FP crackdowns???

[Sleeping Becca]

Gotcha!

 

[Brian Noble]

My guess is that all the publicity about selling FPs, and the attendant discussion about whether or not you can expect to get into the FP line after your window has expired, forced Management to tell CMs to enforce those windows.

I'm told by a CM acquaintence that checking the date has been a point of emphasis recently. I'm also told that Rider Switch passes are now dated, and valid only on the date issued, for the same reason. Bummer, because you used to be able to use the latter pretty much any time during your trip.

 

[PEANUT1]

we used our EE fastpasses late in May. We had a LONG LONG dinner at TEppan Edo and were too late to use the FP...no problem we were told we could use them anyway. They were about an hour past the time.

 

[jmclester]

[I think its very clear that there is no rule against using the fast past after the time printed on the ticket. I think for many of the reasons stated in this thread, its is not in Disney's interest to enforce the time cut off rule.[/QUOTE]

I agree that it may not be in their best interest to enforce it but why would there be an "until" time posted if you aren't intended to return by that time. As another poster put it, why wouldn't it jsut say "return after 11am, etc."?

And IMHO please does not mean that there is an option, it's a way of being polite. As in "Please stand clear of the door" on the monorail....... por favor.
Well, there is an option but it's not very attractive.

 

[*disgal*]

we used our EE fastpasses late in May. We had a LONG LONG dinner at TEppan Edo and were too late to use the FP...no problem we were told we could use them anyway. They were about an hour past the time.

That's one very good reason I don't think they worry about you being late with your FP. They know you might have been in one of their restaurants, one of their gift shops, or on another one of their rides riding stand-by and waiting in THAT line..........there are a number of good reasons why you could be late. They are not going to grill you, so they just let you in, which is a good thing, imho.

 

[PA Princess]

I am a rule follower (just ask my dh - makes him crazy at times ), but I have been known to be flexible with my fp time usage. It is a tip I sorta got from the DIS, because I am the type that it would just never, ever occur to me to use a ticket with times anywhere outside of that window.

Several years ago I read that some were able to use FP outside the window. I tucked that knowledge in the back of my head, but I knew in my heart that was not somthing I would set out to do.

Later that year on our trip, like many we were delayed returning to a ride by a meal. My husband and I were sorta fussing at each other about missing the window (not hollering or anything, but we were clearly stressed). A very nice CM walked over and asked if he could help. Dh explained that we missed our fp window, and that CM told us no big deal, head for the ride and we would be able to use the fp no problem.

Here was a CM telling me I could do it, I remembered reading that others could do it, but I still hesitated. Dh read my expression and asked the cm if he would write us a note to get on the ride. Dh was speaking completely in jest, but his deadpan delivery cracked us all up! After a good chuckle, we made our way to the ride and rode with our fp - no problems.

Since then we have used fp trying to adhere to the windows, but when the time has not worked out, we have attempted to use them outside of the window, and we have never had an issue. I have to say that it sure has alleviated a bit of stress for us on our trips, so much so that we have decided that missing a ride would be preferable than trying to race for fp windows.

So sssshhhhh, don't tell my kids, but I PA Princess am a converted rule follower - sorta

 

[raebyddet]

As another poster put it, why wouldn't it just say "return after 11am, etc."?

Because they would like you to return during that time, however its not a requirement. If you don't return during that time there is no penalty (i.e. you can't ride). Because so many things can happen in the park, they aren't going to penalize people for not being back during the window.

Having said this, I think there is a big difference between being 30mins - 2 hours late (2 hours is pretty much just arbitrary) and getting a fast pass for 10 am and trying to use it at 9 pm. I think an hour or two after is pretty reasonable, lots of things could have happened to cause an arrival like that. However 11 hours later is a bit of a stretch and I could see someone being denied entry for that, but again I don't think right now there is anything to stop that from happening.

 

[BuzzBiteyear]

It says please.

Becca, are you a CPA? I ask, because as a CPA, I thought the same thing. So much of our rules and regulations will use language such as:

"it is advised...."
"you may....."
"you should...."
"you must...."

Only when it says "you must" is the attention really grabbed.


