Why is everyone so shocked and outraged by this. When FP+ was originally announced and tested, this was how it was presented, that there would be two tiers of pre-booked FP.
this is the beginning of class warfare. Next they give more fast pass selections for headliner attractions fr deluxe resort guest. Penalizing people who are not millionaires but still love their kids just as much or more & want to give them a magical experience
Good if I'm staying at grand Floridian I'd like a better experience than the unwashed masses staying at all-star
For me...it's because Disney has NOT tried to market this... Really...at all.
And that is what is a scary thing.
No angle... No sales pitch.
Based on what you know...what does that mean?
I think this leads to even worse treatment of the employees (mainly reduction) and price increases that will drive the whole place out of many of "our" price range.
And remember...nobody ever said they wanted this. Iger's regime seems even more hellbent on unfettered profit than eisners was... And that's saying alot...
This is full steam ahead on " something"... And it's understandable that we, the loyal customers, are somewhat apprehensive...
We don't want "our" disneyworld to go away. And we used to not second guess it because we had an informal partnership with Disney management.
Me...myself...is worried that their new business model has voided that partnership.
Did you see any of the reports about Brazilian tourism to the US rising? 30 million visitors to the US last year...
18 million to Orlando.
The times... They are a changin...and none of us want to be rendered obselete.
It's natural.
Whoever could sell this in its current state would be one hell of a salesman.
Probably could sell ice to the Eskimos.
I have Maelstrom, TT and Soarin' as my 3 FP+ on one day and TT, Soarin' and SSE as my 3 FP+ on another day. I just check and they are still there.
Well, considering there have been so many reports/complaints about FPs running out by 9.30-10am for popular rides, maybe this is an attempt to stop people with FP+ booking all the most popular rides and make more fastpasses available for those not able to access FP+?
Disney doesn't want FP+ pre-booked weeks in advance. They need to be able to market a system where people entering the park day-of will still find ride times available. The only realistic way to do that is to make each guest choose between a reservation for Soarin OR Test Track OR fireworks viewing OR some similar experience.
Same is true at Hollywood Studios. Toy Story Mania and Rock n Rollercoaster cannot accommodate every guest. They'll have to force people to choose.
I always though the most equitable way of implementing FP+ would be to allow a certain number of pre-booked ride reservations and then allow for additional selections upon park entry.
Disney doesn't want FP+ pre-booked weeks in advance. They need to be able to market a system where people entering the park day-of will still find ride times available. The only realistic way to do that is to make each guest choose between a reservation for Soarin OR Test Track OR fireworks viewing OR some similar experience.
This is most absurd at a park like Epcot where TT and Soarin' get the most visitors and the rest are walk on attractions the vast majority of the time. It does nothing to help people differentiate or determine which one they should use an FP+ slot on. At least once you are at the parks, you can see which one you should FP and which does not need it. Pushing the decision out 60 days makes it impossible to make a decision based on crowd conditions.
This whole thread is so highly based on personal touring styles that the real point is being missed. If there are x FP for soarin, and there are 10X people in the park, 90% of the visitors will not get a FP. It doesn't matter when they give them out-- most people won't have one. ( my numbers are not researched, and I would assume 90 % is low.)
What is the benefit for Disney to reserve a group of passes for day of reservation? I don't think there is one. If 90 % of the guests will be disappointed by not getting a FP for soarin, what does it matter which 90 % that is? As the roll out finishes, I am fairly sure that all will get the same or similar access to pre booking, and then everyone will have the same or similar chance to get the coveted passes.
What has changed? Mostly the ability of a few to over use the FP system, making any given pass more available to a higher number of guests, making them happier. So if one person who pulls multi passes for soarin is limited to one, that is several others who will feel their experience has been improved.
This system will make a higher percentage of visitors have a better experience than the percentage that it disappoints. Overall that makes it a better system. If Disneys plan is to please the largest group of visitors, I think this will work.
Not to mention all of Lockedouts reasons pertaining to staffing and overall control.
Guess what, the cafeteria is as busy as ever.
ITA All the ones who are complaining that I get to ride X 10 times in a day with FP- are going to be unhappy. They will have to explore other parts of the park. They might even discover other things they like. Some will stop coming. Others will replace them and have a better experience with them gone.
So in reading this...I'm gonna have to assume that you feel that labor control is NOT part of the program here...to predict is to limit.
Fundamentally disagree...they aren't going to all this trouble to provide all the children with "better flow" on fastpasses...or because they desperately need a reprogramable avatar ride.
There is an economic upside to the cheese here...or not one dime gets spent.
Period.
And "increased value" isn't what they bank on...it's all short term changes that lead to large profits across a 50 million visit spectrum.
We shall see.