Originally Posted By sjhym333 We had family in and everyone wanted to go to Disney. The family started at the Studios and I met up with them later at EPCOT. Here are a couple of my observations: Brazilian Tour Groups everywhere. The family said they were well behaved at the Studios, but they were loud and annoying at EPCOT like TDLFan reported. I noticed that it was the group leader who seem to be instigating it and they got louder everytime they hit the breezeway at Innoventions. You could see lots of guests were not happy and made comments as the groups went by. A friend told me that one day last week the AK's attendance included 6000 from tour groups. I already reported that one group of about 40 used the Single Rider line at Test Track, making that line 60 mins long. Ellen's Energy Adventure - Love Energy but is getting dated. Ellen looks way young as does Alex Trebec. The quality of the film throughout the attraction was horrendous. They need to do something about that. The park was surprisingly empty. Even in the evening at World Showcase there didn't seem to be tons of people. The usual attractions had lines but everything else was fairly empty with the exception of Maelstrom which was at 45 mins. If FP+ wasn't coming I would vote that Soarin should lose it's FP option. The line was 60 mins but would have been half that without all the people on the FP side (which was also long). The attraction can be a people eater but FP just moves the standby line at a snails pace. FP+ is everywhere. Most attractions are ready, as were most every gift shop and food location we visited. Everywhere you looked the new FP+ terminals were in place. Asked several CM's about it and got the standard - we're testing dont know much more. A friend told me that they like the FP terminals because it has to be green for them to enter, stops the whole trying to beat the system thing. Saw Off Kilter. Always entertaining. It seems everytime I go to EPCOT there are more and more places to buy food and drinks on the promenade. All in all a nice visit with the family.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I suspect that attendance numbers may be down this summer. Disney just lifted CM restrictions for the MK
Originally Posted By FerretAfros When I saw Ellen's Energy Adventure in January, I also thought it looked pretty dated (Trebek's moustache is a dead giveaway!). It looked like it had been updated to digital projectors, and everything was really clear, but the look and feel of it was just very 1996. Other than the curtains hiding the widescreen reveal in the second theater (which have been missing for years), I thought it looked pretty good overall, other than just being so dated. I also agree about the growing number of carts and stands along the World Showcase promenade. It seemed pretty full in January, and I recently read that they've added even more since then. I can't imagine what it's like during F&W (though I'll see in November) And I wouldn't be surprised if attendance was down. The price increases (especially at MK) didn't seem to come with any tangible guest benefit, since NextGen still doesn't have a real date and there's just no buzz about anything else. If I was on the fence of where to take my family, I wouldn't pick WDW this summer
Originally Posted By FerretAfros And if it really is the Brazilian tour guides leading the ruckus, as has been reported before for several years, I really think that Disney should do more. I would assume that most Brazilians (like most people) are generally well behaved and try to act with good intentions, but if the tour guides (who have some sort of approval from Disney) are encouraging this behavior, then they need to crack down on the policies As for the single rider line, I don't really see an issue with it. The tour group would be split up either way, so why shouldn't they be able to take advantage of it? It would probably be more enjoyable for them to go as a group (so nobody needs to wait 30+ minutes after exiting for the whole group to finish), but in my eyes the single rider line is intended to fill seats that would otherwise go empty, so I have no problem with it. They often tell you at certain attractions that the singles line is just as long or longer than the regular line, so it's not always a shortcut
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I suspect that attendance numbers may be down this summer. Disney just lifted CM restrictions for the MK>> It's been a weak summer overall in Orlando.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I guess the point is what's the difference between that one person doing the FP tickets and 75 people all standing in line getting their tickets? As FA said, it's just the luck of the draw.<< It looked hopelessly dated when I first saw it in 2003. Most of WDW felt that way, which is why we never returned.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>And if it really is the Brazilian tour guides leading the ruckus, as has been reported before for several years, I really think that Disney should do mor.<< If attendance really is down and if those tour groups are staying on property (even if it's at All Stars) there is no way Disney will confront them over being a nuisance.
