FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[LittleBuford]

The point is that people who have been able to take advantage of the FP+ system seem unwilling to accept the fact that it's impossible for the system to work that well for every guest.

I’ve accepted that fact multiple times in this thread. I don’t know how much more I have to say it.

 

[Waters Back Side]

The point is that people who have been able to take advantage of the FP+ system seem unwilling to accept the fact that it's impossible for the system to work that well for every guest.

It is also impossible to COMPLETELY fix the standby line waits. Even with no FP ever again. But that has not stopped people from insisting that FP didn't work.

A year from now if there was no FP there would still be long stretches at WDW where line waits were not tolerable. And whatever the new system is will not fix it completely either.

 

[matt9112]

…same as other boards.

we weren’t “doing our part”…which was swallowing 10-15% year over year hotel and dining cost increases and 20% AP bumps while tolerating more crowding…

how dare we not donate to the charity?

…Praetorians die with their boots on.

And excellent “glacial pace”
Reference…people ignore this way too much. Such a bait and switch.

ill remind: they have a completed attraction sitting for at least 6 months that they won’t open. The people attending now? Aren’t good enough.

that is indefensible.

There is no applause loud enough. May brutus never find you.

 

[matt9112]

It is also impossible to COMPLETELY fix the standby by line waits. Even with no FP ever again. But that has not stopped people from insisting that FP didn't work.

A year from now if there was no FP there would still be long stretches at WDW where line waits were not tolerable. And whatever the new system is will not fix it completely either.

They could increase attraction capacity to keep up with demand.....

 

[Waters Back Side]

They could increase attraction capacity to keep up with demand.....

NOTHING WDW can do...I repeat..NOTHING they can do short of limiting guest attendance to the point they would hurt profits, will completely fix line waits. People can believe what they want but the best that will happen is it will slightly improve.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

They could increase attraction capacity to keep up with demand.....

Jeez...seems like they could sure use some people-eating attractions...

oh, wait...

 

[flynnibus]

The planning of your day made things less stressful and allowed for a more leisurely vacation WITH the 60 day booking window. I do not see how this is an arguement. It actually creates more spur of the moment decisions also. I could walk into the said park for the day, knowing I have dinner reservations at 7:30pm somewhere in the park or at a near by hotel. Then I'd have a total of 2 hours on the high end we know would be for rides specifically from the walk to the ride, the wait. The ride itself and exiting from the ride (and with FP it would be way less then 2 hours used). My family and I actually did not use FP like the common trend suggested. We never booked 3 rides in a row so that we can get more later. We would book them at 10 am, 1pm and 4pm. And all the time we saved on the ride waits along with the hours in between we would decide on a show, a meet and greet, grabbing a snack etc.

This model works as long as nothing changes and you keep it kinda basic. As with any schedule, the more items you put in it, the tighter it is packed, the more brittle and inflexible it becomes.

And reality is your plan isn't a single day, but really is your whole trip. You have plans for not just today, but every day, and they are all interdependent. Example: you picked FOP to be Tuesday for a reason... you can't afford to give up that plan because doing so means you'd never get another FP for the whole family at a time of your choosing. So now, Tuesday is locked, can't afford to change that.

What if it rains on the day you planned to be at the water park and instead want to goto MK... ooops, can't get any good FPs for MK because they were all committed weeks ago.

What if kid #2 isn't feeling well today and would rather stay back at the hotel for a couple hours? NO GOD DAMNIT WE MADE THIS PLAN MONTHS AGO AND WE DIVERGE WE LOSE OUR FPS!!

Making plans gives structure - that structure can work for you, but it can also work against you. The best planners are those that can adapt. The problem is when Disney commits nearly all it's resources to reservations months in advance, your ability to adapt is greatly crippled.

But for someone to say get rid of the 60 day booking window and the planning aspect when it has ZERO affect on a non planner to keep it and a lot of affect on planners, makes no sense to me.

This is patently false. Fastpasses were limited resource - when it is made available always has an effect on people who want to use it.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

NOTHING WDW can do...I repeat..NOTHING they can do short of limiting guest attendance to the point they would hurt profits, will fix line waits. People can believe what they want but the best that will happen is it will slightly improve.

