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FOP 6+ hour wait times
- Thread starter AugieMorosco
- Start date
I don't think there's any doubt wait times are intentionally and purposely inflated. It makes sense for a number of reasons and there is no shortage of anecdotal evidence. My curiosity was really more to do with those wait times of 2.5+ hours and who chooses to wait that long. It seems most people here who have done so have done it in a unique situation. I suppose the people that set up camp in a 3 hour queue in the middle of the day are not the same people who participate, or even know about, a forum like this. Not surprising I suppose.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
The times that I've waited 2 hours or more for a ride:
- The posted wait time was significantly less. I didn't realize how wrong it was until I was halfway through.
- It was a coaster that I didn't have the credit for, and I knew I wasn't going to be getting back soon.
- Its a ride I really, really like and I just suck it up.
- I got to the park really, really late, and to justify the visit, I hop in line for a popular ride as they have to take me if I get in.
- A variation of #1 and 2, but much of the wait time is the ride breaking down again and again.
Darien Lake was absolutely mobbed, and we probably hit the busiest day of their operating season, as Post Malone was playing that night. We just rode the coasters to get the credits, and even left a few credits on the table. This was before I was going to Disney regularly, to me I considered hour waits long. But at the same time, these were hour waits with no theming, and really just standing outside looking at the back of someone's head for an hour.
At Cedar Point, it was pre-Memorial Day so the crowds weren't bad, but Raptor and Valravn would get up to an hour during peak times. The star attraction for us was Steel Vengeance (my #1 ride of all time now). It was only on single train ops, and was the star new attraction for the year, so we knew we were going to have to wait. We were there over 2.5 days. Dashed to it every day for rope drop, first day it broke down after the 3rd dispatch, but made it on one of the first circuits with no wait the other two ropedrops (but by the team our train came into the station from the brakes it was already at 45 minutes). Rode it five times in total, three other times were 1-2 hours. A bit of those waits were it breaking down too.
When I started going to Disney a lot, I had to change what I considered a long wait. I saw 7DMT posted at 90 minutes on one on my first 2018 Disney visits, and that turned into 3.5 hours. What I do for a credit....
I thought I'd make the Flight of Passage rope drop, but I didn't realize how early its rope drop was. Was there at 8:30 AM, and the line was still about two hours. Now I always go to Disney in the evening/night, and just jump in the FoP line at 7:59 PM, and never wait more than an hour.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
Disney seems to be pretty organized and trains their guests for the most part, but their one vice seems to be allowing line cutters like that. They really need to crack down on that and communicate that your friends aren't your personal Fast Passes. When you leave the line, you really need to forfeit your position. Its just not fair for us to eyeball the line, and not see the full picture. I could also see an argument for putting bathrooms and concession stands in the line, and having checkpoints where you can take breaks -- you tab your position, and you won't gain position but you won't lose your position as you take a break, go to the bathroom, and get snacks and drinks.
Granted, the Fast Pass was originally supposed to be the solution -- it was supposed to be the virtual queuing system that got rid of lines altogether. But three rides is pretty pathetic, and most people need more laps than that in a day.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
My best advice for dealing with going to the bathroom in the amusement industry's current state:
Don't break the seal. Anybody who goes to bars picks up on this. Generally, you'll be perfectly fine if you just go about your business like normal, but the second that you go to the bathroom once, you'll never be able to stop going in a day.
Don't break the seal. Anybody who goes to bars picks up on this. Generally, you'll be perfectly fine if you just go about your business like normal, but the second that you go to the bathroom once, you'll never be able to stop going in a day.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
Believe it or not, if Na'vi was actually awesome, and/or if there was a third ride, I'd imagine that FoP's line would have been even longer. It just would have made Pandora even sexier, and tourists from across the world would have that much of a reason to book a trip to WDW. Just give FoP 5-10 years. It'll get down to a normal wait eventually.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
I know what you meant but I have to say that I missed this training. It reminds me of the woe-begotten Delta Song. The only time I traveled with them, the crew treated us like cattle and then congratulated us for doing a "great job boarding!" Good riddance to them.
I've been around the block. Went to 21 different amusement/theme parks in 2018. I can tell its not just that the CM's at Disney are superior to the other chains, it seems like the guests are more no nonsense when they get on rides. Guests at other parks won't pay attention, won't bother to bucket their own restraints, and will argue with the crew in the station instead of getting on.
One of the ways that Disney trains guests is by assigning rows. At other parks guests feel entitled to pick their own rows, and that leads to a lot of empty seats, confusion, and a logjam for the front. Disney guests also seem to know what they can and can't bring on rides. At most parts, this is always an adventure and leads to a lot of arguments. Also, Disney guests knowing not to throw stuff to the side of the station or expect cubbies helps a lot too. You'd be surprised at how offended guests get at other parks when they're expected to buy a $1 locker because they assume they can take it on the ride or something.
The Pho
Well-Known Member
Curious how you felt about Mean Streak before. Haven’t made it to Cedar Point since the switch and I loved Mean Streak.
danyoung56
Well-Known Member
Back when Indy first opened at DL, the queue was 2 1/2 hours long. It went out the entrance of Adventureland, through the hub, and into Frontierland where it did several switchbacks. I waited in that long line only because, as a visitor from Texas, it was going to be my only chance to experience the new attraction, unless I wanted to wait 6 months for my next visit.
Normally I don't wait much longer than 30 minutes, but that one time was well worth it.
Normally I don't wait much longer than 30 minutes, but that one time was well worth it.
kong1802
Well-Known Member
Perhaps, but I'd love to have the chance to find out if that is accurate...If all rides in Pandora were "must do", I'd have to think it would spread the brunt out a tad...
I'm still waiting on the Mine Train to get to a normal wait...
