Fastpass for deluxe resort guests only?

[The Mom]

Here is a question.. If we didn't have FP or the nextgen FP coming out. How would the lines be without people jumping in within that return time window??? Would the lines actually go faster?

That's a whole different argument, and there are already many threads debating your question.

 

[spacemt354]

I think he/she is saying that there are amenities available to those staying offsite that not may not be available onsite. For instance, there are many who visit WDW for a long vacation (more than 10 days) who rent homes with private pools - not available anywhere in WDW.

Yes, that was what I was saying. Some families that we have talked to like the flexibility of staying off-site not because of economic reasons, but because that type of vacation just fits the family best. And then there are also other families that stay off-site because it is more economically feasible for them. It's not just one way or the other, at least from my perspective.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You are significantly reducing, not totally ignoring, the role of economics in choosing to stay off site. Rooms can be had for less than Disney ever charges for Value Resorts. (Yes, I am excluding Fort Wilderness campsites.) Even when one does get into low Disney prices, larger rooms can be had than for what Disney offers at the same price. Your argument that off site versus on site is mostly a choice of location and not economics ignores the many hotels that very much cater to those unable/unwilling to pay Disney's prices.

 

[spacemt354]

You are significantly reducing, not totally ignoring, the role of economics in choosing to stay off site. Rooms can be had for less than Disney ever charges for Value Resorts. (Yes, I am excluding Fort Wilderness campsites.) Even when one does get into low Disney prices, larger rooms can be had than for what Disney offers at the same price. Your argument that off site versus on site is mostly a choice of location and not economics ignores the many hotels that very much cater to those unable/unwilling to pay Disney's prices.

I've said over and over that economics does play a role in off-site hotels, but that doesn't mean it's the only reason that people stay off-site. As per your example, If a person stays at an off-site hotel for the same price as a disney resort, and the only reason they choose the off-site room was for the larger space, then that decision wasn't based on economics. It was based on comfort. Several families choose the comfort option, knowing full well that making that choice means they won't recieve extra magic hours. And yes, the decision is also largely based on location, because even non-disney resorts, such as the Swan and Dolphin, Shades of Green, and the DTD Hilton, are granted extra magic hours because they are on disney property. So there are a plethora of options to pick from and disney tries to make their resorts cover all economic brackets as much as possible, which is why I think giving fastpasses to deluxe resort guests, just because they stay at deluxe resorts, is sort of an "in your face" to the people who simply can't afford the deluxe resort.

So with that said, this argument has been taken from deluxe resort fastpasses, to extra magic hours, to ADR's, back to extra magic hours, and I just want to end this debate by saying that, if you hadn't noticed, I voted for the option of "No, it is not fair or acceptable" And I stand by my vote. If disney wants to give away extra fastpasses, it should be in the the form of a premium park pass, and not something that is exclusive to where you can afford to stay. And as I said, I don't even think that sort of option would work, so I say we just stay with the fastpass system that we have today, which is a system that is open to everyone.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Here is what I would like to see:

1. DELUXE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge service that allows you to micromanage the entirety of your time in the parks if that is what you so choose. This should be available via email/telephone before you come to the hotel and it should be available 24/7 when you get to the hotel during your stay. If you've ever stayed at a high-end hotel like a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons you know that their Concierge services are something that value hotels do not have. A concierge can get you almost anything at a fancy hotel..theater tickets, VIP tours, entry to clubs that keep people lined up for hours at the door. It's the biggest perk of staying at a very fancy hotel, having this at your disposal. At WDW, I think having a Concierge with the power to issue you fast passes to every attraction you want to experience ahead of time, and being able to walk into the park with those fast passes that day, would be marvelous. It would definitely be worth the price paid at a Deluxe resort.

2. MODERATE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge that is able to get you two fast passes per day in one park per day ahead of time, but only after you've checked into the hotel.

