FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[Thinker of Things]

I agree there

the problem is this: when a week was costing on average $5000-$7000….could now jump to $10,000+ with nothing new/tangible to show for it?

that’s a tough shock to the System.

now there are those that have convinced themselves that 80% of visitors everyday are first timers to wdw …which is silly…

but I like to assess in the reality that overhalf are experienced each day (they are…sometimes much higher) and a large percentage of that is frequenters…

so how do you splain this one away?

Based upon hypotheticals and no verified information on what the WDW product will be or cost, with a shock to the system like what you’re explaining I’m sure you’ll see some guest behavior shift. In addition to it being another revenue stream in the parks, could the shift in consumer behavior partially be what Disney wants? Quite possible.

Not 100% sure given we don’t have details on the product being offered in WDW, but here’s some food for thought.

A few possibilities could be that the skip the line access may not be purchased every day for the entire trip. Maybe just one day per park for the guest’s trip would a skip the line product be purchased vs every day of the trip. Or even, maybe there will be a product that accounts for park hopping and allows skip the line for multiple parks on the same day adding additional perceived value to the product.

For the days where the hypothetical skip the line product is purchased by a guest, it almost always equates to decreased time spent in line for attractions, increased time for the guest to partake in other activities like dining, shopping, add-on experiences, etc… which all equate to the opportunity for more revenue to be generated (both direct and indirect) from the same guest while on-property.

 

[Kingoglow]

If you're an AP who lives within driving distance, sure.

If you're a family with young kids who just are able to take an annual trip for a week, it's not that relaxing to simply skip rides. 'Sorry kids, Seven Dwarves Mine Train is a 2 hour wait, maybe next year'

If it is indeed your annual Disney trip, then yes, you can skip some rides.

 

[pdude81]

It’s dynamic…there isn’t a number

and since it’s money literally for nothing…they can constantly tinker with it to shake out patterns/direct the flow towards certain prices/situations

I missed that. I saw something weird about packages but I assumed it was priced per day. Do they really monkey around with the price based on how many people have bought ahead of you when there should be a fixed amount of passes for purchase?

You're right, this is very dangerous

 

[Ayla]

Would you rather be forced to stand in a line for 2 hours, or spend some of that time walking/sitting around the park, with the option to spend money on dining and merchandise? I get that the latter isn't particularly exciting, but it sure beats the former IMO.

I don't want the choice made for me.

 

[bcoachable]

So I'm still slightly confused..

There's the regular old line, and then is there a free virtual standby queue you can sign up for? And then on top of that is a paid option?

Seems fine to me honestly. I still haven't been on Flight of Passage because the line was still multiple hours long and all fastpasses were gone for the day(s).

So of this comes to WDW, I can pay let's say $15 and get guaranteed access onto Flight of Passage? Sign me up.

I get that an option for one flat fee would make more sense for families, and maybe one is coming. But for others like me, I wouldn't want to pay $70+ to make sure I can get one on ride (Yes I could use it to get on others I know, but maybe that's not my plan for that particular day).

The bigger question I think is how far in advance these can be booked, because that was the issue with Fastpass. With hotel guests getting first dibs what 90-180 days out from their trip? There was nothing left when it came time for passholders or CMs to be able to reserve

But you used to be able to (and could/should have??) pulled a fast pass (wait for it)…. for FREE for FoP - now you will pay… not only that, the lines will be manipulated such that you will be “encouraged” to open your pocket book….
I’m Yelling here in the forum: “Is anyone listening!!??”

 

[Kingoglow]

I agree with you. This is an option. We continuous with our FP and the rest could pay for an extra. That makes sense

You are out of sorts.

You say 'It is unfair if everyone receives ZERO fastpasses but people can pay for more fastpasses'.
Then you say, 'it is perfectly acceptable if everyone gets THREE fastpsses but people can pay for more fastpasses.'

All you are doing is moving the starting point of the equation. Zero or Three, it doesn't matter. In fact, it is better for the system, as well as people's pocketbooks, if everyone started with Zero fastpasses.

 

[HauntedPirate]

There’s a sizable part of me that wants this play-to-ride scheme to fail spectacularly. Like, a sharp-pencil person shifted a decimal point in the wrong direction-level failure. But I have little faith that the sheep will recognize they are being fleeced.

 

[Kingoglow]

It has nothing to do with fastpass. Disney can close the standby line any time they choose to do so, to move people over to the paid-only option. So no, "just stand in line" won't always be an option.

Understand the potential problem now?

Disney can close the park at any time and send everyone inside, out to the parking lot. OMG POTENTIAL PROBLEM GUIZ!
Stop with your speculative scenarios.

