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MOUSELUVR
06-27-2010, 10:04 PM
So today we spent 30 min waiting for fastpasses for world of color, then more than 90 min waiting for the 10:15 show to start only to have them do a generic announcement at 10:25 cancelling the show?!?!? The first show went off as planned, anyone know of any reason this would happen? There were no weather circumstance such as wind. We are so disappointed as this was our last night in the park :-( they were allowing people in line for the 11:15 show to wait but they could not guarantee they show would take place...

kaybee2
06-27-2010, 10:23 PM
We. Were in the gree n area. A water maIn broke, there were easily 1000 people in. Line at guest relations and store staffc were scared. They let us back in to thbe green area for 11:15 but have delayhed the show. cms have no idea what they are doing.

TowerofTerror
06-27-2010, 10:27 PM
wow that totally sucks. I hope they get the problems fixed before they cancel more shows.

MOUSELUVR
06-27-2010, 10:30 PM
We. Were in the gree n area. A water maIn broke, there were easily 1000 people in. Line at guest relations and store staffc were scared. They let us back in to thbe green area for 11:15 but have delayhed the show. cms have no idea what they are doing.

Well good luck to you, there was no offer made to us of being able to stay for the 11:15 show :-(

seems if they were able to fix it that quick they would have let us wait a little longer

kaybee2
06-27-2010, 11:18 PM
Will write more later when off phone and can type. Show startgted at 11;30. I am really dissapointed with disney, something I never thought could happen.

kbushue
06-27-2010, 11:41 PM
Wow, we were stuck in this mess as well. We had 2 guests from out of town with us for the day, so we tried to plan everything just right. We waited in line 45 min for World of Color fast passes while they rode a few rides. We planned the entire rest of our day around the waiting time for the World of Color show... a full hour and a half... and our hearts just broke when they gave the announcement that it was cancelled. Nothing is sadder than seeing a 9 year old tear up at the news. My bf was furious, and planning a big complaint for the crew members not even offering fast passes for the later show, or general passes for another day. We were told we couldn't wait for the later show. A LOT of people left the park mad tonight. Very disappointed in Disney this time.

TowerofTerror
06-27-2010, 11:43 PM
what was the problem. I would think they give everyone something since the show was canceled. Hey sometimes things happen that cant be predicted. I WOULD JUST MAKE A COMPLAINT

kaybee2
06-28-2010, 12:07 AM
what was the problem. I would think they give everyone something since the show was canceled. Hey sometimes things happen that cant be predicted. I WOULD JUST MAKE A COMPLAINT

Yes, sometimes things happen that can't be predicted. There were easily 1,000 people in line to make a complaint, and you would think that they would give everyone something, but they offered nothing to any of us. My husband is still waiting in line right now (over an hour after the delayed show ended) to make a complaint about how this was handled. Or wasn't handled. Am trying to wrap my thoughts around this and will post details of what happened to us as best I can shortly.

MouseVII
06-28-2010, 12:23 AM
A water main broke? That would explain it. My party had the preferred viewing from Trattoria and as we were waiting in line for the 10:15 show, some of the people leaving from the 9:00 show were soaked! They looked much worse than from any ride on Splash Mountain or Grizzly, and even commented as they were walking by how a poncho would have been a good idea. The CMs finally let us into the viewing area very close to show time, and I could see the area right up front was drenched, like a rainstorm had gone through. Other CMs had mops, trying to clean up the water, but as this was supposed to be my first time seeing the show so I thought that was normal.

Eventually they announced the show was canceled due to technical difficulties. We went to guest services, 7 of us, 4 with FunPasses and 3 with APs. We had asked for a refund, but were told we paid for a $40 meal with the preferred viewing ticket as a gift, and they can't refund a gift or a meal. The 4 with FunPasses were offered 1 day tickets to DCA (no price on the back so I assume not upgradeable) and us 3 APs were offered a FP good for today only, which was not useful as we were given the FP at 11:30. While we were leaving I overheard CMs saying there was a 3rd show, but I wish they could have made a public announcement sooner, as that would have made everything right for us.

I was disappointed in the way Disney handled the situation, and felt the compensation should have been more, but Disney does so many things right that I'm not gonna let this bug me. We'll all just regroup and try again in 6 weeks.

kaybee2
06-28-2010, 01:40 AM
Hubby is on his way back from the park at 1:20 a.m. Not sure what he worked out with Guest Relations.