That all said, I've used FPs late, sometimes, due to being on another attraction, losing track of where we are at, in relation to how long it will take to get back to that attraction, a meal running over the FP window, or as a planning tool (get a FP in the morning to use that night, etc.). Never tried using one from a previous date though.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Becca, are you a CPA?

Ha! You got me!

I specialize in Tax Accounting. So in my profession, there is very little that is absolute. Pretty much any tax question can be answered....it depends.

 

[BuzzBiteyear]

That's usually my quick advice to a complex question (especially in regards to tax).

 

[jmclester]

If you set aside the language on the back of the ticket and read the side that is relevant (after all the back is nothing w/o the front) then....how can "RETURN ANYTIME BETWEEN X AND Z" be interpreted as anything else?

 

[Robo]

Ha! You got me!

I specialize in Tax Accounting. So in my profession, there is very little that is absolute. Pretty much any tax question can be answered....it depends.

That's usually my quick advice to a complex question (especially in regards to tax).

Technical questions are known as "How long is a piece of string?" queries.

I give these "that depends" answers to my clients when they want to know "how much does it cost to make a 30-second TV commercial?"

 

[Sleeping Becca]

If you set aside the language on the back of the ticket and read the side that is relevant (after all the back is nothing w/o the front) then....how can "RETURN ANYTIME BETWEEN X AND Z" be interpreted as anything else?

I'm a fine print kinda gal! I take nothing at face value.

Kind of like when an item is advertised as costing X amount, but really is only X amount if you sign up for a credit card or apply for a rebate or bring in a coupon, or buy X amount of product etc.etc.

 

[raebyddet]

If you set aside the language on the back of the ticket and read the side that is relevant (after all the back is nothing w/o the front) then....how can "RETURN ANYTIME BETWEEN X AND Z" be interpreted as anything else?

The exact opposite can also be true (The front is nothing with out the back). If that is what it says, then why do they specifically state that there are no early entries allowed? Given it says it right there on the front, why do they say that?

Given the whole FP taken in context, I take it to mean they would like you to come during that time, but if you don't make it no big deal, just don't come early.

I give the people at disney a lot of credit, they are smart folks. When they created the FP system I am sure they had lots of discussions about this very issue, and I know that if they wanted to enforce the time window, the would have created the ticket in away that would enforce that, however they didn't, so they fully expect and intend for this kind of thing to happen.

 

[Robo]

FastPass.

Get it!

 

[Robo]

I give the people at disney a lot of credit, they are smart folks. When they created the FP system I am sure they had lots of discussions about this very issue, and I know that if they wanted to enforce the time window, the would have created the ticket in away that would enforce that, however they didn't, so they fully expect and intend for this kind of thing to happen.

to the DISboards, raebyddet!

 

[sbell111]

... why would there be an "until" time posted if you aren't intended to return by that time.

By putting a range, they know that most people will return during that range. This allows them to better predict the line length and give out the right amount of fast passes.

To look at it from a different direction, consider FPs for RnR and ToT. Since the range is given, most people who return to those rides get back right around that time period. If the range wasn't there, people would return to ride those rides when they returned to that section of the park, which would tend to be immediately before and immediately after Fantasmic. This would cause the standby lines for these rides to basically stop for a long time so they could clear the bloated FP line.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I don't know about you but I like to get a FP and immediately go to the FP entrance and try to wear the CM down until they let me and my tour group of 100 in.

 

[jmclester]

I disagree. All of the pertinent info is on the front. The part about no early entry is on the back.

Ok, if you're going to take the back as law and you can do anything with it if it's not written there.......what about the "not transferrable" part. Have you never accepted and used a FP from another guest on their way out of the park or given yours to someone just to be nice? How do you rationalize around that wording? Do you just say "oh, that means not transferrable only if I can't use it"???

 

[sbell111]

I disagree. All of the pertinent info is on the front. The part about no early entry is on the back.

I disagree. The pertainent info isn't on the ticket, at all. The really important thing is how Disney chooses to handle the FP line. They have made that decision clear, both in words and in practice. A fast pass can be used any time on the date shown as long as it is after the return time. This is completely clear and cannot be made clearer by parsing the verbiage on the ticket.