Big changes coming to FASTPASS in March

[Stellajack]

...and we already know the typical guest is too stupid to figure out how to use the existing system properly..... I don't wanna have to plan my whole day out like that. And it's not so much about other rides breaking or restaurants, it's about using the fastpass when it's most convenient for me.

I suppose my husband and I are included in your typical guests who are"too stupid to figure out the existing system". We've always assumed that the time frame on the FastPass was our reserved return time to ride the attraction. We've visited WDW 13 times and certainly are not confused about the FastPass system currently in place.

I am so sorry that enforcement of the window will be "inconvenient" for you.
Maybe you could carry a sign--"For my convenience-Step Aside Please". That would probably clear things up for this typical stupid guest.

 

[Rasvar]

I don't recall anyone here saying that's what they did. Just that sometimes it was convenient to use a fastpass late.

And obviously if you didn't use FP's late before, you wouldn't see anything as lost.

Actually, I did say I hoarded and hit late in the evening. But, I am not bothered by the change. I actually welcome it. Just let me know how the system operates and I will use it as best I can. I am a Fastpass hoarder now. I actually preferred the non-Fastpass days.

There are some legit complaints on maybe the window being too small. Perhaps the official window needs to be expanded by a half hour to hour and then strictly enforced.

 

[Fractal514]

After 19 pages, alright I skimmed much of the middle, it sounds folks are either perfectly ok with this decision, or irritated that Disney is changing the rules on them in a manner that adversely affects their day in the park.

I think that over all the enforcement of this system will make for a more enjoyable time overall, even if it will cause a less enjoyable time for some individual guests. Firstly, this eliminates (by and large) the mad rush phenomenon that happens when the stand-by line stops moving for 10-20 minutes while hundreds crush into the fastpass line using passes from throughout the day, and this does happen. Secondly, I think many people feel more comfortable knowing what the rules and expectations are versus NOT knowing. I firmly believe the average customer would rather know up front they can't have something than stress about it because they aren't sure. This at least gives a firm answer on how the policy is enforced.

Thirdly, for those of you complaining about the various situations in which you might have an issue returning, it sounds like those are really your issues and not Disney's. For example, I have a dining reservation at 5pm and my fastpass is for 5:30-6;30, if I get a slow waiter, I'm not going to make that fastpass. Well, in that scenario, I'd actually say that you are to blame for taking the fast pass in the first place. Trying to cram too much into a day and game the system is not a valid reason for complaining when the system fails to support your scheming. I got on a ride at 4:00 and had a fastpass for a different ride from 5:00-6:00. The ride broke down, so I missed my window. I can't imagine disney not issuing a replacement fastpass there, but let's also investigate further. What was the wait time of the ride you got on at 4, was is 120 minutes? See, again, your poor planning is NOT Disney's problem.

I don't know, maybe I'm misinterpreting, but it seems like people just want the system to work the way that it works best for them, but not necessarily the way that works best for everyone. And no amount of fake scenarios where the details line up perfectly to create a bad situation is going to logically convince anyone differently.

 

[prberk]

The only valid "excuse" I can vouch for would be a reservationo running over. For example, we had a dinner reservation for CRT at 7pm on our last night this past September. Mind you, this is non-peak season. When we showed up at 6:45pm the lady said we couldn't check in until like 6:55pm. We did and walked into the first room and the line to wait to be brought upstairs was roughly 30 minutes alone. Add to that another 45 minutes or so to be seated, be served, and then be on your way and you're looking at roughly 2 hours to have one meal.

Now, I realize that this could be put away with a simple "well, it's one of the most popular dining experiences and you shoudl have known". Ok, I can accept that. However, the same thing happened to us one night during our December trip in 09. Non-peak season, we had a reservation at 50 Prime Time Cafe around 7pm. Extra magic hours were from 7-10 or 8-11, can't remember which. Anyhow, it ended up taking 2 hours to eat there and it wasn't like the place was jam packed. We were quite upset because it took away almost half of our EMH time. Good thing we hoarded FP's though.

