FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[Waters Back Side]

I agree but i think with the Deluxe extra hours it looks like to me they are setting up to disappoint.


Every move they've made recently has been away from guest satisfaction and towards profitability so i am now not expecting anything else

The worst case scenario I have set myself up for on New Years week is 1 e-ticket ride walk on free of charge for all 7 days of park tickets. Id prefer it to be 1 e-ticket and 2 other rides but I have accepted that will not happen. If I am told once my trip is paid off that I have to pay per ride I will cancel my reservation ad stay off site. That would leave a bad taste. I do not care about Early entry or lack of Extended Evening hours for non Deluxe guests as much.

I agree. Free fastpass should come with the on property room I already booked. If you are ok with paying for it then stay off property. Off property is way , way cheaper so those off property can pay for fastpass and it all evens out.

I agree. But just being realistic. Too many credible widespread sources at this point. Nothing is official until WDW has final say, but it makes sense for them to monetize it. I am done discussing the issue with long lines as people will figure out for themselves nothing can be done in the short time to fix them to everyone's liking. That is why I am all for the 3 free FP resort guests always got. I would not care if they cut us off after and charged for additional. But I do not see it happening any longer. At least not for all 3 resort tiers.

 

[Jrb1979]

The worst case scenario i have set myself up for on New Years week is 1 e ticket ride walk on free of charge for all 7 days of park tickets. Id prefer it to be 1 e ticket and 2 other rides but I have accepted that will not happen. If I am told once my trip is paid off that I have to pay per ride I will cancel my reservation ad stay off site. That would leave a bad taste. I do not care about Early entry or lack of Extended Evening hours for non Deluxe guests as much.



I agree. But just being realistic. Too many credible widespread sources at this point. Nothing is official until WDW has final say, but it makes sense for them to monetize it. I am done discussing the issue with long lines as people will figure out for themselves nothing can be done in the short time to fix them to everyone's liking. That is why I am all for the 3 free FP resort guests always got. I would not care if they cut us off after and charged for additional. But I do not see it happening any longer. At least not for all 3 resort tiers.

If on-site guests get 3 free it defeats the purpose of charging for them. Most people won't buy more as 3 will be good enough.

 

[arich35]

It would be nice if they gave free passes and then you had to pay for more.
Value Resort- 1 FP per day
Moderate- 2 FP per day
Deluxe- 3 FP per day

Then some kind of payment structure

 

[Waters Back Side]

If on-site guests get 3 free it defeats the purpose of charging for them. Most people won't buy more as 3 will be good enough.

This is true, but Disney does NOT need the money they will make from FP+. If they chose to continue offering FP as a free service they would not lose money. WDW does just fine. IF anything it will affect families from purchasing a more expensive meal plan or upcharge events. They know the lines will not improve noticeably if they charge per ride. Would they improve? Yes. But NOT drastically enough where more people will be happy then unhappy and especially during the weeks where it is more necessary to offer the perk based on crowds.

 

[Waters Back Side]

It would be nice if they gave free passes and then you had to pay for more.
Value Resort- 1 FP per day
Moderate- 2 FP per day
Deluxe- 3 FP per day

Then some kind of payment structure

This is more realistic. And I think is quite possible. That cuts out 3 total per day per guest when combining the total distribution amount. It is not fair for Value guests, but at least everyone gets 1 or more free. If it is called Lightning Pass or the Lightning Lane option, I can see 1, 2, and 3 offered to the resort guests based on tiers. While other option cost.

 

[G00fyDad]

If on-site guests get 3 free it defeats the purpose of charging for them. Most people won't buy more as 3 will be good enough.

Not if you charge those staying off-site. FP was never a money generator for Disney anyway so charge for off-site and that will drive on-site stays up and they will still make money from everyone staying elsewhere.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I just read the description of the potential new Fastpass replacement scheme -- theoretical and based on informed conjecture and subject to change, of course -- on the touringplans blog. If what Disney comes out with is anything remotely as convoluted and tacky as this (and I don't doubt that it will be), I feel like it will alienate a large segment of guests.

If something like this comes to fruition, it basically takes everything that was a downside of traditional Fastpass and turns it up to eleven, while adding a few more downsides just for kicks. If you're not wealthy (or just not willing to pay for rides a la carte after you already paid for a park ticket), not technologically savvy (or just not willing to spend your day with "head up your app"), don't want to have to plan your day around backtracking to standby lines from which you were turned away and given a return time, and don't want to entertain the alternative you're left with if the above are true -- that alternative being that you stand in long lines for everything all day, increasingly feeling like a second-class citizen (because you are) while others breeze by in a Fastpass line you couldn't afford to access -- you're pretty much screwed.

I'd been regretting the timing of my family's upcoming trip to WDW (in one week), thinking that maybe we should have waited until some onsite perks returned and some new attractions opened up. If a complicated multi-tier pay-to-play regime is the future of Fastpass, however, I think we'll be very grateful we went one last time before it was introduced, because it would definitely be a colossal blow to the way we've traditionally planned and budgeted for a Disney trip. Besides, once something like that was introduced, it would be a huge disincentive to going to WDW: we'd want to wait a few years to see its impact on prices and wait times, and whether it "sticks," before we'd venture to risk a vacation on it.

My best hope - my dream and my wish - is that Disney holds off long enough to see this kind of system fail in other parks from a guest satisfaction perspective, and is persuaded by some unknown voice of wisdom to change course. If I keep on believing, the dream that I wish will come true, right? Cinderella wouldn't lie to me...

