DL FastPass being scaled back?

[Sarangel]

OK, so explain to me how your personal enjoyment of emptier streets is more important than the thousands of Disney (Land or World) guests who prefer not to be shackled to a ride queue for 45+ minutes before half of the E Tickets.

Let me clarify this - We're not talking about slightly more crowded streets we're talking about streets so full of people that you can't move.

The problem (as I understand it) is that Disneyland put in FastPasses on almost every ride possible and they don't have the infrastructure to handle that many more people wandering around on the streets.

The solution (again, as I understand it) is that Disneyland will scale back on the FastPass machines to those rides that have a *huge* demand and a slower loading rate, i.e. Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain. This will allow some of those guests wandering the streets to get back into queues for faster loading rides, i.e. Pirates, Haunted Mansion.

The Baron is, of course, correct that a longer term solution needs to be implemented to add more attractions. Tomorrowland at DisneyLand is a wasteland. There's Space Mountain (closed for renovation), Innoventions (boorrriiinngg), Star Tours (old & dated), Autopia, and a video arcade.

That's it.

I'm sure very little will change by the 50th anniversary celebration(frankly, all I'm hoping for is that all of the rides & attractions will be up & running at this point), but it needs to happen.

Sarangel

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by Sarangel
Let me clarify this - We're not talking about slightly more crowded streets we're talking about streets so full of people that you can't move.

The problem (as I understand it) is that Disneyland put in FastPasses on almost every ride possible and they don't have the infrastructure to handle that many more people wandering around on the streets.

Sarangel

Correct. I don't want empty streets, I just want streets that a re not dangerously crowded.The last time were were at Disneyland, there were ceratin attractions we did not ride on certain days because we simply did not want to fight the crowds to get to them. The walkway between Frontierland and Fantasyland got so crowded that people were litterally packed elbow to elbow and you had to push and shove your way through the crowd. It felt more like a mosh pit than Disneyland. Picture the crowds that form on Main Street for the fireworks, make them even more dense and then add the factor of everyone trying move forward and you'll get some idea of how bad the crowds get now. The area in front of POC is just as bad. I'm not talking about just crowded, I am talking about people packed in together. This makes it very diffult to enjoy the park.

Please note, attendance at Disneyland is no higher than it was before Fastpass. Theses massive crowds began about the time added fastpass to the Mansion and Pirates.

The queues for attractions are designed to handle large numbers of people. Most queues are themed and provide some form of entertainment (the Indy queue really shines in this regard). They should be used for what they were designed for. Also, remember I am only advocating this for rides that have waits of 15minutes or less on average and dont need Fastpass anyway. People will still not have to wait long for their rides, but that extra 15 minutes helps make the whole park a more enjoyable place.

Sarangel is also correct that WDW is larger and can absorb more crowds. Ironically, they have less fastpass attractions than Disneyland, which is much smaller and can not absorb the crowds fastpass generates.

Fastpass on a limeted number of attractions is not a bad thing. Fastpass one every attraction causes more problems than it solves, which is why the Disneyland management is scaling it back.

 

[DancingBear]

A few thoughts:

--The fact that they are tinkering with the system is a good thing.

--LandBaron implies that the "Disney Way" to resolve long lines at attractions was to have more attractions. I guess I just imagined waiting in those long lines during the golden era. The fact is the best and newest attractions have always had lines. (Oh, and by the way, WDW has added LOTS more attractions over the past decade--many of them over at AK and the Studios, spreading the crowd into other parks).

--WDW, at least, has added a lot more character appearances, which means folks who aren't waiting in line due to FastPass have another "attraction" they can experience to enhance their visiting experience, other than shopping and eating---in addition to the live music and shows, etc.

--Not everyone who is not waiting in line due to FastPass is going to be out in the street. Many will be in shops and restaurants that otherwise were not that crowded during earlier hours (a lot of folks wait to buy their souvenirs at the end of the day).

