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

[mickEblu]

Disneyland crowds return for ‘Halloween Screams’ fireworks show filling both parking garages to capacity

Halloween Time ushers in the fall holiday season at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with plenty of pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons.

www.ocregister.com

So people care more about tired old Halloween decorations and seasonal food than they do about this new land sans ROTR. Ouch.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Even then, the crowds weren't horrible. Disneyland was still relatively slow all day, and DCA was back to normal crowd levels.

 

[Phroobar]

Mickey and Friends and Pixar Pals were both full and closed for a time last night. Main St. was wall to wall people all night. I'm going to say it again. Ride wait times are not the sole indication of crowds.

and still Target Run had a 20 minute wait.

 

[BubbaQuest]

The first night of HalloweenTime brought a healthy bump of locals to see it all. Interestingly, the crowds seem to be favoring DCA and their new Halloween decorations instead of Star Wars Land.

At 8:15pm Pacific, with the AP's in full effect, here are the wait times:

Millennium Falcon: Target Run - 30 Minutes
Incredicoaster - 35 Minutes
Luigi's Honkin' Haul-O-Ween - 40 Minutes
Haunted Mansion Holiday - 50 Minutes
Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark! - 80 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers - 90 Minutes

Also, the heat wave broke today and it was much cooler. It's now a beautiful warm evening in OC. And I made some fresh White Man Guacamole with a lime off my tree and am having sirloin steak nachos for dinner with a chilled Pinot Grigio.

How are you kids doing? Did you have a good summer?

Popcorn buckets! How could I forget about popcorn buckets?! That (sadly) explains everything.

 

[mickEblu]

Popcorn buckets! How could I forget about popcorn buckets?! That (sadly) explains everything.

View attachment 407316

Disney’s takeaway: more popcorn buckets, seasonal food and overlays. Less new rides and attractions.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Disney’s takeaway: more popcorn buckets, seasonal food and overlays. Less new rides and attractions.

Certainly the math would show that. They won't even pay for the depreciation on the new land this year with the incremental (if any) spend at the parks this year.

 

[DrAlice]

I forget how expensive Disneyland actually is. $125 for a one day one park ticket always seems like a lot to me, but then to think it’s that times four plus parking and food for most people is insane.

And for those of us out-of-towners, add hotel stay and cost of transportation to get to SoCal.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney’s takeaway: more popcorn buckets, seasonal food and overlays. Less new rides and attractions.

So you’re saying Disneyland has been taken over by wdw fans?

Except throwing money away like they’re in a bubble and think a recession isn’t gonna hurt them?

 

[DrAlice]

Disney’s takeaway: more popcorn buckets, seasonal food and overlays. Less new rides and attractions.

Of course, if they had the ability for self-reflection (which I doubt), they might notice that CarsLand did alright. And so did the DCA makeover. You know, areas that were thoughtfully themed, included "streetmosphere" and other entertainment and in general weren't projects where execs "cheaped out". I don't know the numbers, but I certainly don't remember there being an issue with crowds disappearing for those openings. Quite the opposite, if memory serves.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

As recently as the 60th anniversary, Disney was enhancing the parks and not just slapping together overlays and having special food and merchandise. That stuff was still a byproduct and not the focus. Remember, they did the new Grizzly airfield, hat man in HM, robots in the Matterhorn, new effects on BTM, a new nighttime parade and other such things.

In only a couple years, all that stuff ceased and it became all about rebranding existing things, spinners, food and merchandise specifically for even an anniversary like the POTC 50th. Meanwhile seemingly all the money was being spent on Star Wars Land.

 

[MickeySoCal]

Of course, if they had the ability for self-reflection (which I doubt), they might notice that CarsLand did alright. And so did the DCA makeover. You know, areas that were thoughtfully themed, included "streetmosphere" and other entertainment and in general weren't projects where execs "cheaped out". I don't know the numbers, but I certainly don't remember there being an issue with crowds disappearing for those openings. Quite the opposite, if memory serves.

Exactly right, they were great successes. Then again, Parks and Resorts wasn't run by Bob Chapek, who has really been a terrible chair. DCA is a total mess now and Chapek has cut poor SW:GE to the bones and removed most of the live entertainment from the entire DLR. Sad state of affairs in Anaheim.

 

[TROR]

How much money is Bob Chapek responsible for losing at this point?

 

[Kram Sacul]

I remember agreeing with you a couple months ago on this. When I said "everyone" I suppose it was more metaphorical than exact. If ROTR is even close to as good as Flight of Passage it will be great. I honestly don't know though with modern Disney. All of their new big rides (Cars, Falcon, Incredicoaster) have too much dialogue and story shoehorned into it. FoP is great because it just lets you have an experience. If ROTR has too much story and dialogue it will ruin any experience the ride theming and motion would have.

