So, let's assume FP+ doesn't come back in its old form

[Brett Wyman]

I’m in the minority but I don’t like max pass. I was much more successful at manipulating the FP+ system that was in place. We simply didn’t stand in standby lines and we almost always got big ticket FPs at the last minute if necessary. Not great for everyone sure, but it’s the system they gave us. I don’t think it will be back and I’m sad to see it go.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

With them taking away onsite resort perks one by one . do you think its possible they may start adding some new ones like giving fast passes to onsite resort guest?

 

[chris benton]

For how expensive Wallyworld is, I just never found it any sort of inconvenience at all to wake up early one day and make FP selections. I also don't find any issue hunting a few minutes for FP's for popular attractions the rest of the day after the first three are used. Matter of fact, I thought it was fun. The kids got the hang of it as well. I might be in the minority, but I thought the whole FP system made Wallyworld more relaxing. No waiting in lines, just grab a FP, and go. Also, I'm more of an "early bird gets the worm" type. If the parks are open in the am, I choose to go early to get my money's worth, since it's expensive. Plenty of other people do as well.

I also don't think Walt cared too much about everyone having an equal shot. At ALL.

I kinda hope the FP system comes back exactly as it was. It was pretty darn simple, imo.

 

[kanerf]

Just expand the Virtual Queue to cover all the top tier rides. Limit the number that you can sign up for to 3, just like the old FP. Allow you to enter one VQ in the AM, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

 

[cjlong88]

For how expensive Wallyworld is, I just never found it any sort of inconvenience at all to wake up early one day and make FP selections. I also don't find any issue hunting a few minutes for FP's for popular attractions the rest of the day after the first three are used. Matter of fact, I thought it was fun. The kids got the hang of it as well. I might be in the minority, but I thought the whole FP system made Wallyworld more relaxing. No waiting in lines, just grab a FP, and go. Also, I'm more of an "early bird gets the worm" type. If the parks are open in the am, I choose to go early to get my money's worth, since it's expensive. Plenty of other people do as well.

I also don't think Walt cared too much about everyone having an equal shot. At ALL.

I kinda hope the FP system comes back exactly as it was. It was pretty darn simple, imo.

Agreed.

I also really liked the way FP was set up pre-COVID, if only because we knew how to effectively grab those great additional FP’s after using our initial three. We could almost always find great options popping up last minute, and we thoroughly enjoyed searching for them. I definitely have a feeling a paid FP option or system might definitely be on the horizon, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not too different than what we already had before.

FP done in a way so it allows people to skip longer lines without making standby lines brutal is tough. I’m not sure if there is any perfect solution. Only time will tell with what Disney decides to do.

 

[JakeAZ]

I kinda hope the FP system comes back exactly as it was. It was pretty darn simple, imo.

So Disney has taken away or paused a ton of things right now. Ticket prices, on the other hand, have stayed the same. Less for the same amount of money. People are still coming. And if you look a the availability of rooms (regular and DVC) in the fall, you can see, it is starting to book up pretty solid again. Disney knows people will come back. I just think there's no chance they bring it back in the same form. They've wanted to monetize FP for years. This is their chance. You can bet they will take it.

You can also bet on them marketing it as "a good thing for everyone"

 

[JakeAZ]

I’m not sure if there is any perfect solution

A very true statement!

 

[JakeAZ]

Just expand the Virtual Queue to cover all the top tier rides. Limit the number that you can sign up for to 3, just like the old FP. Allow you to enter one VQ in the AM, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

I think it's a given they will be expanding the rides eligible for virtual queues.

 

[JakeAZ]

With them taking away onsite resort perks one by one . do you think its possible they may start adding some new ones like giving fast passes to onsite resort guest?

It's possible. They really need to add more on-site benefits. These boards are full of "is it worth it to stay on-site anymore" threads.

 

[disneypharm]

We usually stay at a moderate resort because I refuse to pay for a deluxe resort that costs $450-$600 if I am only in my room to sleep. We love the pre-covid fastpass + system. Never had any problems getting the headliners and getting more FPs after using 3.

