Just back observations about crowds, FP+,"Big Brother"

[wdwfun!]

Just back from our from stay 11/29-12/3. We typically do go to WDW this time of year so it was interesting to compare crowds and wait times from year to year especially because last year I was able to use FP+ and my KTTW for FP. Overall I thought the crowds were a bit larger than last year especially for Saturday but they declined on Sunday and Mon-Wed were reasonable. I thought the 8 AM opening for MK was a big benefit this year. We arrived shortly after 8 AM so the lines to get in weren't too bad and went right to 7DMT on our first MK day our wait was about 20 minutes even though the posted time was already 60 minutes. In addition, the draw of this ride left most other rides with very short wait times until about 9:30 when crowds started picking up. Take advantage of this early time if you can get up This combined with our reserved FP times allowed to do all we wanted in MK by lunch each day.

FP+ has a mixed review from my perspective. It was nice to have some the popular rides already booked before we left but it left little opportunity to make day of or day before changes for the popular rides. I thought the location of kiosks were not the best and they need more of them. The CMs that worked there were helpful I thought. One big misunderstanding I had regarding the "bonus" FP was that it had to be at the same park. That is not true...we got multiple "bonus" FP at the parks we hopped to since we "reserved" morning FP at our first park. I think one change Disney should make is to allow you to book just one or 2 FP rather than defaulting to 3 especially for EPCOT where only TT and Soarin were needed.

Our wait time once in the FP line was short for most rides with the exceptions being Test Track and RNR which still seemed long. There was often a short line to scan your band to get into the FP line.

FP+ for Be our Guest didn't go so smoothly for us. We had to wait at check in and then wait in line to scan our bands for quite a while before sitting down. We had pre ordered our meals but it wouldn't come up on their systems (CMs couldn't help) so we had to reorder our meals. Once we got in and seated the food did come quickly but it wasn't hot...luke warm at best. We loved the theme but can't say we had the best experience this year.

As far as "Big Brother", I was surprised to see all of the "automatic photos" that were in photopass for our family. We only scanned our band twice and there were lots and lots of photos and videos posted. They tracked our bands back to our account every time one of us went on a ride that had a camera. They could tell what car of the ride we were in without us scanning our bands for the photo. That is somewhat troubling. It does make you wonder what other data they are keeping.

Overall, we still enjoyed our trip despite having to learn how to use FP and plan so much ahead. Between ADRs and FP+ you did feel like you needed to stick with your plan. Crowds were reasonable yet and Christmas decorations were nice. Busses were hit or miss...every 20 minutes is misleading I think. Sometimes two came back to back for the same destination and other times it is 35 minutes to wait. CMs at the resort bus stops are unable to help but I think people believe that they can help so they get frustrated quickly. What they should do is have these CMs help the bus drivers get the scooters in!

 

[marauder]

You do have an option about "Big Brother" you can always use "normal" park tickets and keep them in a wallet or one of those pockets that are shielded against RFID readers. You can also "hide" your bands if you want to. Many people feel it is an advantage. Of course if you don't want any type of tracking you can't use FP at all since even with the normal park tickets it still tracks you every time you use it.

As for bus times there is no way they can be exactly at 20 minutes, they have issues with traffic and the biggest time hog is the scooters and wheelchairs. Most of the time we saw buses getting bunched up one of two things were happening, either the time to load and unload buses with two scooters was eating up the time between buses or it was a rush hour time for people going to or coming from the park. Obviously if it is a rush hour time they can just send more buses within the 20 minute window to make up for the fact that there are long lines building up at either the resort or the theme park.

 

[nkereina]

We had the same thoughts on the whole "big brother" thing. We didn't purchase photopass or memory maker at all, but we were able to log in and view all our ride photos because evidently the queues picked up our MBs. Never scanned them anywhere. Doesn't bother me a whole lot, but it was interesting!

 

[wdwfun!]

