State of Fast Pass Return (or replacement)

[cakebaker]

I’ve found that kids really respond to the adults around them. If you’re excited, they will be too, and vice versa.

I've raised my daughters and now heavily involved in raising him. I understand how someone elses outlook can affect others. Of course we know not to be negative and constantly complaining. He doesn't hear our concerns about the trip, but he had to be made aware of the limitations we will face. He does not like surprises at all and to have let him walk into the parks expecting the WDW he knows would've destroyed the trip before it ever started. So while being positive and excited is important, being realistic is equally important.

All kids are different though and each family probably knows how best to handle their kids.

 

[Marrila]

I’ve found that kids really respond to the adults around them. If you’re excited, they will be too, and vice versa.

Most of us have found that.
However, there is only so much happy face isn't this fun one can do waiting in very long slow lines.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I totally understand the frustration of not having FP. I really do. But I’m not sure the Universal model is much better. I’m not thrilled with the notion of either having to wait in long lines (and the Universal lines are terrible too) or paying $80/day to skip a line once per ride, or $100/day for unlimited skips. That adds a huge amount of money to a vacation budget.

From what I’ve read, Disney’s Genie app will strike somewhere in the middle: everyone will get a certain number of free FP, with on-site guests getting more, and then you can purchase additional ones. That seems reasonable to me.

It was closer to $350/day per person for Universal for the dates I was looking at Universal this summer. That turned into a quick nope after I saw that all the deluxe resorts were already fully booked. Had a blast at WDW instead.

 

[notatallmagic]

I wonder how many of us with these trips this summer have airline vouchers we have to use?

In our case, we had originally purchased Annual Passes for 2020 and planned four trips - Spring Break, June, July, Spring Break. We had purchased airfare for 3 of those trips, and when Covid cancelled, we were given vouchers that had to be re-booked in 90 days for travel within one year. We hadn't activated our passes (long story there), so we just pushed three of those trips to 2021 with the re-booked airfare. At that time, we just assumed Disney would be Disney; we also re-did resort reservations, and just moved the deposits over. Spring Break and June were also paid, so that moved over too. So were were locked in, so to speak.

Like I mentioned before, we are out of time. My oldest leaves for college in August; it is unknown if she will have future summers to travel; and the holiday schedules for her and my youngest don't match up with sports and other activities. So, this was it for us.

On an up note, my youngest and I did an experiment and priced out a Discovery Cove/Aquatica/Sea World trip with preferred hotel (likely comparable to a Moderate) with all day FastPass for one day (for SeaWorld), and unlimited meals for him for 5 days (he eats all the time). We compared that to a comparable trip at Disney without any FastPass and our daily low budget food allowance. The Disney option was over 3 times the price of the Discovery Cove/SeaWorld trip. No way it's worth that with current conditions.

 

[buttersnix]

We just got back from an 8 day trip to WDW. It was our Welcome Home DVC stay at the Poly after purchasing in the new year. We wouldn't have gone in July but we had points that were set to expire and expiring flight credits. I was hoping for either attendance to still be limited or FP to come back and neither happened. I will admit, it was tough. We didn't spend as much time in the park as we normally would due to wait times, crowds and heat. We rope dropped every day but found it hard to get to the parks (especially HS & AK) more than 30 minutes before opening with busses. One morning we were at the bus stop at 7:40 for a 9am opening at HS. The first bus didn't come until 8:41. By the time we got to the park, lines were well over or pushing an hour for most headliners.

We already have an 11 day trip planned for January and expect the temps to be better, but are already discussing how we will adjust if FP doesn't come back or things are still not operating fully. We probably won't get hoppers (we would have bought AP's prior to this trip, but couldn't), will reduce the number for park days and potentially spend some time off property or at our resort.

We did go in Oct of 2020 and had a much better time with the restrictions in place. We also noticed that this trip we rarely saw cavalcades while in October we saw multiple in a day. That could be because we spent less time in the parks, but I also wondered with much more crowding if its less likely they they run them as often.

We still had a great time, but it felt a bit different with the parks being less enjoyable.

Do you think Uber or lyft would be better? We have the skyliner but was considering pickup as an option, didn’t know how it worked exactly, if we would just be sitting in a car waiting to get in instead
*sorry I’m off topic.

 

[vicarrieous]

Do you think Uber or lyft would be better? We have the skyliner but was considering pickup as an option, didn’t know how it worked exactly, if we would just be sitting in a car waiting to get in instead
*sorry I’m off topic.