--You can't have it both ways by saying that lots more folks are out in the street due to FastPass, but that the "majority" don't know how to use FastPass.

--I assume nobody who is criticizing how FastPass affects lines will speak in favor of the Front of The Line privileges which Universal grants to its resort guests, as it would seem to have the same bad effects.

--Disneyland has particular problems due to the combination of a non-functional Tomorrowland and the infrastructure limitations cited here. It sounds like everyone is on the left side of the park. I assume nobody thinks too many people are crowding the sidewalks in Tomorrowland.

 

[Sarangel]

I assume nobody thinks too many people are crowding the sidewalks in Tomorrowland.

It's not as bad as some areas, but tomorrowland, too, can get uncomfortably crowded. My guess is that it's mostly people on the way somewhere else & searching for a way through. But that is just a guess.

Didn't Disney used to do traffic surveys to analyze this kind of stuff?

Sarangel

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by Sarangel
Didn't Disney used to do traffic surveys to analyze this kind of stuff?

I'm sure they still do lots of analysis on these issues--that's what they're responding to in making the Fastpass changes.

The story indicates that the "FastPass Everywhere" policy was implemented over the objections of those who understood the operations issues.

It also refers to WDW's more limited FastPass implementation as being successful, so it's not a failed concept, just poor implementation.

Re traffic surveys, I recall hearing that the Mickey interactive toys can be tracked and provide information on how individual folks move throughout the park.

 

[Barreras Family]

just yesterday and the Fastpass machines for PoTC and Haunted Mansion are already shuttered.

I also have to agree with WDWHound the area in front of the Rivers of America are an absolute madhouse.

If you are going anywhere on the other side of PoTC you make sure you get in and out WAY before Fantasmic. Otherwise you will have to fight to get in and out. They regulate the flow of traffic in that area approx. 1-1.5 hours before.

I too would like to see limited use of Fastpass. If used properly I can see it's benefits.

Rudy
aka Piglet's daddy

 

[mickeyfantroy]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some guests just can't "get with the computer age" and figure out how FastPass works...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ain't that the truth! I'm always seeing people trying to figure out how to get them to work. I will be nice and show them with one ticket only to watch them with another ticket revert back to trying to figure it out.

 

[mrsR123]

Josh says:

There are two significant ways for Fastpass to increase income for Disney:

1) Guests use extra time to spend more money on food & souvenears

2) Guests satisfaction is increased leading to increased or longer WDW vacations

Summed up I think Fastpass is probably a failure for Disney at WDW as well,

I beg to differ. I love fastpass at WDW. ( I fully understand the discussion regarding DL's layout issues and concur.) Even if it JMHO, Baron, it definitely influences where my dollars go.

I have small children. The youngest of whom wasn't even two when we first went to WDW. Fastpass was the only way to experience the magic I wanted to show them and still have hair at the end of the day. No, I probably didn't spend any more on souvenirs as that was budgeted before we ever left. DH certainly spent more on Sprite and water than we would have had we been couped up in lines. And I certainly wouldn't have gone back for four years in a row if I had had to wait on line like we did in the old days.

Case in point, we visited Hershey Park in June. The lines for the most part were minimal, but the one or two times DD and I had to wait 30 minutes-ish for a coaster she could hardly contain herself because she had never experienced wait times before. Trust me, I won't be heading back to a regional park any time soon, but DVC just suckered me in for another 38 years.

P.S. I fussed with the quotes for so long, that this will probably end up on page 137 of the thread, and I apologize.

 

[manning]

Instead guests can take in a few more sites all day long relatively hassle free.

For the few lucky enough to get them.

I like the system banks use. One line, several tellers. You get served in the order you arrive.

 

[dcentity2000]

Originally posted by manning
I like the system banks use. One line, several tellers. You get served in the order you arrive.

I hate that. I always end up behind an old lady, a gentleman who wants to trace his family's transactions back to the time of the Norman Conquest and a generic individual who has decided to pay in several hundred pounds in assorted coins; he will inevitably disagree with the teller over the amount.