Our tix were in our wallets and they are linked to a different MDE account than our MBs. The photos were posted to both accounts so the reader picks up tix as well as MBs.

As far as the busses, I don't expect them to be every 20 minutes. My point was that the CMs continually repeat the 20 minute mantra and set expectations so that frustration sets in quickly when the busses don't arrive and the CMs can't do anything about it. If you want or need to be at the park at a certain time and the bus takes 30 minutes to show up and if a scooter shows up right before the bus...let's just say it can get very tense. For the most part we were satisfied with the bussing because we know what to expect...we don't believe the mantra and don't ask the CM when the next bus is coming. Only once did we have a situation where the bus took quite a while to show so the line got long and then 2 scooters came up at the end with several family members each. We got on the bus but there were quite a few who didn't that were in line well before the scooters and their posse.

 

[marauder]

I personally wish more of the locations would do like they do at Epcot (at least they did this for the Pop station.) A scooter or wheelchair in the Epcot bus line had to go through most of the line before they encountered the wheelchair/scooter specific line. Yes they still had a separate line for them and still boarded them before everyone else but it got rid of the possibility of last minute scooters/wheelchairs boarding before people that were waiting a lot longer then them.

There are sleeves you can get for cards that prevent RFID readers from reading them. Personally I don't worry about it since in today's world you have even facial recognition software tracking you, but I know lots of people care.

 

[canoe86]

I personally wish more of the locations would do like they do at Epcot (at least they did this for the Pop station.) A scooter or wheelchair in the Epcot bus line had to go through most of the line before they encountered the wheelchair/scooter specific line. Yes they still had a separate line for them and still boarded them before everyone else but it got rid of the possibility of last minute scooters/wheelchairs boarding before people that were waiting a lot longer then them.

So THIS.

Long wait at MK bus stop one night last week. We had waited one bus, getting ready to board when 1 ecv with a party of 8 came rolling/walking up. Cut the whole darn line.

Now, I know its been discussed here multiple times, and I have ZERO problem with people disabled boarding the bus before me, but the whole party? Maybe it should be the ecv and one person. OR, when the party gets to the front, then the ecv boards. The rest of the party waits in line just like everyone else who had been there over 45 minutes.

 

[marauder]

So THIS.

Long wait at MK bus stop one night last week. We had waited one bus, getting ready to board when 1 ecv with a party of 8 came rolling/walking up. Cut the whole darn line.

Now, I know its been discussed here multiple times, and I have ZERO problem with people disabled boarding the bus before me, but the whole party? Maybe it should be the ecv and one person. OR, when the party gets to the front, then the ecv boards. The rest of the party waits in line just like everyone else who had been there over 45 minutes.

I personally understand why they let the person's party board with them. You don't know if the person in the wheelchair is the primary guardian to the other people or the people are assisting the person. You don't want to split up the groups and stuff like that. I also understand why they have to let the scooters/wheelchairs board first. I don't think they should be able to totally bypass the line. I think what they did at Epcot, making the wheelchairs/scooters wait in MOST of the line is the most fair option. There is nothing worse in relation to waiting for a bus, then a line of people that would totally fill up the bus being there, the bus pulls up and all of a sudden two scooters show up. If it only happened once and a blue moon it wouldn't be a big deal, happened at least once a day to me.

 

[nkereina]

I personally understand why they let the person's party board with them. You don't know if the person in the wheelchair is the primary guardian to the other people or the people are assisting the person. You don't want to split up the groups and stuff like that. I also understand why they have to let the scooters/wheelchairs board first. I don't think they should be able to totally bypass the line. I think what they did at Epcot, making the wheelchairs/scooters wait in MOST of the line is the most fair option. There is nothing worse in relation to waiting for a bus, then a line of people that would totally fill up the bus being there, the bus pulls up and all of a sudden two scooters show up. If it only happened once and a blue moon it wouldn't be a big deal, happened at least once a day to me.

