Stevek
Well-Known Member
I forced myself to watch 30 minutes of Hamilton and was out.
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
The Miscellaneous Thought Thread
- Thread starter mickEblu
- Start date
Mac Tonight
Well-Known Member
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
Stevek
Well-Known Member
I was watching with my wife, she bailed before me or else I might not have had an out.
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
So, I was checking out the DL Paris website. As has been reported, at some points during the day, Disney will not be allowing a normal standby line and instead will use what they are calling a Standby Pass (for free - sounds like it is just like MaxPass).
From the website:
The new Standby Pass is a free service, available via the official Disneyland Paris app. During certain periods of the day, you will need to reserve a Standby Pass to be able to join the queue for some of our most popular attractions during a specific allocated 30-minute time slot (subject to availability)."
So, yes, during busy times, you cannot just stand in line. You will be forced to get a Standby Pass and if those run out, you are out of luck unless you want to pony up the 8-15 euros per person to ride. Why the range? Oh, they will determine the price to ride based on how busy they are!!
Which rides? Here is the list:
Big Thunder Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight
Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
Star Tours : l'Aventure continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrorᵀᴹ
Autopia®
So, if you wanted to pay for Premier Access to each of those, that would cost each person 64-120 euros on top of the daily ticket price (~48-90 euros depending on the deal you get). And, BTW, you can't just buy all of them. You have to do them one at a time, just like the typical fast pass rules. (You can't get the next one until your boarding time for the pass you currently hold opens up.)
Also... if no one is standing in line, this will make walkways SUPER crowded. That just sounds like the makings of an awesome day (*sarcasm*).
Maybe they can get away with these kinds of shenanigans in Paris? Could they get away with this in Orlando? I DON'T see this ending well in Anaheim, AT ALL.
From the website:
"What is a Standby Pass?
The new Standby Pass is a free service, available via the official Disneyland Paris app. During certain periods of the day, you will need to reserve a Standby Pass to be able to join the queue for some of our most popular attractions during a specific allocated 30-minute time slot (subject to availability)."
So, yes, during busy times, you cannot just stand in line. You will be forced to get a Standby Pass and if those run out, you are out of luck unless you want to pony up the 8-15 euros per person to ride. Why the range? Oh, they will determine the price to ride based on how busy they are!!
Which rides? Here is the list:
Big Thunder Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight
Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
Star Tours : l'Aventure continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrorᵀᴹ
Autopia®
So, if you wanted to pay for Premier Access to each of those, that would cost each person 64-120 euros on top of the daily ticket price (~48-90 euros depending on the deal you get). And, BTW, you can't just buy all of them. You have to do them one at a time, just like the typical fast pass rules. (You can't get the next one until your boarding time for the pass you currently hold opens up.)
Also... if no one is standing in line, this will make walkways SUPER crowded. That just sounds like the makings of an awesome day (*sarcasm*).
Maybe they can get away with these kinds of shenanigans in Paris? Could they get away with this in Orlando? I DON'T see this ending well in Anaheim, AT ALL.
Mac Tonight
Well-Known Member
You're even more lucky. We only watched because my wife and Mother-in-Law were hyped and wanted to. And then it was the soundtrack for weeks on end... Thankfully it seems to have been a passing trend.I was watching with my wife, she bailed before me or else I might not have had an out.
Mac Tonight
Well-Known Member
We all know that Walt's true vision for his parks included guests not being able to fully enjoy their experience unless they were constantly on their phones booking passes to stand in lines...
What still confuses me is that verbiage of a "specific allocated 30-minute time slot".
So let's say Big Thunder hits their queue limit. A person needs to have a Standby Pass in order to join the closed queue only during a 30-minute time slot? I have to assume at some point the queue "re-opens". It can't just hit "capacity" at say, noon, and be closed to everyone except Standby Pass and Premier Access holders for the rest of the day, right??
This hasn't even been rumored to hit DLR yet and I already hate it.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The 30 minutes is your return time window.We all know that Walt's true vision for his parks included guests not being able to fully enjoy their experience unless they were constantly on their phones booking passes to stand in lines...
What still confuses me is that verbiage of a "specific allocated 30-minute time slot".
So let's say Big Thunder hits their queue limit. A person needs to have a Standby Pass in order to join the closed queue only during a 30-minute time slot? I have to assume at some point the queue "re-opens". It can't just hit "capacity" at say, noon, and be closed to everyone except Standby Pass and Premier Access holders for the rest of the day, right??
This hasn't even been rumored to hit DLR yet and I already hate it.
