Did Disney turn off the air conditioning?

[HinunterZuNich]

I just want to add to my first post and say I'm not complaining against Disney in any way Now that we are at the point where global warming and all that are starting to become a concern, I'm fine with sweating a little waiting in line while I'm at WDW

I guess it was just the complete reversal of ALWAYS wearing a sweatshirt at night when going to the parks due to COLD queues..... which doesn't seem to be a case!

Enjoy!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I could see the 'reason' for this by WDW tryig to be 'green'. they have been making lots of attempts to do that in the hotels so why not in the parks? Disney wins in 2 ways... makes for good PR for WDW doing their part to help the environment and saves them some money.

Hotels are different...people set their thermostats to 68 and leave for 12 hours. That's wasteful (I always set mine to 73-74 when I leave my room). In the parks, people go indoors often to escape the heat, for health or comfort. It is expected, and I believe it's necessary, to have it somewhat cool (certainly not 80-85, as one post mentioned about WoD).

Second, as a PR professional, I can emphatically state that is not why buildings inside the parks are kept at temperatures much higher than in the past. How can I state this? PR tactics are effectively "shouted from the rooftops," especially with Disney (again, as a PR professional and Disney fan, I regularly monitor PR activity from all Disney companies. Anyone can do so, as it is public information available on the Internet). The purpose of PR is to build relationships with key publics, who will, based on those positive relationships, spend more money with that company/entity. If WDW was turning down the AC for PR purposes, "going green," a press release/media kit would have been sent out (at the very least....more than likely there would be a news conference, and possibly more PR activities/events), and it would be on the news everywhere. Instead of asking on a message board if people notice it's less cool in buildings, we would all know about Disney deliberately turning down the AC because they would want us to know it, the entire purpose of PR.

Feels warm and fuzzy to think goodwill and PR are the reasons, but it all boils down to $$$.

 

[stalkingmickey]

I am at the world right now and the ac is on full bast. We are at the poly and I actually had to open the patio door to let out some of the cold air. Our room is pretty darn cold. We are in the hawaii builging and when we enter the hallways from outside It is like walking into a freezer.

As for the parks when we were at EPCOT and MK I could feel the ac as I walked by the shops. Although tonight I was at the GF for a portrait session with the photopass people and the lobby was warm.

 

[mr alecshawn]

I am at the world right now and the ac is on full bast. We are at the poly and I actually had to open the patio door to let out some of the cold air. Our room is pretty darn cold. We are in the hawaii builging and when we enter the hallways from outside It is like walking into a freezer.

As for the parks when we were at EPCOT and MK I could feel the ac as I walked by the shops. Although tonight I was at the GF for a portrait session with the photopass people and the lobby was warm.

AWSOME. We also run the A/C at FULL blast baby! We leave it there when we leave the room. Half the reason i do this is just to ________ of the screwball liberals that i know..HATE it! Disney IF they are turning UP the A/C i hope is just trying to save a few Dollars. The hell with the liberal communists "enviromentalists"..Turn down the A/C!!!!:sohappy:

 

[Scooter]

Perhaps Disney realized that "cooler" was not necessarily better.
When we went to Disney World 20 years ago, it seemed that some of the rooms and stores were almost too cool. By too cool I mean that going from 90 degree heat into 70 degree rooms was almost too shocking for me and my family.

Perhaps Disney has realized that they can have the air conditioning turned down in shops and resort rooms to a level that isn't freezing people out but instead is just making them more comfortable.
Just my take on the subject.

 

[C&D]

When it's 90 plus outside, with very high humidity, 80 degrees of airconditioned air (i.e. lowered humidity) can be very refreshing, and all the cooling that you need. It is also more healthful to have a moderate change in conditioned air then to be coming in and out of very hot and very cold air. I live in South Carolina, with similar weather (heat and humidity) and have my house thermostat set at 79 in the summer; the house is very refreshing and quite energy conscious.

 

[Disney05]

My wife has been trying to get us to go to WDW in late August instead of mid May when we usually go. The intense heat is a bit of a deterant.

 

[Krimedog]

I remember walking past mouse gear to go to M:S or tt and the doors would slide open and i would be on the other side and feel the coldness. I loved walking into Mouse Gear, it was so cold. BUt now that you people mention it, i dont even know if i have ever noticed the AC thing, i love the cold, so i would probably see the difference.

 

[coasterphil]

People were getting ready to drop in line for The Great Movie Ride yesterday. I don't think the AC was on in there at all.

