PM EMH test

[DisneyDudet]

From what I understand, there will be a test on the evening EMH's. I got this from another website:


One of the difficulties, especially for the evening Extra Magic Hour, has been clearing the park of non-resort guests. Walt Disney World will test a new procedure from February 24 - 29, 2008. Each Disney Resort Guest will need to carry (and show) their valid Disney Resort Key to the World Card for access to the theme parks for evening Extra Magic Hours. Wristbands will not be issued. Be sure to have your Resort ID available as you enter any attractions.

[kakn7294]

I saw this too. I'm curious as to just how this will work and have a lot of concerns if it becomes routine practice. I'm not keen on needing to show your resort ID for every attraction. I don't even let my DD's carry their own cards - I hand them to them at the entrance and take them back as soon as we pass through the turnstiles. When we get FP's, it's DH and I who get them all while DD's wait just off to the side. I'm afraid one of us would lose our card and then we'd have to go all the way back to the resort to have it replaced - I don't think Guest Services at the park could do it. I hope to hear from some Intercotees who are at the parks on how this trial went.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Morgan, help me understand. Would this mean you have to show your resort ID at each attraction? This does not make sense to me. I could understand showing your resort ID if you are entering the park, but not for each attraction. I sure hope they rethink this. It doesn't sound like this trial will work well at all. Why not do like they do for a P&PP? It would make more sense. Just have the CM heard all the folks with no bracelets to the exits. Those with can move on into the parks. Just a thought.

[mickey&missy]

Morgan, help me understand. Would this mean you have to show your resort ID at each attraction? This does not make sense to me. I could understand showing your resort ID if you are entering the park, but not for each attraction. I sure hope they rethink this. It doesn't sound like this trial will work well at all. Why not do like they do for a P&PP? It would make more sense. Just have the CM heard all the folks with no bracelets to the exits. Those with can move on into the parks. Just a thought.

I read about this too and I have to agree that doing it the way they do for MNSSHP, MVMCP and P&P would probably be the best way. When we went to MNSSHP we must have been asked at least 6 times to see the band. Once by a few CM's with a rope across part of Fantasyland. I have seen them do that for EMH's.

I'm interested to see what happens with this.

[WDWfanatic742]

I'm assuming that the reason that they are testing this is because people have been known to make their own wristbands and use them for the extra three hours. This will be a way of making sure that only resort guests will be able to get into attractions.

However, it will take so much longer because they will now have to wait for people to take out their cards, then they have to look at each one and see what the dates are on the card to make sure that the person who is using the card isn't just using an old card.

[DisneyDudet]

I'm assuming that the reason that they are testing this is because people have been known to make their own wristbands and use them for the extra three hours. This will be a way of making sure that only resort guests will be able to get into attractions.

However, it will take so much longer because they will now have to wait for people to take out their cards, then they have to look at each one and see what the dates are on the card to make sure that the person who is using the card isn't just using an old card.

This was my thought as well. Unless they have the date printed bigger, it seems like someone can use an old room key if they aren't going to actually make sure the dates are correct.

dolphinmickey9170, from what I have read, it does look like this short testing will require people to show their room keys at every attraction. Just note that this is just a few days test, and nothing long term yet.

[LudwigVonDrake]

They should stick with the wristbands. Showing your KttW card is too much of a hassle for guests and castmembers. :mickey:

[DreamFinder2]

We all have to remember this is just a test. My guess is that The Mouse probably has the same reservations/thoughts about it as we Intercotees do. But, they must be losing money - if that's even possible - to people who are making fake wristbands...or something.

I say, let them do the test and see where this goes...if it keeps the prices of a vacation down for us "not-making-fake-wristband-guests", it might be worth it.

Oh, by the way...20 days, 21 hours, 25 min left :thumbsup:.

[WDWdriver]

I'm not convinced that this "test" is for real. The current method of verifying the validity of resort ID's through the use of hand-held mini-computers is very effective. Only those with a current and valid resort ID get a wristband.

