Mermaid getting fastpass?

[Biff215]

Also, TLM doesn't have much of a thrill or uniqueness factor. Everest is a thrill ride, so of course it's popular. And Soarin' and TSMM are unique attractions within the resort; there isn't anything else like them at WDW. TLM is similar to HM and Nemo.

I know TLM will be popular, but I wouldn't expect it to be an hour and a half wait forever. Maybe at the beginning, but probably not in five years.

While I would agree that TLM lacks the thrill element usually attached to a headline attraction, I also believe that its popularity will have little to do with the other omnimovers in the MK or elsewhere. Other than those of us who know the ride system itself, there is little to no comparison to HM for the average guest. Heck I know the similarity but certainly wouldn't pass up either because of it.

Comparing it to Nemo might be more fair, but I'm not sure anyone will compare them much since they are based upon similar yet very different movies. Even though it's also in a different park, I think VotLM could be the bigger problem. Some guests will see LM and think, "hey, we already did that one at the other park, let's skip it." Based on the hype of the FLE, the DHS version will no doubt see more of this which makes me wonder how long that show will survive.

 

[cwolnowski]

I would be very surprised if the new Little Mermaid didn't get a Fast Pass system in place when it opens, at least until the initial hype and interest subsides. Even though it is a omnimover system like the Haunted Mansion, you know lines are going to be extremely long as it, along with the Snow White Mine Train, will be the first new "ride" attractions since Winnie the Pooh in 1999. Plus, they don't want the negative reviews and responses guests may have when they have 60+ minute waits due to a fastpass system not in place.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Guests are getting spoiled. Before FP, if the line for Space Mountain was 90 minutes, you waited 90 minutes or you didn't ride.

That's why I (mostly) like Fastpass. :lol:

Though the specific example of SM is one attraction I'll consider going stand by on just to stand in the line.

My favorites are those guests who will wait in line if the line is the same wait as it would be if they got a fastpass. If the fastpass times are for an hour and a half later, and the queue is an hour and a half, they'll get in the line, because they figure it's the same thing, and then they commend themselves on their great genius.

I'm sorry, but... HUH?

Got that a lot at Peter Pan. I'd try and politely explain the situation to them. That they'd be waiting just as long or longer, but in the mean time they could be shopping or eating or doing an attraction that doesn't offer Fastpass or walking around and seeing the sites or anything that will make them happier than the Peter Pan line.

A surprising number did not quite see it that way and stood in line anyway. :shrug:

 

[RSoxNo1]

I know the magic number (not sure if I'm allowed to divulge it), and oddly enough, it's got a 1/2 attached to the end of it. There's some sort of huge formula involving fastpass, efficiency, ride lengths, dispatch intervals, you name it, that all boils down to that number. (What counts as half an attraction? Is that when you get stuck on Pirates and have to be evac'd?) And I also agree with about 30 minutes. I have people who scoff at me and refuse to wait in a 20 minute line all the time. Guests are getting spoiled. Before FP, if the line for Space Mountain was 90 minutes, you waited 90 minutes or you didn't ride. So I'm assuming the max reasonable wait time used to be higher.

Forgive me ignorance, but I assume you are a cast member. The number I have heard is that on most attractions 6% of the attraction's hourly capacity are distributed as Fastpasses every 5 minutes. That number seems high, but not ridiculously so.

My favorites are those guests who will wait in line if the line is the same wait as it would be if they got a fastpass. If the fastpass times are for an hour and a half later, and the queue is an hour and a half, they'll get in the line, because they figure it's the same thing, and then they commend themselves on their great genius.

I'm sorry, but... HUH?

I've overheard cast members saying something similar. Typically it's when the distribution time is 40 minutes out, and the wait is 30 minutes or less, the cast members will try to get you to wait in line. I've done this a number of times where I'll grab a fastpass that's 40 minutes out, do the attraction that's next door and then hop in line with the Fastpass.

