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News Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours coming for resort guests
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
I just don't understand leaving HS an AK out of the Deluxe Hours. Maybe if they offered hours there, as separate cost AH parties, but they are not even doing that. If you can open them 30 minutes early every day, you could keep them open later for 2 hours, once a week. When Deluxe hours were announced, I thought, this could be the benefit that makes on-site Deluxe "worth it" again. Then the details were announced...and nope (at least for us). Theoretically, if you check in on a Thursday and stay for (up to) 6 nights, you miss the MK one. For those of us with younger kids, the extra hours at Epcot are "eh". We'll most likely go to them but there won't be the same excitement factor any of the other 3 parks would bring.
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UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Oh sure, there are a ton of options. I'm just not sure Disney has any interest in coming up with something separate, or even just adjusting their current system.
There are much better options than the current system anyways and they haven't bothered to change it.
pdude81
Well-Known Member
The majority of deluxe resorts have direct transportation to one of those two parks, so I'd expect at this point transportation factors in.
Valid point, but WDW is 4 parks. The newest rides (for the most part) with the highest demand are left out.
They made it work when EMH PM hours were offered for all resorts and all the other "good neighbor" hotels within 500 miles.
They've also offered AH parties at both parks.
Yes, it's a perk in it's current offering, but by leaving those 2 parks out, it really calls attention to what is missing vs what is availble.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
The whole reason for BGs in this case is that the ride isn’t reliable. They’ll never guarantee access to a resort guest during that half hour. The ride frequently doesn’t open with the park as it is.
Resort guests can always purchase lightning access before off-site guests. What a perk! $80 for a family of four and you’re in!
They could theoretically just open the queue to anyone during Extra Magic Minutes if not for social media. Due to the internet, they’d be mobbed by day 3. So we have kind of forced their hand here.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I know it's a slow time and things will pick up at Epcot once Rat/Harmonious start, but we were there last week and there were night it was 20-30 minute waits. I think a person could time it to be in line during the fireworks show and not have too bad of a wait (as an alternative to rope drop).
Epcot late hours just seem pretty worthless. I mean, yeah, Test Track and Frozen Ever After can get lines but you can usually fine some time during the day to do them which isn't unbearable. All the others get short lines especially in the evening for FW ones.
I expect Ratatouille to be added to the list relatively quickly for evening hours. In fact, the lineup would be much more solid once Rat and Cosmic Rewind get added.
Some interesting notes to the attraction line up: BatB sing along starts back up (replacing the evening of Impressions). also, no LwtL? Seems like it would be nice to have that open right next to Soarin' for some quick combo rides. I guess the list not including them means stuff like American Adventure or Reflections of China are not included?
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doctornick
Well-Known Member
The number of deluxe resorts with direct connections to DHS is similar to the number with connections to MK.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Where would Shades Of Green fit into all this?
Figgy1
Well-Known Member
It's considered a deluxe as is the swalphin for morning half EMH and night hourrs
pdude81
Well-Known Member
It's a stretch but I guess you can make that point.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I can directly swim to MK from Wilderness Lodge, so don’t leave that out.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
It wouldn't be guaranteed access, though. Having it open and calling boarding groups doesn't guarantee access to anyone who doesn't have a boarding group. I can't think of any operational reason not to do what I suggested.
If the ride isn't working, then obviously they wouldn't call groups yet, the same way they don't when the park opens in that scenario.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Given that 7 hours or so of BGs routinely sell out in 6 or 7 seconds, there is little use in releasing 30 min of BGs to resort guests. They would need to just release the entire 7 am allotment to resort guests and have opted not to do so.
pdude81
Well-Known Member
You can't call a boarding group for people who aren't allowed into the park yet. It's just asking for fights every day at the front gate
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
That's not what I suggested.
I'm saying do the exact same boarding groups as now and just start calling them when the extra 30 minutes begins. Anyone who managed to get an early group can go ahead and ride. Everyone else will just be able to go ride when they enter the park.
If the extra time was longer than the stupidly low 30 minutes it would be different, but since it's not, even people in boarding group 1 shouldn't have any trouble being at the ride within 45 minutes of opening (if they even restricted BGs to a time window, which they have not done thus far).
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Of course you can. It doesn't make any difference; they won't be turned away from the ride. People have shown up hours later and gotten on with no problems.
People who are going to fight about that are going to find something else to fight about anyways.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Eh, I actually changed my mind. I still don't think there's any issue with calling boarding groups for people not allowed into the park yet -- that really doesn't matter in the slightest when it's such a small period of time -- but considering the window of time is so small, they wouldn't call more than a few boarding groups (if they were even able to open the ride).
They'd be calling less than a thousand people, and it's entirely possible that only a small percentage of them were actually staying on-site on any given day. It would be a waste of staffing to open the ride and have only a few dozen people ride it.
They'd be calling less than a thousand people, and it's entirely possible that only a small percentage of them were actually staying on-site on any given day. It would be a waste of staffing to open the ride and have only a few dozen people ride it.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Karen staying offsite will give the poor CMs holding the rope blocking her from entering SO MUCH SCHNITZEL if her group is called and she can’t enter the park. It is simply not worth the headaches at the park entrance when the company already feels it is staffing enough rides for those 30 min. Not everything opens for early entry and that was always the case. The only option that would ever work (because it is most similar to EMH) is to just open the queue for early entry and then close it off to new people at park open and switch to VQ. Universal does this. This also prevents any issue if the ride simply isn’t ready to open. They never promised anything.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Like I said, I changed my mind and don't think opening it the way I originally suggested makes sense, but that Karen staying offsite is going to give the poor CMs issues regardless. It'll just be for something else instead. They'll always find something wrong.
The bolded part was my other suggestion, though (not sure if I said it here or elsewhere). I think the biggest (only?) reason they're not doing that is so they can potentially sell those spots instead.