Don't Waste Your Money: Disney Changes Fast Pass, some fans unhappy

[seashoreCM]

Off site guests have to pay for transportation to their hotel and can't use the free Magical Express - no fair!
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Other hotels are free to offer complimentary airport transportation to their guests although I don't know of any non-Disney's hotels in the area offering that other than some on Semoran Blvd. (Rte. 436) near Orlando Intl' Airport (MCO).

 

[tjkraz]

There is one thing that I don't like and what is affecting my decision to return currently. (I currently, for the first time in more than 10 years, do not have a trip planned to Disney World in the next 5 years and am not sure I will add one in). The one thing is the limit to the fastpasses. Our usual touring plan involved utilizing fast pass heavily and staying out of lines as much as possible to enjoy other parts of the park at a more leisurely pace and to keep our sons from complaining about lines, etc.

The limit of 3 per day appears to be designed to balance attraction capacities with guest expectations. Every Disney attraction has a limit to the number of guests it can accommodate in a given day. But the more FastPasses they allow to be pre-booked, the quicker each attraction will "fill."

Disney wants the system to retain flexibility--and really that's what guests want, too. Problem is, if they give every guest 4, 5 or 6 FastPasses per day, suddenly Space Mountain is "fully booked" weeks ahead of time.

Now, since we can only get one headliner fastpass and 2 for minor rides...

Note that this "tiering" of attractions is only being utilized at Hollywood Studios (where TSM has VERY limited daily capacity) and Epcot (where Soarin and Test Track simply cannot accommodate every guest, every day.) At Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom you can pick any 3 attractions.

...it seems we'll be spending almost all our time in line and we'll end up not being able to ride as many rides. We used to have up to 7 fastpasses in one day (same park) and it greatly enhanced our experience in the park. Being able to cut the wait at only one ride where it really matters tells me the next trip would be a grueling gauntlet of going from line to line.

In many ways, it's a trade off. If you really are getting 7 FastPasses per day, you're spending a lot of time going out-of-your-way to first obtain the paper FP tickets...then killing time waiting for your ride time to arrive...and finally returning to the attraction to ride.

While the legacy FP system did lead to shorter in-line wait times, all other aspects of it were very inefficient. On the days when we did do our best to maximize FP usage, we always ended up criss-crossing the park multiple times, splitting up our party so that someone could run and get FPs, and we were constantly playing the "what do we do now" game in between those uncertain FP return times.

FastPass+ largely removes those inefficiencies. A seasoned Disney park guest knows about what time they arrive at the parks, the order in which they prefer to tour, and the best attractions on which to use FastPass.

Yes, you may find yourself forced to spend 15 minutes in line for Buzz Lightyear if you don't want to spend a FP on that. But is that any worse than finishing all of the Tomorrowland attractions 20 minutes before your Space Mountain FP ticketed return time and then saying "OK, how do we kill the next 20 minutes?"

An individual affiliated with one of the websites that does custom, computerized WDW touring plans (don't know if I can mention the name) recently concluded that most people would come out ahead with FastPass+.

Those of the "commando" ilk merely need to make sure they're in the park at rope drop. When visiting Epcot, get a FP+ for Soarin and go immediately to Test Track after opening when there is no Standby line. Same approach for Hollywood Studios and attractions like RnR and TSM; do one at opening and FP+ the other.

The scenario which will be most difficult to replicate under FP+ is riding the same attraction over and over again. With the legacy FP, you could get 3 or 4 FPs per day for Space Mountain if you wish. That's no longer possible. But I also believe it's by design--Disney's attempt to make each attraction accessible to more groups at the expense of the heavy repeat users.

 

[tjkraz]

I still don't understand how tying FP+ to onsite stays is going to fill rooms in the non-peak times. Nobody needs the FP then.

"Want" and "Need" are two different things.

The mere presence of FP+ WILL have a positive impact on hotel revenues. Could come in the form of higher room rates, reduced discounting, higher occupancy...probably some combination of all of these elements.

Even if hotels are already at 100% occupancy during holiday periods, FP+ could give them the strength to increase rates 7% next year instead of 3% or 5%. During slower periods, the ability to pre-book favorite attractions (combined with DME, EMH and other factors) will absolutely be enough reason for some people to choose a Disney hotel over non-Disney.

Besides, even during "slow" periods, it's very common for standby lines to exceed 30 minutes on many attractions. Soarin, Test Track, RnR, TSM, Space, BTMR, Splash, Dumbo, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur...these attractions are rarely--if ever--walk-on status. Not to mention the ability to secure parade, fireworks or Fantasmic viewing in advance, or zero waits for character meet-and-greets.

 

[bcrook]

"Want" and "Need" are two different things.

