Time to bring back fast passes!!!

[kevtlas]

How many of those lines were 60, 90, 120 min plus?

You obviously didn't go to my high school...

 

[Love Tink]

I'm wondering where the whole idea that kids can't stand in lines comes from (special needs excluded). I don't have kids, but have things changed that much since I was in school? I remember lining up to go to lunch, recess, the book fair, etc. etc. Out of anyone, any age, I would think kids would be the line pros. And WDW opened in 1971. Legacy FP didn't start until 1999. Kids stood in line. So did adults. We all survived.

I get that a lot of people prefer not to stand in line, especially if you only started going in the FP era. But I miss the pre-FP days. Even when we used to only go one day a year on my birthday, we picked a direction and went around the park in order. No criss-crossing. Ate wherever was nearby whenever we got hungry. Lines moved continuously, and I believe there was a lot more immersion and appreciation for theming when we weren't running from Adventureland to Tomorrowland to Frontierland and back to Adventureland chasing FPs. I'd be thrilled if they never came back at all.

Right, but long lines suck. And the fact that we used to have to stand in them doesn't mean they didn't suck then and don't suck now.

I think if you're comparing a Disney vacation to school you've already identified your problem.

 

[walt2187]

Just came back from a couple days stay at WDW. DHS was way too busy for the number of attractions available. In fact, the lines for TOT & Rock & Rollercoaster were in conflict with each other, so much that cast members had to close each line, to allow visitors to cross the main walkway to get in line. TOT line was way back past the ride‘s exit and the other line was back to the Beauty and the Beast area.

 

[walt2187]

Just came back from a couple days stay at WDW. DHS was way too busy for the number of attractions available. In fact, the lines for TOT & Rock & Rollercoaster were in conflict with each other, so much that cast members had to close each line, to allow visitors to cross the main walkway to get in line. TOT line was way back past the ride‘s exit and the other line was back to the Beauty and the Beast area.

 

[_19disnA]

The problem to me with long ride lines is that it eats up how much you are able to do in one day. There are only so many park hours in a day and if a large % of that is waiting in lines, you will either go on fewer rides per visit or need extra days to do all the things you wanted to do. Variations of FastPass isn't going to solve a ride capacity problem. Disney needs to design rides with more capacity and/or limit how many are allowed in the park at a time. That new Star Wars ride sounds like it has been undersized from day one. You would have thought ride designers would have built in larger/more cars, additional routes, etc. to maximize ride capacity. Clearly their assumptions on ride capacity for Star Wars was too small based on all of the comments on here about how it is nearly impossible to get a seat on that ride.

 

[Naomeri]

The problem to me with long ride lines is that it eats up how much you are able to do in one day. There are only so many park hours in a day and if a large % of that is waiting in lines, you will either go on fewer rides per visit or need extra days to do all the things you wanted to do. Variations of FastPass isn't going to solve a ride capacity problem. Disney needs to design rides with more capacity and/or limit how many are allowed in the park at a time. That new Star Wars ride sounds like it has been undersized from day one. You would have thought ride designers would have built in larger/more cars, additional routes, etc. to maximize ride capacity. Clearly their assumptions on ride capacity for Star Wars was too small based on all of the comments on here about how it is nearly impossible to get a seat on that ride.

The issues with RotR have nothing to do with the capacity of the ride and everything to do with what the ride is like. Not going to post spoilers, but it’s not like a rollercoaster where you just get in, ride, and you’re done. Also, it likes to go down a lot, so that slows the throughput of people.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

My kids can wait in lines. And I can force them to do it. But why would I pay thousands of dollars to do so? The bottom line is that, for the money that Disney charges (which keeps going up at a much faster pace than inflation), they would be foolish not to make sure that they continue to provide a commensurate experience that makes it feel worth the price.

And yet, as prices keep going up, services keep going down. Disney cuts staff, eliminates entertainment, cuts hours, runs rides at half capacity even when the lines are long, etc.

I understand why Fastpass is not an option during the pandemic. And I will cut them a lot of slack with closures and layoffs during the pandemic. These are extraordinary times.

But these trends were already there before Covid: higher costs, bigger crowds, longer lines, reduced entertainment.

This is an opportunity for Disney to regroup and do some long-term planning. I'm sure that their instinct will be to charge as much money, and cut back expenses as much as possible, as soon as this is over in order to try to recoup lost profits. But penny wise, pound foolish. In this regard, they were already playing with fire pre-pandemic.

Disney World's greatest asset is not its IP. It is the goodwill that it has generated in our society. So many people have such fond memories; it is the happy place for so many of us, and for so many families in particular. And many others yearn to experience it even if they have never been there before. That is no accident. It is the product of wise marketing, no doubt. But it is also the product of brilliant imagineering, careful cultivation of "magic" and "pixie dust," and smart investment in staff, in forward thinking, and in customer service.

Disney has generally always been good at thinking ahead, and at investing the resources that are necessary to create and maintain the magic --- something that gets harder and harder to do as technology develops to the point that it is difficult to wow a child who is growing up surrounded by high-tech cell phones, video game systems, etc. In many ways, Disney is still doing this. So many excellent new rides and lands have opened up recently, and there are many other exciting ones being built.

