Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[flynnibus]

Which means limiting capacity.

Not just overall capacity - but what kind of customer too. When Disney is focused on YIELD - this plays a part.

Outside of maybe a handful of days a year... do we really expect them to cap any further?

Think events... Think new ride openings... etc. This is the kind of stuff the calendar based blackouts couldn't cope with. But a reservation system does give new controls for because Disney can dynamically control crowd and customer patterns.

 

[runnsally]

Like the other poster mentioned you might be limiting the amount of a specific type of guest you allow in while not actually limiting the overall park capacity. But more importantly you’re getting a much more accurate estimate of how many guests will be attending and who those guests will be.

100%. The distasteful part is that the Park Reservation System was presented as a way to control crowds during Covid, but was only briefly used for that purpose.

 

[UNCgolf]

And I've had dozens and dozens of good meals at Confisco's. I'm sorry you seem to have hit them on an off day.

Yeah, it was such a horrible experience that I would never go back (similar to Tony's Town Square, actually). Too many other options.

Overall, I found the food at Universal to be very poor with the exception of CityWalk where my meals were pretty good -- the Italian restaurant there was surprisingly good. Disney is all over the map, with some pretty good options and some atrocious ones. Like Universal, Disney Springs is generally your best option for quality food rather than eating in one of the parks.

Of course I didn't eat at every single restaurant in the parks at Universal, though, and I'm sure there are better places in the parks than where I ate.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Like the other poster mentioned you might be limiting the amount of a specific type of guest you allow in while not actually limiting the overall park capacity. But more importantly you’re getting a much more accurate estimate of how many guests will be attending and who those guests will be.

Emphasis on might be.

Like I said, the overall park capacity limit is almost never reached, so what is the point of reservations if not to cap crowds?

If their only interest is an accurate guest count, and not limiting entry, that can still be a benefit because Disney can adjust operating hours and staffing levels to match. They can't do so when it's a free for all and attendance is less predictable.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Staffing goes hand in hand with maintaining a good guest experience.

If Disney expects 30,000 guests on a weekday in January, they can staff accordingly and meet guest demand. The reservation system means they don't get 40,000 guests unexpectedly because pass holders decided to visit on a whim.

Disney's idea of staffing for a good guest experience and mine - and I suspect yours - are very different. A lot of what we are talking about when we talk about crowds is inadequate staffing. It makes lines move slower, food service take longer, etc. Disney used to provide ample staffing for the crowds that might be expected but not guaranteed. With current systems, they can keep staff and guests in what THEY consider a perfect balance - which is pretty much what we've seen for several years. So if they do stop certain guests from attending, it is because they feel those guests are not worth the extra staff. None of this makes the park feel less crowded, because the staff/guest balance stays as it has been - inadequate.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Uh, I don’t think anything I said contradicts what you said, or at least I didn’t mean for it to if it came off that way. I’m saying that if you’re looking for a great theme park experience (including everything that comes with it), Universal is a perfectly suitable substitute. If you’re looking for Disney and its IP, it’s obviously not. No knocks against Universal intended.

I got that you - at least in part - meant Disney has a monopoly on their own IP - I'm with you there. Disney has nostalgia on their side. I wouldn't even say one is really a sub for the other; they are different. I would perhaps say Universal currently has better leadership.
IMO, visiting is more than just rides, it is the whole experience. Like, how easy is it to get around? How hard is it to book a room? Call with a question? Get luggage delivered to you room from bell services? All those details matter. At present, Universal is paying attention to all the ways they can improve those details to provide a better experience. WDW used to do that, but now it feels like they have partly abandoned that idea. Getting rid of the live band that used to play at GF is just one glaring example of WDW's completely misguided leadership. That band provided WAY more value to GF than what WDW paid them.

I just came from another thread where posters were asking if it did any good at all to contact WDW with a concern. Does WDW listen? Well, if you have to ask....

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Disney's idea of staffing for a good guest experience and mine - and I suspect yours - are very different. A lot of what we are talking about when we talk about crowds is inadequate staffing. It makes lines move slower, food service take longer, etc. Disney used to provide ample staffing for the crowds that might be expected but not guaranteed. With current systems, they can keep staff and guests in what THEY consider a perfect balance - which is pretty much what we've seen for several years. So if they do stop certain guests from attending, it is because they feel those guests are not worth the extra staff. None of this makes the park feel less crowded, because the staff/guest balance stays as it has been - inadequate.

