Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

[JakeAZ]

I think the problem with that logic is that you are looking at the utility of fast pass from the standpoint of the individual guest (which is of course a totally reasonable thing for an individual guest to do), but WDW looks at it from the standpoint of global park operations.

Very true, but they have the park pass system now to assist with that.

I have a hard time seeing that ever disappearing. I know guests hate it, but WDW LOVES it. Gives them all the control in the world.

 

[Runnsally]

Very true, but they have the park pass system now to assist with that.

I have a hard time seeing that ever disappearing. I know guests hate it, but WDW LOVES it. Gives them all the control in the world.

Agreed Park Pass is here to stay as it allows WDW to optimize staffing and other variable costs.

My understanding is that WDW designed FP+ to optimize folks movement through the parks so they could spend more time shopping, dining, etc. Not sure if that actually panned out however.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

CL FP program was $50 per person per day for a minimum of 3 days. It gave you three additional FP, no restriction on tiers and bookable at 90 days. Initially reserved area for nighttime spectaculars were included but later (I don't remember when) nighttime spectaculars were removed. IPO, $50 without nighttime reserved spots was way over priced....

In November 2019, my family of four utilized this option for the three day minimum and it cost 600.00 extra. We loved it. The only drawback was having to schedule the six fast passes per day an hour apart so it is best used with park hopping if you don’t stay in one park all day or need an afternoon break.

it was a last minute trip and the only discounted room I could find was BC club or gran destiino club level deluxe room. BC is our favorite resort and we were just feet away from club level lounge So we were Very happy.

I do wish it could be booked with any resort stay room type though. And I think using it for four days would have been better.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

CL FP program was $50 per person per day for a minimum of 3 days. It gave you three additional FP, no restriction on tiers and bookable at 90 days. Initially reserved area for nighttime spectaculars were included but later (I don't remember when) nighttime spectaculars were removed. IPO, $50 without nighttime reserved spots was way over priced....

In November 2019, my family of four utilized this option for the three day minimum and it cost 600.00 extra. We loved it. The only drawback was having to schedule them an hour apart. so it is best used with park hopping if you don’t stay into one park all day or need an afternoon break.

it was a last minute trip and the only discounted room I could find was BC club or gran destiino club level deluxe room. BC is our favorite resort and we were just feet away from club level lounge So we were Very happy.

I do wish it could be booked with any resort stay room type though. And I think using it for four days would have been better.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

Unless the purpose is just that they realize most people would pay $25 for something they are now getting for free (especially because if you don’t it materially makes your trip worse, even though the fact that because everyone is paying for it it doesn’t make it materially better).

Part of the problem for Disney is I don’t see how they could implement a more expensive system that works as well as Universal unless they charged A LOT more for it. Universal’s system works because there is a capacity limit on days when it’s necessary and because Universal’s parks have more attractions per visitor than Disney. Even with the Express Pass in place most Universal rides have tolerable waits unless they are brand new, and that is not the case at WDW. If Disney wanted a paid FP it would have to limit those who use it, either by putting an artificial cap on those who can get it (which would probably have to be smaller than the number of on-site rooms available) or pricing it high enough to make it inaccessible to all but those able or willing to spend a lot on it. If Disney could have come up with a low cost or free to on-site guests version of FP that worked, they probably would have by now.

I believe the Club Level Extra Fastpass promotion rolled out in 2019 supports this theory.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

Maybe

But for a family of 4, a desert party is $400+ for what, 20 minutes? Those sell out.

A Tower Theme Park view room (with no fireworks currently showing) is $900+ per night at Contemporary during busy season. People still pay it.

Disney has shown time and time again they can "overcharge" and people will just keep paying.

We only go to wdw every 3 to 4 years ,so I am one of those who will pay for a desert party for holiday fireworks and castle show ( duration at least an hour and they let us in early). on our last W&W trip in 2019 we stayed in a discounted club level room and bought extra fast passes (the promotion was 50.00 per person per day for a minimum of 3 days for a cost of $600.00.I have to say walking on to six attractions per day was nice, especially since we could only go during expensive and very crowded Holiday weeks like thanksgiving, Christmas or spring break-due to work and school schedules.it was so crowded there were no fast passes available on day of for any attractions.

i am curious to see what they will do with fast-pass plus once capacity increases.

