What's with the wait times!? (hint.. they're low)

[TP2000]

For what is worth my sisters and BIL thought they still needed to have a reservation and that they needed to stay at a Disney hotel to get one.

I've said it before, but their bizarrely confrontational marketing/operating strategy is partly to blame here. Disney themselves told everyone that it will be a nightmare trying to get into Star Wars Land and you need a reservation that are already all booked out, so why wouldn't customers believe them?

Today is interesting at Disneyland. As it always miraculously does, the June Gloom disappeared on July 1st. It's sunny and warmer today, 83 degrees in Anaheim. The parks are not totally dead, but they aren't super busy either. What's interesting is that the Falcon ride is only 30 minutes, about average for the E Tickets. The crowds seem very spread out at 2:45pm.

And of course that Virtual Queue nonsense hasn't been turned back on since a week ago. (I wonder how much that blunder cost them?)

Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Small World, Submarines, Guardians of the Galaxy, Incredicoaster - 20 Minutes
Matterhorn Bobsleds, Star Tours, Soarin' Over California, Grizzly River Run, Haunted Mansion - 25 Minutes
Disney-Pixar Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind, Hyperspace Mountain, Millennium Falcon: Target Run - 30 Minutes
Indiana Jones Adventure - 45 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers - 60 Minutes
Splash Mountain - 70 Minutes

All the C and D Tickets range from 5 to 30 minutes. 5 minutes for Little Mermaid, Pooh, Mater's, Disneyland Railroad, Monorail, etc., 10 minutes for the Canoes and the half dozen embarassment of riches dark rides that Disneyland Resort has, 15 minutes for Canal Boats and Casey Jr. and the half dozen spinners across both parks, to 30 minutes for Peter Pan and Alice In Wonderland.

 

[fctiger]

This has nothing to do with the land !

All this is comes down is the blackout for locals.

The huge side effect of the cheap annual pass, is that locals won't be paying anything more or contributing any more money to see this new land.

Had they simply abolished the astonishingly cheap annual pass for locals - they would be paying like normal guests to visit. All that's happening now, is cheap locals are waiting for the blackout to finish before seeing the land.

That's certainly part of it for sure, but its also more of the regular day pass thats more the issue. It's just too ridiculous for a lot of people. $149 is a LOT of money for most people out there, especially for just a day. Disney has put themselves into a corner. They basically gambled on getting locals to buy APs in lieu of a day pass and while its working its now to the point they have become dependent on the AP. And GE just isn't going anywhere and people can be patient, probably more patient than Disney would like. But think about it, if you been waiting 3 years, what's another 3 months? Many are doing just that for WDW version to open up. And on top of that many are probably hoping when their pass do allow them in they will have ROTR to ride as well.

We have Signature passes and we have decided to renew them again this month which is when they expire but if we didn't and just had to pay the one day admission price to see the new land I ask myself would I have done it? The answer is yes, but probably not until things died WAY down. If I was going to pay that price just to see this land I would want to wait until I got my money's worth and that probably includes ROTR being open, I love GE and I love DL. I don't think I love them enough to pay that one day admission more than once or twice a year at best and that's the problem Disney is now probably realizing.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I didn't realize taking advantage of a better deal made people "cheap." Not that being cheap is a bad thing.

At least they were cheap.

 

[fctiger]

I didn't realize taking advantage of a better deal made people "cheap." Not that being cheap is a bad thing.

At least they were cheap.

These passes are not 'cheap'. Even Disney cheapest APs are still hundreds of dollars more than you can pay at USH, KBF and every other SoCal theme park. The monthly payments makes them feel like a better deal but I wonder how many people would be paying for a $500 pass outright if they didn't have that deal in place, much less the $1,000+ passes. The reality is way way less people and probably to the point you have dead parks like the last few weeks.