The mere presence of FP+ WILL have a positive impact on hotel revenues. Could come in the form of higher room rates, reduced discounting, higher occupancy...probably some combination of all of these elements.

Even if hotels are already at 100% occupancy during holiday periods, FP+ could give them the strength to increase rates 7% next year instead of 3% or 5%. During slower periods, the ability to pre-book favorite attractions (combined with DME, EMH and other factors) will absolutely be enough reason for some people to choose a Disney hotel over non-Disney.

Besides, even during "slow" periods, it's very common for standby lines to exceed 30 minutes on many attractions. Soarin, Test Track, RnR, TSM, Space, BTMR, Splash, Dumbo, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur...these attractions are rarely--if ever--walk-on status. Not to mention the ability to secure parade, fireworks or Fantasmic viewing in advance, or zero waits for character meet-and-greets.

That makes sense about the resort revenue. I can see how they will be able to get more per room for the FP perk during peak times - If off site continue to be limited to day of reservations.

As for the slow periods, I understand about still using FP but there will be plenty to choose from at the kiosks at that time. The prebooking becomes less important, unless more FP are allocated to the deluxe customers and causes a shortage even during the slow times for off site guests,

In reality there are only 10,000 TSMM passes to give away a day, those could easily be absorbed by the on site guests. Same with the mine train and soarin and the safari and ETWB. So even in September I guess there could be a distinct advantage for staying on site.

 

[tjkraz]

As for the slow periods, I understand about still using FP but there will be plenty to choose from at the kiosks at that time. The prebooking becomes less important...

Based upon what we currently know, I agree with that. But there will still be people who view that as the proverbial final straw which pushes them toward booking a Disney resort rather than off-site.

EMH isn't particularly necessary during slow periods either, but it's still part of the reason some choose Disney resorts. Locking-in those FP+ reservations ahead of time and avoiding the in-park lines is enough reason for some people to spend a little extra money. Again, I don't know if it will be dozens of people, hundreds of people or thousands of people on the typical business day but FP+ should be incentive enough to nudge the needle a bit more in Disney's favor.

 

[goofy519]

I just happen to be one of those families who cannot afford to stay at the park and feels that this is so unfair of Disney. I am spending money at the park just like those of you who stay at the park. But one thing you can bet on is that someone has to pay for this newer system and do you think it may be that you all are paying for it in the costs they are charging you to stay there. Its a business and someone has to pay for it.

 

[tjkraz]

I just happen to be one of those families who cannot afford to stay at the park and feels that this is so unfair of Disney. I am spending money at the park just like those of you who stay at the park. But one thing you can bet on is that someone has to pay for this newer system and do you think it may be that you all are paying for it in the costs they are charging you to stay there. Its a business and someone has to pay for it.

Unfortunately it's a trend in the industry now. Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair...all of them have some sort of paid FastPass-type service.

I don't expect an obvious up charge for Disney hotel guests. Disney hotels are already overpriced in relation to the quality of accommodation. It will be similar to the introduction of Magical Express years ago where the financing was a bit more surreptitious.

Ultimately Disney will look to many different areas to profit from the system. They've confirmed that average guest spending increased during MagicBand testing...probably attributed to the ease of the bands' use. There will be efficiencies which reduce expense: Fewer Cast Members at park gates, no more paper FastPass machines to be stocked, maintained and staffed. If FP+ does become a free benefit to hotel guests, hotel occupancy will likely increase to some degree.

All of that said, bear in mind that Disney has never revealed any plans to charge for FastPass+. This is all rumor and speculation. Last I heard, there were reports of people being able to make FP+ selections even if they do NOT have a Disney hotel stay booked...they just need to have theme park tickets linked to their MDE account.

In other words, I wouldn't get too worked-up about this until Disney announces some major change.

 

[oddman]

Based upon what we currently know, I agree with that. But there will still be people who view that as the proverbial final straw which pushes them toward booking a Disney resort rather than off-site.

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let me fix that

Based upon what we currently know, I agree with that. But there will still be people who view that as the proverbial final straw which pushes them toward NOT booking a Disney trip this year.


You see to us, its not just money, that is fine, it is I don't want to stay at Disney, I like off site much better, my own pool my family, together in one house...

So we will just do something else....

