FastPass: The Great Debate

[DisneyChik17]

On another note, getting a fastpass in my mind is no different than getting a reservation at a restaurant. Your wait time should be less than the person who did not have a reservation

Very good analogy. I agree with the entire post you made.

It is a complicated process and it is designed to work. And, whether you like how it works or not is not the issue. The fact of the matter is it does work just as it was designed to work.

 

[Clotho]

On another note, getting a fastpass in my mind is no different than getting a reservation at a restaurant. Your wait time should be less than the person who did not have a reservation

I agree.

And would posit that using this analogy, it also makes sense that there is an expectation that when you make this reservation (essentially agreeing to it when you walk up, see the return time, and decide you are going to get a pass based on that window), they expect you to return AT THAT TIME. A dinner reservation is not "Sure, 8pm or anytime after that up until the restaurant closes." Because if you did, there is a chance no one shows up at 8pm and a big crowd shows up at 9:30, backing things up more than the system intends. They have a set number of reservation slots allotted for each time period, and this is to control the crowds and never overwhelm the restaurant with crowds at any one time.

I will say again, if the system really worked the way some people insist, then they would have a single time to return anytime after, NOT an hour window. Clearly, they put in a window because they hope you will honor that "contract" and return at the time you "reserved", and thus the crowds will be dispersed reasonable throughout the day.

 

[DubyooDeeDubyoo]

I feel it cheapens the park experience by giving perks to people who are planning everything out in advance.

Plus, everyone who gets one usually heads for another ride, meaning waits all over the park are going up.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

I feel it cheapens the park experience by giving perks to people who are planning everything out in advance.

Plus, everyone who gets one usually heads for another ride, meaning waits all over the park are going up.

How does advance planning "cheapen" the park experience? If someone has the foresight to plan out a trip (as so many do) then why is their experience in the parks any less valid than the spontaneous visitor? Anyone can get a FP, so do so! If everyone who gets one heads for another ride, that should decrease average wait times, not increase them. It would more evenly distribute the crowds around the park. Now, if people using expired FP's were always turned away, the system would work much better.

 

[wdwmomof3]

I remember our first trip with our children. Disney had changed a lot since I was little, 70's & early 80's. I didn't know that you had to plan like you do. I had not read any books on Disney and I had never heard of the fast pass. I can remember seeing someone use the fast pass line and thought that you had to pay extra for it or something. That seems like a life time ago now. After that trip, I started doing some homework and let me tell you, the fast pass really does help.

Our last few trips have been all about fast pass and parent swap. This saves us time and it takes a little stress off too. The children don't fuss because they know we will be back in a little while to ride.

I didn't know that you could use expired fast pass until this last trip when there was a problem with the Buzz ride at MK. They told us that we could use it anytime that night. I still don't get that but that's fine too I guess.

 

[erasure fan1]

Fastpass has some good and some bad. I do think that it has made the standby longer at some rides. Is that because the CMs distibute them wrong or let people get on early or past the return time? I dont know. It might just be my imagination but for all the years I have gone before fastpass, the lines never seemed as bad as with fastpass.

 

[wdwmomof3]

As much as I love the fast pass, I don't think that they should let you use them if they have expired. I wouldn't be in a hurry to get back for the ride and it would make the fast pass line later in the day longer. Does that even sound right?:hammer:

 

[MiceysBestPal]

As much as I love the fast pass, I don't think that they should let you use them if they have expired. I wouldn't be in a hurry to get back for the ride and it would make the fast pass line later in the day longer. Does that even sound right?:hammer:

This is so "logical" that most think that it "must be true."

"Late" FP returns are not the overwhelming reason for "slow" FP lines.
Its just not mathmatically the case.
The chance that "everybody" (or even MOST) who got FP earlier in the day but didn't use them, all showing up at the approximate "same time" is actually very small.

What slows down the FP line is RIDE POPULARITY and the overwhelming number of guests in the STANDBY LINES.
That's the part of the equation that eveyone forgets.

The late afternoon/early evening is when many of the lines are very long... about the time the most number of standby guests are clogging the queues.
The CM's don't just load the FP line... they also load a LOT of guests from Standby.
If they DIDN'T load great numbers of Standby guests, those lines would virtually swell to several hours wait-time... and they can't let that happen (especially after the FP have "run out" so early in the day at the few most-popular attractions.)
So by filling the attractions with larger numbers of Standby guests, the FP lines natually slow by an analogous amount.
Are the FP lines "slowed" by those using "expired" FP's... well, sure, but not enough that it really matters more than a few minutes one way or the other.

Here are some FP numbers to play with.

Let's assume a given round number of FP Distributed for Big Thunder Mountain (100 FP's given out).

35 will be used at the beginning (within the first 5 minutes) of the Return Time "window."

40 will be used at some later time, but still within in the specified Return Time "window."

15 will be used outside (later than) the specified Return Time "window."

10 will be pocketed and never used (guests got busy elsewhere, left the park, etc.)

Those not ever using FP and those using FP outside the window (late) can virtually cancel-out each other in the FP waiting-line.

'Jockey' any of those numbers a bit, if you like, but they should be very close.

The FP system works very well, and with proper "policing" by CM's (if the FP lines do get "too long" during a busy run -like Soarin' or EE- they can refuse a "late" FP at that time) the lines move along pretty well under such heavy conditions.

 

[davinakb]

I like it, wouldn't ride some of the long-wait rides without it. Agree that it's not perfect, but nothing is. I know I'd much rather FP Soarin', catch something like the Seas than stand in that line for an hour. And the reservation analogy holds, just not sure about the missed returns. I can understand a 15 minute grace period or something, but 2 hours, no. FWIW.