Looks like my family vacations to Disney are over

[lebeau]

Unless you price the premium FP at a high level, most people will still get it, and nothing will have changed. Also, if they did start charging for FP, they would have to drop the price of park hopper or the dining plan, or the trend towards Disney vacations being over priced for anyone but the wealthy will continue.

That trend is very much by design. Disney will accelerate it in any way they think they can get away with. They be hunting whales.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

At Disney, every child counts, and every guest is a VIP. Here's hoping that never changes.

I think it prudent to challenge this assertion. It has never been true that all guests have equal treatment at Disney.

Simply put, time = money. Pay more, and you'll spend far less time waiting and walking within the resort.

Disney even offers deluxe shampoo to high end guests!

Beyond that, Disney literally offers personal VIP for a price.

They also have long offered many other services at a price. Businesses booking corporate events have access to all kinds of custom perk options for one.

Disney World has always offered a stratified experience for guests willing to pay extra and they always will.

 

[lebeau]

At Disney, every child counts, and every guest is a VIP. Here's hoping that never changes.

Why am I reminded of The Incredibles?

 

[lebeau]

It is going to change....there room count keeps going up.... and they just re classified there resorts and such...big changes soon I would guess. Like I said express pass isn't going anywhere but it WILL have to change as the resort crowd levels increase.

You do realize that Cabana Bay doesn't offer Express Pass as a perk, right?. I don't believe the new hotel will either.

 

[lebeau]

I dont think Disney would have done a really bad job, but it would probably be less scary for younger kids. So probably no forbidden journey. The hippogriff maybe, but that ride evolved from a ride that was already present like Dragon Challenge. I wonder what rides Disney would have come u with, interactive wand ride, quidditch ride ?

If I remember correctly they planned a single ride which was basically Toy Story Mania with wands. You can understand why Rowling passed.

 

[BaconPancakes]

IMO Disney should get rid of fastpass altogether. The fastpass lines are becoming just as long as what the stand-by lines would be without them.

 

[BaconPancakes]

You do realize that Cabana Bay doesn't offer Express Pass as aprek, right?. I don't believe the new hotel will either.

Apparently their contract with Loews now states that none of the upcoming hotels will be eligible for express pass in the future.

 

[BaconPancakes]

What I gather is that the OP's wife is just upset that the DAS is no longer a front of the line pass....

 

[draybook]

We prefer to stay on site at Royal Pacific Resort. We get the AP rate of 182 a night and let's be honest, their rooms rival if not beat most standard moderates in the Bubble. Throw in the free Express Passes and it's quit a nice deal. Especially when you're able to hoof it to the parks in 5 or so minutes.

 

[lebeau]

We prefer to stay on site at Royal Pacific Resort. We get the AP rate of 182 a night and let's be honest, their rooms rival if not beat most standard moderates in the Bubble. Throw in the free Express Passes and it's quit a nice deal. Especially when you're able to hoof it to the parks in 5 or so minutes.

At a WDW moderate, sometimes it takes longer than that to hoof it to the bus station, food court and/or pool.

 

[squidward]

What I gather is that the OP's wife is just upset that the DAS is no longer a front of the line pass....

What I gather is that you make assumptions about strangers.

My son has epilepsy and due to one of the medications he is on, he becomes extremely easily agitated, which in turn, can lead to seizures. The GAC was something that Disney was nice enough to offer for people in our situation. They took it away - Fine. No law that says they need to have it. I'm simply stating that without it, we can't do nearly as many attractions.

The bottom line is, WDW has a traffic problem. There simply aren't enough attractions to spread out among the number of guests in the resort. How in the world this is possible with nearly 30,000 acres of land is a whole other issue.

As far as "paying for Express", it's such a ridiculous statement. If you want to enjoy Universal with Express, stay there. The resorts that offer it are a heck of a lot cheaper than Disney's Deluxe Resorts, and as Draybrook pointed out, with an AP discount, they're less expensive (and MUCH nicer) than Disney's moderates.

