FP+ only Toy Story Midway Mania

[draybook]

I'm not sure what park hopping has to do with what I said. I was referring to the overall statement that they were upset because Disney didn't inform them ahead of time that they were going to run that test. As if to say, if I had known that I wouldn't have gone at that time. My response was to the thought of are they only going to see Toy Story? Why would the assumed inability to get to one attraction alter plans that far and away exceed one attraction? What is the difference between that and having a popular attraction down because of a breakdown (not planned rehab)? What is so terrible about that and why would it not be just as bad for most people that have made reservations months ago if they had announced it in advance? Even if it were next week it is still going to affect someone.

Because most breakdowns don't last a week and affect everyone. This allows a certain group into the ride. And again, if you are trying to get EVERY guest to plan out their vacation, as you can see being done with MM+ and then you pull an E ticket ride without notice, can you really be surprised that people are ticked?


And my point about park hopping stands because you said that people shouldn't be upset because there are hundreds of things to see. Well, if they're in that certain park then without the ability to park hop then there are not hundreds of things to see.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I'm not sure what park hopping has to do with what I said. I was referring to the overall statement that they were upset because Disney didn't inform them ahead of time that they were going to run that test. As if to say, if I had known that I wouldn't have gone at that time. My response was to the thought of are they only going to see Toy Story? Why would the assumed inability to get to one attraction alter plans that far and away exceed one attraction? What is the difference between that and having a popular attraction down because of a breakdown (not planned rehab)? What is so terrible about that and why would it not be just as bad for most people that have made reservations months ago if they had announced it in advance? Even if it were next week it is still going to affect someone.

Why are you missing the point in trying to rabidly defend Disney?

If you book a vacation, and a ride is down due to refurb, Disney provides pretty decent information before hand. If a ride goes down while you are there, that stinks, but mechanical things break down every day. If a ride is down due to management making a decision to run a test, Disney should be warning guests. Just like they warn them about the refurb. Running a planned test and a ride breaking down suddenly for mechanical failure are two different things.

If Disney announced to guests in advance, then I don't know, maybe the people who booked a FP for other tier 1 offerings and NOT TSMM, but wanted to ride TSMM anyway, could have used that system they spent $2.5 billlion on, you know My Disney Experience, and log in and change the FP from TOT or RNRC to TSMM since that was the only way they would get on the attraction during their stay. Or, if they knew aahead of time that they wouldn't be able to ride TSMM cause of the planned test, maybe they could have switched their DHS day (during the test) with their Epcot day.

it really isn't too hard to understand why Disney is wrong on 1000 different levels here.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Because most breakdowns don't last a week and affect everyone. This allows a certain group into the ride. And again, if you are trying to get EVERY guest to plan out their vacation, as you can see being done with MM+ and then you pull an E ticket ride without notice, can you really be surprised that people are ticked?


And my point about park hoping stands because you said that people shouldn't be upset because there are hundreds of things to see. Well, if they're in that certain park then without the ability to park hop then there are not hundreds of things to see.

I have never done one of those test, but, common sense tells me that in order to see how a reservation system works they have to issue more fastpasses for that attraction. In fact, they have to issue, at least, the number that is the days capacity in order to see if it works. What it simply means is that Fastpasses will be available for those that otherwise would have been in stand-by. It is no more discriminatory then the stand-by line itself. When they reach the end of the day only those that are within the ride capacity will ride with or without a FP.

It certainly is a situation where flexibility is put to the test, but, in the long run, it isn't really depriving anyone of anything that would have been the case anyway. Who it affects may be a different set of people, but, the numbers will remain the same. Remember that they could have shut the whole thing down and just had volunteers run through the motions everyday depriving everyone of the attraction. I really don't see it as that big a deal. Honest!

Has anyone been there and can report on how they are handling it? I'm just guessing here. There must be someone that has been issued a FP that didn't have one before they arrived.

 

[Fractal514]

While I do not think the sky is falling, and I do really like MM+, I think Disney screwed up by running this for multiple consecutive days. If they had run multiple single day tests then folks would have opportunities to ride on alternate days. By doing this for 3 or 4 days in a row they might effectively screw up an entire trip for some folks.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Why are you missing the point in trying to rabidly defend Disney?

My question would be way are some of you creating a reaction to a nothing problem just to rabidly put Disney down.

It really wouldn't matter when they did it, it would still be a problem for many, advanced notice or not. What is wrong here is those that still feel that the world revolves around them and that if it messes up my plans then it is evil. It has nothing to do with individuals. It has nothing to do with what day someone plans to go to DHS because it's all week. It is just something that is happening that is a minor problem/disappointment blown up into a catastrophe. I still maintain, until someone tells me differently, that those that want to see it will still be able to, but, perhaps not at the time that they thought to be convenient.

