Fast passes being enforced

[mom2rtk]

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I rather them get rid of the idiots that run around with 10 tickets from their family to get 10 fast passes for every ride they can. I think only 1 person for 1 fast pass would help declutter the system abuse. But I realize the CM's by the FP machines would have to be more diligent and that would have problems as well.

I'm confused by this. I'd rather have one person getting all 10 fastpasses for their entire group than have all those extra people cluttering up the place. And don't they have as much right as anyone to get FPs? They are still limited to waiting for the next one until 1) their window opens or 2) 2 hours pass. They really can't get any more than you can. And no, I don't ever travel with a large party.

Not that it matters at all. This whole method is going the way of the dinosaur very soon.

 

[Missyrose]

Well that is simple for you because you have annual passes and visit often. This will only be our 2nd trip in 6-7yrs.

We tend to park hop 2-3x a day. DHS in AM. Take boat to Epcot countries for lunch/exploring and back to DHS at night for more rides. By doing that I will not be able to use any FP that day. Anyone I get in AM, will probably have a window I will be in Epcot and by the time I get back to DHS, they will all be issued for the day.

Same with if you have an ADR. You walk all the way to Soarin and the line is 90min and the FP being issued is during an ADR for LeCellier, you just wasted 20-30min of your time and didn't go on a ride. For those during Spring Break and summer when lines are crazy long and it is hot, that could be frustrating.

For us, it makes me wonder whether ADR's out of a park (say Ohana's) is worth it. If park hopping is worth it or if trying to leave for naps is worth it. All things we loved doing but will adversely affect getting FP's.

I rather them get rid of the idiots that run around with 10 tickets from their family to get 10 fast passes for every ride they can. I think only 1 person for 1 fast pass would help declutter the system abuse. But I realize the CM's by the FP machines would have to be more diligent and that would have problems as well.

Honestly? This is something everyone has been grappling with for a year now. It takes some adjusting to your touring plan. In your DHS-Epcot-DHS day, you might have some choices to make. Instead of spending an hour or more traveling between DHS and Epcot, you could instead stay in DHS and have better use of FPs. Or if you want to hop three times in a day, you could get all the DHS headliners out of the way at RD and spend your evening at DHS doing second-tier rides/attractions that would have less of a wait. The choices are yours, but the enforcement isn't going away.

 

[sigepmike]

Same with if you have an ADR. You walk all the way to Soarin and the line is 90min and the FP being issued is during an ADR for LeCellier, you just wasted 20-30min of your time and didn't go on a ride. For those during Spring Break and summer when lines are crazy long and it is hot, that could be frustrating.

With technology, you don't have to walk to a ride to find out wait times or FP return times. Download the MyDisneyExperience app or the Lines app from Touring Plans. They can save you a ton of time.

 

[Schmeck]

We tend to park hop 2-3x a day. DHS in AM. Take boat to Epcot countries for lunch/exploring and back to DHS at night for more rides. By doing that I will not be able to use any FP that day. Anyone I get in AM, will probably have a window I will be in Epcot and by the time I get back to DHS, they will all be issued for the day.

The first FPs we grab in the morning usually have an early return time, like less than 2 hours away. We get in a standby queue, ride, go on a low demand/fast load attraction, then grab a snack, then it's time for our FP return. DD and I went in July/August last summer, peak times, and rode everything in every park, park hopped at least once a day (often twice) and had two days left out of our 7 day trip to go back and just hang at the parks, taking our time and riding our favorites one more time.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We've always adhered to the return times and we've never had a problem. We park hopped, too. I don't understand what the big deal is?

 

[Legendteri]

I'm confused by this. I'd rather have one person getting all 10 fastpasses for their entire group than have all those extra people cluttering up the place. And don't they have as much right as anyone to get FPs? They are still limited to waiting for the next one until 1) their window opens or 2) 2 hours pass. They really can't get any more than you can. And no, I don't ever travel with a large party.

Not that it matters at all. This whole method is going the way of the dinosaur very soon.

Right, I would imagine it would take more time for 10 people getting 1 fastpasses each than it would for one person to get 10.

 

[Suzanne74]

I'm confused by this. I'd rather have one person getting all 10 fastpasses for their entire group than have all those extra people cluttering up the place. And don't they have as much right as anyone to get FPs? They are still limited to waiting for the next one until 1) their window opens or 2) 2 hours pass. They really can't get any more than you can. And no, I don't ever travel with a large party.

