Hoping Park Hopping Limitation ENDS

[MomOTwins]

Yes, having tapped into the park does play a role for the afternoon release, but they clearly have the capability to base it solely off the park reservation, as they do for the 7AM release.

I think what people are saying is that Disney WANTS to have the "must tap in" restriction and the 2pm hopper restriction at HS to thin out crowds. People who get a BG at 7am will show up at rope drop, ride ROTR in the morning, and many will leave after midday. People who don't might wait a bit to go a bit later in the morning or at lunch time, thinning out the rope drop crowds, but will still go before 1pm (and may leave by mid-afternoon if they are not successful). People who park hop can't go at all until at or after 2pm, so they will be the ones closing down the park.

Without the staggered arrival system created by this, you might see hoppers tapping in at 7:30 am at AK, then turning around and driving or Ubering to HS for a 9am rope drop since even though they can't ride ROTR, they might have wanted an HS pass but it was sold out.

So in other words, I hear your point that they CAN change how they do the 1pm drop to make it remote, but I don't think that really solves the issues for HS. Particularly when you consider that it already an absolute madhouse with 90 minute rates on multiple attractions right at park opening.

 

[Dis Dragon]

Epcot always opened at 9am. It's standard hours were always 9am-9pm. WS usually opened at 11am.

It still holds true that the staggered opening was a bit off for the park as far as logistical concerns went. They had to station people just to turn people around for 2 hours.

 

[MomOTwins]

It still holds true that the staggered opening was a bit off for the park as far as logistical concerns went. They had to station people just to turn people around for 2 hours.

However, much cheaper to have a couple of people located at France and Norway to close off the showcase for 2 hours, than to staff every shop, show etc. in World Showcase for two hours.

 

[OKW Lover]

It still holds true that the staggered opening was a bit off for the park as far as logistical concerns went. They had to station people just to turn people around for 2 hours.

Never thought of that. Nonetheless, Disney did it for many, many years so it couldn't have been that burdensome.

 

[Dis Dragon]

However, much cheaper to have a couple of people located at France and Norway to close off the showcase for 2 hours, than to staff every shop, show etc. in World Showcase for two hours.

Yes, but now they don't have to staff the front of the park for two hours so total win for them.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

My guess is the 2 pm is there to prevent people hopping to HS for the 1:00 boarding group sign up. So until that is changed I think it will stay.

Maybe they could just limit hopping to HS to 2pm.

 

[Bobb_o]

Maybe they could just limit hopping to HS to 2pm.

It's much easier to just say you need a park pass to reserve a RotR boarding pass.

 

[LoveToDisney]

It's much easier to just say you need a park pass to reserve a RotR boarding pass.

A park reservation is the criteria for the 7am BP so it makes sense that is also the criteria for the 1pm boarding pass. It's just crazy to limit park hopping because of ROTR. If you don't have a Reservation for HS, then you won't get a chance for a boarding pass for ROTR even if you hop to HS earlier in the day. There is simply no reason to limit park hopping any longer.

 

[shawthorne44]

Well, they do want to wait until a reasonable number of rope-droppers have left, otherwise the park reservations would be meaningless. People would make park reservations for say MK that opens early, tap into it, then go to any of the other parks.

I see that they have three options

1. No Park Reservations Free-For-All. The advantage is for the people that don't/can't plan ahead or want to do several parks in one day. The disadvantages are that on busy days people get turned away at the gate and that the park is understaffed because there are more people than they were expecting.
2. Park reservations with a time limitation. The advantage is that by 2pm a reasonable number of people will have left, so they don't have to worry about overcrowding. The disadvantage is that 2pm is after lunch and after some people would want to hop.
3. Park reservations required for park hopping. This would be my preference. People could make park reservations for their next park while in their current park. This has the advantages of the other two. The problem is that then people would be hopping to HS for the afternoon boarding pass and it would be nuts when you included all the people interested but not interested enough to wake up early. I like that people get two tries at a BP. The obvious solution is to only allow those with their initial park reservation at HS to try for the afternoon BP. But, I think that is beyond Disney IT.
   
