Disney's test of centralized FastPass distribution at Animal Kingdom

[luvlifeinfl]

Not sure if any one saw this in the Orlando Sentinel on Friday.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/fe...kingdom-fastpass-test-expedition-everest.html

Sounds like it is not a smooth process right now.

 

[Master Yoda]

Providing that the information in the article is correct it looks like Disney did a real half job on this. Disney should have put up at least some temporary signage and return times. I do however love the idea of centralized fastpass location in conjunction with the ones at the attractions. I can not even begin to calculate the amount of time I have wasted and extra miles I have walked to get fastpasses for the family. A centralized location would save me a ton of time every morning.

 

[EPCOTPluto]

Centralized Fastpasses does sound like a good idea, rather than cover half the park and miss its purpose.

I do agree on the fact that it was rushed, but it's just an early test. Let's see if they do something later...

 

[Fade_to_Blah]

I thought they were going to do fastpass machines that let you choose your attraction on the screens.......

 

[Master Yoda]

I thought they were going to do fastpass machines that let you choose your attraction on the screens.......

While that sounds great on the surface I could only imagine the headaches that would cause. There are still to this day people that can not operate a regular fastpass machine. Could you imagine the deer in the headlights looks you would get if you added buttons?

 

[WDWmazprty]

While that sounds great on the surface I could only imagine the headaches that would cause. There are still to this day people that can not operate a regular fastpass machine. Could you imagine the deer in the headlights looks you would get if you added buttons?

Agreed! The Fastpass lines would go on forever because people would be confused on how to pick which attraction they wanted.

 

[TubaGeek]

I'm surprised they didn't do a bit more to guide everyone in the right direction. It's a good idea, but needs a LOT of work. Clearly.

 

[bgraham34]

While that sounds great on the surface I could only imagine the headaches that would cause. There are still to this day people that can not operate a regular fastpass machine. Could you imagine the deer in the headlights looks you would get if you added buttons?

I would have to agree. How many times do i get frustrated when I go to the supermarket and do self checkout and the person in front of me has no clue what to do.

 

[cblodg]

While that sounds great on the surface I could only imagine the headaches that would cause. There are still to this day people that can not operate a regular fastpass machine. Could you imagine the deer in the headlights looks you would get if you added buttons?

VERY much agreed. I'm still trying to figure out what people find so hard about FastPass machines. :shrug:

 

[Exprcoofto]

While that sounds great on the surface I could only imagine the headaches that would cause. There are still to this day people that can not operate a regular fastpass machine. Could you imagine the deer in the headlights looks you would get if you added buttons?

A nice touch screen like on SSE would be nice. They could digitally present the name of the attraction with it's return time. (and maybe even the current wait) All you have to do is touch the attraction you want and swipe your card. Once your ticket pops out it should clearly state on the screen the next time you can come and get a fastpass.

With a universal fastpass machine you wouldn't have a huge queue backing up for one specific attraction, which would be nice.

I do like the centralized idea, but would it completely replace the ones at the attraction itself?

 

[Master Yoda]

A nice touch screen like on SSE would be nice. They could digitally present the name of the attraction with it's return time. (and maybe even the current wait) All you have to do is touch the attraction you want and swipe your card. Once your ticket pops out it should clearly state on the screen the next time you can come and get a fastpass.

With a universal fastpass machine you wouldn't have a huge queue backing up for one specific attraction, which would be nice.

I do like the centralized idea, but would it completely replace the ones at the attraction itself?

Like I said I would love it but I think any option other than inset ticket and receive food pellet would confuse far to many people. A digital display for return time and attraction would be good though. It would allow Disney to simply install X number of these universal fastpass machines and switch them from one attraction to another based on need.

 

[chwilson88]

Like I said I would love it but I think any option other than inset ticket and receive food pellet would confuse far to many people. A digital display for return time and attraction would be good though. It would allow Disney to simply install X number of these universal fastpass machines and switch them from one attraction to another based on need.

So funny Yoda, the food pellet thing gave me a great laugh! It's true though...

 

[Victoria]

This past Thursday I experienced the centralized FP distribution. It is a good idea but it definitely needs work. Traffic control is a big issue and the lack of a posted return time is annoying.

I also spoke with a CM friend of mine to gain some perspective. She pointed out something I that never occurred to me. Since it is impossible to tell from the central FP location what the standby times are, everyone just gets a FP. Few people are actually walking to each attraction and seeing the standby line is short and just doing standby instead of getting a FP. The FP line is going to be very overloaded and standby lines will be much shorter than normal. Not really a 'problem' per say (if you don't mind the standby line) but it kind of defeats the purpose of FP. :shrug:

 

[WDWmazprty]

I didn't get tto read the article, does it say how long this will be tested?

 

[techiegsy]

This past Thursday I experienced the centralized FP distribution. It is a good idea but it definitely needs work. Traffic control is a big issue and the lack of a posted return time is annoying.

I also spoke with a CM friend of mine to gain some perspective. She pointed out something I that never occurred to me. Since it is impossible to tell from the central FP location what the standby times are, everyone just gets a FP. Few people are actually walking to each attraction and seeing the standby line is short and just doing standby instead of getting a FP. The FP line is going to be very overloaded and standby lines will be much shorter than normal. Not really a 'problem' per say (if you don't mind the standby line) but it kind of defeats the purpose of FP. :shrug:

I 'spose that's good and bad... But I think they need to have all FP machines distributing all the FP, and they could get rid of some at attractions and have FP areas with lot of machines, i.e. one per land. But I think they should have a board displaying wait times and FP return times for each FP attraction...

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I 'spose that's good and bad... But I think they need to have all FP machines distributing all the FP, and they could get rid of some at attractions and have FP areas with lot of machines, i.e. one per land. But I think they should have a board displaying wait times and FP return times for each FP attraction...

Thats what, if this goes into a final implementation, will probably happen. Ideally, there should be a "tip-board" next to the FastPass area that lets you see the current stand-by waits, which would therefore allow you to make the appropriate decision on which attractions you should FP. :shrug:

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I actually like it the way it is.

Putting in a whole bank of FastPass machines will make them sell out so fast. Right now it works because people have to walk up to the attraction and decide whether to wait for the stand-by or "waste" their FastPass on that attraction. Now people will just grab them "in case" at the front of the park...and if they get to the attraction and the stand-by isn't bad...they'll just use the stand-by and save the FastPass...which may or may not get used.

Making people walk to the attraction makes them feel like they put in some effort...and they may opt for the Standby so they don't have to walk away and come back.

 

[WDWmazprty]

I actually like it the way it is.

Putting in a whole bank of FastPass machines will make them sell out so fast. Right now it works because people have to walk up to the attraction and decide whether to wait for the stand-by or "waste" their FastPass on that attraction. Now people will just grab them "in case" at the front of the park...and if they get to the attraction and the stand-by isn't bad...they'll just use the stand-by and save the FastPass...which may or may not get used.

Making people walk to the attraction makes them feel like they put in some effort...and they may opt for the Standby so they don't have to walk away and come back.

Agreed!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Sounds like a good idea to me...Just needs more stations.:shrug:

 

[mitchk]

I actually like it the way it is.

Putting in a whole bank of FastPass machines will make them sell out so fast. Right now it works because people have to walk up to the attraction and decide whether to wait for the stand-by or "waste" their FastPass on that attraction. Now people will just grab them "in case" at the front of the park...and if they get to the attraction and the stand-by isn't bad...they'll just use the stand-by and save the FastPass...which may or may not get used.

Making people walk to the attraction makes them feel like they put in some effort...and they may opt for the Standby so they don't have to walk away and come back.

I fully agree :wave: