Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Laketravis]

Honestly, it was a fairly nice day today.
Did not seem all that hot n’ humid to me, and typically it affects me.
So it was not the heat keeping folks out of shot…

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Do you think wait times in the parks correlate to current crowd levels (or lack thereof)?

 

[Laketravis]

I'm sure they'll blame it on this:

Extreme heat hits Texas and Florida early in the season

Miami's heat index has already smashed the previous record — and it's only May.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Lilofan]

Real Feel Heat Index of 123F ?

I'm sure they'll blame it on this:

Extreme heat hits Texas and Florida early in the season

Miami's heat index has already smashed the previous record — and it's only May.

www.nbcnews.com

I remember the August double session practices to prep for the fall season back in the day at high school. Drank from a lone water hose and Gatorade wasn't on the drink menu. I can't imagine what kids go through in these temps now which are much hotter than when we played and practiced and or guests not used to this heat spending all day in the parks. Hydrate hydrate hydrate.

 

[AEfx]

Umm, there is something called computer modeling that can input material strength, weight, speed, angle and other factors to predict how much stress is on each component at any time then a safety factor is added so "they weren't expecting" isn't really a cope

They had all that fancy stuff with Everest - and they even had not one but 3 different TV specials telling us all about it - tinkers darn worth of good it did for the poor Yeti, LOL.

 

[Nubs70]

They had all that fancy stuff with Everest - and they even had not one but 3 different TV specials telling us all about it - tinkers darn worth of good it did for the poor Yeti, LOL.

There could have also been an error in prefab and or field assembly and poor metallurgy.

 

[Figments Friend]

Do you think wait times in the parks correlate to current crowd levels (or lack thereof)?

While I was on Property, most of the wait times I personally saw and then experienced in Standby were overblown.
I have experienced this before, and we all know how Disney plays with the wait time numbers for various reasons.

Some examples…
160 minute waits were in reality an hour.
60 minute waits were in reality about 35 minutes.
30 minutes waits were 10 minutes.
20 minute waits or under were absolute walk ons.

The ONE Attraction I experienced the entire week long visit that had an accurate wait time posted was ‘Avatar - Flight of Passage’.
Posted wait time was 65 minutes, i waited a little more then an hour.

There were certainly plenty of people visiting during this past week while I was there, but not the crazy crowd levels I have seen at other times.
I also noticed a lot more verbal commentary by fellow Guests waiting in the queues and in dining environments.
Parks nerds like us are not the only ones noticing all the services and other past enhancements to the Guest experience that are now missing.
It was interesting overhearing their commentary….

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[pigglewiggle]

Any rumblings of more room discounts for fall/winter coming?

 

[AEfx]

There could have also been an error in prefab and or field assembly and poor metallurgy.

It's been discussed so much over the past, egads, almost two decades since that I stopped following long ago...but I believe the consensus is that the fancy mechanism that made the Yeti move (the one the TV specials about Everest proudly touted as the same power as a jet engine) was not properly accounted for in the computer modeling, which caused unexpected stress on the base. The difficulty in fixing it is how the base is part of the support structure for the entire building which is why it is so costly/difficult to replace (though I feel like this last part was somewhat debunked at one point?).

In any case, the lesson is - computer models are only as good as the data they are fed. While we have come a long way in computing power and such since the times of EE's creation, it still holds true as a principle.

 

[Nubs70]

It's been discussed so much over the past, egads, almost two decades since that I stopped following long ago...but I believe the consensus is that the fancy mechanism that made the Yeti move (the one the TV specials about Everest proudly touted as the same power as a jet engine) was not properly accounted for in the computer modeling, which caused unexpected stress on the base. The difficulty in fixing it is how the base is part of the support structure for the entire building which is why it is so costly/difficult to replace (though I feel like this last part was somewhat debunked at one point?).

In any case, the lesson is - computer models are only as good as the data they are fed. While we have come a long way in computing power and such since the times of EE's creation, it still holds true as a principle.

Much like one of the Mars landers years ago. One line of code containing metric units instead standard units turned the lander into a lawn dart.

