FastPass+ open to all guests at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot next week

[rct247]

Most hated phrases I hear:

"It's like you need a Fastpass for the Fastpass line."

"This isn't Fastpass; it's Slowpass."

"My Fastpass isn't until an hour from now. I guess I better get in line now. *gets told they're early and have to rejoin the line* THAT'S BS!!"

"It's not fair that you let more Fastpass people in than standby."

 

[asialeigh]

I mean, they only had, what, a year and $1-2B to come up with a better plan.

Defunct, misleading FP machines are bad show.

Except FP+ set up locations like Space are temporary and "surprise" fp+ locations. They are not advertised. These are only temporary mobile locations that will be in effect until the many new fp+ kiosks arrive.

 

[rioriz]

Ok take this as you may ....
My friend works in fastpass +. We have been friends for 7 years.
Last night we were talking about fastpass +.
This is what she has been told:
They are trying to set up more kiosks at mk. One place might be diamond horseshoe when it is not being used as a restrauant. They would use their iPads and not kiosks. They are also talking about self kiosks with no cast members at buzz.
Annual pass holders are suppose to get access soon but again no time frame same as cast members.
They maybe taking the tiers at Epcot and Hollywood away to allow park hopping. They do not know if they can keep the teiting and allow hopping at the same time. Hopping is suppose to go in effect soon after they are all live. No date yet.
You can buy magic bands for 12 dollars soon but you will only have charging privileges.
Phil Holmes was out helping guests a few days ago at mk

I just want to bump this again..... I think it would only be fair that they are looking at ways to improve the system AND Phil himself has been out in the parks looking at guest reaction

 

[Adrian0214]

Wow...kinda makes me sad to read these comments. I hate to think that the most magical place on Earth has become a drama fest, due to stupid FastPast+. Iam going in October and Iam not staying on property (ahhhh...shame on me, right?!). Hope some of this issues are resolved before then.

 

[Jose]

 

[orky8]

How noncomittal. "Stay at a Walt Disney Resort hotel and enjoy Fastpass + during our test." Seriously? Where can I sign up...

 

[RSoxNo1]

Exactly. In the last 4 days we have seen this at almost all major attractions several times a day (top of the hour and other times) and in different parks. It is not very busy so I can imagine what it will look like during peak season. I took the time to stand there a few minutes and watch and it is a cross section of guests not understanding how to use the system, people trying to cheat, and occasionally (rare) system error. Also, like @rct247 said, when a scanner goes blue, that will instantly back it up. I think this just proves that FP+ does absolutely nothing to make lines move more quickly, even with spreading FP distribution to attractions that didnt need it, FP+ lines just get jammed at the entrance which is another thing to add to the list of issues that never happened before.

Now...I'm sure some people are reading this and their fingers are itching to type out how it worked flawlessly for them and the had no issues. Same for my wife and I. We have had no issue. But keep in mind that we are the 1% who are familiar with the system even before we arrive. The other 99% of guests are going to continue to gum up the works and Disney heavily favors having that 99% demographic. The 1% are the reason they changed the system because we knew how to "abuse" legacy FP and get more than 3 per day. The 1% that forced the change are the only ones who truly understand how to use the new system, so whats the gain for regular guests? So no need to to waste your time typing out how the system is great and worked perfectly for you. I believe you. You still cant change the other 99%. Just for fun, here are some other examples of the FP+ line backing up:

Dinosaur
View attachment 44358

This is BTMRR and you can barely see my wife in the back with her hand in the air. She wasnt even at the back of the line and you can barely see her. Whats funny is that the line was this long and then when we got the FP+ entrance it had two turnstyle turns before the FP+ entrance. We waited a total of 10 minutes in FP+ line OUTSIDE the entrance and then another 12 minutes inside. A lot of guests were complaining. The poor CM had nothing to say that could help.
View attachment 44359

Can they move the scanner polls deeper into the Fastpass+ queue, or send guests through to the second set of polls? Otherwise, they need to speed up this entry process. I know we've always had the people that huddled around the Fastpass entrance with legacy Fastpass, but having to build "temporary" queues prior to the Fastpass+ polls seems stupid. Move the polls so they're in the actual queue. At BTMRR there is plenty of space in the regular queue.

