FastPass+ open to all guests including offsite beginning next week at Disney's Animal Kingdom

[Cesar R M]

......couldn't resist ...was wearing my cruel shoes today (see above)

you took something that looked bad, and made it look like a nightmare!
and AK is my favorite park D:
should I just crouch and cry? or grab pitchforks and torches?

I think most of the outrage comes from Disney having created the problem by trying to fix an existing system (old fastpass) that wasn't broken by replacing it with a system that requires (at least for offsite guests) either lines at kiosks or filling out slips of paper to then wait at lines at kiosks.

agree, its so comical bad its almost like "YO DAWG, I HEARD YOU LIKE LINES, SO WE ADDED WAITING LINES TO YOUR WAITING LINES, SO YOU CAN WAIT WHILE YOU WAIT!"

and in Billy Mays voice... "BUT WAIT.. THERES MORE!.. IF YOU WANT TO COMPLAIN, WE HAVE ADDED LINES TO YOUR LINES TO COMPLAIN!.. SO YOU GET QUADRUPLE WAITING NOW!!!"

next they will be selling kleenex at the lines to handle all the crying of the poor people lined up (and the CMs too)

Glad to know we got rid of paper FastPass just to get ...

(wait for it)

Paper FastPass+ !!!!!!!!!

I swear IGER just pulled a Shimalandangyang(tm) move in to the WDW parks!

 

[RSoxNo1]

The paper sheet solution for tomorrow's test at DAK is basically an admission that the system wasn't going to be able to handle the test. Again one wonders why they would be doing this test at such a busy time of year.

I actually look at it as one of the first intelligent things being done throughout all this. Even though this is in a testing phase, guests aren't going to be tolerant of the inconveniences. The more prepared they are on day 1, the easier the transition/learning curve will be.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I would not be so sure about that. Remember that this has to somehow recoup more than $1B and one of the ways they are doing that is by incentivizing staying onsite. As more onsite guests take advantage of advanced bookings, there will either be fewer day of reservations or some upset onsite guests. As between upset onsite guests and day guests (offsite) who can't find day of reservations, they'll take the latter every time. And if they ever roll out the ability to buy extra FP+ opportunities then day of reservations will likely be even harder to come by.

A day of FP+ for Soarin is going to be as common as a walk up at Cindy's.

Even today, with only a fraction of the allotted Fastpasses being given to Fastpass+, FP+ users are able to book Soarin' day of with little to no issues, sans Thanksgiving week (in which case legacy Fastpasses would be hard to get too). Why would it somehow be worse when ALL allotted Fastpasses are given to FP+ and legacy Fastpass is removed?

 

[TP2000]

This thread is sickening. I can't think of a better word. What Jay Rasulo and the entire Next Generation Experience (NGE) team has done to Walt Disney World is just... sickening.

This wasn't supposed to be so hard. Walt Disney World is just some theme parks and fun hotels on a big piece of property, insulated from the real world. People pay big money, some save for years, to take their family on vacation here. It's singing pirates and dancing ghosts and a permanent World's Fair and the magic of Hollywood and animals from around the globe. It was Walt Disney's dream come true.

But they ruined it. Jay Rasulo and his charmless and heartless corporate dweebs behind the Next Generation Experience ruined it. Instead of building a new ride every year or two and updating the shows and keeping the place spotless and friendly, they ruined it. They tried to squeeze more pennies out of the rubes coming to visit and they spent way too much money on things that aren't rides or shows or maintenance. This Next Generation Experience crap is just a money grab, designed to squeeze a few extra nickels out of the rubes coming to visit and keep them from spending money at Sea World or Universal. It's cold and heartless and money grubbing. All the things Walt Disney did NOT want Disneyland to be, and what he built Disneyland to be the opposite of.

The people behind NGE and it's sleazy MagicBands and Fastpass+ aren't showmen, they are sharp pencil boys. And Walt always warned us about the sharp pencil boys. But Walt Disney World now has to live with it. And how much longer until the whole thing collapses on itself?

