Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[DirkFunk]

Since the capacity of the rides don't change, if they continue to allow you to show up late so you can get that extra E-ticket ride, who is losing out on a ride? The guest that follows the rules that's who.

 

I for one would be happy if all the people that complain about enforcement of the rules don't go to the park any more. It will make the park that much more enjoyable for the rest of us.

 

The hourly capacity doesn't change, no. But to the best of my knowledge, Disney doesn't cut lines off well in advance of closing, which means that anyone who wants to get in line for the ride and "follow the rules" as they are presently writen will get on the ride should they be willing to wait and it doesn't break down. No one misses a ride. This theorized new way, someone does.

 

edit: Before someone catches it - yes, the person who previously might have been able to use an old fastpass to board 5 minutes to closing can still wait in the standby line of tomorrow, of course. What percentage of those people would wait standby? I have a feeling Disney has a better idea of the answer than me. All I know is that from my perspective, I'd probably lose out given my habits at Disney. But like Robb said, this is minutae about a system that isn't in place yet. We'll all know eventually.

[Chroniq]

Ratuso- Clearly we won't be able to sway your opinion.. This debate could go on for days, but I think we've covered all of the bases at this point.

 

-chris "Is looking forward to seeing how this plays out" connolly

 

P.S. Tim Freeman- I've had great luck with guest services addressing any issues I've ever had. Small talk and a smile works wonders.

 

P.P.S. This is honestly the most asinine argument I've ever seen on TPR. People are pissed because they can't "work" the system anymore. Be happy that you were able to work it for ten years. Figure out a new system if that's your thing. I'll be at Disney with an infant this year, and we'll make it work by following the rules.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Chroniq

[The SETGO Guys]

I've been stuck on rides for over 2 hours and had cast members gruffly tell me to go to guest services. When I got to guest services, I couldn't even get 1 fast pass out of them for the last 2 hours they killed.

 

Seriously?

 

I've left compliments about Cast Members at guest services and gotten Fastpasses for that.

----

 

On the subject of Fastpasses has anyone else ever had a problem with demagnetizing their ticket. That happend on my last visit and I was given a special "Fastpass Pass" for use that day.

[A.J.]

This is a trainwreck. It's not even about EPCOT anymore.

 

We should like...break this off into its own thread, or something.

[timfreeman]

P.S. Tim Freeman- I've had great luck with guest services addressing any issues I've ever had. Small talk and a smile works wonders.

 

Believe me, I know you have to go in there with a smile on and your best foot forward even though you want to drag them over the counter and smack em around. Not sure they could pay me enough to take a job in that field. My guess is that I got them after they dealt with an extremely unpleasant visitor, but that shouldn't be my problem.

[larrygator]

This is a trainwreck. It's not even about EPCOT anymore.

 

We should like...break this off into its own thread, or something.

 

NO!

[Chroniq]

Believe me, I know you have to go in there with a smile on and your best foot forward even though you want to drag them over the counter and smack em around.

 

If that is your actual mentality before you walk into guest services, I can see why the outcome wasn't to your liking.

 

-chris "wonders why anyone would like to "smack around" a cast member while they are visiting "the happiest place on earth""connolly

[robbalvey]

I personally think people are waaaaay over-reacting. If there is one thing I'm sure of, Disney is not going to to do something that doesn't work, or detracts from the guest experience.

 

I feel that many of you are freaking out without any data to back up any of your arguments. I put full trust in Disney that they know what they are doing, and if for whatever reason, the change is an epic fail, they will fix it.

 

At this point, I see no reason for this argument to continue until we actually see the changes in place and have something to discuss about it.

 

So let's wait until then to continue this debate.

 

Thank you.

 

--Robb "Any more responses on this subject will be deleted." Alvey

[BeemerBoy]

This is a trainwreck. It's not even about EPCOT anymore.

Since Test Track and Borin' are two of the bigger FastPass "hot spots," it kinda still is (was?).

