Fastpass return or replacement?

[snowwhite84]

I spend more sitting by the pool than I would wandering around the park. The rum dole whips by the Poly pool really add up. Disney wants me to please and go to the pool.

I’ve made this point a few times on this thread, every time I see someone argue that Disney wants to keep me in the park. I expect I spend way more money once I leave the park. When I think about how much DH and I spend on kids club babysitting, dinner at a signature restaurant, shopping at Disney Springs, it’s a ton. There’s only so much money you can spend on upcharged water and Mickey premium bars. Am I really in the minority thinking Disney doesn’t care if I stay in the parks, so long as I am still on property?

 

[malba2366]

Repost

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I’ve made this point a few times on this thread, every time I see someone argue that Disney wants to keep me in the park. I expect I spend way more money once I leave the park. When I think about how much DH and I spend on kids club babysitting, dinner at a signature restaurant, shopping at Disney Springs, it’s a ton. There’s only so much money you can spend on upcharged water and Mickey premium bars. Am I really in the minority thinking Disney doesn’t care if I stay in the parks, so long as I am still on property?

I'm sure my husband can verify that I am much more dangerous to our bank account at Disney Springs.

Much more. He knows exactly where the husband chair is in that Lilly Pulitzer.

My last few trips I barely bought anything in the parks outside of a few snacks because they got rid of the resort package delivery. I don't want to carry my stuff!

 

[malba2366]

I’ve made this point a few times on this thread, every time I see someone argue that Disney wants to keep me in the park. I expect I spend way more money once I leave the park. When I think about how much DH and I spend on kids club babysitting, dinner at a signature restaurant, shopping at Disney Springs, it’s a ton. There’s only so much money you can spend on upcharged water and Mickey premium bars. Am I really in the minority thinking Disney doesn’t care if I stay in the parks, so long as I am still on property?

If Disney wants to they could collect data and use predictive algorithms to tailor their experiences to each guest…for someone like you who is spending at the resorts they could offer you fast passes or reservation times or whatever to get you out of the park quicker. While they could try to keep other guests with different patterns in the parks longer. All of this is possible with the current technology and was not when the original fastpasses rolled out. If they are planning something like this eventually then the rumors posted yesterday make a lot of sense as in a system like this it needs to have as little transparency as possible into how different guests are offered different experiences.

If Disney decides to give out fastpasses for free I would guess the purely transactional (ie. Stay in deluxe and get 3 fastpasses) sort of thing will not be part of the future. It will be much more tailored than that and will be used by Disney in combination with paid fastpasses and ride reservations to simultaneously drive revenue from each guest while allowing the guest to feel they received more value from their entire vacation. Moving to this sort of experience based system will benefit most guests (except for the local after work/after school AP holders).

 

[snowwhite84]

If Disney wants to they could collect data and use predictive algorithms to tailor their experiences to each guest…for someone like you who is spending at the resorts they could offer you fast passes or reservation times or whatever to get you out of the park quicker. While they could try to keep other guests with different patterns in the parks longer. All of this is possible with the current technology and was not when the original fastpasses rolled out. If they are planning something like this eventually then the rumors posted yesterday make a lot of sense as in a system like this it needs to have as little transparency as possible into how different guests are offered different experiences.

If Disney decides to give out fastpasses for free I would guess the purely transactional (ie. Stay in deluxe and get 3 fastpasses) sort of thing will not be part of the future. It will be much more tailored than that and will be used by Disney in combination with paid fastpasses and ride reservations to simultaneously drive revenue from each guest while allowing the guest to feel they received more value from their entire vacation. Moving to this sort of experience based system will benefit most guests (except for the local after work/after school AP holders).

I would take that!

 

[cakebaker]

hmm... I would think, that if Disney is concerned about another shut down, they would roll back capacity. Prob can't do much about the next month or two other than to not increase it any more, but for the days that haven't been open to reservations yet, they can totally scale those back. but the don't seem to worried about a shut down to do that.

I'm afraid it's too late to go back on capacity limits. I don't know how far out reservations are going right now, but it's a long time. It would involve a lot cancellations and a huge mess for a lot of people, reminiscent of when they closed the parks entirely. One can rightfully make the argument that they should've never moved so fast, but if so, every theme park in Florida moved too fast and no one can expect Disney to stay in shut down mode when no one else is. Remember back to when the theme parks started re-opening. Disney did not want to open when they did and it turns out, they may have been right.

