Fastpass return or replacement?

[PanchoX1]

A decision on the future of FP/FP+/DPA/Disney Access+ has not even been made yet. There are a variety of ideas being discussed, but as I've reiterated before, the lack of FP is not due to IT.

And you know this how?

 

[mrd7896]

In a word, yes I would a pay. Fastpass has a huge impact in my day, and I would sacrifice snack, meals, length of stay or souvenir budget over Fastpass. The caveat is a lot depends on price point. $10 a fastpass is honestly not that bad. It is not great, but not horrible either. I would likely think of it as, I can spend $100 for a normal ticket, or $130 for a ticket that includes 3 Fastpass reservations. I am definitely going to spend $130. If that increases to $20 per ride, now I am probably going to look at it as a tactical tool that I only use for a very special situation. If it is $50 per ride, I can't see me using it in any way, shape or form.

that's a really good point when you look at it that way-ty for your insight

 

[DJJimmy9]

Fastpass is a tool that allows me options to strategize around meals, Fastpass reservations, and standby rides not so I never stand in a line, but so It is not a continual process of one line after another.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS!

I do not need FP for every ride, but I will not tolerate waiting 45+ minutes for every ride. It’s insane that I am paying ridiculous money to walk into a park to spend that much time waiting in line. Why am I going? Because I bought into DVC when the parks didn’t work this way. I will give Disney 1 pass on my upcoming trip. But I will not go back again if there is no way to avoid line after line after line.

 

[TCRAIG]

Maximizing its potential is probably the correct phrase.

I kinda like ‘Using the Krap Outta’

 

[andyman8]

Did someone say that it was?

Yes, that's been the speculation of many on here. As I've said before, that's not the case. It's just a matter of priorities; Disney has other priorities at the moment with staffing shortages, stores and restaurants still closed, and gearing up for the 50th. That doesn't mean we won't see FP before the 50th; it just means Disney can make a decision anytime now.

 

[ST1TCH]

A decision on the future of FP/FP+/DPA/Disney Access+ has not even been made yet. There are a variety of ideas being discussed, but as I've reiterated before, the lack of FP is not due to IT.

This is the first I've seen your posting on the subject, maybe I missed it in the previous thread.

Care to elaborate? Remy suggested that the integration of the new system was pretty vital to moving forward.

 

[RamieGee]

In a word, yes I would a pay. Fastpass has a huge impact in my day, and I would sacrifice snack, meals, length of stay or souvenir budget over Fastpass. The caveat is a lot depends on price point. $10 a fastpass is honestly not that bad. It is not great, but not horrible either. I would likely think of it as, I can spend $100 for a normal ticket, or $130 for a ticket that includes 3 Fastpass reservations. I am definitely going to spend $130. If that increases to $20 per ride, now I am probably going to look at it as a tactical tool that I only use for a very special situation. If it is $50 per ride, I can't see me using it in any way, shape or form.

Even $10 may be prohibitive for a larger family. There are 5 of us. We usually do 6-7 park days when we go. If we bought 3 fast passes per day for all 5 of us at $10 each, that’s $150/day x 7 days = $1,050. This makes me sad. I like Disney and all the rides, but I work hard and I ALSO like treating myself to grown-up things like good food, cocktails, and a nice hotel (mod or deluxe). Now I need to start thinking about where I will cut back on the things that used to make Disney a vacation/resort trip and not just a theme park visit. Or we cut down days. Something’s gotta give. At $20/ride that’s an extra $2,100. There’s no way…

 

[ST1TCH]

What I'm almost certain of (and maybe just being naive or Disney colored glasses) is that we will NOT see the DLP model at WDW. That seems to be where everyone jumps to on this topic because of what they decided to do there. DLP is a completely different type of park than WDW (and only a single park). A pay $10 or more per ride will not be what we get at WDW. That would just be obscene. I could see it being more like adding Park Hopping to your tickets for the length of your stay, like a set cost per trip. I think from what I've read, when the concierge level was able to add more it was this kind of concept. Pay $xx per person per trip. And that would be on top of the xx number of FP you get for free based on your resort category, AP status, DVC, etc.

