Is anyone else hugely entertained by the FP+ tier system test?

[Jeslynb]

Yes, it is.



No, Tink is indeed right. I'm planning w several other ppl and know several travel agents, and the general populace is more of the "oh that's neat ok we'll figure that out" than "oh my god the sky is falling i'm going to have to change the way I do things!" The doom and gloom really is only out here and from a select few.

Disney is run by some very good minds who embrace change and growth and not by the "it ain't broke so don't improve it" grumps.

No, it's not from a select few. I'm planning with several other people and work with several travel agents as well a former Imagineer and the reaction has been quite negative. Perhaps unjustifiably negative, but your anecdotal evidence is no better or worse than my anecdotal evidence.

I don't personally care very much about FP one way or the other, because I am only an occasional visitor. But I am interested in what everyone has to say about all things related to *my* upcoming Disney trip, including their opinions about how the company is run. I always listen to my own customers, and I'd like to listen to Disney's customers, too, without having them constantly reprimanded for "grumpiness."

Calling people names because you find them to be too negative is a little hypocritical, yes?

 

[daytondisney]

Yep, that's why I think they changed the GAC now. It's no coincidence, in my opinion, that the GAC changed just as this was all going into play.

With the GAC in play, whether cheaters or legit users, it might have been enough to tumble this whole house of cards they are building. At least with the DAS they removed enough of the incentives to cut back on the abuse.

I googled it but couldnt find it:

What are GAC and DAS?

 

[AmyB2006]

Actually I like the way Disney is going. PPl will complain about everything... but FP+, Avatar Land, and the acquisition of Lucas and Marvel are huge positive steps. Just because some moviegoers don't like Avatar is completely irrelevant. Fortunately for us, Disney is run by some very good minds who embrace change and growth and not by the "it ain't broke so don't improve it" grumps.

I like you.

 

[MrInfinity]

Can we revisit the Universal philosophy on this and why many think it wouldn't work or Disney wouldn't do it?

I would happily pay for an express pass either for unlimited or for one ride a day FP type entrance. I've seen a lot of people say the same.

You mean buying fast access to rides like at Universal and Six Flags? Disney won't do that because they get better value from selling stays at their $500/nt resorts - thereby corralling you to eat at their restaurants instead of the KFC down the street. Universal or SF sells a ride pass... makes $100. WDW sells the same feature via a room stay and makes $300/nt plus $100/nt in food and $50/nt in merchandise plus.. plus..

The real question is why Universal doesn't do the same, and it's because Universal doesn't have the land available to build that many hotels to sell nights in, nor a line of ppl who would pay $500/nt to stay at Universal.

Also Universal and Six Flags market their rides as their main draws and they tend to draw a more rider-based crowd. WDW has evolved to where they can market "simply being there" and ppl are willing to pay to do so.

Universal has made great inroads in recent years w the Wizarding World at IOA... glad to see their new Diagon Alley coming to USF.

Should WDW offer FP+'s to outsiders for a price? No way they will never do this. If they offered a FP+ "buy 3 for $100" option... they would be helping the outside hotels. Their goal is not to help them it's to use this exclusivity to further drive up the value of staying on property while making people hate staying offsite because you can't get on the rides then.

 

[AmyB2006]

Serious questions:

Was anyone here a loyal guest when Disney went to the FP system?

I know how I feel at the end of a long day now, standing in line and watching FPers gleefully sauntering ahead, and feeling a just tinge of jealousy (yes, I do commando planning and FPing) at that moment. What was it like when FP first came around and you saw the FPers walking right past?

Yes I thought it was awesome then. I was one of the FPers walking past but it all works out. You got FP for some rides, standby for others.

 

[AmyB2006]

You mean buying fast access to rides like at Universal and Six Flags? Disney won't do that because they get better value from selling stays at their $500/nt resorts - thereby corralling you to eat at their restaurants instead of the KFC down the street. Universal or SF sells a ride pass... makes $100. WDW sells the same feature via a room stay and makes $300/nt plus $100/nt in food and $50/nt in merchandise plus.. plus..

The real question is why Universal doesn't do the same, and it's because Universal doesn't have the land available to build that many hotels to sell nights in, nor a line of ppl who would pay $500/nt to stay at Universal.

