Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

[npatellye]

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.

We went in November and went to HS the day before Thanksgiving. We saw the TOT line that said 120 minutes and our kids (7 and 5) chose to wait in it. It wasn’t much longer than 60-75ish minutes. We also went to MK the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week and saw Small World at 60 minutes but it ended up being 25 minutes. The reason these lines move so much faster than posted times is because there is no fast pass.

I know every family is different but no fast passes works much better than fast passes for our family with kids under 9. It makes for a much more laid back experience for us and our kids enjoy taking time in line to chat with us about anything and everything or to play random games on our phones when they get excessively bored (that only happened very briefly as we were waiting to walk over to MK from BLT).

 

[Disturbia]

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.

I don’t expect Disney to actually do something like this. It was meant as a joke.

As for traveling with toddlers, Hollywood Studios was the most challenging (waits in restrooms/gift shops/long ride waits and extremely rude cast members) and we gave up and left early. Epcot was ok. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were actually good and doable with toddlers and no fast passes. When we went our wait times were actually similar or higher (15 min) than posted wait times. We did not experience lines moving faster. I do agree that MK and AK were laid back experiences but we did that with fast passes as well.

I think giving virtual passes for the two longest rides in a park would also work, if you want to limit the standby lines but improve the guest experience.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I don’t expect Disney to actually do something like this. It was meant as a joke.

Yeah, if something is a joke, probably helpful to put something like laughing smiley, lol, or an (I’m joking.) Your post looks totally serious.

 

[petrola]

I’m really hoping they bring back some sort of something for fast pass. I would welcome anything really. Even a paid FP system would be great as my husband is not going to be happy once he realizes it’s standby only lol!! I’m wondering if I should let him in on it before our trip or just spring it on him when we get there.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

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

To me, the thing they need to solve most before they bring back FP+ is how it affects standby. There is nothing so frustrating as standing in a line that says 30 minutes, then having a tour group of 400 people scan in on FP+ and the standby line just became an hour+. For all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes, how would you handle that scenario? Just never take any ride you don't have a FP+ for? So you ride maybe 3-4 rides and you're done for the day?

The thing I like about open system as it is now is that when a ride says 30 minutes, it's usually 25. When it says 50, it's usually 40. I can look at my watch, and figure I need to be at a meal reservation in an hour and if the line says 35 minutes, I am almost guaranteed to make my lunch. This will be more critical as they start to open shows back up and you don't want to miss your showtime.

I can't count the number of times in the previous FP+ system where I would get in a line that said 30 minutes standby and my show was in an hour, and I ended up having to make a choice to not make my show or leave the line after standing there for 40 minutes because of large numbers of FP+ entering.

 

[Eric Smith]

To me, the thing they need to solve most before they bring back FP+ is how it affects standby. There is nothing so frustrating as standing in a line that says 30 minutes, then having a tour group of 400 people scan in on FP+ and the standby line just became an hour+. For all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes, how would you handle that scenario? Just never take any ride you don't have a FP+ for? So you ride maybe 3-4 rides and you're done for the day?

The thing I like about open system as it is now is that when a ride says 30 minutes, it's usually 25. When it says 50, it's usually 40. I can look at my watch, and figure I need to be at a meal reservation in an hour and if the line says 35 minutes, I am almost guaranteed to make my lunch. This will be more critical as they start to open shows back up and you don't want to miss your showtime.

I can't count the number of times in the previous FP+ system where I would get in a line that said 30 minutes standby and my show was in an hour, and I ended up having to make a choice to not make my show or leave the line after standing there for 40 minutes because of large numbers of FP+ entering.

I totally agree with this. Disney was giving out way too many fast passes and it was causing insane standby wait times. Worst of all, the standby line would crawl and then stop for 5 or more minutes at a time for them to let all the fast pass people in. It was a very frustrating experience. When we went in December, it was actually nice that the lines almost constantly moved.

I like the idea of bringing something more like the Disneyland system where people can just grab the time slot that is available for a fastpass instead of choosing a window 60 days before their trip. It allows you to be more flexible and allows Disney to control how many fast passes are given out for a specific timeframe.

 

[TinkB278]

To me, the thing they need to solve most before they bring back FP+ is how it affects standby. There is nothing so frustrating as standing in a line that says 30 minutes, then having a tour group of 400 people scan in on FP+ and the standby line just became an hour+. For all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes, how would you handle that scenario? Just never take any ride you don't have a FP+ for? So you ride maybe 3-4 rides and you're done for the day?

Yes. As the parent of a small toddler that can not be in the parks all day due to naps this is exactly how it works. If I have three fast passes, I know I can get on those three rides with minimal aggravation to my small child that does not like standing still for 5 minutes, let alone 30-60. We can then leave the park for a nap or pool time. While standing in lines for an entire day might work for adults or older children, it is really not enjoyable or hardly even doable for small kids.

You mention groups of 400 getting in the fast pass line. They cap the number of fast passes during any given time slot so I’m not sure that this actually happens.

