Rumor: Huge FastPass Change (Both Parks Linked Starting April 6)

I got a Premium AP for $320 in 2002. Now the equivalent pass is $850. Back then, a single day ticket was like $45, now $120. (Inflation would be $430ish and $60ish, so prices have averaged.... let's do he math. 850/(430-320) = 7x the rate of inflation for top AP and 120 / (60-45) = 8x inflation for 1 day-1 park. )

Maybe it is time to go back to cruddy parks, with nothing new, and "hip and edgy" DCA without characters or other Disney Magic.

The top half of the country uses disposable income for experiences, it's just the way it is. In 2002 I could get bleacher tickets at Wrigley Field for $20, now I'm luckly to get in under $100. Taking my family of four to a baseball game is $500, yet, they sell out 81 games X 40k (or close to it). Like someone previously said, I have no idea where everyone gets the money for luxury cars, or $1,000 days at disneyland or a baseball game. I do know there is a price that will limit crowds but Disney has not hit it yet.
 
As an annual pass holder, I could not disagree more.

People staying on site, or using a multi-day hopper, should get massive, MASSIVE, MMAASSSSAAVVEE advantage over us AP holders who are paying WAY, WAY less per day to be there.

I have long thought AP holder should have a pretty strict limit on FPs, like max 4 or 5 per day, and never more than 1 per day for any single ride. Oh.... AP holders shouldn't be able to get an FP if the return time is more than 2 hours out!
I am not an AP holder at the moment but have been in the recent past and will be again starting this summer.

We are all aware that there are different kinds of AP holders. Locals who come 2-4 times per month for a day or parts of a day each may fit your limits better. Some AP holders like myself will make 1-2 trips per year. Our experience is closer to those who buy regular park hopper tickets. And your plan would not work as well for folks like me.

Trying to put all of this together, a plan that follows the spirit of your plan might allow an AP holder "full" FP privileges for X number of days per year (say 10-12). After that some limit on FPs is implemented along the lines of what you outline.

:wizard:
 
1) committing to a schedule 30-60 days in advance, often before hours are final.
2) no rerides in those 3
3) tiering
4) Did I mention tiering?
5) Having certain rides "sold out" before the park even opens
6) Having FP added to rides that didn't need it previously makes standby slow down
7) Can't count on having headliners available after you have used your first 3

Honestly, it comes down to me just not being a fan of scheduling a 2 minute ride so far in advance. How can I schedule Splash when I don't even know if it will be warm enough to ride that day? Some with small kids don't know if they will pass the height measurement. Some don't know if their kid will be brave enough to ride. I just like making my decisions on the spot and having a blank slate each morning.

As someone with 4 kids myself, but who are now all in their 20's, it is definitely the case that having young kids in your group requires a lot more flexibility than having teens/tweens or all adults.

When I got serious about using FP in 2003-2005, and FP window closing times were not enforced, I would easily get 6-7 FPs per day between DL and DCA. But it took lots of FP running around. And I had to get there for RD. WDW was similar as far as getting 6-7 FPs per day. But rope drop was critical. After FP windows were enforced, that effectively limited my FP collecting to more like 4-5 per day. Which is not that different from how many FPs I got last month using FP+. About 4-5 per day. The difference though was last month it was easier to get the FPs for windows that worked for me when we wanted to take an afternoon break or leave the park early that day.

For me and my current situation as far as kids (or lack thereof), plus being older now, I have come to appreciate the tradeoff offered by FP+.

Yes, I have to book the FPs 30-60 days in advance. I have found that is just not as big a deal as I expected it would be. I know what FPs I want for the most part and now I can get them without having to run around. I also do not stress about rope drop like I used to because I know I have the critical FPs I want. In advance.

Yes, tiering can be frustrating. But that is more because WDW parks need more headliners like the DLR parks have. And WDW is working on that.

You are absolutely right about #6. But I have found it is not as bad as it sounds. Usually. Sometimes it is as bad as it sounds though.

Your #7 is true as well. But after WDW started enforcing FP windows that really cut back on the ability to get FPs for headliners. Yes, you could get more FPs for headliners under the old system. But only if you arrived for rope drop. If not, you can get an equal or greater number of FPs for headliners using FP+.

A good example of how this works for me is another WDW trip I am taking next month with DS26. I had planned a down day for us to relax by the pool. But with Pandora opening, I was able to book Pandora FPs for the evening plus the new Rivers of Light show. So we can sleep in, relax all day by the pool that day, and head to AK at 5PM for dinner, then start using our FPs at 6PM. That is really cool.

I cannot really say I have a stronger preference now for FP+ or FP legacy at WDW. They both have good and bad things about them. I think now I do feel less stressed using FP+. But I know I will probably get 1-2 less FPs per day now and not as many for headliners as I used to. But did I say I am less stressed about the whole FP thing using FP+?

Finally, I have always stayed at hotels that let me get the FPs at the 60 day mark. If I had to wait until the 30 day mark to get FPs like many others, I think that would make me feel more stressed not less. So my growing appreciation for FP+ is tied to my Disney hotel preference.

:wizard:
 
Trying to put all of this together, a plan that follows the spirit of your plan might allow an AP holder "full" FP privileges for X number of days per year (say 10-12). After that some limit on FPs is implemented along the lines of what you outline.

