TSM standby-less test Oct. 6-9

[crostorfer]

Maybe we'll need to morph the "FP+ Haters Club" into the "I Told You So Club".

I kind of love that. We need buttons. And a mascot.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Ok. Accepting the fact that Disney royally missed on the execution of this test.

Couldn't it be said (as rumored elsewhere) that this is a test to see if TSMM 2 track FP+ only could be an option. With a potential third track to be built as SB only?

Just spit balling optimism here.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Ellwood970]

I really don't think so but you could be right. I think it is about profits i wonder if they will ever start to sell the land for profit. Although there may be protection for the 43 sq miles in losing their special govt. privileges if they start to sell it off. Just wondering how far they will go for profit.

 

[mom2rtk]

I kind of love that. We need buttons. And a mascot.

And new t-shirts. Don't forget the t-shirts. But high quality reasonably priced ones. You know, something different from what I bought at Disney last year.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

I really don't think so but you could be right. I think it is about profits i wonder if they will ever start to sell the land for profit. Although there may be protection for the 43 sq miles in losing their special govt. privileges if they start to sell it off. Just wondering how far they will go for profit.

Profits are one thing. Killing a company and a revenue generator is another.

I understand that the corp. beast that is Disney will continue to push/pull their clientele as far as they can in order to squeeze a buck.

However, there are some things that would just mean DEATH to their cash cow. So they wont do it.

I'm not even talking a long-term here. Right now with the idea that they will force all to FP+ for their "3 and out" day would be purely and immediate return in the business sense. Not even a short term sense. It would alienate the clientele so severely that they would vanish and Disney would also loose the thousands upon thousands that they would then tell.

Disney is changing. That is a fact. They need to turn profits. This too is a fact. But even the savviest investor would look at these as poor choices for investment if Disney are indeed just looking for the quick buck. However, when you couple the rumor about the expansions at DHS then you need to have just the tiniest bit of faith that there may be a bigger plan out there.

But as I previously stated --- the execution of this test was extremely poor. And their data would be tainted. The experiment was flawed from the get go as it wasn't a known for those guests expecting to visit. As a data guy all I can say is "Garbage in, garbage out!". The end assessment may provide some insight as two how a 2 track FP+ system may operate but not in the true sense because the client wasn't aware of the system ahead of time.

 

[sweepy109]

Any new rumors on what test will be next? People said this would happen with TSMM... Getting so nervous about our trip now!

 

[over50visits]

Looks like yesterday's trial was a success! Lots of FPs given out, little or no wait to get on the ride, and no long wait for anyone in the SB line. People had plenty of time to shop and eat, rather than waste their time standing in line.

Sure, there are a few complainers, but some folks just don't like change. Now the single biggest complaint about WDW is gone (standing long lines), and guests are free to spend more money on souvenirs, snacks, meals, photos, tours, shirts, toys, candy, etc.

A bold move on Disney's part. If they extend it to all the rides, DHS will be the first major theme park to have no waiting lines for major attractions! What a success.

Now every guest's 8-hour day will be a total of 1 hour on rides, 1 hour watching parades, and 6 hours shopping and eating. No more hours wasted in SB lines. A magical day.

 

[JadeQ]

I read the OS article on the Yahoo home page about this yesterday. The seemed to indicate that they would be holding a certain number of FP slots available for day guests. Ok, great, BUT, (and this is a huge BUT), if you have to have people show up at rope drop and literally run back to a kiosk to make a FP + reservation, with only times that Disney has given you to choose from, aren't we right back to square one? Isn't this the point of FP+, to get rid of that practice?!?!? This is absolutely ridiculous.

Yeah, ridiculous and probaly is what happened today,people running to grab a FP.
But worst of it all is people who like to have a magical and peaceful day in the park and have the right of deciding what they want to ride using the SB line.

I see this as a violation to the customer rights.

 

[mom2rtk]

Looks like yesterday's trial was a success! Lots of FPs given out, little or no wait to get on the ride, and no long wait for anyone in the SB line. People had plenty of time to shop and eat, rather than waste their time standing in line.

