The Case Against Soft Openings

[DLResident]

I might be the only one who thinks this way, but I hope there WON'T be soft openings for Space Mountain. It's not fair that some people who happen to be in the right place at the right time get to experience it when the rest of us have to wait for the official open date. It's also not fair that when people do get to experience an attraction before it's Grand Opening, through a soft opening, they come to a Disney site the next day and basically posts about the attraction, or maybe posts a video clip of it which ruins it for the rest of us who have not ridden it yet.

What's the point of calling it a soft opening when everyone knows about it. Someone started a thread on a another site stating, "Buzz Lightyear to have soft opening on March 4th." And this poster said this the day before. When you make a public announcement like that, it's really not a soft opening because everyone knows about it and everyone will make their way to Disneyland to ride it. Soft openings are supposed to be UNannounced, making it a surprise to everyone so that NOone knows about it before hand. I think Disney needs to be more careful when information is given to their employees about certain events that are not supposed to be announced until a later date. Or they should at least make it so that no employees knaw about it until the day of...

I also hope there is no AP preview thing. I have an AP, but I would rather save my experience when it is officially opens the public and I can experience it with my family.

[coaster3001]

The thing w/ soft openings is that they are needed for the opps. people. Disney is not doing this as a melicious thing to ap. holders or cm's but as a necesity to the cm's that work the attraction. It helps get the bugs out and just get everything working smoothly for previews. Plus I belive that an Annual Pass is just that an Annual Pass. Anything above and beyond is a perk that is not garunteed. So be lucky that they do offer these previews. Cause for the lucky ones who get to join in them it is an expierience thats not soon forgotten. And as for it not being fair. Well life isn't fair. Get used to it.

[Tiggeriffic]

And as for it not being fair. Well life isn't fair. Get used to it.

Thats basically what I was thinking. It doesnt HAVE to be fair either. Think about contests and things like that. Do you get mad at the people who win because you dont? Probably not.

[Bacon]

Does it really matter that much to you what other people do and who gets to ride something before you do?

As people said, they aren't going to open an attraction on a full schedule, or announce it to the media until they've had a chance to test it in as close to normal conditions as possible. It just makes sense.

I also hope there is no AP preview thing. I have an AP, but I would rather save my experience when it is officially opens the public and I can experience it with my family.

And what's stopping you? I'm fairly certain that if there is an AP preview, you won't be required to attend.

[pjdonnell]

I might be the only one who thinks this way, but I hope there WON'T be soft openings for Space Mountain. It's not fair that some people who happen to be in the right place at the right time get to experience it when the rest of us have to wait for the official open date.

Well, as was said earlier, soft openings are there so the employess can become used to operating a ride without the huge glut of people who arrive because they know a new ride is open. It also helps identify and, hopefully, repair any bugs or flaws which may develop.

And how exactly is it not fair? The ride in soft openings is the ride when fully open. It's not like you're really missing anything by waiting a few more weeks. Do you just want to be on the ride as soon as possible? Patience is a virtue, my friend.

It's also not fair that when people do get to experience an attraction before it's Grand Opening, through a soft opening, they come to a Disney site the next day and basically posts about the attraction, or maybe posts a video clip of it which ruins it for the rest of us who have not ridden it yet.

Disney's not controlling this aspect. It's the fans themselves. And no one's forcing you to read these things.

What's the point of calling it a soft opening when everyone knows about it. Someone started a thread on a another site stating, "Buzz Lightyear to have soft opening on March 4th." And this poster said this the day before. When you make a public announcement like that, it's really not a soft opening because everyone knows about it and everyone will make their way to Disneyland to ride it. Soft openings are supposed to be UNannounced, making it a surprise to everyone so that NOone knows about it before hand.

Again, you can't really blame this on Disney. They need to tell the employess these things, otherwise nobody's gonna be there to operate the ride! And these employees know people want to hear about these things. They're just doing a public service announcement. Short of Disney making the employees sign a nondisclosure agreement, this isn't going to change. And NDAs are a real hassle for such a small issue. After all, Disney does want people to ride these things.