It's just sickening.

 

[Facepalm]

Even today, with only a fraction of the allotted Fastpasses being given to Fastpass+, FP+ users are able to book Soarin' day of with little to no issues, sans Thanksgiving week (in which case legacy Fastpasses would be hard to get too). Why would it somehow be worse when ALL allotted Fastpasses are given to FP+ and legacy Fastpass is removed?

Wait, I think you are confusing yourself. You can get day of now because there is hardley anyone in the virtual que yet. Once all offsight are booking ahead and FP+ has the full allottment, day of will be a thing of the past.

 

[bladerunner]

This thread is sickening. I can't think of a better word. What Jay Rasulo and the entire Next Generation Experience (NGE) team has done to Walt Disney World is just... sickening.

This wasn't supposed to be so hard. Walt Disney World is just some theme parks and fun hotels on a big piece of property, insulated from the real world. People pay big money, some save for years, to take their family on vacation here. It's singing pirates and dancing ghosts and a permanent World's Fair and the magic of Hollywood and animals from around the globe. It was Walt Disney's dream come true.

But they ruined it. Jay Rasulo and his charmless and heartless corporate dweebs behind the Next Generation Experience ruined it. Instead of building a new ride every year or two and updating the shows and keeping the place spotless and friendly, they ruined it. They tried to squeeze more pennies out of the rubes coming to visit and they spent way too much money on things that aren't rides or shows or maintenance. This Next Generation Experience crap is just a money grab, designed to squeeze a few extra nickels out of the rubes coming to visit and keep them from spending money at Sea World or Universal. It's cold and heartless and money grubbing. All the things Walt Disney did NOT want Disneyland to be, and what he built Disneyland to be the opposite of.

The people behind NGE and it's sleazy MagicBands and Fastpass+ aren't showmen, they are sharp pencil boys. And Walt always warned us about the sharp pencil boys. But Walt Disney World now has to live with it. And how much longer until the whole thing collapses on itself?

It's just sickening.

Agreed - it is sickening and sad, the fun I remember of going to WDW with my family and kids is beginning to be a thing of the past.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I actually look at it as one of the first intelligent things being done throughout all this. Even though this is in a testing phase, guests aren't going to be tolerant of the inconveniences. The more prepared they are on day 1, the easier the transition/learning curve will be.

The paper FastPass+ solution at DAK is a mid-level management solution to a problem created by senior management.

Paper FastPass+ is a solution in Orlando to a problem created in Burbank.

It's a "solution" that shouldn't be needed at all if the right decisions were made at the senior executive level.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Wait, I think you are confusing yourself. You can get day of now because there is hardley anyone in the virtual que yet. Once all offsight are booking ahead and FP+ has the full allottment, day of will be a thing of the past.

Right. The real test of FP+ is not how it functions when crowd levels are low and it's limited to onsite guests.

How well will FP+ function for holidays? For spring break? For summer? That's the real test.

Thanksgiving is a busy week but there are a lot of weeks throughout the year that are busier. Thanksgiving was the first true test of FP+.

I was there for Thanksgiving and found it nearly impossible to change my FP+ selections. I was stuck to a schedule that I had planned days before with absolutely no flexibility. (Sorry but I don't consider trading in my Test Track FP+ for an Imagination FP+ to be flexible.)

It is unfortunate that so many guests and Cast Members have had to deal with technical problems but these will be solved eventually.

However, WDW's real problem is that there are only a handful of attractions at 3 of its theme parks that are worthy of Fast Passing.

 

[danv3]

I actually look at it as one of the first intelligent things being done throughout all this. Even though this is in a testing phase, guests aren't going to be tolerant of the inconveniences. The more prepared they are on day 1, the easier the transition/learning curve will be.

I agree that them being more prepared to minimize guest inconvenice would be a positive. I think the fact that they have to use paper slips shows how very unpreprared they are. Why roll this out before offsite users can use the app? The use of paper slips is kind of embarrassing.

