Why are lines so long?

[SarahD112]

Drives me nuts to stand in long lines when rides aren’t running to capacity.

 

[cindyfan]

Let me give you my perspective: it's been years, YEARS since we have done Disney in summer. We are talking 20 years probably. Since then, we have shot for fall, sometimes winter times. We were there last week, and I was very shocked and pleasantly surprised by the crowds. I've seen worse in September in some cases, and it was much better than I ever dreamed for a July vacation..............

- Bear in mind we only did one park, Hollywood Studios,
.............................

Anyway...all of these just goes to the point of....depending on where you stay, how you travel, which parks you do, when you travel to and from the parks, what shops/restaurants/attractions you go to....they can all factor in and create vastly different experiences.

I really don't mean to come across wrong... or rude at all..... but if you only did one park and that park was Studios, how can this be a fair evaluation of what it was like or how crowded WDW is right now?
Studios right now is barely a half day park with so much closed and SWGE not opening till Aug. 29. Of course it will be quiet there.
As for the water parks.... many people simply don't do them. Maybe you got lucky that it wasn't crowded that day.

 

[_19disnA]

I will never, ever understand why Disney wants people to wait in line. People in line are not shopping in stores or eating in their restaurants.

Not sure Disney cares. If everything is too crowded and lines are long, then it takes 2+ days at a park to accomplish what you used to do be able to do in 1 day. We went earlier this year after not being at Disney for several years. Noticed the HUGE crowds at every park which seems the new normal. We have ZERO interest in going back and enjoy many other vacations destinations as much that aren't nearly as crowded or expensive. The value just isn't there anymore for us.

 

[bryanb]

I will never, ever understand why Disney wants people to wait in line. People in line are not shopping in stores or eating in their restaurants.

Not sure Disney cares. If everything is too crowded and lines are long, then it takes 2+ days at a park to accomplish what you used to do be able to do in 1 day. We went earlier this year after not being at Disney for several years. Noticed the HUGE crowds at every park which seems the new normal. We have ZERO interest in going back and enjoy many other vacations destinations as much that aren't nearly as crowded or expensive. The value just isn't there anymore for us.

They definitely do care about guest spend per hour, as I know there are departments of research, marketing, and operations teams that do nothing but study this. Disney parks popularized the idea of FastPass, and while similar schemes were around in the past, they realized that getting people out of lines increased guest spending. Universal took this to another level with Volcano Bay, where all queues have been turned into virtual queues. I haven't visited that park yet, but I've read varying reports as to how much guests feel it is working. If they can iron out any residual issues, it could become a model for how parks/attractions are modified and designed in the future. For example, there could be more attractions designed like the new Dumbo, with space and activities for people waiting around, and a general expansion of shopping and dining areas to absorb the crowds that would've been in lines.

If people keep having bad experiences like @_19disnA, that's a direct hit to revenue. Yet conversely, the problem they have is probably a "good" one for any vacation destination business to have -- people are complaining that it's so expensive and it's so crowded. In most cases, you'd think that would take care of itself (like it arguably has at Disneyland's light summer this year -- $149 for a 1-day non-hopper was perhaps too much, but awesome for those who still went), and yet so far at WDW that has been a sustainable problem for as long as I've been going.

 

[DisneyArkie]

Not sure Disney cares. If everything is too crowded and lines are long, then it takes 2+ days at a park to accomplish what you used to do be able to do in 1 day. We went earlier this year after not being at Disney for several years. Noticed the HUGE crowds at every park which seems the new normal. We have ZERO interest in going back and enjoy many other vacations destinations as much that aren't nearly as crowded or expensive. The value just isn't there anymore for us.

I think Disney does care. That’s one reason it is so busy and expensive. My family and I have been many places, but in our opinion Disney stands out in the customer service department. Will there be bad experiences? Sure, but overall we have a great time there and feel Disney goes out of there way for the customer.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

One morning we rope dropped to btmr and splash, but both were down and no one told us until we got there. By the time we got to space mountain the wait was already 40 plus minutes.

Other people have mentioned some great things but at least keep this in mind--right off the bat if BTMRR and Splash were both down with Space Mountain being one of the other bigger/main rides you can expect at least some people who would have ridden BTMRR and Splash (especially with them being close to each other) to then head on over to Space Mountain. That will add to Space Mountain's wait time from the get go.

