Soarin' SB+ test...Fail

[wn01aa]

SB+: Here is a ticket for you to come back in 3 hours to ride. Once you get back, you only get to stand in a 45 minute wait (I see CM's are no longer saying 30 minutes upon return).

 

[Tonyz]

Did you know an attraction costs about $100 MILLION dollars??? So, your suggestion would mean Disney should have spent $1.5 BILLION dollars on new attractions instead of MDE and FP+. Do you think Disney has that kind of money?

Oh…oh…oops….never mind.

Instead of 15 top of the line, mouthwatering attractions, we got FP+. Yay.

That moment when you have the sudden realization. Damn, that's depressing.

 

[g-dad66]

But it also said no one knew it would reopen. If someone tried to get in line while they weren't handing out cards they were told they could not get in line if they didn't have a card. They didn't tell them they could come back later and the line would be open.

I noticed this too.

I would be more than a little irritated if I were told there was no more Standby for the day and then later found out that this was not true.

But it doesn't seem like this could be maintained on a permanent basis, as word would eventually get around that Standby Lines don't close pemanently. So would there then have to be a pre-Standby-Line Standby Line for those who decide to line up well before the anticipated Standby Line re-open time?

Why do I get the feeling that FP+ isn't working so well (at least in Epcot)?

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

If I want to wait in an 80 minute line, then I'll wait in an 80 minute line.

If this is the way that Disney's going to go, I won't be a Disney Parks fan much longer.

 

[magicbob]

ETA: I don't follow this logic.

Maybe because it's fuzzy.

Back to the original topic... SB+ works great in theory... for the people who GET a SB+ ticket. Because, let's face it. For those people, this is just like legacy FP and that WORKED. The problem is that when the SB+ tickets are gone for the day, the legacy FP analogy no longer holds. When legacy FP ran out, you still had the option of waiting an hour or two to ride if it was that important to you. When SB+ tickets are gone, you are simply told you can't ride. I'm sure someone will dispute this by citing "first-hand reports" of the line re-opening. But there's no way to guarantee that will occur or know when it will occur. So, unless they just happened to check back after being told the ride was full for the rest of the day, those who were turned away, would still not get to ride. To add insult to injury, how will those people feel when they find out on the bus ride back to the resort that the line re-opened and they COULD have ridden, despite what they were told by the CM? Poor form.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I noticed this too.

I would be more than a little irritated if I were told there was no more Standby for the day and then later found out that this was not true.

But it doesn't seem like this could be maintained on a permanent basis, as word would eventually get around that Standby Lines don't close pemanently. So would there then have to be a pre-Standby-Line Standby Line for those who decide to line up well before the anticipated Standby Line re-open time?

Why do I get the feeling that FP+ isn't working so well (at least in Epcot)?

 

[Mommee]

We were there Wednesday around 6:30. They told my husband that the stand-by was shut down for a test and he couldn't ride right now unless he had a fastpass. They didn't mention the line re-opening. By the time we came off the ride (with our fp), the line was again open with a 40-minute wait.

It was quite a zoo down there, and there were gobs of people leaving the pavilion. Also no wait and plenty of seating for the food court.

 

[lovethattink]

We were there Wednesday around 6:30. They told my husband that the stand-by was shut down for a test and he couldn't ride right now unless he had a fastpass. They didn't mention the line re-opening. By the time we came off the ride (with our fp), the line was again open with a 40-minute wait.

It was quite a zoo down there, and there were gobs of people leaving the pavilion. Also no wait and plenty of seating for the food court.

Thanks for the first hand account.

 

[Jennasis]

Maybe because it's fuzzy.

Back to the original topic... SB+ works great in theory... for the people who GET a SB+ ticket. Because, let's face it. For those people, this is just like legacy FP and that WORKED. The problem is that when the SB+ tickets are gone for the day, the legacy FP analogy no longer holds. When legacy FP ran out, you still had the option of waiting an hour or two to ride if it was that important to you. When SB+ tickets are gone, you are simply told you can't ride. I'm sure someone will dispute this by citing "first-hand reports" of the line re-opening. But there's no way to guarantee that will occur or know when it will occur. So, unless they just happened to check back after being told the ride was full for the rest of the day, those who were turned away, would still not get to ride. To add insult to injury, how will those people feel when they find out on the bus ride back to the resort that the line re-opened and they COULD have ridden, despite what they were told by the CM? Poor form.

