10/1/21 (Planning thread for those w/ Magic Kingdom ressies on the BIG 50th)!

[annekablam]

Oct. 1 was a day to say thank you to Disney World for being such an important part of our lives.

All anyone here is saying is that they wanted WDW to acknowledge the occasion with just a bit of decorum. It's not about free stuff or bragging rights at all. After all, my feathers are ruffled and I wasn't even there LOL

 

[luv2cheer92]

My husband and I were thrilled with our experience on Oct. 1 at Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t about what we could get for free. Nor was it about potential “bragging rights” if we got to see a special show. For the two of us, the magic was in simply being there - physically there - 50 years to the day since this place we love so much first opened. For us, Oct. 1 was a day to say thank you to Disney World for being such an important part of our lives. And, judging from the wonderful conversations we had with other guests during the day, I think it was equally special for a whole lot of people.

I feel blessed, humbled and forever grateful that we were able to be part of something so meaningful.

Thank you for saying it so perfectly!!

 

[Wojodis]

Was there on the 1st--yes, grateful for the experience but, IMO, one of the saddest days I've ever spent in Magic Kingdom. We were lucky enough to be able to walk over since we were staying at the Grand Floridian--got there around 6:30ish. Lines just keep growing and growing and growing after that--I believe what happened next was twofold--1) very poor planning and; 2) mass hysteria--the CMs were overwhelmed and guests were behaving less than "magical". I was in the Emporium when the fight broke out--OVER A TUMBLER--screaming, shoving--all the while, more and more people kept "inching" forward into the section where the 50th anniversary merchandise was located. People snarling, shoving, and grabbing at each other--"how did you get those ears" or "I wanted that Loungefly--but no, of course you got it though". Bizarre, crazy s---! Guests panicking, crying on the sides of the store--then after "guarding" your merchandise through the crowd and back to the register--you step outside to see lines just snaking up and down Main St. All of this--Disney had to see coming--I mean, the rest of the park wasn't open yet--so, IMO, this should have been anticipated. Virtual cues overwhelmed, Starbucks line back to the Confectionery, Disney Execs spread out causing more lines--total confusion. Popcorn lines were ridiculous--some people leaving with 5 or 6. Granted, I'm not a shopper or one to collect memorabilia--took 1 map, 1 poster--but it all seemed to be about sales, at least to me. We were fine with eating as we had lunch and dinner reservations, at the Plaza and Be Our Guest, respectively. I would say these were the most normal "Disney" times of the day. We had a Capture Your Moment Photo session at 10:15 am--Ace was absolutely fantastic--ran with us all the way back and through Adventureland--got lots of fun, goofy shots (64 in total). We left the park twice due to the mayhem--after the photo session and again after lunch. We were able to get back in late in the afternoon due to having a MK park pass--only people attempting to park hop were stopped at around 4:15 pm I guess. Crowds remained large and consistent in the hub throughout the day. As we made our way through the park--it was strange to see longer lines and wait times for the PeopleMover and the Carousel of Progress than for Space Mountain--As 9 p.m. approached--we walked on Thunder Mountain, Pirates, and the Jungle Cruise--did all in under an hour. Then, we made our way back for Enchantment--for some reason, they closed the exit to the left of Casey's, which had been open earlier in the day--making everyone walk toward the exit via Main St. The CMs were holding their stations as the sidewalk was roped off to keep a clear path (which I totally agree with for emergency and safety concerns), however, they did not keep a path open for people to exit on the other side of the rope--so, it gets difficulty when people are told to keep moving but literally, there is no where for them to go. We turned and decided to watch from the side near Adventureland--here we found other guests calming 2 crying children who had been separated from their family and were unable to get back to them (ages were prob around 11/12 and 6/7)--security would not let them pass, after being called over and informed of the situation by numerous adults--I'm a little torn on this one though cause--1) no one wants to see kids separated from the parents but 2) the family obviously felt the situation was safe enough to let them run off in the first place--so, I'm not really sure who's to blame more here. I have been to Magic Kingdom on NYE and I found this worse--we made the best of it and will never regret doing it--but, it was lacking in the "magic"--some will agree and some won't. For those who say, "well, why did you expect more? or "what did you expect Disney to do?"--It wasn't so much about expectation, however, precedent would lead one to believe that more surprises were to come. A dedication day of vs. the night before would have been nice. A couple words from the stage a few times during the day could have appeased the masses, but oh well, it didn't happen that way! But the short wait times mixed with the horrible merchandise lines--this is what saddened me--I never bought the idea that Disney is just looking to get our money--but I just couldn't shake that feeling--Sorry for the long rant and I'm not looking for an argument/debate from those who feel differently--like I said, it's just my opinion.

