Why don't people use FastPass?

[quiltymom]

I was at DLR the first week of August with my son. The parks weren't crazy busy, but busy. What totally baffled us was that people weren't using FastPasses. For example, the line at Splash Mountain was over 2 hours, which isn't surprising. So, we went to get FPs, which were to be used in ... 2 hours. At the return time we literally walked through the line straight to the boat. Didn't these people realize they could grab FPs, go do something else, then return at the same time it would've taken to go through the line?

We had no problems getting FPs all day and night, which allowed us to do so much more. Yet people were standing in these crazy long lines. Don't people know about them? Or don't they care? Just wondering, that's all.

 

[SMD]

Maybe Splash is what they were doing while they waited 2 hours to pull another FP.

 

[Catvondita]

Personally I used fast passes the first day and didn't use them the other days because it was a bit of a pain. (Note: I am a WDW Vet who used to use the paper fast passes but now prefer the booking in advance with Magic Bands) We planned to use the paper fastpasses at DL but after the first day we just kept 1) forgetting about them 2) Seeing that the times we wanted weren't available anymore and 3) the biggest thing for us is for us it meant a lot of traveling. If we wanted a fastpass for Space Mountain we would have to get there from whatever we were and then either stay in the area or walk to another land and then have to come back to Tomorrowland to use the fastpass. For us when we use the magic bands for FP+ at WDW we could just choose which FP we wanted and we usually do it in a way that would let us travel land by land and not running around going into different lands multiple times.

Just a random preference thing

 

[GatorChris]

A lot of people think they can't use it because they haven't done research. I had a girl in my office come back saying it was so crowded and they waited in so many lines. When I asked her about FP, she said she didn't pay for that service. When I told her that it was free, she was HOT.

That's one of the reasons WDW went with the FP+. They wanted everyone who came to WDW to know that they could use FP because so many didn't. I always thought that reasoning was crazy until I heard exactly that same scenario form my coworker.

 

[Angel Ariel]

That's one of the reasons WDW went with the FP+. They wanted everyone who came to WDW to know that they could use FP because so many didn't. I always thought that reasoning was crazy until I heard exactly that same scenario form my coworker.

If that's one of the reasons they went to FP+, they are still missing the ball a bit. A ton of people there still don't know about FP+ either (that it's free, available to everyone, etc).

I think people don't expect it to be free because it isn't at other parks (does any other big name park have a free program?), and so they don't bother to even look into it at all.

 

[allsaintsatx]

Shhhhhh... ixnay on the astpassesfay. There's nothing to see here....

 

[smartlabelprint]

Yeah my first trip I didn't know they were free.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I know a few folks that like to work and entire land them move on to the next...if FP's work out, great.

...but many do not truly understand the system, all its quirks and how to fully maximize the benefits. You can easily double your rides in a day with minimal line waiting but that requires a LOT of ping ponging around the park(s) which many people are not physically up for. So all depends on your touring style and what you want to accomplish.

I sat down with a friend before their trip and went through FP strategies. They love Indy and were going to go hit that a rope drop, get a FP first then wait in standby line so they could ride it twice in the day. I gave them a different strategy...first go pull a FP for Big Thunder which will have a short return window, then go ride Indy standby, THEN go pull the Indy FP for later. Same amount of time but you add Big Thunder into the mix. One more ride.

Your average DL traveler is not gonna necessarily know the dynamics of each ride and how to strategize like the pros...but yeah, never figured out why you would not gat a FP is the return time is clode to the standby time. I tell people you should NEVER not have a FP in your pocket if you are eligible to pull one.

 

[agamble]

Couple thoughts

1) I had friends who thought it was too complicated the first time they went, so they didn't use it. The next time they went she asked me for some FP tips as they were traveling with family that included a child with mild disabilities. (They also used Disability services). They still didn't end up using FP a lot that trip because of the disability card, but they used it some. She thanked me for the tips.

