Not impressed with the current fastpass system

[maxiesmom]

I realize you're passing on what you read from someone else, but this doesn't make much sense to me since FPs are issued in 5-minute increments. This statement implies the FP lines cycle through "long" and "short" every 5 minutes.

But you don't have to use it in a 5 minute window. So now say you have a bunch of people watching a parade. After the parade you will have few people who just had their FP window open up, and some people who think that they have to rush and use their FP before it expires and they can move on to something else. They can't just save it and do it later.

 

[mesaboy2]

But you don't have to use it in a 5 minute window. So now say you have a bunch of people watching a parade. After the parade you will have few people who just had their FP window open up, and some people who think that they have to rush and use their FP before it expires and they can move on to something else. They can't just save it and do it later.

Parades and fireworks make sense, but that isn't what you said, which was--again relaying from another--that FP line length was based on FP expiry. That doesn't compute.

 

[Sparkie]

Is it still up more by the bridge? Or did they shift it back down to below the gift shop? One day in the middle of our trip in March they moved it up, and it seemed like a odd spot for it.

I was thinking it was in that little curve down past the gift shop. We were in Disney last October so unless they moved it recently, that is where i remember it to be. But even up by the bridge would be a very congested area. Think of the number of strollers, Ecv's , "splash watchers", along with guest trying to access ThunderMountain, TomSawyer Island, and SplashMountain in that relatively small area. For that particular area of the park I feel like I am driving through Atlanta in 5pm traffic, its close your eyes, grip the wheel, floor it and hope for the best.....

 

[jebobak]

We were just at DW for the first time May 6-9, and the FastPass system worked great for us. Almost all of our rides were using FastPasses, and our waits were never more than 15 minutes. We probably used 5-7 a day.

I'm not sure about the issues people are having with them enforcing the return times, as without enforcement, the FastPass line is just another Standby Line!

By enforcing the return times, they 'guarantee' that there will be a limited number of people in the FastPass line at any given time. While the actual number of people using their passes at a particular time may fluctuate, you know it will never exceed X number of people, no matter how busy the park is.

So, it is probably most advantageous when the park has more people. This makes sense to minimize wait times when crowds are at their biggest, but might mean when the park is less busy, the difference in wait times might not be as dramatic.

The one thing I did not understand initially about the FastPasses was that you could only get one pass per a certain time period, depending on when your return time was!! I read all these strategies and guides about running around and collecting FastPasses for everything, but we could only get one every hour or two, depending on what time was printed on the pass as being eligible to get another one. I like this procedure, too, as it keeps people from running all over the park and hording passes that may or may not be used.

Overall, I'd say the current FastPass system is well planned and works very well...the most good for the most people during the busiest times.

 

[ceemys]

I have been to WDW 3 times i nthe past 6 years and even though the CM's were lax on the times, we always followed the FP rules. I have never had any issues with the FP line. Sometimes it might be 15 mintues, but that is better than the 60 + for the standby line. I guess I will see how it goes this August.

 

[Cafeen]

Just a point on some of the observations regarding FP line length. We have seen and heard reports of both seemingly opposing perceptions: "The FP lines are longer" and "The FP lines are shorter". This, at first glance, seems to be the typical "No, my way is right" type of observation that we see all over these boards, but, in truth, the two perceptions can coexist and, even more strangely, are both true.

The new policy* regarding the enforcement of the window's end has smoothed out the FP guest rate curve. So, earlier in the morning, when FP usage was typically lower, the FP lines will be longer as people are forced to return within the window to use the FP. As the day goes on, more and more people who would have previously held on to the FP will have used them, which makes the later FP lines shorter than they previously were.

Now, chances are, this curve is still far from flat, due to the fact that the FP return time bumps up whether or not all the allotted FPs have been given out for the previous window. So, it's still likely lower in the mornings as a result, just not AS low as it was before. Likewise, as the FP time gets later beyond the automatic bump, there are simply more people getting FPs which leads to (potentially) more usage, keeping the potential for FP lines later in the day longer than they are in the morning, just not as long as they may have been previous to the new policy.

Just a little food for thought and interesting observation.

*Yes, it is a new policy. The old, written policy was to allow for returns after the window. Since this is no longer the case, that means the policy changed and it is a new policy. I know people are going to jump all over that instead of bothering to read the completely neutral observations after that line.