 

[doop]

Well doesn't really hot weather put strain on power systems, perhaps they are turning down the AC to prevent blackouts. Or have you guys been noticing this in the cooler months such as January as well?

 

[SweetMagic]

I was amazed yesterday when I sat down on a bench in front of Mexico (actually across the walkway in front of the Mexican CS restaurant) and from waaaay over there on the bench we could feel the AC from inside the Mexican pavilion! It was actually cold enough to cool you down while you were sitting outside! Couldn't believe it since I have been hot everywhere I've gone lately.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

When it's 90 plus outside, with very high humidity, 80 degrees of airconditioned air (i.e. lowered humidity) can be very refreshing, and all the cooling that you need.

Sure, in "real life" situations (i.e. going to air conditioned work, leaving in air conditioned car, coming home to house), where you are not in direct sunlight and high heat and humidity for 10+ hours in a theme park. You coming home to a house or apartment set at 80 degrees, cooking dinner and watching TV (theoretically) is much different than up to hundreds of people packed into stores and attractions like sardines after standing out in the sun, heat, and humidity. The example above could not be further from the situation in a WDW attraction/store/pavilion.

I have been thinking about observations on this thread that some attractions/buildings are cooler than others. I think this still falls into the category of $$$. For example, I am unsure how it is broken down, but say the budget for Liberty Square attractions is over the allotted amount and they only have, say, a week to cut budget (perhaps they over-scheduled earlier in the month, or maybe for a store, their shrink -i.e. stolen, broken items which create a monetary loss for the store, is higher than normal), perhaps the thermostat is changed to help the budget align better (and prevent any kind of ramifications for going over budget). As it has been mentioned, electricity is very expensive, and raising the temp 5-10 degrees for a week could make a significant dent in budget...(this would especially make sense in the WoD example, where I cannot fathom how much shrink affects the store's budget).

Whatever the reasons, based on observations here, there are definitely discrepancies in when and where the AC seems to be at the "normal" temperature (i.e. 68-72 degrees).

 

[tomm4004]

Where I live stores have generally turned down the A/C, even making in-store announcements touting the energy savings. I hope this is true of WDW. Last year we ate at France and it was so cold everyone was using their napkins as shawls. The hallways in BWV were like walk-in freezers. It was Blizzard Beach everywhere. I don't understand why A/C has to be so cold.

 

[RichS]

I'd say energy management. I do Commercial/industrial HVAC service work. Most stores have sensors that are hooked up to computers. The computers controll the units thru the sensors. This way they can set everything remotely and no one can mess with them and turn them down. Also they have better controll for heat loads.
Also alot of hotel rooms have motion sensors and door sensors to turn off the a/c when you leave the room or have built in programing to limit what you can turn it down to. The stat may say 68 setpoint but the computer may ony let it go to 70 as an example. This is all done to save $$$, and it does save alot in energy cost. I could only imagine the electric bills at Disney.

 

[summergirl32]

We were there in July and I noticed that it was very warm in many of the attractions. I, for one, was thankful for this because it is usually so cold I cannot enjoy the attraction. We were there this weekend though and it was just as cold as ever. Even the buses were like freezers. I know many people like this but I think it is ridiculous to keep it so cold.

 

[jessfriends]

I was just visiting mid May and noticed the lack of air conditioning. Maybe because it's not summer yet but Spaceship Earth was warm. Some other places were too but I don't recall them at the moment. It wasn't horrible but I just remember it being much cooler years ago.

 

[graphite1326]

Hey,

Since 2000 my family has gone to WDW during the summer and the one thing we could count on was INTENSE air conditioning! On the most recent trip August 20-25, I don't think I was imagining it but the air conditioning was barely on! I remember going on certain rides and always being frozen but it was expected. This most recent trip, certain rides and queues including Soarin's were pretty warm.

I'm not posting this to imply it ruined my trip or anything along those lines, just thinking back now it seemed so much warmer in queues and rides.

I was there at the same time. Didn't notice any changes in AC

 

[ferbtones]

We stayed in Pop this Easter and the air con in the food court near the flower pool entrance was arctic. We were literally shivering and couldn't wait to go outside to get warm.

 

[Lucky]

I was just visiting mid May and noticed the lack of air conditioning. Maybe because it's not summer yet but Spaceship Earth was warm. Some other places were too but I don't recall them at the moment. It wasn't horrible but I just remember it being much cooler years ago.

Well, a lot of global warming may have occurred between when this thread started and when you resurrected it.

 

[rsoxguy]

I was hot in 2007. As I think of it, my wife doesn't think I've changed a bit.