FastPass crackdown??

[mom2rtk]

Also, someone posted recently that DL was about to begin the same policy later this month, though I don't know how accurate that is.

I thought I had read it would start around Thanksgiving this year.

 

[nrod]

My family was there at the beginning of October and we did not get a grace period. We were less than 10 minutes late for our fastpass and were denied. It really put a damper on our day. But luckily we had been on Soarin' in the morning, so we just moved on. I wasn't upset about enforcing the fastpass, but 10 minutes!!

So for the rest of the week, we were very careful about making sure we were on schedule. And knew that if we weren't, we just wouldn't use the fastpass.

 

[andyman8]

My family was there at the beginning of October and we did not get a grace period. We were less than 10 minutes late for our fastpass and were denied. It really put a damper on our day. But luckily we had been on Soarin' in the morning, so we just moved on. I wasn't upset about enforcing the fastpass, but 10 minutes!!

So for the rest of the week, we were very careful about making sure we were on schedule. And knew that if we weren't, we just wouldn't use the fastpass.

All FPs are marked with a "GP:15" on the bottom. If this happens, see guest services and they will issue you a new FP, but that can definitely be time consuming.

 

[slg4crzn]

I was told the crackdown is to prepare for a new FP system. A person would be able to pick what time they want to go ride the attraction. I do not know if it is still certain attractions, you pick times the day of, or multi park availability.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Maybe I caught a castmember having a bad day, but these things do have expirations now. I've always heard they are good beyond, kind of an unwritten rule. And in The Unnofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger&Len Testa on pg 79 "At both WDW and Disneyland in California, the return window expiration time is ingnored as a matter of policy,though Disney keeps this something of a secret."

Wasn't a huge deal, but I took my daughter (6yrs old) on Splash Mountain on 11/1 3hrs after the fast pass window expired, and we were denied entrance. Stand by was marked 45 min, but only lasted about 30.

Didn't really want to make a scene, but has anyone else experienced this crackdown? Earlier last week when the MK was empty, we were a little late on a few but had no issues whatsoever.

Thoughts??

~If you were a little late for a few rides and still allowed to ride, you definitely got some pixie dust!!! I have also heard of several accounts where people were turned away, after arriving just a few minutes after their time window expired, so I wouldn't depend on the "grace period" at all.

 

[erincon23]

All FPs are marked with a "GP:15" on the bottom. If this happens, see guest services and they will issue you a new FP, but that can definitely be time consuming.

When we were there a couple of weeks ago, I looked at our FPs to find the "GP" notice and it wasn't there. I don't remember seeing it on any of the FPs we got that week -- I wonder if they did that during the first weeks of the enforcement and then did away with it. Has anybody seen that "GP" printed on FPs recently?

 

[Orreed]

And what exactly IS the point of Fastpass?

Fastpass is a free service to use. What happens is you put your park ticket into a machine. You get a small sheet of paper back saying to return in an hour time frame. This is very nice as you can do other things like ride rides or get a snack instead of waiting in line. They used to be less strict which was very nice but now you have to be their in the exact time. Really I just try to look at it as a lucky blessing before. Make sure to use Fastpass, it is very nice

 

[mesaboy2]

When we were there a couple of weeks ago, I looked at our FPs to find the "GP" notice and it wasn't there. I don't remember seeing it on any of the FPs we got that week -- I wonder if they did that during the first weeks of the enforcement and then did away with it. Has anybody seen that "GP" printed on FPs recently?

Yes, yesterday. It's there in fine print in the lower right corner.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We just returned and we were told by several cast members when we obtained fast passes that we had to return within the hour on our fastpass or we could not use it. DH and I were debating about getting one due to our lunch adr and the CM said if we were even a minute late it we would not be able to use it.

I guess it depends on the CM for the grace period. I honestly did not notice if it even had the 15 info listed on there. Needless to say we used our during out window. We did do a lot of criiss crossing of parks though.

 

[t_daniels]

I don't understand why. The whole point of Fastpass is to come back and ride it at a specific time. If you don't come back within that time you don't get to ride, it's very simple. You don't get to just stroll back 3 hours later and expect to be able to ride.

To stay on topic.. I haven't used them much.

I think we did one attraction with FP last time. We wanted to do Soarin, but we didn't make it to get FP's in time.
We're dorks, and enjoy the queues of some rides, too.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

When we were there a couple of weeks ago, I looked at our FPs to find the "GP" notice and it wasn't there. I don't remember seeing it on any of the FPs we got that week -- I wonder if they did that during the first weeks of the enforcement and then did away with it. Has anybody seen that "GP" printed on FPs recently?

Stole this picture from my friend who is at AK right now (and I'm super jealous!). You will notice the GP 13:55 (1:55) at the bottom right.