I think Disney needs to be more careful when information is given to their employees about certain events that are not supposed to be announced until a later date. Or they should at least make it so that no employees know about it until the day of...

Again, employees need to know about these, or else risk mass confusion among the workers. Not knowing your assignment until the day of is kind of impossible to pull off. Remember, costuming would need to make sure they have fitting costumes for the employees working the ride. It's not just a five person operation.

I also hope there is no AP preview thing. I have an AP, but I would rather save my experience when it is officially opens the public and I can experience it with my family.

Well, that's your choice. But if there is an AP preview, so what? Ignore trip reports until after you've been on the ride. It really shouldn't make a difference one way or the other.

[Bacon]

Short of Disney making the employees sign a nondisclosure agreement, this isn't going to change. And NDAs are a real hassle for such a small issue.

Actually, all cast members are under a standing NDA when they are hired. However, something like this they don't want to keep secret because they want people to show up so they can test under normal, or close to normal crowd conditions.

[CaptainCM]

the whole point of Soft Openings is to gage how the attraction effects park flow. For instance lots of mechanical stuff and procedural stuff is worked out BEFORE the media and the suits arrive for the grand opening. For instance....

MRT has no CLUE how to work on these attractions until they get a chance to handle some downtimes... probably not the best idea to have them working on their first break-zone fault or messed up buzz vehicle when channel 7 or Eisner is right outside.

No one knows how the Queue setups will effect guest flow in the parks. Where should the overflow queue be? How does the parade crowd effect attendance at the attraction? What kind of labor allocation does the attraction need, and at which times? These questions MUST be answered before the grand opening day.

AND last but not least.. if there is a show issue, or guests are not reacting well to an aspect of the attraction, it needs to be addressed BEFORE the grand opening.

It's not as if the company schedules a grand opening and then is like 'oh' we still have 3 weeks and the attractions is ready too soon! They schedule the soft opening time to make sure everything is running as well as possible before the meida event. Otherwise the soft opening would BE the grand opening.

[pjdonnell]

Actually, all cast members are under a standing NDA when they are hired. However, something like this they don't want to keep secret because they want people to show up so they can test under normal, or close to normal crowd conditions.

Well, there goes any pretense that I knew what I was talking about!

Regardless, the resources needed to track down and prosecute those CMs for violating their NDA is probably more trouble than it's worth in this instance.

[HMMaid2001]

Thank you DLResident!! Bravo!! As a cast member, I love 'Cast previews' until now! Back in the day, when we had 'Cast Previews', it was to experience a brand new attraction or show..the last preview was The Tower of Terror..a week before , cast members got the chance to ride the attraction, in costume, which was awesome! But with the Buzz Lightyear, I mean, we don't need the preview anymore. Why bother? I think everyone from the hotel guests and now regular guests~ have now been on it! I already have. I just hope, with the re-launching of Space, that this doesn't occur..Have the 'Cast Preview', no soft openings, and open on the date!

[Tinkerbelle]

I might be the only one who thinks this way, but I hope there WON'T be soft openings for Space Mountain. It's not fair that some people who happen to be in the right place at the right time get to experience it when the rest of us have to wait for the official open date. It's also not fair that when people do get to experience an attraction before it's Grand Opening, through a soft opening, they come to a Disney site the next day and basically posts about the attraction, or maybe posts a video clip of it which ruins it for the rest of us who have not ridden it yet.
...............................
When you make a public announcement like that, it's really not a soft opening because everyone knows about it and everyone will make their way to Disneyland to ride it. Soft openings are supposed to be UNannounced, making it a surprise to everyone so that NOone knows about...
.........
I also hope there is no AP preview thing. I have an AP, but I would rather save my experience when it is officially opens the public and I can experience it with my family.

