FP+ (No More Paper Fastpasses)

[Angel Ariel]

Yep it is...and the DLR change will be different than the change at WDW, which IMO is a good change for DLR

 

[Kender]

Until it's officially announced, I will take any rumor with a large helping of salt and continue to express to the Powers That Be my opinion on the system as is, what I think could improve it, and what I think would be detrimental to the park.

 

[AZMermaid]

I just saw on Mouseplanet that FP is coming to Matterhorn and Pirates. I didn't know those were coming. It does make sense if they are bringing over FP+.

I am in the boat that I hope it is same day/in park only. Otherwise I feel the system will be overloaded by locals who *might* be stopping by later.

 

[mom2rtk]

I just saw on Mouseplanet that FP is coming to Matterhorn and Pirates. I didn't know those were coming. It does make sense if they are bringing over FP+.

I am in the boat that I hope it is same day/in park only. Otherwise I feel the system will be overloaded by locals who *might* be stopping by later.

Ruh roh.

I can't say I'm shocked though. I never thought they had enough FP inventory for a new system. Even if they limit it to same day, I think the easier they make it, the more usage it will get.

 

[GatorChris]

I just saw on Mouseplanet that FP is coming to Matterhorn and Pirates. I didn't know those were coming. It does make sense if they are bringing over FP+.

I saw that, too. Let's think this through. For those of you who see DL on a weekend or a busy summer day/holiday, where does the POTC line usually end up? That's right - all over the walkway and even onto the bridge. So let's introduce FP+, take out one line and turn the other 30-40 minute line into a 60+ minute line. The new POTC line should now push into Hungry Bear Restauarant.

As for the Matterhorn, putting in a FP line will now make the standby go from 30-45 minutes to 45-60 minutes. That line already wraps around the whole friggin mountain. Will the line now be forced to spill into the parade route near Alice? Or will it just double back and cause the walkway between the Matterhorn and Nemo to be an even tighter squeeze? Sorry, DL this move just doesn't make sense.

Vote no for FP+ at DL.

 

[mom2rtk]

I saw that, too. Let's think this through. For those of you who see DL on a weekend or a busy summer day/holiday, where does the POTC line usually end up? That's right - all over the walkway and even onto the bridge. So let's introduce FP+, take out one line and turn the other 30-40 minute line into a 60+ minute line. The new POTC line should now push into Hungry Bear Restauarant.

As for the Matterhorn, putting in a FP line will now make the standby go from 30-45 minutes to 45-60 minutes. That line already wraps around the whole friggin mountain. Will the line now be forced to spill into the parade route near Alice? Or will it just double back and cause the walkway between the Matterhorn and Nemo to be an even tighter squeeze? Sorry, DL this move just doesn't make sense.

Vote no for FP+ at DL.

That was my first thought as well. Where are those lines going to go?

When I want to ride Matterhorn and the FPs are gone and my choice is a 60 minute line, that's where I typically decide I have to pass.

 

[agamble]

Yeah, I read this this morning too. I wondered about the lines for Pirates, he mentions in the article that it was previously available for pirates though. So I wondered if anyone remembered what it was like when it had FP and how they did the lines for the queue. It does seem like it will cause a back up. I think it will be way worse than Matterhorn, especially since Pirates is in such a congested area. At least Matterhorn is out of the way. I really hope the Matterhorn FP line starts in the same place where child swap does, just outside the covered area. That wouldn't be too hard. It will probably increase the wait. But then again that absorbs people right? Is it this thread that has the math showing the numbers of how many people in line, etc.?

I also noticed the article said Autopia FP will be removed. I know they haven't been used for months, but I thought it was strange as they need more rides with FP for FP+. Will we also get FP for Toy Story, Mater's, Luigi's or anything at DCA? The only thing that really has a longer wait time is Toy Story, but FP would likely just make the problem worse. Not that I'd mind, as we only ride it early in the mornings. So FP option would allow us to ride it at another time if we wanted.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Can someone explain to my why FP+ makes standby longer? I noticed that has been the case at WDW but I don't really understand why that happens.

 

[mom2rtk]

Can someone explain to my why FP+ makes standby longer? I noticed that has been the case at WDW but I don't really understand why that happens.

Fastpass is prioritized over standby. It can't help but make the standby line go much slower.

