Soarin' SB+ test...Fail

[jade1]

Of course long lines are a bad thing. Unfortunately Disney is trying to put a bandaid on a severed artery. The only way to fix this is to increase capacity by building more attractions. They are unwilling to do that in the Fla parks at this time for reasons only know to them.

Will help-although not much for the real popular SB IMO (A&E/TSM/Sorin etc) but I predict they will use it world wide where and when it is needed. And all future WDW attractions (and there will be) will have minimal waits IMO.

 

[mesaboy2]

Will help-although not much for the real popular SB IMO (A&E/TSM/Sorin etc) but I predict they will use it world wide where and when it is needed. And all future WDW attractions (and there will be) will have minimal waits IMO.

To quote Jennasis, it's magic!

 

[jade1]

That does not answer my question. All that says is that everyone can't do everything they want. Brilliant. How about they decide what they can and can't do by going to attractions and making the choices themselves?

How do you shorten lines without somebody losing?

How would they not be making choices? I look at as somebody gaining. But yes somebody in theory could loose out just like currently and just like Gringotts. Thats partly why they are reopening late in the testing.

 

[jade1]

To quote Jennasis, it's magic!

And available now.

 

[mesaboy2]

How would they not be making choices? I look at as somebody gaining. But yes somebody in theory could loose out just like currently and just like Gringotts. Thats partly why they are reopening late in the testing.

By not being in the park early enough to get a SB+. Now you don't ride at all. Not because the ride is down for mechanical reasons, weather, or an idiot guest, but because Disney thinks the line is too long. Thank ye be Mr. Iger for saving me from myself!

 

[wookiebeck]

That does not answer my question.
How do you shorten lines without somebody losing?

Um...add new headliner rides?

 

[heathsf]

Is it true that the first day they tested it, they reopened the standby line because people were upset? If so, then how have the tests gone in subsequent days?

 

[Disneychick75]

How would they not be making choices? I look at as somebody gaining. But yes somebody in theory could loose out just like currently and just like Gringotts. Thats partly why they are reopening late in the testing.

Hard to compare the two. Gringotts is brand new while Soarin' had been open since 2005.
Disney needs to quit the tweaking at guest's expense.

 

[SMorgan711]

This whole thing makes my head hurt.

All I know is that I got married at Disney in Feb 2014. We had 35 other guests come with us and I had to have meetings with them to explain Disney and how everything works. I even made newsletters up to explain ADRs, FP+, etc etc. Even after everything I had done to advise them, no one did anything except for 1 family that had been there before. Everyone else did QS all trip and were still scrambling to secure FP+ day of. It was a nightmare

If they had done this and got to Epcot, only to find there was no SB line, too, I know a bunch of people that would not be back.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The catch is if SB+ gets way ahead like 9PM for an 11AM guests-they need to decide if they can skip everything else for the next 10 hours-in effect standing in that line. That and 70% already have the FP+ for that attraction.

The bolded is.my issue with this. I'm sorry, but when has Soarin ever had a 10 hr wait? Never, as far as I'm aware. But that's what can happen with this card system. Easily. And somehow it is supposed to be better for the guest.

As that person arriving at 11am and getting a 9pm return time, I (and I imagine many others) would rather wait in a 90 min line than be told my only option to ride is 10 hrs away.

Its the same QTY of SB riders, and again as below-they are testing all options IMO.

It is just a different pool of people getting those sb slots...those arriving early in the morning. Hmm. Why do I recall so many lauding fp+ because you wouldn't *have* to arrive early to ride a headliner anymore? With this system, arriving early is even more necessary than it was with legacy fp, because once the sb+ passes.are gone, you don't have *any* other option.

 

[Angel Ariel]

That does not answer my question. All that says is that everyone can't do everything they want. Brilliant. How about they decide what they can and can't do by going to attractions and making the choices themselves?

How do you shorten lines without somebody losing?

Exactly! I may not have gotten to do everything I wanted on previous trips, but *I* got to make the decision, and I got to make it right there in the park, based on what my family and I wanted at that moment in time. Not what we had to choose months before we arrived.

 

[andeesings]

This sounds like the DAS system

You know you bring up an EXCELLENT point. What happens to guests with DAS? With no wait time when do they tell these guests to return? Not only that, but many with DAS can't RUN to Soarin at rope drop.

 

[jade1]

The bolded is.my issue with this. I'm sorry, but when has Soarin ever had a 10 hr wait? Never, as far as I'm aware. But that's what can happen with this card system. Easily. And somehow it is supposed to be better for the guest.

