FastPass+ and Attraction Closures Info

[mesaboy2]

Credit to WEDWDW for posting this in a megathread, but I thought it deserved a new thread ('cause we don't have enough already ).

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...handles-attraction-closures-with-fastpass.htm

Better be on the grid for this to work well for you.

 

[WillAustin]

Unfortunately, being able to return to a ride if it reopened later was a better solution.

 

[mesaboy2]

Unfortunately, being able to return to a ride if it reopened later was a better solution.

I like that feature myself. I'm already hearing this concept may not be dead yet, so as with everything--we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[ktlm]

Unfortunately, being able to return to a ride if it reopened later was a better solution.

I totally agree. The new plan doesn't work at all for me, especially if you are blocked out of getting old fastpasses if you elect to use FP+, as all reports are currently sayign that you are.

If it is a favorite ride which is down for an hour, I can't imagine being totally blocked out of Fast Passing it all day because it happened to have an issue and be closed for the hour when your + kicked in. Not only are you blocked out from FP, but the regular lines will be longer because it was closed for a while. That stinks!!!!

 

[gamerlovesdisney]

From what I read, it requires that you are able to receive emails and/or be able to go to MDE to check for the new Fastpass time options available. Unless you have a smartphone with you at the park (and I will not carry a phone with me on vacation), you'll be unable to receive these notifications. So what does someone without a phone/tablet do???

 

[Traveliz]

From what I read, it requires that you are able to receive emails and/or be able to go to MDE to check for the new Fastpass time options available. Unless you have a smartphone with you at the park (and I will not carry a phone with me on vacation), you'll be unable to receive these notifications. So what does someone without a phone/tablet do???

Well I have an idea of what they will have non smartphone users do but rather than get into that I would reconsider using a phone if you have one available. You wouldn't have to use it for calls or other texts or emails but could use it to save a lot of time (which translates into money) on a Disney vacation.

Liz

 

[erionm]

So what does someone without a phone/tablet do???

There will be in park kiosks where you can go to modify your FP+ schedules.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It's too bad you won't be able to just return whenever the ride opens but we'll see how this pans out. Happy to give it a try.

We're part of the test group and have 10 days worth of FP+ booked in mid-late August so I'll see how this goes.

If all else fails, if it's something we really want to ride/see and the FP+ times don't work then we'll be happy to wait in the stand by line with everyone else just like we do on the majority of rides. Without the influx of returning expired FP holders, hopefully the standby line won't be too bad.

This time during the test phase that might happen but hey, I'm thankful to have the opportunity to test FP+ even if it will mean a long standby wait due to many expired paper FP guests returning.

Will be interesting to see if this happens and how it works out.

 

[mom2rtk]

Unfortunately, being able to return to a ride if it reopened later was a better solution.

Can you imagine how that's going to go down when the new 7DMC goes down, as so many new attractions do in the early days? No chance of rescheduling for another date. Oh, and for many the entire trip was about experiencing that ride for the first time.

 

[mom2rtk]

I totally agree. The new plan doesn't work at all for me, especially if you are blocked out of getting old fastpasses if you elect to use FP+, as all reports are currently sayign that you are.

If it is a favorite ride which is down for an hour, I can't imagine being totally blocked out of Fast Passing it all day because it happened to have an issue and be closed for the hour when your + kicked in. Not only are you blocked out from FP, but the regular lines will be longer because it was closed for a while. That stinks!!!!

Unfortunately it now seems that if you show up for your ride and the attraction is down, you need to camp out on the slim hope that it happens to come back online during your window.

Or am I misreading that? If that's the case, then it stinks. Really stinks.

 

[rt2dz]

There will be in park kiosks where you can go to modify your FP+ schedules.

Yes, but for those w/o phones, or whose batteries have died, how will they get the notification to go sit in another line (I'm guessing) to use a kiosk to reschedule their FP+?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[erionm]

Yes, but for those w/o phones, or whose batteries have died, how will they get the notification to go sit in another line (I'm guessing) to use a kiosk to reschedule their FP+?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Then they would find out when they go to the attraction during the FP+ window and the attraction is down. If CMs at the attraction are unable to assist them, they should be directed to a kiosk.

 

[Rileygirl]

The old way of dealing with a ride closure, everyone could come back to that ride on fp, and ride it with their ticket as soon as it reopened. Even if it was early in the morning closure, the option was still there. Many people used this option. How many, I am not sure, but probably a decent percentage.

This new way, they are NOT saying that, are they. They are trying to make it sound more conveinent, and in some ways, it may very well be- as long as you have a phone and a data service.

However, something that has always struck me as 'wrong' in all the analysis of how FP+ was going to affect us, was the percentage of fp+ per attraction, as opposed to the regular fp. There were websites and podcasts, that said current fp distribution is around 80%. I never believed that. I felt it was closer to 30%, based on the length of wait in the fp line per hour, as was my own personal experience. However, who knows what the actual percentage of OHRC was with the old system.

This new system, should it run properly, will be vastly more efficient. How many times has Disney told us that? And, this new system should be able to recalculate and reoffer fast passes on the spot, as soon as the CM's let the system know its operational again. However, notice that this IS NOT OFFERED, and I wonder why.

The system (again, I say, if they can make it work properly) should be able to do this. Maybe they will be able to do this, but dont want to make any promises of this right now- and that is a reasonable statement.

