Extra Fastpasses: A Case Study

[MikeandReneePlus5]

It really does stretch credibility to think that the original plan was to set up this system, including making FPs available for more attractions and putting in the in park kiosks, and then provide for no way to distribute the thousands of unclaimed FPs.

yes.

WDW has always been the vanguard for theme park design and queue management.

What surprised me was how many just assumed the system was an abject failure before it was even rolled out completely.

It doesn't matter if WDW "knew" it would make these specific tweaks. What mattered was that they would develop a system that most people enjoyed...especially the die-hards and repeat customers.

That was pretty much always going to happen, logically, based on the performance of WDW for pretty much it's whole history as the world's preeminent entertainment company.

 

[Love Tink]

Well- I am only saying what (almost) everyone else is thinking. We don't need her popping up here and then everyone getting turned up and then a good thread ends up off topic.....like it is going now. The word fabulous is not banned but when I open a thread and these guys are saying it all the time with quotations.....I know exactly who they are talking about---then the thread becomes all about her. I'm sick of it really- she is not here and I don't need to be constantly reminded of her. Other women don't want other women shoved in their face. It's not that I am jealous or anything----I'm just weary of the pink and the fabulous.

OH my gosh, seriously. You always come off really...how can I put this...okay. Let's just say your breathless, discombobulated, overly exclamatory writing (and punctuation) style makes you come off a certain way.

Writing something like this and thinking anyone believes you makes you come off really, really that way. I seriously hope you are a 13-year-old boy messing with people, because the other options are depressing.

 

[rastuso]

It really does stretch credibility to think that the original plan was to set up this system, including making FPs available for more attractions and putting in the in park kiosks, and then provide for no way to distribute the thousands of unclaimed FPs.

I doubt they had this entire system in the plan from the beginning, but they ABSOLUTELY knew that a lot of their best customers got a whole lot more than 3 FPs a day.

What surprised them was not that some people wanted more, but how angry people would get when they were limited to 3. Which goes to show you the people doing the design of FP+ aren't big ride fans.

Of course, by the looks of it, NO ONE in WDW management gives a crap about big rides at this point.

-Jason

 

[OtherScott]

It really does stretch credibility to think that the original plan was to set up this system, including making FPs available for more attractions and putting in the in park kiosks, and then provide for no way to distribute the thousands of unclaimed FPs.

When emotion takes over, rationality is usually the first casualty.

 

[OtherScott]

I doubt they had this entire system in the plan from the beginning, but they ABSOLUTELY knew that a lot of their best customers got a whole lot more than 3 FPs a day.

What surprised them was not that some people wanted more, but how angry people would get when they were limited to 3. Which goes to show you the people doing the design of FP+ aren't big ride fans.

Of course, by the looks of it, NO ONE in WDW management gives a crap about big rides at this point.

-Jason

Read the patent app...

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph...srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20130018661.PGNR.

 

[FlipHipster]

Well- I am only saying what (almost) everyone else is thinking. We don't need her popping up here and then everyone getting turned up and then a good thread ends up off topic.....like it is going now. The word fabulous is not banned but when I open a thread and these guys are saying it all the time with quotations.....I know exactly who they are talking about---then the thread becomes all about her. I'm sick of it really- she is not here and I don't need to be constantly reminded of her. Other women don't want other women shoved in their face. It's not that I am jealous or anything----I'm just weary of the pink and the fabulous.

Yeah okay.....fair enough.

Not sure if you have noticed yet, but currently YOU are the only one getting worked up over her. just sayin...

back on topic. This is good news RE the extra FP and availability. What happens in Epcot/DHS/DAK after you use your 1st 3? Since there isn't much to choose from I assume everyone is trying to grab FP for the same handful of rides? Wondering if it's better to hit those in the morning and hop assuming there won't be much in the afternoon?

Getting geared up for another trip I guess, sounds like its almost safe to go back in the water

 

[WeLuvTink!]

