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

[flynnibus]

IMHO - this 'kill park hopping' thing is something fan contrived.

They could get the same planning aspects for multiple parks if FP+ were to allow multiple parks per day. I think the choice about FP for one park is more about simplifying what is in front of the guest.. and to avoid 'encouraging' by default for guests to move around during the day. If the default option presented by Disney to average joe was to move around every day just to get a ride in on ToT... Disney would heavily bias users to spend time on the bus vs in the park spending money.

I think it's more about simplicity and trying to get guests to soak up more of the park.. vs being told 'go here, go there, go there'.

We have to remember the system is biasing the average joe heavily through what it recommends and allows easily.

 

[doctornick]

I've always been of the impression that one of the goals of MDE and specifically the FP+ portion of it is to de-emphasize the whole park-hopping concept. They're not going to prevent you from park-hopping but are also not going to reward the behavior by allowing you to get FP+ at multiple parks in one day.

Of course, if they want to reduce park hopping, the main way would be to build up the number of attractions in the lesser parks and to have similar hours and amount of entertainment in all the parks. They also need to have good dining options in all the parks. People hop to MK because there are more rides, night time entertainment and longer hours. People hop to Epcot to eat. People hop away fro DAK because it closes early.

They seem to recognize this a bit by planning night entertainment at DAK and longer hours there. They need to have the attraction numbers and food options to match.

They need to bring back a daytime parade at DHS and increase the rides there as well.

They need to add some attractions to Epcot or at least revise some of the stale ones.

And they need to have all the parks be open similar hours (besides EMH, assuming they stick around). If MK is open to 10pm, other parks need to be open until 9pm. Once the time difference is 2+ hours, people will want to get their day's worth and go to the later park. If DHS closes at 8pm and MK is open until 11pm, why not hope and use that time? To say nothing of DAK closing at 5 or 6 pm.

 

[Ray B]

Who knows. Personally, I find that FP+ makes me more likely to use hoppers since I can reserve FP+ in the afternoon/evening in a different park and just hit a bunch of rides standby in the morning in my first park. Previously, when I would have paper FP in hand for the initial park and less chance of getting paper FP for top rides in the second park after going later, I was not particularly inclined to hop.

I totally agree with this. If you get to AK early you won't have any need for FP+. Think about being able to spend the half day it takes to get through AK and then being able to hop over to EP or HS with a FP+ for Soaring or TSMM.

 

[dreamscometrue]

As I read through this thread, I noticed that a few of the questions people asked on here about FP+, might be answered by reading the reviews page. Although a relatively small sample size currently, we're getting to the point where are enough reviews to get some perspective from very different people.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/reviews.htm

I enjoyed reading them all (and mine is one of the six under the date Jan. 2nd, lol)

 

[JWG]

I wonder what percentage of disney-goers actually took advantage of fastpasses at 2 parks in one day. I suspect that percentage is quite low. When I park hopped before moving to FL, I would either have a short morning at Animal Kingdom and get fast passes at the afternoon-evening park, or take a long morning/afternoon at the first park with the knowledge that good fastpasses would be gone by the time I made it to the second.

We absolutely did this. Park hopping (while many will say a waste of time due to transporting between parks) was a part of our process, especially on DHS or DAK days. And we'd FP at both. Not uncommon to start in DHS to do TSMM and maybe ST, HToT or RR before jumping off to DAK or Epcot. Also, not uncommon to do MK early AM or later PM and leave for elsewhere during high kiddie time.

 

[Disneyfamily4]

According to WDMAGIC, Key to the World Cards with the Magnetic strip for fast passes, will be taken away from all resorts by the end of the month. There goes the hope of it being around as a perk for staying at a resort.

 

[Disneyfamily4]

We absolutely did this. Park hopping (while many will say a waste of time due to transporting between parks) was a part of our process, especially on DHS or DAK days. And we'd FP at both. Not uncommon to start in DHS to do TSMM and maybe ST, HToT or RR before jumping off to DAK or Epcot. Also, not uncommon to do MK early AM or later PM and leave for elsewhere during high kiddie time.

It depends what time of year you go. If you go in August through December Or Jan through Feb 28th, Park hopping is easy. The park is dead, Transportation is quicker, and the lines for rides are shorter.

If you go March through July, Park hopping is not fun or easy. The two easiest points to park hop, MK to Epcot, in peak season will take well over an hour. Then by the time you go to Epcot, forget about rides with your kids, unless you do not mind waiting up to 2-hours in line.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Who knows. Personally, I find that FP+ makes me more likely to use hoppers since I can reserve FP+ in the afternoon/evening in a different park and just hit a bunch of rides standby in the morning in my first park. Previously, when I would have paper FP in hand for the initial park and less chance of getting paper FP for top rides in the second park after going later, I was not particularly inclined to hop.

Exactly how we tackled FP+ this Christmas, morning in AK with evening FP+ in EPCOT, etc.

 

[Lord_Vader]

According to WDMAGIC, Key to the World Cards with the Magnetic strip for fast passes, will be taken away from all resorts by the end of the month. There goes the hope of it being around as a perk for staying at a resort.

Our KTTW cards from BWI were not valid for FP kiosks this Christmas trip so were useless for us and never used at all. In fact they were presented to us a "souveniers."

 

[Next Big Thing]

The Premier Pass in general has been nothing but a mess for both coasts.

Now add in the fact that DL guests get discounts out the wazooo on dining and the 20% merch discount, the WDW side sucks even more.

And it doesn't work AT ALL with this system.

 

[biggy H]

If Disney wanted to stop park hopping they don't need to use MM+ to do it, they would just stop selling the hopping addition and restrict AP's to one park per day. Neither is likely to happen as Disney like the extra cash from the park hopping addition to the base tickets.

 

[JWG]

If Disney wanted to stop park hopping they don't need to use MM+ to do it, they would just stop selling the hopping addition and restrict AP's to one park per day. Neither is likely to happen as Disney like the extra cash from the park hopping addition to the base tickets.

Or give it the Non-Expiration treatment. Charge such ridiculous prices that no one will do it. Though I don't think you can realistically take this away from pass holders. An annual pass is a bit of a right to utilize the property as a whole not one Park. Of course that's an opinion.

 

[Bryansworld]

I agree with what others have said. Give the other parks (DHS and DAK) more things to do and the Hopping wouldn't happen as often. Looks like by 2017 DAK will have more to do and stay open later. Lets just hope on expansion, new attractions (other than shows) for DHS.

 

[Tom Morrow]

According to WDMAGIC, Key to the World Cards with the Magnetic strip for fast passes, will be taken away from all resorts by the end of the month. There goes the hope of it being around as a perk for staying at a resort.

rumor is, "legacy fastpass" itself will be gone by the end of the month.

 

[donsullivan]

rumor is, "legacy fastpass" itself will be gone by the end of the month.

I've heard that same rumor from 2 different sources in the last couple of days.

 

[rioriz]

From someone who has visited every year in childhood and works for the company. I don't get the kill park hopping. For me Fast Pass Plus makes it easier to park hop. Think about it plan your three Fast Pass Plus in the morning at MK then hopped over to animal kingdom to Finish the day.

Or use two at MK then to DHS only to return to Mk for last one in the evening

I was never a fan of hopping more than 2 parks a day.

 

[BroganMc]

So far, all I see is families with children with special needs being told to go through the "FP dash".

Isn't this one of the things FP+ was supposed to solve? The need for parents to separate while one goes running about from attraction-to-attraction collecting FP return times?

Ironic, ain't it? The only people being sent on the ride maze crisscrossing a park to visit a ride twice to go on it are the people with the most physical/mental impairments.