MK SOFT OPENING WATCH - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster

[lazyboy97o]

OK, so this thread is about "Soft opening watch". This site's home page is reporting second day in a row with "guests" riding during limited soft openings. Yet, someone replied to me earlier today that these were not guests, rather cast members in civilian clothes. Who's right? Cast members getting a preview or lucky guests being in the right spot at the right time?

Cast Members are allowed to ride throughout the day. The guests riding are being allowed in during very short windows without notice.

 

[Susan Wengert]

Just out of curiosity... I know no one knows for certain yet, but what do you guys think it will be like tomorrow at the RYDS 24 hr event? Short spurts of people here and there? Open for 5 minutes closed for hours? Or open all day long?? I sure am looking forward to riding, but I will not blow my entire day standing in a non moving line in the hot sun! Sure hope the rumors that say "open at the 24rs event" mean exactly that!! (Fingers crossed!)

 

[bhwhiz]

Brent Dodge ‏@BrentDodge 8m
Mine Train is open to all guests again! Soft opening is underway!

 

[bhwhiz]

Brent Dodge ‏@BrentDodge 1m
Looks like they have stopped allowing regular guests into line again. Back to Cast Members only

Man, you really have to be lucky to get in on these soft openings lol!

 

[wdw71fan]

Just out of curiosity... I know no one knows for certain yet, but what do you guys think it will be like tomorrow at the RYDS 24 hr event? Short spurts of people here and there? Open for 5 minutes closed for hours? Or open all day long?? I sure am looking forward to riding, but I will not blow my entire day standing in a non moving line in the hot sun! Sure hope the rumors that say "open at the 24rs event" mean exactly that!! (Fingers crossed!)

The plan as I understand is for it to be open for as much of the event as possible..

 

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

I personally don't feel sorry for CMs working the rope. You know why? Disney management made the choice to take down the walls and let the ride sit there for weeks while training occurs in a highly visible fashion. This was their choice about how to run this "show". They could have approached it differently, but chose this method. This is what you get.

You do realize that the Ops Cast Members stationed in front of the ride have absolutely no say in how Disney chooses to roll out a new ride, right?

 

[flynnibus]

I personally don't feel sorry for CMs working the rope. You know why? Disney management made the choice to take down the walls and let the ride sit there for weeks while training occurs in a highly visible fashion. This was their choice about how to run this "show". They could have approached it differently, but chose this method. This is what you get.

Or people could stop clenching over something as simple as not getting to ride an attraction BEFORE it opens. You know.. that whole self-responsibility thing? Or should we keep pointing fingers because someone can't control their own feelings over trivial stuff. If "guests" would stop being a-holes and accept the opening date is the opening date.. anything above that is a BONUS... there would be a lot less anger out there.

 

[xstech25]

I'm surprised Disney is allowing people to wait and form their own queue.

It sounds like they are not but people are doing it anyway, which seems pretty normal for new rides when they are doing previews. I remember one day I was at IOA during Harry Potter previews for hotel Guests only; huge masses of people gathered outside the entrance and refused to leave even though all the employees were yelling "Wizarding World WILL NOT OPEN TODAY!" yet people still stood there for hours and refused to leave. They probably should have listened; it never did open that day and all those people were wasting their time, lol.

 

[George Sanderson]

You do realize that the Ops Cast Members stationed in front of the ride have absolutely no say in how Disney chooses to roll out a new ride, right?

I do. I'm just saying that any associated fallout of either CMs angry with guests behavior and/or with their managers due to the situation, I in general don't feel sorry for. Upper level management made a decision on how to run this, now they will deal with what happens given the situation they have created. It seems a little silly how highly visible the testing is, and how some things appear to not have been well thought through.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I do. I'm just saying that any associated fallout of either CMs angry with guests behavior and/or with their managers due to the situation, I in general don't feel sorry for. Upper level management made a decision on how to run this, now they will deal with what happens given the situation they have created. It seems a little silly how highly visible the testing is, and how some things appear to not have been well thought through.

so you don't think rides should have soft openings?

 

[wdw71fan]

I do. I'm just saying that any associated fallout of either CMs angry with guests behavior and/or with their managers due to the situation, I in general don't feel sorry for. Upper level management made a decision on how to run this, now they will deal with what happens given the situation they have created. It seems a little silly how highly visible the testing is, and how some things appear to not have been well thought through.

k, Soapbox time for me.

This is going no differently than any other 'soft opening' that has ever been done.. Star Tours 2.0 was no different.. Random unannounced openings to test the cm's and the system..

People fail to realizer that soft openings are NOT previews.. Basically, you are a guinea pig for CM training and system shake down... It has nothing to do with 'oooooh lets give some guests the chance to see it early!'.. That doesn't even factor in..

