HowAboutDisney
Active Member
GMR the last Dec to April it was running I’d say the average wait time was 30 minutes and I was there at least once every other week. I seen it many times a 60 minute wait..
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Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway confirmed
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
When did GMR get Fastpass? Wasn't it only with FP+?
I just did. Well, as much as I can. If you belive me or not doesn’t bother me. Thought I wish I’d had your luck to find it half empty.
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Yep.
Phicinfan
Well-Known Member
I have to agree here, its been a few years since I have been able to go, but in all my instances, the lines were at least out the building. Now saying that, the last two times I have gone the lines were longer because the ride was down for times due to mechanical issues. Which is why I am not surprised this ride was replaced. Can't be a people eater, if you aren't running consistently.
Skibum1970
Well-Known Member
I realize that it is a pipedream but it would be interesting if they opened up a ride like this without FP+ and then monitor how its line runs. While acknowledging that FP+ is their big thing, I just wonder if the lines would move so effectively that they would leave it alone. I know that this is a stupid thought but I would find it intriguing.
mikejs78
Premium Member
For headliner E-ticket attractions, lack of FP usually results in the same or slightly shorter standby times. For lesser D/C ticket attractions, FP+ results in same or slightly longer standby times. When tiers are involved, depending on the breakdown of the tiers, the tier A attractions skew shorter and tier B attractions skew longer. This is most apparent at Epcot.
I've formed these conclusions by looking at historical average wait times across similar days on the TouringPlans website, in the year leading up to FP+ and the first year of FP+'s existence. Across all rides in a park though, wait times were pretty constant on similar days both before and after FP+.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
That certainly contributed to pushing lines outside. Without Fastpass, waiting outside was far more rare.
Yep. The easiest explanation is that attractions and their queues were not designed for fastpass retro fitting.
Skibum1970
Well-Known Member
That's interesting. To me, it seemed that FP made the lines longer (except for those with a FP of course). However, while stand-by is longer, the same number of guests are being pushed through. I guess that it only feels that the lines are longer since, if you don't have a Fastpass, you are in the slower moving standby.
MrHappy
Well-Known Member
I believe the info shared in these forums concluded that wait times are mostly an operational decision - between staffing and cars/ride vehicles made available that day. That would effect the number of loads per day and the turn over of guests. Sure more crowded periods when park attendance is high may explain longer wait times, but there's a high degree of control Disney has in order to lessen wait times if they choose. I'm sure someone here with real knowledge of this stuff can confirm or deny.
DisneyFreak
Well-Known Member
mikejs78
Premium Member
I think you are right - the perception is that it's longer because the line moves slower, but the number of people in the standby line is less, so it's within the same range. If FP+ didn't exist, those same people using FP would be scattered in the standby line as well (statistically, not the actual same people necessarily).
The other thing that FP+ may do that I forgot to mention above is that it distributes guests throughout the day. So it should theoretically lower the top wait time at the peak of the attraction (midday, let's say) and redistribute the wait time a bit to less crowded parts of the day. So morning or late night might be a bit higher with FP+ in general, but the peaks would be lessend, keeping the average about the same. So that may contribute a bit too to the perception that lines are longer. But for this one I am just speculating as I don't have data to back this up (as opposed to my other post above, where there is data).
Only for those who are using the system.
mikejs78
Premium Member
Not necessarily. Let's say there's no FP+ and I'm a Disney novice who doesn't know when wait times are shortest, etc. I get to Space Mountain at 2 PM and get in line, along with everyone else because that's peak time.
Now with FP+ instead, I get a FP before my trip and the best I can find is a 8:30 PM return time. That takes me out of the line at 2 PM and moves me to 8:30. So that just took me out of the peak line for the day.
So my thesis is that there's a set of people who might otherwise line up at peak times end up utilizing FastPasses at lower demand times (because of availability), and that makes the peak standby lines a little shorter, but increases standby times at the other off peak times. So it flattens out the standby line a little throughout the course of the day.
Or artificially inflates it for attractions not designed for it or where it’s not needed.
There’s a reason legacy FP was removed from the HM.
TJJohn12
Well-Known Member
Ok, that simple comment is the most intriguing in this (perpetual) FP+ conversation. Do we have (publicly shareable) percentages of guests who just forego entirely? Or do you at least have a sense of where that number sits, @marni1971 ?
There are plenty of people who even though they know in advance they are going to a theme park, don't feel like it should be a 60 day plus out chore. Probably at about 8 to 12 percent of the guests.(I base this on my time as a travel agent for Disney) Then you also have guests who find out what it is when they get there or shortly before and treat it more like the original Fastpass system, but of course by then or shortly before they are not choosing their interests and just selecting more or less what is available to them.
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It’s lower than 20%. Some who don’t need it, mostly those who can’t understand or feel they’re unable to use it.
Purduevian
Well-Known Member
Went to WDW with a family who hadn't been in 10 years. After our first fastpass the father (whom paid for it all) pulled me aside and asked how much extra he paid for us all to skip the line on the ride. So there seems to be a decent percentage (this family travels a lot and loves the Disney Cruise Line) that don't understand what it is and that it's free.
Same trip, heard a comment from standby as we passed by in standby "I hate that they let rich people cut".