As it is, they're one of the few following CDC guidelines right now so kudos to them for at least doing that. If a shut down or scale back is required, it's not going to be just Disney that is affected. I don't believe they will voluntarily shut the doors or start with massive cancellations by their own choice. Nevermind that what Disney does on their own will not change the course of the pandemic.

I think the thinking is, get what they can while they can and hope this latest spike doesn't last long. But that doesn't mean the thought that things could head south quickly isn't a real concern to them and affecting their decisions on what to implement and when.

 

[Mutant]

I would take that!

me too!!

 

[Rick195275]

hmm... I would think, that if Disney is concerned about another shut down, they would roll back capacity. Prob can't do much about the next month or two other than to not increase it any more, but for the days that haven't been open to reservations yet, they can totally scale those back. but the don't seem to worried about a shut down to do that.

I could be wrong but I believe all of 2022 is already open for park reservations so in theory there could already be more reservations booked than capacity was at say 6 months ago. I’m going to go out on a limb and say there aren’t enough crazy planners that parks are already booked up that much, especially with ADRs being at 60 days now but it is possible. I have a feb 2020 trip booked and have been meaning to set my days and haven’t yet, I’m sure plenty of people have already though. Hmmm now that I think of it maybe I should get on that in case they do scale back capacity lol.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

After reading through this and other topics about the same thing it has me wondering could they bring back FP+ but not have the advance booking of them but make it day of like they do with the Virtual Queue and you can make your first there at 7am before you go to your first park, and then you can make additional ones after. If other parks have them available then you can make them prior to being able to hop to another park or have you do it once you are in your second park.

 

[Cabius]

After reading through this and other topics about the same thing it has me wondering could they bring back FP+ but not have the advance booking of them but make it day of like they do with the Virtual Queue and you can make your first there at 7am before you go to your first park, and then you can make additional ones after. If other parks have them available then you can make them prior to being able to hop to another park or have you do it once you are in your second park.

That’s basically how Disneyland works, with a $10/person/day up-charge that lets you book via the app instead of having to go get physical FPs. (It also includes photos but there are way fewer photogs at DL than WDW).

It’s great! DL is way lower-stress than WDW. But it’s just a very different clientele.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

That’s basically how Disneyland works, with a $10/person/day up-charge that lets you book via the app instead of having to go get physical FPs. (It also includes photos but there are way fewer photogs at DL than WDW).

It’s great! DL is way lower-stress than WDW. But it’s just a very different clientele.

I'm familiar with how Disneyland's system works although I wouldn't really compare it to how FP+ works. That being said I didn't really use it myself as I was with a group of people and a few people had scanned my ticket into their apps and sometimes I would open up mine and find a bunch of fastpasses that had been made or I'd get an alert for one on my phone or smartwatch.

 

[Bellefan76]

Also, those ADR’s that you made at a computer terminal the morning of would cause most people here to lose it. You can’t compare to 1992 and say that they’re making it worse by offering more flexibility then they had in 1992.

Don't forget the phone screens with CMs at Epcot. I have vivid memories.of going to those with my dad to make that days dining reservations.

 

[Kren]

My kids are 19 and 16 now, my stepkids are 26 and 30, and we have been taking them to Disney almost every year since they were born. I lived in Fla. as a kid and had a resident pass. Somewhere I think my parents still have ticket booklets (missing all the E tickets, of course).

I have seen every iteration of WDW. It has always impressed me as the antithesis of money-grabbing parks (looking at you, Universal) where the more you paid, the better you were treated.

If they implement paid Fast Pass, I will regretfully stop going to WDW. There must be ways to monetize the parks that don't involve setting up a blatant class system. It goes against everything Walt believed it.

 

[luv2cheer92]

My kids are 19 and 16 now, my stepkids are 26 and 30, and we have been taking them to Disney almost every year since they were born. I lived in Fla. as a kid and had a resident pass. Somewhere I think my parents still have ticket booklets (missing all the E tickets, of course).

I have seen every iteration of WDW. It has always impressed me as the antithesis of money-grabbing parks (looking at you, Universal) where the more you paid, the better you were treated.

If they implement paid Fast Pass, I will regretfully stop going to WDW. There must be ways to monetize the parks that don't involve setting up a blatant class system. It goes against everything Walt believed it.

You mean the same man that created Club 33? Even ticket books favored those who could spend more money. That argument gets thrown around every now and then, but really never makes sense.

 

[Kren]

You mean the same man that created Club 33? Even ticket books favored those who could spend more money. That argument gets thrown around every now and then, but really never makes sense.

