FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[Jeff4272]

Lets put it simple... Cory ain't no Disney historian... and he's filling in some plot points with his own take.

That is the craziest crap ive read in a long time

 

[mightynine]

Lets put it simple... Cory ain't no Disney historian... and he's filling in some plot points with his own take.

Fine, move past that and go into the discussion about ticket types, how moving from ticket books to buffets changed the "winning objective" of a visitor and how most of the attempts over the years to combat rising attendance haven't really worked.

I debated starting with Part I, but I'm the type who wants to read all the parts, so....

 

[flynnibus]

Fine, move past that and go into the discussion about ticket types, how moving from ticket books to buffets changed the "winning objective" of a visitor and how most of the attempts over the years to combat rising attendance haven't really worked.

I debated starting with Part I, but I'm the type who wants to read all the parts, so....

I read it all - and honestly there isn't anything there worth reading except when he gets to the point about another author talking about the effectiveness of surge pricing or not... and for that, you'd best skip Cory's hot take and just goto the source.

Cory is leans pretty heavily and can never really separate his activistic stuff from his takes on things. The series basically stands at 'adding attractions doesn't help crowding' -- which there is merit to, but you need to break that down more than drawing comparisons to the I-5 to quantify what aspects of that (creating demand) actually speak to that.. vs the kinds, tiers, and types of attractions you are talking about.

I mean, if prioritizing 'customer welfare' is top (another bad take from his monopolies cites)- Disney would just limit admissions. Problem solved. But the world isn't that binary.

In the end - I think he's just a Disneyland user upset over the forth coming model and is trying to sound technical about it.. when he's not really. From his activism in the piece, to the bad takes on Disneyland's motivations/history, to monopolies, etc... I don't see any value in it yet.

 

[Jedijax719]

I'm trying to make sense of the last several pages. I know I will be told to "go and read everything yourself" but, in all honesty, it's too much. So here are a few questions:

*Are we to assume that WDW is going to adopt the same system as DL Paris? Is that a given at this point?
*Will they adjust the EMH to accommodate the fact that people will have to make "FP" (premier access) reservations when they get into the park? 30 minutes isn't going to cut it and it will pretty much be taken up with fiddling on the phone.
*Does anyone think that Disney will benefit from this? Especially if there is no perk for staying on site?

 

[jpinkc]

I'm trying to make sense of the last several pages. I know I will be told to "go and read everything yourself" but, in all honesty, it's too much. So here are a few questions:

*Are we to assume that WDW is going to adopt the same system as DL Paris? Is that a given at this point?
*Will they adjust the EMH to accommodate the fact that people will have to make "FP" (premier access) reservations when they get into the park? 30 minutes isn't going to cut it and it will pretty much be taken up with fiddling on the phone.
*Does anyone think that Disney will benefit from this? Especially if there is no perk for staying on site?

1 No we have lots of theories and rumors, none good.
2 Again not sure they are back for now, but 30 minutes to an hour, not adding much
3 Of course Disney will benefit, the reduced costs of manpower and maintenance and upkeep to the parks, less hours with more charged is a no brainer to Disney. The new pick your park everyday allows them to tailor CM's hours and lower them on days they feel dont need them. Meanwhile your waiting for 45 min to pay for your Mickey Ears in line at the Emporium....

Thats just for starters.......

 

[RSoxNo1]

Returned from a 7 day trip to WDW and 4 days at Uni (our first time there) last week.

As one of the crazies that actually liked FP+, I can confirm a good portion of our trip was pretty miserable (at WDW anyway). Crowds seemed pretty on par for summer but with everyone in the standby queues and the FP queues used so infrequently, every standby line was stretching far outside. Of course didn't help that it was surface of the sun hot as opposed to just insanely hot like it is in July.

We have always tended to get FP for most everything we ride (yes, believe it or not), so waiting in lines for every single ride was foreign to the wife/kids and not pleasant with those wait times. I know I'm not getting the FP experience I enjoyed before and can live with waiting in lines here or there, if they are manageable. Not much about WDW is manageable right now though unless you are there an hour before rope drop (and I'm the only one in the family who can manage/handle rope drop) or in the park the last hour of operation. Magic Kingdom and DHS are the worst offenders by far. Once we avoided MK the rest of our trip, things were better. Epcot was pretty doable and AK had a few more hours here and there that waits could be tolerated.

