Disney - Christmas Day / New Years Eve
Jul 31, 2014, 2:16 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Central Florida, US
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 634
Jul 31, 2014, 5:59 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
Yes, they do.
I used to work as a trainer at the Disney Reservations Center. During busy times (like the back half of December), I was on the phones or walking the Sales Floor helping newer agents. The phased closure system is an integral part of crowd control. It's never going away.
For those who don't know what this is:
Disney uses a system of "phases" to limit the number of guests in a park due to capacity constraints. Here are the basics:
Phased closures are common at the end of December. For example, one Disney message board reported this for New Year's Eve 2013 at Magic Kingdom:
I used to work as a trainer at the Disney Reservations Center. During busy times (like the back half of December), I was on the phones or walking the Sales Floor helping newer agents. The phased closure system is an integral part of crowd control. It's never going away.
For those who don't know what this is:
Disney uses a system of "phases" to limit the number of guests in a park due to capacity constraints. Here are the basics:
- Phase 1: Open only to guests with pre-purchased, non-base level tickets. (Base level = "1 Day - 1 Park" or "Magic Your Way".)
- Phase 2: Open only to Disney Resort Guests, Passholders, Guests "hopping" from another park, Guest re-entering the same park, Guests with dining reservations.
- Phase 3: Open only to Disney Resort Guests, Passholders, Guests with dining reservations.
- Phase 4: Closed to Everyone.
Phased closures are common at the end of December. For example, one Disney message board reported this for New Year's Eve 2013 at Magic Kingdom:
- 9:40am: Phase 2 Closure
- 11:04am: Phase 3 Closure
- 8:00pm: Phase 3 ended - Open to All Guests
Jul 31, 2014, 11:09 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 404
Yes, they do.
I used to work as a trainer at the Disney Reservations Center. During busy times (like the back half of December), I was on the phones or walking the Sales Floor helping newer agents. The phased closure system is an integral part of crowd control. It's never going away.
For those who don't know what this is:
Disney uses a system of "phases" to limit the number of guests in a park due to capacity constraints. Here are the basics:
Phased closures are common at the end of December. For example, one Disney message board reported this for New Year's Eve 2013 at Magic Kingdom:
I used to work as a trainer at the Disney Reservations Center. During busy times (like the back half of December), I was on the phones or walking the Sales Floor helping newer agents. The phased closure system is an integral part of crowd control. It's never going away.
For those who don't know what this is:
Disney uses a system of "phases" to limit the number of guests in a park due to capacity constraints. Here are the basics:
- Phase 1: Open only to guests with pre-purchased, non-base level tickets. (Base level = "1 Day - 1 Park" or "Magic Your Way".)
- Phase 2: Open only to Disney Resort Guests, Passholders, Guests "hopping" from another park, Guest re-entering the same park, Guests with dining reservations.
- Phase 3: Open only to Disney Resort Guests, Passholders, Guests with dining reservations.
- Phase 4: Closed to Everyone.
Phased closures are common at the end of December. For example, one Disney message board reported this for New Year's Eve 2013 at Magic Kingdom:
- 9:40am: Phase 2 Closure
- 11:04am: Phase 3 Closure
- 8:00pm: Phase 3 ended - Open to All Guests
lol We spent that night hanging out at the resort. Ahh well. We would have done that anyway as our 3 year old was ready for bed very early.
Aug 1, 2014, 3:02 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
That sucks. One of the problems of having over 50k Cast Members (a.k.a. employees) is that it's nearly impossible to information out to everyone. That was a fairly egregious mistake. Every front line Cast Member should have known about phased closures.
The silver lining was missing one of the busiest days of the year.
The silver lining was missing one of the busiest days of the year.
Aug 1, 2014, 7:59 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Left
Programs: FT
Posts: 7,285
That sucks. One of the problems of having over 50k Cast Members (a.k.a. employees) is that it's nearly impossible to information out to everyone. That was a fairly egregious mistake. Every front line Cast Member should have known about phased closures.
The silver lining was missing one of the busiest days of the year.
The silver lining was missing one of the busiest days of the year.
Aug 4, 2014, 7:57 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: NJ
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, UA Silver, dirt elsewhere
Posts: 46,919
Except on the weekends, where the parks/hotels get pretty busy with all the people wanting to see the decorations and attend some special holiday functions.
Mid-week is blissfully quiet^
Mid-week is blissfully quiet^
Aug 26, 2014, 9:37 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,222
I did WDW over Christmas and NYE and it was so busy. Staying at a Disney hotel that gives you an extra hour or longer before the regular crowds enter was fabulous. I'd also recommend a Park Hopper Pass so that you can go back and forward to different parks throughout the day.