 

[Dranth]

It's been discussed so much over the past, egads, almost two decades since that I stopped following long ago...but I believe the consensus is that the fancy mechanism that made the Yeti move (the one the TV specials about Everest proudly touted as the same power as a jet engine) was not properly accounted for in the computer modeling, which caused unexpected stress on the base. The difficulty in fixing it is how the base is part of the support structure for the entire building which is why it is so costly/difficult to replace (though I feel like this last part was somewhat debunked at one point?).

In any case, the lesson is - computer models are only as good as the data they are fed. While we have come a long way in computing power and such since the times of EE's creation, it still holds true as a principle.

Didn't Martin say this wasn't true? At least the bit about it being a part of the support for the whole building. I could of sworn he mentioned they are separate and the issue was with the figure itself.

ETA: Found one of them but I am pretty sure he had a longer post at some point that went into more detail:

What's up with Expedition Everest?

Hello everyone. For me the theme of the Yeti, is a lost topic. What really shame me is that the other effects, especially concerning the fog of entry and exit to the cave, she has completely disappeared. That effect was greatly immersive. And it is not understood that an effect as simple as the...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[nestface84]

I’m guessing the parks are really busy on July 4th. Is it best to avoid a park during the day but attend during the evening for a firework show

 

[Lilofan]

I’m guessing the parks are really busy on July 4th. Is it best to avoid a park during the day but attend during the evening for a firework show

We've never attended a 7/4 fireworks but experienced 12/31 NYE fireworks at Epcot. Families started staking out positions around World Showcase lagoon by 1pm for the 7pm and 1145pm.fireworks shows.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Didn't Martin say this wasn't true? At least the bit about it being a part of the support for the whole building. I could of sworn he mentioned they are separate and the issue was with the figure itself.

ETA: Found one of them but I am pretty sure he had a longer post at some point that went into more detail:

What's up with Expedition Everest?

Hello everyone. For me the theme of the Yeti, is a lost topic. What really shame me is that the other effects, especially concerning the fog of entry and exit to the cave, she has completely disappeared. That effect was greatly immersive. And it is not understood that an effect as simple as the...

forums.wdwmagic.com

This one is better.

I've been meaning to post this for quite a while, but just haven't had time. Thanks to a recent reminder from @Master Yoda to try and shed some light on the Yeti debacle....

Ok, so back in September I was at a conference at WDW, and the wife decided to book a Dine With An Imagineer lunch at DHS. I skipped one of my educational sessions to do this, and we ended up with a 2-for-1. The main imagineer was a Show Design and Production manager, who was a DWAI veteran (and most recently involved in the Frozen Ever After project); the other guy was a mechanical engineer in charge of show quality, who was a newbie-in-training, at least when it came to these dinners. He explained to us that it was his job to do periodic "reviews" of the rides, and point out areas where show quality is falling below certain standards. He's also heavily involved in maintaining ride systems and animatronics. It was a fantastic experience, and we learned a lot about how things work behind the scenes, but nearing the end of our time, I (obviously) couldn't resist bringing up the Yeti.

Immediately upon my mentioning the Yeti, I could see that it was an obvious a sore spot for him. He stated that there have been multiple proposals put forth for repairing it, but none of the "big shots" have been on board. As for the specific problem, he mentioned that there are a couple of factors: flaws in the original "design calculations" (these were his words), particularly with regard to operational and maintenance conditions on such a large animatronic, and inability to perform proper maintenance on the Yeti. No mention of "shifting/failed foundations" as is often suggested. As a practicing structural engineer, I wanted to know whether this was the problem, and he indicated that the main issue is the animatronic itself.

The other factor is the ability to perform maintenance on the animatronic. I think this is the source of rumors that they "can't replace /fix it without opening up the mountain" rumors, but it's actually much simpler, and this issue ties into the first. He specifically talked about unanticipated stresses in parts of the animatronic due to lack of maintenance in other parts. If one of the motors in the yeti's elbow wears out or isn't functioning properly, but they continue to operate under those conditions, then higher stresses are transferred to the shoulder and chest, etc. My best guess regarding his comments about "incorrect calculations" is that he was referring to fatigue related problems in the robotic parts, and possibly in other structural supports.

The other major factor is that things have changed dramatically at WDW in the last few years regarding their compliance with OSHA standards for maintenance and fall protection. Any new work done to get the Yeti operational means that they have to update the design to meet these standards, so that ongoing maintenance on the animatronic can be safely performed. This would involve major upgrades to allow compliance with fall protection and other things related to maintenance workers.

