FASTPASS as a resort Perk

[niteobsrvr]

Originally posted by turkey leg boy
I think this is a bad idea that wouldn't really work.

You have 18 resorts. It seems that each resort would have this ability. I assume that you would have to all of the resorts, the parks, and the in-park FP linked together.

I see several problems with this. I'll explain in detail if you can't see some of them.

Well, here is your shot. Explain your position. Afterall, that is what this board facilitates.

As far as linking all the Parks and Resorts for FastPass or anything else for that matter, its not impossible. It is my understanding that it is a reality now. Its all a part of Destination Disney.

I am not familiar with the technical details of FastPass but I would imagine that the ticket machines are already networked throughout the parks. Disney almost never misses a chance to collect information about their operations.

 

[cymbaldiva]

Originally posted by jcrb
I think it would be cool to give more special privileges to resort guest. Resort guest pay high prices. It times to make the guest feel like there getting a good deal.

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Note- I already know guest get other service - I've stayed a Disney at least 100 times.
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I agree completely! :sohappy:

Guess I'm just poor though - To me $400 for 4 nites at PoR is a smidge pricey! :lol:

 

[FLcastmember]

le me jump in here a min and stop a common rumor about FP that gets mentioned on this forum.....you only have to wait 2 Hours to get your next one IF your return time is more then 2 Hours away.....on your average day (expect TT) this doesnt happen that often....or when it does only late in the day.....you can get you next fastpass 5 min after the start of your return time....WDW general puts a 40 min return time first thing in the AM.....so if you went to BTMRR at 9am...the return time would say 940 to 1040....that means at 945 am you could get your next one.....45 min is hardley an inconvinence.......on a typical day.....average attendence.....the return time for BTMRR and Splash is only about 45 min to 60 min from the current time....so you get a FP for one....then go to the CBJ and TSI.....now you have killed your 60 min......go get your FP to the other one......now ride the one you first got your tic too.....now when you get off, you still have some time to kill....go shopping in Fronteirland or go eat a Pecos of get a turkeyleg.....now its time for the other FP.....the result......you do everything in Fronteirland in about 90 min....you waited 0 min for BTMRR and 0 min Splash......AND the best part.......you NEVER backtracked!!!!.......every day i see people get a FP for Space then walk all the way over to spalsh for there next one, only to get mad that they cant get one......and they wasted 15 min each way to walk accross.....the result.....they saved no time at all!!!

there is only 8 FP Attractions in the MK....you dont need more then one at a time if your going to be ther most of the day......that game plan i had for Fronteirland works in all lands as well.....just think about.....TL has 2 FP rides and 5 (7 seasonaly) that dont......if you ride NON FP rides will waiting for you return time....you never need to leave the area your in.....DONT BACK TRACK!!!......also when your return time hits.....dont go to on the ride....get you nevt FP first....why??....if you wait till after you ride, your adding the time it takes to ride to your next FP return.....you should always have at least 1 FP at all times and try to have 2 whenever possible.......i promise you if yo do this, you will get so much more done.......WDW figured out that the "average guest" got in only 7 attactions per day pre FP....that # has gone up to 11 now......you know what i do.......20.......25.....once 30+........PLAN AHEAD!!!.....just one more thing NEVER get a FP for one FP ridem then go wait in the Stand-By for another!!!......you end up saving no time at all.......let me explain......the stand-by line moves about 50-70% slower then the old line PRE FP did.....so PRE FP....lets say you had a 30 min wait at BTMRR and 45min at Splash.....total time waiting....75 min......now lets say you get a FP for BTMRR then go wait in Stand-by at Splash......same day as in the above example BUT FP has made that stand-by line longer....not as many people in itm BUT it is going 50-70% slower.....so the wait is 75 min......total wait time for this plus the 0 for your FP at BTMRR is still 75!!!!!!.......you saved no time at all.....but if you used my tip from way at the top of this message, you would do BTMRR, SPLASH, CBJ, TSI, and lunch, inclding the time it takes to ride, in 90 min total.....if you dont and do it the stupid way, adding in the time it talkes to ride, it would be over 90 min......BUT you still have to do CBJ, TSI and LUNCH!!!!!!!!

sorry for the long post but i need to get this out.....i see it everyday i work.....

questions???

 

[rjew]

Thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

A long time ago, when WDW only had a few hotels, they would allow resort guests to make reservations to resturants and to things like the Hoop De Doo up to a year in advance, while non resort guests could only make reservations up to 30 days in advance. (Might have the time frames off a bit) When we went in '92, we stayed at the newly opened Carribean Beach Resort specifically for this perk. It made the difference between staying in a really nice resort offsite versus a standard looking hotel room onsite. Before you jump down my neck, yes, I know that the area is themed and full of Disney magic, but we still have to admit that for the same price as an onsite room, you can get a really nice room offsite that anywhere else but Orlando, we would be excited to be in. Personnaly, I prefer the onsite rooms (even without super perks) once I stayed in one. It took the perk to get me to try it the first time.

My long point is that WDW has done something very simular in the past.

Actually I'd love to see the system set up to allow a full day's reservations on FastPass. Maybe resort guests get first crack (like the old resturant policy) with non resort guests having a more restricted window. In fact, if the windows were months ahead, you could plan our your entire trip ahead of time. For engineer types like me, I'd love it. The more spontanious types, like my wife, would hate it. As long as the system allowed for walk-ons, I think this would be cool.

I've been told that Universal in California has scheduled appointments and your tour is guided from there, so that you entire time is spent touring. Maybe each "land" could have a set tour you could sign up for. You'd see each thing in each land without a big wait. Maybe even an Audio Animontronic tour guide.... hmmm (dream time).

