Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

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They knew the routes, driving the rental was the better option almost every single time.
The only time the rental will not beat the bus is to/from the Magic Kingdom if you are not staying at a MK resort due to the TTC. Otherwise, I agree the rental will beat the bus to/from every other park/resort factoring in waiting for at least one bus if not more due to the first one being full and then add in staying at a resort like OKW or SS with tons of stops. Even when staying at a monorail resort, getting to Epcot is a pain, off and on different monorails, up and down long ramps, multiple security checks, etc..
 
No FP
Less shows
No true parades
No meet and greets
No fireworks
Bye Bye DME
No true After Hours
No EMM PM hours
Shorter overall hours
I'm sure others can add more

I'm aware most of these will come back in some form, but again the pricing is higher than pre-covid.

Many things on your list have prevented us from returning. And not to "poke the bear" but I refuse to wear a mask in the heat and humidity.

If Disney does adopt a paid FP option, maybe we'll get it for a day, but certainly not our entire stay.
 
Just want to remind everyone that there is no evidence -- NONE WHATSOEVER -- that WDW is changing its FP policy, or switching to paid FPs or Lightning Passes or anything of the sort. This thread is fun conjecture, but it only conjecture, and it's conjecture that has gone on from the very origins of FP+.

It's fun to guess, but I see a lot of people making judgements and accusations based on nothing more than the idea that Disney will soak people at every opportunity. And while they might -- and they might end up doing any of the things suggested here -- a lot of these arguments are being based on things that either aren't true or haven't happened. And it's a rather mean-spirited assumption, because there isn't much evidence to back it up. The number of things that Disney COULD do to take advantage of the roughly 50 million people who come to Orlando each year far out weighs the things Disney has actually done. Have they done some things we don't like? Sure. But in the overall scheme, those things pale before the things they probably could have gotten away with.

As of today, we know nothing about the return of Fast Passes. It might be worth keeping in mind that this thread is nothing but people's imagination at work. None of these are even reasonable, educated guesses because there's nothing to base them on. So it's fun to read, but it's really no more than fan fiction.
 
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Just want to remind everyone that there is no evidence -- NONE WHATSOEVER -- that WDW is changing its FP policy, or switching to paid FPs or Lightning Passes or anything of the sort. This thread is fun conjecture, but it only conjecture, and it's conjecture that has gone on from the very origins of FP+.

It's fun to guess, but I see a lot of people making judgements and accusations based on nothing more than the idea that Disney will soak people at every opportunity. And while they might -- and they might end up doing any of the things suggested here -- a lot of these arguments are being based on things that either aren't true or haven't happened.

As of today, we know nothing about the return of Fast Passes. It might be worth keeping in mind that this thread is nothing but people's imagination at work. None of these are even reasonable, educated guesses because there's nothing to base them on. So it's fun to read, but it's really no more than fan fiction.

I don’t know how people have had the stamina to continue with this thread for over two years.
 


I bringing a rental for the first time, what does this mean?
We use our rental to go back and forth from resort to park, park to park, resort to dining reservations, park to dining reservations. We had too many times where waiting for Disney transportation was an extended wait. I am able to more accurately figure out what time to leave to make schedules, no longer have to add time for Disney transportation.
This is what works for my family. We did utilize Minnie vans, and loved them.

Sorry for the diversion from the fast pass topic.
 
We use our rental to go back and forth from resort to park, park to park, resort to dining reservations, park to dining reservations. We had too many times where waiting for Disney transportation was an extended wait. I am able to more accurately figure out what time to leave to make schedules, no longer have to add time for Disney transportation.
This is what works for my family. We did utilize Minnie vans, and loved them.

Sorry for the diversion from the fast pass topic.

So what you're saying is, a rental car is like the paid version of FP+ 🤣

I'm just teasing, we always rent as well. The lines I've seen for DME at times scare me off, we also like to make a grocery run without having a driver wait on us, and it's just nice to not have to wait in a bus line, walk to your car and you're on your way. We normally stay DVC and have APs so parking is free and it's just the cost of the rental.
 


