Not so magical

[epcot2004]

You can't ban inconsiderate, oblivious or stupid! Sounds like you were there at one of the (if not the) busiest times of the year. We were there over Thanksgiving and we had one of the best trips to WDW ever. We have adapted and stopped rushing around which makes the trips much more enjoyable. That is my inspirational message.

Regarding capacity, if they keep the capacity number the same and open closed areas/pavilions they would absorb some of the crowd. My guess is that the capacity number would simply increase if they did that so my own point is moot. I have decided to stop bashing WDW, I will have comments regarding what could be improved but there is probably not a more consistent, immersive vacation destination anywhere on the east coast.

 

[Clamman73]

My trip is what I make of it.

 

[doctornick]

I've been saying it for years...they have to get the crowds under control by:

Increasing prices.
Expand, significantly.

Or both.

Otherwise, the number of people they allow in the parks really does ruin the experience for a significant portion of the year.

I am surprised that TDO doesn't heavily increase ticket prices while simultaneously giving steep discounts for "length of stay" tickets when staying on property. I mean, like tickets that are 50% of the price or something in that range. That would help to encourage people to stay on property where Disney can make more money overall off of them. And if tickets have to be "length of stay" to get the discount, guests would potentially go to the parks more and be captive and spend more money.

Basically, if the resorts have significant availability as people on here indicate, I am surprised that Disney doesn't concentrate far more on "getting WDW visitors to stay on property" versus "getting more people to visit WDW".

 

[Chef Mickey]

So you're saying make it so that only the rich can go to Disney World?

How about during the busiest times of the year they blackout annual passes and local resident discounts. Airlines blackout their customers during heavy travel times, Disney could do the same. You wanna go, we're sorry, but your annual passes aren't valid these days, you'll have to buy a regular park pass like everyone else.

Expanding makes sense, 5th gate anyone?

As long as the resorts are full, they'll let people in as long as the queues for the rides are showing huge wait times. Why? Simple, the more people they know are standing in a queue for 4+ hours, the more people they know they can have walking around doing nothing/eating/shopping/"taking in the atmosphere". That's possibly an overlooked side of the MDE+. They know where people are to an extent and with every magic band they can see magically that they can have more people in the parks than ever before.

Everything has a cost. I'm not saying only allow "the rich" to go to Disney World...you said that. I'm saying, you have to protect the quality of the experience.

I don't think more blackout dates and limiting locals really solves the problem. If it does, great...but they already do some of that. I think it needs to be more of a hard stop. Ticket prices to the parks, increased food costs, and increased hotel costs. Some people just simply won't be able to afford going and that will thin out the crowds and improve the quality.

I don't like having to even suggest it, but WDW's poor planning and expansion execution have left them with a capacity problem. They will never admit it and perhaps won't even care, but it's a real problem and the parks are suffering because of it. The only near term solution is the increase prices and/or only allow hotel guests staying on property access.

I personally would pay double or more to half the crowds. The crowds are getting absolutely unbearable during peak times and even non peak times are not as enjoyable as even 5-10 years ago.

I'll give you an example. People are literally willing to pay double for an iPad that does less than a Samsung Galaxy tablet and is worse in every measurable way because they "want Apple" branded stuff/experience/etc. And that's fine. Apple makes a good product, but it's way overpriced.

Disney may need to adopt this and not worry so much about being a value to families. My guess is families will either charge it anyway or just save more. The frequency and duration of travel needs to go down for Disney to better the experience.

 

[Nick Wilde]

How about during the busiest times of the year they blackout annual passes

They already do that. Unless you pay for the expensive one.

 

[mousehockey37]

Everything has a cost. I'm not saying only allow "the rich" to go to Disney World...you said that. I'm saying, you have to protect the quality of the experience.

I don't think more blackout dates and limiting locals really solves the problem. If it does, great...but they already do some of that. I think it needs to be more of a hard stop. Ticket prices to the parks, increased food costs, and increased hotel costs. Some people just simply won't be able to afford going and that will thin out the crowds and improve the quality.

