ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 We were making our way out of the park last night about 25 minutes before the fireworks started. Cast members were directing people through the outer rings of the hub. They had the normal areas taped off for the viewing areas and the walkways, but there were so many people that it was just gridlock. We ran into a wall of people where the main walkway to tomorrowland intersects with the hub. 20 minutes of bumping, standing, and some mild shoving we were able to make it to the walkway that bypasses main street. My wife started having a panic attack about 15 minutes into it. Some other people were noticeably freaking out too. I don't know what else they could do other than limit the number of people in the park. It is just a total sh!tshow in MK now in front of the castle. I think we may just watch from the beach from now on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 That sounds awful. I'd probably lose it. Stuff like that scares me because if there was an emergency??? I don't even want to think about evacuating Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PGHFiend 140 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 I feel for you and your family. We stay way away from the fireworks for this exact reason, and because my wife is lying at 5' 2". I can't see any benefit to Disney by allowing this to happen, let alone on a consistent basis. If we do happen to need a cross park move around this time, we take the long way around the back of fantasy land, and if trying to exit, we only go through adventure land, and into Caseys and through the shops. Sometimes they will open the overflow exit that runs from the medical station to the barber shop. Terrible crowd control planning when redesigning that area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith_h 420 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 We've had the same thing happen going between Liberty Square and Frontierland when they've closed the road down for the parade. The sidewalk was moving along fine and then stopped. You couldn't turn around as people were still trying to get through from both sides. All I was thinking is how do they rescue someone having a heart attack or stop them from getting crushed if they fall. We finally decided to to work our way to the road and take our chances of getting yelled at since the parade wasn't in sight yet. While not as bad we had a similar crush when leaving the park that evening. Disney really needs to do something by limiting the number of people in the various park choke points or add more back ways for those of us that try to avoid the crowds and take advantage of the shorter lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 3 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said: We were making our way out of the park last night about 25 minutes before the fireworks started. Cast members were directing people through the outer rings of the hub. They had the normal areas taped off for the viewing areas and the walkways, but there were so many people that it was just gridlock. We ran into a wall of people where the main walkway to tomorrowland intersects with the hub. 20 minutes of bumping, standing, and some mild shoving we were able to make it to the walkway that bypasses main street. My wife started having a panic attack about 15 minutes into it. Some other people were noticeably freaking out too. I don't know what else they could do other than limit the number of people in the park. It is just a total sh!tshow in MK now in front of the castle. I think we may just watch from the beach from now on. We were there last night as well however, we grabbed a boat back, just as the fireworks were starting. Way too many people. This past Wednesday was even worse. Believe it it not, there were more people...people EVERYWHERE. The line for people waiting to get on the monorail was thousands. Inside the park was scary. There were these (young) fools in front of the castle literally laying down to watch the show. Really...this seems like a sound decision, in the dark, with thousands of people packed in around you?!! Fools. I agree with you, the numbers should be limited...but Disney is not going to do that. They'll just keep raising prices and weed people out that way, without loosing revenue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 3 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: We were there last night as well however, we grabbed a boat back, just as the fireworks were starting. Way too many people. This past Wednesday was even worse. Believe it it not, there were more people...people EVERYWHERE. The line for people waiting to get on the monorail was thousands. Inside the park was scary. There were these (young) fools in front of the castle literally laying down to watch the show. Really...this seems like a sound decision, in the dark, with thousands of people packed in around you?!! Fools. I agree with you, the numbers should be limited...but Disney is not going to do that. They'll just keep raising prices and weed people out that way, without loosing revenue. We hopped a small boat back to WL during the fireworks. We were just behind you. The boat captain slowed down in front of MK to let us watch tink fly and see the grand finale. It was almost like a private fireworks cruise lol fladogfan aka Gretchen 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 We had the same problem after the fire works at MK. I will say the crowd around us was fairly respectful though, but I will not get in that crowd again with my family. The show is just not worth it. I actually think Disney is making a big mistake allowing people to pack in like this. I hope no one ever gets hurt but I won't be surprised if they do. We were on the road just in front of the ice cream parlor, and it took us over 30 minutes to make it to Tomorrow land by the Laugh Floor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 10 hours ago, LONE-STAR said: We had the same problem after the fire works at MK That's why even though we try to watch from about halfway up Main Street, we immediately duck into a shop or one of the side "streets" and wait out the mass exodus before we even try to leave. If we watch from the Hub we scoot to the nearest side as soon as possible and tuck ourselves as far out of the way as we can get until we can walk without bumping into someone. That mass of people all trying to funnel out at the same time is crazypants and I'm not up for braving it most