Touring Plans: WDW "Observed" Increased Stand By Times

[Legacy]

All of these horror stories is making it really difficult for me and my wife to WANT to go back to Disney. This doesn't sound like a vacation anymore. It sounds like analytical hell.


'Member when admission was $40 and you could ride everything at Magic Kingdom in a day?

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

I was originally VERY wary about going to WDW last fall, especially since I had not been there since FP+ was put in play. Also, going during Christmas/NY week I was very skeptical about being overwhelmed by the crowds and not getting any FP.

To be honest, with a little advanced planning and working to avoid certain parks on certain days, we had an awesome experience and got to ride everything we wanted with FP+.

We went a total of three times last fall and I was impressed by the little planning required for FP+. (even getting Frozen and FOP passes) Maybe I'm the exception.....

 

[Mad Dog]

Yeah. Some planning for vacation is OK. But "Extreme Planning" of your every day & moment just destroys the leisure/relaxation aspect of vacations. That's probably the main reason I prefer Universal resorts/parks over WDW. Disney parks are excellent & I really like them, but as a tourist I'm not very enamored with the way they do things now. Universal is relaxing & leisurely if you stay on site. Disney is not....When I'm at Universal I decide what I want to do for the day when I wake up in the morning. And sometimes I'll change my agenda a few times depending on how I feel that day, what the weather is, and so forth. That's how a vacation should be. No stress, no set schedules etc. Can't do that at Disney and have a smooth day.

 

[DK745]

Yeah. Some planning for vacation is OK. But "Extreme Planning" of your every day & moment just destroys the leisure/relaxation aspect of vacations. That's probably the main reason I prefer Universal resorts/parks over WDW. Disney parks are excellent & I really like them, but as a tourist I'm not very enamored with the way they do things now. Universal is relaxing & leisurely if you stay on site. Disney is not....When I'm at Universal I decide what I want to do for the day when I wake up in the morning. And sometimes I'll change my agenda a few times depending on how I feel that day, what the weather is, and so forth. That's how a vacation should be. No stress, no set schedules etc. Can't do that at Disney and have a smooth day.

I don't even stay on site at Universal and it works for me. Just look at wait times, decide what I want to do, eat whenever...just do what I want when I want it lol. Like you said based on the weather or how I feel or whatever, I'll decide what I want to do.

The last couple of times though I ended up buying the admission and express pass combo (which works out to be a decent deal) and have had a great time but even without that the single rider lines are awesome too. But the point is I don't need to plan anything out in advance other than what days I want to go there. Dealing with all those crowds and lines all day can be stressful enough, planning a whole schedule out 60 days in advance just sounds maddening. Having said all that I'd still like to go to WDW one day lol.

 

[rhino4evr]

I think the big difference for me this time around, was that in the past, I was still able to get on most rides without a fast pass with a reasonable wait time ..which I think is 30 mins or under.

When I went this past January, almost every ride had at least a 45 mins or more wait. The popular rides had 90+ min waits.

When getting a Fast pass is Mandatory to avoid waiting almost an hour or more, it's not nearly as fun. At least not for me.

Also, Fast Passes actually changed my entire vacation. As I was only able to score a fast pass for Pandora on the last day of my vacation. Originally we planned to go there on my first day. So just getting a fast pass alone caused me to not only alter the parks I visited, but also dining reservations.

I won't be back for a while. Thinking of flying to Ohio and going to Cedar Point instead next year.

 

[Mad Dog]

I don't even stay on site at Universal and it works for me. Just look at wait times, decide what I want to do, eat whenever...just do what I want when I want it lol. Like you said based on the weather or how I feel or whatever, I'll decide what I want to do.

The last couple of times though I ended up buying the admission and express pass combo (which works out to be a decent deal) and have had a great time but even without that the single rider lines are awesome too. But the point is I don't need to plan anything out in advance other than what days I want to go there. Dealing with all those crowds and lines all day can be stressful enough, planning a whole schedule out 60 days in advance just sounds maddening. Having said all that I'd still like to go to WDW one day lol.

Agree all along. And, as I said, I like Disney parks a lot. I used to stay on site at WDW for two weeks at a time. But the last time I stayed at Caribbean Beach in Fall 2015 the entire vacation just seemed like work more than play since everything is structured so much time wise.I came home wore out. Last year I did 4 day trips to WDW (they had a nice 4 day park deal) from a Universal hotel. That actually worked out OK and the value was better since you get better hotel resorts at Universal for the money. The trip up I4 wasn't bad since there's an on ramp right next to CBBR. So I was at WDW in usually apx. 15 minutes, which wasn't much different than when I stayed on site. This year I think I'm skipping Disney completely since their lines are just too long with their staffing machinations, and they didn't run any ticket specials for out of staters. At most, I might run up to MK for a day, but probably not....In the future I doubt if I'll stay on site at WDW anymore. They are just pricing their moderates (which are really values) and deluxes out of sight.

