NextGen/xPass Making the News Again

[pirategirl34]

Let's not get this thread closed by devolving into a political discussion.

I am new here, so Mabye I don't fully understand the rules, but how is discussing news personalities political at all? I wasn't speaking to anyone's politics just to the tendency of ALL media outlets to report only what helps their ratings. I really wasn't trying to make it political. Sorry if I broke the rules!

 

[LaurenT]

If it's free and available to everyone, I'll be a fan.
And just to be fair, while I am not a fan of today's "news media" on either side of the spectrum, the article does go on to say that NextGen will be implemented across Disney Parks - not just in WDW. So, WDW was an example in the first sentence, but Sleeping Beauty's Castle is appropriate to the content.

 

[Robo]

I am new here, so Mabye I don't fully understand the rules, but how is discussing news personalities political at all? I wasn't speaking to anyone's politics just to the tendency of ALL media outlets to report only what helps their ratings. I really wasn't trying to make it political. Sorry if I broke the rules!

I don't believe anyone was referring specifically to YOUR post.

 

[sara_serendipity88]

I know it's all speculation at this point, but I can't help ABSOLUTELY HATING what 'NextGen' is sounding like.

I'm a planning queen; I love to make to-do lists, and Lord knows I LOVE to book sit-down restaurants months in advance, but planning attractions?

Disney, at least to my family, is a vacation. Planing where you eat in advance is fun, planning what attractions you ride and when you ride them...it just takes the fun out of it!

"Sorry, Mom, I know you would rather go on Pirates of the Caribbean again, but we booked a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that starts in two minutes and Pirates is booked the rest of the day. Sorry!"

Gimmie a break. I want to be able to do whatever the heck I wanna do while I'm there; I already worry about booking restaurants, I don't want to have to worry about booking attractions too.

 

[pirategirl34]

I don't believe anyone was referring specifically to YOUR post.

oh ok, I assumed since the post was right under mine it was meant for me.

 

[Robo]

oh ok, I assumed since the post was right under mine it was meant for me.

Unfortunately that's not usually a good way to judge on a busy board like this one.

You never know at what point a poster has just read a post, written a reply, and hit "Submit."

 

[jdmccol]

I know it's all speculation at this point, but I can't help ABSOLUTELY HATING what 'NextGen' is sounding like.

I'm a planning queen; I love to make to-do lists, and Lord knows I LOVE to book sit-down restaurants months in advance, but planning attractions?

Disney, at least to my family, is a vacation. Planing where you eat in advance is fun, planning what attractions you ride and when you ride them...it just takes the fun out of it!

"Sorry, Mom, I know you would rather go on Pirates of the Caribbean again, but we booked a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that starts in two minutes and Pirates is booked the rest of the day. Sorry!"

Gimmie a break. I want to be able to do whatever the heck I wanna do while I'm there; I already worry about booking restaurants, I don't want to have to worry about booking attractions too.

Just the idea that even before you even get to the park, there is already a virtual/physical line at an attraction makes me nervious.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~Thanks for sharing! I think basic xPass will be free! Disney is currently adding xPass to almost every attraction and show in all of the parks, so that would greatly increase the amount of xPasses available.

 

[WillAustin]

If it's free and available to everyone, I'll be a fan.

If it's free and available to everyone, I don't see it being very convenient or easy to use. We will end up with a free version of dining reservations that far more people will attempt to use, and we'll have to call early on the first day of availability and get lucky or be completely out of luck.

I just don't see how it can be available to everyone for free and still be something people will want to use. I don't believe there are enough slots for reserving to make it viable across the board. If they limit us to reserving one attraction per day, then it's pretty close to worthless in my opinion.

 

[mom2rtk]

If it's free and available to everyone, I don't see it being very convenient or easy to use. We will end up with a free version of dining reservations that far more people will attempt to use, and we'll have to call early on the first day of availability and get lucky or be completely out of luck.

I just don't see how it can be available to everyone for free and still be something people will want to use. I don't believe there are enough slots for reserving to make it viable across the board. If they limit us to reserving one attraction per day, then it's pretty close to worthless in my opinion.