3. VALUE DISNEY HOTEL = no concierge expected and no fast passes issued ahead of time.

You get what you pay for in life. Everyone has access to the fast passes in the parks the day they go to the park. That won't change. But I think Disney would be very smart to offer people who save up to stay at the Deluxe Resorts a big perk for staying there. I start saving up for the next Disney vacation the day after I get home from the last one. I save up all year to take my family to the Animal Kingdom Lodge once a year. It would be so helpful if I could have access to a Concierge at the hotel who would help me micromanage our vacation and make sure we have as stress-free time there. I think that should be part of the premium of staying at a Deluxe Resort.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I've said over and over that economics does play a role in off-site hotels, but that doesn't mean it's the only reason that people stay off-site. As per your example, If a person stays at an off-site hotel for the same price as a disney resort, and the only reason they choose the off-site room was for the larger space, then that decision wasn't based on economics. It was based on comfort. Several families choose the comfort option, knowing full well that making that choice means they won't recieve extra magic hours. And yes, the decision is also largely based on location, because even non-disney resorts, such as the Swan and Dolphin, Shades of Green, and the DTD Hilton, are granted extra magic hours because they are on disney property. So there are a plethora of options to pick from and disney tries to make their resorts cover all economic brackets as much as possible, which is why I think giving fastpasses to deluxe resort guests, just because they stay at deluxe resorts, is sort of an "in your face" to the people who simply can't afford the deluxe resort.

Depending on the size of your party, a larger room is not just about comfort. It is an economic question. You're still trying to down play economics. How often can one get a room with two beds on site for $60/night? That can be had off property even in the summer. Extra Magic Hours are just as in your face to those unable to afford to stay on property. Just as an upcharge FastPass would be "in your face" to those unable afford the pass, which is just as it is at Universal (just left out by Jimmy in his attempt to make Universal look bad). It might be slightly cheaper and thus a slightly broader group getting the privilege, but it's the very same concept.

 

[spacemt354]

Here is what I would like to see:

1. DELUXE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge service that allows you to micromanage the entirety of your time in the parks if that is what you so choose. This should be available via email/telephone before you come to the hotel and it should be available 24/7 when you get to the hotel during your stay. If you've ever stayed at a high-end hotel like a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons you know that their Concierge services are something that value hotels do not have. A concierge can get you almost anything at a fancy hotel..theater tickets, VIP tours, entry to clubs that keep people lined up for hours at the door. It's the biggest perk of staying at a very fancy hotel, having this at your disposal. At WDW, I think having a Concierge with the power to issue you fast passes to every attraction you want to experience ahead of time, and being able to walk into the park with those fast passes that day, would be marvelous. It would definitely be worth the price paid at a Deluxe resort.

2. MODERATE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge that is able to get you two fast passes per day in one park per day ahead of time, but only after you've checked into the hotel.

3. VALUE DISNEY HOTEL = no concierge expected and no fast passes issued ahead of time.

You get what you pay for in life. Everyone has access to the fast passes in the parks the day they go to the park. That won't change. But I think Disney would be very smart to offer people who save up to stay at the Deluxe Resorts a big perk for staying there. I start saving up for the next Disney vacation the day after I get home from the last one. I save up all year to take my family to the Animal Kingdom Lodge once a year. It would be so helpful if I could have access to a Concierge at the hotel who would help me micromanage our vacation and make sure we have as stress-free time there. I think that should be part of the premium of staying at a Deluxe Resort.

Just beware though that if all deluxe resort guests have fastpasses, and everyone else is still able to get those same fastpasses, then the fastpass lines for attractions are not going to be 5 minutes like they are today. If fact, I'd bet the stand-by line would be even shorter than the fastpass line if your suggestion works out. It sounds nice in theory, but if all deluxe guests have fastpasses, the moderate resort guests have 2 passes per day and everyone else can still get the passes, then I don't see how the fastpass lines would remain short, and the luxury of the fastpass would be taken away.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Just beware though that if all deluxe resort guests have fastpasses, and everyone else is still able to get those same fastpasses, then the fastpass lines for attractions are not going to be 5 minutes like they are today. If fact, I'd bet the stand-by line would be even shorter than the fastpass line if your suggestion works out. It sounds nice in theory, but if all deluxe guests have fastpasses, the moderate resort guests have 2 passes per day and everyone else can still get the passes, then I don't see how the fastpass lines would remain short, and the luxury of the fastpass would be taken away.

Here are some things you are not considering:
1. Not all guests will use the Concierge service or make use of fast passes at all. Just as not all guests staying at a Ritz-Carlton make use of the concierge at a luxury hotel.

2. There's a danger in counting the Deluxe Hotel guests twice in terms of your thinking that it would increase lines. You aren't factoring in the simple fact that guests who would use the Concierge micromanaging service would probably have been guests who would have been getting fast passes in the parks anyway. People who use fast passes and really know how to use them effectively would just be shifted from getting them in the parks to having this done ahead of time for them at the Concierge desk at a Deluxe Hotel. It's not like they are using the Concierge option AND taking part in the regular fast pass lines too...because what would be the point of that?