 

[brightlined]

you don’t let guest past the security on the walk ways from MK resorts

It would completely roil security right now if they checked for park reservations there. The lineups would have been insane on Friday.

WDW has updated their security to the walkthrough readers - getting through security now takes seconds, which means there's no bottleneck at security anymore, but there are way fewer people on staff there than before. Making every person scan through to make sure they have a valid park pass for that day is not impossible, but the currently security setup - especially at the intersection at Contemporary - is nowhere near able to handle that kind of volume of people right now.

The bus drivers don't really have the tech, either - though I'm curious if they did actually try to stop people from getting on MK buses, and if it was strictly enforced or just on the honor system. The problem that some people might have had - including me - is that they have to actually read the admission card/band - they can't require an MK park pass on the app, because the pass disappears from the app after the person enters the park. I was at AK later that day - if they'd asked me to show a valid MK park pass to get on the bus, I'd have been in trouble.

They have much greater control of their property

I would very gently disagree, only because security at DLR is done differently. They still use the old system, and have way more staff there - and if they have to reject someone, that person can still go to DD or walk back to their car. It's a way different situation at MK. There might be "greater control", but it's mostly hypotheticals of what they could do, but don't have the capability right now. And there's the issue of there being a much, much larger potential pool of people to deal with. For example, at any point on Friday, there were people from three parks that could theoretically make their way to MK. That's not the case at DLR. Everything being in one place with a common plaza makes for a much easier situation in terms of the logistics.

 

[DisneyDru]

Just got back home, we had an amazing 10/1 at MK, my family and I were at the POP busstop at 4:30am, were able to watch the morning show 3 rows back from the stage, the virtual queue worked fine for us, we got all the big top souveniers day of merch that we wanted, had breakfast with cinderella at CRT, had an awesome lunch at CP with all the Walt recipes, ended up riding a total of 25 rides including most of the originals, stayed for the fireworks. Honestly, couldn't ask for a better day. And then 10/2 happened...we had steakhouse 71 breakfast, monorail ride to epcot, got BG for Remy, then had a dinner at Space 220, and the wildest part of the entire weekend, we had an amazing spot in the restaurant, and the manager came over about 10 mins in, kind of panicked and offered to heavily discount our meal if we agreed to give up our spot in the restaurant and "act casual" around a VIP, and so we said sure, and so they moved us over a couple of tables and a few mins later in walks two bodyguards, a blonde woman in a ball cap with a very large mask, and a few others. The waiter comes over to us and says how grateful he is that we were willing to move so "CHRISTINA AGUILERA" could have our table I did sneak one picture, but unless you can recognize her by her hair, it doesn't prove much, you can see the bodyguard is in front. One of the wildest Disney weekends we've ever had for sure!

 

[MIDisFan]

It would completely roil security right now if they checked for park reservations there. The lineups would have been insane on Friday.

WDW has updated their security to the walkthrough readers - getting through security now takes seconds, which means there's no bottleneck at security anymore, but there are way fewer people on staff there than before. Making every person scan through to make sure they have a valid park pass for that day is not impossible, but the currently security setup - especially at the intersection at Contemporary - is nowhere near able to handle that kind of volume of people right now.

The bus drivers don't really have the tech, either - though I'm curious if they did actually try to stop people from getting on MK buses, and if it was strictly enforced or just on the honor system. The problem that some people might have had - including me - is that they have to actually read the admission card/band - they can't require an MK park pass on the app, because the pass disappears from the app after the person enters the park. I was at AK later that day - if they'd asked me to show a valid MK park pass to get on the bus, I'd have been in trouble.


I would very gently disagree, only because security at DLR is done differently. They still use the old system, and have way more staff there - and if they have to reject someone, that person can still go to DD or walk back to their car. It's a way different situation at MK. There might be "greater control", but it's mostly hypotheticals of what they could do, but don't have the capability right now. And there's the issue of there being a much, much larger potential pool of people to deal with. For example, at any point on Friday, there were people from three parks that could theoretically make their way to MK. That's not the case at DLR. Everything being in one place with a common plaza makes for a much easier situation in terms of the logistics.

