TiggersPooh
Active Member
I like the enforcement...:wave:
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Big changes coming to FASTPASS in March
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
rct247
Well-Known Member
I have experienced the parks as a guest with the enforcement, with other guests who are from out of state and things worked just fine, including for Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Splash Mountain, Rock n' Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania. I used to save mine until the end of the day. I thought I was going to have a hard time. It didn't actually seem to be that big of a deal as I thought.
As a CM, I also expected the worst, but honestly, out of hundreds of guests that come through, only a very small handful actually come back late, and honestly in that small group only about half of them complain. There is a 5 minute early and 15 minute late rule just in case trouble arises, but really that isn't entirely needed. Most guests seem to do just fine with it.
I will give you that it does require everyone to enforce it the same way. Once you have one person make an exception, trouble arises. Personally, I am a strict rules person anyways, so I won't budge on the matter. If you are 6 minutes early or 16 minutes late, too bad.
Also another reason for the back ups in the FP lines is because Disney has a crew of people studying Fastpass and the ratios that each attraction operates at. To be quite honest, most of the time, attractions operate with a get the Fastpass line moving and send a handful of stand-by line. Sure, it makes the Fastpass line no wait, but the standby line really does pay with a much longer wait. Now attractions have been closely monitored to ensure that proper Fastpass/Standby ratios are being upheld. So, if the ratio at the attraction is 50 Fastpass for every 10 Standby, the Fastpass line will be stopped more frequently to allow more standby to move. The result is a Fastpass line that back up just a bit more than it would normally. The wait is still "minimal" as advertised, but it isn't necessarily walk-on.
As a CM, I also expected the worst, but honestly, out of hundreds of guests that come through, only a very small handful actually come back late, and honestly in that small group only about half of them complain. There is a 5 minute early and 15 minute late rule just in case trouble arises, but really that isn't entirely needed. Most guests seem to do just fine with it.
I will give you that it does require everyone to enforce it the same way. Once you have one person make an exception, trouble arises. Personally, I am a strict rules person anyways, so I won't budge on the matter. If you are 6 minutes early or 16 minutes late, too bad.
Also another reason for the back ups in the FP lines is because Disney has a crew of people studying Fastpass and the ratios that each attraction operates at. To be quite honest, most of the time, attractions operate with a get the Fastpass line moving and send a handful of stand-by line. Sure, it makes the Fastpass line no wait, but the standby line really does pay with a much longer wait. Now attractions have been closely monitored to ensure that proper Fastpass/Standby ratios are being upheld. So, if the ratio at the attraction is 50 Fastpass for every 10 Standby, the Fastpass line will be stopped more frequently to allow more standby to move. The result is a Fastpass line that back up just a bit more than it would normally. The wait is still "minimal" as advertised, but it isn't necessarily walk-on.
Scuttle
Well-Known Member
I can't stand it. Way to many variables go into a visit. When the return times are 4-5 hours away and then you aren't able to get another fastpass for 2 hours that's ridiculous. It's totally changed my touring for the worst.
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
I agree. It's not extremely difficult to adjust to, I mean, I can manage. I just don't like the fact that I have to adjust after becoming so accustomed to the way it used to be.
I had a blast last week for spring break, inspite the crowds and what not. But this policy change makes me not so eager to go back anytime soon. I would like to go back one more time before my AP expires. Unlike last year and all the years since 2004, this is the first time I'm not going to renew.
Ultra Duck
New Member
I think this is a great idea, I dont get how hard can it be to return back to the attraction on time... actually Disney gives you a WHOLE hour to return, and people still believe this is unfair. What's next? the expectation of accepting past dates fastpass? or how about other rides or parks fastpass? If Disney is doing this, it's because they are experiencing problems... that's what happens when people abuse kindness. Fastpass is based on numbers, timming, and flow of guest to work out. when rules are bended and exceptions after exceptions are made, the flow gets affected and the domino effect begins through out the day. That's when you start hearing people complaining about the long wait in fastpass line. stick to the rule, pray for no technical difficulties and it should work out just fine... if you are not able to follow these simple rules then the stand by line might be a better option.
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
Actually everyone believes Disney is doing this because they want to eventually charge for fastpasses. Or at the least, make the free version so unappealing that you can't help but upgrade to fully reap the benefits of the system. That's fine and cool, but that's something that should have been implemented years ago imo. And I don't think Disney is 'just now' seeing an issue with this, as late fastpasses have been acceptable for years. Everyone is different, and while it may not be a huge issue for you to come back in time, it's a luxury that I will miss and its inconvenient for the way I like to vacation at WDW.
patricia27
Member
We have never had a problem with Fast Passes, we just return in the right window as allocated. Do you think there will be a time when guests will pay to get an exclusive Fast pass?