Banks should have fastpass.



Rich::

 

[manning]

dcentity2000 -- Think about it. You are not stuck waiting for that little old lady. You get the next available teller. There is only one line and several tellers.

 

[dcentity2000]

But all three clerks are busy with slow people. And you know what'll happen when one of them finishes - they'll disappear somewhere for no apparent reason.

My theory is that all bank clerks inhabit another dimension and freely teleport from bank to bank, their prime objective being to conquer the human race by ensuring that everyone is stuck in a bank que.

Now you may think this is crazy - but have you ever met a bank clerk? No, neither have I



Rich::

 

[crusader]

For the few lucky enough to get them.

manning -

You make it sound as if they're as difficult to obtain as an infamous golden ticket!

Not true.

I don't have the numbers which vary due to capacity but from what I've read Splash Mountain issues about 150 during the first time slot and another 150 during the second, which only shifts the range by 5 minutes. It then jumps about 20 mins. and issues 150 more.

That's a pretty fair amount of tickets over the course of a day.

Seriously, why would anyone want to waste time standing in a long line if they didn't have to?

 

[manning]

I'll try this again. It seems my post got lost when I tried to post it.


I believe in equality. We pay the same price to get in and should have an equal chance to ride. IMHO fastpass is like butting into the front of the line. It was designed to get you into the stores. Luckily Disney has not saw fit to charge for Fastpass.

Unlike EPCOT, where you have to buy a desert to get a preferred spot for viewing the fireworks. That's another thing that bugs me.

Seems like it's getting to be Ala Carte.

I'm a DVC owner and get excellent,so far, lodging for my money. But I am finding myself going less and less to the parks. Offerings outside the World are becoming more and more appealing. Disney is becoming hard pressed to get more of my money.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Everyone has an equal chance to ride with FastPass, no one is excluded from the program.

 

[dcentity2000]

To be fair to manning, it is very easy to understand why you could get annoyed or even upset by the fastpass system - if you have been queing for twenty minutes, it is quite annoying when someone cuts in front of you - especially if said person appears to be 'annoying', per say.



Rich::

 

[crusader]

First of all, if someone elects to que by standing in line that's their perogative but let's be honest, they are making an informed decision here.

They know I'm in line because there is a big fat sign at the entrance telling them this is a fastpass attraction and they have a certain standby wait time.

Just because I happen to be sitting at Pecos Bill or wherever, enjoying myself while holding a pass doesn't mean I'm not queing ahead of them.

Nobody is cutting. I probably arrived at that attraction an hour or more, prior to that hypothetical waitee you're describing and was in front of him or her all along.

So realistically, we all have to wait equally long to ride - some simply choose to do it another way.

That's the beauty of the fastpass.

 

[manning]

So realistically, we all have to wait equally long to ride - some simply choose to do it another way.

How wonderful rationalization is. Fastpass gives you a chance to do more. BUT it does not give everyone a chance to do more.

Perhaps I should concede fastpass to you Crusader........... say for another $100 per day. After all the best seats at a venue does go for more money. You are going to the front of the line (equates to the best seat).

I would rather not have fastpass. Or deserts at EPCOT.

 

[crusader]

No need to concede anything Manning.

I respect your opinion. We just don't agree.

As for the rationalization bit - you're way off. If I walk up to a venue and the wait time is 20 min or less I get in line. If it's longer I get a pass which has me wait anywhere from 45 min to several hours to board or I walk away.

Say you decide to get in line knowing it's an hour wait. That's your choice. It'll take you an hour to get on from that point. It may take me three hours to get on from that same point with a fastpass depending on the situation.

How does my decision to exercize an entitlement afforded everyone become a privilege worth $100? We're all equally provided the same benefit here.

 

[KNWVIKING]

Look at it this way: FP for a ride is no different the a PS for a restaurant. Both are free to everyone.