It’s great standby works for you but that’s not really the case for those of us with small children, and Disney is supposed to be a place that is friendly to families with small children.

 

[Eric Smith]

I’m great standby works for you but that’s not really the case for those of us with small children, and Disney is supposed to be a place that is friendly to families with small children.

Disney is a place that is supposed to be friendly to everyone. Your concern is just as valid as the previous poster's concern.

 

[TinkB278]

Disney is a place that is supposed to be friendly to everyone. Your concern is just as valid as the previous poster's concern.

Just explaining that standby isn’t very realistic for a good chunk of people visiting as the poster asked about “all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes”, like we are being dramatic or something. Seems just as over dramatic to me to hear about everyone complaining about long standby lines due to groups of 400 people going through fast pass.

 

[Eric Smith]

Just explaining that standby isn’t very realistic for a good chunk of people visiting as the poster asked about “all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes”, like we are being dramatic or something. Seems just as over dramatic to me to hear about everyone complaining about long standby lines due to groups of 400 people going through fast pass.

400 may be a high number, but I have seen tour groups all hit a fastpass queue at once.

 

[TinkB278]

400 may be a high number, but I have seen tour groups all hit a fastpass queue at once.

And there is no fast pass now and people are mentioning waits of several hours for certain rides. With good planning and fast pass I was always able to get through a week long Disney vacation hitting every major ride and then less popular ones without ever waiting more than 20 minutes. Fast pass has totally taken away that option. While people can rope drop and maybe get one headliner quick, after that, the lines start dragging along.

 

[Eric Smith]

And there is no fast pass now and people are mentioning waits of several hours for certain rides. With good planning and fast pass I was always able to get through a week long Disney vacation hitting every major ride and then less popular ones without ever waiting more than 20 minutes. Fast pass has totally taken away that option. While people can rope drop and maybe get one headliner quick, after that, the lines start dragging along.

There are no several hour waits for rides. Most of them are less than an hour. Right now, the longest wait in Magic Kingdom is listed as 90 minutes. Every other ride is at 60 minutes or less. At Animal Kingdom, the longest wait is Flight of Passage at 75 minutes. The longest at Hollywood Studios is Slinky Dog Dash at 80 minutes. My experience back in December is that waits were typically about 75% of the listed amount of time.

 

[samsonjs]

To me, the thing they need to solve most before they bring back FP+ is how it affects standby. There is nothing so frustrating as standing in a line that says 30 minutes, then having a tour group of 400 people scan in on FP+ and the standby line just became an hour+. For all the people complaining about your child not wanting to wait 30 minutes, how would you handle that scenario? Just never take any ride you don't have a FP+ for? So you ride maybe 3-4 rides and you're done for the day?

The thing I like about open system as it is now is that when a ride says 30 minutes, it's usually 25. When it says 50, it's usually 40. I can look at my watch, and figure I need to be at a meal reservation in an hour and if the line says 35 minutes, I am almost guaranteed to make my lunch. This will be more critical as they start to open shows back up and you don't want to miss your showtime.

I can't count the number of times in the previous FP+ system where I would get in a line that said 30 minutes standby and my show was in an hour, and I ended up having to make a choice to not make my show or leave the line after standing there for 40 minutes because of large numbers of FP+ entering.

I came to realize they were definitely dropping fastpasses to get people into short lines. I can’t count the number of times we would get into a 10/15 min wait for a ride that would become 30-40min. I have no doubt it was because they dropped a bunch of fastpasses to move people to that line.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

It’s great standby works for you but that’s not really the case for those of us with small children, and Disney is supposed to be a place that is friendly to families with small children.

Eh, don’t speak for all of us. My kids are 6 and 4 and have each been every year since they were born. They do just fine waiting in lines and have since they were babies. We waited in many long standby lines when FP+ was in place. We prefer to wing it with what we do when at WDW based on our kids’ moods and cues, so I personally found it annoying to pre-schedule ride times 60 days in advance. And FP made standby lines oh so long, so not using FP+ would have been silly. So, we adapted.

The FP+ system before covid was out of control distributed way too many, it slowed down the standby lines significantly, and some FP lines got pretty darned long.

Also I haven’t seen any standby waits of “several hours” during the recent uptick in crowds but you know when I have seen that many times? Pre-covid when FP+ was in place.

Anyway, when I was a kid there was no FP, when I was a teen there was paper FP which lasted through my 20s. Then FP+ in my 30s. Any change in system, we just adapt as we always have over the years. We always have a great trip.

 

[TinkB278]

Eh, don’t speak for all of us. My kids are 6 and 4 and have each been every year since they were born. They do just fine waiting in lines and have since they were babies. We waited in many long standby lines when FP+ was in place.

The FP+ system before covid was out of control distributed way too many, it slowed down the standby lines significantly, and some FP lines got pretty darned long.

Also I haven’t seen any standby waits of “several hours” during the recent uptick in crowds but you know when I have seen that many times? Pre-covid when FP+ was in place.

