Lack of Attention to Wait Times?

[Andsome]

I currently at Epcot, and when I visited The Land, the wait time for Living with the Land was 10 minutes even though the line looked more like 20 minutes. Even in the morning, the ride was quoted as 10 minutes, even though it was a walk-on. At Soarin, the wait claimed to be 65 minutes, but it looked as if was a quarter of that time. Is this common?

 

[Tom]

Did the line LOOK like 20 minutes, or WAS it 20 minutes?

Also, those wait times are generated by guests carrying the red cards through the line. So, when it changes to, say 20 minutes, that means the wait was 20 minutes....20 minutes ago. The wait can change at a moment's notice - especially if Soarin just let out, or if a bunch of guests migrated to the pavilion for lunch.

 

[Mickey5150]

That's why I've stopped paying attention to wait times and just get in line if I want to ride something.

 

[Nick Wilde]

They still use the same system they've used for years. They scan a card, give it to a guest, and at the end of the line, they scan it and it measures the time. Their attention to the wait times hasn't changed.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Did the line LOOK like 20 minutes, or WAS it 20 minutes?

Also, those wait times are generated by guests carrying the red cards through the line. So, when it changes to, say 20 minutes, that means the wait was 20 minutes....20 minutes ago. The wait can change at a moment's notice - especially if Soarin just let out, or if a bunch of guests migrated to the pavilion for lunch.

Is that really how it works though? I always imagined it was some sort of average based on how many cards are out at once.
(I feel like I may have had this conversation with you on here before haha)

 

[Retroman40]

I think some of the erratic wait times can be traced back to MDE as well as the Red Card system which will always be somewhat behind. The other day we were at DAK and the wait time for EE was shown as 10 minutes (on MDE) as we were leaving The Festival of the Lion King. I have to believe a lot of people saw that and headed over quickly (like us!). Of course by the time we got there it was listed as 20 and we were on in 30. When we got off it was shown at 40.

What I've never understood is that if you count how many people enter the queue and subtract how many board the ride, you could take the remainder (the number in the queue) and divide it by average ride capacity to determine wait time much more in real time.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I dont think anything can be exactly accurate when you are dealing with the ebb and flow of guests throughout any time period. The posted wait times are meant to be an estimate for you to go by. There are sites you can check where guests post their wait times, those wait times are updated periodically. But youll never get it down to an accurate wait timed minute. If I see a wait time posted past 30 min I'm moving on and coming back later when the crowds are lesser or plan on doing it on another early park day. A wait of over 30 min for a 2 minute ride.... not for me.

 

[marni1971]

The system used at WDW can be notoriously unreliable. And rules say this is the system that has to be observed.

 

[Nick Wilde]

I dont think anything can be exactly accurate when you are dealing with the ebb and flow of guests throughout any time period. The posted wait times are meant to be an estimate for you to go by. There are sites you can check where guests post their wait times, those wait times are updated periodically. But youll never get it down to an accurate wait timed minute. If I see a wait time posted past 30 min I'm moving on and coming back later when the crowds are lesser or plan on doing it on another early park day. A wait of over 30 min for a 2 minute ride.... not for me.

30 minutes is my limit too. anything under or at 30 is fine. But if you go over that, that's just pushing it.

 

[danlb_2000]

The system used at WDW can be notoriously unreliable. And rules say this is the system that has to be observed.

Who's rules?

 

[Po'Rich]

Who's rules?

Or whose rules? It makes a difference.

 

[danlb_2000]

Or whose rules? It makes a difference.

Not to me.

 

[Po'Rich]

Not to me.

One means who is the rules while the other means who makes the rules. Which one do you want?

 

[danlb_2000]

One means who is the rules while the other means who makes the rules. Which one do you want?

Since "who is the rules" doesn't make any sense I will assume that the reader will understand what I was trying to say.

 

[Innkeeper's Club]

I have noticed on the My Disney Experience app when showing the wait times for Mission Space they only show one set of wait times and it does not say if it's for the Green or Orange version.

 

[marni1971]

Who's rules?

Managements. It's the system they go by.

An experienced CM in a particular attraction would know how long a wait will be by how much space the line takes up and what queue layout is in use. Even if they disagree with the system they have to abide by what the computer says.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

One means who is the rules while the other means who makes the rules. Which one do you want?

No they don't! One means who is that bloke named Rules, the other denotes something more encompassing than maker.

I think we all know danlb_2000 meant Marni's friend rules.

 

[castlecake2.0]

The red FLIK cards are dispatched by a computer system, sometimes when you enter a queue you will here a loud beeping, that is the system reminding the Cast Member to send the next card. It then creates an average based on scan times and generates an approximate wait time. The wait time can be affected by many factors, like loading Guests needing special assistance for example.

 

[sonoma15]

I heard somewhere that they put the wait time a bit longer so when your waiting and you figure out its shorter than it you get excited that you didn't wait as long

 

[Nick Wilde]

I heard somewhere that they put the wait time a bit longer so when your waiting and you figure out its shorter than it you get excited that you didn't wait as long

But that would also discourage people from entering the queue.