Maybe there is a second page to the policy that says that, if they do not seat you at the your credit-card-reserved dining spot within 15 minutes of your reservation, they will refund your credit card... Because they missed their "window" of time to get to you in time for the charge to be valid.

:lookaroun

 

[Lee]

A couple of thoughts...
- Knew this was coming. Posted about it a few weeks ago.
- It's been in the works for a couple of years, as part of the NextGen project.
- The change is happening for multiple resons:
1. To more evenly spread out the lines throughout the day and avoid the stacking of the line in the evening.
2. To be able to control how many people will have access to a queue at a given time. This relates to the interactive elements that are being added to many queues.
3. To keep the FP return numbers below a certain level for each hour, in order to be able to offer the X-pass service later. If you have X-pass holders heading into a queue at the same time as a full FP load, plus guests using "expired" FPs....you are going to have a mess.

It'll work out fine after some initial growing pains. Don't expect them to drop it after a few weeks, either. This policy is pretty much essential to making the future FP/NextGen/X-pass plans work.

 

[GrumpyFan]

I think the bigger hassle will be fore CM's when FP holders come back and the attraction is 101. Right now, they can just tell the guest to come back anytime later. I would guess if the go for strict enforcement, there will have to be a new way of distributing FP's for 101's.

I would guess it would be the same as now. If the ride breaks down, and you have a FP during that time, they will simply instruct you to check back later, and then allow use of the FP without regard for the time window. Of course, if they take this to the next logical step and go electronic (cell phone), then they would simply notify you via your cell phone, and automatically re-assign a new window, or give you an option of choosing a window.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I'm actually against this change for two simple reasons: It's a pain for CMs because we have to be stricter than we are currently, which causes guests to be upset. It also stinks for guests who made dinner reservations and now can't use their fastpasses that they got earlier in the day. This will cause them to get angry and take out their frustration on the CMs at Fastpass Return.

The whole thought about if you can't commit to the time allotted, don't get the Fastpass sounds good in theory, but in reality it won't work out that easily because most park guests either don't think about that aspect or don't speak English and don't understand.

It just sounds like it's going to be a lot of hassle, especially at first and it sounds like it will cause more problems than it will help.

I could be completely wrong and I hope I am for everyone's sake, but simply by taking real life everyday experiences and logic, I don't think this is a good idea.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I would guess it would be the same as now. If the ride breaks down, and you have a FP during that time, they will simply instruct you to check back later, and then allow use of the FP without regard for the time window. Of course, if they take this to the next logical step and go electronic (cell phone), then they would simply notify you via your cell phone, and automatically re-assign a new window, or give you an option of choosing a window.

Most likely they would just receive an attraction specific re-ad to come back at any time.

 

[GrumpyFan]

It'll work out fine after some initial growing pains. Don't expect them to drop it after a few weeks, either. This policy is pretty much essential to making the future FP/NextGen/X-pass plans work.

I suspect the same. All this fuss here is for nought. :brick:

 

[Mickey_777]

Call me crazy but we always made it back within our window. Once we were late by 5 minutes or so and were getting stressed about it LOL.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

scam [skæm] Slang
n
a stratagem for gain

When I see printed signs at FP stations, or sections in the park guide maps stating "You may ignore the ending time on your FP and return whenever you please" or something to that effect then I will believe it is a true policy. Why don't they put signs out there like that? Why don't they just print on the ticket "Good anytime after 3:00" or such? I'll tell you why. Because the system was created for the time window to be used. They only tolerate people, who "abuse" "scam" or "game" or whatever you want to call it, the system. Just because they tolerate it, does not make it a policy.

My unnecessary strict judgement on when it's okay to use a FP. Really? It's printed in large bold letters right on the FP a very specific time to use it. No judgement is necessary.

What is this obsession you have with the word hypocrite. It's clear you have no understanding of that word. I do not try to use FP's early, nor do I arrive when they are expired. Explain to me how that is being a hypocrite.

Wow, really. I used an over the top parallel that would grab your attention, and it obviously did. I guess you freak out whenever you hear someone at a ballgame say "Hey, let's kill the bums!!"

