But how much peril is that, really, to Disney?
A weeklong guest pays about $60 per ticket-day. I'm an AP holder living over 1000 miles from WDW and I'm paying less than $40 per ticket-day. A local with an AP pays even less.
A once-in-a-lifetime (or once-in-many-years) spends on souvenirs from their magical vacation. I didn't buy a single piece of merchandise on my last trip and only a pin on the one before. My friend who lives in Orlando might buy a couple things each year, though she likes to shop Character Outlet rather than paying retail in the parks.
A vacationer eats every meal on property (assuming an on-site stay) because it is convenient. I venture off property only very occasionally so I'm more "tourist" in that respect, but I have a TiW so Disney's still getting less for the table I'm taking up than for the table taken up by that first-timer. And locals and DVC owners are even less profitable - they go off-site for cheaper/better food, eat at home, or cook in their villas.
And finally, that once-in-a-lifetime traveler might pay rack rate, or might take advantage of whatever discount Disney is promoting for their stay. I get an AP rate that is usually cheaper than anything offered to the general public, the DVC owner pre-paid for accommodations at a greatly discounted rate, and the local goes home to sleep.
Meanwhile, those less-profitable groups - annual passholders, DVC members, and locals - know the classic FP system inside and out and know which rides are must-dos (and repeaters) and which can be skipped. That's allowed us to have the best possible park experience, often at the expense of less prepared visitors from that lucrative once-in-a-lifetime group who get stuck in the standby lines.
I would argue that from a business standpoint it makes a great deal of sense to alienate some of us loyal, frequent guests in order to fill a bigger percentage of their rooms and park capacity with more profitable, more free-spending once-in-a-lifetime types.
This person. She get's it.
For myself, and my wife we have our second upcoming trip. Last year I think we used FP once in 7 park days. And this was NOT because we "didn't know it's available", but because we were more interested in experiencing the ambiance of the parks, rather than commando style touring running from attraction to FP kiosk to attraction to fp kiosk, etc etc.
One thing we KNEW we needed fastpass for, which we were UNABLE to ride was TSMM. FP were gone by 10AM. We did not get one, and could not stomach the idea of waiting 2 hours+ in line for a 5 minute attraction.
I feel that the cumulative effect of no real restrictions on FP-, leading to it's "being used effectively" by commando park goers, actively worsens the experience of those who are not interested in commando style touring.
With the new system, I can schedule in advance, be in a general area of the park and enjoy being there on an approximate timeframe, ride my ride with minimal wait, then go ride Carousel of Progress. I can understand why this system, or more accurately REMOVAL of FP- would upset, or detract from the experience of those who feel that the value of their park experience is determined by how many rides they can hop on in a day, however, it works out well for me and the misses.
Hell, I can go to Typhoon Lagoon in the morning, bum around there until 3-4 o'clock, then head over to epcot and have a scheduled FASTPASS for SOARIN ready to be used when I walk in the gate. It's awesome!
I Really appreciate that Disney seems to be leveling the playing field.
and say "well, that doesn't sound fun at all. Never mind, we'll go somewhere we can have fun, don't have to plan every second and don't need to worry about what we're going to ride 60 days ahead. That's crazy!"