   
   
   
   

 

[trivan]

A park reservation is the criteria for the 7am BP so it makes sense that is also the criteria for the 1pm boarding pass. It's just crazy to limit park hopping because of ROTR. If you don't have a Reservation for HS, then you won't get a chance for a boarding pass for ROTR even if you hop to HS earlier in the day. There is simply no reason to limit park hopping any longer.

Generally true, but if park hoppers decide to crowd HS prior to 1:00, and a reserved guest cannot get in due to capacity, those people will be locked out. Very bad press. While it never happened, I don't think Disney likes to take chances.

 

[redboat45]

Well, they do want to wait until a reasonable number of rope-droppers have left, otherwise the park reservations would be meaningless. People would make park reservations for say MK that opens early, tap into it, then go to any of the other parks.

I see that they have three options

1. No Park Reservations Free-For-All. The advantage is for the people that don't/can't plan ahead or want to do several parks in one day. The disadvantages are that on busy days people get turned away at the gate and that the park is understaffed because there are more people than they were expecting.
2. Park reservations with a time limitation. The advantage is that by 2pm a reasonable number of people will have left, so they don't have to worry about overcrowding. The disadvantage is that 2pm is after lunch and after some people would want to hop.
3. Park reservations required for park hopping. This would be my preference. People could make park reservations for their next park while in their current park. This has the advantages of the other two. The problem is that then people would be hopping to HS for the afternoon boarding pass and it would be nuts when you included all the people interested but not interested enough to wake up early. I like that people get two tries at a BP. The obvious solution is to only allow those with their initial park reservation at HS to try for the afternoon BP. But, I think that is beyond Disney IT.
   
   
   
   

The parks should be a free for all AND they should be fully staffed ALWAYS! It's better customer service. Plus the parks are always busy now, even in the supposed "slow times" of the past.

More staff makes for happier customers AND other staff members.

 

[shawthorne44]

The parks should be a free for all AND they should be fully staffed ALWAYS! It's better customer service. Plus the parks are always busy now, even in the supposed "slow times" of the past.

More staff makes for happier customers AND other staff members.

Well, the staffing needs are different when the crowds are 100% of capacity, than when they are 50% of capacity. For example, rides will only have one side loading on low crowd dates.

I'm not a fan of Cheapek's penny-pinching, but I don't blame them for matching staff to crowds.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, the staffing needs are different when the crowds are 100% of capacity, than when they are 50% of capacity. For example, rides will only have one side loading on low crowd dates.

I'm not a fan of Cheapek's penny-pinching, but I don't blame them for matching staff to crowds.

Unfortunately I think my idea of the right staffing level might be slightly different from Disney’s.

 

[Cygnus 2112]

Agree completely. We have reservations for Feb '22, but cannot make park reservations because our AP's don't run out until November. Yes, I realize we could call DVC MS, explain it to them, and they would allow us to go ahead and purchase a renewal. But, why should I be forced to allow Disney to get my money 5 months ahead of time?

I don't know about that.....our AP's expire in early April '22 and we have Easter week booked which is a week after they expire and when I called to say "I can't make reservations until a few weeks prior to the trip- what can be done?" they were like "nothing". (I'm paraphrasing). So for a typically busy week I will not be able to make reservations until mid-March when I renew. So frustrating.

 

[redboat45]

Well, the staffing needs are different when the crowds are 100% of capacity, than when they are 50% of capacity. For example, rides will only have one side loading on low crowd dates.

I'm not a fan of Cheapek's penny-pinching, but I don't blame them for matching staff to crowds.

but the point is to have all things running. There's no reason to not have all tracks of a ride running even in a slow period. Slow periods are not that slow! Plus they already know when the busier times are. It's not a surprise that September has slightly lower crowds than November for example. They know that last 2-3 weeks of December, March/April and summer should be fully staffed. They just don't. It's ridiculous.

