reddening's thread of DISNEY PARKS gossip

I have heard anecdotal accounts that the crowds have gotten worse at Disney World in general, and/or that crowd management has gotten worse?

We went to Yellowstone over the summer, and I guess it was the third summer in a row with record crowds. 3.8 million people this year, with more this past September than any other time recorded. Disney probably reflects similar trends. Just saw this: "With 19,332,000 guests, Magic Kingdom was once again the most visited theme park in the world, seeing a 4 percent increase from 2013." So yeah.

I'm pretty familiar with how to handle the crowds at Disneyland - get there when the park opens, immediately go on whatever rides are top priority before the park fills up. After that, stake out which land has the most rides with the shortest lines that everyone wants to go on, go on those. Then get lunch and do something that's not popular/doesn't typically have huge lines (the Mark Twain/whatever they call the island now, the Tiki Room, etc.) By mid-afternoon the park is at peak capacity (due to the overlap between families that got their early and younger/childless folks who arrived later) so you're not going to get on much of anything very quickly - good time to either do some shopping or just wander around Toontown or something like that. As the sun goes down, families with younger children will start to leave, so the crowd starts to thin out a little bit - try to get in on any rides you've missed over the course of the day until the parade/fireworks. the end.

I loved whatever crowd app we bought, with real-time line info. Totally came in handy.

I have heard anecdotal accounts that the crowds have gotten worse at Disney World in general, and/or that crowd management has gotten worse?

― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Tuesday, December 15, 2015 12:00 PM

Well, stuff like Food & Wine festival, designed to boost attendance during what was for thirty years the slowest time of year, keeps the parks hopping year around. AK and Epcot didn't seem particularly crowded (the bartender at the Rose & Crown, on whose bar I leaned uninterrupted and unshoved for 30 mins, said it was unusually quiet). But the real crazy time is Dec. 15 through Jan. 1.

Customer service was as good as ever.

if you're a resort guest who buys passes, you can also reserve Fastpasses many weeks in advance.

Returning to Rich's piece from a few months ago, I reread this bit:

What I encountered during my first solo trip to Disney World wasn’t exactly meditative solitude. Mere minutes into my most recent journey through the enchanted fiefdom a suspicion was confirmed: There’s so much stimulation in every cubic square foot that you simply do not need a companion to have an enriching experience. Without another person to consider, I was free to enjoy the park exactly as I wanted. I could move as quickly as humanly possible through the Magic Kingdom, and then on a whim slow down to ponder the attractions, treating them as the works of art that they are.

This is OTM. My trip was essentially solo (I met my parents on the second day). At restaurants I could order dinner at the bar and talk to the bartenders. I wasn't condescended to either.

Huh. I like Disney a lot, but my enjoyment has largely been communal/vicarious. That is, I love watching other people have fun there, and love having others have fun with me. But alone? It would never occur to me to pay to do that.

Should say, I love watching other people I know have fun there. But I suppose the Happiest Place on Earth would be no less enjoyable if I was solo.

I went solo once. It was pretty awesome. It's so great to take exactly as much time as you want to do whatever you want. I just sat around in a bunch of the Epcot countries and appreciated the vibe. While drinking, natch.

long time listener, first time caller-- I got back from WDW a couple weeks ago and Hollywood Studios is dismal. a good half of the park is empty at any given time because all the stores and restaurants have shuttered in preparation for Star Wars and Frozen absorbing their spots. on the plus side I'm an annual passholder now until January 2017 so maybe I'll get to see some of it (I definitely want to go to the Halloween party regardless)

December visit.

nice!

I really want to try out the Snow White mine carts and see the re-vamped Hollywood Studios, don't know when I'll be back though.

Will be in L.A. this August. Definitely going to Universal Studios for a day, considering if I can fit Disneyland in there too.

i recently saw the gay romantic short film that was surreptitiously shot in D'land in the late '60s

so did i

i was the projectionist at its director's 90th birthday celebration

what's it called?

Country Bear Jamboree, iirc?

in his opening remarks he called it discovery; the title card read disneyland discovery; its release title i believe was ron and chuck in disneyland discovery

yes

the director phoned into the Lincoln Center screening, and gave out his number in Hawaii. "call anytime"

Disney's lawyers threatened him w/ prosecution, but to avoid publicity instead banned him from the parks for life.

it was sweet and iirc featured good ecstatic use of "when you wish upon a star"

i hope lincoln center had better turnout

wow I would love to see that!

a few dozen in a smallish theater; sound was fuct up tho

xp

now Disney makes a mint on Gay Days.

while I'm here, might as well show off these sweet Star Wars glasses done in the style of classic Disneyland posters that my sister-in-law brought back from Orlando

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/a8t03c5q2s8l9ua/20160608_153553.jpg?dl=0

wow those are super cool

Last I read there is a lot afoot at the parks, including longer hours for Animal Kingdom, which now lights up on cool ways and gives safaris in the dark.

i was the projectionist at its director's 90th birthday celebration

― le Histoire du Edgy Miley (difficult listening hour), Wednesday, June 8, 2016 9:43 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this post crossed my mind for no reason while i was driving and i realized it's ridiculous; it was not his 90th birthday. sorry. i forget how old he is but i was confusing him with a venerable member of the local japanese chamber of commerce. the program was extremely long -- don't know what context you saw the film in morbz but i am p much a major scholar of his now. there was a sort of hitchcock pastiche, or maybe it was a blow up pastiche -- a lot of prolonged stops at parties. disneyland discovery was the highlight i thought, tho there was Hotter stuff. up in the booth shutting everything down afterwards i missed the chance to claim a t-shirt with his face on it.

while i was driving

As if Orlando couldn't handle more bad news.

