FastPass+ must be coming soon

[whiporee]

I find it odd and amusing they can’t figure it out. Every other theme park in America I’m aware of is still implementing their express passes etc. universal, Dollywood, smaller parks. I’m not sure why Disney can’t. It would shorten the regular line

Because fast passes work fine. They guarantee every guest three rides they want -- maybe not their three first choices, but three they want -- and they make it possible to add more, or to wait in standby lines. I think the number of fast passes being limited helps the standby lines from being except for the most crowded days.

Those other parks have no problem monetizing their standby waits. At our local park, non-express lines are often more than an hour. Sometimes more than 90 minutes. For all the glorification of Universal's Express Lines, one thing that is overlooked is their standby times are usually beyond what you see for similar levels at WDW. That's because they sell many more Express Line's (proportionately) than WDW has Fast Passes. So you have your choice of either spending more than an hour to ride their "headliners" or spending the $120-$300 on an Express Pass. Or staying at one of thier resorts.

If you're willing to spend the money, then it's better for you (though I've found Universal's Express lines to be longer than most FP lines). But as crazy as it sounds, WDW is a bit more egalitarian than that.

 

[Nabas]

Because fast passes work fine. They guarantee every guest three rides they want -- maybe not their three first choices, but three they want

Not always.

With multi-tiered attractions, it was impossible for my family to get 3 attractions we "wanted" at Epcot. We often let the third selection go unused.

At DHS, our two choices from the 2nd tier were always the same.

That's two out of four parks where FP+ did not work well.

 

[Biggen]

I'm fine with monetized fast passes. Bring it on. I'd gladly spend another $100/person/day to get to the front of the line more often.

If you one doesn't like it, then they don't have to buy it. But I guarantee they will sell the ever living heck out of those things.

 

[Becky Mouse]

I'm happy FastPass is gone. There is less stress with planning a trip, and wait times for rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have dropped from about a 60 minute wait to just a 10 minute wait. Last time I went to WDW, I waited 10 minutes in the FastPass line. Now everyone is waiting 10 minutes (maybe up to 20 minutes). I have the flexibility to show up to BTMRR whenever I want during the day and will still probably only wait about 10 minutes. I just read someone's trip report that BTMRR, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Peter Pan's Flight were all walk-on during the morning of her MK day. There's just no need for FastPass right now.

I'm fine with monetized fast passes. Bring it on. I'd gladly spend another $100/person/day to get to the front of the line more often.

If you one doesn't like it, then they don't have to buy it. But I guarantee they will sell the ever living heck out of those things.

I think the problem with a monetized one is that rides like 7 Dwarfs Mine Train jump from a 45 minute wait to a 90 minute wait. Everyone is waiting twice as long at all the rides. Someone who doesn't buy a FastPass has a terrible trip, and suddenly people start telling everyone that it isn't worth it to go to WDW. Also, people who buy it get angry because they forked out hundreds of dollars to get it, but they couldn't score a FastPass to the rides they wanted to go on, like Flight of Passage or the upcoming rides like Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy (whenever they opens). I don't know. It seems like lose-lose.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

If that chart were accurate, I might be inclined to agree. But I think the odds of BTM having a 10-minute wait all day long in June (let alone July and August) are close to zero. According to Touring Plans, it has been averaging around 30 minutes of late. (EasyWDW agrees, as of late March.) As the crowds pick up, that number will only rise.

 

[Becky Mouse]

If that chart were accurate, I might be inclined to agree. But I think the odds of BTM having a 10-minute wait all day long in June (let alone July and August) are close to zero. According to Touring Plans, it has been averaging around 30 minutes of late. (EasyWDW agrees, as of late March.) As the crowds pick up, that number will only rise.

I don't know... I just pulled up the actual wait times from Saturday. The blue and red lines were their predictions. The actual wait times are the green dots. It looks like it was 0-10 minute wait all day on Saturday.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

TP's charts are kind of a hot mess. The green dots have tended to show very low waits submitted lately. But only a handful of people are submitting that way. The red dash line represents "The Average Wait Time We Saw." That's TP's measure of the actual wait averages. It looks like it was 27 minutes on this chart.

I totally agree with you that, if I could ride BTM all day this summer with only a 10-minute wait, I would be thrilled for fastpasses to be a thing of the past! But I think the wait by July is more likely to be close to an hour. And that will be very frustrating.

 

[tigger2002]

I'm fine with monetized fast passes. Bring it on. I'd gladly spend another $100/person/day to get to the front of the line more often.

