Fastpass perk?!??

[4luv2cdisney]

I miss seeing the queue for so many rides when we use FP. Like Peter Pan. The queue is better than the ride. lol

I just hate FP+. We did fine with the old system.

More than anything I just want low crowds.

Bring back moonlight magic and DAH!!!

 

[sethschroeder]

I do think it's more a factor of how they implemented the ride/line prioritization than the fact that it was paid to skip though.

I would say as well that its all about ride throughput.

If you give out 100% of your ride capacity to the new FP+ system you obviously would have a standby line never move.

However if they limited even access to the paid system to onsite only you might keep volume low enough to not severely impact everyone.

More than anything I just want low crowds.

Is it bad that when people are upset about something I go to this thought of wanting lower crowds. Issue is that Disney is not removing things to give lower crowds but just to make more money in 99.99999% of instances.

 

[Yinn]

I would say as well that its all about ride throughput.

If you give out 100% of your ride capacity to the new FP+ system you obviously would have a standby line never move.

However if they limited even access to the paid system to onsite only you might keep volume low enough to not severely impact everyone.



Is it bad that when people are upset about something I go to this thought of wanting lower crowds. Issue is that Disney is not removing things to give lower crowds but just to make more money in 99.99999% of instances.

That's exactly right. That theme park gave immediate priority to those who paid. So if you didn't pay, you didn't move until the paid line is done. It was not uncommon to see the same party board 3-4 times while we stood in line to wait. Really encourages you to pay the extra amount to skip the line, but that type of class system didn't sit right with me.

 

[Jmljasmine]

I hope they don't do something that means we have to stare at our phones all day or makes it impossible for larger families. With 4 kids paid fast pass could get too pricey too fast, especially with all the other fees. Magic would also really disappear if everyone is constantly staring at their devices. There is too much of that already.

 

[Timandalicia]

Consensus seems to be fastpass will be for-pay once they come back.

It's hard to believe there won't be *some* advantage in the new system for resort guests... (consider all the arguments lately that there is no advantage to stay on site) And typically, deluxe stay guests see a bit better advantage ... I'm hopeful this is how it sorts out and DVC gets a 'new deluxe' fastpass perk!

What do you mean consensus? Where is that data? If that data did exist it would not correlate with any Disney decisions. I mean it is fun to speculate.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'd wonder about the usage of paid FP+. On our last trip, we rarely used FP+ (one member of our group hadn't been since pre-FP and didn't want to use it). But what really upset him was that CMs were letting so many FPers through while we waited. I can understand it, but it was frustrating. Made the posted wait times for the stand by lines very often less than the actual wait time.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

There's a reason they put FP in place at the beginning, and it wasn't because people loved the long lines and fast pace at which they moved. You all need to stop playing in the 35% game bubble and stop pretending it's any semblance of reality. It is not. It can't even see what reality looks like right now. We've been 3 times since WDW re-opened, and Thanksgiving reaffirmed my belief that the system now in place cannot survive the long haul. Any of it. ALL of it.

It's fun to to some to play these armchair quarterback games, but what they had before the pandemic wasn't broken, and while I'm sure there will be minor adjustments because they can, I expect everything normal to be pretty much what it always was when everything returns to normal. FP+ is just a small piece of that.

 

[Yinn]

There's a reason they put FP in place at the beginning, and it wasn't because people loved the long lines and fast pace at which they moved. You all need to stop playing in the 35% game bubble and stop pretending it's any semblance of reality. It is not. It can't even see what reality looks like right now. We've been 3 times since WDW re-opened, and Thanksgiving reaffirmed my belief that the system now in place cannot survive the long haul. Any of it. ALL of it.

It's fun to to some to play these armchair quarterback games, but what they had before the pandemic wasn't broken, and while I'm sure there will be minor adjustments because they can, I expect everything normal to be pretty much what it always was when everything returns to normal. FP+ is just a small piece of that.

I had to read your post several times..

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly. Is the 35% game bubble referring to the current capacity?

If so, I am in agreement. I went about two months ago and it was a bit of a mad house. If Disney stays at this capacity, then maybe it's manageable. But that's a big maybe because without FP+, we were frequently in 2 hour long lines. (Strangely enough, I've also never seen as many DAS eligible people prior to this trip either - even at peak park times.)

I couldn't imagine how long the lines would get without FP+ at peak capacity. If it got to that, we would be looking at paying $100 for 2-3 rides; I'm not sure that's a sustainable model.

Not to mention people in line aren't shopping, eating and generally spending money on things inside the park. I've played enough roller coaster tycoon to realize that piece of it at least. I don't have the answer but anxiously awaiting one...

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I had to read your post several times..

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly. Is the 35% game bubble referring to the current capacity?

If so, I am in agreement. I went about two months ago and it was a bit of a mad house. If Disney stays at this capacity, then maybe it's manageable. But that's a big maybe because without FP+, we were frequently in 2 hour long lines. (Strangely enough, I've also never seen as many DAS eligible people prior to this trip either - even at peak park times.)

I couldn't imagine how long the lines would get without FP+ at peak capacity. If it got to that, we would be looking at paying $100 for 2-3 rides; I'm not sure that's a sustainable model.

