Wow, thanks Disney for messing up people's plans

[disneynewbee]

We will be there the 9th to the 16th and I'm not too happy about the crowd levels either. I'm more bummed though about the fact that we won't get to see the new areas now that pass holder previews are every day of our trip. I know the pass holders should be rewarded for their loyalty but I'm still a little sad for my girls. Our only option at this point is buying Christmas Party tickets and while I would love to an extra $300 isn't in our budget right now. We are averaging every 3 years at this point so it will be a while before we get to see it. It is what it is though and I'm going to have a blast anyway I'm hoping the pass holders hang out in the new area and leave the rest of the park to me and my bunch lol.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

Can I be honest here? These are simply predictions. And I know how often Touring Plans is right, but things can change so quickly (and sometimes Touring Plans is wrong...). As a passholder, I wouldn't go to MK until the preview that night if I had admission.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

We have been to WDW numerous times and have missed special events and openings many of those times by a day or two. We have been AP holders for many years and DVC members and will miss all of the AP holders previews, but will be there for the Grand Opening of the New Fantasyland Expansion on December 6. We are very excited about it and can't wait to be there.

 

[goofy4tink]

Dear heavens people...do you think that now, all of a sudden, all the passholders are running to their computers, booking trips to MK just for this event?? Tend to doubt it. That's just crazy.
Sure there will be more people in there at that time. But nothing that is going to be so terrible. It's not as if there are going to be thousands more guests in there. And those that are there??? They will be in FLE...they are not going to be in line for Space Mt!!!
I never, ever even look at projected crowd numbers!!! After so many trips to WDW, I've come to believe they just aren't all that accurate. It's a guesstimate, based on what someone 'thinks' may happen. I suppose its a way to base where you should go on certain days, but I have been in MK on days that were 'supposed' to be high crowd days...based on those crowd level indicators. And you know what??? It was wonderful...short wait times, restaurants not crowded. But, I've been inside MK on days that had low crowds predicted by these same touring plan outfits....and it was nasty. Shoulder to shoulder guests in many areas, long wait times for attractions and you couldn't find a seat to sit down at Cosmic Rays!!! Go figure.

I recommend you just go to MK when you want...avoid Saturday. That's a historically bad time to go to MK. Other than that, go and have fun. Stop worrying about predictions.

 

[DebbieB]

Disney is a business. I don't think they are obligated to hold park crowds down when they have the opportunity to increase it. Their goal is crowded parks all the time.

 

[tkldisney]

Just because your a pass holder does not mean you can get into the preview. You had to sign up for it, and there was a limit on number of people and everyone has to be ap holder, so no guests. It did get great response so Disney opened up more days and times and it's being done by lottery to control number of people. Disney does realize that people are paying good money for vacations, but they also need to reward their most loyal. Agree I don't think ap holders are going to book a vacation just for the preview especially if there not even guaranteed admission.

 

[Magpie]

I think this is a bit much... by your logic, none of us are able to complain about anything at all because there is always someone in a worse situation. There is no reason to believe that the OP isn't concerned for people in the path of Sandy just because he/she posted here to vent about predicted crowd levels.

She's got a point, though... My husband's been preparing for a difficult situation at work for a couple of weeks now. It's been extremely stressful, and a key meeting is scheduled for today that could have long term consequences, depending on how it goes. But this morning he got up, watched a bit of the news, and said, "You know, this storm really puts things in perspective. Things could be so much worse!"

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own concerns, that we lose sight of just how petty our personal crises really are. An occasional reality check never hurts.

Or to put it another way... First World Problems.

 

[RMulieri]

She's got a point, though... My husband's been preparing for a difficult situation at work for a couple of weeks now. It's been extremely stressful, and a key meeting is scheduled for today that could have long term consequences, depending on how it goes. But this morning he got up, watched a bit of the news, and said, "You know, this storm really puts things in perspective. Things could be so much worse!"

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own concerns, that we lose sight of just how petty our personal crises really are. An occasional reality check never hurts.