 

[StuckInKS]

I do see the the problem you'd face if they implemented a system like this. I know I originally posted this example, but I still don't believe they will do something like Max Pass. I believe it will be something like Universal EP, where the price is much higher and NOT included for on-site. You might get a better price by staying on-site though (depending on level of accommodations).

In your example, I assume you had 8 people for 10 days? While, yes that would add quite a bit to the overall cost, a trip of that many people for that length of time is probably not the norm.

IDK, but if I'm there for 5 days with my family of 4 and the added cost is $25pp / per day, to be in the best position to experience the rides, I'd bite the bullet and buy it. I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd do it because the alternative would be to be at a disadvantage after spending all that other money to make the trip happen. A fee like that like would also make us re-think future trips though.

So higher than Max Pass? I'm not saying we definitely wouldn't buy it, but it would definitely kick our tickets into crazy range. I hope they would include some kind of freebie or discount for onsite people, though our preferred value range probably won't get much.

 

[StuckInKS]

CL FP program was $50 per person per day for a minimum of 3 days. It gave you three additional FP, no restriction on tiers and bookable at 90 days. Initially reserved area for nighttime spectaculars were included but later (I don't remember when) nighttime spectaculars were removed. IPO, $50 without nighttime reserved spots was way over priced....

Yikes! I didn't participate in it, but I thought it was much cheaper than that. Seems like a lot of money for 3 FP per day.

 

[mshanson3121]

Don't all the off site hotels pretty much have free shuttle buses to the parks as well? The monorail, skyliner and boats are unique to disney hotels, but buses aren't.

No, not even close. And many of the ones that do offer it, the shuttle service sucks - long wait times, and very limited service (might run to the park at 8:00, 11:00 and 1:00 and then pick up at 5:00 and 9:00), and then many only take you to Epcot and then you still have to transfer to the other parks via bus/monorail.

 

[Elephantay]

(meant to quote @Elephantay here)

Well yes, but people can’t park at the resorts to get to the parks in the morning using that transportation.

Being able to wake up in the morning, walk to the dock, bus stop, or monorail platform is very convenient.

Not having to go through the TTC in the morning or during the rush at the end of the night is convenient.

Being able to hop on the monorail to go back to your resort for a quick afternoon nap or pool break? So convenient.

I totally understand that the close proximity of many hotels is a perk, but there are also many who swear by offsite lodging that is supposedly closer to parks than some Disney hotels. And yes, we've found WDW transportation to be great- even at AKL which is often referenced as far from everything. Frequent buses always and love the updated signs which let you know when they are coming. One of the things we love about WDW is not having to drive anywhere, ever! My point was that once guests are in the world, everything if free to everyone.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I totally understand that the close proximity of many hotels is a perk, but there are also many who swear by offsite lodging that is supposedly closer to parks than some Disney hotels. And yes, we've found WDW transportation to be great- even at AKL which is often referenced as far from everything. Frequent buses always and love the updated signs which let you know when they are coming. One of the things we love about WDW is not having to drive anywhere, ever! My point was that once guests are in the world, everything if free to everyone.

Which offsite hotels (other than Swolphin) are closer to the parks then disney hotels?

 

[C&Jx2]

Which offsite hotels (other than Swolphin) are closer to the parks then disney hotels?

The Disney Springs hotels can be considered closer to some than say, AKL (Besides AK).

 

[mshanson3121]

The Disney Springs hotels can be considered closer to some than say, AKL (Besides AK).

I think when people speak of "closer" they often mean it as in "time to get there". However, there are actually a lot of off site resorts and hotels that are technically closer in distance to some of the parks. Here's a good list for the distance from Disney Resorts to the parks:

https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/resort-distances.htm
As for hotels/resorts that are closer, just naming a few that I have personally looked at when trip planning:

Windsor Hills
Bonnet Creek (both of them)
Town Place Suites LBV
Grand Cypress
Comfort Suites Maingate East
Celebration Suites

 

[firefly_ris]

Which offsite hotels (other than Swolphin) are closer to the parks then disney hotels?

Wyndham Bonnet Creek is closer to Epcot, DHS and MK than Pop and All Stars it looks like.

