Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

[ELLH]

Honestly, the only benefit I see to this notion is that it would (likely) make FPs more useful again. With the number of FPs distributed and the frequent refreshing, it seems the FP has lost at least some degree of effectiveness; now everyone has a FP. At some points in my vacations it felt like guests would be better off as a whole just altogether abandoning the FP+ method. So, if Disney were to move forward with a 'pay to play' FP experience it might be an even more, legitimate efficient means of visiting attractions.

 

[The Pho]

But people have been saying this was imminent FOREVER.

And SO FAR, every time they do something and people begin with the doom and gloom predictions, the trajectory of the parks continues to trend upward (with predictable bumps during economic downturns that would happen regardless).

If they've overshot with this, they can tweak or reverse. Nothing irreversible here.

My point was that they haven’t reached that tipping point yet. And this likely won’t get them there either, since they’ll roll the change out slowly and charging for line skipping is an industry standard. They are still a very well regarded company. To the general public they are not greedy. In order for them to actually feel something here, that perception would have to change but they still haven’t found the edge.

Look at the companies that have earned that reputation and you’ll see it’s hard to shake (EA, Exxon, Sears, Filenes, etc.)

 

[JaxDad]

The question is .. will they TIER the rides? Like .. would I only be able to get the FREE fast passes for Tier 2 rides, but have to pay for the Tier 1? Would they then introduce tiering to MK where you can only get free FPs for things like Small World or Dumbo, but pay for the mountains?

Maybe something like this...

 

[tlmadden73]

You should be aware taking away Fastpasses won’t necessarily make the standby lines shorter waits. Since the rides only have a specific capacity all that limiting a third fastpass would do is likely increase the people in the standby line so on average I think the wait times will seem the same. Actually it might be worse if they limit the additional Fastpasses day of because those were specifically used by Disney (it’s an actively monitored system) to encourage people to move to other parts of a park or even a different park at whole.

I see that point.
I mean .. from a business standpoint .. its a brilliant system. Disney can release as many FASTPASSES as they want for any attraction (to a limit) . but they ARE limited - which makes them scare. If they are scarce, people are willing to pay for them.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Kind of like resort parking.

I wish you are correct and there isn't any impact this summer, otherwise I'm going to have to stock up on the Pepto at Costco

I think dropping from 3 free FP to 1 would have more of an impact than parking. Think of how heavily Disney has promoted pre-booking 3 free FP with mailers, magnets, emails.

Totally agree @SilSprBea ! I'm going to buy a case of Pepto just in case

 

[tlmadden73]

Maybe something like this...
View attachment 387657

LOL .. it is getting back to that point isnt it.The demand for all these new attractions will be super high.

 

[crvetter]

I see that point.
I mean .. from a business standpoint .. its a brilliant system. Disney can release as many FASTPASSES as they want for any attraction (to a limit) . but they ARE limited - which makes them scare. If they are scarce, people are willing to pay for them.

Agree, for the right price I'll probably end up buying. Though it has to be priced just right so that they are selling all of them or else the flow of the system most have been used to will be disrupted. Also selling FastPass might not get someone to hop to Epcot/MK say from AK when Disney needs to move crowds. So they lose something that has been very effective in crowd control.

 

[DavidNYC]

So, if Disney were to move forward with a 'pay to play' FP experience it might be an even more, legitimate efficient means of visiting attractions.

Of course it would be. For the privileged class in the country. But one more example of those with the financial means taking away from those who can't afford it and redistributing to those who can pay. Disney ride capacity is a zero sum game - you give to one group you take from another. Yes - it's been done on a limited basis with VIP tours and Club Level. But make that the norm and it just furthers the divide between those who have and those who don't. It changes the entire character of a park when it's so blatant. Not so much a big deal for things like a six flags, but Disney has build itself up based on a reputation. This would completely change that.

 

[Anchored]

I wonder what this means for AP's? We are a family of 6 and APers. There is no way we can afford to pay MaxPass prices ($15-$20 per person per day) every time we go. This would decrease the value of my pass tremendously IMO

 

[snappy]

Exactly. Unlike pairing an AP with an on-site deluxe at Universal.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

My point was that they haven’t reached that tipping point yet. And this likely won’t get them there either, since they’ll roll the change out slowly and charging for line skipping is an industry standard. They are still a very well regarded company. To the general public they are not greedy. In order for them to actually feel something here, that perception would have to change but they still haven’t found the edge.

Look at the companies that have earned that reputation and you’ll see it’s hard to shake (EA, Exxon, Sears, Filenes, etc.)

Based upon my own eavesdropping around here, they already have the reputation of a greedy company. In the past year or so I'm hearing it at the school bus stop, McDonalds play areas, the park, etc.

Until the last year or so, I've never heard things like this when I'm out and about.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe something like this...
View attachment 387657

But how much did you pay to enter the park back then?

