Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Goofyernmost]

And unless it was a show or similar the line usually kept slowly shuffling forward.

That is the truth and the reason why I have been a vocal hate Fastpass person since day one of it. I use FP now because I have too, not because I think it's great.

 

[Bolna]

The thought of spending an entire hour fondling fake funerary ornamentation makes me want to join the Ghost Host up in the rafters.

Oh, I have to try to remember this phrase!!! Fondling fake funerary ornamentation!

Ironically, the problem with the new interactive elements is precisely the fact that they come across more as "experiences" than as "queues." Although you might think this is a good thing -- what could be better than having more "experiences" in the parks? -- it's actually problematic because the experiences being offered are, by necessity, incredibly shallow and do not lend themselves well to repeated engagement.

Having elements of limited interactivity -- such as noisemakers and video screens -- might be OK in a queue for a ride that is ostensibly for younger children, like Pooh, but they are of considerably less efficacy in an attraction that is meant for a broader cross-section of guests. It might be cool to experience the HM's cemetery organ or the bubble-blowing mariner once or twice, but most older guests are not going to want to spend hours and hours touching an ersatz tomb while waiting to enter the mansion.

In many ways, having a well-themed -- but largely non-interactive -- queue that actually contributes to the attraction's narrative (e.g., Expedition Everest, Journey to the Center of the Earth, etc.) is more effective because it doesn't set up the expectation of a separate entertainment event aside from the attraction itself.

When an interactive experience fails to sustain interest for the artificially prolonged standby waits that FP+ will engender, it will seem more like a disappointment than would a well-themed, albeit non-interactive, queue that never provided the implicit promise of an additional entertainment event.

I think you make a great point there. One of the things I notice as I "mature" as a Disney traveller is how I appreciate things differently the more often I see them. Compared to many here I still haven't spend that many days in the parks, but I am fascinated which attractions are good at staying fresh over the time and which aren't. And I can very much see that those interactive experiences fall exactly in the category of things that are fascinating at first but don't keep up over time.

Interactivity appears to be great because everything is about ME - it appears very personal. But old fashioned story telling is about new experiences. Most of us adults are no longer good at inventing our own stories. So if I am the focus, there is nothing new I can add. After a few times it is just always the same thing. A very detailed queue like Expedition Everest on the other hand gives me something new to explore every time.

 

[disneyeater]

Exactly. People who would NEVER eat at Cali Grill are eating there to "get their money's worth" on the DDP. It is happening all over property, and the resturant quality is suffering as a result.

Heard a rumor (no way to know if it is true, but guy has been right more than wrong) that the free dining plan will be changed in the fall to only QS for moderates and deluxes and no free dining for values at all. Anyone hear something similar?

 

[crispy]

Heard a rumor (no way to know if it is true, but guy has been right more than wrong) that the free dining plan will be changed in the fall to only QS for moderates and deluxes and no free dining for values at all. Anyone hear something similar?

I think that's what they are offering UK residents right now so it's very possible.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I am hearing the values will get no free dining. QS for Mods and Deluxes. And a hard pressure sales pitch for an upcharge to a Deluxe Dining plan that includes 1 table service per day.

 

[HTF]

I probably should just not say anything since I am posting from my smart phone sitting under a flat screen in the Emerg-a-care waiting room.

Flu?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Flu?

Yep. Confirmed case of the Flu. At least I'm off for tomorrow too.

 

[Skibum1970]

You obviously hate Disney ... so you should just go to UNI and then the lines for Everest Extreme Crappy Edition will be shorter for the rest of us.

Dang, you found me out. I'm secretly dinging Disney to encourage more visitors go to UNI. Oh wait, Disney's doing that for me with NextGen and no new developments.

 

[ParentsOf4]

FP+ is sounding more and more like an utter nightmare. The argument that FP+ will make lines longer doesn't even qualify as an argument. It seems to just be a fact. There is no other way for this to work out. @ParentsOf4 has done a great job breaking it down for us, and there does not seem to be any wiggle room. Standby lines will increase, you will ride less E-ticket level attractions, and you will have to plan for those rides months in advance. How is that considered a vacation?

The people on these boards are more informed than 95% of WDW guests. The people on these boards understand FP, understand how important it is to be at the parks for opening, and understand that it's possible to get a lot of the long-wait attractions done early. They understand the pros-and-cons of park hopping and know how to get the most value from their WDW vacations. The current system rewards people who do their homework.