Not that it matters at all. This whole method is going the way of the dinosaur very soon.

Things really must have changed because last time I was on here 2 years ago people talked about going around and getting early AM fast pass tickets for their entire party for all the rides and since the windows were so early, they could continue to get them over and over again. Then decide which ones they would use. I thought
that was cheating the system because it would cause the FP to run out so quickly.

I realize I need to adjust and this is the first I am hearing about it. I have been out of the loop and haven't been there in 2 years. we go in mid Aug because my oldest is in middle school and going off times can't happen anymore. I am already nervous about wait times so this is a downer for me. I hope FP times are more realistic though. Toy Story Mania FP sold out in 1 hour last time we were there.

The comment about it going away soon anyway - what is the next plan?

 

[Missyrose]

Things really must have changed because last time I was on here 2 years ago people talked about going around and getting early AM fast pass tickets for their entire party for all the rides and since the windows were so early, they could continue to get them over and over again. Then decide which ones they would use. I thought
that was cheating the system because it would cause the FP to run out so quickly.

Yes, a fair number of people (myself included) would get to the parks at RD and start collecting FPs. Since Disney's policy was to honor FPs any time after the window opened until the end of the day, we hung onto those FPs for the afternoon/evening hours that are the busiest in the parks. And we'd ride the rides standby during those low-crowd early hours of the day.

I realize I need to adjust and this is the first I am hearing about it. I have been out of the loop and haven't been there in 2 years. we go in mid Aug because my oldest is in middle school and going off times can't happen anymore. I am already nervous about wait times so this is a downer for me. I hope FP times are more realistic though. Toy Story Mania FP sold out in 1 hour last time we were there.

FPs still run out pretty quickly for TSM (usually before 11 during quieter times, earlier than that during peak times). If that attraction is a priority, plan to get to DHS at RD. Same with Jedi Training at DHS.

The comment about it going away soon anyway - what is the next plan?

Disney is about to roll out its new Fastpass Plus system, all the details aren't yet known, but the VP of the company told the NY Times that the current FP system and the new FP+ system aren't compatible. We don't know a start date yet, but it's a decent bet that it will be up and running by the time you go this summer.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Things really must have changed because last time I was on here 2 years ago people talked about going around and getting early AM fast pass tickets for their entire party for all the rides and since the windows were so early, they could continue to get them over and over again. Then decide which ones they would use. I thought
that was cheating the system because it would cause the FP to run out so quickly.

I realize I need to adjust and this is the first I am hearing about it. I have been out of the loop and haven't been there in 2 years. we go in mid Aug because my oldest is in middle school and going off times can't happen anymore. I am already nervous about wait times so this is a downer for me. I hope FP times are more realistic though. Toy Story Mania FP sold out in 1 hour last time we were there.

The comment about it going away soon anyway - what is the next plan?

You couldn't ever "collect" FPs, at least not anytime recently. I've been in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. They've always had the "wait 2 hours or until your FP window opens" rule (at least dating back to 2007 when I was there). They just didn't have a rule enforcing the end of the time window of the FP. It's not like you could just roam around the park and collect as many FPs as you wanted all at once.

 

[Robo]

You couldn't ever "collect" FPs, at least not anytime recently. I've been in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. They've always had the "wait 2 hours or until your FP window opens" rule (at least dating back to 2007 when I was there). They just didn't have a rule enforcing the end of the time window of the FP. It's not like you could just roam around the park and collect as many FPs as you wanted all at once.

That's correct.

 

[Suzanne74]

You couldn't ever "collect" FPs, at least not anytime recently. I've been in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. They've always had the "wait 2 hours or until your FP window opens" rule (at least dating back to 2007 when I was there). They just didn't have a rule enforcing the end of the time window of the FP. It's not like you could just roam around the park and collect as many FPs as you wanted all at once.

Yes you could because first thing in the AM, the fastpass windows times are so early. People on here used to talk about it all the time, where to go and how to get them the quickest. If you go to Splash at RP, get FP with window opens at 9:15 so you can get another for Thunder in 5min. Then go to Peter, Pooh, etc... By the time you walk to each one with your entire party's tickets the windows were so early and opening. There were threads on this multiple times I logged on a few years ago and earlier than that.

 

[Robo]

1- Yes you could because first thing in the AM, the fastpass windows times are so early.

