All-virtual lines?

[horizons82]

Greetings all.

The talk about the new Genie, Genie+, and LL system got my brain going about different things, especially since the concept of lines and waits has been a passionate topic for a very long time.

I know this is an idea that surely must have been talked about before, and I realize I'm looking at it from an initial, over-simplistic viewpoint...

What if all lines at WDW became virtual?

In other words, to get in line for an attraction one would still have to physically go to the attraction and use a phone or other device to tap to get in line, or get some kind paper receipt (like the old paper FPs) that gave them a window for a return time, allowing them to go do whatever they wanted until that time. Even using this time to sit on a bench, go into a shop to look around and enjoy the a/c, or use the time for a quick service bite would be better than standing in line being hot, bored, and miserable. (And unlike the old paper FP system being in addition to the regular stand-by line, the virtual line is the ONLY line there is to wait in.)

And while I am NOT a fan of having to use phones or devices in the park, it's obviously going in that direction, and I would gladly use a device if it meant not having to physically stand in line during the hot summers.

As for limitations...

One can't be physically in more than one line, and that would be the same here--you could only be in one virtual wait at a time, to keep people from hoarding virtual queues (and no "reserving" advance virtual lines either).

Additionally, the requirement to actually go to the front of the attraction to get in a virtual line (by either tapping a device or getting some kind of paper return)--in conjunction with only being able to do one at a time--keeps the line from filling up for the day ahead of time, and it still allows people to choose if a particular virtual line is worth waiting for.

It seems like it would be a pro for guests not having to physically stand in line, would be a plus from the corporate standpoint of guests being free to wander and to buy food and/or products while waiting, and it seems like moods all-around would be improved not having to stand in slow-moving lines in the summer months.

I'm sure there are plenty of cons I've not thought of, but am curious what people think about this and why it would or wouldn't work.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Would be nice but where would all those people go who aren’t in a line? The parks are designed to have people being held in lines.

 

[horizons82]

That is definitely an issue that came to mind. Outside of the attractions the sidewalks and shops can already feel crowded. I can't imagine what it would be like if 80% of the people in lines were all suddenly free to roam.

It's just that the idea of it sounds so much more pleasant...though perhaps impractical for this reason. Appreciate your input.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The first weeks Volcano Bay was open was a good bit of an operational nightmare and the park’s capacity had to ultimately be reduced to actually work. Even then, a water park has things like the wave pool and lazy rivers that don’t require a line. You need so much physical space to make all virtual queues work that it isn’t practical which is why Universal pretty much abandoned the idea. Hagrid’s uses a virtual queue but it’s not the same permanent virtual queue that was supposed to replace Stand-By at Jimmy Fallon’s Race Through New York, Fast and Furious: Supercharged and all future attractions. Velocicoaster also doesn’t use a virtual line and Epic Universe is not going to follow Volcano Bay’s footsteps.

 

[SteveAZee]

For popular rides with limited capacity, you might 'tap to get in line' at noon, only to find that your return time is 5pm... and so you have five hours to kill and you can't do any other attractions. Rope droppers and resort guests would have the advantage here, but they already did. For less popular rides it would be nice... to avoid 45 minutes in line and go grab a bite to eat, sightsee, use the bathroom, or whatever.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Good grief people, can we do ANYTHING anymore in 2021 without our phones? I had a family member come with us last trip, he was big on the whole idea of looking up the lines on his app. I wasn't. I went totally against the grain and went through the park as if it were 1991. And guess what? We did pretty much everything because we weren't doing the same thing everyone else was doing and looking down and saying "Oh, Splash Mountain has only a 30 minute wait." Line ups are part of the fun. You can't have it where the guest absolutely needs a phone in order to be at Disney. That's absurd.

 

[SteveAZee]

Good grief people, can we so ANYTHING anymore in 2021 without our phones? I had a family member come with us last trip, he was big on the whole idea of looking up the lines on his app. I wasn't. I went totally against the grain and went through the park as if it were 1991. And guess what? We did pretty much everything because we weren't doing the same thing everyone else was doing and looking down and saying "Oh, Splash Mountain has only a 30 minute wait." Line ups are part of the fun. You can't have it where the guest absolutely needs a phone in order to be at Disney. That's absurd.

I think you can still do that... go through the park like it's 1991 (my favorite decade at the resort, by the way, the 90's). Standby lines will still be open to you, and it's also likely that with many things shifting to 'day of' decisions, more things (attractions as well as restaurants) will be available. I've talked to two people in the last couple of years who went to WDW without any planning or preparation or paid any attention to apps and maps and had a wonderful time.