The new policy is right on WDWMagic's homepage. I'm sorry if you can't read.

For the record, using a fastpass early or late is within the realm of reasonable, believable, courses of action that are relevant to people in this thread. I was simply pointing out that, should you choose to take advantage of the generous new grace period, you'll be a hypocrite (for criticizing people so harshly for taking advantage of something that less educated guests wouldn't know of). But your obsession with murder (especially while discussing a topic like this) is disturbing and, frankly, far more serious than any fastpass policy. No wonder our society is full of violence and murder. :hammer:

 

[draybook]

scam [skæm] Slang
n
a stratagem for gain

When I see printed signs at FP stations, or sections in the park guide maps stating "You may ignore the ending time on your FP and return whenever you please" or something to that effect then I will believe it is a true policy. Why don't they put signs out there like that? Why don't they just print on the ticket "Good anytime after 3:00" or such? I'll tell you why. Because the system was created for the time window to be used. They only tolerate people, who "abuse" "scam" or "game" or whatever you want to call it, the system. Just because they tolerate it, does not make it a policy.

My unnecessary strict judgement on when it's okay to use a FP. Really? It's printed in large bold letters right on the FP a very specific time to use it. No judgement is necessary.

And you seem to be dodging the fact that I clearly stated that the FP itself says no early arrivals but says NOTHING about being tardy. it's also been posted on these forums that current/former CM's said they were told to allow late FP's by management when being trained. Would you like me to post a picture of the back of one of the FP's I have at home when I get off of work?

Maybe there is a second page to the policy that says that, if they do not seat you at the your credit-card-reserved dining spot within 15 minutes of your reservation, they will refund your credit card... Because they missed their "window" of time to get to you in time for the charge to be valid.

:lookaroun

It didn't matter because I spoke to a manager and told her that there was no way we could/would wait because it was our last night and we didn't want to spend our last hour in the park sitting and waiting to eat. She was totally understanding and made sure we didn't get charged for it and I was very polite and thankful.






I also forget to mention that w did have a CM say something to us in September. We showed up to Peter Pan about 2 hours after our window and he said "a little late huh", with a smile on his face. While I didn't appreciate his snarky little attitude, I would have been just fine had he not allowed us entry. I told my wife that that was probably the beginning stages of them trying to start enforcing the windows.

 

[GrumpyFan]

It just sounds like it's going to be a lot of hassle, especially at first and it sounds like it will cause more problems than it will help.

I could be completely wrong and I hope I am for everyone's sake, but simply by taking real life everyday experiences and logic, I don't think this is a good idea.

I don't see Disney making this change lightly. I would see them slowly rolling it out from one park to another, and then listening to guest feedback to see how it goes. If it happens to go badly or they get a lot of backlash, then I suspect they will adjust it accordingly. As with any new change, there will be some bumps along the way, but I expect they will have them all smoothed out by the busy summer season or sooner.

 

[ann0d]

Ugh, yuck. There are just too many variables to always ensure you get back EXACTLY on time! Between longer-than-expected wait times on another attraction, a meal taking longer than expected, "comfort and necessity" breaks (you know what I mean), kid meltdowns, getting distracted in a shop, getting tied up in a long line, getting waylaid by crowds and parade routes (sometimes making navigation a challenge), etc., etc., etc. there are so many reasons you might not make it back on time.Seriously unhappy people ahead. Myself included.

We always went back on time, but so many variables could happen like mentioned above!

 

[imagineergurl]

I don't see Disney making this change lightly. I would see them slowly rolling it out from one park to another, and then listening to guest feedback to see how it goes. If it happens to go badly or they get a lot of backlash, then I suspect they will adjust it accordingly. As with any new change, there will be some bumps along the way, but I expect they will have them all smoothed out by the busy summer season or sooner.

