FastPass+’s Possible Impact on Standby Lines

[allgiggles]

From the Disney Park Experience Terms & Conditions:

"Availability of a FastPass+ experience, the number of experiences you may select and arrival windows are limited and vary based on factors such as the theme park you are visiting, the attraction or entertainment experience, the time of year and the day of the week, and prior demand. In addition, the number of days for which you can hold FastPass+ selections at any given time is limited."

Does anyone know (or heard rumors of) how many days that is? I sure hope it's at least 7. Can you imagine if it's 3 or 4 and you're going to be there for 7+ days? You wouldn't even be able to schedule FP+ for some of your days until you "use" some days. I didn't notice this before and haven't seen it discussed in the thousands (ok, slight exaggeration) of threads/posts I've read about FP+

Also, I thought I read something on one of those threads (don't remember which message board) from a known Disney CM who said that while the traditional paper FP's would be gone once the FP+ is 100% up and running, we shouldn't take that to mean that there wouldn't be additional FP+'s available the day of your visit -- it just wouldn't be a "paper" FP and that the 3 or 4 limit on FP+ was/is only the limit for what you can schedule prior to arrival in the park that day. I don't think I dreamt any of that, but haven't seen that discussed anywhere so maybe it was just a rumor...or not for public knowledge at this point.

 

[djlaosc]

From the Disney Park Experience Terms & Conditions:

"Availability of a FastPass+ experience, the number of experiences you may select and arrival windows are limited and vary based on factors such as the theme park you are visiting, the attraction or entertainment experience, the time of year and the day of the week, and prior demand. In addition, the number of days for which you can hold FastPass+ selections at any given time is limited."

Does anyone know (or heard rumors of) how many days that is? I sure hope it's at least 7. Can you imagine if it's 3 or 4 and you're going to be there for 7+ days? You wouldn't even be able to schedule FP+ for some of your days until you "use" some days. I didn't notice this before and haven't seen it discussed in the thousands (ok, slight exaggeration) of threads/posts I've read about FP+

That would actually solve the problem that a lot of people have with FP+ - the scheduling of attractions too far in advance. If you are just scheduling a couple of days in advance, then you would probably be more likely to know what park you are going to be at, and if you are on a longer holiday, then you will know which attractions you haven't yet been on, or would like to repeat. This could actually make it more useful.

 

[muteki]

That would actually solve the problem that a lot of people have with FP+ - the scheduling of attractions too far in advance. If you are just scheduling a couple of days in advance, then you would probably be more likely to know what park you are going to be at, and if you are on a longer holiday, then you will know which attractions you haven't yet been on, or would like to repeat. This could actually make it more useful.

I'm still not sure what that bolded line is all about. They have already come out and said you can reserve 90/60 days in advance, so a limit on how long you can hold them less than that doesn't make sense. It might mean there could be blackout dates where no FPs are available, not sure.

 

[cgulls]

I'm still not sure what that bolded line is all about. They have already come out and said you can reserve 90/60 days in advance, so a limit on how long you can hold them less than that doesn't make sense. It might mean there could be blackout dates where no FPs are available, not sure.

Remember that each FPP will be for a specific date. So I think the bolded line is referring to the total number of days for which you can hold FPPs. As in, you can't have in your (virtual) possession, FPPs that cover rides on 365 days of the year. I don't think it's referring to the holding period which, as you've figured out, doesn't matter because they're for one day only.

 

[allgiggles]

I'm still not sure what that bolded line is all about. They have already come out and said you can reserve 90/60 days in advance, so a limit on how long you can hold them less than that doesn't make sense. It might mean there could be blackout dates where no FPs are available, not sure.

I took it to imply that you can only schedule FP+ on X number of days at one time -- as opposed to it referring to being able to make reservations X number of days ahead of time. In my interpretation you could make your FP+ reservations the already stated 60 days ahead of time but only for 4 (hypothetical "limited" number) days of your vacation.

ETA: I think I was posting the same time cgulls was.

 

[muteki]

I took it to imply that you can only schedule FP+ on X number of days at one time -- as opposed to it referring to being able to make reservations X number of days ahead of time. In my interpretation you could make your FP+ reservations the already stated 60 days ahead of time but only for 4 (hypothetical "limited" number) days of your vacation.

Which makes a bad system even worse. If they can't work it out such that you can have FPs all days of your trip, then they need to head back to the drawing board. This isn't a problem with old FPs and it shouldn't be a problem with the new system.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I don't like Fast Passes and feel intimidated by them. I also think they add WAY too much pressure to going to the parks.

I was just in Disneyland on Tuesday of this week (January 15th). I got there just a little after 11am because I got lost on the highway and took the wrong exit. I planned on being at DCA right when it opened so that I could get one of those Fast Passes for the Radiator Springs Racers. Well, I didn't get to DCA until 11am and when I went to the Fast Pass area it was already giving out Fast Passes for 7pm! The parks closed at 8pm that day.

I had no intention of coming back to DCA at 7pm because I was going to be in Disneyland at that time. I think it's ridiculous that the Fast Pass was already for that far into the day...and I bet another 20 minutes later the Fast Passes would have all been gone.

I like the idea of being able to book a reservation for an attraction well in advance so I don't have the stress and pressure of coming in at 11am and seeing that the Fast Passes are pretty much gone. I just want to be able to ride the big attractions and then not have to worry about screwing around with Fast Passes or taking chances like that. No thank you!

Any system that takes away the need to be there as soon as the park opens and then race around to get Fast Passes is a marked improvement over what happens right now.

 

[Sans Souci]

IMHO, the best thing about the FP+ system is that I might be able to visit one park in the morning while having a "good" FP+ for another park in the late afternoon or evening.

