TSM standby-less test Oct. 6-9

[mesaboy2]

I wouldn't say the data is useless. Except to us, seeing as we dot have it. Quite frankly we don't call the shots at Disney we don't have a right to the data. Anyways. Well something else to look at would be what happens if and when on property resort capacity exceeds park capacities, or at least comes close. Is there a potential for Disney to move to a position of no offsite guests? There is already a tiered servicing happening with respect to FP+. Could be interesting to see what this resort experience looks like in 5-10. Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

If you reread my question, you will find it is useless because it is not available.

 

[JadeQ]

Not saying that Disney isn't trying to do this but come on! There are many first time guest that don't do any research before coming to Disney and yet Disney is somehow thinking they are going to change the way THESE guest think about lines for rides that is different from any other amusement park, carnival or theme park. Not to mention all the foreign guest that CMs have a hard time getting to understand how things work, even when it is close to what is the normally accepted. How will they get them to understand that they need to schedule ALL of their rides??

You're right. WDW Orlando is an international destination. In Brazil, for example, they have a lot of advertisement in TV, magazines about WDW and Universal Parks. Is very common people who come every year between Dec and Feb (summer vacations there) to spend average 15 days between parks. Families are used to the old system and arrives at the park expecting to get FP-.
"OK guys, there's no more paper Fastpasses but you can schedule 3 FP now !"
" Oh no, sir, you can't have a TSMM FP." "No, sir, you can't wait in line either because we are using people here today as laboratory rats . Maybe you'd like a churros instead.
" Yes sir, I understand that you made a long and expensive trip, form another country, with your kids , but we decided that this attraction is not for you today, I'm so sorry, I'm gonna give you a popcorn instead..."

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I wouldn't say the data is useless. Except to us, seeing as we dot have it. Quite frankly we don't call the shots at Disney we don't have a right to the data. Anyways.

Well something else to look at would be what happens if and when on property resort capacity exceeds park capacities, or at least comes close. Is there a potential for Disney to move to a position of no offsite guests? There is already a tiered servicing happening with respect to FP+.

Could be interesting to see what this resort experience looks like in 5-10.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I think for Disney parks to become for onsite guest only, those guest should prepare for much higher ticket prices, higher room cost or both. Disney needs off-site guest in their parks because they need their money. That is why they are walking a line with the 60/30 days for booking FP+s. They are trying to give enough to off-site guest to keep from ticking the off to much and keep on-site guest satisfied enough to keep paying such crazy prices for their rooms. If Disney didn't need off-site guest's money then why would they have ever included them in the pre-booking at all? There were some here on DIS that just knew pre-booking would be for on-site guest only. There is a reason Disney wants to try and keep those off-site guest happy too.

My thing is that now that they have given on-site guest the idea that they should get first dips on fps, there is no going back. So now they are walking a fine line of keeping on-site guest happy enough without ticking off off-site guest too much.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It's interesting that you mention the psychological testing. Watching the podcast today, Kathy said that when she posted about the TSMM test on her FB page, someone (I'm assuming a source w/I Disney from how she worded it) contacted her and told her that the point of these tests was basically to train guests to think of lines differently. To train guests to think of the FP+ line as the main line, and the standby line as a true standby "we'll take you if we have space for you" line - as opposed to thinking the standby line is the main line, and the FP+ lets you skip the line as the general thinking is now.

If this really is where Disney is going in their thinking, IMHO that points even more towards them going to 100% ride reservation system at least for the E-ticket rides.

This is really, really interesting. Standby as true standby, which would allow them to throw in essentially 100% of the FPs into the prebooking bucket, therefore locking more people in, which we know is the main goal.

Yep, 100% ride reservation system, here it comes...

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

You're right. WDW Orlando is an international destination. In Brazil, for example, they have a lot of advertisement in TV, magazines about WDW and Universal Parks. Is very common people who come every year between Dec and Feb (summer vacations there) to spend average 15 days between parks. Families are used to the old system and arrives at the park expecting to get FP-.
"OK guys, there's no more paper Fastpasses but you can schedule 3 FP now !"
" Oh no, sir, you can't have a TSMM FP." "No, sir, you can't wait in line either because we are using people here today as laboratory rats . Maybe you'd like a churros instead.
" Yes sir, I understand that you made a long and expensive trip, form another country, with your kids , but we decided that this attraction is not for you today, I'm so sorry, I'm gonna give you a popcorn instead..."

That is if they half way understand English. We stood in line several minutes at barnstormer behind a man carrying his small child that the CM needed to remeasure to be able to ride. He kept telling him he needed to measure him and the man just had no idea what the CM wanted him to do. Just kept nodding when the CM would point the the measuring stick. Now try to explain to that guest, that everywhere else he has ever gone, you can just get line for a ride, that he can't ride any of the rides or even the most popular rides at ALL without a FP+?

 

[mom2rtk]

This is really, really interesting. Standby as true standby, which would allow them to throw in essentially 100% of the FPs into the prebooking bucket, therefore locking more people in, which we know is the main goal.

