Latest from easywdw re: crowds at MK

[ilikedonuts]

It's insane how much costs have gone up. And getting rid of dinner at table services is just one more way to price gouge people. Since DD2 is still free, we will do our usual 1 table service a day along with a bunch of quick services but starting next year, we will be making a lot of meals in our villa!

[curbsideprophet]

Lol at Not Rivers of Light

I had heard crowds seemed bad last week. It is disappointing that so many things were operating at reduced capacity.

[peggy]

This whole business practice seems unsustainable. Don't down staff and raise prices at the same time.

[Deleted]

I hope they figure this shit out of November! Granted I haven't been since I was 6 so I won't have much to compare it to.

[ribollita]

Apr 13, 2016 9:46:54 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Lol at Not Rivers of Light

I had heard crowds seemed bad last week. It is disappointing that so many things were operating at reduced capacity.

Agree. It slows things down so much. We went in early December at a low crowd time and in the first park hour, both Big Thunder and Speedway were operating at half capacity and the lines were long. I was irritated then and it wasn't even that bad.

[ribollita]

Apr 13, 2016 9:36:09 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

getting rid of dinner at table services

What do you mean by this?

[abs]

I'm hoping they figure this out before July. Common sense says if they raised prices them they can pay to staff the parks appropriately.

Don't make park guests suffer from bad business decisions on ESPN or Shanghai.

[ribollita]

Apr 13, 2016 11:23:39 GMT -5 abs said:

I'm hoping they figure this out before July. Common sense says if they raised prices them they can pay to staff the parks appropriately.

Don't make park guests suffer from bad business decisions on ESPN or Shanghai.

Plus, wasn't the underlying purpose of FP+ to keep people out of lines and instead free to purchase overpriced food and souvenirs???

[abs]

Apr 13, 2016 11:28:08 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Apr 13, 2016 11:23:39 GMT -5 abs said:

I'm hoping they figure this out before July. Common sense says if they raised prices them they can pay to staff the parks appropriately.

Don't make park guests suffer from bad business decisions on ESPN or Shanghai.

Plus, wasn't the underlying purpose of FP+ to keep people out of lines and instead free to purchase overpriced food and souvenirs???

Yes. I guess it's evolved to get people to pay even MORE money to avoid lines with early and late special events.

[stephm0188]

And this is why I was against FP+

[abs]

I actually like FP+. I like knowing I will be able to headliners and some of my favorites without waiting 2 hours.

I greatly dislike all the budget cuts when the parks are making gobs of money. Pay more to get less. Not cool.

[rikki]

Apr 13, 2016 12:32:13 GMT -5 @starry said:

Yeah I am also fine with FP+. I'm not fine with rides running at half capacity when it would likely cost the amount of 25 daily theme park tickets to run both sides and they have record attendance.

Anyway crowds look down this week. rikki? How does it "feel" there?

Very light, especially the last 2 days. No lines more than 15 minutes for anything we did. Didn't even need to use fast passes for most rides. Epcot felt especially empty which was surprising with Garden Show, which was super impressive.

[rikki]

Apr 13, 2016 13:17:56 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Apr 13, 2016 13:15:36 GMT -5 rikki said:

Very light, especially the last 2 days. No lines more than 15 minutes for anything we did. Didn't even need to use fast passes for most rides. Epcot felt especially empty which was surprising with Garden Show, which was super impressive.

I wish my friend would have gone this week instead of last week!

It was their first visit and I was hoping it would be amazing for them. They still really liked it and are going to return. But I know they were frustrated by the crowds and lines, and it was very exhausting for them.

I have another friend going for the first time on the 17th, and I hope her crowds are more like this week (I would think they would be!).

. That stinks she went last week. The front desk was saying it was insane.

[curbsideprophet]

Apr 13, 2016 12:39:51 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Also, why can't they have A&E in MK and Epcot?