Ultra Duck
New Member
You are making excuses ahead of time even before you get a fastpass. I am sorry but you just sound to me like one of those "I deserve, I deserve, I deserve" customers. I most be the best guest ever.... "you're welcomed Disney and Universal". I always follow rules and respect employees, because I know they are there trying to run an operation against thousands and thousands of people. This is my point, Let's say you and I are in this situation: Hollywood Studios,March 2012 (Spring Break). Got a fastpass for RNR coaster that will be active in 20 minutes and TOT has a wait time of 90mins somehow... ME: well! 1st thing is to tell myself that TOT is a no no, cuz i am holding a fastpass, so I guess my options are eat something or check the wait time for star tour, great movie ride or anything with a significant lower wait time, so I have enough time to return. YOU: I know you wont do TOT because you cant stand the Stand By line, So most likely you go eat something that will take you from 30 to 45 mins, and after viewing the map while eating you realized there's a Beauty and the Beast Show in 20mins and people are starting to go into the theater. Most do the 25 mins long show because after all "I deserve, I deserve, I deserve" So I will return at any time I feel like, and they HAVE to take my ticket cuz I am the customer and I paid big money to be here......Yeah Buddy!, you and the other 20,000 people walking in the park.
Ultra Duck
New Member
we hope it doesn't get to that Patricia27, but as a former Universal Employee, I totally understood the reason why they stopped Express to the public and made it an extra add option to your ticket. It was just TOO MUCH DRAMA. I personally experience the complains, the battles between Express guest and Stand By guest. So I think Universal thought if we are going to be dealing with this situation, then we better make something out of it. Since then the drama is gone and complains about this matter has almost vanished. So to answer your question, if fastpass cant get under control and keeps affecting the daily operations of an attraction, plus! raises the numbers of complains coming in, which affects the overall ratings of the park... yeah you might see something like that happening. Hey, you can look at it this way... back in the 80's we use to have the "one line fits all", everyone was treated equally and we enjoyed the parks back then like we do now.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
This wont be a deal breaker but knowing how to get the most out of the system was a real plus. We have been so many times I have no doubt that we will be able to find other ways to maximize or time. We really didnt take advantage of it all that much but with small kids it comes in handy. Example: we have a fast pass for TSMM and its for 12:30pm return. My 3yr old is tired and hungry so we decide to go back to the room to eat and go to the pool for an hour or so and then return back to the studios before dinner time. Well now we have zero chance to ride Toy story MM as all the fast passes WILL be gone and standby is unbearable. That was the main reason we used the late return ability. Now if something comes up or there is a problem we are just out of luck. We have a trip in June so I guess we will see how it goes.
patricia27
Member
I deffinately believe in the theory that everyone should be treated equally. The fast pass idea is an option--we are all free to decide if we want to queue or get a fast pass for a return in a particular time frame.
I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
I'm taking 2 Disney newbies with me on my next trip and they will never even know that anyone ever used their Fastpasses whenever they felt like regardless of the posted times.
I have never done it myself. If I missed out on a Fastpass line I either stood in standby or didn't ride. It seems to me like people are making choices based on when they feel like using their pass.
Things like - we took the Fastpass even though we had dinner reservations, or we decided we were tired and went to the hotel for a rest - are choices made to intentionally "break" the rules (however lax the rules are) in order to make your vaction more convenient. I understand why people do it I just have never had a reason to. I only ever picked up FP's if I could ride the attraction at the posted time so it's not going to change my park planning.
I understand the theory behind using it a different times. I think a lot of people treat FP's as ADR's...this is a debate I had with a friend. Say you had an ADR for Crystal Palace at noon - your kids are sick, tired and cranky and you decide to take them back to the resort for a rest and a swim. Then you go back to CP, tell them you missed your ADR for 1:00pm and could you get in now (for 5:00pm instead). The CM finds you a table and you get your dinner with Pooh and the gang. People think - well I could adjust the times of my ADR and use it so why not my "reservation" for Splash Mountian. It's a perfectly reasonable thought - and one I have debated with a friend of mine - however I tried to explain to him that for his 5:00pm ADR he was actually in the "standby line" - if there was no table he would have had to wait.
Disney's big failure was to be too "Disney" about FP's in the first place - by allowing this to happen to make people happy some people thought it was the norm. Though, it's only the norm for people who were "in the know" before or who intentionally used a Fastpass outside the window and got in. Now those people are unhappy because Disney is taking away something they feel is a right - not a privilege. Disney is at fault for taking away the candy after leaving the bowl on the table. You can't blame people for enjoying the fact that it worked for them all this time - however, they should realize that just because the rules weren't enforced - doesn't mean they weren't breaking the rules. Disney isn't making new rules, they are just enforcing them.
I think the majority of Disney guests (which I don't believe is represented on this board) see a ticket that says they can ride Splash Mountain between 2:15 and 3:15 and they assume that means they can ride Splash Mountain between 2:15 and 3:15.
If they had consistantly enforced the rules from the beginning people wouldn't feel like something has been "taken away" from their vacation. I'm perfectly content with the change. I don't go to Disney expecting to walk onto every attraction, Fastpass or not. I use them as wisely I can in the alloted times they are designed for. I have never once attempted to use one outside the window so I won't be affected at all by this change. I am curious to see if I notice a change in the queues and wait times on my trip this year. I usually visit around the same time every year so I have an idea of how wait times generally are.
I do have a question for people that used their Fastpasses outside the window. I personally, have gotten to an attraction a few minutes early and stood outside the Fastpass line and I have frequently seen groups of people with Fastpasses standing outside the FP line where a Cast Member is blocking the line (not rudely, just chatting with guests) then checks his watch and lets people in.
They obviously were inforcing it to some extent so how did it get to the point where you could use it? Did you have to have a good story when you got to the front? Did the CM's just get tired of stopping people from going in and got lax in their jobs? I guess I never realized it could be done because I have seen the CM's ensure that people didn't get into the FP line until their window started - so how did they let this get so out of hand?
I have never done it myself. If I missed out on a Fastpass line I either stood in standby or didn't ride. It seems to me like people are making choices based on when they feel like using their pass.
Things like - we took the Fastpass even though we had dinner reservations, or we decided we were tired and went to the hotel for a rest - are choices made to intentionally "break" the rules (however lax the rules are) in order to make your vaction more convenient. I understand why people do it I just have never had a reason to. I only ever picked up FP's if I could ride the attraction at the posted time so it's not going to change my park planning.
I understand the theory behind using it a different times. I think a lot of people treat FP's as ADR's...this is a debate I had with a friend. Say you had an ADR for Crystal Palace at noon - your kids are sick, tired and cranky and you decide to take them back to the resort for a rest and a swim. Then you go back to CP, tell them you missed your ADR for 1:00pm and could you get in now (for 5:00pm instead). The CM finds you a table and you get your dinner with Pooh and the gang. People think - well I could adjust the times of my ADR and use it so why not my "reservation" for Splash Mountian. It's a perfectly reasonable thought - and one I have debated with a friend of mine - however I tried to explain to him that for his 5:00pm ADR he was actually in the "standby line" - if there was no table he would have had to wait.
Disney's big failure was to be too "Disney" about FP's in the first place - by allowing this to happen to make people happy some people thought it was the norm. Though, it's only the norm for people who were "in the know" before or who intentionally used a Fastpass outside the window and got in. Now those people are unhappy because Disney is taking away something they feel is a right - not a privilege. Disney is at fault for taking away the candy after leaving the bowl on the table. You can't blame people for enjoying the fact that it worked for them all this time - however, they should realize that just because the rules weren't enforced - doesn't mean they weren't breaking the rules. Disney isn't making new rules, they are just enforcing them.
I think the majority of Disney guests (which I don't believe is represented on this board) see a ticket that says they can ride Splash Mountain between 2:15 and 3:15 and they assume that means they can ride Splash Mountain between 2:15 and 3:15.
If they had consistantly enforced the rules from the beginning people wouldn't feel like something has been "taken away" from their vacation. I'm perfectly content with the change. I don't go to Disney expecting to walk onto every attraction, Fastpass or not. I use them as wisely I can in the alloted times they are designed for. I have never once attempted to use one outside the window so I won't be affected at all by this change. I am curious to see if I notice a change in the queues and wait times on my trip this year. I usually visit around the same time every year so I have an idea of how wait times generally are.
I do have a question for people that used their Fastpasses outside the window. I personally, have gotten to an attraction a few minutes early and stood outside the Fastpass line and I have frequently seen groups of people with Fastpasses standing outside the FP line where a Cast Member is blocking the line (not rudely, just chatting with guests) then checks his watch and lets people in.