Or to put it another way... First World Problems.

agree...Keep it in perspective

 

[PrincessMommy05]

The touringplans blog says that the crowd levels have gone up -because- of the extended hours. The extended hours coincide with the passholder previews, probably because there isn't 3 hours of stuff to do in the new FLE.

I can just see the threads... "OMG, the passholder previews were -such- a disaster. We "won" the 9pm-1am slot and the whole park was closed, except -1- ride, 2 character greetings and a restaurant we couldn't even eat at!"

I'll be at WDW on those dates. I'll probably be in MK on those dates. I have no particular fear that it will be wall-to-wall people.

I do suspect that a fair number of people will be scooting their reservations forward a few days due to Sandy (pending resort availability), so I wouldn't be surprised to see another small bump in crowds the week of the 5th, but I'd expect it to be limited by the mostly-full resort over the weekend.

I kind of think Touring Plans is probably heavily overestimating the crowds because of the extension of hours. The crowd levels aren't computed by an individual person on a daily basis, there's some big algorithm the various factors are plugged into and out pops the crowd number. My guess is that the number of hours the park is open is a HUGE factor is coming up with the expected crowd levels, so being open until 1am is going to really bump up the predictions even though I can't see there being 9 level crowds there, especially that night!

We will be there the 9th to the 16th and I'm not too happy about the crowd levels either. I'm more bummed though about the fact that we won't get to see the new areas now that pass holder previews are every day of our trip. I know the pass holders should be rewarded for their loyalty but I'm still a little sad for my girls. Our only option at this point is buying Christmas Party tickets and while I would love to an extra $300 isn't in our budget right now. We are averaging every 3 years at this point so it will be a while before we get to see it. It is what it is though and I'm going to have a blast anyway I'm hoping the pass holders hang out in the new area and leave the rest of the park to me and my bunch lol.

We're more bummed about that too! The crowds we can deal with, but I would have loved to see my daughter get to experience Enchanted Tales with Belle once. She's right at the perfect age now. We're debating on the MVMCP, I would love to do it (and it's not as $$$ for us because we still have a Disney 'infant') but I don't know how my kids would do that late at night. I would hate to pay $150 just for the kids to be miserable, cranky, and screaming the entire time. We're going to play it by ear.

 

[maxiesmom]

Anyone who is stressing out about this, please go over to EasyWDW and check out what Josh has to say. It doesn't sound that bad really, when it is broken down and explained.

 

[eliza61]

So, don't go. But think about how exciting it's going to be for those who do go. Or for those people who have planned long and hard and then find out they get to be there during this time and it's a pleasant surprise.

I'm a passholder and I'm not going for the previews. Many passholders won't. I live eight hours away but I'm not making a special trip. Methinks you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Methinks she has a right to be a little annoyed. Many people do plan their trip around certain parameters. crowd sized being one of them. How many times to people here say they don't go to disney due to
1) large crowds
2) excessive heat.

Op planned her trip accordingly and is now finding out that due to disney's planning she will be smacked dab in the middle of the very thing she went out her way to avoid.


OP, word of caution. Never criticize disneyworld here. As the quoted poster so eloquently has shown. you be be told basically suck it up and stop whining.

 

[Hunclemarco]

I agree that history has shown different times of the year perhaps being a "slow season", however, that's not something Disney ever wanted...hence all of the discounts and so forth. They'll do what they can to ensure a busy season all year long. We should always expect a busy season, and if we get there on a slow day, enjoy it while we can

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Arrive at rope drop, use your FP wisely and you will be just fine.

 

[GuyCai]

We are there next week since our trip this week was postponed due to the storm and flights cancelled. We have the same late days at the Magic Kingdom on the calendar too.

I am not stressing over it. (ok, my wife is a little) We'll still have a ball. EasyWDW does explain it better and he has not increased his crowd number just the same. I'd be more concerned with next weekend, with F&W ending, the half marathon and Veteran's Day. Those are now our Universal IOA and Sea World days.