I absolutely think this is draw families to Epcot. Otherwise those with young kids might just stick to MK. Having people spread out is a benefit to everyone if the parks are fully staffed and rides are running at full capacity.

[curbsideprophet]

Apr 13, 2016 10:25:59 GMT -5 ribollita said:

Apr 13, 2016 9:36:09 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

getting rid of dinner at table services

What do you mean by this?

I assume this in in reference to the CP menu posted. There is breakfast then dinner, no lunch. Dinner starts at 11:30 am.

[Deleted]

Apr 13, 2016 11:31:47 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I was finally getting over my initial stewing from a few weeks ago and getting excited for our trip again.

This reduced capacity stuff is BS.

@savestheday

When they call you again about your survey results (if they do), you can throw in this as to why you think they're cheap.

I literally WROTE this in my survey. LOL! I had " saved for later" read this article and went in and talked about reduced capacity. 

[alleinesein]

Apr 13, 2016 12:11:16 GMT -5 @starry said:

Does Disneyland do FP+? Any other parks?

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

[ilikedonuts]

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Apr 13, 2016 12:11:16 GMT -5 @starry said:

Does Disneyland do FP+? Any other parks?

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

Except they are planning on doing the same at DL.

[alleinesein]

Apr 13, 2016 19:17:11 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

Except they are planning on doing the same at DL.

As of right now magic bands are a no go for DLR.  I have a friend who works up there (in a department that would be forced to deal with them) and there are no current plans to deal with them in the near future.  They still haven't worked out all the kinks with the magic band system down in WDW.  Disney even states on the DLR website that FP+ and magic bands are exclusive to WDW.

The DLR magic band chatter has been going on for years and the last word that was given to my friends department is that they will not be implementing them anytime soon.  They have other things that they are working on that take precedent.

The only thing that they have tested out is the barcode scanner for FP at Space Mountain.  It created a giant clusterf*** at the entrance when they were testing it out last fall.  The scanners have since disappeared and there is less clutter at the entrance; I saw them at the end of October and by December they were gone.

[irishbride2]

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Apr 13, 2016 12:11:16 GMT -5 @starry said:

Does Disneyland do FP+? Any other parks?

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

See as a somewhat local to DW, I would go much less if they didn't have FP. We can grab three FP, and then go on rides with short lines, and head home. It makes day trips so much nicer. I don't do lines. The longest we ever wait is 15 minutes. And being local, we can do that because we don't feel like we have to hit everything. FP are great for those who just want to hit a few rides and head home!

[jeaniebueller]

Apr 13, 2016 9:46:54 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

Lol at Not Rivers of Light

I had heard crowds seemed bad last week. It is disappointing that so many things were operating at reduced capacity.

Last week, many schools in Michigan were on spring break and I can't express how many Michiganders go to Florida and Orlando over spring break. So I am not surprised that the place was a zoo last week.

But eek....why are they reducing staff? Its not like they aren't making money.

[curbsideprophet]

Apr 14, 2016 19:06:27 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Apr 14, 2016 12:48:38 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Last week, many schools in Michigan were on spring break and I can't express how many Michiganders go to Florida and Orlando over spring break. So I am not surprised that the place was a zoo last week.

But eek....why are they reducing staff? Its not like they aren't making money.

Shanghai Disney is over budget

This is also what I have heard. Some are hoping things get better once it opens in June.

[alleinesein]

Apr 14, 2016 5:07:34 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

See as a somewhat local to DW, I would go much less if they didn't have FP. We can grab three FP, and then go on rides with short lines, and head home. It makes day trips so much nicer. I don't do lines. The longest we ever wait is 15 minutes. And being local, we can do that because we don't feel like we have to hit everything. FP are great for those who just want to hit a few rides and head home!

When I went a few weeks ago with a friend to Disneyland we hit 9 rides/attractions in 3 hours without using a single fast pass.  The longest wait was Star Tours (20 min) and that is because of the nature of the ride.  

