MAXPass (upcharge mobile Fastpasses) coming to Disneyland...impacts to WDW?

[rael ramone]

Just read the Disneyparks blog post...

In 'Walts Park', it is (eventually) adding a 2nd tier to FP.

So basically, there will be 3 classes:

1. FP bookable via the app - for an 'introductory' price (code for the price will go up).
2. Paper FP that gets what is left over for 'cyberslots'.
3. Standby, who waits behind everybody.

In 'the Florida Project', there are 3 classes now.

1. Hotel resort guests who have first dibs on ride times (and have to pay for the resort prices to have access to it).
2. Other guests who have available to them what the hotel resort guests didn't select.
3. Standby...

So the DL guest pays $10 (for now) for 1st tier.
The WDW guest pays far, far, more for that 1st tier through the price of the room that many feel doesn't match the quality of the room offered (another argument that many agree on and many others don't).

In *practice* whether 1st Tier or 2nd Tier makes a difference would depend on the attraction desired and the crowd level. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to reserve a ride at 30 days out (once the window for non resort guests opens) and found NOTHING for a particular attraction, like say, Frozen...

So the WDW guest does get better access to attractions through an upcharge now. What $DIS wants for the general WDW guest, more then anything else, is to them to stay in the bubble - and have to pay for their nutritional & shelter needs for the length of their vacation. They want 100% of the Wallet Pie, they don't want to share large slices with outside accommodations & food.

My non-insider Spidey Sense says they will offer a general surcharge on FP about the same time as they start charging separately for the Magical Express...

I'm guessing their way to monetize it in the Swamps will have to do with tinkering with the amount of FP's granted to guests (and the headstart provided) based on what they are paying for their room...

 

[ford91exploder]

Depends on their cost for access. Has that been announced yet? If it's still a daily charge, that could get costly.

From Disney this will be 10/Day for everyone so yes it could get expensive

 

[ford91exploder]

People still do this?

I haven't heard about it since the iPhone was available to all.
Back in the day people used to jailbrake iPhones all the time. I sold mine on eBay every year and am sure that's what half of the purchasers were doing.lol. Then At&T lost their exclusivity..Verizon hurt my resale value. Sprint pretty much destroyed it. ..especially the stupid phone payment plans, and now leasing.
Anyway, just surprised that it was still a "thing". seems odd.

People jailbreak their phones all the time either to 'side load' applications I.e. Load private applications instead of using the app stores or to access API's which are not available through the public SDK's most frequently to access the radios/gps/wifi/BT hardware

 

[drizgirl]

From Disney this will be 10/Day for everyone so yes it could get expensive

I think the PP was asking about the cost for AP holders. And that crap hasn't hit the fan yet.

 

[21stamps]

People jailbreak their phones all the time either to 'side load' applications I.e. Load private applications instead of using the app stores or to access API's which are not available through the public SDK's most frequently to access the radios/gps/wifi/BT hardware

I can only speak for Apple, but I know that it completely voids your warranty. I can't imagine someone risking an $800 phone for a few FPs.

 

[ford91exploder]

I can only speak for Apple, but I know that it completely voids your warranty. I can't imagine someone risking an $800 phone for a few FPs.

I can at my company the majority of phones owned by the developers are jail broken. And it's easy enough to set them back to normal you just do a factory restore and your phone is back to the condition it was when you bought it.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think the PP was asking about the cost for AP holders. And that crap hasn't hit the fan yet.

From what I understand the cost is the same for AP holders, This would mirror how USH handles their front of the line system. It costs the same for AP holders and regular guests. It's difficult to see why Disney would change the policy as this is easy to understand.

they might also create a new AP class like universal which has FOTL included after 4pm

 

[180º]

Something that surprised me about Fastpass + when I actually used it for the first time (after being its biggest skeptic) was how many extra attractions I was able to reserve in the park for the same day. On a half day that I had left unplanned, I went to the Magic Kingdom and I ended up using Fastpass+ for Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain twice, Splash Mountain twice, Haunted Mansion, IASW, and Peter Pan's Flight (I kid you not), just by checking the app for openings as I went. I wouldn't blame you for not believing me, but I was as surprised as any of you could be that Fastpass+ does offer plenty of room for spontaneity. I suspect the great selection on the day-of comes from cancellations.