Yep, 100% ride reservation system, here it comes...

I've been saying for a year or longer that FP is now the currency by which WDW operates. And I knew they would not have the restraint to resist maximizing how much currency they print.

 

[clsteve]

I've been saying for a year or longer that FP is now the currency by which WDW operates. And I knew they would not have the restraint to resist maximizing how much currency they print.

I gets Churros...???

 

[mom2rtk]

I gets Churros...???

So now I have to FEED the mascot? Sheesh.

Fortunately though, there's a churro cart on every corner. Hot, fresh and magical!

 

[Laketravis]

Personally, I don't think unsolicited opinions here or on facebook is where one looks for the most accurate assessment of people's opinions. Displeased people always speak louder and more often than satisfied ones.

Truly client-centric companies pay attention to feedback regardless of the source or the media in which it manifests.

Of course displeased people always speak louder and more often than satisfied ones on an individual level.

But the old axiom that for every voiced complaint, 26 other unhappy customers remain silent still holds true.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

But the old axiom that for every voiced complaint, 26 other unhappy customers remain silent still holds true.

Except to their family and friends.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

The Disneyland Tiki Room is awesome. The show inside of the theater is pretty much the same, but the opening show outside of the theater is very fun. Plus you can sit and enjoy a Dole Whip inside or outside of the theater.

My 10-year-old DD said Dole Whip might make the Tiki show bearable for her. She said Disneyland sounds like everything she wishes WDW was: more old-fashioned dark rides, walking distance from the hotels and everything closer together, and running around to collect paper FP again. She and I now have a secret plan to save up our Disney Visa Rewards for free tickets when we head to Cali in a couple years. It makes me so much less sad about changes at WDW. I highly recommend it.

 

[vacationer1954]

" Yes sir, I understand that you made a long and expensive trip, form another country, with your kids , but we decided that this attraction is not for you today..."

Special exhibits in major museums work the same way.

There is a reason Disney wants to try and keep those off-site guest happy too.

Yes that's true but it follows from that that the more Disney can make changes that allow it to rely more on onsite guests the less they have to do to make offsite guests happy.

Except to their family and friends.

And online.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Yes that's true but it follows from that that the more Disney can make changes that allow it to rely more on onsite guests the less they have to do to make offsite guests happy.

Not sure that Disney is going to make enough in their shops and restaurants to cover all the off-site guest ticket, shop and restaurant sells unless the on-site guest want to start paying much higher ticket prices and/or higher room rates. And then what about local APs? I really think we are a long way away from Disney not wanting or NEEDING the money from off-site and local guest.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Not sure that Disney is going to make enough in their shops and restaurants to cover all the off-site guest ticket, shop and restaurant sells unless the on-site guest want to start paying much higher ticket prices and/or higher room rates. And then what about local APs? I really think we are a long way away from Disney not wanting or NEEDING the money from off-site and local guest.

I too would be shocked if the only way you could go to WDW was by staying on site. And can you imagine the uproar from owners that rely on renting their off-site properties as a source of income?

 

[Crickets Conscience]

Originally Posted by indimom3 View Post
We were at DHS yesterday.
We had gone to EMH there on Sunday evening, expecting to ride TSM a few times. It was broken down basically all of EMH, every time we checked. I don't know why.
So I told the kids, if we get up early today and make rope drop, we will be able to ride TSMM at least once, probably twice, and then we have FP for around noon....

We did miss rope drop thanks to missing a bus, but still got there well before ten. The park was not crowded and we were denied SB, of course. But told we could come back during our FP time. Or, cancel ALL of our FP to try for an earlier one. I was speaking with one of the manager types and trying to wrap my head around this.

I did all of my homework. I spent HOURS trying to understand the FP system, booking my rides sixty days out, staying on property for seven nights to make sure we could get it all done. What in the wide world of sports have you done? My kids think I lied to them, that I tricked them into waking up at the crack of dawn to come over here and now the one stupid ride they want to ride in your whole stupid park, we can't ride it?

I made the cast member talk to my kids. No way will I be the bad guy when this is not my decision. My nine year old called him out when he started to explain this was a test. "You didn't tell us you were testing anyone. It's like you're changing the rules in the middle of the game. That's not fair."

And that's the bottom line. IT IS NOT FAIR. Yeah, I'm whining like a nine year old. If you don't want people waiting in line, plan that out ahead of time. Warn us that we are spending thousands of dollars on a vacation to play guinea pig for you.

I was punished because I played by their rules. I scheduled FP, and would have had to release them and risk the rest of my day there to ride that one stupid ride.

Did it ruin our whole vacation? No. Of course not. We are having lots of fun.

But, man, I love Disney world. It should be more than fun. When I was a little kid in Jacksonville, before Epcot was born, I wanted to be Cinderella in the MSEP when I grew up. It's one of those places that sings to me. And you made my kids sad, and they don't trust you anymore. All afternoon yesterday and this morning, when were on our way to ohana. "Is Mickey still at ohana? What if he's not? What if that changed and they didn't tell you? What if they do another test tonight and we don't see Belle?"

