Disneyland to introduce MaxPass (New Fastpass & New Fastpass Attractions) - Now with Poll

[agamble]

I'm curious to know this too! I was really hoping the digital FP via the app would be free. :/ In the article comments from Erin Glover the wording makes it sound like you CAN"T have FP's in both DCA & DL for the same time frame ie. you could have one for Splash but not also RSR within the same 2 hour time frame or the same 1 hour return window? That would be a huge dealbreaker for me!

That is how I read it and it makes me think they would have to close the loophole for everyone. But this is a pretty big deal and will make BIG changes to how FP are distributed.

If you have MP and you are opening the day at DL at 8AM, but you want to hop over to DCA in an hour you could get your FP for RSR for 8:40-9:40 (give or take a few minutes) and could spend your first hour walking on to rides at DL (since that's how mornings are) and then walk over to DCA for your RSR FP window. However, you wouldn't be able to get a FP for Space Mountain while at DL until after your 8:40 window opens. This FP would be for at least an hour (probably further) away. If everyone with MP was grabbing a FP for RSR first thing in the morning those FP would be gone quickly (as when it first opened), but most of those MP users would be blocked from pulling any more FP for two hours as the window gets pushed further out.

 

[DisBabe94]

I'm not understanding why people think the FPs will all be gone for the day after the initial rush first thing in the morning. I understand it to be that you can still only get one FP at a time and have to wait the two hours before getting another one (or waiting until the current FP is usable). The only difference is you won't have to physically go to the FP machine. You can't schedule all the FPs for the day when you 1st enter the park, can you? You're just paying for the privilege of not having to walk all over the park, right?

My reasoning on why I believe it will cause the FPs to go more quickly is because people will likely reserve a FP first thing when they get into the park, whereas beforehand people might choose to prioritize running and jumping in a line or they have a dining reservation or something along those lines that would prohibit them from going to the kiosk right away. Specifically with a ride like RSR, where now it will be much much more convenient to book a FP, people who would not wait in line for a paper FP but now would pay to get one on the app. I hope I'm making sense lol. Now, guests can have a FP immediately upon entry instead of the 10-ish minute delay due to actual walking to the kiosk. Just because of that they will go faster.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can't even. So instead of adopting WDW's amazing, very well received, and free mobile FP booking system, DLR is going to model itself after Six Flags and *upcharge* guests for the "privilege" of using a modern ride-reservation system? That's one hell of a shark for TDA to jump. Disgusting.

You know, after many years as a DLR vet and evangelist, I've felt DLR dying for me little by little for the past couple of years. Vandalizing the Rivers of America. Destroying the ranch area. Evicting the railroad from the berm. Shutting down Fantasmic, the train, and all watercraft for two years. Ripping the classic theme out of Tower of Terror. Refusing to install in-park wifi. Raising 365-day AP prices by 75 percent. Refusing to go near the New Technology project for years after its rollout in Orlando.

But this really takes the cake for me. My partner and I started visiting Disneyland together a few years ago because of how base and cut rate Six Flags felt to us locally. I took him to Disneyland and he instantly became a gigantic fan of the experience. Now the idea that something that has always been free at Disneyland is going to receive an "improvement" that is really a completely unhidden up charge when an even better and more useful version is still completely free in Orlando? Just, no.

In August of last year, when my partner and I visited Walt Disney World because we didn't want to deal with the construction impacts at Disneyland, and fell in love with Walt Disney World because of the wonderful improvements that have been made there in the past few years by Disneyland's former president, George Kalogridis, we just really couldn't believe it. At first we felt like refugees there from our beloved Anaheim parks. Then the news came about Tower of Terror. And in December, we went right back to Walt Disney World for our holiday trip instead of DLR. We thought maybe, just maybe we would end up loving Disneyland again after the construction as much as we had come to love Walt Disney World.

But after 15 years of being a Disneyland evangelist, this is the end point for me. I just cannot express how sickened I am by the idea that Disneyland would roll out a mobile fast pass reservation system that would charge guests at all, much less $10 per guest per day. As an "introductory" rate, at that.

I'm heartbroken but I'm out. Keep the better Pirates and Space Mountain. I'll take the 21st-century technology over in Orlando, and the lack of an upcharge for enjoying the privilege of it. After 15 years of going head to head with WDW vets about the joys of DLR, I'm done doing that. In August, when our first time ever Walt Disney World annual passes expire, we will just be renewing them for Orlando again.

Peace.

I'm one of those people who swapped from WDW to DLR because of FP+. I would have preferred to keep legacy FP as it was, but I'm not terribly upset about this. (Ask me again later though when I see how much the price of park tickets go up in a few weeks). But we're once a year visitors who buy Photopass, so the difference in cost is negligible.

I'd still rather not have this digital at all because I think FPs will disappear much faster.

But I'm terribly happy there is no advance scheduling. Having FPs for a popular attraction gone before the day begins is what turned me off to FP+. Also it appears from this that there's none of the insane tiering that they have at WDW so rerides on headliners will continue to be possible just like before.

 

[GrandBob]

A lot of park guests already think you have to pay for fast passes. I have had so many conversations with people in line that tell me that.

