DHS Is A Madhouse for 9/13/2013

DHS is hosting the villains party tonight (9/13/2013) as part of the Limited Time Magic promotion.. And the park is near capacity... wall to wall people.. parking lot has closed... traffic is nuts...

People have been reported to be standing on line for an hour and a half just for the meet and greets... Others have said there is no room to dance at the villains dance party if they wanted too... All this started happening 3 hours before the kick off of the event...

If this isn't proof that a spooky villains themed Halloween celebration would go over in DHS, or in WDW in general, then nothing will ever convince TDO...

I both wish I was there and am glad I am not....I love the villians, but hate crazy big crowds at the DHS. (We did New Years Eve inside there one time and vowed to never do it again--when it nears capacity it feels way more crowded than either MK or Epcot....or does to us anyway).

But your right about the Halloween celebration for sure.

I've been following Christine on Twitter, she's still trying to get in.

Someone had mention the insane lines for the event shirt and that there was a limited supply. The shirt is available online at the Disney Store through September 17th for anyone wanting one. Unleash the Villains

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Originally Posted by VWL Mom

I've been following Christine on Twitter, she's still trying to get in.

Someone had mention the insane lines for the event shirt and that there was a limited supply. The shirt is available online at the Disney Store through September 17th for anyone wanting one. Unleash the Villains

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CMs started telling people the shirt was available online til Tuesday... Apparently managers gave up trying to control the lines for the merchandise and meet and greets...

Traffic was so bad, going a quarter of a mile back to the resorts were taking over an hour, as reported by some online...

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

CMs started telling people the shirt was available online til Tuesday... Apparently managers gave up trying to control the lines for the merchandise and meet and greets...

Traffic was so bad, going a quarter of a mile back to the resorts were taking over an hour, as reported by some online...

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That's not true...we have been here since 8pm & there has been controlled lines for both merchandise & meeting the villains....ridiculously large lines for both, but they do exist. Food & beverage seems to be the bigger problem as is the traffic situation. We had no issue getting into the park, but yrs if someone wanted to dance it ain't happening anytime soon

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Originally Posted by CaptSmee

That's not true...we have been here since 8pm & there has been controlled lines for both merchandise & meeting the villains....ridiculously large lines for both, but they do exist. Food & beverage seems to be the bigger problem as is the traffic situation. We had no issue getting into the park, but yrs if someone wanted to dance it ain't happening anytime soon

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Not trying to discredit you, please don't take it this way, but that isn't what is being or was being reported by others who were there... They asked managers where the line began and managers were telling them they no idea and gave up trying to figure it out leaving the crowd on its own...

EDIT: Reading more online, getting some pix from people I know down there.. Seemed like absolute chaos... Very very poor crowd control... Very poor... Friend told me the line for merchandise and all the food lines were free for alls... Got out before the fire works, too crowded, some fighting between guests (not fist fights but plenty of mouthing off), and chaos is how she described it... Total mismanagement on TDO...

OMG what a zoo...wall to wall people, watched the fireworks from the sidewalk just past the bridge coming from boardwalk to Studios. We did have dinner reservations and watched the first fantasmic show ,but too, too crowded to stay after that!

Oh Yea, never saw one Villain... :(

I have to agree as well with the lines. There were lines in more than one direction. Though the longest lines I would assume to be the right lines.
It was a total disaster in my opinion. I was told by guests and cast members both (including bus drivers). That depending on when you were coming into the park, the traffic was horrible. Three hour to get in. We left early say 9;30 and we just got back to riverside. Awful!

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Originally Posted by DizneyFreak2002

Not trying to discredit you, please don't take it this way, but that isn't what is being or was being reported by others who were there... They asked managers where the line began and managers were telling them they no idea and gave up trying to figure it out leaving the crowd on its own...

EDIT: Reading more online, getting some pix from people I know down there.. Seemed like absolute chaos... Very very poor crowd control... Very poor... Friend told me the line for merchandise and all the food lines were free for alls... Got out before the fire works, too crowded, some fighting between guests (not fist fights but plenty of mouthing off), and chaos is how she described it... Total mismanagement on TDO...

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Originally Posted by CaptSmee

That's not true...we have been here since 8pm & there has been controlled lines for both merchandise & meeting the villains....ridiculously large lines for both, but they do exist. Food & beverage seems to be the bigger problem as is the traffic situation. We had no issue getting into the park, but yrs if someone wanted to dance it ain't happening anytime soon

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Ok...I'm still at the park. I clearly walked by the line for merchandise 10 times & I could tell where it began & ended. The meet the villains line circled all the way around echo lake but there was clearly a line with DH'S employees with flashlights TRYING to keep it organized. They were very overwhelmed.
We sat & waited 30 mins before the fireworks & walked in front of AI experience to watch right before they started where there were very organized paths at this point. Maybe to me I understood what DH'S was trying to do because I'm familiar with the parks & how they operate.
& there's no problems leaving the park now. Short bus lines now.

Rode RNR, TOT, TSM (with FP+) & Star Tours twice. :thumbsup:

From the sound of it, I'm glad I didn't make it in. I wouldn't have enjoyed that. It took me an hour to get from Pop down Victory way where you would turn left at the lights. We gave up and turned right on Buena Vista. It was gridlock from there all the way back to Hotel Plaza Blvd. I'm an AP holder and I really question Disney's management of the situation. They could have communicated the traffic issues on flashing boards, or at the resorts, had cops directing people away from the parks or something. We left property, went to dinner at the crossroads, and came back by DTD hours later to the same pandemonium. I heard that people who had bought tickets to MNSSHP arrived at MK at 10 because of traffic. Epic fail and it bothers me that Disney doesn't really seem to care.

So this is the second one-time special event they've had at the parks in the space of a few months (the first being the all-nighter at the end of May to kick off Monstrous Summer). I had hoped, after reading about the chaos on that night, that they would have figured out some ways to manage huge crowds coming in at the same time. I am disappointed to read these reports.

It's too bad for the people who scheduled their vacations at this time. Obviously these events are attracting a lot of locals, and Disney doesn't know what to do about crowd control when huge numbers of people come in from off-property for a one-time event.

My family was there last night. So disappointing. We got there early with the intent of having a counter service meal and maybe do a couple of rides. We headed back to Studio Catering, it closed at 5:30. Went to The Commissary, closed for refurb? Didn't leave us with many choices. Crowd control was pitiful. It seemed like Disney wasn't expecting the crowds?? We ended up leaving without seeing any villains or the special fireworks. :(

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Originally Posted by Aurora

So this is the second one-time special event they've had at the parks in the space of a few months (the first being the all-nighter at the end of May to kick off Monstrous Summer). I had hoped, after reading about the chaos on that night, that they would have figured out some ways to manage huge crowds coming in at the same time. I am disappointed to read these reports.

It's too bad for the people who scheduled their vacations at this time. Obviously these events are attracting a lot of locals, and Disney doesn't know what to do about crowd control when huge numbers of people come in from off-property for a one-time event.

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Technically, you can say this is the third event... Remember, they did the 24 hour thing last year too... You would think they would have learned from past experiences how to manage crowds.. But these dolts cannot grasp anything that doesn't relate to inflating the bottom line, cutting spending, or jacking up prices while offering less value to the customer...

By all accounts, the front line CMs were over whelmed, no fault of their own... They did the best they could... Operations and management failed here... But management failing in Orlando is nothing new, so we shouldn't be surprised... Entertainment CMs rescued the night from being a total disaster, and made the event has enjoyable as possible for the crowd...