This 4-5 day parkhopper line business is you know what!

[Hawaiian Style]

Lets see, not directed at you,
"I won't stay on site if I can no longer add days to my ticket for $5" Yet the resort hotels are at capacity and not having to offer discounts to be full.

"I won't stay at Hojo's because they quit making it so easy to get rooms at 50% off" Yet Hojo's is booked solid and many of those rooms are at almost $200 a room.

"I won't be able to vacation at disney if they keep raising ticket prices" Yet we see people post that they spent "$1700 for hotel, $700 for in room celebrations", etc.

"The food is so expensive" Yet people still pay $9 for a turkey leg and $3 for a bottle of water.

"I won't go to WOC or Fantasmic because I have to stand, I have to go and reserve my spot hours before" Yet both shows continue to full crowds for years.

People like to complain and I get that BUT if those who complain want something done about it they have to do more than complain. Complain all you want, write emails, make phone calls, threats whatever you feel like.

It is not until you stop shopping at a company that you get their attention.

Disney's attendance and gate entries are off the charts. Obviously they are making many happy.
Disney's food sales are through the roof. Must be enough people who don't mind $9 turkey legs.
Disney's resort hotels (and Hojo's) are booked to capacity. Again happy guests.

So I have to say the "problems" that I have seen people complaining about here and on other boards are NOT "too new to know". People just want something to complain about. If they truly wanted something done they would "vote with their feet" and really take their money somewhere else.

And Disney knows this. Disney is a business.

Again this is my observation.

I don't spite Disney for trying to make a buck, and I will be happy to hand over my $9 for a turkey leg.

I do think it's unfair to tell people to not do something that they love so much because they need to send a message. Our family loves Disneyland, and the whole part of spending time together in such a special place. There are things that I will "vote with my feet" on, and Disneyland is not one of them. I just hope that it never gets to the point where I feel like they (Disney) thinks I'm a sucker because we'll spend whatever they'll charge to be there. I think most people feel that way...charge me what you need to, but please don't take advantage of our love of the experience.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[isisisme]

Disney will figure out how many lines they need open. I am actually hoping that the long lines and the process discourage the people selling/renting their used tickets.
We saw our last trip a family get turned away because the tickets they bought on line were no good (I felt bad for them) and on the way back to our hotel for a nap, a lady trying to sell her PH (yes, we told a CM what we heard her say).

I am sure it will take time, at least with this board, people can just head to those 2 turnstiles (or any other that end up bring opened for it).

 

[abooch]

If Disneyland wants to stop "losing" money on people renting tickets, they should start "spending" money for the finger scanners WDW has.

 

[lizabu]

Guess what this makes me want to do? Go for 3 days instead of 5. And no, I'm not kidding. Mayhaps I'll be adjusting our travel dates.

I'll also inform the hotel of WHY we won't be staying as long so they are aware of the situation. This is ridiculous.

This is what I'm thinking too. I think the only thing that can change this is hearing from guests. The email link didn't work for me but when I googled it it came up

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/help/email/

 

[mouselike-harrier]

I found if you go to the official Disneyland site, and click on "contact us", then click "e-mail", it comes up with the official form. We are going in February and there is no way I am buying a 5 day ticket if I am subjected to that segregation. I will inform them that they are other parks in the area that doesn't treat me like a second class citizen. As others said, I have no problem with all of us showing ID, but I do have a problem with being relegated to 2 separate lines!

 

[TheZue]

According to another board the line is pretty much empty the rest of the day after the opening crowds move through. That seems hopeful that this will get organized.

 

[DharmaLou]

According to another board the line is pretty much empty the rest of the day after the opening crowds move through. That seems hopeful that this will get organized.

That's great, but when we go for MM I really don't want to miss out on half of it by waiting in line. Our MM starts at 7am and I don't think I can convince DH to get there much earlier than 6:30 to get in line.

 

[minnieandmickey]

If Disneyland wants to stop "losing" money on people renting tickets, they should start "spending" money for the finger scanners WDW has.

This is what I was thinking. Why haven't they started this yet? Not like the don't have the money.

 

[ttig34]

That's great, but when we go for MM I really don't want to miss out on half of it by waiting in line. Our MM starts at 7am and I don't think I can convince DH to get there much earlier than 6:30 to get in line.

Agreed. I can live with waiting a little longer in line in the afternoon if that were the case, but not during MM. Every few minutes makes a big difference.

 

[awdsmama]

I understand people being anxious about losing out on early entrance time etc...and feel bad for those that are there now as "guinea pigs" basically.

Hopefully Disney will get the kinks worked out and lines will be moving smoothly in no time.

