Fiasco to Park at the Parks - What can be done?

[kelkan]

Don't understand the negative vibe about AP??? If you are a Disney fan then why wouldn't you get a pass to go as often as you can instead of shelling out one day tickets And why wouldn't you get parking added to that??? And yes I spend money there for food and sometimes souvenirs!!!

I've never had a problem with parking since I tend to go when it opens.... only time it was bad was on Veterans day that fell on a Friday and it was when the HM was done up with Nightmare a couple of years back and the line to the MF lot was around the corner when you crossed the bridge. Felt bad for the friend of my daughter who wasn't a AP and had to pay for hopper and we barely got on any rides....

[vfire]

Originally Posted by Coheteboy

Hate China much?

Actually, no. I lived in China and Taiwan for a couple of years and learned to speak the language. The culture and history of China is fascinating, but their factories mass produce crappy products.

Originally Posted by Coheteboy

BUT, there's a lot of great stuff to get at disneyland if you know where to look. Unfortunately, most of it is pretty pricey.
End tangent.

The problem is that the high-end stuff is very limited in range. The crystal shop is great, the original art in the currently truncated gallery is beautiful, and Disneyana has nice display pieces, but what about heirloom-quality toys and high-end clothing? Unfortunately, I haven't been to DL since the new Fortuousity shop opened, so maybe that has a brought a greater range of high quality products to DL.

[Coheteboy]

Originally Posted by vfire

The problem is that the high-end stuff is very limited in range. The crystal shop is great, the original art in the currently truncated gallery is beautiful, and Disneyana has nice display pieces, but what about heirloom-quality toys and high-end clothing? Unfortunately, I haven't been to DL since the new Fortuousity shop opened, so maybe that has a brought a greater range of high quality products to DL.

Well, you're certainly right about that, and that's actually something I told Disney's merchandise dept back in 2001. I showed them the great quality toys by Tomy and Medicom that you can get in Japan that were highly collectible, reasonably priced (even for imports) and high quality. (they appeared to not fully understand what it was about these that were so cool)

What's also funny is that Hot Toys (a Hong Kong company) has been making high quality Disney toys in the past year, from "Year of the Mouse" Mickey & Minnie to 12" Pirates of the Caribbean figures... but NONE of these are available in the parks.

The Fortuosity Shop is nice but doesn't satisfy the high end clothing market either, something else I addressed.

Their response in that is that it just doesn't sell. But the hawaiian Spooner disney shirts ($75) that sell out as soon as they're put on the shelves at the Disney Clothiers store is proof that they do indeed sell.

[Autopia]

I like how it seems Darkbeer is the only person who seems to grasp the idea that last weekend was just the sum of two huge, yet separate events that both need a LOT of parking.

DLR Parking strategy - Park the Structure, Timon, and Pumbaa in the morning. Timon and Pumba closes once they are full and all traffic is directed to park at the structure. Once that is full, guests are directed to park at the ACC Parking and possibly Buzz Lightyear/Pongo. And after that... Just go back home.

Now this weekend was one where we would have been parking the ACC and Buzz lots. But those were being used by NAMM. And NAMM was forced to also resort to overflow at the Gardenwalk Structure. Quite possibly the most cars that have ever been in it so far.

So what happens when 2 huge, yet separate events both run out of parking and are forced to go to overflow? I guess the contingency plans for parking the Stadium were just forgot. Cause I could swear last year most of the NAMM attendees were directed to park at the stadium...

And remember, the parks were not super crowded. Tickets never hit a restriction into the parks once all weekend. Imagine if this had been a weekend closer to that of the 4th or Christmas/NYE.

[Bornieo Goes Bananas]

Originally Posted by kelkan

Don't understand the negative vibe about AP??? ...

Typically those are folks who are not local to a park and can't attend when they wish like AP's can. Pretty much boils down to being jealous, which is sad.

[Bornieo Goes Bananas]

Originally Posted by Autopia

I like how it seems Darkbeer is the only person who seems to grasp the idea that last weekend was just the sum of two huge, yet separate events that both need a LOT of parking.

I think it was more like the two events shined a spotlight on a growing problem that isn't going away. The issues I mentioned and the OP has talked about are ongoing and have been a problem long before this past weekend. People tend to not notice things until the flood's at their front door - so to speak.

[LLCMC]

Originally Posted by Autopia

I like how it seems Darkbeer is the only person who seems to grasp the idea that last weekend was just the sum of two huge, yet separate events that both need a LOT of parking.

DLR Parking strategy - Park the Structure, Timon, and Pumbaa in the morning. Timon and Pumba closes once they are full and all traffic is directed to park at the structure. Once that is full, guests are directed to park at the ACC Parking and possibly Buzz Lightyear/Pongo. And after that... Just go back home.

Now this weekend was one where we would have been parking the ACC and Buzz lots. But those were being used by NAMM. And NAMM was forced to also resort to overflow at the Gardenwalk Structure. Quite possibly the most cars that have ever been in it so far.

So what happens when 2 huge, yet separate events both run out of parking and are forced to go to overflow? I guess the contingency plans for parking the Stadium were just forgot. Cause I could swear last year most of the NAMM attendees were directed to park at the stadium...

And remember, the parks were not super crowded. Tickets never hit a restriction into the parks once all weekend. Imagine if this had been a weekend closer to that of the 4th or Christmas/NYE.

