From my visit 3/2 - 3/7 .... Does FP even exist anymore??

[cindyfan]

So, from my visit this month and from lots of posts I am reading on boards....
Does Fast Pass even exist anymore? Or is it simply a shorter Stand By line??
I thought I had picked a quieter time of year to visit..... wanted to go to Flower and Garden too...
So first week of March.... good.... right? NOT so much.
I was very surprised at the crowds.
I ended up not riding many things..... even if I had a FP+ because the waits were just not worth it. And there's no way to be able to do anywhere near as much as we used to be able to accomplish in past trips.
I had FP+ for both BTMRR and 7DMT and skipped both because the waits were over 35 minutes.... actually the FP+ wait for 7DMT was looking to hit one hour!! The stand by was 120 minutes. When I asked the CM if the ride had been down, she simply replied that this was pretty normal!!!!!
REALLY???!!!??? What ever happen to the 10 minute FP waits?
At AK the FP+ wait was 15 minutes for EE. and to get into Lion King.... FP+ really was a waste as you needed to stand in line just as long as the stand by lines! For the safari.... FP+ was 25 minutes vs. 1 hour stand by.
Seriously..... I think Disney took a step backwards with the FP+.

 

[Amelia :)]

"Or is it simply just a shorter standby line?".
Yes that's exactly what it is. FP doesn't mean no queue at all.

 

[KimBean]

I can see on Touring Plans that your experience is correct. Crowds were higher than expected. I think the problem is you have 1 week that is low and the next week VERY high. So if some of those people change their plans just a little earlier than closer to High than low. If you pick a week that more a low time, with low on either side of it you will have a more stable situation.

I do not think your assessment of FP+ is true though. Correlation is not causation. We went in 2014 using FP+. Beginning of week was super low (2) and end was super high (9), few days before Christmas. The wait times fluctuated based on crowds not based on FP+ since that was equal. Beginning of week we had FP's we didn't use because there was no wait in standby. End of week even with FP there was a wait. FP+ at Lion King is a waste. That's okay because you need to use that one for ROL now. LOL!

 

[cindyfan]

"Or is it simply just a shorter standby line?".
Yes that's exactly what it is. FP doesn't mean no queue at all.

I have always understood that it doesn't mean "no queue" but ..... it's definitely not "Fast" either! Maybe renaming it to Stand By very slow and Stand by slow???

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't think anyone expects instant access with fastpass. But a 30 minute wait is a big difference from the 5 to 10 minute waits many of us are used to.

 

[cindyfan]

My point is that the now FP+ used to actually be much faster when it was still FP. But now it seems only slightly faster.

 

[Sparkly]

I don't think anyone expects instant access with fastpass. But a 30 minute wait is a big difference from the 5 to 10 minute waits many of us are used to.

But at the same time it also depends what time of year you go- it's been extraordinarily busy lately so FP return times are longer, whereas quiet times you'll get the 5-10 min return times. I've personally never waited more then about 15, but we usually go in Feb. (and March one time)

 

[cindyfan]

But at the same time it also depends what time of year you go- it's been extraordinarily busy lately so FP return times are longer, whereas quiet times you'll get the 5-10 min return times. I've personally never waited more then about 15, but we usually go in Feb. (and March one time)

Yes, of course time of year makes a difference. I have been many times during busy times.... spring break, July 4th, holiday weekends, etc...... and the FP+ this trip were the worst I've ever seen! And it wasn't any of these cases. It was a week before some spring breaks. I really think the FP+ is headed in the wrong direction.... WDW is becoming a huge "let's all wait in line for hours and hours to experience 15 minutes of fun"!

 

[mom2rtk]

But at the same time it also depends what time of year you go- it's been extraordinarily busy lately so FP return times are longer, whereas quiet times you'll get the 5-10 min return times. I've personally never waited more then about 15, but we usually go in Feb. (and March one time)

Disney knows how many people can get through each line per hour. Those FP lines are only slower if 1) they choose to issue more FPs or 2) they change their FP to standby ratio.

 

[Sparkly]

Yes, of course time of year makes a difference. I have been many times during busy times.... spring break, July 4th, holiday weekends, etc...... and the FP+ this trip were the worst I've ever seen! And it wasn't any of these cases. It was a week before some spring breaks. I really think the FP+ is headed in the wrong direction.... WDW is becoming a huge "let's all wait in line for hours and hours to experience 15 minutes of fun"!

Yes, that's theme parks for you. I find FP usually helps a little though, I would rather wait 30 mins of a 120 min line then 120 mins of a 120 mins line.

