State of Fast Pass Return (or replacement)

[elle101me]

I wish they’d just rip the bandaid off and let us know what is or isn’t happening. We go in 18 days, and I keep telling my kids to keep their expectations much lower than when we went in May (when we were able to ride Splash 3x in a day…).

Right?? We are 15 days out. Just let us know!

 

[123SA]

Disney hasn't made any sort of indication that FP+ will be back soon...is that correct? We are all just desperately hoping for it, right? If so, why would they announce that it won't be back next month? And then what, continue to make announcements every two weeks that it won't be available in the next two weeks? I'm going next month too, so I'd love to know definitively that FP+ will not be back, it would be helpful in terms of making plans and managing expectations, but I wouldn't expect them to confirm that something won't be available when they never suggested it would be in the first place.

 

[Looper]

Disney hasn't made any sort of indication that FP+ will be back soon...is that correct? We are all just desperately hoping for it, right? If so, why would they announce that it won't be back next month? And then what, continue to make announcements every two weeks that it won't be available in the next two weeks? I'm going next month too, so I'd love to know definitively that FP+ will not be back, it would be helpful in terms of making plans and managing expectations, but I wouldn't expect them to confirm that something won't be available when they never suggested it would be in the first place.

I don’t think they’d make an announcement in particular that it isn’t returning at a certain date, but they could go ahead and say it is coming back by x date, and it’ll look like y (paid/free/hybrid/whatever).

 

[mercuryvenus]

Disney hasn't made any sort of indication that FP+ will be back soon...is that correct? We are all just desperately hoping for it, right? If so, why would they announce that it won't be back next month? And then what, continue to make announcements every two weeks that it won't be available in the next two weeks? I'm going next month too, so I'd love to know definitively that FP+ will not be back, it would be helpful in terms of making plans and managing expectations, but I wouldn't expect them to confirm that something won't be available when they never suggested it would be in the first place.

Right. They have never said FP+ will return. On the other hand, they also haven’t said it *won’t* return, in contrast to Magical Express or the Disneyland annual pass program (the latter returning in a different form, of course).

All we know is the Genie app has been announced, though we don’t know when that will debut. We know that will help people optimize itineraries based on ride preferences/dining reservations, but we don’t know if that will tie into fast passes.

 

[123SA]

I don’t think they’d make an announcement in particular that it isn’t returning at a certain date, but they could go ahead and say it is coming back by x date, and it’ll look like y (paid/free/hybrid/whatever).

I would like that as well.

 

[TommyJK]

Right. They have never said FP+ will return. On the other hand, they also haven’t said it *won’t* return, in contrast to Magical Express or the Disneyland annual pass program (the latter returning in a different form, of course).

All we know is the Genie app has been announced, though we don’t know when that will debut. We know that will help people optimize itineraries based on ride preferences/dining reservations, but we don’t know if that will tie into fast passes.

Sometimes silence can be deafening too though. The fact that queues have gotten to the point that they are, and the fact that they haven't brought back FP+ to mitigate what things are like right now, to me it screams that it's highly unlikely that they will bring it back (even as a stop gap until whatever they're planning is up and running).

 

[whiporee]

I don't get your logic, and I've never asked Disney to do anything for free. Everything Disney has done is calculated to increase revenue. Hotels and DVC print money for them. Restaurants and shopping at Disney Springs allow Disney to play landlord and rake in the dough. I would bet that parks have the lowest margins, therefore they are uninterested in building another gate to alleviate crowding. Instead they have chosen your method: increase revenue per guest to decrease the number of guests in the parks. Disney has never been a cheap vacation, but it used to be reasonable. Additionally, many were happy to pay exorbitant prices because the service was world class. People gripe when they feel they are not getting their money's worth; each move Disney makes lately has guests questioning the worth of the product. There IS a breaking point and we are getting nearer. We'll see what happens.

"Free" was the wrong word. I should have said "more." More hours, more parks, more rides. More benefits for whatever group they happen to belong to (DVC, or deluxe resort guests, or all resort guests, AP holders, or non-AP holders, or whoever).

I don't think "more" helps with anything except more stuff to do. It won't cut back on crowds or rides or lines -- heck, HS opened four major new rides in the last five years. Have lines gone down at MK as a result? Has FoP made Kali a walk-on in the middle of summer? No -- it just meant more. More is good, but it doesn't do anything to mitigate wait times. Nor do extra hours -- I mean, for the few who are willing to stay up until 1 AM, they get some walk-ons. But it doesn't reduce lines during the times most people are at the park.

 

[kc51570]

I wish they’d just rip the bandaid off and let us know what is or isn’t happening. We go in 18 days, and I keep telling my kids to keep their expectations much lower than when we went in May (when we were able to ride Splash 3x in a day…).

