Is Toy Story Land underperforming?

[DLgal]

We are here now. I think the weather is playing a huge factor with "low" wait times. We went to Toy Story land 2 nights ago and it was POURING RAIN for 3 hours. People bailed big time, but TS land was clearly the most crowded area at DHS all night. People were packed in there trying to stay dry under umbrellas. The rides continued running in the rain (we rode SDD twice in the pouring rain with ponchos on). They shut down the rode for about an hour due to lightning, but the standby wait showed 70 min but was only about 25 min because people didn't show up for their Fastpasses. The ride seems like a people eater. They had three trains running and were dispatching one every 30-45 seconds, it seemed.

The Alien Saucer ride was down on one side but we got in a "70 min" standby line that was really only 20, again, probably because it was pouring and people bailed on their fastpasses.

Even with these lower wait times, I wouldn't call the land a failure at all. Right now DHS, as a whole, is kind of failure and a land like this isn't going to draw massive crowds like Pandora or Galaxy's Edge. However, we went to DHS specifically for TS land and we loved it and will be going back for more SDD later this week. My husband was more impressed with SDD than Mine Train (which he rode for the first time last week). The land is very well done and exactly what DHS needed for the younger set.

 

[DLgal]

I wasn’t expecting Pandora level interest so I don’t even compare it to the waits for those rides

But is interesting that 7DMT is having a longer wait than SDD (now, maybe good reasons - capacity, just number of people in each park, etc) but you would think the latest, greatest version of something would carry a longer wait - at least for a while

Also that other rides within DHS have longer waits as well - might be due to change to tie ring levels or something else logical, but even taking Pandora out, waits appear a bit lower that I would have expected at this point

7DMT is in MK though, which is clearly the most popular park in the world. That ride will have long lines years into the future. It's like how Space Mountain still has long lines all the time, almost 40 years after opening. It's an MK "must do."

 

[Moliphino]

SDMT opened before the advent of FP+.

So you didn't know for sure that you had a fastpass until you got to the park.

I KNOW I have a FP+ for SDD. I won't be spending half my day on that line... not that I personally would choose to wait that long for any ride.

But people now have the option of choosing to go to DHS on a day when they can get a FP+, as opposed to showing up, and deciding that if they want the ride they need to spend the time on lines.

Did it? I know I did a MyMagic+ trial with virtual fastpasses before SDMT opened (at the time it was in addition to paper fastpasses). Did they ever have paper fastpasses at SDMT? I see both Fastpass+ and SDMT started in 2014.

 

[Iowamomof4]

We are here now. I think the weather is playing a huge factor with "low" wait times. We went to Toy Story land 2 nights ago and it was POURING RAIN for 3 hours. People bailed big time, but TS land was clearly the most crowded area at DHS all night. People were packed in there trying to stay dry under umbrellas. The rides continued running in the rain (we rode SDD twice in the pouring rain with ponchos on). They shut down the rode for about an hour due to lightning, but the standby wait showed 70 min but was only about 25 min because people didn't show up for their Fastpasses. The ride seems like a people eater. They had three trains running and were dispatching one every 30-45 seconds, it seemed.

The Alien Saucer ride was down on one side but we got in a "70 min" standby line that was really only 20, again, probably because it was pouring and people bailed on their fastpasses.

Even with these lower wait times, I wouldn't call the land a failure at all. Right now DHS, as a whole, is kind of failure and a land like this isn't going to draw massive crowds like Pandora or Galaxy's Edge. However, we went to DHS specifically for TS land and we loved it and will be going back for more SDD later this week. My husband was more impressed with SDD than Mine Train (which he rode for the first time last week). The land is very well done and exactly what DHS needed for the younger set.

You may have hit the nail on the head here. DHS apparently needed more than one, well-themed land to draw the masses. I agree with pp who have mentioned how important this land will be once SW:GE opens. I suspect that is when we will start to see high standby wait times more. Also, it'll be very interesting to see what happens once the weather improves this fall and winter. How high could the waits go then?

 

[dm1996]

It’s very tough to judge the weather more than an hour out in Orlando during the afternoons. Since there is basically no protection from the sun or rain, I would not get in a line for more than an hour, especially with kids (who the rides are intended for).
I also don’t really know how you can compare it to Pandora. Pandora cost a lot more and is meant for just about every age demo. Even my young kids love going to that land without any knowledge of the movie.
I think of TSL as a nice land that is meant to add some much needed entertainment for the younger kids. Def not a failure by any means though.

 

[Fantasia79]

Maybe “oversold” would be a more appropriate descriptor.

FoP and Pandora both are things people can’t wait to do again and again. Satuli Canteen is outstanding.

WDW certainly made a lot of the Toy Story unveiling and PR similar to Pandora. Comparison is only natural.

 

[tlmadden73]

Even with only two new rides and a heavily themed "area" to walk in, DHS is still probably a low-demand park.
It still only has 6 "ride" attractions.

The perception is that it's a kiddie land with a kiddie coaster, so people are probably just not as interested in it.
People see "Toy Story" and think "That's for my kids".
People see shots of the Slink Dog Dash and think - "That's just an "easy" steel coaster (no big drops) with a unique car on it, but nothing I couldn't find at my local Six Flags.
People see Alien Swirling Saucers and see that as a glorified carnival ride (ala Teacups).
Families with young kids see the height requirements and maybe just go on TSMM rather than doing rider swap or splitting up the family.
Young families see no shaded/indoor queue areas and probably don't want to have their kids out in the hot sun (or rain) and go on TSMM.