Which is why they were testing it months ago at splash. Testing and feedback is done. This is happening everywhere at the same time.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We almost always try to use our FP's during the allotted time window. Sometimes things happen and we had to use them late. For example: Lunch at Le Cellier was scheduled for 1:45. Our FP was for 2:30-3:30. We didn't get done lunch until 3:45 due to waiting 25 minutes to get seated and slow service. We immediately rushed over to use our FPs after that. But once this policy changes and if something happens OUT OF MY CONTROL that causes me to miss my window, I'm going to be one VERY angry customer. Things happen... as many people have pointed out, rides break down.. dining goes longer than expected...

Also, at one point in our trip because we went when it was slow we had 3 sets of FP's (Space, Pooh and Splash) all valid for almost the same timeframe. If they had the option of selecting your timeframe, that would probably help cut down on the number of people getting FP's for times they cant use. It wouldn't be too hard. Select your timeframe and number of passes (9am-10am, 10am-11am, etc) once those FP's are gone for that allotted timeframe (say 9am-10am) then it would bump to 9:05am-10:05am (in keeping with the 5 minute increments they already use) Enter your park passes and print the tickets. Done and you have a time you know won't conflict with anything else (as long and you did it correctly)

On a similar note, if they start cracking down on FP return times then they should crack down on dining reservation times as well. If your reservation is for 8:15am at Crystal Palace and you show up at 8:35, well then, too bad for you. You weren't there at your scheduled time. It's essentially the same thing as being on time for your FP's. You KNOW when you need to be there, then be there. Its not fair for other guests to have to wait because you were late. For every group thats late for their ADR, it backs up the wait time that much more for people who do show up on time. Same thing with the FP's: for every person who uses their FP 4 hours later, it backs up the line for people who are waiting standby.

 

[38053WDW]

I don't see what is the big deal, I've never even knew you could come back whenever, so I always came back before the time on the fastpass, people may get upset, but I think it's a good thing

Amen !! When we went back and it was 1 min till our time they still made us wait ... The whole point is to get on the ride without a line to wait in .. plan people plan.. when we go to AK I grab all our tickets and go to Everest to get the FP... by then you at least have an hour or longer to kill so we take in a show or just take our time heading that way .... Same with Toy Story ....

 

[LSonDubz]

In 60+ trips, I have never had an issue with returning on time with my fast pass

 

[zulemara]

This might be for the next-gen rollout, but this is all due to the fact that the crowds are just getting worse and worse and they need a way to improve the system overall. A lot of people will be upset, but it will die down and life will go on. It's not like the tickets never had a return time on them. I do feel REALLY bad for the CMs who have to deal with this though.

 

[prberk]

Interesting results on the poll so far - 55% of you are in favor of the changes.

I think this result reflects the confluence of Disneyphiles on this board. Many people here think that Disney can do no wrong, and while I am a big fan, too, I think this is one where they are not exactly right.

I know, for example, that some of the distances at WDW make the fast-pass system hard to follow (not all of the times, but some of the time). A good example is, of course, the long dinners discussed above. That very example has happened to me.

The second example is especially relevant at Animal Kingdom, where walks and distances are very far, and where attraction experiences themselves are lengthy. Let's say you walk straight back to Expedition Everest or Kilimanjaro Safaris to get a fast-pass, you can either get whatever time it gives you, or just forget it. So, you get them. Then you go all the way back to your party at the Oasis. It is now thirty minutes later.

In the AK case, I am most likely to do that exact thing for a whole family, which in my case usually involves an elderly person who walks at whatever pace she sets, and that is our pace. I am interested in helping her with those lines, and we have every intention of making that time period. But I am also not going to break my (or her) neck to do it or make her Zig-Zag across that park to do it. And, yes, we do plan. But we also stop to see interesting things, to "smell the roses," so to speak.

So, while I understand the desire to fit the time period, I also understand what makes us sometmes VERY late. And I never see the FP lines so backed up that this lateness is a problem. Perhaps it is in the Spring Break and Christmas week seasons, but not so much at other times.

My point is that this is a nice perk that already works well. Leave it that way, and Disneyphiles should also remember that most people will read and follow the rules, but there is also a value to the customer service of allowing that flexibility (at least most of the year).