Wow! Yes, I’d definitely plan on not being able to ride splash that many times again. We were able to get on it once our entire trip and that was because we got a FP due to being stuck on and eventually evacuated off of People Mover. Splash was down the 2 times we tried to rope drop and always at least a 75 minute wait including during fireworks.

 

[becauseimnew]

Wow! Yes, I’d definitely plan on not being able to ride splash that many times again. We were able to get on it once our entire trip and that was because we got a FP due to being stuck on and eventually evacuated off of People Mover. Splash was down the 2 times we tried to rope drop and always at least a 75 minute wait including during fireworks.

we are used to riding splash twice a day, 1 standby and one FP+.

 

[Mac30188]

Sometimes silence can be deafening too though. The fact that queues have gotten to the point that they are, and the fact that they haven't brought back FP+ to mitigate what things are like right now, to me it screams that it's highly unlikely that they will bring it back (even as a stop gap until whatever they're planning is up and running).

Another option is if they say nothing, they cannot be wrong. If they make no public announcement, whatever they end up doing in the future is what they planned to do from the very beginning and the masses don't know the wiser. It would be a great way to deal with an in process software development effort where the new system hasn't made it through testing, the break glass system has passed testing, and no matter what. they need a system in placefor the 50th. Not to mention why submit themselves to the bad publicity for a pay system if they are not 100% sure that is the system they are deploying.

 

[Mac30188]

Duplicate.

 

[lovethesun12]

In my mind, if you pay $5-10K+ for a vacation and you just show up at the gate without doing any research, then it's on you. That's just dumb. Sure, you shouldn't have to spend 6 months on the message boards to be able to have a good trip, (doing that just gets you the best trip!) but basic research is required for any vacation.

It depends on the party though. Most families I know take vacations in winter for sunshine, not WDW. Their extensive planning is for a vacation in Florida, not specifically WDW.

There's nothing in any guide or on any website you can "research" that says you should spend 5min planning for tampa zoo, 30 minutes for legoland, and 1024h for your day at MK. The thing is they *can* walk into legoland/universal/seaworld/etc, ride the major rides and have a good time. MK not so much.

On the other hand, it doesn't really make sense to try to win people over, and once you do, push them away.

We currently have a resort only trip planned. The current lines at WDW (without FP+) just don't sound as fun to me as the other options in Florida.

 

[emilymad]

I really wish something would be announced. We are debating buying APs (we canceled during the closed period) for our trip starting Thanksgiving weekend. I am really not sure I want to go to the parks in their current state. We went at the end of February for two days and hated not having FP+. At some point we need to decide so we can get park reservations. That is such a busy time I can't imagine not having FP+ or some new version. It feels like playing a giant game of chicken with Disney.

 

[finedice]

It feels like they won't be bringing FP+ back this summer. Having given it much thought (and the last 2 days in the parks), I realize that without the "junk" FPs, like Indy, B&TB, Ariel, meet & greets, Fantasmic, etc... there just wouldn't be enough passes to go around.

Yes, wait times are drastically over-inflated in almost all cases. Space mtn posted at 70 took 35, pirates at 45 took 15, etc. However, the extended queues out in the summer sun are pretty brutal, even if moving quickly.

I will say though, we had a good time for the most part. The exception being broken monorails screwing up ropedrop (and end of day) at MK for us yesterday. We had leisurely meals during the height of wait times and made strategic choices. For the vets, you will have fun because skipping things doesn't hurt as much. Once in a lifetime folks will probably suffer the most.

 

[finedice]

There's nothing in any guide or on any website you can "research" that says you should spend 5min planning for tampa zoo, 30 minutes for legoland, and 1024h for your day at MK. The thing is they *can* walk into legoland/universal/seaworld/etc, ride the major rides and have a good time. MK not so much.

Spent 4 days at UO last week. Many 90 minute waits posted most of the day. We had EE & UEP though and had a good time. Without EP, would have been horrible.

 

[mercuryvenus]

It feels like they won't be bringing FP+ back this summer. Having given it much thought (and the last 2 days in the parks), I realize that without the "junk" FPs, like Indy, B&TB, Ariel, meet & greets, Fantasmic, etc... there just wouldn't be enough passes to go around.

Yes, wait times are drastically over-inflated in almost all cases. Space mtn posted at 70 took 35, pirates at 45 took 15, etc. However, the extended queues out in the summer sun are pretty brutal, even if moving quickly.