Originally Posted By fkurucz **<<I suspect that attendance numbers may be down this summer. Disney just lifted CM restrictions for the MK>> It's been a weak summer overall in Orlando.** I'm not surprised. I know a lot of people in Corporate American who haven't received a pay raise in years. When that happens, you have to cut back. Maybe cancel the satellite or cable and use an HD antenna instead. Or when it's time to replace the car, you buy a cheaper one than you usually do. And if you take a vacation, you do something cheaper: closer to home, visit grandma, etc. One thing is certain: higher WDW resort and ticket prices do not help.
Originally Posted By danyoung >If FP+ wasn't coming I would vote that Soarin should lose it's FP option. The line was 60 mins but would have been half that without all the people on the FP side (which was also long).< There's a flaw in your logic there. Yes, the standby line would move faster without FP, but chances are it'd be twice as long. In other words, you'd still have to wait 60 minutes, but at least you'd be in a queue that feels more like it's making some progress.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Actually you're incorrect. When Soarin converted to the new FP system several years back the wait time dropped by 50% for the entire week that FP wasn't available. I was there at the time.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Actually you're incorrect. When Soarin converted to the new FP system several years back the wait time dropped by 50% for the entire week that FP wasn't available. I was there at the time.>> That makes no logical sense whatsoever. Fastpass does not reduce capacity, so if wait times are increasing it means more people are experiencing the attraction. What could be happening is that people who used to bypass the attraction because of long lines now ride it using Fastpass. I usually visit in January where lines aren't much of an issue. But if I was ever visiting during a peak period there is no way I would even attempt to ride Soarin' or Test Track without Fastpass. 45 minutes is about the maximum time I will wait in line for anything. You might think that fewer people even attempting to ride is a GOOD thing, but I'm not so sure.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 It doesnt reduce capacity, but you are loading from two lines instead of one. And the FP line gets priority always. So the standby line moves slowly. It would be different if both lines were pulled from equally. They're not. In fact, if the FP line backs up too far, the person taking FP is usually told to get the FP line down to the further deferment of the Stsndby line
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Fast Pass was a terrible idea from the beginning and always will be. All it did was create another way for guests to have to compete with each other and that takes away some of the magic of being at the parks. Everyone should be able to benefit from the attractions in the same way at the same time--not by competing for fast passes. But we've been over this ground before.
Originally Posted By tashajilek I Believe the stand by lines would be shorter too. I can't tell you how many times I have grabbed a FP for a E ticket ride and then jump in the standby line right away. For me if there was no FP I would only ride the attraction one time.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I can't tell you how many times I have grabbed a FP for a E ticket ride and then jump in the standby line right away. For me if there was no FP I would only ride the attraction one time.>> REALLY?? Wow... just wow. So now being able to ride fewer attractions a day or giving up repeat rides on favorites is a "benefit" of getting rid of Fastpass? That is like touting the benefits of living in poverty since it means you would pay no income tax! Some people are so determined to get rid of Fastpass because of "principle" that their arguments stopped making sense long ago...
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: I think the idea of for having created fast pass in the first place is what never made sense in the first place. An artificial reason for 'needing a fast pass' was created whereas, before, everyone was treated more equally. A witch doesn't understand why this concept is so hard for others to grasp. If Fast pass had never been invented, guests wouldn't be any worse off without it. For many years the parks got along fine without it and they could do so again. The attractions can still accomodate just as many people either way. The main difference, now, is that a situation has been created where some guests have to wait on other guests who are allowed to ride ahead of them. This is what I call an artificial way of putting more guests at a disadvantage while putting a select few guests at an advantage.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Everyone has a chance to get a Fastpass. How is it anymore unfair than those getting out of bed early to arrive at rope drop having a far shorter wait than people like me who like to sleep in and get to the park about 11 AM? Why am I deprived of my "right" to a short line simply because I like to sleep late??
Originally Posted By TheRedhead It comes down to guest satisfaction. The biggest complaint is always the long lines. Thus Fastpass. And now it's an industry standard. Enough people complained about long lines to warrant the creation of Fastpass. Not enough people complained about this perceived inequality to warrant the dismantling of Fastpass. Me? I love Fastpass. I love it a little less now that I HAVE to return in that hour window, but it is till a great perk. And it still means I can ride an e-ticket at noon during peak season (the only time I can go to wdw anymore) without a wait. I've read the complaints. I've digested the reasoning. But I'll never understand hating Fastpass.
