FastPass

[Chi84]

I agree and this is what I posted in the other thread:
"It's interesting, I used to pray at the church of Fast Pass+ because I liked not having to stand in line and am a planner by nature, however after having been at WDW 3 times in the past 10 months (July, Oct/Nov, and last week), I have to say I'm not missing it. My wife and I are commenting that our trips are much more relaxed and we feel we can go at a pace we want. There have not been any rides that we wanted to do that we didn't get on, and yes we had to wait 80 minutes in line for Slinky, but it was actually nice spending that time with my family talking about things and people watching. It really won't bother me if FP+ doesn't come back."

We're different in that regard, since we wouldn't wait 80 minutes for any ride and certainly wouldn't feel relaxed about it. We want to get on a few rides each day we're in the parks, but it's more important to get one or two headliners without wasting time standing in lines. I agree that reduced park capacity with little or no waits would be better than any other system, but it won't last post-COVID. I think the fallacy with most people is they think what works for them works for everyone, but people are different.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Actually none of that ever happened to us because of the way we vacation. We joined DVC early on and are annual pass holders. We aren't the usual WDW guest, but I suspect there are a good number of us. We visit twice a year and don't care about the number of rides we go on, as long as we get the ones we want.

I don't mind planning at all, but we don't get up early and don't like standing in lines. Three FastPasses a day are fine for us, as long as we can guarantee riding the newest most popular ride without a long wait. One of our vacations is in early May, which is not too busy, so we are able to get FastPasses for the rides we want with no issue. Often, we go to one of the water parks during the day and don't visit the parks until evening. This used to be a problem with legacy FastPass because the popular rides "sold out" before we got to the parks.

FastPass+ worked fine for us, but I understand that it didn't work well for a lot of other guests and it ended up not working all that well for Disney either. So it's on its way out and will be replaced by another system. I'll find a way to roll with the changes - we always do - but I will miss the current system because it worked great for us.

As far as the "regular" lines moving and the wait not being nearly as long, we visited at a time before any FastPasses, and the waits for the most popular rides often exceeded an hour even at the slow times of the year. As I've said in prior posts, that was a time when we took my mom with us and our kids were young, so we just skipped those rides. Under FastPass+ that would not have been a problem.

Changes are coming and we'll work with them. We are concerned that, at some point, WDW will make that one final change that makes it no longer worthwhile for us, but so far we still enjoy our vacations and are greatly looking forward to our post-COVID visits.

I agree and this is what I posted in the other thread: There were very few hour long attractions unless they were brand new. I never was in one until a couple of years ago that was over an hour. That was when they opened Soarin after adding the third theater and new film. That was accidental because the sign on the way into the queue said 20 minutes. I never would have gone to it at that time if I had known. Sadly until I had invested more time that I wanted to lose I didn't know how long it would be. That was the beauty of no Fastpass, if you saw the line was to long you could easily just walk by it and go back later. You didn't have to match up your next Fastpass with what time was being posted. The average time if MK was full was probably around 30 minutes. I don't recall ever being in a queue line longer then that.

"It's interesting, I used to pray at the church of Fast Pass+ because I liked not having to stand in line and am a planner by nature, however after having been at WDW 3 times in the past 10 months (July, Oct/Nov, and last week), I have to say I'm not missing it. My wife and I are commenting that our trips are much more relaxed and we feel we can go at a pace we want. There have not been any rides that we wanted to do that we didn't get on, and yes we had to wait 80 minutes in line for Slinky, but it was actually nice spending that time with my family talking about things and people watching. It really won't bother me if FP+ doesn't come back."

The two situation that you folks have posted are not the norm though. There are very few of us, percentage wise, that either have the money or the time available. That is something that happens a lot more at DLR instead of WDW. You can, like me, tailor your visit with freedom knowing that you might or will be returning soon. That is not the case with the millions of other WDW Guests that may have mortgaged their house to go there and they only have a week a year to devote to it. Newbie's making their first visit that have no real experience with the variety of attractions that Disney offers to know what to plan for and how to do it. It just shouldn't have to be that way. It should be simple for everyone. It would be bad enough that if you stay onsite with no transportation that you have to plan your meals that far in advance, much less planning attractions that they have yet to form an opinion on.

