Fastpass Enforcement coming?

[sjs314]

Disney, as all businesses, are in it to make $$$$$. Many people make touring plans to get the most out of their vacation and THEIR hard earned $$$.

Your above statement rings very true, Disney is a business and need to show a profit for their stock holders. If the rumored "new" FP policy goes live on 3/7 as mentioned as a precursor for the roll out of the Express FP or whatever it is to be called, given as a perk for staying at the Deluxe Resorts sometime in the near future it will undoubtedly fill Deluxe Resorts. Guests are all about getting the most bang for their buck and time management while on vacation.

Lately the Deluxe resorts are showing a decrease in bookings while the Moderates and value keep filling up even selling out.

Just like FD, which is given to fill rooms this new system once implemented will fill rooms at the Deluxe Results and cost Disney nothing.

Disney is in the business of making money and keeping the stockholders happy 1st and formost.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Sounds like it is going to happen

As frequest WDW travelers with 3 young children I personally hate the idea. We always go at rope drop and gather up FP's. The return windows are usually after noon.

With 3 little kids we can not stay in the parks all day. They still need a nap. None of our kids use stroller so with little walker a long rest period is required or they melt down. We are always out of the parks by noon and don't return until about 5pm. We always use the FP's in the evenings.

We only travel Easter or Christmas week so even if you arrive at a FP's machine early you still frequently get return times later in the day.

Here's to hoping this is just another bad, bad, bad rumor.

I recall a few other common rumors people freak out about:
- no one can get into MVMCP and halloween parties before 7pm - silly rumor.
- you can not pick up your tickets early


Only time will tell. Posters that are traveling in March please keep us posted
-

 

[nicki.momof3]

Not to open a whole new can of worms - but my son has Autism. We've always avoided getting a GAC by utilizing fast passes and touring plans. We may just have to use a GAC on our next trip. I wonder if we will see a larger abuse of that system?

A GAC is not a fastpass. It does not put you at the front of the line. This is a common misconception. A GAC is your case would more than likely offer a alternate place to wait (quiter) but still require the same wait.

Shame on those that use a disability for reasons such as getting to the front of the line. They are intended to assist guest that due to a medical / mental condition need extra assistance not as a FP for those that don't want to wait.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Not to open a whole new can of worms - but my son has Autism. We've always avoided getting a GAC by utilizing fast passes and touring plans. We may just have to use a GAC on our next trip. I wonder if we will see a larger abuse of that system?

A GAC is not a fastpass. It does not put you at the front of the line. This is a common misconception. A GAC is your case would more than likely offer a alternate place to wait (quiter) but still require the same wait.

Shame on those that use a disability for reasons such as getting to the front of the line. They are intended to assist guest that due to a medical / mental condition need extra assistance not as a FP for those that don't want to wait.

 

[TLSnell1981]

And that's fine, if they allow it now. But after March 7th, people just need to pay more attention to what the return times are on the FPs before they get them and only return during that window. I was just pointing out that people are freaking out like it's the end of the world that WDW is going to suddenly start enforcing the printed return time.

Of course, this is 2012...maybe this is the first sign of the Apocalypse?

Well, this is obviously, the beginning of bigger changes. I think, FP will be ending...at least, as we know it. It will possibly be available for a fee or resort guests only....tiered accordingly for Deluxe, Moderate and Value.

Other changes are coming, at least "rumored", that will REALLY fuel some heated threads.

 

[Sammie]

Well, this is obviously, the beginning of bigger changes. I think, FP will be ending...at least, as we know it. It will possibly be available for a fee or resort guests only....tiered accordingly for Deluxe, Moderate and Value.

Other changes are coming, at least "rumored", that will REALLY fuel some heated threads.

I agree, and it should be interesting.

 

[Monkeyfeet]

It was nice while it lasted! I must say, I am thankful for those that are against showing up late

 

[DisGirl1971]

My son has Autism. We've always avoided getting a GAC by utilizing fast passes and touring plans. We may just have to use a GAC on our next trip. I wonder if we will see a larger abuse of that system?

Yes, I think there will be more abuse of the GAC system with this Fastpass change.