While I would agree that TLM lacks the thrill element usually attached to a headline attraction, I also believe that its popularity will have little to do with the other omnimovers in the MK or elsewhere. Other than those of us who know the ride system itself, there is little to no comparison to HM for the average guest. Heck I know the similarity but certainly wouldn't pass up either because of it.

Comparing it to Nemo might be more fair, but I'm not sure anyone will compare them much since they are based upon similar yet very different movies. Even though it's also in a different park, I think VotLM could be the bigger problem. Some guests will see LM and think, "hey, we already did that one at the other park, let's skip it." Based on the hype of the FLE, the DHS version will no doubt see more of this which makes me wonder how long that show will survive.

I've said in the past that Nemo is a more quality attraction than Pan or Winnie the Pooh. Sure some people hate the fact that it's driven by screens, as opposed to low grade animatronics (like those in Pan and Pooh), but to me the ride doesn't look bad at all. The screens work well, and accomplish what needs to be accomplished in a ride where the main character can fit in the palm of your hand. If The Seas with Nemo and Friends was in Fantasyland, it would be substantially more popular than it is right now.

Little Mermaid will be different. Expectations are higher for Little Mermaid, Nemo is a high quality C ticket attraction whereas Mermaid is meant to be a quality D ticket attraction. The scope of Mermaid should be bigger.

 

[Mansion Butler]

I've said in the past that Nemo is a more quality attraction than Pan or Winnie the Pooh. Sure some people hate the fact that it's driven by screens, as opposed to low grade animatronics (like those in Pan and Pooh), but to me the ride doesn't look bad at all.

I agree it's technologically more interesting, but I still enjoy it less (given walk on times for both) prior to even considering how well it fits the park it's in.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'd say that Finding Nemo dramatically revitalized that pavilion. Sure, they could have made some ground breaking E-Ticket adventure through the aquarium, but the reality is that not every addition is going to be an E-Ticket. This was a character tie in that made sense, and works.

Given the respective wait times for The Nemo Subs in Disneyland vs. the Omnimover in Epcot, I prefer the Omnimover.

 

[JEANYLASER]

thanks for the info!

 

[Mansion Butler]

This was a character tie in that works.

Given the respective wait times for The Nemo Subs in Disneyland vs. the Omnimover in Epcot, I prefer the Omnimover.

I'm sorry, I'm just going to have to disagree strongly with both of these things.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'd say that Finding Nemo dramatically revitalized that pavilion. Sure, they could have made some ground breaking E-Ticket adventure through the aquarium, but the reality is that not every addition is going to be an E-Ticket. This was a character tie in that made sense, and works.

Given the respective wait times for The Nemo Subs in Disneyland vs. the Omnimover in Epcot, I prefer the Omnimover.

I'm sorry, I'm just going to have to disagree strongly with both of these things.

Would you agree that The Seas pavilion was dead before Nemo went in there?

 

[WDW FTW]

Would you agree that The Seas pavilion was dead before Nemo went in there?

YES- the land was so appealing even before soarin was there and then next to it you have the seas.... and then comes the quote "oh well dont need to go there just a few fish and a stingray"

 

[TP2000]

Would you agree that The Seas pavilion was dead before Nemo went in there?

I would agree with that. I thought the Nemo Omnimover thing really freshened up that pavilion and made it a lot of fun again. It was a smart move, and much needed.

That said, when comparing Nemo rides, I would much rather go on Disneyland's far more unique 16 minute long Submarine Voyage version of Finding Nemo rather than the 5 minute long Omnimover Cliff's Notes version of the ride at The Seas.

As for wait times, I've never seen the submarines at more than 20 minutes or so for the past year. That first year, Summer '07 through Summer '08, the lines were crazy long at 45+ minutes. But it really calmed down in 2010. I have a hunch when Star Tours reopens around the corner from the Subs in May that it may get a bump up again towards 30 minutes on busy weekends, but otherwise it's in the 15 to 25 minute range most days.

