The Hidden Horror of the Haunted Mansion Queue

[spacebaby]

I dont get it. fast pass isnt needed at the haunted mansion. I've never seen more than a 10-20 minute wait there....why would TDO attempt to ruin the queue with FP?

Im not sure I buy the idea that they're trying to install FP at the HM...

I saw the queue up to 90 minutes just before Xmas with it trailing back to the Liberty Boat entrance but I agree, generally it is no more than 20 minutes.

 

[Neverland]

Eh. Disney seems to learn its lesson each time when it comes to rides that they give unnecessary fastpasses to. Philharmagic and It's Tough to be a Bug won't have FP coming back anytime soon, so I don't see why Mansion would. I've seen Philhar at 40 minutes during extreme peak seasons, and there's no sign of fastpass returning there.

If FP were returning to Mansion, I can only guess it'd be to boost popularity (but the thing is: it's already popular), much like the 'surprise' Philharmagic fastpasses you get when you try to get Pooh FPs. Also, people have gotten lazy and now bore easily. I can't tell you how many times one of my rides has been 15 minutes and people come up to me demanding to know where the fastpass machines are. And when they learn that my attraction doesn't have fastpass, they storm off and refuse to ride, claiming that 15 minutes for anything is absurd. Some guests nowadays won't ride rides if they're not a walk-on and if they don't have fastpass.

 

[PirateFrank]

You said it yourself "I just finished talking with one of my Orlando friends who just hit me with a rumor" . :hammer::brick:

Um...this *is* a rumor board...isn't it? cut the OP some slack.

While I agree it doesn't need FastPass, to the poster above who said they have never seen the line longer than 10-20 minutes....you have not been there at peek periods when the standard wait is about 50-60 minutes, and at times even longer.

You're right, I have not. I usually travel during the value or choice seasons. The most crowded I've ever seen the park was this past august, as my summer vacation overlapped with the last 2 nights of summer nightastic.

However, I still stand by my assertion. Putting fastpass into the Haunted mansion queue would just increase overall waits. So I've never seen more than 10-20 during my travel times. With FP, the waits may not be severely impacted. But, only because that's the off-peak times. If you think 50-60 minutes during peak season is bad, wait until FP.....you'll be looking at 65-75 minute waits.

I know my comments are more an indictment on fastpass....but I really think it has ruined park flow. The last cast member I spoke to about this(and this wasn't a bus rider), informed me that FP operates under an 80%-20% rule. (and if I'm wrong, an informed cast member is *more* than welcome to correct me) Meaning that under constant load, 8 fast pass riders are supposed to be granted entry at the merge for every 2 standby. That is why standby lines have degraded to such long waits, during either peak times or with rides that have constant draw (like soarin or TSMM). Under constant line load, your line-flow has been reduced from 100% to 20%, there's no doubt that waits would increase. Look at Soarin'....there's NEVER a point where there isn't FP people getting to the merge. That completely explains why the standby queue is worse than the Long Island Expressway headed east on a friday afternoon in the summer.

 

[jakeman]

It will be interesting to watch which direction this thread takes:

Option A:

ZOMG! Fastpass increases wait times!

Option B:

ZOMG! HM will be ruined!

Either way, it's going to be a train wreck of pre-formed opinions and bad math.

 

[MissM]

I don't recall any of the supposed nightmares with the Fastpass queue at the Haunted Mansion but it's set up basically the same way as Test Track from a queue, holding room, queue, ride standpoint.

Nightmare? No. Unnecessary? Yes.

Now I love Fastpass and use it all the time. But for HM it didn't work. It basically just dumped you into the line right before the turnstyles. So it really wasn't very useful, well-formed or helpful. People resented the way you had to just "push" into the people waiting and you wound up just waiting in a big chunk of the line anyway.

There would be no need to put FP back on HM.

 

[imagineer boy]

I think the new bride is a VAST improvement over the old silent bride.

 

[Mad Stitch]

Well, I just became a bit of a bigger Disney geek today. I never knew the bride had a name. There is just so much to look at in the attic I never noticed it. I disagree with you though, I think that Constance and the rest of the attic was the best thing that came out of that rehab.

Back on topic. HM doesn't need Fast Pass, but if it does get it then no big deal.

