SOFT OPENING WATCH - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster

[Tom]

Yep. Or they could take the approach of testing in the middle of the day which will tick off paying customers. Why does it have to be tested during hours the park is open to public? Do you think McDonalds would introduce a new sandwich, put it on the menu, and then invite only employees to come to the store while they are off work and eat it while other paying customers watched. Of course not because they realize that is bad business just like the other parks realize employee only previews during regular hours is bad business. I would even be okay with a bunch of folks in fantasyland uniforms were riding to test it but off duty CM in street cloths laughing at the folks that pay their salary is quite different.

This attraction has more visibility than any they've built in a long time. Everest was the last one you could see, but you couldn't actually get close enough to tell who was riding, if anyone. This attraction is surrounded by guest paths.

Also, it's the best way to generate excitement. Case in point: this thread...and the thousands of tweets, FB posts, blogs and other forum discussions about the ride. By the time it opens, the amount of free "media" coverage they will have gotten will be immeasurable.

Disney has clearly said that it will be open to guests on May 28. It says it on the sign hanging in front of the ride. The only reason guests get disappointed is because they read the internet and think they're owed an early ride.

There are a million reasons why running it during the day is better than night. This is an extremely important phase of testing, adjusting and training. Everyone involved needs to be on their A game, and for most people that doesn't happen at 3am. They need test riders, but they don't want swarms of CMs coming to the park while they're trying to clean and prep for the next day....especially since the ride goes down during these tests, and there's no point having a bunch of test dummies loitering in the park. Not to mention, it's much better to inspect the track and address issues in natural daylight, as opposed to night lights. The list goes on.

 

[Hyperspace Hoopla]

Got to ride this morning. We got in line (we made a fake line....) at 8am, and Kent let us in at 11. Very cool experience, but the ride was just okay for me.

 

[PDI]

This attraction has more visibility than any they've built in a long time. Everest was the last one you could see, but you couldn't actually get close enough to tell who was riding, if anyone. This attraction is surrounded by guest paths.

Also, it's the best way to generate excitement. Case in point: this thread...and the thousands of tweets, FB posts, blogs and other forum discussions about the ride. By the time it opens, the amount of free "media" coverage they will have gotten will be immeasurable.

Disney has clearly said that it will be open to guests on May 28. It says it on the sign hanging in front of the ride. The only reason guests get disappointed is because they read the internet and think they're owed an early ride.

There are a million reasons why running it during the day is better than night. This is an extremely important phase of testing, adjusting and training. Everyone involved needs to be on their A game, and for most people that doesn't happen at 3am. They need test riders, but they don't want swarms of CMs coming to the park while they're trying to clean and prep for the next day....especially since the ride goes down during these tests, and there's no point having a bunch of test dummies loitering in the park. Not to mention, it's much better to inspect the track and address issues in natural daylight, as opposed to night lights. The list goes on.

Point well taken that this ride can be seen from all angles as opposed to others and I can see how some testing during daylight hours are needed but billion dollar companies can afford a few spot lights not to mention a large part of the ride is in the dark anyway. Point I am making is having the twenty something blowing bubble gum bubbles going in the main entrance who did not pay a dime to get in and is not paying on avg $250 a night to stay on property is bad business. Perhaps they should have come up with a separate entrance for CM preview away from main entrance but maybe the CM at front gate needs daylight practice of smiling at their CM friends as they welcome them into the line.

 

[wdisney9000]

I don't how see how anybody can be upset with Disney on this one. Like someone else mentioned before, CM's have probly signed a waiver or something, guests have not. If one little teeny tiny thing went wrong you would have someone (a guest) suing for millions and claiming "they shouldn't have let people on it if it wasn't ready"!!

 

[cw1982]

So, Disney is only supposed to test the ride, with riders, during the 6-8 hours the park is closed overnight? Got it!

I bet they wouldn't feel that way if they had managed to be among the lucky few that got to ride for a soft opening.

Seriously, though, if the CM's are only allowed to come and ride it when the MK is closed, then fewer of them might take advantage of the opportunity. In addition to the other reasons that @Tom mentioned for why these tests being done during regular hours is an important factor, something else to consider is that, if the only time Disney offered CM previews was during oddball hours when no one wants to be there, the CM's who need the practice of running the ride and the testing that needs to be done won't be happening under conditions that are close to what the norm will be. They need a steady flow of people to get the CM's used to the timing of loading and unloading, among other things.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the soft openings for the public were being dictated, at least in part, by whether or not there is a decent sized break in the number of CM's in line, or even because they want to add to the number waiting in the queue for timing purposes... after all, people are going to want to know how long the wait is once the ride opens, and the CM's working have to know how long the wait is from different points in the queue in order to make that happen. None of this would work out if Disney was only allowing previews to take place during the graveyard shift.

