Thoughts on "X-pass"

[Cordovad88]

Seems like the general consensus over the "secret" upcoming X-pass is generally negative! From complaints about coveted spots being taken for parades or people complaining about the fact that either the lines are longer or will feel unprivileged due to not being able to afford the pass, but very little has been said about what Disney is obviously ding to fix this issue! They have been slowly adding games, toys, and other interactive diversions on rides, starting with the video games available every few feet on space mountain (quite fun in my humble opinion, although the buttons are slowly becoming less sensitive, which could pose a maintenance nightmare in the future), Soarin' w the screens that react to crowd movement, Winnie the Pooh's honey screen and play area, the rumored Peter Pan expansion, the upcoming Dumbo addition etc!

I personally think that in many cases those with the X-pass will be missing out on some key features along with part of the experience! An example would Kilimanjaro Safari - When you use a Fastpass you miss out on a part of the story, unless you are paying close attention to your guide, the ride will seem as if it were just that... a ride seeing animals, not a trek. Then there is the now seldom used gem that is the overflow queue through the Muppet*Vision 3D where Beaker and Bunsen are experimenting with those standing in line (i highly encourage anybody to walk through and spend just 15 minutes looking at the posters. I guarantee you will thoroughly enjoy it) The same could be applied to many other rides that set the tone in the queue, which the imagineers go through painstaking lengths to get just right (in many cases... ::cough:: Maelstrom ::cough::

As for the parades, prime locations have been held for "the privileged" for quite a long time, take a look at Illuminations (my fave in WDW) a few key sections right along the lake are always blocked off for special events, how is this any different than closing off the spot down main street directly in front of the castle? And in all honesty, in past trips how many times have you ran to that perfect spot and found it covered with people?

One last thing... Universal has been doing this for quite some time, and granted, the crowds and fan base does not compare, but it seems to work pretty well, specially during busy days.

In conclusion, I think we should give Disney a chance to prove themselves, specially considering what an amazing job they did overall with world of color and manipulating the crowds that came with it, and as it seems they are doing in prep for Cars land.

Just my thoughts on the matter... would love to hear where I am wrong...

-me

 

[skilesare]

Knowledge is power.

Two way knowledge is even more powerful.

If they do x-pass right it wil greatly improve everyone's experience at the park.

If Disney knows:
1. Where you are.
2. Where you've been.
3. Where you want to be.
4. Where everyone else is.
5. Where everyone else has been.
6. Where everyone else wants to be.

They can make everyone's time at the park better in a way that will be worth paying for.

For example:
Say there is an abnormally large rush toward adventure land, and most of these people have Pirates on their todo list. There is no line for Aladin and some of them have Aladdin on their todo list. Disney pushes Aladdin x-passes to one set of people. The push half off dole whips to another set...but it is only good in the next 15 minutes. Suddenly the Pirates queue stays manageable, and two sets of people feel pixie dusted. They are riding aladdin and enjoying dole whips instead of ridding pirates and not INSTEAD of ridding pirates.

Another family has one night left at Disney...they haven't gotten on Space because the line has been so long all week long. With the push of a button they spend $40 on a space x-pass. Disney pushes a few buzz x-passes to other families in Tomorrowland and a couple of 1/2 off churros time sensitive coupons. Disney nets $25 and a bunch of families are happy.

Of course with great power comes great responsibility. They could always screw it up and or try to rake people over the coals with not regard for their experience, but I THINK Disney is smarter than that.

 

[kaligal]

I really don't know how they are planning to work it. I am ALL for extra FPs if you want to pay for them, but I'd hate to see them get rid of the free ones totally. It screws locals in a big way. Uni did it, though.

I don't want a Dole Whip. Not for 50% off. Not for free. Not if you paid me. If you paid me enough, I'd eat it....but it would have to be a lot and I still wouldn't want the thing.

 

[dalt01]

i think you guys may be going in the wrong direction here......my understanding is that this is.....1. simply a virtual Queuing system rather like ADR's. 2. it is free.

 

[Cordovad88]

skilesare-
I agree with you, the concept for the x-pass is a great one specially if done right. In no way am I complaining about it. I am just noting how many people are complaining out there and failing to see how great this is already turning out to be for those who will not have x-passes and those who currently chose to not get fastpasses for certain rides..

