Fastpass...why doesn't everyone use it?

[SeattleTink]

Honestly, learning to use FastPass this way changes the way you "do" DLR. You no longer care how long the lines are....because if you get in the parks early and start collecting the world is your oyster.

If everyone knew about the benefits of using FastPass it wouldn't be as much fun! I love those dirty looks people give you as you breeze by them (especially Indy)...like you are cheating...or a celebrity...it always makes me smile.

 

[Leofoenget]

First off, there are only so many Fastpasses given out for the day and then they are gone for the day, so the line could not ever get as long as the standby lane.

As to why doesn't everyone use it, not everyone that goes to DL reads the DIS or does any research before their trip. If you think it is a mystery at DL, you should see the lines at WDW. And, you should see the dirty looks that some of those in the standby lines give to Fastpassers when they walk by, it is as if the Faspassers have broken a law or something.

We often ask the question ourselves why more people don't use Fastpass. Could be that some of them don't think about what their park tickets cost and don't realize what it is actually costing them to just stand in line. Maybe some just don't care , who knows. But you aren't the first to be mystified by this.

I agree. Most people don't really dig into and research DL. Almost everyone I talk to who is going to go to DL, (family friend etc) whenever I mention the FP system they come back with "oh I don't think my ticket has that" or Huh how does it work? We want to just go with the flow, what is that again? Oh that sounds too complicated. They don't realize how FP can maximize their day. Because of the boards I hve it down to a science but that's just me

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

People can be weird. Two FP stories:


1. I had 3 FPs for TSMM at DHS on TSMM's opening day in 2008. We had already ridden it 10 times on our trip and my kids just did not want to go again. The standby line was 80-100 minutes mid-day.

So while standing in front of TSMM a lady walks up with two children to get in the standby line and I offered her the FPs. She looked at me like I was trying to sell her some snake oil and got in the standby line. I then offered them to the next guy coming up and he took them and said "thanks"!

Same thing here! I remember one time I tried to give away a couple of Soarin' FP's at WDW. 3 people later I finally found someone who didn't run away!! I often don't bother anymore b/c I get uncomfortable from the suspicious reactions.

However we happily and gratefully accept any that are offered to us by others!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Well, I am not sure if this ever worked at DL or not, but at WDW, up until about a year or so ago, you could even use a Fastpass on another day. We would save them and use them the next day, as long as we were past the original return time. Disney finally wisened up and the CM's started to check the day on the Fastpass which used to be in much smaller print. Aaahh, for the good old days.

 

[HydroGuy]

Well, I am not sure if this ever worked at DL or not, but at WDW, up until about a year or so ago, you could even use a Fastpass on another day. We would save them and use them the next day, as long as we were past the original return time. Disney finally wisened up and the CM's started to check the day on the Fastpass which used to be in much smaller print. Aaahh, for the good old days.

What you could do and what you are allowed to do are two different things. It is Disney policy at DLR, WDW and TDR to accept FPs on the day of issue even after the window. For some reason DLRP does not do this and, on top of that, only has 30 minute FP windows. I have never heard of it being policy to accept them on other days - with the rare exception of a ride going down for a long time one day and the CMs cutting you slack the next day.

It is possible to trick harrassed, busy and tired CMs into taking FPs against policy. I can think of several ways to do this. But I do not feel right about it and have never done it. However, I do use FPs on day of issue after the window because Disney has decided that is OK.

 

[emacat]

I'm not sure why people don't use them, but if they're happy doing whatever, we're thrilled to use the fastpasses!

 

[Somegirl]

Well I've confirmed what has been talked about here this morning. I just went for a beach walk with a friend who just went to DLR. I told her that you could use FPs after the time window and and still didn't believe me. She said she saw people turned away when they showed their FPs. I told her maybe they were too early but I don't think she believed me. She also thought you couldn't get another FP until you used the one you had. She also didn't know that you could get DL and DCA at the same time. I'm glad I'm a planner!

 

[toby78]

I've searched around but haven't found an answer to this one. If I remember correctly when FP was first started only certain park passes had access to FPs. like AAA passes. If everyone can use FPs now why wouldn't everyone use it, and if everyone uses it wouldn't the FP lines be just as long as standby lines? Am I missing something here?

