I think Disney should start enforcing end times on fastpasses

[photo_chick]

Then write Disney and let them know as they obviously disagree.

LOL... I think you should go back and read what the OP changed thier original post to say.

 

[Wadecool]

The OP had it right.

Which time did he have it right? He's gone back and changed his original post after the fact.

 

[nytimez]

Can threads kill themselves? Because this one is looking a little suicidal.

 

[Wadecool]

Can threads kill themselves? Because this one is looking a little suicidal.

It is definitely on life support at this point. Quick, somebody start a thread about 10 year olds on strollers...

 

[juliebug1997]

It is definitely on life support at this point. Quick, somebody start a thread about 10 year olds on strollers...

Someone will. You know it.

 

[iheartdisney]

It is definitely on life support at this point. Quick, somebody start a thread about 10 year olds on strollers...

Or yet another variation of place holding in line. That will clear out some of the riff raff

 

[YodaGirl]

It is definitely on life support at this point. Quick, somebody start a thread about 10 year olds on strollers...

What if I'm running late for my FP return due to parking my 10 yr old's stroller?

Can the rest of the family go ahead and get in the FP line while I park the stroller? After I park the stroller, I can then get in the FP line and catch up with my family. This way, only one of us is using a late FP.

 

[nytimez]

What if I'm running late for my FP return due to parking my 10 yr old's stroller?

Can the rest of the family go ahead and get in the FP line while I park the stroller? After I park the stroller, I can then get in the FP line and catch up with my family. This way, only one of us is using a late FP.

Only if you stop to refill your 1983 mug on the way.

 

[Always Dream]

Just to chime in...

I love being able to use fastpasses late. I think that not allowing guests to use FPs late would cause a lot of headaches.

I also think that while the effect is minimal, latecomers may affect wait times. My reasoning is this (and someone please explain to me if I'm wrong!): A certain number of FPs are given out for each hour-long return time, corresponding to the hours of the park. If people use their fastpass late, that means more people have to go through per hour in the later hours of the day than in the earlier hours of the day. This could make the line longer, but in my experience CM's just stop the standby line completely to get the FP line moving. Thus I think maybe there would be a bit of an increase in the standby wait time?

 

[nytimez]

Just to chime in...

I love being able to use fastpasses late. I think that not allowing guests to use FPs late would cause a lot of headaches.

I also think that while the effect is minimal, latecomers may affect wait times. My reasoning is this (and someone please explain to me if I'm wrong!): A certain number of FPs are given out for each hour-long return time, corresponding to the hours of the park. If people use their fastpass late, that means more people have to go through per hour in the later hours of the day than in the earlier hours of the day. This could make the line longer, but in my experience CM's just stop the standby line completely to get the FP line moving. Thus I think maybe there would be a bit of an increase in the standby wait time?

No. Unless the lines actually completely emptied at some point, a body in line is a body in line and everyone who comes after it still has to come after it. Pure physics at work.

If you ride standby at 5:30, it doesn't matter if I arrived for my fastpass at 2 or just before you at 5:29 -- the effect on you is the same. Even if you didn't see me at 2, everyone who was in line behind me is pushed back by one person.

Unless the line is completely empty at some point in the day, the net effect will continue to push everyone back by one person until you arrive at 5:30. So whether you see me at 5:29 or don't see me if I arrive at 2, the impact on you is precisely the same.

 

[LBIJim]

When people use their fastpasses later it means that standby line went a little faster.You are actually just letting people ride ahead of you when you return late. .

Right. Late fast pass returners are doing a favor to many standby guests because they're in essense "punishing" themselves by returning late.

Jim

 

[seashoreCM]

It can be argued that when lots of people use their fastpasses late then the total number of people ahead of you, both virtually and actually, could be greater when you get in the standby line late in the day.

If people all use their fastpasses "on time" the standby wait throughout the day will be X minutes and on average Y people will actually join the standby line each hour. You see, many people decide whether to join the line at all based on the posted wait time at the entrance.

Whereas if lots of people delay using their fastpasses, the standby waits will tend to drop below X minutes and more people in total will actually join the standby line bringing the posted standby wait back to X minutes.

