Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed

[UNCgolf]

I waited a total of five minutes with a FP for Navi River and wanted my money back. When it ended I honestly couldn’t believe it even though I had read the reviews.

For me that is a one and done, but I’m more than happy to sail with Elsa and the snowman again and again and I don’t even care for Frozen.

I'm the opposite -- I rode Frozen for the first time this trip and thought "that's it?" It was a handful of impressive projection AAs and literally nothing else. I wouldn't ride it again unless I could walk right on. At least Navi River is lush and full of things to look at.

 

[UpAllNight]

I’m still absolutely staggered they built TSL with 2 new attractions. I understand the siteline and capacity issues may have prevented RC Racer and the parachute ride, but crikey Toy Story is a blank canvas and for the price of off the shelf rides they could have thrown some more Imagination in there and added a few more. They even have the carousel plans from DCA that you think would be an easy add.

As an overall I’m getting “that’ll do” vibes from the expansion of DHS. It’s an improvement but doesn’t solve many issues.

 

[Casper Gutman]

This would be true if extending hours would allow capacity to meet demand. But it wouldn’t. The attraction would still only be able to physically handle half of the guests wishing to ride. You would also now be complicating operations by not providing adequate time for overnight maintenance.

Additinal attractions are great and very much needed. However it would do nothing to reduce the number of people wishing to ride Rise. Which is and would continue to be significantly higher than the number of guests the ride can actually accommodate.

When March rolls around DHS will be a better park with RR. But guests aren’t going ride RR and be satisfied that they didn’t ride Rise. They will want to do them both.

I don't know the precise daily ratio of guests who want to ride Rise and its actual capacity - if I missed it in this thread, I apologize. But even if extended hours can't accommodate ALL guests who want to ride Rise, they would accommodate significantly MORE.

As I suspect you are aware, MK used to be regularly opened until 1 or even later, and maintenance and upkeep was superior to its present state. We know its doable, even if it might make things slightly less convenient for Operations - Disney might even have to consider paying them a bit more! There also seems to be the odd idea in this thread that the parks should be run for the comfort and enjoyment of Operations rather then for that of the guests.

You and others are also making a very big mistake in assuming every guest in line has the same level of desire to ride Rise, which just isn't the case. Yes, if Rise is the only significant E-ticket added to the park in well over a decade and one of very few overall attractions in the park to begin with, everyone who pays the exorbitant ticket price will want to ride. If there are a lot of attractions and shows - especially a lot of NEW attractions or shows - that changes. Some guests will be laser-focused on Rise. But a lot will just want to do something fun or something new (or eat at a themed restaurant or see a show that hasn't literally existed longer then a reunified Germany). I actually suspect that category is much larger then the Rise must-dos. Guests who spend a day in MK and ride Splash and Pirates and Thunder and Mansion will feel a lot less compelled to wait in a big long line for Space. The calculus would change if Rise weren't the only game in town.

And if you extend ride hours dramatically and add a bunch of new rides and shows and other experiences and Rise STILL can't accommodate all the guests who want to ride... you may have made some bad design choices when you built Rise.

 

[MrConbon]

I don't know the precise daily ratio of guests who want to ride Rise and its actual capacity - if I missed it in this thread, I apologize. But even if extended hours can't accommodate ALL guests who want to ride Rise, they would accommodate significantly MORE.

As I suspect you are aware, MK used to be regularly opened until 1 or even later, and maintenance and upkeep was superior to its present state. We know its doable, even if it might make things slightly less convenient for Operations - Disney might even have to consider paying them a bit more! There also seems to be the odd idea in this thread that the parks should be run for the comfort and enjoyment of Operations rather then for that of the guests.

You and others are also making a very big mistake in assuming every guest in line has the same level of desire to ride Rise, which just isn't the case. Yes, if Rise is the only significant E-ticket added to the park in well over a decade and one of very few overall attractions in the park to begin with, everyone who pays the exorbitant ticket price will want to ride. If there are a lot of attractions and shows - especially a lot of NEW attractions or shows - that changes. Some guests will be laser-focused on Rise. But a lot will just want to do something fun or something new (or eat at a themed restaurant or see a show that hasn't literally existed longer then a reunified Germany). I actually suspect that category is much larger then the Rise must-dos. Guests who spend a day in MK and ride Splash and Pirates and Thunder and Mansion will feel a lot less compelled to wait in a big long line for Space. The calculus would change if Rise weren't the only game in town.

And if you extend ride hours dramatically and add a bunch of new rides and shows and other experiences and Rise STILL can't accommodate all the guests who want to ride... you may have made some bad design choices when you built Rise.

Thank goodness that change is present. What’s odd about caring about your employees more than guests? I’d rather have attractions close lines earlier to allow the cast members to go home rather than keep them there later than need be.

 

[RobWDW1971]

What’s odd about caring about your employees more than guests? I’d rather have attractions close lines earlier to allow the cast members to go home rather than keep them there later than need be.

Uh, because the guests pay their salaries and are the reason they exist? I don't care if the employees all have to work graveyard shifts - if the guest is paying for a full day experience, they should be provided a full day experience for every attraction and if that means employees have to come in early or stay later, that is the price of doing business.

 

[UNCgolf]

Thank goodness that change is present. What’s odd about caring about your employees more than guests? I’d rather have attractions close lines earlier to allow the cast members to go home rather than keep them there later than need be.

I don't think it has anything to do with caring about their employees. If that was the issue, they could just pay them more and continue to have a great guest experience rather than both sacrificing the guest experience and keeping employee pay low.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I don't think it has anything to do with caring about their employees. If that was the issue, they could just pay them more and continue to have a great guest experience rather than both sacrificing the guest experience and keeping employee pay low.