3. Disney could very easily create a system that would allow for booking of the fast passes by the Deluxe guests ahead of time, until the park opened each day. Meaning, today you could go to the Concierge and arrange all the activities for TOMORROW but you could not book any fast passes at the Concierge for the same day of enjoyment in the parks. This means that when the gates open, the Concierge system would close and Deluxe guests would only be able to plan in advance for the next day but not the current day.

If you don't plan ahead of time by at least one day, you have to just take your chances and run around getting fast passes like everyone else. But with the Concierge service for Deluxe guests, at least you'd be able to plan ahead of time so that your big perk would be that you don't have to run around the park collecting fast passes and you could have your whole day in the park planned up to the time the park actually opened that morning.

 

[Clever Name]

Just beware though that if all deluxe resort guests have fastpasses, and everyone else is still able to get those same fastpasses, then the fastpass lines for attractions are not going to be 5 minutes like they are today. If fact, I'd bet the stand-by line would be even shorter than the fastpass line if your suggestion works out. It sounds nice in theory, but if all deluxe guests have fastpasses, the moderate resort guests have 2 passes per day and everyone else can still get the passes, then I don't see how the fastpass lines would remain short, and the luxury of the fastpass would be taken away.

There would be a direct reduction in the number of free FP's issued based upon the number of paid FP's that are issued. Free FP's will run out much earlier than they do now.

 

[spacemt354]

Here are some things you are not considering:
1. Not all guests will use the Concierge service or make use of fast passes at all. Just as not all guests staying at a Ritz-Carlton make use of the concierge at a luxury hotel.

2. There's a danger in counting the Deluxe Hotel guests twice in terms of your thinking that it would increase lines. You aren't factoring in the simple fact that guests who would use the Concierge micromanaging service would probably have been guests who would have been getting fast passes in the parks anyway. People who use fast passes and really know how to use them effectively would just be shifted from getting them in the parks to having this done ahead of time for them at the Concierge desk at a Deluxe Hotel. It's not like they are using the Concierge option AND taking part in the regular fast pass lines too...because what would be the point of that?

3. Disney could very easily create a system that would allow for booking of the fast passes by the Deluxe guests ahead of time, until the park opened each day. Meaning, today you could go to the Concierge and arrange all the activities for TOMORROW but you could not book any fast passes at the Concierge for the same day of enjoyment in the parks. This means that when the gates open, the Concierge system would close and Deluxe guests would only be able to plan in advance for the next day but not the current day.

If you don't plan ahead of time by at least one day, you have to just take your chances and run around getting fast passes like everyone else. But with the Concierge service for Deluxe guests, at least you'd be able to plan ahead of time so that your big perk would be that you don't have to run around the park collecting fast passes and you could have your whole day in the park planned up to the time the park actually opened that morning.

Ok,

1. That's fair, but a majority (not all) of the resort guests stay at the deluxe resorts because they are located close to the parks. So I think I can assume that most of the deluxe resort guests go into the parks and already use the fastpass system. And now, if they are offering fastpasses to deluxe guests, maybe the people who didn't want to spend their time and energy getting the fastpasses will simply walk up to the desk and pre-order them. You never know.

2. The bolded - But you just said everyone can still use the fastpass system in the park. You didn't say that deluxe resort guests cannot use the fastpass system in the park. What happens if you stay at a deluxe resort and all of a sudden you want to ride Space Mountain, but you didn't reserve a fastpass and the line is 80 minutes. So now a deluxe resort guest, who is paying the same amount of money for their park pass as everyone else, is now not granted permission to get a fastpass?

3. That system could get stressful. In the current system, they have specific time slots for guests to return so that the fastpass line never gets too long. Now deluxe resort guests are going to have to say the day before that I'm going to ride Space Mountain at 5:00 pm and so on. It's difficult enough for us to plan our days around ADR times, and now I have to worry about getting from one attraction to the next at a specific time? That would make schedules a lot more stressful if I have to be at several rides at specific times. But everyone is different.

