Expedition Everest Line

[surferdave]

Honestly, I'm very interested to know if ALL of those people in-line are actually within their FP+ window or not. On our last visit, we encountered a lot of people standing in the FP+ line, only to find out that they were only waiting for their FP+ window to open. I think this causes an unintentional back-up outside of the FP+ line, because the people who are within their FP+ window (and should be able to walk right into the FP+ line) are now waiting for the people who are early to get out of the way. This would be alleviated if everyone would wait until their FP+ return window opens up BEFORE getting in line... but I don't think that's what's happening, based on my experiences a couple of weeks ago. We'll see...

Am I making sense here? LOL I haven't had coffee yet!

Unfortunately, I don't think we can count on user issues improving very much because WDW will always have such a high percentage of new users and infrequent users. Imagine if every 3rd person that was in front of you to self check out at a big box retailer was using the system for the first time, or hadn't used one in 3 years. Solutions to this sort of problem will have to come from the system.

 

[kneedeep]

We rode Everest w/FP+ this past Thursday (3/27) on a day that the AK CMs said was unusually crowded. Our FP return time was 11:30-12:30, we arrived at the line around noon, and waited about 8 minutes to board. Having said that, there was a line at the FP entrance due to the fact that scanning bands and tickets takes longer than flashing paper FPs at a CM used to.

 

[mrsmorrow]

I can confirm that the FP+ return line that we got into at EE on 2/15 did indeed cross the bridge and began at the Nemo theater entrance. There was a CM there with a sign that read: "FP+ Return Line" and that person kept moving back further and further as the line grew. The CM was necessary because people with FPs simply could not believe that this was really the line. The "good news" is that it took only 23 minutes to get from the end of that line to the ride boarding area. Yeah!!

23 minutes? I am speechless. And actually seeing it on video makes me sick.

 

[White_Sox_Fan]

We were there on the 18th of March, a date that was actually a 9 according to touring plans post analysis and the line for EE were just normal when we were by it. We rode three times, once first thing, once single rider and once FP+.

The only line we saw outside the FP entrance was on Kilimanjaro Safaris. No other attraction, in any park, that we saw was more than a few people deep outside the FP entrance.

 

[wuzzy6]

Unfortunately, I don't think we can count on user issues improving very much because WDW will always have such a high percentage of new users and infrequent users. Imagine if every 3rd person that was in front of you to self check out at a big box retailer was using the system for the first time, or hadn't used one in 3 years. Solutions to this sort of problem will have to come from the system.

I definitely agree with you - just curious to see how it shakes out on my next visit in a couple of weeks compared to my last visit two weeks ago!

 

[michigandergirl]

We were there Thanksgiving week and my daughter & I sat on the rocks to wait for DH and my son to get off the ride. The FP line was fairly short when they got in line, but it began to get longer and longer. I then got a call from DH saying they were stuck on the ride and had been sitting there for about 10 minutes, during which time the FP line was past the bridge. So, the ride was down for about 15 minutes and that was enough to back it up, but it quickly shortened up again.

Don't stress yourselves out my friends, you are going to have a great time! Believe me, I know how it is to stress about every little thing, but we had a blast and even though it was a busy week to go, we managed to do everything we wanted, sometimes more than twice.

 

[2Tiggies]

The "good news" is that it took only 23 minutes to get from the end of that line to the ride boarding area. Yeah!!

23 minutes? I am speechless. And actually seeing it on video makes me sick.

Oh don't worry. I'm sure they will get some mobile carts stacked to capacity with merchandise so that guests in the FP line can spend money while they wait

 

[sonofanarchy]

Things like this make it REALLY hard to restrain myself when FP+ supporters say how wonderful it is. I don't give a crap how fast it moves once you're PAST the scanners. Regular FP lines were never that long. I.E., this new system sucks.

 

[ucfknight]

I'm guessing this was probably right after the Finding Nemo show dumped.

 

[Minnesota!]

FWIW - we were at AK just 3 days later and there was NO line....we rode 3x in a row...mid afternoon.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I'm guessing this was probably right after the Finding Nemo show dumped.

What does that have to so with it? That show has been there for years and this was never an issue until FP+ came into play.

 

[LilyWDW]

I have, in the past, waiting 20+ minutes with a FP- for both Soarin' and Test Track. So the same wait times happened even BEFORE FP+. We don't know the situation that is being filmed. We don't know how long any of those people waited. We don't know if the ride was experiencing issues or had earlier in the day. We don't know what the standby wait time was.

