News Park attendance showing significant softness heading into the Fall 2018

[geekza]

One thing that I'm sure the large crowds have taken away from the experience is all of the Main Street vehicles. They weren't exciting or anything, but they really added to the overall Main St. experience. I understand they still run some of them occasionally, but they used to be an everyday thing.

 

[Bocabear]

One thing that I'm sure the large crowds have taken away from the experience is all of the Main Street vehicles. They weren't exciting or anything, but they really added to the overall Main St. experience. I understand they still run some of them occasionally, but they used to be an everyday thing.

We were talking about that on our last visit a few weeks ago... the overall ambiance is hurt by their loss...it doesn't feel like an early 20th centruy town, but just the entrance to an amusement park. It is still beautiful, but the story is not complete without the street traffic...

 

[geekza]

We were talking about that on our last visit a few weeks ago... the overall ambiance is hurt by their loss...it doesn't feel like an early 20th centruy town, but just the entrance to an amusement park. It is still beautiful, but the story is not complete without the street traffic...

Or the Penny Arcade... or the Magic Shop... or the Gallery... or the Candle Shop... or the Main St. Theater....

 

[disneyflush]

Maybe I’ve just done everything already with various parties over various years, so I’ll do whatever’s available this time, and there’s always next time; and I don’t feel slighted in the slightest.

What I probably won’t do is notice to the point I even remember to mention in any way other than a little bad luck in a trip report, let alone hold a grudge to the point of bitterness and complain about it all over the place.

Speaking for yourself this makes absolute sense. Speaking on behalf of a one-in-a-lifetime guest it stops being a rational way to see the experience.

 

[networkpro]

Certainly not a small crowd tonightView attachment 324883

Jersey Week.

 

[mm52200]

One thing that I'm sure the large crowds have taken away from the experience is all of the Main Street vehicles. They weren't exciting or anything, but they really added to the overall Main St. experience. I understand they still run some of them occasionally, but they used to be an everyday thing.

They still do run every day actually. They run for a little bit in the morning, but I’ve also seen them recently run some between 2 pm FoF and the 4:40 MiSI, and some after the last street party.

 

[Kman101]

I'm not either, but... Those WERE good times (for us, in any event). I remember walking around MGM and it was a ghost town. Epcot, easy breezy walk on easy. *sigh*

It's really kind of interesting how much they've tried to kill the slow times. Again, from the "Diznee Is A Bizness" I get it. But from the guest perspective, I think they've lost sight, but that's not a new revelation. We've known they've lost sight of the guest experience a long time ago, despite their "experiences (upcharges) to better enhance the park going experience"

 

[Tom Morrow]

Hasn’t happened yet.

Wait - what’s not a good one?

Maybe I just plan better, or have more reasonable expectations. Or have learned not to go on weekends or holidays.

Maybe I’ve just done everything already with various parties over various years, so I’ll do whatever’s available this time, and there’s always next time; and I don’t feel slighted in the slightest.

What I probably won’t do is notice to the point I even remember to mention in any way other than a little bad luck in a trip report, let alone hold a grudge to the point of bitterness and complain about it all over the place.

You NEVER ride an attraction without using a Fastpass? I call BS. If not, then you are, in fact, a poor planner, because it means you aren't utilizing the end of the night when much less Fastpasses are being used and thus the lines are moving significantly faster than what their wait times are posting, because the wait times are calculated by taking into consideration an 80% Fastpass return.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It's really kind of interesting how much they've tried to kill the slow times. Again, from the "Diznee Is A Bizness" I get it. But from the guest perspective, I think they've lost sight, but that's not a new revelation. We've known they've lost sight of the guest experience a long time ago, despite their "experiences (upcharges) to better enhance the park going experience"

So if they cared about the guest experience, they’d stop trying to even crowds out? What about the guest experience during the busy times before they did that? They should care less about those people?

Every time we see big crowds, my economist husband comments that clearly prices aren’t high enough. They could go that route and provide a better guest experience for those who could still afford to go.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

You NEVER ride an attraction without using a Fastpass? I call BS. If not, then you are, in fact, a poor planner, because it means you aren't utilizing the end of the night when much less Fastpasses are being used and thus the lines are moving significantly faster than what their wait times are posting, because the wait times are calculated by taking into consideration an 80% Fastpass return.

And here we go with the reading comprehension issues because you're fighting instead of attempting to understand what I'm saying.

Keep your call of BS for yourself, because I never said I "NEVER" ride an attraction without using a Fastpass. Here is your question to me:

So what do you do when you visit a park and your three allotted Fastpasses are used and there aren't any good ones left?

And my response was that it hasn't happened yet.

