March 7th Fast Pass Experiences

[ses1230]

Interesting. Ridemax just reported that they were aloud to use that Space Mountain FP 10 minutes late, and the CM didn't say a word. SO, maybe the grace period is good for 15 minutes after the pass expires, BUT not for the 5 minutes before it is active. --Katie

They also recently reported being denied 22 minutes past the return time.

 

[Anal Annie]

Agree.

Why pull a Fast Pass first thing before riding? It's likely to have a return time of about 9:45 (except for TSM, of course). And it would be faster to just do a second ride immediately after the first (probably a 10-minute standby wait at most), rather than wait till 9:45 for a second ride.

And not much point in saving the FP for "later," since by 10:45 (approximate end of window), we are likely to be far away in another part of the park.

ETA: I guess we could possibly use it for a third ride after the first two rides, assuming that we want to ride the same attraction three times in a row at park opening.

We always TRIED to make it back within the FP window but sometimes ran over by 30 minutes or so depending on where we are in the park & what we were doing. We never grabbed a bunch to SAVE but it was always nice to have some flexibility. The 2 or 3 rides where we would grab a FP first thing before even riding would be for TT and / or Soarin' in Epcot and for EE in AK. EE is DS's fav ride so we would hoof it over there on EMH's, grab FP's to save for an hour or so and then we'd ride it standby like 3 or 4 times before the reg. park guests came in. If you wait for the reg. park hours to get a FP for EE the return time would be clicked off a lot later than what we'd plan to even stay in the park to. Right around reg. opening time we would head over to the Safari and do that before that line got bad & it gets too hot out. Then after the Safari we'd head back over to EE to use our FP and by then Kali River would be open (it's not open for EMHs) and our next FP window would be open so we'd grab a FP for Kali to save for an hour and we'd go ride our FP for EE. We do all of this within like 90 minutes. I don't want to ride Kali until I'm either hot or until I'm ready to LEAVE the park because I don't want to spend hours & hours being wet. Then at some point we'd work our way over to Dinosaur while we waited for our FP time to come up on Kali. We had our own little system for this park and I think now for the most part we'll still be able to work it that way...but maybe we'll have to ride EE 1 or 2 less times. We usually wrap it up in AK by around lunchtime and we leave.

So....it's not as if you have no idea what time your return window will be. It's right there, up above you, over the FP machines. So...if you don't think you can return within that particular window time, then don't take a FP..just ride now and take your chances later.

Here's the thing...yes, we were always able to use the FP later, after the window had come and gone. BUT....the back of that FP did ask that you return within the time stated, and the front said no early returns. Yes, the CMs were instructed to let us use them late. BUT...on the other hand, if there had been any kind of issue with an attraction, the CM would be perfectly within their right, and Disney policy, to not allow someone to return hours after their FP window had come and gone. No, the guest wouldn't be happy, but it would still be enforceable. Only at Soarin' did I see that happen with any regularity.

So, now we can't use them late. That's really not a huge issue. If you're eating at a particular time, and will be cutting it too close, then maybe you shouldn't take a FP. If an attraction breaks down, and you get stuck and then miss your return window, they will usually accommodate (or accomodate ) you with a use anywhere FP. At least that's been my experience.

It will be interesting to see what happens today and over the next few days. But in all reality??? You have to realize that the vast majority of park guests had no idea you could use the FP after the window closed. I can't tell you how many times I tried to give away FPs as I left the park...I was turned down about 60% of the time. The reason??? Oh, those are no good anymore. The return time was hours ago.

I can see it being an issue when the parks are at a "9 or 10" like over spring break or during the holidays. The standby line times can easily be 2 hours so if you go to ride something else in another area of a park it could cause you to run over. I know sometimes it can take you 30 minutes to cross the park if it's super crowded. One time when we got to HS the FP's were already gone for TSM so we got in the standby line. The wait time was 60 minutes. After we'd been in line for about 15 min. one of those HUGE Brazilian tour groups came back with like 100 FP's!! We had no idea what would happen then to our wait time. It ended up getting doubled to over 120 minutes - but there was no way to predict how messed up the line would get. It was EXTREMELY frustrating and thank goodness we didn't have to be anyplace for anything else by a certain time...but that would be an extenuating circumstance where the return time could be missed by accident and could be out of your control. Personally, I think they should also somehow limit the number of FP's that one person can take so that a large tour group like that can't wipe out all of the FP's in a 5 minute window. JMO on that one.

 

[DisneyDad79]

They also recently reported being denied 22 minutes past the return time.

Well it seems to be slightly inconsistent, but it is being enforced to some degree. I don't personally care about the change, I just want the enforcement to be consistent across all the FP rides.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Everyone is talking about reaction of late FPers, I wonder how those who never even knew will react. Imagine, many people who was going for few trips and always used FPs on time but wished they could use them any time, learn today that they could but it was one of those "secrets". Would be very disappointing for them.

*points to self*

I always used them on time. Darn it!

 

[appleorchard]

When I got FP for Peter Pan this morning, the rest of my family was in line for Raqpunzel. When they came out, the attendant said, "Remember, these must be used within the timeframe listed." I'd forgotten it was the 7th! The return time was 10:45-11:45 approximately, and I wasn't sure we'd be out of Rapunzel in time, which I mentioned to the attendant. She didn't say anything about a grace period, but there probably is a small one. We made it back in time. Lines weren't bad in the park--except for Rapunzel, of course!-- so it probably hasn't been a huge FP day at the MK where we were.

