New Magic Kingdom Welcome Show & Main Street Opening UPDATE: Page 15 - Post #281

[RachaelA]

Um no. Not a fan. At all.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

I was strictly speaking of restaurants not special tours. If it's advertised as a perk they should honor that

I understood what you were saying - sorry - I just wanted to add an example of something that would be affected - however, like I said, you lose that perk anyway when the park opens before 9 am, as they don't change the 8am start time. Wasn't a deal-breaker for us for the tour but it would have been fun!

 

[KathyNY76]

In past trips I could arrive around 8:20 and have a good spot, close to an archway, and be toward the front of the RD pack. Now, if I want to be toward the front of a pack at a land entrance, I need to be at the park at 8am? And head right to my land of choice's rope.

So I need to get up earlier, get there earlier, wait longer AND not get to do the 'milling about Main St.' part b/c I'm waiting at the rope?

Or am I missing something?

 

[lugnut33]

Maybe they will create a park open show for the MK like they have at the other 3 parks?

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Irrespective of losing photo opportunities on an empty Main Street, which I frankly think is something Disney only pushed to make the cost of pre-park opening tours and mealtimes seem more palatable, I think this makes a lot of sense and I want to explain why from my perspective as a former Disneyland vet. Before I do so, I also want to be very clear that I'm a Walt Disney World vet now and have a very strong preference for visiting the Orlando parks over the Anaheim parks. I shouldn't have to say that, but I know some people get very testy about comparisons.

When I first visited Magic Kingdom as an adult again a few years ago, I was very surprised that they didn't stack Main Street, because that had always been my experience at Disneyland. But also because the esplanade outside the main gate at Magic Kingdom is so much smaller. The esplanade outside Disneyland is this gigantic, unbroken expanse that stretches from the front of Disneyland to the front of California Adventure. Even the security tents are off to the side (and now, half of them are relocated entirely, too.) And even with all that space, the DL esplanade can be intensely crowded, and Disneyland still needs to stack main street at rope drop.

Magic Kingdom's esplanade is smaller right off the bat, and is then broken up into multiple tight, sometimes confusing areas by the presence of security tents very close to the tapstyles, designated pedestrian pathways for park access and egress, and then designated pathways to and from the monorail, the buses, and the ferries on top of all that. Everyone here knows that it doesn't even take a very crowded day to make that area seem like a mad house in the morning.

Until today's announcement, I just never understood why they wouldn't just stack Main Street and take the pressure off of the esplanade area. With this change, at rope drop there should no longer be a crowd of people stretching back to the security tents waiting to be allowed into the floral Mickey area. After security, it should be a very short wait to tap yourself into the park. There also probably won't be any more of that heart stopping, depressing moment when you get off a bus a little bit later than you anticipated at rope drop and glance over to see a gigantic crowd stretching from the security tents to the train station.

I'm not saying it will be perfect, or that it's perfect at Disneyland. I don't think either coast does everything perfectly. But this really does make a big difference. There's also something really magical about knowing, even before rope drop, that you're already in the park. Not waiting stranded in a line or holding pen. But flat out on main street. It's not something I can explain to anybody who hasn't experienced that already, for example at Disneyland. But it's pretty awesome and I think once people experience it for themselves at Magic Kingdom they're really going to understand. There's just a vibe that's way cooler than the way they do this at the other parks, because I don't think anybody really daydreams about the area in between the Innoventions buildings at Epcot or about Discovery Island at Animal Kingdom. But Main Street is Main Street, you know?

 

[NYCANC]

If the PPO breakfast get in at 7:45. What time do you think we should now be there for security (knowing that it will probably be a lot more people there waiting)?

 

[Praying Colonel]

From the HUB
"With more guests arriving early to the Magic Kingdom park, we are enhancing the morning arrival experience....

We'll be the judge of that.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Actually, one more thing and then I swear I'm going to put my phone down. Some of the people in here who are complaining here are basically saying, "I paid a lot of extra money for my PPO meal or tour to be able to beat everybody onto an empty Main Street or into an empty Fantasyland ahead of the rest of the world." That's valid, but only because Disney has promoted that exclusivity as a perq on top of events that have nothing to do with the emptiness of Main Street or Fantasyland. I'm not saying those people are wrong, but I am saying that Disney created this problem by starting to tier guests in this increasingly upcharged manner in the first place.

People will have to revise their rope drop strategies, and they will. We will all adapt. Will all figure out where we have to stand to get to our favorite headliner the fastest after January 9 as opposed to before January 9. That's not a big deal. But I'm finding it really hard to have sympathy for people who are kvetching that spending more money should give them a right to be able to beat everybody else out in enjoying Magic Kingdom in the morning. If stacking Main Street lessens that feeling, or eliminates Disney's ability to promote exclusive park time just because you're having a meal before rope drop, then I'm all for it. If you and your kids miss 7DMT because of it, your lives will go on and you will still have a great vacation.

 

[BrianL]

See, now after reading the Disney Parks Blog item I am even less enthused. The show will have a "Royal Herald" to proclaim the Magic to officially begin. This is so different from the Mayor of Main Street and the 1900's vibe of the current show, and to me, once the castle is revealed, the magic has already begun. The current show keeps you in suspense, and introduces you gradually to the Magic Kingdom. I just don't see myself liking this at all. I know stuff comes and goes, but this one is rough for me.

 

[AngiTN]

In past trips I could arrive around 8:20 and have a good spot, close to an archway, and be toward the front of the RD pack. Now, if I want to be toward the front of a pack at a land entrance, I need to be at the park at 8am? And head right to my land of choice's rope.

So I need to get up earlier, get there earlier, wait longer AND not get to do the 'milling about Main St.' part b/c I'm waiting at the rope?

Or am I missing something?