 

[Victoria3]

I don't think fp lines have gotten any shorter since the enforcement.

I went to DHS on Friday, got a fp for TSMM with a return time of 12:20 - 1:20. Arrived at TSMM around 1pm and the fp line was out to greeter and down the street. CMs had no idea why it was that long. Standby was at 80 mins.

So, I ended not throwing away my fp and moving on.

 

[wcpamotm]

A few notes and observations:

It's always been policy to favor the FP line over the standby line.

I remember a time, under the old policy, waiting in the standby line for BTMRR late in the evening when the FP line was suddenly slammed with new arrivals. There were many FP waiters allowed to pass the join point for every standby waiter, and yet our wait time was still less than posted.

During the latest trip, we observed FP lines both long and short. Splash Mountain was also slammed with new FP arrivals, and the cm was letting 30 of them pass for every 2 standby waiters. So the "luck of the draw" still applies.

Although it should be rare, note that worst case scenario, almost 2 hours worth of FPs could join the line at a time.

 

[mousemom11]

Repeat statement...I was at WDW from 3/29 to 4/2. During that time I must have taken at least 6, maybe 7 Fastpasses. After getting them, only two didn't work out, because of a change in touring time/meals and /or activities at the parks. For those two I went back over to the FP kiosk and stood by the machine until I saw someone that was getting the same number of passes that I had already and simply asked them if they wanted to trade their later one for an earlier one. I got immediate positive answers from the two groups I asked. We swapped them, giving me ones that fit my schedule and we both walked away happy.

I used everyone I got and had no problem with easily meeting the window times. I used up about 10 minutes of time total exchanging both of them. No real hassle at all for me.

Great idea!

 

[goofyernmost]

I'm just in awe that somehow the same number (or more) people are using fastpass each day, yet the lines are ALL miraculously shorter!

Sorry folks, all that does is make me doubt the veracity of everything else you say.

I really think it depends on the time of day, and the time of year that people experience it. Both are probably true. What is also possible is those that have been going in lighter seasons went in a busy one and experience longer lines or broken down attractions and just the opposite for others. It doesn't really matter...a longer FP line is still shorter than Standby...so unless you expect to "walk on" on every ride it is what it is supposed to be. It is much harder work to complain then it is to actually work with the present system. But I'm sure not as much fun as it is to whine.

I had FP for Toy Story a few weeks ago. It took about 20 minutes to ride. The standby line was 90 minutes. So, even though it was 20 minutes it was a Fastpass with the value of 70 minutes. Still good.

 

[detroitdad]

You're not getting it. They've changed it from a system of freedom and relaxation to a much less convenient and more stressful system. You'd have to be incredibly obtuse to not get that. The change does not improve the system for anyone. It only makes people who crave black and white in their lives feel comfort that everyone else has to experience the same rigidity that they have always imposed upon themselves voluntarily.

Seriously? That is a profoundly rude and ridiculously generalized statement. It is only stressful because you choose to make it that way. Those of us that have toured stress free for years, with plenty of ADR's and still manage to make it back during our assigned windows aren't affected by this whatsoever. I could make an equally generalized statement by saying to all of those people that are so up in arms about this that you are all clearly a bunch of entitled whiners who obviously try to bend the rules everyday of your lives and what a great role model you are for your child who will continue this downward spiral of self-absorbed behavior which is trully incapacitating society as we know it. But I won't, because that is an absurd and over the top statement to make....or is it?? kidding...maybe.

People, chill. It's just a fastpass. Figure it out and move on. I'm hungry...craving something black and white with a side of rigidity or obtuseness

 

[Buckeye Princess]

Just a point on some of the observations regarding FP line length. We have seen and heard reports of both seemingly opposing perceptions: "The FP lines are longer" and "The FP lines are shorter". This, at first glance, seems to be the typical "No, my way is right" type of observation that we see all over these boards, but, in truth, the two perceptions can coexist and, even more strangely, are both true.

The new policy* regarding the enforcement of the window's end has smoothed out the FP guest rate curve. So, earlier in the morning, when FP usage was typically lower, the FP lines will be longer as people are forced to return within the window to use the FP. As the day goes on, more and more people who would have previously held on to the FP will have used them, which makes the later FP lines shorter than they previously were.

