Why are they closing Snow White?

[captainkidd]

I don't understand this move. I get they're putting in the new mine train ride, but gutting this to use as a princess meet and greet spot is kind of odd. As it is, MK's Fantasyland is lacking in dark rides compared to Disneyland's. Why not re-theme the ride to another Disney classic? There's obviously plenty of them to choose from.

 

[Clamman73]

Reincarnate Toad's.

 

[Master Yoda]

Guests demand meet n greets nearly as much as they do attractions. Right now, the current Snow White ride building is the easiest solution.

 

[nngrendel]

What is the "rumored" time table for this ride to close? Wondering if it will still be open for our Sept 2012 visit.

 

[trr1]

What is the "rumored" time table for this ride to close? Wondering if it will still be open for our Sept 2012 visit.

try here http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=739099&highlight=Snow+White+closing+date

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Not a fan of meet & greets

I don't understand all the additional Meet & Greets being set up. I feel with all the money it cost for a ticket to get in I want more wait in line for ever to see people dressed up as a character. When a new ride is built it will cost money to maintain it and to pay CM to work it. So how does that compare to the cost of running an M&G? In the long run the M&G have to be cheaper to maintain than an actual ride. Not sure if the guest really want more M&G's or if Disney is finding a way to try to talk us into the idea.

 

[captainkidd]

I don't understand all the additional Meet & Greets being set up. I feel with all the money it cost for a ticket to get in I want more wait in line for ever to see people dressed up as a character. When a new ride is built it will cost money to maintain it and to pay CM to work it. So how does that compare to the cost of running an M&G? In the long run the M&G have to be cheaper to maintain than an actual ride. Not sure if the guest really want more M&G's or if Disney is finding a way to try to talk us into the idea.

I agree with this.

 

[Master Yoda]

I don't understand all the additional Meet & Greets being set up. I feel with all the money it cost for a ticket to get in I want more wait in line for ever to see people dressed up as a character. When a new ride is built it will cost money to maintain it and to pay CM to work it. So how does that compare to the cost of running an M&G? In the long run the M&G have to be cheaper to maintain than an actual ride. Not sure if the guest really want more M&G's or if Disney is finding a way to try to talk us into the idea.

Management is simply responding to guest demand and are not being cheep. Quite the opposite is true. Meet n greets cost more per guest to run and maintain than your average c/d ticket dark ride. This is why management hates them. They would much rather build a dark ride that would service more people at a lower operating cost per person. The problem is the majority of guests that come every 1-2 years wants meet n greets in a big way.

 

[WorldKey]

Management is simply responding to guest demand and are not being cheep. Quite the opposite is true. Meet n greets cost more per guest to run and maintain than your average c/d ticket dark ride. This is why management hates them. They would much rather build a dark ride that would service more people at a lower operating cost per person. The problem is the majority of guests that come every 1-2 years wants meet n greets in a big way.

You have to be kidding me.....where is that data coming from?

Ride Maintenance $$$
CMs to Operate Ride $$$
Utilties $$
Real Estate $$$

 

[captainkidd]

Management is simply responding to guest demand and are not being cheep. Quite the opposite is true. Meet n greets cost more per guest to run and maintain than your average c/d ticket dark ride. This is why management hates them. They would much rather build a dark ride that would service more people at a lower operating cost per person. The problem is the majority of guests that come every 1-2 years wants meet n greets in a big way.

Yeah, sorry but I don't buy that either. Where is the cost in meet and greets? You have to pay the characters and the CM's in charge of organizing them. How can that possibly be more expensive than creating a ride, having ride operators on hand, and maintenance fees on the ride?

 

[Master Yoda]

You have to be kidding me.....where is that data coming from?

Ride Maintenance $$$
CMs to Operate Ride $$$
Utilties $$
Real Estate $$$

Yeah, sorry but I don't buy that either. Where is the cost in meet and greets? You have to pay the characters and the CM's in charge of organizing them. How can that possibly be more expensive than creating a ride, having ride operators on hand, and maintenance fees on the ride?