 

[shawthorne44]

but the point is to have all things running. There's no reason to not have all tracks of a ride running even in a slow period. Slow periods are not that slow! Plus they already know when the busier times are. It's not a surprise that September has slightly lower crowds than November for example. They know that last 2-3 weeks of December, March/April and summer should be fully staffed. They just don't. It's ridiculous.

Well, the thing is, they don't. They tell themselves it is because people don't value what other people don't value. Since all the rides are 'free' after you enter, people judge that based on whether there is a line or not. So, they work to make sure rides are not walk-on That sounds horrible. But, I have to say that it wasn't until our third and last visit to USF that we rode the Seuss ride. It is a lovely ride but we never noticed it because there was never a line. One time at Six Flags with DD and a friend of hers, the girls wanted to get in the line for Justice League. I asked if they knew what the line was for, they had no idea, but they wanted to see. I'd thought we were waiting in line to enter the store at the end of the ride that I didn't know existed. I said Yes because I didn't care as long as I could stop walking.

Then you have the super-busy days. They can offer overtime to people, but there is only so much overtime people can do. Or, they could do short-term hires. I don't know if I'd want someone hired for a three-week stint two weeks ago to be running rides, or being Minnie Mouse. Or they could hire enough staff to take care of the super-busy days. They'd be full-time during the busy times and then 15 hours during the slow times.

Where I quibble with Disney is how much they cut back on staff during slow days. I think people understand that if they are there on a Thursday in late-January some rides might be a walk-on and still be awesome.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, the thing is, they don't. They tell themselves it is because people don't value what other people don't value. Since all the rides are 'free' after you enter, people judge that based on whether there is a line or not. So, they work to make sure rides are not walk-on That sounds horrible. But, I have to say that it wasn't until our third and last visit to USF that we rode the Seuss ride. It is a lovely ride but we never noticed it because there was never a line. One time at Six Flags with DD and a friend of hers, the girls wanted to get in the line for Justice League. I asked if they knew what the line was for, they had no idea, but they wanted to see. I'd thought we were waiting in line to enter the store at the end of the ride that I didn't know existed. I said Yes because I didn't care as long as I could stop walking.

Then you have the super-busy days. They can offer overtime to people, but there is only so much overtime people can do. Or, they could do short-term hires. I don't know if I'd want someone hired for a three-week stint two weeks ago to be running rides, or being Minnie Mouse. Or they could hire enough staff to take care of the super-busy days. They'd be full-time during the busy times and then 15 hours during the slow times.

Where I quibble with Disney is how much they cut back on staff during slow days. I think people understand that if they are there on a Thursday in late-January some rides might be a walk-on and still be awesome.

I don’t need a line to determine if something is worth riding.

Honestly that sounds like something the Disney spinmeisters might say to justify cutting staff.

 

[redboat45]

Well, the thing is, they don't. They tell themselves it is because people don't value what other people don't value. Since all the rides are 'free' after you enter, people judge that based on whether there is a line or not. So, they work to make sure rides are not walk-on That sounds horrible. But, I have to say that it wasn't until our third and last visit to USF that we rode the Seuss ride. It is a lovely ride but we never noticed it because there was never a line. One time at Six Flags with DD and a friend of hers, the girls wanted to get in the line for Justice League. I asked if they knew what the line was for, they had no idea, but they wanted to see. I'd thought we were waiting in line to enter the store at the end of the ride that I didn't know existed. I said Yes because I didn't care as long as I could stop walking.

Then you have the super-busy days. They can offer overtime to people, but there is only so much overtime people can do. Or, they could do short-term hires. I don't know if I'd want someone hired for a three-week stint two weeks ago to be running rides, or being Minnie Mouse. Or they could hire enough staff to take care of the super-busy days. They'd be full-time during the busy times and then 15 hours during the slow times.

Where I quibble with Disney is how much they cut back on staff during slow days. I think people understand that if they are there on a Thursday in late-January some rides might be a walk-on and still be awesome.

LOL about missing the cat in the hat ride. It's a GIANT hat on the building. Up until recently most lines were entirely inside the ride buildings for the most part. I don't agree with that argument at all. But to each their own.