I'm not sure anyone knows just yet what time will be necessary. It's not confirmed anywhere that I've seen what time they'll start letting folks in. I'm thinking it won't change your target time a lot. Some, since you'll need a few extra minutes to walk from the archway to the hub and be ready to see the welcome show.

 

[maranara]

I'm really looking forward to reports once this starts. We have EMM booked for one of our MK days, and I was hoping to get a few pictures before our rides start. But, like others have pointed out, it's an added perk, not something that was promised (or a reason to cancel). I'm actually really looking forward to this on our second MK day - the thought of being able to get a cup of coffee and wander the shops a bit before the park opens is really exciting to me. And it's hard to just WAIT with kids - this will be so much nicer for families.

 

[AngiTN]

I'm really looking forward to reports once this starts. We have EMM booked for one of our MK days, and I was hoping to get a few pictures before our rides start. But, like others have pointed out, it's an added perk, not something that was promised (or a reason to cancel). I'm actually really looking forward to this on our second MK day - the thought of being able to get a cup of coffee and wander the shops a bit before the park opens is really exciting to me. And it's hard to just WAIT with kids - this will be so much nicer for families.

I'm thinking the EMM folks still have a chance to get their relatively low crowd shots since you should be let in before the rest are let in to fill Main St. At least till we know more about the time folks are actually going to be let in to Main St.

 

[loves to dive]

I kind of like the idea but I'm not a huge rope drop fan and in over 30 years of going have only seen the opening show once. I do like the fact that if I happen to get there early just because I'm up and ready, I can mill around Main Street, it tends to be neglected by us and used as just a means to get to where we are going.

 

[MamaMeggie]

I'm really looking forward to reports once this starts. We have EMM booked for one of our MK days, and I was hoping to get a few pictures before our rides start. But, like others have pointed out, it's an added perk, not something that was promised (or a reason to cancel). I'm actually really looking forward to this on our second MK day - the thought of being able to get a cup of coffee and wander the shops a bit before the park opens is really exciting to me. And it's hard to just WAIT with kids - this will be so much nicer for families.

This doesn't bother me at all for our EMM day since we may not even stop to take pics!!

 

[KristinU]

This is a fair point and I understand what you're saying. I would be less upset if Disney didn't know this is why people did this. For example - $24 a person at BOG for breakfast? They're basically charging you an extra $10 a person to get in the park early. How many people actually have breakfast at BOG between 9-10:30?

I am much more concerned about the effect this will have on extra magic hours in the morning.

BOG is pretty much booked all day, every day. You are making it sound like PPO reservations are charged a higher price for the meal than those after the park opens.

I'll definitely miss the train station show, but I do like the idea of milling around on Main Street rather than being jammed in the turnstyle area. Then again, that jammed in excitement was fun too. I guess I'll have to try the new plan and decide for myself. It will be the first castle stage show that my family has seen, as we don't make plans to stop and watch them.

 

[maxiesmom]

Depending on how this works and goes down, I will definitely cancel our BOG and Crystal Palace PPO breakfasts. I'm not going to pay those prices for breakfast in the park if they let everyone else in at the same time. I think this will backfire and a lot of people will cancel their PPO breakfast. Why pay $25 for breakfast to get in early when they let everyone in at 8:00AM now?

The only way this works is if they make more money off the Main Street shops than off the PPO reservations. This is a cash grab - plain and simple. Cut out the railroad show and replace it with a cheaper stage show. Then, allow everyone in the park at 8:00ish so they can spend money at the shops. I'm sure their thought is so many people rush past the stores in the morning to get to rides but by making them a captive audience on Main Street, they'll at least walk in and look around and are more likely to buy something.

The next question is, how does this effect morning extra magic hours or Early Morning Magic? If I payed to be on site or payed $70 a person to get in early, and this happens, then I'm going to be pissed.

I think it is great. It means people will be booking ADRs that actually want to eat, not just want to try and get ahead of the crowd.

 

[FCDub]

See, now after reading the Disney Parks Blog item I am even less enthused. The show will have a "Royal Herald" to proclaim the Magic to officially begin. This is so different from the Mayor of Main Street and the 1900's vibe of the current show, and to me, once the castle is revealed, the magic has already begun. The current show keeps you in suspense, and introduces you gradually to the Magic Kingdom. I just don't see myself liking this at all. I know stuff comes and goes, but this one is rough for me.

I mean this in a totally non-sarcastic way, but how suspenseful is it really if you've been nine times?

 

[BrianL]

I mean this in a totally non-sarcastic way, but how suspenseful is it really if you've been nine times?

It's not for the people who have been 9 times...It's for the people who are there for the first time. I still love Welcome Show because I love Disney, but the first time I saw it was just such a special feeling. Or when I was a kid, (before there was a welcome show) the way you come around the bend on the Monorail and the castle first comes into view? The whole place is designed to provide these show elements, to bring you into the world. The train station exists to obscure the view of the castle, so that when you come in under the arches and start down Main Street, there it is in the distance. I just think Welcome show will be less exciting if you are already in front of the castle (and as others have said, Castle Stage is not a great venue). Plus, there is already so much themed to the royal fantasy aspect. Welcome Show was a chance for Main Street USA to shine!

 

[yulilin3]

For those wondering if this is temporary, the Hub just posted that the last welcome show on the train station is January 8th and after that day the show will be retired.

 

[jpeden]

I think it is great. It means people will be booking ADRs that actually want to eat, not just want to try and get ahead of the crowd.

Oh we eat breakfast there - and actually enjoy it. But I feel like the price is justified due to the early admittance and the perks (albeit not guaranteed I understand) that come with it. Without those perks, I feel as if the price isn't worth it. That's all I am trying to say. Didn't realize it would cause this much commotion.