FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

[ImperfectPixie]

This narrative is also flawed and just flat out wrong. What I gain in FP on peter pan (save 90 minutes) I might pay in riding buzz (10 minutes) b there are way more rides to absorb the few headline ones with 90+ minute waits.

on top of that, overall attendance has increased from 47,146,000 in 2008 to 58,311,000 in 2018 That’s over a 20% increase.

new attractions bring more guests, not less. So adding capacity won’t help since it will add more attendance.

Then perhaps they should have been adding them all along, and without a huge marketing push. They can't help themselves though...marketing is their heroin.

 

[Payne0525]

Are more people rope-dropping now because there is no Fast-Pass? We were there last week, and it really seemed like it. But we've never been to WDW during the summer before, so it may have been normal for this time of year.

 

[Waters Back Side]

When a business says we are changing this because it is not working they do not mean guests were unhappy with it, quite the contrary most people loved FP+ and want it back as it was. Ask anyone in the park in a 75 minute line today if they want 3 free FP handed to them, they are not saying no.

When Bob Chapek says Fp+ wasn't working, what he meant was it wasn't working from a money making standpoint for a business. There is no system that can shorten the standby lines once capacity hits a certain number, it is civil engineering. Lines, even if they go to a paid FP will still be long when that number is hit.

People thinking they are changing FP to make lines shorter have no clue. This can only work three ways.

1)No FP, lines are long

2) Free FP, lines are long, but we get the relief of 3 free FP

3) Paid FP or DPA etc, the lines are long but now only the people with upwards of 400 dollars more per day to get the relief of any Fp.

For me this is fact. The only way to beat it is go in the low season.

And Disney knows the lines will never be completely fixed even if they charge per ride. Nothing will improve the lines dramatically enough to justify pricing enough people out of a trip to WDW that it makes sense for Disney.

I find it funny how the people who are against free FP+ are calling people out for wrong predictions of dates or how it will be implemented, or whether it will be free to some or pay for all, when they themselves have NO IDEA what will happen either. It's okay for people to say what they think might happen, as to me, that's better then boldly stating fast pass is never coming back and if it does it will be a paid line skip program. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? A prediction is much better the a guess or an assumption.

In my opinion it is NOT realistic to assume FP+ is coming back as a paid option only. It makes no sense and not only effects guest satisfaction, it hurts Disney more the it helps. Does that mean I'm stating factually that it will be free? NO. But i can tell you that anyone who thinks that no component of it will be free is way more unrealistic amd sounds wha more absurd and ridiculous then those who say itll be back in a monetized form with a free aspect as well.

NOBODY on here knows what will happen. And anyone who does might offer little tidbits and clues but there is zero indication anywhere that at WDW. FP is gone forever or will come back as paid only.

 

[pdude81]

If the average purchase of fastpasses per day guest isn't at least 3, then standby lines will go down overall compared to pre-pandemic times. And many of us were able to pull extras after that during the day. We'll have to see how many are even offered as that would affect the overall impact of the program.

 

[Waters Back Side]

If the average purchase of fastpasses per day guest isn't at least 3, then standby lines will go down overall compared to pre-pandemic times. And many of us were able to pull extras after that during the day. We'll have to see how many are even offered as that would affect the overall impact of the program.

It might go down (wait times) with less free or even no free FP but it will not go down enough to justify charging for them entirely. I think that has been proven. Even though there are capacity limits and offerings are still closed in some of the 4 parks, they are closer to 100% normal operation now and the lines are long. And a lot of people are starting to voice their concerns and do not want to return until a line system is live.

 

[pdude81]

It might go down (wait times) with less free or even no free FP but it will not go down enough to justify charging for them entirely. I think that has been proven. Even though there are capacity limits and offerings are still closed in some of the 4 parks, they are closer to 100% normal operation now and the lines are long. And a lot of people are starting to voice their concerns and do not want to return until a line system is live.

Sure, but justified for whom? They were moving on this before covid, so I expect the only justification needed was more revenue per guest.

