I know this comes up quite a bit, but i still wanted to make a thread on it.
Personally, i hate Fastpass. To me it has ruined alot of the themeing, and fun out of rides, and has made waits even longer. For example, Splash Mountain used to have swiftly moving lines. While you enjoyed the different props in the queue (such as the themeing, etc.) you would be constantly moving and get on the ride. The average wait on a moderate day was usually around 35 minutes to 55 minutes-managable- and it felt like less considereing you were always moving. Nowadays, the Splash queue moves as slower than a snail. The theming in one part of the queue gets old after 30 minutes as you inch along. Meanwhile, right next to you, hundreds upon hundreds of Fastpass guests simply walk up, give you a smirk and keep walking. By the time you're at the front, you're not enjoying yourself at all. Not only that, but you waited 75-90 minutes on a moderate day, and were not moving most of the time making the wait seem even longer. However, those people in the Fastpass return who thought they were so good pay for it immediately after as they wait for 60 minutes for BTMRR instead of 30 because they choose to Fastpass Splash. So, essentially, the ammount of time you will be waiting is the same in both cases. (Old: you wait 30 for BTMRR and 30 for Splash...total wait:60 minutes)(new: you wait 10 for Splash and 60 for BTMRR...total wait: 60 minutes) virtually the same. The difference however is that without it, you're constantly moving in well themed queues enjoying yourself, while with it you're sitting there moving inch by inch watching fastpass people go by.
Bottom line: in the "olden days " or the days before Fastpass- you went to a ride, got in line and road. You would come back during parades or late at night and ride with no wait. Or you would get there early. You would also sink up the atmosphere in the queue and enjoy teh queue as it moved swiftly towards to loading area.
Today: Talk about hectic. Running around the park getting Fastpass for this, going to return tine for that, its crazy. Then you stand in a line that doesn't move for 2 hours while you watch person after person go by. While they think they're pretty slick to have their Fastpasses and all- they'll soon be waiting in line at the next ride they go to too.
Example: Lets say the line at Peter Pan and Pooh is 30 minutes (No Fastpass at either). You get a Fastpass for Pooh (Fastpass is suddenly created- wait times are now 60 minutes). You go over to Peter Pan while you wait. You wait 60 minutes, and then go to Pooh for your Fastpass return and wait 5-10 minutes. TOTAL WAITING TIME: 60-70 minutes. (Fastpass is not around) You go and wait 30 minutes for Pooh, and then hop over to Pan and wait 30 minutes. TOTAL WAITING TIME: 60 minutes. So, in a nutshell, the amount of time you save with the fastpass, you make up for by waiting longer in stand-by (which everyone will have to do)
Example number two: A family from the midwest comes to a vacation in WDW. They visit the Magic Kingdom on a very crowded day. Its packed, absolutely packed. Here is there day with Fastpass: They enter the park. They're lucky to go straight to Splash Mountain and find the wait is already 75 minutes. They pick up Fastpasses (alreayd for 11-12) After that, they must wait two hours before picking up there next Fastpass. SO they go to Fantasyland- all lines are 75 minutes long but they have no choice. So they wait the long, miserable 75 minutes for Peter Pan and Pooh. By this time, its time to get another Fastpass, so they run over to Space Mountain where they're handing out Fastpasses for between 4-5 PM) After this they run back to their Splash return time. (talk about running around the park) and they do it. Now they still have over an hour and a half to kill. So they go over to Tomorrowland where most waits are well over 90 minutes. Space is at 150 (no point trying there). After two hours have passed, they go to get more Fastpasses but most rides have exausted their Fastpasses for the day so their pretty much dne in terms of Fastpassing attractions. So they wait after wait after wait on attraction and another one for the long, slow, standy-by waits. Finally its time for their Space return time. After that, its getting late- maybe Big THudner has a lower stand-by. HAHA! no! 100 minutes. Because hundreds of fastpass guests are coming and coming. Infact, the liens will never get shorter because of Fastpass. They will have to stand in these miserable long, slow stand-by lines all night.
Day without Fastpass
Yes, its packed. They run to Splash- wait the 35 minutes posted (shorter because no Fastpass) and then run next door to BTMRR and wait 70. They then run to teh Haunted Mansion, and wait 30 minutes (60 w/ Fastpass). After that they cruise into Fantasyland and wait about 30-45 mintues for each attraction. Then into Tomorrowland where Buzz is only at 45 and Space at 60 (120 with Fastpass). At the end of the day, they cruise back through Fantasyland and go on their favorite rides again because the park is emptying out and theres little lines. And one last time on Splash Mountain! Yes, they waited for 60 minutes or so on attractions, but they stood in constant moving lines. (Lines seem shorter when they're moving not standing still). They enjoy teh swiftly moving lines, and enjoy the exibits in Space Mountain queue as they swiftly go through. They get more and mroe into the Splash Mountain mood as they go through the line. All in all, a good day.
The fact is- its simple to go to a theme park and get into a line and ride. Its confusing and tiring running around the park doing this and that trying this and that.
So, in conclusion, i think Disney was great in trying out the system. But it really hasnt worked out the way it was planned and i think it should be scrapped. It worked without for 45 years and those were the years of biggest attendance. At a day of big attendance today, the waits for Splash are going to be 200 minutes but since its so crowded, people will only be able to get maybe one or two Fastpasses per day and end up waiting.
So scrap Fastpass,
Do you agree? and do you think they will scrap it?
