Fast Passes shut down

[doconeill]

I admit - for the times guide to say that KRR WOULD be using FP, and for them to turn around and NOT use it, is unusual. Not impossible, just unusual. There may have been a technical issue. And I wouldn't expect front-line CMs to necessarily know that was the reason.

But I'm sure if you look closely, you'll find that various disclaimers on the times guide, your ticket, all documentation, etc. along the lines of "subject to change".

I really don't expect Bug to ever use regular FP's again.

The Bug FP machines have been covered for years, except when they use those particular machines to distribute the FP's for the DAK FP "experiments" ("Central FP Distribution" tests, "Show FP Distribution" tests) so often discussed on this board.

True, but I still list it because they still list it.

 

[itchin2go]

We went to Animal Kingdom today as our daughter loves the Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. We were quite upset to see the fast pass machines covered and shut down for the day, with the exception of Special Exchange cards at Kali Rapids. Anyhow, the line at 10 a.m. being 10 minutes I didn't think it was too big a deal and the guy at the entrance said they wouldn't need it today as crowds would not be too high. Fast forward to noon, and the wait was at 40 minutes. I asked if they were going to start using them and I was then told they had all been given out for the day, which of course was total crap. I told them I got there when the park opened and they had not been in use at all, and further the 'times guide and new information pamphlet says Fast Pass would be available for Kali on Tuesday, and that today was in fact Tuesday. Anyhow, given we only bought base tickets, we couldn't go to another park, and were really upset that Disney just decided to revoke a feature that is 'included' in your ticket price. It wasn't a 'dead' day at the park, in fact lines for most rides were over 20 minutes, some, like Kali in excess of 40. I understand not using it for days that are 'dead', but why can't they adjust once they realize lines are getting pretty long? Just send a guy or girl down to the machines, and take the covers off.

On our way out I went to guest services and told them I felt cheated a bit considering what the guide says and that with a base ticket we couldn't go to another park. The first words out of her mouth were 'oh, all the fast passes had been used up for the day, that's why it was closed...' I just turned and walked out. The 'Magical' feeling rubs off pretty quick when it becomes apparent Disney lies first, addresses the real problem later.

I'm not sure anyone lied. She may just have been giving you the information she was provided with. Or like others have said, maybe that's the "stock answer".

I DO think that if the times guide said the attraction would be a FP attraction for the day, they should have kept to that. I'm surprised that it was that upsetting to you. 40 minutes is not that bad IMO.

Hope you find more magic as your trip goes on.

 

[LilyWDW]

I guess I don't see it as a huge deal that fastpasses were not being used. Sure, it said that it would be available, but as we all know, things are subject to change. What would you have done if the ride was down for some reason? At least the ride was available even if the fastpasses were not.

 

[TenderDonkey]

I love reading these boards. Disney could literally slap a guest in the face and these boards would defend it by saying “at least you didn’t lose a tooth.” Part of what I was sold when I purchased my tickets was the use of fastpasses. If they will not be available due to a slow period than I should pay less for my ticket.

What if they cancel the parade because the crowds are low? What if they only open one restaurant because it is slow? Is this ok? I’m just trying to figure out when enough is enough.

 

[doconeill]

I love reading these boards. Disney could literally slap a guest in the face and these boards would defend it by saying “at least you didn’t lose a tooth.” Part of what I was sold when I purchased my tickets was the use of fastpasses. If they will not be available due to a slow period than I should pay less for my ticket.

What if they cancel the parade because the crowds are low? What if they only open one restaurant because it is slow? Is this ok? I’m just trying to figure out when enough is enough.

They do this ALL THE TIME.

It's A Small World was closed, wasn't it? They were doing maintenance, but that's what they do when they figure they can close it for a while.

Carousel Of Progress was open very infrequently for several years. They didn't tell you what days it was open.

Was Fantasmic offered every night?

Sure, they generally let you know in advance when they can. Sometimes they can't.

Really, all this because Fastpass at KRR wasn't being used, where it often isn't.

 

[TenderDonkey]

I just wouldn't be "ok" with it's a low crowd day so we are cutting back. That is essentially what they are saying. It is solely a monetary decision. No one is arguing that attractions need to close for maintenance. Maintenance and cost cutting are two different items.

If certain features are not going to be in use than the price you pay should reflect that. What if Blizzard Beach turned off the big water slides for low levels? Is that ok? I mean it does clearly state subject to change.

 

[Withacy]

Fastpass machines run every day. Sometimes, the lesser fastpass rides will close down fastpass in lower crowd times. Kali is more rare than some to be closed down. The headliners will all have fastpass open 365 days per year at each park.