of the time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 3 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said: That's why even though we try to watch from about halfway up Main Street, we immediately duck into a shop or one of the side "streets" and wait out the mass exodus before we even try to leave. If we watch from the Hub we scoot to the nearest side as soon as possible and tuck ourselves as far out of the way as we can get until we can walk without bumping into someone. That mass of people all trying to funnel out at the same time is crazypants and I'm not up for braving it most of the time. They need to make a back entrance/exit to the MK with a parking lot. This will be the entrance that mutli visit people can park at that no longer need the magic of a monorail or boat ride and the view of the main entrance. Sort of like an employee entrance for jaded visitors that just want to get in and out quickly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 I think 2 pathways that paralleled the train tracks back to the front would be good...one exiting by COP and one in between POC & JC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fotofx....Steve 34 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 There is one that runs along from the Fantasyland train station down to space mountain. The problem is at space mountain the train goes through a tunnel so there is no where for a walkway. This walkway will probably be heavily modified, if it is even left after the tron ride is being built. I would like to see heavier use of the bypasses and a way to get to them from next to Buzz in Tomorrowland and somewhere by the treehouse in Adventureland. This would eliminate the need for non fireworks watchers to enter the hub at the end of the night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 19 minutes ago, fotofx....Steve said: There is one that runs along from the Fantasyland train station down to space mountain. The problem is at space mountain the train goes through a tunnel so there is no where for a walkway. This walkway will probably be heavily modified, if it is even left after the tron ride is being built. I would like to see heavier use of the bypasses and a way to get to them from next to Buzz in Tomorrowland and somewhere by the treehouse in Adventureland. This would eliminate the need for non fireworks watchers to enter the hub at the end of the night. There is a back stage walkway from the Buzz meet and greet area out to the building that holds Tony's and the theater where the MIckey character is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fotofx....Steve 34 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 11 minutes ago, Travisma said: There is a back stage walkway from the Buzz meet and greet area out to the building that holds Tony's and the theater where the MIckey character is. I have never seen it open. When they were running the express buses a few months ago I went out that way to meet the bus but have never seen it used to connect to the bypass that runs on that side behind the shops. Always had to get out of tomorrowland and over by the bathrooms outside terrace. This area has a lot of hub traffic at night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 2 minutes ago, fotofx....Steve said: I have never seen it open. When they were running the express buses a few months ago I went out that way to meet the bus but have never seen it used to connect to the bypass that runs on that side behind the shops. Always had to get out of tomorrowland and over by the bathrooms outside terrace. This area has a lot of hub traffic at night. I was surprised, we came into the park one day and we were sent that way, maybe a parade was coming, not sure. I thought we were going to come out like you said in that alleyway by the ice cream/Plaza Restaurant, but we kept walking and that's where we ended entering the park. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 12 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said: We hopped a small boat back to WL during the fireworks. We were just behind you. The boat captain slowed down in front of MK to let us watch tink fly and see the grand finale. It was almost like a private fireworks cruise lol WTF?!! You were on the SAME boat as us! Were you sitting behind us?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robin 48 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 When we where there this summer I said this is the last time we will watch in front of the castle. To us it just isn't worth all the stress it brings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 Man, they really goofed on this. The whole Hub area was reconstructed a couple of years ago to make more room and to ease congestion. But, then they took away Wishes and replaced it with Happily Ever After (HEA), which is more focused on projections and special effects that guests can only see if they have a clear view of the front of the castle. Wishes could be enjoyed from many different vantage points, but HEA really requires guests to be in the Hub area to best enjoy it. Compounding the problem is that there is no longer a parade performed at night. On busy nights, they would perform the Main Street Electrical Parade twice. That would help to spread crowds out throughout the park. Another issue is the fact that HEA is only shown about half the nights in October because the other nights are used for the hard-ticket Halloween party. And the cherry on top is that they took away a good chunk of the fireworks viewing area by taking away one of the FP viewing areas and the Tomorrowland Terrace area and using that for a paid dessert party. All of those things add up to a big mess. They planned for this somewhat by providing for bypasses on both sides of Main Street. But, they rarely use the one that runs behind the Emporium, and they don't always have the one by the Plaza Restaurant open. Those should be open every night after the fireworks without exception. But they're not. I've been stuck in the gridlock, and I agree 100% that it's a very unpleasant and dangerous situation that Disney really needs to do something about. The problem is that the fixes would reduce revenue or require more payroll, so Disney is just going to let guests suffer. TCD wendinator and lightbikes 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 22 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said: Man, they really goofed on this. The whole Hub area was reconstructed a couple of years ago to