Obviously, as great a time that I had, there are still two HUGE problems with this: First, this puts tons of people on walkways instead of in queues, and impractically bloats queues for all attractions, from high capacity Mansion to low capacity Pan. Second, not everyone is as comfortable with the MDX app. The CMs at the FP+ kiosks are very helpful, and it's a nice courtesy measure, but one that doesn't solve that issue completely.

Here's my point with this atrocious Disneyland system: The good about Fastpass+, that anyone can show up on the day of and make use of the app for free, and that it offers flexibility with cancellations and is able to reallocate those return times – is only available on MaxPass at a premium. Meanwhile, everyone suffers from the downsides: overcrowded pathways and leftovers for selection. And at Disneyland, the overcrowded pathways will be much more noticeable and those who don't spring for MaxPass, aside from not being able to reserve return times in advance, can't even benefit from an equal system once they're in the park.

 

[wdisney9000]

Having experienced FP+, I now greatly dislike the old system. Running across the damn park to get a fastpass is an experience that I do not miss at WDW and do not like at Disneyland. Needing to be there at rope drop to get fastpasses for popular attractions at reasonable times is something I do not miss at WDW and do not like Disneyland. And being able to actually pick my FP time, rather than take the one being offerred, is something I really like at WDW, and miss when I'm at Disneyland (of course, if they don't enforce the end of the FP window at DL, that one doesn't matter much).

I believe there are pros and cons to either side of this coin. I suppose it all depends on what type of park touring style a person or family has. For the Excell spreadsheet style planners, FP+ is great because they have more control of the daily schedule of the trip and dont worry about needing to be at rope drop to secure that high value FP+. Downside (IMO), is that you still end up criss-crossing the parks unless you book all your FP+ in one land and if plans have to change for any reason and you miss that high value FP+ time, your SOL because good luck getting FEA FP+ day of or even during the rest of your stay, unless.......you got to rope drop. Which is why I prefer Legacy.

Legacy is sans all the technical issues and a paper FP doesnt require a charged cell phone, it is not prone to a failure and does not require constant upgrades to the printer that spits it out. You dont need to stay up until midnight to book your FP for high value attractions. You can get any attraction on day of without worrying. If you do wake up early for rope drop, you are highly rewarded and can ride your favorite ride more than once in a day. During the Legacy days, we could arrive at rope drop, ride Space Mountain, grab a FP on our way out, then ride Buzz and People Mover, head back to Space Mountain, ride again, then grab a Peter Pan FP on the way to Haunted Mansion, ride HM, then hit POTC, go back to Peter Pan and ride, then make our way over to Frontier Land and grab a FP for either Splash Mtn, do standby for BTMRR (which would usually not be too long), ten perhaps ride POTC again or grab some food while waiting for the Splash FP return time. We could usually accomplish all this by noon if we arrived at rope drop. Tats 8-10 attractions (with several E-tickets) before noon. You could NEVER accomplish that with FP+.

 

[MichWolv]

I believe there are pros and cons to either side of this coin.

Clearly.

if plans have to change for any reason and you miss that high value FP+ time, your SOL because good luck getting FEA FP+ day of or even during the rest of your stay,

I hear that all the time. But since FP+ has existed, I've made one trip planned far in advance, and four where I grabbed FPs no more than a week in advance (some the night before). The only attractions I've been unable to get a week in advance are 7DMT and Frozen. And the only ones I've been unable to get the night before are those two plus RnRC. Everything else has been available with very little advance planning.

We could usually accomplish all this by noon if we arrived at rope drop. Tats 8-10 attractions (with several E-tickets) before noon. You could NEVER accomplish that with FP+

On the contrary, one of the few days I have done rope drop with FP+, we did that. Scheduled FPs for 9:45, 10:45, and 11:50. Rope drop to SM, then Buzz, then TTA, SM FPs, MILF, Tea Party, Mermaid, Pan FPs, IaSW, Big Thunder FPs. 10 attractions before lunch (8.5 by noon) at Pecos Bill's at 12:40.

But what I like better is what I can do with FP+ at night. Dec 24 (not a slow night), we showed up at MK at 6:00 pm. Before we left just after 11, we did Space, Thunder, Philharmagic, carousel, 7DMT twice, IaSW, ate dinner, and saw four shows from the hub (Frozen holiday wish, holiday wishes, Mickey Most Merriest, and Once Upon a Time. Couldn't do that under the old system because by the time we arrived, FPs for Space, Thunder, and 7D would not have been available.