Thanks

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by niteobsrvr
Well, here is your shot. Explain your position. Afterall, that is what this board facilitates.

As far as linking all the Parks and Resorts for FastPass or anything else for that matter, its not impossible. It is my understanding that it is a reality now. Its all a part of Destination Disney.

I am not familiar with the technical details of FastPass but I would imagine that the ticket machines are already networked throughout the parks. Disney almost never misses a chance to collect information about their operations.

I'm not an expert on FP either. I would think that having FP distribution at resorts would be too complicated and unnecessary. I think that allowing resort guests to have more FP at a time would work if gotten at the parks.

After going back and thinking, I think that some of the problems with the way I was thinking can be solved fairly easily.

Scenario 1:

All resort guests and all non-resort guests decide to go to MK on the same day. Either all resort guests will get no waits on the rides like they want and stand-by and in-park FP will be much longer lines. OR Resort FP don't get on rides at their time, in-park FP, and stand-by are managble lines. I think this could be a big problem if all resort guests want on the same ride at the same time.

I guess this could be solved by lowering the number of in-park FP and limiting resort FP. Stand-by wait would still be a problem and I think that any of this type of system would create a much less efficient system.

 

[rjew]

Seems to me that the FP machines have to be networked already to one database -- how else would they prevent you from jumping from machine to machine to gain multiple FPs? A stand alone machine at Space Mountain would not know if you already had a FP at Splash Mountain.

All in all, while FP is somewhat sophisticated software, it's basically a reservation system. The airlines already run this type of system with multiple locations, multiple users, and multiple aircraft/companies all inventoried and allocated in real time.

Disney could maintain an inventory of FP slots for each ride and allocate a certian percent to advance, another amount to same-day, and of course leave some for walk ons. It could even be web-based for the advanced. Sure it would take some programming time, but I'll bet you could reasonabily purchase and modify an off the shelf reservation system. (Reasonable for a company like Disney.)

I think people flow and managment was one of the things Walt used to dream about. The orginal EPCOT had the layers of people vs. traffic vs. service flows. Done right a ride reservation system could improve a guests perception of their experience without tieing them up in "paperwork". A guest that walked into the parks and was "wisked" though the day without long waits and lots of hastle would feel like a VIP. If Disney could give that kind of experience to a guest they could douple their admission and still have to turn folks down. No park or entertainment venue that I know of delivers that kind of experience - feeling that this whole thing was just for you.

Yeah - it's dreaming, but isn't that what Disney is all about?

Thanks

 

[wdwowner]

They should give out a FastPass to each person staying in a WDW resort to use at any time during the day, for each night there. When we went to DL our package included this but one 1 for each in the party. You would have to pick them up each morning at the front desk machine, just swipe your room key.
It worked great, It made us feel important, just like saying 'Thanks'.

What do you think?

RichO

 

[Snoballego]

Hmmmm....

Interesting Idea...

Who wants to play the role of the father or mother that has to explain to his seven year old daughter, why they have to wait in line while others have the ability to flow right through fast pass because Mommy and Daddy couldn't afford to stay on property?

***I think one of the original reasons FP may have been created is so that you can explore the area around the ride (attractions with no wait but on Disney's POV- parouse the gift shops$$$ and eat$$$) during the time you would be standing in the stand by line. Thats why i think you will never see the idea of a centrally located FP machine in the front of the park. I don't think its original attention was to schedule your whole day before it started. I think that kind of takes some of the fun and mystique of exploring the park for the first time visitors...

If staying on property isn't a value enough with all the current perks then just say No. Then they'll reduce their prices to become more attractive. They already have a good amount of perks that keep them at their occupancy rates. Convenient Transportation and such are benefits that inflate the price to what it is already.

I do think it is nice when they do the Character Caravan for the resorts. No one has mentioned the main reason people stay on property is not for the park perks, but the Disney service.


thats just this southern boy's ramblings,

Snoballego

 

[btb6mm]

I have a great idea! Why don't Disney turn all the parks at WDW into parks that only people that stay at the Disney Resorts can use. Then FP would not be needed at all.

Please don't execute me it's only and Idea.:animwink:

 

[cymbaldiva]

So anyway...

Snoballego, I am confused about all of these "perks" of which you speak...

I can't really call the transportation a perk - I know it's only supposed to be for resort guests, but pretty much everyone uses it.

The Disney service? Can't really call it a perk when you're paying top dollar for your room to receive it! :lol: Seriously though, you must stay in the Deluxe resorts...the service in the budgets and moderates isn't really all that.

Just this Southern Diva's .02! :animwink:

 

[jmarc63]

Originally posted by cymbaldiva
So anyway...

Snoballego, I am confused about all of these "perks" of which you speak...

I can't really call the transportation a perk - I know it's only supposed to be for resort guests, but pretty much everyone uses it.

The Disney service? Can't really call it a perk when you're paying top dollar for your room to receive it! :lol: Seriously though, you must stay in the Deluxe resorts...the service in the budgets and moderates isn't really all that.

Just this Southern Diva's .02! :animwink:

Well , Before the expansion of the property in the late 80s all WDW transportation was for resort guests use only, except for the inner Monorail loop from TTC to MK , you needed to show your resort ID to be allowed to board any other WDW transportation, FYI there were fewer busses in the late 70's and early 80's than there are now. I think it started to be less of WDW guests only around the time Epcot opened.

 

[cymbaldiva]

No kidding! :lol:

I just hate hearing people say that transportation is a perk for staying on property

It's not anymore...everyone uses it. I was just offering a rebuttal to someone who thinks that it's a perk for guests of WDW resorts