WDW Resort Guests & Fast Pass Idea

[tjkraz]

That's what I meant IMO Buzz and TSM don't need it.

I go back and forth on TSM. I've been to DCA numerous times and overall prefer the non-FP setup there. It's a sold 30-40 minute wait most times, but that's better than Hollywood Studios where you have to be at the park at opening to get a FP return ticket for 6pm or later.

However, if you pull the TSM FastPass at DHS you're left with 4 attractions that don't really need FP (LMA, Indy, ST and VoLM) and the two remaining rides (ToT, RnR) get swamped by guests. Wait times at ToT and RnR have (IMO) benefited considerably from TSM. I have a feeling that trend would quickly reverse itself if the TSM FastPass were removed.

Instead of thousands of guests trekking back to TSM first-thing for their FastPasses, they'd head straight to RnR or ToT for FPs and then go wait in line for TSM. Eliminating TSM FastPasses would change guest habits but I doubt it would have any positive effect on overall wait times for most guests.

 

[skiingfast]

I go back and forth on TSM. I've been to DCA numerous times and overall prefer the non-FP setup there. It's a sold 30-40 minute wait most times, but that's better than Hollywood Studios where you have to be at the park at opening to get a FP return ticket for 6pm or later.

Toy Story is about the best Anti FP example there is.

It's funny you can spend 30-40, getting and using a TSM FP in DHS. Then in DCA spend the same amount of time to ride, in the stand by line. Less planning and headache in DCA.

 

[skier_pete]

OP: Here the reason it isn't practical. Universal has about 1,000 on-site rooms. Disney has 22,000 (soon to be 25,000 when AAR opens). If you average 3 people per room, that's 75,000 FPs you give out. Most of these rides have capacities around 1,200 - 2,000 people per hour - that's 24,000 riders per day in a 12 hour day....I realize your only talking one FP per ride length of stay - but the math doesn't add up. You would have to practically eliminate GP fast passes. This is why they have EMH, and why the parks are more crowded on EMH days.

There a lot of arguments on these boards about FP - but personally think the current system is not particularly broken. It's very egalitarian. Every single person in the park has the same opportunity to get a FP. If you really WANT VIP treatment and want to skip the lines - you are welcome to it. It only runs you a couple hundred an hour, but anyone can do that too.

I LOATHE (and that word doesn't even cover how much I hate the it) the idea where people staying at Deluxes get a different level of service in the parks than Moderates, than Values. Yes, they should get a different level of service at their resorts, but not in the parks.

 

[tjkraz]

Toy Story is about the best Anti FP example there is.

It's funny you can spend 30-40, getting and using a TSM FP in DHS. Then in DCA spend the same amount of time to ride, in the stand by line. Less planning and headache in DCA.

In a vacuum, I agree with you. However, TSM FP at DHS takes the load off of ToT and RnR. Like I said if TSM did not have FP, we would see more people getting FPs for ToT and RnR. Return times would get later and standby would grow. Net gain wouldn't be terribly noticeable to the average guest. Time saved at TSM would be spent waiting for RnR and ToT.

To me Buzz is the poster child for excessive FP use. High capacity omnimover ride with frequent 20-30 standby return times. Get rid of FP and the line would move briskly with waits of about 10 min.

 

[Figment632]

Toy Story is about the best Anti FP example there is.

It's funny you can spend 30-40, getting and using a TSM FP in DHS. Then in DCA spend the same amount of time to ride, in the stand by line. Less planning and headache in DCA.

I agree the day I was at DCA it was very crowded I only waited 45 minutes.

 

[nytimez]

I agree the day I was at DCA it was very crowded I only waited 45 minutes.

Comparing it to DCA isn't really relevant for several reasons. First, DHS gets about 50 percent more guests than DCA. I know it won't break down perfectly, day by day, but generally speaking you're going to have 50 percent MORE people on any given day than you will at DCA.

Second, DCA has more rides and attractions -- and more specifically, more rides and attractions that kids can ride... so the crowd they get is better distributed.

Third, the types of people that go to DCA are different from the types who go to DHS. People who go to Disney are often the once-every-few-years types. They feel they need to ride everything.

DCA's crowd is heavily local... they've been there, they'll be back in a couple of weeks. There's no rush to do everything for many of the visitors.

All of these are factors in the lines you see at TSMM... but none of them are related to Fastpass.

 

[wen8jr]

I guess ive always thought of FP as a perk, not the norm..so for Disney to do something like this, I don't see that ever happening even if people want to dream about it all day long..its a business, that would cost more money to do for 25,000 people a day...don't see that as a good business decision when they will stay at the resort anyway...

Dreamers will always dream. As practical as I am I even dream at times, like I wish I could win the lottery and be on vacation 24/7.

I didn't know this was such a hot topic on the boards or there were so many rumors out there about it. I'm just an occasional lurker on the boards...so not up to date on the has been topics.

I don't agree that "they will stay at the resort anyway". That doesn't apply to everyone out there. It seems to me Disney is marketing some big discounts to pull people in every other season, adding new attractions, etc. so they must not think so either.