The last time I was in WDW was January 2019, and conditions were generally tolerable I would say. I'm not expecting some dramatic improvement, but at least in this scenario one can feel more reassured that a certain level of service will be met on any given day.

I won't show up on an anticipated "quiet" day and not be able to find anywhere to eat, or find the park hours are much shorter than needed to get everything done. In theory.

 

[Patcheslee]

Hold on... Disney heard guests saying they didn't like booking FP 60 days out, but we have to book parks. In my case, we plan visits for the week of June 25th so almost 300 days from now. Why would I know which park that far in advance?

 

[Casper Gutman]

The last time I was in WDW was January 2019, and conditions were generally tolerable I would say. I'm not expecting some dramatic improvement, but at least in this scenario one can feel more reassured that a certain level of service will be met on any given day.

I won't show up on an anticipated "quiet" day and not be able to find anywhere to eat, or find the park hours are much shorter than needed to get everything done. In theory.

You're assuming Disney thinks either of those scenarios is a problem. They don't.

WDW has had quite accurate information on expected attendance since they began their data collection push. What we have seen over the last few years (pre-pandemic) is what they consider adequate staff to guest ratios.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The other was QS in the Simpsons area,

Shudder!

I've never actually eaten there, it just looked too horrible.

Both properties have mixed offerings when it comes to food, and both have certainly had ups and downs. I've had some doozies at WDW, too. Most often, when WDW has been horrible- for me- it was that we made an ADR, showed up on time for our ADR, then waited over an hour past our ADR just to be seated. WDW had several years where that was a widespread problem. WDW also has trouble providing produce. Too often I have been served vegetables that were inedible, or else I was served a garnish-sized portion.

I suggest the US crepe stand over by the Horror Make-up show.
Schwab's isn't always open, and has a limited choice of flavors, but the milkshakes are great! I suggest the Belgian chocolate. They use Haagen Dazs ice cream. (I know, you can find that brand elsewhere, but it makes a good milkshake!) It is tucked over by the AP lounge.

The Orchid Lounge has also been very good.

The food court at Aventura has been mixed. At first, the Asian stir -fry place was exceptional, but the last time we returned our food was WAY over (black) peppered. They also keep changing the set up for some reason.

Sapphire Falls had good food when last we ate there, but that was a little while ago.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Staffing.

Does Disney schedule on call employees? I just looked and I can get a reservation for today (DL Magic Key) so staffing would still be an estimate since they probably staff a week or two in advance and you can make reservations until they sell out.

I could see a scenario where they schedule light based on low reservations and then the weather forecast changes from rain to 70s and tons of people decide to go last minute, that could be a nightmare from a management perspective trying to find employees at the last minute.

 

[Patcheslee]

Shudder!

I've never actually eaten there, it just looked too horrible.

Both properties have mixed offerings when it comes to food, and both have certainly had ups and downs. I've had some doozies at WDW, too. Most often, when WDW has been horrible- for me- it was that we made an ADR, showed up on time for our ADR, then waited over an hour past our ADR just to be seated. WDW had several years where that was a widespread problem. WDW also has trouble providing produce. Too often I have been served vegetables that were inedible, or else I was served a garnish-sized portion.

I suggest the US crepe stand over by the Horror Make-up show.
Schwab's isn't always open, and has a limited choice of flavors, but the milkshakes are great! I suggest the Belgian chocolate. They use Haagen Dazs ice cream. (I know, you can find that brand elsewhere, but it makes a good milkshake!) It is tucked over by the AP lounge.

The Orchid Lounge has also been very good.

The food court at Aventura has been mixed. At first, the Asian stir -fry place was exceptional, but the last time we returned our food was WAY over (black) peppered. They also keep changing the set up for some reason.

Sapphire Falls had good food when last we ate there, but that was a little while ago.

Don't ever eat in the Simpsons area. The Krusty burger was grey
The Flaming Moe was a fun novelty for DD12 (orange soda with dry ice)
TS in the parks seems to be an acquired taste because neither lived lived up to expectations. CityWalk has decent choices we only did Bigfire and Bubba Gumps. There seems to be less variety in offerings.
We've had a few not so great at Disney, namely Askerhaus. Poor DH ate something horrendous there that hit before we even finished meeting all the princesses. He refuses to go back.
Crystal Palace was just insane on the wait to be seated (60 minites) and another 2 hours for characters. DD only wanted to meet Tig, but he was last on the rotation.