We tend to skip stuff that has long lines since we can come back and do it another time.  Last sunday was a spur of the moment trip and Disneyland was overstating the wait times by a good 15-20 minutes at almost all of the rides. BTMR was a 30 minute wait and we were boarding the ride in 12 minutes with no FP.  

They had to change the FP distribution rules so now you can get a FP at DLR every 2 hours or after your next FP time is up.  The 2 hour rule is so nice when you end up with a later FP time since it allows you to grab another FP without having to wait for hours.  

[alleinesein]

Apr 14, 2016 19:05:19 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

I missed ticketed Fastpass for Toy Story Mania.

Did you ever visit when they had FP for Pirates?  The Pirates and Haunted Mansion FP machines used to be on their own system and they weren't linked to any other rides so you could get 3 FP at the same time (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and another ride).  It was so nice and then Disney discovered the glitch and fixed it.  I also loved it when they would honor your FP at any time after the stated time on the FP; now you have to go in the 1 hour window so if you miss it by a few minutes you are SOL.  

[geek96]

Apr 13, 2016 13:15:36 GMT -5 rikki said:

Apr 13, 2016 12:32:13 GMT -5 @starry said:

Yeah I am also fine with FP+. I'm not fine with rides running at half capacity when it would likely cost the amount of 25 daily theme park tickets to run both sides and they have record attendance.

Anyway crowds look down this week. rikki? How does it "feel" there?

Very light, especially the last 2 days. No lines more than 15 minutes for anything we did. Didn't even need to use fast passes for most rides. Epcot felt especially empty which was surprising with Garden Show, which was super impressive.

Epcot was definitely empty on Monday as was animal kingdom yesterday but wow was MK packed on Sunday. We couldn't even move and my anxiety level was through the roof.

[irishbride2]

Apr 14, 2016 20:28:11 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Apr 14, 2016 5:07:34 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

See as a somewhat local to DW, I would go much less if they didn't have FP. We can grab three FP, and then go on rides with short lines, and head home. It makes day trips so much nicer. I don't do lines. The longest we ever wait is 15 minutes. And being local, we can do that because we don't feel like we have to hit everything. FP are great for those who just want to hit a few rides and head home!

When I went a few weeks ago with a friend to Disneyland we hit 9 rides/attractions in 3 hours without using a single fast pass.  The longest wait was Star Tours (20 min) and that is because of the nature of the ride.  

We tend to skip stuff that has long lines since we can come back and do it another time.  Last sunday was a spur of the moment trip and Disneyland was overstating the wait times by a good 15-20 minutes at almost all of the rides. BTMR was a 30 minute wait and we were boarding the ride in 12 minutes with no FP.  

They had to change the FP distribution rules so now you can get a FP at DLR every 2 hours or after your next FP time is up.  The 2 hour rule is so nice when you end up with a later FP time since it allows you to grab another FP without having to wait for hours.  

Right which is what we do...except we just grab a fast pass for the long line ones.

How would fast passes ruin that? We generally hit most of the rides with 15 mins or less waits, and then FP the one or two we want that have longer lines (Generally test track or peter pan). 

I don't see the downside. I can grab a fast pass on my phone during the car ride to Disney the morning of. 

[lala]

Apr 15, 2016 7:50:52 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Apr 14, 2016 20:28:11 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

When I went a few weeks ago with a friend to Disneyland we hit 9 rides/attractions in 3 hours without using a single fast pass.  The longest wait was Star Tours (20 min) and that is because of the nature of the ride.  

We tend to skip stuff that has long lines since we can come back and do it another time.  Last sunday was a spur of the moment trip and Disneyland was overstating the wait times by a good 15-20 minutes at almost all of the rides. BTMR was a 30 minute wait and we were boarding the ride in 12 minutes with no FP.  