 

[sheetz]

Any type of FP makes standby longer because you're loading both standby and FP guests. If the ride doesn't have FP only standbys get loaded.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Ah. Thanks. That makes sense.

We would always walk on to Spaceship Earth at Epcot but I had heard since FP+ it almost always has a line now. I do NOT want that happening to rides at Disneyland. Ugh.

 

[paintingoncelluloid]

I also find it confusing that increased standby line times are being blamed on FP+. I understand that when there are two queues loading, with the FP line being given priority, then the standby line will necessarily wait at certain points to allow clumps from that shorter line to go ahead. But if there were only one queue, then wouldn't all of the people in the FP line also be in the standby line, which would result in roughly the same wait time overall?

Also, because this piqued my curiosity, I looked up historical attendance data for WDW (this table is aggregated data from the Themed Entertainment Association's annual reports). According to that table, between 2011 (pre-FP+) and 2014 (FP+ implemented), yearly attendance at the Magic Kingdom alone rose by more than two million people. That is an averaged attendance increase of more than 5,000 people per day in the MK. Isn't that a more likely explanation for increased wait times?

 

[Angel Ariel]

I also find it confusing that increased standby line times are being blamed on FP+. I understand that when there are two queues loading, with the FP line being given priority, then the standby line will necessarily wait at certain points to allow clumps from that shorter line to go ahead. But if there were only one queue, then wouldn't all of the people in the FP line also be in the standby line, which would result in roughly the same wait time overall?

Also, because this piqued my curiosity, I looked up historical attendance data for WDW (this table is aggregated data from the Themed Entertainment Association's annual reports). According to that table, between 2011 (pre-FP+) and 2014 (FP+ implemented), yearly attendance at the Magic Kingdom alone rose by more than two million people. That is an averaged attendance increase of more than 5,000 people per day in the MK. Isn't that a more likely explanation for increased wait times?

Josh at EasyWDW and TouringPlans have both done extensive research and posts to show the impact FP+ has had on crowds. Their reports also took attendance into account.

 

[agamble]

FP does increase wait times, but how much is variable and questionable. A lot comes down to how long people are willing to wait. We've never done standy on RSR because we won't wait that long.

As people pull a FP for one ride they may be more willing to wait a little longer in another line while waiting their turn. We don't like to wait long for rides, but if we feel like that 40 minutes is getting us on two rides (one standby and one FP) we are more likely to wait in the longer line.

 

[paintingoncelluloid]

Josh at EasyWDW and TouringPlans have both done extensive research and posts to show the impact FP+ has had on crowds. Their reports also took attendance into account.

I'd love to read that! Do you happen to have a link?

 

[T0rrent]

People blaming FP & FP+ for extended standby times obviously don't remember the 3+ hour long lines for marquee rides like Splash Mountain in the days prior to fastpass.

 

[auntiegem]

I'm disappointed that the days of spur-of-the-moment POTC rides will most likely be gone. Granted, we usually go during slower times of the year--on purpose--so long POTC lines aren't the norm when we go. With FP+ being added to it, if what has happened at WDW holds true here, the standby line will be long in the offseason as well. Adding FP+ to rides that really don't need it can only effect the total number of rides we go on per day, devaluing our Disney experience, IMO. Sad, because we really love the DLR parks.

 

[auntiegem]

People blaming FP & FP+ for extended standby times obviously don't remember the 3+ hour long lines for marquee rides like Splash Mountain in the days prior to fastpass.

For me, the problem comes when they add FP+ to rides that don't really need it, inflating the standby wait times unnecessarily. If I now can only ride a ride within a reasonable time by having a fast pass, and I'm limited to the number of fast passes I can hold--either due to the time restriction or because they have run out--the value of my Disney experience goes way down in my view.

Keep FP(+) on rides that currently have them, but don't start down the path of adding other rides to the FP lineup. Who knows where they will stop.

 

[mom2rtk]

People blaming FP & FP+ for extended standby times obviously don't remember the 3+ hour long lines for marquee rides like Splash Mountain in the days prior to fastpass.

I don't because I always rode by FP. Multiple times a day if desired.

 

[hjgaus]

What kind of system would you prefer to use for NO WAIT TIME ON ANY RIDE?

1. PAY EXTRA for - SKIP THE LINE (just as Universal Studios offers)

2. Fast Pass / Fast Pass + ( only way available at DL & WDW )