HouCuseChickie
Well-Known Member
Back in the days before fast passes of any kind, we'd wait, often for ridiculous amounts of time (well, what I thought was crazy). I remember waiting for over 2 hours for the original Journey Into Imagination, over an hour for PotC, and around an hour and a half for BTMRR. I remember going right after Maelstrom opened and the wait was so long, my dad just refused...possibly because we also spent a long time in line for Living Seas.
Since the implementation of fast passes, our waiting tolerance has changed considerably. It also shifts based on when we travel. If I'm at WDW or DLR right at Christmas/New Year's, I'm willing to wait longer than I would for a trip in late July or mid September, since logic would say that waits will be longer during peak times. I mean, you don't go at a peak time and play by "slow" season rules.
Still, I always felt like we wasted so much time in lines in those early trips, so anything too much longer than an hour (and it has to be a top attraction for me to wait an hour) just isn't worth it. We were in Pandora around Christmas 2017 and the line hit the 5.5 hour mark and I just kept thinking how silly it was for people to spend the bulk of their day in one line. We decided before that trip that we'd be skipping it if we couldn't get a FP because we felt like we'd be throwing our $ away to spend the bulk of our day waiting in line for one ride.
Since the implementation of fast passes, our waiting tolerance has changed considerably. It also shifts based on when we travel. If I'm at WDW or DLR right at Christmas/New Year's, I'm willing to wait longer than I would for a trip in late July or mid September, since logic would say that waits will be longer during peak times. I mean, you don't go at a peak time and play by "slow" season rules.
Still, I always felt like we wasted so much time in lines in those early trips, so anything too much longer than an hour (and it has to be a top attraction for me to wait an hour) just isn't worth it. We were in Pandora around Christmas 2017 and the line hit the 5.5 hour mark and I just kept thinking how silly it was for people to spend the bulk of their day in one line. We decided before that trip that we'd be skipping it if we couldn't get a FP because we felt like we'd be throwing our $ away to spend the bulk of our day waiting in line for one ride.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Never mind the wait times to get on the attractions in Star Wars Land there will be multi hour wait times to GET INTO the land! The line to get into the land will snake through DHS for at least the first week or so.
Could DHS be closed to capacity some days that first week? I bet it will happen.
Could DHS be closed to capacity some days that first week? I bet it will happen.
Tavernacle12
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be surprised if it hits capacity 10+ times in the first month. The only way it never hits capacity is if they preemptively cut off the line to get into SWGE before the park actually closes. I'm curious about what the extended queue is going to look like.
World_Showcase_Lover007
Well-Known Member
Not worth it....because it will be there next year, and for years afterward.
I still haven’t been on Frozen Ever After...tried to go a couple of months ago, as it had a 60 min wait time. Got in line and my 12 month old daughter started getting really fussy. So I said no problem, we do it next trip or the one after.
I still haven’t been on Frozen Ever After...tried to go a couple of months ago, as it had a 60 min wait time. Got in line and my 12 month old daughter started getting really fussy. So I said no problem, we do it next trip or the one after.
NelleBelle
Well-Known Member
Even though I despise waiting in lines, at least Disney makes theirs “themed” (universal does to an extent as well) and there is some visual stimuli. Other parks are just blah and makes the wait times even more miserable (6 flags, looking at you)!
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
I didn't hate Mean Streak. Before Maverick came out, I think that the standards were a lot lower. My first trip to CP was in 2002, and the star attractions were Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, Raptor, and Mantis, so we didn't have Maverick, Gatekeeper, SteVen, Valravn, Top Thrill Dragster etc. And in general, the rides across the industry just weren't as strong as they are now.
So getting back to Mean Streak, I didn't find it incredibly rough, but the layout was pretty boring. But without the stellar line-up that CP has now, Mean Streak just looked a lot better in comparison. When I went back in 2007, and TTD was up, and Maverick was the star for me, I really started to see how Mean Streak just wasn't cutting it.
But Mean Streak was the perfect coaster to be RMC'd. That wooden structure is just so massive and it completely encloses you for half the ride. Its unfortunate that RMC wasn't around for SoB. That would have been the perfect ride to RMC. Imagine twisted inverted helices going around the massive structure.
The only coaster that possibly has a structure to match Mean Streak or SoB is El Toro, but that coaster is already perfect as is, so I would never allow anybody to touch it.
The Pho
Well-Known Member
El Toro is something else, basically a perfect ride. Unfortunately I missed out on Son of Beast, still need to make it out to King’s Island.
I’ve only been to Cedar Point in 2016, so at the end of Mean Streak’s run. I think I liked it so much partially because it was a more unique ride than Blue Streak up front, which I liked but is a lot like a bunch of other Woodens I’ve ride. I think Mean Streak was the biggest wooden I had ever ridden at that point, probably Gwazi being the next closest, and that one is an excellent RMC candidate I think. I think I’m just predisposed to like wooden coasters more than most, there’s just something about them. Mean Streak wasn’t my favorite ride at Cedar Point, that goes to Maverick, but it was certainly a stand out attraction to me.
Trackmaster
Well-Known Member
Well next time you go to Busch Gardens Tampa take a look at the structure of Gwazi. You'll notice that half of the wooden track is gone already, and you'll see guys with RMC shirts working on it. SeaWorld parks took out a trademark for "Twisted Tigers" not too long ago. Its been confirmed for a while that they're RMCing Gwazi. They're expected to make a press release for it at a major event in a few weeks. Rumor is 212' tall and a 91 degrees drop.
I talked to an contractor working on the project, and he said that unfortunately the ride is in much worse shape than expected, so they're going to be removing much more than they wanted to. But RMC has a history of adding in its own steel supports that disguises itself as the old wooden track. Storm Chaser was almost completely razed, with pretty much only the footers and the station being kept from Twisted Sisters.