Wait Times Apps

[mindflipper]

You can always be like me and check the wait times whenever you are bored during the day...and tell yourself that if you were at WDW right now you would only wait 15 minutes for HM. Daydream trips are the next best thing.

Been there and done that. I do find that mist of the wait times apps are reliant on input from people whichmakes them relatively inefficient since you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

I know from back on Dec 4th that the Mousekecouple used those apps and the wait times were NEVER correct...

[Wizzard419]

You can always be like me and check the wait times whenever you are bored during the day...and tell yourself that if you were at WDW right now you would only wait 15 minutes for HM. Daydream trips are the next best thing.

Been there and done that. I do find that mist of the wait times apps are reliant on input from people whichmakes them relatively inefficient since you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

Depending on the one you're using/app maker that is possible, but at the same time the touring plans one would rely on the same type of input (otherwise they would be harvesting data from the disney app to sell as their own, which would be a big no-no). I haven't gone through the apps for WDW but the one I used at DLR is nice since it needs the phone to be on the physical property and has a self-policing system to keep false times out.

[Amy]

Depending on the one you're using/app maker that is possible, but at the same time the touring plans one would rely on the same type of input (otherwise they would be harvesting data from the disney app to sell as their own, which would be a big no-no). I haven't gone through the apps for WDW but the one I used at DLR is nice since it needs the phone to be on the physical property and has a self-policing system to keep false times out.

The apps I have for WDW and DL must have some sort of monitoring to see if you are there in the parks. I wanted to see if I could enter a wait time when I was here in Michigan (just to test the validity of the times, not to really mess people up), and it would not take my estimate since it knew, I'm assuming based on GPS location, that I wasn't at the parks.

[theBIGyowski]

I have used RideMaxx and Touring Plans. Both worked perfectly on the trips I have been on. I used RideMaxx back when I went to DLR in 2008 and it easily saved us a few hours of standing in lines. It broke every step of the day down to the minute and was almost completely accurate.

I used RideMaxx again in 2009 at WDW and it worked great there too...but we just kinda half-way used it since the crowd levels were lower. I had some friends who went to WDW this past Spring Break so I gave them Touring Plans for each park and it saved them hours of waiting in lines...a huge deal during that week since the parks were packed. DW and I plan on using Touring Plans next month on our trip and we'll used the Lines app to get to the Touring Plans now that they have them in the app.

[Polynesian Princess]

you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

The apps I have on my android use the GPS to make sure that you are actually near the attraction you are trying to enter a time for.

[mindflipper]

you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

The apps I have on my android use the GPS to make sure that you are actually near the attraction you are trying to enter a time for.

But what would stop someone entering in a time of 60 minutes when its actually 30 minutes or less? I could see someone doing that if they wanted to get other people using the app to avoid the attraction and thereby hopefully decreasing the queue length...

[Brian845]

you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

The apps I have on my android use the GPS to make sure that you are actually near the attraction you are trying to enter a time for.

But what would stop someone entering in a time of 60 minutes when its actually 30 minutes or less? I could see someone doing that if they wanted to get other people using the app to avoid the attraction and thereby hopefully decreasing the queue length...

See, that's what I was thinking. You'd need to have a lot of people in on it to make it work tho. So maybe it's a way for those infamous Brazilian tour groups to decrease their wait time for Space Mountain. Go see another attraction in Tomorrowland, and artificially inflate the wait time at Space Moutain. Then by the time your visit to the other attraction is over, the line at Space Mountain is mysteriously gone! Of course, Fast Pass might be an easier way to go...

[mindflipper]

True, but if not enough people input the wait times, then it takes whatever wait time it's given. So if only one person inputs a 60 minute wait for Space Mtn. and its really 20-30 minutes, it will show the 60 minute wait time if that's the only input it has received.

[Wizzard419]

you never know if those people are actually in the parks or even being truthful about the wait times.

The apps I have on my android use the GPS to make sure that you are actually near the attraction you are trying to enter a time for.

But what would stop someone entering in a time of 60 minutes when its actually 30 minutes or less? I could see someone doing that if they wanted to get other people using the app to avoid the attraction and thereby hopefully decreasing the queue length...

They just ban you from submitting times if there are complaints/reports. There might also be some code that flags any dramatic changes in waits over short periods of time.

[SimonTemplar]

You can always be like me and check the wait times whenever you are bored during the day...and tell yourself that if you were at WDW right now you would only wait 15 minutes for HM. Daydream trips are the next best thing.

Ha! I do the very same thing, and our 10 year old daughter is as bad or worse than I am. She's always wanting to "check wait times", and then we talk about how much shorter the waits are than when we were there during Spring Break.

[Wizzard419]

I was thinking about wait time apps in general today, they are all (Disney's included) kind of trivial. Odds are you already know about the key times to hit popular rides (during parades, fireworks, or other shows). It isn't like there is a time during the day that an E ticket ride goes from an hour wait to 5 mins. It's kind of like driving around all day to find the cheapest gas, by the time you get there you've burned off the savings.

Considering we are able to get by without them in the past, they may not even truly fill a need.

[theBIGyowski]

I was thinking about wait time apps in general today, they are all (Disney's included) kind of trivial. Odds are you already know about the key times to hit popular rides (during parades, fireworks, or other shows). It isn't like there is a time during the day that an E ticket ride goes from an hour wait to 5 mins. It's kind of like driving around all day to find the cheapest gas, by the time you get there you've burned off the savings.

Considering we are able to get by without them in the past, they may not even truly fill a need.

You're correct. I think Lines really mostly goes off of trends from the past XX years and can be altered in some form or fashion by actual submitted times. I have probably used the app mostly to mentally prepare myself for upcoming trips...know what times certain rides get packed and what to expect during whatever time of day it is. Because WDW is so big, and because so many people walk through the gates every day, the trends are almost always dead on. As far as using the app in the parks, I could kind of see it being useful if you are eating lunch and want to check out the wait time for Splash Mtn or Space Mtn.

Now that they have the Touring Plans on the app, I see it being more useful for that than the wait times.

[Wizzard419]

I actually came to the question as to why I actually have an app on the phone. If it's crowded I'm probably not going to be there in the first place and if it's empty I wouldn't need the app anyway. I also have a tendency to forget I have the app in the first place, so after lunch I go in without checking the lines.

[Amy]

I actually came to the question as to why I actually have an app on the phone. If it's crowded I'm probably not going to be there in the first place and if it's empty I wouldn't need the app anyway. I also have a tendency to forget I have the app in the first place, so after lunch I go in without checking the lines.

I only used the wait time app a few times this past December. And it was only after Mouseoholic pulled her phone out to check...