Things you never understood about the parks, that maybe somebody can explain

[HolleBolleGijs]

One reason Tower of Terror doesn't quite need a single rider queue is the odd seating with three on one side and four on the other side of the aisle, that way odd size groups go one side and even the other

Definitely agree. Using DLP as an example because that's the only time I've ever done ToT alone, I always ended up skipping good portion of the line anyway, because the CMs will ask if anyone is by themselves. But I don't think it happens frequently enough to warrant a specific queue.

Plus, rides like Splash and HM are entirely different experiences than say, EE or Space. When I go on the former two attractions with my family, I want to enjoy it with my family, especially if there are younger children. This is less important for thrill rides, so I don't mind being next to a total stranger.

I do think Soarin' would be a great candidate for single riders, although the CMs do often finagle with the seating arrangement to make sure they can fit the max number of people in, just like ToT.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Yeah, it kind of went off on a single line rider tangent.

My question: Why do they keep the drivel that is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority narration? The old narration was so much better. Now we have Mr. Wimpy-voice say "It's out of this world" about a half dozen times, and otherwise boring every rider. How hard/expensive can it be to just bring back the last narration? Not very.

By contrast, all the rest is about money. Why aren't things open at various times? Money. it costs money open the Noodle Station, to man World showcase, to build monorails, to bring back the skyway (and insure it), and to shorten the queuing areas once the crowds start to diminish. By the way, I've seen the Noodle Station open over Christmas. Even then, it wasn't super popular, and I think Dr. Adkins can be thanked for that to some extent. But Tortuga Tavern, yeah, love that place.

 

[MarkTwain]

I'll try and shed some light on the single rider debate.

Disney prefers using single-rider when a ride meets all/most of the following criteria:

1. When the ride has heavy demand for it. Single rider takes some resources to run, including extra staffing, and space in the queue that could be used for normal guests otherwise. Disney likes using single rider when an an increase in the ride's throughput is desperately needed (aka really popular rides). If the ride has a 10-20 minute wait most days... they probably won't bother.

2. When vehicles have 2-3 seats per row. With wider vehicles (think Safaris or Soarin), cast can more easily arrange parties in a way where there's no empty seats. With narrow vehicles, there's a higher likelihood of having single seats going unfilled. 3 seats in a row are especially awkward (think Test Track), since most parties come in multiples of 2, believe it or not.

3. When vehicles are dispatched quickly. This is a big one. Cast don't always have time for fancy mental math or shifting parties around, they need those seats filled ASAP so they can send the vehicle through. Single-rider is a great way to do that (again, think Test Track or RSR. Very fast dispatches). Compare that to Soarin' or Safaris again, which may have several minutes between vehicles; in this case cast have much more time to fish through the queue to find that party of 3 or whatever they need.

4. When there's space in the queue. Another big one. Many rides don't have space; queues can fill up quick, and carving out a 3-foot walkway for single riders to walk straight to the front of the line can eat up precious queue space. You'll notice most rides with single rider have huge dedicated lots of land (Everest, Test Track, Indy). You won't be seeing single rider in Fantasyland rides anytime soon.

5. Doesn't make it completely and totally awkward. This one has been touched upon already with the Haunted Mansion example. DCA had single-rider for TSMM for awhile, since it matched all the other criteria. But the fact of the matter is that some rides are a little more "personal" than others. No one's making conversation while screaming on Everest or RnRC, but on rides like Mansion or TSMM you usually prefer to know the person next to you. So DCA removed single rider from TSMM.

Hope that helps As for the "seasonal" QSR thing, I only wish I had an answer.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Usually though, once you hit the boiler room, the CMs will ask for parties of 1 or 2 if there are empty seats in the elevator.

Same thing at Soarin.

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

I'll try and shed some light on the single rider debate.

Disney prefers using single-rider when a ride meets all/most of the following criteria:

1. When the ride has heavy demand for it. Single rider takes some resources to run, including extra staffing, and space in the queue that could be used for normal guests otherwise. Disney likes using single rider when an an increase in the ride's throughput is desperately needed (aka really popular rides). If the ride has a 10-20 minute wait most days... they probably won't bother.

2. When vehicles have 2-3 seats per row. With wider vehicles (think Safaris or Soarin), cast can more easily arrange parties in a way where there's no empty seats. With narrow vehicles, there's a higher likelihood of having single seats going unfilled. 3 seats in a row are especially awkward (think Test Track), since most parties come in multiples of 2, believe it or not.

3. When vehicles are dispatched quickly. This is a big one. Cast don't always have time for fancy mental math or shifting parties around, they need those seats filled ASAP so they can send the vehicle through. Single-rider is a great way to do that (again, think Test Track or RSR. Very fast dispatches). Compare that to Soarin' or Safaris again, which may have several minutes between vehicles; in this case cast have much more time to fish through the queue to find that party of 3 or whatever they need.

4. When there's space in the queue. Another big one. Many rides don't have space; queues can fill up quick, and carving out a 3-foot walkway for single riders to walk straight to the front of the line can eat up precious queue space. You'll notice most rides with single rider have huge dedicated lots of land (Everest, Test Track, Indy). You won't be seeing single rider in Fantasyland rides anytime soon.

5. Doesn't make it completely and totally awkward. This one has been touched upon already with the Haunted Mansion example. DCA had single-rider for TSMM for awhile, since it matched all the other criteria. But the fact of the matter is that some rides are a little more "personal" than others. No one's making conversation while screaming on Everest or RnRC, but on rides like Mansion or TSMM you usually prefer to know the person next to you. So DCA removed single rider from TSMM.

