What would Disney World be like today, if there were zero Fast Pass Options.....like they never existed?

[DSLRuser]

I would argue Disney World would be a much better, more enjoyable place. Yes it can be fun to "plan" for you trip. But having so many things scripted out tends to take away the enjoyment of just being there.

Over the many years we have found the right balance, but to often we see or hear about people who have a miserable time because they fall on either side of the coin. No planning at all, or too much planning with every minute being scripted.

The on thing that intrigues me about a no Fast Pass environment is most of the stand by wait times could be halved because you are now doubling capacity for stand by. Would Tower of Terror drop from 60 minute waits to 30 minutes if all capacity was dedicated to clearing out stand by? Or would every que stay at 60 minute wait because no one is just waiting for thir next FP+ time? More people in line, less people doing other things.

I think I would trade 3-5 Fast Pass+ experience for a 30-40% reduction in stand by waits across the park.

Anyone have an opinion?

 

[SaintsManiac]

It would be better.

 

[Brett Wyman]

It would be better.

It would be better for the masses who don't know how to manipulate the refresh. But if you know how to refresh, and have the patience to do it, you can ride a lot more rides with much less waiting.

 

[TJsMomSarahJane]

I personally feel that Disney will be shifting to a paid fast-pass system in the nearish future, so we may see some version of this to come.

That being said, I have zero issue with the way things are set up now. We've found the perfect balance (for us) between planning and over-planning. We don't wait in lines that are more than an hour, and still hit the headliners with a combo of repeated FPs and just hitting the rides at the right times.

Even if there were no fast passes, you really should be doing some sort of planning. Yeah, some folks don't plan knowing what they are up against, and they're prepared for that. It's like any other vacation - you need to do *some* sort of planning in advance.

 

[BarlowFamily]

I wouldn't have thought it would make much difference, until one day last August when the FastPass system for Incredicoaster in DCA was down ALL DAY. Disneyland uses the old school paper FastPass system, with a few folks using MaxPass. Without FastPass, the standby wait went from over 120 minutes the day before, to less than 40 minutes - for the entire day! And the line felt so much faster because we were constantly moving. I'll continue to maximize FastPass+ at WDW whenever I can, but I can see much shorter standby lines if FP+ were to disappear.

 

[Beer Me]

It would be miserable. There would be no way to ride the most popular stuff without 90+ minute lines.

With the incredible crowds and demand at Disney it’s hard to think of alternatives that would be better. I feel like they have found a pretty good ratio of pros vs cons with FP

 

[SaintsManiac]

It would be better for the masses who don't know how to manipulate the refresh. But if you know how to refresh, and have the patience to do it, you can ride a lot more rides with much less waiting.

I am adept at refresh.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I am adept at refresh.

Yeah, by "you" I meant "them". The masses.

 

[joviroxx]

It would be miserable. There would be no way to ride the most popular stuff without 90+ minute lines.

With the incredible crowds and demand at Disney it’s hard to think of alternatives that would be better. I feel like they have found a pretty good ratio of pros vs cons with FP

Not necessarily true. Standby lines right now go behind FAST PASS folk. Its still the same number of people, the times would probably average out if you don't have those that are , for lack of a better term, butting a line.

Im not a fan of the FP+. But then again, I fondly remember my E-ticket days LOL

 

[only hope]

It would be better for the masses who don't know how to manipulate the refresh. But if you know how to refresh, and have the patience to do it, you can ride a lot more rides with much less waiting.

We spend much less time in line now than we did before fp+ because I am persistent in refreshing. The flip side is we don’t get to ride the attractions with hard to get fp very often since we are live close- rarely do we get to book fp at 60 days out. Usually it’s about 2 weeks, when we get our work schedules.

I wouldn't have thought it would make much difference, until one day last August when the FastPass system for Incredicoaster in DCA was down ALL DAY. Disneyland uses the old school paper FastPass system, with a few folks using MaxPass. Without FastPass, the standby wait went from over 120 minutes the day before, to less than 40 minutes - for the entire day! And the line felt so much faster because we were constantly moving. I'll continue to maximize FastPass+ at WDW whenever I can, but I can see much shorter standby lines if FP+ were to disappear.