 

[hookedonears]

And the only cage you end up rattling is your own.

Obviously, I don't think that's the case.

 

[Wadecool]

Obviously, I don't think that's the case.

Of that I have no doubt.

 

[qv09vvp]

 

[robin19871]

Everyone is talking about reaction of late FPers, I wonder how those who never even knew will react. Imagine, many people who was going for few trips and always used FPs on time but wished they could use them any time, learn today that they could but it was one of those "secrets". Would be very disappointing for them.

I was one and thought I knew EVERYTHING WDW.. I will say though, That for the past 4 years during Spring Break we have used a touring plan and got FP's when needed and used them according to the times that were posted and have been on every ride with no wait.. I personally feel that RD is a must for our family.. 2 hours of an empty park are pure heaven..

 

[DavidNYC]

I waiting for the first report (which might be a while) as to what a restaurant does if it seats you 30 minutes past your reservation time or service is slow beyond any reasonable measure. I wonder if they'll have some sort of card like the ones they'd give for break down in rides that they can give out if you show them you have a missed window that you would have made but for an unreasonable delay.

(And I'm not talking about getting seated a few minutes late or where you got a fast pass time where is wasn't reasonable to think you'd make it out. I mean situations where it really was something you would have made but for the restaurant - I've had some situations where I'd been seated over 45 minutes past my reservation and then had really slow service as well.)

The other thing will be how they handle ride breakdowns. Before it was annoying but I knew I could just come back later in the day. I would think if a ride is down for more than 30 minutes or so, they'll have to make some accomodation otherwise you'll be forced to enter a line not knowing whether they'll get in. But I can see it hard for cast members to keep track of if, for example, they have to let people in late if their fast pass was for period A but not if their fast pass was for period B. I wonder if they'll just honor all late fastpasses once a ride has a significant issue during the day.

 

[Maleficent53]

I'm hoping the enforcement of FP times makes the standby line move faster! If a bunch of the FPs pulled earlier are not used....the standbys can jump on more quickly!!!

 

[TravelGrl]

I wonder if the CM can stamp the FP when a ride is down - so you can show up later, but if you weren't there are the designated time, your FP wouldn't have a stamp. This is just speculation on my part. We will know once people start reporting from experience.

 

[KellyNY]

I waiting for the first report (which might be a while) as to what a restaurant does if it seats you 30 minutes past your reservation time or service is slow beyond any reasonable measure. I wonder if they'll have some sort of card like the ones they'd give for break down in rides that they can give out if you show them you have a missed window that you would have made but for an unreasonable delay.

(And I'm not talking about getting seated a few minutes late or where you got a fast pass time where is wasn't reasonable to think you'd make it out. I mean situations where it really was something you would have made but for the restaurant - I've had some situations where I'd been seated over 45 minutes past my reservation and then had really slow service as well.)

The other thing will be how they handle ride breakdowns. Before it was annoying but I knew I could just come back later in the day. I would think if a ride is down for more than 30 minutes or so, they'll have to make some accomodation otherwise you'll be forced to enter a line not knowing whether they'll get in. But I can see it hard for cast members to keep track of if, for example, they have to let people in late if their fast pass was for period A but not if their fast pass was for period B. I wonder if they'll just honor all late fastpasses once a ride has a significant issue during the day.

If I am correct the memo posted on another thread said that if you late due to confirmed ADR delay or problem with another ride, you will be granted access.

 

[seashoreCM]

The CM taking fastpasses may have a list of ride downtimes to check your fastpass against, or will simply accept late fastpasses for the rest of that day without saying a word.

If you showed up with your valid fastpass and the ride was down, the CM will continue to tell you to come back anytime later that day. It would be unreasonable to expect you to replan a specific new hour long time window.

They could stamp fastpasses for extended validity if a need arose.

 

[StalkerX]

After experiencing this today, I would have to say, 15 minutes is too short. If the parks are busy, which DHS was today, I would have to say the grace period has to be increased. It really depends on when the FP return is, but it really does restrict you if you want to hit up one of the more popular rides. Plus, if the standby time posted is inaccurate at the time you enter, you may have to choose to either leave the line you've been waiting in, or take the chance they will honor that FP past the 15min grace period. 40 minute ToT time posted was 1.5 hours for me. I almost missed my FP window because I assumed the ride i was getting on was 40 mins. A lot of variables to this. So far, it appears, to me, that 15 minutes is far to little.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

Ok, so no 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late? I'm fine with that. It enforces the rule.

 

[mesaboy2]

I just wonder how many on this board are going to go out of their way to obnoxiously express their displeasure for the change in policy, to the Cast Members manning the FP lines. Or how many are going to wait until 20 minutes past and then obnoxiously test the waters, complain, beg and plead.

If by chance you think I am one of this group, prepare to be...disappointed.

I am not one to get my knickers in a twist over such a thing. I only got passionate when it was implied that returning late as part of a premeditated strategy impacted others significantly, was "wrong", and that Morales would not approve.

Looks like there's a new normal, and that's okay by me.

 

[DisneyLover83]

At AK today people were being turned away with late passes at EE. Also new signs up at fast pass distribution saying use during one hr window on pass. Hope that helps someone. I don't know how late the people were as I was to far away to see.

 

[Dixiemom]

This had to start on my birthday!!!

 

[catne]

This had to start on my birthday!!!

Happy Birthday anyway