Paying for Fastpass, in my opinion, is inevitable. I think it's why FP+ was created. Disney is all about making money, just like any other business. I'm curious if the people complaining about that prospect have a problem with Disney offering more expensive resorts and restaurants. If you can't afford to stay at the Grand Floridian, are you going to cry "Foul" and say it's not fair? You get what you pay for in life.

 

[jensenrick]

I much prefer the Disney feel of AS Sports over the BC Hilton

Seriously?

So instead of a luxury resort, styled with class and sophistication, with pool/lazy river that is as fun and/or tranquil as you want it to be, and ride to the parks on luxury buses that always have enough space for everyone waiting-

You'd rather be surrounding by giant plastic basketballs, motel6 style outdoor hallways, while surrounded by a mass of strollers with screaming kids and obnoxious chanting cheerleaders, while waiting forever for the crap Disney buses.

Okay then.
You are right about one thing- that second description does have a much more Disney "feel."

 

[Jon81uk]

What I gather is that you make assumptions about strangers.

My son has epilepsy and due to one of the medications he is on, he becomes extremely easily agitated, which in turn, can lead to seizures. The GAC was something that Disney was nice enough to offer for people in our situation. They took it away - Fine. No law that says they need to have it. I'm simply stating that without it, we can't do nearly as many attractions.

The bottom line is, WDW has a traffic problem. There simply aren't enough attractions to spread out among the number of guests in the resort. How in the world this is possible with nearly 30,000 acres of land is a whole other issue.

As far as "paying for Express", it's such a ridiculous statement. If you want to enjoy Universal with Express, stay there. The resorts that offer it are a heck of a lot cheaper than Disney's Deluxe Resorts, and as Draybrook pointed out, with an AP discount, they're less expensive (and MUCH nicer) than Disney's moderates.

Paying for Fastpass, in my opinion, is inevitable. I think it's why FP+ was created. Disney is all about making money, just like any other business. I'm curious if the people complaining about that prospect have a problem with Disney offering more expensive resorts and restaurants. If you can't afford to stay at the Grand Floridian, are you going to cry "Foul" and say it's not fair? You get what you pay for in life.

The DAS/GAC is/was never meant to allow front of the line access so when the GAC got too close to an express pass they re-did it back to what it should be, the ability to wait outside of the line until it is your turn to ride. That means you get to do the same number of attractions in a day as an average guest, so yes this may mean you won't do as many as previous. But this isn't Disney's fault from changing the system.

Adding paid for fastpass won't give more attractions, it just makes some people's days better and others peoples days worse. This is why Disney added FP+ to try and give everyone a pretty good day. At Universal some people will have short waits, but that makes everyone else wait longer if there are too many express pass guests at once. This I think is why Disney are offering more expensive options in other ways. Pay for different experiences such as dessert party or Africa Trek, but rides and attractions are open to all. Of course you could pay the $1890 for six hours of having a VIP guide if you really want to skip lines.

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

Seriously?

So instead of a luxury resort, styled with class and sophistication, with pool/lazy river that is as fun and/or tranquil as you want it to be, and ride to the parks on luxury buses that always have enough space for everyone waiting-

You'd rather be surrounding by giant plastic basketballs, motel6 style outdoor hallways, while surrounded by a mass of strollers with screaming kids and obnoxious chanting cheerleaders, while waiting forever for the crap Disney buses.

Okay then.
You are right about one thing- that second description does have a much more Disney "feel."

Yes

 

[matt9112]

You do realize that Cabana Bay doesn't offer Express Pass as a perk, right?. I don't believe the new hotel will either.

They don't but those guests can buy it outright and are more likely to do so than off property guests. The park crowd dynamics are changing. Also with more resorts on the horizon they can jack up the prices at the three resorts that do offer it because they won't be pushing those guests off property anymore bit just into there own cheaper hotels. Again this is all just my speculation based on some rumors and common sense.

 

[matt9112]

What I gather is that you make assumptions about strangers.