Anyway, when I was a kid there was no FP, when I was a teen there was paper FP which lasted through my 20s. Then FP+ in my 30s. Any change in system, we just adapt as we always have over the years. We always have a great trip.

So you never utilized fast pass with your kids?

 

[MickeyWaffles]

So you never utilized fast pass with your kids?

I actually just edited and added more context to my previous post but will share it here too with more details.

We personally found it annoying to pre-schedule FP+ with babies, toddlers, small kids because we much prefer to wing it based on their moods and cues. Kids are unpredictable, so we don’t like to over schedule/commit to times. Hungry? We’ll eat now. Want to go on rides? Let’s do that now. Want to sit here for an hour and just watch the ducks? Let’s do that now. We also have kids who did not nap well at the resort, so stroller naps in the park when they felt tired were the best solution for our situation. We prefer flexibility.

We were basically forced to use FP+ because of how much it impacts the length of standby lines. Not using it for certain rides would have been silly because of its impact on standby. But FP+ made it difficult to wing it. I would honestly have preferred to not have to make reservations 60 days in advance and just wait in standby lines that actually moved. But, since FP majorly slowed down the standby lines, we adapted to FP+ and it was fine. We did use it. I’m just not in love with it and definitely open to change.

Just offering the perspective that as a family with small kids, FP+ was not a perfect system for us.

 

[Disturbia]

The current waits are with 35% capacity. Fastpass would be great once the capacity increases (some parks are doable without it currently; as vaccination and capacity increases this will change). Once the first 3 passes were used, we were able to get at least 3 more (I’ve been able to move up SDMT and FOP and get FOP the same day) by the end of the day (mid day breaks were possible with extended hrs) and would ride rides with less waits (Winnie the Pooh, little mermaid, small world etc inbetween).

I agree that it did require a bit too much in terms of scheduling and planning (and looking at your phone), so maybe something like Maxpass is better, but with the website crashes and overcrowding at park opening (think ROTR rope drop crowds) that becomes more challenging at Disneyworld.

The old fastpass printed system also worked great for us (we used to be able to do 15+ rides) as we don’t have mobility issues.

You can still choose to change your fastpass if you do not use it or not use it at all.

That said, everyone is different; just because we liked it and missed it doesn’t mean everyone has to and that’s good to. We need to hear both sides vs argue.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

While standing in lines for an entire day might work for adults or older children, it is really not enjoyable or hardly even doable for small kids.

You mention groups of 400 getting in the fast pass line. They cap the number of fast passes during any given time slot so I’m not sure that this actually happens.

It’s great standby works for you but that’s not really the case for those of us with small children, and Disney is supposed to be a place that is friendly to families with small children.

I think that's generalizing a lot. I have been bringing my son to Disney since he was 3. He learned to wait in line (and he has Aspergers and ADD, so he is at a disadvantage in that area). So I wouldn't say it isn't doable. But you did answer my question - which is you choose your 3 rides and you are out. So FP+ would work for you as long as you never intend to rise standby. But that same is not true for the majority of park visitors (although I will say for the record that these days, I am more likely to visit my 3-4 FP+ rides and go back to the hotel too. For different reasons - mainly it's painful to walk on my feet. But I'm not going to say it's impossible if I wanted to wait in line for me to do so. I have certainly made that choice every now and again).

400 may be a high number, but I have seen tour groups all hit a fastpass queue at once.

Yeah, so I might have exaggerated a bit. I did not count the numbers. But tour groups are where I was thinking of it. Pre COVID, I have literally seen 2-4 large tour groups go tromping through the FP+ line with those little cards. And I am talking big streams of people. If you doubt the impact on lines, it's not hard to figure out.

Peter Pan pre-covid standby lines would say 80 minutes. The line was not actually that long. If you have ever been in line at the end of the day and they are drawing from just the standby line, it takes maybe 30 minutes to process the entire line. So FP+ easily makes it 2x the wait.

Space mountain pre-covid would hit 120 minutes standby. Wait until end of day and you could get through in about half that or less (maybe 50 minutes. Less if they were on their game and running both tracks).

When everyone is in line (no FP+), the rides are running generally a little higher than no FP+, but significantly lower then with FP+. Meaning that people are making choices to not hit those rides with longer lines.

And again, the biggest problem is the randomness of it. You can get in a standby line and not have any tour groups and get through it quickly. Or you can get in the same line and have a number of them (like I indicate) and it doubles your wait. Either way, it makes it very difficult to plan your other activities in a place that pretty much punishes you for not planning (like giving away dining reservations if you are late or missing shows or other activities).

 

[Disturbia]

Fastpass lines are currently being utilized by tour groups, DAS and rider switch.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Fastpass lines are currently being utilized by tour groups, DAS and rider switch.

And Club 33, VIP groups and guest recovery.

During normal times it is all of those categories PLUS all the Fastpasses people booked. So, so many more people were in the Fastpass line and impacted the standby lines significantly. Barely impacts the line at all right now. The stop and start when FP+ was in place was ridiculous. They gave out way too many FP.