Paid FP will be a non starter for us (buying or returning to WDW) if it's even remotely in the same form of DLP, and yes we are out of state AP. Feel odd saying this, but our time at Universal far outshone our time at WDW which I didn't think I'd ever say.

The standby lines extending out into the walking paths was more of a psychological problem than anything. Standby wait times were shorter than the same time in 2019.

 

[UNCgolf]

The standby lines extending out into the walking paths was more of a psychological problem than anything. Standby wait times were shorter than the same time in 2019.

FastPass was in use in 2019, though, which meant a 60 minute standby wait had far fewer people in the standby line than a 60 minute wait would now without FP+.

 

[TrojanUSC]

FastPass was in use in 2019, though, which meant a 60 minute standby wait had far fewer people in the standby line than a 60 minute wait would now without FP+.

Indeed. They also halved the queue capacity when they added FP+ everywhere, so the queues can only fit half of what they were built for.

 

[skypilot2922]

With almost no on site benefits and paid FP coming, why would anyone stay at WDW? Our next trip will look way different. We still love WDW, but the nickel and diming along with no value will have us staying elsewhere

We will stay at Hard Rock at Universal and get Express pass included (no Magical express and paying for parking make this any easy decision)...........We will do 3-4 days at Universal, stay at Hard Rock (equivalent to a WDW deluxe) for the same price as a value in WDW with WAY better benefits (no 60 day advanced booking for FP+ make this a no brainer) and visit WDW parks for 2 days with a park hopper and do all 4 parks in the 2 days and the money we saved in booking a WDW hotel we will use to pay for FP on the long lines (can do all 4 parks in 2 days if im paying to skip the long lines).............Sure, I'll pay to skip 120 minute line at FOP, but Disney lost my hotel reservation, all my meals, all the merch, etc. that I would have spent there had i stayed there for my whole trip


The value is just not there to stay in a WDW for our family any longer...........What you give up in being on property, Hard Rock makes up all that and then some.

When you consider no more Magical Express, no more free Magic Bands, no more 60 advanced booking for FP, paid for FP, no more Extra Magic Hours, only 30 minutes in the morning (which we dont use anyway), no dining plan, no more free parking, etc. etc. etc., the only benefit to a WDW hotel is being on property for a huge cost increase. I know a lot of people view it differently, but that is not worth the MASSIVE prices they charge for their hotels to our family, especially when you can book at Universal and get a nicer hotel and have Express Pass included

And if you stay at the Hard Rock you can ask the desk for an axe and amp and shred the night away!

 

[Jeff4272]

1 No we have lots of theories and rumors, none good.
2 Again not sure they are back for now, but 30 minutes to an hour, not adding much
3 Of course Disney will benefit, the reduced costs of manpower and maintenance and upkeep to the parks, less hours with more charged is a no brainer to Disney. The new pick your park everyday allows them to tailor CM's hours and lower them on days they feel dont need them. Meanwhile your waiting for 45 min to pay for your Mickey Ears in line at the Emporium....

Thats just for starters.......

1) WDW might not adopt DLP exactly, but Paid FP is a foregone conclusion

2) EMH is 30 minutes every morning in every park and who really knows if that will stay that way but I would not be surprised if this is tweaked over time depending on how it works

3) I personally think pent up travel, DVC inventory issues and the 50th will have occupancy rates ok through summer 2022 at a minimum but I honestly think after that, people will look at the premium that they are paying to stay onsite and figure out that it's not worth it............

For our next 7 day vacation: We will be able to stay at one of Universal top hotels (Portofino, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific) which are equivalent or better than WDW Deluxe hotels for value to moderate prices, get their express pass, spend all 7 days in that hotel and 3 days at Universal parks and still go and get your WDW "fix" by shortening our park days down to 2 by getting park hopper and paying for FP the long line rides.........This way you get 5 park days and visit both places for WAY less money and don't have to wait in hardly any lines due to express pass and paying for FP (by using the $ you saved staying in a WDW hotel)

If you have never stayed in UOR, go check the hotels...the 3 premier hotels are great!

 

[Jedijax719]

1 No we have lots of theories and rumors, none good.
2 Again not sure they are back for now, but 30 minutes to an hour, not adding much
3 Of course Disney will benefit, the reduced costs of manpower and maintenance and upkeep to the parks, less hours with more charged is a no brainer to Disney. The new pick your park everyday allows them to tailor CM's hours and lower them on days they feel dont need them. Meanwhile your waiting for 45 min to pay for your Mickey Ears in line at the Emporium....