 

[Sammie]

Why in the world would anyone get Fastpasses in the morning knowing in advance they have no plans to use them at the designated time.

I agree that tiered benefits are coming and personally have no problem with it.

 

[khertz]

See I hear the opposite. I hear the people in line complaining about how come folks get to use their fast passes 5 hours late and grumble about it. especially on rides like soarin and TSM.

Do people really pay attention to the times on other guests FP's? How in the world would they know who is using a FP within their window and who is not? I have certainly never noticed, nor have I tried to sneak a peek over someone's shoulder to see the return time on their FP ticket.

 

[Sandisw]

I didn't read all the pages but I am a bit sad that it is ending, but will have to adjust our touring if this is indeed going to be the new policy.

But, there are times where someone can think they have enough time to get there and get delayed.

We had FP's for Space Mountain. We had about 30 minutes until our window opened--so 1 1/2 hours before it "expired".

We got to BTRR and the wait was 15 minutes--no problem, got in the line, waited and rode but it took about 30 minutes instead to do it all. Still, we had the 1 hour to get to Space, so we got in the Splash mountain line that stated 30 minutes--again, figured it was no problem. Well, obviously, the 30 minute stand by posting was an old one and not updated because it took us 50 minutes to get through the ride.

By the time we walked over to Space Mountain, we were late. Of course, we knew that it wouldn't be a huge issue. With the new policy, we won't be so willing to trust those stand by times.

Again, it is what it is, but I can certainly see people who get in a stand by line thinking they have time to do the ride and still get back to do the FP for another having only to miss out because the stand by estimate was way off being upset.

 

[style2k7]

dizfanatic.com/DizTech012.aspx

interesting info

 

[A&Bmama]

If you want to speak big money, I wished it cost me that little amount of money to bring my family of 3 to WDW ... and if being impressed had to measure and compare to the money invested in the trip, would that mean that I'd have to be far more impressed than you ?
Actually I expect as much from my trip as the next person, and even if you're right wanting to do the headliners, so are other guests right to want to ride them as well. I must say that I am less than impressed by people hoarding up FPs when they have no intention being on time, and even though the system permits that.
How would you hate not being able to ride a headliner because the guest in front of you got the last one ? Now think about how many FPs were gone before and won't be used at a time you could have used them ?

WOW that is quite a leap in logic you made there.

I invite you to reread my post since and put it back in the Proper Context:

While my family doesn't only go for the rides it is a very important part of the trip. So yeah, it is a big part of how successful my trip is.

It costs me a couple of thousand dollars to fly my family of 4 to WDW from where I live. I am not going to be impressed with my vacation if I wasn't able do a lot of the headliner attractions. I am also not going to be impressed if my vacation completely appointment driven by FPs and ADRs.

Maybe if I lived closer and was able to visit more than once every few years I might feel differently. As it stands now I'll wait and see what this next gen thing is all about before booking another trip.

I made this post in response to Maxiesmom who said:

"Originally Posted by maxiesmom
I don't know, I think most people don't go to WDW for the rides, or at least most don't measure how successful their trip is by how many rides they get on. If people are ride crazy they tend to go to places like Cedar Point, they don't go to Disney.

My point was that I spend quite a bit of money to get there and can only afford to go every couple of years so yes, being able to get on the rides is important to me and yes, it factors into how successful I feel my trip is. In no way did I say or insinuate that I was more deserving of being able to ride than any other guest in the park. I was making the point that many guests do feel the rides are important at Disney unlike what Maxiesmom was asserting.

When I decide to spend my vacation dollars I will do so with my eyes wide open. If I don't like the product that Disney is offering I will go elsewhere. If I choose to go to Disney I will follow the same rules and procedures as EVERY OTHER guest. No special treatment is in any way expected.

 

[doconeill]

dizfanatic.com/DizTech012.aspx

interesting info

Nothing new there. Mostly ideas of what the RFID system could do, not what it will do, and that info has been out for months.