Maxpass like Disneyland - We would hate this. $20 per person per day for a family of 4 like mine, we would have to pay $560 more added to our usual 7-night stay. Add the cancelled magical express, that would probably cost another $150-$200 to do for transportation if we decided not to rent a car. That probably costs more with parking fee. Now we are pushing $1000. This is paying for a vacation with less park hours, less restaurants, etc...

Universal-type Express pass staying at a deluxe - Although we liked the Express pass, it would not work for WDW. Universal is a 3- to 4-day vacation. On our last trip (our only trip), we were done doing everything by the 4th day using our Express passes. So, we only had to pay for a deluxe resort for 3 nights. Because WDW is so much bigger, we prefer to stay for at least 7 nights. To pay for a deluxe resort at WDW for 7 nights (4 more nights than Universal), we will be basically paying $450-$600 to sleep in our room in order to get FPs. Add the cost of transportation, rental car, and parking,, well it will not be affordable for most families.

Some people already mention that Disney already has a "class system", but by changing to what I mentioned above, they would definitely price out a large portion of the population, especially since they already had these perks until recently.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Any type of a class system is just going to create more bad feelings amongst park guests. You see it now already with people mumbling rude comments under their breath as someone that paid a obscene amount of money to basically cut the line walks by. I don't think Walt would approve. I realize that some folks just want to feel superior to others, but again I don't think that's what Walt had in mind for his parks. Maybe a perk for guest that are staying on-site, but that's as far a I would go with that.

Before I bought DVC, we stayed CL many times and always bought the CL FP+. We didn't feel "Superior" but we did feel good not having to stand in line but it was a double edge sword. We had 6 FP+ but it also made you have to find things to do between rides so we would hit the first FP near the end so we could go right to the second but then there is that hour wait. And anyone that thinks that's not what Walt wanted, why did he create Club 33? You have to be elite to join. And rich. And they get 16 anytime FP+ per person, per day.

 

[Pixie Dusted Snow]

I’m in the minority but I don’t like max pass. I was much more successful at manipulating the FP+ system that was in place. We simply didn’t stand in standby lines and we almost always got big ticket FPs at the last minute if necessary. Not great for everyone sure, but it’s the system they gave us. I don’t think it will be back and I’m sad to see it go.

Oh I agree my family knew how to make the FP+ work to our advantage and waited in minimal SB lines but I also think if there was a paid option where I could have my face in my phone less and still get the FP's I want that would be great.
It doesn't take much effort for me to find a FP one after the other but it does require me to got off an attraction and get out my phone and then enter an attraction and then get out my phone during the few minutes I am waiting to check for the next possible option.
It becomes this sort of obsession to get on as many attractions as possible with the shortest wait possible even if that means crisscrossing the parks. I generally get 12-15 in a day but I have my face in my phone instead of looking around.

 

[JakeAZ]

they would definitely price out a large portion of the population

I'd say that happened years ago. There are already, by far, more people who can't afford a WDW trip, than those who can.

 

[disneypharm]

I'd say that happened years ago. There are already, by far, more people who can't afford a WDW trip, than those who can.

Yes, they have, but Disney is bleeding money now. By removing the free FPs and DME, in addition to all the other perks that they have removed, they would lose a lot of travelers that used to stay at value and moderate resorts. Yes, they might get a few more people at deluxe, but I can guarantee that it would not offset what they will be losing by having half-empty value and moderate resorts.

Added: You might want to read other threads in these boards about "taking away DME" and "what takes to bring bring you back" to see what people are saying. A lot of people are already saying that they would vacation someplace else.
For my family, we can easily afford deluxe resorts, but the value is not there anymore. I prefer paying for a European vacation or a trip to Asia (of course after the pandemic is over) than coming back to Disney for a diluted experience.

 

[Pixie Dusted Snow]

I'd say that happened years ago. There are already, by far, more people who can't afford a WDW trip, than those who can.

