Rumor: Fast Pass Restrictions?

[doconeill]

You are right that CM's are trained to take late fastpasses, I have not read the part of the OG for that in years, but I will take a look as soon as I can. But from what I remember, it states that they must enter through the time, and trainers teach new CM's to take late ones.

The document I've seen wasn't in the overall OG, although I'm led to understand the verbage is there as well, but there is a separate one-sheet under "provide consistent service recovery", which spells out the actions to take in certain situations, one of which is a late Fastpass. Whereas several of the other actions basically involve telling the guests "no" or providing new FPs with a later time, the one for late FPs basically says, "allow them in".

I really doubt they will be able to reserve as many as they would like, Seeing as it is a free service, unlike many rumors. There is also a possibility that I heard that it will not be available for major attractions such as TSM (in the beginning).

What I'm seeing and what seems sensible is that it is NOT unlimited in any way, and if fact might be limited to one use per X-Pass-enabled attraction - which could be a subset of Fastpass attractions. But again, this is from the outside looking in on what little information has made it to the public.

 

[Hoopfamily]

I just see a huge problem coming from all of this: You can't control what time your fastpass is for, and if its during a dining reservation tough luck and that's it? I know there have been times when we have had this happen, Soarin' fastpasses for 1 PM, ADR's at Chefs de France at 12:30, and theres no way we made it back at 2, it was usually around 2:30 or so.

You CAN control what time it's for. When you approach the FP machine it tells you what time is currently coming out, If you don't like it move along. If the FP time doesn't fit into your plan YOUR choice is to get the the standby line. I am an over the top planner, and NEVER use a FP outside of it's window time. I make it work around my schedule. It's not that hard people.

 

[doconeill]

You CAN control what time it's for. When you approach the FP machine it tells you what time is currently coming out, If you don't like it move along. If the FP time doesn't fit into your plan YOUR choice is to get the the standby line.

Here is what I dislike about these statements.

You CANNOT control what time the Fastpass is for. You can choose not to get it, that is true; but that does NOT change the time the Fastpass is for.

Get in the standby line? Well, if that FP time didn't work for me, it could be just as likely that the standby wait time doesn't work either. If I've got an ADR in an hour, I'm not getting in a 2 hour TSM line.

Of course...you could come back later and get a FP - if there are any left. Not going to happen at TSM. And even then the return time still might not work for you. Same problem as earlier. So now your choices are to sit around and wait for the FP machines to click forward to a time that DOES work for you, or just don't ride. So sorry.

I DO believe it is possible for people to adapt. But there still needs to be exceptions, and those exceptions will likely end up being so broad that they might have not bothered to add the enforcement.

Again, this is NOT being done to the perceived "problem" of late FP users clogging lines anyways.

Edit: It might also surprise people that I have only ONCE gotten a FP with the intent of using it later, precisely because we had conflicting times and likely wouldn't be able to get them later. But I knew it wouldn't be a problem because the CMs said so (and I already knew it).

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I'm interested to see how this all pans out as we'll be there in April. I never knew until a few trips ago that FPs were good after the expiration time. In the past, if the the FP return time currently being distributed conflicted with an ADR we had, we'd mull around and come back a bit later to get the FP (once the time had rolled over a little later). Of course, this doesn't work for something like TSMM in the morning because of the whole line-up - really just have to take what you get once you get to the front of the line.

What I'd love to see in my ideal world is a screen that pops up a few return time options (sort of like the online ADR system gives you options) so you could take a later time if you so choose.

 

[monkeyknuckler]

What I'd love to see in my ideal world is a screen that pops up a few return time options (sort of like the online ADR system gives you options) so you could take a later time if you so choose.

Thats a really good idea. I wonder how come Disney never thought of that/can't do something like that.

I'm pretty excited about all this, if the rumours are true that it all goes down on March 7. Thats the day we arrive.

 

[doconeill]

Thats a really good idea. I wonder how come Disney never thought of that/can't do something like that.

I'm pretty excited about all this, if the rumours are true that it all goes down on March 7. Thats the day we arrive.

If XPass works well, that may be a future option...

 

[thunderbird1]

I don't find the difficulty/annoyance in this. You don't HAVE to do this. It is only a small amount to be given out each hour/day per attraction. I have been told you will only be able to get one FP per person, per trip using this. There will still be the in park FP option available, not including the new attractions recieving FP that no one has heard about yet...

You are right--I don't HAVE to book my FP days and times when I book my trip. But that doesn't make the premise any more sensible. And if it really is limited to one per person per trip, it also could not seriously be considered a perk.

But several other FP promotions were true perks, including the Dream FP's, where each person received one FP per attraction in a given park (good anytime), and the birthday/volunteer FP cards, where you could get a limited number of FP's that were valid immediately.

