The Interpreter Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 December 29, 2006 5:45 a.m. EST Maira Oliveira - All Headline News Reporter Orlando, FL (AHN) - Three parks at Walt Disney World in Florida were forced to temporarily shut down after it received a swarm of visitors during the Christmas holidays. Many who hoped to have a meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom or MGM Studios on Wednesday and Thursday were denied entrance to the place where all your dreams come true. Park officials had no choice but to close down the Florida attractions at different times in order to control the overwhelming flow of people. Eager guests who could not get into the park were left outside with crying babies and upset children. Many families were angry and outraged that their mini-vacation days had been ruined. While some waited outside and complained, others headed over to the world culture theme park, Epcot, which is the least popular Disney attraction in Florida. Epcot was the only site that remained up and running on both days. According to The Orlando Sentinel, it was understandable why the huge crowds at Magic Kingdom forced the Cinderella Castle park to be shut down. On December 25, it was closed for almost an hour. It is not certain if and when was the last time three Walt Disney World sites had to deny entrance to visitors on the same day. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005987509 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 This is just going to continue to happen until New Years. It happens every year since the parks can only handle around 100,000 people at a time. Plus there is limited readmission if you leave there is a good chance you will not be able to get back in until a large number of people leave the park. The week starting Christmas day until New Years day is the busiest time of the year for the Orlando Parks. Its also the most expensive time of the year to go for just about every hotel in the area charges holiday rates. I really have no idea why anyone would go now its just not worth it if there is a way to go any other time of year. Although it sounds worse then normal considering Disney is turning people away at 3 parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I wish I had that kind of attendance at church - where I'm the music director. I guess I'm in the wrong business. I tell my son... You can design a coaster, get paid and be done. You can build a coaster, get paid and be done. What you want is to own the park where the coaster is located to keep collecting revenue from it for years to come. Obviously, Disney is doing something right - and higher prices at the gate don't seem to phase anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I understand why they did it- crowd control & safety issues. But if a laid down the kind of money that it costs to go to Disney (car/ plane), stay at Disney, and how much it is to get a park pass, I would be really pi$$ed. Why is it my fault that they oversold a particular day? Especially for those that did not get a park hopper pass. MK is the only place that they could go on that particular day, especially if they were already in the park and could not get back in. I am just wondering how many people tried to get their money back since they could not stay the whole day at the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I understand why they did it- crowd control & safety issues. But if a laid down the kind of money that it costs to go to Disney (car/ plane), stay at Disney, and how much it is to get a park pass, I would be really pi$$ed. Why is it my fault that they oversold a particular day? Especially for those that did not get a park hopper pass. MK is the only place that they could go on that particular day, especially if they were already in the park and could not get back in. I am just wondering how many people tried to get their money back since they could not stay the whole day at the park. In the past the rule has always been if you are trying to get back into a park that has reached capacity that you will be allowed to go to a differant park even if you do not have the park hopper option on the ticket. Also the gates are normally only closed for an hour or two at a time at least until enough people leave (but then like I said this sounds worse then normal). Your right I would hate to get to Disney, rent a room, car etc and not be allowed in but they have to draw the line somewhere and its a pretty high bar to hit. Not sure how you can say Disney oversold anything though. Normally there is someone standing at the exit warning people that they may not be able to get back in on days like this. I also read that it was not a total shutdown of the gates just that they only would let resort guests in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Disney usually handles these situations very well. That the park was only closed an hour or two is very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragerunner Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Usually they let hotel guests as well as ticket buyers know that parks may reach capacity during this time of the year and that you should arrive early if you want to ensure admission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I'm going to USF in February. February 11th thru the 17th. I hope the crowds won't be that bad that week. For some reason though their isn't a fast pass available during that time at USF. I wonder if that means they except crowds to be light? Only 41 more days. as of 1/1/07. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I'm going to USF in February. February 11th thru the 17th. I hope the crowds won't be that bad that week. For some reason though their isn't a fast pass available during that time at USF. I wonder if that means they except crowds to be light? Only 41 more days. as of 1/1/07. I don't know of any day of the year where an express pass is not available although the design of the webpage is very bad. A 1 park express pass for one day 11-16 is $20 the 2 park is $25 the price goes up the last day your there the 17th making the 1 park $30 and the 2 park $40. My guess is that when you went to the express pass page you did not scroll down to the other price levels. I doubt you will need the express passes that week. I would get there when the parks open at 9 AM and you will be amazed how quickly you will get through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Yes I plan on getting there when they open at 9am. Plus we have the 7 day tickets, which only cost 86 dollars a piece. So I'm sure within the days I go, either if they are busy or not, I'll get to do what I wanna do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragerunner Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 While crowds are not to bad during the day, the time you will be there is during their Mardi Gras event. You might want to check out the info they have for this event on their website, including what nights will have big concerts and plan what days and times to go to IOA and UStudios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIVortex Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Ummm on the Universal Website it don't mention anything about 2007 events in February. It still says 2006. Also the Mardi Gras event was only on Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaman Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Well, a couple years ago, I went to Disney 2 days after Christmas. I didn't think it was that bad really. They still leave the decorations up, and they were great. Crowds, didn't seem that crowded. Maybe I didn't notice this because we worked the fastpass system extremely well. All in all, it was a great trip. I got to spend New Years Eve and the Grand Floridian, and it was magical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragerunner Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Ummm on the Universal Website it don't mention anything about 2007 events in February. It still says 2006. Also the Mardi Gras event was only on Saturday. Mardi Gras will be the same months as last year. Yes, Saturday is the big day, I was just saying that if they are there they might want to be away of the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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