Fast Pass Privileges

[jumpshot_3]

Just returned from a trip to Orlando where we visited Universal Studios. We stayed on site at the Portofino Bay Hotel. Great time! Since we were staying on site, our hotel key allowed us to use the "Express Lane" virtually without limit. I tell ya, that was the way to go -- it was great passing everyone in the regular line on EVERY RIDE.

I'm brand new to DVC; our first trip will be around Christmas this year. My question is whether DVC offers something similar. I doubt it since I haven't heard of anything like that but I thought I'd inquire anyway.

If not, anyone have an idea on how we might approach the subject to DVC?

Thanks!

 

[lillasmom]

Disney has a "Fast Pass" on many of the popular rides. You simply put in your ticket and it gives you a time to return to ride without waiting. It is great!

Have a great time!

 

[jumpshot_3]

Hey Kim,

Yes, I am aware of Disney's Fast Pass, which is essentially the same as Universal's Express Lane.

However, there was a big difference from what I experienced staying on site. With Disney, the fast pass can only be used for one ride at a time and usually, you need to wait a couple of hours before your turn comes around. With the on-site hotel key at Universal, we'd get off of one ride and immediately go to any other ride we wanted and get in the express lane. No waiting, no finding a fast pass terminal to get your ticket, just GO!

 

[Beca]

Wouldn't that be a great selling point for DVC?!!! I guess since DVC is selling so well it is not needed. I certainly think that would not be a viable option for WDW to do considering how MANY resorts there are. I think WDW feels they have made similar accomodations by having early entry and e nights. As a DVC owner, I would LOVE to see them do something like that for DVC'ers staying on points.

But, that would certainly make us more hated on the disboards than we already are!!!

I don't know how one would approach DVC with such a proposal, except..."See, they're doing it...why don't you try it". Maybe the "keeping up with the Jonses" approach would work...but, I doubt it!!!



Beca

 

[goldilocks_63]

I asked my guide about it, and he said that they nixed it, because they thought that US with everyone getting the FOTL pass, it was a wash... In other words, that Disney Fast Passes gave us the same level of service.

But I think they are wrong,, and between that and the yearly passes being so much cheaper,

am going to spend some time and money over there, and see how it goes...


Stay here, and play some elsewhere.


Goldi

 

[tjkraz]

If you wanted to suggest this, the best route would probably be either a letter to Member Services or perhaps to attend one of the weekly meetings at SSR and bring it up.

There have been several informal polls conducted on this web site in recent months asking about additional perks. If memory serves, this one usually finishes in the top 5, but the most popular suggestion is always additional ticket / AP discounts.

In comparing the Universal system to a similar DVC system, the purpose for this perk at Universal is to attempt to sway people to stay at a Universal resort. That has a direct impact on putting dollars in Universal's pockets via occupancy levels at their resorts.

Would such a system REALLY prompt people to plunk down $15K+ on DVC?

While it would certainly be an attractive perk, although I don't personally see it happening. FastPass already has its detractors (I'm not one of them), and I think Disney would also be very wary of creating an additional "class" of guest at the theme parks.

Just my $.02...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Couldn't you just see all the people trying to rent points and wanting the DVC FOTL access?

 

[Granny]

For what it's worth, we went to Universal this year and found it to be a disaster from a "regular guest" view point.

Yes, they have "Universal Express" passes, like FastPass, but 45 minutes after the parks were open, they were already at 5:00 in the evening on the more popular rides!!!

Why? Because Universal sells UE Passes too! So between those staying on site plus those forking over an extra $30 per person per day for a UE pass for every ride in the park for that day, there were very few passes available for the guest who shows up and just wants to tour the park. And the lines for all the attractions worth viewing were anywhere from 60 minutes to 2 HOURS by 10:30 in the morning!

On the other hand, we toured the Disney parks using FP and were able to see all our favorite attractions within a reasonable time after entering the park.

So put me down for a strong vote against adopting any kind of deviation from the present plan. It sounds great but the execution stinks!

 

[crisi]

The rumor mill is that Disney considered making FastPasses "onsite guests only" like FOTL passes at Universal.

But with so many hotel rooms, plus DVC member, plus AP members who are loyal to Disney feeling "left out" - it turned out to be nearly everyone in the parks anyway - and Disney didn't want the "class system" of day guests getting treated differently.

I don't think you could fairly make it a DVC perk and not make it a perk for GF guests - or Pop Century guests. And I'd think AP holders would get pretty disloyal if they were left out.

One of the things Disney does well is that once you are in the parks, it doesn't make any difference if you are staying in a suite at the Grand Floridan at $2000 a night, or visiting for the day, everyone is pretty much the same. There are a few VIPs coming through that get escorted to the fronts of lines - but so few that it isn't very noticeable to the average guests.