Sounded like bunk when I first heard it as well but I have been told this by multiple people both on the front lines and behind the scenes at the parks. Once I thought about the logistics it made perfect sense. Attractions like Snow White, Pooh, etc post guest counts over 1000 people per hour. Most do this with a staff of just a few low paid CM's. On the other hand, meet n greets have a much lower guest capacity and require more staff, a portion of which are higher paid friends of characters and face characters. At the end of a day it costs a good bit more for a guest to go through a meet n greet than tot does a C ticket dark ride.

 

[Scuttle]

Reincarnate Toad's.

Can you imagine how insane that thread would be if they announced Toad was coming back?

 

[WorldKey]

Reincarnate Toad's.

Be careful saying that....I joked about bringing Toad's back to where Snow White is now and got a 200 word disertation from one poster on why that wouldn't be feasible in 10 different ways........and I was just jokingly putting out the same idea.

 

[invader]

This is what I've been telling myself since they announced it.
They're going to put in simple themes that will require barely any time to take down/put up. After some creative thought they'll put in a new, awesome, fantasyland-styled dark ride.

:veryconfu

 

[njDizFan]

Sounded like bunk when I first heard it as well but I have been told this by multiple people both on the front lines and behind the scenes at the parks. Once I thought about the logistics it made perfect sense. Attractions like Snow White, Pooh, etc post guest counts over 1000 people per hour. Most do this with a staff of just a few low paid CM's. On the other hand, meet n greets have a much lower guest capacity and require more staff, a portion of which are higher paid friends of characters and face characters. At the end of a day it costs a good bit more for a guest to go through a meet n greet than tot does a C ticket dark ride.

Although the initial upfront cost is disproportionate. I have no hard figures but to make a C-ticket ride it may cost 20 million opposed to a lavish meet and greet which would be a fraction of that(maybe 1 million).

19 million dollars buys you quite a few hours of face characters.

 

[danlb_2000]

I don't understand all the additional Meet & Greets being set up. I feel with all the money it cost for a ticket to get in I want more wait in line for ever to see people dressed up as a character. When a new ride is built it will cost money to maintain it and to pay CM to work it. So how does that compare to the cost of running an M&G? In the long run the M&G have to be cheaper to maintain than an actual ride. Not sure if the guest really want more M&G's or if Disney is finding a way to try to talk us into the idea.

I was recently talking to a friend who brought his 5 year old daughter on her first trip to Disney. They spent 10 days between Disney and Universal and when we asked his daughter what the best part of the trip was, she said "meeting the princesses." Yes, this is just one case, but I don't doubt the demand for meet and greets.

Dan

 

[RSoxNo1]

Management is simply responding to guest demand and are not being cheep. Quite the opposite is true. Meet n greets cost more per guest to run and maintain than your average c/d ticket dark ride. This is why management hates them. They would much rather build a dark ride that would service more people at a lower operating cost per person. The problem is the majority of guests that come every 1-2 years wants meet n greets in a big way.

This is probably on a capacity basis. Having said that, early on the Streetmasphere characters were entertaining more guests per hour than the other rides in that park.

 

[Master Yoda]

This is probably on a capacity basis. Having said that, early on the Streetmasphere characters were entertaining more guests per hour than the other rides in that park.

Correct. Lots of high priced labor and dismal guests counts make managers a sad panda.

 

[piglet66]

I am all for new technology, growth and expansion, but I worry that we are losing too much "classic" Disney, those things that have made Disney what it is. Why can't we have the new Snow white ride and the classic ride. I agree upgrades are necessary in the parks as they stand now, but I miss Mister Toad, and will miss Snow White. I grew up on those rides. Meet and Greets are nice/great for the kids, but alas, adults do go to the parks without kids.

 

[Hakunamatata]

I can remember back in the day when they were building WDW how people used to send in letters to the editor concerned how the construction of the parks was an infringement of the naturalness of the Disney Swamp. :lookaroun