How strictly enforced is the FastPass return time?

[UNCFanatik]

I know, and I agree. What makes me uncomfortable is criteria inconsistency. I won't rely on the GP, but I do have a newly potty trained girl and would be nice to have a firm rule to follow.

Guests should be informed in which situations that period can be used, so the system is fair to everybody.

It seems that the biggest problems arise from situations where CMs have to judge by themselves. Not saying it is right or wrong, but the result varies from CM to CM.

Mx

There is a firm rule to follow. Its the time frame printed on the ticket. Return between those times and there will not be an issue.

Guests were never widely informed of FP late usage. Was that fair to everybody?

 

[Luvchefmic]

Wonder if he was 5 minutes late past the 15 minute grace period, or 5 minutes late past the posted time? Maybe he had a right to yell! TDBIASWS.

Sorry I disagree whether he was right or wrong he has no right to yell at a CM or anyone else Besides setting a crappy example for his kids why should staff & other guests be subjected to his temper tantrum ? This type thinks the world revolves around them & the hell with everyone else

 

[goofyernmost]

I know, and I agree. What makes me uncomfortable is criteria inconsistency. I won't rely on the GP, but I do have a newly potty trained girl and would be nice to have a firm rule to follow.

Guests should be informed in which situations that period can be used, so the system is fair to everybody.

It seems that the biggest problems arise from situations where CMs have to judge by themselves. Not saying it is right or wrong, but the result varies from CM to CM.

Mx

This inconsistency is why I was irritated at EE. When a waiter in MK told us that a restaurant receipt will get us in late (I did not ask--she volunteered it) and when a CM at Test Track told the guy in front of me that a restaurant receipt would get him in late for a Test Track FP, I would just assume the same rule would apply everywhere. But apparently the "rules" vary.

There is a firm rule to follow. Its the time frame printed on the ticket. Return between those times and there will not be an issue.

Guests were never widely informed of FP late usage. Was that fair to everybody?

That is so true! Get back and plan within the window and you will have no problems at all. You won't have to guess about whether or not they will let you on and you can relax during your vacation. A newly potty trained child works the same if you follow the window then if you rely on a possible Grace Period.

GP's are not there to give you a free flowing extra 15 minutes, it's there to possibly help you if you are unavoidably detained. That can happen but if you plan your time to include GP's you are quite possibly going to be disappointed and it would be no ones fault but your own.

 

[PeterPanic]

That is so true! Get back and plan within the window and you will have no problems at all. You won't have to guess about whether or not they will let you on and you can relax during your vacation. A newly potty trained child works the same if you follow the window then if you rely on a possible Grace Period.

GP's are not there to give you a free flowing extra 15 minutes, it's there to possibly help you if you are unavoidably detained. That can happen but if you plan your time to include GP's you are quite possibly going to be disappointed and it would be no ones fault but your own.

Could not agree more. If your window says to return between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM return during that time. If it makes it easier, target your time as close to the window opening as possible. So if it's 10 then head back as close to 10 as you can. Then you have almost a whole hour before the window closes and unexpected things will probably not be a problem. More energy and stress is used up trying to "beat the system" then a logical person should put themselves through. It is in the control of the individual and the individual should try and stop assigning blame to Disney because they want to live on the edge. When you live on the edge, you sometimes fall off.

 

[skater]

Yesterday we were at AK.

When we tried to ride EE first thing in the am, it was down. CMs were encouraging people to grab FPs. So we did. Ours had a 10:10-11:10 return.

We had an ADR at Tusker House but I had been told by CMs in MK and Epcot that if you had a receipt from a restaurant, they would let you in late. I thought we might make it back, but figured if we didn't, we'd be close, and could show our receipt from TH.

We got back to ED at 11:35. They would not let us in. The CM was actually quite rude. She said she wished CMs in other parks should not volunteer the late arrival with a receipt thing. She also said "it's on you if you get a FP during a time you have a dining reservation." When I said the only reason we got a FP in the first place was because the ride was down, she said, "It was only down for 15 minutes today."

She then said we could wait and she would "call someone" about letting us in. Then a few moments later (before calling anyone), she decided because it was only 3 of us (my kids actually), she would give them a baby swap pass to use. So they did, and they rode.

So, basically she "punished" you for being late by treating you rudely. Then, she let you in anyway. This new policy provides less quality customer service IMO. I'm not sure of the solution and I'm sure my opinion on it differs from many others' opinions anyway. It just takes away some of the warm fuzzies for me . Its inconsistent, it turns CM's into police officers, and also puts them in a bad position. It reminds me of the year we went and showed up late to Soarin'. The CM took my tickets and ripped them up in front of me (I would have put them in my scrapbook if I couldn't use them). She was rude and in this case, enjoyed the power of saying no to us. Most CM's are great and they're a big part of the reason we go back as often as possible. But a few will enjoy this "power" and some guests will feel the impact of it.

Also, if sometimes its okay to show up late with a restaurant receipt and sometimes its not, I find that frustrating. If things take longer than expected at lunch, but I'm told by one CM its okay, then I rush to the other side of the park with my fp and I'm told no its not okay by another cm, I'm going to be a little upset. Yes, I could have not taken the fp - but if someone who represents Disney tells me it will work out, why wouldn't I be upset if it doesn't? And when I'm making the decision right before lunch to grab or not grab that fp, I will probably be inclined to give it a try - and its very frustrating to me to have to make those kind of choices. It was so easy for so long. I know this is controversial with some of you, but I really miss the ease and low stress of the old policy. I hope at least, that they make this new system work better than it sounds like it will. I want Disney to be relaxing and easy again !

 

[Kona65]

Sorry I disagree whether he was right or wrong he has no right to yell at a CM or anyone else Besides setting a crappy example for his kids why should staff & other guests be subjected to his temper tantrum ? This type thinks the world revolves around them & the hell with everyone else

Starting to see more and more of this at Disney. Just not the same anymore.TDBIASWS.

 

[nkereina]

This whole thread and the others like it amazes me. In all the years we have been going and utilizing fast passes, I never knew they would actually let you on if you were late. From what I read here, folks depended on it. I have been let on a few minutes early occasionally, but never even tried getting on late. If you could get on at anytime after, what was the point of the fast pass? They were designed to spread out the traffic. Without the times being honored, what's the point.

I was one who depended on it because I never knew it any other way. I knew we could return late because of the boards. On our first trip, what worked best for us was going at RD, riding stand by and collecting FPs, breaking at lunch, and then returning to the same park at night to use FPs from the morning. Obviously this worked well because we were able to get in the FP line when stand by lines were long at night, even though our window had long expired. No CM ever batted an eye about it back then. But I'm not complaining, we will adjust to the enforcement now and are fine with it. I'm just explaining so you can see the other side to this, why people did it. And IMO, if people returned to the FP line at all hours of the day, it helped spread out the traffic even more.