Coupled with a hugely inefficient fast pass vs stand by ratio and poor Orlandos version falls further down the list.
At least it will hopefully be more reliable ride-wise in the coming weeks.
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Why are the parks so busy now?
- Thread starter RiGoRmOrTiS
- Start date
At least it will hopefully be more reliable ride-wise in the coming weeks.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I would assume Fastpass distribution doesn't remotely approach the 70% rate. The queue is setup for 50/50 (although it can be amended at the merge point, like Space Mountain). What do you mean by the inefficient fast pass vs. standby ratio?
Your information is flawed -- I have not yet invested in a pair of Smart Pants (although I do have some SmartWool socks that I like very much).
By what's happened to the length of standby since FP+ was implemented. As in it is colossal. CMs working the attraction agree the wait is worse since FP+.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Seem like there could be some way to create some sort of new line for FP+ other than using one of the two paths even if it involves going in from the side of the bldg
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
It absolutely is worse. But it's a two fold issue. The boat issues are a major factor here. I suspect that the aggregate wait time for a Fastpass+ guest and Standby guest has 10-15% and that's a function of the boats.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
I also noticed small world wasn't loading SOME of the last rows in their boats last week as well. Couldn't figure out why since it wasn't all of them - maybe a problem with the loading gate on one side
Don't use the word "fold" in the same sentence as new PotC boats
danv3
Well-Known Member
I found the MK to be moderately busy yesterday. The really shocking thing to me were the lines to get to the FP+ kiosks. It was easily 20-30 minutes just to get to a kiosk where a CM will do everything for you because the screens are so wonky (and of course you don't know what might be available). At Stitch the kiosk line stretched down the bridge to the hub. Good times.
worldfanatic
Well-Known Member
We are also regular September visitors.
And after last month's visit, there's no denying how things have changed concerning the crowds.
We used to almost feel lonely at times in September. That's certainly not the case anymore.
It's amazing how it's changed so much in just the last 5-6 years.
afb28
Well-Known Member
idk my bff jill
BigTxEars
Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
This is a huge problem with the system as it currently exists. They also eliminated the Buzz Lightyear kiosks last month. They need to be adding more functionality to the app and have more kiosks. They need this to be as easy as possible, there is no benefit to them for guests waiting in long lines to get their Fastpass+ reservations.
Greenlawler
Well-Known Member
We've been going to the parks in October for nearly two decades.
My DW and I started seeing a noticeable uptick in crowds around 2005 or so. Ironically about the time schools started with Fall Breaks, and every subsequent year it has gotten more crowded. This year we actually decided to move to November because the crowds were crazy last year. It will be the first time we miss the MNSSHP in over a decade.
Like others have said the crowds are a combination of several things, but I truly believe the Fall Breaks are the main culprit. And by main I mean they are 90% responsible. So, last week there were six families (35 people) we knew at Disney from our small town, multiply that by every city with fall breaks and you get thousands of thousands of people.
I was posting about this on other boards years ago but I kept getting shot down because people outside of certain school areas had never heard of fall break back then. Everyone wanted to say it was free dinning....hmmm well Disney has all but blocked out free dinning from Fall breaks, and guess what? It's still packed.
Has not history showed us that when kids are out of school the parks are crowded?
Add to this the Fast Pass Plus issues being batted around and I am glad we skipped our Fall Break week this year.
My DW and I started seeing a noticeable uptick in crowds around 2005 or so. Ironically about the time schools started with Fall Breaks, and every subsequent year it has gotten more crowded. This year we actually decided to move to November because the crowds were crazy last year. It will be the first time we miss the MNSSHP in over a decade.
Like others have said the crowds are a combination of several things, but I truly believe the Fall Breaks are the main culprit. And by main I mean they are 90% responsible. So, last week there were six families (35 people) we knew at Disney from our small town, multiply that by every city with fall breaks and you get thousands of thousands of people.
I was posting about this on other boards years ago but I kept getting shot down because people outside of certain school areas had never heard of fall break back then. Everyone wanted to say it was free dinning....hmmm well Disney has all but blocked out free dinning from Fall breaks, and guess what? It's still packed.
Has not history showed us that when kids are out of school the parks are crowded?
Add to this the Fast Pass Plus issues being batted around and I am glad we skipped our Fall Break week this year.
JediMasterMatt
Well-Known Member
Don't use the word "fold" in the same sentence as new PotC boats
You can barely use the world "float" with the new PotC boats either. If they take on anymore water, you won't need the projector to work to visit Davy Jones as you will go straight down to the locker (if it's 2ft under the surface that is).
For what it's worth, during our late August trip to Anaheim - they weren't loading row the back row consistently either. Only when they needed to put extra disabled parties on, were they loading it. The entire week, you could not load to the back row from the regular queue line.
When I asked about this, I was told what we already suspected - the new boats sit lower in the water. The lower they sit, the slower they float - which in turn throws off the ride cycle.
In Orlando, the issue is that the drop profile and runoff allows the boat's nose to go in too deeply and this is what is causing the excessive wave. Of course, if they really wanted to provide a temp improvement for the splash, they could not load row 1 and load the back row. This would allow greater potential for the nose to ride higher and allow the boat to hydroplane a bit better.
Or they could just fix the issue with newer boats.
Wildflower
Well-Known Member
We were there Fri-Wed, same issues. Rumor has it that POTC is slated for a LONG refurb/additions at some point next year...dates seem somewhat fluid but last heard was Sept start. Hoping this is the case and it gets some of the attention it needs!
photomatt
Well-Known Member
ATT TXT FTW LOL
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photomatt
Well-Known Member
I went to the MK today for a few hours. HM had a 50 minute wait and POTC had a 65 minute wait. I had FP+ for both and the FP+ lines were both at least 20 minutes long. I also had FP+ for LM and that line was 10 minutes. The waterfalls in the queue were not working. The Peoplemover had a 10 minute line both times I rode it. The second time I rode it, it broke down for about 20 minutes. I was in the tunnel right above BLAB, and I was surrounded by flatulence. I would not have mentioned it, but the people involved were trying to make a contest of it. Needless to say, it was not pleasant.
POTC needs to "Fisher Price" their boats, just like IASW did at DL. If you look at the boats at DL IASW, they appear to be made out of the same type of plastic you would see in kid's toys. Actually, POTC at DL needs to do it as well. The last time I rode was when I was with a large group from another online forum. I was in the back on the far left. The boat rode so low to the water line that when I got off the boat it looked like my pants had just come out of a washing machine before going through the spin cycle. It was pretty bad.
I think one of the reasons the crowds are so large right now, in addition to everything already mentioned, is that the weather is decent. Maybe people are starting to realize how much it absolutely sucks to spend time in the parks when the heat index is 110, and they now do everything they can to avoid it.
POTC needs to "Fisher Price" their boats, just like IASW did at DL. If you look at the boats at DL IASW, they appear to be made out of the same type of plastic you would see in kid's toys. Actually, POTC at DL needs to do it as well. The last time I rode was when I was with a large group from another online forum. I was in the back on the far left. The boat rode so low to the water line that when I got off the boat it looked like my pants had just come out of a washing machine before going through the spin cycle. It was pretty bad.
I think one of the reasons the crowds are so large right now, in addition to everything already mentioned, is that the weather is decent. Maybe people are starting to realize how much it absolutely sucks to spend time in the parks when the heat index is 110, and they now do everything they can to avoid it.
GymLeaderPhil
Well-Known Member
Resorts on property are practically at their current capacity, not counting those artifically closed or being refurbished. Perfect storm of Food and Wine, MNSSHP, Fall Vacations, weather, and other elements drawing people in.