USA TODAY - Long Lines May Be The Thing Of The Past

S

smythbr

New Member
Original Poster
http://travel.usatoday.com/destinat...of-the-past----in-the-future-that-is/143723/1

Long lines at Disney parks may be a thing of the past -- in the future, that is

Comments By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY
Mickey and Minnie Mouse wave as fireworks fly during a taping of the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade special in December. New Disney parks are destined for China and Israel.


CAPTION
By Mark Ashman, AP​



What would Disney theme parks be without long lines? And dare we even imagine such a world?Yes. Just not yet. The ability to reserve ride times online before leaving home is one of a number of "technological initiatives" announced Thursday at an investors meeting of the global theme park division, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Similar improvements would enable guests to bypass the hotel check-in desk.
"In the coming years, we'll introduce a broad set of systems and tools that will help us create a more seamless and personalized experience and help guests get more out of their visit with us," Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Tom Staggs told attendees.
Disney coffers might get more out of the visit, too. The Sentinel quotes Scott Smith, an instructor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, as saying the quicker Disney gets visitors from their hotel into the park, the sooner they start spending money.
Currently, Disney has a Fast Pass program that allows visitors to reserve blocks of times for some rides. But the new system, which the Sentinel says has been in the works for a year and is said to cost $1 billion, would be much more extensive.
 
wendysue

wendysue

Well-Known Member
Reserve ride times from home before leaving for your vacation??? Why?? If I have to reserve ride times from home it would be like having to decide what time you want to eat 6 months in advance, which I think is ridiculous anyway.
If that were to happen, and being spontaneous as I am, I get to the parks and all the rides are filled with people who reserved the time in advance.....that's the end of my vacations at WDW. I want to be able to go and visit whatever ride at whatever time I want WITHOUT reserving it. (maybe I'm missing something here) :confused:
 
RonAnnArbor

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
You ARE missing something here -- you will be free to wait in standby as you always do.

First, this is just chatter and talk at this point, so I wouldn't worry too much about it....second, what it would entail would be just like fastpass, only you could do it from your iPhone in advance....and not every attraction would use it, just like not all of them have fastpass now.

I would give my eyeteeth to reserve a time for Soarin and for Toy Story Midway Mania and avoid the morning running of the bulls to get fastpasses for either one....

And as to reserving times and planning what rides you are going on in what order, you BETCHA people do that -- there is a whole industry (like TouringPlans.com) that exists around specifically planning out your itinerary as much as possible....and you see more and more people walking around WDW with either the Touring Plan sheets or with the iPhone apps that do the same thing.

The article said lines will be SHORTER....not non-existant.
 
Atomicmickey

Atomicmickey

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what to think of that statement at this time, either.
On first blush, it sounds bad. But then again, we all chirped at the idea
of the photos on the castle, and Disney has turned that into a triumph.
(what a show!)

I think that "what it is" is going to be different than "what we think it will be" in large measure. I suppose that we'll just have to wait and see.
 
the-reason14

the-reason14

Well-Known Member
wendysue said:
Reserve ride times from home before leaving for your vacation??? Why?? If I have to reserve ride times from home it would be like having to decide what time you want to eat 6 months in advance, which I think is ridiculous anyway.
If that were to happen, and being spontaneous as I am, I get to the parks and all the rides are filled with people who reserved the time in advance.....that's the end of my vacations at WDW. I want to be able to go and visit whatever ride at whatever time I want WITHOUT reserving it. (maybe I'm missing something here) :confused:
Click to expand...

I'm on the same page as you. While it does sound somewhat appealing to have 'reserved' ride slots, I park hop like it's nothing, and will admit I use my dad to hop to other parks to get fastpasses if I plan on stopping at that particular park that day, so maybe I shouldn't shut this idea down as quick as I have been. I guess I should wait and see, but all I know is if it gets to a point where I can't get fastpasses for rides and it's early or it's because things have changed too drastically, I'll probably be in and out of guest relations each trip getting fastpasses and I won't go to WDW as much anymore.
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
If this allows for the removal of all the fast pass machines then I am all for it.

Basically it sounds like automated fast pass on your wireless device. But I am sure there is so much more potential. Such as bypassing check-in and going right to your room or automated dining reservations. It is the future.
 
T

tampabrad

Active Member
Upside...If you plan well enough ahead, you can have a seemless vacation.