I never meant to imply that non resort guests should have been held back separately. The problem was that they opened the flood gates to everybody hours before anyone was prepared. Even if I was talking about resort guests only getting into the park earlier, it wouldn’t be as difficult as you are making it out to be. They have to do it every morning at every park as it is. The whole reason they started moving security to different points instead of having it all before the turnstiles was to ease congestion at one point. It only makes sense that they should have done the same thing and held crowds at different points. We will continue to disagree.What’s done is done. People can continue to give them a free pass and we can continue to watch the experience degrade. We enjoyed our day in the park on the 1st because we were prepared. I just feel it’s important to be honest about what could have been done better. In any case I’ll move on and start preparing for our next trip

 

[BK2014]

My husband and I were thrilled with our experience on Oct. 1 at Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t about what we could get for free. Nor was it about potential “bragging rights” if we got to see a special show. For the two of us, the magic was in simply being there - physically there - 50 years to the day since this place we love so much first opened. For us, Oct. 1 was a day to say thank you to Disney World for being such an important part of our lives.

It wasn't about bragging rights, or free stuff for us either. If there had simply been a ceremony, however short, where some Disney VIP, Chapek, Iger, Mickey etc, got on stage and thanked the guests and castmembers actually in the park for supporting this resort that would have been great. Instead they held the re-dedication the night before in front of a media only audience. Then, on October 1st, Chapek gave another speech/interview for the television audience on Good Morning America, while those actually present for the celebration heard nothing. It seemed to be hyped for the media, but not for those actually present, except there were opportunities to spend even more money on exclusive merchandise.

I get that Disney has been a big part of your lives. Same for us, as I am sure is true for many others on these boards. However, I feel like this celebration should have been more of an opportunity for Disney to thank the guests and the castmembers for their 50 years of support, not the other way around.

I have been to Magic Kingdom on NYE and I found this worse--we made the best of it and will never regret doing it--but, it was lacking in the "magic"--some will agree and some won't. For those who say, "well, why did you expect more? or "what did you expect Disney to do?"--It wasn't so much about expectation, however, precedent would lead one to believe that more surprises were to come. A dedication day of vs. the night before would have been nice. A couple words from the stage a few times during the day could have appeased the masses, but oh well, it didn't happen that way! But the short wait times mixed with the horrible merchandise lines--this is what saddened me--I never bought the idea that Disney is just looking to get our money--but I just couldn't shake that feeling--Sorry for the long rant and I'm not looking for an argument/debate from those who feel differently--like I said, it's just my opinion.

I completely agree with @Wojodis. However, this is certainly not a "someone's right, and someone's wrong situation" and I am glad @OhhBother had a great time. DW and I also had a good time on 10/1, we just wish it had felt more like a special occasion and less like a crowded day in the park because they were selling special merchandise. And the mobile ordering issues didn't help. But we will never regret getting up at 4:30am to be with crowd when the opened the tapstiles around 6:18am and entered Main Street USA. That was certainly an exciting feeling.

 

[Eastern]

I get that Disney has been a big part of your lives. Same for us, as I am sure is true for many others on these boards. However, I feel like this celebration should have been more of an opportunity for Disney to thank the guests and the castmembers for their 50 years of support, not the other way around.

This^^

 

[garthbarth1]

Just got back home, we had an amazing 10/1 at MK, my family and I were at the POP busstop at 4:30am, were able to watch the morning show 3 rows back from the stage, the virtual queue worked fine for us, we got all the big top souveniers day of merch that we wanted, had breakfast with cinderella at CRT, had an awesome lunch at CP with all the Walt recipes, ended up riding a total of 25 rides including most of the originals, stayed for the fireworks. Honestly, couldn't ask for a better day. And then 10/2 happened...we had steakhouse 71 breakfast, monorail ride to epcot, got BG for Remy, then had a dinner at Space 220, and the wildest part of the entire weekend, we had an amazing spot in the restaurant, and the manager came over about 10 mins in, kind of panicked and offered to heavily discount our meal if we agreed to give up our spot in the restaurant and "act casual" around a VIP, and so we said sure, and so they moved us over a couple of tables and a few mins later in walks two bodyguards, a blonde woman in a ball cap with a very large mask, and a few others. The waiter comes over to us and says how grateful he is that we were willing to move so "CHRISTINA AGUILERA" could have our table I did sneak one picture, but unless you can recognize her by her hair, it doesn't prove much, you can see the bodyguard is in front. One of the wildest Disney weekends we've ever had for sure!

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We were there that night too but had a late reservation. Was the manager you dealt with named Daniela??