Paid FP+ , lightning pass or whatever they come up with, no thank you. We just returned from a long Legoland / Universal / WDW trip. Legoland from 5/26-28, UO from 5/28 - 6/4 and WDW from 6/4 - 6/7. Arrived at WDW Friday evening. Hit the parks Sat, Sun and Mon. Saturday Animal kingdom. FOP maybe 25 minutes. Safari 10 min at most. Longest line was for Rafiki's train. Then it rained and rained and never stopped. Sunday did HS and EPCOT. Arrived at HS around 10:00. Rode MMRR with maybe 20 min wait. Had lunch at Brown Derby then did TSMM, SDD and AS2 before heading to SW: GE for our boarding group. After Rise we did Smugglers run and then hopped to EPCOT. We did Figment then some shopping before we rodeTest Track and Grand Fiesta before dinner. Sunday we arrived at MK around 10:30. Had a lunch at LTT at 11:00. After lunch we did HM (20 min), BTMRR (20 min), CBJ (walk in), Teacups (10 min), TTAPM (15min), Buzz (15 min), CoP (10 -15 min). Then we went to our reservation at The Plaza at 5:15. After dinner we rode Space, Pooh, 7DMT and Speedway before 9:00 park closing. FP+ can stay away as far as I'm concerned. If all the shows and meet and greets were open the lines would be even shorter. Did I say it was hot!!! OMG HOT! but we had a great time.
 
Paid FP+ , lightning pass or whatever they come up with, no thank you. We just returned from a long Legoland / Universal / WDW trip. Legoland from 5/26-28, UO from 5/28 - 6/4 and WDW from 6/4 - 6/7. Arrived at WDW Friday evening. Hit the parks Sat, Sun and Mon. Saturday Animal kingdom. FOP maybe 25 minutes. Safari 10 min at most. Longest line was for Rafiki's train. Then it rained and rained and never stopped. Sunday did HS and EPCOT. Arrived at HS around 10:00. Rode MMRR with maybe 20 min wait. Had lunch at Brown Derby then did TSMM, SDD and AS2 before heading to SW: GE for our boarding group. After Rise we did Smugglers run and then hopped to EPCOT. We did Figment then some shopping before we rodeTest Track and Grand Fiesta before dinner. Sunday we arrived at MK around 10:30. Had a lunch at LTT at 11:00. After lunch we did HM (20 min), BTMRR (20 min), CBJ (walk in), Teacups (10 min), TTAPM (15min), Buzz (15 min), CoP (10 -15 min). Then we went to our reservation at The Plaza at 5:15. After dinner we rode Space, Pooh, 7DMT and Speedway before 9:00 park closing. FP+ can stay away as far as I'm concerned. If all the shows and meet and greets were open the lines would be even shorter. Did I say it was hot!!! OMG HOT! but we had a great time
Paid FP+ , lightning pass or whatever they come up with, no thank you. We just returned from a long Legoland / Universal / WDW trip. Legoland from 5/26-28, UO from 5/28 - 6/4 and WDW from 6/4 - 6/7. Arrived at WDW Friday evening. Hit the parks Sat, Sun and Mon. Saturday Animal kingdom. FOP maybe 25 minutes. Safari 10 min at most. Longest line was for Rafiki's train. Then it rained and rained and never stopped. Sunday did HS and EPCOT. Arrived at HS around 10:00. Rode MMRR with maybe 20 min wait. Had lunch at Brown Derby then did TSMM, SDD and AS2 before heading to SW: GE for our boarding group. After Rise we did Smugglers run and then hopped to EPCOT. We did Figment then some shopping before we rodeTest Track and Grand Fiesta before dinner. Sunday we arrived at MK around 10:30. Had a lunch at LTT at 11:00. After lunch we did HM (20 min), BTMRR (20 min), CBJ (walk in), Teacups (10 min), TTAPM (15min), Buzz (15 min), CoP (10 -15 min). Then we went to our reservation at The Plaza at 5:15. After dinner we rode Space, Pooh, 7DMT and Speedway before 9:00 park closing. FP+ can stay away as far as I'm concerned. If all the shows and meet and greets were open the lines would be even shorter. Did I say it was hot!!! OMG HOT! but we had a great time.
This would be great if everyone had flexibility. I Am tied to spring break and school breaks~ even with “limited” capacity this was not my experience in April. MK was okay but AK was so busy and Epcot was insane.
 
The only time the rental will not beat the bus is to/from the Magic Kingdom if you are not staying at a MK resort due to the TTC. Otherwise, I agree the rental will beat the bus to/from every other park/resort factoring in waiting for at least one bus if not more due to the first one being full and then add in staying at a resort like OKW or SS with tons of stops. Even when staying at a monorail resort, getting to Epcot is a pain, off and on different monorails, up and down long ramps, multiple security checks, etc..