The possibility of making your own wristband is remote and unlikely. The wristband colors change unpredictably from week to week.

Besides, there is no real need to clear the park of those without wristbands. Those without wristbands may stay to shop and eat at the restaurants, all of which benefits Disney. They just can't go on rides or see the shows. What's wrong with that?

[Twinsowner]

Whats wrong with that is the fact it adds more people into an already crowded park. Disney has used the EMH to entice people to stay on property. Allowing non resort visitors the same priveledge would give us 1 less reason to stay on property. I vote for getting them out of the park. Sorry to be so blunt but thats my opinion.

[jszczur5]

I'm assuming that the reason that they are testing this is because people have been known to make their own wristbands and use them for the extra three hours. This will be a way of making sure that only resort guests will be able to get into attractions.

However, it will take so much longer because they will now have to wait for people to take out their cards, then they have to look at each one and see what the dates are on the card to make sure that the person who is using the card isn't just using an old card.

Yikes - this sounds like a major hassle. How many enterprising individuals (read - cheaters) really go to the trouble of fabricating their own wrist band? Don't they vary the colours each night?

[DisneyDudet]

Wow, this caused a real stir up! Its only a 5 night test, and Jim doesn't even know if it will even happen!

Lets not count our chickens yet. I'm sure they'll figure out, if they even try it, that this method won't work.

Even with this method, you will still have those non-EMH participators around shopping, milling, and eating, so this won't help with that at all.

Who knows what REALLY prompted this.

[#1donaldfan]

If your supposed to be there and your doing the right thing, I don't see a problem with it. Yes, it may cause a little confusion at first, but that's what tests are for.....to test the system, go back to the drawing board and tweek it a little. I'll bet something bigger is brewing so time will tell what really is going to be implemented????????

[DisneyFanaticDargon]

Wow, this caused a real stir up! Its only a 5 night test, and Jim doesn't even know if it will even happen!

By Jim do you mean Jim Hill? If so this whole test rumor just lost any validity it may have once had.

[DNS]

I would think this would really become a lot of trouble for CM's and people with many children. The CM would not only have to look at the card, but look at the dates. That would take much longer than just a glance at a wrist band. I can't imagine duplicating the bands that easily, but maybe they could switch to something else if that's the case and change them in some way every day. I agree that if too many are staying after regular park hours, maybe cast members should just start trying to move people toward the gates and out.

[McGoofy]

Maybe I'm naive, but are there really that many people out there forging EMH writstbands? It almost seems like it would be easier to duplicate or even use old room key cards than to try to create fraudulent wristbands. The key cards don't change nearly as often as the color of the wristbands do. Also, the dates are tiny, so if people really wanted to, they could try to use an old one. I would imagine if it's busy, a CM is tired or not really being observant, etc...that people would be more apt to try to use an old room key card than make a fraudulent wristband. Maybe there's more to this story than we know! If this is all true, Disney is going to a lot of trouble for some reason. I don't care how they do it, I just want it done the most efficient way so that I can quickly get the most out of my EMH which is my perk for staying on property.

[DisneyDudet]

By Jim do you mean Jim Hill? If so this whole test rumor just lost any validity it may have once had.

I said the wrong name! What a horrible Intercotee am I?! I meant Ron.

Sorry guys (and Ron :blush: )

Again, I don't think we'll know why they are doing this. I can't see that there's a lot of wristband forgers.

Who really knows!

[wendy*darling]

But, they must be losing money - if that's even possible - to people who are making fake wristbands...or something.

EMH does not cost anything extra.
And if people are "cheating" with fake wristbands- at least they are in the parks and spending money.
I am curious to see if this is real, and how it all plays out. I think the current wristband process is good and works as well as can be expected. No matter what you do- people will find a way to "cheat."

[Carol]

It doesn't make sense. :shrug:

The wristbands are dated and as Ron stated they change the colors daily/randomly for each park.