 

[Chuck S]

If Disney did it for DVC, they would almost have to do it for all resort guests using the room keys. As high a percentage as Disney has for onsite guests, there would be little, if any, time saved.

It is one thing to have a meal discount for DVC members, but other onsite folks would get pretty ticked off paying premium rental prices and being denied a FOTL perk.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I am one of the ones who does not like Universals FOTL access. This was on the Them Parks board, and what it comes down to is financial status IMO. IF you have the $200+/night to stay on property at US, then youcan cut in line...as someone else mentioned, IF you have the extra $30/pp on top of admission to the park, you can afford to cut in line.

I like Disney FP program just fine. It is the same for everyone who has an admission ticket into the park. Regardless of where they are staying, if they are paying $25/night off site or $400 a night on site.

If DVC offered FOTL access to DVC members, I am sure all the other people staying on Disney property would feel cheated, and I don't think they would take it quietly.

I don't want to be a glorified line cutter anyway. FP is good enough for me.

 

[PHILCT]

I found the fastpass at Disney sometimes so disappointing, because if you arrive at the MK park at noon, the fast passes for something like Splash Mountain are almost gone for the day.

Or going to get a fast pass and then finding out there are none, and you walked out of your way to go get that special one.
Sometimes I just wished they had all fast pass rides available at one park location, so you could choose the one that fits the time schedule. Walking thru mainstreet and frontier land to find out that Splash Mountain fast passes are all gone, and it has a 2 hour wait can get you crazy.

In a sense, fast pass on the most popular rides, on the busiest days, makes the most popular rides for later arrivals really a worse situation. Sometimes I wished the most popular rides were denied for certain time slots, so that late arrivals would not get in the stand by lines and watch 1,000s of fast passes go by them as the Disney Castmember lets in 10 standbys.
I have seen almost riots at Splash Mountain, where the standbys want to almost do un Disney like behavior to the cast members guarding the standby line.

As you can see I have found the Fast Past at disney has its cruel attributes.

What might be a nice DVC perk, picking your fast pass from the resort, one per person one per day, before you even leave the Resort, and getting to pick ANY time slot in the future available, not just the one's you would get if you walked up to the FAST PASS RIDE Location and have no idea until you get there what time periods they are offering. Let me pick one time slot of my choice.

Just being able to do one MK fast pass most popular ride on that day, and having it in your hands before your left the Resort would be so cool!

I would do anything to avoid MK fast pass disappointments.

Not every DVC member aches to get to the park by opening to
get the fast passes before they run out. Sometimes you just want to dine at your own resort for a breakfast and a swim, and go to the parks after a relaxing resort morning.
Fast Pass isn't always so nice for those who didn't come into the Park earlier in the day.

I always wondered if there are some very special VIP people who get fast passes printed for them on a scheduled agenda that makes life at MK a magical day ! Now that would a perfect day at the MK !

I think Donald Duck himself would get frustrated with the fast passes at the MK ! It would make a great cartoon!

(See Donald below, snoring and sleeping in late before he takes off for the park at Noon ! He is in for a disappointment when he gets there late.)

Does anyone else know how to do the Fast Pass system better ?

 

[Skip Wiley]

We stayed at the Hard Rock at Universal a few years ago, and I'd have to agree with jumpshot_3, having FOTL access for every ride was a blast. I would stay on-site at Universal again for that reason only. I don't think Disney would ever offer the perk, it would be hard to give it to one group (DVC) and not another (AP holders). It may be the wrong thing to say, but deep down inside I know if an unlimited fast pass ticket was offered at WDW I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Please don’t think less of me, I have an addiction.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We stay at the HRH every year and love having FOTL but I also have to say that the Fast Pass system at WDW is very good too and I don't think they should change it for any category of guests. If they did, I don't think it would be for DVC guests but for concierge guests at the deluxe hotels. So I say keep it like it is. I would rather see an excellent discount on AP's for DVC members so we could go more often.

HBC

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by PHILCT
Sometimes I just wished they had all fast pass rides available at one park location, so you could choose the one that fits the time schedule. Walking thru mainstreet and frontier land to find out that Splash Mountain fast passes are all gone, and it has a 2 hour wait can get you crazy.

Interesting idea, but probably a logistical nightmare. The machines would have to be installed in a central location, which means the hub in front of Cindarella's Castle. Somedays you'd have total gridlock in that area of the park, not to mention what it would do to the appearance.

I'm not convinced it would be any more convenient, either. We will often walk into an area like Tomorrowland, check out the wait times and get a FastPass for the ride with the longest wait--let's say Space Mountain. While waiting for that return time, we'll do all of the other attractions in TL. In your example I'm walking back to this "one location" to get my FastPass, then back to Tomorrowland for the other rides.

I can see where this might save some time when you first enter the park, but as I'm meandering through the park during a typical day, my travels may or may not naturally take me in the vicinity of the central FP distribution point.