We used Lyft one morning to get to HS when we saw the first bus wasn't until 8:41. We got dropped twice by lyfts I am assuming due to demand. The skyliner is a different horse as that drops off close to HS and I am not sure how waits are with that in the AM for rope drop.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

It was closer to $350/day per person for Universal for the dates I was looking at Universal this summer. That turned into a quick nope after I saw that all the deluxe resorts were already fully booked. Had a blast at WDW instead.

THIS. I just looked at tickets to Universal vs WDW for the week of August 2nd for 3 adults.

5 day 2-park with park-to-park access at Universal $1217.26 or $405.75 per person.

5 day park hoppers at WDW $1849.74 or $616.58 per person. So WDW is more expensive, but also offers 4 parks versus 2.

For those asking how Universal can “operate normally” in this post-pandemic period. The answer is that a) they really aren’t - pre-shows are still missing from some attractions, not all entertainment options are back etc…and b) they use dynamic pricing for express pass so they are charging out the wazoo for that service right now.

I looked at 2 days of 2-park unlimited express pass and 3 days of 2-park standard express pass. That would be a total of $3738 on top of park admission. So $1245 per person!

Can you go to Universal right now and “skip the lines”? Sure, but dear god is it going to cost you.

 

[luv2cheer92]

THIS. I just looked at tickets to Universal vs WDW for the week of August 2nd for 3 adults.

5 day 2-park with park-to-park access at Universal $1217.26 or $405.75 per person.

5 day park hoppers at WDW $1849.74 or $616.58 per person. So WDW is more expensive, but also offers 4 parks versus 2.

For those asking how Universal can “operate normally” in this post-pandemic period. The answer is that a) they really aren’t - pre-shows are still missing from some attractions, not all entertainment options are back etc…and b) they use dynamic pricing for express pass so they are charging out the wazoo for that service right now.

I looked at 2 days of 2-park unlimited express pass and 3 days of 2-park standard express pass. That would be a total of $3738 on top of park admission. So $1245 per person!

Can you go to Universal right now and “skip the lines”, sure but dear god is it going to cost you.

Yep. Also, I just like Disney. I like the characters, the stories, the rides. I don't go to WDW because it is an amusement park and that's the kind of vacation I'm looking for. I go to WDW because I like Disney. Yes, I love Universal and am a huge HP fan, but again, it's not Disney. So when people say, well we'll just go here instead, I'm like ok, but that wouldn't satisfy me, because it's not the same experience. It would be like going to the beach when you really want to go the mountains.

I also feel like people continue to pick out every single negative thing that comes out, and then ignore posts when multiple people talk about the positive experiences they have had. Like they think nobody could possibly be having a fantastic time at WDW right now.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Yep. Also, I just like Disney. I like the characters, the stories, the rides. I don't go to WDW because it is an amusement park and that's the kind of vacation I'm looking for. I go to WDW because I like Disney. Yes, I love Universal and am a huge HP fan, but again, it's not Disney. So when people say, well we'll just go here instead, I'm like ok, but that wouldn't satisfy me, because it's not the same experience. It would be like going to the beach when you really want to go the mountains.

I also feel like people continue to pick out every single negative thing that comes out, and then ignore posts when multiple people talk about the positive experiences they have had. Like they think nobody could possibly be having a fantastic time at WDW right now.

I agree! I mean, I like theme parks in general, but I go to WDW for the magic of Disney. They don’t have the most intense rollercoasters (I’d go to Six Flags or Cedar Point for that). But they have an element no one else has, and something that I think is still there, despite everything.

 

[cakebaker]

Like they think nobody could possibly be having a fantastic time at WDW right now.

I don't think that. I'm sure they are. But I'm also sure that what is most important to me to have a great time is not what is most important to them. The negatives I hear are concerning the things that will personally affect me most. There are some people who actually love not having FP at all- for me, it's the single most negative thing about our trip. Some people are all wrapped up in what restaurants are opening. I could care less, we won't be eating sit down meals there anyway.

I was very pleased to hear they had extended hours at the AK that starts the first day of our trip and commented on it, but outside of that, I don't believe there's been anything positive announced since we booked that has any effect on our trip at all in a positive way. It's just an hour, but I'm thrilled at this point to get anything.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

That's why I regretted going to Disney this summer. I should have brought my money to Universal Orlando (Why can UO operating almost everything at pre-pandemic level but Disney cann't??) . I booked my vacation based on the assumption that indoor mask-wearing was still in effect and that parks are operating with limited capacity. Then right after I paid for my vacation in full, the mask-wearing mandate was completely lifted and park passes were refilled 3 times! I didn't want to lose my $200 and I still had faith in Disney so I went. I came home but left my passions and love for Disney in Orlando.

