Summer Guest Attendance Down? CM Hours Cut

[Seoulbro]

Thanks! I see it, but also think I see it on priceline express for cheaper. Right now its 113 on Hotwire, and 99 on Priceline. Decisions, decisions!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks! I see it, but also think I see it on priceline express for cheaper. Right now its 113 on Hotwire, and 99 on Priceline. Decisions, decisions!

U can use the $30 promo code on hotiwire.

 

[Seoulbro]

Yaay! I originally had POP century from the 6th to 10th. I booked POFQ from the 7th-11th, modified my POP reservation from the 6-10 to 6-7th and Disney waived the $50 change fee! So now, for an extra $60, I get a bonus day and an upgrade to a Mod for 4 of the 5 nights. Thanks everyone, especially disneymagicgirl!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Yaay! I originally had POP century from the 6th to 10th. I booked POFQ from the 7th-11th, modified my POP reservation from the 6-10 to 6-7th and Disney waived the $50 change fee! So now, for an extra $60, I get a bonus day and an upgrade to a Mod for 4 of the 5 nights. Thanks everyone, especially disneymagicgirl!

Have fun! I am there 5-7th!

 

[GillianP1301]

It may just be more spread out crowds and not lower overall crowds. With the opening of Pandora, AK is getting slammed and where it may usually be one of, if not the lowest attended park on any given day, it's now increased significantly and that pulls people out of the more popular, i.e. MK. Just a theory on my part.

 

[TriSeb°o°]

Josh's post from 7/25 has a day to day insight of the totally noticeable shortcomings of the CM cuts.

However, I get it's totally fair to say that if you are not visiting every day like a daily WDW blogger visitor, these nuances will be overlooked by most (but not by our Dis'ers).

I find it curious (Curiouser and Curiouser!') that the reduction of CM resources is considered by some as within operational norms and that many still feel it's not a factual take. Maybe I am wrong (been wrong before) but at the very least I am going in without blinders, WDW, Here I come!

I appreciate everyone's' input and feedback. Thanks, all.

 

[thevolcanogod]

Did HS yesterday - Saturday - park was pretty much dead. RnR was delayed start and Muppets was down - we got there at rope drop and got the first slot for Jedi. We went by the temple later - around noon - and they were still taking signups for later time slots. Character meets were 10 mins, walked right into Voyage. Did Star Tours after Jedi Training standby - waited maybe 10 mins. Overall I thought it was about half as full as it was in 2014

 

[back2disney]

Did HS yesterday - Saturday - park was pretty much dead. RnR was delayed start and Muppets was down - we got there at rope drop and got the first slot for Jedi. We went by the temple later - around noon - and they were still taking signups for later time slots. Character meets were 10 mins, walked right into Voyage. Did Star Tours after Jedi Training standby - waited maybe 10 mins. Overall I thought it was about half as full as it was in 2014

Half as much is open, so I was also happy that that park wasn't crowded.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Did HS yesterday - Saturday - park was pretty much dead. RnR was delayed start and Muppets was down - we got there at rope drop and got the first slot for Jedi. We went by the temple later - around noon - and they were still taking signups for later time slots. Character meets were 10 mins, walked right into Voyage. Did Star Tours after Jedi Training standby - waited maybe 10 mins. Overall I thought it was about half as full as it was in 2014

Sounds like if you love the Star Wars activities offered, then this is a GREAT time to visit HS!

 

[Kindermouse]

Did HS yesterday - Saturday - park was pretty much dead. RnR was delayed start and Muppets was down - we got there at rope drop and got the first slot for Jedi. We went by the temple later - around noon - and they were still taking signups for later time slots. Character meets were 10 mins, walked right into Voyage. Did Star Tours after Jedi Training standby - waited maybe 10 mins. Overall I thought it was about half as full as it was in 2014

This report seems to make it sound like things arent nearly so bad in terms of CM cuts as I was thinking. If CM's are cut to equal out the losses in crowd numbers thevolcanogod would have said that while it was half as busy the waits were still just as long or that the offerings and customer services were impacted to the point that they couldnt enjoy the low crowds. But instead we heard that waits were down as well and there was no mention of lessened offerings-such as that Jedi train slots were still being offered at noon rather than them cutting the number of shows and slot available and short waits for character meets rather than them just offereing less characters to drive everyone to the few opportunities available. It seems to indicate from at least one persons experience that in HS at least the park going experience isnt severely impacted by cuts.

Sounds like if you love the Star Wars activities offered, then this is a GREAT time to visit HS!

It also sounds like the place to go if you want a less crowded park going experience but dont need a full day off from the parks. I am not a fan of long lines-nobody is really-but even more than wanting short wait times for rides my family often needs breaks from being in the bumping, shuffling, surrounded on all side, cheek-to-cheek feeling that comes from being in busy parks like we keep hearing MK is everyday regardless of season. That is also how Disneyland park gets nearly all the time any more as we have park hopped over to California in Adventure from their many times just to get a break from the crowds, even though I find that park to be far inferior to Disneyland. Maybe, with the lack of offerings and construction, HS is the park that you can hop to when you need a break from the crowds but not a break from the parks. I was thinking long and hard about skipping HS on our upcoming trip but since I have heard many people talk about how lows the crowds are there I am really considering keeping it in our plans after all, if only to get a break from the worst of the crowds. A few more reports like this and it will cement a HS day in my schedule.

 

[thevolcanogod]

So far this trip I do not notice a lack of cast members at all. I would actually be pretty sensitive to that because the whole concept makes me mad. Only thing that was noticeable to me is that they were understaffed at Nomad a Lounge. Either that or we just got a very inattentive server.

 

[TriSeb°o°]

I've read a confirmation of the cut of CM hours on EZ where Josh noted that the walk in AK from the turnstile to discovery island was marked by the lack of no CM with animals which is common place. While it's been years since I stopped a this 'encounters' with kiddos it still is a good example of how it would be noticeable.

I am now wondering if there has been a reduction in Photopass CMs as well.

At any rate, I am now in the 24-hour countdown so I will be able to rely on my own first-hand observation. I will certainly provide those on this thread. Again, thanks for all the feedback.