State of Fast Pass Return (or replacement)

[cakebaker]

When FP+ was introduced, wasnt one of the reasons was so that guests would spend more time shopping while waiting for a ride? I think you're right, Disney doesnt want people in long lines waiting on a ride, they'd want them shopping or eating while virtually waiting for that ride.

Exactly. And the only reason they're willing to sacrifice that is because they've got a paid system coming. It would look really bad to go from a current free system to a paid system. When we made our reservations, I didn't believe that, but it's the only logical explanation now. It really doesn't require all that much staff to operate the FP+ line since they already have staff doing it now. They are using the FP+ queue everywhere it's offered, it's just not open for everyone.

 

[ThistleMae]

My hope is they bring back FP+ soon, at the very latest by Oct. 1st. I just don't see them not trying to resolve the long wait lines one way or another. And I think with the higher resort rates, they'll be careful about dumping more up charges on us right now. I could be totally wrong, but just my guess.

 

[yaya74]

Adding FP+ back would most definitely have a positive impact. It would just be taking people out of standby and moving them to the FP+ line. It doesn't require another attraction or activity. We don't have FP+ for one reason and that is that Disney had chosen not to offer it I suspect it's because they don't want to move from giving it away for free to charging for it. Just for the optics only they'd rather go from having nothing to having a paid system. They are willing to sacrifice summer guests to do it too.

Does Disney think that there are too many "summer guests" so it does not matter to sacrifice some?
Upon return from my recent stressful and disappointed Disney vacation, I emailed Disney Guest Relations. Then I remembered Pete once sharing on the unplugged show that it is better to tweet Disney to get its attention. So I tried it for the first time (I am not a tweeter), got Disney's attention and the CM handling the Twitter account asked me to send a private message describing my experience from the recent Disney vacation. My goal was only to inform Disney how disappointed my family was during the trip. Then, out of surprise, Disney offered my family of 4 some complimentary park hopper passes which will expire in 2026. I of course accepted the offer. But the damage has been done. I usually couldn't wait to get my butt back in Disney upon returning from a vacation. Not this time around. I don't see myself going for another good 2-3 years.

 

[New Mouse]

I thought more things were opening up now? And it's my understanding that they started training staff in their college program in June, so maybe staffing is a key component in regards to FP+, at least until their staffing issue begins to resolve.

I think they key is...what is opening. Some random shop may open up which gives Disney the cover to say more stuff is opening, but at the end of the day that shop is sucking up a mininal amount of people for a minimal amount of time.

Shows and parades can suck large amounts of people up for extended times, which takes pressure off ride lines.

Shops and restaurants provide minimal relief.

The difference here is that shows and parades cost Disney $ while restaurants and shops make them money, so you can figure out whats going to be the first to open.


At the end of the day, Disney was negligent in increasing capacity the way they have and from the conversations Ive had with cast members, the PR spin team is out in full force.... "nothing to see here, but we really value your opinion".

 

[ChipnDale79]

Does Disney think that there are too many "summer guests" so it does not matter to sacrifice some?
Upon return from my recent stressful and disappointed Disney vacation, I emailed Disney Guest Relations. Then I remembered Pete once sharing on the unplugged show that it is better to tweet Disney to get its attention. So I tried it for the first time (I am not a tweeter), got Disney's attention and the CM handling the Twitter account asked me to send a private message describing my experience from the recent Disney vacation. My goal was only to inform Disney how disappointed my family was during the trip. Then, out of surprise, Disney offered my family of 4 some complimentary park hopper passes which will expire in 2026. I of course accepted the offer. But the damage has been done. I usually couldn't wait to get my butt back in Disney upon returning from a vacation. Not this time around. I don't see myself going for another good 2-3 years.

We just got back about a month ago, normally we're so excited about our trip and already planning our next one. That's obvisouly not the case this time. I'm so down on Disney right now.

 

[ThistleMae]

I guess Covid has given Disney the opportunity for big changes, as well as getting back up to speed. Considering how long it takes them to implement a new system, whatever it would end up looking like, and whether it actually works seamlessly, I think they'll have no choice other than opening FP+ back up. Especially since the 50th is coming up soon.