This whole situation was handled so poorly. The CMs that were at the viewing area were trying their best, but like BP, it is obvious that there is no contingency plan in place and there were inconsistent messages coming from all directions.

We were in the "green" (if you ask a CM, there is no green area) Preferred Viewing Area, having dined at Ariel's Grotto. The meal was not memorable, but our main reason for getting it was getting into the viewing area. We were at the front of the line for our viewing area.

At 10:00, we were told that CMs were "cleaning up a spill" and our entry to the area would be delayed, but we would get in. They let us in, but not to the circle area as there was a large pool of water there, and more was coming up. They brought in a crew with mops and squeegees to clean it up, and a bunch of suits were standing around watching what was happening.

At 10:20, they announced the show was cancelled. We were asked to leave the area. A group of us said we weren’t leaving, as we paid for premium viewing. We asked to stay for the 11:15 show and were told that we couldn't stay and besides, "a water main has broken and there is no way that the 11:15 show is happening" (a security guard at the site). A lead came over to us and told us we had to go, there was nothing he could do, we had to talk to Guest Services. We said we didn't want to leave because we had no proof we had been in the Premium Viewing Area - they had taken our passes. We asked to have someone from Guest Relations come over. No, we were told, we had to go there. Finally, they went and got us passes so we had some proof that we should have been there. We went over to Guest Services. The line was easily over 1,000 people long.

While in line by Greetings from California store, some CMs tried to get us to move from the middle of the walkway to the side, closer to the store. We moved, but no one else did. So, people just started jumping in line where we had been and the line never moved over. I walked back into the line and a CM started telling me I had to go back. I said "why, the line is here" she told me "we're moving the line" I told her she wasn't, if she wanted to move the line go to where you want the line to start moving towards the building, move those people, and the rest of the line will follow. She called over a lead, who kept interrupting me and talking over me to tell me that she wanted to listen to me (I kid you not, my 10 year old daughter was blown away). I finally said "please stop talking and listen to me. If you want the line to move, go up there to where it is away from the building and start moving those people, so the whole line knows to move over. You're coming to the middle, we moved and a bunch of people jumped in front of us." She started talking over me again, telling me I needed to move, at which point I lost it and said "I am staying here until you all realize you're doing this ***-backwards and move the line correctly. I listened and am now further back in line than I was. Sorry, not happening again," and turned back to my group.

Luckily, my hubby came up at that point to tell me he had been told that the 11:15 show was 99% likely to go and that we could go back there, get in line again and see it. When we went back, we were told no, we couldn't get in line because we had tickets to the earlier show and not the 11:15. When we said Guest Services told us, they finally let us in. At the area, they took our passes, and when we asked what would happen if the show was cancelled, they said "you'll have to talk to Guest Services". But will you give us our tickets back? "No". UGH!

Another thing that we were told in all of this was that paying $36 per person for over-salted, mediocre food at Ariel's Grotto was that we "paid for the Dining Experience that included a fast pass" and that the "fast pass has no value." In other words, if the show doesn't go on, you're S.O.L., despite how it is sold to customers. Many of those around us were sold on the Dining package as "this is the only available way to see the show today".

The show is amazing, the Imagineers have once again come up with something that surpasses everything out there. I appreciate the fact that the Powers That Be are trying to avoid the crowd factor that happens at Fantasmic and the fireworks, but more work needs to be done on this one. I have never been so disappointed in Disney in my life. They blew it tonight, the right hand didn’t know what the left was doing, and there wasn’t interest in making customers happy. There was no Disney Difference – we could have been at any amusement park in the country by how this was handled.

We wound up standing for over 4 hours, my back is totally tweaked and I have heartburn from all of the spices on the tri-tip from Ariel’s. I still remain hopeful that the Disney Way will prevail and some changes will be made so that others don’t have to experience what we did tonight.

Final share - and this is what someone told me, so I don't know how much of it is true, but someone near us was telling us that the stores near Guest Services were freaking out and preparing for riot conditions as that is how upset the crowd was tonight.

orchid2
06-28-2010, 03:55 AM
All I can say is unbelievable.... I have no plans on seeing this show for years and it's because they need to get the problems worked out in the show.... I think it's a very big mistake to have put this show here they shut down all the rides around the lake and let's face it DCA doesn't have enough rides, and then they shut down all the ones by the lake..... sorry Disney need to re-think your drink on this one..... thought you would of learned from the other water show in DL...... I can't even begin to think of some what 1000 people upset and mad... glad i wasn't in DCA at that time.... I'd be afraid......