 

[Goofyernmost]

While I do not think the sky is falling, and I do really like MM+, I think Disney screwed up by running this for multiple consecutive days. If they had run multiple single day tests then folks would have opportunities to ride on alternate days. By doing this for 3 or 4 days in a row they might effectively screw up an entire trip for some folks.

I really don't see it as any different then if you have a day planned for MK and Haunted Mansion is down for unexpected repairs and you only have that one day to do it. Or if a storm run through and you cannot ride on Test Track. It's stuff that is a disappointment but not something that isn't going to be a problem for anybody that luck puts them there at that time. Perhaps they could have staggered it and not completely blocked out a week of time, but, since I and all the rest, do not have a clue as to what they are trying to find out here, we are only knee jerk reacting to something that we know nothing about. I'm not there so it doesn't have any impact on me at all, to those that are, it does. If it happens sometime when I go there then it will have an impact on me and not on those that are upset about it now. Right now it only has an influence on 4/365th of the yearly attendance.

 

[1023]

My comments in italics are an aside and not what I intended to post when I started.

FP- has always represented decreased FastPass experiences (and total experiences) for "educated" travelers, regular visitors and locals. Limiting certain attraction availability is certainly on the horizon if not already occurring. (*pause for effect*) While this test is most likely about adding another track, it will also provide data for those "interested" in tiering or slotting of "guests".

I foresee, as I have mentioned before, your FastPassMinus experiences being related to your Resort level and possibly your spending habits. Your shopper's value card...I mean... Your Magic Handcuff provides ample data when utilized as requested by TDO to sort you into little piles from "faux 1%-ers" to the "I put myself into debt to take my family of 4 on this once in a lifetime 'value' extravaganza" visitors. (holy run-on sentence Batman.)

The thing that was bothering me initially is the nerd-ness below.

OK...Some of the math here is creative. You have 2 tracks for this attraction that yield 1200 experiences an hour. This means that 1 track (or 50%) has 600 experiences an hour. Adding a track adds 50% more capacity which is 1800 experiences an hour. The new track represents 33% of the new capacity but an overall increase of 50%. I would think the real discussion should be, will adding 50% more capacity solve the line problem in a park with only 1 remaining kid friendly attraction? Will it fill the gap until the new offerings arrive? Will it simply allow guests the experience the attraction earlier and leave the park for other Orlando attractions? Is this test actually being conducted for a single purpose or an expansive property-wide game changer?

"Wouldn't you like to plan every attraction, retail experience and meal for everyday of your vacation? Imagine how little stress you'd have knowing what you will be doing every minute of the day. Well with the 'new' MyMagicSuperPlus, you can have a minute by minute itinerary of your day. Won't that be MAGICal?"

*1023*

 

[Next Big Thing]

Alright, so this my logistical solution to the 2 loading area, FP, standby problem, that needed such invasive testing to solve.

New track = Standby
Old tracks = FP+
Empty seat problem = introduce single rider(which people want anyway). Use current FP+ return queue, and current system of pulling off parties of 1 or 2 to the right stairwell, only allow people to fill it up to the door. When FP+ returns slack off, fill more liberally using single rider (direct some SR to the left side until it reaches a certain point). People already understand SR may get you a quicker or slower boarding time depending on ride conditions, and can be inconsistent. SR is basically a "mini standby" line which is what it sounds like it needs. A full standby is too much, and no standby is not enough.

just brainstorming...

That was exactly what my idea has been about the empty seat problem... reintroduce single rider and it should fix the problem.

 

[draybook]

Lol, rabidly put Disney down. Alrighty then, I'll bow out of this conversation now.

I seriously don't see what's hard to understand about a decision that WASN'T announced to guests that will affect their trip being at the center of this discussion. Goodnight folks!

 

[RSoxNo1]

Add a zero to that and I'll think they are serious, 75 Million will build some themed toilets at WDI costing models

Why don't people get obvious sarcasm.

 

[hopemax]

I really don't see it as any different then if you have a day planned for MK and Haunted Mansion is down for unexpected repairs and you only have that one day to do it. Or if a storm run through and you cannot ride on Test Track. It's stuff that is a disappointment but not something that isn't going to be a problem for anybody that luck puts them there at that time.

Human psychology is more forgiving to "acts of god" like weather or unanticipated closures than they are when they feel like "information was KEPT from them." Just like humans react differently when they "self-select" out of riding an attraction with an hour wait vs being told they can't ride at all. Presentation matters, circumstances matter.

