International Gateway Expansion

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Is Disney planning to expand the international Gateway entrance to Epcot to accommodate increased traffic?

With the incoming Ratatouille ride, UK attraction and gondola letting off and picking up there I could see it being a major bottleneck with only a handful of turnstiles... im sure ppl will also try to use it to hop between epcot and dhs.

 

[rteetz]

Nothing has been said about expanding that entrance. That entrance doesn’t have a lot of space to expand either.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Anyone want to take a guess at the % increase in guest usage of that entrance once the gondolas start? ... not sure that entrance can handle the addition of pop, aoa, CBR, and riviera in its current state

 

[umichigan10]

I’d expect they’ll add more tapstyles (if possible) but I think they’ll definitely make the security before the gondolas/boats/walking path.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

alright i did some math... feel free to double check it... cbr, riviera, pop and aoa total to about 7000 rooms (many are suites so u can probably average total occupancy to about 3-4 ppl per room which cld be 21000-30000 more people at the IG

the current ig resorts are just shy of 4000 rooms (yacht, beach, boardwalk, and swan and dolphin)

can IG accomodate close to 3x the guests that it does currently? anyone else have thoughts?

 

[Sadeesmom]

alright i did some math... feel free to double check it... cbr, riviera, pop and aoa total to about 7000 rooms (many are suites so u can probably average total occupancy to about 3-4 ppl per room which cld be 21000-30000 more people at the IG

the current ig resorts are just shy of 4000 rooms (yacht, beach, boardwalk, and swan and dolphin)

can IG accomodate close to 3x the guests that it does currently? anyone else have thoughts?

But your numbers assume everyone from all those rooms in all those resorts are going to Epcot when in reality it’ll likely be less than a quarter of your ballpark numbers.....

 

[hakepb]

I’d expect they’ll add more tapstyles (if possible) but I think they’ll definitely make the security before the gondolas/boats/walking path.

I think it was said the gondolas would be secure, so moving back security (to the boat dock/ walking path) would make the most sense to me.

The front of Epcot rarely runs with more than 10 tapstyles (5 pairs) open, so I have a hard time imagining they build more for the back entrance.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

But your numbers assume everyone from all those rooms in all those resorts are going to Epcot when in reality it’ll likely be less than a quarter of your ballpark numbers.....

Right, good call, Im assuming that is also the case currently, so that is still close to 3 times the current usage... my bad, I didn't mean to imply that all guests at those resorts would go to Epcot every day of their vacation... maybe 5-6,000 more ppl will use it a day... thats still seems quite a few for 3 pairs of tapstiles

 

[Moliphino]

The front of Epcot rarely runs with more than 10 tapstyles (5 pairs) open, so I have a hard time imagining they build more for the back entrance.

Don't even get me started on that. The Epcot entrance (security and tapstiles) is the worst.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Don't even get me started on that. The Epcot entrance (security and tapstiles) is the worst.

I agree, I have had a tough time getting in and out of the front entrance even getting there 15-20mins ppo... its one of the many things that they need to address in future world.

 

[Krandor]

Don't even get me started on that. The Epcot entrance (security and tapstiles) is the worst.

I don't find the tapstyles too bad but the way security is setup especially for those with bags (luckily i don't normally bring a bag) is really really slow.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

I’d expect they’ll add more tapstyles (if possible) but I think they’ll definitely make the security before the gondolas/boats/walking path.

Is there any room to add more tapstiles there? I would imagine doubling the number would get the job done, but where would they go? maybe they could move the entrance back a bit?

 

[umichigan10]

Is there any room to add more tapstiles there? I would imagine doubling the number would get the job done, but where would they go? maybe they could move the entrance back a bit?

That’s why I said “if possible” because I’m truthfully not sure (I don’t use the IG often). I’m wondering if they moved security to before the IG entrance if that would make more usable tap style space (again showing my ignorance of the layout of the gateway entrance)

 

[Tigger's ally]

In all my experiences, the IG has never been very busy and often didn't have all the gates open anyways. My guess is it will be busy at park open and will flow pretty well the rest of the time, but with added CM's and all the gates open. I suspect more of a problem after Illuminations for just a brief time as there might be a bottleneck with crowds for the Gondola and the boat dock utilizing some of the pathways that people walking to the boardwalk area need to have open.

 

[hakepb]

That’s why I said “if possible” because I’m truthfully not sure (I don’t use the IG often). I’m wondering if they moved security to before the IG entrance if that would make more usable tap style space (again showing my ignorance of the layout of the gateway entrance)

If they moved security back and moved the Guest Relations booth to the side there would be a much more open feeling and flow before and after the existing IG tapstyles.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I agree with moving everything back. There is a giant open area (might have a flowerbed) to the left there as you walk up from the Epcot resorts.

That would give plenty of space to expand.

 

[Tigger's ally]

I agree with moving everything back. There is a giant open area (might have a flowerbed) to the left there as you walk up from the Epcot resorts.

That would give plenty of space to expand.

Isn't that open area you are talking about where the Gondola is being constructed? Marked here with the red X.



Also, the path at the bottom of this picture that hugs the river....is that/or could it be used to facilitate more people exiting the park at night? I don't recall using it as I thought we exited right through where the turnstyles are???? Come to think about it, I usually have been drinking around the world when I left through there. Probably the reason I don't remember. ARghhhhhh!

 

[rteetz]

Isn't that open area where the Gondola is being constructed? Marked here with the red X.

View attachment 320098

Also, the path at the bottom of this picture that hugs the river....is that/or could it be used to facilitate more exiting the park at night? I don't recall using it as I thought we exited right through where the turnstyles are????

Yes that is where the station is being constructed.

 

[splash327]

Honestly I've found the gateway a little backed up lately. It's security that is the issue and not the tap points. Everyone coming in the gateway goes through the metal detectors, so it's slower than most of the other parks. I could see moving security up and adding tables so that they could use all the touch points.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Yes that is where the station is being constructed.

Yeah I know where it is being constructed (not been drinking around the world today, oh but if only I could ). I was just questioning the pp about where she said there was open space to make the IG bigger. I do see by the picture though that they could actually cover the whole area from the river to the buildings and make the boat landing, security and IG under one big cover.