Why do people think FP means you walk right on? It never meant that. It just gave you priority. Did it happen that you might walk right on? Yes... but I never expected that. I simply always expected that my wait would be quite a bit shorter then those waiting standby and, even with my "longer" waits, that always happened.

 

[mom2faith]

I'm guessing this was probably right after the Finding Nemo show dumped.

Very good point!!!

 

[sonofanarchy]

I have, in the past, waiting 20+ minutes with a FP- for both Soarin' and Test Track. So the same wait times happened even BEFORE FP+. We don't know the situation that is being filmed. We don't know how long any of those people waited. We don't know if the ride was experiencing issues or had earlier in the day. We don't know what the standby wait time was.

Why do people think FP means you walk right on? It never meant that. It just gave you priority. Did it happen that you might walk right on? Yes... but I never expected that. I simply always expected that my wait would be quite a bit shorter then those waiting standby and, even with my "longer" waits, that always happened.

Soarin' is probably the slowest loading ride at Disney, next to the Astro Orbiter. FP has never been all that great there.
Test Track breaks down about once an hour, so waits are long on both sides.

The only time I ever saw a line like that for Everest was during the Annual Passholder Preview. There are certain attractions that yes, even with FP, waits will be a bit longer. Everest has never been one of them. It is a very fast loading attraction.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

But of course.

I think all of us vets are doing it wrong. The newbies have the whole system figured out.

How rude.

I've also never waited so long, and have used the FP+ system a few times now.

PS - don't try to dichotomize "vets" and "newbies" - especially when you've only been around here a year.

 

[sonofanarchy]

How rude.

I've also never waited so long, and have used the FP+ system a few times now.

PS - don't try to dichotomize "vets" and "newbies" - especially when you've only been around here a year.

Not rude. Just speaking the truth. Whenever someone points out the faults of FP+, someone who is newer, tries to prove them wrong, despite the evidence.

FTR, I've been here much longer than a year. I had problems with old username and password, so had to sign up again. I've actually been here since at least before 2001.

 

[cygnusx1jg]

This may not be the ONLY reason for Fastpass+ lines being long, but it is a valid reason because I've seen it first hand. When a ride becomes inoperative for a time frame during the day, the fastpasses are then good for anytime the ride comes back up later that day. So, if Big Thunder is down from 1:00pm to 4:00pm, you've got any number of fastpasses during those time frames ADDED to the fastpasses from the actual time it is. I've seen this happen at Dinosaur as well as BT.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I think one contribution to the long lines at the scan point is the fact that everyone has to scan rather than one person handing a stack of paper fast passes. It can also be a little awkward to scan due to having to twist your wrist. I think they should rotate the scanners 90 degrees so all you have to do is raise your wrist to the scanner. I don't think this is the only reason but is a simple solution that could make things go a little smoother.

 

[2Tiggies]

I think one contribution to the long lines at the scan point is the fact that everyone has to scan rather than one person handing a stack of paper fast passes. It can also be a little awkward to scan due to having to twist your wrist. I think they should rotate the scanners 90 degrees so all you have to do is raise your wrist to the scanner. I don't think this is the only reason but is a simple solution that could make things go a little smoother.

I think most folk agree that the scanning process is a major contributor to backed up lines. I do not believe it is the only reason, but it's undeniably a problem. This is an older video from last year (not my own) but the camera is focused on the scanners and you can see how much longer it is taking than it did when you could fan and flash your paper FP's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnutHcc8tbk

 

[ParrotBill]

Although overall crowds were low when I went in December, this is exactly what every FP+ entrance looked like. The 2 scanners are too close for two people to scan at the same time comfortably - I won't step behind someone I don't know that closely just for fear they will take a step backward.

And everyone wants to wait and see the color, and look at a CM's face for confirmation before moving on.

And once a line slows down, everyone stops moving forward, hence the constant waving to get people to step up and keep moving!

It suspect it will be at least a year before everyone gets used to this and keeps the FP+ return line moving.

I experienced FP+ in August, and will again in 2 weeks (busy time, though).
We go almost every year in August. To really gauge the impact of FP+ I will compare last August (when only a few resorts were testing) to this August. I think that will be a fair and valid comparison!