Haunted Mansion and the Virtual Queue

[brentm77]

The cast member wouldn't let my daughter and her boyfriend uses their VQ passes after they expired yesterday. As she was walking away, an older man came up and asked if his family could use their passes late and was told yes and let in. So your experience may vary, particularly if you are young apparently. Inconsistency on stuff like that drives me a little crazy. But I am posting it here so others don't count on an exception.

 

[disneychrista]

The cast member wouldn't let my daughter and her boyfriend uses their VQ passes after they expired yesterday. As she was walking away, an older man came up and asked if his family could use their passes late and was told yes and let in. So your experience may vary, particularly if you are young apparently. Inconsistency on stuff like that drives me a little crazy. But I am posting it here so others don't count on an exception.

How late was your daughter? A few minutes ? A few hours? Maybe the other gentleman was delayed due to a dining reservation.

IMO for the VQ to work like it should, there should be no more than maybe a 15 minute leeway after the hours, expect in specific situations, such as conflicting dining reservations.

 

[brentm77]

How late was your daughter? A few minutes ? A few hours? Maybe the other gentleman was delayed due to a dining reservation.

IMO for the VQ to work like it should, there should be no more than maybe a 15 minute leeway after the hours, expect in specific situations, such as conflicting dining reservations.

Around an hour. They were later getting to the park than they expected due to traveling. It is a long time, but after reading times weren't enforced for many here, it was a surprise. From what I understand, the older man was significantly late too and said nothing about a dining reservation, as she heard the entire conversation. I agree that exceptions should be limited to a small window or dining, but they should also be consistent and not let someone in right after denying someone in the same situation. I do think younger adults/teens tend to be treated worse by some cast members since they are seen more as peers. It's not the end of the world, but worth sharing so others can plan accordingly.

 

[disneychrista]

Around an hour. They were later getting to the park than they expected due to traveling. It is a long time, but after reading times weren't enforced for many here, it was a surprise. From what I understand, the older man was significantly late too and said nothing about a dining reservation, as she heard the entire conversation. I agree that exceptions should be limited to a small window or dining, but they should also be consistent and not let someone in right after denying someone in the same situation. I do think younger adults/teens tend to be treated worse by some cast members since they are seen more as peers. It's not the end of the world, but worth sharing so others can plan accordingly.

I agree there should be consistency and should be applied uniformly.

 

[Bruno33]

The cast member wouldn't let my daughter and her boyfriend uses their VQ passes after they expired yesterday. As she was walking away, an older man came up and asked if his family could use their passes late and was told yes and let in. So your experience may vary, particularly if you are young apparently. Inconsistency on stuff like that drives me a little crazy. But I am posting it here so others don't count on an exception.

I’m curious about this. Did they talk to the CM prior to scanning in?

I know enough CMs and hear them talk socially enough to very much doubt that they had identical interactions apart from their age, and one was let in and one wasn’t. For one thing, that could lead to the CM being reported, and they wouldn’t want that.

One other option would be that sometimes when the line gets too long, they’ll pause allowing late returns. It’s possible that they were on a pause when your daughter approached and then were given the OK to resume taking people.

 

[LKing]

Do you know which CM turned your daughter away? Was it the CM guiding people into the queue or the one of the three or four who scan codes?

It should be consistent, but I agree with others in that I don't think age was a factor. I often visit the parks with my kids who are in their 20s and haven't noticed any ageism.

 

[brentm77]

I’m curious about this. Did they talk to the CM prior to scanning in?

I know enough CMs and hear them talk socially enough to very much doubt that they had identical interactions apart from their age, and one was let in and one wasn’t. For one thing, that could lead to the CM being reported, and they wouldn’t want that.

One other option would be that sometimes when the line gets too long, they’ll pause allowing late returns. It’s possible that they were on a pause when your daughter approached and then were given the OK to resume taking people.

They talked to the CM scanning and explained why they were late, and he said they can't make exceptions, then almost immediately made an exception for the same situation as they were walking away and still in earshot. I assume he thought they couldn't hear him still.

I agree that most CM's wouldn't treat people differently based on age, and there could have been some unheard factor. I told her to let it go and enjoy the night.

That said, on our last visit, I personally witnessed a CM treat our other daughter very differently in a wheelchair than people standing near her in the same spot, leaving her in tears, but that's not something I want to get into here. CM's are prone to mistakes and biases just like everyone else, so we try to be forgiving/understanding and move on.

Do you know which CM turned your daughter away? Was it the CM guiding people into the queue or the one of the three or four who scan codes?

It should be consistent, but I agree with others in that I don't think age was a factor. I often visit the parks with my kids who are in their 20s and haven't noticed any ageism.

It was the person scanning the VQ pass. I have zero proof that age was a factor, but if it wasn't age, it was some other unknown factor. The bottom line is that nobody should count on an exception when planning their day.

 

[brightlined]

The cast member wouldn't let my daughter and her boyfriend uses their VQ passes after they expired yesterday. As she was walking away, an older man came up and asked if his family could use their passes late and was told yes and let in. So your experience may vary, particularly if you are young apparently. Inconsistency on stuff like that drives me a little crazy. But I am posting it here so others don't count on an exception.

In trying to determine advice for other people - the one question I have is: did they actually scan her ticket and turn her away, or did they turn her away before scanning?

 

[LKing]

That is what I was trying to figure out as well. There are CM encounters before you are scanned in. And there are 3-4 CM with handheld devices to scan guests' VQ codes.

In our experience, the CM at the beginning of the roped off queue is verbally checking to ensure that everyone entering the queue has been notified that it is their time to enter. You don't need to show them anything, just nod your head or reply affirmatively when you pass them. At the end of the roped off queue, a CM stops each party until the next CM with a handheld scanning device is available. That CM also asks if you have your VQ code. Sometimes that CM wants to see your code, other times they just direct you to one of the CM who scans you in.