I would buy that if the same exact thing didn't happen when I attempted to visit the parks on January 4th.

[techskip]

Originally Posted by LLCMC

I would buy that if the same exact thing didn't happen when I attempted to visit the parks on January 4th.

Beat me to it. Because on the 4th it was a FIASCO and that was a pure Disney crowd.

As I said what strikes me as odd is the manner in which Disney handled this past weekend in comparison to the 4th. On the 4th they pulled out all stops, had the Cal-Trans signs and the traffic cops out. Again this was just their traffic, no NAMM.

Now NAMM comes to town... you would think Disney would be proactive as they were on the 4th. Instead... nada... no signs, no cops... nada. THAT is what shocked me.

I expected the crowds, but I also expected Disney to be as organized as possible considering their decisive actions on the 4th.

[LLCMC]

Originally Posted by techskip

Beat me to it. Because on the 4th it was a FIASCO and that was a pure Disney crowd.

As I said what strikes me as odd is the manner in which Disney handled this past weekend in comparison to the 4th. On the 4th they pulled out all stops, had the Cal-Trans signs and the traffic cops out. Again this was just their traffic, no NAMM.

Now NAMM comes to town... you would think Disney would be proactive as they were on the 4th. Instead... nada... no signs, no cops... nada. THAT is what shocked me.

I expected the crowds, but I also expected Disney to be as organized as possible considering their decisive actions on the 4th.

And given those actions taken on the the 4th I STILL turned around after attempting to park several times, at different parking locations, and waiting in endless "lines" of cars on various streets to no avail. I ended up going to the Santa Monica Pier for the first time, and then meeting some friends in Long Beach. It was disappointing, but at least I had something else I could do and I am an AP so it wasn't a crushing blow, as I could still look forward to seeing the park at another time soon.

I definitely see this as being a problem on any busy day for quite some time.

[Coheteboy]

Originally Posted by LLCMC

And given those actions taken on the the 4th I STILL turned around after attempting to park several times, at different parking locations, and waiting in endless "lines" of cars on various streets to no avail. I ended up going to the Santa Monica Pier for the first time, and then meeting some friends in Long Beach. It was disappointing, but at least I had something else I could do and I am an AP so it wasn't a crushing blow, as I could still look forward to seeing the park at another time soon.

I definitely see this as being a problem on any busy day for quite some time.

Agreed. And you certainly made the most of your day as you could have so kudos for that.

Disney (and the AP haters) also needs to realize that we paid for our annual passes so that we can go anytime our time allowed. If this weekend were the only time in a long time that you were available to go to the park and then to be turned away, that's Disney not offering what you've ALREADY paid for.

[CAspace]

Originally Posted by techskip

Beat me to it. Because on the 4th it was a FIASCO and that was a pure Disney crowd.

As I said what strikes me as odd is the manner in which Disney handled this past weekend in comparison to the 4th. On the 4th they pulled out all stops, had the Cal-Trans signs and the traffic cops out. Again this was just their traffic, no NAMM.

Now NAMM comes to town... you would think Disney would be proactive as they were on the 4th. Instead... nada... no signs, no cops... nada. THAT is what shocked me.

I expected the crowds, but I also expected Disney to be as organized as possible considering their decisive actions on the 4th.

I assume Disney did not want to take the brunt of the responsibility for traffic controlling the NAMM conventions crowds, since it no doubt who have cost a significant amount of money. Now why the city of Anaheim did not properly make sure that the NAMM convention had planned for proper traffic control with the local police department and traffic control agencies is my question.

[OldSchoolMickey]

Coheteboy,

Does Disney GUARANTEE parking availablilty with the purchase of a PAP or an AP w/the parking option?

[OldSchoolMickey]

Originally Posted by CAspace

Now why the city of Anaheim did not properly make sure that the NAMM convention had planned for proper traffic control with the local police department and traffic control agencies is my question.

Since the convention center is a fixed, 24/7 venue, only they themselves would be responsible for traffic control into and out of their facility.

If there was a temporary function going on (Pumpkin Festival, Art & Wine Festival, etc...) then the promoters of that event would be required to provide traffic control with approval from the jurisdiction where it is being held.

Agreed, it was a mess, but who is responsible for that mess is the question.

Has anyone affected by it gone above and beyond the internet and complained to the City about the situation???

[Coheteboy]

Originally Posted by OldSchoolMickey

Coheteboy,

Does Disney GUARANTEE parking availablilty with the purchase of a PAP or an AP w/the parking option?

You know... that's a good question. I don't know if there's any fine print about it.... but from what I know, a premium passport gets you in 365 days a year and that includes parking. I don't even think they fathomed the possibility of there not being enough parking spots.

Anyone else have the answer to this?

[Mr Wiggins]

Whatever the solution (if any) that is developed to fix this problem, I doubt it will change the basic fact that in such situations TDA management is reactive, not proactive, and seems to learn little from similar scenarios in the past.

From the repeated fiascos of special events like the Tiki sales to the ongoing parking situation, the inability to apply past experience to present problems is a characteristic of TDA management. It lumbers along like a government bureaucracy, no doubt with many good people on all levels trying to fix the problem, but whose effectiveness is tied by its own bureaucratic red tape.

And for those who will leap to TDA's defense: how many upper-level managers were on the ground and engaged during last weekend's parking fiasco, and on July 4?