I personally wouldn't want my whole day planned out for me. Part of the magic of wdw is going with the flow, and sometimes you get surprises, like the line for Splash Mountain being randomly 10 min in the middle of the day. But now, if you ride SM, you are going to lose your reserved fastpass for Peter Pan, and you can't get another PP fastpass in park, because according to your plan, deluxe resort guests can only get fastpasses the day before, and not the day of.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Just beware though that if all deluxe resort guests have fastpasses, and everyone else is still able to get those same fastpasses, then the fastpass lines for attractions are not going to be 5 minutes like they are today. If fact, I'd bet the stand-by line would be even shorter than the fastpass line if your suggestion works out. It sounds nice in theory, but if all deluxe guests have fastpasses, the moderate resort guests have 2 passes per day and everyone else can still get the passes, then I don't see how the fastpass lines would remain short, and the luxury of the fastpass would be taken away.

Why do you think so many people dislike FastPass Plus / xPass? Why suddenly the need to occupy people in lines that once moved rather well?

 

[olinecoach61]

Here is what I would like to see:

1. DELUXE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge service that allows you to micromanage the entirety of your time in the parks if that is what you so choose. This should be available via email/telephone before you come to the hotel and it should be available 24/7 when you get to the hotel during your stay. If you've ever stayed at a high-end hotel like a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons you know that their Concierge services are something that value hotels do not have. A concierge can get you almost anything at a fancy hotel..theater tickets, VIP tours, entry to clubs that keep people lined up for hours at the door. It's the biggest perk of staying at a very fancy hotel, having this at your disposal. At WDW, I think having a Concierge with the power to issue you fast passes to every attraction you want to experience ahead of time, and being able to walk into the park with those fast passes that day, would be marvelous. It would definitely be worth the price paid at a Deluxe resort.

2. MODERATE DISNEY HOTELS = should have a concierge that is able to get you two fast passes per day in one park per day ahead of time, but only after you've checked into the hotel.

3. VALUE DISNEY HOTEL = no concierge expected and no fast passes issued ahead of time.

You get what you pay for in life. Everyone has access to the fast passes in the parks the day they go to the park. That won't change. But I think Disney would be very smart to offer people who save up to stay at the Deluxe Resorts a big perk for staying there. I start saving up for the next Disney vacation the day after I get home from the last one. I save up all year to take my family to the Animal Kingdom Lodge once a year. It would be so helpful if I could have access to a Concierge at the hotel who would help me micromanage our vacation and make sure we have as stress-free time there. I think that should be part of the premium of staying at a Deluxe Resort.

Genius!

 

[Patricia Melton]

Ok,

1. That's fair, but a majority (not all) of the resort guests stay at the deluxe resorts because they are located close to the parks. So I think I can assume that most of the deluxe resort guests go into the parks and already use the fastpass system. And now, if they are offering fastpasses to deluxe guests, maybe the people who didn't want to spend their time and energy getting the fastpasses will simply walk up to the desk and pre-order them. You never know.

2. The bolded - But you just said everyone can still use the fastpass system in the park. You didn't say that deluxe resort guests cannot use the fastpass system in the park. What happens if you stay at a deluxe resort and all of a sudden you want to ride Space Mountain, but you didn't reserve a fastpass and the line is 80 minutes. So now a deluxe resort guest, who is paying the same amount of money for their park pass as everyone else, is now not granted permission to get a fastpass?

3. That system could get stressful. In the current system, they have specific time slots for guests to return so that the fastpass line never gets too long. Now deluxe resort guests are going to have to say the day before that I'm going to ride Space Mountain at 5:00 pm and so on. It's difficult enough for us to plan our days around ADR times, and now I have to worry about getting from one attraction to the next at a specific time? That would make schedules a lot more stressful if I have to be at several rides at specific times. But everyone is different.

I personally wouldn't want my whole day planned out for me. Part of the magic of wdw is going with the flow, and sometimes you get surprises, like the line for Splash Mountain being randomly 10 min in the middle of the day. But now, if you ride SM, you are going to lose your reserved fastpass for Peter Pan, and you can't get another PP fastpass in park, because according to your plan, deluxe resort guests can only get fastpasses the day before, and not the day of.

I think the perks given to the Deluxe Resort guests should be the ability to get fast passes to anything they want to plan their day at the park in advance. When the park opens each day, the Deluxe guests would no longer be able to get these fast passes at their hotel but would instead have to get them like everyone else in the park itself. So the perk is being able to take care of all this stuff in advance and not have to do it the day-of their trip to the park in the lines with everyone else.

The Moderate guests should be able to get one or two fast passes per day in advance, but then have to get them like everyone else the day-of their trip in the park.