There's actually signs posted at some (most?) bus depots stating the written rules of ECV/wheelchair boarding. I believe it states only a certain number of people are allowed to board with them - something like 3 or 4 is posted? Naturally, no one reads or follows the signs and it's up to the driver's discretion. But there's supposed to be rules in place about the number of people boarding with the ECV occupant. This is similar to those who do family boarding on Southwest - immediate family only, grandparents and other friends and family are expected to wait.

 

[Suvadoo]

I personally wish more of the locations would do like they do at Epcot (at least they did this for the Pop station.) A scooter or wheelchair in the Epcot bus line had to go through most of the line before they encountered the wheelchair/scooter specific line. Yes they still had a separate line for them and still boarded them before everyone else but it got rid of the possibility of last minute scooters/wheelchairs boarding before people that were waiting a lot longer then them.
There are sleeves you can get for cards that prevent RFID readers from reading them. Personally I don't worry about it since in today's world you have even facial recognition software tracking you, but I know lots of people care.

I wish this were true everywhere. Boy after a long day in the park, standing around waiting for a bus is no fun. I don't know why the WC and ECV people can't wait like everyone else.

 

[POOHsie]

I wish this were true everywhere. Boy after a long day in the park, standing around waiting for a bus is no fun. I don't know why the WC and ECV people can't wait like everyone else.

Do you really want the driver to board a crowd of people into seats and standing in the aisles before you load ecvs and wheelchairs. It's a recipe for frequent injuries. You'd understand, if someone in your family got injured.

The tired folks who would have to give up their benches, because those would be folded up for make room for a couple of mobility devices, have been known to start ugly, can't-win dust-ups when asked to forfeit their seats. You'd understand this, if the bus driver told your family that you'd have to wait for another bus, because people were unwilling to give up seats that were supposed to be released for handicap boarding.

There are only 2-3 spots on the buses for people using mobility devices. Space for transporting them gets behind when it's rush hour. That's why room is made on every available bus, as soon as an ecv or wheelchair shows up in line. The disabled are the ones who may have to wait long periods for a bus. For healthy folks, with over 50 spots on each bus available to them, this isn't as severe of a problem. You'd understand this, if you were waiting in the separate handicap boarding line with a loved one in an ecv or wheelchair.

Try to keep in mind, at WDW the ecvs and wheelchairs board buses first (for safety) but they exit the buses last (for safety). The Disney transportation system is balanced to meet the needs of all types of riders, not just the overwhelming majority of guests who have no underlying issues.

 

[Suvadoo]

Do you really want the driver to board a crowd of people into seats and standing in the aisles before you load ecvs and wheelchairs. It's a recipe for frequent injuries. You'd understand, if someone in your family got injured.

The tired folks who would have to give up their benches, because those would be folded up for make room for a couple of mobility devices, have been known to start ugly, can't-win dust-ups when asked to forfeit their seats. You'd understand this, if the bus driver told your family that you'd have to wait for another bus, because people were unwilling to give up seats that were supposed to be released for handicap boarding.

There are only 2-3 spots on the buses for people using mobility devices. Space for transporting them gets behind when it's rush hour. That's why room is made on every available bus, as soon as an ecv or wheelchair shows up in line. The disabled are the ones who may have to wait long periods for a bus. For healthy folks, with over 50 spots on each bus available to them, this isn't as severe of a problem. You'd understand this, if you were waiting in the separate handicap boarding line with a loved one in an ecv or wheelchair.

Try to keep in mind, at WDW the ecvs and wheelchairs board buses first (for safety) but they exit the buses last (for safety). The Disney transportation system is balanced to meet the needs of all types of riders, not just the overwhelming majority of guests who have no underlying issues.

Not arguing with them boarding the bus first, but why can't they wait in line like everyone else and then split off into the ECV/WC line. I travel with ECV users and I find it irritating that we are allowed to board the bus first even if we arrive at the last minute and the line to board is really long. My ECV family has a nice comfy seats and can easily wait for the next bus, but the rest of the people are stuck standing.