Mickey Mojo
06-28-2010, 05:25 AM
I have no plans on seeing this show for years and it's because they need to get the problems worked out in the show.

Me too! We're going in November and my daughter keeps asking me if we're going to see it. From what I've read so far it sounds like such a hassle.

charpaul
06-28-2010, 06:26 AM
This was my experience last night at WOC –

I was at the 9:00 showing last night. I did the Dining option viewing with a group of 12 at Ariel’s Grotto.
We had almost everything on the menu at our table and we all thought the food was great.

We were able to get great places for the first show with the Dining Option Fast Pass that we were given at the end of our meal. We entered the viewing area at about 7:00 PM (passes said to return at 7:30 but a huge group was already in line at 6:30 to go in……

At some point during the show –toward the end - we could hear a LOT of noise coming from behind us in the crowd. I thought at the time it must be reactions to the water jets that are hidden in the viewing area. I was wrong.

When the lights came up at the end of the show we could see that a river of water was coming down the stairs toward the fountain base/platform area in the middle of Paradise Park viewing area. This is right in the middle of the BLUE section – where all the dining plan people, picnic plan people and the lucky holders of the blue tickets would need to be for the second show. It spilled over into the yellow area and seemed to be getting wider as it got lower into the viewing area.

As we are leaving this area at approximately 9:45 – we are unable to exit the way we came in and have to detour out through the side only. There was a small lake at the fountain level in the viewing area filled with muddy water from the water main leak that seemed to have started in one of the planter beds. There was still a river of water making its way down to the lower tiers toward Paradise Bay.

We commented to each other as we were carefully wading through the runoff that there was so much water and such a mess that we would be surprised if the 2nd show started on time. We did not think at that time that it would actually be canceled.

I hope that Disney and the DCA staff learn from this experience. When the system is all working (like it did for my viewing) it seems to go very well - but they need a better contingency plan in place for when something goes wrong.

With so many people holding Fastpass "Tickets" to specific shows/times in specific areas - they need to ALL know what to do if a show needs to be canceled.

Gone2Disneyland
06-28-2010, 07:23 AM
I was there last night for the 9pm show as well. In the eastern-most edge of Yellow section, next to the Blue center section. We lingered after the show was over, my friends enjoying the post-show water effects before turning to leave. That's when we noticed the flood of water pouring in from a planter into the center section and falling down towards the fountain area. At the rush of water coming down, I was surprised we hadn't heard screams or other vocal reactions from the people in the area earlier. Perhaps it started at the very end of the show. Anyway, as we exited through the Yellow section exit and walked with the rest of us lemmings towards the bridge, we got another look at the leak and it was obviously a strong, bad leak, the fountain area filling up fast. If you saw it pouring out, you'd guess they'd cancel the show, and that's what I obviously learned this morning.

To be honest, I'm not sure if Disney would've considered a contigency for "Water Main Break in the Middle of Paradise Park During a Show" to get their CMs up to speed. Disney will definitely learn from this problem; they obviously want World of Color to be a great success (and water main breaks aside, it's worth the long waits to see). But I feel terrible for the guests who paid for dinner packages to get FastPasses to watch the later two shows that had to be cancelled.

Sophie832
06-28-2010, 07:57 AM
We were at the first show last night, in the "lesser" blue section, and saw the huge pool of water forming in the upper blue section as we exited. We figured it was something pretty bad, judging by the amount of water on the ground.

I guess this brings up a larger issue...did Disney ever have a contingency plan in case the show had to be cancelled for any reason? Unlike Fantasmic, parades, or fireworks, at least half of the viewing for this show is based on paid tickets. Somehow, Disney is going to have to figure out how to deal with all the angry park guests when a show is cancelled. This water main issue was a unique problem, but I'm guessing it won't be the last time a WoC show has to be cancelled.

