FP Issue

[tfc3rid]

Anyone else comment on this one??

Here is one pet peeve I have of FastPass. Not the FP itself but on the Standby lines... Why can't they move the Standby lines any faster on attractrions where FP is accepted.

I rose Test TRack over the Holidays on waited Standby... The line was 45 minutes long when we got on it... However, the Standyby line never moved while FP hasd no one waiting (or a very small group). Yet the CM's never let more than 5 Standby riders go at a time... SOf course my wait turned into 90 minutes... Surely, there must be a way to improve wait times period by moving the Standby folks along as well as the FP folks... there will still be a longer wait but it will not be obscene.

 

[kilee]

Unfortunately, they need to keep the FP line moving. Otherwise the whole concept of FP would be blown right out the window. The plus side is that we all have the opportunity to use FP. I do know it's very frustrating though to be caught in a slow moving stand-by line when it seems like of FP holders are getting on. Maybe someday they'll come up with a more effcient system to handle this.

 

[DizBelle]

I think the OP is saying that his observed that no standby riders were being allowed further even though there was space and no fast pass riders to fill it.

 

[Carrieberry]

They have a guarantee to fast pass people that the max wait time is 20 minutes. The other reason I think is because the stand by or single riders line is only supposed to fill in the empty single seats in each car. Therefore it would take longer since not every car has extra single seats. Was it still faster than the regular line at least??

 

[seashoreCM]

Test Track specifically has a warning (on a sign) that the standby line may at times only have one party accepted per briefing room full of people.

There could be congestion beyond the briefing rooms causing a reduction in the number of people per roomful.

Otherwise the standby line should be moving when there is space available.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[tjkraz]

Test Track is a rotten ride to use as an example. Too many breakdowns. We've stood in the FastPass line, unmoving, for over 20 minutes on more than one occasion.

By and large, I think FastPass works very well. For Test Track, you never really know what you're going to get.

 

[tfc3rid]

OK, TT is a bad example but I'll go to Rock N' Roller Coaster.

The FP line there DOES move very nicely. Yet, the line for Standby riders moves very slowly. As I watched during my 60 minute wait there, the average number of folks from the Standby line let through was 5. That's just way too low. The purpose behind FP is for folks to get a FP so they can do something else... When they return, because there is only a finite number available for a time period, ther lines are GUARANTEED to be small... However, my beef is that Standby lines DON'T move regardless of how many FP folks there are... There must be a better way in dealing with it...

 

[Carrieberry]

I don't really understand why this is a question. The standby(single riders) line is only to fill in empty seats with single riders. Most people don't go to WDW alone, so they can only let single riders in as empty seats come up which probably just is not as often as you think. They will seat two parties of 3 on RRC filling up and even 3 rows, before they would sit two in one row, and one in another row and add a single rider. They do the standby/single rider line as a bypass to waiting in the regualr line, but they never guaranteed it to be any faster than the regular line. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. They do it as a favor to guests because then they might not have to wait as long, but it is really all luck since it depends on how many single seats become available at any given time. They don't need to improve it because they figure if you want to get on faster you would get a fastpass. The standby line is just to help the ride hold maximum capicity every run through it is not done as a special service to people riding alone, nor does it have any guarantee to get you on any faster and it shouldn't because that is what fastpass is for.

 

[tfc3rid]

The Standby line is not the Single Rider line... It IS the regular line for the ride.

In addition, technically FP is NOT faster in terms of getting to ride... It only delays you getting to ride... You can wait on line and at the same time have someone who gets a FP and by waiting you ride sooner...

 

[MarkLem]

OK, TT is a bad example but I'll go to Rock N' Roller Coaster.

The FP line there DOES move very nicely. Yet, the line for Standby riders moves very slowly.

This is exactly right.
Standby is just that: standby.
Think about if you go to the airport and fly standby. What does that mean? You wait until the end after all the ticketed flyers show up and board. The attendent checks what space is available, and then lets only that number of standby flyers go to fill the space. Same at Disney. At times the standby line moves fast if there are not FP riders. But If there are FP riders, then they have priority and the standby wait, and sometimes wait long. Plain and simple.

 

[tfc3rid]

OK, so then my question becomes, why do FP holders get perference... Their line is shorter to begin with... Those who actually WAIT in line should actually get the perference... Why does it matter?

 

[MarkLem]

OK, so then my question becomes, why do FP holders get perference... Their line is shorter to begin with... Those who actually WAIT in line should actually get the perference... Why does it matter?

I'm no expert but will give you my take on it. Over the recent years, one of the big complaints that Disney regularly heard was how long the wait was for the attractions. So they came up with a way to alleviate a wait of an hour or more. I might add that many more parks across the country are now utilizing this system or some version of it as well. People now have the option of getting an "advance" ticket for a ride. Anyone with a park admission can utilize this system. Their goal is a wait of 20 minutes or less. It has been a huge, huge success. If they did not let the FP people on at the rates that they do, the FP line would not be short, and waits of longer than 20 minutes will occur. It works and people love it. It won't be going away.

I'm sorry, but wait time in line does not count for anything except waisted time that could be used doing something else. Why not take advantage of the fastpass instead of waiting in the standby line?