 

[cakebaker]

Then I remembered Pete once sharing on the unplugged show that it is better to tweet Disney to get its attention. So I tried it for the first time (I am not a tweeter), got Disney's attention and the CM handling the Twitter account asked me to send a private message describing my experience from the recent Disney vacation.

Thanks for the reminder. I don't tweet either, but I'll try this option the next time it's needed. I never make a complaint in order to get something other than their attention and attempt to fix it. It's always a little irritating to me when they want to throw passes or FP+ at us to "fix" it. I have a letter from WDW with a case number to present at guest services for a bunch of FP's after I shared my experience at MNSSHP. Not sure they'll do me any good this trip, but the frustrating thing is, giving me FP's didn't fix anything. Same thing with the single day park hoppers we got years ago for a terrible experience at the Cabins. I didn't need day passes, I needed to get what I paid for.

At any rate, will definitely learn the art of tweeting!

 

[ThistleMae]

We just got back about a month ago, normally we're so excited about our trip and already planning our next one. That's obvisouly not the case this time. I'm so down on Disney right now.

My grandson and his friend are going next week. He's been going since he was a little kid. We shall see what he says about his experience. Also, this is his first solo trip without his family. I do hope he has a ball! He just turned 21.

 

[New Mouse]

We just got back about a month ago, normally we're so excited about our trip and already planning our next one. That's obvisouly not the case this time. I'm so down on Disney right now.

I think a lot of this also relates to.the fact that Americans have limited vacation time. Disney was already a stressful and expensive vacation. To make people feel like they wasted both time and money (after an already stressful year) is a recipe for failure.

 

[mshanson3121]

Nm

 

[mshanson3121]

We just got back about a month ago, normally we're so excited about our trip and already planning our next one. That's obvisouly not the case this time. I'm so down on Disney right now.

Yup. We have a trip booked for June 2022. Currently on my end there is no excitement, only dread. Because a paid FP+ system will potentially ruin our trip since we can't afford anything extra and DAS alone is not enough to battle summer heat and crowds and standby lines of anything longer than 20-30 minutes just isn't possible for us, so... yeah. I need to call and make a change to our reservation (was going to add an extra night) but now I'm just going to wait and see what happens with FP+, because whatever happens will be the difference between 3-4 days at Disney and 2 nights on site and 1 day only at Disney (using free tickets we have) with no nights on site. For my kids' sake, I really hope it just comes back as it was so we can give them a better trip.

 

[Wandering Oaken]

Deleted. Arguing with someone that actually believes FP+ made SB lines longer is a waste of time.

 

[Garyjames220]

Deleted. Arguing with someone that actually believes FP+ made SB lines longer is a waste of time.

 

[preemiemama]

Does Disney think that there are too many "summer guests" so it does not matter to sacrifice some?
Upon return from my recent stressful and disappointed Disney vacation, I emailed Disney Guest Relations. Then I remembered Pete once sharing on the unplugged show that it is better to tweet Disney to get its attention. So I tried it for the first time (I am not a tweeter), got Disney's attention and the CM handling the Twitter account asked me to send a private message describing my experience from the recent Disney vacation. My goal was only to inform Disney how disappointed my family was during the trip. Then, out of surprise, Disney offered my family of 4 some complimentary park hopper passes which will expire in 2026. I of course accepted the offer. But the damage has been done. I usually couldn't wait to get my butt back in Disney upon returning from a vacation. Not this time around. I don't see myself going for another good 2-3 years.

We just got back about a month ago, normally we're so excited about our trip and already planning our next one. That's obvisouly not the case this time. I'm so down on Disney right now.

Feeling this right now as well. The idea of FP is to spread guests and get them spending money. Neither is happening right now. Yesterday afternoon while waiting for Rise to be called we saw tons of people sitting. Not eating. Not spending money in shops. Sitting and waiting. Way more than normal. There is no where for them to go in the parks. This isn’t a debate about SB being long with FP for me. Believe me id welcome some FP
Right now. But it won’t help what’s happening right now. They increased attendance before they increased capacity. And it’s not helping their bottom line. They need FP to be operational as much as we want it back. It’s just not feasible.

