the why behind fastpass+

[faneuil]

FP+ make is a change made to even the playing field for everyone eventually (obviously FP+ isn't rolled out to AP and offsite yet, but it will be), not just the hardcore tour/planning guests who have been to Disney 15 times before.

I welcome the change.

But it doesn't.
It still benefits planners.

Let's take TSM again.
Everyone books their TSM FP+ as far out as they can.
So now someone walks into the park at rope drop, RUNS to the nearest FP+ kiosk, and guess what? TSM is already out. The line is already 80 minutes.

For people who don't like to get up early during vacation, this is a god send. But it doesn't level the playing field. It just changes it.

 

[nighttowll]

Problem here is....very few DISers, if any, woud consider themselves and average guest.

And that pretty much sums it up right there.

 

[JimmyV]

Example:

I had to wake up at the crack of dawn and be at rope drop at Hollywood Studios just to RUN to Toy Story Mania so my kids could get a FastPass to go on the ride at 1PM. It was NOT FUN.

And last week I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to be at RD 30 minutes before the park opened just to walk fast to TSM so that we could ride it because we wanted to get a FP for RnR that day and couldn't get one for both rides. And I may be masochistic, but it WAS FUN! But in the end, this new system did nothing to change the way I approached the park, or the time that I had to get there.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It is a major improvement for those who got to DHS at 10:30- 11 to find all the TSM fastpasses gone for the entire day. Book your own. Boom! You stroll into the park at 2 PM and ride at 2:30.

Read somewhere that Disney says the average guest used 1.5 fastpasses per day. I might be OK bumping that up to 2. I am pretty sure most folks on this board are not indicative of the average guest.

I have a co-worker going for the first time next week. She has no idea whatsoever what Fastpass is, much less how to use it. If nobody told her, she would have probably gone through her entire stay oblivious.

 

[JimmyV]

It is a major improvement for those who got to DHS at 10:30- 11 to find all the TSM fastpasses gone for the entire day. Book your own. Boom! You stroll into the park at 2 PM and ride at 2:30.

If you stroll into DHS now at 2:00, you won't even get to a kiosk to book your FPs until after 2:30. The old system worked the same for everyone. This one does not. On the most crowded days, over half the people in the park did not have the opportuinty to go Boom! Besides, if you stroll in at 2:00 with a FP for TSM, how long are you going to wait to ride RnR? 90 minutes? 110 minutes? There aren't that many people who go to a park with the intention of doing one thing and then leaving. I will readily admit that the person who strolls in now at 2:00 with a pre-booked FP for TSM will get to do that one ride with ease, and the person in the past would be able to do no rides with ease. But is the best feature about this new system its ability to allow afternoon arrivers to do one thing? That's pretty feigned praise.

 

[surferdave]

I can understand this point since that was difficult in the case of TSM.

However, Disney didn't make this change to level the playing field. If they really wanted to level it, that would simply remove all FP and just have one line across the board. They could even set up a single-rider line at more rides to allow for another way to experience it. FP+ may accomplish what benefits you, but all the evidence points to different reasons for the change.

I don't think that is a case of FP- being broken as much as a case of Hollywood Studios having too few headliner family attractions; Epcot has a similar issue with Soarin and Test Track but it's not as pronounced. That's why some people insist that spending the billion+ on attractions instead would have solved more capacity problems.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you stroll into DHS now at 2:00, you won't even get to a kiosk to book your FPs until after 2:30.

i don't use no kiosks. Obviously offsite guests would have to. But for those who don't, it's an improvement. I don't need to ride both RnR and TSM on fastpasses either. I can get on RnR if I feel like riding it, they do have a singles line. Sometimes it takes awhile, but if I decide to wait then I'll wait. TSM has such mega waits you don't want to wait around for that.

 

[faneuil]

A little off topic, but with FP+ and being able to book three attractions, are people more likely to avoid the SB lines?

It seems that people's patience for SB lines is getting shorter and shorter.

Are guests going to use their three FP+ and then decide nothing else is worth the wait?

I'm sure the answer is "it depends", but it just makes me think.

Even further off topic, when did Mission: Space become so unpopular? There's rarely much of a line anymore.

 

[dwheaton]

i don't use no kiosks. Obviously offsite guests would have to. But for those who don't, it's an improvement. I don't need to ride both RnR and TSM on fastpasses either. I can get on RnR if I feel like riding it, they do have a singles line. Sometimes it takes awhile, but if I decide to wait then I'll wait. TSM has such mega waits you don't want to wait around for that.

This may be wrong, but I've heard that RnR has removed its Single Rider line. Is that true?

Also, I still don't see how this is an improvement. Does having guests all over the paths and longer FP waits really represent a positive impact?

 

[JimmyV]

A little off topic, but with FP+ and being able to book three attractions, are people more likely to avoid the SB lines?

It seems that people's patience for SB lines is getting shorter and shorter.

Are guests going to use their three FP+ and then decide nothing else is worth the wait?

I'm sure the answer is "it depends", but it just makes me think.

Even further off topic, when did Mission: Space become so unpopular? There's rarely much of a line anymore.

This is where RD comes in. Our touring strategy changed a bit in that we used each morning to do SB with modest waits and then FP attractions followed by shows, countries, etc. In the past, we might do RD for SB, and then two rounds of FP rides with an occassional show tossed in there. Now, it is one round of FP rides with the option of either leaving the parks, or touring less popular attractions or big theater attractions later in the day. We chose the latter. So I don't think that it is a "use your 3 FPs and leave" situation just yet. EMH and RD still provide ample opportunity for riding SB for many popular attractions. But for people who stroll in at 2:00, the regular SB lines are likely going to be very unattractive options leaving them with their FPs and single rider lines where available. I know that FP+ supporters tout the ability to arrive later in the day, and there is some truth to that if you want to "hit and run". But maximizing the day and avoiding long SB lines does require early arrival, same as always.

 

[JimmyV]

This may be wrong, but I've heard that RnR has removed its Single Rider line. Is that true?

Also, I still don't see how this is an improvement. Does having guests all over the paths and longer FP waits really represent a positive impact?

We used the SR line at RnR on 2/16. If they removed it, it has to have been in the past week.

 

[faneuil]

This may be wrong, but I've heard that RnR has removed its Single Rider line. Is that true?

Also, I still don't see how this is an improvement. Does having guests all over the paths and longer FP waits really represent a positive impact?

They'll sometimes close it based on crowd levels, but as JimmyV said, it was there a few weeks ago. (Jimmy, we were there on the same day!)

 

[dwheaton]

They'll sometimes close it based on crowd levels, but as JimmyV said, it was there a few weeks ago. (Jimmy, we were there on the same day!)

That's good. I'd heard it wasn't there in January, but I expect it was a slow day. Whew.

 

[DividedSky]

If you stroll into DHS now at 2:00, you won't even get to a kiosk to book your FPs until after 2:30. The old system worked the same for everyone. This one does not. On the most crowded days, over half the people in the park did not have the opportuinty to go Boom!

sure they did. they had every opportunity to pay more money for an onsite stay.

 

[jade1]

Besides, if you stroll in at 2:00 with a FP for TSM, how long are you going to wait to ride RnR? 90 minutes? 110 minutes? There aren't that many people who go to a park with the intention of doing one thing and then leaving. I will readily admit that the person who strolls in now at 2:00 with a pre-booked FP for TSM will get to do that one ride with ease, and the person in the past would be able to do no rides with ease. But is the best feature about this new system its ability to allow afternoon arrivers to do one thing? That's pretty feigned praise.

We usually arrive after 3PM or 4PM and peak weeks, obviously our choice but we enjoy other am activities followed by SAB-so yes even 0ne is a huge improvement.

That said-heres hoping it does expand to more than one per day over time/expansion.

 

[Golf4283]

But some people *still* don't know FP+ is free. I was reading a review on TripAdvisor from someone that was there a week or so ago. She said they never used the "fast system" because you had to pay for it.



Of course, this same person also said MK only had fast-food to eat, so take it for what it's worth.

Hey I'll accept that I suppose. I don't however feel that Disney owes me anything per se. I do feel however that having perks to staying onsite draws me to stay onsite.

EDIT: I thought I quoted your comment about me being entitled. This references that.

 

[disney1990]

I don't mean to start more drama. But I'm just wondering what the why is behind fastpass+. Why if the other system was working would they change it? I'm wondering could it be bc some got paper fastpasses and then didn't return with them. Therefore many were wasted when others could have used them. I don't know. I'm just speculating. What would be the cause for this if most were pleased with the old system?

Personally, I think more FPs are wasted now than before. Everybody is "required" to have 3 FPs. Under the old system, if you knew you were not going to use your FP, you could pass it on to somebody else - something we frequently did.

 

[JimmyV]

sure they did. they had every opportunity to pay more money for an onsite stay.

The most crowded days are the most crowded days because of the number of locals who visit the parks. Surely you don't expect someone who lives in Lakeland to pay money to stay on site. The point is that under the old system, everyone was treated equally. The only difference was their willingness to arrive early to get what they wanted in terms of rides and FPs. Just as you say that everyone has the ability to pay more money and stay on site, it could just as easily be said that before, everyone had the opportunity to get up early and arrive in time to enjoy shorter waits and full FP availability. So this new system is "better" because it allows 50% of the guests to arrive at their leisure. It's better for that 50%. But better overall?

 

[ArwenMarie]

The most crowded days are the most crowded days because of the number of locals who visit the parks. Surely you don't expect someone who lives in Lakeland to pay money to stay on site. The point is that under the old system, everyone was treated equally. The only difference was their willingness to arrive early to get what they wanted in terms of rides and FPs. Just as you say that everyone has the ability to pay more money and stay on site, it could just as easily be said that before, everyone had the opportunity to get up early and arrive in time to enjoy shorter waits and full FP availability. So this new system is "better" because it allows 50% of the guests to arrive at their leisure. It's better for that 50%. But better overall?

The number of customers in the parks each day might be 50/50 but we don't know how the profit breaks down onsite/offsite. I suspect it's tilted way higher towards onsite.

If that's true, from Disney's POV, maybe it makes sense to make things better for their more profitable customers at the expense of their less profitable customers.

 

[JimmyV]

The number of customers in the parks each day might be 50/50 but we don't know how the profit breaks down onsite/offsite. I suspect it's tilted way higher towards onsite.

If that's true, from Disney's POV, maybe it makes sense to make things better for their more profitable customers at the expense of their less profitable customers.

That's true, but it has never been their stated intent. Indeed, they are preparing to roll out pre-booking for off site guests once they have a better handle on this whole thing. So the "we pay more so we should get more" mantra will end. FP was never an on site perk, and FP+ was never rolled out as an on site perk, and soon, it won't be once the testing is over. So I don't spend too much time worrying about the "just pay more to stay on site" argument. That is all happenstance right now. But in the meantime, offsite guests are definitely second class citizens.