Hope that helps As for the "seasonal" QSR thing, I only with I had an answer.

Splash definitely fits all of these, I was with someone alone last time I was on it (There were 3 of us) and I don't think it was awkward. I even pointed out some hidden mickeys

 

[MarkTwain]

Splash definitely fits all of these, I was with someone alone last time I was on it (There were 3 of us) and I don't think it was awkward. I even pointed out some hidden mickeys

There are definitely a few rides I would add it to if given the choice (although not most). Splash could be a good one, and I'm surprised Dinosaur doesn't as well. It's the exact same vehicle as Indy (which has single rider), seems to have plenty of room to squeeze an extra queue through, and can command a long wait on many days.

I wonder if a lot of it is just "status quo."

 

[BrerJon]

I almost died of shock at Magic Kingdom last week when Tomorrowland Terrace was open! OK, it closed at 3.30pm (just as the parade rolled by), but in all my hundreds of visits, I'd never seen the shutters open for anything other than hot chocolate at a Christmas party.

I had to eat something there to mark the occasion (a Citrus salad, nice but nothing to write home about), but I can now confirm that it does sometimes open, it's not just there for decoration and seating!

Golden Oak and Tortuga were still shut though, when crowds could have easily kept them busy.

 

[Tuvalu]

Golden Oak and Tortuga were still shut though, when crowds could have easily kept them busy.

Golden Oak was open on Sunday, June 7.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

I almost died of shock at Magic Kingdom last week when Tomorrowland Terrace was open! OK, it closed at 3.30pm (just as the parade rolled by), but in all my hundreds of visits, I'd never seen the shutters open for anything other than hot chocolate at a Christmas party.

I ate at Tomorrowland Terrace around 4th of July two years ago; as I go maybe once every two years, I had no idea that was unusual. I'm assuming it was because it was a holiday, might've even been on Independence Day.

 

[Communicore]

I ate at Tomorrowland Terrace around 4th of July two years ago; as I go maybe once every two years, I had no idea that was unusual. I'm assuming it was because it was a holiday, might've even been on Independence Day.

I miss the days when it was Plaza Pavilion. They had decent eats there.

 

[Communicore]

Why did they build the Norway bathrooms before Norway, and will those bathrooms remain after the Frozen-ization?

 

[Brad Bishop]

PS... some people still do that. There is no explaining humanity. Maybe too many chemicals in the water or something.

I think some people see theme parks (big corporations) as the enemy. "Who are they to charge $2.50 for a bottle of water!!!" and there's no thought to:
- just bring your own water
- use a water fountain

They approach their vacation as an expensive stress trip instead of just enjoying themselves and keeping things in check.

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

I've seen the Tommmorowland Terrace open once, Tortuga Tavern is much more frequent

 

[WDWVolFan]

When I was in WDW on my college program (this past August to May) I saw the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant and Tortuga Tavern open a bunch of times. It just goes by what the projection is for the number of guests in the park those days.

Tortuga I get it, but Tomorrowland Terrace sits in a premium spot...very premium spot for it to sit closed for most of the year.

 

[WDWVolFan]

Why does Innoventions in Epcot close at 7pm? I understand why UoE closes early since its ride system is so incredibly complex, but why Innoventions? Is it due to lack of traffic?

Maybe because there's nothing left in there...Disney doesn't want people catching on to the fact that they have two empty pavilions with nothing to do.

 

[WDWVolFan]

My questions are:
- Why did they take out the Arcade video games and racing and flight simulators out of Innoventions to add stupid stuff like it has had over the last 15-20 years? I remember being 12 years old and all those video games were packed and adults and kids were having a blast!
- Why won't the Disney Meal Plan allow you to choose an appetizer OR dessert? I'm not a big dessert fan and when we get the meal plan, we could easily have one of us get an appetizer and then the other two share their dessert for the three of us.
- Why are there so many CMs at DHS acting outside of Disney's regulations, i.e. they have poor attitudes, are not as smiley (not a big deal for me) and are just rude. I don't expect someone to smile all the time but dang it, it's WDW, at least be helpful! I know it was Star Wars Weekend but geez.

I'm sure I'll think of more...

 

[Alexis]

1.) Why doesn't the Under the Sea, Little Mermaid attraction have a store at the end of the ride?

2.) Does Cinderella's Castle lights ever turn off? (I know I stayed at Contemporary once and kept checking to see if they would turn off, but they remained on, I think until like 3 or 4 am.

3.) How does the merchandise and food get delivered for the parks?

I'm assuming lots of things are done at night, so they're prepared for visitors in the morning and day.

 

[matt9112]

I've seen the Tommmorowland Terrace open once, Tortuga Tavern is much more frequent

I really like the latter.

 

[matt9112]

1.) Why doesn't the Under the Sea, Little Mermaid attraction have a store at the end of the ride?

2.) Does Cinderella's Castle lights ever turn off? (I know I stayed at Contemporary once and kept checking to see if they would turn off, but they remained on, I think until like 3 or 4 am.

3.) How does the merchandise and food get delivered for the parks?

I'm assuming lots of things are done at night, so they're prepared for visitors in the morning and day.

Number 3 is rear service tunnel I believe?

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

I really like the latter.

I do too, and Pecos Bills is always so crowded