FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[ctrlaltdel]

I'm actually kind of shocked there aren't any crumbs thrown at resort guests. (Included Premiere Passes based on resort level). Or even a full day option to purchase.

I think martin said there could be a free component (whether or not that is inclusive of all on-site resorts or not, he did not know).

 

[onelove8187]

But Disney is already charging per person for unlimited and the thought is they will also charge for what you order too. If I pay the equivalent Disney charges for park entry in order to enter the restaurant and the expectation is that it’s all you can eat…except the lobster, steak and caviar, which if it runs out oh well OR pay the extra $ to guarantee you’ll get it then I think that’s a cash grab.

LOL they are doing this as well, see crab legs at Cape May.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The rides have fixed capacity…so the real question is what do the tens of thousands that can’t get into your “wait time controlled” virtual system do?

dance parties?

my point is that nothing “learned” over the last year has any bearing on a new crowd management system. No “go by” with the exception of the park reservations

What do they do now except to spend hours in queues winding up riding only a handful of rides?

Over-crowding is the problem that no in-park system can fix. Only an external system like capping the capacity thru Park Reservations can fix that.

 

[marni1971]

I think martin said there could be a free component (whether or not that is inclusive of all on-site resorts or not, he did not know).

Standby pass is free. I was expecting perhaps something free per guest for the old Fastpass line - key word is expecting. I’ve heard nothing about resort guests getting anything more. But as always I don’t know nearly everything.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What do they do now except to spend hours in queues winding up riding only a handful of rides?

Over-crowding is the problem that no in-park system can fix. Only an external system like capping the capacity thru Park Reservations can fix that.

I don’t disagree…

…but the “luxury” crowd of Rockefellers on the DDP are gonna be sorely disappointed if they think that’s happening.

disney has a strategic cap on park attendance…also know as “fire code”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Standby pass is free. I was expecting perhaps something free per guest for the old Fastpass line - key word is expecting. I’ve heard nothing about resort guests getting anything more. But as always I don’t know nearly everything.

I don’t think they can do the “free to resort guests” thing…I think I’ve stated why. Just my O on this.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I don’t disagree…

…but the “luxury” crowd of Rockefellers on the DDP are gonna be sorely disappointed if they think that’s happening.

disney has a strategic cap on park attendance…also know as “fire code”

Then why has Bob been saying that Park Reservations System isn't going away?

 

[havoc315]

Are you off your gourd here? Why do you think people don’t go that much?

??? If 50% of the guests were there every year, that would translate to almost 10% of Americans.

I have dozens of co-workers. None have been to WDW more than a couple of times. I have hundreds of friends and family — none go every year.

If 1/10 Americans went to WDW every year.. I would think that I would have met some of these people, at some point in my life.
And I do go with other people— 10 years ago, went with my brother and his family — that was their only trip.
7 years ago, went with 2 groups of friends. For 1 family, it was their only trip. The other family has done 2 trips. 4 years ago, went with 3 families, it was the only trip for all 3.

Now this is anecdotal of course. But the reality is that a high proportion of Americans visit WDW 1 or more times in their lives… it’s not the same 25 million people going every single year. (I recall Iger saying a few years ago, that about 10% of guests repeat within 5 years).

 

[ctrlaltdel]

Standby pass is free. I was expecting perhaps something free per guest for the old Fastpass line - key word is expecting. I’ve heard nothing about resort guests getting anything more. But as always I don’t know nearly everything.

It certainly wouldn't shock me if Disney decided to not give any freebies, betting that the extra time in the parks (as little as it may be) for on-site is good enough for bookings (and evening time for deluxe).

That being said if this does have a wholly negative reaction out of the gate, there may be some backtracking to quell some of the uproar while keeping the system in place.

 

[VJ]

Depends on the scope and implementation.

so.... virtual queues for every ride

this is gonna go down swimmingly

 

[G00fyDad]

Interesting that they mention that if you don’t have a smart phone, you swipe your credit card at fast pass machines.

weren’t there images on here recently of the Orlando FP kiosks and people saying they will accept credit cards.

Yes but there's no credit card access slot on those machines.

 

[pdude81]

I don’t think they can do the “free to resort guests” thing…I think I’ve stated why. Just my O on this.

They could do one free per ticket, with resort guests getting the extra 30 minutes to secure the best rides for their free one. Then charge on top for any further passes. That's a way to incentivize on-site stays that doesn't cost any more than what they're giving out to all parties. Given the history of free passes I think they could soften the hatred by still giving one out per ticket.

 

[ctrlaltdel]

??? If 50% of the guests were there every year, that would translate to almost 10% of Americans.

I have dozens of co-workers. None have been to WDW more than a couple of times. I have hundreds of friends and family — none go every year.