I think a lot of people in these Disney forums forget that a large majority of people who go to the parks never use fast pass. I'd love to see a Disney study on this, but for instance it's very rare for my family and I to use fast pass because we go to WDW once a year and we leave enough time to do everything we want to do. I don't think we got a fast pass the last three years we've gone down there. My son and daughter get them for some of the coasters, but my husband and I don't partake in this.

We stay in Animal Kingdom Lodge and I can say that I would love to sit down with a Concierge and plan out a day in the park especially when my niece and nephew are with us so that I can make sure we do everything they want to do.

The big thing that I would love to be able to fast pass in advance would be to book time for my niece to meet all the princesses and get her picture taken with them. For my nephew, I'd like to fast pass Space Mountain twice in a day so that we can ride it the first thing when we get there (when there is no line), once in the middle of the day (first fast pass), and then once right before we leave (second fast pass) as my nephew typically enjoys riding SM three times when we visit MK.

Everything else, to me, is more fun to just walk around and go on things as the mood strikes us. But I always know we will be make the next year and I also use the last day we are in Orlando as a "make-up" day to go to any park we want and to the thing we missed on the day we spent the entire day in that park. Typically, this just involves going on Space Mountain again for my nephew and for my niece it's having breakfast at Cinderella's Table again (because she loves that).

 

[spacemt354]

I think the perks given to the Deluxe Resort guests should be the ability to get fast passes to anything they want to plan their day at the park in advance. When the park opens each day, the Deluxe guests would no longer be able to get these fast passes at their hotel but would instead have to get them like everyone else in the park itself. So the perk is being able to take care of all this stuff in advance and not have to do it the day-of their trip to the park in the lines with everyone else.

The Moderate guests should be able to get one or two fast passes per day in advance, but then have to get them like everyone else the day-of their trip in the park.

Okay, I see where you are coming from, but just hear me out from this perspective. ADR's are open to everyone, whether you are staying at a deluxe resort or a value resort, or anywhere really. A person staying in a value resort can make the same reservation for Victoria and Albert's that a person staying in a deluxe resort can. And not everyone eats at Victoria and Albert's just like not everyone uses fastpasses. So why limit reserving fastpasses to people staying in deluxe resorts, if that is the method of fastpass dispersion you want to take. Why can't everyone reserve a fastpass then? Let's say if you buy a park pass, you can reserve a fastpass up to 180 days in advance, just like you can with the ADR's. Now there is no talk of a class system, if there ever was one, and there is no talk of unfairness. The early bird gets the worm. And the people who do not reserve the fastpasses can go into the parks and get the remaining fastpasses that are not reserved.

For reserving ADR's on the disney website, you are given the times that are available. This could be the same for the fastpasses. You could reserve your fastpass during the window of 9:00am-10:00am. And there would only be a certain number of these fastpasses available online, so the the people who don't reserve them at least have a chance. And since you had brought up the fact that maybe you use the fastpass only a few times during your stay, then maybe you have a limit of 3 fastpasses per day that you can reserve online. This fastpass reservation system would have nothing to do with what resort you stay at. It would only have to do with whether or not you have a pass to the park, which is the same cost for everyone.

After thinking about this for a while, because I do find this to be an interesting topic, that was the solution I came up without crossing over resort price with how long you wait in line for attractions.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Okay, I see where you are coming from, but just hear me out from this perspective. ADR's are open to everyone, whether you are staying at a deluxe resort or a value resort, or anywhere really. A person staying in a value resort can make the same reservation for Victoria and Albert's that a person staying in a deluxe resort can. And not everyone eats at Victoria and Albert's just like not everyone uses fastpasses. So why limit reserving fastpasses to people staying in deluxe resorts, if that is the method of fastpass dispersion you want to take. Why can't everyone reserve a fastpass then? Let's say if you buy a park pass, you can reserve a fastpass up to 180 days in advance, just like you can with the ADR's. Now there is no talk of a class system, if there ever was one, and there is no talk of unfairness. The early bird gets the worm. And the people who do not reserve the fastpasses can go into the parks and get the remaining fastpasses that are not reserved.

For reserving ADR's on the disney website, you are given the times that are available. This could be the same for the fastpasses. You could reserve your fastpass during the window of 9:00am-10:00am. And there would only be a certain number of these fastpasses available online, so the the people who don't reserve them at least have a chance. And since you had brought up the fact that maybe you use the fastpass only a few times during your stay, then maybe you have a limit of 3 fastpasses per day that you can reserve online. This fastpass reservation system would have nothing to do with what resort you stay at. It would only have to do with whether or not you have a pass to the park, which is the same cost for everyone.