I don't like having to even suggest it, but WDW's poor planning and expansion execution have left them with a capacity problem. They will never admit it and perhaps won't even care, but it's a real problem and the parks are suffering because of it. The only near term solution is the increase prices and/or only allow hotel guests staying on property access.

I personally would pay double or more to half the crowds. The crowds are getting absolutely unbearable during peak times and even non peak times are not as enjoyable as even 5-10 years ago.

If you think the crowds are unbearable and you can't enjoy the parks, and Disney isn't highly priced enough for you, then just don't go. If you're looking for a highly sophisticated, black-tie only, invitation only type park, good luck to you in your search. The rest of us are adapting and learning how to plan to get the most bang for the buck we're charged right now.

 

[TXDisney]

To be quite honest with you it's like others have said society not Disney. Go anywhere on vacation and you'll run into the same things.

 

[BigRedDad]

First, for crowds, nothing will happen. If they can hit capacity every day, they will. Second, the US has HIPAA laws that prevent asking or questioning anyone's medical need. This is the issue with ECVs. I think they should be required to have a license for it and insurance. If you run into me with one, be prepared to get your fat rear knocked out of it. Third, CMs in general are happy. There are some that aren't what they use to be and I do not interact with them. The good ones far outweigh the bad ones. Forth, I think selfies are the stupidest thing in the world. There are more than enough people willing to take your picture for you. It is also against the law to take a picture of minors that you are not responsible for. Fifth, for kids on shoulders, it is going to happen. When you are an hour before a show and still way back, the minute one kid goes up, the rest go up. The best advice is scope out where kids will be on shoulders and move somewhere else.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Hello,

*Ban people that dawdle or just randomly stop while walking which in turn causes issues.

How are you going to ban people who dawdle? Are you talking about slow walkers? If so, go around them. Are you talking about people that are actually enjoying the scenery and enjoying themselves instead of rushing from attraction to attraction? Because then dawdling is the way to go.
I hate when people stop short in front of me, but I'm not usually following them that close where it is a huge issue, but it isn't a reason to ban people.

 

[jakeman]

Awesome! Another "not so magical" thread! I was having withdrawal and this cured me. Thank God.

The problem is society - not Disney. Rules can't be written fast enough for the rudeness and ignorance that runs rampant in today's society.

Now you're just trolling for likes.

 

[Chef Mickey]

If you think the crowds are unbearable and you can't enjoy the parks, and Disney isn't highly priced enough for you, then just don't go. If you're looking for a highly sophisticated, black-tie only, invitation only type park, good luck to you in your search. The rest of us are adapting and learning how to plan to get the most bang for the buck we're charged right now.

I already go during off peak times and go several times per year. I'd really like to be able to go during the holidays, but the crowds are prohibitive. LOL, it doesn't have to be black tie...it just has to be reasonable and it's not at the moment.

I love Disney too much to just "not go." I love it enough to know the experience isn't all it could be because it hasn't been properly built out to match the crowds, even in non-peak times.

 

[Tom]

Expanding makes sense, 5th gate anyone?

As long as the resorts are full, they'll let people in as long as the queues for the rides are showing huge wait times. Why? Simple, the more people they know are standing in a queue for 4+ hours, the more people they know they can have walking around doing nothing/eating/shopping/"taking in the atmosphere". That's possibly an overlooked side of the MDE+. They know where people are to an extent and with every magic band they can see magically that they can have more people in the parks than ever before.

3 of the 4 parks have the land and unused pavilion space available to essentially double "capacity" in them (MK being the exception). We do not need another gate. We need 3 proper theme parks to accompany the Magic Kingdom. Currently, there's one complete park, and 3 half parks.

 

[mousehockey37]

I already go during off peak times and go several times per year. I'd really like to be able to go during the holidays, but the crowds are prohibitive. LOL, it doesn't have to be black tie...it just has to be reasonable and it's not at the moment.

I love Disney too much to just "not go." I love it enough to know the experience isn't all it could be because it hasn't been properly built out to match the crowds, even in non-peak times.

Unfortunately we can't all have everything. You're able to go off-peak and several times a year is more than most people have already. The holidays would be wonderful to spend in the parks, especially if you could have off-peak crowd levels, but with kids being out of school and such at those times, and for those families, that probably is the "present" for them for the year (multiply that by X amount of families and you have insane crowd levels).