One day this year fp was down for hours at Disneyland park. Someone posted screen shots of the wait times. After the fp lines emptied, nearly everything was a 30mn wait or less.

 

[disneyseniors]

WE actually lived this! We visited WDW before fast pass was thought of. What happened? Everyone waited in line and no one was privileged over anyone else. It was equal for everyone. If you wanted to ride a certain attraction, you waited in line like everyone else, no matter how long it took. It's funny, but I don't remember long wait times, but maybe my memory is faulty
It wasn't a catastrophe because no one had experienced anything else. So, at that time, it was fine.

 

[bryanb]

My theory: There would be zero reduction in standby wait time, but the standby queues would move faster than they do today (so there might be the perception that you're making more progress). Assuming that all rides are operating at maximum capacity during peak times, they'd still serve the same number of people per hour. It's just that all of those people will be waiting in the queue instead of enjoying the scenery in the parks, or shopping, or eating extra snacks.

The reason I believe there would be no reduction in standby wait time is that now all the people who had Fastpasses would be forced to wait in line. Assuming FP guests are served at a rate of 1:1 vs Standby, that would increase the number of people in Standby by 2X... although on many attractions the ratio tilts toward FP guests. The limiting factor would be that some people do not want to spend that much time waiting in line, so they'll skip some lines, thereby riding fewer rides per day. Older people and families with small children -- those with the least endurance -- would lose out most.

Ultimately, I think the invention of FP schemes has been a win for more people than not. The ones who have absolutely lost the most are the ones who don't know about FP... and I've heard those people in the parks: "What's this FastPass thing?" "Oh we didn't pay for that." "We probably should've bought it... but we only have two days left."

One should also consider that FastPass became a necessity for Disney Parks in order to handle the rise in attendance. 2018 attendance in the Magic Kingdom was almost 21 million people, which is about 25% more than a decade ago, and maybe 50% higher than two decades ago.

Edited to add: I don't think I'd want to visit a WDW now with no FP. Any semi-knowledgable user who books the minimum 3 and then waits in some Standby lines is better off. I generally choose not to wait in any line longer than 30 minutes unless it's a compelling new ride... or if I'm with friends where we don't care what we're doing as long as we're hanging out.

 

[tink2424]

This is an interesting question and of course none of us really know the answer as it is impossible to really know.

I'm of the thought that it probably would be better as non-fast pass rides tended to have their lines move faster so at least it feels like you are going through the line faster. However I do really like knowing that I am able to get on a ride that maybe I would have to wait 1-2 or maybe even 3 hours for if it is really popular.

I know Universal is much smaller but I like the way they do their express passes (either stay at a deluxe hotel or purchase the pass). I know that it would not make everyone happy to move to this model (& before everyone jumps on me I'm not suggesting that ALL Disney hotels get the "free" express pass/fast pass. I would expect Disney to do the same thing as Universal and have only the "Deluxe" hotels have this benefit) but it would make some sense. Plus then you would have a reason to pay more for those hotels versus the other moderate and value hotels. As frankly I don't feel the value is there as much for the on-site hotels as the EMHs have been reduced or eliminated with paid events. I get why Disney does this (ie; to make more money) but it doesn't negate the fact that staying on site doesn't get you nearly as many perks as staying on site did 5-10 years ago.
So to sum this all up I think that things would be better for most people as the lines would move faster for most rides but some people may not get to ride all the rides they want to ride.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You could get on attractions like Spaceship Earth, Small World and other older attractions without a wait.

 

[tzvdmd]

We would check in on a Saturday and ride all the big rides at Magic during the summer. It was better before Fastpasses. That being said it's a different time and a different world now that people can easily share tips and secrets.

 

[portocall]

It would be so much better. I was never a fastpass fan but I preferred the old system to the the newer one. Before fastpass, the lines moved and I don't remember ridiculous wait times. The lines actually moved which made waits seem faster. We used to be able to ride just about everything in the Magic Kingdom in a single day. It was just a matter of working the park. We used to skip Fantasyland until an hour before close and then hop on with short waits. It was great and the crowds were about the same as they were the last week.
After our 2012 trip, we decided that we had enough Disney for a while. They were messing with the old fast pass system to prepare for the new one. I guess checking ride capacity. It was how a 75 minute wait for Toy Story Mania turned into a three hour ordeal. We had to choose between Rockin Roller Coaster and Toy Story Mania for fast pass and we chose the roller coaster. I didn't mind waiting for TSM. I was prepared for the hour and a half wait. I wasn't prepared for a line that barely moved. It was in that line that I thought of every single dollar of the thousands I paid for the experience of standing in a single line and realized this isn't fun while watching the fast pass line with a steady stream of people flow by and ride. So with that in mind you would think I would think fast pass + is an upgrade. I don't.

