Too Safe?

[MichWolv]

There are some crowd control techniques that really bug me, but even when they do, I understand them. If you want to be really inconvenienced, go to DL on a busy day. During fireworks/F!, the entire hub is one way (counter clockwise, I believe), as are the entrances from the hub to Frontierland (in) and Adventureland (out). They use benches as barriers to make sure you don't cross over and go the wrong way. Even so, I understand why they do it, even as it annoys me to no end.

 

[acishere]

The trick is to go somewhere where there is little to no crowd control first, then go back to Disney and see if their safety measures for parades and fireworks still bother you.

 

[Timekeeper]

While I understand why they want everyone to move all away across the row, I do get upset with this at times. When they have a show (such as Indiana Jones) where they say to arrive early for the best seat they still make everyone move to get the people in who arrive at the last minute. This at times mean that the good seat that you waited around for was now handed to someone else that decided to show up two minutes before the show begins. We ended up behind a post once because of this.

I have experienced this and I know how frustrating it can be. The only events that are truly first come first served viewing are probably the parades and fireworks.

Outside of WDW, shows, concerts, and movies are general admission and first come first served seating (or advanced reserved seating). So there are probably a lot of guests who find surprise and frustration at WDW when they - after spending more time than others waiting in line - are asked to "slide down" and move behind a pole, or behind taller guests so that their children's view are now obstructed, or a tall guests is asked to move and is no longer in the isle seat that he waited for and his knees are now poking into the back of a larger guest, etc.

It almost defeats the purpose of waiting for the "better seat." And, ironically, if you are "in the know" as to how theaters and viewing areas are filled, you can use this to your advantage and force some other poor soul to move and you come in at the last minute from that prime spot.

So why even set up queues (or FastPasses) for these or suggest guest arrival times? They may as well just open it all up for a free for all. Then they could save money on staffing fewer attendants. :brick:

 

[Aloha]

There are just some people who don't do things without being told even if it's obvious for example if a parade is on, as you say the cast members are just doing there jobs. Not only for the safety of others , but the safety of you too.

 

[MarkTwain]

Wanna get specific. I came out of the bathroom 10 minutes before the parade and was told I could not go "that way". I was not crossing the road but did want to get back to my family. I came from that way.

That can be frustrating... pretty sure I've been in that boat before.

 

[cindyt123]

the tram lady screamed at us at hollywood studios to get out of the way of the tram...then we jumped a fence right in front of a cs and they said you were walking in the most dangerous place you could be....i don't even know how we got there....

 

[Timekeeper]

Any intelligent person can see that a lot of the "practices" relate more to efficiency rather than safety.

There's absolutely no safety concern related to letting a person cross a street before the parade starts, but, there's a big efficiency concern because once one exception is made, everyone else will want to cross too, and if people keep crossing then that will delay the ability of the parade to (safely) come through that area.

 

[Master Yoda]

The trick is to go somewhere where there is little to no crowd control first, then go back to Disney and see if their safety measures for parades and fireworks still bother you.

So true. We spent a Saturday at Wild Adventures in Valdosta and if I had to guess the employees made up their crowd control methods on a daily basis. I have seen 8 year old kids play soccer with more organization than that place.

 

[loveofamouse]

I kinda get what you mean, but, unfortunately, common sense isn't as common as it used to be. Society, as a whole, can't be left to govern itself. There are too many people making poor decisions.

 

[scoobygirl39541]

I agree that these things can get annoying, especially when you know you're not an idiot and can make your own intelligent decisions, but Disney doesn't know this. So they have to take every precaution to keep everyone in line. Unfortunately, it does force an eye roll from the respectful guests, but it happens.

 

[Laura]

There are some crowd control techniques that really bug me, but even when they do, I understand them. If you want to be really inconvenienced, go to DL on a busy day. During fireworks/F!, the entire hub is one way (counter clockwise, I believe), as are the entrances from the hub to Frontierland (in) and Adventureland (out). They use benches as barriers to make sure you don't cross over and go the wrong way. Even so, I understand why they do it, even as it annoys me to no end.

However, during a NON busy day, you could do cartwheels down main street while fireworks are going off because it's so empty. That's something you won't ever find at MK. :lol:

I get sick of a bunch of teenager CMs herding me around like I'm a brainless goat during busy times, but at the same time, it sure makes it a lot easier to get from point A to point B.

 

[zooey]

WDW is a highly controlled environment. If you read any social criticism about the place, you'll find that to be one of their arguments against the parks. I don't agree, however. I don't see Disney controlling guests unreasonably from a business perspective, as they know people are dumb and will hurt themselves and then sue the company. You have t o remember that they aren't controlling you for some totalitarian scheme (unless it is a design to keep you in the park longer) but simple safety first.

 

[SMS55]

-"Go all the way down to the end of the row." ...Held up the show, caused arguements, and caused a person to trip over another persons feet.

I look at the lines and see which has a decent amount of people and go in that one. ZThe first guy in lines who stops in the middle is asked to go down and so is everyone else. When they stop I am in the middle. Works like a charm on Philharmagic.

 

[WDWFigment]

Any intelligent person can see that a lot of the "practices" relate more to efficiency rather than safety.

There's absolutely no safety concern related to letting a person cross a street before the parade starts, but, there's a big efficiency concern because once one exception is made, everyone else will want to cross too, and if people keep crossing then that will delay the ability of the parade to (safely) come through that area.

Exactly. I understand blaming lawyers for a lot of things, but most of these complaints relate to crowd control during an extremely busy time of year rather than the potential for lawsuits. Lawyers would have little, if anything, to do with most of the directives at "issue" here.

 

[ctpitw08]

Any intelligent person can see that a lot of the "practices" relate more to efficiency rather than safety.

There's absolutely no safety concern related to letting a person cross a street before the parade starts, but, there's a big efficiency concern because once one exception is made, everyone else will want to cross too, and if people keep crossing then that will delay the ability of the parade to (safely) come through that area.

Uh? Yes it is a safety concern, a parade coming causes people to run across the street faster an they would otherwise which results in people tripping over curbs, running into other guests, dropping items on the ground, etc. Having spent some time in Main Street Ops makes this more obvious.

Designated walkways are required not just for keeping guests moving who are just trying to get into and around the park but for keeping the pathways to first aid open in the event of an emergency. It seems stupid to you when we ask that you keep moving when you stop for a few seconds to snap a pic, but it only takes a couple of stationary guests to create a crowd of them and clog a walkway.