FP - allowed returns later than 1, 2 or more hours??

[Thumper_Man]

You're right. Nobody should expect to eat AND do rides. How silly of me. So what's the cutoff of reasonable? I would have thougth 2 1/2 hours would be enough, but clearly you don't. So what..... no FP within 3 hours of an ADR? 4? 5?

If the times are close, I'm pulling the FP. And if dinner takes 2 1/2 hours, yes, I'm asking for an exception. I won't fuss or fume. That's not my style. But I'll ask nicely and hope for a reasonable outcome.

I've been reading most of the threads and mostly just lurking. I have to agree with you on this one though. I would think 2 1/2 hours should be a sufficient enough planning time. If I have an ADR, lets say for 11 am, and the FP window is showing 12:30-1:30 pm; you bet I'm going to pull a FP.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

Judgemental posts on when people should or should not be pulling FP are silly.

And if the restaurants have the power to give you a good anytime FP - that will definitely help the issue...

saying you have to plan better is ridiculous... we should all plan better... but there are things that are unseen!

 

[myjourney]

I can work around this change. I just will miss giving passes we did not use to others in the park. I love being able to spread a little pixie dust.

 

[scion5220]

People do realize they can ride rides without Fastpasses, right?

 

[TDC Nala]

There was a lot of posting when the credit card holds for the restaurants came up as to under what circumstances Disney might waive the no-show/late cancellation fee. The problem is, there's no way to know. Unless you try out your excuse on someone who can do something about it, there's no way to tell what you can count on ahead of time.

If someone here says "We told the CM that our dinner ran an hour late and they let us use our expired fastpass" it doesn't mean the next CM who is given that excuse will allow the same use. I'm sure everybody wants to be able to predict what they might or might not be able to do, but there isn't a way to predict unless Disney specifically states what excuses will be universally accepted. (And if they ever do that, everyone will have those excuses.)

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

wash, rinse, repeat

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

I can work around this change. I just will miss giving passes we did not use to others in the park. I love being able to spread a little pixie dust.

Just an FYI - That's against policy for sure.

They specifically say "nontransferable"

 

[mom2rtk]

Just an FYI - That's against policy for sure.

They specifically say "nontransferable"

Oh, PLEASE!

 

[mesaboy2]

Just an FYI - That's against policy for sure.

They specifically say "nontransferable"

Please tell me you're kidding.

 

[lajspeech]

I think you're all nuts for worrying so much. Relax and try not to worry about or create drama that hasn't actually happened yet.

And FWIW it is definitely not against policy to give away ur FPs to others... You just can't sell them. During the YOMD times we would actually give our FPs to the YOMD cast members walking around so they could give them away to others and make them feel special if we couldn't quickly find a group the right size to give ours away to. We watched them give them to others several times. And don't forget, you can still give them away say if you're going to miss ur slot dye to an upcoming ADR or needing to leave for some reason as long as the time window hasn't passed yet!!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Oh, PLEASE!

Please tell me you're kidding.

I'm not saying one shouldn't do it.

I just mention it is clearly against policy...since "policy" matters a great deal to lots of people.

 

[UNCFanatik]

You are just dead WRONG. Sorry. You cannot plan for getting in 1 hour past your ADR time, and having a terrible server who takes you an extra hour.

You cannot plan for a travel time to EPCOT that takes 4 times longer than usual (1 hour and 20 minutes instead of 20 minutes).

DISNEY has to take responsibility for its service (or LACK of Service) in these cases and grant the Fastpass use to the Customer OR said paying customer will 1) not come back to Disney and 2) not spend money at Disney... yeah that's a good plan. NOT.

you can plan on situations regarding ADRs. When making any plans you have to allow cushions in your schedule in case things take longer than usual. You also have to prioritize, if you are going to drop $100s of dollars on a character meal right in the middle of the time when EVERYONE else eats lunch, you need to understand it is going to take some time being seated when you arrive AND it will take some time in a crowded restaurant for the characters to visit your table. Even moreso with a large party which takes even longer to be seated. Disney doesnt guarantee how long your character meal at CP will take. And the term "reasonable time" is relative. Some people think its reasonable to wait in standby lines for an hour to experience their favorite attraction.

People first need to accept responsibility for themselves before they expect Disney to grant them FP exceptions because of their own poor planning.

 

[goofyernmost]

Wanna hear something weird? Before Fastpass, you could go to dinner, take whatever time you wanted or needed and then ride the ride. Then they decided that folks could make ADR's (or have to make ADR's) six months in advance. This happened around the same time as Fastpass. One bad decision snowballed into two bad decisions and now look at the quagmire everyone is in. When they made that decision to not enforce the end time, I'm sure that what they were thinking is that it would be just a few people that would need that. Then it became a way of life for seasoned Guests.

Everyone forgets that it is possible to ride every ride without a Fastpass, might be a little longer but not only can it be done, it had been done for many, many years.

Disney years ago decided that they wouldn't enforce the back end of the Fastpass window. They also, I'm sure, did not know just how complicated it was going to become. It completely reinforces the old saying about how a good deed never goes unpunished. I attempted to warn them about the pending doom swiftly coming to the surface...but what did I know.

Disney only has a handful of rides that really seem to need a Fastpass, my guess is that the ones that were already cancelled out, will be joined by others before too long.

The moral of this story is that people need to eat to maintain energy and keep everything in balance. People do not physically need to ride a ride. If one has to choose, it should be a pretty simple decision.

 

[Twitter]

I must be visiting a whole different WDW. We never ever had to wait more than ten minutes to get to our table even at the most wanted places. CRT,Le Cellier name them and we've don them and had no problems.
Even during Spring Break,Free Dining and all those other busy times.