Disneyland is currently running a promotion where guests staying on site are given cards similar to the birthday/volunteer FP cards at WDW. You receive one card per person per stay, and each card is good for two FP's that are valid immediately for any attraction that has a FP.

Any of those options are better "perks" than being able to book your FP day and time from home before your trip.

 

[sayhello]

With this change, guests are being forced to make a trip to the FP machine (or in a very few cases, a centralized location) just to find out the return time. If you don't want people taking FPs they won't now use because they can't come back late, Disney needs to post FP return times all over the park. You can't expect someone to make a FP run from Cosmic Ray's all the way over to Splash Mountain just to find out the return time won't work and not get a FP. That's ridiculous. They are either going to get a FP in the hopes things will work out, or maybe out of spite, or they will walk back to Tomorrowland irritated. Either way, I don't see how that's a positive for anyone.

Before implementing this change, all of the return times for each FP ride should be posted in various areas around each park so guests have the info needed to make an educated decision. Otherwise, you will get uneducated or spiteful decisions.

Even more than posting the times all over the park, I think you should be able to *get* your FP either at a centralized area, or at any FP station. Have a list of current SB times for all FP attractions, and allow folks to pick what attraction they're getting the FP for. That way, you don't have to run all over creation to try & get FP's. I was really peeved to run all the way to the Land, down to the basement, only to find out the last FP had been given out 30 seconds before I got there (*literally*).

I'm beginning to wonder how people toured the parks without Fast Pass after reading this thread. I remember going to the Magic Kingdom when there was no Fast Pass and we managed to do quite well without it.

I often wonder what people thought of Fast Pass when it was first introduced. I bet there were people who thought it was wrong for people to just walk up with a slip of paper if they had been waiting in the standby line for 2 hours. Now it's just something we accept but once upon a time, FP was new and probably skewered just like we're doing now.

I remeber when FP first came out, and you had a choice. Stand in line, or go do something else, and come back at your assigned time, at which point, you got into the attraction in a few minutes. It worked just fine. You could show up at 3pm, and get a FP for 5pm. I was shocked when I went this last December, and ALL FP for Soarin' were gone by early afternoon. And the park was *NOT* that busy! (I had hopped from another park).

I also remember when they first started FP, and you would get death looks from folks in the SB line as you raced past them. It *did* take a while for the rank & file folks to catch on.

Sayhello

 

[doconeill]

Even more than posting the times all over the park, I think you should be able to *get* your FP either at a centralized area, or at any FP station. Have a list of current SB times for all FP attractions, and allow folks to pick what attraction they're getting the FP for. That way, you don't have to run all over creation to try & get FP's. I was really peeved to run all the way to the Land, down to the basement, only to find out the last FP had been given out 30 seconds before I got there (*literally*).

I don't think this will happen any time soon though...they did try this at AK, and it didn't work out - but a lot of that was because they DIDN'T post the return times - you had to find out from someone who had just gotten one. And there were separate lines/kiosks for each attraction. And a number of times they didn't work properly so the CMs were just using the overrides and handing them out. It failed - but mainly because the tested on the cheap and used what they already had instead of adding what was needed.

I remeber when FP first came out, and you had a choice. Stand in line, or go do something else, and come back at your assigned time, at which point, you got into the attraction in a few minutes. It worked just fine. You could show up at 3pm, and get a FP for 5pm. I was shocked when I went this last December, and ALL FP for Soarin' were gone by early afternoon. And the park was *NOT* that busy!

I think some of it was a "self-fulfilling prophesy" - people said get the FPs early, so they got them early, which necessitated getting them early...an E-ticket with a slow load rate generally results in FPs going away quickly...Soarin' and TSM are the primary examples of this now.

I also remember when they first started FP, and you would get death looks from folks in the SB line as you raced past them. It *did* take a while for the rank & file folks to catch on.

I'm still not sure a lot understand

 

[buzzCMlightyear]

For those of you who do not think this will happen, CM's are told about it today.

Disney's FASTPASS service return time reminder
02/08/2012

In order to provide the best experience possible for everyone at our theme parks, all Walt Disney World Guests will be expected to return within their Disney's FASTPASS return time window, effective March 7.

Disney's FASTPASS service plays an important role in our Guests' ability to enjoy their visit to one of our Walt Disney World theme parks, and our ability to provide this great service is dependent upon Guests returning during the designated window. The vast majority of our Guests are aware of their return times and arrive in the window printed on the Disney's FASTPASS ticket.

As more Guests choose to take advantage of this feature, we want to provide the same opportunity to everyone. By asking all Guests to return within the window printed on their pass, more Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy this great service.

This is not a change, but simply a reminder of our existing policy. All Cast Members are expected to adhere to this policy when visiting the parks as Guests.

 

[doconeill]

For those of you who do not think this will happen, CM's are told about it today.

Disney's FASTPASS service return time reminder
02/08/2012

In order to provide the best experience possible for everyone at our theme parks, all Walt Disney World Guests will be expected to return within their Disney's FASTPASS return time window, effective March 7.