And this is why Disney will get away with this cash grab, and a boycott will be unsuccessful. These people will look at MaxPass on sale for $10/day, and it will confirm their belief that you must pay for FP at DLR. They'll never know that you can get the same thing with paper FPs for free. So they'll blindly pay the $10 and never know any better. And so it will be, unfortunately, a success.

Bob

 

[Butterfly123]

I sure wish they would offer a discount for multiple days, just like they do with tickets. This will be so expensive for a large family going for multiple days.

 

[alldiz]

They have already said magicbands are not coming to DL.

Why do you think this is?
I know it was expensive, but once I got used to it I love it.
They must not be getting a return on their investment; more shopping by us.
Kerri

 

[alvernon90]

Which is why FPs are going to go a lot faster. If my "next FP window" opens at 11, and I'm in line for Pirates and want to grab Indiana Jones next, it's probably 11:30 by the time I make it through that (long) ride and get over there. But if I can hop on my phone at 11, done! And that's an example where the next ride is very close.

I think this is exactly right. FPs will run out earlier in the day, but at least they won't be gone weeks in advance like at WDW.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think this is exactly right. FPs will run out earlier in the day, but at least they won't be gone weeks in advance like at WDW.

Exactly this. And that's why I'm ok with this. I preferred legacy, but this is better than the alternative. So I'm sort of relieved.

 

[mom2rtk]

Why do you think this is?
I know it was expensive, but once I got used to it I love it.
They must not be getting a return on their investment; more shopping by us.
Kerri

I'm not sure if I ever saw a reason. My hunch is that MB technology is already pretty dated. Plus, why pay for all those infrastructure changes when you can just use the phone already in the pocket of most guests?

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

I think people who are criticizing those who are upset aren't justified in doing so because people are allowed to feel how they feel, and yes I do believe it's going to screw over AP holders and it does snub the locals. Disney doesn't even have the decency to have it all thought out before giving out information, they are giving out half-truth information for what it's going to be for AP holders. Do I think AP holders should get free MaxPass? No but they should get a huge discount and it should be able to be bought monthly or yearly, AP holders pay more for their pass than a single ticket, and AP holders are generally multiple trips or multiple visits a week visitors, so paying 10 dollars each visit is going to amount to an AP by the end of it and it shouldn't. The perk of having an AP is discounts, so there needs to be one.

And this belief that locals or AP holders aren't going to buy into this is Hogwash, they want fast passes just as much as the 'tourist' does. Some fast passes are still available in the afternoon at certain rides, but with this new system I could see them all being gone and the late visitor kind of on their own. AP holders will buy this, and so will locals if they realize that they are going to have a miserable time cause the lines will be so long without a fast pass.

My concern is how they are going to combat both the Maxpass and Paper Legacy, I'm sure that you won't be able to get a paper fastpass if you have a electronic one and will have to wait the same window that you do with the Paper Legacy. Also, are they going to even out the Fast Pass amount? For example if there are 60 fast passes for 10-11 am, will 30 go to electronic and 30 go to MaxPass or is it going to be 60 to electronic and 60 to Legacy? That's going to overload the Fast Pass line and make standing in the regular line unbearable and unnecessarily long. If they even it out it won't be bad and it will still feel like a typical standby line.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think people who are criticizing those who are upset aren't justified in doing so because people are allowed to feel how they feel, and yes I do believe it's going to screw over AP holders and it does snub the locals. Disney doesn't even have the decency to have it all thought out before giving out information, they are giving out half-truth information for what it's going to be for AP holders. Do I think AP holders should get free MaxPass? No but they should get a huge discount and it should be able to be bought monthly or yearly, AP holders pay more for their pass than a single ticket, and AP holders are generally multiple trips or multiple visits a week visitors, so paying 10 dollars each visit is going to amount to an AP by the end of it and it shouldn't. The perk of having an AP is discounts, so there needs to be one.

And this belief that locals or AP holders aren't going to buy into this is Hogwash, they want fast passes just as much as the 'tourist' does. Some fast passes are still available in the afternoon at certain rides, but with this new system I could see them all being gone and the late visitor kind of on their own. AP holders will buy this, and so will locals if they realize that they are going to have a miserable time cause the lines will be so long without a fast pass.

My concern is how they are going to combat both the Maxpass and Paper Legacy, I'm sure that you won't be able to get a paper fastpass if you have a electronic one and will have to wait the same window that you do with the Paper Legacy. Also, are they going to even out the Fast Pass amount? For example if there are 60 fast passes for 10-11 am, will 30 go to electronic and 30 go to MaxPass or is it going to be 60 to electronic and 60 to Legacy? That's going to overload the Fast Pass line and make standing in the regular line unbearable and unnecessarily long. If they even it out it won't be bad and it will still feel like a typical standby line.

I do think it was pretty rotten to leave AP holders wondering how this will affect them.

I agree that AP holders will indeed buy into this in a huge way. The critical piece is the price though. And without that, it's really impossible to evaluate how this is going to impact the rest of us.

It will be interesting to see if there are separate paper and electronic "pools" of FPs. I guess I am sort of expecting them to all pull from one large pool.