If 1/10 Americans went to WDW every year.. I would think that I would have met some of these people, at some point in my life.
And I do go with other people— 10 years ago, went with my brother and his family — that was their only trip.
7 years ago, went with 2 groups of friends. For 1 family, it was their only trip. The other family has done 2 trips. 4 years ago, went with 3 families, it was the only trip for all 3.

Now this is anecdotal of course. But the reality is that a high proportion of Americans visit WDW 1 or more times in their lives… it’s not the same 25 million people going every single year. (I recall Iger saying a few years ago, that about 10% of guests repeat within 5 years).

I think the 55,000,000 clicks include multiple visits per guest, no?

 

[havoc315]

80% of my co-workers go once a year or more often, the others go every other year. Roughly 35% of my friends, and probably 40-50% of my family, yes.

I just returned from a trip and have another planned in November.
My son went to WDW 3 times this year.

Dang… do your co-workers ever take a non-Disney vacation?!?!? 100% of your co-workers go to WDW at least every other year??!?

Only 3 of my co-workers have ever been to WDW, only 1 has been there more than once.

 

[aaronml]

Yes but there's no credit card access slot on those machines.

Yet. I’m sure they can add payment terminals if/when they choose to do so.

 

[pdude81]

I think the 55,000,000 clicks include multiple visits per guest, no?

And multiple days on each trip. If they count each park you go per person per day I might even account for 30 clicks this year.

 

[GoofGoof]

The rides have fixed capacity…so the real question is what do the tens of thousands that can’t get into your “wait time controlled” virtual system do?

dance parties?

my point is that nothing “learned” over the last year has any bearing on a new crowd management system. No “go by” with the exception of the park reservations

I’m not sure where I said there was anything learned. I was simply answering the question posed about why the wait with standby pass wouldn‘t just be 2 hours.

The reality is that ignoring the paid option standby pass isn’t much different than traditional fast pass except that there is no standby option. You have to come back later. So in a pre-FP+ analogy it’s basically a system where 100% of availability is allocated to FP and zero to standby. When you layer in the paid option they have to hold back X% of capacity to offer it to people willing to pay. So for example if 10% is held back and that equals 100 riders in an hour they charge $10 to skip the line but once 20 people buy it goes up to $15 and so on. They should in theory never run out because like airline pricing the last few spots get prices so outrageous nobody is willing to pay.

So to answer your question I have no idea what people do. Maybe that pushes wait times way up on less popular rides or the few attractions left without FP. Maybe people leave and go back to resorts or pools more often. Disney would like you to go into the shops and spend money or buy a snack. Obviously increasing ride capacity by adding rides would make the system work better but that won’t happen at a fast enough pace. I think it may further differentiate the experience between less busy times and more busy times spreading crowds out even more over the calendar.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

??? If 50% of the guests were there every year, that would translate to almost 10% of Americans.

I have dozens of co-workers. None have been to WDW more than a couple of times. I have hundreds of friends and family — none go every year.

If 1/10 Americans went to WDW every year.. I would think that I would have met some of these people, at some point in my life.
And I do go with other people— 10 years ago, went with my brother and his family — that was their only trip.
7 years ago, went with 2 groups of friends. For 1 family, it was their only trip. The other family has done 2 trips. 4 years ago, went with 3 families, it was the only trip for all 3.

Now this is anecdotal of course. But the reality is that a high proportion of Americans visit WDW 1 or more times in their lives… it’s not the same 25 million people going every single year. (I recall Iger saying a few years ago, that about 10% of guests repeat within 5 years).

Frequent is not the same as “every year”…the old internal marker was 3 years.

but far more than you believe are there multiple times or at least every year. And it’s not just Americans. You have 15-20% international…maybe 10%+ Florida each day…so that cuts into your pool.

of course there are a lot of 1 timers…but you think 49% isn’t a big enough number to cover.

disney world isn’t cheap. It’s for the “haves”…more than ever.

the people that saved went once - like the 80’s - are dwindling. They don’t get paid enough…the factory is closed.

 

[ctrlaltdel]

They could do one free per ticket, with resort guests getting the extra 30 minutes to secure the best rides for their free one. Then charge on top for any further passes. That's a way to incentivize on-site stays that doesn't cost any more than what they're giving out to all parties. Given the history of free passes I think they could soften the hatred by still giving one out per ticket.

Even just a single free one per day would be a huge carrot, although it would likely not optimize the system as they would want. Though if it does have dynamic pricing, this would certainly increase the cost of DPA for the headliners in each park that are the big must-rides.

Though even that would cause a big uproar (as most everyone would see they go from 3 free FP+ to 1).

 

[Indy_UK]

Yes but there's no credit card access slot on those machines.

Ah ok

I am sure they will work using contactless payments