Actually the above really should not concern us. Instead, when I see X minutes on the sign outside the standby line, I should be able to count on it as being reasonably truthful. It would be fitting that, if the wait turns out to be running much longer than posted, I should be able to leave the line and get some credit for the time I waited (for example a fastpass to something else, or granted (adj) re-entry if I needed a bathroom break due to the wait and the park closed before I got back).

Unfortunately a longer than average standby wait for "your last ride" should not be part of the reasoning behind shooting to be back at your resort an hour before your Magical Express bus to the airport. You still need to abandon the line and the ride in order to head for the exit and stay on the plan to be back at your resort that hour in advance.

 

[dolphindan1]

P.S. My last trip, I waited about 30 minutes in the FP line for Soarin. And it was about 10:30, too early for late returnees to be a factor.

The problem with Soarin is that you load the ride...then while the ride is going the CMs start filling each row for the next ride...and the CM at the booth starts shoving people in till its full...so now people are waiting on both sides at the both for the ride to empty and everyone to move up...its not like Winnie the pooh that steady loads...if you walk the FP line to the last booth...and you are stopped at that point you can still easily have a 30 minute wait has you will have to wait several pre-shows and ride cycles before you actually get on the ride....the FP wait is very deceiving for Soarin

 

[nytimez]

It can be argued that when lots of people use their fastpasses late then the total number of people ahead of you, both virtually and actually, could be greater when you get in the standby line late in the day.

If people all use their fastpasses "on time" the standby wait throughout the day will be X minutes and on average Y people will actually join the standby line each hour. You see, many people decide whether to join the line at all based on the posted wait time at the entrance.

Whereas if lots of people delay using their fastpasses, the standby waits will tend to drop below X minutes and more people in total will actually join the standby line bringing the posted standby wait back to X minutes.

Actually the above really should not concern us. Instead, when I see X minutes on the sign outside the standby line, I should be able to count on it as being reasonably truthful. It would be fitting that, if the wait turns out to be running much longer than posted, I should be able to leave the line and get some credit for the time I waited (for example a fastpass to something else, or granted (adj) re-entry if I needed a bathroom break due to the wait and the park closed before I got back).

Unfortunately a longer than average standby wait for "your last ride" should not be part of the reasoning behind shooting to be back at your resort an hour before your Magical Express bus to the airport. You still need to abandon the line and the ride in order to head for the exit and stay on the plan to be back at your resort that hour in advance.

No, it can't. There are no virtual people. They're all there. Whether they came three hours ahead of you or 2 seconds ahead of you they were still ahead of you and the impact on the standby line is precisely the same. It will not change the standby wait times, therefore it will not convince more or less people to join/not join the line.

Disney limits the number of Fastpasses. They know precisely how those fastpasses and their distribution will impact the standby lines throughout the day. All this is taken into consideration when they calculate the number of fastpasses to distribute and how to space them out.

 

[morethananyonex]

Would all of you who think FP's should not be allowed to be used late have a problem with someone in the stand by line stepping aside and allowing the line to move ahead of them, then eventually moving again themselves? That's exactly what late FPers are doing, they're letting you ahead of them in line until they decide to move again.

IMO, the people who have a problem with it are coming from an emotional place whereas the ones who don't are coming from a logical standpoint. It's not fun to see people moving ahead of you, but reality is your wait time has not changed, someone else simply rode in their place.

 

[nytimez]

Would all of you who think FP's should not be allowed to be used late have a problem with someone in the stand by line stepping aside and allowing the line to move ahead of them, then eventually moving again themselves? That's exactly what late FPers are doing, they're letting you ahead of them in line until they decide to move again.

IMO, the people who have a problem with it are coming from an emotional place whereas the ones who don't are coming from a logical standpoint. It's not fun to see people moving ahead of you, but reality is your wait time has not changed, someone else simply rode in their place.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

The OP had it right.

LOL... I think you should go back and read what the OP changed thier original post to say.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I am not a mind reader.