 

[nansmama]

I'm one of the dummies who has been to WDW before and had no idea you could use the Fastpass after its return time. We've actually only used them a couple times, because we hate to be roped into a schedule. We manage to get to do everything we want just by biding our time and making observations as to which directions the crowd is moving. Very few attractions maintain long lines the entire time the park is open. The only one we've noticed that's ALWAYS excessively long is Soarin'. Hence we've never ridden it. We are lucky to have a Six Flags the next town over, so waiting 1+ hours for the Disney-fied version of thrill rides doesn't appeal to us much. Hence, the enforcement of Fastpass times wouldn't affect us.

 

[KellyNY]

WOW that is quite a leap in logic you made there.

I invite you to reread my post since and put it back in the Proper Context:



I made this post in response to Maxiesmom who said:

"Originally Posted by maxiesmom
I don't know, I think most people don't go to WDW for the rides, or at least most don't measure how successful their trip is by how many rides they get on. If people are ride crazy they tend to go to places like Cedar Point, they don't go to Disney.

My point was that I spend quite a bit of money to get there and can only afford to go every couple of years so yes, being able to get on the rides is important to me and yes, it factors into how successful I feel my trip is. In no way did I say or insinuate that I was more deserving of being able to ride than any other guest in the park. I was making the point that many guests do feel the rides are important at Disney unlike what Maxiesmom was asserting.

When I decide to spend my vacation dollars I will do so with my eyes wide open. If I don't like the product that Disney is offering I will go elsewhere. If I choose to go to Disney I will follow the same rules and procedures as EVERY OTHER guest. No special treatment is in any way expected.

I think everyone is different. I see Maxiesmom point, Disney is not an amusement park, it is a theme park, huge difference. People do not spend a week at amusement park, mostly a day and go there because of rides which btw much better then Disney rides in terms of trill. In Disney you can find much more then just rides but parades, shows, great dining and so on. I am not saying that you are wrong to want to ride as much as you can but for many, esp. repeated visitors, number of rides does not equal successful vacation. It is all about overall experience.

 

[eliza61]

Why in the world would anyone get Fastpasses in the morning knowing in advance they have no plans to use them at the designated time.

I agree that tiered benefits are coming and personally have no problem with it.

I find it amazing that people actually get a fast past at noon and then plan on not using it until 8 pm. Why?

Me neither but I'm a real believer in that the reason why any business begins to start "enforcing" some thing is because folks have found loop holes to exploit.

As I said before, Disney is the king of not enforcing it's rules, so for them to threaten a change says to me there was a problem.

 

[doconeill]

I find it amazing that people actually get a fast past at noon and then plan on not using it until 8 pm. Why?

Me neither but I'm a real believer in that the reason why any business begins to start "enforcing" some thing is because folks have found loop holes to exploit.

As I said before, Disney is the king of not enforcing it's rules, so for them to threaten a change says to me there was a problem.

Or they are introducing a new system (which they are) which necessitates them changing how the current system is handled.

If there was a problem, the problem existed for years and they didn't bother to fix it, why now?

You seem to be assuming there is a problem because there is a change. Many changes at Disney have nothing to do with problems...usually about increasing profit.

 

[Sammie]

I find it amazing that people actually get a fast past at noon and then plan on not using it until 8 pm. Why?

Me neither but I'm a real believer in that the reason why any business begins to start "enforcing" some thing is because folks have found loop holes to exploit.

As I said before, Disney is the king of not enforcing it's rules, so for them to threaten a change says to me there was a problem.

Exactly basically Disney rolls out a program be it free dining, Fastpass, etc. etc. With these programs they have guidelines and expectations. They hope that the majority of people abide by those guidelines and they don't have to become hard nose about it. However when the lack of following guidelines affects the program, then they make a change.

This is such a change. There will be people who won't like the change but Disney might be slow to make changes but I really don't think they are stupid, and this change tells me that most people will be pleased with the changes.

 

[Sammie]

Or they are introducing a new system (which they are) which necessitates them changing how the current system is handled.

If there was a problem, the problem existed for years and they didn't bother to fix it, why now?

You seem to be assuming there is a problem because there is a change. Many changes at Disney have nothing to do with problems...usually about increasing profit.

In order to increase profit they have to be in tune with what the guests want, so obviously they feel this change is a good one.