After thinking about this for a while, because I do find this to be an interesting topic, that was the solution I came up without crossing over resort price with how long you wait in line for attractions.

Let's continue with your ADR analogy.

I think paying the premium price at a Deluxe Resort should afford you a perk because, just like flying first class instead of coach on an airline, you are paying a premium price for the very best service possible. Know why the airlines have first class sections? It's because the coach tickets don't really pay for the cost of keeping that plane in the air. Without first class and its much higher price per ticket, the airlines would not be able to offer as many flights (and, thus, the people flying in coach would not be able to fly on those flights either).

In this age of Occupy Wall Street, there are a lot of people who don't know much about business who like to get on a soap box and wail about "greedy companies" or "class warfare". But the truth is that companies have always made certain perks available when you pay more to be able to get higher levels of revenue out of people who can afford it.

I work very hard most of the year. I get up at 4am to run my business and I go to bed very late. I make a lot of sacrifices to turn a profit. The great indulgence and fun thing I do is to go to WDW with my family every year. It's our tradition and every month I sock away a certain amount to make sure that every year I can afford to treat my family to 6 nights down at WDW (lately it's been at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but in the past we liked the Contemporary because when my son was little he loved seeing the monorail drive through there).

I would gladly pay the premium to be able to have a Disney concierge book my tickets to all the rides we want to go on in advance for us. It would be like taking a cruise and having a cruise director who took care of all those arrangements. Then I'd just be able to come on down to Orlando and every day open up the folder for that day and enjoy all the things the concierge planned for us to do, including all the necessary fast passes to go on all the rides we want in the order we want to ride them. We'd have lunch booked when and where we want it and enough time allowed to get to wherever we wanted to go...and then back to the park for more fast passes and rides the rest of the day. To me, it would be worth paying rack rate at a Deluxe Resort to have this level of personal service and planning.

As I get older, I find it's harder for me to deal with the stress of making sure everyone has a great time on vacation. I would pay a premium to be able to hire a Disney concierge to do this planning for me. That is so very much worth the extra money to me. And all it would take to "hire" a concierge like this would be to have the Deluxe Resorts provide this to their guests as part of the incentive to stay there.

It would be a magical, magical thing to have a supercharged Concierge like this at a resort. I see it as no different than a resort in Hawaii that has a concierge like this waiting to arrange when you go SCUBA, when you take a mountain bike ride, when you have a reservation for dinner, etc. Only in this case, the Deluxe Resort Concierge would arrange when we would visit the Haunted Mansion, when we'd ride Space Mountain, when we'd take the Jungle Cruise, etc. and when we'd have our meals in the restaurants we like.

Disney is really leaving money on the table, in my opinion, by not offering a service like this for a premium at the Deluxe Resorts.

 

[spacemt354]

I think paying the premium price at a Deluxe Resort should afford you a perk because, just like flying first class instead of coach on an airline, you are paying a premium price for the very best service possible. Know why the airlines have first class sections? It's because the coach tickets don't really pay for the cost of keeping that plane in the air. Without first class and its much higher price per ticket, the airlines would not be able to offer as many flights (and, thus, the people flying in coach would not be able to fly on those flights either).

I work very hard most of the year. I get up at 4am to run my business and I go to bed very late. I make a lot of sacrifices to turn a profit. The great indulgence and fun thing I do is to go to WDW with my family every year. It's our tradition and every month I sock away a certain amount to make sure that every year I can afford to treat my family to 6 nights down at WDW (lately it's been at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but in the past we liked the Contemporary because when my son was little he loved seeing the monorail drive through there).

It would be a magical, magical thing to have a supercharged Concierge like this at a resort. I see it as no different than a resort in Hawaii that has a concierge like this waiting to arrange when you go SCUBA, when you take a mountain bike ride, when you have a reservation for dinner, etc. Only in this case, the Deluxe Resort Concierge would arrange when we would visit the Haunted Mansion, when we'd ride Space Mountain, when we'd take the Jungle Cruise, etc. and when we'd have our meals in the restaurants we like.

Let's continue with your plane analogy.

Let's say the Magic Kingdom is a plane. Everyone who enters the MK has paid the same price for their ticket. There is no first class ticket. There is no coach ticket. So how do you determine who sits in first class and who sits in coach if everyone is paying the same thing? Do you say that just because one person gets off the plane and heads to a 5 star hotel, he/she gets to sit with first class service and not the person who is getting off the plane and staying at a 3 star hotel?