 

[MrNonacho]

Move the polls so they're in the actual queue. At BTMRR there is plenty of space in the regular queue.

Then what do you do with people in the queue who don't have valid passes? Have them force their way back through the mass of people behind them?

The touch points need to be at the entrance. What they need to do is make the points more sensitive or redesign the MagicBands so that they scan more like the RFID cards. The cards can be read instantly no matter what crazy way guests manage to hold them. The MBs are much more finicky.

 

[wdisney9000]

Can they move the scanner polls deeper into the Fastpass+ queue, or send guests through to the second set of polls? Otherwise, they need to speed up this entry process. I know we've always had the people that huddled around the Fastpass entrance with legacy Fastpass, but having to build "temporary" queues prior to the Fastpass+ polls seems stupid. Move the polls so they're in the actual queue. At BTMRR there is plenty of space in the regular queue.

Great idea. I'm sure removing the poles would take 6 months though and then another 6 months to reinstall them. Gotta keep.the fiscal year quota on point! Seriously though, that is a great idea.

 

[wdisney9000]

Except FP+ set up locations like Space are temporary and "surprise" fp+ locations. They are not advertised. These are only temporary mobile locations that will be in effect until the many new fp+ kiosks arrive.

Meh, ...too little, too late. I seriously doubt "surprise" fp+ machines are gonna make a difference. Peak season will be the true test. They better have a lot of "surprise anything" by then.

 

[John]

Spoke to a Cm about the CMs access to FP+. What I was told was that these ticket mediums "reset" every night. That is why in its current form it does not work. But that they are working on it.

 

[JimboJones123]

I bailed on a FP+ line at Epcot for 20 minutes.

Beats being the folks drawn away from the Times Board because CMs told them the lines in the Innocent ions breezeways were significantly shorter. They then found out those lines were longer in the breezeway and only had 2 stations instead of the 4 on either side of the tip board.

How can the lines over there continue to be shorter if you are sending any guest away that extends beyond the roped line?

The CMs cannot be giving this kind of misinformation away.

Side note, all of the computers at the old Innoventions Kim Possible station that only allow Magic Band folks to access the MDE web site were totally empty. You know, the ones that day guests and APs can cannot use....

The same stations that are totally empty and Sid's while lines outside are 15-25 deep.

 

[JimboJones123]

How much CM labor is wasted every day now that 30-40 iPads are scattered throughout the parks? Well, each park. So, probably over 100 CMs plus line management CMs.

Guest Relations lines have been a nightmare all week as well.

Sad.

 

[JimboJones123]

How noncomittal. "Stay at a Walt Disney Resort hotel and enjoy Fastpass + during our test." Seriously? Where can I sign up...

That "test" is half a year old. By the time April rolls around, the test will have taken place for about 4% of AK's existence.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Then what do you do with people in the queue who don't have valid passes? Have them force their way back through the mass of people behind them?

The touch points need to be at the entrance. What they need to do is make the points more sensitive or redesign the MagicBands so that they scan more like the RFID cards. The cards can be read instantly no matter what crazy way guests manage to hold them. The MBs are much more finicky.

Yes, it needs to read them quicker - but right now you have a hundred plus feet of unused Fastpass+ queue at attractions like BTMRR and then 50 feet of temporary switchbacks extending into the pathway. How is that better than having the occasional uninformed guest doubling back through the Fastpass lane?

 

[MrNonacho]

Yes, it needs to read them quicker - but right now you have a hundred plus feet of unused Fastpass+ queue at attractions like BTMRR and then 50 feet of temporary switchbacks extending into the pathway. How is that better than having the occasional uninformed guest doubling back through the Fastpass lane?