How do you take that to mean I never use a Fastpass?

First of all, it inherently acknowledges that I've used up my three for the day, so that's at least three.

The second part of your premise is that after I've used up those three, there aren't any good ones left. That has never happened. And so you would be less likely to misunderstand, I emphasized the point by asking "Which ones are not good ones?" indicating that to me, there aren't any or many that aren't good ones.

So:

After I use my first three Fastpasses, I see if anything else interests me, depending on where I am in which park (so I don't go running around from one end to the other.) That might be an attraction with a Fastpass like Pirates, or an attraction that doesn't use Fastpass like Carousel of Progress. (Maybe that's "not a good one" to you? I happen to enjoy it.) We're not all here to go on top tier attractions all day. I've never sat down on a bench at 1PM and said, "Darn, if only I could get a Fastpass for Haunted Mansion right now."

So, I think I do plan quite well, because whatever 3 are truly important, I get the FP for. Anything else is gravy, not owed to me. There are times when I see things I expect to see, like 7DMT having none left, and there are times I see things I don't expect to see, like a long line for IASW.

Yes, I know full well about "the end of the night." I also know that almost every park day is a half day park day for two parks. I go to one in the morning, use my FP, go for lunch, back to the room, back out for dinner, and another park for the evening. (OMG, without 3 FP?! How does he do it??)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

So if they cared about the guest experience, they’d stop trying to even crowds out? What about the guest experience during the busy times before they did that? They should care less about those people?

No, no - let's all wait at least 30 minutes to an hour for every ride so that most of us can't get away with waiting only 5 or 10 minutes for 3 rides per day. That's a better experience.

 

[mikejs78]

So what do you do when you visit a park and your three allotted Fastpasses are used and there aren't any good ones left?

I get another one. I also have never had the 'no good Fastpasses left' scenario. Usulally I have to spend 1-2 min refreshing before I get a time on an attraction I want to ride, never longer than 5. I've gotten FPs for Space, Splash, BTM, HM, PotC, Test Track, Soarin, FEA, TSMM, ToT, RNRC, EE, Dinosaur, KS, and more all within a 20-30 min window. While waiting for those, I may go on another attraction with a shorter wait - like PeopleMover, IaSW, etc... Or get a snack. Or just walk around and take in the theming. It's very freeing, tbh.

I've even gotten FoP using this method (but never 7DMT for some reason), but that one was about 45 min out, so I had lunch.

You NEVER ride an attraction without using a Fastpass? I call BS. If not, then you are, in fact, a poor planner, because it means you aren't utilizing the end of the night when much less Fastpasses are being used and thus the lines are moving significantly faster than what their wait times are posting, because the wait times are calculated by taking into consideration an 80% Fastpass return.

Wait, what makes you think less FPs are being used late at night? Distribution doesn't change for top tier attractions. Standby waits are lower because people have left the park. Not because of fewer FPs. Just like the first hour of the day- crowds haven't built up yet.

Edit: Just for fun, right now (1:45 to 1:50) I went into the MDE app to see what I could get at MK with a FP return window starting no later than 2:15. I set it for 3 people, so I probably could babr gotten more with single riders or overlaps. But by refreshing in that 5 min span, I woyld have been able to get FPs to Pirates, Splash, and Buzz, as well as a bunch of lower tier attractions (Dumbo, Teacups, Carpets, Mermaid, Philharmagic, IaSW, various M&Gs, etc).

There was also a lot of instances of attractions with FPs later in the afternoon (e.g. 3-5 PM) that I'm not including here.

 

[Tom Morrow]

And here we go with the reading comprehension issues because you're fighting instead of attempting to understand what I'm saying.

Keep your call of BS for yourself, because I never said I "NEVER" ride an attraction without using a Fastpass. Here is your question to me:

Okay, I'm a little bit confused here, because first of all, you haven't answered my question as to whether or not you ever ride an attraction that has Fastpass by using the standby queue, because that is what you seemed to be implying.

And then...

How do you take that to mean I never use a Fastpass?

Huh? This is the opposite of what I said.

It's also worth noting that it's easier to get more Fastpasses after your initial three...
1. If your first three were booked early in the day.
2. On a moderate to light crowd day.
3. At Magic Kingdom, where there are more choices.
4. If you are by yourself or booking for just two people. The larger your group, the harder it is to find any worthwhile Fastpasses as the day goes on.