I had read the OP's changed first post prior to my response. However, when I read your 5 word post, you used the word "had" - as in past tense. As the OP had not changed the title of this thread, your choice of wording implied to me that your post was referring to the OP's reason for starting this thread in that you believe that "Disney should start enforcing end times on fastpasses".

If you had said "The OP has it right." I may have better understood that your cryptic message meant that you think the thread should die. It will eventually fade away, but it will continue to be futile to attempt to convince DIS board users of this Disney policy of accepting "late" FP's to voluntarily stop following that policy. Simultatenous with this thread is another thread telling DISers about an amazing tip to use FP's beyond the published window on the front of their FP. It's like the story about the boy trying to plug a hole in the dike with his finger. Once one leak is stopped, 5 more sprout up.

 

[Reddog1134]

No, it can't. There are no virtual people. They're all there. Whether they came three hours ahead of you or 2 seconds ahead of you they were still ahead of you and the impact on the standby line is precisely the same. It will not change the standby wait times, therefore it will not convince more or less people to join/not join the line.

Disney limits the number of Fastpasses. They know precisely how those fastpasses and their distribution will impact the standby lines throughout the day. All this is taken into consideration when they calculate the number of fastpasses to distribute and how to space them out.

I think what the PP was trying to say was when they run that red card through the standby line to determine how long the wait is, they don't consider people returning with late FPs. So if the sign says 30 mins but then 10 minutes worth of late FPs get in line, your wait is now 40 minutes.

However, I don't think they consider ANY FP returns when they calculate the wait time so it's kind of a moot point.

 

[nytimez]

I think what the PP was trying to say was when they run that red card through the standby line to determine how long the wait is, they don't consider people returning with late FPs. So if the sign says 30 mins but then 10 minutes worth of late FPs get in line, your wait is now 40 minutes.

However, I don't think they consider ANY FP returns when they calculate the wait time so it's kind of a moot point.

On any given day, they know roughly how many people will return with late FPs, how late they'll be, and what impact it will have on the line. All of these things are taken into consideration when calculating both wait times and overall daily FP distribution.

Aside from that, I doubt 10 minutes worth of "late" FP arrivals ever show up at once anyway. On Rock n Roller Coaster and Big Thunder Mountain, for example, it would take 400 people to create a 10 minute wait. On Toy Story Mania, it would take about 220 or so -- and all that is assuming they stop the standby line and let every single FP person in first, which they don't do.

But again, none of it matters anyway since these people would have the same overall impact on the line even if they showed up hours apart and hours earlier.

 

[photo_chick]

Would all of you who think FP's should not be allowed to be used late have a problem with someone in the stand by line stepping aside and allowing the line to move ahead of them, then eventually moving again themselves? That's exactly what late FPers are doing, they're letting you ahead of them in line until they decide to move again.

IMO, the people who have a problem with it are coming from an emotional place whereas the ones who don't are coming from a logical standpoint. It's not fun to see people moving ahead of you, but reality is your wait time has not changed, someone else simply rode in their place.

LOL. Ok. I swore I wouldn't post in here again, but this is just, well it's funny. The whole thread has been pretty amusing. Everyone getting their panties in a twist over fast pass times.

Yes, I think if they print them on the ticket they should enforce them. Otherwise why waste the ink? But as far as getting emotional... it seems like a silly thing to get emotional about. From what I've seen the people who feel they should not be enforced have been quick to jump on the dissenting opinions and bash people. Many have been openly hostile and rude rather than engage in an interesting and open dialogue. I know I simply posted an opinion and my thoughts and people were quick to pounce and point to subjective explanations. And I think it stinks that the original poster was treated so badly that they felt they had to leave the discussion. They had an opinion that they shared but some people felt they had to belittle them for it just because they didn't agree.

So here is the unemotional fact... There is no feasible way to have a controlled test to show if enforcing or not enforcing fast pass times affects lines. There are just too many variables to really know one way or the other. And anyone who says otherwise is just engaging in speculation, conjecture and a hypothesis that's unproven.

Now I'm sure that many will come back and point out how an informal survey can tell us the real effects, or how Disney just magically knows. But like so many things in life, it's all subjective.