2- People on here used to talk about it all the time, where to go and how to get them the quickest.

3- If you go to Splash at RP, get FP with window opens at 9:15
so you can get another for Thunder in 5min.

Then go to Peter, Pooh, etc...

4- By the time you walk to each one with your entire party's tickets the windows were so early and opening.

5- There were threads on this multiple times I logged on a few years ago and earlier than that.

1- That's not how FP timing works, especially at MK.

2- Well, they'd talk about how to get them the quickest, but certainly not multiple FP's anywhere near
as fast as your example would indicate. (See my various scenarios below.)

3- Only under very unique (Christmas Week) conditions. See scenario below.

4- Just not possible.

5- Always threads discussing all kinds of things, but what you describe was never possible.

--------------------------------------

I can lay out the "best-case scenarios."
(Below are averages, but very nearly accurate in many cases.)
---------------------------------------
Below would only would work at MK during:
Christmas Week (plus maybe near Easter and/or July 4th)
If MK opens, regular hours at 8AM with a 7AM EMH.

Back when Disney invited guests to use a FP anytime that same day,
after the earliest Return Time was reached. (No longer possible to do.)

Fantasyland & Tomorrowland open at 7AM.

Run to Space Mtn Grab FP at 7:05AM
Return Time: 7:45AM (maybe even 8AM) -1 FP

At 7:45-8:00AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 9:30AM. -2 FP

At 9:30AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 11:30AM. -3 FP

After that, maybe one more FP might have been possible, but most of the E-ticket rides would be out of FP for the day. -4 FP

---------------------------------------
Here's a "normal" 8:00AM EMH MK day situation:

Back when Disney invited guests to use a FP anytime that same day,
after the earliest Return Time was reached. (No longer possible to do.)

Fantasyland & Tomorrowland open at 8AM.

Run to Space Mtn - Grab FP at 8:05AM
Return Time: 8:45AM (maybe even 9AM) -1 FP

At 8:45-9:00AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 10:30AM. -2 FP

At 10:30AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 12:30PM. -3 FP

After that, maybe one more FP might have been possible, but most of the E-ticket rides would be out of FP for the day. -4 FP

---------------------------------------
Here's a "normal" 9:00AM opening MK day situation:

Back when Disney invited guests to use a FP anytime that same day,
after the earliest Return Time was reached. (No longer possible to do.)

All rides open at 9AM.

Run to Space Mtn (or Splash, etc.) - Grab FP at 9:05AM
Return Time: 9:45AM (maybe even 10AM) -1 FP

At 9:45-10:00AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 11:30AM. -2 FP

At 11:30AM, that guest could grab another FP with at Return Time of, say 1:30PM. -3 FP

After that, most of the E-ticket rides would be out of FP for the day.

---------------------------------------
So, "running around grabbing lots of FP's in the morning" was just not possible.

---------------------------------------

Today, Dumbo ride & Mickey Mouse Meet & Greet (unique cases) offer short-time
turnarounds on getting one additional FP, but that is quite new.

---------------------------------------

For a short period of time, Lights, Motors, ACTION at DHS offered FP's that allowed
guests to have another FP within 5 minutes of grabbing a LMA FP.



---------------------------------------
Sorry. Best I can do at this time of the morning.

 

[magicbob]

Yes you could because first thing in the AM, the fastpass windows times are so early. People on here used to talk about it all the time, where to go and how to get them the quickest. If you go to Splash at RP, get FP with window opens at 9:15 so you can get another for Thunder in 5min. Then go to Peter, Pooh, etc... By the time you walk to each one with your entire party's tickets the windows were so early and opening. There were threads on this multiple times I logged on a few years ago and earlier than that.

Robo is correct (as usual!). For years, I have been a FP "super-user" (a few here often called me a "super-abuser!"). It's true that, until last year, you could hold onto your FP until whenever you wanted to use them. That fact, coupled with morning FP return times that were less than the usual 2-hour waiting period before getting another FP meant that you COULD acquire a fair number of FPs if you started at RD and retreived another FP as soon as you were allowed (i.e., watch the clock and get another as soon as your window opened up). But you could NEVER just collect them one after the other.

You were only "collecting" them in the sense that you were able to hold onto them until later. Truth be told, even when I was a "super-abuser," I don't ever remember having more than three (or occassionally four) FPs at time in my "collection" because we didn't JUST "hoard" them. We used some within the window, some slightly after, and some long after.