Downside...Last minute trips will result waiting in line and not being able to eat. Already, it is near impossible to make a last minute ADR. Unfortunately for me, I am a last minute planner.
 
parkgoer

parkgoer

Member
i think you people are really missing the point. "home" doesn't necessarily mean from your house 1000 miles away 6months in advance. to me it means your laptop in your hotel room/smart phone.
 
JimboJones123

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
parkgoer said:
i think you people are really missing the point. "home" doesn't necessarily mean from your house 1000 miles away 6months in advance. to me it means your laptop in your hotel room/smart phone.
Click to expand...




You mean with the Internet connection that you pay daily for?

It creates a class system that I really don't like. My parents don't and will never have smartphones. They are in their mid 50s. They SPEND at WDW as well. Why should they be put in a lower class of guest experience than a bunch of kids that got dumped off by their parents for the day for babysitting?
 
KeithVH

KeithVH

Well-Known Member
Tom Stagg's weekly newsletter pointed out this possible change might include character experience lines. Technicaly, a line is a line. But can you imagine, with the way people are now at a meet&greet, if a oarent and child just waltzed up to a character bypassing everyone and THEIR precious snowflakes who had just spent the last 15 minutes in line? Yeah, character lines don't want as long but it's a CHARACTER.

No good can come of this.
 
sbkline

sbkline

Well-Known Member
:hurl::brick:

Sounds like a horrible idea to me! And what's the big thrill about bypassing the check in desk? Are we in that much of a hurry? My wife and I just stayed overnight in a hotel this weekend and we were talking about this stupid online checkin stuff and how we feel like going up to the desk to check in is all part of the fun of staying in a hotel. Now I hate standing in a long line just as much as the next guy, but I don't want it to get to the point where I have to plan out what rides I want to ride and what times. That's just ridiculous. I plan my park days and my restaraunts, but other than that, I don't like to have my whole day planned out, as far as what order to do the rides, when to go into the gift shops, etc. Sounds like this idea takes away ALL spontanaiety. :brick:
 
Pumbas Nakasak

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
So its racist, designed to disadvantage those whose devices dont work with US networks.

Besides anything favoured by JT is bound to be half arsed
 
Mad Stitch

Mad Stitch

Well-Known Member
I wonder if the system will be smart enough to not permit a 3 pm reservation at Soarin followed by a 3:15 pm reservation at Toy Story Midway Mania. You know there will be people who try it not knowing they are in different parks.
 
D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
thelookingglass said:
Terrible idea thought up by people who probably rarely set foot in the parks, let alone actually worked in them.
Click to expand...

More than likely backed up by much research and survey analysis by those survey takers in the parks and sent to guests emails.

Disney rarely makes changes without massive research.
 
PalisadesPkteer

PalisadesPkteer

Active Member
Thinking that Maybe it will work the following way.

You can reserve a certain number of fast passes for your vacation ahead of time.

Then when you check-in at hotel you pick these up. You can use them at any fast pass ride and for anytime you choose, however, you can not acquire any more fast passes until the reserved ones are used up first. It will be tied into the hotel room key / park ticket. So system will only allow you to get and use one for yourself (thumbprints etc.?)

What do you guys and gals think?
 
WDWFigment

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
JimboJones123 said:
You mean with the Internet connection that you pay daily for?

It creates a class system that I really don't like. My parents don't and will never have smartphones. They are in their mid 50s. They SPEND at WDW as well. Why should they be put in a lower class of guest experience than a bunch of kids that got dumped off by their parents for the day for babysitting?
Click to expand...

I am a little skeptical of how/whether this will work, but I am taking a wait and see approach in general.

However, this specific type of sentiment confounds me a bit. I don't think society can be resistant to the fruits of technology because not all people have or will ever have the tech. Yes, it's unfortunate for those who don't use the technology, but to benefit from a lot of things in this day and age, you have to possess technology. I can't do a Google search without the internet, I can't watch the news without a TV (or computer, some sort of 'viewing box'), this is just the way things are. Resisting these, and other tech, because it's not available to all would be foolish of me. Society cannot and should not appeal to the lowest common denominator. That's how we end up with things like the new Spaceship Earth script. ;)

I once heard about a study accusing tax laws that benefit online retailers of being discriminatory. Putting aside other potential issues with these laws, that's probably true. However, I doubt that stops many people from shopping at Amazon.com. I'm not going to forfeit a benefit that can inure to me because it doesn't benefit all others equally.
 

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