I'm not sure this place will sing to them like it sings to me. And that is sad.

The worst part is they did nothing. The cast member said he couldn't help us, or he'd just have to give extra FP to everyone. To which I replied, yeah, or you could just let us WAIT IN LINE which is what we were expecting to do. They did offer to put the day back on our tickets if we wanted to leave. Which meant nothing because we have park hoppers. It was a really bad experience. And when our window did open, walking back through their cadre of CMS shouting, "fast pass only!" Did not help. We got to ride once, then the FP were (allegedly) done for the day.

We spent eight total hours in DHS. Between the EMH and yesterday. Rode TSMM once. ONCE. That stinks. We were supposed to do another half day at DHS before we go, and the kids have already said they won't go back. They love Star Tours but we've ridden it nine times already. What else is there for them? RNRC and ToT are too much for them, they are too old for the Disney Jr junk. You have a barn full of snow. We live in COLORADO. Not interested.

I hate that we got stuck here during this time. We will absolutely not come back until they figure out how to make this system work for their guests, and not just their pocket books.

I am so sorry for your terrible experience. Poor kids.

I understand the frustration with this "test" however the PP DID have a FP for noon for this ride. She was upset that her kids couldn't ride TSMM 3 times. My problem in reading this is:
1. How about the kid that wants to get on it just once?
2. She didn't want to be the "bad guy" so gave that job to the CM. Unfortunately being the bad guy comes with the job. Wait about 5 more years.
3. Yeah, it isn't fair. However that's life and sometimes life isn't fair.
We spend months, years planning for the perfect Disney trip and when its finally time, SURPRISE, Disney pulls a fast one. Yes, complain, voice your opinions because I really don't think this "fastpass only" thing is going to fly.

Oh, and to the PP, are you going to yell at the admissions officer explain to your kid why he/she didn't get in to Princeton? Because they will.

 

[cakebaker]

I too would be shocked if the only way you could go to WDW was by staying on site. And can you imagine the uproar from owners that rely on renting their off-site properties as a source of income?

I don't think it will fully ever happen either, but I also don't think Disney is the least bit concerned about how unhappy off site businesses or property owners would be.

 

[magicbob]

Related article that I just came across:

Walt Disney World finds way to eliminate long wait lines. You'll never believe how simple the solution is.

Gotta love their take that the solution was SO simple, why didn't we think of this earlier?

 

[Jennasis]

I understand the frustration with this "test" however the PP DID have a FP for noon for this ride. She was upset that her kids couldn't ride TSMM 3 times. My problem in reading this is:
1. How about the kid that wants to get on it just once?
2. She didn't want to be the "bad guy" so gave that job to the CM. Unfortunately being the bad guy comes with the job. Wait about 5 more years.
3. Yeah, it isn't fair. However that's life and sometimes life isn't fair.
We spend months, years planning for the perfect Disney trip and when its finally time, SURPRISE, Disney pulls a fast one. Yes, complain, voice your opinions because I really don't think this "fastpass only" thing is going to fly.

Oh, and to the PP, are you going to yell at the admissions officer explain to your kid why he/she didn't get in to Princeton? Because they will.

Welcome to the DIS.

1. I wouldn't care about whether others got 1 ride. I would only care about the enjoyment MY own family experienced. But when Disney is running a FP+ only test anyone who didn't get to ride even once is Disney's fault, not mine.

2. Disney was the bad guy here. They were the one's who were refusing access to the ride, therefore they should have to be the one to break it to the kid. When/if the Op's kid doesn't get into Princeton, it will be the admission office who has to be the bad guy, not the OP.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Walt was pretty happy making as much money as possible, so I don't think any of us really know which side of this he'd fall on.

While I agree that there is no way to know how Walt Disney would feel about most decisions made after his death, that's not entirely true. Walt was notorious for putting quality product over the bottom line and the Walt Disney company was not in the black until the construction of Disneyland. He would constantly go over-budget when making movies, demanding nothing but the best, leaving his brother to deal with the finances, and they spent nearly 30 years in perpetual debt [Walt Disney: The Triumph of American Imagination, Neal Gabler].

As for the concept of reserving rides ahead of time, I'm not sure what the end goal is. Some posters have suggested it is to combat guest complaints about long lines, but I don't see how this solves that problem, if some rides aren't even available to ride. I could be under-estimating peoples' dedication to Disney World, but it seems like this is a system that risks alienating more guests than it does locking them into a vacation with Disney. I'm a Disney lifer, and I tend to shy away from definitive declarations or ultimatums, but I do question my commitment to regularly visiting the park if a full-blown rider reservation system is inevitable.

1. How about the kid that wants to get on it just once?

You answered your own question:

3. Yeah, it isn't fair. However that's life and sometimes life isn't fair.

 

[ghtx]

Related article that I just came across:

Walt Disney World finds way to eliminate long wait lines. You'll never believe how simple the solution is.

Gotta love their take that the solution was SO simple, why didn't we think of this earlier?

Despite the stupid click-bait-y headline, the article itself is pretty reasonable and balanced.