As you said, pros and cons of both.

 

[wdisney9000]

On the contrary, one of the few days I have done rope drop with FP+, we did that. Scheduled FPs for 9:45, 10:45, and 11:50. Rope drop to SM, then Buzz, then TTA, SM FPs, MILF, Tea Party, Mermaid, Pan FPs, IaSW, Big Thunder FPs. 10 attractions before lunch (8.5 by noon) at Pecos Bill's at 12:40.

And that is a well planned and executed mission! The caveat being that it requires rope drop either way (Legacy or FP+) if you want to knock out 8-10 attractions before lunch. But as we have both stated, there are pros and cons. Sounds like you are making the best of it by occasionally utilizing rope drop to have that attraction packed morning/afternoon, but still having days where you can relax and get up later in the day and use FP+ for a moderate day of attractions.

And for the record, I will say that my wife and I have done the same. We have had days that we wanted to take it slow (i.e, not bang out ten attractions by lunch) and FP+ does allow for an enjoyable experience in that aspect. We have switched FP+ on day of and been able to get decent selections for the most part as well. Im not a total FP+ basher, and I do enjoy MDE very much. Its probly my favorite of all the NGE.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

I would worry about words like "introductory price". It may be just me but I see down the road them phasing out the free paper passes then letting them get use to the idea of paying for the max pass then eventually hitting them with the same stupid tier system we have here at wdw so you'll still need to go more days to ride everything without doing the stand by lines. I have to wonder if this is successful how long it will be before they figure out how to charge wdw visitors for the use of the fp system in some way.

 

[I am Timmy]

I read it as the cost is $10 for unlimited PhotoPass photos, which is an insane deal compared to WDW.

I read that they do not have free wifi in DLR, how will that impact this new offering?

 

[I am Timmy]

I hope they are introducing a Wifi Network with this, or else international visitors won't be able to use the app without incurring insane data charges.

I've been reading the DLR comments, they are saying wifi isn't free in DLR, so do people have to use their cell usage to be able to use this app? They are also saying connection is sketchy throughout DLR making this an even bigger problem.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I've been reading the DLR comments, they are saying wifi isn't free in DLR, so do people have to use their cell usage to be able to use this app? They are also saying connection is sketchy throughout DLR making this an even bigger problem.

There is zero public wifi at Disneyland. You have to use your data to use any apps on phones.

 

[Bandini]

From what I understand the cost is the same for AP holders, This would mirror how USH handles their front of the line system. It costs the same for AP holders and regular guests. It's difficult to see why Disney would change the policy as this is easy to understand.

they might also create a new AP class like universal which has FOTL included after 4pm

I hope you're right about the AP holders paying $10/day for this. I think it would limit the amount of AP holders Since they already have to pay $18 /day for parking, unless they have an AP without blackouts. A trip to DLR could cost an AP holder $28/day with this FP app and that doesn't include any extras.

 

[AndrewsJ]

The $10 per day includes all photos?

It does but you have to remember than unless things change photopass photographers are not as plentiful at DL as they are at WDW. Sometimes PP photographers are difficult to find at DL. It has become kind of a joke with DL holders because it's included in the pass but finding a photog is a completely different story. I guess they could be beefing things up with this new service.

 

[AndrewsJ]

I can only speak for Apple, but I know that it completely voids your warranty. I can't imagine someone risking an $800 phone for a few FPs.

People do some crazy things for FP. It wouldn't surprise me.

 

[21stamps]

It does but you have to remember than unless things change photopass photographers are not as plentiful at DL as they are at WDW. Sometimes PP photographers are difficult to find at DL. It has become kind of a joke with DL holders because it's included in the pass but finding a photog is a completely different story. I guess they could be beefing things up with this new service.

What about ride photos though?

People do some crazy things for FP. It wouldn't surprise me.

Lol true. Hopefully they don't go that far. Jeopardizing your phone isn't worth it. Shouldn't be worth it anyway.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Magic bands paid for themselves with the additional consumerism they generated due to their ease of use and omnipresence throughout the resort. An impulse buyers dream.

Is that why they had four scapegoats that are no longer with the company?