WDW 2018 increasing waits trend?

[Eccle]

As I posted earlier in the thread, having been there last month I can't see reduced capacity as the full story, if it was wouldn't we be seeing long wait times with relatively quiet walkways etc?

The only time I was conscious of a capacity reduction was on a Dumbo when only one side was running and the wait was at 30 minutes, but it was 9.45am and I think Dumbo was only so busy at that time as 7 Dwarfs, Space and Splash were all shut. They started operating the second side whilst we were on it.

There were also long wait times on things like Under the Sea and Nemo which are constantly moving so capacity can't be reduced

[Alien]

Josh's wrote over 1800 words on HS waits trends by the way. He have separate on AK and Epcot. Reading the small quote I posted, even ignoring the rest of what I read, in my opinion he did not imply that the crowds are just increasing. Epcot is quoted as nearly flat


"Animal Kingdom wait times are up more than 70% in the last four years. Epcot’s wait times are virtually flat over the same period, up just over 5%. And Studios’ wait times are up 33.7%. "


I took it as there is something else going on. One park flat, the other 76% to me does not equal crowds are just growing.

Quote from AK post
"The conclusions are not as quantifiable as I’d like. Wait times are (probably) up in part due to increased FastPass+ utilization, in part due to attendance increases, in part due to capacity decreases, in part due to Pandora, and in part due to other variables."

"Studios’ wait times are higher in 2018 than they have ever been before. A big part of that is Toy Story Mania, where wait times more than doubled from January 2017 to January 2018. That’s not because of attendance and not because of any nefarious capacity reductions, but because of the track closure.

"Star Tours’ increases are likely due to a tightening of capacity – running fewer simulators later into the morning... Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster’s modest increase could be chalked up to a lot of things, one of which would be Great Movie Ride’s closure and an overall lack of things to do at the Studios."

[Alien]

Originally Posted by Eccle

As I posted earlier in the thread, having been there last month I can't see reduced capacity as the full story, if it was wouldn't we be seeing long wait times with relatively quiet walkways etc?

The only time I was conscious of a capacity reduction was on a Dumbo when only one side was running and the wait was at 30 minutes, but it was 9.45am and I think Dumbo was only so busy at that time as 7 Dwarfs, Space and Splash were all shut. They started operating the second side whilst we were on it.

There were also long wait times on things like Under the Sea and Nemo which are constantly moving so capacity can't be reduced

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It's great to get feedback from people that are actually there. Hope you had good holiday regardless the waits

[Eccle]

Originally Posted by Alien

It's great to get feedback from people that are actually there. Hope you had good holiday regardless the waits

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Thank you, we had a brilliant holiday. Although standby waits were generally big, planning meant we didn't wait more than about 20 min for anything, and the only thing we wanted to do but failed was Space Mountain due to closures 2 days in a row. The only two times I felt the crowds really impacted were on our first Monday in AK when moving around just became unpleasant by late morning because walkways were so busy (and we'd have most likely left sooner but for FOP FPs), and on the second Wednesday in MK when 7 Dwarfs, Space and Splash were all closed meaning wait times went up on everything else and messed up our plans.

[Nimbus]

I’ve finally read Josh’s post on wait times. I do like Josh. Some random quotes:

“The website has discussed capacity reductions and how, in addition to FastPass+, they’re the primary driver of increased wait times. Apparently Testa and co. over at TouringPlans have finally come to the realization that it’s decreased capacity, and not increased attendance, driving wait times higher. You’ll find that they are typically three years behind the times in just about everything related to Walt Disney World”.

And also...

“People who have experienced low crowds and short wait times during late January vacations are the ones coming back proclaiming that there’s “no such thing as the off-season anymore”.”

His blog posts make a lot of sense.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Eccle

Thank you, we had a brilliant holiday. Although standby waits were generally big, planning meant we didn't wait more than about 20 min for anything, and the only thing we wanted to do but failed was Space Mountain due to closures 2 days in a row. The only two times I felt the crowds really impacted were on our first Monday in AK when moving around just became unpleasant by late morning because walkways were so busy (and we'd have most likely left sooner but for FOP FPs), and on the second Wednesday in MK when 7 Dwarfs, Space and Splash were all closed meaning wait times went up on everything else and messed up our plans.

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To me, waits of no more than 20 minutes sounds like it was relatively quiet, even with planning and ample fastpass use. I’ve been in fastpass queues that have been longer than 20 mins long.

As you point out, sometimes the reason why it might have felt crowded was because some attractions were down. That’s going to drive thousands of people who would have been in the queues for those rides onto the walkways making it seem busier.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

We are here now and this is my view on waits but in particular FP's
AK Tues afternoon, no issues and we did our three FPs plus one line up then left. Park seemed fine, not overcrowded and the lines were short. Took 15 mins to get on Everest on standby
Epcot Weds all day. Busier than May no doubt about it. Very difficult to change FP times like I normally do. However FPs were popping up and I got a Test Track FP at 12.20 for 13.00. Can't fault that
MK Thurs. My God it was nuts! Security lines at the TTC were insane and so slow, the monorail was playing up again. Arrived at the TTC at 8.30 and walked into the MK at 9.15!
Had our 3 FPs and after using the first one could not drag number 2 back. After we had done the 3 it was all but impossible to get more. I spent an hour trying to drag a 5.00pm Buzz FP to Midday! Weird.
Crowds were busier than August and Space Mountain wait time was 140 mins, the FP line was out the door!

The highlight of the day's has been the American Adventure remodel, awesome and the Hall of Presidents new show which is very good.

However why are there now two security guards in the HOP throughout the show? I can guess why!

[YorkshireT]

I always thought a main driver in the Magic Band and MDE project was predictives and reducing staffing numbers when able.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

However why are there now two security guards in the HOP throughout the show? I can guess why!

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Sounds great. We're people cheering, booing, both or neither?

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Sounds great. We're people cheering, booing, both or neither?

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Ha ha. Deathly silence! The only thing I have ever heard in there was on two occasions people clapping Ronald Reagan. He was loved by a lot of people including me.

Mind you Trumps suit didn't look that sharp.

I think they have done a great job of the new show.