Take all of this with things slowly getting better and you have more families that are able to afford going. As has been said, as long as there is a room that Disney can fill, they'll fill it. The FP+ system gives Disney a sort of way to track where people are (maybe not individually, but they get a rough idea of how many people it takes to create a 1, 2, 3, 4 hr wait, etc.) and if they know that (example coming) 2,000 people are in line for TT, Soarin' and Mission Space, respectively, they know those people aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So... they can let more people in the gates because of the people that are stagnant in the lines. Like I said, that's an example, but use that for all 4 parks at any time of year, and you hopefully see my point.

Be happy that you can go as frequently as you do. I'd be able to sacrifice the holiday visit to being able to go at most other times of the year, but to each their own.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Unfortunately we can't all have everything. You're able to go off-peak and several times a year is more than most people have already. The holidays would be wonderful to spend in the parks, especially if you could have off-peak crowd levels, but with kids being out of school and such at those times, and for those families, that probably is the "present" for them for the year (multiply that by X amount of families and you have insane crowd levels).

Take all of this with things slowly getting better and you have more families that are able to afford going. As has been said, as long as there is a room that Disney can fill, they'll fill it. The FP+ system gives Disney a sort of way to track where people are (maybe not individually, but they get a rough idea of how many people it takes to create a 1, 2, 3, 4 hr wait, etc.) and if they know that (example coming) 2,000 people are in line for TT, Soarin' and Mission Space, respectively, they know those people aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So... they can let more people in the gates because of the people that are stagnant in the lines. Like I said, that's an example, but use that for all 4 parks at any time of year, and you hopefully see my point.

Be happy that you can go as frequently as you do. I'd be able to sacrifice the holiday visit to being able to go at most other times of the year, but to each their own.

I've clearly struck a nerve with you, but don't mean to. This isn't you versus me or me versus everyone else. Life isn't fair. Not everyone gets everything just because they "deserve" to go to Disney, have a nice car, or do the things that make them happy. I worked hard for everything I have and I'm sure you did too. It doesn't make me better or you worse...it's just different people with different circumstances.

My comments are specifically aimed at solving a clear and evident problem Disney has in its parks today. The parks are measurably too crowded and it absolutely has negatively affected the experience. Disney has closed more things than they've opened in the last 10 years and a large expansion at all 4 parks is long overdue. In my opinion, the only thing they can do quickly to fix the issue is to raise prices. Then, they can build out the parks and create additional capacity. Ultimately, the crowds and poor experience will hurt their brand. They just have to get to a point where it's measurable to their bottom line.

I understand this opinion upsets people who think Disney is expensive already, which I don't happen to agree. I think Disney's prices are too low and has enabled the masses to go to Disney more frequently. The quality, experience, and magic suffers when too many people are trying to get on a ride, eat at a restaurant, or watch a show. Current management has turned a blind eye in favor of higher profits and getting more butts through the gates. I'm willing to pay more so Disney keeps the same profits, but my own experience improves. I'm sure others would agree and would be willing to do the same.

 

[Chef Mickey]

3 of the 4 parks have the land and unused pavilion space available to essentially double "capacity" in them (MK being the exception). We do not need another gate. We need 3 proper theme parks to accompany the Magic Kingdom. Currently, there's one complete park, and 3 half parks.

So, so, so agree. A 5th park would only spread them thinner than they are today. They can really punch up the existing 4 parks, including MK, by expanding and utilizing all the empty buildings/space. Disneyland does a great job squeezing the most out of their space.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If you think the crowds are unbearable and you can't enjoy the parks, and Disney isn't highly priced enough for you, then just don't go. If you're looking for a highly sophisticated, black-tie only, invitation only type park, good luck to you in your search. The rest of us are adapting and learning how to plan to get the most bang for the buck we're charged right now.

Disney already charges a premium on hotel rates and restuarant food during peak seasons, why would park admission be any different? It's about crowd control and revenue management, neither of which is unique to Disney. I don't know how you got from that to "black-tie events".