Now, chances are, this curve is still far from flat, due to the fact that the FP return time bumps up whether or not all the allotted FPs have been given out for the previous window. So, it's still likely lower in the mornings as a result, just not AS low as it was before. Likewise, as the FP time gets later beyond the automatic bump, there are simply more people getting FPs which leads to (potentially) more usage, keeping the potential for FP lines later in the day longer than they are in the morning, just not as long as they may have been previous to the new policy.

Just a little food for thought and interesting observation.

*Yes, it is a new policy. The old, written policy was to allow for returns after the window. Since this is no longer the case, that means the policy changed and it is a new policy. I know people are going to jump all over that instead of bothering to read the completely neutral observations after that line.

Thanks for the thoughts. The logic makes a lot of sense. We tend to leave the parks for home most days by 4ish so that would make sense why they seem longer to us.

 

[Rip]

It was never a system of freedom and relaxation. The tickets always said that you had a return time between X and Y. They never said after X. The fact that Disney did not enforce the time, most of the time because I did experience them enforcing it, did not mean it was ever meant to work that way.

Not the tickets say a return between X and Y and that you cannot come back after Y.

It makes it easier for many, just not the FP hoarders. We found that we could get hard to get FPs much later in the day when they would normally be gone.

Not really trying to nitpick, but this is incorrect. It was Disney's stated policy to allow you to return after the posted return time. It's been posted on here on several occasions in written form from WDW, so no one was breaking any rules at that time. There were only very rare, isolated cases where CMs were instructed to actually turn anyone away after their printed return times.

 

[Crystal824]

We just returned from a trip. On prior trips, DH and I would typically use our FPs within the stated window. We were occassionally late due to an ADR, etc. Yes, it is a pain to have to make it back during the window. Both DH and I thought the FP lines were much shorter than than have been in the past during this trip. We really didn't wait long for any attractions although the parks seemed crowded.

 

[goofyernmost]

Just a little food for thought and interesting observation.

*Yes, it is a new policy. The old, written policy was to allow for returns after the window. Since this is no longer the case, that means the policy changed and it is a new policy. I know people are going to jump all over that instead of bothering to read the completely neutral observations after that line.

I realize that this is a little knit-picky but, there are two things about this that need to be separated.

Rules and Policy issues....Public or Internal

There have been no, to my knowledge, publicly written policy that ever allowed FP usage after the window. It has always been clearly printed on the FP the start and end of the window. Publicly!

Internally, and for whatever reason, Disney let the window stay open for the remainder of the day. Probably because they, at the time, had no real reason to enforce it, but most of the Guests were unaware of this so it wasn't a problem. My feeling is that, over time, more and more Guest did become aware of it and started to use that "unwritten policy". No harm in that...it was, in effect, Disney sanctioned. Never intentionally promoted publicly, but nothing that they were concerned with at the time.

One of two things might have happened to change that...either too many people were "hording" the passes thus causing no one to be there for the more traditional dining or parade/show times and then flooding the gate after or they needed to enforce it to make the changes that they are rumored to be making to the Fastpass system. Or possibly both!

Whatever the case, they are now enforcing the window on Fastpass. This creates a change for people that had been traditionally using the "no end" system, but doesn't have any impact on those that have stayed within the window from the beginning. It really is an easy transition. I know I just did it. Required a little effort, mostly thought, on my part, but I still saw everything I was planning on seeing, just at different times. It didn't require much in the line of additional "backtracking" for me since I know where everything is and can easily plan my schedule around it.

 

[Rip]

BTW, the change in policy is strictly to accomodate the upcoming X-pass, which will by necessity limit the availability of the free Fast Pass system. It's not about the previous policy affecting the system in a negative way at all, because it didn't, but since they are creating a system that guests will have to pay extra for, they have to (1) make the free system less attractive and (2) accomodate for the new system, given that ride capacity obviously cannot change.

 

[detroitdad]

BTW, the change in policy is strictly to accomodate the upcoming X-pass, which will by necessity limit the availability of the free Fast Pass system. It's not about the previous policy affecting the system in a negative way at all, because it didn't, but since they are creating a system that guests will have to pay extra for, they have to (1) make the free system less attractive and (2) accomodate for the new system, given that ride capacity obviously cannot change.