I guess i'm just weird but I enjoy standing in the regular line with all the other people regardless of wait times. I knew about fastpasses since the get go and have used them many times, but usually I enjoy how it used to be before the FP's...We don't really care home many rides we get on in a single day because we go so often that if we miss something we know we'll be back soon to do it anyway.

 

[tkitty]

Just back from our trip, and I think we get better and better at using the FPs each time. We love getting into that fast pass line with a smug look on our faces.
I remember first hearing of FPs, and thinking you had to pay extra.... That was back in my pre-DisBoard days!

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

So funny
1)the dirty looks from those waiting in line while you sail past to the FP line - btdt!
2)The mistrustful expressions on people's faces when you try to give them your FP's. We did this several times on our last trip - most of the time we watched people throw them away as we walked off...oh well. 2 good experiences - we gave away Dream FP's to 2 young ladies at the PPP in DCA - my kids were all too young to ride the DCA FP rides, and since we were a party of 5, it gave these girls 2 FP's each - they looked like Christmas had come early! My all time favorite was on our last night - kids were tired, and we had gathered FP's all day. We'd done everything we wanted to do, so rather than "close down the parks", we left just after dinner. I had a wad of FP's in my hand. Walked over to the Buzz line, found a family of 5 and asked them if they'd like to wait in a shorter line (the wait was almost an hour). I could tell the younger kids were restless and they'd been there a while already...it took some convincing, but I finally got it through to the parents that they could use the whole pile of FP's...

It's sad that society has changed to the point that we can't trust strangers, and someone doing something nice for someone else is looked upon with suspicion and mistrust....but perhaps that's part of the Disney magic, when someone does open up and trust someone else...

 

[GrandBob]

We love getting into that fast pass line with a smug look on our faces.

Haha, that reminds me of when we took our DGD7 to DLR last December She loves, loves, loves Splash. Anyway, she's quite aware of the advantages of FP, as we bypass the long standby line to get into the FP line. And she knows that you have to get the FP in advance; but I take care of all the details.

So, typically when we walked towards the FP return, I would leave her with DW and slip out to get another Splash FP. DGD was so fixated on getting onto Splash that she didn't notice. So we would get out of the ride, and (since it's not real popular in the cold weather months), I would magically produce another fastpass to get us back into line. Lather, rinse, repeat.

She thought I was the most magical grandpa ever

-Bob

 

[RweTHEREyet]

What you could do and what you are allowed to do are two different things. It is Disney policy at DLR, WDW and TDR to accept FPs on the day of issue even after the window. For some reason DLRP does not do this and, on top of that, only has 30 minute FP windows. I have never heard of it being policy to accept them on other days - with the rare exception of a ride going down for a long time one day and the CMs cutting you slack the next day.

It is possible to trick harrassed, busy and tired CMs into taking FPs against policy. I can think of several ways to do this. But I do not feel right about it and have never done it. However, I do use FPs on day of issue after the window because Disney has decided that is OK.

OMG -- I was not suggesting that anyone do this now. We used to do this at WDW all the time, and it was a Cast Member that told us about it. And I do believe I said it was well over a year ago since this happened and that Disney has since enlarged the date on the FastPass so that the CM's can check it easier. At the time, it was common knowledge to those that frequented WDW often, just as using them past the posted time is common knowledge today and the CMs used to do it themselves. No one was tricking or harrassing busy and tired CMs, it just wasn't being enforced, the same as they don't enforce using a Fastpass now only during the posted time on the Fastpass.

You got your knickers in a knot way too quickly.

 

[wdvak]

People can be weird. Two FP stories:



2. While standing in line at DLR I heard some people talking about their FPs and how they were past the window. I told them casually how DLR accepts FPs after the window. They looked at me uncomfortably and it was clear they did not understand and did not want to understand.


In general I rarely give FP advice while at DLR or WDW because the typical body language and facial response I get is "don't talk to me, I do not want to hear it". Every once in awhile I will mention some FP tips to people if they seem open to talking about it. But usually they are not open in my experience.

I've found this to be the reaction too when I've been at wdw. I was there in February, and yes it dido snow a bit on us at mk, and the mother told me I shouldn't tell people to do things against the rules. I also had to try 3 times to give away 2 fp for sm. If someone had offered them to us we would have taken them in a heartbeat - go figure.