It may be worth noting that anyone can STILL (for now, at least) go at RD and ATTAIN the same number of FPs as before using this strategy.* In fact, assuming they understand how the FP system works, I would think most people would still want to get another FP as quickly as they are able to. The only difference is that you now have to use them within the window, so you're less likely to be holding onto more than a few different FPs simultaneously... due to the fact that FPs pulled in the am will have return times nearer in the future, so you have to use it before you can pull the next one... but the later in the day it gets, you have return times that are farther out than two hours, so "super-users" would still be able to "collect" more than one FP.


*CAVEAT: Depending on how Disney tinkers with distribution #'s and return times within the system, it could mean possiblity of more or fewer FP opportunities than in the past. I'm just saying that you can still maximize the benefit of the FP system if you pull another FP as soon as you're able.

 

[Robo]

For years, I have been a FP "super-user" (a few here often called me a "super-abuser!").

You can safely unburden yourself from those terms, as they were first promulgated by
an internet troll, just to get things stirred up.

 

[Tormania]

You get a one-hour window...even with kids, you can make it across a park in a hour.

I completely agree. It's not a 15 minute window, they give you an entire hour to arrive. Understand that crowds can sometimes delay you some but if someone is incapable of allowing for that AND arriving within a one hour window, well too bad really.

I personally don't have a problem at all with strict enforcement of the times, with obvious common sense applied if needed for an outlier.

 

[Hauntedmansion13]

It probably has something to do with fastpass + calculations

 

[skater]

The most fp's I ever held was 3, and that was rare. Most of the time, I had 2 in my pocket, and sometimes I ended up using only one of those. I did enjoy the flexibility of that old system though . I guess Disney is going to "win" me over on this new system because I'd almost rather schedule attractions ahead of time than pull a fp and either hang around for 1-4 hours or race back when my window opens up. I probably won't ever love the new system because I know how wonderful the flexibility of the old one was. Next week will be my first experience with using fp's that actually expire. I'm not excited about that, but what can I do?

 

[magicbob]

For years, I have been a FP "super-user" (a few here often called me a "super-abuser!").

You can safely unburden yourself from those terms, as they were first promulgated by
an internet troll, just to get things stirred up.

On the contrary, Robo... I consider them a "badge of honor!"

Even though I've been aware of FP+ being on the horizon for a year now (largely as a result of my participation in the "Great FP War of 2012"), I'll admit that I'm just getting up to speed on the details (read: rumors) that are emerging about FP+. I'm living overseas right now and have been mostly lurking on the DLP forum to plan our occassional visits there. But I'm starting to sweat a little now, because when I move back to the states in a few years, FP+ will probably be in full swing and I'll have to learn an entirely new system.

And from what I've been reading recently, I'm not too happy with the direction FP+ is going. Even with the FP window enforcement on our previous WDW visit, we managed to FP just about every attraction that offers it (or at least the ones we wanted to ride). We've always used FP primarily for the headliners since minor attractions' lines are often not that bad in stand-by anyway.

If FP+ rules limit us to one headliner per day, that will stink. As I'm understanding the (admittedly rumored) guidelines, we would have to choose ONE of the headliners, stand in long lines for the others, and "waste" our other FP+s (oinly three more allowed?) on rides that we might otherwise skip or spend an extra 10 minutes in the stand-by line. I was initially excited about FP+ giving us the opportunity to reserve times in the afternoon/evening, but if we can only do that for a FEW rides per day and only ONE of our priority rides???? I'm not liking the way this is starting to sound at all!

So, to summarize... the current FP system which allows you to take an "unlimited" number (subject, of course, to the waiting period between pulling tickets) for whichever attraction you want (including multiple rides for the same attraction if you desire) is being replaced by a system that is overly complicated (may have to plan your day to the minute 180 days out), limits your freedom of choice (one headliner only, no duplicate rides, etc.) and rations the number of FPs severely (only four per day, three of which you probably didn't need anyway).

That reminds me... I need to pay my health insurance premium.

 

[awilliams4]

Did someone say Super Abuser?

This is a set of (5) EE Fast Passes all for the same day waiting to be used.

Got there early in the morning and ran back and forth 5 times to get these for my party of (4).

 

[dpuck1998]

Who would do such a thing?