I believe FP+ will take away these advantages and reward those who spend more money. A lot of people are going to like FP+ but I think it mostly will be the uninformed who are ready to spend more. Disney is trying to reach those people, the once-every-few-years-so-let's-spend-our-kids'-college-fund crowd and not the devoted-to-WDW-go-every-year crowd. FP+ will reward money, not loyalty.

Consider the following post to read who I think will love, love, love FP+:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/numbers-cars-and-quality.856357/page-18#post-5225183

 

[tirian]

Um ... you obviously haven't had a burger at the Electric Umbrella or a turkey sandwich as Cosmic Ray's of late.

No, I was thinking more about the updated ones at Epcot and Be Our Guest.

 

[Kuhio]

I was so surprised how pleasant that wait was. Because the line kept moving all the time! Those 40 minutes seemed shorter than waiting 10 minutes or so for Soarin - even with a FP - standing in those empty hallways before you get into the theater. Atmosphere and MOVING instead of standing make a huge difference!!

Yes, indeed. I remember a 45-minute wait for TDS's Tower of Terror going by in a flash. It was early in the day, so FP hadn't really kicked in, and the standby line was constantly moving. Additionally, every part of that queue -- from the outside garden to the lobby to the elevator loading area -- is studded with detail, so there's always something to marvel at.

When you are in a queue that's both constantly moving and rich with detail and atmosphere, it's likely that there will be more themed elements in the queue than you will have time to fully appreciate during a single go-through of the line. Consequently, a guest is apt to feel that Disney has gone above and beyond in providing a deep and immersive experience for the attraction as a whole.

In contrast, if the queue barely moves, then interactive elements can only help so much with the tedium. The simplistic sound and motion effects that characterize most of Disney's nextgen queues are unlikely to prevent a general feeling of stagnation when a guest is at a standstill in front of the same effect for 10 minutes or more.

I don't have [WDW1974's] fanboi problem...

It's a problem unique to @WDW1974... due to the special Spirited pheromones that he gives off. I'm speculating that decades of overexposure to pixie dust have fully infused his system with the stuff, such that trace amounts of aerosolized pixie dust are constantly being emitted from his person. Ardent fanbois can detect and are drawn to even a minute whiff of particulate pixie dust in the air, much as with sharks and blood in the water.

Not being a fanboi myself, said pheromones had no effect on me... but I did think he smelled a little musty, or maybe ripe... kind of like he hadn't bathed in a couple of days.

 

[djlaosc]

Heard a rumor (no way to know if it is true, but guy has been right more than wrong) that the free dining plan will be changed in the fall to only QS for moderates and deluxes and no free dining for values at all. Anyone hear something similar?

I think that's what they are offering UK residents right now so it's very possible.

Yeah, that is the deal in the UK at the moment (although we have never had free Dining at Value Resorts, I don't think - at least not in the last few years)

 

[lunchbox1175]

I understand the point of view of not having late hours or opening earlier from the financial side of things if you are not seeing returns on it,(which with merchandise mark up being what it is I highly doubt they aren't), but from a guest point of view I feel it is a bad move. Especially taking it away from the guests staying on the property. An extra FP doesn't equal an extra hour in the park let a lone two extra hours, I can usually get in four rides in that last two hours the park is open. Frankly as a person who doesn't usually take their children with them thanks to grandma and grandpa doing it, I enjoy that time when there aren't a ton of children around because its either too early to get everyone going, or too late for them to be up. Flynnibus said it best, when they close early where does everyone have to go DTD or BWALK, yeah, lets take all the people that would have been at one of the parks for those later hours and add that attendance to those areas, that will be fun.

 

[djlaosc]

I posted the following on another thread. I thought it prudent to repeat it here:

As a Brit, I can prebook 14 days with the Ultimate Hopper. All 4 parks, both water parks for £252

I can get a day at Discovery Cove, plus 13 days at Seaworld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica for £111

Or... 14 days of Seaworld, Busch, Universal, IOA, Aquatica and Wet n Wild for £218

Plus various other combinations. I know what looks better value.

Speaking from a UK tourist point of view, most of my friends and colleagues I know now book a combo pass that includes WDW, Universal, IOA, Seaworld, Aquatica and Busch for around £445 for 14 days. They see that as best value, enough to see everything, and that means they now only visit Disney parks for half or less of their total trip. Other parks are eating into what used to be Disney days. And of the dozens of families I know (very unscientific I know) who are going to WDW, maybe two would even consider staying on property.

That's going to be a lot (again, a tiny sample) of off site guests not having access to FP+. And they have no plans of moving onsite just for the "pleasure" of shorter lines as opposed to inflated lines. It's I-Drive/192 or a villa in Davenport for everyone I know. They won't or can't pay a premium for staying on site. They don't see why they should.