Personally, i hate Fastpass. To me it has ruined alot of the themeing, and fun out of rides, and has made waits even longer. For example, Splash Mountain used to have swiftly moving lines. While you enjoyed the different props in the queue (such as the themeing, etc.) you would be constantly moving and get on the ride. The average wait on a moderate day was usually around 35 minutes to 55 minutes-managable- and it felt like less considereing you were always moving. Nowadays, the Splash queue moves as slower than a snail. The theming in one part of the queue gets old after 30 minutes as you inch along. Meanwhile, right next to you, hundreds upon hundreds of Fastpass guests simply walk up, give you a smirk and keep walking. By the time you're at the front, you're not enjoying yourself at all. Not only that, but you waited 75-90 minutes on a moderate day, and were not moving most of the time making the wait seem even longer. However, those people in the Fastpass return who thought they were so good pay for it immediately after as they wait for 60 minutes for BTMRR instead of 30 because they choose to Fastpass Splash. So, essentially, the ammount of time you will be waiting is the same in both cases. (Old: you wait 30 for BTMRR and 30 for Splash...total wait:60 minutes)(new: you wait 10 for Splash and 60 for BTMRR...total wait: 60 minutes) virtually the same. The difference however is that without it, you're constantly moving in well themed queues enjoying yourself, while with it you're sitting there moving inch by inch watching fastpass people go by.
Bottom line: in the "olden days " or the days before Fastpass- you went to a ride, got in line and road. You would come back during parades or late at night and ride with no wait. Or you would get there early. You would also sink up the atmosphere in the queue and enjoy teh queue as it moved swiftly towards to loading area.
Today: Talk about hectic. Running around the park getting Fastpass for this, going to return tine for that, its crazy. Then you stand in a line that doesn't move for 2 hours while you watch person after person go by. While they think they're pretty slick to have their Fastpasses and all- they'll soon be waiting in line at the next ride they go to too.
Example: Lets say the line at Peter Pan and Pooh is 30 minutes (No Fastpass at either). You get a Fastpass for Pooh (Fastpass is suddenly created- wait times are now 60 minutes). You go over to Peter Pan while you wait. You wait 60 minutes, and then go to Pooh for your Fastpass return and wait 5-10 minutes. TOTAL WAITING TIME: 60-70 minutes. (Fastpass is not around) You go and wait 30 minutes for Pooh, and then hop over to Pan and wait 30 minutes. TOTAL WAITING TIME: 60 minutes. So, in a nutshell, the amount of time you save with the fastpass, you make up for by waiting longer in stand-by (which everyone will have to do)
Example number two: A family from the midwest comes to a vacation in WDW. They visit the Magic Kingdom on a very crowded day. Its packed, absolutely packed. Here is there day with Fastpass: They enter the park. They're lucky to go straight to Splash Mountain and find the wait is already 75 minutes. They pick up Fastpasses (alreayd for 11-12) After that, they must wait two hours before picking up there next Fastpass. SO they go to Fantasyland- all lines are 75 minutes long but they have no choice. So they wait the long, miserable 75 minutes for Peter Pan and Pooh. By this time, its time to get another Fastpass, so they run over to Space Mountain where they're handing out Fastpasses for between 4-5 PM) After this they run back to their Splash return time. (talk about running around the park) and they do it. Now they still have over an hour and a half to kill. So they go over to Tomorrowland where most waits are well over 90 minutes. Space is at 150 (no point trying there). After two hours have passed, they go to get more Fastpasses but most rides have exausted their Fastpasses for the day so their pretty much dne in terms of Fastpassing attractions. So they wait after wait after wait on attraction and another one for the long, slow, standy-by waits. Finally its time for their Space return time. After that, its getting late- maybe Big THudner has a lower stand-by. HAHA! no! 100 minutes. Because hundreds of fastpass guests are coming and coming. Infact, the liens will never get shorter because of Fastpass. They will have to stand in these miserable long, slow stand-by lines all night.
Day without Fastpass
Yes, its packed. They run to Splash- wait the 35 minutes posted (shorter because no Fastpass) and then run next door to BTMRR and wait 70. They then run to teh Haunted Mansion, and wait 30 minutes (60 w/ Fastpass). After that they cruise into Fantasyland and wait about 30-45 mintues for each attraction. Then into Tomorrowland where Buzz is only at 45 and Space at 60 (120 with Fastpass). At the end of the day, they cruise back through Fantasyland and go on their favorite rides again because the park is emptying out and theres little lines. And one last time on Splash Mountain! Yes, they waited for 60 minutes or so on attractions, but they stood in constant moving lines. (Lines seem shorter when they're moving not standing still). They enjoy teh swiftly moving lines, and enjoy the exibits in Space Mountain queue as they swiftly go through. They get more and mroe into the Splash Mountain mood as they go through the line. All in all, a good day.
The fact is- its simple to go to a theme park and get into a line and ride. Its confusing and tiring running around the park doing this and that trying this and that.
So, in conclusion, i think Disney was great in trying out the system. But it really hasnt worked out the way it was planned and i think it should be scrapped. It worked without for 45 years and those were the years of biggest attendance. At a day of big attendance today, the waits for Splash are going to be 200 minutes but since its so crowded, people will only be able to get maybe one or two Fastpasses per day and end up waiting.
So scrap Fastpass,
Do you agree? and do you think they will scrap it?
