Why wait times have gotten crazy

[dlavender]

We found last November that waits for frontierland, adventureland and tomorrowland (more the first 2 than the latter, but in the latter a bit as well) were pretty much nil until around 10:45am or so. The RD crowd running to a&e and sdmt seems to have made these areas of the park pretty dead for quite a while.

In our case, we got out of line at A&e about 10 mins after opening after seeing the wait jump up to 90 mins while we were in line and not moving at all. We walked right on to jungle cruise, rode BTMRR 2x back to back with less than a 5 min wait, met with chip.and dale (no line), went to HM where we waited about 15 mins, then shopped in.memento MorI. When we got out of MM, around 10:45 ish, the crowds had descended and there were decent waits at everything we had just ridden with no wait. The a&em/sdmt effect is definitely a factor first thing in the morning until appx 11ish, give or take some on either side.

This was exactly our experience. We rode BTMRR 3 x's, then Splash, JC, PoTC, HM all by 10 AM after RD, as we watched a mob descend upon Fantasy land at opening.

 

[Cadaverous_pallor]

Agree! It has been getting more and more crowded relative to wait times. It has gotten to the point that we ride what we have a FP+ for and that is about it (speaking of the E - C Ticket rides more than lower tier rides). When I first started going as a kid we would ride rides and because of the extremely low crowd levels we "stayed on" (rode twice without having to get out of the vehicle) rides like Test Track. However, I also think we are seeing an overall increase in attendance at the parks. I may be wrong, but it seems as though there are simply more patrons than there used to be.

 

[Angel Ariel]

This was exactly our experience. We rode BTMRR 3 x's, then Splash, JC, PoTC, HM all by 10 AM after RD, as we watched a mob descend upon Fantasy land at opening.

I've seen countless people here on the boards report the same over the last year or so. The first hour and a half to 2 hrs of the day or so are not indicative of average wait times throughout the day. If they were, RD wouldn't be the go to suggestion for avoiding crowds and lines like it is.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Amazing. Disney charges (whatever) for a day at their park, and people are willing to pay more so they don't have to stand in line. So what are they offering now for the admission price? The privilege of standing in

Keep in mind back in these dark days the fee was about $10 bucks and admission was only around $50. A lot has changed price wise since then even if it hasn't attraction wise.

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

It's really not that bad. As I've mentioned before, we scheduled our trip 2 weeks out for a 9 level crowd day. We RD'd, and got in almost everything. If you want 7DMT without much of a wait, you have to schedule 60 days out, but thats it.

Wow! I haven't gotten all the way through this thread yet and I already don't want to go to WDW. Between ticket prices and this FP+ thing I just might take a trip to Germany. I didn't mind waiting in lines but now you have to schedule things out 60 days in advance just to ride a ride?! That's crazy.

Same here, RD is still great for getting a lot done without FP, we do FP+ for our 2nd park visit later that day-which is now vastly improved from the past (esp AK day).

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Splitting your family up is not what I would call touring efficiently. We don't do family vacations to have seperate experiences on things we all want to do. Regardless this isn't a choice you were forced to make prior to FP+.

1. Children have to be at least 7 (some CM's say over 7) to ride solo. So riding solo isn't open to all families.

2. On the other, splitting up is efficient for several reasons. Efficient means "achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense". Efficient doesn't mean preferable. Splitting up may not be preferable. But the reason SOME guests DO choose SR, is very much because it is MORE efficient.

Guests in the SR line bypass the full virtual-car design pre-ride rooms. SR guests only have the opportunity to pick a pre-designed virtual car. It is more efficient.


I am only posting to correct misinformation.

Riders who use SR, typically are only 'apart' for the time it takes to load the car and ride it. Actual ride time is 4minutes.

The attraction only has one ride track, and one audio track.

SR guests don't all share a photo.

While it isn't as common as it once was when TT was new, periodically Test track does have ride stops. Families should always keep that in mind when thinking about any attraction.

All that said, on the topic of this thread- in our experience- the wait for SR has gotten longer since the advent of FP+.

 

[dlavender]

I've seen countless people here on the boards report the same over the last year or so. The first hour and a half to 2 hrs of the day or so are not indicative of average wait times throughout the day. If they were, RD wouldn't be the go to suggestion for avoiding crowds and lines like it is.

Below is a picture of what Frontier land looks like at RD:

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

With all UNI does with EX Pass-we would still choose to be able to pick 3 FP+ over there if they included all attractions-esp headliners like HP and for no extra charge like WDW. Do RD (even behind hotel guests but choose the alternate park) and SB some non HP attractions-then FP+ HP.

 

[havoc315]

I agree, until the spending portion. Those who RD, and plan better, should be able to have a better experience than those that arrive at noon and expect to ride everything. I would resent it if someone could meander about, arrive late, and get more done than I could because they spent more on a better ticket....I don't think Disney would ever go this route, and I am happy about that. I think that FP + is an attempt at giving these customers a better experience than they previously got with their meandering efforts. Hopefully they don't go too much further with it. Only time will tell.

So is it wrong for an airline to charge more for first class tickets?
Is it wrong for a stadium to charge more for better seats?

Would your objection be different if it was called a "discount" instead.
Disney raises ticket prices to $200, but offers a 50% discount to people who forego fast passes?

Or would your objection change if Disney simply jacked up prices to $500 per person, but limited the Magic Kingdom to 10,000 people, thus guaranteeing a line-free experience.

If one person is willing to spend more to skip a line, and another person is willing to stand in line to save money, there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

Doesn't Disney already offer a version of this "special pass"-- stay on-site, and get special access to EMH hours. So they are already giving on site guests special access.

