Did someone say EMH? :lookaroun
um...please describe the nature of the extra magic hour emergency? :shrug:
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EMH: Broken Idea
- Thread starter devoy1701
- Start date
um...please describe the nature of the extra magic hour emergency? :shrug:
SpectroMan
New Member
First of all, Wishes is grossly less expensive than keeping a theme park open for just an hour.
Second, the EMH attendance numbers a few people are throwing out are ridiculous, and the point of EMH is to have more time in the parks with a shorter line. Isn't waiting for Soarin' for only 40 minutes drastically lower than a 70 to 90 minute wait?
Third, WDW has a policy that you only need one room key per family to get wristbands. This allows for quicker lines in getting the wristbands, and also, this is a nice little service for Cast Members and other Orlando residents that have family visiting. They are able to experience all of these attractions with friends and family.
Fourth, if you were not complaining about how lax the system is, all of you would be complaining how difficult it is to get wristbands. Ex: "We had to wait in line so long that we really only had two extra hours instead of three."
Fifth, EMH is probably the worst trained job on property. There is not a set group of Cast Members who do this. They grab people from all over the parks and from many different jobs. Most of the time the DHS Cast Members do not even work in operations. While this is a problem, it is not that big of a deal. More training would be pointless because the people who do not get it won't ever get it.
So, is EMH, especially in the evening, broken? No because it never was supposed to work the way you guys want it to. I doubt that the managers of the parks have discussed this topic as much as you all have on this board. All EMH is is a cute, little idea that gets people to stay on property and gives them a little bit of extra time in the parks so the can spend less time in their hotel room sleeping.
Second, the EMH attendance numbers a few people are throwing out are ridiculous, and the point of EMH is to have more time in the parks with a shorter line. Isn't waiting for Soarin' for only 40 minutes drastically lower than a 70 to 90 minute wait?
Third, WDW has a policy that you only need one room key per family to get wristbands. This allows for quicker lines in getting the wristbands, and also, this is a nice little service for Cast Members and other Orlando residents that have family visiting. They are able to experience all of these attractions with friends and family.
Fourth, if you were not complaining about how lax the system is, all of you would be complaining how difficult it is to get wristbands. Ex: "We had to wait in line so long that we really only had two extra hours instead of three."
Fifth, EMH is probably the worst trained job on property. There is not a set group of Cast Members who do this. They grab people from all over the parks and from many different jobs. Most of the time the DHS Cast Members do not even work in operations. While this is a problem, it is not that big of a deal. More training would be pointless because the people who do not get it won't ever get it.
So, is EMH, especially in the evening, broken? No because it never was supposed to work the way you guys want it to. I doubt that the managers of the parks have discussed this topic as much as you all have on this board. All EMH is is a cute, little idea that gets people to stay on property and gives them a little bit of extra time in the parks so the can spend less time in their hotel room sleeping.
mpaul32001
Well-Known Member
EmOhYouEssE
New Member
And this is EXACTLY why some are opposed to the way EMH is handled currently. It is a perk that is supposed to be utilized by resort guests. Not resort guests, their second cousin and his family, uncle Jimbo and his date Helga, ect.
If those extra people want to experience EMH, then they should have to pay for it or stay on property to experience it; hence the suggestions of bringing back e-ticket nights with a charge by many here.
If people are scamming the system by allowing offsite guests to use EMH, then it no longer is a perk for onsight guests.It is a slippery slope of unsatisfaction by people paying more to stay onsite and not seeing the benefits, in turn causing Disney to institute other policies that are incentives for on site guests, in turn causing the normal "joe visitor" staying off site to feel like he is getting gyped.
Em
coasterphil
Well-Known Member
You're just going to have to trust me on this one, but your estimates are well off the actual numbers. I know the parks may seem completely swamped during certain EMH nights, but they aren't reaching close to those types of figures. When you do estimates based on rooms and things like that it seems like it should be a large number, but in reality the vast majority of resort guests don't end up at the EMH park for the evening.
What? This simply isn't the case in the parks I'm familiar with. The majority of the party must have keys for them to get wristbands, and even that technically isn't the rule on the books but the one the CMs choose to go by to avoid confrontations.