And of course, the paper slips present their own issues, some of which somepne mentioned a couple of pages ago: is Disney proving pens for everyone? Where do guests stand to fill out the slips? Do they wait in line to get a slip only to then wait in line to turn in the slip? What happens when everyone picks the major attractions?

If I were in DAK today as an offsite guest today I'd be skipping FP altogether. Get there early and ride Everest and the safaris immediately while other guests are standing in the FP+ line.

 

[drew81]

This thread is sickening. I can't think of a better word. What Jay Rasulo and the entire Next Generation Experience (NGE) team has done to Walt Disney World is just... sickening.

This wasn't supposed to be so hard. Walt Disney World is just some theme parks and fun hotels on a big piece of property, insulated from the real world. People pay big money, some save for years, to take their family on vacation here. It's singing pirates and dancing ghosts and a permanent World's Fair and the magic of Hollywood and animals from around the globe. It was Walt Disney's dream come true.

But they ruined it. Jay Rasulo and his charmless and heartless corporate dweebs behind the Next Generation Experience ruined it. Instead of building a new ride every year or two and updating the shows and keeping the place spotless and friendly, they ruined it. They tried to squeeze more pennies out of the rubes coming to visit and they spent way too much money on things that aren't rides or shows or maintenance. This Next Generation Experience crap is just a money grab, designed to squeeze a few extra nickels out of the rubes coming to visit and keep them from spending money at Sea World or Universal. It's cold and heartless and money grubbing. All the things Walt Disney did NOT want Disneyland to be, and what he built Disneyland to be the opposite of.

The people behind NGE and it's sleazy MagicBands and Fastpass+ aren't showmen, they are sharp pencil boys. And Walt always warned us about the sharp pencil boys. But Walt Disney World now has to live with it. And how much longer until the whole thing collapses on itself?

It's just sickening.

If I could like this post ten million times I would.

 

[orky8]

I think most of the outrage comes from Disney having created the problem by trying to fix an existing system (old fastpass) that wasn't broken by replacing it with a system that requires (at least for offsite guests) either lines at kiosks or filling out slips of paper to then wait at lines at kiosks.

This gives too much credit to the old system. It had some pretty bad flaws.

1) There was a mad dash to get in the Fastpass line for some attractions and those Fastpasses ran out early, shutting out those who didn't want to be at rope drop. (Yes, admittedly, the best solution to this would be to add more attractions, but even Radiator Spring Racers suffers from this issue, though that ride is worth it, unlike Soarin, but I digress).

2) Fastpass caused constant backtracking as you had to go to the attraction to get the Fastpass. (Yes, FP+ could have been implemented as simply an electronic version of FP, which would have solved that issue without creating others).

3) Environmental.

4) Fairness - it seems the average FP usage was 1.8ish per person, which is very low. Many people didn't get the system and this levels the playing field a bit. (Yes, admittedly, I don't agree with this one, but I live by the motto "stupid should hurt" - others seem to want equality regardless of effort).

It's funny how many people here say they will never step foot in the parks because now they will have to wait in lines. I recall the pre-fastpass days when there were lines for everything. I remember waiting 45 minutes to go on LWTL and 20+ minutes for SSE back in the 80s (but I'd wait 20 minutes for tomorrow's child any day, sigh).

Like the switch from GAC to DAS, FP+ is a huge change and it is going to effect how people tour the parks. Because it doesn't change capacity, it is just a redistribution -- if you find yourself waiting in lines more, that means someone is waiting in them less, so that should make you feel all warm and fuzzy, right?

My main issue with FP+ is the ridonculous 60 day window. I hate, hate, hate how disney wants us to plan every minute of every day so far in advance (and don't get me started on the ADR system). I spend hundreds of hours making charts for where I think we will want to be an every minute of every day, but I have a 2-year old and have no idea what her mood will be when the time arrives. Dinner at O'Hana could be great, or she could be in the middle of a melt-down. For something that supposedly caters to families, Disney seems to have no experience with children and how unpredictable they can be.