 

[GLM]

Personally I loved fast pass. When you can make only one trip per year to me it makes sense. We are early morning people so the fast passes are scheduled till around lunchtime. We go to other rides in between.. after lunch we go back to the hotel, catch some pool time and maybe a quick nap. Then back to the parks after dinner. Very relaxed.. no rushing.. enjoyable.
For someone flying in, always staying at Disney resorts and basically staying onsite for food and shopping... we can"t come back in a week or two like an AP can...and catch the rest of the rides we wanted.
If we get to Disney and want to go to a different park.. nothing is stopping us from doing that. We don't have to use the fastpasses..
Anytime you stay on Disney or Universal, there has to be perks for paying the prices they charge...if not.. they loose that money to an outside facility. Big loss for Disney.

 

[havoc315]

Theoretically you are right, however this is a reality. You know you are going, you know the cost and you scrimp (as you call it) and save a little bit more to cover the cost if it is worth it to you. My feeling is that if I see someone in WDW, regardless of how they are dressed, sleeves or no sleeves, they really cannot claim poverty. Tight budget maybe, but if you got together the money to get there to begin with, your not qualifying for welfare and FP would be an insignificant part of the overall cost of a Disney Vacation (holiday, for you brits).

While I'm sure there are people who spend every last penny on their WDW trip. They eat nothing but ramen for years, they cash out all their retirement savings, they take an extra mortgage on their house, just to be able to afford a few nights in Pop Century.

But the reality is, most people don't budget down to the last penny, leaving themselves absolutely no extra money. If you can afford $10,000 for a vacation, you can probably afford $10,100 for a vacation too. If you saved up for 6 months to get that last dollar out of $10,000, then you can save up for 1 more week and make it to $10,100.

And even if you can't go 1 penny over that $10,000 you were spending on the vacation, you can probably change the priorities if necessary -- take the cheaper less inconvenient flight. Stay at a value resort instead of a mod resort. Cancel some of the TS reservations.

Don't get me wrong -- it's annoying when Disney, or anybody else, nickels and dimes like this. But it's no different than the airlines -- A ticket used to include all your baggage, seat selection, and a meal. Now, you want to bring luggage? Extra charge. Select your seats in advance? extra charge. etc etc.

Though there is another way of looking at it -- Disney isn't necessarily charging extra for fastpasses... you can equally view it as a discount for forgoing fast passes.

So if FPs were included..... at the price of $10,100 -- It's $100 over your vacation budget, you can't take the vacation at all! So sad. But thankfully, Disney is offering you a discount.. if you're willing to forego the fastpass, then it's just $10,000!

 

[plawren2]

Now that fastpasses are on hold, is anyone besides me hoping they completely overhaul the system? I have hated the FastPass+ system since its debut and always thought it limited what I could do. It seemed to help the first timers but hurt those with any experience. I wouldnt mind a paid version of FastPass+ and then offering the free fastpass system like they used to have, the one DisneyLand still has..

"It seemed to help the first timers but hurt those with any experience"
Thats weird as almost every criticism I have read about FP+ is that first timers who never used the system, unaware of pre-booking are the ones at great disadvantage as those with previous WDW visits know the system and need to manage visit for crowds in order to avoid long lines. I never found it limiting to know that I could secure 3 prime FP+ for the most busiest attractions knowing that would not have to deal with lines and long waits for those, can then build rest of day around those. I have no idea what the future is for FP+ at WDW, could go several different ways, but likely to return in some form once capacity and crowds increase (summer? or fall for 50th??)

 

[plawren2]

Personally I loved fast pass. When you can make only one trip per year to me it makes sense. We are early morning people so the fast passes are scheduled till around lunchtime. We go to other rides in between.. after lunch we go back to the hotel, catch some pool time and maybe a quick nap. Then back to the parks after dinner. Very relaxed.. no rushing.. enjoyable.
For someone flying in, always staying at Disney resorts and basically staying onsite for food and shopping... we can"t come back in a week or two like an AP can...and catch the rest of the rides we wanted.
If we get to Disney and want to go to a different park.. nothing is stopping us from doing that. We don't have to use the fastpasses..
Anytime you stay on Disney or Universal, there has to be perks for paying the prices they charge...if not.. they loose that money to an outside facility. Big loss for Disney.

this is exactly same for us-maximize time in parks, use FP and early entry/late hours to get to experience attractions we enjoy the most without wasting hours in lines. Our visits are 4-5 days and typically 2-3 yrs apart, so we strategize to make sure we see and do our top attractions, shows etc....