Disney's FASTPASS service plays an important role in our Guests' ability to enjoy their visit to one of our Walt Disney World theme parks, and our ability to provide this great service is dependent upon Guests returning during the designated window. The vast majority of our Guests are aware of their return times and arrive in the window printed on the Disney's FASTPASS ticket.

As more Guests choose to take advantage of this feature, we want to provide the same opportunity to everyone. By asking all Guests to return within the window printed on their pass, more Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy this great service.

This is not a change, but simply a reminder of our existing policy. All Cast Members are expected to adhere to this policy when visiting the parks as Guests.

Wait, what?!? But that isn't actually their policy, per their own documents...ARGH!

"As more Guests choose to take advantage of this feature..." Right there THAT tells me they are increasing the ratio of FPs issued per time block...which may be targeted to X-Pass, but they are definitely planning to force people to use X-Pass/Fastpass more than the standby line.

 

[Hoopfamily]

Relaxxxxxxxx. Bottom line, they will now be enforcing their policy. You can read into it anything you want, but let's take it for what it is....no big deal. Sorry to tell everyone, but from here on out you will all be expected to follow fastpass rules.

 

[dalt01]

during peak operating hours ride capacity per hour = standby + fastpass..........if all the 2pm fastpass customers are on time and the noon customers are two hours late and the 1pm customers are 1 hour late...... you actually hold up both lines...........i look at fastpass as i look at a red light.............it is put there for the express purpose of making traffic GO.

That is an incredibly extreme example...

i know i sometimes deal in what if's, but......well.........what if??? also many times in my life a "what if" has turned into "what just happened"

 

[dalt01]

I didn't know there was a thread here yet...all my DISboards time has been devoted to the massive argument-um, thread - in the theme parks forum

indeed, we are much more civilized after all.......pass the sugar please...........

 

[chirurgeon]

I admit I haven't read this entire thread. When I use FP, I generally plan to use it right when it becomes valid. The ability to use it past the time on it seemed a little wrong to me. I have always been a bit of a rule stickler. I understand Disney did not enforce the return time on most rides. I had heard they enforced it on Soarin' and maybe TSM, but I'm not sure of this. Its just something we will have to get used to I guess.

Kim

 

[doconeill]

I admit I haven't read this entire thread. When I use FP, I generally plan to use it right when it becomes valid. The ability to use it past the time on it seemed a little wrong to me. I have always been a bit of a rule stickler. I understand Disney did not enforce the return time on most rides. I had heard they enforced it on Soarin' and maybe TSM, but I'm not sure of this. Its just something we will have to get used to I guess.

Kim

There were sporadic reports of enforcement at Soarin' a few years ago, and a few at TSM shortly after opening, but they have dwindled to near nothing. Most reports over the last couple years are either third hand of someone seeing someone rejected (but not the actual reason why), or occasionally a CM who wasn't aware of the policies. There are a few exceptions that an attraction manager can call on for enforcement, but those are apparently rigidly defined (I am not aware of what they are, but typical operational issues is apparently not one of the reasons) and appear to rarely if ever get invoked. Typically if a guest is refused, they can go back after the FP CM has changed, and be merrily sent in...

There wasn't anything specifically different about Soarin' or TSM that really demanded stricter enforcement - it was more about the fact that they pretty much drew the entire park's worth of guests to them and (at least in my opinion) hadn't settled in on how to handle the line management, so they may have invoked enforcement possibly as just a way to reduce the total number of people. They may also have not set the FP issue rates appropriately for the rides once real-world use settled in and the saw that they were not loading as fast as hoped.

Both of them also have pretty early merge points between standby and FP, but so do others like RNRC and TOT, and they didn't seem to have the same issues.

 

[doconeill]

indeed, we are much more civilized after all.......pass the sugar please...........

Perhaps a bunch of us should get together on PCC 3.0 and discuss the finer points of Fastpass over brandy or cognac

 

[KingK12]

Perhaps a bunch of us should get together on PCC 3.0 and discuss the finer points of Fastpass over brandy or cognac

This is the best thing I have read on this thread. Can I get a FP to the cognac Please!

 

[carpedm]

This is the best thing I have read on this thread. Can I get a FP to the cognac Please!

Sure, but now you can only show up between 10:35 and 11:35... Doh! :facepalm

 

[doconeill]

Sure, but now you can only show up between 10:35 and 11:35... Doh! :facepalm

BTW- I have to disagree with Pete's statement that this rumor started with a reliable blog. Actually, the site that first posted this rumor that everyone picked up is wrong more often than right. I'm not saying this rumor is definitely wrong, but I don't think we should say its coming from a reliable source.

Which rumor exactly? The change in FP enforcement certainly seems to be coming - all the CMs are reporting that they are getting notified through official channels.