Besides, to those of you who are screaming that Disney is acting poorly by allowing the ride to run for CM's only during the day, do you really want the CM's who are operating other rides during their shift the next day to be running the rides on little to no sleep because Disney encouraged them to stay up all night to ride the 7DMT? It's one thing for them to choose to stay up all night on their own accord, but Disney doing anything that would encourage them to make decisions that could impact guest and CM safety sounds like a bad idea.

 

[JenniferS]

This attraction has more visibility than any they've built in a long time. Everest was the last one you could see, but you couldn't actually get close enough to tell who was riding, if anyone. This attraction is surrounded by guest paths.

Also, it's the best way to generate excitement. Case in point: this thread...and the thousands of tweets, FB posts, blogs and other forum discussions about the ride. By the time it opens, the amount of free "media" coverage they will have gotten will be immeasurable.

Disney has clearly said that it will be open to guests on May 28. It says it on the sign hanging in front of the ride. The only reason guests get disappointed is because they read the internet and think they're owed an early ride.

There are a million reasons why running it during the day is better than night. This is an extremely important phase of testing, adjusting and training. Everyone involved needs to be on their A game, and for most people that doesn't happen at 3am. They need test riders, but they don't want swarms of CMs coming to the park while they're trying to clean and prep for the next day....especially since the ride goes down during these tests, and there's no point having a bunch of test dummies loitering in the park. Not to mention, it's much better to inspect the track and address issues in natural daylight, as opposed to night lights. The list goes on.

Oh look at you, being all sensible and rational there.

Well said.

 

[rct247]

As any guest visiting this attraction, how would you feel if Disney opened the attraction up but the ride system and the working CMs were not prepared and all the bugs weren't worked out? Would you feel a little upset that maybe more time could have been taken to hash out all the issues? What if the cast were so bombarded with various new guest issues just for the sake of opening that it caused more downtimes and longer waits? These soft openings are never called previews (including for CMs...it's not a cast preview...it's "Play-Testing") because it is there for training purposes. It is there to give the operations team practice running a new ride system with CMs new to it. Even this new coaster is different from other coasters at Disney. It has a different post-merge set up they are trying out. It has different guest challenges with size. By working with CMs, it gives them the opportunity to practice, but with "Guests" that are more understanding and aware of how to queue up, load, and unload an attraction. By letting in small spurts of guests, they are testing them on real world issues like boarding with children and guests with disabilities in addition to those who quite frankly probably didn't visit a theme park in the weeks prior to their visit and are so distracted by everything going around them that they are slower and not smart at getting the loading process down. But you don't want to overwhelm the operations team just in case issues due arise or new challenges due present themselves. Naturally, the first day or two of these soft openings are going to be small windows that will probably increase over the next few days to work up to the real deal. Whether those on this board personally understand that and can respect that is one thing, but the average guest who is also including in these random soft openings and day to day encounters will not understand. It's their time, their money, their vacation, their memories, their precious children, and everyone is a critic or an expert.

At least Disney isn't in the situation that Busch Gardens is with their new attraction which had an opening date and previews that have gone and past and still isn't open. Now that is frustrating, but things happen.

 

[mjmqm]

Hi All,
spending 7 days at DW. Went to sdmt with my family today with the hopes of a ride.
We arrived at approx. 8:40 and saw 40-45 people in line. We lined up and my wife wandered off to Starbucks for lattes. My daughter soon became bored but we had decided in advance to stay a few hours before heading to Epcot. Numerous CMs explained the gruesome details about what was happening. We stuck around. Lots of activity with CM's showing at there allotted ride times. Trains were running and there were tons of questions from passerbyers. By 10ish my daughter was getting stir crazy.
At 10:46 we were heading on.....yeah!!!
Fun ride and great to be part of the experience. CM's were helpful and patient to everyone in line. We thanked everybody we could and took lots of photos. The family behind us was a blast to talk to.

 

[PDI]

I don't how see how anybody can be upset with Disney on this one. Like someone else mentioned before, CM's have probly signed a waiver or something, guests have not. If one little teeny tiny thing went wrong you would have someone (a guest) suing for millions and claiming "they shouldn't have let people on it if it wasn't ready"!!

