Guests Can Only Ride Toy Story Mania Via FastPass+

[Nick]

I respect your opinion and you have the right to them, I just don't think freaking out is needed. Many insiders have stated what this test is all about and not one insider has said that this is going to start to trend to a permanent thing on rides. BOG is a different beast. It is a place to eat which reservations are something people are used to with eating at Disney places.

The timing of the test falls in line with the construction timelines for the third track. If this was out of the blue and a third track was not being talked about, sure then I could see panic, but I don't see a need to panic when the test is to figure out if they need to ever have the standby line go into the FP+ line. You have to remember every ride out there today (Uni & Disney) the FP/Express people eventually merge, but if they do this a certain way, the lines will never merge. They need to see if a ride can handle this type of logistics before they go building it.

I usually agree with you, but I disagree with you here on BOG. You wouldn't go to a McDonalds unless you were hungry, would you? So why should someone who wants to eat NOW go to a counter service restaurant and be told to come back in 3 hours? If i'm that person, i'm not coming back, i'm going to eat somewhere else (and likely others will too). When people don't come back, they are losing money because, from what i've heard, they've only been running at 50% capacity during lunch during these tests.

 

[natespf]

I usually agree with you, but I disagree with you here on BOG. You wouldn't go to a McDonalds unless you were hungry, would you? So why should someone who wants to eat NOW go to a counter service restaurant and be told to come back in 3 hours? If i'm that person, i'm not coming back, i'm going to eat somewhere else (and likely others will too). When people don't come back, they are losing money because, from what i've heard, they've only been running at 50% capacity during lunch during these tests.

You have made some good points on the subject, but imagine if McDonald's only served a set number of meals at a specific time. Then you would have hungry people waiting to be counted to see if they could eat there, and anyone with their heart set on McD's that day would need to show up early and wait around doing noting to make sure they get in.

This is something they should do more testing in, and possibly some sort of hybrid may be the best solution. Also for this type of situation a deposit which would be applied to your meals if you actually show should improve the show rate.

 

[darkridelover]

I'm sorry. You don't test things if you have no intention of making them permanent in the future. First Soarin' now TSMM and Be Our Guest. What's next? This whole system is designed to micro manage guests experience. Be able to move them around like rats in a maze. How many more tests are there going to need to be on other main attractions before you realize that FP+ only rides will be a thing? That re-riding favorite rides will be gone for good. That guests who can afford to stay on property will have first access to all the headliners. Already Advanced Dinning Reservations can book a whole restaurant before the general public ever gets a chance. It's a slippery slope.

 

[Nick]

You have made some good points on the subject, but imagine if McDonald's only served a set number of meals at a specific time. Then you would have hungry people waiting to be counted to see if they could eat there, and anyone with their heart set on McD's that day would need to show up early and wait around doing noting to make sure they get in.

This is something they should do more testing in, and possibly some sort of hybrid may be the best solution. Also for this type of situation a deposit which would be applied to your meals if you actually show should improve the show rate.

Yeah, but if those people have their heart set on McD's (BOG), then let them wait. The wait was honestly never more than 15-20 minutes anyway and the restaurant was always full. They aren't even running full these days as I said (since people aren't showing back up).

 

[darkridelover]

A few months ago some friends and I went to play minigolf at Fantasia Gardens in the mid afternoon. After we were done with a round, I suggested we head on over to Beaches and Cream for a Kitchen Sink sundae which none of my friends had tried yet. After talking it up they were excited. It was a Wednesday and we got to the restaurant about 5pm knowing that it would be busy and we might have to wait for a table. I went to put our name on the list and was told all the reservations were already gone weeks in advance and that there was no way of getting in. This is an ice cream parlor. You shouldn't need a reservation to get a sundae with some friends.

I know my experience isn't unique. What I fear is that people like me (who wake up in the morning and call some friends to go hangout at a park), won't be able to ride any major attractions because by the time we get there all Fast-passes will be gone for the day. It will take all the spontaneity out of a visit to the parks. You will have to plan weeks in advance and maintain a strict schedule or risk losing your one chance to experience an attraction.

 

[Nick]

A few months ago some friends and I went to play minigolf at Fantasia Gardens in the mid afternoon. After we were done with a round, I suggested we head on over to Beaches and Cream for a Kitchen Sink sundae which none of my friends had tried yet. After talking it up they were excited. It was a Wednesday and we got to the restaurant about 5pm knowing that it would be busy and we might have to wait for a table. I went to put our name on the list and was told all the reservations were already gone weeks in advance and that there was no way of getting in. This is an ice cream parlor. You shouldn't need a reservation to get a sundae with some friends.

I know my experience isn't unique. What I fear is that people like me (who wake up in the morning and call some friends to go hangout at a park), won't be able to ride any major attractions because by the time we get there all Fast-passes will be gone for the day. It will take all the spontaneity out of a visit to the parks. You will have to plan weeks in advance and maintain a strict schedule or risk losing your one chance to experience an attraction.

I know we all have unique experiences at the parks so I won't discredit what you said at all. However, I went fairly recently and was able to get reservations day of. We actually wouldn't have even needed them, it wasn't too busy. But this all depends on when you go to WDW. You probably went during a busier time. I went a few weeks ago after school had started and things started to slow down at the resort a bit.