They had to change the FP distribution rules so now you can get a FP at DLR every 2 hours or after your next FP time is up.  The 2 hour rule is so nice when you end up with a later FP time since it allows you to grab another FP without having to wait for hours.  

Right which is what we do...except we just grab a fast pass for the long line ones.

How would fast passes ruin that? We generally hit most of the rides with 15 mins or less waits, and then FP the one or two we want that have longer lines (Generally test track or peter pan). 

I don't see the downside. I can grab a fast pass on my phone during the car ride to Disney the morning of. 

You can get a FP to ride mine train the morning of or ride it w/ 15 minutes or less most times you visit? 

I don't hate fast pass plus but for now anyway, I don't think it's improved my DW experience. I'm so excited to visit DL this year and use classic fast pass to tour. 

The last time we were in DW we did not get a FP+ for mine train. We beelined for it at rope drop and there was still a 20-25 minute wait. Not horrible but outside of what we usually wait. 

It used to be that I could hit up pretty much every ride I wanted to w/o ever waiting more than 15 minutes. 

[Deleted]

Apr 14, 2016 5:07:34 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Apr 13, 2016 15:05:12 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Hell no! Locals who go to Disneyland do not put up with all that foolishness that they have at the MK and the rest of WDW.  No magic bands and very few rides with FP and we like it that way!

See as a somewhat local to DW, I would go much less if they didn't have FP. We can grab three FP, and then go on rides with short lines, and head home. It makes day trips so much nicer. I don't do lines. The longest we ever wait is 15 minutes. And being local, we can do that because we don't feel like we have to hit everything. FP are great for those who just want to hit a few rides and head home!

I'm really excited for FP+! I'm not sure we would be going if we couldn't guarantee riding on some of the headliners without a long wait. We will have several people who can't walk a lot and toddlers who won't wait in long lines so it's a good option for us. We also don't do early rising so we can't take advantage of short rope drop lines on the major things.

[irishbride2]

Apr 15, 2016 12:01:55 GMT -5 lala said:

Apr 15, 2016 7:50:52 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Right which is what we do...except we just grab a fast pass for the long line ones.

How would fast passes ruin that? We generally hit most of the rides with 15 mins or less waits, and then FP the one or two we want that have longer lines (Generally test track or peter pan). 

I don't see the downside. I can grab a fast pass on my phone during the car ride to Disney the morning of. 

You can get a FP to ride mine train the morning of or ride it w/ 15 minutes or less most times you visit? 

I don't hate fast pass plus but for now anyway, I don't think it's improved my DW experience. I'm so excited to visit DL this year and use classic fast pass to tour. 

The last time we were in DW we did not get a FP+ for mine train. We beelined for it at rope drop and there was still a 20-25 minute wait. Not horrible but outside of what we usually wait. 

It used to be that I could hit up pretty much every ride I wanted to w/o ever waiting more than 15 minutes. 

I've found Elsa and Anna the morning of as well as Mine Train. I can't ALWAYS find everything I want, but I generally can. But my point is, I don't see why someone would be so anti fast passes that they would say they are fighting it. Its made my trips to Disney so much easier. I can see being indifferent. But the strong reaction baffled me. 

[lala]

Apr 15, 2016 12:22:22 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Apr 15, 2016 12:01:55 GMT -5 lala said:

You can get a FP to ride mine train the morning of or ride it w/ 15 minutes or less most times you visit? 

I don't hate fast pass plus but for now anyway, I don't think it's improved my DW experience. I'm so excited to visit DL this year and use classic fast pass to tour. 

The last time we were in DW we did not get a FP+ for mine train. We beelined for it at rope drop and there was still a 20-25 minute wait. Not horrible but outside of what we usually wait. 

It used to be that I could hit up pretty much every ride I wanted to w/o ever waiting more than 15 minutes. 

There's no Mine Train at Disneyland afaik. And I believe they are talking about Disneyland and DL's lack of FP rides.

I know. irishbride2 said she was local to Disney World and that she liked FP+.