New Anna/Elsa standby procedure?

Lord_Vader

Join me, together we can rule the galaxy.
I have not met Anna and Elsa, however I have heard very positive things about the meet and greet itself. There is a considerable amount of time spent with each guest, the actresses are very good, etc. I sincerely hope that maintaining this quality of performer/experience is what is preventing them from putting similar meet and greets elsewhere. While I support the idea of reverting back to the old Fastpass system in distribution rules, I don't think the "faux-Fastpass" done in this test solves anything. The solution is for either the demand to die down (it will happen eventually) or to increase capacity. I hope that the only thing restricting that capacity increase is a lack of available candidates to play Anna and Elsa. At something like Fairytale Hall (two devoted rooms), I'm not sure how many pairs of Anna and Elsa's they need to satisfy just that location. I don't know if those characters are also in the parade at MK and/or the summer festivities at DHS. Assuming they are able to hire the necessary actresses, I could see them putting Anna and Elsa back in Norway, in the Animation Courtyard and at multiple dining locations.
It was important to my wife to get Olaf signed for a friends daughter, they did spend a lot of time with us, photos with each taking time with small talk.

They need to add more in DHS if possible, the park is absolutely nuts, haven't seen it this busy even at Christmas.
 

Mawg

Well-Known Member
If they are going to do this they need to do it correctly, make the standby passes available on the phone. Then when you walk in the gate, you go to you're mobile app and just tell it I want to do everything and it gives you a standby time for everything. Each guests does this until there are no more and then they close the gates. Have the mad guests outside the gates instead of in the gates. Makes sense, right?
 
You have to get there early and criss cross a huge park multiple times to obtain your tickets and return to all your return times.

It sure sounds to me like TDO is following in the footsteps of the DAS (Disability Access Service) where they give a return time when you show up at the ride. I bet they took a poll and found out that most DAS recipients typically hung out by the ride, got something to eat or shopped until their time was up. Customer satisfaction my a$$.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
It sure sounds to me like TDO is following in the footsteps of the DAS (Disability Access Service) where they give a return time when you show up at the ride. I bet they took a poll and found out that most DAS recipients typically hung out by the ride, got something to eat or shopped until their time was up. Customer satisfaction my a$$.
Increasing guest spending was the impetus behind FastPass and FastPass+. The data support this program was compiled in the late 1990s.
 

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
If they are going to do this they need to do it correctly, make the standby passes available on the phone. Then when you walk in the gate, you go to you're mobile app and just tell it I want to do everything and it gives you a standby time for everything. Each guests does this until there are no more and then they close the gates. Have the mad guests outside the gates instead of in the gates. Makes sense, right?
Then, as one guest exits, you let one in. If a family of five depart, then wow, a huge chunk (5) more people get let in.
 

Dwarful

Well-Known Member
when exactly are all of these two hour lines taking place. We go every year, every summer either June or July due to school schedule and sometimes spring break and Christmas. We have even done Christmas Day in MK three times.

Yes, some lines get long but there are always options that are not 2 hours. If you are going to WDW even in the summer and you make some type of plan you will get on rides and not wait 2 hours for each and every ride. To expect no lines is unreasonable. I think 30 minute waits are normal and average...an hour would be my max, but that is me personally.

I am not a fan of the new FP+. But I am not 100% sure I am understanding the testing at Soarin. When we went in June I had our FPs set and knew we would go straight to Soarin' and ride stand by at rope drop. Is this still allowed or are they immediately giving the paper fast passes for return times?
 

danv3

Well-Known Member
Is there some mechanism to prevent abuse? Like, can I have a FP+ for Soarin, get a paper return time for Soarin for me and Mrs. Danv3, and send Mrs. Danv3 to get another paper return time for Soarin? That would allow us three rides on Soarin with a presumably minimal wait.
 

natatomic

Well-Known Member
Is there some mechanism to prevent abuse? Like, can I have a FP+ for Soarin, get a paper return time for Soarin for me and Mrs. Danv3, and send Mrs. Danv3 to get another paper return time for Soarin? That would allow us three rides on Soarin with a presumably minimal wait.
There aren't yet as far as I know, but it's just a test still. If it's ever implemented permenantly, I'm sure they will add some sort of tracing system. Perhaps a box of some sort that you scan your MB/ticket into to provide you a return time but won't allow you to do more than once for an specified time frame. Quite a novel idea, yes?