Yeah, last year, we had 21 day Ultimate WDW, 14 day Universal/IOA, Discovery Cove Non-Swim/SWO/BGTB/AQO, Kennedy and MNSSHP.

Discovery Cove allowing "all non-swim packages" (previously at least 1 person had to swim with the dolphins) offers amazing value (I think we ended up getting Discovery Cove entry for £14/pp when comparing to buying a SWO/AQO/BGTB or a USF/IOA/SWO/AQO/BGTB ticket) - we weren't planning to do Discovery Cove again this time, as it is expensive, and we've been twice before, but when I read about the new policy, it turned into a bargain.

Next time we go (looking at two weeks November/December 2014 for Christmas Decorations) - looking to cut ticket costs so currently looking at 2-day-2-park Universal (we should be staying onsite for the night), 1-day SeaWorld (although possibly looking for a "second day free" or "second day for $10" offer due to all of their Christmas activities (don't think you could fit them all in in one night). If they cut free dining (QSDP), I have already suggested a week at WDW, then HRH for a night or two for FOTLP, and then moving to Cabana Bay for the remainder of the week, or a week at USF/IOA/SWO and then flying up to Anaheim for DL/DCA, so would be looking to cut our WDW tickets as well.

 

[lunchbox1175]

Whats next $50 charge for the Magical Express!

 

[John]

Probably not the right place for this.....but what the hay...I dont have time. Just arrived on property....staying at POP for 8 days.....will do a trip report when I return. I havnt been to POP in sometime....HOLY CRAP what happened to this place. A little rough around the edges. There has been a lot of talk about the hamburgers....awful.....just god awful......dry dogfood. I havnt visited in about 16 months. I cant believe the food quality has droped even in that span of time.

 

[Daannzzz]

We were at WDW and Uni the first two weeks of December. I noticed a couple of things...well more than that but my previous post apparently read like a trip report and was moved to that location.
AT the Studios we had ridden the Great Movie ride earlier in the week. Cam back a few days later and started to walk in and was directed by a CM to a Standby line outside, to the left of the main entrance. This was a slow day. I have never, in my 14 trips seen FP on the Great Movie Ride. We waited outside and then in the lobby portion of the queue for 10 minutes while 5-7 people came in using fast passes.The theater portion of the queu had it's usual amount of guests waiting. Perhaps this was a normal thing to happen. I have never seen it nor was FP needed that day.
We snagged a reservation for Monsieur Paul a couple days after it had reopened. My partner was checking for availability on the dining app while wandering World Showcase and this came up for a couple hours later. I have never been in Bistro de Paris so this was a new one for me. The place looked nice and was classy without being over decorated. Nice dinnerware and linens etc. This is not normally the kind of food I would get excited about but partner wanted to try it. We were seated about 5 minutes when they brought in a new group to sit next to us. They had a baby with them. Disney provided a highchair/ The promptly pulled a plastic Mickey bowl out of a bag and filled it up from a foil pouch they ripped open. Next came out a bright pink and lime green sippy cup. The baby was fine and anytime it made noise they shusshed it. Waiter brought the complimentary escargot appetizer which was stared at and pushed around the table. Don't know if anyone tried it.

 

[Todd H]

Probably not the right place for this.....but what the hay...I dont have time. Just arrived on property....staying at POP for 8 days.....will do a trip report when I return. I havnt been to POP in sometime....HOLY CRAP what happened to this place. A little rough around the edges. There has been a lot of talk about the hamburgers....awful.....just god awful......dry dogfood. I havnt visited in about 16 months. I cant believe the food quality has droped even in that span of time.

Awwww man don't tell me that. We're staying at the Pop in February and haven't been there since Thanksgiving 2011.

 

[lunchbox1175]

Probably not the right place for this.....but what the hay...I dont have time. Just arrived on property....staying at POP for 8 days.....will do a trip report when I return. I havnt been to POP in sometime....HOLY CRAP what happened to this place. A little rough around the edges. There has been a lot of talk about the hamburgers....awful.....just god awful......dry dogfood. I havnt visited in about 16 months. I cant believe the food quality has droped even in that span of time.

Man, I don't want to speak bad of the food because I know it is the most costs efficient option for many, but I haven't found a burger that wasn't dry and awful at any of the quick serve places. I know it is costly, but if I can't make a dining reservation, we pretty much hit up the restaurants at DTD for better fresher quality.

 

[harveyt0206]

The germ-a-phobe in me despises most of the interactive elements. The honey wall in the Pooh queue...ugh. I need a hazmat suit to even stand next to it. No more interactive queues....please.