Also Universal and Six Flags market their rides as their main draws and they tend to draw a more rider-based crowd. WDW has evolved to where they can market "simply being there" and ppl are willing to pay to do so.

Universal has made great inroads in recent years w the Wizarding World at IOA... glad to see their new Diagon Alley coming to USF.

Should WDW offer FP+'s to outsiders for a price? No way they will never do this. If they offered a FP+ "buy 3 for $100" option... they would be helping the outside hotels. Their goal is not to help them it's to use this exclusivity to further drive up the value of staying on property while making people hate staying offsite because you can't get on the rides then.

So are you of the opinion that FP+ will only ever be available to on site guests? Disney has said in the past that everyone will have access to it haven't they?

 

[ArwenMarie]

I googled it but couldnt find it:

What are GAC and DAS?

GAC is the old system for people with invisible disabilities that functioned basically like an unlimited FP. Had a lot of abuse as well according to many reports, was very easy to get.

DAS is the new system where you can only book one ride at a time before you can get the next one. They take a certain amount of time off of the current wait time and give you a return time on a card. So people who have medical issues don't have to wait in the line, but they have to wait longer than they did under the GAC. It also involves getting your picture taken for the card, unlike the GAC.

 

[robpa]

If you look at each park separate yes. But what if you looked at Disney as a whole? All 4 parks. There's plenty of headliners to go around. You purchase one pass each day and it's good in all 4 parks. It's up to you how you want to spend your time but I think people would be hard pressed to hit all 4 parks' headliners in one day.

This pleases park hoppers because you can use your pass in all 4 parks.

Disney already charges for the ability to park hop and I'm not sure what the markup per ticket is on that. So if they were to offer a express pass for all 4 parks on top of that I shudder to think what they would charge for that.

 

[Planogirl]

Serious questions:

Was anyone here a loyal guest when Disney went to the FP system?

I know how I feel at the end of a long day now, standing in line and watching FPers gleefully sauntering ahead, and feeling a just tinge of jealousy (yes, I do commando planning and FPing) at that moment. What was it like when FP first came around and you saw the FPers walking right past?

I was and apparently I was a freak of nature because it never bothered me. If I saw people with fastpasses going past me I simply knew that it was their turn to enjoy a benefit available to everyone.

The dining plan that someone else mentioned never bothered me either because I could get ADR's and eat at the same places. That +10 business never had any effect on where we wanted to eat.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Should WDW offer FP+'s to outsiders for a price? No way they will never do this. If they offered a FP+ "buy 3 for $100" option... they would be helping the outside hotels. Their goal is not to help them it's to use this exclusivity to further drive up the value of staying on property while making people hate staying offsite because you can't get on the rides then.

I agree. We know the price of 3 FPs a day prebooked (if it turns out that onsite does get some advantage here)...it's the price of a value room at minimum.

I also don't see them ever selling them or even extras because they just don't have the ride capacity to do so.

 

[robpa]

No, it's not from a select few. I'm planning with several other people and work with several travel agents as well a former Imagineer and the reaction has been quite negative. Perhaps unjustifiably negative, but your anecdotal evidence is no better or worse than my anecdotal evidence.

I don't personally care very much about FP one way or the other, because I am only an occasional visitor. But I am interested in what everyone has to say about all things related to *my* upcoming Disney trip, including their opinions about how the company is run. I always listen to my own customers, and I'd like to listen to Disney's customers, too, without having them constantly reprimanded for "grumpiness."

Calling people names because you find them to be too negative is a little hypocritical, yes?

Why try to be logical with someone who's screen name is FuzzyLogic?

 

[ArwenMarie]

So are you of the opinion that FP+ will only ever be available to on site guests? Disney has said in the past that everyone will have access to it haven't they?

You didn't ask me but I'll take a shot. I don't think offsite will get prebooking privileges, or they will find a way to make the booking windows different so there is still a huge advantage for onsite customers who plan ahead.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Disney already charges for the ability to park hop and I'm not sure what the markup per ticket is on that. So if they were to offer a express pass for all 4 parks on top of that I shudder to think what they would charge for that.

