Back when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad re-opened after its latest refurbishment, there was a lot of speculation about exactly what those nondescript boxes were in the queue. Obviously, they were temporary place holders until something better could be installed, but what is that something. Turns… Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Get Interactive Queue
I had a chance to visit the Magic Kingdom today and log in to the new free WiFi public network in the park. I didn’t do any formal load testing, but the video and photos I took uploaded nicely. I definitely plan to use it… Read More »Free WiFi at the Magic Kingdom
With Cars Land at DCA now open, all eyes turn toward the Magic Kingdom and the Fantasyland Expansion which will be the next big project from Walt Disney Imagineering to open. Behind the walls, sections near Storytime with Belle look practically ready to open right… Read More »Magic Kingdom Update – We’re getting closer
Coming in early March, Fastpass will have new rules that, really, go back to the roots of the Fastpass system. Now, you can enter the Fastpass queue up to 5 minutes before your selected time window and until 15 minutes after your window. I know… Read More »New Fastpass, How Strategies Might Change
Let me start with a full disclosure. I would be perfectly happy if FastPass went away tomorrow. On the whole I think it is a bad thing for the parks. Here’s a short list of FastPass’ problems as I see it: it artificially inflates wait time for rides with high-throughput, creates unhappy guests, and crowds the open spaces of the parks effectively lowering park capacity. It never really drove in-store sales and increased dining revenue the way it was originally intended too either.
What FastPass does do is effectively create an elite class of theme park attendees. Those who know how to maximize their day in the park by efficiently using FastPass have a very different experience in the parks than those who wait in every standby queue. Keep this point in mind. We’ll be coming back to it.
My wife took the kid to the Magic Kingdom today and reported that parts of the new queue for Winnie-The-Pooh attraction were open today. The queue is part of Imagineering’s attempt to make waiting in line less like waiting and more like fun. This is achieved primarily through the addition of interactive elements and new ideas about the flow of the queue. Initial results from Pooh indicated they have achieved the fun part, but the jury is out if it will stand up to the quirks of guest behavior.
We’ll keep a closer eye on this project going forward. In the meantime, follow below the jump for more photos and details of the new interactive queue.
Read More »Winnie The Pooh attraction at Magic Kingdom opens with new Queue
Starting tomorrow and running through September 1st, SeaWorld Orlando will be introducing a new service called “Quick Queue.” Park visitors who pay an extra $29.95, plus tax, will receive a pass that will allow them to move to the front of the line for SeaWorld’s… Read More »SeaWorld Orlando to test Front of Line Pass for Pay
I missed linking to the Orlando Sentinel‘s article on the listing of expired and counterfeit fast passes on eBay. But a post on MouseExtra reminded me that I really felt like Disney has a solution that’s readily available to this problem. Get rid of the… Read More »Disney’s Fast Pass, a problem looking for a solution