But, in other respects, of late (again, pre-Covid), Disney has seemed to place the short-term dollar over the long-term cultivation of the magic that makes people fall in love with the place and keeps them coming back. I fear that they may reap the costs of that shortsightedness soon. As the pandemic lifts, and frustrated families flock back through the gates, they may find endless lines, reduced entertainment, under-staffing, broken down rides, and very little magic --- all at an obscene cost. If that happens, they may stop coming back, and they will tell their friends not to believe the TV commercials.

I certainly don't have all the answers. I have some ideas, but I don't know for sure what changes to the fastpass system will best lead to a better customer experience. (I think that those changes will have to be only one part of a larger plan.) But I do know that giving people no choice but to spend most of the day in endless lines is not a magical thing to do --- even if they will suck it up and do it for a while. And without the magic, just what is Disney World?

 

[JakeAZ]

not to believe the TV commercials

WDW commercials are so deceiving! They depict such a false view of what the reality is.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I'm wondering where the whole idea that kids can't stand in lines comes from (special needs excluded). I don't have kids, but have things changed that much since I was in school?

Kids who are just at the potty training age, on either side, cannot stand in long lines.

 

[JLTraveling]

Kids who are just at the potty training age, on either side, cannot stand in long lines.

Well, one way or another, parents managed with kids that age pre-FP. I remember one day when I was just tall enough for SM, we were one group from boarding when I suddenly really had to pee. It was before the redesign, when one person sat in front of the other and shared a seatbelt. I was going to ride with my dad, but he was wearing jeans and my mom was wearing quick dry shorts. So I rode with my mom instead, just in case. I successfully held it through the ride. But if I hadn't, we would have survived.

 

[Jmljasmine]

Kids who are just at the potty training age, on either side, cannot stand in long lines.

Yes! And to add, some kids that's a year plus on either side.

 

[hergosling]

My kids can wait in lines. And I can force them to do it. But why would I pay thousands of dollars to do so? The bottom line is that, for the money that Disney charges (which keeps going up at a much faster pace than inflation), they would be foolish not to make sure that they continue to provide a commensurate experience that makes it feel worth the price.

And yet, as prices keep going up, services keep going down. Disney cuts staff, eliminates entertainment, cuts hours, runs rides at half capacity even when the lines are long, etc.

I understand why Fastpass is not an option during the pandemic. And I will cut them a lot of slack with closures and layoffs during the pandemic. These are extraordinary times.

But these trends were already there before Covid: higher costs, bigger crowds, longer lines, reduced entertainment.

This is an opportunity for Disney to regroup and do some long-term planning. I'm sure that their instinct will be to charge as much money, and cut back expenses as much as possible, as soon as this is over in order to try to recoup lost profits. But penny wise, pound foolish. In this regard, they were already playing with fire pre-pandemic.

Disney World's greatest asset is not its IP. It is the goodwill that it has generated in our society. So many people have such fond memories; it is the happy place for so many of us, and for so many families in particular. And many others yearn to experience it even if they have never been there before. That is no accident. It is the product of wise marketing, no doubt. But it is also the product of brilliant imagineering, careful cultivation of "magic" and "pixie dust," and smart investment in staff, in forward thinking, and in customer service.

Disney has generally always been good at thinking ahead, and at investing the resources that are necessary to create and maintain the magic --- something that gets harder and harder to do as technology develops to the point that it is difficult to wow a child who is growing up surrounded by high-tech cell phones, video game systems, etc. In many ways, Disney is still doing this. So many excellent new rides and lands have opened up recently, and there are many other exciting ones being built.

But, in other respects, of late (again, pre-Covid), Disney has seemed to place the short-term dollar over the long-term cultivation of the magic that makes people fall in love with the place and keeps them coming back. I fear that they may reap the costs of that shortsightedness soon. As the pandemic lifts, and frustrated families flock back through the gates, they may find endless lines, reduced entertainment, under-staffing, broken down rides, and very little magic --- all at an obscene cost. If that happens, they may stop coming back, and they will tell their friends not to believe the TV commercials.

I certainly don't have all the answers. I have some ideas, but I don't know for sure what changes to the fastpass system will best lead to a better customer experience. (I think that those changes will have to be only one part of a larger plan.) But I do know that giving people no choice but to spend most of the day in endless lines is not a magical thing to do --- even if they will suck it up and do it for a while. And without the magic, just what is Disney World?

Completely agree. Disney absolutely is playing with fire. The problems we're reading about now; they have been festering for years. We've been a loyal Disney family for many, many years but we are finding ourselves feeling completely turned off. The park experience and the crowds have done it for us. It's sad, I keep holding onto the memories and the hope that it will be better next time. But sadly, we keep feeling let down.
So, so glad we didn't buy into DVC.

 

[MomOTwins]

We waited over an hour on a hot day for 7DMT, Splash, and Haunted Mansion. Frozen was nuts—line was back to the end of the China pavilion with very little shade in hot temps and this was before the park officially “opened.”

We would absolutely pay for Fastpass. It’s just not as fun without.