A Fast Pass System in Place of Dining Ressies?

[Tammy296]

I came up with THE MOST interesting idea ever today... Why not have a fast pass system for the most popular restaurants from now on....No more dining reservations in advance... you get your fast pass the day you want to eat at that place and that's it.. you get a seat or you don't for that time until all the times and seats are filled up...

I think realistically it would work AND cut down on cancelled reservations and people not being able to get a ressie at the place they want the day they want...

Whose with me on that one???

 

[mcd2745]

Even I (possibly the harshest critic of the 180 days policy), can't get onboard with this. Where do you get the 'fastpass' - at the restaurant only, concierge desk of your resort, park guest services, all of the above? What time do you start distributing them - particularly for places that serve breakfast? You'd have people camping out all night to get FPs.

 

[Tammy296]

Well technically to get breakfast ressie's it makes sense to have an online system of some sort. You're right... I wouldn't want anyone camping out... can't see that realistically happening LOL But the fastpass system for dining would be handy in front of the restaurant starting at opening of that day for lunch and dinner.. and only forthe extremely hard to get into restaurants like Le Cellier, etc. Most of the hard to get into restaurants do not even serve breakfast...

 

[fla4fun]

It would be very much like the old days at Epcot, when they had the touch screen terminals where you made your dining reservations and they were only available same day. They would open the turnstiles, and people would run - not to an attraction, but to a touch screen. They had the whole room at the end of SSE full of them, plus two kiosks (one at the front and one at the back of WS), plus you could make a reservation in person at the podium of the restaurant once there was staff on duty. It worked OK, but that was just for one park. I can't imagine how it would work property wide.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I wouldn't eat a single TS meal at WDW if that's how it worked.

I have an autistic child and need to know how my day can be scheduled. I also have 2 kids with food allergies and need to know ahead of time that we'll be able to find a place somewhere near where we'll be that can accomodate them.

I also don't want to lose valuable vacation time every single day trying to secure dining spots. Calculate how much money you spend per hour of your trip. Do you really want that much of your vacation taken up trying to secure a place to dine each and every day?

Right now Disney knows just how full their restaurants will be ahead of time. With a system like this, they'd be guessing each day. Talk about a staffing nightmare.

WDW would lose money from me with that type of system. I suspect they'd lose a lot more money from others who couldn't be bothered for any of the reasons I've already stated or for many other reasons that aren't coming to mind right now. What they have works for them. Note I said for them. That's really what matters for a business. Disney is a business and right now they're filling up their restaurants so they're not going to change anything.

FYI: pre-park opening ADRs in the parks are VERY highly covetted. Maybe you don't want them, but they do fill up pretty quickly. You're mistaken about the hard to get into restaurants not serving breakfast.

 

[TDC Nala]

I wouldn't want anyone camping out... can't see that realistically happening LOL

Oh yes...people will be camping out to get into Le Cellier, CRT, Chef Mickeys and Ohana dinner. It'd happen.

Also, taking away all opportunity to schedule meals beforehand likely wouldn't go over big.

Also, what would be the effect of guests getting the fast passes for restaurants, then deciding not to use them?

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

Disney doesn't care if "Restaurant A" gets booked up at 180 days out by resort guests, locals, off-site visitors, annual passholders, monkeys, aliens or ghosts. They just want every seat filled at every table with paying customers. Anyone who thinks that WDW should be or still is a come-as-you-are, walk-up-and-wing-it sort of place is still living in the 1980s.

If you plan and prepare, then you can relax and enjoy. Otherwise...

Now, a 180-day online reservation system for Fastpasses -- that's an idea I can get behind.