Why such a large queue for little mermaid?

[Rob562]

Having been an annual passholder at WDW, there are a ton of license plates from Florida and nearby states. Isn't the whole point of DVC to get the hardcore Disney fans who return to WDW every 3-5 years? I would guess that about half of WDW's guests are locals (in that region of the US at least) who have been to the place several times.

Ummm, pretty much all of the rental cars in Florida have Florida license plates. So a parking lot full of Florida plates gives no indication at all as to the makeup of the Guest population.

-Rob

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Ummm, pretty much all of the rental cars in Florida have Florida license plates. So a parking lot full of Florida plates gives no indication at all as to the makeup of the Guest population.

-Rob

Interesting point, but how many of the folks from the airport rent a car? Don't most traveler to WDW just take a taxi to the property? Plus, I've seen too many Louisiana, Georgia, and North & South Carolina plates to believe that a good chunk of the Florida plates are just rentals.

 

[Donald96]

Interesting point, but how many of the folks from the airport rent a car? Don't most traveler to WDW just take a taxi to the property? Plus, I've seen too many Louisiana, Georgia, and North & South Carolina plates to believe that a good chunk of the Florida plates are just rentals.

Have you ever been to WDW during the summer? On Kali River Rapids no one besides me spoke english in the raft! In almost every queue I was sandwiched between foriegners and they don't speak English. I went in June and don't know if it's just me but I swear in the Summer they may as well move the UN HQ here because it feels like people from every country is here. (Just check out that map at the end of SE) And even if there are a lot of Florida license plates, Florida is a big state with several big cities (Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Pensacola) so it may not just mean that they're from Orlando just because the have a Florida license plate. Now there are also those countless guests in the hotel whose cars are unaccounted for and I'm sure if they were counted in this license plate count there would be a lot less Florida. Also, to put it in prespective an omnimover which isn't new, The Seas With Nemo and Friends, had a 45 minute wait in June as did the HM but that's expected. That's in EPCOT to a park not known for these types of family dark rides, so somehow I think that LM will be fine in getting long lines for awhile.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Also, to put it in prespective an omnimover which isn't new, The Seas With Nemo and Friends, had a 45 minute wait in June as did the HM but that's expected. That's in EPCOT to a park not known for these types of family dark rides, so somehow I think that LM will be fine in getting long lines for awhile.

That's a really good point concerning Nemo and Friends. I remember many years ago when it first opened it had really long waits, last time I went it had a 15 to 25 minute waits, and I always hit it first thing early in the morning when the lines are low.

I would say that I do really like Epcot's Nemo and Friends, the queue is great, you feel like you're slowly going underwater, and the ride is good as it has real fish. Plus I love HM, it is a classic ride.

We'll all see how Mermaid does over the next couple years, I think they should have put in some real fish as this would have helped with what is a lack of atmosphere, IMHO, in the ride.

 

[Donald96]

That's a really good point concerning Nemo and Friends. I remember many years ago when it first opened it had really long waits, last time I went it had a 15 to 25 minute waits, and I always hit it first thing early in the morning when the lines are low.

I would say that I do really like Epcot's Nemo and Friends, the queue is great, you feel like you're slowly going underwater, and the ride is good as it has real fish. Plus I love HM, it is a classic ride.

We'll all see how Mermaid does over the next couple years, I think they should have put in some real fish as this would have helped with what is a lack of atmosphere, IMHO, in the ride.

I agree that perhaps a pond with fish (perhaps koi?) in the kiss the girl scene with real fountains spurting up would make it 10X better! It would be neat to see real fish swimming about and this scene in my opinion should be treated with more granduer.

 

[Tip Top Club]

Haha Local at WDW and Local at DLR mean completely different things. Basically if you drive in WDW considers you Local. If you fly in they consider you A traveler. Obviously it's a little more complicated then that, but that's the bare bones.

As far as Mermaid Consider Buzz Lightyear. It takes two hours or so to develop a queue in the morning, and it usually tapers off during the Fireworks, but mid-day it often has lines exceeding 45 minutes. That's probably what will happen with Mermaid as well. That's what happens when you add Fastpass (and in this case Fastpass+) to an omnimover.