Not to mention people in line aren't shopping, eating and generally spending money on things inside the park. I've played enough roller coaster tycoon to realize that piece of it at least. I don't have the answer but anxiously awaiting one...

Correct. Typical 60-70+ minute wait rides in normal times were 60-70+ minute wait rides with up to 35% park capacities at Thanksgiving. Simple 3x arithmetic tells us those numbers don't work when parks get back to 85-95% day in and day out. Neither will things like park reservations when AP and park hopper ticket holders get to MK at 11:00am and it's shoulder to shoulder on Main Street and they decide to go to Epcot because their cousins are over there and it's deserted.

I'm sort of amazed how so many people are completely re-creating a system that has been refined and tuned for going on 50 years just in FL (Which is very unique in the Disney parks system, BTW. It is its own animal.). It has evolved into what it was last January because it all worked. Sure, it was constantly evolving, but at $160/day for a gate entry, people have expectations. Most of us here are DVC owners and AP holders and while we have expectations also, they don't hold a candle to that family of four on that once in a lifetime trip who are shucking > $10k cash for their week. What they were doing last January was what afforded Disney the opportunity to take that $10,000. Don't ever forget that.

Nothing here was really ever broken. WDW wasn't broken by a pandemic. It just has to survive it, just like the rest of us. You don't fix things that weren't broken, especially when they were working well. That's when companies go bankrupt and CEOs get fired.

 

[Evita_W]

Correct. Typical 60-70+ minute wait rides in normal times were 60-70+ minute wait rides with up to 35% park capacities at Thanksgiving. Simple 3x arithmetic tells us those numbers don't work when parks get back to 85-95% day in and day out. Neither will things like park reservations when AP and park hopper ticket holders get to MK at 11:00am and it's shoulder to shoulder on Main Street and they decide to go to Epcot because their cousins are over there and it's deserted.

I'm sort of amazed how so many people are completely re-creating a system that has been refined and tuned for going on 50 years just in FL (Which is very unique in the Disney parks system, BTW. It is its own animal.). It has evolved into what it was last January because it all worked. Sure, it was constantly evolving, but at $160/day for a gate entry, people have expectations. Most of us here are DVC owners and AP holders and while we have expectations also, they don't hold a candle to that family of four on that once in a lifetime trip who are shucking > $10k cash for their week. What they were doing last January was what afforded Disney the opportunity to take that $10,000. Don't ever forget that.

Nothing here was really ever broken. WDW wasn't broken by a pandemic. It just has to survive it, just like the rest of us. You don't fix things that weren't broken, especially when they were working well. That's when companies go bankrupt and CEOs get fired.

I don't think the public will eve accept shoulder to shoulder crowds again, the system was already in the process of being changed in some form by all accounts and that was needed, as a lot of people didn't like the booking FPs at 60 days out and ADRs at 6 months in advance, especially many of those on once in a lifetime trips that didn't do a lot of research and simply didn't know or understand. Now, add in the fact that the system as it was before will not work when the new max capacity is at 75% of what it used to be before COVID and it is quite clear they will have to reinvent the entire system in some form. I do think there will be a free and paid tier though, I just think it will look a lot different than it did before, as I have mentioned previously, I think it will essentially be DLR's Maxpass where you go to the attraction to get free FPs or you can pay to be able to book from your phone with the added perk that from the phone you have access to canceled FPs. I don't think you will be able to pick your time slot anymore either.

 

[DVCsloth]

I hope they bring fastpass back in some form and do not charge extra for it. The crowds were getting to the point of being ridiculous without a fastpass. Missing Moonlight Magic events more than ever. I like to go to the parks early and leave early, have a hard time getting the family to play along though. So the fast passes helped me be able to enjoy the parks.

 

[Yinn]

I don't think the public will eve accept shoulder to shoulder crowds again, the system was already in the process of being changed in some form by all accounts and that was needed, as a lot of people didn't like the booking FPs at 60 days out and ADRs at 6 months in advance, especially many of those on once in a lifetime trips that didn't do a lot of research and simply didn't know or understand. Now, add in the fact that the system as it was before will not work when the new max capacity is at 75% of what it used to be before COVID and it is quite clear they will have to reinvent the entire system in some form. I do think there will be a free and paid tier though, I just think it will look a lot different than it did before, as I have mentioned previously, I think it will essentially be DLR's Maxpass where you go to the attraction to get free FPs or you can pay to be able to book from your phone with the added perk that from the phone you have access to canceled FPs. I don't think you will be able to pick your time slot anymore either.

Add to that additional confusion with ROTR. It's highly entertaining when in the middle of a show the entire audience pulls out their cell phones and starts hitting refresh to try to grab a boarding pass. I'm sure the on-stage actors feel wonderful about that.

 

[gisele2]

I liked the old system and I hope it comes back maybe with some changes , but free .

 

[JohnR5101]

My own guess is 3 free FP's for deluxe guests, 2 for moderates and 1 for value. After that it's $10 per FP per ride per person and pay as you go day of only.

