Fastpass Enforcement coming?

[dbbydk]

It looks like this article is about WDW. Is this change affecting DL too?

 

[Tropical Wilds]

I'll just go ahead and prep y'all as a devil's advocate:

• You should plan for being late at dinner or a ride breaking down.
• The clocks at the FP turnstiles tell you when you need to return.
• I didn't know we could do this!
• It's not fair to those who didn't know this.
• It's not fair to those who don't plan.
• The lines at <insert attraction here> were bad at the end of the night because everyone comes back late. And I know because I saw all those FPs.

Some if not all of these statements and counter-arguments are a-comin'.

How does one plan for a ride breaking down? LoL! I was stuck on RRC for 30 minutes this last trip... How does one plan for that? LoL! Likewise, Peter Pan broke down while I was there... So if it starts working after your FP window, how do you plan for that?

 

[CocosMeme]

 

[mesaboy2]

How does one plan for a ride breaking down? LoL! I was stuck on RRC for 30 minutes this last trip... How does one plan for that? LoL! Likewise, Peter Pan broke down while I was there... So if it starts working after your FP window, how do you plan for that?

You're preaching to the choir here. But I know posters who argue this point. They'll say you shouldn't have gotten in line for an attraction or scheduled an ADR (six months ago) that close to your window. Then they follow up with "it's just a FP, no big deal, get in the regular line". On that particular part, I will agree.

Don't get me wrong, IF it turns out to be true, then I will plan to the new normal. No biggie.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah, but did you see fine print where it says you have to guarantee your return with a credit card and pay a $10 pp fine if you're late?

 

[mesaboy2]

Yeah, but did you see fine print where it says you have to guarantee your return with a credit card and pay a $10 pp fine if you're late?

Still not cool with that, eh?

 

[mom2rtk]

I honestly won't be shocked when it happens. I've been saying all along they expect a huge influx of people when the FLE opens. I wouldn't be surprised to see them tighten up on a number of things in preparation for the throngs. I think they expect something akin to the opening of WWoHP. I hope they're not too disappointed when that doesn't quite pan out.

It just really is a shame to see them trying to fix things that aren't broken.

 

[mom2rtk]

Still not cool with that, eh?

Does it show?

 

[daisyx3]

I don't know about you, but the "regular line" is not an option for my at this point. I'm so spoiled by FP that any line over 30 minutes is too long. I don't even go to Cedar Point anymore because of it. Plus we go at spring break, so the leeway with end times has been a plus....if we want to go back to the hotel in the middle of the day, a 3PM FP return was no big deal, we'd just go later when we went back to the park. Now we'll just skip it, and later on there won't be any FPs left.
This means the FP stampede in the morning for TSM and Soarin' will be worse, so people can do them in the morning and not have to hang around all day waiting for it.
Daisyx3

 

[anne60]

I will tell you - this will probably mean the end of doing Disney every year for me. We use the late arrival almost exclusively. We ride standby all morning, collecting fast passes, then we go back to the resort and relax, returning later in the day to ride using the fast passes we've collected. They certainly are within their rights to do this, but for me, it will take away from our enjoyment enough that the money we spend to go to the parks will no longer be justifiable. I'll just go to the beach instead!

 

[maxiesmom]

If it happens, it happens. It won't affect how we tour since we use FP's during the printed window anyway. I know it will affect lots of DIS'ers who do use them after the window, but I tend to think the casual visitor probably doesn't even know you COULD use them that way.

I agree with you. Even though we go to WDW fairly frequently, I have never used a FastPass outside of the printed time window. We look at that time when we go to pick them up, and if it doesn't work for us, we don't get the FastPass. It is not hard to tour that way at all.

 

[btk2333]

I agree with you. Even though we go to WDW fairly frequently, I have never used a FastPass outside of the printed time window. We look at that time when we go to pick them up, and if it doesn't work for us, we don't get the FastPass. It is not hard to tour that way at all.