It was actually TEN FPs:
Per-booked --
Space Mountain: 10:35-11:35
Peter Pan: 11:55-12:55
Anna and Elsa: 1:25-2:25
Extras:
1:49: FP for Barnstormer for 1:50-2:50. Immediately ride.
2:05: FP for Dumbo for 2:20-3:20. Ride at 2:15.
2:30: FP for Winnie the Pooh for 2:50-3:50. Ride at 3:00.
3:12: FP for Pirates of the Carribean for 3:20-4:20. Ride at 3:30.
3:50: FP for Jungle Cruise for 4:25-5:25. Ride at 4:40.
5:00: FP for Buzz Lightyear for 5:15-6:15. Ride at 5:10.
5:25: FP for Rapzunel and Cinderella for 9:20-10:20.
Kiosks lines were minimal except for the first extra FP at the kiosk near the castle, when the wait was probably 5-7 minutes. Character greeting FPs, except for Mickey, were gone at 1:45. Rapzunel, however, became available at 5:25, which is why I snapped it up, instead of continuing my Get-FP-Ride pattern.

OP - THANK YOU for the detailed post. I won't have the chance to use FP+ until summer 2015 and have always been a "superuser" of FP-. This gives me a new perspective on what might be possible and helps with all the negativity I've been seeing about FP+.

 

[SuperRob]

I doubt they had this entire system in the plan from the beginning, but they ABSOLUTELY knew that a lot of their best customers got a whole lot more than 3 FPs a day.

What surprised them was not that some people wanted more, but how angry people would get when they were limited to 3. Which goes to show you the people doing the design of FP+ aren't big ride fans.

Of course, by the looks of it, NO ONE in WDW management gives a crap about big rides at this point.

-Jason

But they also knew that a lot of first time guests or casual guests weren't using FastPass at all. That was a problem, maybe not for you, but for Disney.

FastPass is NOT designed to get you on as many rides as possible. It's designed to allow you to do something else while you're effectively holding a place in line. Hopefully that something else involves spending money.

FP+ was limited at first to make sure that if more guests used the system (which was the goal), that it wouldn't overstress ride capacity. Once they knew it didn't, they rolled out the 4+. Now the system is very similar to the old one, with pre-booking ability.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I don't agree.

WDW has always been the vanguard for theme park design and queue management.

What surprised me was how many just assumed the system was an abject failure before it was even rolled out completely.

It doesn't matter if WDW "knew" it would make these specific tweaks. What mattered was that they would develop a system that most people enjoyed...especially the die-hards and repeat customers.

That was pretty much always going to happen, logically, based on the performance of WDW for pretty much it's whole history as the world's preeminent entertainment company.

In my opinion the reason so many folks thought it was a failure was b/c Disney was not upfront with how the rollout would work and people were still paying thousands of dollars to test a system and have their vacations "jacked" up. Spending hours in line at guest relations is NOT how I want to spend my vacation. If Disney was upfront and told folks how the test was going to happen people could decide for themselves if they wanted to be part of the test before flights etc were booked. I got caught up in the MB only for Pop last Dec. Found out about a 2 weeks before my trip on these boards......Disney never did tell me until I checked in. In my opinion that's pretty craptastic. Now I am cautiously optimistic how things are going right now but there is still some doubt in my gut with what will change by my Oct trip.

 

[SuperRob]

In my opinion the reason so many folks thought it was a failure was b/c Disney was not upfront with how the rollout would work and people were still paying thousands of dollars to test a system and have their vacations "jacked" up. Spending hours in line at guest relations is NOT how I want to spend my vacation. If Disney was upfront and told folks how the test was going to happen people could decide for themselves if they wanted to be part of the test before flights etc were booked. I got caught up in the MB only for Pop last Dec. Found out about a 2 weeks before my trip on these boards......Disney never did tell me until I checked in. In my opinion that's pretty craptastic. Now I am cautiously optimistic how things are going right now but there is still some doubt in my gut with what will change by my Oct trip.

This is the only part I've thought could have been handled better. That they rolled out these changes gradually, called it a "test", while people were spending thousands of dollars ... they had to know that they'd get some strong negative reactions.

That said, if you're not going until October ... you're fine. FP+ is largely identical to the old system at this point, except that you can book three in advance, and you can get your fourth (and more) at any kiosk.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

In my opinion the reason so many folks thought it was a failure was b/c Disney was not upfront with how the rollout would work and people were still paying thousands of dollars to test a system and have their vacations "jacked" up. Spending hours in line at guest relations is NOT how I want to spend my vacation. If Disney was upfront and told folks how the test was going to happen people could decide for themselves if they wanted to be part of the test before flights etc were booked. I got caught up in the MB only for Pop last Dec. Found out about a 2 weeks before my trip on these boards......Disney never did tell me until I checked in. In my opinion that's pretty craptastic. Now I am cautiously optimistic how things are going right now but there is still some doubt in my gut with what will change by my Oct trip.