 

[123SA]

Feeling this right now as well. The idea of FP is to spread guests and get them spending money. Neither is happening right now. Yesterday afternoon while waiting for Rise to be called we saw tons of people sitting. Not eating. Not spending money in shops. Sitting and waiting. Way more than normal. There is no where for them to go in the parks. This isn’t a debate about SB being long with FP for me. Believe me id welcome some FP
Right now. But it won’t help what’s happening right now. They increased attendance before they increased capacity. And it’s not helping their bottom line. They need FP to be operational as much as we want it back. It’s just not feasible.

The sitting and waiting is particularly awful. That’s what local parks are for.

 

[jade1]

Believe me id welcome some FP
Right now. But it won’t help what’s happening right now. They increased attendance before they increased capacity.

Mostly agree, but I do think adding FP+ now would help at least to some degree.

FP+ tends to create 3 tours for many visitors, and with reservations needed-it seems like spreading out those visitors would be helpful. The AM group still has some rope droppers, but are under much less pressure to get in ASAP and often head back for lunch/swim/rest, afternoon likely will sleep in or do a brunch etc, and evening (like us) do whatever the rest of our vacation entails knowing we are set for the evening FP+.

A good percentage of guests (like us) would not even consider going in to the park at opening if we had 3 FP+ scheduled. Likewise a lot of us would also leave the park after our FP+'s have been used, esp in the heat of the summer.

I know this isn't logical for the guests with very limited and expensive time, but many guests can tour this way.

And I for one would prefer to stay out of the way of the commandos on an expensive time crunch.

 

[New Mouse]

Mostly agree, but I do think adding FP+ now would help at least to some degree.

FP+ tends to create 3 tours for many visitors, and with reservations needed-it seems like spreading out those visitors would be helpful. The AM group still has some rope droppers, but are under much less pressure to get in ASAP and often head back for lunch/swim/rest, afternoon likely will sleep in or do a brunch etc, and evening (like us) do whatever the rest of our vacation entails knowing we are set for the evening FP+.

A good percentage of guests (like us) would not even consider going in to the park at opening if we had 3 FP+ scheduled. Likewise a lot of us would also leave the park after our FP+'s have been used, esp in the heat of the summer.

I know this isn't logical for the guests with very limited and expensive time, but many guests can tour this way.

And I for one would prefer to stay out of the way of the commandos on an expensive time crunch.

It also doesnt help that the legit late nights went away some time ago. During summer id be strictly a pm person for the parks.

 

[ChipnDale79]

It also doesnt help that the legit late nights went away some time ago. During summer id be strictly a pm person for the parks.

There were no afternoon breaks for us on our last trip, there wasnt time for it. The parks closed too early for us to justify going back to the hotel for a couple of hours. We were more exhausted (maybe we're getting old) at the end of this trip than any other.

 

[cakebaker]

It also doesnt help that the legit late nights went away some time ago. During summer id be strictly a pm person for the parks.

Our last late summer trip was brutal heat wise and we ended up just going night time, adding in After Hours. We could knock out every ride we wanted during after hours and if we did a park during the day we focused on indoor activities- shows etc. It was so nice to not have lines and not have to slather ourselves in sunblock. Sadly late night hours, after hours and entertainment are all gone and who knows when and if they'll ever return. Not having extended hours in the summer is a killer.

Just as an aside but have to talk to guest services to fix an issue on MDE. Called last night with an 1.5 hr estimated wait, gave up after 2 hrs 45. Back on the phone this morning first thing on a 1 hr 10 minute estimated wait...that's an improvement, right? But this is indicative of the issues with WDW. Imagine this being your first trip to WDW and you need help and you have to wait hour after hour after hour just to talk to someone. That's insane.

 

[Loro]

I thought more things were opening up now? And it's my understanding that they started training staff in their college program in June, so maybe staffing is a key component in regards to FP+, at least until their staffing issue begins to resolve.

DCP finishing training this week should help considerably towards getting some things going, hopefully including FP+