Jim Hill on XPass attraction line-up

[lebeau]

what happens when a large family is turned away from their FP's when a guest has that time reserved?


i see some conflicts happening

I doubt they would be turned away. My guess is the xPASS user and the regular FP holder would wait in the same line. But the xPASS user is going to have dibs on scoring FPs. It remains to be seen how many FPs will be left for the rest of us.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

what happens when a large family is turned away from their FP's when a guest has that time reserved?


i see some conflicts happening

They will only be turned away if their FPs are expired. Hence why they are now just starting to enforce that policy.

They won't just say "oh sorry, too many people with XPasses booked reservations on this ride (a while ago) so the FPs you got today are no longer valid!"

 

[Buried20KLeague]

So, what exactly do we know about xPass (or whatever it is eventually called)?

Some who might know something have yet to post. And even those, I'm sure we would all say we have to take with a grain of salt.

So, the discussion/argument is entirely based on multiple lines of speculation. Quite fun to read and take part in, but certainly not worth getting riled up about. Since we know nothing, a post to the effect of "I hate that they are doing this" is pretty unfounded. We don't know what they are doing, so we can't hate it yet.

I enjoy the discussion and debate, but I think we all need to take a deep breath and realize that we are arguing about different lines of speculation.

I look forward to knowing what is going to happen with xPass, so I can either get really excited or really start complaining. Right now, I'll go with a post to the effect of "Hmm...interesting ideas. I like some of them and don't like others."

It is widely accepted that they are instituting a "pay for play" system. I need go no further to know I don't like it, because that capacity for those riders has to come at the expense of SOMETHING else. Whether it be FP's, or simply minutes added to stand by waits.

They're fixing a system that isn't broke, in order to squeeze more money out of folks.

 

[lebeau]

Clearly, your internet forum skills are far superior to mine.

I bow to you.

Your sarcasm is strong (and not completely warranted, but hey it's the internet!)

My secondary point, which is a complete spinoff of my original point, was based on you saying "Does Disney have a system I don't know about that allows people to pay to get seated faster? Because, that would be the equivalent of XPass."

And I was saying, no, that's not the equivalent of XPASS because it's (going to be) a publicly known concept. (Sure, not everyone will KNOW about it, but the information is available for anyone's use.)

I think I see the confusion now. Took me a couple of reads.

It's not about whether or not people know about the system. My point was that xPass isn't like tipping a maitre d. That's a private tranaction between the patron and the employee. The company wouldn't approve.

xPass is like if a fancy restaurant put up a sign and said "Pay X dollars to be seated first."

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Your sarcasm is strong (and not completely warranted, but hey it's the internet!)



I think I see the confusion now. Took me a couple of reads.

It's not about whether or not people know about the system. My point was that xPass isn't like tipping a maitre d. That's a private tranaction between the patron and the employee. The company wouldn't approve.

xPass is like if a fancy restaurant put up a sign and said "Pay X dollars to be seated first."

And my response to this is: That restaurant has every right to do that. Free market economy. I may not like it, but as long as I still feel like I'm getting a good value from the money I'm spending at that restaurant (based on the quality of the food AND how long I had to wait for the table) then I will keep paying to go to that restaurant.

If I feel like I'm no longer getting a proper value from that restaurant because I've had to wait too long for a table (because the guy in front of me slipped the host a $50 to take the next table) then I will drive down the street to the next restaurant.

If XPass REALLY makes anyone feel like they are not getting the proper value from Disney, then drive down the street to Universal and stand in line while all the Express Pass Plus guests jump ahead of you in line.

 

[HMButler79]

This is hilarious. Really it is. Because it proves what people like Spirit have been saying and others. Visiting WDW will now be on the scheduale TDO wants for YOU and not what you want. This is NOT going to work. WHY? We already HAD FP at the Mansion and they had to take it out. WHY? Because the merge point was before teh front doors. Major fights, waitime 40min the middle of Sept. And because the merge was before the door, the CMs has to hold them there right? So only one line moved instead of one massive group. So, the HM w/ FP, was techinally, like having HM run w/ ONE stretch room running. GURANTEED 30-40min waits in SLOW periods. Hence they took it out in 2005. I can't wait to see the disaster this is. And i love how Jim THINKS this is going to DL. No APer within 2-8hrs of Anaheim is gonna book a ride 6mos in advance and they know this. All the APers have to do is stop going and/or throw a major hissy show and it will get shot down. PLEASE. They had to take out FP at Pirates, Buzz, and made HM and Small World FP Seasonal.

