FastPass Policy Change

I've been hesitant to mention this .. but I also think that in small ways.. certain benefits are already being extended.

For example : A family I know stayed at a deluxe resort and several times were given "bonus" fastpasses for other attractions. Example: Getting a FP at Space Mountain and being given a "Surprise Bonus" FP for Buzz Lightyear" from the Space Mountain FP machine.

I've seen several reports of this, but from what I've heard its pretty random, and it seems to provide the "bonus" for the less-utilized rides.

Think about it this way - not everyone has their park admission tickets tied to their room key cards. If you use a separate admission ticket, how would they know whether you are staying at a deluxe resort, or even onsite? Do AP holders who happen to stay at a deluxe resort lose out on the "bonus"? That's another reason I don't think any sort of system has been implemented yet.

As for numbers, I agree that overall, if we are strictly talking Deluxe resorts (and not including DVC, which at times have been billed as Deluxe), and one FP per person, and equal park distribution, AND equal ride distribution, it wouldn't matter overall.

But add in EMH (which probably increases a certain park some percentage), and the limited number of rides likely to be targeted by the bonus Fastpasses (assuming they are good for any ride), there could be an effect. I'd expect that Everest in AK and Soarin' in Epcot to be the primary targets in those parks. The other parks may see better distribution with more "signature" rides.

I'm just guessing at numbers, but for an example with Soarin', I'm guessting that there is about 100 seats per theater, 2 theaters, and a 10 minute cycle time. So thats a load rate of 2400/hour. Your 3750 guests represent an hour and a half of the ride's uptime. Even spread throughout the day, that could be significant. Of course, getting deeper into the numbers, you need to figure out how many of those 3750 would have gone on Soarin' anyways without the bonus pass, and would not ride it an additional time because of the pass...

This is why at least one of the rumored changes (X bonus passes a day for Deluxe guests, Y bonus passes for Mods, etc.) seems unlikely, as the effect COULD be significant. If it was X bonus passes for the duration of your stay, that might not be so bad.
 
Think about it this way - not everyone has their park admission tickets tied to their room key cards. If you use a separate admission ticket, how would they know whether you are staying at a deluxe resort, or even onsite?
That's a very good point. The tickets my family and I are currently using are the ones you purchase at the theme park ticket windows with the characters advertisment for the Year of a Million Dreams, so there is no way to tell if we are staying onsite or offsite when using them to get Fast Passes.
 
For Soarin -- there are 87 seats in each theatre and the movie itself is 4 minutes and change.. I'm guessing the 10 minutes is long but the 100 per hour was high so your numbers probably are close to reality in the grand scheme of things.

As for the content of my previous post -- remember - the affect can only be significant if:

a) the guests could CHOOSE what attraction they'd get the fastpass for...
b) Disney didn't control the FP distribution in such a way that the net effect was a zero sum game.

The only effect to be seen would be FP's for 'bonused' attractions would go quicker than they would have otherwise.

And while I noted that this family did receive those passes, they didn't get them daily. They got them a couple of times on their trip.

Scale is a big item that is frequently ignored in these discussions.

As for tickets not attached to key ... well.. that's an interesting argument but the VAST majority of guests (I'm told) tend towards packages at the Deluxe level. And frankly, maybe Disney will choose to award these items to those guests paying for a 'Premium Package" that includes Deluxe DDP, park tickets, etc. Those indeed would be the guests who spend "the most" in the parks on a per room/night basis = generally speaking.

And, hey, AP holders could get bonus FP's because Disney loves them. (ha ha right)

Regardless, if Disney is doing it now, they're doing it on a trial and very limited basis obviously.

;)

Knox
 
I agree that scale is a BIG thing often ignored. That's why I targeted Soarin' - I believe it's popularity coupled with what seems to be a relatively slow load rate makes it easier to throw numbers that can be seen. It's a lot harder to judge load rates on other rides.

I've got a program that's partly written that is meant to simulate a ride with Fastpasses, but in order for the numbers to take proper effect, the base numbers like load rate have to be large. Someday I'll finish it.

I was basing the example also on one of the original rumors, of an "open" Fastpass good for one time on any ride at any time. It is a lot easier to implement, but use could not be predicted.

I think it far more likely that that the "reservation" system is more likely, which would allow them to distribute the bonus fastpasses and reduce the general fastpasses available appropriately.
 