 

[tyro]

I was there this week and the main problem I saw that is causing inflated wait times is the merge point between standby and fast pass. There were times where in the past the line would be 40 min but with fast pass plus the ratio is 23 fastpass groups to 1 standby. (I’m not kidding we were counting.) which caused the wait time to be more than 2 hours. And it was during spring break but I have still never seen the wait time for it’s a small world get past one hour even during Christmas week.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

Yep, its all about the merge. CMs are told to keep the FP line down and they control that ratio to manage that line. There is no consideration given to the standby line. They have specific points/targets in the queue that they look at to determine that ratio and most follow it to the letter which unfortunately often leads to confrontations with those in the standby line.

 

[fryoj]

Yeah. Some planning for vacation is OK. But "Extreme Planning" of your every day & moment just destroys the leisure/relaxation aspect of vacations. That's probably the main reason I prefer Universal resorts/parks over WDW. Disney parks are excellent & I really like them, but as a tourist I'm not very enamored with the way they do things now. Universal is relaxing & leisurely if you stay on site. Disney is not....When I'm at Universal I decide what I want to do for the day when I wake up in the morning. And sometimes I'll change my agenda a few times depending on how I feel that day, what the weather is, and so forth. That's how a vacation should be. No stress, no set schedules etc. Can't do that at Disney and have a smooth day.

Yeah I cannot fathom planning a meal six months out. Hell I don't really like to even book hotels that far out, let alone try to figure what park I'm going to be in on what day of my trip and know that I'm going to feel like eating that restaurant at that specific time.

 

[Mad Dog]

I don't even stay on site at Universal and it works for me. Just look at wait times, decide what I want to do, eat whenever...just do what I want when I want it lol. Like you said based on the weather or how I feel or whatever, I'll decide what I want to do.

The last couple of times though I ended up buying the admission and express pass combo (which works out to be a decent deal) and have had a great time but even without that the single rider lines are awesome too. But the point is I don't need to plan anything out in advance other than what days I want to go there. Dealing with all those crowds and lines all day can be stressful enough, planning a whole schedule out 60 days in advance just sounds maddening. Having said all that I'd still like to go to WDW one day lol.

Good point on the single rider lines at Universal. Sometimes we'll do a few days at CBBR or Sapphire instead of the deluxe hotels. Alene & I utilize the single rider lines on those days. They are on most of the major attractions and the TM's run the lines fast. They're usually almost as fast as the Express lines. But at WDW there's only something like 3 or 4 single rider lines attractions at the whole resort and the times we've used them they were pretty slow moving. The CM's seem very lackluster about filling the single seats at Disney.

 

[SeventyOne]

All of these horror stories is making it really difficult for me and my wife to WANT to go back to Disney. This doesn't sound like a vacation anymore. It sounds like analytical hell.


'Member when admission was $40 and you could ride everything at Magic Kingdom in a day?

Honestly if the average guest could ride everything in MK in a day, I think they'd pay $140 admission and still be happy.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Yep, its all about the merge. CMs are told to keep the FP line down and they control that ratio to manage that line. There is no consideration given to the standby line. They have specific points/targets in the queue that they look at to determine that ratio and most follow it to the letter which unfortunately often leads to confrontations with those in the standby line.

At some point, Disney needs to address that. 90% of my frustration at any theme park comes from watching CMs seemingly ignore the standby line. I know they're doing their best and they have mandates from corporate. It can still be a really frustrating experience.

Yeah I cannot fathom planning a meal six months out. Hell I don't really like to even book hotels that far out, let alone try to figure what park I'm going to be in on what day of my trip and know that I'm going to feel like eating that restaurant at that specific time.

6 months is way too far ahead to be planning meals. I've planned meals for 3 months ahead, but it was a super special meal at a fancy/well-known restaurant.

I think the issue is that Disney wants you to reserve every meal. I have no issues reserving a place at Be Our Guest ahead of time. In fact, I'd prefer it. I want to know that I have a spot reserved for me at a place that I really want to go to. But, there's a handful of places in Disney that feel like they warrant that much of a lead time. Disney wants every restaurant to feel like they warrant a reservation.

 

[bob albert]

Honestly if the average guest could ride everything in MK in a day, I think they'd pay $140 admission and still be happy.