The old man
06-28-2010, 08:28 AM
Yes, sometimes things happen that can't be predicted. There were easily 1,000 people in line to make a complaint, and you would think that they would give everyone something, but they offered nothing to any of us. My husband is still waiting in line right now (over an hour after the delayed show ended) to make a complaint about how this was handled. Or wasn't handled. Am trying to wrap my thoughts around this and will post details of what happened to us as best I can shortly.
Sounds like you need a FP to make a WOC complaint.

kaybee2
06-28-2010, 08:52 AM
I guess this brings up a larger issue...did Disney ever have a contingency plan in case the show had to be cancelled for any reason? Unlike Fantasmic, parades, or fireworks, at least half of the viewing for this show is based on paid tickets. Somehow, Disney is going to have to figure out how to deal with all the angry park guests when a show is cancelled. This water main issue was a unique problem, but I'm guessing it won't be the last time a WoC show has to be cancelled.

Thank you - you summed up the point I was trying to make but didn't in my over-tired state earlier!!

cstephens
06-28-2010, 09:22 AM
Unlike Fantasmic, parades, or fireworks, at least half of the viewing for this show is based on paid tickets.

I'm curious how this is handled with the Fantasmic dessert seating. If everyone is already seated and has been given their dessert boxes and drinks, and 10 minutes after the scheduled showtime, the show is cancelled, do the people get a refund? Or, since they got the dessert boxes, does that count as what they paid for?

AJDerrick
06-28-2010, 09:32 AM
I'm curious how this is handled with the Fantasmic dessert seating. If everyone is already seated and has been given their dessert boxes and drinks, and 10 minutes after the scheduled showtime, the show is cancelled, do the people get a refund? Or, since they got the dessert boxes, does that count as what they paid for?

That's a good question. To me, the F! seating you're paying for the SEAT much more than the snacks. The snack box is great, but it's not dinner. And F! seats cost more than the most expensive dining packages for WOC. That's the point I'd be making if it happened to us. Hopefully it never will!

The WOC dining packages seem to be marketed as dinner with a 'bonus' FP for the show. If you get dinner then I don't know that there's much you could complain about. Stuff happens. I'm unfamiliar with the price difference between dining at WCT or AG normally, but unless there is a significant WOC markup for the FP package I don't think there's much to complain about. Does it suck to have a show canceled? Yup. But any live show has that risk built in.

Ask everyone who kept waiting for Murphy last summer.

Malcon10t
06-28-2010, 09:40 AM
I'm curious how this is handled with the Fantasmic dessert seating. If everyone is already seated and has been given their dessert boxes and drinks, and 10 minutes after the scheduled showtime, the show is cancelled, do the people get a refund? Or, since they got the dessert boxes, does that count as what they paid for?Since I have personal experience with this one, I can answer!

It was a NYE show, we were seated (by Donny Osmond!) and we had our drinks and desserts. Just before the midnight show, a low fog rolled in. The midnight fireworks went off, and basically you just saw the fog change colors. The Fantasmic! show was then canceled. We were told to go to Guest Services with our tickets (which were returned to us) and we would receive a refund. It was very easy.

danyoung
06-28-2010, 10:01 AM
Unlike Fantasmic, parades, or fireworks, at least half of the viewing for this show is based on paid tickets.

First off, I disagree with the above. You're paying for dinner, and getting a pretty nice dinner for a pretty nice price. The WOC ticket is a bonus to that dinner - an important bonus, of course, but as at least one CM said, the ticket itself has no value.

Second, while I'm sure it was pretty nasty to get caught in this situation, I just want to point out that this entire show at DCA is incredibly NEW. From everything I've read, this is the very first show that has failed and left an audience wanting compensation. It would be nice to think that Disney is a perfect organization and had every contingency firmly in place. But they're running this show by the skin of their teeth here, still learning how to handle the crowds on a normal night.

I'm sure Disney will look at the situation as a learning experience, and the next time it happens they'll have their ducks much more in a row. It's just too bad that so many people had to experience such a bad situation.

cstephens
06-28-2010, 10:18 AM
The midnight fireworks went off, and basically you just saw the fog change colors.

We were there for that! We were at Small World Mall, and yep, just bright colors. I applauded every time there was a loud BOOM because I knew that's when the big shells went off. :)


Thanks for the info. Interesting that they refunded the money.


Oooo, I thought of another situation, that might be a better comparison. When they were doing the Candelight Procession dinner packages, I remember there was one showing that was cancelled because of the rain but people would have already had and paid for the dinner that came with the package. Did those people get any kind of refund or comp for not having a show even though they got dinner?