Thats just for starters.......

Thank you for the summary. I appreciate it.

30 minute EMH is a waste if you have to get into the park to plan your day. That 30 minutes can be eaten up quickly just by making plans. Let's hope AT LEAST that they don't go that route. Let's hope they still have a plan for people to reserve the FP/PA/VQ before getting into the park. If it's a paid situation, at least make it so we can reserve ahead of time.

 

[Jon81uk]

30 minute EMH is a waste if you have to get into the park to plan your day. That 30 minutes can be eaten up quickly just by making plans.

What do you mean making plans?

you spend the 30 minutes early entry riding rides

 

[jpinkc]

What do you mean making plans?

you spend the 30 minutes early entry riding rides

Maybe one E ride, and smaller ones like Teacups and Pooh. I dont think we ever managed 2 E's in that time.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Maybe one E ride, and smaller ones like Teacups and Pooh. I dont think we ever managed 2 E's in that time.

It's possible...but you have to be fast. We rode Splash and BTMRR each twice as walk-ons one day when we rope-dropped.

 

[G00fyDad]

What do you mean making plans?

you spend the 30 minutes early entry riding rides

Not if you are stuck on your phone trying to get FP's or something that you can only do after you tap into the park. Maybe not the whole 30 minutes but close.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Not if you are stuck on your phone trying to get FP's or something that you can only do after you tap into the park. Maybe not the whole 30 minutes but close.

If you did that while on line for a ride then you're not losing any time (assuming the ride isn't a literal walk-on).

 

[Jon81uk]

Not if you are stuck on your phone trying to get FP's or something that you can only do after you tap into the park. Maybe not the whole 30 minutes but close.

how many people did that when it was paper Fastpass though and you had to run across the park to get them? Or did distribution only open once the park actually opened and FPs weren’t available during EMH?

I know I wouldn’t bother trying to book them, get to a ride first and then think about it later.

It’s not crowded right now, but at Paris the paid passes are more of a pay to ride this now instead of needing to plan it out first thing, but much like old paper FP it will probably be different when the park is busy.

 

[G00fyDad]

how many people did that when it was paper Fastpass though and you had to run across the park to get them? Or did distribution only open once the park actually opened and FPs weren’t available during EMH?

That's why we had kids. LOL

I know I wouldn’t bother trying to book them, get to a ride first and then think about it later.

I suppose you could do it while in the queue line but if that line was too short you may not have the time or if the show building was too dense you might not get a signal.

It’s not crowded right now, but at Paris the paid passes are more of a pay to ride this now instead of needing to plan it out first thing, but much like old paper FP it will probably be different when the park is busy.

I really hope the DPA does not come to WDW. If it did it would be too messed up from trying to get it to work with a multi-park system and I just don't want to pay per ride.

 

[Jedijax719]

What do you mean making plans?

you spend the 30 minutes early entry riding rides

If you cannot reserve fast pass (or whatever they are going to call it) until you walk into the park, then you will be spending time during EMH making your FP plans. It's only 30 minutes to start with which is nothing. So to have to use it to scour your app to land rides would be a complete waste. That's pretty much how that 30 minutes would be spent.

And that is IF you are staying on site!

Also, if you go during peak times (which most people have no choice) then as soon as you enter the park, many of the good rides already have at least 30 minute wait from the start. So the choices would be:
1. Go on smaller rides and not have time to play with your phone anyway
2. Wait on ONE major ride and play with your phone while on that ride. Time could have been spent going on a few rides during that time.
3. Just play with your phone.

All of this can be avoided if people are allowed to reserve rides before they walk into the park. At LEAST give on-site guests THAT opportunity.

 

[Jon81uk]

If you cannot reserve fast pass (or whatever they are going to call it) until you walk into the park, then you will be spending time during EMH making your FP plans. It's only 30 minutes to start with which is nothing. So to have to use it to scour your app to land rides would be a complete waste. That's pretty much how that 30 minutes would be spent.

And that is IF you are staying on site!

You might not be able to do it until official ride open? But then no-one knows what new system is coming.

Can anyone remember if you could collect paper FPs during EMH?