Guide map availability reduced at MK

[Bairstow]

There's probably a balance to be found.

If the maps are too plentiful, guests will get in the behavior of picking up a map, looking up one piece of information, and discarding the map.
Then, when they see the next map rack, they might pick one up and briefly use that one. In this way, a guest might go through several maps in one day.

On the other hand, if they're too scarce, guests will want to find a map to look something up but not be able to find one.

Hopefully, Disney wants to be somewhere in the middle.
If we're unlucky, Disney wants to charge a $1 for each map and expects most people to be using their smartphones for directions.

 

[wdwmagic]

Also sound like they will not be available at the resorts front desks. That where I get mine Upon check in.

They will still be at resort front desks.

 

[FutureWorld1982]

No real change here, they are still very much available.

It might not seem like a major change to Guests, but many attractions get multiple boxes (and I mean a lot) every month. If they stop receiving maps, it will help the company not to waste so many maps each month.

 

[DisneyCane]

That's before we get onto how completely irresponsible the use of virgin wood each time is, massively contributing to deforestation and the massive problems that brings.

You need to educate yourself more. I don't think you understand that recycling of paper doesn't save trees or forests. The trees that are used for pulp are, more often than not, grown on tree farms. When you recycle paper and reduce the demand for virgin pulp, these farms are no longer needed. Then, what happens is the farms end up getting sold off for development. The final step is that the trees are removed from the farm in order to make room for the development.

Recycling paper actually leads to less acreage of trees.

Recycling "everything" is not good. There are energy tradeoffs and chemicals used in the process. They have to use chemicals to remove the inks and dyes from the paper.

Recycling metal is always better than putting it in a landfill. It takes significantly less energy to recycle metal than to mine the ore and turn it into metal.

Recycling glass takes more energy than making new glass but at least the glass can be reused for new containers.

Recycling plastic is not economical at all from an energy perspective. It also can not be re-used for any kind of foot container. The only reason to recycle plastic is if you are afraid we will run out of space to landfill it. Of course, that is preposterous.

Recycling paper makes very little sense due to the reasons above and the energy and chemicals it takes to do it. It is biodegradable or you can burn it for energy.

 

[Nubs70]

No matter how much paper is recycled there is always a need for virgin fiber. Recycling fiber has a finite number of cycles before the fiber quality degrades and becomes useless. Virgin fiber is used to increase strength and optical properties.

Recycling of fiber for packaging grades takes less chemicals than virgin unbleached kraft fiber.

Recycling of fiber for tissue, towel, and printing/writing grades also uses more friendly chemicals than traditional bleaching methods as most white fiber recycling no longer use forms of chlorine bleaching.

 

[habuma]

While I support the reduction of paper use and agree that they probably print way too many of the maps and times guides, the implication is that the maps are obsolete because everyone can use the app on their phone. That I disagree with.

I *HATE* using the app for more than anything other than shifting the time of a pre-arranged FP+ (and even then I'm not a fan). When it comes to navigating the park and making in-the-moment plans, I much prefer a paper map and a pen. Am I alone in this regard?

And yeah, I usually grab a few untouched guidemaps on my way out for souvenir purposes and for sharing with friends who might be thinking about a trip.

 

[Nubs70]

While I support the reduction of paper use and agree that they probably print way too many of the maps and times guides, the implication is that the maps are obsolete because everyone can use the app on their phone. That I disagree with.

I *HATE* using the app for more than anything other than shifting the time of a pre-arranged FP+ (and even then I'm not a fan). When it comes to navigating the park and making in-the-moment plans, I much prefer a paper map and a pen. Am I alone in this regard?

And yeah, I usually grab a few untouched guidemaps on my way out for souvenir purposes and for sharing with friends who might be thinking about a trip.

Preference for paper? Yes, you are becoming a dieing breed. Compare the number and size of phone book you get every year. I get 1 book instead of 3. The one I do get is about 1/3 the size. It is not coincidental that directory paper production and the jobs that go with it have been decimated.