 

[orky8]

Consider this:

Rather than construct theme parks and rides to fill the 25,000 rooms they've added since the opening of Disney-MGM Studios in 1989 or the 10,000 rooms they've added since the opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998, under CEO Bob Iger's leadership, corporate Disney has decided to spend $2B on a new ride reservation system that takes away ride capacity from offsite guests in the hope that it will help fill the flood on hotel and DVC rooms that corporate Disney created.

Universal has 2 theme parks and 2,400 rooms.

Disneyland has 2 theme parks and 2,500 rooms.

Walt Disney World has 4 theme parks and 31,000 rooms.

When you think about what's happening at Disneyland and Universal today, then yes, what's happening at Walt Disney World is outrageous.

It's even more outrageous when you compare the number of attractions instead of the number of theme parks... But, your analysis with the root of the problem is dead on. Disney World is in the hotel business, and doing the bare minimum it must to keep the rooms filled. Everything else is secondary.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I think those who are lauding the end of the "mad Fastpass dash" at rope drop don't remember (or weren't there for) the days before Fastpass. There has ALWAYS been a mad dash at rope drop, whether for attractions or Fastpasses. The addition of Fastpass didn't create (or increase) that stampede, and FP+ isn't going to make it go away.

 

[orky8]

I think those who are lauding the end of the "mad Fastpass dash" at rope drop don't remember (or weren't there for) the days before Fastpass. There has ALWAYS been a mad dash at rope drop, whether for attractions or Fastpasses. The addition of Fastpass didn't create (or increase) that stampede, and FP+ isn't going to make it go away.

True, but a mad dash to ride something is different then a mad dash to get a pass and by the time you get yours, the return time is now 12 hours later. Furthermore, Fastpass is a limited quantity, whereas standby is not (well, technically it is, but you get my point). The mad dash to ride standby may have temporarily inflated the standby line, or set it off for the rest of the day to a certain level. But FP was a mad dash to get a limited number of front of the line passes. If you came to the park once they were gone, you were out of luck and standby was your only option.

 

[wdwmagic]

It is not paper based, not sure where you are getting that from.

Non resort guests are using kiosks or a cast member with an ipad.

All seems to be working well so far according to the live report we have.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Wait, I think you are confusing yourself. You can get day of now because there is hardley anyone in the virtual que yet. Once all offsight are booking ahead and FP+ has the full allottment, day of will be a thing of the past.

non-resort guests will not be able to book in advance, and Fastpass+ availability will be divided between advanced booking and day-of, so yes, there will still be day-of availability.

 

[space42]

non-resort guests will not be able to book in advance, and Fastpass+ availability will be divided between advanced booking and day-of, so yes, there will still be day-of availability.

Just like dining...

 

[ParentsOf4]

It is not paper based, not sure where you are getting that from.

Non resort guests are using kiosks or a cast member with an ipad.

All seems to be working well so far according to the live report we have.

See the posts here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ys-animal-kingdom.877862/page-29#post-5842311

And here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...sort-guests-at-disneys-animal-kingdom.877992/

Disney is handing out paper sheets to guests so they can fill in their FP+ selections.

As reported by @ptaylor, crowds are minimal. Standby lines are 5 minutes for KS, 10 minutes for EE.

Today is not a typical day at WDW.

Wait till next week.

 

[wdwmagic]

See the posts here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ys-animal-kingdom.877862/page-29#post-5842311

And here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...sort-guests-at-disneys-animal-kingdom.877992/

Disney is handing out paper sheets to offsite guests so they can fill in their FP+ selections.

As reported by @ptaylor, crowds are minimal. Standby lines are 5 minutes for KS, 10 minutes for EE.

Today is not a typical day at WDW.

Wait till next week.

The paper is just to let guests know what they can choose prior to getting to the kiosks, and then a place for them to make a note of their times if they wish. It is not reverting to a paper system as posts in this thread have said.

 

[Captain Chaos]

So now we are calling something a success that just started 2 hours ago on a reportedly dead day in DAK? If this is the case, WDW has truly sunk...