Long Fastpass+ Lines... What Gives?

[Andrew_Animatronic]

I have previously had nothing but great expeiriences using the new fastpass system (though I miss the days of giving all your tickets to one person and having them get passes for everyone!) but recently, something seems to be amiss. During our recent stay, our party was caught up in lines out the rides entrance for almost every fastpass. The worst had to have been space mountain, with a fastpass line back up to the AO. Does anyone know why the lines have been like this lately? I remember when a fastpass meant ~15 min wait for big attractions, but now we wait for up to an hour!

 

[mf1972]

cant say i've ever had that problem. maybe it's related to bigger crowds in the summer or just a fluke. who knows? either way, that's crazy

 

[sWANNISAX]

I was there the last two weeks and since Monday it has been out of control. Star Tours fast pass was backed up to the room with R2. Space Mountain was back to the Astro Orbiter, Splash Mountain was stopped before the barn, Pirates was also out to the entrance. I also watched on Wednesday as several hundred people were moved through the Jungle Cruise fast pass line while stand by stood still. It got particularly bad in the last week. My theory was that when rides go down you get a fast pass to go on any ride in the place. Pirates was down repeatedly over the four days I spent in the magic kingdom. So i figured people were using fast passes elsewhere. But it does seem to be a growing issue.

 

[disneygeek90]

People don’t know how to use their fastpasses, enter when it’s an incorrect time, and then cause a backup while they discuss it with the castmembers. Some I swear have never seen the kiosk (like they didn’t use it when they got into the park). I went the other day with a FP for Toy Story around 12:30. The people ahead of us went blue, the castmember looked and said their next FP wasn’t until 2pm at ToT. So I’m not sure what the hell people are doing, but they surely aren’t paying attention to what’s going on and how to properly get in the FP queue and through quickly.

Once you actually get through the initial scan, it goes fairly quick in my experience unless rides have been backed up due to it being previously down.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Sometimes when the ride goes down for a short period of time that will back up the FP+ riders and other times theres just a huge influx of FP+ riders that show up all at once that causes the line increase. The CM's hold up the standby riders and let a number of FP+ holders through for every standby and it still takes time to get the FP+ through./ Yes theres a sometimes back up but it still gets you into the ride much quicker than had you been standing in the line. I've witnessed FP on space Mtn extremely long and boy does that burn the standby riders because it really increases their time waiting in line.

 

[ChristyKay]

I thought they had a ratio system in place for merging standby and FP lines. I think it was 1:10, so for every standby person they let through 10 FP people to keep the FP line from backing up. I heard this somewhere but not sure if it's true or if that's how they do it with FP+.
But like it was posted earlier, confusion with the system and maybe even ride malfunctions can sometimes back things up

 

[ninjaprincesst]

There is also a new issue I have noticed, now that most of the second checkpoints are gone people from the stand by line will jump over to the fastpass line, our last trip I noticed huge amounts of people doing this on Space Mountain, and the KS.

 

[correcaminos]

I have noticed it once at Buzz but the line moved very very quickly. Only other time was Test Track after it had been down for hours.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Typically it's poor cast member management or ride closures that do it. The system works, but only if enforced properly and the ride has nearly 100% up time.

 

[Minnie Mum]

There's also the increasingly frequent problem of the rides not running at full capacity. For various reasons, including $$ saving, one side is closed, or the number of vehicles is reduced or a theatre isn't being used, resulting in lower per hour capacity, and longer lines - both FP and standby. You rarely saw this happening during higher crowd times a few years ago.

 

[HonorableMention]

How much do the "any ride" FPs you get when a ride goes down affect normal FP lines? When Dinosaur broke down on us everyone in both lines got a FP, and we had only been waiting 10-15 minutes at the most.

 

[Raineman]

How much do the "any ride" FPs you get when a ride goes down affect normal FP lines? When Dinosaur broke down on us everyone in both lines got a FP, and we had only been waiting 10-15 minutes at the most.

