Wait times do reflect attendance

[RSD Part Deux]

The night time is unbearably bad now at Magic Kingdom. It was bad in January, December and October. Epcot at night is alright. There are always things like the 3 Cabarellos and the Land which have zero wait.

The morning. Getting to Animal Kingdom an hour and a half before opening is still the best strategy as it is for the rest of the parks.

Also park hopping is becoming less of an option strategy wise because the transportation time (with busing shortages, waits) and the crowds make it not worth it to lose an hour plus getting from park to park only to find the other parks just as crowded.

Night time at Epcot would be even better if they didn’t close Journey and Living with the Land early. Both were closed at 7p last week. They weren’t down - they were closed for the evening.

 

[crxbrett]

In the past late August was hot but with reasonable crowds, I was there mid to late August in 2015 and although it took some strategy the crowds were manageable. I won't wait more than about 30 minutes for any ride and we were able to do everything we wanted back then without breaking that barrier. Of course our key strategy is to get to each park before opening, most folks don't like to get up early when they are on vacation, hopefully that still works, fingers crossed for both our sake!

I just went this past year (Aug 26-Sep 4) and it was very manageable. I actually never waited more than 40 min (Peter Pan's Flight one night with no FP) for anything. And was able to do Space Mtn, 7D Mine Train, Splash, Big Thunder, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, SSE, Soarin', Test Track, Mission Space, Frozen Ever After, Kali River, Everest, Dinosaur, Flights of Passage, RNR Coaster, Tower of Terror, Navi River and the Kilimanjaro Safari - all with 5-25 min waits. The key was making sure I had FP+ every day, utilizing them well and making sure to immediately get another one once I had used them; as well as always being in the parks for EMH (AM and PM) and being there in time for rope drops in the mornings every single day. I also constantly checked the app for wait times. Sometimes a ride shuts down for an hour and if you get lucky and are near it when it re-opens, you can get on fast.

It sounds like you already have the same strategy I have, so you should be good. I got to AK at 6:45 am and was 5th or 6th in line at the gate one morning. That paid off dividends. They let us get on FoP before the park even opened at about 7:45am and I was able to get into the Navi line by 8am with a 5-min wait. Like you said, most people don't want to get up super early before the sun comes up. So being in the parks at rope drop really pays off that first 60-90 min! I also took advantage of the rain. The crowds disperse in heavy rain and that's the perfect time to get on some things that normally have crazy wait times.

Another strategy I use is during the parades and fireworks and shows. I don't mind missing those things, and the attractions definitely have less wait times during those events.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I have been at WDW the past month. I typically snowbird every year this time of year. The wait times have been really bad. However the parks are not overly busy. The reason for the disparity is the staffing. Things have been cut. For example POTC had. 45 minute wait the final two hours of the park hours. There was one staff member doing the load! He was working the line up, asking the amount of people in the parties, seating them, and sending the boats off. Needless to say the other side wasn’t even open already cutting capacity in half. Jungle Cruise: only had two boats going around. One train for the Railrod, etc. While normally the crowds would support “walk on” status, the staffing brought the wait times way too high. I saw this same pattern at KS, SM, IASW, Soarin, TS and many other rides. Same thing on the Monrail. Only 1 train for the resort loop. So don’t just look at the park wait times and think the park is busy. Staffing has been cut - majorly. I asked a CM supervisor and they told me they had a lot of people call in sick, quit, etc and there is a lot of turnaround. Might be just the PR spin.

I hope you wrote to Disney about these observations. If no one says anything, they will assume it is all ok. It is not okay. We will be in Disney in March and hope they don't continue cutting staffing.

 

[ThatMouse]

Increasing the amount of FastPasses can also increase wait times. Take Frozen for example, a recent tuesday night, a 50 minute standby for what didn't seem like that many people in that room. Edit: we had fastpasses and it took us 15 mins to get on a boat, so you figure there are 3 fast pass riders to every 1 standby increasing the standby wait times by a lot!

 

[Susan Savia]

“Space Mountain was at 180 minutes at one point today. Fast pass lines for it were longer then standby. Bathrooms seemed to be under staffed, with trash over flowing. Crowd capacity seemed heavy.