 

[nickys]

I don't understand. When I went to Disney Paris in 2018, Fast Pass was already something guests paid for at the ticket window. There were several tiers, that went all the way up to unlimited FastPasses on all rides for $370 per person (at the time). All this does is drop everything down to a per-ride basis. Not mandatory or necessary. That would make this new Disneyland Paris system LESS disgusting and more appealing to guests. I don't understand your perspective, I guess.

There were also free fastpasses though.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I missed that. I saw something weird about packages but I assumed it was priced per day. Do they really monkey around with the price based on how many people have bought ahead of you when there should be a fixed amount of passes for purchase?

You're right, this is very dangerous

…everyone hates it when I’m right

especially me

 

[nickys]

I missed that. I saw something weird about packages but I assumed it was priced per day. Do they really monkey around with the price based on how many people have bought ahead of you when there should be a fixed amount of passes for purchase?

You're right, this is very dangerous

We don’t know that they do that, today is the first day it’s been used.

In the lead up to this itbwas said that it would vary by time of year, like ticket prices at WDW. I haven’t yet seen any evidence for dynamic pricing being used today.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney can close the park at any time and send everyone inside, out to the parking lot. OMG POTENTIAL PROBLEM GUIZ!
Stop with your speculative scenarios.

They could close the queues and bump everyone to a paid fastpass…based on “demand”

not guaranteed but a possibility. Don’t be scared about thought…it makes you a better person - I swear

 

[DisneyDodo]

I don't want the choice made for me.

It was always made for you. If you wanted to ride something, you had to wait in line. Now, they're letting you do anything else. And if standing for hours really is your preferred distraction while you wait, you technically still do have that choice, just in a slightly different location (i.e. anywhere else in the park)

 

[Purduevian]

The price is a little crazy...

Looking at DLP right to skip the 6 rides (Autopia, Buzz, Hyperspace, Star Tours, Pan, and BTMRR) is ~$80 (I know this can fluctuate). At 3pm on August 3rd, that would have allowed you to skip a total of 195 minutes of Line time. ~$0.41 a minute

At Universal Orlando, you can buy a Universal Express Pass, which lets you skip 13 rides and the Bourne show for $80 today. Those 13 attractions currently total 635minutes of Line time. ~$0.13 per minute

 

[pdude81]

Disney can close the park at any time and send everyone inside, out to the parking lot. OMG POTENTIAL PROBLEM GUIZ!
Stop with your speculative scenarios.

Right? Next they are going to start talking crazy about cutting back on the number of trains or boats dispatched per hour or reducing staffing to save costs while increasing standby waits. Or even something nuttier like reducing park hours!

 

[pdude81]

The price is a little crazy...

Looking at DLP right to skip the 6 rides (Autopia, Buzz, Hyperspace, Star Tours, Pan, and BTMRR) is ~$80 (I know this can fluctuate). At 3pm on August 3rd, that would have allowed you to skip a total of 195 minutes of Line time. ~$0.41 a minute

At Universal Orlando, you can buy a Universal Express Pass, which lets you skip 13 rides and the Bourne show for $80 today. Those 13 attractions currently total 635minutes of Line time. ~$0.13 per minute

Regular 1 park express pass at UO for 8/3 shows at $209

 

[jpinkc]

You don't have to pay extra. You just have to pay extra if you want a shorter line. Mr. Disney's way actually had guests pay for every ride.

Yes it was but it wasnt even in Todays money $100 plus dollars just to get in the gate.......

 

[Ayla]

Disney can close the park at any time and send everyone inside, out to the parking lot. OMG POTENTIAL PROBLEM GUIZ!
Stop with your speculative scenarios.

This *entire thread* is speculation.

 

[Ayla]

It was always made for you. If you wanted to ride something, you had to wait in line. Now, they're letting you do anything else. And if standing for hours really is your preferred distraction while you wait, you technically still do have that choice, just in a slightly different location (i.e. anywhere else in the park)

Some people will never understand how they're being manipulated and fleeced.

 

[flynnibus]

My point is you can only be in one stand-by queue at a time. If regular standby is closed at the other attractions you want to do, you can't stand in line until your virtual queau is available...so whaddya gonna do? Why, spend more money, of course! Either by paying for a fastpass for that attraction or buying food, drink or merch while you wait. Disney must think their customers are idiots, but we can see right through their bs.

The implications are enormous for US parks, but some people don't seem to be realizing it.

This an extreme case that Disney would be able to control. They control when lines get shutdown. It serves them no purpose to shutdown all lines and then run out of their own DAP passes too... so no one can do anything. Won't happen.

Standby passes are an upper bound, not something you expect to be in place for most attractions frequently.