Villain's Event in the Studios - EPIC FAIL

[Maleficent's Dad]

I'm home with my kids. DW is down for the Villain's Unleashed Event. It is a horror show (pun intended) for the guests. Being handled very poorly.

On phone with DW right now who is at the event. She is really upset - so much so that she left the park by 9:15. Waits are INSANE - She said there were waits of 45 minutes to get a drink!!! 2 hours or more for some characters. EPIC FAIL, Disney.

Most of the characters have enormous lines. Restaurants closed (wanted to order S'Mores at the 50's but couldn't). Rides even have long lines! (45 min for TSM when she left.)

I guess the "rumors" about Disney not limiting the ticket sales was correct. Very disappointing.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Oh no! We're here now, and went back and forth about going, and finally decided to skip it. Glad we did.

But, this does explain the FULL busses coming back from DHS ... I think a lot of people are giving up and heading out.

[garthbarth1]

I had a friend that went last year and said it was so packed and miserable! Sounds like they did not learn what to improve from last year

[yankeesfan123]

Yup. Sounds very similar to last years event.

Big money grab.

Cool if you're super into it; not worth it if you're just a casual follower.

[garthbarth1]

Yes i was referring to the Villans event. My friends decided to go to that instead of going down for MNSSHP and said it was mass chaos. Huge lines and didnt get to meet any villains.. big disappointment for them

[hauntedmansiongirl]

That sounds awful! Your poor wife!!!

[ransam]

My buddy is down there now, and he said it was packed, but said it wasn't as bad as some other events we've gone to.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Lots of reports - both on other boards and Twitter - about people demanding, and receiving, refunds from last night's debacle.

I wasn't there - but got first hand reports on the phone from DW - estimated that by midnight about 70% of guests had already left in frustration. Before the "party" even started, there were waits approaching 2+ hours for both merchandise and the "hard to meet" characters.

Just scratching my head, wondering why Disney - who is very adept at handling large events - why did they drop the ball on this one?

[Main Street Jim]

From one of my Disney friends' FaceBook:

"Holy Moses! The Villains Unleashed event tonight at Disney seems to have been an EPIC fail! Refunds being handed out to ANYONE at guest services & the line is looooonnnng! Seems the media reps are the only ones giving good reports. I have NEVER seen such horrid comments coming from such a large number of Disney guests! WOW!"

Was it *that* bad...?

It was only four hours, and guests were complaining about two-hour waits in lines for meet 'n greets, merchandise selling out, etc. What did Disney expect? The Villains are a hot property, and have been for quite some time. You should see the crowds just for the Villains Mix 'n Mingle at the Mickey's Not-So-Scary Hallloween Party.

[Melanie]

I was afraid they might have oversold. Wow, just wow!

[yankeesfan123]

So, what's the fix?

A) sell less tickets

B) hold "Villain's Weekends" for 2-3 weekends

C) cancel the event (ha)

[PopPhan]

Sounds like something that could create a push toward a "Villains Area" in DHS! Maybe a couple attractions and regular M&G opportunities?????

Yes, I know, wishful thinking, but I would enjoy a section, like the kids section of DHS, to spotlight Disney villains. Would love a M&G with Chernabog!!!! He could take me 'under his wing'!!

[DizneyRox]

Sounds like something that could create a push toward a "Villains Area" in DHS! Maybe a couple attractions and regular M&G opportunities?????

Yes, I know, wishful thinking, but I would enjoy a section, like the kids section of DHS, to spotlight Disney villains. Would love a M&G with Chernabog!!!! He could take me 'under his wing'!!

Why would they create a' free' area when they can con people into spending more money on an after hours event?

Doesn't surprise me about the media... A they are usually invited to screenings, which are devoid of real crowds, and B, they'd get invited to future events if they pan it.

Just scratching my head, wondering why Disney - who is very adept at handling large events - why did they drop the ball on this one?

Because they are constantly trying to figure out how cheap they can go and get away with it. They guessed wrong this time.

The MNSSHP event used to be spectacular. Over the years it's become a very faint shadow of itself. I noticed that this year Halloween is a Friday, I thought for a few seconds about trying to make a trip out of it since it's been almost 4 or 5 years now for me I think. Then I remembered the price and all the reports on how it's changed, crowds, etc. Meh, we passed... If I do Halloween, it will be for Universals event..