And, yes, a queue could fill up at noon and be full the rest of the day. This is essentially an attraction switching to 100% FastPass.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
I think Zootopia is Disney’s best modern-era film. I also enjoyed Frozen (once), BH6 and PatF.
Rich T
Well-Known Member
That’s not his fault, though. He’s just doing his thing and doing it well.
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
That's how I interpreted it too.
As @lazyboy97o said, sure it can. Think about a typical day at the DLR: Space Mountain, Soarin and RSR fastpasses disappear by early afternoon sometimes. In the Paris system, you would either not ride, or pay.
I hate it too. And actually, that isn't even correct. I really can't express how I'm feeling about this. Angry? Disappointed? Cynical? I keep picturing the Disney execs that came up with this plan like this....
...and it makes me sad.
EDIT: tried to fix my tortured last sentence... not sure if I improved it or not.
Not exactly. Standby passes from what I understand can also be offered intermittently when standby queue gets too long. I don’t think if an attraction hits “standby pass” mode it necessarily stays there all day long. You also have to factor in that without fast passes, the standby queues will be moving much faster especially if the new premier passes are priced properly. Then factor in the reservation system and whatever self imposed new capacity limits Disney has in mind (even if it’s close to what it was pre pandemic) and I can’t imagine “standby pass” is something that will be necessary at DLR very often. And if I’m wrong, then it’s a train wreck waiting to happen and they should know better. This wont work in Anaheim.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
At times like this I am inclined to argue that Angus Wynn, the founder of Six Flags, is the most influential person the amusement business. What was supposed to be a simple concept that provided customer convenience has wreaked havoc on the entire industry for half a century. Pay one price and just get to enjoy the park. It seems so simple and yet it isn’t. It requires faith in an indirect business model where the real drivers of revenue (attractions) don’t actually generate revenue. It’s the reason the regional parks went from theme parks to coaster parks. Its why everyone is looking to monetize everything possible.
BuzzedPotatoHead89
Well-Known Member
Exactly what I envisioned.
My real question is how will this be implemented in practice? Will the “traditional” DLP queues be artificially limited or capped to a very low 30 minutes or so to ensure the “flip” from regular queue to standby is quickly breached. Then predictably the new “virtual standby queue” time slots will sell out quickly which will artificially boost sales of the new “premiere access” line jumping product.
If we do assume the worst this would be a disaster but also not an atypical corporate strategy - since it’s sure to boost sales in the short term and look positive on the quarterly balance sheet. Especially if some form of annual passes come back (as they are in Paris), which will raise per person spending in the short term - forcing families to either (1) buy premiere passes, (2) prolong their day/hours in the park, or (3) spend more latent time shopping/eating … all of which will mean more short term daily cash from guests.
If I were a TWC Exec looking to expand/milk this program, I’d still be concerned about the medium-long term damage to the brand and guest experience, which could result in less repeat visitors, pricing out customers, etc.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
You are correct that nothing guarantees that Standby Pass is all booked. Disney can also control how much capacity is released at a time and limit how many of each a person can hold. The Disneyland Resort would in all likelihood fair the best of any Disney property as it’s parks, and especially Disneyland, have much more adequate capacity. Walt Disney World is where it has the potential to be a true nightmare. The parks are completely insufficient in terms of capacity and management has spent decades trying to make customers just the right amount of miserable while successfully convincing people that artificially created crowding is a positive.
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
Ugh... this truth hurts a lot.
I just don’t think the combo of expensive premier passes and the frequent necessity of “standby passes” would work well with locals/ membership holders. Not a lot of room for spontaneity and they already have us glued to our phones way too much before these new additions. The missing piece of the puzzle of course is what the new membership program looks like. I just don’t see it working long term. I think people will begin to hit a wall and be ok with other options like Knotts and USH that are much cheaper and don’t make you jump through hoops to have a “good time.”
DrAlice
Well-Known Member
Which again brings me back to an earlier point: How confusing do you want to make the park experience for your guests?? Imagine if the average vacationer doesn't know whether they have to get in line or not? How frustrating. Doesn't sound "magical" at all.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Disney has successfully cultivated an audience that sees itself not as consumers who purchase a product but as people who live a certain lifestyle. Disney isn’t just something you buy and enjoy, it is part of your identity and how you live your life (says the guy on the Disney message most definitely known to others as “the Disney guy”.)
While they like tourists who plop down a wad of wash they also very much like those repeat visitors who keep coming back. Their growth really hasn’t been driven by new customers but by getting the same people to keep coming back more frequently.