By "worthwhile", I mean ones where you actually benefit from having it as opposed to something that is almost always completely useless like MuppetVision. Nothing to do with the quality of the attractions themselves.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1:54 PM
Lets see how that soft attendance is influencing the wait times today -
FOP, standby 95 minutes
Mine train, standby 105 minutes.
Tomorrowland Speedway, standby 80 minutes
Slinky Dog, standby 75 minutes
Test Track, standby 75 minutes
Forzen, standby 65 minutes

 

[mikejs78]

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1:54 PM
Lets see how that soft attendance is influencing the wait times today -
FOP, standby 95 minutes
Mine train, standby 105 minutes.
Tomorrowland Speedway, standby 80 minutes
Slinky Dog, standby 75 minutes
Test Track, standby 75 minutes
Forzen, standby 65 minutes

Those are all inflated.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I get another one. I also have never had the 'no good Fastpasses left' scenario. Usulally I have to spend 1-2 min refreshing before I get a time on an attraction I want to ride, never longer than 5. I've gotten FPs for Space, Splash, BTM, HM, PotC, Test Track, Soarin, FEA, TSMM, ToT, RNRC, EE, Dinosaur, KS, and more all within a 20-30 min window. While waiting for those, I may go on another attraction with a shorter wait - like PeopleMover, IaSW, etc... Or get a snack. Or just walk around and take in the theming. It's very freeing, tbh.

I've even gotten FoP using this method (but never 7DMT for some reason), but that one was about 45 min out, so I had lunch.

I mean, this is exactly what I do too, but it only works if its a moderate to light day or if I'm booking for myself or just one or two others.

Wait, what makes you think less FPs are being used late at night? Distribution doesn't change for top tier attractions. Standby waits are lower because people have left the park. Not because of fewer FPs. Just like the first hour of the day- crowds haven't built up yet.

I know this from ample experience both visiting the parks frequently and also working in them. Less people are booking - or using - their Fastpasses in the final hours because of factors like night time shows, being tired and leaving the park before then, a late afternoon storm driving them away, etc. Yes, the standby queues are also shorter at this time, and that combined with an empty Fastpass queue instead of a Fastpass queue backing up to the entrance means a fast moving queue with a short wait. If I can't get a Fastpass for 7DMT, FoP, or Frozen, I always hop in line just before park closing. Often the queues for these attractions are still completely full, but since Fastpass users are cut off from entering the queue at park close, the standby queue ends up being usually 1/3rd of what it is posting. Using this method, I have waited through the entirety of the 7DMT queue in only 20-25 minutes.

Those are all inflated.

...by having 80% or more of their capacity devoted to Fastpasses.

 

[Lucky]

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1:54 PM
Lets see how that soft attendance is influencing the wait times today -
FOP, standby 95 minutes
Mine train, standby 105 minutes.
Tomorrowland Speedway, standby 80 minutes
Slinky Dog, standby 75 minutes
Test Track, standby 75 minutes
Forzen, standby 65 minutes

If they're inflated it's not by much.
TP's Lines app is showing
FOP 85
7DMT 84
Speedway 71
Slinky 64
Test Track 59
Frozen 58

 

[LSLS]

So if they cared about the guest experience, they’d stop trying to even crowds out? What about the guest experience during the busy times before they did that? They should care less about those people?

Every time we see big crowds, my economist husband comments that clearly prices aren’t high enough. They could go that route and provide a better guest experience for those who could still afford to go.

If you want less crowds, why run rides under their max capacity? Don't know how often recently, but there was a lot of discussion about how that was done

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1:54 PM
Lets see how that soft attendance is influencing the wait times today -
FOP, standby 95 minutes
Mine train, standby 105 minutes.
Tomorrowland Speedway, standby 80 minutes
Slinky Dog, standby 75 minutes
Test Track, standby 75 minutes
Forzen, standby 65 minutes

I've heard that things may be looking up for October, and things aren't as dire as they were a few weeks back. We'll see what happens next.

Softness was 2 months ago. October picked back up towards normal from what people have stated, so not sure what you are pointing out here (Not that wait times directly correlate to how many people are at the parks anyways at this point).

 

[Tony the Tigger]

you haven't answered my question as to whether or not you ever ride an attraction that has Fastpass by using the standby queue

That may have been what you meant, but this is what you said:

You NEVER ride an attraction without using a Fastpass?

Anyway, do I ever ride a FP attraction without FP? Sometimes. Do I bother to wait 30 minutes? Rarely. Frozen is the only one I can think of in recent memory, and that's with a max posted time of 40 minutes, and it's always less than a 30 minute actual wait.

The wait time never seemed odd or unfair to me.

Otherwise, no, I walk right by unless the wait is a max of 15-20 minutes or so. Or I get a FP for it later. I don't put myself in a position to wait in long lines anymore, with few exceptions.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I'm still not sure where the confusion lies, but alright. Moving on.