It is unfortunate that for something as simple as Beaches & Cream, you can be denied for not having a reservation though. I get having reservations for their sit down restaurants, but a place like B&C, which in essence is a ice cream parlor/diner, I don't feel they should have reservations for. It should be first come, first serve.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

You have to keep in mind, tho, that Disney is not targeting a "first come first serve" crowd. Disney World caters to a much smaller local population than say, Universal, or Disneyland or any regional theme park. The bread and butter for them is the tourist who is only here once a year (at most). For a friends' outing, it would be nice to be able to just decide at the spur of the moment to go get ice cream and be able to walk right in or wait a few minutes for a table. But the vast, vast majority of Disney World's visitors aren't deciding these things on the spur of the moment--they're here for one week and know what places they want to eat before they have to leave, potentially forever. In that sort of situation, it's nice to be able to reserve a spot at a place as small as Beach's and Cream because then you don't have to worry about wasting precious vacation time waiting around or possibly missing out on it before the trip is over. It sucks that locals are having a harder time getting seated at what should be small little places, but it works out much better for the bulk of Disney World's clientele.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

...if they're satisfactory. If the tests dont go well, they won't implement these sorts of things. Thats why its considered a "test" and not a "round 1 of FP+ exclusive rides". The whole point is to gather feedback and decide what the best course of action is from there. If this system sucks, nothing to worry about. If large-scale implementation of this policy does happen, then its because it strikes well with guests. There's really nothing complicated or worrisome about this lol.

Intent is scary.

 

[IzzyB]

I usually agree with you, but I disagree with you here on BOG. You wouldn't go to a McDonalds unless you were hungry, would you? So why should someone who wants to eat NOW go to a counter service restaurant and be told to come back in 3 hours? If i'm that person, i'm not coming back, i'm going to eat somewhere else (and likely others will too). When people don't come back, they are losing money because, from what i've heard, they've only been running at 50% capacity during lunch during these tests.

Oh I agree, I don't think it is going to work if they are running at 50% capacity. But I think the business side of things will make that pretty clear and they will change the system. I am sure they eventually will have a standby/FP combination similar to the sit down. Many sit down places will let you eat without reservations if they are getting a lot of people not showing up or reservations did not fill up. Just depends on the night and the place. So they will work the bugs out. If not they lose money and I just don't see Disney doing that when they are all about the making money side of things. I was just saying that reservations for food places is not out of the ordinary, so it is a much different scenario than one ride in a single park being reservation only. That would make for a customer service nightmare in the peak times. Hence why this test is being done in one of the dead periods of the year. My only point was it is comparing apples to oranges comparing toy story to BOG.

Intent is scary.

I totally get where you are coming from, I just think the intent in this situation is not to change it to a FP only system, but more to test the logistics of the expansion. I could be wrong, but the timing and the particular ride selected to me all point to testing the expansion and not a FP only system. I mean sure, if this test goes extremely well they could consider it moving forward, but I think the logistics of a FP only system would be a nightmare overall.

As for reservations and locals, I get reservations all the time as a local. I really don't have the same problem other people complain about. I just book the reservations 24 to 48 hours in advance when everyone else is cancelling. In peak seasons I have seen the top hard to get reservations available for my party size. If it is a same day trip I then just book the morning of to a less popular place, but still tasty. I have never starved or had to settle for bad food before :smiley:

 

[darkridelover]

My point is this "Testing" of Soarin' and then Toy Story points me in the direction that they would like to go to an all reservation day eventually which will put people who just want to enjoy the park organically or the people who just do a day trip with friends completely out of luck. It will also limit the attractions that off property guests can do during peak season because the main attractions will be gone by the time they are able to make reservations. And you can completely forget about re-riding a favorite attraction twice in one day!!!

 

[IzzyB]

My point is this "Testing" of Soarin' and then Toy Story points me in the direction that they would like to go to an all reservation day eventually which will put people who just want to enjoy the park organically or the people who just do a day trip with friends completely out of luck. It will also limit the attractions that off property guests can do during peak season because the main attractions will be gone by the time they are able to make reservations. And you can completely forget about re-riding a favorite attraction twice in one day!!!

You know if they test Thunder Mountain next I am on your train. But the two rides they tested are the two rides they are looking to expand and potentially do one theater/track standby and the current two as FP+. I am taking a wait and see approach because I don't think this test is to do what you think.

 

[darkridelover]

Lets hope so. But while we're on that subject, it is painfully obvious that neither of those attractions need additional capacity. Disney would get more bang for their buck if they just build a couple smaller attractions instead. Toy story is only popular because its the only thing kids under 44" can ride. If there were a few other family attractions in HS, the lines would be more evenly spread out.

Epcot is in such disarray also. Innoventions, The Wonders of Life Pavilion, and Imagination pavilion are mere shells of what they were or could be. If attractions were to fill those spaces again or even just one more E-ticket added in future world the problem with Soarin' lines would be balanced out. It really sounds like a terrible way to allocate attraction funds to just upgrade existing attractions rather than offer something truly innovative.

 

[MrRoamer]

Lets hope so. But while we're on that subject, it is painfully obvious that neither of those attractions need additional capacity. Disney would get more bang for their buck if they just build a couple smaller attractions instead. Toy story is only popular because its the only thing kids under 44" can ride. If there were a few other family attractions in HS, the lines would be more evenly spread out.

Epcot is in such disarray also. Innoventions, The Wonders of Life Pavilion, and Imagination pavilion are mere shells of what they were or could be. If attractions were to fill those spaces again or even just one more E-ticket added in future world the problem with Soarin' lines would be balanced out. It really sounds like a terrible way to allocate attraction funds to just upgrade existing attractions rather than offer something truly innovative.

Exactly my thoughts, Epcot and HS don't need additional capacity on the super crowded rides because they aren't super spectacular. The only reason they draw lines as big as they do is because of the absolute lack of appropriate rides/good rides throughout the park. Especially with Epcot, the amount of room they could build something spectacular is staggering. I'm curious about how much of hit the Soarin'/Test Track lines are taking now that Maelstrom is gone.