We heard people whine for years the parks are too crowded. And while they are not wrong, CLEARLY the solution isn't to just get rid of the APs either because that would place DLR into a dire situation. These last few weeks has really driven this point home for me and even WHEN you have a brand new land and original rides to offer in a park that has had neither in literally decades, its not enough to persuade people to buy one day tickets. NOW to be fair, I suspect in time more people would buy them if that was their ONLY option but nowhere at the level Disney would be happy with, not if people want to see more E-ticket rides and brand new night time shows in the future (oh wait, I forgot we are getting back the elderly MSEP this summer....never mind).

That or just lowing the day price to a reasonable level. These tickets shouldn't be more than $80 IMO. You can push it to $100 but anything after that you are going to get a lot of push back from people. Especially when you can pay way less than that in all the neighboring theme parks.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I agree that general admission is too high. At Universal in Florida as well, which is the only place I still buy admission on my sporadic trips and obviously price-matches Disney. But the price seems to just get higher and higher each year, so.

 

[TROR]

Disneyland admission should be $80 for one day one park. That's more than inflation from its cost in the 90's and accounts for the new great offerings like the Hungry Bear sign.

 

[JD2000]

Internet...

Pre May 31, 2019
“It is always too crowded”

Post May 31, 2019
Make Crowds Uncomfortable Again! #MCUA

 

[TROR]

Internet...

Pre May 31, 2019
“It is always too crowded”

Post May 31, 2019
Make Crowds Uncomfortable Again! #MCUA

To be clear, my stance is lower the one day pass and jack up the AP costs. People may still buy one day tickets to visit two or three times a year at that cost, but they won't be attended once a week for dinner. That's a big difference in the crowds right there.

 

[JD2000]

To be clear, my stance is lower the one day pass and jack up the AP costs. People may still buy one day tickets to visit two or three times a year at that cost, but they won't be attended once a week for dinner. That's a big difference in the crowds right there.

That comment had nothing to do with anything you were saying. Just a generality.

 

[shambolicdefending]

Cancel the AP monthly payment option for locals, lower all daily ticket prices by 10-20%, and Disneyland would be a lot more magical again.

Unfortunately the suits don't agree with me, long-term consequences be damned.

 

[fctiger]

To be clear, my stance is lower the one day pass and jack up the AP costs. People may still buy one day tickets to visit two or three times a year at that cost, but they won't be attended once a week for dinner. That's a big difference in the crowds right there.

But they WANT you to come once a week dude that's the point. If they only wanted people to come just 2-3 times a year then they could sell 3-5 day parkhoppers that expires in a year and not 13 days. Problem solved. They used to sell unexpired parkhoppers at WDW in fact. They even stopped it there to get more people to buy APs.

The AP prices are already the most expensive passes on the planet. And clearly not that many people even have the Signature passes if the last few weeks proves anything. Disney jacked those out of reach for most even with monthly payments.

 

[shambolicdefending]

But they WANT you to come once a week dude that's the point. If they only wanted people to come just 2-3 times a year then they could sell 3-5 day parkhoppers that expires in a year and not 13 days. Problem solved. They used to sell unexpired parkhoppers at WDW in fact. They even stopped it there to get more people to buy APs.

The AP prices are already the most expensive passes on the planet. And clearly not that many people even have the Signature passes if the last few weeks proves anything. Disney jacked those out of reach for most even with monthly payments.

I think everybody understands what management wants. A lot of us just believe the park experience was better before it became completely dominated by APs, and that the long-term consequences of management's current operating philosphy will be bad.

 

[Surferboy567]

To save myself from reading 30 + pages (yes I’m lazy) what’s going on here with the crowds? I‘m actually curious. Before I discuss further I want to lay down some ground rules this isn’t a question for how you may love or hate the sequel trilogy (I personally like parts of the sequel trilogy but that’s beside the point). I’m going to throw out what I know and see if it lines up with what is going on.