 

[bryanb]

Previous trips buses have been plentiful and relatively empty. This trip we have had to wait a while for buses and/or drivers (sometimes a bus would pull up quickly but we had to wait for a new driver or once we had a packed bus, but sat waiting for 20 minutes for the bus driver to get permission to take us to our hotel). Pretty much every bus we have been on packed.

The food has been great (free dining) and so has the resort, but why are the lines so long and transportation so bad compared with years past? Is Disney cutting back, are people getting smarter and planning better, are crowds up? Something else?

During my trip last month, I meant to come on here and post how awesome the buses were! But of course, like most people, I'm more likely to go online with a complaint than to start a new thread about positive things -- so I'm part of the problem why these boards often seemed skewed. But your post makes me think that my anecdotal experience was just that -- an anecdote.

But throughout my trip, either I was just lucky or something... there were plentiful buses coming at a decent pace, and I even got to sit down more often than not (except at the end of the night from MK, when I'd expect everything to be packed). Not sure why there is so much variation in the trips... (during my previous trip, buses were such a frustration!)

On the other hand, rope drop has never been my thing. When I did it, I was amazed at how much I could get done in the first hour, but then found that the MK became oppressively busy (and hot!) as early as 10:00am. I've changed my expectations for a WDW trip now, and rely more on FP+ and enjoying the food, sights, and atmosphere... which I have had the luxury of doing as a frequent guest. I use WDW as more of a "relaxing" vacation, if that makes sense. But if I want to check off lists of attractions, I'd still recommend Disneyland instead.

 

[Gentry2004]

On Tuesday they have Early Morning magic event, people were already in the lands when the park opened at 9

I think the bigger issue was that the pp said Splash and Thunder were down at rope drop. That definitely had an effect.

 

[Sarahslay]

I just got back at midnight from a trip and I can honestly say that I experienced zero transportation issues aside from one monorail issue (taken care of as quickly as possible and we were on our way to Epcot). The only time we waited forever for a bus was at Disney Springs which is always a long wait, and we were never on a bus where anyone had to stand unless they just chose too (dude with a huge stroller). Time of day makes a huge difference, how you tackle each park makes a huge difference, and what park you hit on what day makes an even greater difference. My daughter and I rope dropped MK on Saturday and hit every ride on our list in 2 hours, we were headed out of the park at 11:30 after stopping for a Red's Revenge at Sunshine Tree Terrace. Haunted Mansion was even showing a 15 minute wait and we walked right on, didn't even stop to enter the building. Every single ride we walked up and got on quickly and I think that's because of how we approached the morning. Sure we didn't do Space or SDMT, but those lines are time killers anyway no matter how busy the park is. This was my 4th trip this summer and the crowds were honestly better this summer than I've seen them at any other trip in the last 2 years, much better than my summer trips last year as we could actually walk down Mainstreet without getting run over, world show case was actually pleasant and we weren't lost in a sea of people, and the only downer were the big rain storms that moved through (which we dealt with and kept on going). It just shows how people can be there at the same time and have completely different experiences .

 

[Delirium]

I really don't mean to come across wrong... or rude at all..... but if you only did one park and that park was Studios, how can this be a fair evaluation of what it was like or how crowded WDW is right now?
Studios right now is barely a half day park with so much closed and SWGE not opening till Aug. 29. Of course it will be quiet there.
As for the water parks.... many people simply don't do them. Maybe you got lucky that it wasn't crowded that day.

It is impossible to do everything the Studios has to offer in one day (rides, shows, characters, etc.), let alone get it all done in a half day. And, yes, I'm talking about now, before SWGE even opens.

 

[ToyStory3]

We went a few years ago at the end of May and it was amazing! Beautiful weather. Low crowds. We went again this year at the end of May and the crowds were horrible. The lines were long in all parks at all times. We tried both am and pm extra magic hours and it didn't help. At midnight, 2 hours into EMH, the lines were the same length as the middle of the day. It was really disappointing. We strategized, but barely rode anything besides what we had FPs for. We used to go in September. But, we did that last year and it was shoulder to shoulder. You could barely walk through the parks some days. It's really and truly just not as fun for us as it used to be. We've never enjoyed high crowds so we've always gone when it was slower. But, we can barely find those times anymore. I understand why Disney wants to fill the parks at all times and they've been successful at it. But, it's taken a lot of the magic out for us.