I think walking between DHS and Epcot would beat a car, too. Or at least it would the pace I walk at.
 
Paid FP+ , lightning pass or whatever they come up with, no thank you. We just returned from a long Legoland / Universal / WDW trip. Legoland from 5/26-28, UO from 5/28 - 6/4 and WDW from 6/4 - 6/7. Arrived at WDW Friday evening. Hit the parks Sat, Sun and Mon. Saturday Animal kingdom. FOP maybe 25 minutes. Safari 10 min at most. Longest line was for Rafiki's train. Then it rained and rained and never stopped. Sunday did HS and EPCOT. Arrived at HS around 10:00. Rode MMRR with maybe 20 min wait. Had lunch at Brown Derby then did TSMM, SDD and AS2 before heading to SW: GE for our boarding group. After Rise we did Smugglers run and then hopped to EPCOT. We did Figment then some shopping before we rodeTest Track and Grand Fiesta before dinner. Sunday we arrived at MK around 10:30. Had a lunch at LTT at 11:00. After lunch we did HM (20 min), BTMRR (20 min), CBJ (walk in), Teacups (10 min), TTAPM (15min), Buzz (15 min), CoP (10 -15 min). Then we went to our reservation at The Plaza at 5:15. After dinner we rode Space, Pooh, 7DMT and Speedway before 9:00 park closing. FP+ can stay away as far as I'm concerned. If all the shows and meet and greets were open the lines would be even shorter. Did I say it was hot!!! OMG HOT! but we had a great time.


People keep attributing this sort of thing right now to not having FP+ when in reality it is because of COVID restrictions. Remove those restrictions and you would be singing a completely different tune. Of course, you'd have time to sing that tune since you'd be waiting in lines 5 or 6 times as long.
 
Then at the same time, im not going to shell out 5-7k for a week to stand in a long line for everything while other's have access to a fast pass system for pay that costs that much. Id find somewhere else to go.

My thinking exactly. And that's where we are for our Christmas trip. We went to Dollywood for Easter and didn't purchase their version of the FP. We maybe got on 2 roller coasters and stood in line for 30+ minutes at every food spot. We all agreed "zero chance we go back to Disney if NO FP+ options are available." Not for that price. I'd much rather see some new cities and places than spend $5k to go back to Disney for the umpteenth time for less of an experience.
 
People keep attributing this sort of thing right now to not having FP+ when in reality it is because of COVID restrictions. Remove those restrictions and you would be singing a completely different tune. Of course, you'd have time to sing that tune since you'd be waiting in lines 5 or 6 times as long.
This! I remember going to Disney in the 80's as a child in the July heat pre-FP. The lines were miserable long for most everything. I have no desire whatsoever to go back to that system.
 
People keep attributing this sort of thing right now to not having FP+ when in reality it is because of COVID restrictions. Remove those restrictions and you would be singing a completely different tune. Of course, you'd have time to sing that tune since you'd be waiting in lines 5 or 6 times as long.

This is something I keep hearing, that if it weren't for limited capacity the park would be at 100% capacity every day.

How many people do you think Disney World has on a normal day compared to capacity?

We know right now that Disney World is above 35% capacity (35% was explicitly stated by Chapek in November 2020), and Chapek said in the latest quarterly earnings that they had increased capacity past 35% and would continue to increase capacity (and you can see that where additional park passes are becoming available). We don't know exactly what the capacity has increased to - but lets say for a second it is 50%.

Prior to the pandemic, Disney World rarely hit 100% capacity, only on the week between Christmas and New Years would they hit somewhere around that number.

Average capacity across the year was estimated to be 35% by companies like TouringPlans that specialize in this sort of thing.

If Disney raised capacity to 100% tomorrow, do you believe we'd be at a higher clip than ~50% everyday? Cuz I personally don't think so - there would be some days that would obviously be worse like holidays and weekends, but I think you'd largely see similar wait times to what you're seeing right now even if Disney lifted park passes entirely and could hit 100% capacity everyday (they wouldn't most days).

There's something to be said about pent up demand coming out of the pandemic, so perhaps there would be a surge higher than the current park pass capacity, but long term, I don't see that continuing.

