Changes to Fastpass+ Tiers at Hollywood Studios Effective 8.29

[jaxj21]

https://chipandco.com/hollywood-studios-fastpass-tiers-to-drastically-change-355016/

This article mentions Star Tours currently has no tier set for 8/29

 

[GhostHost1000]

i'm surprised they haven't gone to 3 tiers. pick one from each

of course it's all likely moving to pay to play (for the tier 1's maybe anyways)

 

[nickys]

i'm surprised they haven't gone to 3 tiers. pick one from each

of course it's all likely moving to pay to play (for the tier 1's maybe anyways)

No need for 3 tiers yet.

Once the Star Wars rides and Mickey’s train ride moves to using FPs, that’s when they could well have three tiers.

 

[GhostHost1000]

No need for 3 tiers yet.

Once the Star Wars rides and Mickey’s train ride moves to using FPs, that’s when they could well have three tiers.

I was thinking in all parks

tier 1's - the most popular rides / attractions
tier 2's - the other good ones
tier 3's - the ones that never should have a fastpass to begin with

 

[runnsally]

Any chance this is a prelude to an additional “tier” of a timed-entry fastpass for SWGE? Otherwise, just doesn’t make sense...

 

[TTA94]

i'm surprised they haven't gone to 3 tiers. pick one from each

of course it's all likely moving to pay to play (for the tier 1's maybe anyways)

Question is would paying for FPs in tier 1 guarantee you to get any FP you want if there is no availability the “free” way? The problem is guests will still gladly pay a very high amount or money especially those on a “once in a lifetime vacation” resulting in there still be difficulty with availability. APs and such may or may not pay a high amount of money depending on how desperate they are to ride, let’s say, SDD at a specific desired time on the weekend.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

I was thinking in all parks

tier 1's - the most popular rides / attractions
tier 2's - the other good ones
tier 3's - the ones that never should have a fastpass to begin with

Tier 1 up charge fee

 

[britain]

Rule 4, no cheating.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

WDW doesn’t feature enough for tiers as it stands...so now you want more?

Tiers are an admission of two things:
1. Not enough capacity
2. Huge quality disparity amongst what they do have.

In a world where people wait 2 hours for test track, slinky dog, and mine train...increasing “exclusivity” for those type of average things is not the right direction to go.

 

[GhostHost1000]

WDW doesn’t feature enough for tiers as it stands...so now you want more?

Tiers are an admission of two things:
1. Not enough capacity
2. Huge quality disparity amongst what they do have.

In a world where people wait 2 hours for test track, slinky dog, and mine train...increasing “exclusivity” for those type of average things is not the right direction to go.

actually the best way to solve all of these problems are to add more attractions and spread people out further...that's what I would like to see

 

[beertiki]

The goal of this is to get those staying at the resorts to not use their FP at DHS. I will be at the park at 6am for EEMH, no FP until 9am. We will be in Star Wars until 845, and then go ride TSMM or TOT, and then leave the park before it gets insane. Better to use the FPs for the day at a different park. I also think the tiers will change when Resitance and Railway open. It's a PITA now, but it's only temporary.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

No change for me. See you at the Tune-In Lounge for the afternoon! (Are there rides at HS?)

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

actually the best way to solve all of these problems are to add more attractions and spread people out further...that's what I would like to see

...where did you think I was going with that?

They are STILL 10 years behind. You cannot rest in theme parks and consider your self “world class”. If you want proof...Tokyo Disneyland is a case study.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No change for me. See you at the Tune-In Lounge for the afternoon! (Are there rides at HS?)

The lame smelly place?

I thought it became obsolete once they opened the outdoor brown derby bar?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The goal of this is to get those staying at the resorts to not use their FP at DHS. I will be at the park at 6am for EEMH, no FP until 9am. We will be in Star Wars until 845, and then go ride TSMM or TOT, and then leave the park before it gets insane. Better to use the FPs for the day at a different park. I also think the tiers will change when Resitance and Railway open. It's a PITA now, but it's only temporary.

