FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[Willmark]

I hate to put it this way, but a paid FP system, if implemented, wouldn't be for the "serfs", it would be for the "nobles." It's not for anybody booking Pop Century and eating QS every meal. It's for the people who book club level deluxe resorts, who pay $385 per person for dinner with wine pairing at Victoria and Albert. Those are the people who would buy the $200 express pass every day.
And maybe the people who book regular deluxe rooms and eat lots of signature meals, they might buy a couple days worth of an expensive paid FP.

 

[nickys]

$100/day/person would never happen-at least not for 3 fast passes.

Now, maybe they'd do something like
$30/person/day for 3 fast passes.
$100/person/day for unlimited fast passes.

I could see something like that. They may end up making the fast pass option a tiered option like the dining plan.

Club Level FPs were $50 per person per day, for 3 extra, minimum of 3 days. Plus the additional cost of CL of course for a minimum of 2 nights. That’s about $17 per FP. There’s the starting point.

Unlimited, as in multiple re-ridof the same attractionhas been ruled out by our insiders who have commented.

Bundles of similar attractions are in vogue, like at Shanghai and DLP. DLP also has a tier that allows you an FP to every ride covered but only once.

One of the unknowns so far, which hasn’t been touched on afaik, is how / when these will be sold. At Shanghai, you can buy once in the park. At DLP that is also the case for most people but some tickets allow you to pre-purchase them.

I can see these being something some people would buy at one or two parks during a trip perhaps, much like people would do the early or evening up-charge events.

 

[Jrb1979]

Club Level FPs were $50 per person per day, for 3 extra, minimum of 3 days. Plus the additional cost of CL of course for a minimum of 2 nights. That’s about $17 per FP. There’s the starting point.

Unlimited, as in multiple re-ridof the same attractionhas been ruled out by our insiders who have commented.

Bundles of similar attractions are in vogue, like at Shanghai and DLP. DLP also has a tier that allows you an FP to every ride covered but only once.

One of the unknowns so far, which hasn’t been touched on afaik, is how / when these will be sold. At Shanghai, you can buy once in the park. At DLP that is also the case for most people but some tickets allow you to pre-purchase them.

I can see these being something some people would buy at one or two parks during a trip perhaps, much like people would do the early or evening up-charge events.

I betting it on being sold in the parks. That's due to them having FP kiosks covered up.

 

[G00fyDad]

Club Level FPs were $50 per person per day, for 3 extra, minimum of 3 days. Plus the additional cost of CL of course for a minimum of 2 nights. That’s about $17 per FP. There’s the starting point.

Unlimited, as in multiple re-ridof the same attractionhas been ruled out by our insiders who have commented.

Bundles of similar attractions are in vogue, like at Shanghai and DLP. DLP also has a tier that allows you an FP to every ride covered but only once.

One of the unknowns so far, which hasn’t been touched on afaik, is how / when these will be sold. At Shanghai, you can buy once in the park. At DLP that is also the case for most people but some tickets allow you to pre-purchase them.

I can see these being something some people would buy at one or two parks during a trip perhaps, much like people would do the early or evening up-charge events.

I'd be willing to pay $50 per person per day. That would be it though.

 

[nickys]

I betting it on being sold in the parks. That's due to them having FP kiosks covered up.

They always had FP kiosks in the parks for those without the app.

 

[nickys]

I'd be willing to pay $50 per person per day. That would be it though.

You’re assuming 3 FPs per bundle for $50, right?

 

[Jedijax719]

So... where is this massive fallout from all the other theme parks that use the system?? I haven't seen a populist revolt at Universal which charges $300+ for peak express passes.

The "fallout" would be some whining by Disney fanatics on message boards who are suddenly priced out.
The vast majority of guests would look at the price, shrug and say "too expensive for me", and go about their business.

That second part is a pretty big fallout. If the vast majority go about their business (which to me means they will look for other vacation plans) then it's a pretty big deal.

Everything will depend on
1. What the replacement they announce
2. How many people actually pay for it
3. What affect the new plan has on stand-by lines.

If the answer to #2 is not as many as they hoped and the answer to #3 is no effect or lines are worse then they will have to reshuffle.

 

[lentesta]

@marni1971

Is there any self-awareness from WDW or corporate as to how unbalanced attendance, capacity, Fastpass distribution is? Do they recognize the error building new attractions with the capacities they have? Whatever FP option comes next, is the expectation that the distribution of Fastpass vs Standby stays about where it's been or is there consideration of the standby experience and in the future, the goal of FP distribution as a total of ride seats will be more limited? Or is it just demand >> supply = $$$, nothing changes, except the credit card receipts for the privilege.

Also, did anyone here purchase lot 1025 from the Van Eaton Disney auction with the report of MK floor plans and capacities through 1975? I was kinda dreaming @lentesta bought it and would be willing to share the numbers. But at $5K before buyer premium, all of us regular folks were probably priced out.