[Christine]

I'm sorry for OP's wife and all the folks that were disappointed & frustrated last night. Sounds exactly like the Friday the 13 disaster that I attended- and truth he told, left on the verge of tears. I spent ONE HOUR circling the parking lot, just to funneled back out the exit and told to park at Epcot and ride a bus back! I had been pushed, yelled at, & cursed by other frustrated guests, and couldn't find a drink or anything to eat.
From what I read last night, sounds like it was quite similar. Only at least Fri 13 was free. If I'd spent $213 for my family of 3 for that- I'd have been devastated!
The only positive I hear is the fireworks, but that's not enough to justify the rest.
At least at mnsshp there are shows, parades, fireworks, trick or treating, etc.
This was a dance party and M&G with fireworks at 12:45am! (which my dog was not too happy to hear, scaring him out of his sleep!)

This event needs to be scrapped. Now.

[yankeesfan123]

I'm sorry for OP's wife and all the folks that were disappointed & frustrated last night. Sounds exactly like the Friday the 13 disaster that I attended- and truth he told, left on the verge of tears. I spent ONE HOUR circling the parking lot, just to funneled back out the exit and told to park at Epcot and ride a bus back! I had been pushed, yelled at, & cursed by other frustrated guests, and couldn't find a drink or anything to eat.
From what I read last night, sounds like it was quite similar. Only at least Fri 13 was free. If I'd spent $213 for my family of 3 for that- I'd have been devastated!
The only positive I hear is the fireworks, but that's not enough to justify the rest.
At least at mnsshp there are shows, parades, fireworks, trick or treating, etc.
This was a dance party and M&G with fireworks at 12:45am! (which my dog was not too happy to hear, scaring him out of his sleep!)

This event needs to be scrapped. Now.

I couldn't disagree more with your final statement.

It is an immensely popular special event. Why would they scrap it?

It should be handled better, yes. Maybe limit tickets and charge more. Maybe extend the event.

But scrap an event because it was "too popular"?

Not happening, nor should it.

(btw, I agree with the rest of your post about how poorly it was handled).

[DonaldDuck1117]

Simple solution-do this more often. Once a month, OR have this several times at the studio throughout September and October like MNSSHP.

Scrap it? Heck no. This is a huge potential revenue source, increase the number of times yiu hold this event.

[TheVBs]

Such a shame. I feel awful for all those who bought tickets and were disappointed. I would have asked for my money back as well! I think if they continue to hold these events, they need to really limit the number of tickets available and perhaps offer it more often, as others have suggested.

We did MNSSHP a few years ago, and while we had a good time, it was disappointing that we had to pick just ONE villain to stand in line for, or we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the other things. I think they need to consider reducing the number of tickets available for that as well.

[PirateLover]

There is no excuse for not getting it right this time with the prior, free Villains event under their belts. I think that is why Christine said to scrap it. If they don't want to make it a longer running party with multiple dates, one night a year is not gonna cut it. I think it's pretty telling that they gave refunds so easily. That's very A-typical.

[Christine]

There is no excuse for not getting it right this time with the prior, free Villains event under their belts. I think that is why Christine said to scrap it. If they don't want to make it a longer running party with multiple dates, one night a year is not gonna cut it. I think it's pretty telling that they gave refunds so easily. That's very A-typical.

That is exactly why I said they should scrap it. They clearly learned on Fri 13 that they don't have the ability to handle the high volume response from fans for this one night event.

Knowing that, they still set a high ticket limit on this one night event. That's either greed or stupidity. But to reproduce the same exact problems as last time? Only a fool doesn't learn from their mistakes. That's just insane. And now they have lost revenue by refunding tickets.

But I don't know that this event warrants multiple nights like mnsshp. Maybe more along Star Wars weekends or Frozen SummerFun - a non-ticketed event. Who knows. But this clearly doesn't work & needs to stop.

[Tink1]

This should show them that there *IS* an interest in villains/other characters and stop shoving princesses down our throats. IMHO.

Nanc