Fast Pass+ will lose Disney Millions?

[luv]

From my understanding ( I could be wrong) - you can only choose ONE major attraction under FP+. For HS, it would be impossible to get all FP+ for TOT, RnRC and TSMM. I would pick one of those 3, plus a show or entertainment, and 2nd tier ride like Great Movie Ride.

Still, not bad. It could cut an entire day off of a longer vacation. You'd need fewer mornings if you could squeeze a few biggies in during afternoons!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Today I got an email and a UPS letter from WDW asking us to test Fast Pass+ on our upcoming August trip. While making attraction, show and meal reservations I wondered once FP+ is available to everyone why would anyone pay over $60 a person to add a park hopper. Under the current FP+ plan "FASTPASS+ allows reservations at one park per day." ONE PARK per day. One could still add the hopper but from what was offered when I booked our test week it would not make sense to park hop. Hum, thousands of families each week NOT adding hoppers as they might have done in the past times over $60 a person. I wonder how many millions will be lost before the bean counters realize FP+ must offer one the option of reserving rides etc in more than one park per day.

(I didn't read the other posts, so pardon me if I repeat anything.) This was my reaction, too. We'll be saving (and WDW will be losing) that extra Parkhopper money from us next time.

I have read reactions from others, however, who think FP+ will actually aid their parkhopping strategy. They plan to go to one park first thing in the morning and hit the headliners while lines are low, and then hop to another park for the afternoon -- a park in which they've already made FP reservations. Still, having to make them ahead of time at one park takes the spontaneity out of parkhopping, which to me, was always its main draw.

 

[disney4life2008]

(I didn't read the other posts, so pardon me if I repeat anything.) This was my reaction, too. We'll be saving (and WDW will be losing) that extra Parkhopper money from us next time.

I have read reactions from others, however, who think FP+ will actually aid their parkhopping strategy. They plan to go to one park first thing in the morning and hit the headliners while lines are low, and then hop to another park for the afternoon -- a park in which they've already made FP reservations. Still, having to make them ahead of time at one park takes the spontaneity out of parkhopping, which to me, was always its main draw.

But the problem is that you if you park hop to HS in the afternoon or evening - you are not getting FP reservations for the 3 main attactions. You have ONE then a show and a 2nd tier ride.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

I'm holding a wait and see approach on the whole next gen project...it's an infrastructure thing....and if executed right...I think it will be awesome for guests...whether it is or not remains to be seen.

In the long run...2 billion dollars could pay for itself with efficiency, increased merchandise purchases (I remember reading that one feature will be that they can send you discounts for nearby shops etc to control traffic...that would be great), not to mention how valuable data is...the more Disney knows about their guests...the more they can profit from them...they're trying to bring their parks into the modern era...we'll wait and see.

 

[bgraham34]

But the problem is that you if you park hop to HS in the afternoon or evening - you are not getting FP reservations for the 3 main attactions. You have ONE then a show and a 2nd tier ride.

Yeah that is a big problem with Epcot and the Studios. FP+ works better at MK than the others. The other parks will need more attractions to make it work. Personally for me I would use FP+ at MK more than the others because its more perceived value.

 

[Victor Kelly]

I am not too hot on the FP+stuff. I was never a huge fan of FP. I believe it makes standby lines way too long. Nextgen is just about adding games and video screens to queues, then tracking all the guests. They say that it would cost a few billion to add onto the monorail system and that it would be too expensive, well they spent a few billion on electronic gizmos instead. They could be maintaining parks better and building better attractions, which would bring in more dollars in the long run.

I agree that MK is the best park for use of FP only due to the number of attractions.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Fastpass+ has the single goal of keeping guests in queues less and in shops and food retail more. You can't spend money when you are waiting in line!

While this may be true, with the limit of FPs that each guest can get in a day to 3, this means if they want to visit all the other attractions in the park, more time will be spent waiting in line for those attractions. Right now, you can get as many FPs as you want in a day, allowing you to see all the attractions you want quicker and thus, less time in line, more time to spend $$$! I know we shop quite a bit right now when we're getting 5+ Fps in a day. Now we will be spending more time in line to ensure that we see everything we want.