That definitely is craptastic.

I'm not sure what they can do though...we just live with this stuff. My daughter was just there last month and the whole moat was dug up and there were ugly walls around.

We were there during new FL construction and it was unmagical.

Stayed at GF when the DVC was being built and that wasn't the best.

All somewhat craptastic.

I suppose the MB testing was worse than those 3 examples....but then again there were plenty of people that loved that testing period....double and triple FPS, using old park tickets, some definitely had perks that hadn't existed and don't exist now.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

This is the only part I've thought could have been handled better. That they rolled out these changes gradually, called it a "test", while people were spending thousands of dollars ... they had to know that they'd get some strong negative reactions.

That said, if you're not going until October ... you're fine. FP+ is largely identical to the old system at this point, except that you can book three in advance, and you can get your fourth (and more) at any kiosk.

If I can have days like the OP did in Oct, I'll be fine with the new system. My concern is we don't know what changes are in store. If we're able to prebook in 2 parks or have a rolling 4th those would be good changes in my opinion , but no one knows what Disney has up their sleeve.

 

[wisblue]

I don't agree.

WDW has always been the vanguard for theme park design and queue management.

What surprised me was how many just assumed the system was an abject failure before it was even rolled out completely.

It doesn't matter if WDW "knew" it would make these specific tweaks. What mattered was that they would develop a system that most people enjoyed...especially the die-hards and repeat customers.

That was pretty much always going to happen, logically, based on the performance of WDW for pretty much it's whole history as the world's preeminent entertainment company.

It sounds like you do agree with me.

Maybe the negatives got in the way, but I was saying that it only made sense that the system would evolve in some fashion that would provide for the distribution of FPs that weren't reserved in advance.

I remember posting in late January or early February that I expected the evolution of FP+ to include a system in which guests would be allowed to get FPs in the park the same day in addition to the 3 (or whatever other number Disney established) that you could reserve in advance. I took a lot of flak from the usual naysayers, who insisted that if there were going to be changes like this, they would have already been made, even though the paper FP machines had only been out of most of the parks for a few weeks, and offsite guests were still only able to get FPs at the kiosks.

It looks like that is exactly what is happening now, barely 3 months after the removal of paper FP from the parks.

I have always advocated complaining to a company if they are doing something you don't like. But, I would also advocate making that complaint with a well worded, courteous letter or message directly to the company instead of in the form of hundreds or thousands of nasty and sarcastic complaints on a message board.

It doesn't really matter in the end if or how the complaints are shaping the evolution of the FP+ system. But, I really believe that the FP+ system would be going through a lot of these changes whether there had been complaints or not. I also think that there are still more changes to come. In fact, I sent a message to Disney today with my opinion on how I would like to see FP+ evolve. I'll see if I get a response.

 

[OtherScott]

In my opinion the reason so many folks thought it was a failure was b/c Disney was not upfront with how the rollout would work and people were still paying thousands of dollars to test a system and have their vacations "jacked" up. Spending hours in line at guest relations is NOT how I want to spend my vacation. If Disney was upfront and told folks how the test was going to happen people could decide for themselves if they wanted to be part of the test before flights etc were booked. I got caught up in the MB only for Pop last Dec. Found out about a 2 weeks before my trip on these boards......Disney never did tell me until I checked in. In my opinion that's pretty craptastic. Now I am cautiously optimistic how things are going right now but there is still some doubt in my gut with what will change by my Oct trip.

Bingo!

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

OH my gosh, seriously. You always come off really...how can I put this...okay. Let's just say your breathless, discombobulated, overly exclamatory writing (and punctuation) style makes you come off a certain way.

Writing something like this and thinking anyone believes you makes you come off really, really that way. I seriously hope you are a 13-year-old boy messing with people, because the other options are depressing.