 

[wtpclc]

PHILCT - I like your idea of hetting 1 FP per day from the resort. We did the 4 land 3 sea DCL cruise in Feb. If you elect to get teh bus to the cuise from AK, then, when you check your carry-ons at the park, you get your choice of a FP at Festival of the Lion King, Tarzan Rocks or the safari. Seeing as we had to catch teh bus at ~11, this really helped us get most everything in.

I guess the daown side owuld be that every hotel guest (or at least 1 per room) would be at the front desk every morning (or at least by early afternoon if they were snoozing a bit). That does seem like chaos!

Maybe there could be something on our cards that let us do just 1 extra thing/1 guaranteed FP. To know that you wuold get that 1 run on Splash Mountain or Test Track or RnRC.... would be nice!

Just my $0.02, but that FP to front row seating at teh Lion King was a nice surprise on my cold rainy trip.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Originally posted by Granny
For what it's worth, we went to Universal this year and found it to be a disaster from a "regular guest" view point.

Yes, they have "Universal Express" passes, like FastPass, but 45 minutes after the parks were open, they were already at 5:00 in the evening on the more popular rides!!!

Why? Because Universal sells UE Passes too! So between those staying on site plus those forking over an extra $30 per person per day for a UE pass for every ride in the park for that day, there were very few passes available for the guest who shows up and just wants to tour the park. And the lines for all the attractions worth viewing were anywhere from 60 minutes to 2 HOURS by 10:30 in the morning!

On the other hand, we toured the Disney parks using FP and were able to see all our favorite attractions within a reasonable time after entering the park.

So put me down for a strong vote against adopting any kind of deviation from the present plan. It sounds great but the execution stinks!

Granny that stinks! We are planning on doing Universal in Nov and so far I have heard the same thing about their system at US. My neighbor just got back and said the same thing. What a horror it was for the regular guest. We are actually rethinking our plan now

 

[PHILCT]

Hi wtpclc

I am glad you got a fast pass to the Lion King, one fast pass that is available to your schedule makes life so much more fun for a day at the parks.

Lion King Festival is always my favorite !

------

If ultimately a fast pass distribution, like the one for Universal, makes the attraction sold out at 10 am, then the fast pass distribution becomes CRUEL for the rest.

I swear, I almost think the Fast Pass distribution for Splash Mountain is just as bad during the peak season hours.
Some day there will be a riot if they don't get it under control !

I will stop complaining about Fast Pass if Disney would just do more E nights, or more Private Halloween/Christmas Parties.
I would pay an extra $$ to get a calmer MK day.
I would gladly visit the MK paying even more per day, if I could have a more magical experience with less crowds.

I will only now go to the MK on either off peak season, or only on the early days they offer early entrance. By Noon, I want to get out of the park.

As a DVC member, I just need a "little" more perk towards that magic.

One perk I enjoyed as an AP holder was the uknown VIP Private lounge at the LAND a couple of years ago. It was wonderful. I sat on beautiful couches and chairs, drank complimentary beverages, and Pluto, Chip and Dale, and Mickey and Minnie always came over to say hello. It was paradise, and every AP got a chance to go there.

DVC needs to give a little extra more perk to us.

I am not asking to be treated like a movie star, I just want about 1 percent more magic or pixie dust showered on me daily !
I feel good at Disney, I just want to feel a little more spoiled.
Even 1 DVC fast pass a trip per person would make me feel special.

I want to enjoy the resort AND the Parks, and not have to schedule that magic by running to fast pass at 8 or 9 AM.

Hmm, I wonder if Grumpy has tried to get a Fast Pass at Splash Mountain at 1 PM in April ?


Phil

 

[jumpshot_3]

I've gotten some more insight from everyone's replies to understand better the potential problems of adopting a system similar to Universal's. I would have to agree that it's probably not viable to implement.

However, I also like the idea of having a fast pass prior to leaving the resort. That's just one small perk that Disney could easily handle. The logistics are manageable, too. Upon checking in, you could report to the front desk the days you plan on visiting the parks (and which parks). Fast pass tickets could be slid under your front door the next morning.

Anyway, looking forward to visiting VWL for the first time in a few months.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Originally posted by PHILCT
. . . As a DVC member, I just need a "little" more perk . . .
. . . DVC needs to give a little extra more perk to us . . .
. . . I just want to feel a little more spoiled . . .

1) Whoa !
2) We do not own any part of WDW or DVC.
3) We bought a timeshare - and not even a deeded timeshare. *
4) OK, an expensive upscale timeshare, but still a timeshare.
5) Why should we get anything different than a normal guest?
6) Most timeshare give meal discounts, so does DVC.
7) We should not expect or demand anything else.

* We have a lease interest, not a deeded property.