 

[HydroGuy]

OMG -- I was not suggesting that anyone do this now. We used to do this at WDW all the time, and it was a Cast Member that told us about it. And I do believe I said it was well over a year ago since this happened and that Disney has since enlarged the date on the FastPass so that the CM's can check it easier. At the time, it was common knowledge to those that frequented WDW often, just as using them past the posted time is common knowledge today and the CMs used to do it themselves. No one was tricking or harrassing busy and tired CMs, it just wasn't being enforced, the same as they don't enforce using a Fastpass now only during the posted time on the Fastpass.

You got your knickers in a knot way too quickly.

Sorry, I see people seriously suggest using old FPs on other forums. And I have heard that people (not you) sell old FPs on E-Bay and even duplicate them and sell them to the unsuspecting. And people do talk about how to trick CMs in such ways. There are some threads on other forums about how to find secret buttons intended for CMs on FP machines and make the machines dispense extra FPs.

I was not aware of anyone using old FPs at WDW in an acceptable way and within policy. Which is what I said. At DLR it has always been against policy and I have always seen it as something akin to line cutting. If it was acceptable at WDW at some time I would probably have done it myself. As I said, it has never been policy at DLR and I took your post in that way. I apologize for the ethical confusion.

 

[DLovinFam]

Haha, that reminds me of when we took our DGD7 to DLR last December She loves, loves, loves Splash. Anyway, she's quite aware of the advantages of FP, as we bypass the long standby line to get into the FP line. And she knows that you have to get the FP in advance; but I take care of all the details.

So, typically when we walked towards the FP return, I would leave her with DW and slip out to get another Splash FP. DGD was so fixated on getting onto Splash that she didn't notice. So we would get out of the ride, and (since it's not real popular in the cold weather months), I would magically produce another fastpass to get us back into line. Lather, rinse, repeat.

She thought I was the most magical grandpa ever

-Bob

I love it!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Why I often do not use FP, by Disney Dreams

1. We don't know how long we are going to stay at the Park and hate to use up a FP that someone else can have (as the quantity is limited) since we may not be around when the FP comes due.

2. We meander our way through the Park and don't have any desire to double-back to an attraction we've already gone by to use the FP (i.e. Going once to get the FP and back again later to use it).

3. Similar to #2: Once we're done with what we want to do in a particular area, we don't tend to go back. (We're in Tomorrowland, do what we want, see what we want, buy want we need/want, done with Tomorrowland for the day.)

4. No desire (on that day) to go on any attraction that has a FP.

Maybe it's because we can come back anytime, maybe it's just our Park-going style, but... there you have it: Why we quite often don't use FP.

- Dreams

P.S. GrandBob, fun story. Thanks for sharing! I bet you can make quarters come from my ear, huh?

 

[rentayenta]

I have a good friend who went last month for the first time in 5 years and she had no clue about FP.

 

[skiingfast]

I know at one time, Disney was actively promoting FP. But now they just mention it. Even if you have a old park map check it, FP info used to be on the front now its inside.

I think that while some people go all the time, using them all the time, there are new generations of park goers that don't know about them, or don't understand how they work.

I understand how a previous poster noted that if you offer people your extra FPs that act like you are trying to give them crack. I've noticed a lot of people think they cost extra money too.

I imagine since FP's can get completly issued in a day, that Disney doesn't care. They are serving their purpose and can't do any more so why try.

 

[Kenttz]

Well for me not being at Disneyland for 15yrs and then decided to take my mom for her birthday 3 yrs ago. I saw these fastpasses and was curious about them. I then was told by another guest that you had to pay for those, so I didnt bother with it after learning that. Long story short I signed on on this board and read that its free, so since then I have been using FP and its just awesome to have. I am grateful Disney does not charge for the FPs

 

[aan1701]

Why I don't use FP much. Example. Just had my meal about 30 before walking up to Space Mountain. Stand By line was 30 min but to come back for Fastpass was 3 hours later. I don't get why people were getting the fastpasses. To me it is likewaiting an extra 2 1/2 hours. The argument could be made that I could go on other stuff in that time period, but I can do that in the same amount of time as if I waited in the Stand by line. I am one who very rarely uses Fastpass.