CariBelle
06-28-2010, 10:21 AM
The WOC dining packages seem to be marketed as dinner with a 'bonus' FP for the show. If you get dinner then I don't know that there's much you could complain about. Stuff happens. I'm unfamiliar with the price difference between dining at WCT or AG normally, but unless there is a significant WOC markup for the FP package I don't think there's much to complain about. Does it suck to have a show canceled? Yup. But any live show has that risk built in.



Well stated! I'm sure it sucks to have the show not go on, but all the wordage I've seen about the "dining package" says that there are no refunds, no guarantee of a show, so I really think people should go into this with that in mind.

Orz
06-28-2010, 10:26 AM
My wife and I were in the yellow section for the 10:15 show. I made a special trip in the morning to get fast passes while she stayed home with the baby so we could finally have a date night! We saw them doing the massive mop up from the 9:00 show as we walked into our spot and it seemed to be rather un-routine to me, but we dismissed it from our minds pretty quickly. Then came the 10:20 announcement of the cancellation. My wife says "thats gotta be a trick as part of the show, it'll start any second" then people started leaving and weren't stopped by the CMs and we knew it was for real. A total of about 5 hours of my life standing in two massive lines down the tubes. blah. That was as big of a disappointment as I've had all year! My wife is trying to hound the guest relations people on the phone today, but our passes expire this week (waiting to renew until the kid is a bit bigger) so I don't know if we'll be able to work it out to go this week even if they concede anything. I knew trying to argue with CM's last night would be a colossal waste so we just booked it for home. I crawled into bed telling my wife "I've learned my lesson, this is what I get for trying to do anything out of the ordinary and plan a fun date night!" bah.

olegc
06-28-2010, 10:40 AM
To be honest, I'm not sure if Disney would've considered a contigency for "Water Main Break in the Middle of Paradise Park During a Show" to get their CMs up to speed.

You're right, they would not have a specific plan for that but....



I guess this brings up a larger issue...did Disney ever have a contingency plan in case the show had to be cancelled for any reason?

this has been the big issue all along here with the launch of WOC. it seems that the best case scenario was used to train staff and get ready - instead of the worst case scenario and being prepared to serve guests should the need arise. Especially the way it seems the complaint line was handled after the fact - process 'em and get 'em out seemed to be the rule. and no, you have to accept what they give you. it seemed very much let's get rid of this line quickly mode.


First off, I disagree with the above. You're paying for dinner, and getting a pretty nice dinner for a pretty nice price. The WOC ticket is a bonus to that dinner - an important bonus, of course, but as at least one CM said, the ticket itself has no value.

Second, while I'm sure it was pretty nasty to get caught in this situation, I just want to point out that this entire show at DCA is incredibly NEW. From everything I've read, this is the very first show that has failed and left an audience wanting compensation. It would be nice to think that Disney is a perfect organization and had every contingency firmly in place. But they're running this show by the skin of their teeth here, still learning how to handle the crowds on a normal night.

I'm sure Disney will look at the situation as a learning experience, and the next time it happens they'll have their ducks much more in a row. It's just too bad that so many people had to experience such a bad situation.

I think I have to rebut against danyoung's post. First off - while it may be a "bonus" to get a fastpass for the show the dinner is not marketed that way. On the Disney Parks blog and elsewhere it is marketed as one of the best ways to get a good viewing option for the show. So - how may folks would actually get dinner there if a chance to see the show was not offered? to me - the way the dinners are pitched are strictly buy this dinner and get chance at a spot the regular public does not have access to.

Second - I have heard the NEW thing many times on the pad now - but handling massive crowds for viewing a stationary show is NOT new. the only new thing is the way the show is delivered. Things like "how do we handle premiums" and "what happens if the show is cancelled" and "what happens if some folks get hurt/wet/etc" are all things on lists that already exist. A then B then C. The massive crowds here are definitely a challenge to deal with if something goes wrong, I will give you that, but if the marketing machine is pushing so hard all over the country for this show - then you'd again think they may have some worst case scenarios ready. it's obvious now they did not and expected things to go off without a hitch. I guess no one wanted to be Schleprock in the planning meetings.

finally - that whole learning experience should not be from scratch - it should be augmented from all of the previous years of delivering shows to large crowds. 1st years of fantasmic, Main St Electrical Parade glowing away, Miley Cyrus's bday party, etc. are all things that should have provided some insight into complaint handling, routing large crowds, and processing.

disney has been around for more than 50 years in the theme park business. Those years should provide some sort of historical learning to the company in terms of a process model for contingencies.