They already sell it...the VIP tour. $1800 bucks for six hours for ten people.

 

[Planogirl]

You mean buying fast access to rides like at Universal and Six Flags? Disney won't do that because they get better value from selling stays at their $500/nt resorts - thereby corralling you to eat at their restaurants instead of the KFC down the street. Universal or SF sells a ride pass... makes $100. WDW sells the same feature via a room stay and makes $300/nt plus $100/nt in food and $50/nt in merchandise plus.. plus..

The real question is why Universal doesn't do the same, and it's because Universal doesn't have the land available to build that many hotels to sell nights in, nor a line of ppl who would pay $500/nt to stay at Universal.

Also Universal and Six Flags market their rides as their main draws and they tend to draw a more rider-based crowd. WDW has evolved to where they can market "simply being there" and ppl are willing to pay to do so.

Universal has made great inroads in recent years w the Wizarding World at IOA... glad to see their new Diagon Alley coming to USF.

Should WDW offer FP+'s to outsiders for a price? No way they will never do this. If they offered a FP+ "buy 3 for $100" option... they would be helping the outside hotels. Their goal is not to help them it's to use this exclusivity to further drive up the value of staying on property while making people hate staying offsite because you can't get on the rides then.

You really do seem to expect people to be enthralled with getting FP+ for one headliner. Of course this is only true at one park but it wouldn't surprise me to see this happen at at least one more.

I do expect some for of pay to play to be instituted even if only for onsite guests. Get one headliner, pay this amount to get a second one. Disney would be foolish not to take advantage of another way to make money.

But then they will have all of these new attractions in a few years. It would be nice if they'd break ground on something and hopefully these attractions will be built a little more speedily than the Snow White train.

 

[robpa]

They already sell it...the VIP tour. $1800 bucks for six hours for ten people.

Ouch

 

[MrInfinity]

So are you of the opinion that FP+ will only ever be available to on site guests? Disney has said in the past that everyone will have access to it haven't they?

That would be my opinion. But my opinion on this matter is worth less than this post, and is pure speculation. If they do offer it outside, I would think it would then be tiered... or, they'll roll it out to certain hotels that feed the Disney coffers one way or another like the Swan and Dolphin. It will not be "equality - anyone who buys a ticket whether resort guest or day passer gets the same". (purely my opinion, no inside knowledge)

 

[ArwenMarie]

Ouch

If you can rustle up ten people, it's "only" $30 an hour per person. Which isn't as bad as thinking about it as $1800. But yeah, pricey.

 

[MrInfinity]

You really do seem to expect people to be enthralled with getting FP+ for one headliner. Of course this is only true at one park but it wouldn't surprise me to see this happen at at least one more.

But then they will have all of these new attractions in a few years. It would be nice if they'd break ground on something and hopefully these attractions will be built a little more speedily than the Snow White train.

If they're testing it at one it will happen at more. :-/

It's not that I "expect ppl to be enthralled". I really don't care what other ppl think... but I'm anxious for my trip in May and excited to come out here and talk about the new system and what benefits it might afford us and all I see is doom and gloom -- and this from the most die-hard of fans.

I agree it's taken way too long for the train to be completed. You can watch a ride go in at SF over the winter closure... but then again Disney does everything so different. They don't just put in a ride, they completely sculpt the land and build a world around it. That land moving and sculpting and theming is time consuming.

 

[AmyB2006]

They already sell it...the VIP tour. $1800 bucks for six hours for ten people.

What the heck can you do in 6 hours at all 4 parks? LOL

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think they would do pay for play if they had the capacity, but I don't think they do right now.

Side note...as far as only getting one headliner (and yeah, I think DHS is next to try to relieve some of the pressure off TSMM), this ticks me off more than anything else they have tried to do with this so far.

Even with staying onsite at a "deluxe" (whatever that means), they are telling me I can hoof it all the way over to Epcot and only ride TT or Soarin. And if I want to ride the other, I have to get to RD or go over there another day. This is where I don't care about ride capacity and blah blah blah, I only care about me and my trip and this annoys me greatly. My other option is to get to RD, but then everyone was telling me that the great part about this whole thing was not running to RD. If I have to run to RD, then I'll take the paper fast passes back.