 

[Minthorne]

Still, not bad. It could cut an entire day off of a longer vacation. You'd need fewer mornings if you could squeeze a few biggies in during afternoons!

This may be just during the test but I was able to book all three mountains at MK one day and RR, ToT & TSMM at HS another day and Soaring and TT and Illuminationsat epcot on a 3rd day

 

[nolatron]

I wonder if Disney will eventually sell an "upgrade option" to let you exceed that 3 FP+ per day limit? Something similar to Uni's Express Pass which gives you entry in every attraction with an express line 1 time.

 

[Weather_Lady]

But the problem is that you if you park hop to HS in the afternoon or evening - you are not getting FP reservations for the 3 main attactions. You have ONE then a show and a 2nd tier ride.

Sorry - I didn't know the final categories of what you could choose for FP+ in each park had been released yet. Where can I get a peek?

 

[disney4life2008]

Sorry - I didn't know the final categories of what you could choose for FP+ in each park had been released yet. Where can I get a peek?

I am not sure if that is confirmed - it has just been rumoured on different blog sites. From my understanding it will be set up like this:

1. You get 3 FP+ reservations for ONE park each day
2. Hypothetically MK: I could choose Space Mountain. But I would not be able to to pick Splash or BTMR. I would have to pick a 2nd tier ride like Stich; and a show or other experience

 

[rufio]

While this may be true, with the limit of FPs that each guest can get in a day to 3, this means if they want to visit all the other attractions in the park, more time will be spent waiting in line for those attractions. Right now, you can get as many FPs as you want in a day, allowing you to see all the attractions you want quicker and thus, less time in line, more time to spend $$$! I know we shop quite a bit right now when we're getting 5+ Fps in a day. Now we will be spending more time in line to ensure that we see everything we want.

I was under the impression that the standard fastpasses would still be available.

 

[wdwmagic]

I was under the impression that the standard fastpasses would still be available.

FastPass+ will completely replace regular FASTPASS once it fully goes live later this year. In the test period, both are available.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Maybe they think it will extend vacations and keep people on property. You are now "hostage" to one park a day. If you wanted to do all the parks and utilize fast pass you will have to designate an entire day per park instead of hitting the highlights and doing all 4 parks in 2-3 days. Forces the long weekender to book an extra day. Maybe keeps people from going to other parks since they are already at Disney and really wanted to see everything. "We'll do Sea World next time kids".

I don't know why really. Just throwing that out there since none of it really makes sense to me anyway. I'm not in the theme park business though so what do I know?

 

[love disney]

Still, not bad. It could cut an entire day off of a longer vacation. You'd need fewer mornings if you could squeeze a few biggies in during afternoons!

How many people plan the number of days for their vacation based on the perceived number of rides they can do? Plus, there is no way Disney would want someone to cut their vacation a day short, they would rather you stay longer.

I know it hasn't been fully rolled out or all the bugs worked out, but to me this whole FP+ thing seems ridiculous. Number one, to me it appears to make things FAR more confusing to the average visitor, not more efficient. Number two, it gets rid of almost all spontaneity for a WDW trip. Personally I do not want to have to try and plan out my ride schedule that far in advance, it already sucks that dining reservations have to be made so early. Number three, as a Florida resident who has an annual pass and makes spur of the moment trips frequently this whole concept has soured me on the idea of keeping my a.p.

 

[rufio]

FastPass+ will completely replace regular FASTPASS once it fully goes live later this year. In the test period, both are available.

Well, that sucks.

 

[jaklgreen]

How many people plan the number of days for their vacation based on the perceived number of rides they can do? Plus, there is no way Disney would want someone to cut their vacation a day short, they would rather you stay longer.