Granted, making money was always the point and granted, there were always cash grabs. But there always seemed to be a way that the little guy could get in on the fantasy. It might've been more difficult, but it could happen. I never stayed on-site (I lived 40 minutes away) but I never felt like I was missing much and I could do everything I wanted to do, with some decent strategizing. Now, if the rumors bear out, that won't be possible without throwing (more) fistfuls of $$ at the company.

 

[Marionnette]

You mean the same man that created Club 33? Even ticket books favored those who could spend more money. That argument gets thrown around every now and then, but really never makes sense.

Club 33 was created as a place within the park where Walt could dine with and entertain Disneyland corporate sponsors. It was not conceived as a way for the ultra rich to do the park in a way that was beyond the reach of the majority of people. It was a place to do business and woo potential sponsors. The "33" is actually derived from the original 33 companies that were sponsors in DLR.

As for Walt being a businessman...he wasn't. He was the idea man. His brother Roy was constantly reining him in. Roy might have been on board with the increased nickle and diming that has occurred but Walt would have been the one who found a way to make guests think it was well worth the cost.

 

[preemiemama]

Club 33 was created as a place within the park where Walt could dine with and entertain Disneyland corporate sponsors. It was not conceived as a way for the ultra rich to do the park in a way that was beyond the reach of the majority of people. It was a place to do business and woo potential sponsors. The "33" is actually derived from the original 33 companies that were sponsors in DLR.

As for Walt being a businessman...he wasn't. He was the idea man. His brother Roy was constantly reining him in. Roy might have been on board with the increased nickle and diming that has occurred but Walt would have been the one who found a way to make guests think it was well worth the cost.

I think that sentence right there is the difference. Blatant money grab vs. "show". Plus, Walt always wanted the middle class to be able to enjoy the parks- that is getting lost right now as well.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Club 33 was created as a place within the park where Walt could dine with and entertain Disneyland corporate sponsors. It was not conceived as a way for the ultra rich to do the park in a way that was beyond the reach of the majority of people. It was a place to do business and woo potential sponsors. The "33" is actually derived from the original 33 companies that were sponsors in DLR.

As for Walt being a businessman...he wasn't. He was the idea man. His brother Roy was constantly reining him in. Roy might have been on board with the increased nickle and diming that has occurred but Walt would have been the one who found a way to make guests think it was well worth the cost.

I mean, I still find it to be more than well worth the cost.

 

[snowwhite84]

My kids are 19 and 16 now, my stepkids are 26 and 30, and we have been taking them to Disney almost every year since they were born. I lived in Fla. as a kid and had a resident pass. Somewhere I think my parents still have ticket booklets (missing all the E tickets, of course).

I have seen every iteration of WDW. It has always impressed me as the antithesis of money-grabbing parks (looking at you, Universal) where the more you paid, the better you were treated.

If they implement paid Fast Pass, I will regretfully stop going to WDW. There must be ways to monetize the parks that don't involve setting up a blatant class system. It goes against everything Walt believed it.

I don’t see paying for some sort of way to cut down on waiting in line as creating a class system, anymore than offering deluxe vs value resorts, free busses vs private Minnie vans, quick service vs signature restaurants would. In your post you mention being treated better the more you pay. I agree, all guests should be treated respectfully and thoughtfully whatever they paid to be there.

But I see this new idea as just another add on that you can opt to pay for or opt out of to budget better. I think some people may balk because it feels like something that was free that you must now pay for, but it sounds like a new product to me.

And in general, I think a Disney vacation is something that, if you’re able to afford it, already puts you in a privileged group, even if you plan a very budget conscious trip. For some families, even the cheapest Disney visit is out of the budget. An argument could be made that a Disney vacation is already feeding into a class system, it’s just a matter of personal perspective.

 

[Marionnette]

I don’t see paying for some sort of way to cut down on waiting in line as creating a class system, anymore than offering deluxe vs value resorts, free busses vs private Minnie vans, quick service vs signature restaurants would. In your post you mention being treated better the more you pay. I agree, all guests should be treated respectfully and thoughtfully whatever they paid to be there.

But I see this new idea as just another add on that you can opt to pay for or opt out of to budget better. I think some people may balk because it feels like something that was free that you must now pay for, but it sounds like a new product to me.

And in general, I think a Disney vacation is something that, if you’re able to afford it, already puts you in a privileged group, even if you plan a very budget conscious trip. For some families, even the cheapest Disney visit is out of the budget. An argument could be made that a Disney vacation is already feeding into a class system, it’s just a matter of personal perspective.

I mostly agree with your post with the exception that somehow Lightning Pass (a paid option) is a different product from FP+ (which was free). From everything I've read, the only difference is the price tag.