That' it in a nutshell isn't it?

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Maybe because it's fuzzy.

Back to the original topic... SB+ works great in theory... for the people who GET a SB+ ticket. Because, let's face it. For those people, this is just like legacy FP and that WORKED. The problem is that when the SB+ tickets are gone for the day, the legacy FP analogy no longer holds. When legacy FP ran out, you still had the option of waiting an hour or two to ride if it was that important to you. When SB+ tickets are gone, you are simply told you can't ride. I'm sure someone will dispute this by citing "first-hand reports" of the line re-opening. But there's no way to guarantee that will occur or know when it will occur. So, unless they just happened to check back after being told the ride was full for the rest of the day, those who were turned away, would still not get to ride. To add insult to injury, how will those people feel when they find out on the bus ride back to the resort that the line re-opened and they COULD have ridden, despite what they were told by the CM? Poor form.

I'd give ya a "thumbs up" but on my.phone and not sure how to do that. But couldn't have said it better! It's much MUCH better to give people a choice to stand in a 2 hour line than simply say "no it's close". People want the choice to decide for themselves. Not just about Disney but everything. I think it's normal to want to have control especially when spending thousands on a trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

But it also said no one knew it would reopen. If someone tried to get in line while they weren't handing out cards they were told they could not get in line if they didn't have a card. They didn't tell them they could come back later and the line would be open.

That answers the question I have had since this mess started. If you don't tell anyone the line will reopen later, it does NOTHING to help all of the disappointed people turned away from the line that day. I'd wager to say a fair number of them actually left the park early since they couldn't do what they intended to do.

All reopening the line later does is help the people who happen to stumble across it. But Disney CAN'T tell people it will reopen later, or they will get swamped late in the day and end up paying for longer operating hours keeping it open until the queue clears.

I noticed this too.

I would be more than a little irritated if I were told there was no more Standby for the day and then later found out that this was not true.

But it doesn't seem like this could be maintained on a permanent basis, as word would eventually get around that Standby Lines don't close pemanently. So would there then have to be a pre-Standby-Line Standby Line for those who decide to line up well before the anticipated Standby Line re-open time?

Why do I get the feeling that FP+ isn't working so well (at least in Epcot)?

I agree. If word gets around, there will be people hovering in anticipation of the line reopening. And that's precisely what Disney doesn't want.

We were there Wednesday around 6:30. They told my husband that the stand-by was shut down for a test and he couldn't ride right now unless he had a fastpass. They didn't mention the line re-opening. By the time we came off the ride (with our fp), the line was again open with a 40-minute wait.

It was quite a zoo down there, and there were gobs of people leaving the pavilion. Also no wait and plenty of seating for the food court.

I'm not surprised the food court wasn't busy. When they turn people away from doing what they PAID to do, it sort of ticks them off. At that point, lots of appetites are lost. The LAST thing they want to do is go spend even more money with the company that just ripped them off.

 

[wn01aa]

I'd give ya a "thumbs up" but on my.phone and not sure how to do that. But couldn't have said it better! It's much MUCH better to give people a choice to stand in a 2 hour line than simply say "no it's close". People want the choice to decide for themselves. Not just about Disney but everything. I think it's normal to want to have control especially when spending thousands on a trip.

That is it. When legacy FP ran out you had the option to stand in line still. The problem with this system that they need to work out is that time between when the last SB+ ticket for the day is handed out and when they plan to reopen the standby. Between that time the ride is basically closed down. Who knows if that time of having the ride closed is 30 minutes or 5 hours, it all depends on the speed the SB+ tickets are sold out. Maybe they could open a 3rd line once they run out of SB+ tickets. They would move the FP and SB+ lines faster to guarantee the SB+ a 45 minute. Regular standby might be 2 hours but it would give those who are told it's closed an option besides having to turn around. Then once the last SB+ Ticket expiry time has been used for the day, move the regular standby line faster through.