As a practicing litigation atty I know a few things about waivers. Disney would not be immune from suit from off duty CM. Best thing they could do if concerned about liability (which I assure you they are well aware of) is have only on duty CM ride in which case only workers comp would apply at best.

I bet they wouldn't feel that way if they had managed to be among the lucky few that got to ride for a soft opening.

Seriously, though, if the CM's are only allowed to come and ride it when the MK is closed, then fewer of them might take advantage of the opportunity. In addition to the other reasons that @Tom mentioned for why these tests being done during regular hours is an important factor, something else to consider is that, if the only time Disney offered CM previews was during oddball hours when no one wants to be there, the CM's who need the practice of running the ride and the testing that needs to be done won't be happening under conditions that are close to what the norm will be. They need a steady flow of people to get the CM's used to the timing of loading and unloading, among other things.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the soft openings for the public were being dictated, at least in part, by whether or not there is a decent sized break in the number of CM's in line, or even because they want to add to the number waiting in the queue for timing purposes... after all, people are going to want to know how long the wait is once the ride opens, and the CM's working have to know how long the wait is from different points in the queue in order to make that happen. None of this would work out if Disney was only allowing previews to take place during the graveyard shift.

Besides, to those of you who are screaming that Disney is acting poorly by allowing the ride to run for CM's only during the day, do you really want the CM's who are operating other rides during their shift the next day to be running the rides on little to no sleep because Disney encouraged them to stay up all night to ride the 7DMT? It's one thing for them to choose to stay up all night on their own accord, but Disney doing anything that would encourage them to make decisions that could impact guest and CM safety sounds like a bad idea.

Seriously! Disney is the largest single employer in the state of Florida. I don't think they would have to worry about scheduling a couple hundred CM to ride at night or early morning that do not have their finger on the trigger so to speak the next day. Yeah the guy that works selling the balloons on the street better make sure he gets his 8 hours sleep. All I am trying to point out is it is not about entitlement. I agree no one is "entitled" to ride the ride before they say it is ready but spare me the we have to have cast members in daylight in street cloths to ensure it is safe speech. All that is about is more we are Disney hear me roar! Man where is old man Walt when you need him. He was a visionary who understood that to succeed you have to stay ahead of the curve and the competition and keep the customer happy. The new cast of Disney leaders have lost that vision and it shows.

 

[NearTheEars]

Yep. Or they could take the approach of testing in the middle of the day which will tick off paying customers. Why does it have to be tested during hours the park is open to public? Do you think McDonalds would introduce a new sandwich, put it on the menu, and then invite only employees to come to the store while they are off work and eat it while other paying customers watched. Of course not because they realize that is bad business just like the other parks realize employee only previews during regular hours is bad business. I would even be okay with a bunch of folks in fantasyland uniforms were riding to test it but off duty CM in street cloths laughing at the folks that pay their salary is quite different.

Mine Train isn't on the menu until the 28th. It's opening date has been widely publicized. And as an AP i booked my FP for June 1, and baring a breakdown, will happily ride ... Since it will be open.

 

[PDI]

Mine Train isn't on the menu until the 28th. It's opening date has been widely publicized. And as an AP i booked my FP for June 1, and baring a breakdown, will happily ride ... Since it will be open.

As did I. Just don't care for the way this soft opening has happened as compared to others in the past. If it is a new trend I predict future problems.

 

[cw1982]

Seriously! Disney is the largest single employer in the state of Florida. I don't think they would have to worry about scheduling a couple hundred CM to ride at night or early morning that do not have their finger on the trigger so to speak the next day. Yeah the guy that works selling the balloons on the street better make sure he gets his 8 hours sleep. All I am trying to point out is it is not about entitlement. I agree no one is "entitled" to ride the ride before they say it is ready but spare me the we have to have cast members in daylight in street cloths to ensure it is safe speech. All that is about is more we are Disney hear me roar! Man where is old man Walt when you need him. He was a visionary who understood that to succeed you have to stay ahead of the curve and the competition and keep the customer happy. The new cast of Disney leaders have lost that vision and it shows.

1) You really think that a couple of hundred riders per day would be enough? For most rides, that wouldn't be more than a few minutes worth of practice for the CM's who are training.
2) Sure, the guy selling balloons may not be risking anyone's safety by showing up on little sleep, but not everyone is a balloon seller. What about the ones who work the food stands? Or the ones running the rides? Or the ones working security detail? Or... you get my point.
3) "We are Disney hear me roar?" Really? That's actually exactly what they WANT... they want people to hear them "roar," especially with the low cost that comes with the free publicity they are getting just from people talking about the ride, just like we're doing now. By participating in this thread alone, you are helping them to gain more publicity... sounds like a good business decision to me.