None of us will ever know if they play with the overall ratio of standby to FP (both types). I highly suspect that they played with that ratio a LOT as they rolled out FP+ at WDW. And that can be a painful adjustment as guests stand in line waiting while they test out different totals.

 

[SeiterClan]

I sure wish they would offer a discount for multiple days, just like they do with tickets. This will be so expensive for a large family going for multiple days.

Agreed! We are leaving 3 weeks from today & I kind of hope MP or even FP's at TSMM or Matterhorn aren't implemented yet because I will be there with my parents, hubby, & 6 kids. There's no way I could ever justify spending $70/day for 3 days for this or really afford it for that matter.

 

[alldiz]

I'm not sure if I ever saw a reason. My hunch is that MB technology is already pretty dated. Plus, why pay for all those infrastructure changes when you can just use the phone already in the pocket of most guests?

Wow I'm so technology challenged that I literally LOL thinking MB is outdated.
I'm planning my 1st trip to Disneyland and I'm trying to reprogram my brain with old FP system. I'm surprised with DLR being so much smaller trey would have implemented such an expensive endeavor at WDW 1st. Unless the large size made it harder to track guests.
Kerri

 

[ten6mom]

My biggest concern (not sure if I'll pay the extra or not, but if I did decide to) is that somehow I have my older son's AP linked to my cell phone. He does have his own phone, while my younger son does not. Disneyland tech support was no help in getting them unlinked so I have very little faith that they'll be able to sort out whose FP is on whose phone, etc.

 

[EsmeCullen]

Agreed! We are leaving 3 weeks from today & I kind of hope MP or even FP's at TSMM or Matterhorn aren't implemented yet because I will be there with my parents, hubby, & 6 kids. There's no way I could ever justify spending $70/day for 3 days for this or really afford it for that matter.

They will probably implement it at a later time this year. I don't see it starting in Feb.

 

[Angrose]

Some of the articles about the MaxPass have said that you do can get a FP for an attraction in DCA while in DL and vice versa.

Posted on the Disneyland blog:

So if I purchase max pass and I’m in disneyland can I book a fast pass for a ride inside California adventure? Or would I have to leave disneyland and enter California adventure to do so?

jamie roques on January 11, 2017 at 2:59 pm

• If a guest is within the FASTPASS window (meaning able to reserve their next one), they can reserve a FASTPASS for Disneyland park if they are in Disney California Adventure and vice versa.
  
  Erin Glover on January 11, 2017 at 4:30 pm

Oh, that's good know, thank you!

 

[agamble]

My concern is how they are going to combat both the Maxpass and Paper Legacy, I'm sure that you won't be able to get a paper fastpass if you have a electronic one and will have to wait the same window that you do with the Paper Legacy. Also, are they going to even out the Fast Pass amount? For example if there are 60 fast passes for 10-11 am, will 30 go to electronic and 30 go to MaxPass or is it going to be 60 to electronic and 60 to Legacy? That's going to overload the Fast Pass line and make standing in the regular line unbearable and unnecessarily long. If they even it out it won't be bad and it will still feel like a typical standby line.

Since the MaxPass will be linked to your ticket you wouldn't be able to get both a paper and an electronic ticket at the same time. There's no way for a measly $10 a day they'd let guests get double FP.

All guessing here, but I don't see why they need to give X amount to electronic and X amount to paper. It should still be X amount hour. I don't see why there would need to be a separate number for each. That would skew the numbers too if there are 1000 guests and 100 have MP and 900 don't it wouldn't be right for the 100 to have extra FP availability. It will likely be just one pool, and looks like it may even be one pool for both parks.

 

[GatorChris]

Does anyone else really hate the name also? It is awful!

Yeah,it does sorta sound like a feminine product, doesn't it?

 

[LizzyS]

How many people are in your family? Are you coming from a different time zone? Do you have children who struggle with schedule changes?

If only it was super easy for all families to just "get their tails out of bed" and get to the parks at opening. But for some...it isn't even an option.

You may think people are overreacting based on YOUR experiences. But you have to understand that others have vastly different experiences in the parks.

The answer to having a good time anywhere is always to get there early. It doesn't even have to be DLR that we're talking about. I'm sorry if you're offended by my post, but FP used to not even exist in the parks back in the day and I'd dare to say people still found a way to have a good time.

Trust me, I get that it can be hard at first for kids and coming from a different time zone, etc., but the rides are still available to you, you might just have to wait longer for the more popular ones. I've waited in a 2 hour line in the afternoon before, so I know that's no fun, but that's why I generally don't visit at peak times, either.

I don't have kids and though I went to WDW as a toddler, which I don't even remember, I also didn't ever go to DLR until 2011.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Except that now they will have their "regular" price increase in the next few weeks on top of this as well.

Good point about the show FPs. I wonder if those will be disconnected any longer or if getting an evening show FP will now block you from getting FPs during the day at all.

But WILL they be increasing ticket prices?
Do you know this for sure? By how much?
I just started a thread asking about rumors of if/when prices will be increasing soon and so far I have no definite answers.