My son has epilepsy and due to one of the medications he is on, he becomes extremely easily agitated, which in turn, can lead to seizures. The GAC was something that Disney was nice enough to offer for people in our situation. They took it away - Fine. No law that says they need to have it. I'm simply stating that without it, we can't do nearly as many attractions.

The bottom line is, WDW has a traffic problem. There simply aren't enough attractions to spread out among the number of guests in the resort. How in the world this is possible with nearly 30,000 acres of land is a whole other issue.

As far as "paying for Express", it's such a ridiculous statement. If you want to enjoy Universal with Express, stay there. The resorts that offer it are a heck of a lot cheaper than Disney's Deluxe Resorts, and as Draybrook pointed out, with an AP discount, they're less expensive (and MUCH nicer) than Disney's moderates.

Paying for Fastpass, in my opinion, is inevitable. I think it's why FP+ was created. Disney is all about making money, just like any other business. I'm curious if the people complaining about that prospect have a problem with Disney offering more expensive resorts and restaurants. If you can't afford to stay at the Grand Floridian, are you going to cry "Foul" and say it's not fair? You get what you pay for in life.

The current way the system works would not be kind to simply charging for the service without making some kinds of changes. Your grand Floridian example is also a tad off. You staying in GF has no negative impact on me at say pop. But you paying for fast pass thay removes regular line capacity negatively effects my vacation directly.

Buying a bmw doesn't give you an edge in traffic but removing a highway lane and charging 50 bucks for this lane would reduce capacity of said highway and reward the Wealthy and negatively effect the rest of us. Poor example but you get the picture.

 

[matt9112]

Apparently their contract with Loews now states that none of the upcoming hotels will be eligible for express pass in the future.

express pass cannot be expanded....theirs a reason its not in use in the wizzarding world. the three resorts with it currently are the only ones to have it included period. but i still think the system will change. possibly tiers?

 

[squidward]

express pass cannot be expanded....theirs a reason its not in use in the wizzarding world. the three resorts with it currently are the only ones to have it included period. but i still think the system will change. possibly tiers?

I don't see it changing. Regardless of what some people might think, it works, and has for a long time. Universal, great as it is, isn't like Disney. If they change something so that it really lessens the guest experience, people will stop going. As has been proven with FP+, people will still go to Disney. Universal knows who it is and what it's limits are.

 

[Jon81uk]

express pass cannot be expanded....theirs a reason its not in use in the wizzarding world. the three resorts with it currently are the only ones to have it included period. but i still think the system will change. possibly tiers?

They wouldn't add tiers, the paid for standard express pass is already limited to one express on each ride that takes it. Only hotel guest express pass allows re-riding in the express queue.
More likely they would just increase the price of Express to limit the number of day guests that can purchase it.

 

[lebeau]

They wouldn't add tiers, the paid for standard express pass is already limited to one express on each ride that takes it. Only hotel guest express pass allows re-riding in the express queue.
More likely they would just increase the price of Express to limit the number of day guests that can purchase it.

You can buy unlimited express pass if you want. We did and then we didn't end up doing any rerides. Ooops. In that sense, there are already tiers.

I don't see any changes coming to Express Pass any time in the near future. One extra hotel isn't going to change the math. Especially since it won't offer Express Pass as a perk. Maybe 10 years from now if they continue to expand aggressively, some kind of change will be needed. But as long as the guests receiving Express Pass are a relatively small percentage of overall guests, the system will work as-is.

Let's face facts, the paid system is pretty much standard everywhere but Disney. And Disney would switch to a paid model if they could get away with it. No one is ever going to look at FP (original or extra crispy) and say "We need a system that works like that." Sure, guests think they like FP because it's "free". What they don't take into account is that the cost of FP is built into the tickets and when everyone uses FP effectively, it provides very little actual benefit. A paid model, on the other hand, provides a large benefit to those willing to pay for it. Good for guests, good for the company. But doesn't have the warm fuzzies of a "free" system".