Are there other things that Disney could do differently to keep guests happier? Possibly... I'll let ya know after my trip in nine days. But I still don't see anything wrong with the CM previews being during normal operating hours. Again, for the previews to be effective as a means of training CM's who work that ride, everything needs to be as close to what a normal operating day would look like as possible. Plain and simple.

 

[NearTheEars]

As did I. Just don't care for the way this soft opening has happened as compared to others in the past. If it is a new trend I predict future problems.

One thing I will admit is that I have 0 experience with soft openings. But as a guest, I would never expect to ride an attraction until the day it is open.

What I don't agree with, is saying that CMs riding for CM training in the days ahead of it's publicized opening is rubbing it in guests faces.

Maybe after camping out or standing in a line with no guarantee for hours makes it feel that way, but that's also something I'm not interested in doing when an attraction isn't open yet.

It's much easier to test a parade, like FoF was after hours, but a ride running late into the night with CMs that probably need to be up early for the next days shift likely wouldn't work out too well.

 

[GoofGoof]

One thing I will admit is that I have 0 experience with soft openings. But as a guest, I would never expect to ride an attraction until the day it is open.

What I don't agree with, is saying that CMs riding for CM training in the days ahead of it's publicized opening is rubbing it in guests faces.

Maybe after camping out or standing in a line with no guarantee for hours makes it feel that way, but that's also something I'm not interested in doing when an attraction isn't open yet.

It's much easier to test a parade, like FoF was after hours, but a ride running late into the night with CMs that probably need to be up early for the next days shift likely wouldn't work out too well.

I agree with this. If they limit soft openings to mostly CMs then so be it. If some people get in and get to ride that's a bonus. We can all ride when it opens. Was it rubbing it in guests faces when they had AP previews or DVC previews of the rest of FLE?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Seriously! Disney is the largest single employer in the state of Florida. I don't think they would have to worry about scheduling a couple hundred CM to ride at night or early morning that do not have their finger on the trigger so to speak the next day.

That would be a dick move towards the opening crew. There is plenty of literature out their on how working nights is not normal and messes with people. To just expect the opening crew to switch to night shifts for a month and then switch back is treating your employees like crap.

 

[flynnibus]

All I am trying to point out is it is not about entitlement

Yet you bring up how much guests are paying per night vs the CMs who didn't pay anything, etc. You can say whatever you want, but your tone and choice of arguments conveys your true traits. Just accept the product isn't for you. Guest watch others enjoy things all the time.. be it tours, special seating, special meals, those who won something, those who got picked for something, etc. Instead of being all bothered and demanding what Disney should have done.. just accept what you knew to be fact at the beginning... the ride isn't open. Accept that, and everything else fades away.

 

[flynnibus]

As did I. Just don't care for the way this soft opening has happened as compared to others in the past. If it is a new trend I predict future problems.

I predict future problems with demanding guests. CM previews during the operating day are nothing new. The difference is most recent attractions do not include a roller coaster you can clearly see in the middle of the park.. instead of watching people go into a building. The only thing different is the poor attitudes of guests IMO.

 

[Jetdoctor]

I agree that Disney should handle CMs laughing at us as we waited for a chance to ride a highly anticipated new attraction. I personally witnessed on 3 different occasions. CMs rubbing it in our face. This to me is not a case where a CM having a bad day. Which I could understand. I have grace for those not having a good day. But to act the way they acted during the CM preview is uncalled for. This is just another example of how I believe parts ONLY PARTS of Disney front line CM are not nearly as nice as they where say 20 years ago. Granted there are a lot of very rude patrons out there. I have been gilty of loosing my cool before. I think most of us have had our bad days.

Again this is a very small isolated incidence. But when I see and hear CMs being out right rude, They should be at least warned by their superiors. I know that my upper management wouldn't tolerate that from my company. I still believe Disney does a great job of customer service. I will continue to love this place for the friendly kind service that you receive here. I'm SORRY FOR NOT STAYING ON TOPIC but that's the way this discussion is going so I thought I'd chime in with my 1 cent opinion. Can't wait MK OPENING IN JUST 2 ½ hours. Enjoy the RYDS. HOPE WE GET A CHANCE TO RIDE SDMT TODAY. GOOD LUCK TO ALL HAVE FUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wdwmagic]

Mine train is open to all

 

[coilback]

Mine train is open right now. Just started the Rock Your Disney Side event