 

[Touchdown]

CityWalk has good food, the Potter taverns are the best QS in the parks. I usually eat lunch in Potter, dinner in City Walk (this is reversed for HHN )

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

You're assuming Disney thinks either of those scenarios is a problem. They don't.

WDW has had quite accurate information on expected attendance since they began their data collection push. What we have seen over the last few years (pre-pandemic) is what they consider adequate staff to guest ratios.

Then they should remove the reservation system and sell as many tickets as possible to maximize revenue.

I will continue to look at this with an open mind and see what Disney does.

The fact that no one showed up when Galaxy's Edge opened in Anaheim has to be cause for concern, and a sign that people, particularly tourists, aren't happy with the status quo.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I am slightly bemused by the irony of people eating at a Krusty Burger and finding out it's not great. I mean, that's on point theming one would think?

Don't get me started on the Flaming Moe not being purple.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Deluxe level rooms with line-skipping for $215 if you’re an AP holder!

True, and I am! I was just quoting rack rate because I thought it would be a more direct comparison.

 

[peter11435]

Emphasis on might be.

Like I said, the overall park capacity limit is almost never reached, so what is the point of reservations if not to cap crowds?

If their only interest is an accurate guest count, and not limiting entry, that can still be a benefit because Disney can adjust operating hours and staffing levels to match. They can't do so when it's a free for all and attendance is less predictable.

I said might to make my post a little softer. But truth is they absolutely are and will continue to do this. They now have the ability to shift the demographic of guests visiting the parks on any given day. You don’t have to limit overall attendance to control the source of that attendance. Regardless of how high or low overall attendance will be on a particular day they can control the percentage of that attendance allocated to lower and higher cost sources of admission to maximize profitability. This avoids having days with high attendance requiring increased staffing and higher costs where the majority of guests are AP’s for example.

They've always had ways to forecast attendance relatively accurately. This gives them a way to do it a bit more accurately.

 

[Patcheslee]

I am slightly bemused by the irony of people eating at a Krusty Burger and finding out it's not great. I mean, that's on point theming one would think?

Don't get me started on the Flaming Moe not being purple.

That was a DH wanted Chicken Shack, DD wanted Pizza, and after standing in line an hour to order, I didn't want to repeat just to get myself food. Neither of them, who are living garbage disposals would eat it after the first bite either.

 

[UNCgolf]

That was a DH wanted Chicken Shack, DD wanted Pizza, and after standing in line an hour to order, I didn't want to repeat just to get myself food. Neither of them, who are living garbage disposals would eat it after the first bite either.

It really is incredibly bad.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What's the actual reason that everything Disney builds costs so much more than it should? Disney obviously wants to minimize spending, so it's certainly not just benevolence.

There’s no one reason. It’s a combination of a variety factors: scale, bureaucracy, micromanagement, indecision and lack of confidence. It’s not something unique to Disney or Walt Disney Imagineering. It’s a challenge that hits all large organizations. Universal Creative is racing down the same path desperately trying to catch up with Disney. Look at what happened at Walt Disney Feature Animation in the mid-to-late 90s for a somewhat similar situation.

Look at something like the Ratatouille expansion where the crêperie was added after the fact, requiring the restroom building to be relocated. That may seem like just moving something on paper but it erased months of work while also creating a lot of new work.

My favorite example that I’ve given a few times is a wall at Disney Springs. It is made of specifically placed, custom colored bricks but you can’t find it because it was whitewashed. It sort of has everything. Custom colors instead of standard colors. Specifically placed colors, reviewed and approved multiple times, instead of just having the manufacturer randomly mix the colors so that the masons can just place bricks. And then someone who isn’t very involved in the process but still has so much say that all of that effort is completely negated.

This whole reservation system and controlling crowds is a new thing, so we really do need to wait and see what actually happens.

Which means limiting capacity.

Other than NYE or such, WDW almost never reaches full capacity, do they not? Again, there's no reason to put a reservation system on passes unless they want to enforce a certain capacity, which is less than the actual maximum capacity which is so rarely reached.

The “actual maximum capacity” is a number made up by Disney. NextGen was a multi-billion dollar crowd control scheme. Even FastPass was a crowd control scheme. Crowding though is relative. No amount of schemes and apps can fix a fundamental lack of hourly capacity.