Not impressed with the current fastpass system

[rt2dz]

Exactly. As someone said earlier, it is a choice. We have never in all our trips had to choose between a FP and a meal, but now we do. We've never had to worry about how accurate a posted standby time really is, but now we do. We've never had to stress out about whether being seated 45min after our ADR time or having glacial service drags a meal out to 2+ hours will mean missing a must-do ride, but now we do. And we've always been able to tour in a roughly geographic pattern that is incompatible with the current FP rules.

I'm reading through the thread now. I didn't want to fully post until I was done, but this post changed my mind. THIS is exactly how I feel about it.

I am here now with my oldest DS on a "mom and me" trip, and I'm not liking the new enforcement. We were never "hoarders" of FP. We *generally* used them within the window, or very shortly after. Only occasionally holding onto one for hours--like once or twice over our 10 day trips.

What we are finding is that we are doing so much less. Before we didn't have to worry about our window. If a show caught our interest in Animal Kingdom, or the street performers in DHS, or something else, we could watch. Not now. It's "Hurry up! Let's go!" If the kids saw something in the stores, we could browse. Not now. We might browse too long, and the lines at the register could be long or slow if we decided to buy something. If we decided to stop and get some popcorn or a Mickey bar, no problem. Not now, it might take too long to eat--or clean up sticky hands when ice cream is melting fast. On the upside, I'm spending a heck of a lot less!

Then, there is the ride break-down issue. Thursday evening, HM stopped. Right before we were to get off. Someone threw-up ("technical issues") all over the conveyor belt and it took 21 minutes (DS timed it) to get janitorial services out there to clean and sterilize it. Trust me, I appreciate it. I had a "great" view, so I really appreciated it. This was all after the posted wait time of 15 minutes took 30 minutes. Line wasn't long, but the wait was. Something else must have happened. But that meant we barely made it for our Buzz FP. Which, by the way, also broke down and almost caused us to be late for our ADR. And, God Forbid, you miss an ADR now (not that we did, but...) Very stressful, and we enjoyed nothing because of it.

Then the running around to see "IF" the FP will work for us. I do have a iphone--with the apps. But guess what, they often AREN'T accurate. I have several too (Lines, Disney's, Undercover Tourist, and others). It might only be 30 minutes off, but that does make a huge difference. And, I'm finding the internet connection in the park to be slow/or won't connect at all (4G makes no difference). Maybe it's because the parks are fairly crowded...?

Then running through the park and crowds for a much-later FP than when we grabbed it is no fun. There is a fine line between hurrying and being down-right rude.

We're finding we're standing around for FP for fear of missing them if we dare do **anything** else. We are standing in stand-by more often that not. Yep, it's a matter of choices. Once upon a time, there were no FP at all. I get that. I remember that. I've gone every year since 1976. Sometimes, multiple times a year. Right now, I'm averaging every 6 months (7-12 days per trip).

I just don't like it. I talked to the CM at TSM and she said it's a great theory. In the beginning, it seemed to really help lines, but now they are noticing stand-by lines are much longer even though the FP lines are shorter. She said a lot of the FP are going unused because people just can't make it.

We plan, but we like flexibility too. It's necessary for us. DS#3 has autism and tight schedules won't work.

Will we survive under the new system? Yes. Will we continue to go to Disney? For now, but that can change.

Just thought I'd share my experiences. They are very close to the OPs. I am interested in the comment "validate your FP for a later time" ???? What have I missed?

 

[ilovemk76]

The better part is good to hear - that was something I'd been wondering. If the new way of doing it or enforcing it or whatever makes it easier to get one on the TSM or Soarin now. Sounds like maybe yes. Going in July not expecting too much due to busy time period so we skip what we skip, but only because we are back in November when the majority of our trip is empty parks

We just got back. We went to DHS at rope drop and got FPs for TSM. The return time was between 10:30 and 11:30. We did a few things and returned to use our FPs at 10:50. We noticed there were FPs available for 3:55, so we got a second FP to TSM.

In past trips, when we got a FP at rope drop, by the time our window opened up the FPs were either gone or for just before closing.

 

[origin62]

I'm reading through the thread now. I didn't want to fully post until I was done, but this post changed my mind. THIS is exactly how I feel about it.

I am here now with my oldest DS on a "mom and me" trip, and I'm not liking the new enforcement. We were never "hoarders" of FP. We *generally* used them within the window, or very shortly after. Only occasionally holding onto one for hours--like once or twice over our 10 day trips.

What we are finding is that we are doing so much less. Before we didn't have to worry about our window. If a show caught our interest in Animal Kingdom, or the street performers in DHS, or something else, we could watch. Not now. It's "Hurry up! Let's go!" If the kids saw something in the stores, we could browse. Not now. We might browse too long, and the lines at the register could be long or slow if we decided to buy something. If we decided to stop and get some popcorn or a Mickey bar, no problem. Not now, it might take too long to eat--or clean up sticky hands when ice cream is melting fast. On the upside, I'm spending a heck of a lot less!

