xPass or Premium FASTPASS? Yes, I'm Starting ANOTHER FP Forum

[WilsonFlyer]

The bad grammar where the passholder can book things in "advanced" instead of advance makes this look fishy to me.

5th grader-type mistake, IMO.

But it is posted as a working document. I've seen some pretty crappy internal documentation; much worse than this.

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? (Rhetorical) Most people aren't.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Wait a minute! Just because Disney MIGHT start to enforce FastPass times (not a big deal, IMHO) does not automatically mean that your speculations are even being considered. Maybe just a figment of your imagination?

FP with delayed return times is going away effective March 7. This is feta complete and is well documented. So it the fact that something's coming as either an enhancement or a replacement. What we don't know is what or when with regards to that.

 

[Mister Skellington]

Oy Vey. I was going with the overall theme of the thread. My apologies.

Nope, my apologies. I am going to excuse myself from all of the xpass threads. They really do cross political lines. Since I really tend to stray way passed democratic boarders into Socialism, this is not a real great topic for me to discuss. For now I will step out of the conversation and agree to disagree.
After my upcoming trip to WDW in June, I may or may not return based on how FP or more specifically XPASS plays out. Like I said, its not the only vacation spot out there.

Best Wishes,
Nate

 

[texasteacher35]

And as any business, Disney should reward customers/guests who put a lot of money into Disney.

As a DVC member and an AP member, we also spend quite a few vacation dollars at Disney. Each year, we spend 28 days in Disney and spending our money there. We have gone for 14 years (10 years of which has been as DVC members). Any business would reward their loyal customers. And for Disney, staying onsite is important to their bottom line.

We are totally on the same boat!! I completely agree that we spend so much cash on WDW vacations that there should be some perk!!

 

[texasteacher35]

Actually I don't mind a seperate tier for high rollers. I don't understand why every thing needs to be "equal". Almost every vacation spot I know except for maybe federal parks (GC, yosemite) has a program catering to their high rollers.
Better believe if you go to vegas, on a cruise, fly first class, you get perks. kick out the cash at the Belligio and you darn near get the keys to the city.

So why not disney?

I would love a fp system that I could pay extra and get fotl access at every park. I have no problem with folks who kick out the extra money getting the extra perks.

If you can afford first class, go for it
If you can afford concierge, yeah I think you should get your own special floor, lounge, elevator heck I wouldn't mind if they had their own pool.

As long as they don't get rid of the old fp system andmake this in addition to it, as a bonus. Bring it on. then it is up to the consumer to decide whether it is worth the extra money or not.

Totally agree, if it was included as a perk for having DVC or AP or staying Deluxe (whatever), that would be great! if I had to pay for it each time I went, I would do that, too!

 

[mattsdragon]

FP with delayed return times is going away effective March 7. This is feta complete and is well documented. So it the fact that something's coming as either an enhancement or a replacement. What we don't know is what or when with regards to that.

I think it's more like partial roquefort.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I think it's more like partial roquefort.

Good one.

 

[darkpixie08]

That's exactly the sort of program I would expect Disney to roll out. I'm not saying I think that's real, but I can't imagine it's all that far off either. Covers all the basics, allows everyone to buy in, but gives discount or free when staying in the Park, and includes exactly the list of rides I would have guessed.

 

[doconeill]

Just got to thinking...the reserved seating/preferred viewing stuff. That's an awful lot of potential guests, especially if offered to DVC as well. I forget some of the numbers, but SSR alone was something like 2/3rds the potential guests of all the main deluxe resorts. Even spread between three parks...Illuminations and Wishes are theoretically unlimited, but it would need to be a pretty big area. And that doesn't include the ones that pay.

And what's missing? The reserved parade area. They may have figured out that was unworkable though.

Another one..."Mission: SPACE Pavilion"?

 

[Wests4Disney]

We just completed a stay at the Grand Californian on a DVC stay, and received a voucher "ticket" for each person registered to the room. The vouchers was to receive 2 fastpasses of your choice to any fastpass ride for any time of the day. So rewarding for staying deluxe is already occurring here. There was no change to the regular fastpass system though at DLR thus far.

 

[doconeill]

We just completed a stay at the Grand Californian on a DVC stay, and received a voucher "ticket" for each person registered to the room. The vouchers was to receive 2 fastpasses of your choice to any fastpass ride for any time of the day. So rewarding for staying deluxe is already occurring here. There was no change to the regular fastpass system though at DLR thus far.