 

[muteki]

I would imagine Peter Pan levels more or less for the first year or so. Maybe more for the first few months.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Local at Disneyland includes a far large, more densely populated geographic area that stretches into Mexico. The visitation demographics are also changing to be more of what was desired back in 2001. If not for FastPass, I do not think it would take long for the lines to find a happy place in which people get moved through quickly. Since there is no preshow as with The Haunted Mansion, the line never actually need stop except for when a guest stops moving. People are less irritated by a moving line than one that sits still even for brief periods.

 

[menamechris]

I wish I could be excited about this ride coming and being 1 of the 2 attraction additions to WDW - but I just can't. Everyone who has been to DCA has basically called the ride 'lame'. That doesn't make be anxious for November at all...

 

[Californian Elitist]

I wish I could be excited about this ride coming and being 1 of the 2 attraction additions to WDW - but I just can't. Everyone who has been to DCA has basically called the ride 'lame'. That doesn't make be anxious for November at all...

I hate to pile on the non-excitement but you're right, TLM is considered a good ride but not a great ride here in California. The dark rides in Fantasyland are the ones that get the most love, even if they're nearly sixty years old, Pinocchio almost thirty.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I wish I could be excited about this ride coming and being 1 of the 2 attraction additions to WDW - but I just can't. Everyone who has been to DCA has basically called the ride 'lame'. That doesn't make be anxious for November at all...

Unlike rides like Pirates and HM, you can see *everything* on Mermaid, and I don't think they put in so much detail that APers and frequent guests are happily lining up to ride it again just to soak in everything. The queue is certainly not a fun experience, (rundown carney look IMHO), but luckily MK's will have a much better queue, and hopefully they make MK's Mermaid much better OR add major upgrades in the future.

I love riding Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, Snow White, as they have charm . . . Mermaid is sort of impersonal, being a huge building and all, and the scenes don't seem to connect emotionally.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

I hate to pile on the non-excitement but you're right, TLM is considered a good ride but not a great ride here in California. The dark rides in Fantasyland are the ones that get the most love, even if they're nearly sixty years old, Pinocchio almost thirty.

The Fantasyland rehab in the early 80's sure helped make Fantasyland a lot more fun, maybe Mermaid will get a similar make over in DCA, after all, the queue isn't much of anything, they could add to it, and obviously improve a lot of Mermaid's scenes, especially the second half.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The Fantasyland rehab in the early 80's sure helped make Fantasyland a lot more fun, maybe Mermaid will get a similar make over in DCA, after all, the queue isn't much of anything, they could add to it, and obviously improve a lot of Mermaid's scenes, especially the second half.

Changing the facades helped, for one. The tent/fair theme just doesn't scream "fantasy" to me.

I think the queue for TLM is fine. Then again, I'm not much of a queue person. The queue doesn't have to be all that, just as long as I enjoy the ride. I enjoy TLM. I'll admit the ending could have been better but overall, I enjoy it. I never assumed it would be an "out of this world" dark ride. I just took it for what it was. Maybe if people don't set their expectations too high, they won't be disappointed.

 

[Pixiedustmaker]

Changing the facades helped, for one. The tent/fair theme just doesn't scream "fantasy" to me.

I think the queue for TLM is fine. Then again, I'm not much of a queue person. The queue doesn't have to be all that, just as long as I enjoy the ride. I enjoy TLM. I'll admit the ending could have been better but overall, I enjoy it. I never assumed it would be an "out of this world" dark ride. I just took it for what it was. Maybe if people don't set their expectations too high, they won't be disappointed.

I agree, the medieval tent thing didn't seem "magical", and I prefer Disneyland's Fantasyland. When they put up the "castle" wall thing separating FLE and old Fantasyland, I kinda figured that this means that they are keeping the tents/fair for now, especially since the Princess Fantasy Faire is modeled the same way.

I would say that Mermaid's queue in DCA detracted from the ride itself for me as one second you are in a pier side amusement park gigantic building (supposedly themed like an aquarium of decades past), and then you hit Scuttle, then Ariel's Grotto . . . but I still feel I'm in the "cheap" ride that the exterior sort of sets up. Only when I'm at the "Under the Sea" scene has the after taste of the poor queue washed out of my mouth.

Magic Kingdom's Mermaid's queue will help with the overall ride experience as you're in Ariel's world before you hit the clams shells, so it makes the transition a little smoother.

The one thing that works against the ride, IMHO, for both versions is that the showbuilding is huge, and easily discernable despite being disguised. For rides like Peter Pan in Disneyland, I never really get a sense of the size of the show building from the guest areas, and the queue is more humble, such that the wonderful experience you have on the ride is due to something almost magical, as opposed to a Best Buy sized show building sort of being part of the show.

So, given that, it is hard not to expect a lot, especially with MK's Mermaid, the showbuilding/queue has a larger profile than Indy in DLR!

 

[Californian Elitist]

I agree, the medieval tent thing didn't seem "magical", and I prefer Disneyland's Fantasyland. When they put up the "castle" wall thing separating FLE and old Fantasyland, I kinda figured that this means that they are keeping the tents/fair for now, especially since the Princess Fantasy Faire is modeled the same way.

I've seen pictures of MK's Fantasyland and while it's nice it just doesn't grab my attention. I just can't get over the tent thing. I didn't even know they were putting up a wall. That seems odd to me. Speaking of Fantasy Faire, I'm glad DL's will still look like a village. I'm hoping they put real koi fish in the ponds.

IMO, TLM thematically fits better in Paradise Pier. I feel the same way about Pooh, fitting better in Critter Country. Guess it's because I'm used to the European village Fantasyland.

 

[rioriz]

Has anyone mentioned that Scuttles Scavenger Hunt is also housed in the queue hence another reason for it being so long?

 

[Master Yoda]

Interesting point, but how many of the folks from the airport rent a car? Don't most traveler to WDW just take a taxi to the property? Plus, I've seen too many Louisiana, Georgia, and North & South Carolina plates to believe that a good chunk of the Florida plates are just rentals.

At a certain point people stop driving and start flying. The average that people will drive before hopping on a plane is somewhere between 6-8 hours. Of course with airfares and the hassle of flying going up, so it that average. Those that fly either use Disney transportation or rent cars which will have a Florida plate. The only thing that seeing licence plates from Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolina's at WDW tells us is that those states are close enough to WDW where people will dive over fly.

 

[Oddysey]

It is well known that the NextGen inituative is to increase a typical and local guests time in line. Hence, a longer and nicer queue for WDW.

 

[wannab@dis]

Yes, this hasn't worked, adding Fastpass to attractions that don't need it has failed to redistribute crowds effectively, yet it is a primary element in the integration of Fastpass+. They're doing tests now at some attractions with Fastpass+, but the 10+ years of Surprise Fastpass Data is being ignored.

Dear Disney,
The Fastpass system isn't broken. You can add Fastpass+ to attractions that don't need it, but allowing guests to book those attractions in advance is further cheapening your product. People will catch on, get discouraged and not return. The Fastpass+ program should only include the following:

• Electronic Fastpasses on smart phones, but also available in the traditional approach
• Fastpasses only turned on for certain attractions (Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc) when crowds dictate it
• Guests must be in the park to be able to acquire a Fastpass, no booking of Fastpasses prior to your visit
• Stop enforcing the end time of the window, or allow longer windows for lower demand Fastpasses

Call me.
Love,
Tim

Why not wait and see the implementation before deciding you have all the answers and they don't? How in the world does reserving a fastpass cheapen an attraction?

And, yes, everyone knows you're still upset about the return times for fastpasses. We get it. Move on.

 

[wannab@dis]

It is well known that the NextGen inituative is to increase a typical and local guests time in line. Hence, a longer and nicer queue for WDW.

Well known to whom? So you think Disney decided one day to find a way to make locals stand in line longer and authorized spending money on that objective? Why? That is ludicrous!