You don't know what you're talking about.

I go in the off season, in the winter mostly, and I don't think I've EVER seen Kali's fastpass OPEN.

And I've seen others closed on slow days as well.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Fasspasses are a free, and not guaranteed. I never could on them.

 

[Withacy]

I just wouldn't be "ok" with it's a low crowd day so we are cutting back. That is essentially what they are saying. It is solely a monetary decision. No one is arguing that attractions need to close for maintenance. Maintenance and cost cutting are two different items.

If certain features are not going to be in use than the price you pay should reflect that. What if Blizzard Beach turned off the big water slides for low levels? Is that ok? I mean it does clearly state subject to change.

But obviously you have no problem with them keeping the parks OPEN longer when the crowd levels go up (like they did last Christmas when I was there - almost every park, every day was open longer than had been previously advertised when I made & paid for my reservations, and they even added additional shows).

They make decisions based on business - just like every other business. If you don't like it, don't give them your business. Whining about it isn't going to change anything.

 

[disney_bob]

I love reading these boards. Disney could literally slap a guest in the face and these boards would defend it by saying “at least you didn’t lose a tooth.” Part of what I was sold when I purchased my tickets was the use of fastpasses. If they will not be available due to a slow period than I should pay less for my ticket.

What if they cancel the parade because the crowds are low? What if they only open one restaurant because it is slow? Is this ok? I’m just trying to figure out when enough is enough.

They sell you admittance to the park. They don't discount based on "what is closed" or what random non-attractions are available (I wouldn't expect a partial discount if the Emporium was closed, for example).

They do cancel parades/fireworks/shows for a variety of reasons and no refund is given. And they do close restaurants because it simply isn't busy.. if I'm not mistaken El Pirata y El Perico is only open during 'peak season'.

 

[TenderDonkey]

But obviously you have no problem with them keeping the parks OPEN longer when the crowd levels go up (like they did last Christmas when I was there - almost every park, every day was open longer than had been previously advertised when I made & paid for my reservations, and they even added additional shows).

They make decisions based on business - just like every other business. If you don't like it, don't give them your business. Whining about it isn't going to change anything.

If I pay $80 to go the park for the day I expect the use of fastpasses because that is what Disney advertises. I didn’t pull it out of thin air. There proposition to me was for $80 you get XYZ and the use of our fastpass system.

Now they are essentially saying for $80 you get X, maybe Y depending on our revenue for the day, and not Z because well we said so, refer to the fine print. And the only reason the parks stay open longer is because they can generate more revenue. I’m fine with Disney making money, I’m not fine with paying one price and having things change based solely on the revenue forecast for the day.

 

[Withacy]

If I pay $80 to go the park for the day I expect the use of fastpasses because that is what Disney advertises. I didn’t pull it out of thin air. There proposition to me was for $80 you get XYZ and the use of our fastpass system.

Now they are essentially saying for $80 you get X, maybe Y depending on our revenue for the day, and not Z because well we said so, refer to the fine print. And the only reason the parks stay open longer is because they can generate more revenue. I’m fine with Disney making money, I’m not fine with paying one price and having things change based solely on the revenue forecast for the day.

I guess it's too bad you're forced at gunpoint to spend that $80 without knowing this could happen.

EXCEPT you're NOT forced to go to WDW;

AND you DO know it could happen - or you wouldn't be complaining about it right now.

So here's a solution - DON'T GO!

Find a not-for-profit amusement park that makes it's decisions based on the whims of its patrons instead of sound business principles, and then come back and tell us where you found it so we can all go.

 

[mg10rb13]

Would I be bummed if the FP wasn't working for a particular ride when it "seems" like it should be, probably. Especially if it meant standing out in the heat waiting to get on the ride. That's the bummer about many of the rides is that there is no inside queue with A/C.

However, no CM, hot weather, maybe even an upset child (if I had one) could honestly make me complain or get that upset over it. Many of these CM's are college kids, and/or people who may not know all the logistics on Disney's policies and are told by their upper mngmt. "This is what you need to tell guest's and refer them to guest services, etc. if it becomes an issue." It's probably not their place/nor do they want to put themselves into a position to elaborate further on the issue. It seems like Disney is wanting their CM's to use that general statement as you got it from several workers that day "the fastpasses have been distributed."

Consider yourself lucky that it was only a 40 min. standby time if the weather was so sweltering. Most people (including myself) would have stood in line for longer just to get soaked and cooled off for a few minutes.