Like introverts and extraverts, there are different ways to look at life and sometimes it's tough to understand the perspective of the other. I personally find it more relaxing to have a pretty solid plan way ahead of time and then deal with small changes along the way, but I get that others just want to enjoy the parks without a plan, a phone, or a Genie nagging at them from their pocket.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I think you can still do that... go through the park like it's 1991 (my favorite decade at the resort, by the way, the 90's). Standby lines will still be open to you, and it's also likely that with many things shifting to 'day of' decisions, more things (attractions as well as restaurants) will be available. I've talked to two people in the last couple of years who went to WDW without any planning or preparation or paid any attention to apps and maps and had a wonderful time.

Like introverts and extraverts, there are different ways to look at life and sometimes it's tough to understand the perspective of the other. I personally find it more relaxing to have a pretty solid plan way ahead of time and then deal with small changes along the way, but I get that others just want to enjoy the parks without a plan, a phone, or a Genie nagging at them from their pocket.

I plan things to an extent of course, it is important to have a game plan and not go in naked. But there are also those times you have to go with the flow. Our last trip the last thing holding out for us was Space Mountain at the end of the night. Immediately after the fireworks we raced over to it and the line up was about 10 minutes. For example, another thing is when we were in Adventureland. Jungle Cruise was long but we looked right over the Tiki Birds and the next show was 5 minutes. Bam. Done. As long as you always have a choice to navigate through the parks that way I could care less what others are doing, but we can never have it where you can only enjoy the parks with a phone. That takes the fun out of it.

 

[SteveAZee]

I plan things to an extent of course, it is important to have a game plan and not go in naked. But there are also those times you have to go with the flow. Our last trip the last thing holding out for us was Space Mountain at the end of the night. Immediately after the fireworks we raced over to it and the line up was about 10 minutes. For example, another thing is when we were in Adventureland. Jungle Cruise was long but we looked right over the Tiki Birds and the next show was 5 minutes. Bam. Done. As long as you always have a choice to navigate through the parks that way I could care less what others are doing, but we can never have it where you can only enjoy the parks with a phone. That takes the fun out of it.

Even though I'm a planner, I too like the spontaneous changes... seizing the opportunity when made available. The recent trip (late 2019) I tried delegating the phone work (swapping FP+ reservations or ordering lunch ahead, whatever) to my grown son, thinking it would offload me and since he's usually 'in his phone' that it would work out. It didn't. I ended spending more time coaching him on what to do and how to do it that it was easier to take two minutes for me to do it and move forward. I also use my phone to take pictures and videos, so getting into MDE was a really small fraction of my phone time.

I'm sure neither of us understand people bringing tablets into the park. What's up with that?

 

[UNCgolf]

Operational impossibility.

The parks do not have the room to (nor were they designed to) have all guests milling about in the shops and common areas. There's nowhere near enough room for everyone to go.

 

[Andrew25]

The best way to do virtual queue is the Fallon queue from Universal or Dumbo at MK. A nice large lounge/play area with a pager system to alert you when it's time. Obviously for rides like Rise of the Resistance you'll need lots of space for it to work, but it's doable. Imagine if for Tower of Terror they built some additional hotel areas to roam about while waiting to "check-in."

 

[NickMaio]

Greetings all.

The talk about the new Genie, Genie+, and LL system got my brain going about different things, especially since the concept of lines and waits has been a passionate topic for a very long time.

I know this is an idea that surely must have been talked about before, and I realize I'm looking at it from an initial, over-simplistic viewpoint...

What if all lines at WDW became virtual?

In other words, to get in line for an attraction one would still have to physically go to the attraction and use a phone or other device to tap to get in line, or get some kind paper receipt (like the old paper FPs) that gave them a window for a return time, allowing them to go do whatever they wanted until that time. Even using this time to sit on a bench, go into a shop to look around and enjoy the a/c, or use the time for a quick service bite would be better than standing in line being hot, bored, and miserable. (And unlike the old paper FP system being in addition to the regular stand-by line, the virtual line is the ONLY line there is to wait in.)

And while I am NOT a fan of having to use phones or devices in the park, it's obviously going in that direction, and I would gladly use a device if it meant not having to physically stand in line during the hot summers.

As for limitations...

One can't be physically in more than one line, and that would be the same here--you could only be in one virtual wait at a time, to keep people from hoarding virtual queues (and no "reserving" advance virtual lines either).

