Not sure $149 Disney After Hrs event is doing well... (ETA: reviews in 1st post)

[MickeyMinnieMom]

You will never find "data" beyond the statistics that Touring Plans publishes. But when you get to an attraction and see that it is not running at full boarding capacity, it is not a leap to conclude that if more CMs were assigned to that attraction, then all boarding lines/areas could be used, and that this would speed up boarding and thereby shorten waits.

I just don't agree. Depending on time of day, time of year, etc, whether a ride is running at full boarding capacity or not changes. We all know that. To observe this happening at one particular moment and conclude it's because of staffing cuts is just unsupported.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I believe Josh at EasyWDW has posted about this and documented several examples. In addition, someone on another thrad posted that a CM at KS actually apologized for the wait citing the reduction in vehicles as the cause for the delay.

Ah. Small amounts of anecdotal evidence. And I am past taking Josh's word on things given his incredibly negative attitude toward WDW, IMO. Again -- JUST MY OPINION -- I don't consider this significant or proof of anything.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I don't think majority/minority has anything to do with this. Here is what we do know. On typical EMH nights, Disney has never found the want or need to offer the perk to a select group of off-site guests in order to boost attendance. Disney has never found the want or need to offer free tickets to other hard ticket events with the exception of some mom-bloggers or perhaps some occasional DVC perks. Guests at AoA (or any other resort) have never been handed freebies to $149 events. There is something definitely different going on with DAH.

As for the "we don't know anything because there is no reliable information coming from reliable sources" argument, all I can say about that is that the chatter is pretty uniform. The numbers (in the hundreds) that we are hearing, coupled with the reports of free tickets being given away to fill out the crowd are either completely made up by a coast-to-coast conspiracy to sink this event; or they are anecdotal reports mixed in with some CM reports, blended together with rumor. I don't find the conspiracy theory to be credible. There are plenty of first hand reports/photos/videos of the crowd, (or lack thereof) to get a feel for the true attendance. While we can never know if this level of attendance is what Disney had in mind, we can know one thing for certain. The current attendance level of this event is absolutely unprecedented. It looks nothing like any other hard ticket event ever held at WDW, including E-Ticket Nights. Is is possible that Disney was shooting for this level of exclusivity? I guess anything is possible. But it just doesn't jibe with a company that is non-renewing the contracts of Streetmosphere Performers; cordoning off previously free fireworks areas so that it can sell that space; raising food prices by 10%-20%, etc. And it doesn't jibe with the handing out of free tickets. If Disney was shooting for a very, very, very sparsely attended exclusive event, why would it add more fannies in the attraction seats by giving away free tickets? The far more logical explanation is that Disney has an attendance goal in mind; it is not reaching that number; and it is giving away tickets to reach that goal. Majority/minority doesn't really matter.

I have yet to read one post by an AoA guest who attended this free of charge

So.. If we're going by these boards as being facts....

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Ah. Small amounts of anecdotal evidence. And I am past taking Josh's word on things given his incredibly negative attitude toward WDW, IMO. Again -- JUST MY OPINION -- I don't consider this significant or proof of anything.

I don't find his attitude negative at all. I find it honest. If you equate honesty with negativity then can't help you.

On edit, I'd be interested to know what you find "negative" and why that makes his take any less believable? Is it negative that he's reporting the multiple price increases, or negative that he's reporting the staffing cutbacks? And why would his reporting of those facts make his reporting on other issues any less accurate?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I don't find his attitude negative at all. I find it honest. If you equate honesty with negativity then can't help you.

No. I don't equate honesty with negativity. I find him to be NEGATIVE. You do not. Fair enough.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Ah. Small amounts of anecdotal evidence. And I am past taking Josh's word on things given his incredibly negative attitude toward WDW, IMO. Again -- JUST MY OPINION -- I don't consider this significant or proof of anything.

CMs have posted on the boards about the cut in staffing hours.

 

[serenitynow]

Ah. Small amounts of anecdotal evidence. And I am past taking Josh's word on things given his incredibly negative attitude toward WDW, IMO. Again -- JUST MY OPINION -- I don't consider this significant or proof of anything.

OH no, I think you misunderstand Josh. He snarks out of love

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

OH no, I think you misunderstand Josh. He snarks out of love

Disagree. If you've ever been his target on social media, you might feel differently.

I'm a fan of sarcasm -- not nastiness and negative bias. Again -- JUST MY OPINION.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I believe Josh at EasyWDW has posted about this and documented several examples. In addition, someone on another thrad posted that a CM at KS actually apologized for the wait citing the reduction in vehicles as the cause for the delay.