Universal is struggling to keep up with demand as well. We went in June and the lines for everything from rides to snacks and food were just insane. There was zero social distancing and virtually no masks anywhere. We still had a great time.

Reading all your posts about the current experience at WDW leaves me questioning why anyone would go under these circumstances. A Disney vacation is so expensive. Too expensive to not expect an equal level experience for the money paid. I love vacationing at WDW. It's my favorite place to spend my vacation dollars, but given the cost, we average going only once every other year. Our last trip was December 2019 but I wouldn't go again this year even with huge discounts after reading all the reports currently on social media. I'm tentatively planning for Nov/Dec next year and am very hopeful that Disney has figured everything out by then and we'll get to enjoy the experience we've come to enjoy and expect over the years. But if they don't get their act together, we may skip next year as well. I simply refuse to pay that much money for a subpar experience. If anything, we may come to Orlando and just do a shorter trip at Universal only.

Having free FP was nice, but I can understand the business reasons for it no longer being offered free. I've stated it before in other posts but my hope for FP at Disney was for it to follow the Universal model with no scheduling or return times required. I'd be willing to budget that in for a fair, reasonable cost. But if they go to a system which requires me to crisscross the parks multiple times like a crazy person to visit an attraction, find the queue too long, try for a FP, getting a return time later in the day (or not getting one at all!) then having to return to that attraction later from wherever I may be in the park at that time, and paying for that? No. And I'm not paying all that money for a long awaited trip and missing many of the headliners or having to wait in 2 hr lines for the privilege. If they are sticking with time windows, then I need to be able to plan in advance so I know going into the park that day I will be able to experience all the attractions important to me and can plan my day out to make it as stress free and enjoyable as I can.

I've always been "that person" at work and with friends and acquaintances who talks WDW up. Over the years I've encouraged many people to go and those people have become repeat visitors as a result. Right now, I'm discouraging people from going. A Disney trip is a hard sell already given the cost, but with the experience being such a poor one right now, I just can't see the value in it. Disney is a business like any other. They are in it to make money. If they can slow construction to a crawl dragging it out for years, reduce ride capacity to save on labor costs at the expense of the customer experience, and eliminate or delay re-opening of entertainment, restaurants, hotels and other services and people will still come in droves spending as much, or more than ever, then why should they up their game?

We have CM tickets that expire in September that must be used or forfeited, and a phenomenal rate at an off property resort. With what we have invested in our trip we will get value from it, but if we were paying full price and staying on property I'm not so sure. My daughter is so excited to go that I doubt we'd cancel even if we were paying for tickets and staying on property. And honestly I'm starting to get excited too, even knowing what we're walking into. We're 11 days out and I pulled out the suitcases and started packing today. We have Tusker House and Hollywood and Vine booked, even though character meals are modified right now. I think despite the characters not coming to our table, I'm looking forward to these the most. My daughter can't wait to meet all her Clubhouse friends. We have an Aurora dress for my daughter and a Capture Your Moment booked on our first MK day. I'm looking forward to eating The Wave breakfast at California Grill and Gideon's cookies. We're hoping to get a table at Tony's that allows us to view the cavalcades as they go by. We're finally trying Homecomin! My daughter is begging to have her face painted, so hopefully face painting is open somewhere. Yes, all these are paid extras, but with nothing invested in tickets I'm willing to spend. If I see overflowing garbage cans, I'll just keep moving. We're RD people who don't need to hit all the big headliners, so hopefully that will still work to our advantage. I've ridden Rise before, so if we don't get it I won't let it ruin our day, but I will finally get to ride MMRR. Since we didn't get to go last year, and my daughter is just shy of three, she doesn't recall any of it, so it will be fun just to see Fantasyland through her eyes. I find there's plenty to still look forward to, and if I could survive Universal in June with the lines the way they were, I think we'll be OK. My daughter wasn't on that trip, but she has lots of patience.

But with all that said, I would still not recommend a trip right now to a first timer or someone who only goes every few years.

I have a short trip booked at Movies in Jan/Feb. If things don't improve by then, or if this trip turns out to be very unmagical, I'll either cancel, or just have one MK day and do other things in Orlando.

 

[Loro]

Do you think Uber or lyft would be better? We have the skyliner but was considering pickup as an option, didn’t know how it worked exactly, if we would just be sitting in a car waiting to get in instead
*sorry I’m off topic.