Sure, there are a few complainers, but some folks just don't like change. Now the single biggest complaint about WDW is gone (standing long lines), and guests are free to spend more money on souvenirs, snacks, meals, photos, tours, shirts, toys, candy, etc.

A bold move on Disney's part. If they extend it to all the rides, DHS will be the first major theme park to have no waiting lines for major attractions! What a success.

Now every guest's 8-hour day will be a total of 1 hour on rides, 1 hour watching parades, and 6 hours shopping and eating. No more hours wasted in SB lines. A magical day.

Let's hear it for unicorns and rainbows!

So I can assume your assessment did not examine lines at guest relations?

 

[lovethattink]

We got there yesterday late afternoon without any FP+ because we were meeting cm. There were no FP available for TSM, F!, Mermaid, TSM or the singalong. And the only kiosk available was the one beside TSM. The street was lined with cm in red shirts. Surpringly, I didn't hear a single grumble from anyone. I expected to see people up in arms.

 

[pampam]

I wonder if from Disney's perspective if this was a fail or a pass.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think people need to stop going to DHS until they fix that park and add more rides. Seriously, Toy Story Mania is fun, but it's not that great. Is it worth all of this fuss?

I guess I'm just fantasizing about a day when everyone gets fed up and the park is empty

 

[over50visits]

Let's hear it for unicorns and rainbows!

So I can assume your assessment did not examine lines at guest relations?

Read between the lines LOL

 

[Laketravis]

I kind of love that. We need buttons. And a mascot.

And cookies. Lots, and lots, of cookies.

 

[momof2n2]

I'm speechless. :'(

 

[faneuil]

I guess I'm just fantasizing about a day when everyone gets fed up and the park is empty

Any super rainy day solves that problem. I love the Studios on rainy days.

 

[clsteve]

I kind of love that. We need buttons. And a mascot.

This whole process needs a mascot.

I nominate Mr. Money the Guinea Pig...

 

[faneuil]

They came up with a formula predicting that a slight reduction in the number of rides per day would result in a slight increase in spending on souvenirs and snacks. Then one of the poindexters in either IT or accounting realized by plugging different numbers into the forumula, that as the number of rides per day decreases towards zero, the amount spent on souvenirs and snacks approaches infinity!

What's funny about this...

I'm in the parks a lot. I see many, many people hanging out in the shops. I don't see a whole lot of people buying. Maybe an ear hat, or a T-shirt for the little one, a Mickey for sure, but not big bags of stuff like in years past.

I'm sure they're still making a killing in the shops, but from appearances, spending looks down.

I notice a lot more ppl just hanging out. Usually waiting for a FP+ appointment.

I love shopping, but there's only so many times you can look at the same Mickey shirt.

...and the kiosk lines horrendous.

I always forget about those, cause I never use them. But yes, those lines will be crazy long. "What did you do at Disney?" "I stood in line for a FP+ appointment".

 

[cakebaker]

We got there yesterday late afternoon without any FP+ because we were meeting cm. There were no FP available for TSM, F!, Mermaid, TSM or the singalong. And the only kiosk available was the one beside TSM. The street was lined with cm in red shirts. Surpringly, I didn't hear a single grumble from anyone. I expected to see people up in arms.

What's happening on the dis isn't always reflected in the parks.

While I agree it really sucks for that limited number of people who 1) didn't make a fp and 2) didn't get to the ride before they ran out of fp tickets, I'm not sure it's the disaster that some would think it is.

They do, from time to time, run tests and trials. It's not possible to run these kinds of tests in an empty park. No one knows why they're running this particular test or what their intent is. It's all just speculation at this point.

I don't believe for a second their intent is to push people out of the parks. That makes no sense to me at all. If you aren't in the park, you aren't spending money. So no, I don't think this test is confirmation that they're attempting to go to a standby free park with a goal of guests getting in, riding and getting out.

 

[vacationer1954]

I like the idea of a standby-less park and hope the tests show some way to make visiting WDW more of a reservation based experience.