Wanna talk crazy wait times? I will never understand the 240+ minute Standby wait at Epcot's version of Soarin'. DCA's Soarin' never gets more than a 30 or 45 minute Standby wait, yet Epcot's routinely goes double to triple that length even 5 years after it opened there. I mean, it's a great ride, but really?!?

Back towards the topic here... it never ceases to amaze me how differently the Disneyland and WDW parks manage their Fastpass systems. WDW seems to work under the strategy of "Put It On Everything We Can" and thus you've got it on all the E Tickets plus stuff like Midway Mania, Pooh, Peter Pan, etc., etc. While at Disneyland they appear to take a far more conservative, strategic approach and only put it on things that really warrant it, and thus you don't find it on the Disneyland versions of Pan, Pooh, Midway Mania, or the upcoming Mermaid ride. There's a noticeably different strategy in park operation between both coasts, and that's always interesting to me.

 

[WDW FTW]

Wanna talk crazy wait times? I will never understand the 240+ minute Standby wait at Epcot's version of Soarin'. DCA's Soarin' never gets more than a 30 or 45 minute Standby wait, yet Epcot's routinely goes double to triple that length even 5 years after it opened there. I mean, it's a great ride, but really?!?

Thats why i <3 fastpass. But Epcot does get so many more people through the gates every day and it has the same capacity as DCA's

 

[lazyboy97o]

Wanna talk crazy wait times? I will never understand the 240+ minute Standby wait at Epcot's version of Soarin'. DCA's Soarin' never gets more than a 30 or 45 minute Standby wait, yet Epcot's routinely goes double to triple that length even 5 years after it opened there. I mean, it's a great ride, but really?!?

And do not forget the double capacity available at EPCOT Center.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Would you agree that The Seas pavilion was dead before Nemo went in there?

I'd have to see numbers on it. Anecdotally, from spending tons of time there before and after just because I like aquariums, it seems to have had a spike shortly after the addition and is roughly as busy (depending on the day) as it was before. I would certainly be able to believe it was "dead" before and is not now, I just don't know that for statistical fact.

HOWEVER, my disagreement was with the idea that A) it works and B) the ride is more enjoyable than the subs.

The latter especially is subjective, obviously. I still think the Living seas needs something, and I'm not necessarily sure what it is, but for me it definitely was not forced cartoon characters.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Wanna talk crazy wait times? I will never understand the 240+ minute Standby wait at Epcot's version of Soarin'. DCA's Soarin' never gets more than a 30 or 45 minute Standby wait, yet Epcot's routinely goes double to triple that length even 5 years after it opened there. I mean, it's a great ride, but really?!?

I understand it: there's not much to do as far as rides. Epcot has stuff to walk around and look at, but when it comes to picking an attraction to do, the only attraction that seems to please the vast majority of people is Soarin'. DCA, as weak as we say it is, has many more attractions appealing to a crowd than Epcot. I know very few people outside of this site who love LwtL or Spaceship Earth, and we know how unappealing Imagination and Mission: Space and Ellen's thingy most people even here are.

We Disney obsessives enjoy the theming and stuff to see, the world between the queue lines, but whenever you talk to someone who wouldn't come to WDW Magic regularly about their trip plans, they center around the number of rides they can go on. The focus is doing rides, being on rides, standing in line for rides, going from ride to ride. So for the typical park goer, doing the best rides is what's important, and Soarin' is the most appealing part of Epcot (especially since they don't realize it doesn't exactly fit and don't care), and there's not much else to that park to rival it.

Thus, everyone goes to it, even if it means standing in an extreme line. You put that attraction in any of the other parks and I guarantee you it doesn't have quite the insane lines. Especially in a park that doesn't have the capacity of Epcot.