Kaligal -
Lol on the dole whip

dalt01-
Maybe... But say we flip the coin around and they provide it to AP holders for an up charge? It wouldn't be a bad option.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think this is one of the things I'll have to actually wait for to see if I like it or not. There could be a lot of factors into whether or not it works well, but I seriously doubt I'd ever pay to ride something quickly.

 

[ADP]

I think what we are seeing with X-Pass is another step towards Disney trying to "automate" the guest expereince. Over the past 5 years Disney themselves have tried to become more efficient with their backend processes to move lines, guests, and even control crowds inside the theme parks. The problem is in their attempt to be more efficient its starting to impact the guest experience. When guest's itinieraries are starting to be planned to the point where we need to schedule ride times the guest experience is impacted. If there is no decision-making left during our vacation we are becoming more like robots instead of vacationers. I only hope Disney continues to expand the theme parks to address the crowd levels. There's simply no more slow times at Walt Disney World anymore. It's either busy, very busy, or OH MY GOSH!

 

[LMO429]

I am not 100 percent sure of all the specifics of the x pass is there an article or link that explains about it more.

That being said I love disneyworld always have... however last trip we did a split stay universal and disneyworld. and while universal lacked the magic that disney has our stay on site at universal far surpassed our stay at disney as far as the perks of staying onsite (early entry to hp, xpress pass on all the rides more than once) we did things at universal we never get to do at disney (like enjoy the pool, not have to wake up super early it actually was more of a vacation, also walking up to a restaurant without knowing 6 months before where we wanted to eat was another added pleasure..if this x pass turns out to make our disney vacation more enjoyable like our previous stay onsite at universal I'm all for it.

 

[doconeill]

We really still don't have details on how it will work, if it is replacing Fastpass, who can use it, how much it will cost, etc.

LOTS of rumors. No substance.

But I foresee three possible implementation scenarios. Consider an attraction has so many "slots" for guests in which to experience the attraction. They are currently divided into "Fastpass" slots and "Standby" slots. The maximum number of slots for an attraction is fixed per day - you can't make it load faster.

1) If xPASS slots are in addition to existing Fastpass slots, then there will be fewer standby slots, and standby loses. Fastpass also loses somewhat because there will be more people entering the Fastpass/xPASS line, which means the Fastpass line will be somewhat slower.

2) If xPASS replaces some portion of the Fastpass slots, then standby is OK, but Fastpass users lose out as there will be less available. But loading at the attraction remains the same.

3) If xPASS replaces Fastpass completely, then non-xPASS users have no choice but to stand in line. That will depend heavily on who can use xPASS.

Some hybrid between 1 and 2 has also been suggested.

A possible fourth implementation is to completely virtualize the queue, ala the RNRC test and what was supposed to be the new Dumbo queue (are they doing that now? I don't recall anyone mentioning it). Then xPASS users are more like a "call ahead" to get your spot. But I can't see that working at many attractions, at least not like they tested at RNRC, where you have to remain in the area - a lot of attractions don't have that sort of open area. But I'm not sure it really changes anything except make it horribly complicated.

 

[Zzizzy]

Oh I wish I had the time tonight to fully respond to this one. Maybe I can come back later with a full set of thoughts. Until then, here are a few points.

1. X-PASS has just one function, to make Disney more money by selling another premium program to those who wish to pay for it. It is not for guest convenience, or balancing park capacity, or even for providing a better experience. It is a premium package that is about to be mass marketed just the way pay-per-view and reserved box seats are sold.

2. This is yet another program in the ever increasing "class"-ification of the Disney product. When theme parks, especially Disney theme parks, were new, there was one purchasable product for all public guests. There were no special privileges or enhanced experiences. Everyone paid the same price for the same experience and everyone had access to the everything. That is no longer the case. It pervades many aspects of our lives and has now come to theme parks. Those who can/wish to purchase more - get more. It's as simple as that. The days of one price for everyone is now gone forever.

(Ooh, my cynical nature is coming out.)

Much more on this later. This is actually one of my major pet peeves.

 

[Love2Run]

Zzizzy I am kinda confused by your analysis. When Disney first opened you had to pay extra to ride the more popular/better rides. It wasn't until later that you only had to pay 1 park admission to experience everything.