Then, there is the ride break-down issue. Thursday evening, HM stopped. Right before we were to get off. Someone threw-up ("technical issues") all over the conveyor belt and it took 21 minutes (DS timed it) to get janitorial services out there to clean and sterilize it. Trust me, I appreciate it. I had a "great" view, so I really appreciated it. This was all after the posted wait time of 15 minutes took 30 minutes. Line wasn't long, but the wait was. Something else must have happened. But that meant we barely made it for our Buzz FP. Which, by the way, also broke down and almost caused us to be late for our ADR. And, God Forbid, you miss an ADR now (not that we did, but...) Very stressful, and we enjoyed nothing because of it.

Then the running around to see "IF" the FP will work for us. I do have a iphone--with the apps. But guess what, they often AREN'T accurate. I have several too (Lines, Disney's, Undercover Tourist, and others). It might only be 30 minutes off, but that does make a huge difference. And, I'm finding the internet connection in the park to be slow/or won't connect at all (4G makes no difference). Maybe it's because the parks are fairly crowded...?

Then running through the park and crowds for a much-later FP than when we grabbed it is no fun. There is a fine line between hurrying and being down-right rude.

We're finding we're standing around for FP for fear of missing them if we dare do **anything** else. We are standing in stand-by more often that not. Yep, it's a matter of choices. Once upon a time, there were no FP at all. I get that. I remember that. I've gone every year since 1976. Sometimes, multiple times a year. Right now, I'm averaging every 6 months (7-12 days per trip).

I just don't like it. I talked to the CM at TSM and she said it's a great theory. In the beginning, it seemed to really help lines, but now they are noticing stand-by lines are much longer even though the FP lines are shorter. She said a lot of the FP are going unused because people just can't make it.

We plan, but we like flexibility too. It's necessary for us. DS#3 has autism and tight schedules won't work.

Will we survive under the new system? Yes. Will we continue to go to Disney? For now, but that can change.

Just thought I'd share my experiences. They are very close to the OPs. I am interested in the comment "validate your FP for a later time" ???? What have I missed?

I also wondered what that meant. Thank you for asking.

 

[nkereina]

Using FP late was WRONG because B) It caused giant back-ups in the FP return lines late in the day.

Not really. Just because people were allowed to use FPs after their time had passed doesn't mean everyone waited until the end of the day to use them. Some people may have been a half hour past their time, some may have been three hours past their time. IMO, it kept FP lines shorter because everyone was staggered as to when they would come back. There may have been a few times when the FP line was backed up because several people came back at once, but now that will be more frequent because the people who have to be back within that hour, will be.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I hope they hurry with the next system because what they have right now is broken!

And yes XHMPM is my way of saying extra hours magic PM (evening).

While I don't disagree that any transition should have been smoother, I do disagree that operating FastPass the way it was originally designed (and operated) means it's "broken".

And thanks for not getting upset - so far - about being questioned re: XHMPM; while it makes sense to call something whatever one wants in private converstion (snooky-ookums, for example ), probably the more typical PM EMH or PMEMH would have averted any questions.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I know this has been discussed to death, but this experience is exactly what I'm afraid of on my upcoming trip. I have a very basic cell phone that has no apps, so without crossing the park there's no way to know what the current FP return time is? So I could end up crossing the park and finding out that Splash Mountain's window falls smack into an ADR.

Yes, yes, first world problems, but for the compulsive Disney planner in me I feel like it's a whole new world.

I've actually been contemplating getting an iPhone just so I can use the fastpass ap! How insane is that.

No comment on that last line but I think Apple (and FaceBook, but that's a complaint for a different thread ) has us brainwashed.

iPhone isn't the onle smartphone; you can probably upgrade your current phone to one that lets you download the wait times app. If not, there's always the PAYG phone option. You can buy app-capable smartphones with most of these services as well, with no contract.

But to your first issue: every park has a wait times board somewhere around the center of the park.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm not looking forward to the new fp system either


Are fp used during MNSSHP?

It's not new. The current enforcement is actually a bit more lax than the original procedure.

 

[nkereina]

No comment on that last line but I think Apple (and FaceBook, but that's a complaint for a different thread ) has us brainwashed.

iPhone isn't the onle smartphone; you can probably upgrade your current phone to one that lets you download the wait times app. If not, there's always the PAYG phone option. You can buy app-capable smartphones with most of these services as well, with no contract.

But to your first issue: every park has a wait times board somewhere around the center of the park.

I believe its the Touring Plans app Lines that shows the status of Fast Passes (return time, whether its gone, etc). I'm thinking Lines may only be available on iPhone? Not sure. But to the poster you quoted (couldn't find the original post) - you'd also need a Touring Plans subscription. AND I wouldn't buy an iPhone for that reason alone - I didn't find the Fast Pass info on Lines to be all that accurate.

 

[kaytieeldr]

*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.

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.

