Touring Plans: WDW "Observed" Increased Stand By Times

[Nick]

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

That’s exactly why those extra hours upcharge parties are so popular.

 

[Disneyhead]

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

I mainly did it as more of a research thing. Mainly so I could discuss the attraction from a informed viewpoint.

I usually do that at least once with new popular attractions like Gringott's, 7DMT, and FoP.

I still haven't ridden NRJ.

 

[Teebin]

I have never rope dropped a park in my life. I am more of a 11AM’er with a 3 hour limit. Odd I know.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

That’s exactly why those extra hours upcharge parties are so popular.

I don't know if that's the main driver. For me personally those events are about the different M&Gs, shows, and other perks rather than the rides that can typically be done during normal hours. I will admit we did a few of the "longer wait" rides during the parties, but it was more about the exclusive things that were offered during those parties.

 

[LieutLaww]

NRJ is enjoyable, but needs to be so much longer.

 

[Nick]

I don't know if that's the main driver. For me personally those events are about the different M&Gs, shows, and other perks rather than the rides that can typically be done during normal hours. I will admit we did a few of the "longer wait" rides during the parties, but it was more about the exclusive things that were offered during those parties.

I’m not talking about MNSSHP and MVMCP. I’m speaking to the parties that are essentially paid EMH.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

I’m not talking about MNSSHP and MVMCP. I’m speaking to the parties that are essentially paid EMH.

Gotcha. Yes that is definitely true and is now becoming one of the very few perks of staying on site. Disney is really making me want to stay off-site the way they are monetizing every freaking thing anymore.
Luckily, I now have 2 offsite properties I can stay at without any additional cost.

 

[Mad Dog]

Excellent new thread running on WDW Magic right now. The thread is titled "The Day the Magic Died" and Magic forum poster Pooh does a great parody of the "The Day the Music Died" song. It's really good.....There's two different threads on the parking running on Magic right now, and both threads are blasting Disney big time. Most every poster is strongly negative on this issue. There's only a very few that are lukewarm or supportive of it. And, keep in mind, Magic is a pretty strong pro Disney site for the most part, with a few exceptions, mostly those that post here also.

 

[Nick]

Excellent new thread running on WDW Magic right now. The thread is titled "The Day the Magic Died" and Magic forum poster Pooh does a great parody of the "The Day the Music Died" song. It's really good.....There's two different threads on the parking running on Magic right now, and both threads are blasting Disney big time. Most every poster is strongly negative on this issue. There's only a very few that are lukewarm or supportive of it. And, keep in mind, Magic is a pretty strong pro Disney site for the most part, with a few exceptions, mostly those that post here also.

Magic has been pretty angry at Disney for years. At least on the News & Rumors section.

I often find many there to be more negative on Disney than we are.

 

[Disneyhead]

Magic has been pretty angry at Disney for years. At least on the News & Rumors section.

I often find many there to be more negative on Disney than we are.

It's mostly just me.

I need a better hobby.

 

[Mad Dog]

It's mostly just me.

I need a better hobby.

Yes, I've noticed that.

 

[Daphne]

January was really bad. The TP crowd calendar was off by a lot, like level 3 days ending up level 8 and 9's. Testa has brought this up before and TP had to keep adjusting line times and crowd levels. But it seems January was the apex that busted the system big time. And, as Len keeps saying, attendance increases don't justify the much larger observed stand by times....This time he actually sent in his observers to count how many vehicles they were running,load times, etc. It's not so much that there's no slow times anymore, the real fact is that even on slow attendance days Disney cuts staffing and vehicle load times so it seems like the parks are crowded, even though they really aren't.

Ya got that right!

It is absolute insanity that disney is not obsessed with increasing overall capacity of the resorts given demand but my fear is that they figured out they the could extend vacations artificially by making it take longer to do everything and transferring the blame on the guests' lack of planning that they missed out on anything. I think we have gotten to the point where the data they have is ruining all the loopholes/slow times of those in the know.

Yep.

I haven't made my way through that entire thread yet, but this whole issue fascinates and frightens me. It seems there's been a fairly radical change in approach to the way Disney views the "slow times."

When I visited the Magic Kingdom on a Friday in late October of 2015, I was in the park from 9:10am t0 5:30pm, and I was able to do 19 attractions. Something tells me that will be virtually impossible during my next trip later this fall.

Ohhh...unless some magical miracle happens, this fall will not be like your trip in 2015.