 

[pmcpmc]

I believe the fast pass system is responsible for the long lines .
Sometimes the lines were as long as the regular line .
Disney has built an expectation of planning months in advance and only getting three rides per day.
Had the worst experience in 20 years this year causing me to seriously look at the cost per ride .
Work it out for your experience .
Ours cost $10 per ride over three weeks

 

[Antaniasmom]

The difficult thing with that for a lot of people (like myself) is that Disney has conditioned us to plan so far in advance with dining and FPs that unless you're willing/able to adjust on the fly, you're kinda stuck with what you spent half a year planning on any given day.

And this is why I only take advantage of FPs and we just go with it the rest of the day. Hubby is always on lookout for shorter lines .. I think over planning kills the fun but that's just my opinion.

 

[Boopuff]

I was there last year the first week of December. We never rush, and although the crowd days were "8" we were still able to find some quiet spaces to relax and enjoy (behind Rose and Crown right on the water never busy there!)

 

[epcotty]

Does Early Morning Magic affect things as much as EMH? Crowd calendars don't seem to think so at all (undercover tourist and kenny the pirate, I don't think the others break it down by park). I also think it's horrible to only be running one side of an attraction. People notice. Eventually that might well drive a lot of people away. I guess until it does that'll be the policy though

 

[MarBee]

The end of the night time extra magic hours has been a bummer for us and a reason not to go in the summer. Parks used to be open until 1:00 am in the summer with EMH. You could get so much done and be able to take the afternoon break to swim when the heat was the worst. Now with parks closing so much earlier it really puts a damper and seems to create more crowds.

 

[AngiTN]

The end of the night time extra magic hours has been a bummer for us and a reason not to go in the summer. Parks used to be open until 1:00 am in the summer with EMH. You could get so much done and be able to take the afternoon break to swim when the heat was the worst. Now with parks closing so much earlier it really puts a damper and seems to create more crowds.

Which is why they are gone, if you think about it.
You got so much done because they weren't crowded. If no one went, or too few, then why run them? At least in Disney's mind. Gotta have enough guests there to make it worthwhile. PM EMH was just a victim of it's non-success.

 

[MarBee]

Which is why they are gone, if you think about it.
You got so much done because they weren't crowded. If no one went, or too few, then why run them? At least in Disney's mind. Gotta have enough guests there to make it worthwhile. PM EMH was just a victim of it's non-success.

I get it. But it’s also why we cancelled our summer trip this year. I suspect others may be doing the same. Or at least I hope because I really want to start going back in the summer, but we like to be nocturnal at the parks in the summer. Fingers crossed for next year!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I've stayed at several places, and I will say that transportation was an issue at both POR and AoA. I have never experienced such backlog and overcrowding of buses as I did when we stayed at these 2 resorts. POR was the week Thanksgiving into the first week of December and AoA was 1st week of May. Not particularly super busy times to visit. Both are large resorts, though. I know sometimes when leaving a park at closing we would sometimes wait for as many as 3 buses to load. Plus, they were slow to come back. We saw one resort have 3 buses come to our 1, and theirs left practically empty while ours was standing room only. I had a friend who went this year in February and she stayed at AKL. They said service was so slow that by day #3 they were just calling an Uber.
ETA: When we went in May of 2016, a lot of rides were down. At MK, SDMT and Space were both down, with Space being down at least until 1 pm. I remember having issues with at least 1 other attraction; I want to say BTMRR. Then when we went to EP, Figment broke down on us 3 times. One time we waited almost 20 minutes, while another breakdown we were in total darkness. We had the kids with us. We were doing spelling quizzes, I Spy, singing songs, whatever we could do to keep them happy. It was freaky though. We were in the large room and there were no other people on the ride within sight, and if felt very lonely. To this day, we ask the girls if they want to ride Figment, and they get a stricken look on their faces, followed by NO!!! lol

 

[bumbershoot]

The food has been great (free dining)

Answered your own questions with the words “free dining.”

Doesnt seem reasonable to have a 40 minute wait for space mountain 10 minutes after park opening. They were only running at half capacity

Seems ok to me.

I am not used to rides like the speedway having 40 minute waits

I’ve literally only been during quieter times and that’s been my wait experience on speedway.

but we arent a family willing to wait much more than 30 minutes for a ride, so if that is the new normal, Disney is no longer for us.

Yikes. That’s a low wait time to be your limit!

Better stay onsite deluxe at universal to get that express pass.