 

[dina444444]

I usually don’t say anything unless the cm asks when it comes to being late for a VQ return.

 

[Aspencreek]

It is obviously very much the discretion of whomever you happen to get at the scanner to decide whether to let you in late or not. Best idea would be to try very hard to get there during your time window. If not you have a very good chance of being let through, but definitely not guaranteed.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

My thing is if they can scan it and it will let you in....no idea why a CM would stop anyone from going on the ride

You paid for a ticket and the only reason this system is here is because the company could not finish the Q on time as we enter the busiest parts of the year.

 

[disneychrista]

You paid for a ticket and the only reason this system is here is because the company could not finish the Q on time as we enter the busiest parts of the year.

You've said this before. But "the company" never said that the queue would be finished before a certain date. That was all speculation on the part of Disney guests/fans and vloggers that it would be done by August for HMH. 7 months seems like a long time but in the grand scheme of things there really was no way they could do everything they needed to do in that time period.

 

[Bruno33]

no idea why a CM would stop anyone from going on the ride

Because that’s their job?

At this point, basically they’ve been given leeway to take people late as long as the line is not too backed up. If the line gets excessively long, they can (and sometimes do) enforce return times.

That could change at any time. If they’re told not to accept people outside of their window, then that’s literally their job, and that’s what they should do.

 

[DontSpamMe]

In my experience there's nothing more inconsistent than disney cast members. From parking garage attendants who waive you through with any white slip while the next attendant goes Sherlock holmes on you. From the security line that moves at a snail pace to the one that squeezes a few things and moves everyone along at a 5 to 1 clip compared to the one who is looking for that noisy cricket that may be slipped in my 10 year old's loungefly. From the ride attendant that lets you request sitting in a specific row or the one who gives no breaks with a poor attitude. From the LL CM who lets in 50 to 1 LL guests vs the peons in standby, to the one who lets LL turn into a 30 minute wait. To this scenario where VQ times are honored or not.

While I'm respectful and appreciative of their job and their role at Disneyland they remind me alot of the Forest Gump saying. It's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

The good news is the vast majority of the time my experiences with CMs are great and every time they grant me a request, I immediately pull up the CM compliment in the app.

 

[LKing]

They re-routed the VQ line to go in the opposite direction. I think it must have been too much of a problem when it stretched out to the Pirates of the Caribbean line.

At 9:30 this morning, the line stretched past Tiana's and into Critter Country.





When you enter, you now stay to the right instead of the left. A CM half heartedly asks to see your code. I think only a fraction the people heard the CM ask for it. The CM had his eyes up, trying to manage the queue and didn't really look at anyone's phones.



When you get close to the entrance, there are four CM (two under each umbrella) to scan your code. The CM in the green shirt holds the queue and asks each group how many are in their party. The CM then directs the party to the available CM who can scan them in.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

They talked to the CM scanning and explained why they were late, and he said they can't make exceptions, then almost immediately made an exception for the same situation as they were walking away and still in earshot. I assume he thought they couldn't hear him still.

I agree that most CM's wouldn't treat people differently based on age, and there could have been some unheard factor. I told her to let it go and enjoy the night.

That said, on our last visit, I personally witnessed a CM treat our other daughter very differently in a wheelchair than people standing near her in the same spot, leaving her in tears, but that's not something I want to get into here. CM's are prone to mistakes and biases just like everyone else, so we try to be forgiving/understanding and move on.



It was the person scanning the VQ pass. I have zero proof that age was a factor, but if it wasn't age, it was some other unknown factor. The bottom line is that nobody should count on an exception when planning their day.

I feel like this was a mistake or some kind of misunderstanding. It simply doesn’t make sense that the person said no to them then immediately let someone else with the identical issue though.

I have shown up late three times now (very late, like hours late) and I have always been scanned and let through. Most recently on Wednesday 9/11. I have never said anything and neither did any of the CMs who scanned my codes.

 

[LilyJC]

I do think younger adults/teens tend to be treated worse by some cast members since they are seen more as peers. It's not the end of the world, but worth sharing so others can plan accordingly.

First of all, I’m so sorry they had this experience! We’re locals and frequently bring friends along to join our teens/our teens attend ASB conferences in the parks, and yes, 100% they are treated differently than when we are present.

Ageism is certainly a huge issue consistently with I would say the majority of CMs. Granted there are jerk teens and perhaps CMs become more jaded after grad nights, but it’s still disappointing for well behaved, respectful teens/young adults.

A week ago my youngest and her bestie (both 16 yos) scanned into the HM VQ. They were on time, but the CM went out of their way to inform them that they weren’t allowed to scan in again with the other two spots that belonged to my husband and myself (we weren’t in the parks yet). Our usual experience is they just wave/scan us through without saying a word whether we’re late or not.

 

[LKing]

A week ago my youngest and her bestie (both 16 yos) scanned into the HM VQ. They were on time, but the CM went out of their way to inform them that they weren’t allowed to scan in again with the other two spots that belonged to my husband and myself (we weren’t in the parks yet). Our usual experience is they just wave/scan us through without saying a word whether we’re late or not.

Have you been able to make VQ reservations for a party of four on one person's account and have the VQ still be active after two people used it? I was under the impression that the software registers the VQ as complete for the entire party regardless of how many people go on the ride.

 

[dina444444]

Have you been able to make VQ reservations for a party of four on one person's account and have the VQ still be active after two people used it? I was under the impression that the software registers the VQ as complete for the entire party regardless of how many people go on the ride.

The others stay active. It’s linked to the individual ticket.