This is going to bite them in the tail. People avoid the high season for a reason. If all year "feels" like the high season, some folks will choose a different vacation destination.

Prime example right here!!!:wave:

Yes. I've always gone to WDW during the off season so I wouldn't have to stand in summer or holiday season length lines. If every month ends up like January 2018, I'll quit going except for a day here and there. My personal guest satisfaction is in direct proportion to how long lines are.....I can see this hitting the limits of guest tolerance when GESWL debuts, and the visitor floodgates open, unless WDW normalizes their staffing/vehicle & load situation...A company that starts taking their customers for granted & cuts corners, is going to pay in the long term, no matter how strong their brand. Take heed at what happened to Sears, one of the strongest brands ever in the American marketplace, when they started playing penny wise pound foolish, and cut their guarantees on their Craftsmen & appliance brands. They owned the tool and appliance business up to that misstep.That started their downward trend, long before on line competition, & they never recovered. Customers have their limits when it comes to brand loyalty.....Lesson: Never turn your company over to the bean counters.

They clearly weren't in school that day, because they've already turned the company over to the bean counters.

Honestly though, I could very well see this plan as a way to completely monetize the FP system. Make the waits horrible all the time and the people who can afford to throw money away won't think twice about tossing a couple hundred a day to not wait in line. Or just book a room thats a few grand extra for the week. Whichever way they want to go with it.

They've already been testing selling FP to the club level guests - $50 for 3 extra FP's - the monetizing is coming...

 

[GadgetGuru]

I often find many there to be more negative on Disney than we are.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. I can’t go on Magic anymore because it’s so unbelievably negative.

 

[belloq87]

Ohhh...unless some magical miracle happens, this fall will not be like your trip in 2015.

I'm preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

Welcome to the forums, by the way!

 

[fallingends]

Disney is definitely crazy with everything to get on rides and dealing with the crowds lol.

 

[SpyderDan]

I too have grown frustrated with Disney and the crowds there and everything the company has done in the last several years. They have become the caricature that everyone has always painted the mouse as. Going back years, people's vitriol towards the parks seemed completely unfounded. But under Iger Disney has truly become the money-hungry monolithic company people have always deemed them to be. From buying up every popular studio and IP known to man to nickel and diming guests in the parks, it's just disgusting.

My family and I are locals, have been for years. We used to vacation in winter months before moving to Florida and it was always so much more manageable. Now it's basically a nightmare to go to Disney any time of year. The crowds are ridiculous no matter when it is. My wife and I don't get to ride anything unless we manage to have a FP like a recent visit to DAK. Now with them charging for parking at the hotels, the way they try to price out certain income brackets, just everything that they do is disgusting now. Walt's rolling over in his grave.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

That’s exactly why those extra hours upcharge parties are so popular.

I dropped my Walt Disney World annual pass many years ago. Going once a year to Mickey's Halloween Party gives me my Magic Kingdom fix and I am good.

 

[SeventyOne]

Starting off on a tangent here, but will bring it back around. I believe @Joe floated this theory on Twitter a year or so ago, but I've come to agree a large part of Disney's bump in crowds is growth in the area. Look at Forbes list of fastest growing cities. #4 is Orlando, but #14 is Lakeland, about equally as close to the Mouse for many residents. At least three more in the top 25 are within a few hours drive. Throw in the fact WDW made silver APs more attractive with free parking and payment plans, you can't help but expect to see a boost in APs ...

Which bore out yesterday. Monday on been slow at the parks. Then yesterday--keeping in mind a decade ago Saturday was a travel day and rarely rose above 4th busiest day of the week--more traffic east-bound on I-4 at the WDW exit than I saw during Spring Break. I can only attribute this to a mess of APs suddenly making Saturday a bust day at Disney. This was noticeable at EPCOT, as well--extended lots used during F&G whenever silver APs are eligible.

Here's the thing: I don't believe management has realized this yet. They are still trying to do bare-bones staffing assuming Saturday at MK won't be nearly as busy as the previous Monday was. I think this just exacerbates weekend crowds, particularly among locals likely to post here or on Twitter. At a certain point TDO needs to recognize that Orlando is morphing into Anaheim far quicker than anyone expected it would. Staffing needs to reflect that.

 

[bob albert]

Disney has the data. They know.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Part of the justification for Magic bands was that Disney would have detailed traffic information to adjust staffing. Whether or not they use the data and how they use the data is another matter, but they have the data.