Yeah, I know who got lot 1025 from the Van Eaton Disney auction. It should be available to the public in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

This is the gasoline vs milk argument all over again. People may be willing to pay that much for the Boo Bash for one night but they are not paying that for the Boo Bash every single day.

Also, the Boo Bash ticket includes your admission. Paid FP+ (or whatever name it would have) would be in addition to your $100+ admission (and you still have to deal with normal crowd levels when it comes to getting food, gift shops, bathroom lines, etc.). DAH tickets are expensive, but if you're not a Passholder then you have the option of relaxing in your hotel room/at the pool/Disney Springs/etc. and not buying a park ticket for the day of the DAH event, so the added cost could be less if you want/need to make it so. But paying regular admission and having that only be good enough to have to wait on line for every ride while watching others pay to skip past you? It's going to sting people more than missing out on an After Hours event that doesn't even cost them any time in the park.

 

[havoc315]

I don’t think of Disney when I think of fine dining…

Tekuma Tei and Victoria & Albert are right up there with the finest dining you'll get anywhere.

To me I think a lot of this is moot. My guess is more hard ticket events and some sort of packages or flex FP that pops up like in app purchases in games these days.

I'm actually thinking they will go an in-app purchase, dynamic pricing. The "Genie" offers you a wish!

 

[Jrb1979]

I'd be willing to pay $50 per person per day. That would be it though.

And so would just about everyone else. That's the problem. I think many seen to have this thought that since it was always available to everyone it should continue to available to everyone.

They always had FP kiosks in the parks for those without the app.

True. There have been posts with pictures of the kiosks covered over.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

My longest trip was in 2001 with a friend my age. It was just the two of us, we were both adults, and I had control over the whole itinerary. I know it doesn’t line up with the prevailing narrative here, but I simply didn’t have as much fun in 2001 as I did in early 2020.

to be fair...2001 was maybe the worst year in Disney history (guess where I was?)

and it had little to do with the month of September. The place hit a wall/funk after the 2000 thing ended and it was never the same as before from a valid/customer standpoint. It was a really depressing time.

 

[WDWTrojan]

There are families currently paying $2,000 for "VIP tours" which aren't really tours -- They are just line skipping.

VIP Tours, in 2021, cost $4K+. $2K would be a steal nowadays.

 

[Jedijax719]

And so would just about everyone else. That's the problem. I think many seen to have this thought that since it was always available to everyone it should continue to available to everyone.


True. There have been posts with pictures of the kiosks covered over.

Why shouldn't people expect what was once available to continue to be available? That's human nature.

And I think that $50 per day/per ticket for a batch of 3 is doable.

 

[nickys]

VIP Tours, in 2021, cost $4K+. $2K would be a steal nowadays.

Yep.

$425 - $750 per hour, minimum 7 hours. For up to 10 people.

So $2975 - $5250 per day, plus tip.

 

[G00fyDad]

You’re assuming 3 FPs per bundle for $50, right?

Yes. Maybe. As long as it was $50 for 3 then yes, I would do that. But nothing less.

 

[LittleBuford]

to be fair...2001 was maybe the worst year in Disney history (guess where I was?)

and it had little to do with the month of September. The place hit a wall/funk after the 2000 thing ended and it was never the same as before from a valid/customer standpoint. It was a really depressing time.

Consider the alternative that some of us actually really enjoy Disney in its present-day (or at least pre-pandemic) form. Again, I know that isn't the way most people seem to think here, but I simply don't (and can't) share the declinist viewpoint that you and others have. That isn't a problem from my perspective—I'm not looking to change your mind or tell you you're wrong.

 

[G00fyDad]

And so would just about everyone else. That's the problem. I think many seen to have this thought that since it was always available to everyone it should continue to available to everyone.

But this way Disney gets to make some money from it and not end up completely flipping everyone off.

 

[Naplesgolfer]

IMHO if Disney goes with the plan our insiders have been hinting at, there is a simpler way to look at this. Disney is going make us pay $35-50 for the 1 ,2 or 3 of passes you were getting for free before depending on where you stay or some other some other metric they what to push. Then they will offer thru the Genie for you to buy 1 or more of the passes left in the pool. These are the passes that people used to refresh to get before.

I think the people who used to get 10 a day with see the most difference. 70 % of people used to do their 3 and then go standby

 

[G00fyDad]

IMHO if Disney goes with the plan our insiders have been hinting at, there is a simpler way to look at this. Disney is going make us pay $35-50 for the 1 ,2 or 3 of passes you were getting for free before depending on where you stay or some other some other metric they what to push. Then they will offer thru the Genie for you to buy 1 or more of the passes left in the pool. These are the passes that people used to refresh to get before.

I think the people who used to get 10 a day with see the most difference. 70 % of people used to do their 3 and then go standby

That is what I did. We hit the park early, walked on most rides (maybe a 10 minute wait as we got closer to 11am, used my 3 FPs per day between noon and 4pm or 5pm and then rode stand-by the rest of the day.