Originally Posted By fkurucz >>They might also be anticipating lower attendance due to higher gas prices. It costs so much more to fly or drive to Anaheim than it did a year or two ago<< So true. A few years ago it wasn't too hard to get airfares under $200 from Denver to SoCal. Now they seem to hover around $240.
Originally Posted By monorailblue Plus, if they "extend" hours later on, that can be rushed into advertising: DISNEYLAND, now with EXTENDED HOURS!!!! Or something like that. Then it sounds like they are offering Guests a free gift or something!
Originally Posted By gadzuux >> But like has been said, it's somewhat easier to extend the park hours to midnight if it's busy on certain days. << The problem with these 'last minute' decisions about extending the park hours and/or adding F! shows is that 'ART' (the resort transportation system) will stick to the original schedule - thereby stranding the guests staying at outlying hotels. I know - it happened to me and my party. I really wanted them to see both the fireworks show and 'fantasmic'. Unfortunately the posted schedule for the day was for only one showing of F! at 9pm and the fireworks at 9:30. An in-park announcement was made during the day that the hours would be extended and the additional F! show at 10:30 added, but when we left the park at about 11:30 there was no more service to any hotels. We weren't alone - this was a big headache for thousands of stranded guests showing up at the transportation plaza after 10pm, and there was no way for taxis to absorb the amount of people.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer ^re ART, the local bus OCTA has route 43 that runs up and down Harbor, for many folks that is a good alternative to the ART, $1.25 one way or $3 for an all day pass, the bus runs every 15 minutes or less most of the day, and can carry more folks than ART.
Originally Posted By deadmentellnotales It seems to me that Disneyland just tossed a summers worth of value for your vacation dollar out the window. Closing at 9pm vrs. 12 a.m. is 3 hours they just took from you during an crowded season, this means losing out on your options of later fantasmic and what about fireworks? This also means that rides will be more crowded thru out the day as people try to get their money's worth in the alloted timeand have less options for shows in the evening to pull them away, now I'm starting to wonder if getting a pass is worth it this year.
Originally Posted By deadmentellnotales sorry about that I thought it said 9 pm not 11pm but it's still an hour that we pay for and now won't get...
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Al Lutz talks about the reason why, and it is primarly to make more profit..... <a href="http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al062006a.htm" target="_blank">http://www.miceage.com/allutz/ al062006a.htm</a> >>Cast Members and customers alike were surprised at this news, and few of them could figure it out because the parks still remain very busy. The answer to this change however lies in the types of spreadsheet hieroglyphics and obscure statistical models that only a true theme park geek could appreciate. While the reduction in weekday hours is at its root a financial decision, it was made only after the TDA executives realized they could get away with it thanks to all of the investment they've been making in both parks for the past several years. << Much more detail can be found in page 2 of his update.....
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt ^^^Makes sense. I'd be more annoyed by it if it weren't for all the new nighttime offerings Disney has outside the park gates now.
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster Yeah but most of them close their doors by 11:30 on even the busiest of nights.
Originally Posted By monorailblue I haven't seen anyone mention it in reference to Al's explanation of the reduced hours, but his explanation of the benchmark figures for Attractions-experienced-per-day-per-Guest is precisely what it was from 1994 to 2000 (my years at the park). His reasoning is sensible--they have determined that Guests can get a full day in by 11:00 p.m. so, in deference to Efficiency (= profit), they are shortening hours at the expense of Courtesy and Show. Is it the right thing to do? Not if you're the Guest this summer. But profit has an exalted place and will continue to do so. And, hey, if the long term means more and bigger budgets approved, and if Guests really can get their full Disney day in with one fewer hour, I guess we'll all benefit in the long run.
Originally Posted By juicer I bet if the crowds are big enough on a given day - They will extend hours at the park by at least one or two - When I was a CM in the mid 90's I was always asked to work an extra hour or so - because the park was extending the hours for that day - Don't they still do that?
Originally Posted By alexbook Some stores do what they call a "soft closing," where there's a set time to close but the manager on duty has the discretion to keep the doors open later if there are still customers around.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Yeah but most of them close their doors by 11:30 on even the busiest of nights." Even the bars??
Originally Posted By wonderingalice ^^ I would say "no"... In May, Mr. Alice and I left the Uva Bar at about that time and it (and all of DTD for that matter) was still going strong.
Originally Posted By soccermermaid What I’ve heard is because of the CM shortage. I keep getting called in for 6 days and I refuse.
Originally Posted By soccermermaid What I’ve heard is because of the CM shortage. I keep getting called in for 6 days and I refuse.
Originally Posted By Westsider I don't buy that soccermaid. Shortening park hours by one hour doesn't eliminate a shift and bodies working, it just shortens the shifts of the bodies that are already there.
Originally Posted By monorailblue <<I keep getting called in for 6 days and I refuse.>> An interesting insight into the mind of a current CM. I'll reserve my analysis, but if this is illustrative of other CMs, we could discuss its implications for quite a while.
