PDA

View Full Version : Blame T Irby, not FP or AP



hazlnut
11-24-2003, 08:16 AM
Two recent threads about FP and AP causing long lines and crowding didn't make a lot sense to me as a former CM-ride operator in the New Orleans Square / Critter Country section of the park. I've worked all of those attractions, know how the queues work, know the different capacities, and something about the FP/AP logic didn’t add up to me.

On semi-busy days, when I see big lines outside Pirates, I try to explain to my wife, “That’s impossible, this attraction holds tons of people.” Then I go inside and see that boat queue, the circle at the top of the lift, almost empty and I begin to understand.

The problem really became clear after reading the new Al Lutz article, specifically the section on T Irby.

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al112403a.htm

It seems this guy has been systematically killing the attraction capacities by cutting back the nightly maintenance on individual vehicles, meaning fewer boats/cars/trains available on the following day. It’s pure stupidity not to run the attractions the way in which they were designed--especially on weekends.

People much smarter then T Irby put a lot of effort into designing attractions (most of them) to be efficient in handling a lot of guests. Higher attendance do to AP’s or an extra FP queue feeding the loading area shouldn’t make that much of a difference if the attractions are being run the way in which were designed.

Last July, we went on Jungle Cruise, arriving at the front of the queue after a longer the usual wait, we had to wait about five more minutes for a new boat to come around the final corner, unload, then pull up to loading area--it was after 11 a.m. and I remember thinking: Why aren’t they running more boats? This line is just getting longer by the minute.

Now I know. T Irby.

IMHO—the crowding issue is do more to the Peter Principle than FP or AP.

DLR should promote from within not from the military.

merlinjones
11-24-2003, 08:21 AM
I hope these issues are addressed quickly, before the APs are made to suffer for T Irby's lack of vision.

sediment
11-24-2003, 09:24 AM
OK, so we can all agree on the following order of elimination:
1. T Irby.
2. FP.
3. AP.

Not saying that any would happen, of course.

Mr Irby seemed (I'll use past tense, to force the inevitable) to be working toward selling a product that cost nothing and provided nothing, in order to maximize profits.

hazlnut
11-24-2003, 09:35 AM
Originally posted by sediment
OK, so we can all agree on the following order of elimination:
1. T Irby.
2. FP.
3. AP.


How about Irby, then we'll see if there's a noticable difference?

EandCDad
11-24-2003, 09:39 AM
Originally posted by sediment
OK, so we can all agree on the following order of elimination:
1. T Irby.
2. FP.
3. AP.


No, not really. I like FP, and while I could live without my AP, the wife and kids really like it. My order would be:

1. Other People, besides me
2. Anyone standing in front of me in line anywhere
3. Anyone with a good parking space that I didn't get

Darkbeer
11-24-2003, 10:15 AM
How about we start with those who stop in the middle of the path for no reason......:fez:

hbquikcomjamesl
11-24-2003, 10:23 AM
I understand there's going to be a movie about this. T. Irby will be played by F. Murray Abraham.

"How ya doin', F" --Johnny Carson

merlinjones
11-24-2003, 11:46 AM
How about people who stop in the middle of the path to try to figure out where the FastPass station is or what the return time is or what the whole thing really means?

sleepyjeff
11-24-2003, 10:52 PM
Originally posted by sediment
OK, so we can all agree on the following order of elimination:
1. T Irby.
2. FP.
3. AP.



Eliminate all three at the same time would be fine by me:)

tod
11-25-2003, 06:55 AM
Originally posted by Darkbeer
How about we start with those who stop in the middle of the path for no reason......

Smack 'em in the back of the ankles with a stroller..?

--T
:fez:

merlinjones
11-25-2003, 07:34 AM
The odd thing is that Irby's practices of not putting out a full compliment of ride vehicles effectively eliminates any benefit of the FastPass system at all. The queues well up anyway and the people aren't out there spending as much.

All that investment for smoke and mirrors...

Which is greater: the incremental benefits of maintaining FastPass or the savings on holding back vehicle maintenence?

tangaroa
11-25-2003, 09:05 AM
They all go hand in hand.

T Irby is most likely only responding to profit mandates from TDA and TDB. Burbank demands x amount of money from Anaheim, and therefore Anaheim demands x amount of money from each department.

If AP holders are spending less per capita than regular paying guests, and the park is making less money now, with such a high mix of AP holders, they have no choice but to cut budgets all over the park.

It's tricky to cut back on maintenance and still ensure safety. Since maintenance is mostly labor oriented, you can cut back by eliminating the man hours paid out and/or increasing the responsibilities of the technicians. One technician could inspect two rides, if the time required to inspect one was lowered, and that would eliminate the need for an extra technician.

Since you can't lower the inspection time of a ride vehicle without compromising safety, you lower the number of vehicles to be inspected.

But all of that is driven by profit estimates and the budgets each department is given. Being a military man, I'm sure Irby is used to have budgets for things that needed to get done, and I would surely doubt that he would willfully cut the maintenance budgets for no other reason than a mandate from above.

merlinjones
11-25-2003, 09:37 AM
Yes it is all inter-related. Part of the problem for all of these conglomerates is that they have made non-profit necessary overhead functions into profit generating business units. It only leads to trouble and bad work as they scramble to charge everyone for everything and cut back on the rest. The good work disappears as the fake numbers go up.

stinkerbell
11-25-2003, 09:38 AM
Originally posted by tod
Smack 'em in the back of the ankles with a stroller..?

--T
:fez: Done. :~D

I've always wondered why they let the lines go WAAAAAAY into the walkways without adjusting the queues to handle a greater capacity. Thanks for the insight.

I figured they were trying to do the "night club" thing.....like "Hey, see how many people want to get into Pirates??? It must be the cool place to be!" And then tons of people rush to get into line. :rolleyes: ;)

hbquikcomjamesl
11-25-2003, 10:33 AM
All of this ultimately boils down to the thing that's sick in our culture: the people in charge have forgotten the difference between enlightened self-interest and base greed. It's the whole "greed is good" thing. Wealth and fame have become admirable qualities in themselves, rather than being incidental consequences of being admirable. And whenever anybody objects, the greedy trot out that tired old line of social-Darwinist bovine scat about the unsuccessful wanting to punish success. Nobody (with the possible exception of Michael Moore, Ralph Nader, and their ilk) wants to punish success, but it is the responsibility of a healthy society to punish greed.

(Side note: It never ceases to amaze me how certain groups are constantly attacking Philip Morris, presumably because they're big and successful, even though they at least give lip service to the idea that sucking on burning poisonous plants is a stupid, self-destructive idea, while those same groups are largely ignoring the largely unrepentant R J Reynolds, who not only brought us Old Joe Camel, but when accused of trying to appeal to kids, promptly gave us an even more insidious ad campaign, one that consisted of denials of that accusation that were themselves carefully worded appeals to kids!)

Enlightened self-interest, in this case, is to spend the money needed to restore Disneyland to a state Walt would have been proud of, and to retain good CMs, and keep them happy, and to correct DCA's ills. It is spending the money to keep all ride vehicles in safe working order. It is closing each park one day a week (but not both on the same day) in the off-season, so that more of the maintenance can be done by daylight. It is making sure that potential guests are never driven away by concern for their safety.

Base greed, on the other hand, means being so concerned with keeping the top management rolling in dough, while running the business into the ground.

Maybe what Disney top management really needs is the equivalent of Amtrak's David Gunn: somebody who will take on the job because it needs to be done, tell the unpleasant truths that need to be told, and refuse pay until things shape up.