Heard that first thing this morning, that story is insane.

Your fun read of the day

http://gizmodo.com/how-i-let-disney-track-my-every-move-1792875386

what a jerk-off, the Magic Bands are great

Like the whole "wau so crepey disney knows where i am at all times" is some serious whogivesashit.jpg. I cannot think of one negative to Disney knowing that I'm waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise after I gave them hundreds of dollars to ride the Jungle Cruise.

WHERE IS MY **PRIVACY** WHEN I EXPLORE YOUR PARK WITH 20,000 OTHER PEOPLE

I like imagining your all caps is the manifesto when you hole up in Spaceship Earth and hack the sound systems to just play BOADRUM 77 on infinite loop.

Certain 21st century indignities I'll endure for the sake of swiping a lock or charging a purchase

speaking of, Whiney, I'll be at Ft. Wilderness over the Thanksgiving holiday.

My sister worked at WDW and can confirm that you're constantly under their watchful eye anyway unless you're like in a bathroom stall or something (and even then, who knows for sure, and maybe the true purpose of the Magic Bands is so they can finally gather important data on visitor BMs).

a sensible comment:

I went to Atlantis in Dubai, after it first opened. I noticed that all the kids had a wrist band. The hotel/park had every kid tracked and parents could check in with staff to see where their kid was.

I remember thinking, man that’s creepy as hell. Because, maybe child abduction was such a real problem that tracking bracelets were needed.But then I realized just how convenient and cool it was. Parents can track their kids, without having to be right beside them the entire time. Plus, for a water park, they place was like Fort Knox.

The reality is that many parks and resorts are going cashless, as is the rest of society. Sure, they want to track you to see what you like and don’t like. Makes deciding on the next improvement easier. Second, going cashless is a lot faster, meaning more transactions and shorter wait times. The last thing someone wants to do is wait in a line on their vacation. Have you ever been stuck behind a mother with three exhausted, hungry, and sensory overloaded kids? She’s trying to fish a wallet out of a purse to buy lunch, only to find she doesn’t have enough cash and then needs to decide which card to use. All while two of the kids are melting down like Chernoble. You only wanted to buy a bottle of water and in doing so, burned 20 minutes and then had to buy a drink, just to calm down. I’ve been there and it’s not a happy place.

My last two vacations were to places that only took room charge. So, you had to have your key every where you went. Judging from the bill, they were tracking the hell out of me. So, these tracking bracelets are just the next logical step. You won’t forget it, like you do your room key and it’s a heck of a lot more convenient.

redbox proves that people will generally still make you wait in line while they decide what to swipe their bracelet on

Oh dear

The main thing you notice when entering Pandora is that it feels like you’re leaving one theme park to go to another. Pandora feels separate from everything else in Animal Kingdom and, while you’re inside, the flora—even the land itself—differs to create the illusion. Every single employee working in Pandora is in character. They greet you in the native language; they swear you are on another planet, not in a theme park, and they refer to James Cameron’s Avatar as a documentary and tell you detailed stories about the animal life, plant life, and mostly, how the wars that raged on Pandora finally gave way to peace and understanding.

Even before you get on the ride, the narrative explains everything else going on in Pandora. How humans link with Avatars, what happened in the past, and why the Avatar program was restarted in the first place by its founder, played by Sigourney Weaver, in a nice nod to the film.

Like in the movies, before the ride can start, everyone has to be matched to an avatar in order to ride the banshee. A good chunk of time is spent creating that illusion and setting you up for the experience, which I won’t spoil. Then, in the attached gift shop called Windtraders, for $74.99 you can have your face scanned and actually have an Avatar of yourself made. This may sound weird and random, but it actually links back to the ride and everything else in Pandora.

As the employee scans you (an employee who, again, is totally committed to the idea you’re all on another planet) they explain that these scans help collect data that’ll improve link connections on the ride, making them stronger and faster. Obviously, this isn’t true, but the fact Disney has linked a little experience to the bigger one just enriches the whole thing.

Alfred can you go get your face scanned so we can see your avatar with a cocktail

It's too big a ship to turn around quickly once they come to their senses, so I'll give it maybe four years before they've changed that entire section of the park into something less stupid.

"And what's this?"

"The Groovy Rave Forest. We have smartdrinks!"

Either I have completely misjudged how the world sees Avatar, but I really don't understand why they are spending all this money to build an immersive land for a movie no one likes.

I love the detail about how it's a generation after the film(s). "Yeah there are a bunch of new films coming out." "Okay so will there be any tension as to whether the whole place survives?" "Well, um, no..."

Like people write multiple thinkpieces like this

http://screencrush.com/back-to-pandora-why-is-avatar-forgotten/
http://www.avclub.com/article/read-how-avatar-made-27-billion-and-garnered-almos-230327

Is that all just ELITE MEDIA BUBBLE BIAS nonsense?

There are four sequels coming. Avatar will be popular and remembered forever. I guarantee it. Nothing could possibly go wrong. This will be a success on every conceivable level. Cross my heart.