-Sorry to tell you this , but I can't think of one thing in life thats fair

-If you don't want the spoilers, or videos, or photos...don't read, watch them.
I have not yet been on TOT and know NOTHING sbout it because I have ignored everything that mentions TOT...

-It is still a soft opening, It may be shut down at anytime for any length. They need to figure out how to run this efficiantly...that takes practice.

-as far as the AP thing, I'm not an AP holder but I would say if you want to wait, then wait...again how long has TOT been open? and I'm still waiting so I can go with my kids.

[DLResident]

Wow. I start a thread and get attacked. wonderful. That's what I get for expressing my opinion. Don't worry people, thanks to three or so of you, I won't ever say something isn't fair again.

[Tinkerbelle]

Wow. I start a thread and get attacked. wonderful. That's what I get for expressing my opinion. Don't worry people, thanks to three or so of you, I won't ever say something isn't fair again.

Please keep posting yor opinions, different opinions are what keep the discusions interesting. They open us up to a perspective that we may not have thought of...

I am sorry if I hurt your feelings or anything I didn't meen to...we each have different perpectives, opinions, and experiences...thats why the boards are so much fun.

so please keep posting, your opinions are yours and thats what you should post.

[MiceMan]

Wow. I start a thread and get attacked. wonderful. That's what I get for expressing my opinion. Don't worry people, thanks to three or so of you, I won't ever say something isn't fair again.

Ok, but now you are overreacting to people's responses. Doesn't seem to make much sense. They are not attacking you, simply explaining why they disagree with you. If they really didn't like what you were saying I would expect your reputation to be in the red.

[Theme Park One]

The cast had flyers at their team centers, bulletin boards
and more well before the announcement showed up on
the net. This was by no means any secret nor was it
meant to be one.

The one difference is that all of the announcements read
"along with Disneyland Resort guests" and that's what
triggered all the hoop, and in a sense deemed a soft
opening to the public.

But consider the alternative: a CM only event. HTH was
built on a closed off section of DCA behind a large fence.
Signage read "Cast Member Preview". Guest Relations
cast were in front of the fence to check for valid CM
passes. Tomorrowland doesn't have that luxury. I wouldn't
want to be that CM at the front of Buzz trying to explain
why certain people could ride while others couldn't.

[SoCal]

Whoever said a soft opening was supposed to be a "secret"? I am not going to repeat the reasons why there are soft openings, others have said why very well. But if you were under the impression it was supposed to be a secret, well you are under the wrong impression.

But this happens for just about everything that is opening new. This goes for shows, new stores, rides - lots and lots of stuff. A "grand opening" is nothing more than a cermony for the press and to impress people (or have sales if it is a store).

[HarajukuBoy]

Okay obviously there's a lot of passion on this thread. Personally I enjoy reading about the attraction before it officially opens. Unfortunately in the age of the internet, nothing is a secret or surprise anymore. And as for life being unfair, it's only as unfair as you decide to make it.

[WickedQueen]

Well, the thing I don't like about them is ... if they are going to DO a soft opening ... please do it for the ENTIRE DAY! Why tease us??

[MiceMan]

Well, the thing I don't like about them is ... if they are going to DO a soft opening ... please do it for the ENTIRE DAY! Why tease us??

Lol .... That's Part of the Fun!

[Bacon]

Well, the thing I don't like about them is ... if they are going to DO a soft opening ... please do it for the ENTIRE DAY! Why tease us??

That's the reason it's a soft opening. They aren't ready to do it for the entire day. They aren't fully staffed, and I'm sure they are constantly taking stock and reevaluating operating procedures. Plus, while they want people to know about it so they get traffic, I'm sure they don't want to too specific with times so they don't have people camping out or making demands.

[CaptainCM]

Well, the thing I don't like about them is ... if they are going to DO a soft opening ... please do it for the ENTIRE DAY! Why tease us??

Please read my above post... it explains a lot of the reasoning for soft openings.