Yep. Therein is the problem. The easier and cheaper it is, the more in demand it will be. Gonna be interesting to see how this plays out.

I'm a big time planner. But this holds no appeal for me.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Did you guys read the part about ORDERING YOUR FOOD IN ADVANCE!!

Seriously, its hard enough to get my two year old not to change his mind about what he wants to eat between the time that I order and we sit down at the table. Am I honestly going to have to put my Pecos Bill order in 6 months prior to my trip! Shoot me now!

 

[Figment43]

The only important thing to read is this...



Knowing that makes the posting of the wrong castle the LEAST of the inaccuracies likely in the post.

Can't wait for the Beastly Kingdom Park and the Adults-Only Theme Park to open.

 

[buzz2400]

To me this sounds more like a headache for the guests. So I want to go on vacation and have fun BUT i will have to go online months in advance and try to figure out what rides I will be riding at what times. Sounds to me like I would rather sit on a beach and watch the waves. Too stressful for me. We have been visiting disney every year at least once for over 15 years. to me this new plan sounds like a turn off for people who want to go with the flow.

 

[Reddog1134]

I was thinking we may see the re-introduction of e-ticket style classifications. The rides would be divided into categories based on popularity and each person would get a specific amount of "tickets" to reserve rides in each category.

 

[Robo]

I was thinking we may see the re-introduction of e-ticket style classifications. The rides would be divided into categories based on popularity and each person would get a specific amount of "tickets" to reserve rides in each category.

Yes. Something similar to this.

For instance, (as an WAG example) if you wanted to secure an advance FP for Test Track, you would not be able to reserve a FP for Soarin' on the same day.

Maybe... Maybe not.
But, there would have to be some kind of limit on the quantity of desirable FP's a guest could reserve due to the shear
overwhelming NUMBER of guests heading to a particular park on a given day.

AND- AND- AND-
Unlike now, guests would have upwards of 6 months to pick and choose.
And, as time progresses, would there be "cancelations of FP reservations" ala ADR's (surely there would have to be,) and constant
discussions of "do you think I might be able to get a FP if I just wait for a cancellation?" and,
could groups of 6, 8, 10 (or Grand Gatherings of 12-25...) be able to get "matching-time" FP's so the group
could all ride together?

What about the famous foreign tour groups?

Nightmare of complexity.

Or, maybe the whole thing would just collapse under its own weight.


.

 

[Figment43]

I'm guessing from the words "Jim Hill" that it won't be very much like what is described in the article. More than likely it will/would either replace or supplement FastPass.

If they made most of the attractions accessible to only those who made reservations months in advance, then most people would quit going there. Word would quickly spread that you can't go on rides unless you make reservations for them and Disney would experience a fatal drop in attendance.

Disney, like any other corporation, wants more business (money), not less. The last thing they want is empty parks and hotels. If anything, they probably released a few details to see how the public reacts to it and then they will tailor it based on the public's responses.

 

[mom2rtk]

An interesting wrinkle in all of this will be how Disney announces ride refurbishments. No more "Hey, let's close TT tomorrow!" OK, I know that's not how it happened. But it seems to me that if they're going to reserve this stuff in advance, it puts them on the hook to announce refurbs much further in advance.

 

[EMHDad]

This is Fox News, and as you know, Fox News isn't true most of the time. They posted the wrong castle too

Amen to that

 

[Robo]

it seems to me that if they're going to reserve this stuff in advance, it puts them on the hook to announce refurbs much further in advance.

And... CAN they even do that?

Technically, the reserved FP thing just cannot work.

Many of us here KNOW the history of how the parks actually work.
Not the fairy tale descriptions and PR of the place,
but how the day-to-day guests choosing parks... choosing FP's... choosing attractions... really WORK.

I have to wonder (not an insult, but a real question) do the decision-makers at Disney
actually spend enough time in the parks and reading the hard numbers
(and not just some tallied list of "questionnaire" research,
taken overwhelmingly from guests who were too tired to walk to the attractions )
to understand what they would be getting into with a massive sea change in ride queuing like this.

.

 

[mesaboy2]

Again, please keep the political garbage out of this thread.