And I don't need Madame Leota to see LOTS of 2 weeks notices from WDW and surge in applications at UO and SW :slurp:

 

[SyracuseOrange]

This is hilarious. Really it is. Because it proves what people like Spirit have been saying and others. Visiting WDW will now be on the scheduale TDO wants for YOU and not what you want. This is NOT going to work. WHY? We already HAD FP at the Mansion and they had to take it out. WHY? Because the merge point was before teh front doors. Major fights, waitime 40min the middle of Sept. And because the merge was before the door, the CMs has to hold them there right? So only one line moved instead of one massive group. So, the HM w/ FP, was techinally, like having HM run w/ ONE stretch room running. GURANTEED 30-40min waits in SLOW periods. Hence they took it out in 2005. I can't wait to see the disaster this is. And i love how Jim THINKS this is going to DL. No APer within 2-8hrs of Anaheim is gonna book a ride 6mos in advance and they know this. All the APers have to do is stop going and/or throw a major hissy show and it will get shot down. PLEASE. They had to take out FP at Pirates, Buzz, and made HM and Small World FP Seasonal.

And I don't need Madame Leota to see LOTS of 2 weeks notices from WDW and surge in applications at UO and SW :slurp:

Aw man, I was agreeing with most of what you were saying until you said the end part.

 

[UnrealFire]

Let's just hope the final version isn't called "XPass".

 

[njDizFan]

It is widely accepted that they are instituting a "pay for play" system. I need go no further to know I don't like it, because that capacity for those riders has to come at the expense of SOMETHING else. Whether it be FP's, or simply minutes added to stand by waits.

They're fixing a system that isn't broke, in order to squeeze more money out of folks.

Yes, that is the point here. Disney has to look at the return on investment. TWDC is not investing Billions to help the customer experience more attractions. The customer is going to see this cost funneled down to them in some sort,whether it's pay to play X-Pass etc.

 

[Map7711]

I'm a little confused

Lets say I decide to go to dw in like 3 months. I buy xpass. Then I try to reserve space mountain for that Monday. They tell me that space mountain is full for xpass that day? And that splash only has say like 11-12pm open? Won't that make pele mad? Or am I missing how this really works?

 

[Map7711]

People

Not pele! Lol!

 

[invader]

Excuse my language but as a local, ________ this whole thing.

 

[hoke2007]

This is one of the worst things I've ever heard about in terms of Disney parks. Xpass seems bound to anger the average park guest and lead to longer wait times for those of us without million dollar trust funds.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This is one of the worst things I've ever heard about in terms of Disney parks. Xpass seems bound to anger the average park guest and lead to longer wait times for those of us without million dollar trust funds.

start investing in your trust fund now. This doesn't premiere for at least a year. There's still time!

 

[Scuttle]

Why is everyone assuming that Jim Hill knows what he's talking about?

Hill has become excellent at writing things that sound plausible, but are concoctions of his own.

I listen to nearly every Jim Hill podcast and the guy has been spot on the last year. His track record has been very good since he broke the news of C3PO.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Universal has the right idea with express pass for resort guests..

it's efficient and frees up the guest to enjoy parks on own time

Universal has 3 resorts. WDW has 23 resorts.

 

[Jim Handy]

If you think Walt Disney World has gone downhill the past decade, just wait for this. It will completely change a vacation in Walt Disney World, and not in a good way for people who won't fork over the cash for the NextGen perks. Because as I understand it, it will cost money.

So lets throw aside the interactive bull and focus on XPass.

So it's bad enough you need book a dining reservation 180 days out. Who knows what they want to eat that far out? And alot of people don't like that structure on VACATION, knowing they have to be at the restaurant for a certain time. But that's only 1-3 time slots a day. Imagine having even 5+ reservations in a day. A series of 5 times you have to meet. It takes all the fluidity of a trip to a WDW park. Then add in the increased wait times for those who enjoy a traditional Disney experience and the fact that XPass folks can claim spots for already shows like the Nemo musical and Wishes which are already hard to get spots for and you've good a bad system. It's almost like XPass will create a vacationing caste-if it does cost extra cash.

 

[Scuttle]

Excuse my language but as a local, ________ this whole thing.

My thoughts as well. This is horrible for us locals and we are the ones that spend thousands and thousands at WDW EVERY year. There better be something in this for passholders.

 

[disneyeater]

Lets say I decide to go to dw in like 3 months. I buy xpass. Then I try to reserve space mountain for that Monday. They tell me that space mountain is full for xpass that day? And that splash only has say like 11-12pm open? Won't that make pele mad? Or am I missing how this really works?

Not pele! Lol!

You make Pele mad!

 

[TalkingHead]

It is widely accepted that they are instituting a "pay for play" system. I need go no further to know I don't like it, because that capacity for those riders has to come at the expense of SOMETHING else. Whether it be FP's, or simply minutes added to stand by waits.

They're fixing a system that isn't broke, in order to squeeze more money out of folks.

Brilliantly stated. It's Disney's M.O. these days.