.. and maybe people are just waiting until SWGE opens to see 5 new attractions instead of just two minor ones.

So .. the park is still probably skippable UNTIL late 2019.

It could also be stemming from how crazy Pandora was .. and everyone is just avoiding TSL EXPECTING Pandora-like lines/crowds.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I'm really wishing we knew how DISNEY feels about the land's performance and level of busyness. Is this what THEY expected? Or are they disappointed in the numbers they're seeing?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm really wishing we knew how DISNEY feels about the land's performance and level of busyness. Is this what THEY expected? Or are they disappointed in the numbers they're seeing?

that's a good question - and, as others have mentioned, this is designed to be part of a larger plan for the park ... so the true final picture and evaluation on it won't be until after Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Mine Train and Galaxy's Edge open - then they can evaluate the park as a whole - and are these new secondary additions doing their job

 

[rteetz]

I'm really wishing we knew how DISNEY feels about the land's performance and level of busyness. Is this what THEY expected? Or are they disappointed in the numbers they're seeing?

I think the extending of free dining booking and addition of a ticket option are telling that attendance is a bit soft for the upcoming months. That said I wonder if DHS has seen any increases.

 

[sachilles]

I think calling it under performing due to wait times is a little bit of an exaggeration.
Rockin' Roller Coaster is your true analog and those seem to be hovering at similar wait times. All of the coasters in WDW seem to hover around the same wait times.
You could certainly argue that it's a huge success, in that wait times are lower than expected, so therefore the imagineers learned from Pandora and 7DMT, and reduced wait times by increasing capacity.

I think they only way you can judge if Toy Story land is a success is to see if gate admissions have increased, Food and merchandise sale increased, and lodging increased, prior to it's existence.

 

[rteetz]

You could certainly argue that it's a huge success, in that wait times are lower than expected, so therefore the imagineers learned from Pandora and 7DMT, and reduced wait times by increasing capacity.

But neither are high capacity attractions so that’s not it.

 

[sachilles]

But neither are high capacity attractions so that’s not it.

Without knowing the capacity each ride is running at, at the time the wait times are observed, it's a fools errand to use wait times as an measure of success or failure. Fast Pass capacity and usage also factors in.
Until we know that the financial return is poor, as guests we can only conclude that lower wait times are a success for us.

 

[ShadeDK]

Also curious whether this plays out with the storyline last month that low early summer numbers were partially the result of guests shifting their vacations until after TSL opened. Still too early to tell, but the wait times now aren't trending to support that. I don't know what other's expectations were for TSL - mine weren't off the chart, but I did think there'd be more initial demand. There's probably a lesson in there about the difficulty of managing expectations - particularly if you happen to market in the field of selling magic and making dreams come true.

 

[tlmadden73]

that's a good question - and, as others have mentioned, this is designed to be part of a larger plan for the park ... so the true final picture and evaluation on it won't be until after Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Mine Train and Galaxy's Edge open - then they can evaluate the park as a whole - and are these new secondary additions doing their job

True -- I anticipate (as I am sure Disney does as well) that DHS will go from the least popular park (and the one probably most often "skipped" or done in a half day) to a park that could easily need a day and 1/2 to 2 days.

DHS is going from 4 ride attractions (and a handful of shows) for the past year (and 5 for the past few years) to 9 ride attractions, a new Cars show, a redone Disney Junior show (and everything else the same). With the tiering and FP availability of 5 new ride attractions, you may just have to do this in more than one day ---- especially when you factor in the schedule of shows.

 

[sachilles]

Touring plans app is showing lower crowd numbers than I might expect for this time of year. Yesterday was a 5 I believe. Today is a 7 overall.

 

[hakepb]

The other data point is TSMM, which seems like it may have lower wait times than past summer’s.

I enjoyed SDD more than I expected to, so it’s a good addition to the park.

I guess people have changed. DW remembers way back when rides didn’t have shaded queues (ie remembers when shade was added to the single Dumbo) I don’t think it discouraged waits then.

 

[jsbowl16]

Also curious whether this plays out with the storyline last month that low early summer numbers were partially the result of guests shifting their vacations until after TSL opened. Still too early to tell, but the wait times now aren't trending to support that. I don't know what other's expectations were for TSL - mine weren't off the chart, but I did think there'd be more initial demand. There's probably a lesson in there about the difficulty of managing expectations - particularly if you happen to market in the field of selling magic and making dreams come true.

I was discussing this with my wife last night. She said that she thinks that the people that have a sentimental connection to the Toy Story movies are at a time in their lives where they are paying for college, buying houses, starting careers, etc and they do not have the time or money to visit TSL.

 

[jsbowl16]

Touring plans app is showing lower crowd numbers than I might expect for this time of year. Yesterday was a 5 I believe. Today is a 7 overall.

I see your point but that would impact all parks so if we are comparing wait times at TSL to other parts of other parks, then it is still apples to apples. If FoP was a twenty minute wait all day then I would agree with your point.

 

[mrcase77]

It doesn’t sound like it’s setup for people to spend a lot of time in. There’s no shade, it didn’t sound like there’s a lot of air conditioning, the rides look fairly standard, and the food sounds like a well themed sandwich stand with unsheltered seating. Am I missing something? It looks fun and all kinds of nostalgic, but not life changing or anything.

It kinda looks setup for you to get in and get out.