Falcon has a person telling you whats going on as its going on "This could have been worse. OK now it's worse". Indiana Jones does this to the level where it is acceptable because he only talks on occasion. With Falcon and Incredicoaster it is constant talking.

Oh don’t even compare the Falcon ride to the Incredicoaster. Hondo has way more personality and humor than all the Incredible characters yelling about where Jack Jack is.

 

[TP2000]

Disneyland crowds return for ‘Halloween Screams’ fireworks show filling both parking garages to capacity

Halloween Time ushers in the fall holiday season at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with plenty of pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons.

www.ocregister.com

Wow.

All that extra new parking filled to capacity, and Millennium Falcon still couldn't break a 30 minute wait time last night.

That's gotta have them scratching their heads. As summer morphs into fall, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Oh don’t even compare the Falcon ride to the Incredicoaster. Hondo has way more personality and humor than all the Incredible characters yelling about where Jack Jack is.

I frankly could do without any of them shouting in my ear the entire ride. Dramatically lessons the repeatability of both attractions.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I frankly could do without any of them shouting in my ear the entire ride. Dramatically lessons the repeatability of both attractions.

Pretty sure Hondo doesn’t shout at you on SR. Unless you’re that sensitive.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Pretty sure Hondo doesn’t shout at you on SR. Unless you’re that sensitive.

Apparently, I am - sat in the engineer spot last time and that dude was yelling at me the entire ride. But hey, for today's WDI, that's "fun" I guess. It's fun to have the Incredibles and Hondo shout in my ear or have a disembodied voice yell about raising your hands for scanning over and over again, it's good times.

Can you imagine if this group of Imagineers made Pirates? Oy, the amount of needless backstory, explaining, set-up, and shouting we'd get in the queue and before we got to the first drop. They must ride through the bayou section and think "What a waste! We could be explaining how we need to go back in time, to get the treasure, to fight the skeletons, to free the town, to see Jack Sparrow, and return to civilization, and everybody gets to play a role!". Exhausting.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Left pilot! Line up behind the pirate ship! We need that shipment of rum! Gunners! Fire the cannons at Barbosa's ship! Engineers! Repair the holes in Jack's ship!

 

[TP2000]

Can you imagine if this group of Imagineers made Pirates? Oy, the amount of needless backstory, explaining, set-up, and shouting we'd get in the queue and before we got to the first drop. They must ride through the bayou section and think "What a waste! We could be explaining how we need to go back in time, to get the treasure, to fight the skeletons, to free the town, to see Jack Sparrow, and return to civilization, and everybody gets to play a role!". Exhausting.

Walt Disney explaining Pirates of the Caribbean on national TV in 1965:

In here we have a special attraction!
People are going to get on a boat here and ride through the Blue Bayou Lagoon.
And then as they get around here we're going to take them down a waterfall!
And take 'em back into the past to the days of the pirates, you know, where the whole Caribbean area was full of pirates and they were always sacking towns and things.
You believe in pirates, of course? Well, do you want to see some? Right over here!

Bob Chapek explaining Pirates of the Caribbean at D23 Expo in 2019:

At Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, it's our mission to bring Disney Magic into the daily lives of families and fans around the world as we create magical memories that last a lifetime.
We know that the millions of treasured Guests who visit Disneyland Park each year arrive with their own story, and with this immersive new attraction we are inviting our Guests to live out their story by embarking on a rollicking adventure that will bring them face to face with challenging confrontations and special celebratory moments for the entire family to share.
It's through this ground breaking storytelling that our Guests will be immersed in a world of beloved Characters they could only experience at a Disney park.
And through the use of not only this interactive new technology, but the equally immersive worlds of dining, merchandise, and the Disney Play App on your Apple or Android device, you will be surrounded by the magic that has made Disneyland Park a cherished memory for hundreds of millions of consumers from around the world.
Thank you. [warm smile]

 

[Kram Sacul]

Apparently, I am - sat in the engineer spot last time and that dude was yelling at me the entire ride. But hey, for today's WDI, that's "fun" I guess. It's fun to have the Incredibles and Hondo shout in my ear or have a disembodied voice yell about raising your hands for scanning over and over again, it's good times.

Can you imagine if this group of Imagineers made Pirates? Oy, the amount of needless backstory, explaining, set-up, and shouting we'd get in the queue and before we got to the first drop. They must ride through the bayou section and think "What a waste! We could be explaining how we need to go back in time, to get the treasure, to fight the skeletons, to free the town, to see Jack Sparrow, and return to civilization, and everybody gets to play a role!". Exhausting.

Funny but a weak argument. Different rides, different experiences. Hondo still doesn’t yell either but whatever. Not worth talking about.