WDW really might want to look again at SAFETY, COURTESY, SHOW, then EFFICIENCY

[JimboJones123]

Overall, WDW does a pretty fantastic job at balancing this hierarchy.

That said, I did note quite a few areas that could be reevaluated.

1: Toy Story Midway Mania. From the moment the stand-by and Fastpass lines meet, there is an onslaught of CMs constantly badgering guests. Mostly to move forward and fill in available space. Thing is, this is all on stairs and very dangerous. Many guests just aren't comfortable standing one step away from those not in their party. The worst part is the cramming of people into the little room before the stairs. "Line up next to the wall, two ny two, keep moving forward, now turn, fill in all available space, and turn the line back around, fill in all avalible space!" What difference does it make to squeeze 20-25 people into that space? The constant yelling. Pushing. Crowding. Why? Just start guests up the stairs.

2: It's a Small World. Why are there so many boats running if they are constantly backed out of the finale room? Seriously. Why make the unload of the ride longer than the rest of the ride?

3: Monorails. I would rather wait an extra monorail every time for reasonable crowding. But cramming as many people as possible into the reload just force way too many people on the trains makes no sense at all either.

I am sure there are plenty more, but these three seem to really be missing Safety and Courtesy to guests to perform efficiency.

 

[DisneyGlennB]

I agree with you totally but probably few on here will agree with you. With the prices we pay and capacity being over capacity, you would expect better sometimes.

 

[MichWolv]

Overall, WDW does a pretty fantastic job at balancing this hierarchy.

That said, I did note quite a few areas that could be reevaluated.

1: Toy Story Midway Mania. From the moment the stand-by and Fastpass lines meet, there is an onslaught of CMs constantly badgering guests. Mostly to move forward and fill in available space. Thing is, this is all on stairs and very dangerous. Many guests just aren't comfortable standing one step away from those not in their party. The worst part is the cramming of people into the little room before the stairs. "Line up next to the wall, two ny two, keep moving forward, now turn, fill in all available space, and turn the line back around, fill in all avalible space!" What difference does it make to squeeze 20-25 people into that space? The constant yelling. Pushing. Crowding. Why? Just start guests up the stairs.

2: It's a Small World. Why are there so many boats running if they are constantly backed out of the finale room? Seriously. Why make the unload of the ride longer than the rest of the ride?

3: Monorails. I would rather wait an extra monorail every time for reasonable crowding. But cramming as many people as possible into the reload just force way too many people on the trains makes no sense at all either.

I am sure there are plenty more, but these three seem to really be missing Safety and Courtesy to guests to perform efficiency.

I'm with you on the Toy Story line situation. IMO, it's a poor design. The stairs should be used on the way out of the ride, not the way in, to eliminate this very problem. That's the way it is in DCA, for example, and they don't have the issue.

As for the others, I guess I never considered either a safety or courtesy problem. The monorail load never has seemed dangerous to me, and it's transportation, not an attraction, so I expect them to try to get maximum use, just as they do on the buses.

As for the backing up of IASW, it happens on PotC, Gran Fiesta, and probably others as well. But it doesn't seem to happen consistently, which suggests it is a temporary phenomenon when it occurs.

 

[thelookingglass]

These days it seems efficiency trumps all else, even though everything else is supposed to trump efficiency.

Another example is Tower of Terror's libraries. Though it doesn't happen all the time, its awful when they are crammed so tight that you are shoulder to shoulder with everyone. What if there was a fire? Everyone would bottleneck at the exit points.

That said, there are some rides and locations where "filling in all the available space" actually does expedite the wait time for everyone.

 

[wm49rs]

I'm with you on the Toy Story line situation. IMO, it's a poor design. The stairs should be used on the way out of the ride, not the way in, to eliminate this very problem. That's the way it is in DCA, for example, and they don't have the issue.

As for the others, I guess I never considered either a safety or courtesy problem. The monorail load never has seemed dangerous to me, and it's transportation, not an attraction, so I expect them to try to get maximum use, just as they do on the buses.

As for the backing up of IASW, it happens on PotC, Gran Fiesta, and probably others as well. But it doesn't seem to happen consistently, which suggests it is a temporary phenomenon when it occurs.

I will say that last week was one of the first times when I had heard the "close up the gaps" mantra from the CMs on any of the rides. That being said, considering the time of the year (and the unexpected crowds that had after January 3, I suppose they were simply trying to keep everyone moving and getting onto the ride.

As for safety, I think the Disney resorts have a pretty good handle on the max loads the monorails, ferries, busses, etc. can handle, and they have a pretty darn good safety record to back up that experience. it may not be the most pleasant experience at times, I'll grant you however.

 

[JimboJones123]

Change in policy at Toy Story Mania!