WDW is a very big place, and people with shorter stays sometimes mention struggling to fit everything in. So I wouldn't find it surprising that some people would think, "If I couldn't do TSMM, I could live without doing the other DHS stuff, or since I have a park hopper, I could try to squeeze a few things into an AK day and then spend another full day at MK or Epcot." Or I could have squeezed in a day trip to the other end of I-Drive, or the beach, or something else.

 

[ford91exploder]

Why don't people get obvious sarcasm.

Two reasons

1 - You forgot the /SARC tag
2 - Today's TDO actually thinks that 75 million will be enough to fool the rubes into thinking things are improving

 

[Captain Chaos]

My question would be way are some of you creating a reaction to a nothing problem just to rabidly put Disney down.

It really wouldn't matter when they did it, it would still be a problem for many, advanced notice or not. What is wrong here is those that still feel that the world revolves around them and that if it messes up my plans then it is evil. It has nothing to do with individuals. It has nothing to do with what day someone plans to go to DHS because it's all week. It is just something that is happening that is a minor problem/disappointment blown up into a catastrophe. I still maintain, until someone tells me differently, that those that want to see it will still be able to, but, perhaps not at the time that they thought to be convenient.

The biggest complaint I am seeing, despite some of the nonsense conspiracies about all rides going FP this is proof, is that Disney botched this by not telling guests. Again, a ride goes down for some unforeseen reason, it stinks, but eh, what can you do? Management didn't plan for the down time. A ride is taken offline due to a scheduled refurb, Disney lets people know months ahead of time that the ride won't be available to them. Does this cause people to cancel? Maybe some, probably not many though. But, at least people are given fair and advanced warning. If you are going to WDW, spending several thousand dollars to go, only to find out a test is being conducted on a ride you planned on going on, but now can't cause of a planned in advance management decision, then yes, you have every right to be mad.

Disney wants you to plan every minute of your vacation. You do so. You chose DHS (again, no advanced warning of this test) on a day this test (again, make sure you under stand this, YOU HAD NO IDEA WAS HAPPENING), and book your three FP (picking a Tier 1 TOT instead of TSMM cause you figure you'll do TSMM via stand by). Now, you get to DHS on Thursday and head over to TSMM, unaware of this test. You find out you cannot ride TSMM cause it is being tested for FP only. You don't think a person has the right to be ed off about that?

So, let's say the CM at the ride looks up and can get them a FP at 5:30. But, lo and behold, 5:30 is when they have dinner booked. Well, they booked dinner 180 days out, and put a CC on file. Now what do to? They only did what Disney now requires you do to when booking a vacation. Get the FP and lose the dinner and be charged. Or refuse the FP and go have dinner. Remember, they cannot cancel dinner now, not 24 hours in advance. They decide dinner and lose the FP. Now that family/person did not ride TSMM even though they wanted to. Again, they have every right to be mad. Especially since this was no fault of their own doing.

If Disney gave advanced warning, then this person could have gone into his MDE account, switched DHS for Epcot days, and probably been unaffected. Could have had time to cancel his booked ADR in DHS for dinner. Could have done exactly what this system is supposed to be used for. Unless, of course, Disney forgot what this system is supposed to be used for. Or maybe guest convenience wasn't what MDE was made for at all.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I really don't see it as any different then if you have a day planned for MK and Haunted Mansion is down for unexpected repairs and you only have that one day to do it. Or if a storm run through and you cannot ride on Test Track. It's stuff that is a disappointment but not something that isn't going to be a problem for anybody that luck puts them there at that time. Perhaps they could have staggered it and not completely blocked out a week of time, but, since I and all the rest, do not have a clue as to what they are trying to find out here, we are only knee jerk reacting to something that we know nothing about. I'm not there so it doesn't have any impact on me at all, to those that are, it does. If it happens sometime when I go there then it will have an impact on me and not on those that are upset about it now. Right now it only has an influence on 4/365th of the yearly attendance.

How can you not see the difference between and unexpected shutdown due to maintenance issues and a planned test with absolutely no warning? One is uncontrolled. The other is controlled. One management had no idea would happen. The other management planned in advance and knew it was going to be taking place. Management cannot control a storm coming over central Florida. They can however, control days and times of tests being conducted. It isn't hard to understand this. Then again, you can't seem to crasp the concept, so maybe it is hard.

Let me use myself as an example. When I was there in 2013, the day we went to MK, Philharmagic was down all day. The ride wasn't scheduled to be down. Was not on the list of scheduled refurb or maintenance. Something mechanical failed causing the attraction to be down. We tried a few times during the day, but each time we went by the attraction, the CM informed us the show was down and to keep trying later, there was no time frame of the attraction coming back up. OK, no issue. Things happen. Rides and attractions break. Eh, move on.

