FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[monothingie]

January 13th, 9AM to 10AM.

Off Peak days are also September 31, June 31, February 29*, 39, 31.

* Every fourth year

 

[ctrlaltdel]

I’d expect once one standby pass attraction is triggered the others could follow suit soon after. Or during peak times the system will be active across all valid attractions from opening time.

During a press determined quiet time the system may not kick in at all.

Perhaps in Orlando you will.

Interesting. That's not as bad as I initially feared. Like many here I definitely cringe at the thought at paying per skip, especially with Disney park ticket prices being what they are.

At the end of the day I think this would be a downgrade, however, I do think that if the whole park used something like this (or at least the headliners) it wouldn't have too much of an effect on overall wait times across the board, with the obvious caveat of how the pay per skip will factor into this.

 

[aaronml]

If someone had asked me to design a plan for tastefully monetizing and fixing FP:
- Reduce overall FP inventory (the FP Return line should almost never need to extend past the touch points)
- Split the remaining FP inventory between pre-arrival and same-day availability. Some like to plan in advance, others like spontaneity, others like both.
- Offer upsells (e.g. “We’re out of free FP for SDMT, would you like to buy a premium one for $8?)
- Possibly charge for FP as a service / ticket addon. The base service would get you access to free FP inventory and the ability to purchase premium FPs also.

 

[marni1971]

Why would anybody bother using the park reservation system if they're traveling outside of PEAK PEAK "the parks will reach phased closing" time?

Because they want you to ?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Don’t worry guys, Disney IT will make all these changes work so well you won’t even have to worry about planning anything

 

[el_super]

You should be allowed to skip a few lines as a benefit and incentive to buy theme park tickets. EVERYONE should. There are ways they could have made money on FP without this new system.Especially at WDW.

If you let everyone skip some lines, then ALL lines will be slightly longer as a result. That's the reality of 20 years of Fastpass. The parks feel more crowded with Fastpass than without it and now it's created its own problems to solve.

I don't think they are doing this to make money, but to limit the number of Fastpass users, and most likely, eventually discontinue the program entirely. Much like the $20 Maxpass fee at Disneyland was more about controlling the demand rather than making a profit. The problem is Fastpass is an extremely popular program for Disney, and straight up eliminating it would probably result in outrage from the casual fans. This is, as all things in the corporate world are, the compromise.

 

[pixarprincess]

Nothing happened yet, unless you're going to Paris.

I know. But we're going in late October. I would be stunned if they didn't release the changes in time for the 50th.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Shew Disney is getting hammered on social media where those are sharing this news/rumor. I can only imagine when this really happens

 

[trainplane3]

Nope. All DVC contracts sell quickly, as long as they're priced appropriately. Most sellers have an offer same-day, and an accepted offer in the first week.

I'll admit I don't keep up with DVC reselling stuff. My dads definition of "a while" and mine are two drastically different things. He does constantly rant about seeing a lot of Riviera and Saratoga always available though.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Because they want you to ?

I understand that Disney wants me to (and why). I'm asking why would I, as a guest, bother?

 

[nickys]

30 minutes is nothing. By the time you walk to a ride the rest of the park is open. If it was an hour or more early thst might be different.

It’s 1 or 2 rides and a jump on the line for the 2nd or 3rd. Everyone who has to wait until the park officially opens will find many rides at an instant 1 hr wait. By eliminating the chance to rope drop for all offsite guests it’s a “reverse perk” - my terminology. By disadvantaging everyone else it becomes much more than 30 minutes.

 

[marni1971]

I understand that Disney wants me to (and why). I'm asking why would I, as a guest, bother?

Fair. You wouldn’t.

They’re asking you to jump through their hoops for their benefit.

 

[CastAStone]

Why would anybody bother using the park reservation system if they're traveling outside of PEAK PEAK "the parks will reach phased closing" time?

If the parks aren't going to sell out and there's no book-ahead FastPass, I'm not committing to a particular park until I wake up that morning. COVID made Park Pass necessary because the parks genuinely were filling to capacity every day. Without that threat, and absent FP+, there is neither carrot nor stick to get people to pre-book their parks.

Yup. Or just sign up for Hollywood studios every day and if you lose the rise of the resistance Lottery, change it to something else

 

[GhostHost1000]

It’s 1 or 2 rides and a jump on the line for the 2nd or 3rd. Everyone who has to wait until the park officially opens will find many rides at an instant 1 hr wait. By eliminating the chance to rope drop for all offsite guests it’s a “reverse perk” - my terminology. By disadvantaging everyone else it becomes much more than 30 minutes.

Kinda like the how many attractions can you really do in 3 hours at that expensive Halloween $hindig

 

[Disstevefan1]

If someone had asked me to design a plan for tastefully monetizing and fixing FP:
- Reduce overall FP inventory (the FP Return line should almost never need to extend past the touch points)
- Split the remaining FP inventory between pre-arrival and same-day availability. Some like to plan in advance, others like spontaneity, others like both.
- Offer upsells (e.g. “We’re out of free FP for SDMT, would you like to buy a premium one for $8?)
- Possibly charge for FP as a service / ticket addon. The base service would get you access to free FP inventory and the ability to purchase premium FPs also.

All good suggestions, I will add make only the attractions that need Fastpasses have Fastpasses. Allow the others to be standby only, like it was in the paper Fastpass days.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Here’s another thing that REALLY bothers me.

Prior to COVID, the parks were getting painfully crowded. At times, it was difficult to walk.

Still, Standby lines were really good at getting people off the pathways and out of the stores, making those a bit less crowded.

Now with the majority of Guests waiting in virtual queues, walkways and stores are going to be INSANELY crowded!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Fair. You wouldn’t.

They’re asking you to jump through their hoops.

Which is what made FP+ work. They gave me a REASON to jump through their hoops.

Disney: Pick your park 60 days in advance!

Me: But I don't wanna.

Disney: You get to pre-book three FPs. Oooooh shiny.

Me: You sonofabitch, I'm in.

There's absolutely zero reason for me to do that now.

 

[mightynine]

Why would anybody bother using the park reservation system if they're traveling outside of PEAK PEAK "the parks will reach phased closing" time?

If the parks aren't going to sell out and there's no book-ahead FastPass, I'm not committing to a particular park until I wake up that morning. COVID made Park Pass necessary because the parks genuinely were filling to capacity every day. Without that threat, and absent FP+, there is neither carrot nor stick to get people to pre-book their parks.

"To make your stay even more magical, please select which park you will be visiting on each day of your visit"

(Next button grayed out until you make a selection)

That's how.

 

[G00fyDad]

So I have been trying to read through all of this since I last looked yesterday. Has Disn ey made the announcement on this for sure or are we still going off rumors and running with that as gospel? Not being snarky. Serious question. There have been so many rumors that people have taken as fact and started arguements about that it is hard to tell anymore. So, has Disney announced this yet?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Here’s another thing that REALLY bothers me.

Prior to COVID, the parks were getting painfully crowded. At times, it was difficult to walk.

Still, Standby lines were really good at getting people off the pathways and out of the stores, making those a bit les crowded.

Now with the majority of Guests waiting in virtual queues, walkways and stores are going to be INSANELY crowded!

Oh but don’t worry. They have plenty of shows and parades for people eating.

Oh wait