 

[crisi]

Another thing is that sometimes crowd levels are unanticipated. We were there last week and had a pretty steady rain on Tuesday (?) But that meant that a lot of people cut their Tuesday touring short - and that meant that the park days projected as "busy" all moved around. Disney doesn't have time to react to flash crowd levels - if suddenly an extra few thousand people hit a park because they were going there yesterday, but it rained, they can't suddenly staff Fastpass machines out of thin air. But they CAN and WILL send staff home if things are less busy than anticipated.

 

[TenderDonkey]

1) What did it feel like watching OSU getting demolished by both Florida and LSU?

2) What if you paid to see OSU get crushed by another SEC team let’s say Ole Miss. You paid for your tickets, bought the airfare, hotel in Oxford, etc…You get to the game and instead of OSU, Ole Miss has decided they will being playing Miss State because they didn’t draw enough revenue from the OSU game. Now clearly every game has a disclaimer “subject to change” but using your logic, you should be 100% ok with it because you knew the game was subject to change. Does that seem about right?

 

[disney_bob]

1) What did it feel like watching OSU getting demolished by both Florida and LSU?

2) What if you paid to see OSU get crushed by another SEC team let’s say Ole Miss. You paid for your tickets, bought the airfare, hotel in Oxford, etc…You get to the game and instead of OSU, Ole Miss has decided they will being playing Miss State because they didn’t draw enough revenue from the OSU game. Now clearly every game has a disclaimer “subject to change” but using your logic, you should be 100% ok with it because you knew the game was subject to change. Does that seem about right?

You aren't paying for admittance to Disney and suddenly finding yourself in Busch Gardens. You're paying to get into Disney, getting into Disney, and finding that one minor feature (that other places charge you for, by the way) isn't working on one ride.

Maybe your example would be better if you said "You paid to see OSU get crushed by Ole Miss. You got to the stadium, saw OSU get crushed by Ole Miss, but one of the beer vendors didn't accept credit cards".

 

[TenderDonkey]

They sell you admittance to the park. They don't discount based on "what is closed" or what random non-attractions are available (I wouldn't expect a partial discount if the Emporium was closed, for example).

They do cancel parades/fireworks/shows for a variety of reasons and no refund is given. And they do close restaurants because it simply isn't busy.. if I'm not mistaken El Pirata y El Perico is only open during 'peak season'.

So if they admit you to the park then close all the e-ticket rides because the revenue doesn’t justify the cost are you ok with that? Would you not complain?

 

[Withacy]

1) What did it feel like watching OSU getting demolished by both Florida and LSU?

2) What if you paid to see OSU get crushed by another SEC team let’s say Ole Miss. You paid for your tickets, bought the airfare, hotel in Oxford, etc…You get to the game and instead of OSU, Ole Miss has decided they will being playing Miss State because they didn’t draw enough revenue from the OSU game. Now clearly every game has a disclaimer “subject to change” but using your logic, you should be 100% ok with it because you knew the game was subject to change. Does that seem about right?

1. I think you pretty much guaranteed that no one is going to take anything you say seriously with this response.

2. Do you have any idea how impossible that scenerio is? And even if it wasn't, to compare that to having a Fastpass machine at WDW closed for the day is, well, silly.

BTW - I have a map from Epcot from my last trip, and under Guest Amenities, where it has what each of the icons on the map mean, next to FP it has "Disney FASTPASS(r) Subject to availability" - which pretty much covers them not choosing to offer them on any given day.

 

[disney_bob]

So if they admit you to the park then close all the e-ticket rides because the revenue doesn’t justify the cost are you ok with that? Would you not complain?

Of course I'd complain, but someone outside the situation would see a few things:

1. People come to the park to get on e-ticket rides (not to use fastpass)
2. Disney would be within their rights to tell me tough luck because they sell park admittance, not guarantee of ride up-time (the same reason I don't get a discount with ride renovations)
3. IF Disney told me tough luck while closing the majority of rides they'd have a hell of a PR time

Fastpass is not the same as an e-ticket ride, let alone ALL the e-ticket rides, in terms of 'revenue' or 'guest-draw'. You're giving a flawed example.

 

[TenderDonkey]

You aren't paying for admittance to Disney and suddenly finding yourself in Busch Gardens. You're paying to get into Disney, getting into Disney, and finding that one minor feature (that other places charge you for, by the way) isn't working on one ride.

Maybe your example would be better if you said "You paid to see OSU get crushed by Ole Miss. You got to the stadium, saw OSU get crushed by Ole Miss, but one of the beer vendors didn't accept credit cards".

My point was like Disney, you look at a schedule, see if it works for you and then make arrangements. It's more like I'm paying to see an elite team crush OSU and since the revenue projection is off they send out the cheerleaders instead. I'm still getting a game and knowing OSU probably a competitive game, but it was not the game that was scheduled.