That’s a great little plan you got there...

I’m curious what odds you’re giving yourself of any of that going off as you plan?

The problem with studios is time and space...the park is not big enough for an influx in the millions and they don’t have enough innings eaters. Can’t rely on low capacity things like rockinrollercoaster, midway mania and slinky dog to eat away the crowds.

The problems are physical and they won’t go away.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

So how about $90 a person per day, length of stay?

It would have to match Universal's pricing system where it's less during off-peak times and can exceed the cost of a park ticket during peak. I'd say 40 - 60 per person per day for what would be considered slower periods, 60 - 100 for moderate crowds and 100-120+ for peak. Additionally they could also offer it at a fixed, flat price per person for your entire length of stay as a package add-on.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I mention three ways they are doing it, the additional events outside of park hours and the club-level only additional FP.
The events have very little impact on most guests but offer a chance to pay for shorter waits. The club-level only FP is very limited I think as they are offering an expensive upgrade to a small group of people. If they started offering everyone the chance to buy more FP then, the FP+ system wouldn't have enough capacity for the people who are paying and they will get complaints that all FPs are booked-up and also they would have complaints from regular guests about the two-tier system.

Universal has literally been using the system for years so the profit it generates clearly isn't being impacted enough by guest complaints to have them even consider getting rid of it. As long as Disney caps the number of paid FP+ they sell, and keeps a certain percentage still free and adhering to the current system, it should be fine, as it's not going to change the number of people going through the FastPass line. Will it reduce the number of standard FP+ allotments? Yes. But Disney doesn't make a profit on goodwill and sure, it's probably going to upset people if they switch to a system like this, but we also live in a capitalist economy and if people can afford to skip the lines, they're going to pay to skip the lines, people who can't afford it be damned. And if Disney has proven anything with the surge of upcharge options over the last few years it's that they value the guests who are willing to pay top dollar the most over virtually anyone else. Is it great? No. But honestly, I would take it any day of the week over the current system.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It would have to match Universal's pricing system where it's less during off-peak times and can exceed the cost of a park ticket during peak. I'd say 40 - 60 per person per day for what would be considered slower periods, 60 - 100 for moderate crowds and 100-120+ for peak. Additionally they could also offer it at a fixed, flat price per person for your entire length of stay as a package add-on.

Universal has literally been using the system for years so the profit it generates clearly isn't being impacted enough by guest complaints to have them even consider getting rid of it. As long as Disney caps the number of paid FP+ they sell, and keeps a certain percentage still free and adhering to the current system, it should be fine, as it's not going to change the number of people going through the FastPass line. Will it reduce the number of standard FP+ allotments? Yes. But Disney doesn't make a profit on goodwill and sure, it's probably going to upset people if they switch to a system like this, but we also live in a capitalist economy and if people can afford to skip the lines, they're going to pay to skip the lines, people who can't afford it be damned. And if Disney has proven anything with the surge of upcharge options over the last few years it's that they value the guests who are willing to pay top dollar the most over virtually anyone else. Is it great? No. But honestly, I would take it any day of the week over the current system.

I don’t disagree with anything you said...

However if we (WDW is a mass blob of a customer base) start paying $50-100 a day to get in shorter lines for an aging slate of rides we’ve been on forever...IN ADDITION to paying $125 to make the Mickey head spin??

...then we are lost.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The goal of this is to get those staying at the resorts to not use their FP at DHS. I will be at the park at 6am for EEMH, no FP until 9am. We will be in Star Wars until 845, and then go ride TSMM or TOT, and then leave the park before it gets insane. Better to use the FPs for the day at a different park. I also think the tiers will change when Resitance and Railway open. It's a PITA now, but it's only temporary.

What’s your plan when Smuggler’s Run is unexpectedly down from 6 am to 8:13 am?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What’s your plan when Smuggler’s Run is unexpectedly down from 6 am to 8:13 am?

Or there’s a 2 hour wait for it at 6:11 in the morning and a 90 minute for slinky at 6:18?

I’ve seen this fish before