I've never, ever heard of this happening to anyone. I've stayed on site several times, at deluxe and DVC the last several times, and the next Fastpass times have ALWAYS followed the same rules that everyone knows - two hours or return time, whichever is sooner.

There is the RARE exception that due to a glitch, networking problem, etc. between the kiosks and the central computer that it could be in "disconnected" mode - where you can get another Fastpass for any other ride right away (I don't know if anyone has ever tried getting one for the same ride).

I don't know if this is what happened in your case, but I don't think there is currently any system in place.

But the PP said that this happened recently so maybe they are testing out the tiered system. How do we know?
 
It would be nice, if like the old Calif. AAA fastpass where on site can obtain more than 1 fastpass for different rides.
It would have to be for all resorts - it can't become "class" oriented unless Disney makes sure they have enought Deluxe to meet the demand. We didn't book this years trip until May - watching airfare to see if we were even going.
Tried to book our favorite - AKL - FULL almost 90 days out. Poly - FULL - Contemporary - FULL! Ended up at CB!
Deluxe resorts have on site "perks" already - Moderate slightly less and so on.
Some benefits need to be for on site guests period.
Some of these posts seem a bit "snobby". Congrats on your great jobs, great educational ops or what ever way you became secure; however, most of us work pretty darn hard too. We scrimp, save, beg and borrow our Disney escape. Be a little considerate. Disney is about being a kid, no matter the age. Have fun!:woohoo:

22 Days and counting!:cheer2:
 
Any feature whatsoever that lets some guests get more fastpasses in a given time period means that there will either be (1) fewer fastpasses for other guests before the fastpasses become "sold out" for the day, or (2) fewer standby riders accepted during the day, or both.

If we decrease the time interval before the next fastpass for some guests, then those guests as a group will seize more fastpasses in a given time span.

If we allow some guests to get a few fastpasses while at the resort, without introducing a doldrum whereby they could not get any at the park, then those guests as a group can end up seizing more fastpasses before a given hour, say, 11 AM or noon, or 1 PM.
 
That's a very good point. The tickets my family and I are currently using are the ones you purchase at the theme park ticket windows with the characters advertisment for the Year of a Million Dreams, so there is no way to tell if we are staying onsite or offsite when using them to get Fast Passes.

If the new system that is currently in development allows onside guests to get a special fast pass on there TV in there Disney resorts chamber the whole system will change dramatical.
 
I don't really think it would change the system dramatically. FPs would still be available to off-site guests, just not as often. Thus, on-site guests would get more FP opportunities than off-site guests. I would assume that WDW would increase the number of FPs they give out per day. I don't think the average guest would notice that much of a difference, to tell you the truth.
 
If the new system that is currently in development allows onside guests to get a special fast pass on there TV in there Disney resorts chamber the whole system will change dramatical.
Well if this is true then it will be intresting to see it actually happening.
 
I've been hesitant to mention this .. but I also think that in small ways.. certain benefits are already being extended.

For example : A family I know stayed at a deluxe resort and several times were given "bonus" fastpasses for other attractions. Example: Getting a FP at Space Mountain and being given a "Surprise Bonus" FP for Buzz Lightyear" from the Space Mountain FP machine.

We have had that happen before. I am pretty sure our tickets were not tied to our room (we are DVC members).

I think it happens on very popular attractions. They then point you to a slower attraction.

For instance, we went to TT. It shot out a TT FP and a HIStA FP. The TT was for like 6 hours in advance whereas the HIStA was only an hour or two a away. It surprised me at first, but I did not think about any kind of conspiracy. I think that they were just trying to balance the park out.
 
We have had that happen before. I am pretty sure our tickets were not tied to our room (we are DVC members).

I think it happens on very popular attractions. They then point you to a slower attraction.

For instance, we went to TT. It shot out a TT FP and a HIStA FP. The TT was for like 6 hours in advance whereas the HIStA was only an hour or two a away. It surprised me at first, but I did not think about any kind of conspiracy. I think that they were just trying to balance the park out.

We've had the same thing, Terror Tower fastpasses gave out Lights, Motors, Action fastpasses. We are DVC members using AP's and it worked the same for friends staying with us using regular walk up tickets.

ford family
 
not sure how they are gonna keep track of people spending amount unless the park/hotel/visa are on one card.
 


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