Will Disney Inflate Posted Wait Times

[RoseGold]

I think this will be very interesting when people are paying to skip a line. I think the wait times have to be more accurate. It's not like Disney doesn't know how long the actual wait is.

 

[motherof5]

We do "know" that they certainly inflate them at the end of the day. I "think" it is to discourage people from getting on line one minute before park closing.

I "think" Disney does it a lot of the time. Don't you just feel better when you waited for 20 minutes on a line that said 35? Aren't you mad if you wait 50 minutes on a line that says 35? Probably better customer relations to overestimate than under estimate.

I have so many ideas about what Genie+ will bring to the parks. But I do think we will have to wait to see what really happens.

I am assuming that eventually "Free Genie+ for the length of your stay" will be the new "Free Disney Meal Plan for the length of your stay"...

I agree with all of this.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

From Disney's perspective, it's just good business to inflate wait times. 1) sell more G+ and ILL 2) make guests feel better about having a shorter than expected wait

 

[mom2rtk]

From Disney's perspective, it's just good business to inflate wait times. 1) sell more G+ and ILL 2) make guests feel better about having a shorter than expected wait

Right? Bad business to just be honest with your customers.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I say this as neither a positive or a negative about businesses, but the fact is most/all corporations lie their rear ends off to manipulate customer experience and maximize profits. This is the way.

 

[persnickity]

I say this as neither a positive or a negative about businesses, but the fact is most/all corporations lie their rear ends off to manipulate customer experience and maximize profits. This is the way.

Until they get sued.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Until they get sued.

Dang I hate to defend my cynicism on this lovely afternoon... but you know they have some $ stashed away for legal fees and settlements. It's baked in to corporate behavior and decision-making. Maybe especially under the current regime at Disney

 

[wisblue]

I think this will be very interesting when people are paying to skip a line. I think the wait times have to be more accurate. It's not like Disney doesn't know how long the actual wait is.

Except that they don’t know exactly how long the actual wait will be for someone entering the standby line at a given time. They can estimate it based on how long the line is, but even that is just a best guess estimate.

The estimate gets even more difficult when you throw in the variable of a fast pass line that has to be accommodated and is usually given priority.

So, given that they have to make an estimate, it only makes sense to post an estimate on the high side because, as others have said, a customer is going to be more satisfied if the wait is shorter than posted than if it’s longer.

It’s been true for as long as we have been going to WDW that the actual waits are generally (but not always) shorter than the posted time. I don’t expect that to change, and I’m not cynical enough to think that those gaps are suddenly going to get wider because Disney thinks they can make more money that way.

 

[wisblue]

Dang I hate to defend my cynicism on this lovely afternoon... but you know they have some $ stashed away for legal fees and settlements. It's baked in to corporate behavior and decision-making. Maybe especially under the current regime at Disney

I seriously doubt that Disney is going to get sued by somebody who claims to have been misled by posted wait times for rides.

 

[mamaanna]

Question: The TouringPlans Lines App. Do I have to pay to use it, or is it a free to use app? I thought I saw something where some features are paid, but viewing the line wait times are free? Does anyone know?

Edit: Just found this thread, and it looks like "yes" is the resounding answer.

 

[glocon]

I seriously doubt that Disney is going to get sued by somebody who claims to have been misled by posted wait times for rides.

Unless one of those lawyers that like to do class action law suits decides to take on Disney on behalf of all those that visit. Quite a litigious society we live in these days…

 

[wisblue]

Unless one of those lawyers that like to do class action law suits decides to take on Disney on behalf of all those that visit. Quite a litigious society we live in these days…

Still no.

 

[mom2rtk]

I suppose nobody though someone would sue Disney over the change in disability programs either.

 

[wisblue]

I suppose nobody though someone would sue Disney over the change in disability programs either.

Completely different type of situation when you’re alleging a violation of a specific federal law and denial of access to protected Individuals.

As far as I know those cases haven’t been successful either. My guess is that Disney’s lawyers are involved in decisions relating to access under the ADA. There can never be a guarantee that someone won’t sue, but a company can be confident that it has a good legal basis for its decisions.

Enough on that. This isn’t the forum for a discussion about the legal risks of posted wait times. If there were legal risks, Disney would have to weigh the risk of suits from posting wait times that are too short or too long.

 

[Leight19]

Completely different type of situation when you’re alleging a violation of a specific federal law and denial of access to protected Individuals.

As far as I know those cases haven’t been successful either. My guess is that Disney’s lawyers are involved in decisions relating to access under the ADA. There can never be a guarantee that someone won’t sue, but a company can be confident that it has a good legal basis for its decisions.

Enough on that. This isn’t the forum for a discussion about the legal risks of posted wait times. If there were legal risks, Disney would have to weigh the risk of suits from posting wait times that are too short or too long.

I think it goes beyond whether they would lose lawsuit vs open themselves up to one. I gursntee they do not want news to be they are being sued for fraud for lying about wait times to sell fast pass. I believe over time they will begin to recalibrate and give more accurate wait times and rely on the free genie to direct crowds rather then manipulating wait times to do it. Time will tell though.

edit to add if they want to inflate wait times they could just do it by changing ratio of standby by to LL and it would be true and better sell LL. I think the one positive of this change is Disney should give more accurate wait times in future.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Question: The TouringPlans Lines App. Do I have to pay to use it, or is it a free to use app? I thought I saw something where some features are paid, but viewing the line wait times are free? Does anyone know?

Edit: Just found this thread, and it looks like "yes" is the resounding answer.

And this is the reason their wait times need to be more accurate moving forward. The entire Genie platform is centered around predicting accurate standby times.

 

[ruthies12]

I know they've inflated in the past for sure. I clearly remember one year being in the park during the day of a Christmas party and the line for little mermaid said 65 minutes right before the party was supposed to start and day people were supposed to leave. We got ourselves some drinks and popcorn and got in line. We then had to take our stuff on the ride with us cause we walked straight through the cue without stopping. When we got to the front I looked in confusion at the cast members loading the ride and said "hey do you guys know your posted wait says 65 minutes and it's totally wrong?" They all smiled at us and just said "thanks for letting us know." The wait didn't change after we got off. They were obviously trying to keep day people from getting in line right before the party started.

And if they inflate a time and we buy the lightening lane pass and go through that separate line we'll never know that particular time was inflated. I doubt most people time the lines anyway. I think it's just "in the know" people who would really notice.

 

[gharter]

Wait times are still inflated after Genie launched.
We were at AK on Thursday and times were still very high.
Standby FoP was 60 minutes, we waited 30. Came back at 6:30 pm, was posted at 45, we waited 20.
Everest in the morning posted 20, was under 5.
Dinosaur was posted at 20 and was 10.
Navi in the morning was posted at 45 and it was about 20.
This makes me worried about what data is Genie using to suggest your next attraction. With the easy tracking that Disney can do with MB or the app, they know what real times are, but choose to not post those.
I agree that TP times are much more accurate, but it also depends on people using it and posting real times.

 

[BrizMarc]

They always have before. They will now for sure...