FastPass flawed?

[TinkerGal]

We just got back Saturday and used FP when feasible. If the FP return time was too far in advance & we knew we would be on the other side of the park during that time or the standby line was around 30 or less we went standby. However there were a couple of times the FP line wait seemed as long as or longer than standby.
Splash Mtn FP's weren't available until after 10am in the morning and standby was already 40+ wait. FP's were still being distributed around 6/7pm for returns between 8/9. Standby was 1:40. We had FP's for PeterPan for then and figured we'd come back just before Wishes. AFter finally getting through PeterPan, the FP line for Splash was extremely longer than standby (which was still posting 1+hour wait)
On the bus we spoke to a woman that waited in standby for Splash Mtn, she said the actual standby line was only 20mins. They had FP's but decided standby looked shorter so took their chances. good call, wish we woulda done that! The PeterPan FP line for 8/9 return time was a 30min wait. Standby was posted 40min wait.
The next day at AK, we were planning to FP Dinosaur until we saw that line was all the way back to the entrance whereas Standby was all the way inside the air-conditioned building. I asked the CM why FP was so long and she stated someone wasn't doing something right upfront and gave the girl behind us the red card.
My DS held a red card for Kalimanjaro Safari. It was posted 30min when we entered but only took 20mins to get through. I didn't notice any problems with that FP line at that time. But we again encountered a long FP line of 30 mins for KaliRiverRapids. They luckily had stopped issuing FP's before 3!

 

[krissy3483]

Definitely sounds strange. They only give out a certain number of FP per time period, so it sounds like large groups arrived back at the same time and eventually just backed the line up. I've never seen that happen before, but I guess it is caused by Disney only letting so many people with FP in at a time before allowing people from the standby line to enter. I'm so thankful they do that though. At Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ you could wait on a standby line for 2 hours, and right when you get to the end, they allow people with the FP equivalent (I forget what its called) to get right on. Unfortunately, they keep allowing them on...and on...and on, which drives me crazy!

<Edited> Whoops, wasn't done yet! Just wanted to say that I'm sorry it was crowded during your trip but hopefully you had a great time anyway!

 

[Cinderella37]

I'm a fan of FastPass, but I have noticed that the parks seem to be inflating the stand-by line times. We've gotten into line without FP for many attractions and waited far less than the posted time. I don't know if WDW is trying to encourage FP usage (I don't know why they'd have to) or what's going on.

 

[seashoreCM]

Did you actually wait in the fastpass line and find that the wait was more than half the posted standby wait?

If the ride suffered a breakdown, the fastpass line will get long.

In many cases the people in the fastpass line may stretch out away from the ride building but once inside the standby line goes through lots of zigzags but the fastpass line is a much shorter direct path. So the fast pass line seems to be longer as seen at a distance from the outside but really isn't.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The only time I have seen it mobbed is at The new Philharmagic--b/c everyone is lining up in the FP line....but then everyone in the FP line is let in before the standby line.

Also--I have seen sometimes where I got to FP and saw people waiting only to find out that they were waiting for their FP time to happen so they could get in.

We do not usually go in the summer, so I am not sure if it is worse then. But we have not had the problems you described at other times of the year.

 

[TinkerGal]

Originally posted by seashoreCM
Did you actually wait in the fastpass line and find that the wait was more than half the posted standby wait?

The longest FP lines we ourselves stood in for PeterPan and KaliRiver were longer than 30 mins but definitely moved faster than the standby lines. PeterPan standby was posted 40 mins, and I don't remember what KaliRiver was but I know it was way longer than 30 mins.
Dinosaurs FP line WAS longer than the standby line and the CM at the entrance noticed and commented to us that someone wasn't processing FP'ers properly. I do not know how much longer but did notice FP'ers were filtered into the mainstream a lot sooner than other rides so this could've been the problem.
We didn't personally experience Splash Mtn, only what another woman stated on the bus later. The standby wait was considerably shorter than FP.
Probably someone with a RED card didn't turn it in as directed. When my DS was holding a red card on the safari line, a man in front of us told him to leave it on a post and someone down the line would turn it in thus making the standby look much longer than it really was. IMO, if they want to see how long a line truly is, the CM's should "walk" the line and not rely on guests... particularly those that play games with the clocks for the advantage of riding more often.
I was very surprised that splash mtn was still issuing FP's when the standby line was obviously shorter...and after 8pm

 

[bballmom56]

This will be our first trip since Fastpass started, so I'm trying to learn everything I can. What does the "red card" mean?

 

[Schmeck]

I believe the 'red card' is used to time the waiting period of the stand-by line.

 

[grammagail]

I'm new to the fastpass concept - but think I'm catching on and will definetly try to use it.

My question is tho - before you actually get your fastpass - does it indicate the approximate time for return? The reason I ask is - I've also heard that you can't get another fastpass until after the start time of your first one.

So - what if I got a fastpass at say 10:00 a.m. for one ride and my return time wasn't until later in the day - like 2:00 pm? Wouldn't that then prevent me from getting any other fastpasses (that might be an earlier return from another ride) until after 2:00?

Maybe once I get there it will make more sense - but I'm afraid I'll try and grab the wrong fastpass for the wrong ride and then not be able to take good advantage of other better fastpasses (?)

Does this make sense

 

[dijid]

We noticed problems with Fast Pass when we went in May. We were shocked that we had to wait 40 minutes with Fast PAsses for Test Track. Space Mountain wait was about equal on each side. Wait for RnRC was longer than it should have been with a FP, too. And at the Haunted Mansion, the fast pass line merged with the stand by line so early that it was a joke. The other thing that bothered me was that it seems random the amount of time until you can get another fast pass. I always thought it was a set time frame or until your FP Time until you could get another FP, but it wasn't on this trip. Once it was an hour and 23 minutes - even though I couldn't use the FP for an hour after that - which I found totally odd.

