can't even get into the Standby queue. The wait in these Standby queues is managed by this newfangled system and is supposed to be 30 minutes or less I believe.

 

[ghtx]

This new system seems like an improvement to me. Yes there are some losers (people who show up later in the day and can't ride at all even if they were willing to wait 2-3 hours) but also winners (people who show up not at RD but earlier in the day and are able to ride without having to wait 2-3 hours).

Anything that keeps queues shorter sounds like an improvement to me.

 

[MouseClubMama]

So who's in charge of this SB+ experiment.... Beaker, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew?

Seriously, I cannot believe what I am reading...what the heck???!!!

 

[Figmentforever24]

This new system seems like an improvement to me. Yes there are some losers (people who show up later in the day and can't ride at all even if they were willing to wait 2-3 hours) but also winners (people who show up not at RD but earlier in the day and are able to ride without having to wait 2-3 hours).

Anything that keeps queues shorter sounds like an improvement to me.

And that's fair to the people who enjoy being there later in the evening how?

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Just saw a pic on twitter showing one side of the land pavilion roped off where you can't even get to the stairs to go down. It also says that CMs admit it isn't going well.

 

[Ali]

How is this different from Universal giving out cards for people in the Gringott's line a few weeks ago?

If Disney has allowed access to the ride to more guests than the ride can hold through FPP then they have to do something. People in Standby lines expect to get on the ride eventually.

How about if a cast member stood at the end of the line at 5 pm and told each person that they could get in the line but had no guarantee of getting on the ride because of the FPP guests. Then the ride could shut on time and CMs could go home on time and Disney would not be in trouble for requiring people to stay later than they were scheduled.

 

[surferdave]

I know of Roller Coaster Tycoon whenever I built more rides I attracted more guests, I think the "problem" WDW has is they are attracting more guests anyway!

A big part of the problem is MK is much more popular than the other parks. Just getting some more attractions in AK & HS would do wonders for spreading the crowds around instead of guests spending half their Disney vacations in MK.

 

[flatlandcycle]

This new system seems like an improvement to me. Yes there are some losers (people who show up later in the day and can't ride at all even if they were willing to wait 2-3 hours) but also winners (people who show up not at RD but earlier in the day and are able to ride without having to wait 2-3 hours).

Anything that keeps queues shorter sounds like an improvement to me.

Yes in the abstract, but why, during the test period, would they error on the side of over subscription? Much of this stuff could work. They just can't seem to 'drive' their own programs. Why aren't the asking themselves questions like, "What is likely to cause the least disruption?"

 

[hunner]

How is this different from Universal giving out cards for people in the Gringott's line a few weeks ago?.

IMHO, I think this is different because Gringotts has only been open a month or two. Just as with A&E, people are expecting an enormous, at-capacity line. Soaring', on the other hand, is many years old. It's a headliner largely because there aren't a lot of other rides in Epcot. If Universal was doing this with slightly older rides, like FJ, then I would be just as irritated.

 

[mesaboy2]

This new system seems like an improvement to me. Yes there are some losers (people who show up later in the day and can't ride at all even if they were willing to wait 2-3 hours) but also winners (people who show up not at RD but earlier in the day and are able to ride without having to wait 2-3 hours).

Anything that keeps queues shorter sounds like an improvement to me.

Inluding closing the queues completely to people who walk up in mid-afternoon? Fail.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

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.

How is this different from Universal giving out cards for people in the Gringott's line a few weeks ago?

If Disney has allowed access to the ride to more guests than the ride can hold through FPP then they have to do something. People in Standby lines expect to get on the ride eventually.

How about if a cast member stood at the end of the line at 5 pm and told each person that they could get in the line but had no guarantee of getting on the ride because of the FPP guests. Then the ride could shut on time and CMs could go home on time and Disney would not be in trouble for requiring people to stay later than they were scheduled.

As you can see from my PP, this wasn't a problem on a crowd 7 or 8 day. We ended up walking out of the gate sooner than many other guest that were over in WS during the fireworks.

Why is it you hear people suggest getting in line right before closing on rides that have high SB lines all day? It isn't because they will be waiting in line for 90 minutes. We even got in line for 7DMT 15 minutes before closing with a posted 65 minute wait time and was still walking to the front gate at 15 minutes after. This was the second Saturday in June so what most would consider close to peak time. They are not doing this to keep the ride from running several hours after the park closes.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I like FP+ (it means you get to ride headliners with no wait if you don't show up at rope drop) and this procedure likely works really well for a character meet and greet, but I think they are learning that as much as people complain about having to wait in line, you can't just "close" a ride hours before park closing. I think it could work much better on very high volume days like Christmas, but not on a regular day.

 

[Mad Hattered]

IMHO, I think this is different because Gringotts has only been open a month or two. Just as with A&E, people are expecting an enormous, at-capacity line. Soaring', on the other hand, is many years old. It's a headliner largely because there aren't a lot of other rides in Epcot. If Universal was doing this with slightly older rides, like FJ, then I would be just as irritated.

Actually it's only been open for 3 weeks.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Bad idea by Disney, I suppose they will carry on as one of head bods thought it was such a great idea before realising what a stupid idea it really was.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

And that's fair to the people who enjoy being there later in the evening how?

Exactly

 

[Tinker74]

So wait....Can I still go to Soarin at rope drop and ride....??

Do I need to get a card from somewhere??
My plan was soarin at rope drop and then TT before 10 with my FP.

 

[disneynewbee]

Feeling sorry for the poor castmembers that have to man these lines and deal with the results of bad decisions made by higher ups. I wish they would put the big dogs on line duty for a while and then maybe they would come up with a better solution for all this mess.

 

[momtosam]

This seriously makes me want to cry. What a mess! My DH will never agree to another trip to Disney in the future if we have to plan every blessed minute ahead of time. FP was bad enough this last trip.

At least we had fun at Universal. I guess that will become our new first choice.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Inluding closing the queues completely to people who walk up in mid-afternoon? Fail.

I think the queue was effectively closed anyway since no one gets on the end of a 2-3 hour Soarin' line.

It's just perception.

 

[Mad Hattered]

On and off. Not counting closing 3 hours before the park every day, breakdowns, and the time it has taken to evac people off the ride.

As opposed to this bang up job Disney is doing.