NextGen/xPass Making the News Again

[icc2515]

All hidden "free services" costs are built-into the many very visible charges paid by guests.

This was actually the point I was trying to get across. Mesaboy2 said transportation was free.

 

[mesaboy2]

This was actually the point I was trying to get across. Mesaboy2 said transportation was free.

And I stand by it. Does it cost somebody money? Of course--TANSTAAFL. But it is for all intents and purposes to WDW guests, free. You are arguing semantics.

 

[AlohaLily]

Nobody knows.

Although, I don't think that I can agree with you that FastPass is technically "not free" because you have to buy a park ticket to get them issued
There would be no point in getting FP's if you couldn't go into a park to use them.

You may be asking if you must FIRST buy (and have in your possession) a valid park ticket
BEFORE you can access X-pass.

Again, nobody knows.

.

Hehe. I re-read what I typed after I typed it and realized that it didn't make sense. We will agree that fast pass is free.

 

[Minnesota!]

hmmmmmmm... i really dont care to plan when to ride an attraction. this move imo is pathetic and goes against EVERYTHING Walt envisioned. Want to control crowds? BUILD MORE ATTRACTIONS and stop building resorts!

I will NOT pay money (more money) to go on sub par rides.

 

[Robo]

I will NOT pay money (more money) to go on sub par rides.

The last new rides to open were Soarin', Expedition Everest, Nemo Clamshells, and Toy Story Mania.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

The last new rides to open were Soarin', Expedition Everest, Nemo Clamshells, and Toy Story Mania.

I think Nemo is subpar. Soarin needs to be cleaned up.

 

[DavidNYC]

No matter what anyone says in any post on this board right now, anything said about xPass are educated guesses.

Personally - I think it will be a "free" service. Disney makes it money when people are not standing in a line. That is where they get their money off of a new system. Might there be "enhancements" added to packages . . . maybe. But I don't see Disney creating a purely pay-for-access system. It goes against their general philosphy (not that philosophies can't change . . . )

What I would expect is that it might be for onsite guests only. My reasoning for that is that I cannot figure out a easily administerable way for ride reservations in advance unless it were tied to your KTTK card with the new chips they're experimenting with. Yes - off site people could pick up a card when they arrive but I see so many difficulties with administering that.

For xPass to work, there has to be a limit on how many rides you can reserve within a certain period of time. Without tying it to a KTTK and a reservation, how do you prevent people from signing up multiple times. Seems like there would be so many ways to "work" the system.

(To be my own devil's advocate - you technically have this problem with ADRs now so maybe it won't matter to Disney. I could go make 100 ADRs for the next few weeks even though I'm not heading to Disney).

 

[miami305]

Awesome! Wish it was available for 2012! For every person willing to pay extra for character dining experiences, there are those of us who would rather pay an extra fee for the x-pass.

 

[Reddog1134]

The best argument i've heard for Xpass being free is this:

Disney WANTS you to wear that little wristband. Why? (I'm not a conspiracy nut but I do find this interesting). Because with a RFID bracelet attached to you (and possibly your credit card), they know exact what stores you go in, what you buy, what rides you get on, which characters you go to see, etc. You are doing all their market research for them.

 

[WillAustin]

For xPass to work, there has to be a limit on how many rides you can reserve within a certain period of time. Without tying it to a KTTK and a reservation, how do you prevent people from signing up multiple times. Seems like there would be so many ways to "work" the system.

I'm curious to see how the numbers work out. According to Touring Plans there are 30405 on-site hotel rooms. Multiply that by an average number of people per room and you have a ton of potential X-Pass users every day. If they limit people to one reservation per day, I'm not sure how useful it might be, and if they don't limit it, it might be too hard to get what you want. Even if they tier the attractions into categories, the numbers just seem unworkable for a free system available to everybody.

 

[Robo]

Awesome! Wish it was available for 2012! For every person willing to pay extra for character dining experiences, there are those of us who would rather pay an extra fee for the x-pass.

I'm curious to see how the numbers work out. According to Touring Plans there are 30405 on-site hotel rooms. Multiply that by an average number of people per room and you have a ton of potential X-Pass users every day. If they limit people to one reservation per day, I'm not sure how useful it might be, and if they don't limit it, it might be too hard to get what you want. Even if they tier the attractions into categories, the numbers just seem unworkable for a free system available to everybody.