A lot of people here call Soarin' overrated, but a lot of the reasons we call it that the lay guest doesn't care about. They just want to do the only ride at Epcot that doesn't make them feel like they're going to be sick or they're in school.

 

[TP2000]

A lot of people here call Soarin' overrated, but a lot of the reasons we call it that the lay guest doesn't care about. They just want to do the only ride at Epcot that doesn't make them feel like they're going to be sick or they're in school.

Hmm. A brilliant summation there, I'm afraid.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I would agree with that. I thought the Nemo Omnimover thing really freshened up that pavilion and made it a lot of fun again. It was a smart move, and much needed.

That said, when comparing Nemo rides, I would much rather go on Disneyland's far more unique 16 minute long Submarine Voyage version of Finding Nemo rather than the 5 minute long Omnimover Cliff's Notes version of the ride at The Seas.

As for wait times, I've never seen the submarines at more than 20 minutes or so for the past year. That first year, Summer '07 through Summer '08, the lines were crazy long at 45+ minutes. But it really calmed down in 2010. I have a hunch when Star Tours reopens around the corner from the Subs in May that it may get a bump up again towards 30 minutes on busy weekends, but otherwise it's in the 15 to 25 minute range most days.

Wanna talk crazy wait times? I will never understand the 240+ minute Standby wait at Epcot's version of Soarin'. DCA's Soarin' never gets more than a 30 or 45 minute Standby wait, yet Epcot's routinely goes double to triple that length even 5 years after it opened there. I mean, it's a great ride, but really?!?

Back towards the topic here... it never ceases to amaze me how differently the Disneyland and WDW parks manage their Fastpass systems. WDW seems to work under the strategy of "Put It On Everything We Can" and thus you've got it on all the E Tickets plus stuff like Midway Mania, Pooh, Peter Pan, etc., etc. While at Disneyland they appear to take a far more conservative, strategic approach and only put it on things that really warrant it, and thus you don't find it on the Disneyland versions of Pan, Pooh, Midway Mania, or the upcoming Mermaid ride. There's a noticeably different strategy in park operation between both coasts, and that's always interesting to me.

Thats why i <3 fastpass. But Epcot does get so many more people through the gates every day and it has the same capacity as DCA's

And do not forget the double capacity available at EPCOT Center.

A few things - As WDW FTW mentioned, Epcot gets substantially more people in the park than DCA. Also, the capacity of the two attractions is identical (or at least similar), they both have two theaters.

I think the bigger thing is that DCA is more densely populated with rides whereas Epcot is experience driven (dining/shopping in World Showcase for example). However, people are still in a Disney park so they want to go on a ride. Soarin' is the most popular attraction in that park by a larger margin than Soarin' Over California is in DCA.

As for The Seas with Nemo and Friends vs. Submarine Voyage - if the wait times were equal, I'd prefer the Submarine Voyage. However if given the choice of waiting 40 minutes for the Subs vs. 0 minutes for The Seas with Nemo and Friends I'd chose the latter.

 

[Mansion Butler]

I don't spend enough time in DCA to know: is it their most popular attraction? I know for me it would be second or third (fourth if their Tower of Terror had a 5th dimension scene), but that's saying a lot. DCA has issues that needed to be and are being fixed, but really good top tier attractions are not among them.

 

[sponono88]

Midway Mania? Yeah, as far as popularity it ranks very high in DCA. At opening, guests either make their way back to the Pier, or migrate towards the World of Color Fastpass distribution.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Midway Mania? Yeah, as far as popularity it ranks very high in DCA. At opening, guests either make their way back to the Pier, or migrate towards the World of Color Fastpass distribution.

Oh, I meant Soarin'. But this topic has gotten rather convoluted. :lol:

Assuming their MM is the same, I think I'd probably rather do Muppets, Tower, California Screamin', Soarin' and Grizzly River Run (which is my favorite attaction in DCA) most days. Not sure if I'm missing anything, or if my preference of attractions matters. :lol: