State of Fast Pass Return (or replacement)

[yaya74]

Saw these pictures on BlogMickey today in a report about new trashcans. Is that picture of Fastpass+ machines an old one from before? Or did Disney repaint the machines to match with the trashcans?

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

View attachment 591154

Saw these pictures on BlogMickey today in a report about new trashcans. Is that picture of Fastpass+ machines an old one from before? Or did Disney repaint the machines to match with the trashcans?

To me the real question is: whether they are new or old, why would they be theming them to the new Epcot brand (World Nature, World Discovery etc…) if they weren’t intending to use them soon?

 

[yaya74]

To me the real question is: whether they are new or old, why would they be theming them to the new Epcot brand (World Nature) if they weren’t intending to use them soon?

That's my question too but I was too afraid to ask....

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

That's my question too but I was too afraid to ask....

Darn, apparently they’ve been there since Feb 2020 according to a site that shall not be named here lol. And in that same paint theme. Oh well. Here’s hoping that they will use them soon. The fact that Disney has been uncovering the machines still gives me hope that they’ll be reason to use them in the near future.

 

[yaya74]

Darn, apparently they’ve been there since Feb 2020 according to a site that shall not be named here lol. And in that same paint theme. Oh well. Here’s hoping that they will use them soon. The fact that Disney has been uncovering the machines still gives me hope that they’ll be reason to use them in the near future.

Thanks for the info... This is the reason why I was afraid to ask that second question... going back to the waiting room.

 

[Heather07438]

Early Morning Magic is a paid event for EVERYONE to enjoy attractions in a specific area and included a breakfast buffet. This had a very limited capacity because it was limited to one area of park, and food.

When this came out everybody had a good laugh, ‘Who’s gonna pay over $100 each for 75 exclusive minutes on 3 rides (7DMT, Pooh and Peter Pan) plus breakfast?’ WDW got the last laugh because it turned out being immensely popular. And unlike After Hours being a hard ticket, EMM needed admission to MK (or hosting park) that day.

 

[AMartin767]

"Unless you’re contending that a multi-billion dollar company is doing things that make zero sense and undercut the core of their brand (aka entertainment)?"

See: Almost entirety of this thread up to this post...

 

[AMartin767]

A paid version of FP is certainly contentious.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Kiosks were there before park closure last year

 

[Loro]

Not new kiosks, but there have been more that were covered before that they uncovered over the past week or so from what has been reported. There's a lot of signs lately pointing in the right direction, but nothing concrete. Hoping for the best

 

[B1GxFOOT]

Asking what I'm sure is a dumb question.... I was there long before this digital fastpass system was a thing. (I barely remember using paper ones once). But, it looks like all the FP info is done via the MDE app now. Or at least when it was working. Why do they need all the kiosks? Are there that many people who can afford DW but don't have a smart phone? I could see needing a few I guess but maybe I'm missing something about the system.

 

[BrianL]

Asking what I'm sure is a dumb question.... I was there long before this digital fastpass system was a thing. (I barely remember using paper ones once). But, it looks like all the FP info is done via the MDE app now. Or at least when it was working. Why do they need all the kiosks? Are there that many people who can afford DW but don't have a smart phone? I could see needing a few I guess but maybe I'm missing something about the system.

The kiosks used to have CMs nearby to assist with making changes, etc. It's just an option for those who didn't set it up ahead of time. There are actually a lot of visitors that literally just show up, buy tickets at the booth and head in. It sounds crazy to us here, but people do it.

 

[Loro]

Asking what I'm sure is a dumb question.... I was there long before this digital fastpass system was a thing. (I barely remember using paper ones once). But, it looks like all the FP info is done via the MDE app now. Or at least when it was working. Why do they need all the kiosks? Are there that many people who can afford DW but don't have a smart phone? I could see needing a few I guess but maybe I'm missing something about the system.

The kiosks used to have CMs nearby to assist with making changes, etc. It's just an option for those who didn't set it up ahead of time. There are actually a lot of visitors that literally just show up, buy tickets at the booth and head in. It sounds crazy to us here, but people do it.

It also may be hard to believe, but some people don't use smart phones. The kiosks are their only option in the parks.

 

[DoleWhipping]

If I were to bet, as others have probably predicted, we will know something regarding the return of fast passes (free or otherwise) within the next week and a half. Right before 60 days out from the 50th. Especially since more reservations for 10/1 have been added.

 

[Figment of Speech]

Asking what I'm sure is a dumb question.... I was there long before this digital fastpass system was a thing. (I barely remember using paper ones once). But, it looks like all the FP info is done via the MDE app now. Or at least when it was working. Why do they need all the kiosks? Are there that many people who can afford DW but don't have a smart phone? I could see needing a few I guess but maybe I'm missing something about the system.

In addition to other answers offered, using the kiosk also gives people the option of not grappling with busy wifi or using their data, which can be nice if your phone is already running low on charge. When you have to use the phone for so many other things, it doesn't hurt to take one thing off your plate.

Also, in a pre-pandemic AllEars video on using FP+, Molly tries the kiosks every so often and sometimes gets different results from what she was getting on the phone. She acknowledges that it might just be a total coincidence of timing, but she still suggests giving it a shot. My personal take on that is that if those kiosks have a wired internet connection, they're gonna be faster than using the park's wifi on your phone, which might also render a few more hits.

 

[Mac30188]

If I were to bet, as others have probably predicted, we will know something regarding the return of fast passes (free or otherwise) within the next week and a half. Right before 60 days out from the 50th. Especially since more reservations for 10/1 have been added.

I agree 100%. While I don't think they need all 60 days, I suspect they will start the initial communication to the rollout process no later than beginning of August or shortly there after. What they are rolling out and the key dates are what I am sure everyone will be excited to see.

 

[finedice]

Not new kiosks, but there have been more that were covered before that they uncovered over the past week or so from what has been reported. There's a lot of signs lately pointing in the right direction, but nothing concrete. Hoping for the best

Again, based on what I saw the last couple of days, I don't think they can bring it back without a lot more things opening up again. If the long lines were to slow even a little, people would totally lose it. Experienced Disers and current/ past cast members I've spoken with agree, don't hold your breath!

 

[Faithful Raider]

Catching up on YT park videos today and no doubt it's obvious that many of the posted wait times are SIGNIFICANTLY inflated. Examples being Kyle Pallo showing a 15 minute wait time for Everest (with a posted 40 minute wait) in his video from 7/18 and again with his 7/17 video where the posted wait for MFSR was 50 minutes and it was a LITERAL WALK ON. In the same video he said the posted 80 minutes for Slinky Dog was not correct and was under, and comments that Disney does not seem to be updating wait times in the evening. Plenty of other evidence that the official wait times are inflated. Oh and these were on a Friday/Saturday.

As a DL vet who is planning my first ever WDW trip, seeing park regulars walk up to a ride and just by looking at the line know it's wrong is frustrating to me. Clearly Disney has the technology to accurately post wait times. If I were leaving today, there is no way on my first Orlando trip I'd be able to tell if the wait time is accurate just looking at a line.

So that got me thinking. Why are the wait times so off, and as far as I can tell, always LONGER than posted? As it will be my first trip, I am relying on the app to guide my ride planning. Now as a member here and a YouTube watcher, I've likely got more information than the average first timer, but still pretty clueless. If I see a 50 minute wait for MFSR I'd be torn about waiting, but if it accurately showed 5 or 10 minutes I'd head over. Likewise I probably wouldn't stop and wait 40 minutes for Everest just walking by, but 15? Yeah probably!

So what's Disney doing? The Disney fan in me wants to think it's related to staffing or maybe other post-covid issues are taking priority (considering the comments about trash this may be at least part of it). But the realist part of me thinks this is somehow tied in with the rumored paid fast pass deal. A family on their first visit or their "once in 5 years" trip would be more likely to pay for fast passes if they see a park full of long wait times on the app without the knowledge of being able to tell if the line is actually that long. The reports that the inaccuracies are nearly always overestimates (and significantly off) make me feel this is wholely intentional by Disney. Get a bunch of buzz about the lines being crazy with no FP option, and ride in on that white horse waiving the Paid FP+ flag to save us noobs from a disastrous vacation of waiting in lines.