I know it hasn't been fully rolled out or all the bugs worked out, but to me this whole FP+ thing seems ridiculous. Number one, to me it appears to make things FAR more confusing to the average visitor, not more efficient. Number two, it gets rid of almost all spontaneity for a WDW trip. Personally I do not want to have to try and plan out my ride schedule that far in advance, it already sucks that dining reservations have to be made so early. Number three, as a Florida resident who has an annual pass and makes spur of the moment trips frequently this whole concept has soured me on the idea of keeping my a.p.

I agree about not wanting to plan my days down to what ride I am going on at a certain time. All of us here are big Disney fans and know all about it. I am wondering what is going to happen to the thousands of people that have no clue what they are doing and pretty much book a room and get on a plane and just "wing it". I have known so many people do that and have no clue about anything Disney, like dining or fastpass. I was on a plane and saw a family with a Disney tour book. The first time they opened it was on the plane!!! I started talking to them about WDW and they said it was their first trip, (this was in June), staying off site, no dining(they thought they would just walk up), never heard of fastpass or hopper tickets, pretty much just clueless about all things WDW. Can you imagine those people seeing others use fastpass+ and complaining to Disney how they knew nothing about it. If they are going to replace reg fastpass with all fastpass+, how is that going to affect regular lines?

 

[luv]

How many people plan the number of days for their vacation based on the perceived number of rides they can do? Plus, there is no way Disney would want someone to cut their vacation a day short, they would rather you stay longer.

I know it hasn't been fully rolled out or all the bugs worked out, but to me this whole FP+ thing seems ridiculous. Number one, to me it appears to make things FAR more confusing to the average visitor, not more efficient. Number two, it gets rid of almost all spontaneity for a WDW trip. Personally I do not want to have to try and plan out my ride schedule that far in advance, it already sucks that dining reservations have to be made so early. Number three, as a Florida resident who has an annual pass and makes spur of the moment trips frequently this whole concept has soured me on the idea of keeping my a.p.

I planned trips where I'd add a day so we could fit in X or Y. I'd come back the night before I had to be back at work just to do that. I don't know how many people do that, but it's at least one.

I think forcing people to keep these ridiculous schedules, with times to be here for a meal and times to be there and there for rides...I think it's going to backfire on Disney. I don't think most people will like it. Working for your fun is one thing. Having to stick to a bunch of scheduled times all day, every day...that's not vacation fun at all. Not for most people, anyway.

8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace
9:00 park opens
10:20 Space Mountain
1:30 lunch at The Plaza
2:25 Haunted Mansion
4:15 Pirates of the Caribbean
7:45. Dinner at BOG
9:00 Wishes

Jeepers. Those are a lot of appointments to keep. And then they have to figure out how to squeeze in the non-timed fun. Oy.

 

[Minthorne]

I am not sure if that is confirmed - it has just been rumoured on different blog sites. From my understanding it will be set up like this:

1. You get 3 FP+ reservations for ONE park each day
2. Hypothetically MK: I could choose Space Mountain. But I would not be able to to pick Splash or BTMR. I would have to pick a 2nd tier ride like Stich; and a show or other experience

This isn't how the Aug test is working - I can (and have!) booked 3 E-tickets the same day for my trip next week.

 

[bgraham34]

I planned trips where I'd add a day so we could fit in X or Y. I'd come back the night before I had to be back at work just to do that. I don't know how many people do that, but it's at least one.

I think forcing people to keep these ridiculous schedules, with times to be here for a meal and times to be there and there for rides...I think it's going to backfire on Disney. I don't think most people will like it. Working for your fun is one thing. Having to stick to a bunch of scheduled times all day, every day...that's not vacation fun at all. Not for most people, anyway.

8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace
9:00 park opens
10:20 Space Mountain
1:30 lunch at The Plaza
2:25 Haunted Mansion
4:15 Pirates of the Caribbean
7:45. Dinner at BOG
9:00 Wishes

Jeepers. Those are a lot of appointments to keep. And then they have to figure out how to squeeze in the non-timed fun. Oy.

Actually I think people are going to love it to be honest. Less people have to think about on vacation the happier they will be. We are becoming mindless drones and some people just don't want to have to think for themselves.