ABQ
Well-Known Member
They wanted fewer people?Which is exactly what Universal wanted.
They wanted fewer people?Which is exactly what Universal wanted.
I think they wanted manageable crowds.They wanted fewer people?
Speaking with the plentiful team members I know at UO, turnout is big obviously, but not nearly on the scale of Hogsmede opening.
Posted wait is now 350 minutes and they have closed the single rider line, which is currently still over an hour wait.
Probably because no one wanted to get stuck in the back.And I saw video of people literally running in. Seriously? You're all GOING TO THE SAME PLACE. I don't understand the running (that goes for any "must run to attraction")
I was in Hogsmeade this March and it was still busy, the construction probably caused a little congestion but it was still very busy. I'm hoping to be living in tampa in a little over a year and I hope to be able to go on a very slow day and see everything I can.Love the HP books and movies. And I will gladly wait a year or so before heading back to USF again. Was at Hogsmeade a few months after opening and it was chaos. Went again in January 2014 - totally manageable. I'd rather it be manageable than new! Granted, Universal will get my money eventually... but not anytime soon.
Meanwhile, can't wait to hop on 7DMT in October. I have officially drunk the Kool-Aid.
Most of what you've said in your last few posts on this sounds reasonable to me. However, the "no savings" point at the end is probably going too far. One of the more difficult things to measure on MM+ is the better utilization of existing assets. By spreading crowds out (if it works) and having fewer empty seats on attractions, Disney gets more people through attractions in the same amount of time. Iger has alluded to that in earnings calls when he says that MM+ has allowed them to "accommodate" more guests. If you run Philharmagic the same number of times, but get 5% more of the seats filled, that's in improvement in efficiency. Whether you call it a cost savings or just chalk it up to increased guest satisfaction is a matter how you view it.Increased sales are easy to demonstrate. Just watch the 10Q's PRGS and PCGS numbers for the next 4 quarters and compare them to the last 3 years, which have averaged about 7-to-8% increases since 2011. In other words, that's the baseline increase before MyMagic+.
In order for MyMagic+ to begin to justify its tremendous investment costs, Disney will need to see double-digit increases in the PRGS & PCGS numbers, higher hotel occupancy, higher attendance, or a combination of all four.
In terms of 'savings', so far, Iger & Rasulo have reported about $300M more in added operational cost associated with new initiatives, which is mostly the result of MyMagic+. ("And this year, we're looking at about a $300 million expense item, and more or less the same amount on the revenue side.")
In addition, they have reported steeper-than-normal depreciation costs associated with MyMagic+. MyMagic+'s technology ages a lot faster than a brick-and-motor attraction.
So far, MyMagic+ has saved zilch.
Having waited an hour in Forbidden Journey's queue, I can honestly say that if they make Gringott's queue as entertaining, I won't mind the hour.
What you have to realize is that what creates the 2+ hour waits are the cursed preferred access lines, which take ride capacity away from some people and give it to others. Completely eliminate the FastPass+ line and Standby wait times would shrink!
One of the reasons Forbidden Journey rarely gets above an hour even in peak summer is exactly because it doesn't have an Express Pass line.
Meanwhile, over at Transformers ...
That is...not true. USF holds people much more readily than IoA does.
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