Did budget cuts exist in September of 2015 too?
Because our waits were long. And the "chatter" on these boards all say the cuts happened recently

 

[Angel Ariel]

Did budget cuts exist in September of 2015 too?
Because our waits were long. And the "chatter" on these boards all say the cuts happened recently

There has been data given by both TouringPlans and EasyWDW to show how FP+ has impacted wait times. But, of course, those aren't official sources.

Budget cuts/Staffing cuts on top of the increases due to FP+ would likely lead to even longer lines than already existed.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

No. I don't equate honesty with negativity. I find him to be NEGATIVE. You do not. Fair enough.

Look, his recent posts have had been negative, because prices have been super-jacked up, staff has been cut leading to longer waits, etc. But historically he's been a very good source of info re Disney, some negative and some positive but all generally very honest. Is there something in particular that you think is negative about his posts? Just saying "he's negative" isn't real convincing or real specific.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Look, his recent posts have had been negative, because prices have been super-jacked up, staff has been cut leading to longer waits, etc. But historically he's been a very good source of info re Disney, some negative and some positive but all generally very honest. Is there something in particular that you think is negative about his posts? Just saying "he's negative" isn't real convincing or real specific.

I'm not aiming to convince anyone that he's negative. Just explaining that since this is my assessment, I discount what he puts out there.

If you look way back in my posts over the years, I started out as a fan of his. He got progressively negative over time (long before recent cuts or price hikes), and then crossed the line (in MY book) by being so nasty to some people online. That's about it.

 

[Slapshot1188]

<----- Wondering if people can really keep having the same arguments for the next 5 weeks until we KNOW if it's a flop or not by whether Disney extends, changes or discontinues this up-charge event.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

<----- Wondering if people can really keep having the same arguments for the next 5 weeks until we KNOW if it's a flop or not by whether Disney extends, changes or discontinues this up-charge event.

If DIS history is any guide, YES.

And as the OP, as I've said, I'd be perfectly happy if mods shut his thread down. Pretty much exhausted the topic and are into the same old arguments now.

Apologies for starting the thread!

 

[Kimberly9701]

There has been data given by both TouringPlans and EasyWDW to show how FP+ has impacted wait times. But, of course, those aren't official sources.

Budget cuts/Staffing cuts on top of the increases due to FP+ would likely lead to even longer lines than already existed.

And in 2008..my only summer visit to compare. Was the data the same then?
Were long wait times a result of cuts and FP+?

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Did budget cuts exist in September of 2015 too?
Because our waits were long. And the "chatter" on these boards all say the cuts happened recently

Did you have to wait 1.5 hours for KS at 9:45? Because that was the wait time on 4/6 and it was reported that they were only loading Safari vehicles at one platform. I've never seen them do that before and we usually go in September/October.

Look, his recent posts have had been negative, because prices have been super-jacked up, staff has been cut leading to longer waits, etc. But historically he's been a very good source of info re Disney, some negative and some positive but all generally very honest. Is there something in particular that you think is negative about his posts? Just saying "he's negative" isn't real convincing or real specific.

I'm a sarcastic person and I think that Josh's snark can go too far sometimes. That doesn't mean that I discount his information and I have no reason to doubt what he has reported. The cuts have been widely reported and since I doubt that WDW was overstaffing the parks before, it makes sense that the cuts would affect daily operations.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I'm a sarcastic person and I think that Josh's snark can go too far sometimes. That doesn't mean that I discount his information and I have no reason to doubt what he has reported. The cuts have been widely reported and since I doubt that WDW was overstaffing the parks before, it makes sense that the cuts would affect daily operations.

Thanks for sharing the take re that "sarcasm" of his.

Not sure I agree with the bold part. I agree that I doubt WDW SYSTEMATICALLY over staffs across positions. But I have often thought that there looked to be duplication or excess staffing in SOME areas. Greeting as you enter hotels, number of staff just staring at turnstiles as guests exit, etc. I would suspect that there could be room for SOME cutting in spots like that.

Might they go to far? Sure. If they go too far will they correct? I think so.

 

[bizeemom4]

The last 7 pages of this thread are about as exciting as an insurance convention

 

[Angel Ariel]

And in 2008..my only summer visit to compare. Was the data the same then?
Were long wait times a result of cuts and FP+?

I never said long waits didn't exist before FP+. Just provided sources that have indicated that FP+has had an effect on increasing those waits even more.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Because the OP is requesting this Thread be closed due to the recycling of the same discussion points, closing for now.