How I understand it: Disneyland raised prices, and also blocked out most of the annual passes along with CM access. During the galaxy edge opening, they also reinforced this narrative about the crazy crowds with a “stay away without a reservation” marketing campaign. Surely I’m missing something but I’m sure I’ll be filled in on the comments below...anyhow moving on.

Everyday on YouTube all I see is videos about “Did Galaxy Edge Fail” “Is Galaxy’s Edge a Flop?“. Not a great narrative to have. To be fair, most of these videos comes from these conspiracy theory YT channels with personal vendettas against Star Wars. The videos though I question have a ton of views, and some...interesting comment sections with some let’s say a very passionate bunch.

Now, I haven’t been to Galaxy’s Edge...yet but as you can see by my signature that is going to change soon. Me being the huge Disney fan that I am have watched hours and hours of galaxy’s edge content to get to know the land decently well. For me, the land is a slam dunk sure their are problems but buy and large I’m extremely happy with the imagineers have put together. Others however...are not, and again in the same videos I see mentioned above “WHY ISN’T THE OG TRILOGY IN GALAXY’S EDGE”. I really don’t understand why it’s a bad idea to go with the original idea with new characters, new planet, and the like. You may be saying to yourself Surferboy this isn’t about crowd levels..and you’d be right but all this feeds into the big overarching point of this post.

Are all these factors the reason the crowds are so low? I’d say no, because no matter the general public’s feelings toward Galaxy’s Edge, it doesn’t explain why the crowds in Disneyland (minus Galaxy’s Edge) are so low.

Is it becuase they raised prices? Maybe but still doesn’t explain why the crowds are still too low.

Is it becuase Disneyland scared people away with the reservation narrative? Maybe.

Is it becuase they blocked out the annual passes and CM access for a time? Maybe.

Is everyone just waiting for Rise to open? Maybe.

The question is what do the people in this thread think is the problem. Is it one or a combination of these problems? Galaxy’s Edge at least for me looks like a masterclass of imagineering this doesn’t make sense to me why crowds are so low. Even if you take Galaxy’s Edge out of the picture it still makes no sense. I really don’t understand all the really harsh negativity. I can’t tell if it’s people who have personal vendettas or if it’s actual critcrism.

 

[fctiger]

I think everybody understands what management wants. A lot of us just believe the park experience was better before it became completely dominated by APs, and that the long-term consequences of management's current operating philosphy will be bad.

Try telling that to Tokyo Disneyland. They were busy like this for 25 years. People always just went with it... hence why it's always crowded. This is just the new normal.

 

[truecoat]

To save myself from reading 30 + pages (yes I’m lazy) what’s going on here with the crowds? I‘m actually curious. Before I discuss further I want to lay down some ground rules this isn’t a question for how you may love or hate the sequel trilogy (I personally like parts of the sequel trilogy but that’s beside the point). I’m going to throw out what I know and see if it lines up with what is going on.

How I understand it: Disneyland raised prices, and also blocked out most of the annual passes along with CM access. During the galaxy edge opening, they also reinforced this narrative about the crazy crowds with a “stay away without a reservation” marketing campaign. Surely I’m missing something but I’m sure I’ll be filled in on the comments below...anyhow moving on.

Everyday on YouTube all I see is videos about “Did Galaxy Edge Fail” “Is Galaxy’s Edge a Flop?“. Not a great narrative to have. To be fair, most of these videos comes from these conspiracy theory YT channels with personal vendettas against Star Wars. The videos though I question have a ton of views, and some...interesting comment sections with some let’s say a very passionate bunch.

Now, I haven’t been to Galaxy’s Edge...yet but as you can see by my signature that is going to change soon. Me being the huge Disney fan that I am have watched hours and hours of galaxy’s edge content to get to know the land decently well. For me, the land is a slam dunk sure their are problems but buy and large I’m extremely happy with the imagineers have put together. Others however...are not, and again in the same videos I see mentioned above “WHY ISN’T THE OG TRILOGY IN GALAXY’S EDGE”. I really don’t understand why it’s a bad idea to go with the original idea with new characters, new planet, and the like. You may be saying to yourself Surferboy this isn’t about crowd levels..and you’d be right but all this feeds into the big overarching point of this post.