 

[rteetz]

Unfortunately it's a trend in the industry now. Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair...all of them have some sort of paid FastPass-type service. I don't expect an obvious up charge for Disney hotel guests. Disney hotels are already overpriced in relation to the quality of accommodation. It will be similar to the introduction of Magical Express years ago where the financing was a bit more surreptitious. Ultimately Disney will look to many different areas to profit from the system. They've confirmed that average guest spending increased during MagicBand testing...probably attributed to the ease of the bands' use. There will be efficiencies which reduce expense: Fewer Cast Members at park gates, no more paper FastPass machines to be stocked, maintained and staffed. If FP+ does become a free benefit to hotel guests, hotel occupancy will likely increase to some degree. All of that said, bear in mind that Disney has never revealed any plans to charge for FastPass+. This is all rumor and speculation. Last I heard, there were reports of people being able to make FP+ selections even if they do NOT have a Disney hotel stay booked...they just need to have theme park tickets linked to their MDE account. In other words, I wouldn't get too worked-up about this until Disney announces some major change.

someone who is not staying on site cannot schedule advanced FP+ at this time. Once in the park they can schedule them using a kiosk or their smart phone but they cannot book them 60 days in advanced. Rumors also say that will be changing as well. This system isn't finished yet I don't think it will ever be finished it will adapt to the parks and my guess is eventually you'll see similar systems down the road at other Disney parks, and other companies will create their own version of this as well.

 

[oddman]

someone who is not staying on site cannot schedule advanced FP+ at this time. Once in the park they can schedule them using a kiosk or their smart phone .

So really the story that Disney wanted to stop the race to the FP machines is simply nonsense...

Off site visitors will be racing faster than ever to get those last few slots...

For me as a WP user (no app and most likely not going to be one) it means Dis is actually excluding me as a customer....

I am hardly going to show up at rope drop and run to a booth to try to avoid the lines....

 

[tjkraz]

let me fix that

Based upon what we currently know, I agree with that. But there will still be people who view that as the proverbial final straw which pushes them toward NOT booking a Disney trip this year.


You see to us, its not just money, that is fine, it is I don't want to stay at Disney, I like off site much better, my own pool my family, together in one house...

So we will just do something else....

I'm sure Disney is quite prepared to weather some...adjustments...as a result of MyMagic+.

Sure they stand to lose some business from people who don't like the new system...or don't like the uncertainties.

They also stand to earn business back from people who have previously grown disenchanted with crows and FastPass hassles. Even during peak holiday periods, guests can now guarantee 3 attractions of their choice, per day, before they even arrive on property.

Want to ride Space Mnt, Splash Mtn and Haunted Mansion on Christmas Day with no wait? No problem...choose whatever times you wish.

someone who is not staying on site cannot schedule advanced FP+ at this time. Once in the park they can schedule them using a kiosk or their smart phone but they cannot book them 60 days in advanced.

That's not true.

As long as you own a MagicBand (which, granted, has to originate with a previous hotel stay) you can book FP+ as often as you wish, as long as valid theme park tickets are linked to your MDE account.

I've also read reports that they are testing advance reservations with people who don't already have bands. Again, just need to have park tickets, which are now being issued with the RFID chip embedded. Attach a 5-day MYW ticket to your account...you can book FP+ for 5 days.

So really the story that Disney wanted to stop the race to the FP machines is simply nonsense...

Off site visitors will be racing faster than ever to get those last few slots...

Except that it isn't really coming down to any "last few slots." I've been monitoring FP+ availability for a couple of weeks now. The only attraction with issues is Toy Story Mania...and even that is only booking up about 24 hours in advance.

Right now it's 8:15pm on Wednesday 2/5. The only attraction with no availability for Thursday 2/6 is Toy Story Mania. On Friday 2/7 ALL attractions are available.

The limit of 3 FPs per person, per day is intended to keep the system from being maxed-out weeks in advance.

In fact, I could still get Magic Kingdom FastPasses for TONIGHT with the park open until 10pm. 1 hr, 45 min before closing and FastPasses are still available for Space Mountain, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pooh, Journey of the Little Mermaid, POTC and others.

 

[rteetz]

So really the story that Disney wanted to stop the race to the FP machines is simply nonsense... Off site visitors will be racing faster than ever to get those last few slots... For me as a WP user (no app and most likely not going to be one) it means Dis is actually excluding me as a customer.... I am hardly going to show up at rope drop and run to a booth to try to avoid the lines....

but they aren't last few spots there are plenty left depending on time and attraction. If you get there during the morning hours you should be able to get any attraction you want maybe not your preferable time but you will be able to get the attractions you want.

