Toy Story Land - General Discussion

[twebber55]

Just checked yesterday's (Sat. July 7) "Observed" stand by wait times on Touring Plans. Aliens Saucers generally ranged from 15 to 35 minutes. Slinky ranged from 25 to 70 minutes. Best (lowest waits) times were before 10:00 AM and after 6:00 PM. Lines were low for all the park's rides. DHS came in at a very low Touring Plans LEVEL 2 on the crowd calendar. (10 busiest, 1 slowest scale)....MK and Epcot were level 3 and 4. AK was a fairly busy Level 7. Note: AK rarely falls below a 7 crowd level anymore.

i never thought TSL would be a huge pull but im still surprised its dropped off this quickly.
one thing ive learned when it comes to sustained success of a new land word of mouth matters

 

[Mad Dog]

i never thought TSL would be a huge pull but im still surprised its dropped off this quickly.
one thing ive learned when it comes to sustained success of a new land word of mouth matters

I'm thinking Nick & a few others nailed it when they strongly pointed out that there's no shade or air conditioning to stand in or retreat to. That has to be a huge fail for an area during an Orlando summer. I'm guessing that's a major contributor during the daylight hours. Lines are even shorter in the night though, when it's cooler and the land looks beautiful, but like usual at DHS, most people are probably either watching Fantasmic or the night show. ....I certainly thought the lines would be longer though, but then again, WDW crowd levels overall have been really soft these past few weeks.

 

[Nick]

I'm thinking Nick & a few others nailed it when they strongly pointed out that there's no shade or air conditioning to stand in or retreat to. That has to be a huge fail for an area during an Orlando summer. I'm guessing that's a major contributor during the daylight hours. Lines are even shorter in the night though, when it's cooler and the land looks beautiful, but like usual at DHS, most people are probably either watching Fantasmic or the night show. ....I certainly thought the lines would be longer though, but then again, WDW crowd levels overall have been really soft these past few weeks.

I’m very surprised lines have gotten this low this fast. I thought at least the Summer would be pretty bad.

At the same time, I wonder how much SWGE is affecting vacations this summer.

 

[Mad Dog]

I’m very surprised lines have gotten this low this fast. I thought at least the Summer would be pretty bad.

At the same time, I wonder how much SWGE is affecting vacations this summer.

Surprised me too....It's still pretty far away for DHS...GESWL..Your Toy Story comments on the lack of shade & air conditioning are probably a big part of it in regards to TSL...... But there's a bigger picture here of seemingly soft crowds for all the parks, except AK.I'm thinking it's more of the lesser summer attendance trend for the Orlando parks, with other season's picking up the slack. Plus, economically, there's rising gas prices and the tax play has not resulted in wage increase percentages any better then the past decade or so. Maybe the parks are finally starting to hit a wall between high ticket/food/hotel prices. The first quarter of the year was kind of an aberration due to a real early Easter skew. I'm guessing the second quarter results will be real soft when they're announced in the next few weeks. And this new quarter certainly has started slowly, even though it's only a week into it. ...Guessing game time it seems.

 

[Teebin]

Business here in Lobster Town USA has always fallen off for a few days after the 4th.

 

[Scott W.]

i never thought TSL would be a huge pull but im still surprised its dropped off this quickly.
one thing ive learned when it comes to sustained success of a new land word of mouth matters

I’d be curious to know how many people visiting Disney World are repeat visistors. Repeat guests will always be looking for the new rides.

 

[Mad Dog]

Business here in Lobster Town USA has always fallen off for a few days after the 4th.

Yes, but you were busy up there at Bar Harbor before the 4th. Kind of slow before the 4th too in Orlando though.

 

[twebber55]

I’d be curious to know how many people visiting Disney World are repeat visistors. Repeat guests will always be looking for the new rides.

ive often wondered what % of guest are repeat visitors

 

[rhino4evr]

Or Pandora's capacity is just truly a nightmare for the demand it has.

eh...if it was just Pandora's "problem" the rest of the park wouldn't have long waits as well. 90 Mins for Dinosaur?

The truth is that Pandora is still a huge draw for guests over a year later. AND it should be! The land is easily the best thing WDW has built in a decade, and the main ride is one of the highest rated in Orlando. Despite everyone's belief that Avatar was an IP the public lost interest in, it appears their gamble has paid off. I too was skeptical, but they really nailed this. It's ok to give Disney props every once in a while. Even on a Universal Forum.

 

[Scott W.]

That’s me finally able to get my FP booked for my trip 60 days out. Slinky coaster, the earliest I could get was 2:25pm. Flight of Passage, the earliest I could get was 6:45pm.

Take that how you want.

 

[rhino4evr]

In the end, I think Toy Story land will only be a "must do" for families. Which of course is a big part of the client base, but families would still rather visit Magic Kingdom over Disney Studios.

