From other articles at MiceAge, it seems that the FastPass system at
Disneyland has long been flawed and corrupted. The way its structured, there seemed to have been numerous loop holes where as people with the right knowledge could rack up multiple FastPasses at a time. The argument there was that it made FastPass a beneficiary tool only for locals and AP holders, whove figured out how to trick the system. On top of that, theres always the fact that newbie tourists are usually ignorant to how the FastPass/Express deal works (on one occasion, while using a regular Express pass, I heard somebody in the standby line comment Thats one of those front of the line passes you can buy).
This is significant because, lets be honest, its more important to cater to and please the tourists then the regulars. They make up the larger portion of the park goers, and its their spending that determines if a park is successful or not (and that, in the end, is what decides whether us regulars get new rides and parks or not).
One of the reasons mentioned in the article for removing FastPass on some Disneyland attractions is similar to what DM said. Rides like Pirates of the Caribbean already have such a high hourly capacity rate that its absurd to think that FastPass actually makes the wait shorter, and in many cases it just makes the standby wait longer. And thats the main problem with FastPass/Express systems: theyre just superficial solutions to long lines.
When the main complaint was the long waits at rides, instead of building more rides, creating new shows or reopening older rides and diversions, Eisner and Paul Pressler cooked up FastPass, which tricked people into thinking theyre waiting shorter for rides. What it causes is more crowded walkways and longer standby lines (while somebody has a FastPass for one ride, they go and stand in line for another ride). Granted, when planned correctly, FastPass/Express can help people do a lot or all of the big rides in one trip, which wasnt always possible, but, again, most innocent tourists dont know how to master it.
One of the things that make the Express system better then FastPass (and one of the reasons why its being curtailed in Disneyland) is that the amount of pass given out is actually regulated. In Disneyland (Im not sure about WDW) return times are based on the time in which you got the FastPass, with an unlimited amount of passes given out. That means that, during busy times, the FastPass lines werent all that fast, with waits almost as long as standby. At Universal, the number of Express Passes given out for a given time depends on how many were already given out, how many express Plus have been sold, and how often the resort FOTL is being used.
In fact, thats why for a while I didnt like the resort FOTL. The way I saw it, the more hotel guests there were, and the more they used FOTL, the less regular Express Passes were made available to the regular park goers. Which is why some attractions run out of Express Passes even before noon. But then I read an article by Kevin Yee, the other writer at MiceAge, who has been one of the biggest critics of Disneylands FastPass system. He recently moved down to Orlando, and did a quick review of Universal. I was sure he was going to hate the resort FOTL, he was actually very positive about it. He liked the fact that Universal actually rewards the coveted tourists, who are the most likely to stay onsite. While at Disneyland, locals and AP holders had the upper hand with FastPass, in this case it is the tourists who are benefiting. He also liked the regulated Express system, saying that having them run out at mid day ensured that most Express lines were actually short and the standby lines not affected much, while still giving people (at least those who get there early enough) the opportunity to use Express. I still dont like the Express Plus, since it simply works against the system and its just Universal trying to squeeze some more money out of the idea (say what you want about the Disney company being greedy, but at least they dont sell FastPasses).
In all, I think the FastPass/Express scheme is close to running its course. Besides Disneyland starting to phase it out, notice that Shrek no longer offers it, and what DM said about the two train station at Mummy not serving its purpose. Soon theyll just have to think up something that actually reduces wait time on rides.
As far as the new restrictions on the resort FOTL, I dont think its such a big deal. I do agree that they shouldnt have changed it without notifying people who had already booked under the previous policy. But in the end, FOTL is really just a privilege enhancing the regular park experience, and people should be grateful that they still have FOTL access for most of the day, which other places dont offer. I dont like the people who imply that they would rather stay at a Disney resort or not go to Universal at all if it wasnt for the FOTL privileges. Thats completely downplaying and ignoring the great things that the Universal resorts and parks have to offer. Some people have said that the new policy reduces the value of what they paid for, but they dont realize that Universal is just trying to somewhat increase the value of what the regular ticket people paid for. By holding back the FOTL until after 3pm, the standby lines will be shorter during that time and the rides will run out of Express passes much later in the day, meaning that there will be more available for the regular guests.
By the way, Bev, I saw your letter to Kevin Yee about a month ago about the Mummy storyline. He said pretty much what I was thinking: while its an interesting story and enhances the ride, they failed to fully communicate it to the guests. I also dont like that the ride ops outside are called Casting Directors. A movies casting director would usually not be plural, and they would definitely not be out looking for extras. That seems more like a job for a Production Assistant (coincidentally, those ride ops are dressed just like Reggie, the P.A., from the queue video). Anyway, it was cool to see somebody I knew on a website I read.
-Kevin
).