 

[Damon7777]

Needless to say the other side(of Pirates of Caribbean)wasn’t even open already cutting capacity in half.

Not so fast there;
1 operational loading dock vs 2 does not necessarily translate to 1/2 of throughput.

There is still one "track" and one track only that can accommodate a very fixed/finite amount of boats per hour.

The 2 docks only help with lessening the operational "down time".

If boats are launching unfilled or boats are missing their optimal launch times due to lack of staff then I hear you big time but you don't just get to assume that you waited double because of one loading dock in use vs 2.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

The night time is unbearably bad now at Magic Kingdom. It was bad in January, December and October.

I've noticed this too!

I have slowly learned there really are no off-seasons anymore. :'(

But there are now no more off-hours either. Late evening MK, my time-tested strategy, is now a crowded nightmare. 45 minutes for everything on my last very cold evening at 11:30pm in early December.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

"Child Dream Crushers" LOL.

As I always say if you don't like it get another job. Think there is a place down the street that requires the same job skills.

Meh, that is what you tell workers in a Manilla sweatshop. In the civilised world, the customer is to treat employees properly and the employer is to pay them properly.

 

[RSD Part Deux]

Not so fast there;
1 operational loading dock vs 2 does not necessarily translate to 1/2 of throughput.

There is still one "track" and one track only that can accommodate a very fixed/finite amount of boats per hour.

The 2 docks only help with lessening the operational "down time".

If boats are launching unfilled or boats are missing their optimal launch times due to lack of staff then I hear you big time but you don't just get to assume that you waited double because of one loading dock in use vs 2.

That is exactly what was happening. Every second boat was launching empty. The first boat launched from the opposite side that was unstaffed. People weren’t boarding there.

 

[jimbojones]

35 minutes is what you have a problem with? LOL. You will not like your August visit at all. 35 minutes is on the low end now for a wait time.

yeah that is what I am afraid of. Like I said, from these forums it looks likely this could be our last trip if the crowds and waits are as bad as it sounds. There is no ride at Disney worth standing around for an hour or more, especially for someone who has been many times. Life is too short to spend a month's salary to stand in lines, there are too many other things in this world to do and see. But I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be ok, in August 2015 we never waited more than 30 minutes or so and did everything we wanted to .

 

[POLY LOVER]

Acceptable wait times. Disney thinks that people year round at any time will accept wait times of X amount. Disney simply cuts staff and slows the rides down to match made up wait times. There will never be a time that you can walk on a bunch of rides. Disney saves some money on staff. Got to wring that last dollar out of the parks.

Didn't they just get a huge tax break? I guess that's not enough?

 

[NelleBelle]

yeah that is what I am afraid of. Like I said, from these forums it looks likely this could be our last trip if the crowds and waits are as bad as it sounds. There is no ride at Disney worth standing around for an hour or more, especially for someone who has been many times. Life is too short to spend a month's salary to stand in lines, there are too many other things in this world to do and see. But I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be ok, in August 2015 we never waited more than 30 minutes or so and did everything we wanted to .

We found that for the same price, DCL was a dream! The customer service was unbeatable, it was relaxing, had just enough pixie dust, plenty of stuff to do, and delicious food (all included)...plus, you get to see the "real world"! I'd take your "month's salary" and try that if you haven't! I'd go for at least a 5-night cruise (anything less is not enough)

 

[Jrn14]

I def noticed a shortage in staffing when I was there at Animal Kingdom on 1/27. We had already waited 2hrs and 40 minutes for Flight of Passage which I anticipated and I believe they were using all available staff to keep the line moving as fast as possible, however we got in line for a posted 65 minutes to ride Kilimanjaro Safari's later in the evening. The line CRAWLED and ended up taking about an hour and 45 minutes. They made a few announcements about animals on the track and a repeatedly a very insulting "Please keep up with the party ahead of you" as if that was the reason the line was 40 minutes longer than posted. I would believe it could have been a stubborn rhino holding things, up, but the line led us past the loading station and there were hardly any safari vehicles running, because we could hear them as they approached and left the platform. Sometimes it seemed like 5 minutes between when a vehicle would leave and the next one would show up. I can only assume they had less guides and less vehicles going. I didn't really expect this in January.

