Grand Villa Stays Qualify For Extra Fastpasses

[ImperfectPixie]

I don't think you are a terrible parent. I just think kids should maximize the time in school in general, especially young kids getting their base education.

When I was a child we took vacations when there were weeks (or months in the summer) off from school. With all the 3 day weekends and the normal breaks it's not like the kids are locked in school from August until May.

Maybe that's why I do it the way I do...we really only took 3 family vacations when I was growing up (one of which I was barely old enough to remember), and one was sort of a "goodbye" trip to my terminally ill father. We never did long weekends that involved going to another state or anything like that. I always felt like I missed out on family trips being a big part of my life as a kid.

I will admit that it helps that I recently got a degree in education and try to be an active participant in helping them to learn and stay on track.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

Because FP was a free system that enabled you to take a return time and come back. FP+ built on that by allowing times to be scheduled.
Express Pass only works because you pay for it. If everyone had access for free then the express queue has every guest in it.

Exactly. You can't give it to everyone. EP/FP access has to be limited to make the system work as it should. I'm not at all opposed to monetizing the FP system as long as they effectively limit availability, eliminate any kind of tiers, and don't require scheduling.

 

[Jon81uk]

If I remember correctly you also were not limited to 3 a day. The whole 60 day booking thing is very annoying. I do it because I like planning for our trips but it's very stressful and annoying to have to think that far in advance where we are going to be when. The tiers in some parks also make it more difficult.

The MaxPass “limit” is the same as regular FastPass. Wait til the time of the fastpass return or two hours has passed and you can book another.
Don’t forget at WDW with FP+ you can book more after using the first three as well.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

Almost worse is the trend in the last decade where people take their kids out of school to go to WDW during the "off season." Sure, it's great for Disney to spread the crowds out all year but I always shake my head when I see children that are clearly school aged in the parks on a Tuesday in October.

TBH we did this when I was a kid and it was totally worth it. Though this was back in the mid 90s when October was a legitimately slow time to be at the parks and there was a very clear off-season. No night parade, no nightly fireworks. This was also pre-FastPass. Now there is no truly slow time at the parks. There is just varying degrees of 'busy' and what level of it you're willing to tolerate. I think early September is still FAIRLY light but it's so unbearably hot as to not be worth it. My new favorite time is early December. All the Christmas decor, no holiday crowds yet, and nice weather. But I'm also an adult with no kids, so it's a great time for me.

 

[matt9112]

Universal has had it right all along. Express Pass is so simple and stress free. No scheduling, no pre-planning required at all. Just show up at the park whenever you want and enter the EP line at any EP attraction as you come to it. I've never understood why Disney has to make it so complicated and stressful for their guests.

Nah they want all that planning so they can manage labor costs to the dime. You will just habe to pay to plan.

 

[matt9112]

This, I think, is the biggest culprit when it comes to the overcrowding issues. A WDW vacation, for the last decade if not longer, has become something that people perceive as a rite of passage that everyone is entitled to, rather than seeing it for the luxury that it actually is. There are people who will go into massive debt to go to WDW or bug their friends/family for nothing but Disney gift cards for literally years to be able to cover the cost. WDW is something that you should only be doing if you can actually budget for, and afford it, and not owe anything on it when you leave (other than a few surprise costs here and there). And yes, that means there are going to be people who simply cannot afford to go. But just like not everyone will be able to afford a yacht, a luxury item, in their lifetime, so too will not everyone be able to afford a WDW vacation, also a luxury item, within their lifetime.

It wasnt always a luxurious item unobtainable. The product (the parks) do not reflect the massive ticket increases that have torn past inflation. If you told me the parks are somehow 200% better we could talk but there just not. I agree that it has turned into a right of passage and this drives up attendance but i genuinely think disney has failed to build out. They could do more volume at lower prices but alass this is the far easier and more profitable way. The only thing they build out is dvc.

 

[TrojanUSC]

Nah they want all that planning so they can manage labor costs to the dime. You will just habe to pay to plan.

That's a big part of it but there's is also this feeling of trying to make everything egalitarian, which you dig just a bit deeper it's anything but. They also have far too many resort guests to offer an "Express Pass" the way Universal does.

 

[DisneyCane]

Maybe that's why I do it the way I do...we really only took 3 family vacations when I was growing up (one of which I was barely old enough to remember), and one was sort of a "goodbye" trip to my terminally ill father. We never did long weekends that involved going to another state or anything like that. I always felt like I missed out on family trips being a big part of my life as a kid.

I will admit that it helps that I recently got a degree in education and try to be an active participant in helping them to learn and stay on track.

I was probably overly harsh. This is a good post and helps me understand the reasoning behind your choices. Also helps that you are able to keep your kid's education on track.

Maybe I'm jealous that my parents never let me miss school for a vacation!

 

[ChrisM]

It wasnt always a luxurious item unobtainable. The product (the parks) do not reflect the massive ticket increases that have torn past inflation. If you told me the parks are somehow 200% better we could talk but there just not. I agree that it has turned into a right of passage and this drives up attendance but i genuinely think disney has failed to build out. They could do more volume at lower prices but alass this is the far easier and more profitable way. The only thing they build out is dvc.

Disney feels like they've already tapped out the low end of the market (one of the reasons they built the value resorts, continued the "free dining" promotions, etc). Now they're going after the high end of the market.

It's a pretty typical path for many companies - try to attract volume, then realize your product is being diluted and you can increase profit by going after the lower volume, higher spend top of the market.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The booking ahead makes a huge difference. And a couple more big differences: 1) You can't (don't have to?) choose a return time with MP and 2) MP is an upcharge.

Max pass is significantly less stressful. With the existing Fastpass+ infrastructure improvements over what’s currently in Disneyland, it would also be a welcome change for WDW.

 

[Calmdownnow]

Almost worse is the trend in the last decade where people take their kids out of school to go to WDW during the "off season." Sure, it's great for Disney to spread the crowds out all year but I always shake my head when I see children that are clearly school aged in the parks on a Tuesday in October.

For many years Orlando has been a favorite destination for UK families during our "half term" breaks -- October, February or May. When the sterling-dollar exchange rate was more favorable, I would bet many of the kids you saw during these U.S. school terms might have been Brits. More recently, we have been surprised by the number of American families we have got talking to in the resorts during these cooler weather periods who are actually home-schooling their kids and so are not bound by the traditional timetable. We really had no idea how popular home-schooling has become in the US.

 

[nickys]

Max pass is significantly less stressful. With the existing Fastpass+ infrastructure improvements over what’s currently in Disneyland, it would also be a welcome change for WDW.

I can see the attraction, although I’ve not experienced it.

My concern for WDW is the length of stay. At DL how many days do people usually stay for? 3 -4 nights? WDW have people staying a week or more, many staying 2 or 3 weeks. Even at $10 a day, that’s going to add a significant amount to the cost. How do they encourage people to stay longer if they need to buy Max pass for every day? Or they choose not to and don’t have any FPs.

 

[Touchdown]

Maxpass is way better, if you book a FP for RSR at 6:00pm at 11am, you do not have to wait until you use that Fastpass, you can book another one at 12:30. It really allows you to “stack” FP like back in the old days. If I start at DL I can usually stack all the DCA FP so that from 2ish-5ish I’m jumping FP lines. Maxpass also allows you to stack times and you can actually hold FP that are good for the same time slot. FP+<<<<<<<MP. I gladly pay it.