Also, in most of the FP+ testing, you were still allowed to get paper FPs. Up until the very last couple of tests anyway.
 

danv3

Well-Known Member
There aren't yet as far as I know, but it's just a test still. If it's ever implemented permenantly, I'm sure they will add some sort of tracing system. Perhaps a box of some sort that you scan your MB/ticket into to provide you a return time but won't allow you to do more than once for an specified time frame. Quite a novel idea, yes?

Also, in most of the FP+ testing, you were still allowed to get paper FPs. Up until the very last couple of tests anyway.

So basically, it's the return of FP, and FP+ is going away?!?!?!?! This is something I can get behind. :D
 

dadddio

Well-Known Member
Yesterday it was about 5:30 to 6 ish when the "ugliness" started. I can certainly understand why people would get upset when you can't even get into standby when the park is open for four more hours. I don't understand what the big deal is if people choose to wait in line let them.
The big deal is if there is no way that a person would be able to get to the front of the line before the park day ends, then they shouldn't be allowed to get in the line. That's not a new concept. They've been doing m&gs this way for quite some time.
 

Cheeksadam

New Member
The big deal is if there is no way that a person would be able to get to the front of the line before the park day ends, then they shouldn't be allowed to get in the line. That's not a new concept. They've been doing m&gs this way for quite some time.
But, the passes don't allow for the line to self-correct. No one is gonna walk up and go "Nah, I don't want a return time." But people will walk up and go "Nah, I don't want to wait 120 minutes." And if someone doesn't use their pass, it's not like Disney knows nor that they can react to allow someone to take their place in the standby line. Unless of course we start having a standby-standby line.

Basically, a standby line is self-correcting, allowing those who really want to ride to wait out the line if they so choose. The fastpass-standby is rigid and inefficient, not reacting to a lack of people in the return window or filling the ride to full capacity at points.
 

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
Or perhaps they are simply trying to give guests better service by not making them stand in a line for several hours.

It's not just TDO. Actual guests would rather not be standing in a line for hours.

Of course no one like to stand in lines, but that's what's expected when u go to a crowded theme park...

You reall need to wipe the pixie dust out of your eyes as you keep trying your damnedest to make this "solution" seem justified when it is anything but...
 

IWantMyMagicBand

Well-Known Member
Because the queues at M&Gs have become unmanageable and character meals are the only way for many children to meet the characters these days. You are basically paying $30 (or more) to meet the characters and this eliminates a lot of folks. We went this route a long time ago due to the crazy lines and the adults who seemed to always want to have a 5 minute conversation with a fictitious character.
I wish I could like this 100 X over. I was starting to think I was the only one who felt this way and therefore assumed I was the crazy one lol!
 

disneydudette

Well-Known Member
The big deal is if there is no way that a person would be able to get to the front of the line before the park day ends, then they shouldn't be allowed to get in the line. That's not a new concept. They've been doing m&gs this way for quite some time.

In a theme park that purposely schedules fireworks and evening shows AT closing time?!

Epcot closes at 9p... 12mins of Illuminations... and than the onslaught of thousands of guests moving forward from the back of the park... stopping at shops, taking pictures, etc.

If you were to get in line at 8:55p... Disney isn't exactly waiting with their toe tapping.

This isn't an "evening crowd control" option... it's a way of displacing crowds in an attempt to minimize wait times, while maximizing customer satisfaction, use of time, and spending.

Oh wait... that sounds familiar.

At least with FP/FP+... I have the OPTION to stand in line.
 

dadddio

Well-Known Member
But, the passes don't allow for the line to self-correct. No one is gonna walk up and go "Nah, I don't want a return time." But people will walk up and go "Nah, I don't want to wait 120 minutes." And if someone doesn't use their pass, it's not like Disney knows nor that they can react to allow someone to take their place in the standby line. Unless of course we start having a standby-standby line.

Basically, a standby line is self-correcting, allowing those who really want to ride to wait out the line if they so choose. The fastpass-standby is rigid and inefficient, not reacting to a lack of people in the return window or filling the ride to full capacity at points.
That is certainly true if they micro-plan the return times. By that, I mean if they were to assign you an exact time to return so that you would have no line to wait in once you arrived, then if you didn't show up, there would be excess capacity. However, it doesn't seem that they did this as when people return at their times, they still have to wait in line for some amount of time. It does not appear that anyone failing to show up is causing there to be wasted capacity.

That being said, we need to remember that this is a test. What we are seeing in the test isnt what would be implemented. It is a near certainty that if some form of this were implemented, that it would be rolled into the FP+ system. In which case, it would be relatively easy for tptb to react to a higher than expected number of 'no shows' by simply releasing additional FP+s.
 

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