When you get one of those FPs, do you have to use it at the park you got it, or can you use it in any park? I have never gotten a breakdown FP, and every visit to MK I hope that I'll get to experience an evac for the first time and get one

 

[ninjaprincesst]

When you get one of those FPs, do you have to use it at the park you got it, or can you use it in any park? I have never gotten a breakdown FP, and every visit to MK I hope that I'll get to experience an evac for the first time and get one

If it is a fast pass for your original fastpass ride being down it is only good for that park, now if you are given the anytime any where fastpass by Disney that is added to your MDE account they are good for any ride in any park.

 

[DisneyGal1221]

I have seen a few things that I think contribute to longer/congested FP lines.

One is a language barrier between guests and CM's. I saw multiple times on my last trip, guests who did not speak English, not understanding why they couldn't use the FP line anytime they wanted to ride something. It was obvious that it had worked for their real FP's, but they thought that was the standard procedure for all rides. Due to the language barrier, there was a huge backlog created by a whole family blocking the entrance and being obviously genuinely confused why there weren't being allowed to use that line. The CM's were trying, but it created large backups. With all the technology currently available (apps that will translate from English to whatever language), you would think they could provide some CM's with such a tool.

The other issue is those folks who do not have a FP for another 5-10 minutes crowding the entrance to a FP line. Others who arrive often think these people are already in the line and then just form a line behind them. Then no one progresses until their FP time arrives. This seems to be a particular problem at the Safari. It is very hectic in that area and often those waiting on their time completely block access to the scanners.

 

[21stamps]

Happened to us twice last. Dinosaur was about an hour in the FP line. TSMM wasn't quite that long, but well over 30 minutes.

 

[Kevin_W]

I have previously had nothing but great expeiriences using the new fastpass system (though I miss the days of giving all your tickets to one person and having them get passes for everyone!) but recently, something seems to be amiss. During our recent stay, our party was caught up in lines out the rides entrance for almost every fastpass. The worst had to have been space mountain, with a fastpass line back up to the AO. Does anyone know why the lines have been like this lately? I remember when a fastpass meant ~15 min wait for big attractions, but now we wait for up to an hour!

We joked a few times during our June trip that Disney had taken the "Fast" out of "Fastpass".

 

[ninjaprincesst]

I don't know if that's true. I was in stand-by, but everyone, including FP people, got a paper FP good for any ride in AK. Pretty sure they said it could only be used in that park.

That's exactly what I said, the ones they give you for a line being down are only good for the park you are in, the only ones that are good for any park are the ones given by guest relations that go on your MDE account, that you are given for some other reason than the ride being offline, for example a couple years ago we were given 2 fast pass per person per day because of an error made on our package by Disney, these were given to us by guest services and put on our MDE account months ahead of our arrival, they did not have to have advance fast pass reservations and could be used any time for any ride at any park.

 

[HonorableMention]

That's exactly what I said, the ones they give you for a line being down are only good for the park you are in, the only ones that are good for any park are the ones given by guest relations that go on your MDE account, that you are given for some other reason than the ride being offline, for example a couple years ago we were given 2 fast pass per person per day because of an error made on our package by Disney, these were given to us by guest services and put on our MDE account months ahead of our arrival, they did not have to have advance fast pass reservations and could be used any time for any ride at any park.

Whoops, my bad I must have been skimming because I completely misread that. Sorry!

 

[Never2Old4Disney]

As someone who used to work Fastpass, I can say the long lines are a combination of a few things. First thing to consider is if the ride is even running. Some of the rides stop for a few minutes due to either maintenance issues or guest issues. When the ride stops for even 2 minutes the line gets long. Another thing, some times are just packed because everyone comes to cash in their fastpasses all at once. Even if the fastpass line is long, it is still gonna be less of a wait than standby. The fastpass line always gets priority over standby. This is controlled by the cast member at the merge point. I can assure you, they are doing the best they can.

 

[SourcererMark79]

For a free service, FP is nice. I would rather wait an extra 5 to 10 min in a FP line knowing I'm still going to experience the attraction soon, compared to a 45 min (or longer) SB line. If I paid extra for a FP type service and this occurs frequently, then I could understand the argument. It is a courtesy service, though some can argue you do pay extra (staying on property for 60 day reservations, AP, etc...)