 

[snowwhite84]

What I'm almost certain of (and maybe just being naive or Disney colored glasses) is that we will NOT see the DLP model at WDW. That seems to be where everyone jumps to on this topic because of what they decided to do there. DLP is a completely different type of park than WDW (and only a single park). A pay $10 or more per ride will not be what we get at WDW. That would just be obscene. I could see it being more like adding Park Hopping to your tickets for the length of your stay, like a set cost per trip. I think from what I've read, when the concierge level was able to add more it was this kind of concept. Pay $xx per person per trip. And that would be on top of the xx number of FP you get for free based on your resort category, AP status, DVC, etc.

I’ve wondered for a while if it would be like adding hopper to your ticket! But not sure how that would work for annual pass holders like myself.

 

[andyman8]

This is the first I've seen your posting on the subject, maybe I missed it in the previous thread.

Care to elaborate? Remy suggested that the integration of the new system was pretty vital to moving forward.

There's really not a whole lot to say at the moment on it. There will definitely be a paid standby queue bypass option available for the general public at some point. It likely won't be called FP. While it won't be the exact same as DPA and DLP, DPEP management is definitely keeping an eye on that program as it launches next week. When a bypass option at WDW launches and what/if a free option looks like hasn't been decided. The concern I've heard from Park Ops management is that once people are paying for access to the bypass queue, the expectations change. You can't just have a 30 or 40 minute wait, which sometimes happened during busier times for more popular attractions. They could make a decision anytime and it doesn't seem like they're too concerned about issues rolling out the system. At the end of the day, it'll be addressed but there are just higher priority items at the moment.

 

[Karin1984]

What I'm almost certain of (and maybe just being naive or Disney colored glasses) is that we will NOT see the DLP model at WDW. That seems to be where everyone jumps to on this topic because of what they decided to do there. DLP is a completely different type of park than WDW (and only a single park). A pay $10 or more per ride will not be what we get at WDW. That would just be obscene. I could see it being more like adding Park Hopping to your tickets for the length of your stay, like a set cost per trip. I think from what I've read, when the concierge level was able to add more it was this kind of concept. Pay $xx per person per trip. And that would be on top of the xx number of FP you get for free based on your resort category, AP status, DVC, etc.

Hey! We have at least 1,5 park at the moment here in DLP And when the Marvel/Star Wars/Frozen lands are done in 20 years or so, it will be a full park again!

I do not think it will be fully copied 1:1 from Paris to WDW. However, I do think there will be a paid system for the headliners, the rides where you can truly benefit from having a FP. All the rides where it didn't really matter, will be taken out of the pool. In Paris only 8 rides will get Premier Access.

 

[EmilyGahr]

I feel like Disney has to do some sort of free FP for onsite guests. There are literally no advantages right now so they have to give us something, right?

 

[Wandering Oaken]

I feel like Disney has to do some sort of free FP for onsite guests. There are literally no advantages right now so they have to give us something, right?

Only 60 day ADR booking at this point.

 

[snowwhite84]

I feel like Disney has to do some sort of free FP for onsite guests. There are literally no advantages right now so they have to give us something, right?

I’ve seen a number of people make this point. I’m someone who has zero interest in staying offsite for a Disney vacation. The “perk” to me of a Disney hotel is just that: that it’s a Disney hotel. I have no idea if I’m in the minority or majority on that. But because of this, I have no belief that they MUST give onsite guests free Fastpass as a perk to retain them. Im 37 and been going since I was a kid with my parents. I can’t recall there being any “perks” back then to staying onsite, just that we preferred it that way. Now that Im a mom and taking my family, I still feel that way. Just trying to add a different perspective! Sure I would love to keep free Fastpass, but it’s very well possible that Disney has figured out there are a lot of people like me out there