This is the key, of course - employees at the worlds premiere resort destination should be expected to offer top flight service and to work extra hours if needed... but they should be PAID generously for meeting these expectations. The fault is not the employees’, it’s management’s.

 

[RobWDW1971]

This is the key, of course - employees at the worlds premiere resort destination should be expected to offer top flight service and to work extra hours if needed... but they should be PAID generously for meeting these expectations. The fault is not the employees’, it’s management’s.

But obviously Disney has decided that the level of service is high enough to keep us all coming back and paying full rip and it's high enough for those employees to choose to work there vs. other places in town. Unless we stop going, they have no incentive to change.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Just about every other amusement/theme park sells an option to skip the lines, which increases in value as the wait times increase. This could cause those companies to foolishly develop rides with alterior motives in regard to capacity. Thankfully Disney only offers a relatively small advantage to hotel guests, but if they have plans to introduce paid FP, they may foolishly find lower capacity beneficial. I don’t think making guests less happy for a quick buck is a good strategy though.

But regardless, it’s best to build attractions with high capacity, and then if they want to lower capacity, run half the ride or run it twice as slow or whatever. But they should give themselves that kind of flexibility.

The thing is that it would be more fair if they charged for the privilege of cutting lines, like most others do. Disney's free passes are just smoke and mirrors. It is a selling point, although when thought about is not a positive selling point. It means that you simply do not have the chance to get one once they run out. Charging could work that way as well, but many people that now rush for the freebie wouldn't get the costly one therefore those willing to pay would have a better chance to get one.

 

[aladdin2007]

I said somewhere who enters the park at 6:59 has an equal chance. This isn’t that hard. As long as you are in the park before 7 you have an equal opportunity.

I have to kindly disagree, you shouldn't have to be required to be in the park before the ungodly hour of 7 as the only chance and way to experience an attraction, that is not equal opportunity at all.

 

[Steph15251]

This is the key, of course - employees at the worlds premiere resort destination should be expected to offer top flight service and to work extra hours if needed... but they should be PAID generously for meeting these expectations. The fault is not the employees’, it’s management’s.

They get paid over time for anything over 8 hours in a day.

 

[Steph15251]

I don't think it has anything to do with caring about their employees. If that was the issue, they could just pay them more and continue to have a great guest experience rather than both sacrificing the guest experience and keeping employee pay low.

Their pay really is not that low my Twin works at Disney and gets paid more then I do.

 

[rle4lunch]

This is the key, of course - employees at the worlds premiere resort destination should be expected to offer top flight service and to work extra hours if needed... but they should be PAID generously for meeting these expectations. The fault is not the employees’, it’s management’s.

Negative, none of those people are being forced to work for Disney.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Negative, none of those people are being forced to work for Disney.

That's . . . not the point. And neither here nor there.

Disney can, should, and used to take better care of its employees, and it's not unreasonable to expect them to.

Especially when they're making record profits and charging record prices for what they consider a premium experience.

But back to Runaway Railway.

 

[UNCgolf]

That's . . . not the point. And neither here nor there.

Disney can, should, and used to take better care of its employees, and it's not unreasonable to expect them to.

Especially when they're making record profits and charging record prices for what they consider a premium experience.

But back to Runaway Railway.

Beyond that, if you want truly great service from the staff, they need to be paid well. You get what you pay for, after all.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Beyond that, if you want truly great service from the staff, they need to be paid well. You get what you pay for, after all.

And we get what we are willing to accept and pay for, that’s the rub.

Had a friend tell me he just stayed at Paradise Pier hotel at DL and complain about how it’s barely a 3 star Holiday Inn at Four Season prices - and he’s stayed there before. SMH

 

[Steph15251]

Beyond that, if you want truly great service from the staff, they need to be paid well. You get what you pay for, after all.

Not sure that is true,I give great service where I work and I get paid less then my twin who works at Disney.

 

[Jones14]

How much of that is familiarity though? Don't get me wrong, there are some great things in Frozen Ever After, but for me Na'vi River Journey is a more impressive attraction.

I hadn’t given much thought to the familiarity aspect, which could absolutely play a part. Still, I think what I bolded in your response says it all.

Na’Vi is very expensive and impressive, but at the end of the ride there’s this feeling that we didn’t do or see much, despite being bombarded with visuals for almost five minutes. Frozen doesn’t share that problem, despite having a lot less to look at, because it has a stronger focus that guides the audience where to look.

To bring it back to Mickey, I hope that focus shines through in all of the madcap antics, and that we’re about to get the E-Ticket version of Mr. Toad.

 

[rle4lunch]

I hadn’t given much thought to the familiarity aspect, which could absolutely play a part. Still, I think what I bolded in your response says it all.

Na’Vi is very expensive and impressive, but at the end of the ride there’s this feeling that we didn’t do or see much, despite being bombarded with visuals for almost five minutes. Frozen doesn’t share that problem, despite having a lot less to look at, because it has a stronger focus that guides the audience where to look.

To bring it back to Mickey, I hope that focus shines through in all of the madcap antics, and that we’re about to get the E-Ticket version of Mr. Toad.

I'm hoping that Paul Rudish and his team had a lot of input on the writing and overall development of the ride, because their shorts are hilarious and well-written. I don't much care for the animation style, but that negative is far outweighed by the positives of the writing.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Not sure that is true,I give great service where I work and I get paid less then my twin who works at Disney.

Hey, kid. I come to your stand for a nice glass of lemonade. Not to hear about your sibling rivalry.