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

[Disney Irish]

Honestly Disney just did a great job of not only how they are disseminating people through GE so far but has prepared


Yes eventually people will be coming again. This is the first weekend to the MAJOR hype of GE opening. I can't tell you how many posts I read from people on other boards saying they are staying far away from the resort in the next few weeks and even months because so many assumed everyone would be there. But of course once people see GE actually had the opposite effect and its very orderly and not effecting the rest of the park then I suspect next weekend will be busier.

And I think come June 24th is when the real chaos will begin. But then again it may not be so bad with a lot of passes blocked out and a lot of the hardcore SW fans seeing it during this period. I give Disney a lot of credit though. This could've been total chaos this weekend and it had the complete opposite effect.

Don't forget they still have the virtual queuing going into effect starting June 24th. So the overall impact may not be as bad as some predicted.

 

[Kram Sacul]

So now that crowds are not a problem can they undo the unnecessary Project Stardust crap?

 

[planodisney]

I’m not sure that low crowds is such good news.
I was hoping that Disney would see that if they put major investment into the DLR, people would come in droves. Leading to huge major investments rrsort wide.
What I don’t want to happen is no major attendance uptick with GE at DL, and then mass chaos at WDW, convincing Disney that Orlando is indeed the place to invest in theme parks going forward.

 

[Curious Constance]

Why would anyone interested in visiting Star Wars Land without a reservation bother coming to the parks on opening day?

 

[Kram Sacul]

Why would anyone interested in visiting Star Wars Land without a reservation bother coming to the parks on opening day?

I would have if I could. Let the nerds with reservations clog up the unfinished land with one ride while the rest of DL and DCA are less crowded.

 

[Curious Constance]

I would have if I could. Let the nerds with reservations clog up the unfinished land with one ride while the rest of DL and DCA are less crowded.

Sooooo what’s wrong with RotR? Aside from the obvious?

 

[Kram Sacul]

Sooooo what’s wrong with RotR? Aside from the obvious?

They can’t find a decent router.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Do you all know if RotR was delayed by too many things, or was it originally planned to open up at a later time at the get go?

 

[shambolicdefending]

There's still some plausibility to the theory that hardcore SW fans will be lukewarm towards this.

Far too early to draw any conclusions. But, I can't imagine that underwhelming crowds this weekend is super good news for stakeholders.

 

[Anjin]

I can't imagine that the low crowds are anything other the Disney overshooting the mark as far as crowd suppression. I'd drop everything and head to the parks now if it was feasible. I bet a bunch of people are making the same calculation.

 

[TP2000]

I can't imagine that the low crowds are anything other the Disney overshooting the mark as far as crowd suppression. I'd drop everything and head to the parks now if it was feasible. I bet a bunch of people are making the same calculation.

I agree with you.

All APs at Deluxe or below are blocked out today. All employees of the Walt Disney Company are blocked out today. Locals know you need a reservation (although I'm not convinced Mr. & Mrs. America staying at the Park Vue Inn were aware of that until they got into the park). AP fans have reservations waiting for them over the next three weeks.

I think the massive blockouts, including the employee pass blockouts, are the key here. Saturdays in summer are always the slowest day of the week because of that, and today is an extreme example of that blockout calendar.

 

[planodisney]

Those reasons, IMHO, make it even worse for the hopes of major future development at DLR.
If Disney sees they can’t pack the parks with tourists coming to Anaheim no matter what they build,they may give up hope of expansion out west.
Hopefully I’m wrong.

 

[Touchdown]

The reservations were designed to not pack the parks, give it time.

 

[Phroobar]

Everybody was at Knotts. The place was packed! I guess Big Foot is more popular than Chewbacca.

 

[RescueTheDay]

Those reasons, IMHO, make it even worse for the hopes of major future development at DLR.
If Disney sees they can’t pack the parks with tourists coming to Anaheim no matter what they build,they may give up hope of expansion out west.
Hopefully I’m wrong.

The purpose of all of this was to avoid overcrowding. Real test begins in June.

 

[chadwpalm]

Those reasons, IMHO, make it even worse for the hopes of major future development at DLR.
If Disney sees they can’t pack the parks with tourists coming to Anaheim no matter what they build,they may give up hope of expansion out west.
Hopefully I’m wrong.

The low crowds are by no means a sign that Galaxy’s Edge is a failure or that they should be weary of future development. It’s because Disney told everyone for three months that you won’t be able to get into GE for the first three weeks without a reservation, and then finding out the reservations were gone after two hours. Not everyone who vacations wants to stay at a Disney hotel, so everyone is postponing their summer trips until after June 24th.

I think after the 24th Disneyland will be filled to the brim on a daily basis. Disney will make so much money they can afford to have a three week lull before the flood gates open. Enjoy the calm before the storm if you can.

Despite the virtual queuing system the masses will still go in hopes they get a chance to make it in.

 

[mandelbrot]

Don't forget they still have the virtual queuing going into effect starting June 24th. So the overall impact may not be as bad as some predicted.

The virtual queue is only available to guests who have already entered Disneyland. I'm guessing A LOT of people will enter Disneyland to get in the virtual queue. SW: GE may not get overwhelmed because of the VQ but the parks in general will be. This summer will be interesting. At some point they will announce when ROTR will open. It will likely happen when blockouts are minimal and reservations aren't required. THAT is the time to avoid the resort.

 

[shambolicdefending]

Do you all know if RotR was delayed by too many things, or was it originally planned to open up at a later time at the get go?

Consensus seems to be that RotR is taking longer than planned, and MFSR was ready earlier than planned, allowing them to open the area with one attraction sooner than was initially penciled in.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Consensus seems to be that RotR is taking longer than planned, and MFSR was ready earlier than planned, allowing them to open the area with one attraction sooner than was initially penciled in.

That is totally False. Remember I have been working side by side with lots of TDA folks this week.

The land was always planned to be in some type of operating mode by this weekend. The amount of CM previews was more than expected.

More later.

 

[shambolicdefending]

The low crowds are by no means a sign that Galaxy’s Edge is a failure or that they should be weary of future development. It’s because Disney told everyone for three months that you won’t be able to get into GE for the first three weeks without a reservation, and then finding out the reservations were gone after two hours...

...I think after the 24th Disneyland will be filled to the brim on a daily basis.

I agree, overall. But it does beg the question why they bothered doing the reservation system in the first place if it's just delaying the over-capacity crush, and not preventing it. I guess it could be to work out more operational kinks or allow more time to finish Pixar Pals?

And, I still think it's worth discussing how much SWGE is really going to be embraced by traditional Star Wars fanatics. The nerd community has not generally been a big fan of what Disney's done with the franchise.