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

If on-site guests get 3 free it defeats the purpose of charging for them. Most people won't buy more as 3 will be good enough.

Three is the most one can get in some cases. At Epcot or Studios where the number of big attractions are limited, it's not uncommon to have nothing of value available after one has used their third Fastpass. Magic Kingdom is a different story.

One Fastpass per resort guest would be a reduction, but I can still see it being sufficient for many people. The 30-minute early entry plays into this as well.

Many people skipped Early Magic Hours because they were only an hour long and drew too many people. There was a decision involved. Does one avoid it? Does one do it and then park hop because that park will be more crowded?

Now that every park has it every morning it's a no brainer to take advantage. If I can do one ride with a minimal wait during that 30-minute early entry and I get one free Fastpass, that might be acceptable. Especially at Epcot or Studios where you often only get to bypass the stand-by line on one or two attractions anyway, because of the tier system.

 

[arich35]

This is more realistic. And I think is quite possible. That cuts out 3 total per day per guest when combining the total distribution amount. It is not fair for Value guests, but at least everyone gets 1 or more free. If it is called Lightning Pass or the Lightning Lane option, I can see 1, 2, and 3 offered to the resort guests based on tiers. While other option cost.

Seems Disney doesn't care about fair too much considering extra magic hours for Deluxe resorts already.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Not if you charge those staying off-site. FP was never a money generator for Disney anyway so charge for off-site and that will drive on-site stays up and they will still make money from everyone staying elsewhere.

I'd love to know how many FP+ were used after the original 3 by everyone. IF there was a way to obtain those numbers i think it would paint a larger picture. Personally I think that is what ruined it for everyone.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Seems Disney doesn't care about fair too much considering extra magic hours for Deluxe resorts already.

It might be just me but I never cared or even took advantage of EMH. We sleep late and on peak weeks MK is usually open pretty late. The 3 FP's were just fine. The Magic Express being retired bothered me. No free FP will be a deal breaker.

 

[arich35]

I'd love to know how many FP+ were used after the original 3 by everyone. IF there was a way to obtain those numbers i think it would paint a larger picture. Personally I think that is what ruined it for everyone.

Our first trip ever in Dec 2019 we used a FP for pretty much everything. We ended up not riding Slinky because we never got a FP and the wait was always 60+ minutes and we didn't want to wait.

 

[sup]

The worst case scenario I have set myself up for on New Years week is 1 e-ticket ride walk on free of charge for all 7 days of park tickets. Id prefer it to be 1 e-ticket and 2 other rides but I have accepted that will not happen. If I am told once my trip is paid off that I have to pay per ride I will cancel my reservation ad stay off site. That would leave a bad taste. I do not care about Early entry or lack of Extended Evening hours for non Deluxe guests as much.



I agree. But just being realistic. Too many credible widespread sources at this point. Nothing is official until WDW has final say, but it makes sense for them to monetize it. I am done discussing the issue with long lines as people will figure out for themselves nothing can be done in the short time to fix them to everyone's liking. That is why I am all for the 3 free FP resort guests always got. I would not care if they cut us off after and charged for additional. But I do not see it happening any longer. At least not for all 3 resort tiers.

Nothing on the plant is to everyone's liking. Chapek needs to just tell us already. Its not rocket science. He knows it should be the same as it was pre pandemic. Just tell us already. No way everyone's going to be happy.

 

[DisneyDodo]

I don’t think Disney wants to tie themselves down to always offering these perks to on-site guests. My guess is that, instead, they will offer them periodically as special promotions when demand is low (e.g. “Get a free subscription to Genie+ with all 3+ night stays through X date for the duration of your stay”). This allows Disney the flexibility to offer whenever they want. Once the inclusion of a perk is institutionalized, it’s very hard to take it away. Disney took advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic to remove perks without taking the massive PR hit. I doubt they want to put themselves back in that position.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Our first trip ever in Dec 2019 we used a FP for pretty much everything. We ended up not riding Slinky because we never got a FP and the wait was always 60+ minutes and we didn't want to wait.

That is your right. It was designed for that. It was not gaming the system in any way. But I do think it caused the issues with some rides that did not need FP in the first place. After I would get FP for the 3 mountain rides in MK, Id wait in line on Jungle Cruise or Pirates etc.

I think the problem is too many rides offered FP. Not that too many FP's were used overall. Maybe make all top tier rides free to walk on with a FP and remove the option for everything else with the exception of a few like maybe Peter Pan.

 

[Waters Back Side]

They should at least provide an update or a few key details at this point. They announced the dining plan is returning with not date. Theh can do something similar with the line management system.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Perhaps for everyone to agree on a final plan.

There no doubt in my mind its already agreed upon, now its just a matter of implementation

It’s more likely technology lead time…

for awhile it’s been this nonsense “for the 50th” stuff…but that has nothing to do with it.

this is gonna be one of the slowest winters in wdw in decades…the signs are there

 

[flynnibus]

They should at least provide an update or a few key details at this point. They announced the dining plan is returning with not date. Theh can do something similar with the line management system.

that would be like throwing a grenade in the room and just closing the door.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

that would be like throwing a grenade in the room and just closing the door.

Posters make directing hundreds of thousands of people each day sound so easy…like it’s lining up a kindergarten class…

for months I’ve seen “they don’t need fastpass” repeated over and over again…

Oh…but they do…when the rest of the party attendees arrive…you really do

 

[MisterPenguin]

There no doubt in my mind its already agreed upon, now its just a matter of implementation

And it's not being implemented or announced because....