Additionally, the requirement to actually go to the front of the attraction to get in a virtual line (by either tapping a device or getting some kind of paper return)--in conjunction with only being able to do one at a time--keeps the line from filling up for the day ahead of time, and it still allows people to choose if a particular virtual line is worth waiting for.

It seems like it would be a pro for guests not having to physically stand in line, would be a plus from the corporate standpoint of guests being free to wander and to buy food and/or products while waiting, and it seems like moods all-around would be improved not having to stand in slow-moving lines in the summer months.

I'm sure there are plenty of cons I've not thought of, but am curious what people think about this and why it would or wouldn't work.

It would be really nice if I could leave my phone at the room while on my WDW get away.

I am going to need it duct taped to my hand for all of this booking nonsense.

I feel for people who vacation there who don't have cells, or are not proficient with them.

 

[NickMaio]

I think you can still do that... go through the park like it's 1991 (my favorite decade at the resort, by the way, the 90's). Standby lines will still be open to you, and it's also likely that with many things shifting to 'day of' decisions, more things (attractions as well as restaurants) will be available. I've talked to two people in the last couple of years who went to WDW without any planning or preparation or paid any attention to apps and maps and had a wonderful time.

Like introverts and extraverts, there are different ways to look at life and sometimes it's tough to understand the perspective of the other. I personally find it more relaxing to have a pretty solid plan way ahead of time and then deal with small changes along the way, but I get that others just want to enjoy the parks without a plan, a phone, or a Genie nagging at them from their pocket.

The question will be, how much will the standby line balloon with these paid add ons?
I feel like it will be mandatory to pay, especially with toddlers.

 

[drizgirl]

The question will be, how much will the standby line balloon with these paid add ons?
I feel like it will be mandatory to pay, especially with toddlers.

You wouldn't buy Genie+ because those rides are the "good ones". You would buy it to avoid the long wait times that will be required for standby once enough other people buy it.

 

[NickMaio]

You wouldn't buy Genie+ because those rides are the "good ones". You would buy it to avoid the long wait times that will be required for standby once enough other people buy it.

I think that is WDWs plan.......making it agony if you don't buy it.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The most popular attractions will be virtual so Disney can have more control over excessive line building and to have a better flow of riders. The less than popular things will not need the extra reserving spots. With more virtual reservations, there will be more crowded walkways due to guests milling around with time on their hands. The less popular attractions will be slammed with the overflow. Some guests will divert to shops and dining but I dont see the majority of guests dumping money, instead they will walk around or stay stationary making the parks feel even more jammed up. Open space will be hard to find.

 

[SteveAZee]

I think that is WDWs plan.......making it agony if you don't buy it.

LOL, I don't know if it's the plan, but it's probably something they see as a favorable outcome (people shelling out a lot more cash while also lowering crowd size a bit). I guess my view is that they're throwing this complex system at the masses without really knowing what the response will be and how people will actually use it. They'll probably also make adjustments as people begin to use (or abuse) it as needed. My guess is that they think it's fairly bulletproof and they'll make money on it, either as it is or with tweaks.

 

[dovetail65]

For popular rides with limited capacity, you might 'tap to get in line' at noon, only to find that your return time is 5pm... and so you have five hours to kill and you can't do any other attractions. Rope droppers and resort guests would have the advantage here, but they already did. For less popular rides it would be nice... to avoid 45 minutes in line and go grab a bite to eat, sightsee, use the bathroom, or whatever.

 

[Twirlnhurl]

You know how back in the days of Fastpass, all around the entrance of Space Mountain there would be a crowd of people waiting for their return time, looking bored and miserable?

Like that, but everywhere.

I have gone on the record as being of the opinion that reducing the legibility of park operations and queueing will increase the learning curve and alienate new potential customers.

Such a system also increases the number and percentage of negative customer service interactions. So the perception of Disney's superior customer service will erode.

These negative impacts may be offset by the positive impact of reducing the amount of time spent in a physical line. I'm not sure. And I don't think I can make a prediction with any confidence at this time.

 

[aliceismad]

The best way to do virtual queue is the Fallon queue from Universal or Dumbo at MK. A nice large lounge/play area with a pager system to alert you when it's time. Obviously for rides like Rise of the Resistance you'll need lots of space for it to work, but it's doable. Imagine if for Tower of Terror they built some additional hotel areas to roam about while waiting to "check-in."

You mean like the play area for Dumbo? That area is great for people who have kids.

If it's just a room to sit in with a pager, meh.