Sorry, I don't even think Disney should be doing as much as that. Guests who want full privileges should buy full-price tickets. APs should come in two flavors: full privileges with no blockouts ($2500/yr) and admission only plus 10% on merchandise ($500/yr).

Then when Star Wars Land opens, eliminate the cheap one. That park will sell out every day for two years at full price once SWL is open. No need to try to bring in the locals.

Of course, if they want to avoid backlash they should start eliminating it now -- no more monthly payments, jack up the price, cut back on perks, and then kill it completely.
 

As someone with 4 kids myself, but who are now all in their 20's, it is definitely the case that having young kids in your group requires a lot more flexibility than having teens/tweens or all adults.

When I got serious about using FP in 2003-2005, and FP window closing times were not enforced, I would easily get 6-7 FPs per day between DL and DCA. But it took lots of FP running around. And I had to get there for RD. WDW was similar as far as getting 6-7 FPs per day. But rope drop was critical. After FP windows were enforced, that effectively limited my FP collecting to more like 4-5 per day. Which is not that different from how many FPs I got last month using FP+. About 4-5 per day. The difference though was last month it was easier to get the FPs for windows that worked for me when we wanted to take an afternoon break or leave the park early that day.

For me and my current situation as far as kids (or lack thereof), plus being older now, I have come to appreciate the tradeoff offered by FP+.

Yes, I have to book the FPs 30-60 days in advance. I have found that is just not as big a deal as I expected it would be. I know what FPs I want for the most part and now I can get them without having to run around. I also do not stress about rope drop like I used to because I know I have the critical FPs I want. In advance.

Yes, tiering can be frustrating. But that is more because WDW parks need more headliners like the DLR parks have. And WDW is working on that.

You are absolutely right about #6. But I have found it is not as bad as it sounds. Usually. Sometimes it is as bad as it sounds though.

Your #7 is true as well. But after WDW started enforcing FP windows that really cut back on the ability to get FPs for headliners. Yes, you could get more FPs for headliners under the old system. But only if you arrived for rope drop. If not, you can get an equal or greater number of FPs for headliners using FP+.

A good example of how this works for me is another WDW trip I am taking next month with DS26. I had planned a down day for us to relax by the pool. But with Pandora opening, I was able to book Pandora FPs for the evening plus the new Rivers of Light show. So we can sleep in, relax all day by the pool that day, and head to AK at 5PM for dinner, then start using our FPs at 6PM. That is really cool.

I cannot really say I have a stronger preference now for FP+ or FP legacy at WDW. They both have good and bad things about them. I think now I do feel less stressed using FP+. But I know I will probably get 1-2 less FPs per day now and not as many for headliners as I used to. But did I say I am less stressed about the whole FP thing using FP+?

Finally, I have always stayed at hotels that let me get the FPs at the 60 day mark. If I had to wait until the 30 day mark to get FPs like many others, I think that would make me feel more stressed not less. So my growing appreciation for FP+ is tied to my Disney hotel preference.

:wizard:

As many have pointed out, a lot of this boils down to personal preference and touring style.

We love rope drop. We don't take afternoon breaks.

Comparing numbers between WDW and DLR is tricky. Because the FPs you get at DLR are for true headliners. The ones you get at WDW after the first 3 are often for secondary attractions that didn't previously need them.

The no reride thing just can't be overcome predictably for us at WDW. Because the things we want to reride do not predictably have FPs available for 4th and subsequent.

The tiering absolutely is about ride capacity at WDW. And I guess they're working on that. But I'm doubtful that anything I have seen in the works is going to change that. Much of what they do involves closing other things first. And when the new stuff opens, far more people will visit the parks than has been added in new capacity. So I think all the ride rationing techniques are here to stay.

I agree the time enforcement really sucked some of the fun out of legacy. But just as a matter of personal preference, I still will take it over FP+. For me, it comes down to wanting to keep that slate blank every day, and have all things still possible before I ever walk into the park.

No doubt any late start day will be better with FP+. Your down day sounds great. We just don't do down days.

Agreed that the onsite folks get a huge advantage at WDW. Everyone touts being able to schedule convenient times as a big advantage of FP+. But I see post after post from people trying to make the most of the only times that were available for this or that attraction. No doubt they are offsite or scheduled last minute.

Not sure that DLR will give any advantage to their onsite hotels thought. They really don't have to. And in spite of the fact that we stay onsite, I would prefer that they keep a hard line of needing to be in the park in order to schedule and then only same day. And even then I worry about people being able to spoof their location and game the system. The minute DLR lets people not in the park schedule FPs is the minute the whole thing gets out of control. Right now I'm still of a mind that this system might be ok, but a lot of it will depend on the details.
 
Was there ever an announcement from Disney about this?

I don't think there was ever an official policy that you could. It was a performance thing, keeping the machines on two separate systems. It was something people weren't supposed to notice.
 
I don't think there was ever an official policy that you could. It was a performance thing, keeping the machines on two separate systems. It was something people weren't supposed to notice.
Oh, I meant had they made an announcement about FP for TSMM starting? Not about the park connection thing. :)
 
It's only 8:30 at DL now. I doubt anyone has attempted to do a park-hopper FP, yet.
 












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