 

[Goofy's_Biggest_Fan]

It just sounds to me that if there is an issue like an emergency or a delayed Disney "caused" situation, that exceptions are being made to Fast Pass enforcement.

I definitely think it is a little much to expect someone to "plan" to spend 2.5 hours for a meal or to "plan" for a 1.5 hour boat ride that should only take 30 minutes even on a busy day. (I have done that launch ride between HS and the World Showcase dozens of times, and NEVER took more than 45 minutes). That IS Disney's fault, plain and simple, and Disney should cover missed fastpass windows. While it is a pain to have to run to guest services, I don't think CM's at the rides should have to be put into the position of having to make judgement calls.

 

[Goofy's_Biggest_Fan]

It just sounds to me that if there is an issue like an emergency or a delayed Disney "caused" situation, that exceptions are being made to Fast Pass enforcement.

I definitely think it is a little much to expect someone to "plan" to spend 2.5 hours for a meal or to "plan" for a 1.5 hour boat ride that should only take 30 minutes even on a busy day. (I have done that launch ride between HS and the World Showcase dozens of times, and NEVER took more than 45 minutes). That IS Disney's fault, plain and simple, and Disney should cover missed fastpass windows. While it is a pain to have to run to guest services, I don't think CM's at the rides should have to be put into the position of having to make judgement calls.

 

[Belle0101]

There was a lot of posting when the credit card holds for the restaurants came up as to under what circumstances Disney might waive the no-show/late cancellation fee. The problem is, there's no way to know. Unless you try out your excuse on someone who can do something about it, there's no way to tell what you can count on ahead of time.

If someone here says "We told the CM that our dinner ran an hour late and they let us use our expired fastpass" it doesn't mean the next CM who is given that excuse will allow the same use. I'm sure everybody wants to be able to predict what they might or might not be able to do, but there isn't a way to predict unless Disney specifically states what excuses will be universally accepted. (And if they ever do that, everyone will have those excuses.)

This is exactly what I was thinking.

Short of writing to WDW and asking for a specific answer to a specific situation it's just all
conjecture at this point.

 

[UNCFanatik]

To be fair, most average people/families that visit WDW, and who are simply 'on vacation' and simply haven't thought it through the way you have - it's not about poor planning being at fault here, and I don't quite believe its ignorance either

I am sorry but ignorance of Disney policy should not warrant any exceptions to their policy enforcement. Just as if i claim ignorance of a speed limit does not mean the cop still wont give me a ticket. It is about poor planning.

It's just simply not realistic that the average person is expected to understand the reality of what its like waiting to be seated at a character meal in busier months, or how long character meals take, or the intricacies of the fastpass system -

Most people are not the 'diser' type that most of us are here. Fact is most visitors enter 'the happiest place on earth' oblivious to all of this detail.

Should they have planned better? - Well, to the likes of us who know Disney a bit better than they do, then perhaps it would have been wise to have done a bit more research.

Realistic or not, it is still the responsibility of the visitor to be informed. The information is out there and free in most cases.

But they didn't really commit a crime if they didn't happen to have the knowledge that they needed to align the moon with the stars when they booked their ADR and pulled a fastpass.

It isnt complicated to figure out printed return times and your plans for lunch. Its about making choices.

Why should they be expected to understand all of this? Most people are simply 'on vacation'. I believe there is a stat somewhere which shows that a large percentage of visitors, despite the info available, do not fully understand fastpass, and think it's something you have to buy extra.

And why should Disney be expect to reward a person's ignorance and poor planning? It only encourages further abuse.

If someone is actively abusing the system, that's one thing. but a family being a 'bit late' cuz they were seated late to an ADR and had a slow server, or that were waiting for characters to visit their table having paid $150 for the privilege, is another - and I am sure Disney understands the difference and uses their discretion accordingly

Again, it is an abuse because then people will think that they can continue to do this because they believe that Disney has a "soft" enforcement policy and all they have to say is that they were delayed at a restaurant. And often these delays in restaurant are caused by guests themselves. Large parties, unruly children, special dietary request on the kitchen, the whole party not being together when time to be sat, etc. Disney can not be expected to make exceptions based on these things.

By the way, - you don't have to be stuck behind anyone arguing with the cast member. There's often crowd of people 'blocking the entrance' anyway or 'discussing fastpass return times' with the CM at the more popular attractions. Just say excuse me, wave your legit fastpass, and move past them and enjoy!

And if I wave my legit FP at the only CM working the attraction, how can they tell if it is valid?

 

[Twitter]

It just sounds to me that if there is an issue like an emergency or a delayed Disney "caused" situation, that exceptions are being made to Fast Pass enforcement.

I definitely think it is a little much to expect someone to "plan" to spend 2.5 hours for a meal or to "plan" for a 1.5 hour boat ride that should only take 30 minutes even on a busy day. (I have done that launch ride between HS and the World Showcase dozens of times, and NEVER took more than 45 minutes). That IS Disney's fault, plain and simple, and Disney should cover missed fastpass windows. While it is a pain to have to run to guest services, I don't think CM's at the rides should have to be put into the position of having to make judgement calls.

Walking takes only 15 minutes

 

[DavidNYC]

To be honest, I'm rooting for this change to be a disaster to the point where they reconsider the strategy of enforcement. I'm thrilled with reports of long FP lines. Math has already told me that this would have NO impact on SB lines.

Absoultely nothing can be at this point told about the effect of this new policy. Crowd levels are increasing due to increased spring break crowds and there's no way to attribute line length at any given time to anything specific. The math still holds that aggregate wait times should remain unchanged or only slightly different. The one caveat may be that if they are now adjusting how many fast passes they're actually issuing for a given time period, that could definitely affect the fast pass lines until they figure out the right number to keep the fast pass wait at its intended length.