Changes to Fastpass+ Tiers at Hollywood Studios Effective 8.29

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They're completely overestimating the crowds for GE.

...my hunch is you are correct

 

[TrojanUSC]

The rationale is that they are expecting many more guests once SW:GE opens and they want to give all guests at least one FP+ to a ride (which are limited number in the park). Under the old/current system, the FP+ to the rides would be gobbled up quickly with a substantial increase in attendance and people would be left with the potentially to only get shows with FP+, which are of little value.

It's not quite that. Previously people would book their Tier 1 and 2 with rides, shows are always low demand. By doing it this way, they're forcing people into using FP+ at shows, which are people eaters. The more people sitting in a show, the less congested the park is.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's not quite that. Previously people would book their Tier 1 and 2 with rides, shows are always low demand. By doing it this way, they're forcing people into using FP+ at shows, which are people eaters. The more people sitting in a show, the less congested the park is.

I agree...

It should work on no humanoid with an IQ Greater than about 65 - however.

 

[Rteetz]

...my hunch is you are correct

At the very least I think it will be busier than DL looks right now but it still doesn't seem to be as insane as some may have originally thought.

 

[drizgirl]

Honest question: who’s “ok” with that?

First you had to prebook when and what you do in an all inclusive park...now you get 1 thing desirable in that restrictive format?

I hope this is overcautious and temporary...or they might just be crossing the river.

They need to conserve FPs so they have something left to sell when that long discussed paid system rolls out.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

At the very least I think it will be busier than DL looks right now but it still doesn't seem to be as insane as some may have originally thought.

I’m with the Oracle on this...you just can’t physically fit many more people in that park. They made a tremendous mistake by not adding much more concourse/swing space.

As far as the tepid reaction so far in Anaheim...jury out. It will change when they unleash the passholders.

But I for one am shocked it’s been this way so far. And that is an honest admission that though I think Disney should not be rewarded for Star Wars as it stands - I thought they would be anyway.

We’ll see.

 

[drizgirl]

They're completely overestimating the crowds for GE.

Maybe. I certainly hope so.

But the AP situation is completely different at DLR and one should be careful applying their results on the other coast.

That said though, maybe this is just what you get when you open a new land, even a SW land, with only one ride.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They need to conserve FPs so they have something left to sell when that long discussed paid system rolls out.

And that is where you cut it right to the bone.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe. I certainly hope so.

But the AP situation is completely different at DLR and one should be careful applying their results on the other coast.

That said though, maybe this is just what you get when you open a new land, even a SW land, with one ride.

And this is where we go back to 2015...

This development is not “bold”...i feared it was underbuilt the whole time. I usually wish I was wrong...especially here

 

[MaximumEd]

Potter was lightning in a bottle and Disney has been trying to catch it ever since. One ride at the lands opening ain’t gonna cut it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Potter was lightning in a bottle and Disney has been trying to catch it ever since. One ride at the lands opening ain’t gonna cut it.

To be fair...they never actually needed to...

But If you’re gonna try - I can’t think of a more erratic/non-coherent string of park projects than what Iger, Inc. has tossed out over the last 10 years...highs and lows

 

[MaximumEd]

To be fair...they never actually needed to...

But If you’re gonna try - I can’t think of a more erratic/non-coherent string of park projects than what Iger, Inc. has tossed out over the last 10 years...highs and lows

Agreed. NFL was meh. TSL is super meh. Cars Land in Cali is phenomenal. Pandora is well done, but a ride and a half short. I’ll go out on a limb and say SW in WDW is woefully under built, just like the park it sits in.

 

[drizgirl]

To be fair...they never actually needed to...

But If you’re gonna try - I can’t think of a more erratic/non-coherent string of park projects than what Iger, Inc. has tossed out over the last 10 years...highs and lows

It's what happens when you cut back and try to cheap out on every project you approach. Including Star Wars.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Agreed. NFL was meh. TSL is super meh. Cars Land in Cali is phenomenal. Pandora is well done, but a ride and a half short. I’ll go out on a limb and say SW in WDW is woefully under built, just like the park it sits in.

Dead agreement

The main problem is the “2 ride” rule...and most have no clue why that even is. But it is making all these investments bad in the longterm. You don’t build your house on a cliff and then try to put a pool in later

 

[ninjaprincesst]

All I can say is there will be a huge amount of people scanning into the tier 2 and turning around and leaving to book their next tier one. They may have to put the second scan point back in to keep people from booking the fastpass just to waste it and go on to the next tier 1.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Potter was lightning in a bottle and Disney has been trying to catch it ever since. One ride at the lands opening ain’t gonna cut it.

I think a lot of uninformed casual visitors will be shocked to find out GE will have only 1 ride at opening and leave with the impression that this big new area is mostly gift shops.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

All I can say is there will be a huge amount of people scanning into the tier 2 and turning around and leaving to book their next tier one. They may have to put the second scan point back in to keep people from booking the fastpass just to waste it and go on to the next tier 1.

I would say in wdw the general customer is not informed well enough to do this...

Besides - If it’s busy nothing will be available anyway

 

[MaximumEd]

I think a lot of uninformed casual visitors will be shocked to find out GE will have only 1 ride at opening and leave with the impression that this big new area is mostly gift shops.

For the casual visitor it’ll be one ride with no FP in any tier and crazy expensive gift shops. I may be super naive, but after the hard core fans buy their 200 dollar lightsabers, do you guys think they will keep selling for years? I love my Epcot t-shirts and pins, but that’s a lot of coin for a souvenir.

 

[Lisabk]

Short Story: On August 29, Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster will be added to Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers as Tier 1 Fastpass+ selections. Star Tours stays a Tier 2. Smuggler's Run still set to open as a non-FP ride. I am unaware of any other changes to the tiers.

Source: I'm staying club level for SWGE's opening, and I decided to do the paid FP selections. When you do that, you actually get to make 6 FP selections 90 days from your departure date, so I was able to do that on Saturday. You pick 3 to be the "paid" FP, which you cannot modify or cancel without calling/emailing Disney Signature Services; and you get to make 3 "regular" FP, which you can modify/cancel just like any other FP selection. When I checked my app, I noticed that my selections did not quite match what I had asked for. When I emailed with my question, I was told that on August 29, the MGM tiers were changing, and that the new Tier 1 will be TSM, SDD, A.S.S., ToT, and RnR.

I am not an insider, I am just relaying information I was told in an effort to help folks out who are starting to look at FP planning for late August. Assuming this is accurate, I would think it would be announced in the next couple of weeks, because people will be able to start making 60+14 selections for August 29 around June 16.

Thoughts: As a person who prefers rides to shows, I think it is absurd, and it makes the EPCOT tiers look almost reasonable. There will be 7 rides at MGM starting 8.29: 5 will be Tier 1, 1 will be Tier 2, and 1 will have no FP.

The best reason I can come up with is that this is their effort to control crowds. I am guessing that most ride-riders try to get SDD, ToT and RnR. With SDD being one of the most difficult FP to secure, and assuming people will still try to get that first, the new tiers will force more folks to go standby for ToT and RnR, which will increase those wait times, which will keep more people occupied in those longer lines. A "positive" could be that it becomes easier to get SDD FP, as some folks will prefer ToT or RnR.

At the end of the day, while you may think the paid FP are ridiculous, extravagant and/or bougie (and I won't argue any of those descriptions), for me, for this trip, it was absolutely the right decision.

 

[Lisabk]

I remember back when WDW wasn't so darned complicated. Bring back simple!