 

[mousehockey37]

My comments are specifically aimed at solving a clear and evident problem Disney has in its parks today. The parks are measurably too crowded and it absolutely has negatively affected the experience. Disney has closed more things than they've opened in the last 10 years and a large expansion at all 4 parks is long overdue. In my opinion, the only thing they can do to fix the issue is to raise prices. Ultimately, the crowds and poor experience will hurt their brand. They just have to get to a point where it's measurable to their bottom line.

I understand this opinion upsets people who think Disney is expensive already, which I don't happen to agree. I think Disney's prices are too low and has enabled the masses to go to Disney more frequently. The quality, experience, and magic suffers when too many people are trying to get on a ride, eat at a restaurant, or watch a show. Current management has turned a blind eye in favor of higher profits and getting more butts through the gates. I'm willing to pay more so Disney keeps the same profits, but my own experience improves. I'm sure others would agree and would be willing to do the same.

So instead of adding rides and lands, which they are in beginning phases of (whether we agree with those themed lands or not), the "fix" is to raise prices? Say they do raise the prices and crowds thin, that's going to hurt their brand AND bottom line because they have all this empty space and no one there to fill it, thus, they will have to raise the prices on other commodities and souvies in the parks to make up for the lost revenue of not filling the rooms.

Current management is doing what businesses today do. They listen to the money. If you're willing to pay more, don't think for a second that Disney is going to keep the same profits. They could hike the price to whatever they wanted to and the fact remains that even though the people may be gone, the same park would be there the next day, and then there'd be threads about the "neglect of the park for the $$ I'm paying to go".

 

[Animaniac93-98]

So instead of adding rides and lands, which they are in beginning phases of (whether we agree with those themed lands or not), the "fix" is to raise prices?

In the short term, yes. Doing both in the long term would be best.

Say they do raise the prices and crowds thin, that's going to hurt their brand AND bottom line because they have all this empty space and no one there to fill it, thus, they will have to raise the prices on other commodities and souvies in the parks to make up for the lost revenue of not filling the rooms.

You assume there would be a major drop in attendence and occupancy, but I doubt that given the park's current popularity and people's insistance to go during school holidays. Making the same amount of money from fewer people would be ideal for Disney, as it would mean easier operations. They already raise prices on other goods during peak periods, which is different from an across the board rate raise.

 

[Disvillain63]

We go a few times during the year and still came to WDW during the holidays. We knew it would be crowded and planned to enjoy our time with our family. We knew taking in everything was not possible, so we planned. As for attractions, we were able to ride Buzz, Speedway, Dumbo, Tea Cups (twice), Winine the Pooh, Carousel, Small World, Pirates, Aladdin, Jingle Cruise...oh Mermaid. We arrived at opening and saw the Morning Show. If we got to an attraction with a 20 min. or less wait, we changed fastpasses for a differect atraction. We left the park at 2pm for naptime; we had our grandchildren...2 yrs and 9mos with us. We took time for a snack at Sunshine Tree and lunch at Columbia Harbor. My future SIL, who was only on his 2nd trip, was very appreciative of being with someone "who knew the ropes".

BTW, we had a stroller and tried hard NOT to hit anyone, but sometimes adults do not look before the step out in front of you....for some reason they are oblivious to the fact that others may be on the same path.

As for CMs, most were happy, helpful, and doing their jobs well. One apologized for yawning, we chatted and discovered that he had worked until close the night before and opened that morning.

 

[mousehockey37]

You assume there would be a major drop in attendence and occupancy, but I doubt that given the park's current popularity and people's insistance to go during school holidays. Making the same amount of money from fewer people would be ideal for Disney, as it would mean easier operations. They already raise prices on other goods during peak periods, which is different from an across the board rate raise.

If the prices are raised to the rates that others would pay (2x the cost now), I'd bet there would be a big drop in attendance and occupancy at any time of the year.

If you want to raise the rates though, but have better quality, then maybe they should throw in a time during the year where to park is closed for a month or so. January is a good month for that. Refurbish all the rides, completely clean everything and then maybe that could justify a price hike for the other 11 months out of the year.