I'm just pointing out that once they open everything back up, lines may still be shorter with the paid system than they were with regular fastpass. Then again, it doesn't look like they are even going to open everything back up at DHS

 

[Ayla]

Are more people rope-dropping now because there is no Fast-Pass? We were there last week, and it really seemed like it. But we've never been to WDW during the summer before, so it may have been normal for this time of year.

A lot of people rope drop in the summer to beat the oppressive heat and spend the afternoons at the pool.

 

[jpinkc]

LOL you have no choice but to Rope Drop to ride ROTR, I think that they want to make that the norm again.

 

[Ayla]

LOL you have no choice but to Rope Drop to ride ROTR, I think that they want to make that the norm again.

No, you don't. You don't have to be in the park to get a boarding pass.

 

[ThatMouse]

This is depressing to think we get no Fast Passes anymore. We would never pay extra for one. So we're pushed out of Deluxe resorts and pushed out of Extra Magic Hours. Always paying for parking. It's a real bummer for this frequent visitor. We're not sure if we're even going to re-up our season pass if that even comes back! So sad.

 

[jpinkc]

No, you don't. You don't have to be in the park to get a boarding pass.

Now thats the total opposite that I was told.

 

[Ayla]

Now thats the total opposite that I was told.

It changed in October of last year, so whoever told you recently you had to be in the park at opening was wrong.

 

[Andrew M]

Are more people rope-dropping now because there is no Fast-Pass? We were there last week, and it really seemed like it. But we've never been to WDW during the summer before, so it may have been normal for this time of year.

My family never rope drops, we would always rely on strategically booked FPs to ensure we wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn on vacation to ride what we want to.

While monitoring wait times during our last trip in March, it became apparent that was the only way to be able to do everything we wanted to without spending the entire day waiting in line. It was pretty empty at 7:20 when we walked in, but by noon the kids were shot and we had to go back to the hotel. Part of it was the heat too, it was 95 that day, which especially with outdoor masks, made it unbearable.

 

[UNCgolf]

Lol. Re read and think of what you just said. A 2 hour line is moving faster than a 120 minute line?

ok. You are the person that makes me so mad saying a 2 hour line that’s moving is better a 2 hour line that sometimes moves and sometimes stops.

Its still freakin 2 hours.

this conversation is ridiculous

It is, though -- at least for a lot of people. It's a psychological effect. It has nothing to do with FP+ increasing overall wait times, though, that's not what anyone is saying. You're conflating two separate things.

It's the same reason many people would rather take a detour off the Interstate that takes 30 minutes to get in front of a crash instead of sitting/creeping along for 25 minutes in heavy traffic. Even though the detour takes 5 extra minutes, it's less frustrating and feels faster. I would take the detour 100 out of 100 times even if it adds 10 minutes to the trip.

The overall length of the wait and whether the line moves regularly are two separate things. Of course most people would rather wait in a stop and go line for 45 minutes than one that moves regularly for 2 hours, but if the wait is 2 hours regardless, the one that moves regularly is going to feel faster to most people.

 

[pdude81]

Right, everybody keeps talking past each other. If you're talking about long (length) lines, then a faster moving line is better than a slow moving line. If you're talking long (time) lines, then a minute is a minute and a short, slow moving line may well be the same thing as a long, fast-moving line.

But if both are 30 minutes, people are arguing about whether they like would rather walk more or not in that 30 minutes.

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

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.

 

[Jrb1979]

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.

Welcome to the dark side.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

There are really only 2 to 3 rides I would consider paying PA for. I suspect many feel the same way.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

There are really only 2 to 3 rides I would consider paying PA for. I suspect many feel the same way.

Its weird because the only one's I'd pay for are the ones I don't find worth the insane wait.
You'd think it would be all my favorites lol.

 

[jpinkc]

The only Hope in Hell, and its a slim hope, is that the Negative Backlash for paid FP is so massive that it gets to be something Disney has to notice. That means the Infulencers are even talking about it. I doubt they will stab the hand that feeds them but unless there is a LARGE outcry Disney will just ignore it. I dont even know that a LARGE outcry would get there heads outta their @$$$$