 

[habuma]

Preference for paper? Yes, you are becoming a dieing breed. Compare the number and size of phone book you get every year. I get 1 book instead of 3. The one I do get is about 1/3 the size. It is not coincidental that directory paper production and the jobs that go with it have been decimated.

It's not a general preference for paper. I'm not even sure the last time I even saw a printed phone book, roadmap, or catalog, much less touched and used one. The web and apps are usually better for such things. And, I am a software developer by trade, so I am a big proponent for apps over paper.

Park maps on paper vs. park maps in the app are, however, a completely different thing. I want to like the app, I really do. But the size of the screen (and no, I don't haul my iPad to the parks) and the lack of ability to write on the in-app map kill it for me. I want real paper that I can write on, fold up, stuff in my pocket, and pull out and share with my family while eating lunch. And, unlike the app, paper maps don't drain my battery or require a stable network connection.

And, goshdarnit, paper maps have a nostalgic factor you can't get from an app.

 

[jrhwdw]

It might not seem like a major change to Guests, but many attractions get multiple boxes (and I mean a lot) every month. If they stop receiving maps, it will help the company not to waste so many maps each month.

Someone explain this to me. Why are the attractions getting Guidemaps? If I remember correctly, I have not seen a single Guidemaps/Times Guides stand at any attraction. Does every Attraction CM need a Guidemap/Times Guide? City Hall only has MK where EPCOT, DHS and maybe AK?, has all 4 Parks. I know that DTD has all 4 Parks. The only ride I've seen them on is the Friendships in WSL and in EPCOT Resort Aera

 

[aladdin2007]

While I support the reduction of paper use and agree that they probably print way too many of the maps and times guides, the implication is that the maps are obsolete because everyone can use the app on their phone. That I disagree with.

I *HATE* using the app for more than anything other than shifting the time of a pre-arranged FP+ (and even then I'm not a fan). When it comes to navigating the park and making in-the-moment plans, I much prefer a paper map and a pen. Am I alone in this regard?

And yeah, I usually grab a few untouched guidemaps on my way out for souvenir purposes and for sharing with friends who might be thinking about a trip.

Im with you your not alone. Its been part of the experience since day one,,, plus giving a couple away etc is good PR for Disney, so it can't hurt and at least they aren't doing away with them, just condensing a little bit. I don't think they use to be at every register and counter anyway, I certainly dont remember that back in 90s or even ten years ago and so forth, that seems more recent and was probably a little excessive.

 

[AEfx]

I *HATE* using the app for more than anything other than shifting the time of a pre-arranged FP+ (and even then I'm not a fan). When it comes to navigating the park and making in-the-moment plans, I much prefer a paper map and a pen. Am I alone in this regard?

I feel the same - I will proudly carry a map in my back pocket as I always did. I don't want to squint at my phone screen or have to mess with my phone any more than necessary. It's just encouraging more obnoxious phone behavior, further network strain, more battery use, etc., and it's never going to be quicker/more convenient to get the info than to have a physical map in front of you.

And to build on what another poster said above, as someone who lives in a paper generating area, I can tell you - there is a reason you don't hear a lot about "deforestation" in the US anymore. We have plenty of trees, they regrow rather quickly when responsibly used and replaced, making paper is much less environmentally harmful than it used to be in terms of chemicals and disposal. One thing Disney could do is reduce or change the contents of the coating to make them more recyclable.

In truth it's like electric cars - a good idea, but the environmental and human impact of the minerals and labor used in constructing your iPhone are much more devastating than the maps at WDW or anything else it replaces "paperless". It's always funny to hear folks concerned about environmentalism who will own a smart phone, or an electric car (do you know how many kids had to die to mine the pounds of nickel used in the batteries?), and feel better about themselves when in fact what they are doing is just as bad, if not worse, than what is being replaced.