Exactly. Be careful what you wish for everyone. Would you rather have a hypothetical 500 guests a night get wristbands unfairly or wait an extra 20-30 minutes in line for the wristbands so that they can scan/totally visually check each and every key and send your party to GR if one person happens to have left their KTTW card behind?
As mentioned above, no one's job is wristband distribution for EMH. It's open to any CM that feels like picking up a shift, even if they have no idea what it entails and haven't even been in the park before as a CM or a guest (rendering them completely useless when a guest asks them a question).
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
How about start handing out wristbands earlier, like at noon in select locations and then more locations as the day progresses, so lines don't get too long, and this still affords them the opportunity to check the resort room ID?
I mean, as long as we're making suggestions and all... :shrug:
coasterphil
Well-Known Member
You willing to pay more for your ticket/room in order to cover the big increase in labor costs?
EmOhYouEssE
New Member
I can answer that and the answer would be "yes". Someone paying to stay onsite at Disney isn't usually concerned with a difference of $5 or $10 a night. It would not effect or make/break their experience in any way.
Even on high season, the Disney mods are only about $200 a night TOPS with no discounts including tax. If people think that is high, they really need to go to some places where that gets you a basic room with crappy service, no perks. Vail or Aspen come to mind.
Em
Maybe something like those Palm Scanners they have at local sports venues and what not. It takes maybe 3-5 seconds to scan each ticket...then a big check or X shows up on the screen. If an X comes up they rescan it, if it still pops up they have to go to Guest Services. The EMH line never gets much longer than 20-30 ppl at a time... I doubt it would result in a 30 minute line.
There has been atleast one occasion when one of us had forgotten our KTTW and we had to go back to the resort to get it so we could participate in EMH. This is also why they make the whole family walk through the line instead of letting them wait on the side while one member of the party gathers the wristbands.
Exactly em. Most people are already paying a premium to stay on property compared to other area resorts. I'm sure many won't mind another $5-20/person to enjoy an actual limited admission night for on-site guests. And as a passholder I was regularly saving between 30-50% off my room rates. I'd have no problem having to give alittle of my savings back to pay for an "e-ticket night".
btw...when and for how long did WDW have the "e-ticket night"? It must have been during a time I didn't attend wdw...
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
Im not sure what you saw going on at the Magic Kingdom, but at Epcot a co-ordiantor stands at the fron of the line, checks every single persons Resort ID and then the guest continues down the line to get a band that MUST be put on by the Cast Member on what ever particular side wrist we are told to that night.
I'm not sure that the main selling point of EMH is short lines anymore, it's just to give you the opportunity to stay in the park 3 hours later than the guests not staying on property.
I'm not sure that the main selling point of EMH is short lines anymore, it's just to give you the opportunity to stay in the park 3 hours later than the guests not staying on property.
markjohns1
Member
The ticket prices for P&PP probably don't cover the entire cost of staffing the park, but it certainly supplements it. There's a reason there is a ticket cost for the P&PP
Anyways, Wishes helps to keep all guests in the park until closing (not just resort guests). I can't believe that the cost of staffing could be perceived as a weak argument. I think you are completely underestimating the cost of running a theme park. Take a look at the PDF on this Disney site that allows someone to rent out Disneyland Paris for three hours with a capacity of 5,000-15,000 guests. The price comes out to about $2,000 US dollars per minute. That is a significant expenditure, and staffing for 5,000-15,000 guests for a private rental is likely cheaper than what's needed for evening EMH. To double that cost by opening a second park for EMH just to spread out crowds is a serious expense that appears to not be worth it at this point.
I'd question whether 65,000 people have ever attended EMH. And as far as that figure, I think it is way to high. To assume that on-site rooms have 4 people in them is a bit high. I'd be willing to bet the actual average is between 2 and 3 guests per room (probably closer to three). I also doubt that even half of resort guests take advantage of EMH. In some cases, like for AK, the EMH hours overlap the regular operating hours of the other theme parks. I highly doubt people are leaving the other parks just because it is EMH night at AK. For MK, the EMH hours sometimes extend as late as 3am. I promise you half of all resort guests are not going to stay out until 3am.