Yes, I realize that many rides do in fact have terribly long waits right now. But again, is it by design? I mean if everything has super long wait times posted, it makes sense more people are going to choose to wait for the best/most popular rides. I mean, if Soarin, Mission Space and Frozen are all 60 minutes, what are you getting in line for? Probably not Mission Space. So posted wait times can "push" guests towards bigger rides. So all Disney would have to do is inflate wait times on some rides to push guests to big ticket rides, then those rides actually get more filled, making guests feel more pressured to pay for fast passes to skip those lines.

Yeah, maybe I'm in tin foil hat territory thinking Disney is playing 4D chess that well with the whole possible paid FP stuff. Still though, it's crazy odd that wait times for only some rides are so inaccurate, and seemingly always overestimated.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Catching up on YT park videos today and no doubt it's obvious that many of the posted wait times are SIGNIFICANTLY inflated. Examples being Kyle Pallo showing a 15 minute wait time for Everest (with a posted 40 minute wait) in his video from 7/18 and again with his 7/17 video where the posted wait for MFSR was 50 minutes and it was a LITERAL WALK ON. In the same video he said the posted 80 minutes for Slinky Dog was not correct and was under, and comments that Disney does not seem to be updating wait times in the evening. Plenty of other evidence that the official wait times are inflated. Oh and these were on a Friday/Saturday.

As a DL vet who is planning my first ever WDW trip, seeing park regulars walk up to a ride and just by looking at the line know it's wrong is frustrating to me. Clearly Disney has the technology to accurately post wait times. If I were leaving today, there is no way on my first Orlando trip I'd be able to tell if the wait time is accurate just looking at a line.

So that got me thinking. Why are the wait times so off, and as far as I can tell, always LONGER than posted? As it will be my first trip, I am relying on the app to guide my ride planning. Now as a member here and a YouTube watcher, I've likely got more information than the average first timer, but still pretty clueless. If I see a 50 minute wait for MFSR I'd be torn about waiting, but if it accurately showed 5 or 10 minutes I'd head over. Likewise I probably wouldn't stop and wait 40 minutes for Everest just walking by, but 15? Yeah probably!

So what's Disney doing? The Disney fan in me wants to think it's related to staffing or maybe other post-covid issues are taking priority (considering the comments about trash this may be at least part of it). But the realist part of me thinks this is somehow tied in with the rumored paid fast pass deal. A family on their first visit or their "once in 5 years" trip would be more likely to pay for fast passes if they see a park full of long wait times on the app without the knowledge of being able to tell if the line is actually that long. The reports that the inaccuracies are nearly always overestimates (and significantly off) make me feel this is wholely intentional by Disney. Get a bunch of buzz about the lines being crazy with no FP option, and ride in on that white horse waiving the Paid FP+ flag to save us noobs from a disastrous vacation of waiting in lines.

Yes, I realize that many rides do in fact have terribly long waits right now. But again, is it by design? I mean if everything has super long wait times posted, it makes sense more people are going to choose to wait for the best/most popular rides. I mean, if Soarin, Mission Space and Frozen are all 60 minutes, what are you getting in line for? Probably not Mission Space. So posted wait times can "push" guests towards bigger rides. So all Disney would have to do is inflate wait times on some rides to push guests to big ticket rides, then those rides actually get more filled, making guests feel more pressured to pay for fast passes to skip those lines.

Yeah, maybe I'm in tin foil hat territory thinking Disney is playing 4D chess that well with the whole possible paid FP stuff. Still though, it's crazy odd that wait times for only some rides are so inaccurate, and seemingly always overestimated.

the wait times being inflated thing isn’t new. it definitely predated the pandemic.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

If I were to bet, as others have probably predicted, we will know something regarding the return of fast passes (free or otherwise) within the next week and a half. Right before 60 days out from the 50th. Especially since more reservations for 10/1 have been added.

There has also been an interesting glitch noticed when trying to book dining reservations. Previously when I logged in to my account and went to look at dining availability it would only display the next 60 days as blue/available. Yet today, myself and several others, noticed that logging in and trying to view dining availability it now shows the next 180 days as blue/available. Can’t book anything past 60 days….but it’s a very interesting glitch.

My bet? Disney’s site couldn’t handle dining reservations and potential FastPass reservations on the same day. FastPass booking used to be 60 days (for wdw resort guests) and dining 180 days….perhaps they’re looking to return to those windows? Wishful thinking? Maybe….but I hope it’s a sign of good things to come.