News Walt Disney World theme parks increase capacity but see longer waits and less physical distancing

[Jrb1979]

Both Universal and Disney were doing a great job in the beginning but now it seems like they don’t give a crap about social distancing anymore now that the crowds are coming back. Oh well Disney will always be here.

It all has to do with money. Especially Disney

 

[Horizons '83]

It all has to do with money. Especially Disney

Yeah Uni doesn’t care about the money at all

 

[Jrb1979]

Yeah Uni doesn’t care about the money at all

They do care about the money. Difference is one is finishing a new attraction and the other is delaying their new ones.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They do care about the money. Difference is one is finishing a new attraction and the other is delaying their new ones.

And one is delaying a whole new park. How many rides is that being delayed?

 

[IMDREW]

When I went to AK a few days after reopening it couldn't have been even 5% of capacity. There was no wait at all for FoP. With the shortcut to reride we rode 4 times in a row, went and did the rest of the park (with multiple rides on Kali and Dinosaur) and went back and rode FoP 3 more times. We weren't in the park more than 3 hours total. There was practically nobody there. Several times we didn't see another person on the walkways where we were.

I am very jealous

 

[Jrb1979]

And one is delaying a whole new park. How many rides is that being delayed?

None of those were going to be for a 50th anniversary. Here's to 50 years. Enjoy your new merch and here's some cupcakes.

 

[gerarar]

Figured this would fit here — have they ever done this for IASW? Maybe the current refurbishment has something to do with it, along with spacing needed for the queue.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Lovely. Now fantasyland is just as immersive as galaxies edge!

At least it took a pandemic for this to happen at MK, it was standard operating procedure at Trowbridge land.

 

[The_Jobu]

It's getting slightly crazy. Even vloggers are complaining of crowding, waits, and low staff.

Except AK, that seems to be well balanced.

 

[Jrb1979]

It's getting slightly crazy. Even vloggers are complaining of crowding, waits, and low staff.

Except AK, that seems to be well balanced.

This is what happens when the cut, cut, cut.

 

[The_Jobu]

Wait a second, why does the OP have thumbs up and love emojis? lol
"longer waits and less physical distancing" =


I am confusion here.

 

[zengoth]

I am very jealous

It’s not like that now, unfortunately- especially weekends. Wait times are still lower, but there are still points of crowd clogs (is thatan official term?) IMO the concept of “exit thru giftshop” really needs a rethink in social distancing times. FOP shop had moments of looking like no one could move around in the space. And it was built with a bypass. Many other attractions aren’t so lucky.

 

[tirian]

Well, let's get at all of them. The maximum capacity of the four park according to TouringPlans are below. I added in some other stats...

	Maximum Capacity​	25%​	Daily Average (TEA '19 Yearly/365)​	Daily Average as % of Max Capacity​
Magic Kingdom​	90,000​	22,500​	57,500​	64%​
EPCOT​	110,000​	27,500​	34,000​	31%​
Hollywood Studios​	60,000​	15,000​	31,500​	53%​
Animal Kingdom​	60,000​	15,000​	38,000​	63%​

Article here for current implications...

October Mid-Month Crowd Calendar Update | TouringPlans.com Blog

Crowd levels are up at Walt Disney World. On October 12, 2020, Disney's CEO Bob Chapek said in a CNBC interview that the

touringplans.com

Seems right, @lentesta?

That’s really interesting. Also explains why MK feels so crowded on at capacity days.... 60k is probably what it should be.

I mean, I think it's true.

The company knows the MK’s normal “capacity” of 90k is overextended.

Whenever I picked up PAC shifts during flex times in the MK, we were given daily attendance figures and told the park feels busy at 40k. This is why it always feels somewhat busy, even on an average day in the 50k range.

 

[phillip9698]

I don't think it's necessarily being spoiled as much as choosing to vacation in a different way. Getting to the park at rope drop or (even worse) for early morning magic hours sounds like a nightmare to me. To a great extent, we choose Disney because we can easily ride the headliners without doing those things.

People are different and choose to vacation in different ways, and understanding that is a great part of Disney's appeal across the generations. When we were young, we stood in lines or got up early to ride without a wait or get legacy Fastpasses to our favorite rides, but that's no longer our idea of a good vacation. For some reason, Disney still wants us as guests, possibly because older guests are a bit more willing and able to go for the upcharge events, pricey restaurants and other things that add to Disney's profits.

For the record, I would not be opposed to paying for a ride reservation system (I think FP+ is history) if it can be somewhat reasonable. I don't mind paying, but I would have to see value in it.

For me part of a vacation is NOT getting up really early. I've only been to a park pre-9:30 am once and that was because my wife got us breakfast at Tusker House. For me staying late is preferable to arriving early.

 

[Ldno]

I have been honestly tracking the theme park reservation system and I do believe Disney has been increasing more reservations, the whole week of first two weeks of november were booked and yellow. But last night when I checked it was all green with only the week of thanksgiving been full from what i saw!!!

 

[cjack300zx]

Until Disney opens up it's ride capacity like Universal has there will be long wait times at Disney but don't plan on Disney doing this any rime soon

 

[JoeCamel]

I have been honestly tracking the theme park reservation system and I do believe Disney has been increasing more reservations, the whole week of first two weeks of november were booked and yellow. But last night when I checked it was all green with only the week of thanksgiving been full from what i saw!!!

They have been releasing more slots as the dates get closer since shortly after they started the reservation system. Its a good way to make your product look in demand.

 

[wdwmagic]

Kilimanjaro line snakes all the way through to Lion King theater before heading back into the main Harambe street.

 

[DisneyCane]

Kilimanjaro line snakes all the way through to Lion King theater before heading back into the main Harambe street.

View attachment 508454

They need to give the CMS a big yellow thing on top of the sign. One thing I found at MK last week is that it is sometimes hard to spot where the line starts.

 

[JoeCamel]

They need to give the CMS a big yellow thing on top of the sign. One thing I found at MK last week is that it is sometimes hard to spot where the line starts.

I wonder how many times a day a person lines up behind the CM?