 

[mom2rtk]

That is it. When legacy FP ran out you had the option to stand in line still. The problem with this system that they need to work out is that time between when the last SB+ ticket for the day is handed out and when they plan to reopen the standby. Between that time the ride is basically closed down. Who knows if that time of having the ride closed is 30 minutes or 5 hours, it all depends on the speed the SB+ tickets are sold out. Maybe they could open a 3rd line once they run out of SB+ tickets. They would move the FP and SB+ lines faster to guarantee the SB+ a 45 minute. Regular standby might be 2 hours but it would give those who are told it's closed an option besides having to turn around.

Maybe that would be the SOL line?

 

[wn01aa]

Maybe that would be the SOL line?[/QUOTE

I like that, lol.

FP+, SB+, SOL

 

[SmallWorld71]

Maybe that would be the SOL line?[/QUOTE

I like that, lol.

FP+, SB+, SOL

I think it should be SOL+. Remember that a plus makes everything better.

 

[lovethattink]

This is totally off the wall. But I was thinking about if they handled attactions reaching capacity the way they handle park capacity with the phased closing? That would be worse than the standby tickets. Though it would sure give more incentive to staying onsite or being AP.

 

[MouseClubMama]

This. A million times this! There's a reason that they aren't tiering Magic Kingdom rides and that, aside from Anna and Elsa, we don't see the outrageous differences in wait times among the rides there. There's a reason TSMM and Soarin' at DCA don't have the long waits you see at WDW. That reason: more family rides. That is one solution that I find to be clear. For the life of me I cannot understand why Disney is spending so much on Disney Springs (and if anyone can offer some insight into what is going to be different about Disney Springs than Downtown Disney, I would be curious to hear) and vacation club property after vacation club property while Epcot sits there with a vacant Wonders of Life pavilion, vacant Odyssey, outdated Ellen's Energy Adventure, seriously outdated and/or boring Innoventions attractions, and a serious lack of family rides for the size of the park. Or, while Hollywood Studios undergoes its giant identity crisis. It's a Hollywood that never was and always will be. No wait, it's Pixar land. No wait, it's all about Star Wars. No no, it's the catch-all of WDW! But in a very small, compact park where there really isn't enough Star Wars, Muppets, Pixar, or even Hollywood or Disney to really get what that park is about anymore. And don't get me started on what all Animal Kingdom needs. We had lunch reservations at Rain Forest Cafe there at noon last week and arrived in time to see a mass exodus. The parade that used to keep people there until at least 4 has gone the way of the doodoo bird and people just aren't sticking around. No real excuse for that in a park that could comfortably house the other three parks. Nope, let's spend all of our money on hotels, so we can get even more people into the already overcrowded parks and on new gimmicks that actually will decrease the average number of rides many of our repeat guests will get to experience. Brilliant!

hmmm...sometimes I wonder about the people in charge.
http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/leadership/management
Magic Bands are brilliant, but what purpose will they serve without the addition of new attractions. Perhaps one of these days the light will dawn in the board room...here's hoping it will happen in our lifetime.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is totally off the wall. But I was thinking about if they handled attactions reaching capacity the way they handle park capacity with the phased closing? That would be worse than the standby tickets. Though it would sure give more incentive to staying onsite or being AP.

LOL, that might be a good spectator sport.

 

[flicx]

Can you point out in ANY of those "sources" exactly how much money was spent and show me how much "way over budget" they were as you claimed?

I asked you that question before you couldnt produce any real numbers and deflected to asking me your question.

When you give me your insight into the inner workings of Disney finance, i will be glad to answer your question as well

Pluto there is no reasoning with you. These are all reputable sources stating the same thing it is OVER BUDGET! The original amount slated was 500 million dollars. Bob Iger CEO of Disney stated that it was indeed OVER BUDGET and was concerned about it. Now I am not able to obtain an exact number, but we know for sure it is OVERBUDGET and the parks could have had as few as 6 and as many as 20 new attractions with this money by what is being reported the whole thing is OVER BUDGET by! If these sources aren't good enough for you than find me a source that says otherwise. It is not unreasonable to draw the conclusion that the money spent could have been spent on attractions for the park, and with just the 500 million they spent the could have built 5 expedition everest's, and yes it was reported that it cost 100 million to build it . Of course who knows if you would believe those sources.

 

[mom2rtk]

Bob Iger CEO of Disney stated that it was indeed OVER BUDGET and was concerned about it.

You mean they didn't put out a press release with those figures? I'm shocked. SHOCKED I tell you!