make more room and to ease congestion. But, then they took away Wishes and replaced it with Happily Ever After (HEA), which is more focused on projections and special effects that guests can only see if they have a clear view of the front of the castle. Wishes could be enjoyed from many different vantage points, but HEA really requires guests to be in the Hub area to best enjoy it. Compounding the problem is that there is no longer a parade performed at night. On busy nights, they would perform the Main Street Electrical Parade twice. That would help to spread crowds out throughout the park. Another issue is the fact that HEA is only shown about half the nights in October because the other nights are used for the hard-ticket Halloween party. And the cherry on top is that they took away a good chunk of the fireworks viewing area by taking away one of the FP viewing areas and the Tomorrowland Terrace area and using that for a paid dessert party. All of those things add up to a big mess. They planned for this somewhat by providing for bypasses on both sides of Main Street. But, they rarely use the one that runs behind the Emporium, and they don't always have the one by the Plaza Restaurant open. Those should be open every night after the fireworks without exception. But they're not. I've been stuck in the gridlock, and I agree 100% that it's a very unpleasant and dangerous situation that Disney really needs to do something about. The problem is that the fixes would reduce revenue or require more payroll, so Disney is just going to let guests suffer. TCD People that think this is a dangerous/uncomfortable situation need to contact Disney management. If it's an email, save any receipts or replies. If it's mailed correspondence save copies. This way management has been put on notice and if you or a loved one gets injured during this madhouse Disney will be liable. We can carp and complain all we want, but like TCD says, Disney will let guests suffer until something forces them to make changes. We all speculate that Disney management reads these posts, but that is not a proven given, and doesn't really mean much liability wise. Just like a dangerous pothole, until the municipality is put on notice that it's there, they have no liability if ruin your vehicle hitting it. It's a crappy world where organizations just won't do the right thing until they are forced to by a legal action. Tri-Circle-D 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: WTF?!! You were on the SAME boat as us! Were you sitting behind us?? You were on the little boat back to wilderness lodge? we were on the back rows in front of the U shaped back bench. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 14 minutes ago, Travisma said: People that think this is a dangerous/uncomfortable situation need to contact Disney management. A nice thought, but after all of these years, there are still kids driving golf carts around the Fort on a daily basis, and there are unruly groups of campers overloading campsites almost every weekend. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 39 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said: Man, they really goofed on this. The whole Hub area was reconstructed a couple of years ago to make more room and to ease congestion. But, then they took away Wishes and replaced it with Happily Ever After (HEA), which is more focused on projections and special effects that guests can only see if they have a clear view of the front of the castle. Wishes could be enjoyed from many different vantage points, but HEA really requires guests to be in the Hub area to best enjoy it. Compounding the problem is that there is no longer a parade performed at night. On busy nights, they would perform the Main Street Electrical Parade twice. That would help to spread crowds out throughout the park. Another issue is the fact that HEA is only shown about half the nights in October because the other nights are used for the hard-ticket Halloween party. And the cherry on top is that they took away a good chunk of the fireworks viewing area by taking away one of the FP viewing areas and the Tomorrowland Terrace area and using that for a paid dessert party. All of those things add up to a big mess. They planned for this somewhat by providing for bypasses on both sides of Main Street. But, they rarely use the one that runs behind the Emporium, and they don't always have the one by the Plaza Restaurant open. Those should be open every night after the fireworks without exception. But they're not. I've been stuck in the gridlock, and I agree 100% that it's a very unpleasant and dangerous situation that Disney really needs to do something about. The problem is that the fixes would reduce revenue or require more payroll, so Disney is just going to let guests suffer. TCD One thing that I didn't mention was they had half of the bypass by the Plaza taped off for viewing. There were hardly anyone using it except for the area by the bathrooms and the Plaza. Once we started walking toward the park entrance I turned around to check out the view in this area and it was surprisingly good. We were over it, though and just kept on walking to the exit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 4 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said: You were on the little boat back to wilderness lodge? we were on the back rows in front of the U shaped back bench. Yep! Do you have a little guy that fell off the bench as we were waiting for the boat?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 30 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: Yep! Do you have a little guy that fell off the bench as we were waiting for the boat?? No they were behind us in line. We had moved up closer to the gate when he fell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 Mercy...we were right behind them. I picked the little boy up, when he fell. Crazy....thousands of people and we're on the same boat that is going to the lodge, instead of one going to the Fort, at the same time. Very funny ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted October 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: Mercy...we were right behind them. I picked the little boy up, when he fell. Crazy....thousands of people and we're on the same boat that is going to the lodge, instead of one going to the Fort, at the same time. Very funny ? Lol yep. I saw you pick him up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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