That said I don't understand how this won't increase the guest experience. It will greatly increase the guest experience for the people who purchase the x-pass. Being able to reserve times ahead for the rides you want to do will be wonderful. I hate having to run all over the park gathering fast passes. This will give me and my family a much more relaxed vacation. I can't wait to see what the program has to offer.

For people who don't have the x-pass I imagine it won't have that big of an impact. We won't know until the program rolls out but I would be very surprised if Disney was stupid enough to ruin non x-pass holders experience in the park.

We really won't know the full effect of the program until it rolls out but I have faith in Disney.

 

[Zzizzy]

Zzizzy I am kinda confused by your analysis.

Understandable, I often confuse myself.

...When Disney first opened you had to pay extra to ride the more popular/better rides. It wasn't until later that you only had to pay 1 park admission to experience everything...

Yes exactly, when attraction tickets were in place you had to pay different amounts for the different attractions. But everyone payed the same price for that particular attraction. That is actually the heart of my point. Everyone was treated equally to the same experience for the same price. There was no "special class". There was no such thing as "I can pay more, let me in first" or "I can stand here because I purchased this special ticket."

Let me try another example. In general, there is one admission price to Epcot (multi-day tickets, annual passes, etc. aside which are really just discounts). For that admission you get access to all the regular Epcot attractions. Everyone gets access to the same attractions for that admission price.

So what about a Segway tour? A Segway tour is available at an extra price. If you can afford it, you get to take that experience. So why doesn't everyone have equal access to this attraction for the Epcot admission price?

The answer is that the Segway tour is not included in the Epcot admission and is only available at an extra cost. No one gets access to that attraction unless they pay an extra cost. This is unlike Spaceship Earth, which is included in the Epcot admission price. And for Spaceship Earth there are no special "upgrades" that allow different or better experiences (at least, for now).

However, with X-PASS, suddenly we have a new queue line. "Stand aside everyone, I have X-PASS, I get to go first to the same thing you are already lined up for."

And just wait until this becomes available for everything. What will the reaction be when all front row / prime area viewing for Illuminations or Wishes is only available to X-PASS? Don't laugh, this is exactly what this program is being designed for - paying for the privilege of special access to already established attractions.

Is this just a fancier FASTPASS?

Yes, of course. My objection is that you can "pay" for this privilege if you can afford it. That is my sole objection. It's one thing to go physically to a kiosk a pull a FASTPASS when you are already in the park. To me it is a whole different thing to pay for the privilege of bypassing all those who can't afford it. I also object to paying for "Front of the line" access, but that is another discussion (although very similar).

Will this enhance the guest experience for the people who purchase X-PASS?

Probably. Less time in line is always a good thing. I think it will kill the spontenaty of exploration and I can see some folks really going overboard, but on balance for those that pay for the program you will have an increased experience. I'm not sure though that it will be a more relaxed experience. It depends on how often you have to consult and adjust to your schedule. There is proably some balance that will make this workable.

Will this really affect those who don't have an X-PASS?

Of course we won't completely know until the program is in place, but my guess is yes, it will definitely affect those who do not purchase X-PASS. Look at the popularity of WDW. Look at how difficult it is to get into the popular and more expensive restaurants. Look at how folks spend a relative fortune on staying in the Deluxe Resorts. I think X-PASS will not only be popular (and therefore affect the wait times of those who do not have X-PASS), I think it will become the norm for most folks who vacation at WDW (which is exactly what I think Disney is anticipating).

I realize that this argument boarders on a larger social issue, that being should one have the ability to pay for privileges. That is kind of the heart of my objections to the trend that Disney is slowly adopting. I'm sorry, but we all don't have extravagant incomes. Many, if not most, of those visiting a Disney park do not have unlimited funds to do everything we want much less everything that's offered. I personally don't like the trend. I don't like offering the ability to pay for privileged access to the same facilities as everyone else.

Now, all that being said, do I think Disney will listen to me and keep X-PASS style programs reasonable and in check? Absolutely not. As I said before, the days of one price for everyone is now gone forever.

Would I participate in the X-PASS program? Since it is likely to become the norm, it depends on the costs vs. what it really gets you. I plan some things and on others I go with the flow. We'll see.

One way or another, it will be interesting to see how this shakes out, but mark my word, your Disney vacation will either get more expensive or you will not be able to do as much per day, compared to what we have now.

-Wayne