 

[Robbydj13]

"It seemed to help the first timers but hurt those with any experience"
Thats weird as almost every criticism I have read about FP+ is that first timers who never used the system, unaware of pre-booking are the ones at great disadvantage as those with previous WDW visits know the system and need to manage visit for crowds in order to avoid long lines. I never found it limiting to know that I could secure 3 prime FP+ for the most busiest attractions knowing that would not have to deal with lines and long waits for those, can then build rest of day around those. I have no idea what the future is for FP+ at WDW, could go several different ways, but likely to return in some form once capacity and crowds increase (summer? or fall for 50th??)

It helps first timers because they think they are getting more than they are. Everyone will tell you, whether they like it or not, that much, much more could be accomplished with the old system than the new one. As stated, I could get 4-5 rides in on several E-Ticket attractions without much wait, now I am lucky to get 1....

 

[sandieb1]

With little kids FP+ is a total God send
Much easier to plan your day.

When they get older.....prob not so much.

Actually as an older adult it is very difficult to stand in long lines. We really depend on fastpass and often limit our rides to just those.

 

[tagoofy]

The only system I would REALLY dislike would be a paid FP system. Under all of the past systems, if you could be rewarded for being clever, or planning, or having "stamina", or getting up early, etc. Did not matter if you had lots of $$, or barely scraped up the money for basic admission.

Of course people have different perspectives. I (and my adult daughter) tend to like the challenge of "maximizing" our days. Working the system is part of our enjoyment. When I'm with my wife, she likes the more laid back approach, and I've come to be able to enjoy that with her as well.

When in "maximizing mode", I've always been able to find ways to get the most of out the "system":
Before FP, it was all about timing. Get to the parks early. Ride some rides when others where eating or seeing parades. Understanding the big crowd ebbs and flows in some parks (can you say massive dump into Star Tours line when Indiana Jones show lets out? ;-) ).
With the paper FP system, it was about walking quickly to FP kiosks, and never not having a FP ticket in your hand (you could get a new one as soon as the window of your current one opened up, so get a new FP ticket before your use the existing one, and other strategies).
The FP+ system had me disgruntled for a while (and still done like the way it sort of forces to plan which park you will go to on which days, so don't get me started about park res system). But over time I figured out how to work that system as well. My daughter and my personal record is 22 FP+ in a day, almost all for E-ticket rides (doing all E-ticket rides in all WDW parks in the same day).

At least for me, I very rarely ever waited in a long time, so the part about you really are not saving time was not true for me. But I see the point that it can be true for some.

 

[plawren2]

It helps first timers because they think they are getting more than they are. Everyone will tell you, whether they like it or not, that much, much more could be accomplished with the old system than the new one. As stated, I could get 4-5 rides in on several E-Ticket attractions without much wait, now I am lucky to get 1....

Depending what time of year you go (size of crowds) I do not see now one would get 4-5 E-ticket attractions without much of wait (unless you are taking advantage of EMH or late hours). I can use FP+ plus EMH and easy get those 4-5 in the morning with no waits- have no idea how that would be possible in full park mid day into evening.

 

[Robbydj13]

Depending what time of year you go (size of crowds) I do not see now one would get 4-5 E-ticket attractions without much of wait (unless you are taking advantage of EMH or late hours). I can use FP+ plus EMH and easy get those 4-5 in the morning with no waits- have no idea how that would be possible in full park mid day into evening.

because under the old system you could get a fastpass every hour basically regardless of whether you had used your others yet, so it allowed you to have more fastpasses in a single day than the current system does now

 

[danyoung56]

because under the old system you could get a fastpass every hour basically regardless of whether you had used your others yet, so it allowed you to have more fastpasses in a single day than the current system does now

Well, if you booked your first 3 FP+ rides in the first 3 hours, then you could book another one, and as soon as that time came up you book another one, etc. So actually if you worked a bit at it you could get just as many FP+s as on the old system.