I use both and check whichever one is cheaper for where I'm going. The drivers generally drive for both. I usually find Lyft with better prices, but YMMV. If you have a Chase Sapphire and/or Delta mileage you can link the accounts to get bonus Miles/points with Lyft too

 

[notatallmagic]

Yep. Also, I just like Disney. I like the characters, the stories, the rides. I don't go to WDW because it is an amusement park and that's the kind of vacation I'm looking for. I go to WDW because I like Disney. Yes, I love Universal and am a huge HP fan, but again, it's not Disney. So when people say, well we'll just go here instead, I'm like ok, but that wouldn't satisfy me, because it's not the same experience. It would be like going to the beach when you really want to go the mountains.

I also feel like people continue to pick out every single negative thing that comes out, and then ignore posts when multiple people talk about the positive experiences they have had. Like they think nobody could possibly be having a fantastic time at WDW right now.

I'm sure many people are still able to enjoy Disney, and I'm happy for them and for you. For us, these issues and shortfalls are glaringly obvious. We are frequent Disney guests, so we can see that we are paying more, and getting fewer hours and experiences. We actually decided as a family to forgo certain spending (new cell phones, eating out, brand name clothes, and other recreation) in order to fund our Disney trips. So my kids are invested as well.

One big thing that I know bothers us that doesn't bother others is the lack of cleanliness. That's huge for me. My home is very clean; and my kid is allergic to dust. Other people have their own standards, and maybe this doesn't bother them at all; but I hate it, and my kid is pretty miserable in a less than clean room by about the third day. But my kids are too old for characters, for example - no biggie there for US, but if they were 3 and 6 again, that would ruin my trip not having the "old" meet and greets and parade.

The FastPass issue still hits me hard - and it doesn't even effect us much, as my kid has been diagnosed with a condition that now requires us to use a DAS pass; without it, we wouldn't be able to do Disney at all. I'm very grateful for US, but that doesn't mean the lack of FastPass for everyone else, and especially with the current wait times, is ok for everyone else when it isn't necessary for it to be this way.

I'm happy for the subset of folks who still get all the magic; I truly am. We just aren't those people.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I'm sure many people are still able to enjoy Disney, and I'm happy for them and for you. For us, these issues and shortfalls are glaringly obvious. We are frequent Disney guests, so we can see that we are paying more, and getting fewer hours and experiences. We actually decided as a family to forgo certain spending (new cell phones, eating out, brand name clothes, and other recreation) in order to fund our Disney trips. So my kids are invested as well.

One big thing that I know bothers us that doesn't bother others is the lack of cleanliness. That's huge for me. My home is very clean; and my kid is allergic to dust. Other people have their own standards, and maybe this doesn't bother them at all; but I hate it, and my kid is pretty miserable in a less than clean room by about the third day. But my kids are too old for characters, for example - no biggie there for US, but if they were 3 and 6 again, that would ruin my trip not having the "old" meet and greets and parade.

The FastPass issue still hits me hard - and it doesn't even effect us much, as my kid has been diagnosed with a condition that now requires us to use a DAS pass; without it, we wouldn't be able to do Disney at all. I'm very grateful for US, but that doesn't mean the lack of FastPass for everyone else, and especially with the current wait times, is ok for everyone else when it isn't necessary for it to be this way.

I'm happy for the subset of folks who still get all the magic; I truly am. We just aren't those people.

Curious when your most recent trip was? I wouldn't get so discouraged about a trip before even getting there.
I didn't see any signs of overflowing trashcans or dirty conditions, not saying it didn't happen because obviously it did. But its not a widespread issue.

 

[notatallmagic]

Curious when your most recent trip was? I wouldn't get so discouraged about a trip before even getting there.
I didn't see any signs of overflowing trashcans or dirty conditions, not saying it didn't happen because obviously it did. But its not a widespread issue.

Thanks for asking. We were there for Spring Break, which was a pretty decent trip. Our only issues then (other than the missing fireworks and limited dining) were spotty transportation (which staying in a Skyliner Resort helped with); and room cleanliness.

We attempted to correct that issue to a degree by redoing our June trip to a split stay to at least get a clean room halfway through. Our 2nd resort had less transportation options (Coronado) but buses were actually great, and we walked to the first stop to cover our bases. But the garbage issue was truly disgusting (they even sent us a message of a BEAR sighted at our resort - I'm sure the piled garbage everywhere didn't help!). We also called twice for towel and garbage removal, as well as lotion and coffee, and were told it "wasn't our day". Seriously.