They obviously were inforcing it to some extent so how did it get to the point where you could use it? Did you have to have a good story when you got to the front? Did the CM's just get tired of stopping people from going in and got lax in their jobs? I guess I never realized it could be done because I have seen the CM's ensure that people didn't get into the FP line until their window started - so how did they let this get so out of hand?
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
I_heart_Tigger;4911176 They obviously were inforcing it to some extent so how did it get to the point where you could use it? Did you have to have a good story when you got to the front? Did the CM's just get tired of stopping people from going in and got lax in their jobs? I guess I never realized it could be done because I have seen the CM's ensure that people didn't get into the FP line until their window started - so how did they let this get so out of hand?[/QUOTE said:
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
First of all sir, you don't know me, ok. So for you to sit up here and try to say I'm one of those, "I deserve" people just because I enjoyed the luxury of using a fastpass when it's most convenient is making a huge ASSumption. Everybody who walks through the turnstyles and who paid they're money are looking out for their own enjoyment, so don't give me that bull like it's only me. The only thing I feel 'I deserve' is what Disney once said is ok. Almost like staying at a Disney resort, but they decide that instead of providing busses you now have to use your car. Or taking away emhs. Luxuries. And honestly, I don't give a rat's ______ about how you vacation to WDW, and what rides or shows you like to do, or what time you like to use your fastpasses or whatever, cuz that doesn't have anything to do with me. So for you to come up in here and tell me how I should vacation, or do vacation when you don't know me is just crossing the line. You always follow the rules, good for you. So you're implying that just because I liked the old policy that I don't? Ok, good ASSumption.
My point and the bottom line is, some of yall claim you don't understand what's the 'big deal with this change?' And I'll agree, it's not a big deal. I and a few others will just have to adjust. But if you don't understand, then simply don't understand and keep doing what you've been doing. It's not gonna dramatically change the way you've been vacationing. Everyone has their own way and style of vacationing. Simply put, you do you, and I do me. So don't come at me and tell me how I should vacation and what my mindset is when you don't know me, and you're not paying for me to get in. And like some other poster said, most of yall who are gung ho about this change will probably be singing a different tune when that xpass rolls around.
Ultra Duck
New Member
Hey I was just peacefully expressing myself about the matter, and simply saying that I think it was a good idea, and then you started it all by replying and pushing your thoughts against mine. I Didnt have this situation with Patricia27 
but let me just finish with a quote from a Madonna song, and it says "If you don't like my attitude, then you can F-off. Just go to Texas, isn't there where they go?"
but let me just finish with a quote from a Madonna song, and it says "If you don't like my attitude, then you can F-off. Just go to Texas, isn't there where they go?"
unkadug
Follower of "Saget"The Cult
I hate to bring this up again, but you also USED to think that line cutting was perfectly acceptable behavior.
You outgrew that misconceived notion and your touring of the parks has not suffered. :sohappy:
this too shall pass. :wave:
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
Yes, but when you try to tell me how I am without knowing me and how I should vacation to WDW as if you're paying for my ticket and trip then that's crossing the line. Lovely quote btw, but I think you're telling the wrong person. Maybe you should upgrade either your sprint, verizon, att, tmobile, or virgin wireless data plan so you can call, text, IM, or email someone who actually cares.
Lovely quote btw, but I think you're telling the wrong person. Maybe you should upgrade either your sprint, verizon, att, tmobile, or virgin wireless data plan so you can call, text, IM, or email someone who actually cares.
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
This is true. I used to do that all day when I was like, 15. :lol: Yup, guess there's different phases to being a WDWer. But this is a little different imo. It's like them taking away a luxury. But whatever I'll deal, yes this too shall pass, amen and hallelujah.
EDIT: And now that I think about it, they two may have correlated. Instead of having someone stand in line for me to meet later, we'd just use fastpasses instead haha.
I_heart_Tigger
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I probably wouldn't hold your breath on that one - my guess is they will start to charge for it before they go back to their old ways.
btw - just wanted to note that while you and I disagree on this subject - I have stated that I don't use the FP's outside of the window and don't necessarily agree that people do - I appreciate that you can respond quite nicely...I think some posts here have gotten a touch out of hand with the personal attacks.
I try to state my case as simply as I can and realize people will disagree with it and I have no problem with them disagreeing as long as it doesn't get too personal or nasty.
I tend to try to put myself in others shoes so I do try to see where you're coming from and in the end, I still may not agree with it but I think we can be civil even from opposite sides of the fence.
Just don't cut in line in front of me, deal? :lol: