FP+ only Toy Story Midway Mania

[RSoxNo1]

I think I understand what you are trying to say but simply wanted to clarify that "for any reason whatsoever" is an overstatement. I'm sure you didn't mean it this way but Disney cannot violate anyone's civil rights.

Furthermore, I don't want to get into a DAS discussion here but it's possible that this trial run might violate the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) if it does not honor DAS. After all, Disney has stated that DAS complies with ADA, suggesting that not honoring DAS is a violation of ADA. Hopefully, someone consulted with Legal before OK'ing this trial run.

That's what I'm getting at. Having said that, they did not allow guests to use GAC at Enchanted Tales with Belle. This also seemed like a violation and I doubt it has been mentioned in the lawsuit.

 

[CDavid]

I think Disney's position is that just because guests are willing to wait in line and make themselves miserable, that doesn't mean they need to let them.

If people are willing to put up with the tooth loss, psychotic disorders, and heart problems associated with crystal meth addiction, is it right to deny them?

If your best comparison is matching a highly addictive, illegal drug to a system of managing attraction wait times in a theme park, you've pretty much already lost the debate (and answered your own question).

And - again much like the Be Our Guest thread - the central point has little or nothing to do with a guests' willingness (or lack thereof) to wait in a lengthy traditional queue. There are many ways to ration capacity when demand exceeds supply; The first-come first-served and self-regulating attraction queue has literally worked at least since the animals lined up to enter the Ark, and lines are to be expected in a theme park. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with a strange, guest unfriendly system which creates more problems than it solves.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Well, yes and no. People have already prebooked their Fastpasses and in the instance of TSMM, there probably isn't much capacity left. So, if you are a day guest, or if you were planning on waiting in standby this week, well, you are out of luck. No red shirts to give you.

Not necessarily. We don't know exactly what percentage of FP+s Disney has pre-allocated for these days. Typically, they don't give out all of the FP+s for a day via the advance scheduling function, they usually save some to allow some day guests to make their selections. It might make it more difficult to schedule a preferred time day of, but I would guess if you got to the park early enough, or tried to schedule one early enough in the day, you would still have a pretty good chance.

 

[FoozieBear]

Slashfilm wrote an article about this and why this is an awful idea.
http://www.slashfilm.com/disney-testing-fasspass-only/

I know it would be impossible to not go to a Disney park (I need to go at least once a year) but if this actually happens, I will never step foot in a Disney theme park again. It's just revolting.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Denying paying customers to experience what they paid to experience, making them test subjects without an heads up, is asinine.

It's one thing when an attraction is down for unforeseen reasons but this was planned.

Anyone who arrived to the park today after a certain point that did not pre book can *not* ride.

 

[Bairstow]

Cool so when does the need for people who are willing to walk in the sun all day begin to warrant them limiting access to the magic kingdom. I don't like how crowded the park is during wishes and I want them to remove the standby for that. Perhaps they can start giving return times to the park? I mean I get folks are paying almost 100 dollars to enter a theme park but that somehow doesn't entitle them to actually experience attractions and other things when they want to experience them. My need for a short and happy experience outweighs everyone elses. Doesn't it?

I don't know about return times, but closing parks due to capacity is nothing new.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Denying paying customers to experience what they paid to experience, making them test subjects without an heads up, is asinine.

It's one thing when an attraction is down for unforeseen reasons but this was planned.

Anyone who arrived to the park today after a certain point that did not pre book can *not* ride.

Come-on it is only $100+ for a one day ticket to a park that is already light on rides but then you can always use your I-phone or android to make your impromptu ride reservations that you forgot to do 60 days ago. @Tom Morrow what were you thinking?

 

[Herc11]

I would assume they're releasing day of FP to combat the lack of people with standby. Similar to the Anna/Elsa test.

The tests is to see if 2 tracks running just FP+ will have a more balanced line than those tracks with a mix of FP+ and standby. Likely the idea is to look at the number of people making their return times vs the number of people they would have cycled through with standby included. It makes sense to me to look at those numbers because it tells you if you the two tracks will be FP+ or standby when the third track is open and determines how you allocate. What circulates more quickly, with fewer guest complaints and more efficiency on riders/hr.

Yes, it would be inconvient if you could not get a FP and could not chose to wait in standby. But, until we hear otherwise, I'm guessing there are more FP released during the day today to meet demands.

I am very familiar with TSM and how its operated. I believe you are correct in that the point of the test is to see how efficient the existing two tracks can be with FP only. I would expect that there will be several gaps where there are not enough guests in line to keep the attraction running at full capacity. The idea of the test is to figure out how many gaps, and how many fewer guests they will be able to accommodate this way.

I don't have any specific knowledge of Disney's plans, but to me it makes the most sense to have all FP and DAS guests go to the existing tracks while splitting standby guests to either side depending on demand. If, as I suspect, that the new track will not have a wheelchair access area, then standby guests will need to be diverted to the original tracks. The queue will eventually need to be modified to make that work, either by adding a second merge point somewhere near Mr. Potato Head, or by adding a queue travelling between the existing merge point and the new loading dock. The second option wouldn't be that difficult as there is already a hallway that wraps behind there.

 

[Herc11]

Denying paying customers to experience what they paid to experience, making them test subjects without an heads up, is asinine.

It's one thing when an attraction is down for unforeseen reasons but this was planned.

Anyone who arrived to the park today after a certain point that did not pre book can *not* ride.

To make this test work, Disney would have to be increasing the number of FP times to match what their typical daily capacity would be. Since all of those times just "magically appeared" this morning, I would expect FP times to be available much later than usual. Probably much later than the 10-11 am time they used to run out at during the old system.

 

[Lee]

If no one has said it yet...this is a test. The whole TSMM thing is a test. The idea is to see how it works as FP+ only, with a third track for Standby only, and with one FP+ and two Standby.
The results of these tests will determine how they move forward with other rides, specifically Soarin'. That third theater is directly related to the third Toy Story track. Proof of concept sort of thing.

 

[Sue_Vongello]

If no one has said it yet...this is a test. The whole TSMM thing is a test. The idea is to see how it works as FP+ only, with a third track for Standby only, and with one FP+ and two Standby.
The results of these tests will determine how they move forward with other rides, specifically Soarin'. That third theater is directly related to the third Toy Story track. Proof of concept sort of thing.

So is the third track a foregone conclusion or is it's fate tied to these tests as well?

 

[GrumpyFan]

To make this test work, Disney would have to be increasing the number of FP times to match what their typical daily capacity would be. Since all of those times just "magically appeared" this morning, I would expect FP times to be available much later than usual. Probably much later than the 10-11 am time they used to run out at during the old system.

I would expect them to be offering several random times throughout the day. These times would be offered via the system in an attempt to try and match what's convenient (hopefully) for the guest, as well as attempting to distribute and move guests more evenly throughout the park.

Something I think many of us have forgotten though, would be that without the standby line, everyone will be FP+, which could mean there's a lot more availability, and hopefully less time to wait in an actual line.

The question that I've yet to see answered though is in regard to the number of Fastpass+ a guest can have, including TSMM. Does TSMM count as 1 of 3 that are available for the day, or is it like a bonus, and could a guest conceivably have 4 FP+ at a time?

 

[GrumpyFan]

So is the third track a foregone conclusion or is it's fate tied to these tests as well?

I think it's a well-confirmed rumor right now, from several sources here. But, as always, nothing is official at Disney until opening day.

 

[BrianV]

As a permanent state, this seems like a bad idea. They have a queue large enough to hold the people who want to stand in line. They have fast pass for those who prefer not to wait and can plan ahead far enough.

My questions is this: let's imagine you've got fast passes scheduled for the evening (fireworks, etc) and you want to go on this ride. Even if you show up first thing to the ride or the fast pass distribution line, are you unable to get one without canceling your evening one? This is not like the return pass at Anna and Elsa or BOG. This is FP+ only, if I'm understanding correctly.

 

[Lee]

So is the third track a foregone conclusion or is it's fate tied to these tests as well?

It's happening. To make TSMM the guinea pig for the concept.

 

[DManRightHere]

Isn't it interesting how Disney spent all the money and effort to give guests something to do with interactive lines? Now they are spending more money and effort to get people out of the lines, which can potentially cost 10 times as much as putting in the interactives (if their building additions to toy story and soarin).

 

[themarchhare]

*facepalm*

 

[msteel]

...in the VERY short term, a 4 day test of methods to bring an additional 33% capacity to this ride are going on.

It is even better than that - by going from two tracks to three they are increasing the capacity by 50% (at least as long as the load/unload is as efficient as it ought to be).

 

[Captain Neo]

wow this is a first for Disney. I guess the 3rd track thing is true then. Why is this attraction so popular? I went on it twice when it first opened and was not particularly impressed. It's just an even cheaper version of Buzz Lightyear space ranger spin.

 

[bethymouse]