[TFrauts]

I just had a great idea....what if all resort guests had to get one of those secret black light stamps on their foreheads...lol...then had to walk under a black light into each attraction!! Wouldn't that would make it a lot easier for everyone!! lol
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
They should give me an imagineering job!! I could think up some other dandies!! :mickey:

[Tinkerfreak]

Whats wrong with that is the fact it adds more people into an already crowded park. Disney has used the EMH to entice people to stay on property. Allowing non resort visitors the same priveledge would give us 1 less reason to stay on property. I vote for getting them out of the park. Sorry to be so blunt but thats my opinion.

Ditto! If I am staying at a Disney resort that offers EMH to Disney resort guests only then it should be Disney resort guests only.

[Disneyatic]

This morning I read on another website :secret:about this and it had some guest feedback from people that were there this weekend and experienced it.
Their feedback made the test program seem hit and miss with some rides not even checking the resort ID.

[DisneyDudet]

Who knows how this is going to go. I wonder if they are going to survey people and CMs about this.

[Main Street Jim]

Talked to some of my friends at work the next day about this (at the Speedway) and it was "a mess" according to them working that night. People digging out tickets at each attraction, not having tickets at all, etc. We have a notice posted in our breakroom about the "test" and it states "if a guest does not have their room key or resort ID, verify that they are staying at a Disney resort..." How the heck are we supposed to do that if they don't have the ID to begin with?! :D Much easier, in my opinion, for guests to get their wristbands, and just flash the band as they enter the attraction, instead of having to dig out each and every ticket every time you wanted to ride, eat, or shop...

[Jeff G]

Talked to some of my friends at work the next day about this (at the Speedway) and it was "a mess" according to them working that night. People digging out tickets at each attraction, not having tickets at all, etc. We have a notice posted in our breakroom about the "test" and it states "if a guest does not have their room key or resort ID, verify that they are staying at a Disney resort..." How the heck are we supposed to do that if they don't have the ID to begin with?! :D Much easier, in my opinion, for guests to get their wristbands, and just flash the band as they enter the attraction, instead of having to dig out each and every ticket every time you wanted to ride, eat, or shop...


This sounds like a mess for the cast at WDW.

The idea of having to carry my resort ID card in a location easily accesible would also make it easier to loose. Being that these cards are our park tickets and can be valid for charging I would prefer to access these as little as possible. On our last visit our friends let their two older sons go on their own for a while and one of them misplaced their room card while using it for a fast pass.

I like the idea of writst bands, they take very little time to hand out and they are very easy & quick to confirm. I'm sure there are individuals who cheat the system. My bet is if they can cheat a wristband then they can also cheat a room key.

[Figment!]

Although this is just hearsay, there have been some reports that Guest Services gets a significant amount of complaints from Guests that they are "not understanding how/where/when to get wristbands" and "were inconvenienced by needing the whole party to wait in line for the wristbands" .

Based on these reports, this trial may have been motivated by seeing how this program would work by using something that each Guest should already have on them.

[BMan62]

Although this is just hearsay, there have been some reports that Guest Services gets a significant amount of complaints from Guests that they are "not understanding how/where/when to get wristbands" and "were inconvenienced by needing the whole party to wait in line for the wristbands" .

Based on these reports, this trial may have been motivated by seeing how this program would work by using something that each Guest should already have on them.

As much as I understand the impetus of this trial, how many families/groups have one person carry their tickets, hand them out to get through the main park entrance, then collect them for safe keeping? I do this with my family, but then again, we generally stick pretty close together or meet at a designated time and place before we leave the park.

[busterthebronco]

my dw just got back and she didnt like this new way.you had to dig your card out on every ride and the cm had to really study it. :confused:

[DisneyDudet]

Very interesting. I can see where the confusing on wristbands is, as it changes.

What if they had a CM handing out wristbands all day at that park? And at certain locations, printed on every map?

I don't know... this ID business is silly.

[Carol]

how many families/groups have one person carry their tickets, hand them out to get through the main park entrance, then collect them for safe keeping?Here! :here: My husband is the 'keeper' of all cards.