So if cost is not a factor for not opening two parks per night for EMH, what is the reason? A cruel Disney experiment? I'm not opposed to opening two parks for EMH in a night, but it's not something that is easy to do.
Fade_to_Blah
Member
I have no hard numbers to back it up (nor do any of us), but I think your grossly overestimating the number of people that are at EMH per night.
I usually see people checking the resort keys when getting their wristbands when I go down. Maybe you just had a lapse CM at the time doing this? I have done EMH a couple times and it was considerably less crowded. Even if it only cuts the wait times in half (which i think happens most times), that definitely falls under "shorter lines" that they describe.
I usually see people checking the resort keys when getting their wristbands when I go down. Maybe you just had a lapse CM at the time doing this? I have done EMH a couple times and it was considerably less crowded. Even if it only cuts the wait times in half (which i think happens most times), that definitely falls under "shorter lines" that they describe.
Dwarful
Well-Known Member
There were times during our stay that wristband distribution was a bit chaotic to say the least. Mostly we saw this at MK...which also had some of the longest lines. We got our wristbands by Pinochios Village Haus one night and a lead CM was having a terrible time getting the other CM's to do things the 'right way'. They did check our cards briefly and then handed my husband four wristbands..we stepped to a different area to put them on the girls and ourselves...mostly so that we were out of the way. But no one watched us put the bands on, our cards were not scanned. It would have been very easy to 'break the rules' and give our wristbands to other people and get new ones for ourselves at a different location. Now, honestly I cannot see the benefit of this..if you are paying to stay onsite why give away the benefits to those not paying for them?
Timmay
Well-Known Member
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
maybe they should consider opening 2 parks for evening EMH just for the summer months and for the Holiday Season?
DizneyPryncess
Well-Known Member
I had my first & only experience w/EMH's this past July. We did EMH in the morning at MK and I loved them. It seems the general consensus is that the morning ones work out pretty well. Now that I think about it though, they never checked our ID's. We had an ADR at CRT. They never asked for our reservation number though or our last name. We told them we were eating at CRT and they said to go in.
For the night EMH's we did Hollywood Studios. They checked our ID's. Most of the park was virtually empty. The Pixar area however....unreal. You couldn't even move an inch. I couldn't believe how many people were jammed into one area.
Our night was unique I think, because TSM broke down at about 9:00. EHM's started at 10. Nobody got out of line, and at 10:00, CM's were walking through the line removing people who weren't there for EMH's. People were could get wristbands didn't want to leave their line spot, and people who couldn't didn't think they should have to leave their line spot since the ride had broken down. It was a disaster and a half. But at least they seemed to be on the ball with the wristbands.
For the night EMH's we did Hollywood Studios. They checked our ID's. Most of the park was virtually empty. The Pixar area however....unreal. You couldn't even move an inch. I couldn't believe how many people were jammed into one area.
Our night was unique I think, because TSM broke down at about 9:00. EHM's started at 10. Nobody got out of line, and at 10:00, CM's were walking through the line removing people who weren't there for EMH's. People were could get wristbands didn't want to leave their line spot, and people who couldn't didn't think they should have to leave their line spot since the ride had broken down. It was a disaster and a half. But at least they seemed to be on the ball with the wristbands.
Fade_to_Blah
Member
I dont blame people for being upset about getting kicked out of line because EMH rolled around on a broken down attraction. They should have just let those people stay in ride, complete TSM, and then they could leave the park.
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
You are getting a bit technical, but I can definitely see a system working this way with room keys, the same way the front gates are used... Allow and give them a number of wristbands per the total # of room occupants. But all those occupants have to be present to receive their wrist-bands, so Disney is assured they are not given to someone else.
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
Of Course.... they are going to be absolute crap during the Peak and Holiday attendance seasons. And weekends.... oye.. lets not talk about weekends during the summer......
Bottom line for me is EMH does what was originally intended to do. It allows onsite guests to spend some additional time in the parks in the morning and/or evening.