The goal now seems to be keeping it full up until the top pf the stairs.

Since it specifically fills only to that point, I would assume that not only cramming people into the space became slightly inconsiderate, but there may have been an accident where true overcramming on the stairs became too dangerous.

Again, what did they lose? 40 people of line capacity to enhance the overall safety, courtesy, and show of the line! Bravo!

 

[Thorpyness]

Completely agree with the Tower of Terror Libraries. All they need to do with the libraries is get enough people through to feed the next queue. Beyond that the experience should take precendence, which i guess is the point. A huge queue in the boiler room is not really of benefit to anyone.

Same with filling the boat rides, who benefits? I can't really see anyone that gains by it.

 

[fosse76]

Overall, WDW does a pretty fantastic job at balancing this hierarchy.

That said, I did note quite a few areas that could be reevaluated.

1: Toy Story Midway Mania. From the moment the stand-by and Fastpass lines meet, there is an onslaught of CMs constantly badgering guests. Mostly to move forward and fill in available space. Thing is, this is all on stairs and very dangerous. Many guests just aren't comfortable standing one step away from those not in their party. The worst part is the cramming of people into the little room before the stairs. "Line up next to the wall, two ny two, keep moving forward, now turn, fill in all available space, and turn the line back around, fill in all avalible space!" What difference does it make to squeeze 20-25 people into that space? The constant yelling. Pushing. Crowding. Why? Just start guests up the stairs.

Comfort and Safety are two entirely different things. You may not like having your face directly in the backside of a total stranger in front of you, but that doesn't make it un-safe. All they are asking is that people fill in the avaiable space, but you are in no way forced to crowd in together...here. But I do agree that it definitely comes across as badgering.

2: It's a Small World. Why are there so many boats running if they are constantly backed out of the finale room? Seriously. Why make the unload of the ride longer than the rest of the ride?

I pointed this out in a thread regarding Splash Mountain. I was dismissed as not knowing how theme parks operate (despite having worked at Six Flags for 4 years, operating and training others on halt the park's rides). There is a design deficiency with how the boats are spaced. Of course, another problem, which really can't be helped, is weight. Because the water flows at a constant speed, heavier boats will move much slower, making it impossible for the boats to maintain a proper interval without having to stop them randomly throughout the ride course. As we saw with Splash, poeple often think it's a good opportunity to get out of the boat. A well-placed CM would prevent that, but we can't ruin the themeing with a CM there for safety, now can we!

3: Monorails. I would rather wait an extra monorail every time for reasonable crowding. But cramming as many people as possible into the reload just force way too many people on the trains makes no sense at all either.

Hmmm...I've never felt forced to actually board the monorail. However, every public transit system in the world has this problem (and for a laugh, check out youtube videos for Tokyo's sysytem, where they have transit workers literally walking the length of trains and pushing/cramming people into the cars).

I am sure there are plenty more, but these three seem to really be missing Safety and Courtesy to guests to perform efficiency.

As someone else has mentioned, ToT has an issue sometime as well...as does Haunted Mansion. It's not so much the cramming of people on the chambers/libraries so much as people not actually filling in the space. But then the doors open and you can't leave because the line is still backed up. And that's when the real cramming begins. All this: crammed chambers/librairies; backed-up boats give the appearance of shorter queues. They could space ride vehicles better, put in less people in the pre-show areas and the wait times would be the same...but to the average guest it would look longer.

 

[captainkidd]

2: It's a Small World. Why are there so many boats running if they are constantly backed out of the finale room? Seriously. Why make the unload of the ride longer than the rest of the ride?

This is only done when the park reaches capacity, and they need to get people out of the park. They figure, being stuck at the end of the ride for 20 minutes is enough to drive even the most die hard park commando right back to their hotel room.

 

[marni1971]

Just goes to show TSMM was never designed to have Fastpass.

 

[WDW 3]

Never had that experiance at Toy Story.

RnR yes. They are constantly urging people to fill in the queue.

 

[EpcoTim]

Comfort and Safety are two entirely different things.

But they do go hand in hand sometimes. Especially when your dealing with heat and the elderly and people with disabilities or claustrophobia. Dealing with the heat and crowds can be a challenge in it's own right, it makes it even worse when you have people cramming against each other.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

I remember when Toy Story first opened they didn't have us line up along the wall...I agree now its very annoying. I don't see the reason when the Candyland section is never filled with people anyway..but yet they're all in line outside.

 

[joanna71985]

I remember when Toy Story first opened they didn't have us line up along the wall...I agree now its very annoying. I don't see the reason when the Candyland section is never filled with people anyway..but yet they're all in line outside.

Because of the doors. People trip the sensors for the automatic doors, then people from outside sneak into the queue (both accidentally, and on purpose).