 

[jimbojones]

I def noticed a shortage in staffing when I was there at Animal Kingdom on 1/27. We had already waited 2hrs and 40 minutes for Flight of Passage which I anticipated and I believe they were using all available staff to keep the line moving as fast as possible, however we got in line for a posted 65 minutes to ride Kilimanjaro Safari's later in the evening. The line CRAWLED and ended up taking about an hour and 45 minutes. They made a few announcements about animals on the track and a repeatedly a very insulting "Please keep up with the party ahead of you" as if that was the reason the line was 40 minutes longer than posted. I would believe it could have been a stubborn rhino holding things, up, but the line led us past the loading station and there were hardly any safari vehicles running, because we could hear them as they approached and left the platform. Sometimes it seemed like 5 minutes between when a vehicle would leave and the next one would show up. I can only assume they had less guides and less vehicles going. I didn't really expect this in January.

This is disappointing to hear, I think I may be cutting a planned 7 day trip this August down to 4 and spend the other three days at the beach.
Can anyone comment on whether the water parks are getting similarly overcrowded?

 

[RSD Part Deux]

A trip to Epcot last night reminded me that Journey, Pixar Film Fest, and Living with the Land all close at 7p. Two hours before park closing. Presumably because of budget cuts. Three attractions that toddlers can do in a park that there is very few things for them to do.

 

[winstongator]

I have been at WDW the past month. I typically snowbird every year this time of year. The wait times have been really bad. However the parks are not overly busy. The reason for the disparity is the staffing. Things have been cut. For example POTC had. 45 minute wait the final two hours of the park hours. There was one staff member doing the load! He was working the line up, asking the amount of people in the parties, seating them, and sending the boats off. Needless to say the other side wasn’t even open already cutting capacity in half. Jungle Cruise: only had two boats going around. One train for the Railrod, etc. While normally the crowds would support “walk on” status, the staffing brought the wait times way too high. I saw this same pattern at KS, SM, IASW, Soarin, TS and many other rides. Same thing on the Monrail. Only 1 train for the resort loop. So don’t just look at the park wait times and think the park is busy. Staffing has been cut - majorly. I asked a CM supervisor and they told me they had a lot of people call in sick, quit, etc and there is a lot of turnaround. Might be just the PR spin.

There has been a ton of flu/pneumonia in FL. Do you want a CM with a highly communicable disease with severe consequences working? WDW probably does tick down staffing for the periods it considers slower.

I've got an answer to this...higher ticket prices and/or changing the peak/mid/low pricing structure.

Isn't the monorail different as they just don't have the trains? Again, that's a spending/investment issue.

Has WDW been surprised at the crowd levels the past 6-9 months? I'm eagerly awaiting the attendance numbers for 2017 that come out around the middle of the year.

 

[winstongator]

This is a big piece of why Disney was willing to throw all that money at MM+. It gives them the data they desired to staff down when they expect lower crowds.

Have their expectation of crowd levels the past 3 months been accurate?

 

[thomas998]

I was quite intrigued the other day in the Peter Pan line where they let too many fast pass through and I was stopped by the cast member computer so I took a look. It said posted wait time for standby was 60 minutes and then under that it said actual standby wait time was 12 minutes. I knew they inflated and messed with times but wow what a difference.

Uh Oh...If they are making a habit of posting times in excess of what they know to be true while presenting those times as true it is only a matter of time until they get hit with a lawsuit from a disgruntled guest that will claim their trip was ruined by Disney's fraud... Get a good lawyer and he may even press for a class action suit and then working RICO as Disney sending that information out over the internet would make it wire fraud. This would be great.... Just need a guest willing to risk 10 thousand on suing them to get a good lawyer.

 

[Jrn14]

Uh Oh...If they are making a habit of posting times in excess of what they know to be true while presenting those times as true it is only a matter of time until they get hit with a lawsuit from a disgruntled guest that will claim their trip was ruined by Disney's fraud... Get a good lawyer and he may even press for a class action suit and then working RICO as Disney sending that information out over the internet would make it wire fraud. This would be great.... Just need a guest willing to risk 10 thousand on suing them to get a good lawyer.

1/29

 

[NelleBelle]

How does the picture tie in (not being sarcastic...just obtuse and can’t tie the image to the previous post)?