I must say though I'm really suprised this is making people supposedly rethink their trips and go to the extreme of buying a 3 and 2 day ticket? That seems a bit overboard. It is just Disneyland ya know, not the line to get into the ER with a life threatening emergency

 

[Mel522]

This has only been in effect for a few days. Disney is still working out the kinks, and as someone else stated, the people right now are the guinea pigs. As with all things in life, if you have an idea you don't know how it will work until you try it. They are finding out now what is working and what is not, and will adjust accordingly. It may end up going the way of the height requirement wrist bands and just disappear, or the kinks will be worked out and in a few months it will be no big deal.

I do find it funny that most people who are complaining about this have not actually experienced it in person. I prefer to hold judgement until I have had first had experience with something. It's kinda like people who go on and on about how horrible a TV show is even though they've never actually seen it.

Give it time, and when you go you can make an educated decision on if this is the worst most awful thing Disney has ever done. If you are so concerned about it, then do as someone else suggested. Buy a 3 day hopper and upgrade to a 5 day later on. That way you can see first hand what you will be dealing with and if it's a big deal.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This is what I was thinking. Why haven't they started this yet? Not like the don't have the money.

But why spend the money to pull out the old entry gates and put in the biometric scanners when they will be putting in new (RFID?) gates in a year or so (or so the rumor goes)? It makes more sense to go low tech now, and spend the big bucks on the high tech next year.

And as was reported on another board, the special parkhopper lines were moving just fine when we walked by today. In fact, the regular lines were almost halfway through the esplanade at some gates, but the special lines were short and moved quickly.

 

[dcfromva]

We visited DCA on OCT 26th. We first went through the turnstiles around 9ish in the morning. We didn't know they were special lines, but picked them because they were the closest and shortest lines. Since we didn't have 4-5 day passes, the CM directed us to a different line. (There was a CM at the end of the line trying to direct folks to the shortest line. ) At around 6pm, we went through the DCA turnstiles again and there was no one in line at the special lines.

 

[BoltzNBrew]

We saw so many people U-Turning trying to get through the line on our MM last Tuesday. They really needed to make it clear what people with the 4-5 day passes needed to do because not only did it slow our entry into the park while people argued with the CM ticket takers but it ruined MM for those 4-5 day ticket holders as well.

 

[Tif]

I don't mind showing ID to get in. That's not a big deal. What would be annoying is if they don't have enough lines available for the number of people with extended tickets. Since checking ID isn't hard I really don't see why they can't do it at any turnstile. Hopefully they figure that out pretty quickly because our trip is this week.

BUT, since I can't count on anyone to change their actions to suit me and my wants/needs, I will change our actions to suit what I know to expect at this time. I'll have the tickets pre-labeled with our names. I'll get there even a little earlier than planned. I'll make sure all my family members have id out and ready to go each morning. And I'll be sure to ask a CM before getting into a line to make sure we're in the right place for our specific tickets.

Hopefully all that will make it so that the wait my party has is minimal. That's really the best any of us can do for now.

 

[LuckyRabbit]

I was there from Wed - Sunday this week and every time we walked up to the gates, either at park opening or when hopping, the 4-5 day gates had the shortest lines, usualy only one family ahead of us.

I was there for rope drop at DL on Wed (two families ahead of us) and for a non early entry day at DCA on Thursday. At DCA I was so grateful for the 4-5 day line as we got there only one hour early and at the 4-5 day line there were only three families ahead of us, where as the other lines were at least three times longer. Thanks to the 4-5 day line I feel like I saved at least an hour of line wait time over my 4 days at the park.

Of course I was frustrated on the first day to be directed to another line, but luckily it was no more than a few minutes delay. I was mostly surprized that all of my pre-research had not prepared me for this, so a good lesson that anything can change at DLR any time!!

 

[MrsMears]

I can certainly understand people feeling frustrated with inconveniences.

My husband and I experienced our first Magic Morning with three day park hoppers and we were at the parks at 6AM with a packed breakfast and hot coffee We traded our park hoppers in for premium annual passes as it was an easy decision for us that we would have at least one more three day trip within the year. I've had 21 days since April.. I wish we got more MM morning experiences but we don't stay on site but opportunities do come up every once in awhile. Disney magic

I always always always hand three pieces of media to a CM when making a purchase. My AP, my ID and my money media. (I never use cash in the parks and I only carry change counted out specific for the penny pressing machines) I experienced multiple times being asked for my ID with my AP that I just hand all three at once always and I'm always graciously thanked by the CM's. I carry this media along with my ART card and my health insurance card clipped to my lanyard in a Vera Bradley zip id case.

As for the 4+ plus hopper lines for MM I have all the faith in the world that DLR will move people through quicker than what was negatively experienced. It's not like suits behind closed doors plot, "how can we really through a wrench in their plans and get our guests frustrated?" No need to personalize it.