2) People don't think about it, and don't realize how much time it will save. As someone mentioned they may just want to do all of Fantasyland at once. There are no FP in Fantasyland, so they don't get any for the first three hours while they hang out in Fantasyland and Toon Town, etc. Suddenly it's lunch time and by mid-afternoon the FP return times are for later in the day. They're thinking I don't want to go on Star Tours in 2 hours, I want to go now. They don't consider that going now means waiting an hour and that if they got the FP they could do a few other things in the two hours and then just wait 10 minutes.

3) People do use FP, but then they wait in line. We grab FP and then ride other rides or do other things that don't require excessive waits. But not everyone does that. Some may get a FP for Space Mountain that is ready in two hours and then go standby the Splash Mountain line that is two hours long. Why? Because they don't want to ride Buzz or Winnie the Pooh just because there isn't a line. I could imagine this would be especially the case with locals and others who go regularly. They don't have the need to do everything, or to do everything in the most efficient manner.

4) I also think people forget, they don't really think it saves that much time, they think waiting in line is part of the vacation, they think FP ruined Disneyland and refuse out of principle (Ok maybe not). Who knows.

Overall most people I know use FP at least some of the time. It's just that most people aren't as efficient as those who have gone or go more regularly.

 

[bumbershoot]

So, we went to get FPs, which were to be used in ... 2 hours. At the return time we literally walked through the line straight to the boat. Didn't these people realize they could grab FPs, go do something else, then return at the same time it would've taken to go through the line?

Plenty of those people probably had FPs for another ride at that moment and couldn't get FPs for Splash.

When I asked her about FP, she said she didn't pay for that service. When I told her that it was free, she was HOT.

That's one of the reasons WDW went with the FP+. They wanted everyone who came to WDW to know that they could use FP because so many didn't. I always thought that reasoning was crazy until I heard exactly that same scenario form my coworker.

There's a recent thread on the WDW side that says that *plenty* of people don't know that FP+ is available and free. So that's not working.

It's really too bad that your coworker didn't look at her map pamphlet. Or ask anyone, when she saw a FP line, what it was all about.

 

[BrianL]

A LOT of people seem to think that you pay to use FPs. I am not surprised by everyone saying that. Those people need to pay more attention as using FPs is great!

 

[Jedi Mouse]

I've met many people in line who either had no idea how the system worked or believed you had to pay extra or have a special pass to use FP.


To be honest, we use them less now that our park strategy has changed. Prior to them enforcing the return window, they were a major part of our plan as we would collect them all morning and then use them in the afternoon when things got crowded. Of course now they enforce the window and we have moved to a more geographical plan, sticking to one area of the park at a time instead of crisscrossing the park chasing the next fast pass or shorter line. We still grab FP's if we're nearby and the return window fits our plans, but we no longer go out of our way or plan our activities around them like we used to.

 

[Amysita]

On the opposite spectrum, I'm dumb-founded at how many pull fast passes for Buzz! The whole time I've been here, I've never seen the stand-by go past 10 minutes...MOF it's usually been 5 minutes.

 

[Kender]

On the opposite spectrum, I'm dumb-founded at how many pull fast passes for Buzz! The whole time I've been here, I've never seen the stand-by go past 10 minutes...MOF it's usually been 5 minutes.

Buzz is disconnected and does not count against you. My mom and I regularly pull passes for Buzz and then go wait in the stand by line for it so we can ride it a second time soon after.

I've also seen Buzz with a 45+ minute wait before, but it didn't last too long.

 

[psac]

Buzz is disconnected and does not count against you. My mom and I regularly pull passes for Buzz and then go wait in the stand by line for it so we can ride it a second time soon after.

I've also seen Buzz with a 45+ minute wait before, but it didn't last too long.

There's probably a separate thread for this, but is there a list of other rides/attractions that are disconnected?

 

[ehrawn]

?

Couple thoughts

1) I had friends who thought it was too complicated the first time they went, so they didn't use it. The next time they went she asked me for some FP tips as they were traveling with family that included a child with mild disabilities. (They also used Disability services). They still didn't end up using FP a lot that trip because of the disability card, but they used it some. She thanked me for the tips.