 

[tlmadden73]

Of course it would be. For the privileged class in the country. But one more example of those with the financial means taking away from those who can't afford it and redistributing to those who can pay. Disney ride capacity is a zero sum game - you give to one group you take from another. Yes - it's been done on a limited basis with VIP tours and Club Level. But make that the norm and it just furthers the divide between those who have and those who don't. It changes the entire character of a park when it's so blatant. Not so much a big deal for things like a six flags, but Disney has build itself up based on a reputation. This would completely change that.

Shrug
I dont like it but it isnt anything new.
Want better seats at the basketball game? pay more
Want to actually SEE the band and not just watch a video screen? pay more
Want to stay on the monorail line? pay more

What stinks is the PR reception this will have by charging for something that was free. But hey.. they rode out the paid parking issue and I am one of those suckers that will be paying for parking because I chose to drive my own car to their resort.

To me that is more infurirating than paid fast passes. There is no added value for paying to park your car for days.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

What stinks is the PR reception this will have by charging for something that was free. But hey.. they rode out the paid parking issue and I am one of those suckers that will be paying for parking because I chose to drive my own car to their resort.

To me that is more infurirating than paid fast passes. There is no added value for paying to park your car for days.

At least with the parking, they grandfathered in all those with existing resort reservations to get free parking. So, when people booked their room, they knew they would have to pay for parking. It was a pre-booking price increase.

This seems like it will be a downgrade for those with existing reservations, a very different thing. Especially as tickets are non-refundable.

 

[intertile]

There is a lot of different possibilities in play for what may happen. What I heard was the following possibility:
Fastpass will remain as it is. I.e. 60 day window for onsite guests, 30 day window for offsite.
The initial reservable FP would decrease from 3 to 2. 1 first tier, 1 second tier for tiered parks
Disney will allocate 70%( I am making this number up) of the FP inventory to the current free system
The 30%(making this up as well) remaining inventory will be sold as a package available to anyone at 60 days out.
So, basically you could purchase an all day(1 entry to ride, just not time associated) fp package at AK that would have FOP and the safari or FOP and Dinosaur, etc. That package would run $50/per person per day(making up the cost as well)
All unsold fp+ would be released into inventory the day of. So, on June 5th, whatever FP packages were not sold would become available for everyone to book.

I can't guarantee anything, but I would expect some variation of the above.

 

[tlmadden73]

Based upon my own eavesdropping around here, they already have the reputation of a greedy company. In the past year or so I'm hearing it at the school bus stop, McDonalds play areas, the park, etc.

Until the last year or so, I've never heard things like this when I'm out and about.

Right . in todays social media world .. these rumors or changes spread QUICK on new sites and Facebook.

I hear people who arent in the know (like we are) talk about Disney price increases or the huge uproar over parking fees.

Disney needs to tread carefully, because this will be reported like this:
With expected increased attendance after SWGE opening, WDW now charging for Fast Passes that have been free for X years.

 

[The Pho]

Based upon my own eavesdropping around here, they already have the reputation of a greedy company. In the past year or so I'm hearing it at the school bus stop, McDonalds play areas, the park, etc.

Until the last year or so, I've never heard things like this when I'm out and about.

They’ve definitely pushed some over the edge. I’ve heard it some as well, but overall they still aren’t there yet.

 

[UrsulaTime]

It changes the entire character of a park when it's so blatant. Not so much a big deal for things like a six flags, but Disney has build itself up based on a reputation.

^This.^

 

[tlmadden73]

There is a lot of different possibilities in play for what may happen. What I heard was the following possibility:
Fastpass will remain as it is. I.e. 60 day window for onsite guests, 30 day window for offsite.
The initial reservable FP would decrease from 3 to 2. 1 first tier, 1 second tier for tiered parks
Disney will allocate 70%( I am making this number up) of the FP inventory to the current free system
The 30%(making this up as well) remaining inventory will be sold as a package available to anyone at 60 days out.
So, basically you could purchase an all day fp package at AK that would have FOP and the safari or FOP and Dinosaur, etc. That package would run $50/per person per day(making up the cost as well)
All unsold fp+ would be released into inventory the day of. So, on June 5th, whatever FP packages were not sold would become available for everyone to book.

I can't guarantee anything, but I would expect some variation of the above.

Thats a good point. Didnt they already test these FP packages already at MK ..letting you choose a pre-chosen set of FPs (for your 3) at MK?

They key will be:
Will this just be paying for ONE FP per day (basically paying for the 3rd FP that may be removed)
OR
Will this be paying for MANY FPs for that day
OR
Will this be for 3rd FP .. but can be used any time .. anywhere.

or will there be tiers?
$50 for a 3rd fast pass
$100 for a FP package of several rides. (like a Toy Story Package)
$200 for an unlimited FP for every ride in the park once - (no scheduling)

 

[JaxDad]

But how much did you pay to enter the park back then?

My Disney-savvy older cousin had the best scam. Even though we were pretty young, we would tour the park separately from my parents--it was the good old days after all. My cousin would then take us to "Lost Parents" and tell them we couldn't find our parents. They would take our information, give us ride tickets and food vouchers, then send us back out and tell us to keep checking in regularly. Did I mention it was the good old days?