That is where your analogy has a flaw, because the Magic Kingdom is not your typical Southwest Airlines plane with different levels of price. Everyone pays the same admission to get into the Magic Kingdom, regardless of where you are staying. So you cannot determine who should reserve first class seats at the MK based on whether or not they are staying at a deluxe resort. That's not fair.

And you are not the only person who has to save up for your vacation. If you work hard all year long to afford the Contemporary, how does that make you any different, in terms of effort, than the person who worked hard all year long and saved up to stay at Pop Century?

And the difference between concierge at a resort in Hawaii and Disney world, is that everyone can reserve scuba diving. It's just a luxury to be able to do it at the resort, but the resort itself in Hawaii is not the only place to reserve that activity. If your suggestion at disney world turns out to be a reality, a deluxe resort would be the only place you can reserve all the fastpasses you want for attractions. And that reserved fastpass, just like scuba diving, is an "activity" that should be open to be reserved by everyone, and not just the select few that stay at deluxe resorts. In my opinion, you either open up fastpasses to be reserved by anyone with a park pass, or you leave the system in the state that it is in. Anything else to me doesn't seem fair.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Let's continue with your plane analogy.

Let's say the Magic Kingdom is a plane. Everyone who enters the MK has paid the same price for their ticket. There is no first class ticket. There is no coach ticket. So how do you determine who sits in first class and who sits in coach if everyone is paying the same thing? Do you say that just because one person gets off the plane and heads to a 5 star hotel, he/she gets to sit with first class service and not the person who is getting off the plane and staying at a 3 star hotel?

That is where your analogy has a flaw, because the Magic Kingdom is not your typical Southwest Airlines plane with different levels of price. Everyone pays the same admission to get into the Magic Kingdom, regardless of where you are staying. So you cannot determine who should reserve first class seats at the MK based on whether or not they are staying at a deluxe resort. That's not fair.

And you are not the only person who has to save up for your vacation. If you work hard all year long to afford the Contemporary, how does that make you any different, in terms of effort, than the person who worked hard all year long and saved up to stay at Pop Century?

And the difference between concierge at a resort in Hawaii and Disney world, is that everyone can reserve scuba diving. It's just a luxury to be able to do it at the resort, but the resort itself in Hawaii is not the only place to reserve that activity. If your suggestion at disney world turns out to be a reality, a deluxe resort would be the only place you can reserve all the fastpasses you want for attractions. And that reserved fastpass, just like scuba diving, is an "activity" that should be open to be reserved by everyone, and not just the select few that stay at deluxe resorts. In my opinion, you either open up fastpasses to be reserved by anyone with a park pass, or you leave the system in the state that it is in. Anything else to me doesn't seem fair.

The problem with your argument is that everyone can get a fast pass while they are in the park. Nothing I suggest would take that away.

I'm only suggesting that the Deluxe Resorts offer a concierge that would be able to book fast passes in advance up to the day-of. That's worth paying a premium in my opinion. it's a feature that Disney should provide guests of the Deluxe Resorts as an incentive to pay the higher prices for the Deluxe Resort rooms.

If you don't want to pay for this premium service that I propose should be included in an Deluxe Resort stay, then don't stay at a Deluxe Resort and you can continue getting fast passes the day-of like you've always been able to do .

Disney would be very smart to offer this premium concierge service to Deluxe Resort guests and I do not see how this would in any way inconvenience guests of the park who are not staying in Deluxe Resorts.

But there really should be an exclusive perk to staying at the Deluxe Resorts. And it should be something so spectacular that people would be willing to save up a whole year if they have to just to be able to take advantage of that premium perk.

Concierge service with advance fast-passes would be such a perk.

 

[spacemt354]

I'm only suggesting that the Deluxe Resorts offer a concierge that would be able to book fast passes in advance up to the day-of. That's worth paying a premium in my opinion. it's a feature that Disney should provide guests of the Deluxe Resorts as an incentive to pay the higher prices for the Deluxe Resort rooms.

If you don't want to pay for this premium service that I propose should be included in an Deluxe Resort stay, then don't stay at a Deluxe Resort and you can continue getting fast passes the day-of like you've always been able to do.

Deluxe resorts are already more expensive than the other resorts for a variety of reasons that justify the higher prices. Take the beach club for example. We have stayed there our last two trips. You basically have a mini water park in your backyard (Stormalong Bay), you have the luxury of walking to either Epcot or DHS, state of the art fitness centers, and a variety of great restaurents and quick services places (Beaches and Cream) all within walking distance. The deluxe resorts are already being filled. It's not like Disney has to add more incentive to people to get them to stay at deluxe resorts because the resorts aren't being filled to capacity. They already are filled to capacity for the most part, at least from what I have seen.

