FP+ Lines During "Slower Times"

[WDWFanDave]

So, the crowds are lighter this week so far, but...

FP return line for Safari:

FP return line for Everest:

Anyone else seeing this craziness? @Tom ?(I think you're here or were recently)?

 

[Ariel1986]

We found in May that everyone seemed to hit the FP+ line at the start of their hour window opening, therefore creating lines... we worked out that going 20 mins into the window meant we could walk straight up to the entrance with no que.

 

[afar28]

I'm here right now and the only ride we actually had to wait for using FP+ was Kilamanjaro, and for an hour but that was because a wildebeest got in the road. Besides that though nothing crazy.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Your photos show what appears to be a disturbing feature. However, I'm afraid that these pictures alone are meaningless without a comparison. If you had photos to show the length of the Stand By line taken at the same that these pics were taken we could compare them.
To that end, what was the Stand By queue times ?
Are more people grabbing FP and ignoring the Stand By ?

 

[Rob562]

Your photos show what appears to be a disturbing feature. However, I'm afraid that these pictures alone are meaningless without a comparison. If you had photos to show the length of the Stand By line taken at the same that these pics were taken we could compare them.
To that end, what was the Stand By queue times ?
Are more people grabbing FP and ignoring the Stand By ?

The other question is whether these FP+ queues are backed up the ENTIRE queue? Or is this simply a bottleneck of people trying to scan their Bands/tickets to enter the FP+ and then there's very little line to speak of once they enter the queue? The bottlenecks at the entrance are a well-known side-effect of the scan-to-enter aspect of the FP+ queue at some attractions.

-Rob

 

[WDWFanDave]

Your photos show what appears to be a disturbing feature. However, I'm afraid that these pictures alone are meaningless without a comparison. If you had photos to show the length of the Stand By line taken at the same that these pics were taken we could compare them.
To that end, what was the Stand By queue times ?
Are more people grabbing FP and ignoring the Stand By ?

When I took the photos, Safari was 20 and Everest was 10.

The bottleneck is really the band scanning. If they could get that delay to be as fast as it was to hand in a paper ticket it would go much smoother.

 

[WDWFanDave]

The other question is whether these FP+ queues are backed up the ENTIRE queue? Or is this simply a bottleneck of people trying to scan their Bands/tickets to enter the FP+ and then there's very little line to speak of once they enter the queue? The bottlenecks at the entrance are a well-known side-effect of the scan-to-enter aspect of the FP+ queue at some attractions.

-Rob

Yes, that really is the big issue.

For a feature that they promote the heck out of, it's a shame it just doesn't work better than this yet. Is it better? A bit, IMO. But still so much more they could improve.

 

[stevehousse]

For our trip last November, I did see a few of these long FP lines but every occasion is was te main scanner at te entrance that was backed up. Once u scanned u literally walked on the ride with the exception of Test Track...took a full half hour of waiting to ride both times we ride it...

 

[MaxsDad]

For our trip last November, I did see a few of these long FP lines but every occasion is was te main scanner at te entrance that was backed up. Once u scanned u literally walked on the ride with the exception of Test Track...took a full half hour of waiting to ride both times we ride it...

Yea, it seems the new overlay there is 20-30 minutes of "pre show" stuff before you ever even get to load even when using FP or a walk on.

 

[MaxsDad]

We found in May that everyone seemed to hit the FP+ line at the start of their hour window opening, therefore creating lines... we worked out that going 20 mins into the window meant we could walk straight up to the entrance with no que.

That sounds helpful. Thanks. Hey, but aren't the windows rolling, as in 9:05-10:05 is followed by 9:10 to 10:10, etc.?

 

[MaxsDad]

When I took the photos, Safari was 20 and Everest was 10.

The bottleneck is really the band scanning. If they could get that delay to be as fast as it was to hand in a paper ticket it would go much smoother.

What would you say was the time required to get to the scanner from the point of the picture? Stated another way, how long does it take for all those people to scan?

 

[Ariel1986]

That sounds helpful. Thanks. Hey, but aren't the windows rolling, as in 9:05-10:05 is followed by 9:10 to 10:10, etc.?

Hmm good point! Our method seemed to work so maybe it was just a coincidence?

 

[MaxsDad]

Hmm good point! Our method seemed to work so maybe it was just a coincidence?

Hey, I do not know. Maybe its changed to 9:05-10:05 to 9:20-10:20 to 9:35-10:35 etc.?

 

[Tom]

So, the crowds are lighter this week so far, but...

FP return line for Safari:
View attachment 63470

FP return line for Everest:
View attachment 63472
Anyone else seeing this craziness? @Tom ?(I think you're here or were recently)?

I have to assume those photos were taken after the rides had broken down for a period of time. We were in WDW from Thursday through this morning, and never encountered a long queue outside any FP queue. Once in line, some were a bit longer than they used to be, but nothing like those photos.

Granted, we didn't visit DAK during this trip. But still, the other three parks were fine.

 

[Tom]

We found in May that everyone seemed to hit the FP+ line at the start of their hour window opening, therefore creating lines... we worked out that going 20 mins into the window meant we could walk straight up to the entrance with no que.

This is not entirely true. Yes, many people return during the first 5-10 min of their window, BUT, a new window opens every 5 minutes. So, there's no correlation between FP return times and when the queue will back up (at least not on a global scale).

 

[Tom]

When I took the photos, Safari was 20 and Everest was 10.

The bottleneck is really the band scanning. If they could get that delay to be as fast as it was to hand in a paper ticket it would go much smoother.

The only delay is on the part of the guest, and most often with them trying to gain access outside their return window, which happened with the legacy system as well.

The technology works very quickly - even more quickly than it did during our March visit. The readers scan and approve bands as fast, if not faster, than CMs were able to read the little tickets and wave you through before.

I don't feel that backups at FP+ queues can be blamed on the scanning. It's a combination of unbalanced distribution, guest inability to follow instructions, and ride down time.

 

[Clamman73]

The only delay is on the part of the guest, and most often with them trying to gain access outside their return window, which happened with the legacy system as well.

The technology works very quickly - even more quickly than it did during our March visit. The readers scan and approve bands as fast, if not faster, than CMs were able to read the little tickets and wave you through before.

I don't feel that backups at FP+ queues can be blamed on the scanning. It's a combination of unbalanced distribution, guest inability to follow instructions, and ride down time.

Could you tell what percentage of people are using magic bands vs people who still have rfid cards at the scanners?

 

[stevehousse]

I have to assume those photos were taken after the rides had broken down for a period of time. We were in WDW from Thursday through this morning, and never encountered a long queue outside any FP queue. Once in line, some were a bit longer than they used to be, but nothing like those photos.

Granted, we didn't visit DAK during this trip. But still, the other three parks were fine.

Most of the time it's guests not having a fast pass, showing up to early or late, or too many people showing up at once...it rarely is for a breakdown...