[A.J.]

Pee-shaw. Test Track has a single-rider line, and even with Fastpass it's still like...twenty minutes before you can board Soarin'. If I remember correctly, the red time cards that they give to standby-queuers aren't given back until you actually sit down on the glider, so in reality, a 65-minute posted standby is only 45 minutes until the two lines merge.

 

But, then again, you are talking to the kid who waited in a 180-minute standby for his first ride on Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom, so...

[timfreeman]

Believe me, I know you have to go in there with a smile on and your best foot forward even though you want to drag them over the counter and smack em around.

 

If that is your actual mentality before you walk into guest services, I can see why the outcome wasn't to your liking.

 

-chris "wonders why anyone would like to "smack around" a cast member while they are visiting "the happiest place on earth""connolly

 

 

Way to take things way too literally. I should have put about 20 smilies in the post, cause if I don't, I get this.

 

I know the CM sitting in guest services has no control over what another CM does in Tomorrowland. I've never even asked for a "freebie" unless you count being stuck on a ride for over 2 hours and asking for a FP to re-ride when it's fixed a freebie.... If I'm going into guest services, it's for a legitimate complaint and I state my case calmly. If the CM cops an attitude with me, I ask for a manager.

[Swimace]

^Lol how many times have you gone to complain?!?! You sound like you've done this a lot!

[robbalvey]

I see two sides of an argument here:

 

One side: The people who work at parks and know just how difficult it is to deal with obnoxious guests on a day-to-day basis...

Other side: The obnoxious guests that think that just because they bought a park ticket, they are entitled to do whatever the hell they want to.

 

I'm on the side of people who have worked at a park and think that most of the people who visit a park should be put to death for their obnoxious behaviour.

As theme park enthusiasts, I expected better from most of you. This debate is embarrassing, and all the park employees are trying to do is better educate the rest of you, and some of you could give two shits.

 

--Robb "Seriously, I'm sick of this discussion. I'm going to start banning people if it continues..." Alvey

Edited February 15, 2012 by robbalvey

[timfreeman]

Hopefully that wasn't directed at me as I agreed with you and geared my posts to be about Guest Services.

 

To clarify my last post to Swimace, it was more geared to "customer service" in general. I used the CM term to give it more relevance. It's seems some people's tolerance and comprehension stops when they get OUT of the parks. That conversation isn't going anywhere either so I'll drop it too.

[Chroniq]

Via Screamscape- It looks like they are already building out the "xpass queues" at Epcot.

 

I find it interesting that the first 2 attractions that they are working on to implement xpass (spaceship earth and the seas with nemo) are not actual fast pass rides.

 

This brings up a few questions

1. Does Disney plan on implementing the XPass system on every single attraction at every park?

2. Will these rides now offer fastpass as well?

3. Is this just a fluke to test out the system on high capacity rides before integrating it into the fastpass system?

4. Will resort guests be able to use both Xpass and Fast Pass? In theory you could prebook all of your xpasses for late in the afternoon/night (the same way some people are using the system now) and then just use fastpasses in the morning. If so- ALL YOUR FASTPASS ARE BELONG TO US.

[ernierocker]

Looks like the Fast Pass Return Times are officially being enforced now:

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2012 by ernierocker

[Hockeyman55]

Just thought id share a pic I took last Saturday while at Epcot before Flower and Garden officially opened

[gisco]

Just thought id share a pic I took last Saturday while at Epcot before Flower and Garden officially opened

 

 

I think next year I will bring my wife to Epcot when they have the Flower and Garden open!

[jedimaster1227]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/03/coming-soon-to-epcot-agent-ps-world-showcase-adventure/

 

Greetings from Epcot!

 

All the would-be secret agents out there will find a great new interactive experience at Epcot this year.