 

[Satchmo128]

We got back from the Cali parks two weeks ago and still were able to enjoy FP's after the printed time. It is going to be an adjustment with the new FP policy in WDW for our December trip, but a little extra strategic planning (to make sure we return within the one-hour window) we will make it work

I can see arguments on both sides of the enforcement policy in WDW, but I am just excited that we are able to go on these vacations...so a little extra planning is okay by me!

 

[larryz]

Fastpass is a free service to use. What happens is you put your park ticket into a machine. You get a small sheet of paper back saying to return in an hour time frame. This is very nice as you can do other things like ride rides or get a snack instead of waiting in line. They used to be less strict which was very nice but now you have to be their in the exact time. Really I just try to look at it as a lucky blessing before. Make sure to use Fastpass, it is very nice

Thanks for that great description of what Fastpass is. There's no question that a good Fastpass strategy will help you see the parks more efficiently. That is certainly an effect, but I don't believe that's the point of the system. Effective strategies depend on which park you're attending on which days, but it's universally accepted that arriving at Rope Drop and hitting the E-ticket rides as early as possible while acquiring FastPasses for the most popular attractions is one of the most effective methods of using them.

I don't think anybody disputes that Disney is strictly enforcing the one-hour window of return. It's their right to do so -- it's their system -- and it certainly makes ride flow somewhat more predictable than before they returned to strict enforcement.

 

[PrincessShea]

I feel for the OP because I am sure there are lots of non-obsessed planners out there who maybe get the Unofficial Guide from the library or a friend or something and every single plan in those books centered around using fastpasses after their expiration time.

 

[PeterPanic]

All FPs are marked with a "GP:15" on the bottom. If this happens, see guest services and they will issue you a new FP, but that can definitely be time consuming.

I'm not sure that this is true, it might be, but it wouldn't make sense and the time used to make that happen would pretty much wipe out any advantage of having one. If I were Disney I would just eliminate GP posting on the FP. It is meant to help out when a legitimate delay happens. There is no guarantee or promise that it will be accepted. Like everything else it is human nature to automatically assume that it will always be honored. However, crowd levels, ride problems and many other things might alter their ability to allow it.

If one takes a minute to think about it. If they wanted the window time to be and hour and 15 minutes, that is what they would have published. I know it has been mentioned many times how it is printed on the FP, but I don't know of any official Disney notice or advertised promotion has ever mentioned a grace period.

That is how the original FP got so out of control. One person was allowed to enter much later then the posted window, they told someone else who tried it, who told someone else and so on. After a while, all of the Disney people that payed attention to this type of discussion board knew that they could extend it and Disney never made any attempt to stop it. Now for whatever reason they have, it is being enforced and the only ones that are even aware of the change are those that used it at will, in the past.

I went shortly after the new/old rule started to be enforced and frankly, it only took a minimal amount of thought and planning to make it work out just fine. As a plus, one of the side effects of this is that people are not as inclined to take a FP that they cannot get to on time, leaving more available for others. No hording or after dinner or parade rushes to the rides. Even if they didn't do it for the purpose of the new FP+, it has had some positive results in my opinion.

 

[vacationer1954]

That makes a lot of sense, and when Fastpass is used for what it was originally intended then the concerns don't really come up, since it would be very rare that perusing the shops and having a snack in the part of the park you're waiting to ride a ride in would take longer than the wait time plus the return time plus the grace period.

 

[qman]

So what is the policy on when you can get another Fast Pass? As I recall the rule used to be it was the earlier of 1) the beginning of the return time on the attraction or 2) two hours after the Fast Pass was issued. Is this still the rule?

 

[mesaboy2]

So what is the policy on when you can get another Fast Pass? As I recall the rule used to be it was the earlier of 1) the beginning of the return time on the attraction or 2) two hours after the Fast Pass was issued. Is this still the rule?

Yes, no different.

 

[mattsdragon]

Thanks for that great description of what Fastpass is. There's no question that a good Fastpass strategy will help you see the parks more efficiently. That is certainly an effect, but I don't believe that's the point of the system. Effective strategies depend on which park you're attending on which days, but it's universally accepted that arriving at Rope Drop and hitting the E-ticket rides as early as possible while acquiring FastPasses for the most popular attractions is one of the most effective methods of using them.

I don't think anybody disputes that Disney is strictly enforcing the one-hour window of return. It's their right to do so -- it's their system -- and it certainly makes ride flow somewhat more predictable than before they returned to strict enforcement.

I don't think people understood your sarcasm with that question Larry.

 

[bwang123]

Tons of threads about how the DIS "dislikes" it.

I am on the DIS and I am fine with fast pass time enforcement. Your blanket statement is incorrect.