Our last two out of three vacations to Florida were not completely centered around Disney...so my family did not stay at a Disney resort "anyway". Our last trip was a week staying at a Universal resort, we didn't go to Disney at all. And this trip we are doing a split stay and even thinking of shortening Disney to from 7 nights to 4 nights and doing Universal 5. The reasons for this choice - the resorts are nicer for the money at Universal and you do get the wonderful express pass for the parks. But mainly because of express pass.

Don't get me wrong...we like Disney, get that good happy feeling when we are there, talk about our past visits often and plan to take our grandchildren (that we don't even have yet) 10 years from now. But...that doesn't mean we will not make other choices for vacations each year simply for convenience and value for our time and money...because my time is valuable and I absolutely hate rushing and doing commando to get to ride all the major attractions at any park any where.

That being said, I would buy a Universal express ticket even if I weren't staying on site with it included as a perk. This makes it not so much a perk but a purchased right to skip line. Maybe WDW should sell FP tickets or FP packages at an affordable rate (say $15 per ride or $75 per park) and do away w/ free FP altogether. I would buy one to fit my needs just like I bought a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween ticket to ride the rides my family likes more. Everyone probably wouldn't buy one...so that would decrease the FP lines and make Disney more money at the same time...but in the end I would not have to go commando to ride the attractions. But no...maybe it won't make the money...maybe people will quit coming...OR maybe not since some people will come "anyway".

Really... the reality is that at the end of the day it would be hard for WDW to make any major change to a perk that people are use to receiving either to offsite guests, local guests or resort guests without replacing it with another one. Once its out there for a while people see it as something that should be available to them forever and is "included". Same thing has happened with FD and room discounts.

 

[seashoreCM]

I don't see how anyone could dislike Universal's front of the line pass unless they aren't staying on site.

Just have to say this:

I don't see how anyone could like Universal's front of the line pass unless they are staying on site.

IMHO if facilities pertaining to parks (ranging from racks of park maps to fastpass machines) are located at resorts then any guest headed to the parks, if he has the time and desire, should be able to go there and partake of those facilities without possessing any item or credential (such as a room key) unique to guests staying at that resort.

 

[nytimez]

Just have to say this:

I don't see how anyone could like Universal's front of the line pass unless they are staying on site.

IMHO if facilities pertaining to parks (ranging from racks of park maps to fastpass machines) are located at resorts then any guest headed to the parks, if he has the time and desire, should be able to go there and partake of those facilities without possessing any item or credential (such as a room key) unique to guests staying at that resort.

Comparing to racks of maps to Fastpass to Express Pass makes no sense... on so many levels.

The Universal Express Pass system is a fantastic incentive for people staying on site. For people who stay off site, they can purchase it if they so desire or wait on the regular lines if they don't -- but no one is being denied an opportunity to "partake" in the facilities.

The Universal system wouldn't work at Disney, because of the sheer number of rooms on site -- but at Universal, it's excellent. It certainly gets me to stay on site.

 

[Grumpy_mom]

I'm sure he's not the first to think of this...but I wonder why Disney hasn't offered something similar. I know that when we won our dream passes during our trip in '07, it made a once in a life time trip for us, no racing to FP machines and we ending up spending less time focusing on "getting it done" and spent more time doing a carriage ride at POR, walking through the shops at MK and took more time in DTD...doing what...spending money!

What are the "dream passes" that you mentioned? How did you get them?

 

[ASteelersMidget]

What are the "dream passes" that you mentioned? How did you get them?

I don't know what they are but they were a prize during the "'Year' of a million Dreams" celebration.

 

[nytimez]

I don't know what they are but they were a prize during the "'Year' of a million Dreams" celebration.

The dream pass gave a family a single fast pass to every ride in the park. I never won one. I never won anything in that promotion -- but it was a fantastic promotion, the best one in recent years IMO. Certainly better than "Let the Memories Begin." Blah.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

The dream pass gave a family a single fast pass to every ride in the park. I never won one. I never won anything in that promotion -- but it was a fantastic promotion, the best one in recent years IMO. Certainly better than "Let the Memories Begin." Blah.

Yeah. I didn't win anything either. It was still a really really good promotion. Supposedly most of those were given in Fantasy land first thing at park opening.

 

[chartle]

Yeah. I didn't win anything either. It was still a really really good promotion. Supposedly most of those were given in Fantasy land first thing at park opening.

Pretty sure they were given out all over the park.

Also they were handed out at every park. I think they gave them out all before 11 and the way it worked was the dream squad was given a slip of paper that said something like the fifth person passing a certain spot after 9:45 got them or who ever gets off car x on ride z at 10:05 got them.

They really worked to make it as random as possible and remove all bias.

 

[nytimez]

Pretty sure they were given out all over the park.

Also they were handed out at every park. I think they gave them out all before 11 and the way it worked was the dream squad was given a slip of paper that said something like the fifth person passing a certain spot after 9:45 got them or who ever gets off car x on ride z at 10:05 got them.

They really worked to make it as random as possible and remove all bias.

One of the CMs told me of a guy who had been selected to win a night in the dream suite. The CMs approached him... and before they could say anything he rudely told them he wasn't interested in a timeshare and stormed off.

To this day, he doesn't know what he almost won.

They also had "backup" instructions in case a family couldn't use the prize -- like the numerous people who won the dream suite on their final day and couldn't make arrangements to stay an extra day.