 

[ellbell]

There's really not a whole lot to say at the moment on it. There will definitely be a paid standby queue bypass option available for the general public at some point. It likely won't be called FP. While it won't be the exact same as DPA and DLP, DPEP management is definitely keeping an eye on that program as it launches next week. When a bypass option at WDW launches and what/if a free option looks like hasn't been decided. The concern I've heard from Park Ops management is that once people are paying for access to the bypass queue, the expectations change. You can't just have a 30 or 40 minute wait, which sometimes happened during busier times for more popular attractions. They could make a decision anytime and it doesn't seem like they're too concerned about issues rolling out the system. At the end of the day, it'll be addressed but there are just higher priority items at the moment.

Unfortunately I don't think speaking in absolutes is reliable. Unless you are one of the people at the table it's pretty impossible to know and the people at the table don't speak at all. Everything else is rumour.

 

[krybandt]

In a word, yes I would a pay. Fastpass has a huge impact in my day, and I would sacrifice snack, meals, length of stay or souvenir budget over Fastpass. The caveat is a lot depends on price point. $10 a fastpass is honestly not that bad. It is not great, but not horrible either. I would likely think of it as, I can spend $100 for a normal ticket, or $130 for a ticket that includes 3 Fastpass reservations. I am definitely going to spend $130. If that increases to $20 per ride, now I am probably going to look at it as a tactical tool that I only use for a very special situation. If it is $50 per ride, I can't see me using it in any way, shape or form.

(Edit: sorry, just saw RamieGee made this point and said it better.)

While $30 more for a ticket may not sound horrible, it's still quite an increase for a feature that used to be free. You also need to multiply that amount per family member and how many days you'll be in the park. If you're one person going for the day, it's more doable than a family of 4 there for a week.

 

[ChipnDale79]

(Edit: sorry, just saw RamieGee made this point and said it better.)

While $30 more for a ticket may not sound horrible, it's still quite an increase for a feature that used to be free. You also need to multiply that amount per family member and how many days you'll be in the park. If you're one person going for the day, it's more doable than a family of 4 there for a week.

if the model shifts that way, to where there is a $10 fee per day per person, or something along that lines, it would make me question if disney is shifting its focus from families, to couples.

that would get really expensive really quick for a family of 4 that vacations at disney for a week.

 

[Wandering Oaken]

(Edit: sorry, just saw RamieGee made this point and said it better.)

While $30 more for a ticket may not sound horrible, it's still quite an increase for a feature that used to be free. You also need to multiply that amount per family member and how many days you'll be in the park. If you're one person going for the day, it's more doable than a family of 4 there for a week.

Which is why I doubt that pricing structure will fly at WDW. People go to Disneyland for a day trip. Maybe two. Of course you have people that go for a week but that is not even a large portion of people. Charging DL guests $30 -$50 per person per day will not be a deal breaker for most. Do that at WDW where people stay from 7-14 days then you are talking about killing people's ability to go to WDW. They cannot do that to people financially though I am sure they would love to. I can see them tacking on a cost onto the tickets like a hidden fee or something and still giving us the FP's for "free". However, my best guess is that we will see a hybrid of free and paid but the paid cannot be $30 per person per day.

 

[mshanson3121]

Every day I keep checking, hoping there's something. DH and I discussed it today and we aren't making any more payments on our trip until we hear what's happening with FP+. If it a) doesn't come back or b) comes back as a paid option, we are cancelling our trip. Realllly hoping they bring it back, with at least a hybrid system of free and paid.

 

[Wandering Oaken]

if the model shifts that way, to where there is a $10 fee per day per person, or something along that lines, it would make me question if disney is shifting its focus from families, to couples.

that would get really expensive really quick for a family of 4 that vacations at disney for a week.

That model would add only $240 onto our trip. I'd pay that in a heartbeat if it allowed me three free FP's (or even unlimited. )