Soarin's capacity is around 1500 guests per hour, 18,000 guests per 12-hour day. With Epcot's average attendance around 30,000, people should have a better than 50-50 shot at a Soarin' FP+. However, that's throughout the day. If Disney offers you a Soarin' FP+, it could end up being for 9:00 AM or 8:30 PM. It really depends on how Disney intends to distribute FP+. If it's like ADRs, expect a mad scramble online 60 days prior to arrival.

Even with longer hours, it will be much worse on busier days such holidays, school breaks, and summer.

I just read on the Terms and Conditions that FP+ is limited to one park per day. (I tried to copy and paste, but the site wouldn't allow it.)

 

[djlaosc]

I just read on the Terms and Conditions that FP+ is limited to one park per day. (I tried to copy and paste, but the site wouldn't allow it.)

Yeah, they were meaning that they could go to Magic Kingdom in the morning, ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion and POTC early in the day with hopefully short queues, no FP, and then go to Hollywood Studios late afternoon/evening and have FP+ for TSMM, TOT and Star Tours waiting for you to use, instead of long queues.

However, it would be a "might", because you might not be lucky enough to get "good" FP+ attractions available for the evening timeslots.

 

[Figgy1]

This sound like a good idea for type A planners like me but what about those making a last minute trip or locals this whole thing might work out great or.............................. mushroom cloud, guess we'll have to wait and see!

 

[Sans Souci]

Yeah, they were meaning that they could go to Magic Kingdom in the morning, ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion and POTC early in the day with hopefully short queues, no FP, and then go to Hollywood Studios late afternoon/evening and have FP+ for TSMM, TOT and Star Tours waiting for you to use, instead of long queues.

However, it would be a "might", because you might not be lucky enough to get "good" FP+ attractions available for the evening timeslots.

Ahh, OK, gotcha. I have to say I don't like the one park per day FP+ policy. I am trying to give this the benefit of the doubt, I really I am. All I see is a drastic change in the way we tour the parks. It feels like a loss of autonomy for me, personally. A vacation should be on the consumer's terms.

 

[Sans Souci]

Yes. See my post here, you might find it interesting:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/fastpass-’s-possible-impact-on-standby-lines.858496/page-5#post-5281401

Particularly point #3 which suggest how to incorporate FP+ into park hopping.

Thanks, P4, You're so prolific on this topic, it's hard to keep up sometimes!

 

[flynnibus]

In addition, the number of days for which you can hold FastPass+ selections at any given time is limited."

This could just be saying you will be limited to making fp+ reservations for the days you have tickets.. Vs being able to make reservations indiscriminately.

Example - they know you have a 5 day ticket... They could restrict you to making reservations for 5 different days

 

[njDizFan]

It's interesting to know exactly how many people are going to plan their vactions so meticulously like some of us OCD fanboys. What is the average guests Disney IQ?

Is the average guest even going to understand what their FP+ choices are or mean? And will they just allow the system to pick them for them?

I would imagine that when purchasing tickets or a vacation through the Disney website it will take into account the age of the people and the amount of children listed on the resevation. Then the system will choose for them attractions appropriate to demographic information (many of which would not normally require FPs -Disney Junior, Barnstormer, etc.). By giving the ill informed or just people with smaller children FPs to the less popular attractions, Disney is able to spread out the lines. Now for some people they are just happy that they are getting a free perk that they didn't even know existed and didn't know was needed(which in fact they don't). And others will just pick or let the system pick but never have any intention of using.

 

[Tip Top Club]

Maybe they could introduce a confirmation system of some kind for AP holders. Like you can book whatever you want, but you have to confirm day-of otherwise they go back into the Fastpass Allotment for the day. Just a thought.

 

[muteki]

This might apply primarily to AP holders.

Yeah that makes more sense. How they balance out what is open to APers vs. those reserving months in advance is sure to be an interesting cluster.

 

[doctornick]

Yes, by doing this they are creating artificial limits on what FPs you can get, instead of letting you choose what you want.

That's how it was in testing, but it's not clear that it will be that way when they roll it out. It's quite possible that the system will allow you to pick specific times or attractions if you want to. Though there will likely be some option of "let WDW pick for me" for less familiar guests.

 

[doctornick]

This could just be saying you will be limited to making fp+ reservations for the days you have tickets.. Vs being able to make reservations indiscriminately.

Example - they know you have a 5 day ticket... They could restrict you to making reservations for 5 different days

I wonder if you have to have tickets in hand to schedule FP+? My parents (who are DVC) typically just book a room and buy the tickets while in the resort. Would they not be able to schedule FP+ because they don't have tickets linked to the room? (I'm not expecting anyone to know the answer, just putting the question out there.)

 

[GoofGoof]

I wonder if you have to have tickets in hand to schedule FP+? My parents (who are DVC) typically just book a room and buy the tickets while in the resort. Would they not be able to schedule FP+ because they don't have tickets linked to the room? (I'm not expecting anyone to know the answer, just putting the question out there.)

Good question. I am curious if maybe they will let you book FP+ for days you have a room booked.

 

[GoofGoof]

This might apply primarily to AP holders.

For guests with MYW tickets, Disney would be wise to allow ticket holders a daily allotment of FP+ experiences for each day on the ticket. Otherwise, they are going to see a lot of guests heading to Universal once they realize they can't get any FP+ for some of their days.

Disney wants you to use FP+. They simply have to limit the number of tickets people receive each day and, I strongly believe, don't want AP holders booking 366 days of FP+ and then picking-and-choosing which days they decide to visit the parks.

They probably need to restrict AP holders to a limited number of days. If not you could just go on and book FP+ for every day of the year at the 60 day mark just in case you might show up that day. I am sure most people wouldn't bother, but you never know. Question is, how many days is the limit?