Let's use this same scenario but inject what is happening with TSMM. I arrive at MK and start doing my park touring. I come across Philharmagic, one of the attractions I really wanted to see. I approach the stand by line only to be told SORRY YOU CANNOT ENTER IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FP. I have no right to be mad? Why wasn't I warned of this before hand? They knew of this test happening, why didn't they let guests know? I ask about the FP availability. Told NONE LEFT SORRY. Now I don't get to see an attraction I was looking forward to because I wasn't warned before hand. Yes, I'm going to be mad. In fact, I may go to Guest Relations and complain. I may also let other people know of my bad experience in WDW. Bad news travels fast.

However, if they let me (and other guests) know in advance via email, on their website, or even as simple as a flyer in the room or message on the THINGS TO DO TV station, I may have then been able to plan accordingly. OK, so Thursday to Saturday Philharmagic is going to be going through a test where only FP people can ride. I don't have a FP so let me see if I can change Space Mountain for Philharmagic using that 2.5 billion dollar system they created. OH LOOK I CAN CHANGE YIPPEE!!!! Now I can still go to MK on Thursday and not change any other plans for the day. Or this could happen: I look on MDE and OH WELL I CAN'T OK. BUT I SEE FPs ARE AVAILABLE FOR WEDNESDAY INSTEAD. So I change my Epcot day from Wednesday to Thursday and MK from Thursday to Wednesday. I call up and cancel my ADR at Crystal Palace thus avoiding the charge for not showing up or not canceling in 24 hours. And I'm a happy customer. Oh look how wonderful MDE really is!!!!

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

I wonder what kind of monkey wrench WDW will be throwing at me starting in a week. Apparently Autumn is the perfect time to do random, unannounced testing of "ideas" on how to minimize Capex, entertainment budgets and staffing without impacting attendance.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I wonder what kind of monkey wrench WDW will be throwing at me starting in a week. Apparently Autumn is the perfect time to do random, unannounced testing of "ideas" on how to minimize Capex, entertainment budgets and staffing without impacting attendance.

They are shutting down all the bathrooms, unannounced, and trying to get data to see just how people handle not being able to relieve themselves during the course of the day. of course, if you your pants or your kid craps himself, you are to blame and should not hold Disney responsible. I mean it is only a 4 day test, so what's the damage? Not like the world is ending or something.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

They are shutting down all the bathrooms, unannounced, and trying to get data to see just how people handle not being able to relieve themselves during the course of the day. of course, if you your pants or your kid craps himself, you are to blame and should not hold Disney responsible. I mean it is only a 4 day test, so what's the damage? Not like the world is ending or something.

Chaos...I am consuming an adult beverage here and do not want to mess up my laptop...

 

[Captain Chaos]

Chaos...I am consuming an adult beverage here and do not want to mess up my laptop...

If you mess up your laptop, do not replace it with Dell. Dell sucks.

 

[jencor]

I really don't see it as any different then if you have a day planned for MK and Haunted Mansion is down for unexpected repairs and you only have that one day to do it. Or if a storm run through and you cannot ride on Test Track. It's stuff that is a disappointment but not something that isn't going to be a problem for anybody that luck puts them there at that time. Perhaps they could have staggered it and not completely blocked out a week of time, but, since I and all the rest, do not have a clue as to what they are trying to find out here, we are only knee jerk reacting to something that we know nothing about. I'm not there so it doesn't have any impact on me at all, to those that are, it does. If it happens sometime when I go there then it will have an impact on me and not on those that are upset about it now. Right now it only has an influence on 4/365th of the yearly attendance.

I hope you are kidding. It is only 4/365 in a calendar year, but what if those are the 4 days I went and I am not coming back for another 3 or 4 years and I only planned one day at DHS. I would feel better if the ride went down then to try to explain to my kids why they cannot ride cause I did not know about this new program and I spent months pre planning and getting the family all excited about it. Oh well, I guess I can compensate cause I just went to BOG restaurant to heal my wounds and guess what, I found out I am not allowed to eat there. So for you maybe no big deal and maybe you are able to go often, but I just spent years saving and traveled a long distance to get frustrated, cause I spent all the time planning and getting excited and then be let down.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Why don't people get obvious sarcasm.

Because of lot of the sarcasm you post is on the fense of "Is he for real or is it sarcam"... you need to use a smiley or something to make it a bit more "obvious".

I knew based on what you were saying in that particular post was sarcasm, but I have in the past taken some of your sarcastic posts the wrong way.