Kudos to SDC

[JoLaLaLa]

I'm not normally a fan of telephone surveys, but got a call this afternoon from a survey on behalf of SDC that I was MORE than willing to take the time to asnwer some questions. They were calling people regarding their visit on opening day (March 20th) to find out what people thought about their experience that day and how the park could have done better to handle such an overwhelming crowd, etc.

They were very thorough in asking about individual aspects- such as food lines/prices, number of activities that we felt we were excluded from doing due to the mass of people, ride crowding/operating/waiting time, etc. I was very glad to see them taking this sort of time/manpower to find out what people truly thought so they could do something about it.

They asked if we had been there before and how it compared to previous visits and if we planned on returning to the park in the future. I guess a TON of people were so ticked off by the enormous crowds and how unprepared SDC was to handle them that a lot of them have said they won't be. Personally- even though it was my absolute worst day at SDC EVER in over 12 years of going there- I have been there enough years to know that this is not a normal thing to happen there, so I will definitely give them the benefit of the doubt that they will use these survey results to help make improvements so that this won't happen again.

Anyway-- I know it doesn't change what happened that day and how disappointing it was, but I wanted to at least give credit where it's due that they are doing their best to rectify the situation for the future. Good job, SDC!

[biscuitcreek]

We tried to go to SDC Thursday morning 3/27. Traffic was backed up on 76 past the High Road exit and moving very slowly. Traffic was also backed up on 265. We changed our plans and went shopping.

About 3 that afternoon we went to SDC and had no problems driving in. Wasn't happy that the trolley pulled off as we were walking up. Park was still crowded when we got in. At least half of the refreshment stands were closed. Had just one show after we arrived and heard some folks grumbling about so few shows. Heard some complaints as we were leaving about transportation problems in getting back to the correct parking lots. Even after the problems of opening day, I'm not sure SDC was better prepared the next week for Spring Break Days.

[ggh]

My son, his girlfriend, neice, nephew and several of their friends were at SDC Sunday - I've not heard a single complaint from them. They've been going to SDC for 18-20 years, and I think I'd of heard about it if it were an issue.

[JoLaLaLa]

That's too bad! You would think they'd have used the next few days to get better prepared. Maybe send in a "complaint card" of sorts via their website somehow and let them know what you think? I'm sure they would appreciate the feedback, since it looks like they are trying to at leats find out what people thought.

I do feel like they should send out free food coupons or something like that to compensate people for their troubles in the park during those times though. I mean, if they have our phone numbers to call us, surely they could ask for an address to which they could send some free coupons. As expensive as stuff is in the park, I'm sure people would be more than willing to shell out their address to get a little back from the bad experiences. Or at least email them for folks to print and bring the next time.

[ggh]

They know who was there - from scanning your SDC passes - they ask for everything but your finger print when you bought them. They've got your phone number, your birthdate, and addy readily available.........

[lucyann]

Were the crowds that much larger? Or, were they totally understaffed? I can understand (a little) if the crowds were more than expected. But, to be understaffed and unable to serve the customer is not acceptable.

[teacherkim]

The crowds were about twice what they expected. I think someone posted here that the expected attendance was around 8000 and actual attendance was over 15000. They also don't have much of the shows and food stands up and running for Spring Break days. I think in the past they thought of it as a "preview" or "soft opening" rather than an actual opening day where they needed to be prepared for crowds.

They may have also been understaffed. I know that I overheard employees saying that the employees who were supposed to relieve them were stuck in traffic (I've heard up to 3 hours from Branson to SDC), so they didn't get lunch, etc.

To be fair, this only happened on Opening Day. The next day they opened earlier and stayed open later and were more prepared for the crowds.

[kbradleyar]

Originally Posted by ggh

They know who was there - from scanning your SDC passes - they ask for everything but your finger print when you bought them. They've got your phone number, your birthdate, and addy readily available.........

DISNEY now does require your finger print including the fingerprint of each child. I didn't like giving my fingerprint to a "non goverment" company but that is the only way you can get into Disney now.

[JoLaLaLa]

Originally Posted by teacherkim

To be fair, this only happened on Opening Day. The next day they opened earlier and stayed open later and were more prepared for the crowds.

We found this to be true as well. (They even easked about it in the survey too) We did get there earlier on Friday and at first thought that the traffic/parking/crowding may have been better that day just by us being there earlier. However, we noticed as we were leaving about 1:00- which was what time we GOT there the day before- the traffic was not backed up very far at all-- just a few cars waiting to turn into a lot, not even a 1/2 mile line- whereas Thursday at 1pm we heard the traffic line was still backed up way past Shepherd of the Hills and on down and around the mountain.

The second day was WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY better than the first, and I told the survey guy that. He said that was why they were only asking about Thursday in most of their questions- because many people said the same thing.

[JoLaLaLa]

Originally Posted by ggh

They know who was there - from scanning your SDC passes - they ask for everything but your finger print when you bought them. They've got your phone number, your birthdate, and addy readily available.........

I knew they had all mine beforehand because we'd bought Season passes early in the year. I didn't know how much info they collected on regular one day tickets anymore since I have had a pass for years. I did wonder though if only SP holders would be getting the survey calls or if they had phone numbers for people who bought one day tix as well. I would love to hear if anyone else got a call like this and what kind of ticket they had-- just to settle my curiosity.

[SuperSteve]

You can't blame them for being awesome enough to draw so many people. It goes to show the extreme integrity of the park that they are doing things like this survey to constantly improve on their game.