Disney wants:
(1) Happy Guests
(2) who spend money
Long waiting lines lead to unhappy guests, and when in line they are not spending money.
Original FP was announced (in a speech by Eisner) to get guests out of line and spending money. It was somewhat successful in meeting those goals, but there are still long lines of non spending guests.
Disney, if their goal is revenue (duh), will completely achieve both of these objectives by instituting FastPass/Reservation only. The complaint of standing in lines will be absolutely gone, and guests will have no choice but to visit revenue-generating locations (in or out of the parks).
So, Disney had a real-world experiment in using FP+ for a popular ride. They would only do this if they needed information on how a FP+ only ride would work in reality.
Their PR mistake, of course, was not announcing it in advance, thus not considering many families who work very hard and save for a rare vacation, and get excited with their kids about TSMM.
Once Disney does go to a reservation-only system, they just need to consider a lot of implementation questions:
- How to distribute FPs throughout the day as rides have available capacity (phone, kiosks)
- How to charge for premium FPs packages (it has already started, folks)
- Whether to institute a small SB line, similar to the single rider lines of today
- How to make it simple. It is now complicated for so many people, to the point of overwhelming
Reservation/FP only, once it gets through the painful transition, will completely eliminate the number one complaint about Disney World (long lines), and will increase revenue. They squeeze guests pretty hard now, but enough people seem to happily spend money on overpriced photo packages, dining packages, and hotel rooms. With reservation only rides there will be happier guests who are even more squeezable.
Soarin', A&E, and TSMM are clear hints as to what's coming. If you think long standby lines are here to stay, you haven't been paying attention.