It was encouraging at least to see how much it bothered him that it didn't work. He brought up the Universal dig re: their Kong animatronic (it moves...) and said that he and his colleagues all read blogs and other social media comments for research and to pick up on things they miss in their reviews. So, there you have it. Take it for what it's worth, but this guy was no bus driver...

 

[LSLS]

I’m guessing the parks are really busy on July 4th. Is it best to avoid a park during the day but attend during the evening for a firework show

Based on past year, you would be about as wrong as one could get (at least for hollywood studios). It was hands down the deadest I've ever experienced the parks in my lifetime. 15 minutes for RotR, 30 minutes for Slinky, walk on for everything else, including Ogas. We were done with everything in like 4 hours. Here's hoping it's the same this year.

 

[George]

While I was on Property, most of the wait times I personally saw and then experienced in Standby were overblown.
I have experienced this before, and we all know how Disney plays with the wait time numbers for various reasons.

Some examples…
160 minute waits were in reality an hour.
60 minute waits were in reality about 35 minutes.
30 minutes waits were 10 minutes.
20 minute waits or under were absolute walk ons.

The ONE Attraction I experienced the entire week long visit that had an accurate wait time posted was ‘Avatar - Flight of Passage’.
Posted wait time was 65 minutes, i waited a little more then an hour.

There were certainly plenty of people visiting during this past week while I was there, but not the crazy crowd levels I have seen at other times.
I also noticed a lot more verbal commentary by fellow Guests waiting in the queues and in dining environments.
Parks nerds like us are not the only ones noticing all the services and other past enhancements to the Guest experience that are now missing.
It was interesting overhearing their commentary….

-

We were there from the 12th-18th and were constantly texting the real wait times. My kids brought their SOs and we wanted to make sure that no one bought genie plus or ILL based on nonsense.

 

[Touchdown]

I’m guessing the parks are really busy on July 4th. Is it best to avoid a park during the day but attend during the evening for a firework show

MK is the most popular, but they do the 4th show on the 3rd and 4th, so go to MK on the 3rd. I personally if I was you would make the 4th my AK day (which has no show) or got to TL and hop to Epcot in the late afternoon and see the show at the park best capable of handling crowds.

 

[Figments Friend]

Any rumblings of more room discounts for fall/winter coming?

There is currently a ‘bounce back offer’ happening now for Resort Guests.
The booking dates go all the way through the rest of this year, into the Autumn months of next year.
One can only book it however within a week of checking out of their recent stay on Property.

Mickey just offered it to me two days ago…trying to entice me to come back soon.
Discounts are up to 30% off for Deluxe, 25% for Mods, and 20% off Values.
The typical rates.

I am sure a similar offer will be forthcoming for the Autumn and Winter months later this year for everyone looking for a room discount.
Keep watching!


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[Disstevefan1]

There is currently a ‘bounce back offer’ happening now for Resort Guests.
The booking dates go all the way through the rest of this year, into the Autumn months of next year.
One can only book it however within a week of checking out of their recent stay on Property.

Mickey just offered it to me two days ago…trying to entice me to come back soon.
Discounts are up to 30% off for Deluxe, 25% for Mods, and 20% off Values.
The typical rates.

I am sure a similar offer will be forthcoming for the Autumn and Winter months later this year for everyone looking for a room discount.
Keep watching!


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Good to see, but they should give deeper discounts for bounce back guests as a thank you for your loyalty.

A related question, what minimum percentage bounce back discount would be a no-brainer for you where you would snap it up right away?

 

[Figments Friend]

Good to see, but they should give deeper discounts for bounce back guests as a thank you for your loyalty.

That would be nice….
But alas, those days are long over.

I remember years ago some really nice ‘bounce back’ offers.
Basically, you had to book while in your room….as soon as you checked out the offer was void.
40% discounts back then….even for Values!

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[pigglewiggle]

Good to see, but they should give deeper discounts for bounce back guests as a thank you for your loyalty.

A related question, what minimum percentage bounce back discount would be a no-brainer for you where you would snap it up right away?

Nothing for us because we never go back the next year.