 

Coming this summer, Disney Phineas & Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure is based on the wily secret-agent alter-ego of Perry the Platypus – faithful pet to the title characters from Disney’s animated series “Phineas & Ferb.” Although just a simple pet to Phineas and Ferb, Perry turns into Agent P in each episode to help stop the misguided plans of his nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

 

Epcot guests will transform into secret agents to help Agent P thwart some of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s most daring plots. Agents will use a “high-tech secret agent device” to receive clues for each case. Solving the clues will take agents to different places throughout seven World Showcase countries at Epcot – Mexico Pavilion, France Pavilion, Germany Pavilion, Norway Pavilion, Japan Pavilion, China Pavilion and the United Kingdom Pavilion. Agents will scour each country for clues, evil “Inators,” and – with a little bit of luck – help Agent P defeat Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

 

Everyone ready to don their fedoras and help Agent P? I can’t wait!

 

Disney Phineas & Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure will arrive at Epcot and the current Disney Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure will close in summer

[vekoma_fan]

Oh no! Not KP!

[SharkTums]

Not a huge Phineas and Ferb fan, but at least this is something new! Good for Disney for staying relevant to what kids are watching.

[jedimaster1227]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/03/first-look-at-merchandise-for-the-30th-anniversary-of-epcot-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

 

There is one book in my Disney collection that I cherish – a soft cover book released prior to the opening of then Epcot Center. Before my first visit in July 1983, I spent hours dreaming of the 21st Century while looking at the beautiful concept paintings in the book. October 1, 2012, marks the 30th anniversary of Epcot and to celebrate, we will be releasing several items on that milestone day. I spoke with Disney Design Group artists Qunyh Kimball and John Henselmeier about their work on the anniversary style guide being used as reference for merchandise (you may recall Quynh and John’s work on the Starspeeder 1000 Vehicle Playset released last year). I was happy to learn that they used that book I love as inspiration.

“We loved the warm colors and illustrations found in [the Epcot Center book],” explained John. “In the past five years, we have designed many vintage Epcot items. For the 30th anniversary, we wanted something different – a retro but contemporary feeling, something we call ‘today’s vintage.’ That soft cover book really helped us achieve that look.”

Work on the style guide began in December 2011 at the request of the Disney Pins team. Pins have been a big part of previous Epcot anniversaries and they will play a part in October. The image above contains a few of my favorites, including a reversible lanyard, a few mystery pins and a pin that looks like it’s from an early 1980s video game (oh, why can’t “Epcot Center – The Game” be real?!). John told me his favorite attraction of all time was Body Wars, so he made sure it was represented in the assortment.

There will also be a jumbo pin that uses the soft cover book image in the packaging. In addition to pins, look for a few softline items including a T-shirt that uses the “21st Century Continues” artwork as seen in the first image.

 

Writing this article has left me feeling nostalgic. Do you have a story about your favorite thing from Epcot in the past 30 years? I vote either the handwich from The Land Pavilion or Magic Journeys. I hope to see you on October 1!

[thrillrider]

Screamscape is reporting that the planned shut down for test track may be delayed or canceled all together.

[the ghost]

I love the Pixelated Figment pin! Also when I go to the parks next time I have to check out the Phineas and Ferb thing... I agree with Elissa(except that I am a huge fan) that this is a great move because the show is CRAZY popular.

 

The 20 with a Perry the Platypus Shirt Ghost

[jedimaster1227]

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-01/business/os-cfb-tourism-0402-20120401_1_room-prices-hotel-rates-disney-owned-hotels

 

Test Track changes coming

 

Despite Internet speculation of a delay, Walt Disney World says an overhaul of the Test Track attraction in Epcot is moving forward as planned.

 

A spokeswoman for the resort said the attraction, which is underwritten by General Motors Corp., will shut down April 16 for an extended renovation. The redesigned ride is to reopen in the fall with a new theme focused on GM's Chevrolet brand and a new automotive-design center.

Edited April 2, 2012 by jedimaster1227