Fast forward to this month. A friend of mine offered to let me go with her and I accepted. Getting to stay at two awesome resorts was a blast. But what we noticed was the app seemed to force you to focus on what you can't do rather than where you are. If you weren't there at rope drop, you had little time to get in a ride before the crazy wait times started. We used to get through all of Adventureland and Frontierland before lunch. Sometimes even the Haunted Mansion. This time we rope dropped It's a Small World, rode two of our fast passes and maybe the People Mover before lunch. Getting in a stand by line was going to interfere with the next fast pass reservation so we spent a lot of time waiting. I felt like Disney has moved ahead of me. I don't like to be on my phone on vacation but I was forced to be. I was just as frustrated as I would have been in a line that doesn't move.

Sure, I browsed the gift shops for the air conditioning but I didn't buy much. Definitely not as much as I would have at the end of an exciting day. I realize that I am not the normal shopper as the longer I spend in the store, the less I buy whether at home or in Disney.

When I got home, I told my husband and we decided not to go to Disney when we go to Orlando this fall. It just isn't worth it anymore.

 

[North of Mouse]

WE actually lived this! We visited WDW before fast pass was thought of. What happened? Everyone waited in line and no one was privileged over anyone else. It was equal for everyone. If you wanted to ride a certain attraction, you waited in line like everyone else, no matter how long it took. It's funny, but I don't remember long wait times, but maybe my memory is faulty
It wasn't a catastrophe because no one had experienced anything else. So, at that time, it was fine.

I agree with you also - to a point. We, too, are of that certain age and don't remember long lines at all, 'but' we also remember way less crowds, 'very' few strollers and no ECVs (not trying to antagonize) - just stating a fact. Whether all that made the difference - don't know. But, I will always miss the paper FP's if the need is there.

At one time, with only the MK there, we could easily do all the rides/attractions - some more than once - in one day, even after Epcot was built. Now, we're almost to the point of 'calling it curtains' - down to 1 trip every 1-2 years instead of more than triple that - nearly finished with even that much - and not because of age either, still very active.

 

[DisTXMom]

My recollection of pre-fast pass is long wait times all around. It’s true that fast passes increas the standby waits and that’s not universally distributed. If given an option, i would not go back to pre fastpass

 

[tink2424]

After reading some other comments I do feel that the fastpasses do hurt the lines and cause more negative feelings for most people. I think the best way to do it is the way they do it at Disneyland. The MaxPass which you can do paper or on your phone is probably the most fair. You do it the day of and if you use your phone you don't have to run from one side of the park to another and can even make a selection from another park for later in the day. I also like this way as there is no tiering of the system and naturally the bigger rides will run out of fastpasses earlier in the day. So then you have the option of doing 2 or more tier 1 attractions at the same park on the same day depending on when you get there and how fast the passes go.

 

[disneyseniors]

I agree with you also - to a point. We, too, are of that certain age and don't remember long lines at all, 'but' we also remember way less crowds, 'very' few strollers and no ECVs (not trying to antagonize) - just stating a fact. Whether all that made the difference - don't know. But, I will always miss the paper FP's if the need is there.

At one time, with only the MK there, we could easily do all the rides/attractions - some more than once - in one day, even after Epcot was built. Now, we're almost to the point of 'calling it curtains' - down to 1 trip every 1-2 years instead of more than triple that - nearly finished with even that much - and not because of age either, still very active.

Yes, You are right about the strollers and ECV's and lower crowds. There was no mad rush with pushing and shoving. It was a slower paced visit to WDW than now. I think that's why there are so many "privileged" people who demand so much now?
It is very noticeable when you look at old pictures or videos of wDW from the late 70's and 80's. We still go once a year because I figure we might as well go as much as we can because one day we might not be able!