I've heard them offered as part of some packages for some time now...never heard of this for a DVC stay though!

From reports, there are no plans to introduce X-Pass to DLR yet though. They appear to be waiting to see how it shakes out at WDW.

 

[mesaboy2]

I think it's more like partial roquefort.

Agree--nice one.

I think they were going for fait accompli.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Well if it was $80/person (per day?) it would probably be cheaper to stay deluxe. Although it really wouldn't make sense to charge kids the same amount. They can't even go on half those rides.

 

[Colleen27]

I dislike both ideas. We're getting very close to our limit on Disney vacation costs, and as a family of 5 this is one more big mark in the "cons" column because there's no good way for us to take advantage - either we pack into a too-small room at the deluxe level and get the better park experience, or we book two moderate rooms and have more comfortable lodging but still end up paying deluxe level prices after adding on the passes (to the tune of $400 if that "leaked" document is to be believed). If it is available to DVC members/renters staying on points that might be an option for us, but I suspect that pure numbers will limit it to those booking cash stays. Otherwise there would be too many eligible guests for the perk to work efficiently, especially at peak times.

 

[Colleen27]

Well if it was $80/person (per day?) it would probably be cheaper to stay deluxe. Although it really wouldn't make sense to charge kids the same amount. They can't even go on half those rides.

Yeah, that's something that it took me a minute to realize... No kids rate would mean paying the same for my 37" 3yo who is still years away from being able to ride 14 of the 21 rides on the list!

 

[Marshel]

When Universal came first came out with their Express passes they were free to everyone, you could even choose alternate return times. Then the onsite hotels started coming online and there were fewer and fewer available for free. Then they started selling them to offsite guests and the free ones disappeared altogether; this was at Universal parks which aren't nearly as well attended as WDW during non-peak times. During peak summer times, if you don't make opening at UO, you are looking at major standby times at practically all attractions if you don't have express. Go stand by Guest Relations at around 1:00 pm at Universal on a busy summer day and listen to lots of angry customers demanding and often getting refunds because they've been in the park for hours and only gotten on one or two rides. I pray Disney does not go this route. The people who buy "normal" tickets are paying lots of money too (some of them up to $70+ per day if they buy single day tickets which you would probably be surprised at the number of which that Disney sells), especially those on limited budgets and don't deserve to have their experiences diminished so that others can have a better experience. I guess Disney can start marketing somewhat magical vs. extra magical experiences depending on which ticket you buy or where you're spending the night at.

 

[andyman8]

When Universal came first came out with their Express passes they were free to everyone, you could even choose alternate return times. Then the onsite hotels started coming online and there were fewer and fewer available for free. Then they started selling them to offsite guests and the free ones disappeared altogether; this was at Universal parks which aren't nearly as well attended as WDW during non-peak times. During peak summer times, if you don't make opening at UO, you are looking at major standby times at practically all attractions if you don't have express. Go stand by Guest Relations at around 1:00 pm at Universal on a busy summer day and listen to lots of angry customers demanding and often getting refunds because they've been in the park for hours and only gotten on one or two rides. I pray Disney does not go this route. The people who buy "normal" tickets are paying lots of money too (some of them up to $70+ per day if they buy single day tickets which you would probably be surprised at the number of which that Disney sells), especially those on limited budgets and don't deserve to have their experiences diminished so that others can have a better experience. I guess Disney can start marketing somewhat magical vs. extra magical experiences depending on which ticket you buy or where you're spending the night at.

Yeah. I remember the Express Passes (the ones that give you FOTL access are called Universal Express Plus).In essence, it would give you three times to choose from: one in the morning (9:00-Noon), midday (Noon-3:00), and late afternoon/evening (3:00-6:00). Each time would be divided into 5 minute intervals and I think it would give you an hour to use it with no using it late.