 

[C&Jx2]

I think when people speak of "closer" they often mean it as in "time to get there". However, there are actually a lot of off site resorts and hotels that are technically closer in distance to some of the parks. Here's a good list for the distance from Disney Resorts to the parks:

https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/resort-distances.htm
As for hotels/resorts that are closer, just naming a few that I have personally looked at when trip planning:

Windsor Hills
Bonnet Creek (both of them)
Town Place Suites LBV
Grand Cypress
Comfort Suites Maingate East
Celebration Suites

Yep. I was just too lazy to get into all of that

 

[mshanson3121]

Yep. I was just too lazy to get into all of that

Haha, and I actually meant to quote @Fido Chuckwagon, but hit you by mistake it would appear lol

 

[Disturbia]

I saw TOT at 120 minutes a couple of minutes ago. This is at 35% capacity (which should offset the social distancing and ride cleaning times). We had to skip riding Small World this past Nov (off peak first week) because the line was over 60 minutes for most of the day (this line used to be no longer than 25 mins).

Fast pass plus allowed us to go and relax in-between rides (and spend a lot more on snacks/souvenirs) and take breaks. Asking a 5-6 year old to stand in the hot sun (no mid day break short hours) for 60+ minutes (most rides) and not take a sip of water or eat ice cream or go potty to ride a 2 minute ride is ridiculous. So you would ride 5-6 rides (for $1.5-2k) all day if you took lunch, snack and dinner breaks.

This can be fixed by extending hours AND bring back fast passes. I hope Disney considers the experience of their future customers (young children) and the experiences they are currently having.

Maybe give all kids (9 and under) unlimited fast passes.

 

[TinkB278]

I saw TOT at 120 minutes a couple of minutes ago. This is at 35% capacity (which should offset the social distancing and ride cleaning times). We had to skip riding Small World this past Nov (off peak first week) because the line was over 60 minutes for most of the day (this line used to be no longer than 25 mins).

Fast pass plus allowed us to go and relax in-between rides (and spend a lot more on snacks/souvenirs) and take breaks. Asking a 5-6 year old to stand in the hot sun (no mid day break short hours) for 60+ minutes (most rides) and not take a sip of water or eat ice cream or go potty to ride a 2 minute ride is ridiculous. So you would ride 5-6 rides (for $1.5-2k) all day if you took lunch, snack and dinner breaks.

This can be fixed by extending hours AND bring back fast passes. I hope Disney considers the experience of their future customers (young children) and the experiences they are currently having.

Maybe give all kids (9 and under) unlimited fast passes.

Exactly! While standing in long lines may work for older children and adults, for smaller kids it’s not realistic.

We are thinking about bringing our toddler in May however I’m considering doing a resort only stay with dvc points. I already know we won’t be able to ride many rides due to no fast pass and his short tolerance for standing still. Without rides, what is even the point of the parks right now with such few experiences and entertainment??

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Maybe give all kids (9 and under) unlimited fast passes.

Um, do you realize how long FP lines would be if every family with kids 9 and under had FP access? It would certainly not be fast. That’s almost everyone at WDW. It would be a ridiculously long FP line and make the standby line longer due to all the stopping and starting. This is totally not feasible. Even though I am a parent of small children, it is clear that even if it did work (and it wouldn’t) it would be totally unfair to everyone else who doesn’t have small kids.

 

[Eric Smith]

I saw TOT at 120 minutes a couple of minutes ago. This is at 35% capacity (which should offset the social distancing and ride cleaning times). We had to skip riding Small World this past Nov (off peak first week) because the line was over 60 minutes for most of the day (this line used to be no longer than 25 mins).

Fast pass plus allowed us to go and relax in-between rides (and spend a lot more on snacks/souvenirs) and take breaks. Asking a 5-6 year old to stand in the hot sun (no mid day break short hours) for 60+ minutes (most rides) and not take a sip of water or eat ice cream or go potty to ride a 2 minute ride is ridiculous. So you would ride 5-6 rides (for $1.5-2k) all day if you took lunch, snack and dinner breaks.

This can be fixed by extending hours AND bring back fast passes. I hope Disney considers the experience of their future customers (young children) and the experiences they are currently having.

Maybe give all kids (9 and under) unlimited fast passes.

Fast Passes would only make the lines longer. They won't bring by FastPass or whatever replaces it until capacity isn't limited anymore.