[IloveDisney71]

Well, I got to experience this TEST first hand Sunday night and it was ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all, guests were not informed of this "trial" and myself and others were going around trying to find a place to get a wrist-band. After asking a couple of confused CM's, we were finally told that we wouldn't need to get a wristband, we would be required to show our ID at EVERY attraction. My friend and I had two children with us so we had to keep pulling out our own Id's and the kids' ids for every attraction - of course we had to keep up with the kids' ids. We couldn't risk them losing them!!!
Then the CM's at the rides would barely glance at them. I could have EASILY used a card from years past, and they never would have noticed! That was the case at every attraction and we rode: BTMRR(x2), HM, PoC, IASW, Philharmagic, Snow White, & the carousel.
Here are the problems I saw:
1. inconvient
2. The risk of losing cards is great (especially when keeping up with more than one -due to having children).
3. The CM's can't possibly take the time to look carefully at each person's card or the lines would be too slow and too long.
4. People can easily use cards from years past/previous visits. (That would be easier to "fake" than different colored wristbands since all the CM's I encountered only looked to see if you flashed a card at them. By the end of the night, I was tempted to flash my Visa at them to see if they would even notice! HA)

I will have to say that this was one of the least crowded EMH's I've ever experienced. However, the crowds were light during our entire stay.

I think Disney could have handled this whole thing BETTER! They should have informed their guests of this trial ahead of time or provided lanyards to each guest so we wouldn't have to keep pulling them out of our bags. This was really disappointing. I couldn't believe how unorganized this whole thing was.

I think what really bothered me was that I had to keep going thru the effort of pulling out my card and nobody even bothered to REALLY look at it!

[McGoofy]

Although this is just hearsay, there have been some reports that Guest Services gets a significant amount of complaints from Guests that they are "not understanding how/where/when to get wristbands" and "were inconvenienced by needing the whole party to wait in line for the wristbands"

Well, these complainers just shot themselves in the foot. Now they are making everybody wait in longer lines at EVERY attraction. It will add time for people to dig out their key cards versus just being able to hold your arm up. Besides, how could you not find the wrist band lines? They are all over the place! The lines generally move fairly fast. Yes, everybody has to stand in line there...but the whole party has to wait in line at the attraction too! I really don't think there was a valid complaint there.





As much as I understand the impetus of this trial, how many families/groups have one person carry their tickets, hand them out to get through the main park entrance, then collect them for safe keeping? I do this with my family, but then again, we generally stick pretty close together or meet at a designated time and place before we leave the park.

That's our family as well. Usually, my DH carries all of the cards. It's less chance of them being lost. With the cards having charging priveleges, that is one thing that I do not want to get lost. I like just pulling them out one time only at the wristband line.

At any rate, it is simply a trial, and it sounds like this may be a trial that failed. Perhaps it will not be pursued beyond the trial.

[PirateLover]

Although this is just hearsay, there have been some reports that Guest Services gets a significant amount of complaints from Guests that they are "not understanding how/where/when to get wristbands" and "were inconvenienced by needing the whole party to wait in line for the wristbands"
I get the first part, not the second. I have seen firsthand people who spent the whole day in a park and have never done EMH before not knowing where to go. The previous poster said something along the lines of "How can you miss them" but I have had a few experiences where they actually were not available anywhere but the main entrance, so yea it can be a bit of a hassle to go allll the way back to get wristbands. Once I was able to get mine in the Rose Garden, but an hour later they were no longer handing them out there. I don't understand why they didn't try having more locations handing out wristbands for a longer period of time rather that go to this extreme test? In MK there should be a wristband distribution in every land for every evening EMH.

Also are the wristbands really dated??? I thought they just changed the colors around. Never noticed.


As much as I understand the impetus of this trial, how many families/groups have one person carry their tickets, hand them out to get through the main park entrance, then collect them for safe keeping?
My boyfriend (now fiance) always does this to me. I'm a bit more absent minded so he likes to hold onto my card and money for me for safe keeping. I'm sure in the distant future when kiddies come along he'll be in charge of theirs, too.