 

[mp2bill]

I don't think you know what you're talking about.
-zoo

Agreed. How does adding FP make people more violent? If they're going to be jerks, they're going to be jerks regardless of what line they're in or if there's a FP or not.

 

[SeanC]

One thing not suggested yet...Since one reason for the rework of the queue is supposedly to let wheelchairs all the way through the normal line, that WOULD allow the old wheelchair entrance to become a new FASTPASS line right?

 

[Lord Pheonix]

I don't think you know what you're talking about.
-zoo

 

[PirateFrank]

I don't recall any of the supposed nightmares with the Fastpass queue at the Haunted Mansion but it's set up basically the same way as Test Track from a queue, holding room, queue, ride standpoint.

Yeah, but Test track has 3 (I think) holding rooms....and to that effect, I think they can get away with it...most of the times I've ridden test track, they fill one or two of the holding rooms with FP guests and fill the other(s) with standby. AFAIK, the haunted mansion has only one stretchy room. I still don't see a FP working on the haunted mansion without ruining the standby line.

Now, having said that, I am a FP hater. I think it's an awful system that has ruined traditional theme park progression. We've been through it a million times, but to make FP work for you, you can't experience the theme parks in a normal circuitous fashion. You have to go back and forth from one end of the park to the other several times, in order to get any value out of it. Anyone that touts the FP system while claiming they can circuitously enjoy a theme park is smoking a recreational chemical.

 

[TimNRA757]

One thing not suggested yet...Since one reason for the rework of the queue is supposedly to let wheelchairs all the way through the normal line, that WOULD allow the old wheelchair entrance to become a new FASTPASS line right?

No, because the wheelchair goes off to the side through a small hallway, almost as if you're being sent backstage though the area is themed still but it's a rather small hallway and you get dumped right into the same room anyway.

 

[Biff215]

Yeah, but Test track has 3 (I think) holding rooms....and to that effect, I think they can get away with it...most of the times I've ridden test track, they fill one or two of the holding rooms with FP guests and fill the other(s) with standby. AFAIK, the haunted mansion has only one stretchy room. I still don't see a FP working on the haunted mansion without ruining the standby line.

While there is one room at the entrance (with the changing portrait), I'm pretty sure there are two stretching rooms, similar to Tower's libraries. The best way to make FP work would be for its line to reach all the way to the first room instead of dropping you outside like it used to. I still agree though that's it's largely unnecessary at HM.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Yeah, but Test track has 3 (I think) holding rooms....and to that effect, I think they can get away with it...most of the times I've ridden test track, they fill one or two of the holding rooms with FP guests and fill the other(s) with standby. AFAIK, the haunted mansion has only one stretchy room. I still don't see a FP working on the haunted mansion without ruining the standby line.

Now, having said that, I am a FP hater. I think it's an awful system that has ruined traditional theme park progression. We've been through it a million times, but to make FP work for you, you can't experience the theme parks in a normal circuitous fashion. You have to go back and forth from one end of the park to the other several times, in order to get any value out of it. Anyone that touts the FP system while claiming they can circuitously enjoy a theme park is smoking a recreational chemical.

Test Track has 3 holding rooms, 2 are used to combine standby and fastpass, and one is "used" for single riders. Test Tracks capacity is less than the Haunted Mansion, but I wouldn't be surprised if the demand is comparable.

Haunted Mansion could realistically work with Fastpass, but it would be unnecessary every day. To me, the break even point would be 30 minutes. If the wait time is going to be 25 minutes, and then Fastpass is turned on, the wait will presumably jump up to around 40 minutes+, validating the use of Fastpass.

Touringplans.com can project wait times at different points in the day, I have to believe Disney is capable of doing the exact same thing. If their attendance projections exceed a certain number they should be able to activate Fastpass for "seasonal" attractions at the beginning of each day. This is effectively what is done with Living with the Land and what used to be done with Star Tours.

Additionally, Fastpass does not work for shows, it should be eliminated on all shows that currently have the machines as it is not actually used for them anyways.