 

[tagoofy]

because under the old system you could get a fastpass every hour basically regardless of whether you had used your others yet, so it allowed you to have more fastpasses in a single day than the current system does now

Actually not true. Under the current (well not really current because nothing running right now ;-)) FP+ you can actually get more than 1 an hour. I've done it plenty of times. How? "That's proprietary." (But I am not doing anything illegal or with any special privs or hacking.)

 

[Robbydj13]

Well, if you booked your first 3 FP+ rides in the first 3 hours, then you could book another one, and as soon as that time came up you book another one, etc. So actually if you worked a bit at it you could get just as many FP+s as on the old system.

Yes, but there are far far fewer E-Ticket fastpasses to go around under FastPass+, and I think you know that to be true. The old system allowed for countless E-Ticket fastpasses.

 

[Robbydj13]

Actually not true. Under the current (well not really current because nothing running right now ;-)) FP+ you can actually get more than 1 an hour. I've done it plenty of times. How? "That's proprietary." (But I am not doing anything illegal or with any special privs or hacking.)

Yes, but there are far far fewer E-Ticket fastpasses to go around under FastPass+, and I think you know that to be true. The old system allowed for countless E-Ticket fastpasses

 

[tagoofy]

Yes, but there are far far fewer E-Ticket fastpasses to go around under FastPass+, and I think you know that to be true. The old system allowed for countless E-Ticket fastpasses.

YMMV here. Under the old paper system it was rare, if ever, to be able to get 1 E-ticket FP/hour because the window kept moving out in to the future as more paper FP were generated. By noon, you next E-ticket FP might have not been until 6pm or later (and not being able to get another FP until 6pm). With FP+ I've been able to do better than this, sometimes much better. Neither system is "countless", but the theoretical max (that I can personally get, not the max in the system) is actually greater under FP+ than FP. Without going into details, the basic reason for this is because FP+ passes can be "turned back in" for others to use, when the original FP+ window owner changes their plans.

 

[Robbydj13]

YMMV here. Under the old paper system it was rare, if ever, to be able to get 1 E-ticket FP/hour because the window kept moving out in to the future as more paper FP were generated. By noon, you next E-ticket FP might have not been until 6pm or later (and not being able to get another FP until 6pm). With FP+ I've been able to do better than this, sometimes much better. Neither system is "countless", but the theoretical max (that I can personally get, not the max in the system) is actually greater under FP+ than FP. Without going into details, the basic reason for this is because FP+ passes can be "turned back in" for others to use, when the original FP+ window owner changes their plans.

Thats not how it worked though, you did not have to wait to ride the ride to get another one. I believe you could get one an hour later or as soon as you used a fastpass, whichever came first.

Funny thing about it being rare to get an E-Ticket an hour, I didnt say I could do one per hour, but I could get them for later and use them still. If I got several late ones, I could go to another park, get fastpasses and ride there, and then go back to the other park where I had fastpasses later in the day. It allowed for much more flexibility.

 

[plawren2]

because under the old system you could get a fastpass every hour basically regardless of whether you had used your others yet, so it allowed you to have more fastpasses in a single day than the current system does now

yep by using the FP system.. issue of interest now is what happens if FP never returns.....

 

[tagoofy]

Thats not how it worked though, you did not have to wait to ride the ride to get another one. I believe you could get one an hour later or as soon as you used a fastpass, whichever came first.

Maybe there was a window where FP worked this way, but not the many many times I used the old paper FP system. Under what I remember you could not get another paper FP until the time window had started for the last one you got, period. You did not have to ride your current FP, but you did have to wait for the time window start time to get your next paper FP. The only limit for FP+ is that you have "banded in" to the ride for your current FP+ ride (assuming you have already used at least your first 2).

 

[Robbydj13]

Maybe there was a window where FP worked this way, but not the many many times I used the old paper FP system. Under what I remember you could not get another paper FP until the time window had started for the last one you got, period. You did not have to ride your current FP, but you did have to wait for the time window start time to get your next paper FP. The only limit for FP+ is that you have "banded in" to the ride for your current FP+ ride (assuming you have already used at least your first 2).

That was the only way it worked for the many years I used that system, maybe at one point it was different. My point was, I think you can do more with that system than FastPass+