 

[Suzanne74]

Disney knows how many people can get through each line per hour. Those FP lines are only slower if 1) they choose to issue more FPs or 2) they change their FP to standby ratio.

I agree. It shouldn't matter how many people are inside the park. Unless the ride was down, it shouldn't matter much. My guess is they change the ratio of who they let in when the line is 2hrs long.

And really, who waits in a 2hr line?

 

[perditax]

Yes, of course time of year makes a difference. I have been many times during busy times.... spring break, July 4th, holiday weekends, etc...... and the FP+ this trip were the worst I've ever seen! And it wasn't any of these cases. It was a week before some spring breaks. I really think the FP+ is headed in the wrong direction.... WDW is becoming a huge "let's all wait in line for hours and hours to experience 15 minutes of fun"!

The sad thing is, most of the headliners last far, far less than 15 minutes. Aren't the coasters maybe 2-3 minutes each?

 

[CAS239]

If you decided not to ride a ride, then how would you know how long the wait would be for the FP line?? FP line for 7dmt looking to hit 1 hour?? Either someone was severely exaggerating to you or a CM didn't know what they were talking about.

Of course FP lines aren't a 0 wait, but they're never a long wait. 99% of the rides at Disney, with the FP line you get on the ride in 1-15 min.

You did go during a busy time with some on spring break and during a festival. But really no FP lines should be more than 30 min

 

[soniam]

The FP lines usually look really bad at the entrance near the reader. There's usually someone that doesn't know how to use the reader, doesn't understand what FP+ is, or is in some special group or something. I often see backups there that make the FP+ lines look really long, when in fact, there's probably less than 20 people ahead of them in line inside. 7DMT is particularly bad, because you can't see inside. There also could be ride break downs that cause issues in all lines.

If you have a good touring plan and hit rope drop, you can still get a lot done. This is coming from someone who goes during Spring Break, Summer, and around xmas including New Years Eve. So, we have seen busy times and have always been able to do all or most of the rides that we wanted.

I don't think March is a slow time at all anymore. Many schools have Spring Break then. Plus, people are saying that there really is no "slow" time anymore.

 

[4GoofyCrew]

At AK the FP+ wait was 15 minutes for EE. and to get into Lion King.... FP+ really was a waste as you needed to stand in line just as long as the stand by lines!

We have FP for Lion King next week. I thought that gained you access to a separate line and seating area? Not so? If we aren't going to gain anything, I'd rather use one elsewhere.

 

[soniam]

We have FP for Lion King next week. I thought that gained you access to a separate line and seating area? Not so? If we aren't going to gain anything, I'd rather use one elsewhere.

You do get a separate line and seating area. However, people start lining up for the FP area early, like 20-30 minutes early I think. Having the FP and arriving in the FP+ window guarantees you a seat. Sometimes there are not many standby that get in. However, I think you usually can get in on standby currently, even during fairly busy times. Once Pandora opens, that could all be out the window.

 

[GotLabradors]

Maybe more people using the new FP+ system since it's done online versus running from ride to ride to pick up the old paper fast passes from the ticket machines. This would make the FP+ lines longer. Our last trip was at the end of September in 2015 and we utilized FP+. The FP+ lines were never more than a 15 minute wait.

 

[CAS239]

We have FP for Lion King next week. I thought that gained you access to a separate line and seating area? Not so? If we aren't going to gain anything, I'd rather use one elsewhere.

You do get in before standby and you are seated in a different section. Each section has an equal view so that's not a big deal. We also show up early because I like to sit in the very back row so I have a bar to lean against.

Fast pass line is completely covered aswhere standby is mostly outside. This came in useful for us about a year or two ago when we were waiting in the FP line and it started raining.

The Lion King FP isn't THAT useful. I don't think any show FP is useful now that Lights Motors Action is gone, but if you don't have anything else you want to FP, then it doesn't hurt.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

As you know it has never meant that you skip the line entirely.
It has always meant a shorter wait.
With that said I have never waited more than a few minutes in a FP+ line.
Also I heard that the last few days of February into the first week of March FP+ "went down" a few times really messing with the wait times. Perhaps that unfortunately occurred around when you were heading to a FP+ attraction?
To me waiting for a little bit in a FP+ line would not be cause for getting upset.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My point is that the now FP+ used to actually be much faster when it was still FP. But now it seems only slightly faster.

Completely the opposite of my experience.
I guess my thought is if you're no longer getting anything out of it then maybe a different destination is in order.