 

[IOAGuy]

I'm thinking Nick & a few others nailed it when they strongly pointed out that there's no shade or air conditioning to stand in or retreat to. That has to be a huge fail for an area during an Orlando summer. I'm guessing that's a major contributor during the daylight hours. Lines are even shorter in the night though, when it's cooler and the land looks beautiful, but like usual at DHS, most people are probably either watching Fantasmic or the night show. ....I certainly thought the lines would be longer though, but then again, WDW crowd levels overall have been really soft these past few weeks.

I believe this was done on purpose to get crowds moving. No shade/a.c to rest in = less people crowding areas. Yea it's brutal but I think it was a good idea to funnel people in and out.

 

[UNIrd]

I believe this was done on purpose to get crowds moving. No shade/a.c to rest in = less people crowding areas. Yea it's brutal but I think it was a good idea to funnel people in and out.

Sounds like awful logic. "Let's spend millions of dollars on the first new land this park has seen in ages... but don't let them get too comfortable."

Meanwhile, at Diagon Alley, oh the AC be a'blowin'...

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

As I mentioned in the "Attendance Decline" thread, I think Disney is genuinely concerned about overall attendance and are trying to boost numbers by giving lower level APs more access in the summer by offering "blackout removal" for $89. Not sure if this will even register, however, since other than TSL there is really nothing new for locals to go and see.
I am sure they are hoping this is a SWGE aberration which will cause an attendance spike next year, but in actuality WDW won't get that land till late next year so they may be hoping that MMRR will pickup next summer.

 

[IOAGuy]

Sounds like awful logic. "Let's spend millions of dollars on the first new land this park has seen in ages... but don't let them get too comfortable."

Meanwhile, at Diagon Alley, oh the AC be a'blowin'...

It's also why seating for the restaurants is limited to only those who are actually eating. Otherwise you'll have guests who aren't eating getting shade, taking up tables for those who are ordering food.

 

[UNIrd]

As I mentioned in the "Attendance Decline" thread, I think Disney is genuinely concerned about overall attendance and are trying to boost numbers by giving lower level APs more access in the summer by offering "blackout removal" for $89. Not sure if this will even register, however, since other than TSL there is really nothing new for locals to go and see.
I am sure they are hoping this is a SWGE aberration which will cause an attendance spike next year, but in actuality WDW won't get that land till late next year so they may be hoping that MMRR will pickup next summer.

But there's an Incredibles dance party.. and a Guardians of the Galaxy dance off.. and Donald's dino dance party... think of the dance parties!!

 

[s8film40]

eh...if it was just Pandora's "problem" the rest of the park wouldn't have long waits as well. 90 Mins for Dinosaur?

The truth is that Pandora is still a huge draw for guests over a year later. AND it should be! The land is easily the best thing WDW has built in a decade, and the main ride is one of the highest rated in Orlando. Despite everyone's belief that Avatar was an IP the public lost interest in, it appears their gamble has paid off. I too was skeptical, but they really nailed this. It's ok to give Disney props every once in a while. Even on a Universal Forum.

I think Pandora proves that IP isn't really all that important sometimes. People aren't flocking to that land because they're fans of Avatar, it's because it's Disney's newest greatest thing and because word of mouth is it's a must do new attraction. Even Disney themselves seem to realize this, they don't advertise it as Avatar. The billboards all say "come ride a banshee at Animal Kingdom" with no mention whatsoever of Avatar or Pandora. It could've been a completely original concept, "Land of the Banshees" or something like that and it would still do just as well.

I believe this was done on purpose to get crowds moving. No shade/a.c to rest in = less people crowding areas. Yea it's brutal but I think it was a good idea to funnel people in and out.

I'm pretty sure it had a whole lot more to do with air conditioned buildings costing a whole lot more than open walkways. It's abundantly clear to even the most casual observer this was a land designed to be a cheap addition.

 

[Mad Dog]

As I mentioned in the "Attendance Decline" thread, I think Disney is genuinely concerned about overall attendance and are trying to boost numbers by giving lower level APs more access in the summer by offering "blackout removal" for $89. Not sure if this will even register, however, since other than TSL there is really nothing new for locals to go and see.
I am sure they are hoping this is a SWGE aberration which will cause an attendance spike next year, but in actuality WDW won't get that land till late next year so they may be hoping that MMRR will pickup next summer.

I also posted this in the Attendance thread....Today on Touring Plans they announced they are readjusting their WDW calendar, which they do periodically. From TP; "The increase in Disney hotel promotions suggests that reservations are down".

 

[Disneyhead]

People are flocking to Pandora because they built the first legit Disney Quality E-Ticket in 11 years.

 

[UNIrd]

I'm pretty sure it had a whole lot more to do with air conditioned buildings costing a whole lot more than open walkways. It's abundantly clear to even the most casual observer this was a land designed to be a cheap addition.

This is the Rip Ride Rockit before their Wizarding World of Harry Potter.