Hmm, maybe you could buy a packet of them that contained an assortment of passes for different tiers of rides. And you could give them designations like "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E". Oh, wait, Isn't that Disneyland's original ticket book system?

Seriously, though, it seems to me to be a bad idea to charge a huge amount just to enter and walk around a park. "Oh, you want to ride something? That will be an extra charge! $$$"

 

[JohnR5101]

If you give out 100% of your ride capacity to the new FP+ system you obviously would have a standby line never move.

That's exactly right. That theme park gave immediate priority to those who paid. So if you didn't pay, you didn't move until the paid line is done. It was not uncommon to see the same party board 3-4 times while we stood in line to wait. Really encourages you to pay the extra amount to skip the line, but that type of class system didn't sit right with me.

Would it be more balanced to alternate between the FP line and the standby line? One group from each one rather than completely block the standby line until there are no more FP's. Perhaps they are just letting way too many FP groups through before they let in the others. Lets have a little more balance.

 

[JohnR5101]

Some thoughts about the FastPass situation. Let me preface this by saying that I have never experienced FP+ at WDW. But I have read a lot of pros/cons about it from many of you. Also, we have experienced both the original FastPass system (walk up to a kiosk and get one for next available time slot) and the newer MaxPass at Disneyland. So here is my take on what I would like to see in the future (YMMV):

Standard FastPass (walk up to kiosk) is really a fair, balanced system for everyone.
The MaxPass concept saves having to walk over to kiosks that might be quite a distance there and back for your location. Also, the ability to see wait times instantly really helps planning a lot (although this has nothing to do with any of the FP type systems). If you can see the available FP times in the app then you can plan accordingly.
This type of system seems much more relaxing to me, more spontaneous, much less rigid. I know that some do like the idea of getting up early X number of months in advance and making those reservations. And they enjoy knowing they have those passes and times locked down. But to me that just is not relaxing. Also, if you are not staying on property do you have the same advance time window? Not sure. I know that for ADRs the on-site guests can easily tie up all available times.

Of course, the DL MaxPass system is a paid extra and that is indeed a drawback (a big one if you are a big group). Would be nice if it was all free to all guests. But honestly, I have enjoyed the MaxPass concept far more than any other that I have experienced.

So to summarize, here is what I would like to see:
All fastpasses available on Day Of only. You can only hold one pass at a time until the time window arrives or 90 minutes have elapsed, whichever comes first (the MaxPass rules). Also, you can release a pass and then grab another one at any time, making some available to others.
Ability to grab passes on your mobile device (save the running around).
All guests have the same advance time window for ADRs.

Come up with some other great perks for on-site guests rather than essentially locking them out of all the good stuff. If they MUST charge for the privilege, then make it a free perk for on-site guests. Perhaps add the ability to get your first two fastpasses of the day and hold them.

 

[Yinn]

Would it be more balanced to alternate between the FP line and the standby line? One group from each one rather than completely block the standby line until there are no more FP's. Perhaps they are just letting way too many FP groups through before they let in the others. Lets have a little more balance.

That might build up a queue for FP and defeat the purpose. Personally, I think the FP situation was great right before the shut down. If you had a FP, it was a minor wait. If you didn't, it was a decent wait. It encouraged us to plan ahead and be proactive in collecting our fast passes and we rarely stood in line much as a result.

Standard FastPass (walk up to kiosk) is really a fair, balanced system for everyone.
The MaxPass concept saves having to walk over to kiosks that might be quite a distance there and back for your location. Also, the ability to see wait times instantly really helps planning a lot (although this has nothing to do with any of the FP type systems). If you can see the available FP times in the app then you can plan accordingly.

Your first sentence the old FP system. I liked it because it because back then it didn't restrict you by pass but by time. But I've seen 30 minute lines to grab a fast pass too...that didn't work. The digital system is much much much better.

These virtual lines they have will probably be the future. It will be odd wandering around while you're in virtual queue but it makes sense. If you have no where to go what do you end up doing? Eating, shopping, and drinking. All add $$ to the bottom line.

 

[Chuck S]

I liked fastpass+, mainly because we like have a table service lunch in the parks, and we could schedule it around our the fastpasses. Now we may be stuck in a queue when our seating time comes up. Even the old style fastpass kiosks worked pretty good, because if a return time would conflict with our dining time, we wouldn't get a fastpass, and could come back for a later time or just decide to not do the ride that day.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I think the fact that they cannot fill slots at Disneyland shows that Disney has pushed pricing too far. They will have to bring back the annual pass and free fastpass. People are starting to get disgusted for real this time.

 

[Evita_W]

I liked fastpass+, mainly because we like have a table service lunch in the parks, and we could schedule it around our the fastpasses. Now we may be stuck in a queue when our seating time comes up. Even the old style fastpass kiosks worked pretty good, because if a return time would conflict with our dining time, we wouldn't get a fastpass, and could come back for a later time or just decide to not do the ride that day.

As long as your ADRs were tied to.your account, Maxpass would adjust your return time if it conflicted with an ADR. You also can still choose not to ride that day and come back for a later time. None of that changes, the only change is you don't get to pick the window and you have to book day of and one at a time, but I could see them maybe allowing resort guests two at a time as a perk.