.
No thanks. If I pay $1,000 for tickets for two people, I don't want to spend another $1,400 just for Fastpass (seven days). Family of four would be $2,000 + $2,800 = $4,800 for tickets for one week. Not counting hotel, food, etc.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I have fast passed every ride on every trip I have ever had, with no issues, during peak times, even with the hardest attractions ( besides FOP )

That being said, I damn sure was looking at my phone a majority of those trips

I'm really REALLY hoping they are back this summer. At a minimum, I'd take after hours events to make up for it. You get so use to the fast pass system, that the thought of waiting on long lines can drive you crazy.

I expect a lot of announcements this month from Disney, what they will be, who knows? As far as distancing, if Disney drops it down to 3' instead of 6' , it can be done. 3' is one arms length, and I never let anyone come that close to me in lines lol ( although it does happens sometimes, where I tell the people behind me to back off, thats pre covid )

 

[eleven24]

I've visited Universal parks several times and stayed on their deluxe properties to receive the FP. We loved those aspects of the Universal parks. I would also love if Disney brings back FP and would totally pay for it if they charge or stay on Deluxe resorts to receive it. In two weeks, we will be returning to Disney and haven't experienced non FP yet. We were trying to stay safe from COVID for my parents' sake (they live 5 minutes from us and I take care of everything). Now that the whole family is vaccinated, we feel more secure mentally and will be celebrating my son's high school graduation at Disney. That was his wish as he hasn't had a chance to visit new Star Wars attractions. However, I feel a little worried without FP and all. I guess I'm so used to using it plus the rope drop and night times.

A year ago my son graduated HS, and we had to cancel his graduation celebration trip in July for the same reasons as you. Afraid of passing COVID along to those more susceptible in our family. We did, however, end up going in January and planned like we were going into a war zone. Sanitizer, various mask types, quarantining in our basement for 3 days after returning, getting tested, and then quarantining until a negative test result. We also went with the expectation that it wouldn't be our typical Disney trip and that we'd be waiting in lines all day due to no FP's. We were very wrong, on all counts.

Disney has masterfully weaved social distancing into the park experience, from mobile ordering food to queue lines for attractions. Sure, it was jarring seeing the line for Splash Mountain all the way back through Frontierland. Or being in the amphitheater waiting in line for Tower of Terror. The lines move quick. The posted times were, in many instances up to half of what was posted. The biggest drawback of not having FP was not being able to plan it months in advance - as that's part of the fun of going. Once in the parks, it was a non issue. From a COVID standpoint, I felt safer in the parks than I do at my local grocery store.

We're headed back for a 4 day weekend starting May 14th. All of us are vaccinated, which certainly removes one concern about traveling and then returning home. The bigger concern is heat and masks, but hey... it's Disney. We'll figure it out.

Enjoy the Star Wars attractions. And yes, Savi's Workshop is worth it.

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

A year ago my son graduated HS, and we had to cancel his graduation celebration trip in July for the same reasons as you. Afraid of passing COVID along to those more susceptible in our family. We did, however, end up going in January and planned like we were going into a war zone. Sanitizer, various mask types, quarantining in our basement for 3 days after returning, getting tested, and then quarantining until a negative test result. We also went with the expectation that it wouldn't be our typical Disney trip and that we'd be waiting in lines all day due to no FP's. We were very wrong, on all counts.

Disney has masterfully weaved social distancing into the park experience, from mobile ordering food to queue lines for attractions. Sure, it was jarring seeing the line for Splash Mountain all the way back through Frontierland. Or being in the amphitheater waiting in line for Tower of Terror. The lines move quick. The posted times were, in many instances up to half of what was posted. The biggest drawback of not having FP was not being able to plan it months in advance - as that's part of the fun of going. Once in the parks, it was a non issue. From a COVID standpoint, I felt safer in the parks than I do at my local grocery store.

We're headed back for a 4 day weekend starting May 14th. All of us are vaccinated, which certainly removes one concern about traveling and then returning home. The bigger concern is heat and masks, but hey... it's Disney. We'll figure it out.

Enjoy the Star Wars attractions. And yes, Savi's Workshop is worth it.

We had a trip scheduled last July 20-31 and right up until July 11, we were planning on cancelling. We then proceeded to spend several hours a day watching live streams of people in the parks, and saw how empty the parks were, so we decided to go. It was one of our best trips. Yeah it sucked that many food locations were closed, no night time shows, but we had the same thought “This is safer than being in the grocery store.”

Regarding the heat and the masks, it’s not as bad as you may think. Yeah, it gets hot and uncomfortable wearing the mask all day, but it’s a sacrifice that I am willing to make to ensure that I get to be in Disney. You’re going to have an awesome trip, though I was there last months, and the empty parks I was describing from last July are no longer the case. However, the longest we waited for any attraction was 63 minutes for Smuggler’s Run. Everything else was posted between 35-65 for the most part, and we found it was generally 10-15 minutes less than the posted time.