I see how these two ideas just don't mix.

Pay how much?
Pay for what?
1-3 FP's per day?
For what ride(s)?
At what time?

 

[miami305]

The best argument i've heard for Xpass being free is this:

Disney WANTS you to wear that little wristband. Why? (I'm not a conspiracy nut but I do find this interesting). Because with a RFID bracelet attached to you (and possibly your credit card), they know exact what stores you go in, what you buy, what rides you get on, which characters you go to see, etc. You are doing all their market research for them.

They already have this information via cameras, sensors, and detailed sales and inventory reports. The bracelet would be one more tool in a tool chest full of tools.

 

[DizBelle]

I think people are interpreting this as not being "free" because you will have to pay for a Disney resort to get the benefit. And the more deluxe resort you pay for, the better the perk. But that's the way it is now. Why shouldn't you pay deluxe resort prices to get deluxe resort amenities. Are people demanding to pay value resort prices for a suite at the Grand Floridian? They aren't because they know it is not reasonable.

I don't have a problem with it at all. Do you expect to get filet mignon for the price of a Big Mac? No. Just like people that stay off property shouldn't expect to be able to use the perk of extra magic hours, they also shouldn't expect to use this perk of staying on property. People paying for a value room shouldn't expect a suite with concierge service.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" applies. If you want to get it, you have to pay for it.

 

[Robo]

I think people are interpreting this as not being "free" because you will have to pay for a Disney resort to get the benefit. And the more deluxe resort you pay for, the better the perk. But that's the way it is now. Why shouldn't you pay deluxe resort prices to get deluxe resort amenities. Are people demanding to pay value resort prices for a suite at the Grand Floridian? They aren't because they know it is not reasonable.

I don't have a problem with it at all. Do you expect to get filet mignon for the price of a Big Mac? No. Just like people that stay off property shouldn't expect to be able to use the perk of extra magic hours, they also shouldn't expect to use this perk of staying on property. People paying for a value room shouldn't expect a suite with concierge service.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" applies. If you want to get it, you have to pay for it.

You're mixing two ideas.

1- Getting Deluxe Resort amenities AT THE RESORT for staying at a Deluxe Resort.

2- Getting special treatment IN THE PARKS for staying at a Deluxe Resort.

Up until now, (and I hope never) those two concepts are not related at WDW.

 

[bender726]

I think people are interpreting this as not being "free" because you will have to pay for a Disney resort to get the benefit. And the more deluxe resort you pay for, the better the perk. But that's the way it is now. Why shouldn't you pay deluxe resort prices to get deluxe resort amenities. Are people demanding to pay value resort prices for a suite at the Grand Floridian? They aren't because they know it is not reasonable.

I don't have a problem with it at all. Do you expect to get filet mignon for the price of a Big Mac? No. Just like people that stay off property shouldn't expect to be able to use the perk of extra magic hours, they also shouldn't expect to use this perk of staying on property. People paying for a value room shouldn't expect a suite with concierge service.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" applies. If you want to get it, you have to pay for it.

I agree with you completely!!! I have actually always thought that FP should be for WDW resort guests and annual pass holders. I doubt Disney would ever do that, but I think it should be a "loyalty" perk. If they were to give a pass based on accommodation type, I would agree with you that you get what you pay for as long as everyone (include value resort guests) can benefit.

 

[mcd2745]

I'm not a Neanderthal. I just don't like to carry my smart phone into the parks. I'm on vacation and like to get away from the real world. I use my phone to check in with my family every morning and every night, but otherwise my cell phone stays in the room safe. I like to travel as light as possible and again do not want to be connected to the real world. I may or may not have a small camera in my pocket and the only other thing that I carry into the park is a small divider thingy that easily fits into a pocket. It holds my AP, TiW card, a cc, a little cash, and my room key. I always go hands free and bags free. Why should I have to a carry a phone if I don't want to? I hate to see people walking around the parks with their cell phones glued to their ears. For God's sake you're on vacation, leave the cell phones in the room.



I don't see how anyone could possible like this idea. It takes the spontaniety out of a vacation.

Why the eye roll? I was pointing out a very logical obvious flaw in the idea.

There are so many logical obvious things wrong with NextGen, I thought the disney suits might need some help.

Ahhh the downside of internet message boards. Clearly, the good-natured/joking tone of that post did not come across as intended, unfortunately...despite the use of a smiley.