 

[tjkraz]

In addition, technically FP is NOT faster in terms of getting to ride... It only delays you getting to ride... You can wait on line and at the same time have someone who gets a FP and by waiting you ride sooner...

If you look at the way it was conceived, you're right--the name probably is misleading. But the point to it is to minimize LINE wait times, freeing you up to do something else in the interim. When originally conceived, the Disney suits were convinced that folks would use all of that extra time spending money on food or souvenirs, turning it into a money maker. Whether that really happened or not is open to debate. But the reality is that if you're faced with a 30 min standby time for Peter Pan's Flight vs. a FastPass return time 90 minutes down the road, you have two choices:

1. Wait 30 minutes for PPF, then go do something else.
2. Get the FP for PPF, wait 10 minutes for It's a Small World, wait 15 minutes for Dumbo, grab some lunch, visit Ariel's Grotto and then use your FP for PPF.

We have always visited in the off-season. The longest I have waited for ANY ride in the last 3 years was 25 minutes for Astro Orbiter. If we see a ride wait time of more than 15 minutes for ANY FastPass attraction, we'll immediately grab a FP and come back later. To me, any unnecessary time spent waiting in lines is wasted time.

You probably have some valid points regarding FastPass. My guess is that the popularity of the program has lead to Disney handing out more FastPass tickets for any given timeframe. All things being equal, that means that the folks who choose to go Stand By will wait longer as the FP holders pass them in line. At the very least, you have to admit that they warn you how long the wait time might be before you even choose to wait in line. Granted those wait times aren't always 100% accurate depending upon recent guest influx. But just looking at the size of the queue, you can usually tell if it's going to be a 10 minute wait or a 45 minute wait.

 

[tfc3rid]

I do get FP'es but was just very curious why the Standby lines move so slowly. I mean, for TT, there are 3 lines, FP, Standby and Single Riders...

There are also 3 roms for the 'briefing'... Well, CM's could utilize 2 rooms for FP (to keep it moving) and 1 room for Standby riders...

Similarly for something like Rock n Roller Coaster, the CM's could take 1 whole group of FP'ers for briefing and then 1 whole gruoup of Standby folks... that way, the FP line moves well... And the Standby lines moves as well...

 

[lllovell]

Honestly, unless the ride has broken down, I have NEVER waited even 20 minutes for a fast pass attraction. I have however gotten into lines like Buzz and been rather frustrated that an equal number of people are not allowed on (or even 75% to 25% it appears to me) when there is no backup in the fastpass line. I do see the CMs counting so there is some kind of formula at work here. I am sure most of the issue comes from people like me who would be rather grumpy to wait in a fast pass line for 20 minutes at this point, since I am so spoiled by short waits. i.e. - the name "fast pass" indicates quickly moving lines and when I get one, that is what I expect. I TRY to remember when I choose NOT to get a fast pass that it is just someone else's turn to ride quickly.

My fast pass peeve is different. Why oh WHY can't people whose time is NOT up yet move aside and not block the entrance to the fast pass return line? Ugh. We always go and do something else in between and are rarely standing around watching the minutes tick tock on by, but even if we were, I would stand off to the side or across the way from the fast pass return entrance. GGRRRRR Common courtesy people!

 

[tfc3rid]

Much agreed... That is a HUGE problem in terms of safety... People standing in front of the line.... There is a ONE HOUR window in which to ride...

however, there seems to be a formula for letting Standby folks on and that doesn't seem right... Things could be equal...

 

[paigevz]

I took my son to Space Mountain with a fastpass.........we had 5 minutes left on the pass. There was a HUGE line right in front of the fastpass return...........the way it is queued, you actually couldn't tell for a minute that they weren't waiting to be let in.............but as we walked up, I just thought I'd go to the front to ask what was going on.........maybe it had broken down or something. When we got up there, I saw the CM wasn't letting these people through.........he looked at our passes and let us through.........all these people were waiting for the next window, which apparently started when ours was up. Now, if I hadn't taken that initiative, and just quietly stood in line, our window would've been over by the time we got up to the CM. They really should tell them to stand aside to wait.

 

[Magickndm]

however, there seems to be a formula for letting Standby folks on and that doesn't seem right... Things could be equal...

Then why even have FP? It's called Fast pass so that you can get thru the line faster.

 

[DebbieB]

OK, so then my question becomes, why do FP holders get perference... Their line is shorter to begin with... Those who actually WAIT in line should actually get the perference... Why does it matter?

That's the whole concept of fastpass. Get the ticket and skip the line. Fastpass is available to everyone, it's not like you have to pay for it or be staying at a certain place like Universal's system. My rule is anytime a standby is more than 20 minutes, I get a fastpass. I go in the offseason, so long fastpass times aren't a problem, it's rarely more than an hour or so away.

 

[tfc3rid]

I understand the feeling behind FP... However, yes, no matter what you will move in the FP lines because there are a limited number of FP's available for a given period of time... So I am not saying the you should make the FP folks wait, it is just that Standby line riders should not be held when there are not a lot of FP'ers waiting...