 

[rteetz]

I'm sure Disney is quite prepared to weather some...adjustments...as a result of MyMagic+. Sure they stand to lose some business from people who don't like the new system...or don't like the uncertainties. They also stand to earn business back from people who have previously grown disenchanted with crows and FastPass hassles. Even during peak holiday periods, guests can now guarantee 3 attractions of their choice, per day, before they even arrive on property. Want to ride Space Mnt, Splash Mtn and Haunted Mansion on Christmas Day with no wait? No problem...choose whatever times you wish. That's not true. As long as you own a MagicBand (which, granted, has to originate with a previous hotel stay) you can book FP+ as often as you wish, as long as valid theme park tickets are linked to your MDE account. I've also read reports that they are testing advance reservations with people who don't already have bands. Again, just need to have park tickets, which are now being issued with the RFID chip embedded. Attach a 5-day MYW ticket to your account...you can book FP+ for 5 days. Except that it isn't really coming down to any "last few slots." I've been monitoring FP+ availability for a couple of weeks now. The only attraction with issues is Toy Story Mania...and even that is only booking up about 24 hours in advance. Right now it's 8:15pm on Wednesday 2/5. The only attraction with no availability for Thursday 2/6 is Toy Story Mania. On Friday 2/7 ALL attractions are available. The limit of 3 FPs per person, per day is intended to keep the system from being maxed-out weeks in advance. In fact, I could still get Magic Kingdom FastPasses for TONIGHT with the park open until 10pm. 1 hr, 45 min before closing and FastPasses are still available for Space Mountain, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pooh, Journey of the Little Mermaid, POTC and others.

I understand that. But you do need a disney resort reservation in order to get advance FP+ reservation. After that once you have your magic band you can continue to book advance as long as you have a ticket on your account. So what I said is true you need a disney resort reservation in order to get the advanced FP+ again after that you can book FP+ as long as you have a ticket in your account. Right now they are testing AP holders and advanced FP+.

 

[oddman]

but they aren't last few spots there are plenty left depending on time and attraction. If you get there during the morning hours you should be able to get any attraction you want maybe not your preferable time but you will be able to get the attractions you want.

the key is depending on the attraction.

by 10pm you can often walk straight on kids rides and older attractions. Fastpass does not matter for rides like POTC unless it is peak season, this is simply a return to the old days...

Back in the 70s, your entrance gave you x amount of tickets to spend on rides, the rich purchased lots of them the middle a few and the poor, well they made choices....

Within a couple of years I am 100% sure people will be talking here about which hotel or which plan gives the most fast passes for the dollar.


And to be clear, DIS is still going to have massive crowds, make lots of money and the people here are going to love it either way. After all this is a fan site, where the only accepted view is the one that presents Disney as magical...

 

[rteetz]

the key is depending on the attraction. by 10pm you can often walk straight on kids rides and older attractions. Fastpass does not matter for rides like POTC unless it is peak season, this is simply a return to the old days... Back in the 70s, your entrance gave you x amount of tickets to spend on rides, the rich purchased lots of them the middle a few and the poor, well they made choices.... Within a couple of years I am 100% sure people will be talking here about which hotel or which plan gives the most fast passes for the dollar. And to be clear, DIS is still going to have massive crowds, make lots of money and the people here are going to love it either way. After all this is a fan site, where the only accepted view is the one that presents Disney as magical...

I agree sometime in the near future whether it starts this year or sometime after that we will end up paying more for rides than we have in the past in the sense of e tickets and FP. But people will always pay and if they stop paying that's when things will change.

 

[disneygogetter]

Does this go for Disneyland too?

 

[beer dave]

the key is depending on the attraction.

by 10pm you can often walk straight on kids rides and older attractions. Fastpass does not matter for rides like POTC unless it is peak season, this is simply a return to the old days...

Back in the 70s, your entrance gave you x amount of tickets to spend on rides, the rich purchased lots of them the middle a few and the poor, well they made choices....

Within a couple of years I am 100% sure people will be talking here about which hotel or which plan gives the most fast passes for the dollar.


And to be clear, DIS is still going to have massive crowds, make lots of money and the people here are going to love it either way. After all this is a fan site, where the only accepted view is the one that presents Disney as magical...

And again I say read some threads.

The only accepted view is one that doesn't insult the intelligence of this group collectively. All other topics are open.

 

[rteetz]

Does this go for Disneyland too?

not yet.... Probably some day but not at least for a couple years

 

[FWAddict]

I solved the problem for me.

I'm on vacation and go into slow mode. Leisurely walk the park and if I see a short line go on the ride. No short line? Well there is next time.

That's EXACTLY how I feel when I go to Disney. I'm just happy to be there!

 

[tiffmarie99]

I felt blessed to just be at Disney World, i take my time, take in the sights and sounds. Do you know what happened almost every time I went to get a Fast Pass in Sept? All used up, none left, etc etc. same story every single time..I know veterans abused the system and had it down pat as to how they could get the most Fast Passes in a day but I think this levels the playing field.

I also am not sure how its "not fair" to people off site...........I spend up to 2100$ more per trip to stay on site, wouldn't it be "unfair" to me, not to get an extra perk? Yes we have the magical express and free transportation but for 2100$ more than what off siters are spending? I think on site people deserve a little bit more than transportation.