I'm with you actually...I'm very apprehensive about how this will all play out. I don't want to be attached to my phone all day, especially on vacation, either. Few things are more infuriating that being trapped behind people walking at a snail's pace (wheter it's at WDW, on my way to work or anywhere) because the person is texting, playing Angry Birds, etc on their devices and are oblivious to the rest of the world around them. So, if Disney is adding features that would increase/encourage this behavior....I find it very troubling indeed. I was just specualting as to what they may have in mind with regards to a PP's comment about the article from the OP about ordering food in advance. I never suggested I would be in favor of such things.

 

[mbrittb00]

1- 10%? Sorry, but that would just not be possible. There could not possibly be enough FP positions
available if they don't take most of the current FP's away.

For them to actually offer X-whatever, they will need to make availalbe literally thousands of FP's per day, every day, at every park.
(They can't increase ride capacity... they can only regulate how many of those ride positions are taken up with FP.)

2- Agreed.

Yeah after looking at it more closely (with number) I think your right. I would estimate that Disney assigns roughly 20% of a rides OHRC (Operational Hourly Ride Capacity) to the FP system. That would effectively make the FP line ~%25 that of the standby line, which seems reasonable. For a ride like Soarin' with an OHRC of ~1400 (or 16800 per day), that would equate to 3360 Fast passes available for Soarin' over the course of a day. If this was offered as a free perk (even if it were limited to those staying onsite, ~25,000 rooms), those FPs would be gone in a matter of minutes (if not faster) of them being made available. The only way I see this working is if it were a paid perk.

On the other hand, it has been stated that the concept behind this is to try and reduce the wait times. The only way to truly do that is to control how many people are at a particular attraction at any particular time. The best way to accomplish that is to have everyone (or as many people as possible) have assigned times. In fact this is the concept behind the Fast Pass system. Enforcing the return times is crucial to keeping the Fast Pass line at a relatively constant 5-10 minute wait. If this is their true goal, then perhaps the xPass system will be a "supplement" to the fast pass system to the detriment of the standby line. However since some people will be in the xPass line (yes I know a 3rd line at each of the attractions), fewer people will be in the standby line, so it should balance. If they make the windows for the xPass tickets 2 hours (which I wish they would do with the FP return window now), then it will allow for some flexibility yet still allow them to control the flow of guest, to some extent, at each attraction.

 

[DizBelle]

You're mixing two ideas.

1- Getting Deluxe Resort amenities AT THE RESORT for staying at a Deluxe Resort.

2- Getting special treatment IN THE PARKS for staying at a Deluxe Resort.

Up until now, (and I hope never) those two concepts are not related at WDW.

You get the xpass benefit if you stay at any Disney resort. The size of the benefit would vary depending on the resort - and why shouldn't it? Just like the size and amenities of the room vary depending on the resort and how much it costs. I don't expect a Grand Floridian room or amenities for an All Stars price. That's just silly.

You only get EMH (a park perk) if you stay at a Disney resort - that's a park perk tied to your staing in a Disney resort. So this is nothing new.

Everyone staying at a Disney resort would get the xpass benefit. The resort you stay in affects the size of that benefit. Just like you only get to go to the concierge lounge if you are staying in concierge room. I can't pay for a room at POP Century and expect to get in the concierge lounge at the Contemporary.

This is just a further incentive for people to stay on property and also a further incentive for people to stay at the more deluxe resorts. Why wouldn't Disney want to encourage people to stay at their resorts? Further, why wouldn't they want to encourage people to stay at the more deluxe resorts? Sounds good for business to me.

 

[DizBelle]

This all sounds like it is getting dangerously close to all rooms and amenities being the same and the amount you pay depends on your income. How appropriate for tax time.

 

[Kate and Family]

I read the article from Theme Park Tourist which started this thread.
"5 reasons why Walt Disney World's XPass is an Xceptionally bad idea"
http://www.****************.com/fea...alt-disney-worlds-xpass-xceptionally-bad-idea

My first thought was that the author cannot lose putting forth this info.

Either some version of XPass as stated in the article will come to pass and he was one of the first to report!
Or
As he stated in his first paragraph.. "This is a move that I've campaigned against for a number of years, and I feel obliged to once again point out why this is a bad move for the company") HIs campaign has been successful!

Can't lose.