Have you seen the massive amounts of land at WDW? Had they been adding to capacity all along, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

 

[matt9112]

I understand people want to be spontaneous but there’s really only 6 rides in AK, and before galaxy’s edge there was maybe 5 in HS (and that includes toy story land) and 6 at best in Epcot. If you polled the top 3 rides people would want to FP in those 3 parks I bet 90% of people would answer the same rides.

Than why dont you berate TWDC for not building rides at a pace to even remotely keep up with attendance? Why are you defending Disney's dismal (or more accurately amazingly wasteful) capex by defending fastpass? The 2+ billion for bands that there phasing out? Could have been a few good rides....it's not even like they didn't spend money...they did. Its that the spent it so poorly.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Than why dont you berate TWDC for not building rides at a pace to even remotely keep up with attendance? Why are you defending Disney's dismal (or more accurately amazingly wasteful) capex by defending fastpass? The 2+ billion for bands that there phasing out? Could have been a few good rides....it's not even like they didn't spend money...they did. Its that the spent it so poorly.

How long did they get out of that $2 billion, anyway?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's cute that you think people are not having to plan everything out. Just because FP+ is not back in place it does not mean that people do not have to plan everything every day. Dining, parties, park selections, park hopping, small things like Oga's, Savi's, BBB, etc.

you have to plan all day still due to the dining scenarios…and the park res and the hopper limits

it will never leave

 

[pdude81]

The bands did their job and allowed Disney to increase margins. Eventually the bill comes due though.

 

[Waters Back Side]

you have to plan all day still due to the dining scenarios…and the park res and the hopper limits

it will never leave

Agreed. There is still a necessity to plan for people who like to.

Planners find a way to plan. If WDW shrivelled away to only 2 options..planners would plan when to do those two options.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There is no applause loud enough. May brutus never find you.

ElizabethNYC and Monothingie carry daggers under their togas just in case we ever meet 🗡

They could increase attraction capacity to keep up with demand.....

The only permanent fix…all this revenue generating crap is just a box of bandaids

 

[Jrb1979]

you have to plan all day still due to the dining scenarios…and the park res and the hopper limits

it will never leave

I know it never fully leave. A return to FP being day of would go a long way for me to return. I can deal with picking my parks ahead of time. As far as dining my family is good with whatever is available at the time we want to eat. Since we eat off site most of the time ADRs never been a big deal.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The bands did their job and allowed Disney to increase margins. Eventually the bill comes due though.

So...they were implemented in 2013, and effectively, FP+ was turned off at the start of 2020.

So we'll say 7 years.

Is it even possible that the $2 billion spent on that system has been made back over and above what the yearly revenue would have been anyways?

ETA: And even further...could it possibly have generated more than the $2 billion it cost over and above what the revenue would have been?

EDIT 2: Bear in mind...the revenue from WDW is the only revenue that can be considered...because this system was designed for and implemented at WDW.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Have you seen the massive amounts of land at WDW? Had they been adding to capacity all along, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

Yes but that would be a long term fix. There will always be long stretches where lines a long. No matter what they decide on.

 

[el_super]

Have you seen the massive amounts of land at WDW? Had they been adding to capacity all along, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

Of course we would. If they opened a new attraction, demand for that attraction would exceed capacity and it would have a ... long line.

In recent memory they opened Flight of Passage, the Navi River Boat thing, Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon, and all of those rides are pulling an additional thousand+ people each, per hour, and yet the lines persist.

Adding attractions is meant to generate MORE crowds, not control the ones you already have.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Making plans gives structure - that structure can work for you, but it can also work against you. The best planners are those that can adapt. The problem is when Disney commits nearly all it's resources to reservations months in advance, your ability to adapt is greatly crippled.

This is patently false. Fastpasses were limited resource - when it is made available always has an effect on people who want to use it.

You make a fair point about being able to adapt if a schedule does not go as planned. We have been very lucky that things have usually worked out and if something fell through we did not let it ruin the trip. Some things are beyond anyone's control like weather, a tired or sick child etc. I do not let those things factor in.

 

[flynnibus]

How long did they get out of that $2 billion, anyway?

Went live back in 2013... and of course said program lifted more than just FP+... but still. We're going on 8+ years...