Not to nitpick but the original actual policy, procedure, and practice when FastPass first went into effect in 1998 was to strictly adhere to the return window. no five minutes early, no fifteen minutes to X hours late...

Somewhere between 2002 and 2007 (using various editions of The Unofficial Guide as reference), the procedure was relaxed to permit returns any time after the return window opened; likely toward the lower end of this range, but definitely by 2005 because there was a lot of discussion about the window being enforced at the then-new Soarin'.

Somewhere in that period, this information was provided in writing to Cast Members, for consistency. A (former?) CM or someone with access to information CMs get in the course of preforming their jobs subsequently took a picture of this seemingly proprietary information (not that the public can't know about the practice, but the page itself) and one or more persons retain that image and post it to support the "this is how FastPass is supposed to be" theory.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, because when CMs told me FPs were good until park closing, I should have said, "oh no, we'd never do that!"

Any changes they've made to the return policy are obviously in preparation for X-Pass, period.

Funny. You 'should have said' what you probably did say: "Okay, thank you!", and then either use them within the printed return window or not.

I suppose if some posters wish to refer to a reversion to original policy as a change, that can't be stopped.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Because we didn't know better, we used the FP as intended, returning within the window on the ticket. Kudos to those who used them in a more efficient manner, but the whining about Disney now enforcing the FP system per the rules is a bit ridiculous. It worked fine for us before and I'm sure will continue to do so.

 

[PurpleDavid44]

Hi, just returned from two great weeks at Saratoga Springs. Just need to let people know - YOU CAN ONLY RETURN WITH YOUR FASTPASS IN YOUR ALLOCATED TIME! - NO EXCEPTIONS. Cast Members are really strict now. Lets face it, we have taken advantage of being able to "pop" back when we feel like it! With the popularity of rides such as Toy Story Mania, it does make sense. Enjoy!

 

[Robo]

To put a sharper edge on this...

There is a new "system" in the pipeline.

Nobody here knows exactly what changes will be made,
but we know that there are going to be changes.

I can tell you that if this window enforcement is the first step,
I am not looking forward to the other shoe dropping.

And, yes, those of you who did not know that you could use same-day FastPasses after the end of the printed window...
and enjoyed how the FP system worked in the past...
and works now...
get ready...
because that, without a doubt, is about to be changed, too.

 

[EveDallas]

I believe its the Touring Plans app Lines that shows the status of Fast Passes (return time, whether its gone, etc). I'm thinking Lines may only be available on iPhone? Not sure. But to the poster you quoted (couldn't find the original post) - you'd also need a Touring Plans subscription. AND I wouldn't buy an iPhone for that reason alone - I didn't find the Fast Pass info on Lines to be all that accurate.

The Lines app is available on Android phones. I have it on mine.

 

[KellyNY]

To put a sharper edge on this...

There is a new "system" in the pipeline.

Nobody here knows exactly what changes will be made,
but we know that there are going to be changes.

I can tell you that if this window enforcement is the first step,
I am not looking forward to the other shoe dropping.

And, yes, those of you who did not know that you could use same-day FastPasses after the end of the printed window...
and enjoyed how the FP system worked in the past...
and works now...
get ready...
because that, without a doubt, is about to be changed, too.

Yep, it will change and I cannot wait. I guess everyone is different but I am excited.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm not excited personally but we're free spirits in the parks. We can easily return during windows because we tend to stay put in one area but we prefer to have more control over where and when. If that makes sense.

But we'll see what it's all about. If it gets too strict then I don't know if I can enjoy the parks like we do now.

 

[pigby]

Hi, just returned from two great weeks at Saratoga Springs. Just need to let people know - YOU CAN ONLY RETURN WITH YOUR FASTPASS IN YOUR ALLOCATED TIME! - NO EXCEPTIONS. Cast Members are really strict now. Lets face it, we have taken advantage of being able to "pop" back when we feel like it! With the popularity of rides such as Toy Story Mania, it does make sense. Enjoy!

Off to OKW very soon - apologies - havent been keeping up with this thread - is the original 15 minutes 'grace' after your timeslot also disappeared now?

 

[KellyNY]

Off to OKW very soon - apologies - havent been keeping up with this thread - is the original 15 minutes 'grace' after your timeslot also disappeared now?

Not that I heard of, just see if it is still printed on your FP to be sure.

 

[DisneyLindsay]

To put a sharper edge on this...

There is a new "system" in the pipeline.

Nobody here knows exactly what changes will be made,
but we know that there are going to be changes.

I can tell you that if this window enforcement is the first step,
I am not looking forward to the other shoe dropping.

And, yes, those of you who did not know that you could use same-day FastPasses after the end of the printed window...
and enjoyed how the FP system worked in the past...
and works now...
get ready...
because that, without a doubt, is about to be changed, too.

Can you explain?

 

[mesaboy2]

Can you explain?

Robo is alluding to FastPass+, which will modify or replace the existing FP system. No verifiable details are known, so there isn't much more to say.