This was implemented until summer 2007 when the onsite hotels were becoming extremely popular and they saw a profit opportunity. Why give it to people for free when you can just sell everyone an Express Plus Pass. So, they discontinued it not for logistical purposes but for profit purposes.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

If there have not been enough already, I am starting a forum about all the new FASTPASS News. The likelihood is Disney will begin to enforce FP return times (that's the sense I'm getting), but speculation is flowing on what WDW & DLR will do next regarding FASTPASSES. Here is what I see as the two possibilities based on my research:

1. "xPass" - Despite the name, the xPass would not be a slip of paper, but rather a device or smartphone app. Guests will either purchase the device (or app) for a siginficant fee or will recieve it free when staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort. The xPass would let users prebook ridetimes, arrange character greetings, book ADRs, reserve seats for shows like Fantasmic!, and collect photos from PhotoPass photographers and ride pictures. Although I really dislike the idea (defeats the purpose of a vacation), it appears this is the more likely of the two.
2. Premium FASTPASS - This is already in use at DLP. Deluxe hotel guests would also receive this for free or it could (or could not) be purchased for a large additional fee. The Premium FP would function the same way Universal Express does. Guests would be allowed to enter any FP line from 40 minutes after park opening to park close. I really love this idea considering we are fans of UE. Personally, I would be willing to pay the extra money for the service, but I could see how people would not want to.

So, which one do you like best? Which one do you think Disney will go with? Please share your thoughts and any additional information you might have. Oh, I know the enforcement should be happening in early March, but what about these changes (xPass or PFP)? I'm guess not by early June. Thanks!

UPDATE: Check out post #51 on the fourth page. I found some "leaked" pamphlet from Disney on a small Disney blog. Take a look and let me know what you think. I've got my doubts, though, about this "leaked" info.

Nice for the ones who can efford it. It would mean a new 2 or 3 class system........acrually it would destroy alot of the Magic.

I hope you enjoy whichever system gives you the right to cut to the head of the lines......which is what yopur doing!

AKK

PS Interesting you set the line at Deluxe?.why only Deluxe?, why not eveyone staying on property?...or annual pass folks?.or people with red hair?

Let see there are about 5000 deluxe rooms on property, if there is only 2 people per room........thats 10,00 people in the parks (not to mention 28,000 rooms on property at 2 per room, thats 56,00 people)........cutting to the head of the lines, maybe over and over again for each attraction.......yeap........that should really slow dowm the rest of the 2 and 3 class guests lines.


AKK

 

[CandleontheWater]

I could hear ominous music in my head when I was reading the leaked document!

I have a sinking feeling that pay for play FP is coming, I'm sure this is not the final working, but I'm now expecting something akin to this in the future.

We're DVC, and I'm pretty sure that they're not going to be handing these "enhanced" FPs out to DVC members. They already have our money, they won't have the need to entice us with extra perks.

I can really see this hurting my resale value if deluxe folks get it for free, but DVC members have to pony up the cash. Why would anyone buy DVC if they could spend the same money for Wilderness lodge, and get special FP access?

 

[eliza61]

When Universal came first came out with their Express passes they were free to everyone, you could even choose alternate return times. Then the onsite hotels started coming online and there were fewer and fewer available for free. Then they started selling them to offsite guests and the free ones disappeared altogether; this was at Universal parks which aren't nearly as well attended as WDW during non-peak times. During peak summer times, if you don't make opening at UO, you are looking at major standby times at practically all attractions if you don't have express. Go stand by Guest Relations at around 1:00 pm at Universal on a busy summer day and listen to lots of angry customers demanding and often getting refunds because they've been in the park for hours and only gotten on one or two rides. I pray Disney does not go this route. The people who buy "normal" tickets are paying lots of money too (some of them up to $70+ per day if they buy single day tickets which you would probably be surprised at the number of which that Disney sells), especially those on limited budgets and don't deserve to have their experiences diminished so that others can have a better experience. I guess Disney can start marketing somewhat magical vs. extra magical experiences depending on which ticket you buy or where you're spending the night at.

How would your experiences be diminished by what some one else can afford?

Disney already does this. Like I said, if you buy a fantasmic dinner package, you allowed to skip the lines (a bit), you sit in a special section available only to you and you used to use a special entrance. Does that diminish your experience?
When you stay at a value, does your experience diminish due to some one staying at concierge who gets to view the fireworks from their own lounge?

I'm not familiar with Universals system, having never used it. when we go to IOA, we simply wait in line.

The Premiumn pass would not add onto the base cost of the ticket, you would only pay for it if you choose.

I'm really just trying to understand how some one else paying for an extra experience diminishes you ability to enjoy yourself. They are not taking away free fast passes (I hope they wouldn't) so you still have the opportunity to get those.
So if I get the wishes dessert party, you don't have a good time watching wishes? or if some one gets the illuminations boat tour, does it kill the experience of those who watch illuminations around the world show case?

Ironically fast pass is a relatively new perk. For most of disney worlds life, people managed to go to disney, have really great experiences without fast pass.