I will say though, we had a good time for the most part. The exception being broken monorails screwing up ropedrop (and end of day) at MK for us yesterday. We had leisurely meals during the height of wait times and made strategic choices. For the vets, you will have fun because skipping things doesn't hurt as much. Once in a lifetime folks will probably suffer the most.

This makes a lot of sense!

In terms of the outdoor queues being the worst part, I’ve heard cooling towels and neck fans make a big difference for a lot of people.

 

[finedice]

This makes a lot of sense!

In terms of the outdoor queues being the worst part, I’ve heard cooling towels and neck fans make a big difference for a lot of people.

People use them for sure. Yet I will say that those folks still looked uncomfortable!

 

[JodieJRanch]

You are splitting hairs. What I called EMH may have been called something different 20 years ago; my point was that it was "exclusive" to resort guests (there were far fewer resorts) and had free "significantly reduced" waiting because even if all resort guests stayed, there were plenty of rides to disperse them. Disney has spent too much time looking to grow profits instead of guest experience. The perks that were afforded to onsite guests have been slowly replaced with paid options. This is an unarguable point.

I agree 100% with your point here. Now it's vitally important that Disney continues to grow profits. How they do it is the question. The best way IMO is to improve the experience. That doesn't mean just adding additional attractions. Yes 20+ years ago, they use to have extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom once a week, available to on property guest only. There was a very small fee $5-10 per person. We walked though the magic kingdom and felt like we were the only people there. Splash Mt., Big Thunder and Peter Pan were all almost walk-on's. Prior to FP+, during our annual trip to the World in October or November, I can recall essentially being able to practically walk-on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, Its A Small World, Buzz, the People Mover at any time with very little wait at all. After FP+, that's no longer the case. FP+ changed the entire dynamics of touring the parks plus in addition, it has enticed locals with annual passes to come more often. I think its time to go back no advanced reservation for FP's period.

 

[BrianL]

I agree 100% with your point here. Now it's vitally important that Disney continues to grow profits. How they do it is the question. The best way IMO is to improve the experience. That doesn't mean just adding additional attractions. Yes 20+ years ago, they use to have extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom once a week, available to on property guest only. There was a very small fee $5-10 per person. We walked though the magic kingdom and felt like we were the only people there. Splash Mt., Big Thunder and Peter Pan were all almost walk-on's. Prior to FP+, during our annual trip to the World in October or November, I can recall essentially being able to practically walk-on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, Its A Small World, Buzz, the People Mover at any time with very little wait at all. After FP+, that's no longer the case. FP+ changed the entire dynamics of touring the parks plus in addition, it has enticed locals with annual passes to come more often. I think its time to go back no advanced reservation for FP's period.

You are definitely correct in that building new attractions isn't the only important thing. They've definitely been doing that, however it has also increased demand. What good is a Rise of the Resistance if you don't get to ride it when you miss out on a boarding group? They need to figure out how to mitigate this more - if they want more people to come then they have to provide not just rides, but other things to do and other crowd management procedures. It is getting unpleasant in some ways. The bandwidth is reaching critical mass and they are going to have to do something to fix that.

 

[Leight19]

It feels like they won't be bringing FP+ back this summer. Having given it much thought (and the last 2 days in the parks), I realize that without the "junk" FPs, like Indy, B&TB, Ariel, meet & greets, Fantasmic, etc... there just wouldn't be enough passes to go around.

Yes, wait times are drastically over-inflated in almost all cases. Space mtn posted at 70 took 35, pirates at 45 took 15, etc. However, the extended queues out in the summer sun are pretty brutal, even if moving quickly.

I will say though, we had a good time for the most part. The exception being broken monorails screwing up ropedrop (and end of day) at MK for us yesterday. We had leisurely meals during the height of wait times and made strategic choices. For the vets, you will have fun because skipping things doesn't hurt as much. Once in a lifetime folks will probably suffer the most.

I agree the fast pass 3x a day would be hard/impossible without filler fast passes but I was wondering if that could be how they roll out new fast pass. Basically they say since covid reduced attractions everyone now gets 1 fast pass instead of 3. This would wean us off fast pass and reset expectations so later when they announce can get more then 1 by either paying or staying expensive resorts it seems like an addition rather then subtraction.

I feel like someone on this thread (remy) had insider info so I’m convinced Disney will be rolling out some form of new fp where number you get and maybe when you can book/what you can get ties to admission and resort type. I’m not as sure whether this will mean they switch to paid fast pass. My hope would be even if they go to paid fast passes they still have option for some free on demand fast passes; I’m not sure Disney uses this way but they could/should use fast pass booking to redirect crowds as needed. For example on busy time they could drop extra immediate use fast passes for lower demand attractions to pull crowds from higher demand attractions when systems are unbalanced.