I've been to Disney in the 80's too and I never recall waiting more than about an hour for a ride ... there were exceptions like when new rides opened and stuff, but normally - it felt long because I was a kid, but it wasn't. Nothing like the FoP where waits were regularly 4-5 hours pre-covid.
 
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This is something I keep hearing, that if it weren't for limited capacity the park would be at 100% capacity every day.

How many people do you think Disney World has on a normal day compared to capacity?

We know right now that Disney World is above 35% capacity (35% was explicitly stated by Chapek in November 2020), and Chapek said in the latest quarterly earnings that they had increased capacity past 35% and would continue to increase capacity (and you can see that where additional park passes are becoming available). We don't know exactly what the capacity has increased to - but lets say for a second it is 50%.

Prior to the pandemic, Disney World rarely hit 100% capacity, only on the week between Christmas and New Years would they hit somewhere around that number.

Average capacity across the year was estimated to be 35% by companies like TouringPlans that specialize in this sort of thing.

If Disney raised capacity to 100% tomorrow, do you believe we'd be at a higher clip than ~50% everyday? Cuz I personally don't think so - there would be some days that would obviously be worse like holidays and weekends, but I think you'd largely see similar wait times to what you're seeing right now even if Disney lifted park passes entirely and could hit 100% capacity everyday (they wouldn't most days).

There's something to be said about pent up demand coming out of the pandemic, so perhaps there would be a surge higher than the current park pass capacity, but long term, I don't see that continuing.

I've been to Disney in the 80's too and I never recall waiting more than about an hour for a ride ... there were exceptions like when new rides opened and stuff, but normally - it felt long because I was a kid, but it wasn't. Nothing like the FoP where waits were regularly 4-5 hours pre-covid.

Exactly. I was there a few weeks ago and it felt pretty "normal" for that week (a week I have been many times previously). They would normally not be anywhere near 100% that week, so even though the capacity was restricted, it was still about normal for the time (maybe a little less - hard to say). That part of it did not impact my trip. What did impact the trip was the lack of FP causing lines to move faster. I got on 7DMT in about 45 minutes mid-day!
 
Maybe you were, though you did also bring up monorails, but it started as a discussion about Disney Transportation in general.
I mentioned bus three times in comparison to a rental car and added even the monorail as another comparison. I was not comparing walking vs. the bus or a car rental. Not everyone can stay at a resort within walking distance. Any time we can walk from a resort, we do. And I didn’t even realize I was posting in the FP thread because the conversation had drifted to rental cars and Disney transportation....
 
Exactly. I was there a few weeks ago and it felt pretty "normal" for that week (a week I have been many times previously). They would normally not be anywhere near 100% that week, so even though the capacity was restricted, it was still about normal for the time (maybe a little less - hard to say). That part of it did not impact my trip. What did impact the trip was the lack of FP causing lines to move faster. I got on 7DMT in about 45 minutes mid-day!

I will also say that if capacity got raised to 100%, I would imagine Disney would have all attractions available - which would also pull people off of lines for rides and theoretically shorten the lines (at least when comparing a 35% day with not all attractions running to a 35% day with all attractions running).

Magic Kingdom doesn't have too much closed right now - but Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are both missing some big shows.

Back on topic -- this is why I think there could be a premium offering that replaces FastPass, a "VIP-lite" using the fastpass lanes that is expensive to purposefully keep that line very short and keep the standby line moving (as it stands now, some people are using the Fastpass line right now for DAS, Rider Switch, Club 33, etc and the standby line is still moving pretty quick).

Virtual queue (look at how Indiana Jones Adventure works at Disneyland) could be used to keep the standby line shorter - where if the wait time gets beyond a certain point, they instead offer a virtual return time. Long term, that could influence new rides that could use less space for queues and of course keep more people in the park doing other things vs. spending time in line.
 
I mentioned bus three times in comparison to a rental car and added even the monorail as another comparison. I was not comparing walking vs. the bus or a car rental. Not everyone can stay at a resort within walking distance. Any time we can walk from a resort, we do. And I didn’t even realize I was posting in the FP thread because the conversation had drifted to rental cars and Disney transportation....

You weren't the only one involved in the discussion. And I wasn't talking about staying at resorts within walking distance, I was talking about park hopping. When hopping between DHS and Epcot walking is the most efficient.
 
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