Here are my suggestions for Fastpass

Magic Kingdom:
Daily
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Peter Pan's Flight
Winnie the Pooh
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway (New)

Seasonal
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
It's a Small World (New)
Pirates of the Caribbean (New)
Haunted Mansion (New)

To eliminate:
Stitch's Great Escape
Mickey's PhilharMagic

Epcot:
Daily
Test Track
Soarin'

Seasonal
Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE
Maelstrom

To eliminate:
Honey I Shrunk the Audience/Captain EO (in theory these could be converted to seasonal machines for Journey Into Imagination)

Hollywood Studios:
Daily
Star Tours (this is assuming the popularity of 2.0 is much higher than the current version)
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania

Seasonal
The Great Movie Ride (new)

To eliminate
Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Animal Kingdom:
Daily
Expedition Everest
Kilimanjaro Safaris

Seasonal
Dinosaur (this could just as easily be Daily, but there are some days when the wait is less than 20 minutes)
Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl (this needs to be used far more often, as it's never used now)

To eliminate
It's Tough to be a Bug

Now for the most part, anything under Extinct has been turned off for a while now, although occasionally they'll turn on the Voyage of the Little Mermaid machines. I'm looking for Disney to remove Fastpass from 7 attractions and add it seasonally to 4 attractions, and daily to 1 attraction. I'm also looking for a few attractions to move from Daily to Seasonal (Buzz Lightyear, Dinosaur), and one attraction to move from never used to Seasonal (Primeval Whirl).

 

[natz66]

I'm pretty sure Disney is changing it to a new interactive queue like the new Winnie the Pooh line. Not fastpass.

They seem to be changing lines so that waiting in line will not be as bad.

The opening post said it was a rumour.

 

[inluvwithbeast]

Nightmare? No. Unnecessary? Yes.

Now I love Fastpass and use it all the time. But for HM it didn't work. It basically just dumped you into the line right before the turnstyles. So it really wasn't very useful, well-formed or helpful. People resented the way you had to just "push" into the people waiting and you wound up just waiting in a big chunk of the line anyway.

There would be no need to put FP back on HM.

This is what most people are thinking. But since they're actually rerouting the queue, the HM may actually have a more orderly, traditional queue after the refurb. This would mean less pushing, crowding, and tempers. I think you could implement FP this way without much problem. Not that it's necessary, but still. I don't forsee any nightmares.

 

[MegaPowersPT]

We saw it hit 75 minutes over Memorial Day this past May. Hopefully the new queue additions will help ease those sort of long waits.....

Wow, so thankful we never travel to the World during peak times.

 

[EpcotServo]

A: I'm fairly 100% confident that an attraction having and not having Fastpass is a decision that can only be made well above the GM position.

B: I haven't seen any news or even whispers of Fastpass coming back to Mansion, and the old machines are currently in use at Midway Mania.

C: While I agree that the interactive thing will probably stink, and the old graveyard and layout should have never been torn out, I will at least see what it is first before I call it a horror. An annoyance maybe at this point, but not exactly horror yet.

 

[T-1MILLION]

Wow, so thankful we never travel to the World during peak times.

It can sure be a big change, but even so. 75 min when you think about it is an hour and 15 min. That is not too bad when you have things to look at and people to chat with. I am as spoiled as they come with someone who has been able to visit so often but I still waited 90 min around Christmas. I don't think it was quite that long of a wait. It is also very rare for it to get that long compared to the rest of the year.


I am sure adding a few lanes of queue (hopefully not tacky interactive) will be there to help keep order. Sort of an extended queue in a sense when needed.

Maybe something good with freeing up the keel boat station could come out of this? One could wish. I would love a Haunted Mansion gift area and or Keel boats to make a return of some sort.

If only.


My biggest fear that this new area will include tons of screens and the clue mystery who dunnit kind of games the tests had last year.

 

[wolf359]

This is what most people are thinking. But since they're actually rerouting the queue, the HM may actually have a more orderly, traditional queue after the refurb. This would mean less pushing, crowding, and tempers. I think you could implement FP this way without much problem. Not that it's necessary, but still. I don't forsee any nightmares.

The overall layout and the bottleneck is the thing I'm most hoping gets fixed in the new layout. If there are new games and scenery involved, I think that's a welcome bonus. And I also see where they could make a more logical FastPass line if the entire queue is designed from scratch to accommodate it. I think the biggest problem with FastPass at the Haunted Mansion is it isn't something needed the majority of the year, and the current queue doesn't do a good enough job integrating it.