 

[Laz]

A couple years back, I was given a red card for Dinasour. It is used to time the lines.

 

[krissy3483]

Originally posted by grammagail
I'm new to the fastpass concept - but think I'm catching on and will definetly try to use it.

My question is tho - before you actually get your fastpass - does it indicate the approximate time for return? The reason I ask is - I've also heard that you can't get another fastpass until after the start time of your first one.

So - what if I got a fastpass at say 10:00 a.m. for one ride and my return time wasn't until later in the day - like 2:00 pm? Wouldn't that then prevent me from getting any other fastpasses (that might be an earlier return from another ride) until after 2:00?

Maybe once I get there it will make more sense - but I'm afraid I'll try and grab the wrong fastpass for the wrong ride and then not be able to take good advantage of other better fastpasses (?)

Does this make sense

They have changed the way that fp works. If you got a fastpass for 10 and the return time was 2, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't get another fastpass until after 2. When you get the ticket, look at the bottom of it -- it will say when you can get another one, and it usually isn't that far away. This makes it possible to have multiple fastpasses at the same time. I'm not sure how this timing works, but I believe that some rides have shorter times attached to them as others, so you could get a FP for a ride for four hours away, but you might be able to get another fp in an hour.

Hope this made sense.

 

[krissy3483]

Oh and they gave us the red card at Buzz about 30 minutes or so before the park closed one night - not really sure why. But it was funny because the whole day, I wanted to know what those cards were, and then the CM at Buzz gave us one as we entered the fast pass line. I really dont know why either, there was no one in line in front of us, so it only took us the time it takes to walk to the front of the line - no stopping at all. Made me feel important for about 10 seconds though, so I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You have a 1 hour timeframe to return to utilize your FP. So if the time stamp is 10:25--you have from 10:25 to 11:25 to utilize it. The FP are handed out in 1 hour timeframes of 5 minute increments.

So--10:00 (to 11), 10:05 (to 11:05), 10:10 (to 11:10) and so on.

I believe it is either a 1 or 2 hour delay before you can get another FP and the time is stamped on your FP of when you can get another one.

IF you have kids--Pooh fills up quickly and makes for a good FP choice. Buzz fills up as well and would be a good choice.

We have also had our party wait in one line (say maybe for Dumbo b/c we have kids) then one adult volunteers to get FP for another ride and takes all tickets to do so--so if the mountains are important--then go pick one to get FP. Just make sure you have a clear cut meeting space--the exit of the ride that the rest of your family is on works best--b/c you can dash to get the FP. Just have a no wandering rule or you will waste the day hunting each other down.

The other way to coordinate it--say you know you want lunch in Pecos Bill Cafe--have someone get a FP for SM (I find their lines are usually longer than BTM) early in the day with the method I just mentioned. If your FP is earlier than lunch--then you will probably have time to ride the FP ride and then hit the standby line for the other mountain and then go have lunch. Same for Space Mountain--you want lunch in Cosmic Rays--get your Space FP early in the day--if you have a window of opportunity--get your FP for Buzz...if you plan it right--you walk onto Space, have lunch, and then do Buzz. Again--works best if you have a designated FP fetcher (usually the person who doesn't care to ride the same ride as everyone else.

Basically--you want your FP to work for you--not you to work for them. I always find it silly people who flock to the FP entrance for a ride--10 minutes ahead of their window. Since they will have a whole hour to use their FP--this is a waste of time IMHO. Take a ride on the People Mover, browse the shops, get a snack--anything except waste that precious time waiting b/c that is what FP is trying to eliminate--the wait.

 

[grammagail]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I just remember reading on another post about someone who - say in the morning - went to get a fastpass for a particular ride (don't recall the name) - and their fastpass return time wasn't until like 6 hours away - something like 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening.

My fear is - this is what will happen to me - and that being one of the first passes I try to get. Which in essence means - I can't use fastpass for anything else all day - cuz I'm holding this one (?)

And thanks for the detailed explanations about the return time - I realize you have like an hour window - but my original concern was getting one for soooo far out that it precludes me from using the system for anything else.

But I'm a natural planner/worry-wort and since I have never used this system - am most likely overthinking it.

And I will definetly want to use it - we're bringing our 4 yo grandson for his first time (our 2nd, but 10 years ago). So - Buzz, Dumbo, Pooh will be on the top of our lists......................

 

[grammagail]

Assuming there are 4 adults and 1 child - all wanting to ride a fastpass ride - we ALL have to run our tix thru and get the fastpass, correct?

But if only me and my grandson want to ride Pooh (for example), but my 2 older daughters want to ride something else - they could use their tix for a fastpass for something else?

 

[Fire14]

Originally posted by grammagail
Assuming there are 4 adults and 1 child - all wanting to ride a fastpass ride - we ALL have to run our tix thru and get the fastpass, correct?

But if only me and my grandson want to ride Pooh (for example), but my 2 older daughters want to ride something else - they could use their tix for a fastpass for something else?

That is correct. You and Grandson could run your tixs through to get FP for Pooh, The 2 Older Girls could walk over to space Mountain and Get their FP for that.

 

[DisneyPete]

The rule for getting a Fastpass ticket is you can get another fastpass ticket after the start time of your Fastpass ticket OR 2 hours from teh time you got that Fastpass ticket, whichever is faster. Hope that helps.

 

[grammagail]

THAT was the answer I was looking for. Thanks. My only fear was I was going to pull one that was several hours out and then not being able to use anymore for a long, long time.

This now makes perfect sense. Thanks everyone!