But my own pet theory is that the WILL NOT BE ABLE to do this, simply because they intend to have a MUCH higher ratio of FP+'s then they ever had of the old type. And the sheer number of people with fp+ will not be just able to 'show up' at any random time without overwhelming the system. Even a few hours worth will not be able to be massaged through the fp+ line. I really think, EVENTUALLY, this will be true. But it could be a couple of years in the making to have that number of people online with fp+

The other thought on this is: perhaps if the system is so efficient, when a ride goes down, a CM estimates how long they think it will be down for, and if its for a short duration (someone lost their hat, or some idiot jumped off the ride vehicle) then only a certain number of hours will be 'shut down' and cancellation proceedure goes into effect only for those hours. EX: on splash, someone wiggs out and jumps off before the big drop at the top of the tunnel in the early am. Ride is closed for maybe 2 hrs . Cancellation only happens for the periods between 10-12, and only these people get bumped to reselect. It has zero impact on someone showing up at 3 pm for their scheduled fp+. This works better for us, I think.

The potential for efficiency of this system is simply mindboggling. I hope they can get it running smoothly.

rambly thoughts....

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Would be handy if the CMs at the FP+ entrance had one of those handy ipads to help those without mobile access.

 

[mom2rtk]

However, something that has always struck me as 'wrong' in all the analysis of how FP+ was going to affect us, was the percentage of fp+ per attraction, as opposed to the regular fp. There were websites and podcasts, that said current fp distribution is around 80%. I never believed that. I felt it was closer to 30%, based on the length of wait in the fp line per hour, as was my own personal experience. However, who knows what the actual percentage of OHRC was with the old system.

I personally think that since 3/7/12, they have been experimenting with just how many FPs they could wring out of the system. I know that when we were there in December, the return times were markedly sooner than we have ever experienced before. I think that's because there were more FPs in the system than ever before. So I think the efficiencies have already been realized. And based on anecdotal stories over the past year, I believe the 80% FP story.

 

[UNCFanatik]

Can you imagine how that's going to go down when the new 7DMC goes down, as so many new attractions do in the early days? No chance of rescheduling for another date. Oh, and for many the entire trip was about experiencing that ride for the first time.

What will stop someone from experiencing it for the first time via the Standby line like a vast majority of guest will end up ultimately doing?

You present a false dichotomy.

 

[mom2rtk]

What will stop someone from experiencing it for the first time via the Standby line like a vast majority of guest will end up ultimately doing?

You present a false dichotomy.

It is not a false dichotomy for someone who will not wait in 2 hour lines...... which that attraction will likely experience on a routine basis for some time once it opens.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

It's hard to imagine that Disney will actually tell guests "too bad" if a ride breaks down during their FP+ window.

A couple years ago, Test Track broke down when I was at the front of the line, having used a rider-switch (child swap) pass. Everyone was immediately given "come back at any time" re-entry passes. When I re-entered after the ride finally re-opened, I wasn't sure if the backed-up FP line or single rider line was actually shorter, but the amazing CM insisted on making sure that I was on the ride as fast as possible after overhearing that my husband and kids were impatiently waiting for me.

Couldn't the amazing new computerized system convert a FP+ into an "any time" fastpass if the ride was not operating during part or all of the window? Yes, this causes line back-ups, but so does any ride breakdown and it's the way Disney has always handled this situation to keep their guests happy.

 

[Rileygirl]

I personally think that since 3/7/12, they have been experimenting with just how many FPs they could wring out of the system. I know that when we were there in December, the return times were markedly sooner than we have ever experienced before. I think that's because there were more FPs in the system than ever before. So I think the efficiencies have already been realized. And based on anecdotal stories over the past year, I believe the 80% FP story.

I believe they have been experimenting with ratios too, but I dont think they are anywhere near 80%. I was at the MK and DHS in March, and used the fp system. The longest wait we had was at TSMM in the fp line, and that was just under 20 minutes.

If 80% of the OHRC was given out with fp, then that means 80 percent of the hourly ride capacity is with fast pass people, and the standby line only moves 20% in that hour.

That means to me that the average wait in a fast pass line would equate to 48 minutes, not less then 20, except in the first hour. I am not sure how the staggering of the return times will impact on this calculation, even if they are 5 minute intervals, I still think the average wait in the fp line would be closer to 30 minutes or higher, if fp was operating at 80% capacity.

And for just about every other fp attraction we did - it was closer to 10 minutes in line then 20.

I am not sure, my logic may be very faulty in this analysis, math is not my forte. But at 80% OHRC, the impact of people showing up closer to the end of the return time window as a 'bunch' would gnarl up the system horrendously. And does that not always happen at the end of the first fp you grab- you do a bunch of other things before heading back over to ride? Its always our first fp that we usually let go to the end of the window of opportunity, and then subsequent ones are typically used as soon as the windows open.

I would like to hear from the mathmaticians, and staticians if my calculations and theories make any sense. They may not. But nobody has told me different yet, so I will continue to suffer my deluded opinion. :>)

 

[mesaboy2]

It's hard to imagine that Disney will actually tell guests "too bad" if a ride breaks down during their FP+ window.

A couple years ago, Test Track broke down when I was at the front of the line, having used a rider-switch (child swap) pass. Everyone was immediately given "come back at any time" re-entry passes. When I re-entered after the ride finally re-opened, I wasn't sure if the backed-up FP line or single rider line was actually shorter, but the amazing CM insisted on making sure that I was on the ride as fast as possible after overhearing that my husband and kids were impatiently waiting for me.

Couldn't the amazing new computerized system convert a FP+ into an "any time" fastpass if the ride was not operating during part or all of the window? Yes, this causes line back-ups, but so does any ride breakdown and it's the way Disney has always handled this situation to keep their guests happy.

I very much agree with this, and I'm hopeful the system will not treat everyone with an iron-fist black-and-white mentality.