Disney would hire more cast members to manage lines better again then charge $140 citing the improved value as the justification or the increase.

I can't even book a flight 6 months out. If I had a family of four planning everything before booking a flight would be a pretty big unknown swing in cost.

 

[rhino4evr]

Honestly if the average guest could ride everything in MK in a day, I think they'd pay $140 admission and still be happy.

Peak day Single Day tickets are already almost $140.00, and they probably will be in 2-3 years.

 

[fryoj]

Honestly if the average guest could ride everything in MK in a day, I think they'd pay $140 admission and still be happy.

After thinking about it, if they had an upcharge FP option that allowed you a one time pass at every ride in the park, they could charge $140 for it on top of the admission prices and still sell out.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

They simply want us to visit more days to increase length of hotel stays and milk every cent that you possess from you. If they get you for 6 to 7 days you can pretty much fast pass every ride that matters once. The new parking fees are to cover the bus, monorail and gondola operating costs without eating into revenue and to keep you feom venturing out from the resort.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

I think the big difference for me this time around, was that in the past, I was still able to get on most rides without a fast pass with a reasonable wait time ..which I think is 30 mins or under.

When I went this past January, almost every ride had at least a 45 mins or more wait. The popular rides had 90+ min waits.

When getting a Fast pass is Mandatory to avoid waiting almost an hour or more, it's not nearly as fun. At least not for me.

Also, Fast Passes actually changed my entire vacation. As I was only able to score a fast pass for Pandora on the last day of my vacation. Originally we planned to go there on my first day. So just getting a fast pass alone caused me to not only alter the parks I visited, but also dining reservations.

I won't be back for a while. Thinking of flying to Ohio and going to Cedar Point instead next year.

We rotate six flags and cedar fair with season season passes. We get the ones that are good for all parks.

Last year, we had Six Flags. We hit up both Texas Parks, America, Great Adventure and St Lous for about 70 bucks per pass. We got two season long free refill mugs for just under 20 a piece that worked at all the parks. Parking included too with the Gold passes. Plan on buy the next year during the Halloween or Christmas season before that uear to get even more bang for bucks.

Cedar Fair wants a good bit more for their all park Platinum pass. but if you live close to one for multiple visits and get out to two to three others, it's a steal.

 

[JoeCamel]

I bit on one of the 3 day Resident tickets back in January because I stupidly though I should be able to get a FP for FoP sometime between then and June when it expires. I have tried day of, 60 days out and in between more than 20 times since January 3. Never a FP available. Different times of the day, middle of the night nothing. I won't go without having one so I may end up eating the ticket.
I used to go to the MK every morning do what I wanted to and be out by the time the crowds hit. Did that for a few years but then they got serious about removing value from the AP so I stopped cold turkey. Have not been back for years now.
I would go if I could do FoP but without it no way. 20 minutes up the street is a park that makes me feel like they want me there so I go there, stay in their hotels, eat in their restaurants and drink in their bars.
My signature on Magic is "Former WDW attendee but can't see the value now" I should have read it before I sprang for a 3day ticket.

 

[Disneyhead]

I bit on one of the 3 day Resident tickets back in January because I stupidly though I should be able to get a FP for FoP sometime between then and June when it expires. I have tried day of, 60 days out and in between more than 20 times since January 3. Never a FP available. Different times of the day, middle of the night nothing. I won't go without having one so I may end up eating the ticket.
I used to go to the MK every morning do what I wanted to and be out by the time the crowds hit. Did that for a few years but then they got serious about removing value from the AP so I stopped cold turkey. Have not been back for years now.
I would go if I could do FoP but without it no way. 20 minutes up the street is a park that makes me feel like they want me there so I go there, stay in their hotels, eat in their restaurants and drink in their bars.
My signature on Magic is "Former WDW attendee but can't see the value now" I should have read it before I sprang for a 3day ticket.

I sucked it up and rope dropped DAK and waited a little over 2 hours for FoP. I still like FJ and ToT more, but it is, without a doubt, a Mega-E. It's fun. I like it. I'm am glad I did it once.

I bought one of the 3 day tickets for my daughter. I may rope drop it one more time with her. But that's about my limit.

 

[JoeCamel]

I sucked it up and rope dropped DAK and waited a little over 2 hours for FoP. I still like FJ and ToT more, but is, without a doubt, a Mega-E. It's fun. I like it. I'm am glad I did it once.

I bought one of the 3 day tickets for my daughter. I may rope drop it one more time with her. But that's about my limit.

I have thought about it and it is getting hotter every day. Wonder if I can luck out some morning....