Are all these factors the reason the crowds are so low? I’d say no, because no matter the general public’s feelings toward Galaxy’s Edge, it doesn’t explain why the crowds in Disneyland (minus Galaxy’s Edge) are so low.

Is it becuase they raised prices? Maybe but still doesn’t explain why the crowds are still too low.

Is it becuase Disneyland scared people away with the reservation narrative? Maybe.

Is it becuase they blocked out the annual passes and CM access for a time? Maybe.

Is everyone just waiting for Rise to open? Maybe.

The question is what do the people in this thread think is the problem. Is it one or a combination of these problems? Galaxy’s Edge at least for me looks like a masterclass of imagineering this doesn’t make sense to me why crowds are so low. Even if you take Galaxy’s Edge out of the picture it still makes no sense. I really don’t understand all the really harsh negativity. I can’t tell if it’s people who have personal vendettas or if it’s actual critcrism.

I think it’s all of those things.

People are staying away to avoid the crowds.

People are staying away because they don’t have a reservation and don’t know that period is over.

As someone who goes once a year, I am now waiting until ROTR is open.

Non pass locals who took advantage of the discounted tickets earlier aren’t going to turn around and spend $149 just to see Star Wars.

A Lot of AP’s are blocked., so it’s the perfect storm with all these and probably other reasons.

 

[shambolicdefending]

Try telling that to Tokyo Disneyland. They were busy like this for 25 years. People always just went with it... hence why it's always crowded. This is just the new normal.

I have a lot of personal experience in Japan. Lived there and speak the language close to fluently.

The Japanese concept of acceptable personal space and crowds is not compatible with American culture.

 

[TP2000]

This is interesting. The entire Millennium Falcon ride has been closed for over an hour tonight. As of 11:00pm it's still "Temporarily Closed".

Has that ever happened before? With four turntables running, something big must have caused the entire ride to shut down.

Here are current wait times at 11:00pm with a Midnight closing time.

Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mt., Jungle Cruise, Small World, Submarines, Star Tours - 5 Minutes
Thunder Mt., Indiana Jones Adventure - 20 Minutes
Hyperspace Mt., Matterhorn Bobsleds - 30 Minutes
Millennium Falcon - Temporarily Closed (Since 9:45)

EDIT: At 11:15pm the Falcon ride apparently reopened and has a posted wait time of 30 minutes. I wonder what happened?

 

[fctiger]

I have a lot of personal experience in Japan. Lived there and speak the language close to fluently.

The Japanese concept of acceptable personal space and crowds is not compatible with American culture.

Wow me too! Where did you live there?

But when it comes to theme parks it's not a huge difference in crowd space. Especially in America where you dealing with a LOT more overweight people and electric scooters in a much smaller park and walkways. I can't imagine that place dealing with those kind of things but here no thinks twice about it anymore.

We haven't been much different for awhile.

 

[fctiger]

This is interesting. The entire Millennium Falcon ride has been closed for over an hour tonight. As of 11:00pm it's still "Temporarily Closed".

Has that ever happened before? With four turntables running, something big must have caused the entire ride to shut down.

Here are current wait times at 11:00pm with a Midnight closing time.

Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mt., Jungle Cruise, Small World, Submarines, Star Tours - 5 Minutes
Thunder Mt., Indiana Jones Adventure - 20 Minutes
Hyperspace Mt., Matterhorn Bobsleds - 30 Minutes
Millennium Falcon - Temporarily Closed (Since 9:45)

EDIT: At 11:15pm the Falcon ride apparently reopened and has a posted wait time of 30 minutes. I wonder what happened?

It was bound to happen. 20 years on and Indy still shuts down for an hour or two any given day lol.

 

[Surferboy567]

When does the AP blockout actually end?