2) People don't think about it, and don't realize how much time it will save. As someone mentioned they may just want to do all of Fantasyland at once. There are no FP in Fantasyland, so they don't get any for the first three hours while they hang out in Fantasyland and Toon Town, etc. Suddenly it's lunch time and by mid-afternoon the FP return times are for later in the day. They're thinking I don't want to go on Star Tours in 2 hours, I want to go now. They don't consider that going now means waiting an hour and that if they got the FP they could do a few other things in the two hours and then just wait 10 minutes.

3) People do use FP, but then they wait in line. We grab FP and then ride other rides or do other things that don't require excessive waits. But not everyone does that. Some may get a FP for Space Mountain that is ready in two hours and then go standby the Splash Mountain line that is two hours long. Why? Because they don't want to ride Buzz or Winnie the Pooh just because there isn't a line. I could imagine this would be especially the case with locals and others who go regularly. They don't have the need to do everything, or to do everything in the most efficient manner.

4) I also think people forget, they don't really think it saves that much time, they think waiting in line is part of the vacation, they think FP ruined Disneyland and refuse out of principle (Ok maybe not). Who knows.

Overall most people I know use FP at least some of the time. It's just that most people aren't as efficient as those who have gone or go more regularly.

I fall into 3 and 4. Plus, as @ParkHopper1 mentioned, I like to work land-to-land because I prefer a more relaxed Park experience; we have younger kids and we congregate at DLR with our extended family that we don't get to see too often which means I don't like running around all over the place, fighting crowds (don't get me started on Park hopping). The way that I use the Park, I am able to navigate efficiently and orderly, to maximize attractions in the morning before the crowds show up. As a result FPs don't offer very much of an advantage over the stand-by line. When it does become more crowded, I slow down our pace, making the few times we do wait in queues just part of the experience: we get to chat with family we don't spend a lot of time with, so what's a few extra minutes standing around. There are a few rides that absolutely require FP, such as SM, but for the most part, the program doesn't really offer too much of an advantage for me; the result is that I might get 1 or 2 FPs in a day.

 

[JABRacingOne]

Cool! More FP for me....

 

[Kender]

There's probably a separate thread for this, but is there a list of other rides/attractions that are disconnected?

Buzz is the only ride currently disconnected (aside from the two parks being disconnected from each other) as of my last visit in July. The shows are also disconnected, though, if that matters to you . So could pull an FP for WOC, Frozen, and a ride at each park (if you have a hopper) in the same window of time. Three rides if you count Buzz. No need wait two hours in between or for a window open.

Cool! More FP for me....

Oh good. I'm not the only one. This is the big reason I like the legacy system for FP. Fewer people know how to fully take advantage of it and even less are willing to put the effort in since it does take quite a bit of effort. Works out great for me . And I'm okay those days I just want to take it easy too and not add more mileage than necessary to my shoes.

 

[Metalliman98]

[QUOTE="GatorChris, post: 56468049, member: 505655]That's one of the reasons WDW went with the FP+. They wanted everyone who came to WDW to know that they could use FP because so many didn't. I always thought that reasoning was crazy until I heard exactly that same scenario form my coworker.[/QUOTE]

And the reason they want everyone to know FP is free is so that people will schedule them, so that Disney can then use that data along with ADRs to change park hours 2-4 weeks out to better match demand.

 

[az4boys]

I had gone to Disneyland multiple times growing up, but then didn't go for about 12 years. When I returned with my DH and two kids, I didn't research it at all before going. I knew about fast passes and I knew they were free, but I didn't really understand how to use them effectively. I was one of those people that stood in a long splash mtn line that was supposed to be 45 minutes but was easily double that. Then one of my boys refused to ride so I got to step through the log and to the exit. No ride. Needless to say, it wasn't the best trip. After that I started researching and now I'm a huge fan of fast passes. The key is you have to understand how they work and plan ahead in order to maximize their value.