At busier attractions like BTMR, guests arrive early/late/at the wrong attraction more than just occasionally, and having even just one family trying to go back upstream of a crowded queue is a bad idea.

 

[Redhawk]

When these FP+ lines are so backed up, does the line move much faster once you're actually through the first scanners? In early Jan at BTM I encountered a long FP return line but once I got past the scanner I went all the way to the beginning of the "cattle shoot" downward loading ramps, stopping only a second at the second scanner, so from scanner #1 to getting on the ride I waited maybe 5 minutes.

A big problem I saw was that the two FP scanners at the FP entrances are too close together. They are slightly staggered but that only helps a little.

I saw families hold up the line while the kids had to be shown exactly how to hold the Magic Band to the scanner to make it register. Or there was a problem the CM had to explain to the family: wrong ride, wrong time, etc.

Then came the awkward situation of a second family, couple, or person trying to use the other, open scanner. Say dad in Family #1 is a big guy -- he tended to block the entire path, or the family group did. The CM, often only one, is too busy speaking with the family to move the "blockage" and remind others to use the second scanner. Or worse, people do start moving smoothly through the second scanner and someone in that first family gets annoyed because others are "going ahead" of them.

You get a frustrated family, frustrated next-in-line folks, and a frazzled CM. The lines get long, and everyone starts to have a bad time.

 

[RSoxNo1]

At busier attractions like BTMR, guests arrive early/late/at the wrong attraction more than just occasionally, and having even just one family trying to go back upstream of a crowded queue is a bad idea.

As true as that may be, that's a horrible defense for not fixing a problem. That points to a couple of issues:

• There is a steep learning curve with the new Fastpass+ system
  
• The readers for the new Fastpass+ system are too slow to handle the distribution capacity for Fastpass

Add that to the already numerous list of other issues and this system can't be described as anything but fundamentally flawed. A fundamentally flawed system needs to change, otherwise it will fail. The premise behind Fastpass+ was a belief that guests should be able to make ride reservations in advance. Whether this was based on guest demand or misguided bean counters is irrelevant. To accomplish this required making Fastpass+ digital, clearly that is still having issues but can still be fixed. The speed of the readers can be improved, the app can be improved, and the ease of use can be improved. The other component that points to "misguided bean counters" is the desire for all guests to have 3 Fastpass+ reservations per day that can be booked in advance. The math never worked for this, yet it's the largest public selling point of this new program. With the national marketing campaign, Disney is now in the business of intentionally deceiving their guests. You could argue they were already doing this with the Dining Plan, but that easily be sold as a "convenience" more than a money saver. With Fastpass+ not only are there attractions that don't need it, there are shows where use of Fastpass+ will actually cost a guest time rather than save a guest time.

The Fastpass system was a competitive advantage that Disney had over Universal for all guests. Now, I would argue that Express Pass is a superior product even as a pay service.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The Fastpass system was a competitive advantage that Disney had over Universal for all guests. Now, I would argue that Express Pass is a superior product even as a pay service.

Express Pass, especially for those who stay onsite, always has been a vastly superior product.

Show up at any attraction anytime you want. No preplanning, no return times, no dashing about the park, no strategizing selections. At Universal, pay for the product and then just enjoy yourself.

Clearly, that's a superior product to either FP or FP+.

FP's only advantage was that it was included in the price of admission. Now, Disney is taking steps to monetize it.

Not only is Disney's product inferior but now (like Universal) they intend to either indirectly (through onsite stays) or directly charge for it.

Slam dunk, Universal now has the better product.

 

[thehowiet]

AND Phil himself has been out in the parks looking at guest reaction

Imagine that, the park VP actually out in the park. The Almighty Phil himself going out into the park isn't something that deserves praise, in my opinion. It's part of his job. He should be out there regularly experiencing the park the way the guests do.