Can we talk about how bad FastPass+ is?

[OtherScott]

I would never suggest that they replace attractions which are classics and which have stood the test of time (such as POTC and IASW). Nor would I advocate getting rid of attractions which are popular with children (e.g. Dumbo). But they stubbornly keep crap like Stitch and Tiki Room Under New Management (until the tiki gods got fed up and started a fire in the room), despite universal (no pun intended) loathing and non-existent wait times. A more popular ride, a headliner to compete with existing headliners, would do wonders for capacity. Of course, the MK is not the park with the biggest capacity issues. At least they're closing some of the duds at DHS, but it will be years before they are replaced. Attempts to manage capacity amount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Adding real capacity, with E Tickets or other attractions which are well executed and likely to be popular for many years to come, is the real solution. Again, the best recent example is RSR. They poured a lot of money and resources into making that ride a major E Ticket, and it even helped to reduce crowding at Disneyland! As the lynchpin of Cars Land, it helped to redistribute DLR guests more evenly between the two parks. In the past, Disneyland was getting most of the crowds, and sometimes DCA was almost a ghost town by comparison. Of course there are never any guarantees. The public can be fickle. But when they go all out to create something amazing, doing whatever it takes to pull it off, they rarely fail. Disney has enormous resources and a huge talent pool from which to draw. What is sometimes missing is the willingness to give a project the green light, or to resist cutting costs.

They base decisions on answers to questions we haven't thought of.

If rides would have brought in more revenue at a lower cost, why would they take a pass?

 

[AmyB2006]

Still keeps Captain Eo running. Disney should be fricken ashamed of that attraction ...

Amen!!!

 

[Davey Jones II]

They base decisions on answers to questions we haven't thought of.

If rides would have brought in more revenue at a lower cost, why would they take a pass?

I'm not saying they took a pass. There are projects ongoing. But, I AM saying that new attractions are coming too slowly.

As I mentioned earlier, I think they went for Next Gen primarily because they believe it will help sell more merch.

 

[OtherScott]

I'm not saying they took a pass. There are projects ongoing. But, I AM saying that new attractions are coming too slowly.

As I mentioned earlier, I think they went for Next Gen primarily because they believe it will help sell more merch.

$2 billion in additional merchandise sales? While alienating their most loyal customers? Just to break even?

Not seeing it.

 

[Davey Jones II]

$2 billion in additional merchandise sales? While alienating their most loyal customers? Just to break even?

Not seeing it.

It's up to $2 billion now? Let's call that Next Gen Inflation. Which leads me to my first point:

a) Cost overruns. They had no idea it would cost this much.

b) Hubris. In their arrogance, they would never anticipate this kind of backlash.

c) It's true that NextGen is about more than increased merch sales. But I contend that selling more merch was the factor that clinched the decision for the Board of Directors. That's the part that means ringing cash registers.

This ping pong game has been amusing, but it will have to go on hiatus, since we are leaving for Orlando tomorrow. And, thankfully, I will be offline for the duration.

Yes, despite everything, it's still worth it for us -- at least for this year. Mind you, we're spending three days of our trip at Universal.

Over and out.

 

[AmyB2006]

It's up to $2 billion now? Let's call that Next Gen Inflation. Which leads me to my first point:

a) Cost overruns. They had no idea it would cost this much.

b) Hubris. In their arrogance, they would never anticipate this kind of backlash.

c) It's true that NextGen is about more than increased merch sales. But I contend that selling more merch was the factor that clinched the decision for the Board of Directors. That's the part that means ringing cash registers.

This ping pong game has been amusing, but it will have to go on hiatus, since we are leaving for Orlando tomorrow. And, thankfully, I will be offline for the duration.

Yes, despite everything, it's still worth it for us -- at least for this year. Mind you, we're spending three days of our trip at Universal.

Over and out.

As I mentioned earlier, I think they went for Next Gen primarily because they believe it will help sell more merch.

I kind of see what you're saying. Kind of like, let's develop this great system. It does A, B, C, D, and oh by the way it'll increase E. Oh well then if it increases E, let's do it... king of thing?

I think that this system as much as everybody trashes it will come into play in all of the new attractions that Disney is developing. So maybe increasing merch sales was a "selling point" to the executives but I think it will make everyone's experience better in the end.

Now, maybe not so much, but in the future (5-10 years down the road), yes.

 

[luvdisney87]

I just have to add my two cents in here, not that it'll make much difference. I have yet to use the new system at the parks but have a glitch that would not have been a problem on the old system. I am one of those lucky people who were lucky enough to get A&E fast passes but not on the day we had scheduled for our MK day. This was the first time I actually got to make ADRs at 180 days out and it screwed some things up on there. It's just frustrating. I would have rather taken my chances at rope drop and not had to rearrange things. I keep telling myself it'll be okay. We'll be at Disney.

 

[OtherScott]

It's up to $2 billion now? Let's call that Next Gen Inflation. Which leads me to my first point: a) Cost overruns. They had no idea it would cost this much. b) Hubris. In their arrogance, they would never anticipate this kind of backlash. c) It's true that NextGen is about more than increased merch sales. But I contend that selling more merch was the factor that clinched the decision for the Board of Directors. That's the part that means ringing cash registers. This ping pong game has been amusing, but it will have to go on hiatus, since we are leaving for Orlando tomorrow. And, thankfully, I will be offline for the duration. Yes, despite everything, it's still worth it for us -- at least for this year. Mind you, we're spending three days of our trip at Universal. Over and out.

Backlash?

Once you believe this, the rest is easy.

Have a great trip at both parks.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Backlash?

Once you believe this, the rest is easy.

Have a great trip at both parks.

We did have a great trip, actually. Thanks.

 

[agavegirl1]

Well, last month I couldn't participate in this thread. This week I can. You see, I only go every 4-5 years. This trip? FP+? Not a fan. I rode less rides overall. I didn't make all my FP+ reservations because of ADRs and other timing issues. I skipped entire half days of FP+ reservations due to being bored by no new experiences. I was bored with the parks in general. I spent more time doing laundry than at DHS for example.