It is not hard to tour that way; however, for ten years it has been more inefficient to tour that way- will definitely have to rework our touring strategies (please forgive me as I anticipate being bitter about this for awhile!)

 

[Missyrose]

I agree with you. Even though we go to WDW fairly frequently, I have never used a FastPass outside of the printed time window. We look at that time when we go to pick them up, and if it doesn't work for us, we don't get the FastPass. It is not hard to tour that way at all.

This is not meant to be a snarky question at all, I'm asking honestly...What do you do in the late afternoon and evening at the parks?

 

[letthewookiewin]

How does one plan for a ride breaking down? LoL! I was stuck on RRC for 30 minutes this last trip... How does one plan for that? LoL! Likewise, Peter Pan broke down while I was there... So if it starts working after your FP window, how do you plan for that?

That is a situation where I can see not making it for your return FP time. The world is not perfect and things will come up that are beyond your control. I just don't understand collecting a FP when you have no intention of using it during the return time.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I don't know about you, but the "regular line" is not an option for my at this point. I'm so spoiled by FP that any line over 30 minutes is too long.

Hopefully if this new system works correctly, the wait time for the regular lines will drop. If you're controlling how many guests enter the FastPass line, that's less that you have to halt the standby line for. Less FastPass guests means more regular guests get to enter onto the attraction.

Let's say an attraction gives out 2,000 FastPasses. If they come back all spread throughout the day, it's a pretty good flow between the 2 lines. However, if they all come back at 5pm at night (which they could with the current way it works), the FastPass line is now not very fast, so the regular line has to come to a complete stand still, while only FastPass is being let onto the attraction.

Hopefully it'll work. The only thing they need to do is let guests know before they get their FastPasses. Signage is needed, as well as Cast Members reminding guests. Information on the websites and maps would help as well.

 

[mesaboy2]

That is a situation where I can see not making it for your return FP time. The world is not perfect and things will come up that are beyond your control. I just don't understand collecting a FP when you have no intention of using it during the return time.

The subtlety is that the return time is actually from the beginning of the window until the end of the day. So, I do use it during the return time.

Time to whip this out again, and is at least the current policy. Note the third situation/action.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

That is a situation where I can see not making it for your return FP time. The world is not perfect and things will come up that are beyond your control. I just don't understand collecting a FP when you have no intention of using it during the return time.

I collect them neither with or without the intention of returning in the window. If I do, I do. If I don't, I don't. If it's something like Soarin or TT or something that can't be seen without a FP or a long wait in standby (which I never wait in standby on a FP ride), I get it to have it so that I can come back to it after my time, regardless of when that time is. So we got FP's for Soarin knowing they'd be active while we were at LeC with the intention of going after we got out of LeC because if we went any later to get FP's, they'd have been gone and we'd have missed the ride. I do not like that by enforcing windows, Disney is essentially making me choose between having a ride-centerd experience or a non-ride centered experience and not just an overall Disney experience.

Now if they changed it so that the window was instead of an hour 2 or 3 hours, then I won't care. But keeping it an hour and saying if I don't come back, I'm SOL... That's ridiculous and it means that I sacrafice other things I want to experience, which was the against the point of FP's to begin with.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Hopefully if this new system works correctly, the wait time for the regular lines will drop. If you're controlling how many guests enter the FastPass line, that's less that you have to halt the standby line for. Less FastPass guests means more regular guests get to enter onto the attraction.

There is no such thing as a "regular guest" and a "FP guest." All guests have the option to get FP's. If they choose to wait in line as opposed to get it, that's their choice/problem AFAIC. The fact that it's called the "standby line" should make perfectly obvious the priority is the FP line and your seating is at the whim of the people who use the FP system... Something that's available to all paying guests.

 

[jmenjes]

Won't bother me at all. The relatively few times I do use FastPass I arrive right at the beginning of the printed time window anyway. The joys of solo trips.

 

[WillAustin]

If it is a precursor to the advance fastpass reservations, then I'll be OK with the new rules.