So, to answer your question, we were there 30 days ago, and it was not the typical magic. We still enjoyed our time together, but Disney will likely be losing some very loyal customer business after our passes expire, and that wasn't what I'd planned or expected.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Thanks for asking. We were there for Spring Break, which was a pretty decent trip. Our only issues then (other than the missing fireworks and limited dining) were spotty transportation (which staying in a Skyliner Resort helped with); and room cleanliness.

We attempted to correct that issue to a degree by redoing our June trip to a split stay to at least get a clean room halfway through. Our 2nd resort had less transportation options (Coronado) but buses were actually great, and we walked to the first stop to cover our bases. But the garbage issue was truly disgusting (they even sent us a message of a BEAR sighted at our resort - I'm sure the piled garbage everywhere didn't help!). We also called twice for towel and garbage removal, as well as lotion and coffee, and were told it "wasn't our day". Seriously.

So, to answer your question, we were there 30 days ago, and it was not the typical magic. We still enjoyed our time together, but Disney will likely be losing some very loyal customer business after our passes expire, and that wasn't what I'd planned or expected.

Thanks. I hope you get as much magic out of this trip as you can!

Its probably just me and my family, but we've always taken our trash out each morning, anywhere we went. Pretty much always pass a trash can and toss it in there on the way out. But I'm sure most people don't do that.

 

[cakebaker]

We also called twice for towel and garbage removal, as well as lotion and coffee, and were told it "wasn't our day". Seriously.

It wasn't your day????? Did they suggest what you should do with the filled garbage cans? That's just unbelievable. I knew they had put cleanliness on the back burner and weren't doing regular housekeeping, but I thought if you called they would at least bring towels and take the trash out. I'll be sure and ask for a bag full of towels when we check in. They never leave enough even with regular service.

Now I know why the Deluxe resorts have trash bags in the hallways. This is just crazy. Thankfully we're in the cabins so I guess we'll just throw the bags out on the deck when they fill up. There are 5 of us and our trash is usually full every day. I am not carrying out trash for them, I'm just not. We keep our rooms clean, towels go in the tub or under the counter, beds are kept clear and we don't leave trash laying around the room. If our cans get full and they have extra bags in the can, I empty them. We tip mousekeeping and generously. But that's it. If they want to cut the price of my cabin to make up for me having to provide my own housekeeping, that's one thing. They use to do that. We never took advantage of it because I didn't want to clean rooms on vacation, I do it enough at home. But they aren't now, so either they pick it up or it can sit there until they do.

They're going to start having real issues with bugs and animals going after the piled up trash soon. But if we continue to do their jobs for them, they're never going to do it themselves again. What hotel in the world charges $450 a night and expects you to carry out the garbage?????

 

[CSLucas]

It wasn't your day????? Did they suggest what you should do with the filled garbage cans? That's just unbelievable. I knew they had put cleanliness on the back burner and weren't doing regular housekeeping, but I thought if you called they would at least bring towels and take the trash out. I'll be sure and ask for a bag full of towels when we check in. They never leave enough even with regular service.

Now I know why the Deluxe resorts have trash bags in the hallways. This is just crazy. Thankfully we're in the cabins so I guess we'll just throw the bags out on the deck when they fill up. There are 5 of us and our trash is usually full every day. I am not carrying out trash for them, I'm just not. We keep our rooms clean, towels go in the tub or under the counter, beds are kept clear and we don't leave trash laying around the room. If our cans get full and they have extra bags in the can, I empty them. We tip mousekeeping and generously. But that's it. If they want to cut the price of my cabin to make up for me having to provide my own housekeeping, that's one thing. They use to do that. We never took advantage of it because I didn't want to clean rooms on vacation, I do it enough at home. But they aren't now, so either they pick it up or it can sit there until they do.

They're going to start having real issues with bugs and animals going after the piled up trash soon. But if we continue to do their jobs for them, they're never going to do it themselves again. What hotel in the world charges $450 a night and expects you to carry out the garbage?????

I think they are already having issues with bugs - when we went in April we had MULTIPLE very alive roaches in our room at the Contemporary. Disney wasn't in the least bit concerned with it and told me they would look into having someone come look at the room sometime that week. We were moving to GF the next day so we didn't make a big deal out of it, but it was gross. One roach I could handle. Multiple is an issue.

 

[glocker]

Man, this thread had veered way off topic. Anyone head any rumors about fastpass returning?

 

[cakebaker]

Man, this thread had veered way off topic. Anyone head any rumors about fastpass returning?

Nope. No one I consider reliable has said so much as a whisper for the last week. I think it's never coming back and they're going to go straight to their paid system. But I have no super secret sources- just it isn't back now and summer crowds will thin in 2-3 weeks. If they were bringing it back, they would've already done it.