FWIW, I have a smart phone - a 2011 smart phone, ancient at this point, but I haven't replaced it because I'm too cheap not because of environmental factors, but at the same time I'm not going to crow about reducing a bit of paper use or some other thing that really has very little impact in the grand scheme to make myself feel better about what we are doing to the world.

 

[AEfx]

Preference for paper? Yes, you are becoming a dieing breed. Compare the number and size of phone book you get every year. I get 1 book instead of 3. The one I do get is about 1/3 the size. It is not coincidental that directory paper production and the jobs that go with it have been decimated.

That's very different. It's simply more efficient to get phone numbers digitally, not to mention - we call places much less now to begin with. I haven't used a phone book in 15 years.

But a map? It will never be more efficient to take out your phone, unlock it (since I hope no one would be dumb enough to travel without a lock, I don't in daily life but I wouldn't be in WDW without locking my devices), open the app, let the app refresh, navigate to what you want to see, only to have to mess around with it on a little screen.

Things like this (or the dang "eco cases" they use for some Blu-rays, where the plastic is cut out EXACTLY where you want the protection), are simply corporate cuts disguised as environmental triumphs.

 

[Bairstow]

But a map? It will never be more efficient to take out your phone, unlock it (since I hope no one would be dumb enough to travel without a lock, I don't in daily life but I wouldn't be in WDW without locking my devices), open the app, let the app refresh, navigate to what you want to see, only to have to mess around with it on a little screen.

I don't know about that.

Google Maps is capable of displaying a real-time indicator of where you are in any park, accurate within feet and even including a little arrow showing direction. It's like having a personalized "YOU ARE HERE" map at all times. This was very useful to us at California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm.

 

[AEfx]

I don't know about that.

Google Maps is capable of displaying a real-time indicator of where you are in any park, accurate within feet and even including a little arrow showing direction. It's like having a personalized "YOU ARE HERE" map at all times. This was very useful to us at California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm.

I'll grant you DCA, simply because the park's overall design is such a mess, but in the other Disney parks - that's the magic of Disney design. If you have any sense of direction or spatial ability whatsoever, you look at a weenie, and you should know where in the park you are. If someone is that totally lost in the MK, Epcot, AK, even DHS - no map is going to help, period.

 

[ProfSavage]

Isn't that where they're always at...? Or is the OP being hyperbolic on purpose?

 

[Dwarful]

count me in the paper map fan club. I hate being a slave to my phone. I prefer to get out the map and lunch / dinner talk about what we have done, mark those things off and talk about what we still want to get done in that day. I hate Uni/IOA split park on one map but I still prefer that version (unless they have updated it, we haven't been in a few years) to an on screen map.

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Someone explain this to me. Why are the attractions getting Guidemaps? If I remember correctly, I have not seen a single Guidemaps/Times Guides stand at any attraction. Does every Attraction CM need a Guidemap/Times Guide? City Hall only has MK where EPCOT, DHS and maybe AK?, has all 4 Parks. I know that DTD has all 4 Parks. The only ride I've seen them on is the Friendships in WSL and in EPCOT Resort Aera

They're usually hidden away - Cast Member can pull one out to provide them or information to Guests.

 

[FutureWorld1982]

They are (were?) usually available also at many quick-service and table service locations. It looks like those areas will loose their guidemaps too.

 

[MinnieM123]

Another fan of paper maps here, because I like seeing the whole park layout at once. It's helpful when you're trying to find the quickest route between the different "Lands" at MK, for example. Although I don't own a smartphone (I have a little flip-phone) I'm sure the smartphone app is probably very good for zooming in on specific locations; yet, a small screen like that for looking at the whole park layout wouldn't work well for me.

I also take home the maps from the parks and share them with family and friends. People enjoy seeing them, as they provide a happy little respite from work, responsibilities, etc.

 

[GeneralKnowledge]

I like the paper maps as well. They make a nice souvenir which I loved as a kid.

I am surprised how many wdwmagic members use them for actual navigation. The last time I needed a map at WDW was for the first 2 hours of my first day in AK when it opened.