We do Disney every other Fall, and what's really happened is that Free Dining has changed the face of fall crowds. Really, we used to have the place to ourselves for a week. Smart on Disney's part, make money and fill the place up. At the end of the day, it's a business. Just one that we all love and hold to higher standards. So being a little emotional and reactionary is completely understandable by most here.

Go..enjoy..keep calm. And if it's crowded be flexible with your plans.

 

[dtstampz]

Dear heavens people...do you think that now, all of a sudden, all the passholders are running to their computers, booking trips to MK just for this event?? Tend to doubt it. That's just crazy.

Don't think I haven't considered it, LOL! If only I could.....

 

[scrappinginontario]

Really, Disney should have made this known in advance. It's just not fair to do this to people at the last minute. We are passholders who live just a couple of hours away, but I refuse to take part in this madness.

For over 2 years now Disney has been announcing the opening of the Fantasyland Expansion would happen in the fall of 2012. We WERE given advance warning - 2 years of it!!!

Guess what - November/December is the fall of 2012!

This is the biggest Disney expansion ever. Anyone who has done their due diligence in planning a trip during this time should recognize that a big expansion = bigger crowds. I can't understand people getting all upset at Disney when it's NOT THEIR FAULT! They're giving us a whole new area to play and guess what - we all want to play there!

So, bigger crowds? Yes! Added fun? YES!

Let the magic begin!!!

(I'm in the same boat as many others. Booked my days based on anticipated crowds around 2.3 and now changed to 9.1. Oh well, going to have fun regardless and have changed my days around a bit to avoid MK on the busier days)

 

[Forensicmom]

Will someone please explain something to me? Did the crowd levels increase because of the extended hours at MK on Nov 14? Or is Fantastyland opening?

We have also planned our trip around the crowd levels, etc. Nov 14th is our first day there and was planning to go to MK. Any heads up would be helpful.

 

[Cherinva]

We have had reservations for our week at Disney for many months now. I carefully chose the week based primarily on crowd level. Cooler weather and Christmas decorations were secondary factors.

Now, just a couple of weeks before we go, Disney decides to mess up everything with their Fantasyland Expansion passholder preview!! The crowds at MK on 11/13 & 11/14 have went from a 1.2 and 1.3 to a 9.0 and 9.1! These are like Christmas or spring break crowd levels. I guess we will avoid MK on those days, but it seems to have slightly jacked up the expected crowds at the other parks as well.

I am annoyed for our family, but I am more upset for other families who may have saved for years for this vacation and are coming a long distance. We go to Disney quite a few times a year for quick over night trips, but only once for our week long extended family trip. I can't imagine how disappointed I would be if this was our only trip.

Really, Disney should have made this known in advance. It's just not fair to do this to people at the last minute. We are passholders who live just a couple of hours away, but I refuse to take part in this madness.

I wish I had your problem.

 

[MaxsDad]

If I followed the crowd predictions then I wouldn't be able to visit mk at any point during my next trip, and I would be spending most of my time in ak, so I don't worry about them too much. Honestly I have read a bunch of complaints on these boards but this one really takes the cake.


Posted from Disboards.com App for Android

 

[lanejudy]

Really, Disney should have made this known in advance. It's just not fair to do this to people at the last minute. We are passholders who live just a couple of hours away, but I refuse to take part in this madness.

Actually, Fantasy Land Expansion has been in the works for - what - 2 years? They have indicated Fall 2012 as opening for quite a while now. This is construction - you can't pinpoint a specific date months ahead and expect it will stick. Should Disney have "planned" FLE previews or opening for a specific week - and therefore you booked your vacation the following week? And what would you do when they had to change that because they planned too far in advance? They'd change to your vacation week; you'd be mad, and others would be mad if they had planned vacation to coincide with the opening. Such openings can't be formally planned too many months in advance without risk of schedule changes anyway, so better not to announce plans until they are more certain, which - yes - means less advanced notice. Disney is a business and weighs the risks of both options and choose the best for their business.