Timekeeper...a meet and greet

[EUROPA]

Screamscape is reporting a rumor that Timekeeper’s preshow area will be turned into a meet and greet for Toy Story Characters....

http://www.screamscape.com/html/walt_disney_world.html


Considering what a happened to the 20,000 seas lagoon after they did the same thing I guess we won't be getting a replacement.

 

[space42]

Wow, awesome!! woo!

This was rumored a while ago too when it first closed and before it became a "seasonal" attraction.

 

[WDWHound]

The Timekeeper lobby was converted to a meet and great at least once earlier this year, then converted back. Apparently it is not a permenant set up. They can remove it when they want to run Timekeeper during peak seasons.

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by WDWHound
Apparently it is not a permenant set up. They can remove it when they want to run Timekeeper during peak seasons.

...until they see how much money they can save by not running Timekeep at all.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Yea!

Anyone else remember when this was something that you could find outside of the attractions? Hmm, maybe I could make some dough if I rent a character costume?

 

[EUROPA]

...I can see the ad now...." Because many of you did not visit Timekeeper and becuase you said you wanted more character interactioin, we took it as a wake up call..."

 

[Distriv]

Timekeeper was one of my favorite attractions in MK, I really wish that they would keep the characters walking through the parks instead of using them to hide rides that they aparently have no intention of replacing. (cough, 20,000 leagues, cough)

 

[Testtrack321]

I find characters as a convienet excuse for the parks for everything.

 

[PKS44]

Disney's strategy is saturate and go cheaper whenever possible---Disney stores were going well---open a bunch more! (oops now close them down..)
-parks do well- open more parks! even if they are not "Full" destinations! (oops discounts for admission for DCA and food discounts for AK-never had to do that before)
-Millionaire a hit!-put it on 4 nights a week!(oops now its a flop)
-Characters are popular!-Have more! (we shall see if they too will destroy the specialness of what they have created.)

I have to assume this is the work of the incompetant Mr Pressler who is intent on squeezing the Cr-p out of the geese that lay golden eggs...there is no understanding whatsoever about entertainment and how people spend their entertainment time and money...I only wish I had sold my stock sooner than I did hoping that somehow these morons would get a clue...they won't.

 

[Distriv]

Oh I have an idea, lets close COP and make it a spining meet and greet!

 

[Planogirl]

Another meet and greet? What a stroke of genius! (Stated with complete sarcasm) Sigh....

You know what really worries me? We were surveyed when we entered Disneyland this past month. We were only asked how many days we intended to spend at Disneyland and if we had come to see any particular attraction. I said that we were spending three days and had come to see many attractions but were particularly interested in Indiana Jones. Now my answer could theoretically be used to discredit any OTHER attraction. After all, if we came to see Indiana Jones we obviously didn't come to see the other rides so.... Surveys!

 

[YoHo]

In the interests of being reasonable, I'd like to point out, that it SHOULD actually cost more to have a meet n Greet then it does to run Timekeeper. Timekeeper usually has between 2 and 3 regular Cast Members. Whereas a Meet n' greet with 2 characters has a minimum of 4 cast memebers. Timekeeper simply doesn't have enough popularity to justify keeping it open except during busy times whereas a meet n greet is always going to draw crowds.

what does that mean?

Timekeeper was designed poorly would be my conclusion.
Not that its a bad concept or expireance, just designed poorly.

 

[WorknFires]

Well I loved it... along with COP they were 2 of my favorite attractions. With these character greetings I feel like I'm getting scr@w@d and I'm not even getting kissed.

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by YoHo
In the interests of being reasonable, I'd like to point out, that it SHOULD actually cost more to have a meet n Greet then it does to run Timekeeper. Timekeeper usually has between 2 and 3 regular Cast Members. Whereas a Meet n' greet with 2 characters has a minimum of 4 cast memebers. Timekeeper simply doesn't have enough popularity to justify keeping it open except during busy times whereas a meet n greet is always going to draw crowds.

Sure there aren't some maintenance issues rolled up there in running Timekeeper?

Maybe it's people being "reasonable" that continues to get attractions closed and on-site perks taken away. How many people here would rather have another charcter meet and greet then an Attraction? Show of hands...

 

[YoHo]

Well, there may be maintainence issues I suppose, but based on the rumors we heard when it first closed I find it far more likely that it isn't pulling its weight.
1) It lacks a place to sit which is a turn off.
2) It doesn't have a very good throughput. (doesn't cycle fast enough)

It is NOT a popular ride and that is hardly rumor. A character Meet and Greet has been judged more popular. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's true.

 

[Safari Steve]

Also, as far as the idea that there are no characters outside, that could not be farther from the truth. There are lots... but what's wrong with indoor meet and greets? The air conditioning keeps the characters cooler, so they can see more guests, and the guests also benefit from the A/C. What specifically about an indoor character greeting area (aside from it "replacing" an attraction--even temporarily ) is a turn-off or warrants a complaint?

 

[Another Voice]

Besides the fact that character areas really do seem to be the budget-friendly response to building new attractions, I think there is a more basic problem with the meet ‘n greet areas. All the character interactions are being Santa’d.

A lot of the enjoyment of seeing the characters was it’s unpredictability. Especially for children, it was a nice surprise to suddenly coming up to a character and there was the anticipation of who the character was going to be. The seemly random nature of the character appearances made each trip to an area unique. The character hunt was an entertaining in its own right.

But the permanent photo ops come off, in my opinion, much more like going to see Santa at the mall: very predictable, very structured, and very formal. Instead of given a child a sense of anticipation and mystery, they simply get another station to have their ticket punched to ensure the adult’s value perception receives the cost-controlled number of “experiences”. Instead of characters roaming the park having fun, it comes off much more as a guy in a rubber suit selling pictures (would you like four wallet sized photos for only $9.95 more?).

Perhaps this is nothing more than a rant, but the Disney parks have always been places of prepackaged, controlled and contained places. The character interactions were a nice break from that routine. Why does everything at the parks have to be wrapped up in neat profit-participation fences?

 

[EUROPA]

Maybe Timekeeper is not that popular in fact lets say that its is not and that a character greeting area is more popular. Why does this have to reduce the number of attractions though? Why can't that valuable space be used for a new attraction why do we need another character greeting area? Is that going to be the answer for every under attended attraction? Close it down and turn it into a meet and greet?

 

[YoHo]

Because a New attraction costs Capital and The chief Rat don't want to spend it.

Look I agree that a Meet and greet is a very poor substitute, but they aren't closing the ride just to spite people. they aren't opening a new one to spite people.

 

[Safari Steve]

A lot of the enjoyment of seeing the characters was it’s unpredictability. Especially for children, it was a nice surprise to suddenly coming up to a character and there was the anticipation of who the character was going to be. The seemly random nature of the character appearances made each trip to an area unique. The character hunt was an entertaining in its own right.

Why is this in the past tense?
Many, many characters still greet in the out of doors all over the parks. Many characters show up seemingly at random.
They still do "pop-ups" where even the CMs at GR and Entertainment don't know exactly where, when or who will appear.