Soft openings are random openings to 'try it out with guests involved', it's not a preview, and it's certainly no guests 'right' to be included in them... If guests want to 'wait it out' in front of an attraction for the possibility that it may open briefly.. Then fine... but beyond that, anything else is just the guest wasting their own time.. If they are ok with doing that, then it's up to them.. But just because they don't let those guests ride the attraction, doesn't mean they 'should have'. The whole point of soft openings NOT being advertised is to prevent guests from complaining and feeling mitigated if they don't/can't occur.

 

[George Sanderson]

so you don't think rides should have soft openings?

No, I'm not saying that. It's just been clear that things have been somewhat messy, and poorly planned. Social media, blogs, forums, etc. are feeding into this frenzy that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. If schedule had allowed, I don't think they would have been squeezing this stuff in at the last minute. How many Disney rides of this magnitude (I know "magnitude" is debatable) have had such limited soft openings to the public with less than a week to official opening?

 

[wdw71fan]

No, I'm not saying that. It's just been clear that things have been somewhat messy, and poorly planned. Social media, blogs, forums, etc. are feeding into this frenzy that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. If schedule had allowed, I don't think they would have been squeezing this stuff in at the last minute. How many Disney rides of this magnitude (I know "magnitude" is debatable) have had such limited soft openings to the public with less than a week to official opening?

Plenty.... Even more have been outweighed by attractions that have had NO soft opening at all.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

No, I'm not saying that. It's just been clear that things have been somewhat messy, and poorly planned. Social media, blogs, forums, etc. are feeding into this frenzy that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. If schedule had allowed, I don't think they would have been squeezing this stuff in at the last minute. How many Disney rides of this magnitude (I know "magnitude" is debatable) have had such limited soft openings to the public with less than a week to official opening?

i understand what you are saying... really I do... but Disney today isn't the Disney of 10 years ago because WE aren't the people we were 10 years ago.
Social media made things more accessible and now people use that to create and be apart of this "frenzy."
I think Disney should have held off on Media Previews... maybe all of NFL should have opened together. But as far as soft openings... whether they have 1 or 100 soft openings, we can't be upset, it opens when it opens.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Where in any of what was said was directed to Walt Disney not holding soft openings? I think this all began with CM'S Complaining????

Um... no one said anything about "not holding soft openings." But George did say "I don't think they would have been squeezing this stuff in at the last minute. How many Disney rides of this magnitude (I know "magnitude" is debatable) have had such limited soft openings to the public with less than a week to official opening?"

Which is why I said what I said.

 

[JenniferS]

I personally don't feel sorry for CMs working the rope. You know why? Disney management made the choice to take down the walls and let the ride sit there for weeks while training occurs in a highly visible fashion. This was their choice about how to run this "show". They could have approached it differently, but chose this method. This is what you get.

So, walls are better?

No thanks.

 

[AlwaysinWonderland]

So, walls are better?

No thanks.

Are you kiddin me? No one said the wall's were better...this was in response to CM'S complaining and the statement was in response to that. I think the post was meaning that Disney created the problem with the guests being rude and if they wanted to avoid that maybe they should have kept the walls up, that is all.

 

[AlwaysinWonderland]

Um... no one said anything about "not holding soft openings." But George did say "I don't think they would have been squeezing this stuff in at the last minute. How many Disney rides of this magnitude (I know "magnitude" is debatable) have had such limited soft openings to the public with less than a week to official opening?"

Which is why I said what I said.

Yes but I don't believe they said that there should be no soft openings either.

 

[JenniferS]

Are you kiddin me? No one said the wall's were better...this was in response to CM'S complaining and the statement was in response to that. I think the post was meaning that Disney created the problem with the guests being rude and if they wanted to avoid that maybe they should have kept the walls up, that is all.

They should not have left the walls up. Nuh-uh. No way.

A certain percentage of Guests need to grow up and quit acting like whiny babies that they didn't get to ride an attraction that is not due to open for another 6 days.

And to blame the front line CM, making minimum wage is equally ludicrous.

For those of you who got to ride it before your vacation ends, I am very happy for you. Six more months for me.

 

[George Sanderson]

i understand what you are saying... really I do... but Disney today isn't the Disney of 10 years ago because WE aren't the people we were 10 years ago.
Social media made things more accessible and now people use that to create and be apart of this "frenzy."
I think Disney should have held off on Media Previews... maybe all of NFL should have opened together. But as far as soft openings... whether they have 1 or 100 soft openings, we can't be upset, it opens when it opens.

I am not at WDW now, and I am not upset. I am just making an observation of the chaos being portrayed here about CMs who are upset and guests that are being unruly/upset. The situation was created by a series of management decisions, including the scheduling of the media preview (as you mention) which I agree was a bit odd how that went down.