Well- we all can't be a bundle of sunshine like you.... now can we, dear. If I come across that way in all of my posts----why are you still reading them??? One day you are going to have to realize that this White Lightning spiked with Hatorade you sippin' on is not your friend!!!! And- it's not even noon yet.

This is exactly what the poster was hoping for....... to throw the thread off course and sit back and laugh at the "cattiness" to ensue from the typical players .....it's such a shame with all of the important feedback given here.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

It sounds like you do agree with me.

Maybe the negatives got in the way, but I was saying that it only made sense that the system would evolve in some fashion that would provide for the distribution of FPs that weren't reserved in advance.

I remember posting in late January or early February that I expected the evolution of FP+ to include a system in which guests would be allowed to get FPs in the park the same day in addition to the 3 (or whatever other number Disney established) that you could reserve in advance. I took a lot of flak from the usual naysayers, who insisted that if there were going to be changes like this, they would have already been made, even though the paper FP machines had only been out of most of the parks for a few weeks, and offsite guests were still only able to get FPs at the kiosks.

It looks like that is exactly what is happening now, barely 3 months after the removal of paper FP from the parks.

I have always advocated complaining to a company if they are doing something you don't like. But, I would also advocate making that complaint with a well worded, courteous letter or message directly to the company instead of in the form of hundreds or thousands of nasty and sarcastic complaints on a message board.

It doesn't really matter in the end if or how the complaints are shaping the evolution of the FP+ system. But, I really don't believe that if there hadn't been complaints the system would not have changed since January.

yes...exactly I do agree with you, 100%. I misread your other post.

And your last sentence has a triple negative!!! But I think I follow it...the changes might have happened without the complaints anyway....

 

[practicallyperfect77]

That definitely is craptastic.

I'm not sure what they can do though...we just live with this stuff. My daughter was just there last month and the whole moat was dug up and there were ugly walls around.

We were there during new FL construction and it was unmagical.

Stayed at GF when the DVC was being built and that wasn't the best.

All somewhat craptastic.

I suppose the MB testing was worse than those 3 examples....but then again there were plenty of people that loved that testing period....double and triple FPS, using old park tickets, some definitely had perks that hadn't existed and don't exist now.

Yeah, if I was double or triple booking FPs with "fistfulls" of old KTTW cards I might have a different opinion.

You are correct tho - there will always be things happening that can cause a somewhat craptastic experience. And you are correct that we can choose to roll with it. That being said, I have no problem with folks that know up front without trying the system that it won't work for them. I just see this as being good stewards of their $.

 

[OtherScott]

I remember posting in late January or early February that I expected the evolution of FP+ to include a system in which guests would be allowed to get FPs in the park the same day in addition to the 3 (or whatever other number Disney established) that you could reserve in advance. I took a lot of flak from the usual naysayers, who insisted that if there were going to be changes like this, they would have already been made, even though the paper FP machines had only been out of most of the parks for a few weeks, and offsite guests were still only able to get FPs at the kiosks.

Said the same in November:

I think what the PP was saying, which is what I have been saying, is that once implemented FPs will be available same-day, or, they wont be all gone due to advance issue.

I think that you will also be able to retrieve more than the 3 advance FPs once inside the park, possibly after you've used some/all of your advance FPs.

This won't be limited to resort guests, or even MBs. Current card tix have RFID intergration. But it will be harder to track non-MB guests, thus harder to offer them relevant notifications inside the park.

Same objections then, with the added "no capacity to offer more."

 

[SuperRob]

If I can have days like the OP did in Oct, I'll be fine with the new system. My concern is we don't know what changes are in store. If we're able to prebook in 2 parks or have a rolling 4th those would be good changes in my opinion , but no one knows what Disney has up their sleeve.

It doesn't sound like you'll be able to pre-book in two parks. But the rolling fourth is already out as of last Monday, and that's more or less a permanent feature. There's a rumor that they may allow you to have three at any given time ("rolling three") which would be a MAJOR upgrade, but that's still a rumor.

So you go to a park, use your three, get a fourth or more if you want. If you park hop, you'll get a FP at a kiosk just like you normally would.

 

[mom2rtk]

Other women don't want other women shoved in their face. It's not that I am jealous or anything----I'm just weary of the pink and the fabulous.

You are equating this to the "other woman"? I'm really lost here.