 

[mousegear]

We did, however, end up going in January and planned like we were going into a war zone. Sanitizer, various mask types, quarantining in our basement for 3 days after returning, getting tested, and then quarantining until a negative test result.
I hear you. I am packing wipes, sanitizer, and many kf94 masks.

The lines move quick. The posted times were, in many instances up to half of what was posted. The biggest drawback of not having FP was not being able to plan it months in advance - as that's part of the fun of going. Once in the parks, it was a non issue. From a COVID standpoint, I felt safer in the parks than I do at my local grocery store.
It is reassuring to hear that. Now the whole family is vaccinated (plus well over two weeks mark) we feel much better.

We're headed back for a 4 day weekend starting May 14th. All of us are vaccinated, which certainly removes one concern about traveling and then returning home. The bigger concern is heat and masks, but hey... it's Disney. We'll figure it out.
We will be down there starting May 15th for 8 days! We are worried about the heat with masks but I guess we won't die wearing one. Hey, it's better than staying home (which we have been for the last year.)

Enjoy the Star Wars attractions. And yes, Savi's Workshop is worth it.
Thank you and you enjoy yours as well!!

 

[StuckInKS]

.
No thanks. If I pay $1,000 for tickets for two people, I don't want to spend another $1,400 just for Fastpass (seven days). Family of four would be $2,000 + $2,800 = $4,800 for tickets for one week. Not counting hotel, food, etc.

Exactly. We have a family of 8 and usually go for 10 days. Of course we couldn't spend $8,000 on FP, but even just 4 days of FP (one for each park) would be $3,200. No thanks. Would be better off just doing one VIP day at that point. Like everything Disney changes, we will adjust our plans to plan around it, but $100/pp/day is ridiculous and there are better options (VIP, MNSSHP/MVMCP, DAH) at that price point.

 

[dmband]

The best FP were the original where you had to get it “live” and it had a time to come back

 

[JakeAZ]

I'd gladly spend another $100/person/day to get to the front of the line more often

While I'd gladly pay this too, I'd be surprised if the price point is anywhere close to being this low.

VIP tours are, at minimum $300pp (party of 10 @ $425 for 7 hours) and that doesn't work all day and you have to have a guide.
CLFP was $50pp per day for 3 extra FP (3 day min) PLUS you had to stay in a club level (overpriced) room.

The data points are out there for what WDW believes they can charge.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

I'm fine with monetized fast passes. Bring it on. I'd gladly spend another $100/person/day to get to the front of the line more often.

While I'd gladly pay this too, I'd be surprised if the price point is anywhere close to being this low.

I agree that, if Disney sells the equivalent of a Universal Express Pass, it will cost much, much more than $100 per person, per day. But I suspect that Disney will offer other options instead (or perhaps in addition). I can see extra fastpasses sold in, say, groups of three: $59 for three, $109 for six, $149 for nine. Or packages of sets of fastpasses for particular groups of rides: "The Three Mountains Adventure"; "Pandora Thrills"; "Toy Story Land Triumvirate"; etc.; all sold at less than $100 per person, per day. That way, we can still "get to the front of the line more often" for a (comparatively) reasonable price.

 

[whiporee]

Once it comes back, it'll just be business as usual for a while. just getting them back up and people used to them again will take some time, and then they'll have to see how quickly the parks refill and the Fps run out. If they do make a change, it won't be tied to the return of Fps, because they aren't going to make it look like they re trying to profit off COVID adjustments.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

I agree that it would look bad to institute paid fastpasses without also bringing back the free ones. But, apparently, Disney has been planning on making this change for a long time. The pandemic might be the perfect opportunity to make the switch. My guess, though, is that Disney will bring back the old system (though perhaps without the fourth and more "refresh" option), while simultaneously offering the paid options as a supplement. I just don't see Disney leaving this money on the table. Especially not after the year they have had. (Whether they should make this change or not is a harder question. But in general, even before the pandemic, Disney's MO was increasingly to raise prices and cut benefits.)

 

[DisneyFive]

FastPass+ was working just fine before Covid. We don’t need to be suggesting any ideas of how much Disney needs to charge us for the same thing that we had before included in the ticket price!!!

Dan

 

[Heather07438]

I don't know... I just pulled up the actual wait times from Saturday. The blue and red lines were their predictions. The actual wait times are the green dots. It looks like it was 0-10 minute wait all day on Saturday.

View attachment 572370

But what is going to happen when capacity increases to 50%? Or more? And there is no other option midday than to stand on unbearable lines. And the whole day is nothing but long lines. At least FP provided a respite.