As that person arriving at 11am and getting a 9pm return time, I (and I imagine many others) would rather wait in a 90 min line than be told my only option to ride is 10 hrs away.

Its the same QTY of SB riders, and again as below-they are testing all options IMO.
/QUOTE]
It is just a different pool of people getting those sb slots...those arriving early in the morning. Hmm. Why do I recall so many lauding fp+ because you wouldn't *have* to arrive early to ride a headliner anymore? With this system, arriving early is even more necessary than it was with legacy fp, because once the sb+ passes.are gone, you don't have *any* other option.

I don't think it will be 10 hours-that's just what FP- would spit out, and 70% will have FP+ and arrive when they want. Again-you can be sure they will be testing all possibilities going forward.

 

[MouseClubMama]

As it stands now, the only thing a day guest will get is frustrated. Consider the family who is staying onsite at 'the other park', and spontaneously decides to spend one of their precious vacation days at Disney. After dropping a considerable sum of money for one day tickets, they will not be happy campers when they discover that they will be locked out of the headliner attractions that they paid to experience. Makes me wonder what kind of economic backlash this will have for Disney with regards to day guests alone. If you are a day guest it is highly unlikely that you will have an ADR for any meal, so you will be grabbing a bite at a CS. It makes no sense to pay for park admission to just shop for Disney souvenirs, eat at a CS, and spend the day on attractions that you could care less about. Admittedly, I was someone who would be happy to be at Disney with my family under any circumstances; but after reading this thread, and thinking about the bigger picture, I am looking at it from a different perspective. I do believe that Disney put all their eggs in one big basket of 'control'; they were counting on the serious Disney fans, many of whom are planners, to make FP+ a success. I do not think they gave much thought about the level of planning required on the part of their guests. If want my family to relax on vacation, I will essentially need to choose between ride reservations or ADR's because I know it would be a challenge for us to juggle both of them....bottom line is; somethings gotta give, so the rides would win. If we do not make as many ADR's, and eat at CS, then I will not be spending as many of my vacation dollars at Disney. This is just a Disboards discussion right now, but word of mouth is powerful, and if Disney can't get their act together and find a fix, I can see this as having a big impact on day guest attendance. It makes me sad to say this, but right now, Disney is a hot mess!

 

[Rileygirl]

hello disboarders

a quick note to y'all, and hopefully a longer post eventually, but I want you to know I took one for the team.

Instead of napping or swimming this afternoon, I hoofed it over to epcot to check out soarin. We did the morning at the MK (emh morning, something I avoid like the plague, but it was DD's bday, and she wanted to do the MK. When I tried to balk at this, she pointed out the time I INSISTED we be in the MK on Christmas Day, to see the parade - another very bad choice....anyhow...)

I arrived at the land at about 1:30 pm. I was thinking that the standby passes would be for later tonight, but that was not so. The printed return time was between 3 and 4 pm. Hmmm, not horrible.

I should mention that they had ropes up so there was only one way to enter the land, and one way to exit, so there was crowd/flow control going on.

Overall, there was NO negativity from the crowd that I could see, except a bit of grumbling. Due to the heat and humidity, I thought there could be some out and out screaming and brawling, much like a pool hoping/6 in a hotel room,/line jumpers thread here on our beloved dis boards.

They were using the old fast pass area of soaring to stage the hand out of these little cards. YOu were directed to go to a cm who was handing them out. I was by myself, and was asked how many did I want. This system could/would be massively abused if kept like this, as every member of the family could go up individually and ask for a group of tickets.

More soon, a few observations...be right back

 

[jade1]

You know you bring up an EXCELLENT point. What happens to guests with DAS? With no wait time when do they tell these guests to return? Not only that, but many with DAS can't RUN to Soarin at rope drop.

QBOT has a SB return time, but I'm not sure how the DAS system works-important to keep an eye on it though.

 

[andeesings]

Looks like they are testing today: https://twitter.com/rob_hampson/status/494504817931587584

This is a RIDICULOUS idea. I don't understand why ANYONE would think this is fair to any guest. You didn't book a FP+-- GET IN LINE. What is so hard about this? FP+ was to PREVENT people running to snatch up all the Fastpasses. Now it's essentially the same only if you don't get one you can't ride at all??!!

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm sorry, but no, I can't be sure of anything Disney does wrt testing. They have already shown that testing, to them, really means implementation. At this point, I *don't* trust them to test *all* of the possibilities, solely due to how poorly they have handled this from the beginning.

 

[lovethattink]

Thanks for sharing Rileygirl. I had planned to check it out this afternoon. But we are swimming instead.

 

[mesaboy2]

Um...add new headliner rides?

You chose wisely.