So they are already doing it-- question is whether they should increase it even more.

Same with UNI.

 

[dlavender]

So is it wrong for an airline to charge more for first class tickets?
Is it wrong for a stadium to charge more for better seats?

Would your objection be different if it was called a "discount" instead.
Disney raises ticket prices to $200, but offers a 50% discount to people who forego fast passes?

Or would your objection change if Disney simply jacked up prices to $500 per person, but limited the Magic Kingdom to 10,000 people, thus guaranteeing a line-free experience.

If one person is willing to spend more to skip a line, and another person is willing to stand in line to save money, there is nothing wrong with that.

I think you are comparing apples to oranges here...Yes, if a person spends more, they can have a steak instead of a hamburger, no complaints there.

Of course I wouldn't want Disney to charge $5000 per person to limit waits.

I don't like the thought of Disney going to a system that let's you pay more to wait less. I don't think most of the public would agree either. There are some who would love the opportunity to pay more to wait less, I don't doubt that at all. I don't think Disney likes that model either, which is why they haven't tried it. They would alienate too many people, IMO. Why don't they let people pay more to ride the monorail, let the less fortunate take the boat? Tram service for a fee, make the less fortunate walk to the gate...

 

[Angel Ariel]

Below is a picture of what Frontier land looks like at RD:

View attachment 131145

Yep, that's what we saw too. We were astonished at how empty it was, after seeing the mass of people that was the walk to A&E at RD. It was like you were in two entirely separate parks.

 

[EricInPA]

For those with the money to pay to not wait: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/vip-tour-services/

 

[dlavender]

So is it wrong for an airline to charge more for first class tickets?
Is it wrong for a stadium to charge more for better seats?

Would your objection be different if it was called a "discount" instead.
Disney raises ticket prices to $200, but offers a 50% discount to people who forego fast passes?

Or would your objection change if Disney simply jacked up prices to $500 per person, but limited the Magic Kingdom to 10,000 people, thus guaranteeing a line-free experience.

If one person is willing to spend more to skip a line, and another person is willing to stand in line to save money, there is nothing wrong with that.

Why not have different bathrooms also? After all, if you spend more, why have to wait in line to use the restroom? The add ons could be endless... "I'm sorry, you have to use the bathrooms at the ticket center, these are reserved for gold passes"........

 

[dlavender]

For those with the money to pay to not wait: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/vip-tour-services/

Exactly....make your reservation now.

 

[DebbieB]

60 minutes... It's only 11 am, and it's October, and it's a secondary attraction.
That would make sense at 2:00 pm in Christmas week. Not now.

This is a Monday with Morning EMH and a late close (no party). Perfect storm for lines.

 

[dlavender]

So is it wrong for an airline to charge more for first class tickets?
Is it wrong for a stadium to charge more for better seats?

Would your objection be different if it was called a "discount" instead.
Disney raises ticket prices to $200, but offers a 50% discount to people who forego fast passes?

Or would your objection change if Disney simply jacked up prices to $500 per person, but limited the Magic Kingdom to 10,000 people, thus guaranteeing a line-free experience.

If one person is willing to spend more to skip a line, and another person is willing to stand in line to save money, there is nothing wrong with that.

To expound on your examples further:

People sitting in first class or having 50 yard line seats don't affect my experience in coach or in the nosebleeds at all. People jumping ahead of the line making SB waits longer does affect me, quite a bit in some cases. That is the key difference in the examples.

 

[5kidsmommy]

Yep, that's what we saw too. We were astonished at how empty it was, after seeing the mass of people that was the walk to A&E at RD. It was like you were in two entirely separate parks.

Makes me glad that we have no desire to see A&E. My daughter saw them once in 2014, back in Epcot and that was enough for her. So I hope we can get a lot done at RD.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Hehe love your wait times for the good old days. Not going to question what you saw, other than to note your view of past and current waits are not in line with what I experienced, nor what is actually happening:

Space: 30 (not 80)
Splash: 30 (not 80)
HM: 35 (not 50)
PP: 70 (not 90)
Buzz: 25 (not 60)

Those are the waits right now, 10:15 am in Florida. So you are way over-stating the actual waits. I do agree on that list of things being about what a typical family would set out to accomplish (plus SDMT and a character greet). I think your times are a little off and a family using FP+ will do those in way less than the 275 that you state.

This is a Monday with Morning EMH and a late close (no party). Perfect storm for lines.

Funny when the wait times weren't at what is now normal levels today was a great example of how low wait times are. When they reach the new normal then they are a victim of the perfect storm.

 

[havoc315]

I think you are comparing apples to oranges here...Yes, if a person spends more, they can have a steak instead of a hamburger, no complaints there.

Of course I wouldn't want Disney to charge $5000 per person to limit waits.

I don't like the thought of Disney going to a system that let's you pay more to wait less. I don't think most of the public would agree either. There are some who would love the opportunity to pay more to wait less, I don't doubt that at all. I don't think Disney likes that model either, which is why they haven't tried it. They would alienate too many people, IMO. Why don't they let people pay more to ride the monorail, let the less fortunate take the boat? Tram service for a fee, make the less fortunate walk to the gate...

They already do that. DME for onsite guests, not off site. Deluxe guests get better transpiration options than value, etc.

Disney is constantly tinkering with the model. In the end, it's not a question of what they like and what they don't -- it's just how to maximize profits.

They actually already offer a $5,000 line-free experience -- personalized VIP service. So really, they are already doing it-- just a question of whether they should offer packages that fall in between the basic and the VIP.