Where and when has it been announced that this is a system that guests will have to pay for?? Speculation. And as long as the old system still works for those of us that never have had an issue with returning during the 1 hr window, it's not any less attractive. I'm not convinced it will limit the old fast pass system. Just look at how many people think that you have to pay for fastpass because they don't look at the park guide. The percentage of hardcore WDW planners are far less than those who just show up and try to wing it. I think that the only people who will bother to pre-plan their fastpasses are the same group that will book ADRs at 180 days. Most people won't even know about it or will care to do it because they don't want to plan a trip to that detail. JMO

 

[Cafeen]

I realize that this is a little knit-picky but, there are two things about this that need to be separated.

Rules and Policy issues....Public or Internal

There have been no, to my knowledge, publicly written policy that ever allowed FP usage after the window. It has always been clearly printed on the FP the start and end of the window. Publicly!

If by "clearly" you mean a general "Please return..." as being an explicit policy of "You must return...", then perhaps. Many did not see it that way, especially when early returns and returns on other dates are explicitly restricted on the ticket, but post-window returns were not.

Besides, once the CMs were trained to accept post-window FPs, and once they started publicly announcing that they would accept post-window FPs, and once the WDW Moderated information panel started allowing that information out, it became the public policy. Whether it's explicitly stated or not, the policy was that they were accepted. That is what's changed.

Of course, it's mostly semantics and that was a little tongue-in-cheek there and a subtle dig at some of the more over-zealous people around these parts (which isn't you)

Internally, and for whatever reason, Disney let the window stay open for the remainder of the day. Probably because they, at the time, had no real reason to enforce it, but most of the Guests were unaware of this so it wasn't a problem. My feeling is that, over time, more and more Guest did become aware of it and started to use that "unwritten policy". No harm in that...it was, in effect, Disney sanctioned. Never intentionally promoted publicly, but nothing that they were concerned with at the time.

One of two things might have happened to change that...either too many people were "hording" the passes thus causing no one to be there for the more traditional dining or parade/show times and then flooding the gate after or they needed to enforce it to make the changes that they are rumored to be making to the Fastpass system. Or possibly both!

Whatever the case, they are now enforcing the window on Fastpass. This creates a change for people that had been traditionally using the "no end" system, but doesn't have any impact on those that have stayed within the window from the beginning. It really is an easy transition. I know I just did it. Required a little effort, mostly thought, on my part, but I still saw everything I was planning on seeing, just at different times. It didn't require much in the line of additional "backtracking" for me since I know where everything is and can easily plan my schedule around it.

While I am not for the new policy* (or the change in policy, or the enforcement of the actual policy, or whatever you want to call it ), I do agree with much of this. I'd also blame the whiners (along with the excessive hoarders you mentioned), but that may just be my cynicism showing through.

I do get a bit annoyed at the high and mighty tone of "We NEVER broke the 'rules' and used 'late' FPs! So, this doesn't affect us one bit!" Most here, even those that previously did not use post-window FPs, aren't that way. There are more than a few people on these boards that come across as just that.

In the end, I'm putting off work because I don't want to do it, and pretty much getting lost in my own arguments about stuff I agree with the quoted person on....


* Of course, just because I don't agree with it, does not mean I don't accept it. It is what it is, and my travel plans will not change all that much thanks to mid-September emptiness

 

[ilovemk76]

Not really trying to nitpick, but this is incorrect. It was Disney's stated policy to allow you to return after the posted return time. It's been posted on here on several occasions in written form from WDW, so no one was breaking any rules at that time. There were only very rare, isolated cases where CMs were instructed to actually turn anyone away after their printed return times.

It was stated by many here that it was policy but I never once saw proof that it was policy.

Show proof where it was policy.

 

[ilovemk76]

BTW, the change in policy is strictly to accomodate the upcoming X-pass, which will by necessity limit the availability of the free Fast Pass system. It's not about the previous policy affecting the system in a negative way at all, because it didn't, but since they are creating a system that guests will have to pay extra for, they have to (1) make the free system less attractive and (2) accomodate for the new system, given that ride capacity obviously cannot change.

Pure speculation on your part.