With how high attendance was pre-covid I'm not sure if that's really the case.
I think they have been trying to price some out in the past couple years but some of the things they've started adding like a festival every day of the year and more and more parties has only driven more people to go no matter the cost. They can't afford the house the live in or the car they drive but they are still going to Disney. And we wonder why people are in debt up to their eyeballs and its because they don't prioritize and think they need it all.
Meanwhile I understand opportunity costs and realize I need to give up something in order to do something else. I haven't bought a new cell phone in 4.5 years because I rather spend my money on Disney. Others buy the cell phone and go to Disney when they can only really afford one or the toher.

 

[JakeAZ]

And anyone that thinks that's not what Walt wanted, why did he create Club 33? You have to be elite to join. And rich. And they get 16 anytime FP+ per person, per day.

Such a great point! I think there tends to be a little bit of "romancing" the idea of what Disney World or Disneyland are. Lots of people, myself included, have amazing memories of what they were like when we were kids. Those days are gone. It's a business. It has shareholders. If they can squeeze more money out of us, they will. Let's all remember how many dessert parties there were before Covid. The Halloween parties were starting in August! It's $200 to build a light saber. It's hasn't been about playing to the masses for quite some time.

 

[disneypharm]

With how high attendance was pre-covid I'm not sure if that's really the case.
I think they have been trying to price some out in the past couple years but some of the things they've started adding like a festival every day of the year and more and more parties has only driven more people to go no matter the cost. They can't afford the house the live in or the car they drive but they are still going to Disney. And we wonder why people are in debt up to their eyeballs and its because they don't prioritize and think they need it all.
Meanwhile I understand opportunity costs and realize I need to give up something in order to do something else. I haven't bought a new cell phone in 4.5 years because I rather spend my money on Disney. Others buy the cell phone and go to Disney when they can only really afford one or the toher.

Yes, I agree that people were willing to go no matter the cost pre-covid because Disney provided everything they wanted to make it a great vacation. With all the things that are taken away, I am not sure if they would be willing to pay for Disney no matter the cost.

 

[jillrothschadl]

To be honest if I have to pay for fast passes, that will be the straw on the camel's back. We like to stay one site at values because we'd rather spend more time in the parks and don't need a lot for a room. If they make it a "class system" pay to play, I think that would really turn a lot of people off from WDW

Agreed. It’s already too expensive for so many to attend. Some have to save for years just to come and spend the bare minimum.

 

[JakeAZ]

Added: You might want to read other threads in these boards about "taking away DME" and "what takes to bring bring you back" to see what people are saying. A lot of people are already saying that they would vacation someplace else.

I've read them / posted in them and I'm sure there is some truth to what some of them are saying. But, Disney has run the numbers and has the data to suggest they will still be able to draw people in.

Also, just for some context. Our 2020 rescheduled trip is for 12 of us. I'm the only one who has any idea of what's going on with WDW right now. I'm on these boards, they are not. If I wasn't telling them what's going on, they wouldn't know and would still be happily going to spend their money there.

The vast majority of people who go to WDW have nowhere near the background info the posters here or on other WDW sites have. They just decide to go to WDW and plan it like a regular vacation.

 

[fly girl]

I will be the oddball and say I would gladly pay for the MaxPass. However, they still need to have Fast Passes for free at kiosks.

My family has never been fans of FP+. We can tour at a faster pace with the old FP system.

What will end our visits is doing away with it all together. No way am I going back to waiting in line for hours on end. FP spoiled us.

We pay for Fast Lane at Cedar Fair parks. Worth it to us. The first few years they had Fast Lane you heard grumbles from those in the standby line. Now, you don’t. It’s just a known part of the parks now.

Sure, Cedar Point & Kings Island aren’t in the same price point as WDW. That’s why I feel they need to have old Fast Pass for free or upgrade to Max Pass. You can still enjoy the perk just in different ways, one with a premium.