And to the bolded, no it's not going to be the same as I've always been able to. As someone else had mentioned, Disney is not going to increase the amount of fastpasses given out per day with your reservation system. That would defeat the purpose. So in regards to your plan for the deluxe resorts. What happens (hypothetically) if a majority of the fastpasses are used up for the day through reservations? And now the regular folks, who still paid park admission that enables them to use fastpasses, are not able to get them because all the fastpasses are sold out by 10:00am. That's not how I used to get fastpasses. And what happens if all of them are used up? (for the popular rides like soarin I mean) Now I can't get a fastpass because all of them were reserved in advance by people who afford deluxe resorts? Because only an exclusive section of guest can make those fastpass reservations, now everyone else has to fight for the scraps.

If the fastpass reservation system was open to everyone, as I suggest, then I wouldn't really feel too bad for those people who didn't reserve them. They had 180 days to reserve the fastpasses just like everyone else did who purchased a park pass.

 

[Patricia Melton]

If the fastpass reservation system was open to everyone, as I suggest, then I wouldn't really feel too bad for those people who didn't reserve them. They had 180 days to reserve the fastpasses just like everyone else did who purchased a park pass.

Do you have a problem with Club 33 at Disneyland?

Not everyone gets to make a reservation there. You have to purchase a membership...but there's a waiting list to become a member. It's a super-premium amenity that Disney has offered since Day One at DLR.

I think there always needs to be a super-premium and a premium level of perks and goodies. It adds mystery and excitement to the parks, having these secretive and unique opportunities available even if not everyone can afford them all. I would love to be a Club 33 member but it's not ever going to happen for me. Do I resent that there's a thing at DLR that I can't ever do? No. I love that there's something mysterious I can only wonder about.

Opening the advance fast pass to everyone would probably not work because I do not think Disney has the technological resources at this time to have that open to everyone 180 days out like the reservations system. It would be a nightmare to have anyone be able to book fast passes that far out, and change their minds repeatedly. I don't know how they would be able to control that variable and allow this perk to function as it's supposed to.

I brought up Club 33 because having that open to everyone would not be feasible; it just can't exist as it's intended to be and be open to the general public. It's a super-perk that not everyone can partake in. Just as not everyone can own a Rolls Royce no matter how much they might want to.

I think Disney could make an advance fast pass system work if Deluxe Hotel guests could book these via their Concierge. I think adding the Moderates (even if it's only one fast pass or two fast passes a person) might even be too much. Not sure how their computer systems would be able to handle all the inevitable changes people would want to make.

 

[spacemt354]

Do you have a problem with Club 33 at Disneyland?

No I don't. Just like I didn't have a problem with the one night stay in the castle that I wanted to do as well. And technically, everyone is purchasing a membership to fastpasses, a la their park passes. Now, through your system, you are making fastpasses more exclusive, even though they should be an equal option for eveyone. Now you are making it more difficult for a regular folk to get a fastpass, since now they are going to be less in number for the people who doesn't stay at a deluxe resort.

Club 33 is not the same though. That isn't open to everyone because it's purpose is to be exclusive. And I can't really comment on the details about it because I am not a member either. But by purchasing a park pass, I am essentially a member of the Magic Kingdom. And as a member, I expect to have an equal opportunity to recieve a fastpass as the next person. I shouldn't have to race around at 9:00am to grab my fastpass, just because deluxe resort guests have reserved them all. How is that fair? That's my point.

And how is a fastpass reservation system any different than an ADR system? You have a list of the attractions, much like you do the restaurants. Let's say you have a total of 1,000 fastpasses per day per ride. (I'm just using a round number, I doubt that is the exact number) And for the advanced fastpass reservations (AFR) for each ride disney sets aside 500 fastpasses that can be reserved in advance, and leaves the other 500 for the people in the parks on those respective days. You would pick a time slot, just like you do with the ADR's, and you would be all set. And you would limit the amount of advanced fastpasses reserved to 3 a day per person, so as to not reserve all rides. I don't see how that is difficult, especially since the same style of reservation is already being done. That is an option where nobody is excluded, except the people, just like with dining, who didn't take the time to make the reservations in advance. I don't see what could be more fair than that.