I will concede the restaurant thing, that does drive me crazy, but I still don't get the attraction thing. Yeah, lines might be long, but you can still get on. I guess I just see it as people being spoiled by the old system. Also, you can still use fastpass, that's not going away, you just have to use it within the time frame. What's the big deal about that?
There comes a point where a guest won't get in line for something because they don't know or feel that the attraction at the end of the line is worth the wait. This is exactly the scenario being outlined by Dumbo the Flying Elephant. It's safe to say that in it's previous location, the attraction did not meet demand, or perhaps more accurately, the demand at 30 minutes was much lower than the demand at 15 minutes. Consider the following:
45 Minute Waits: 10% of guests are willing to wait for Dumbo
30 Minute Waits: 25% of guests are willing to wait for Dumbo
15 Minute Waits: 40% of guests are willing to wait for Dumbo
Creating longer standby lines with Fastpass+ is going to upset many people.
If you know in advance where people are going and when, then you can staff accordingly. Right now staffing is based on historical trends and is still a best guess. You get more certainty the more people who have planned out as much as possible in advance.
Yes, there's value there but I really don't see a substantial change in staffing as a result. I could be wrong, but I don't buy it.
So true! I'll be dining at the Blue Bayou in less than a week and only called to make a reservation a few days ago. Not only was there no issue getting to go on the day I desired, I was also able to choose the time of my reservation. Try doing this at a big name restaurant at Walt Disney World. I am only a party of two, so I might be able to get something over the span of a few days, but likely would have had to choose from a few oddly timed remaining slots.
Right now I have 3 trips scheduled to stateside Disney Parks
September 1-5: Disney World
January 16-22: Disney World
August 7-14: Disneyland
My September trip is on my Premier Pass, but I wouldn't be surprised if for January I get a MYW base ticket as I'm going with my family. Then in Disneyland, I may go with a length of stay pass as well. I was getting the Premier Pass every year since it's been available because the value of a Disney World pass + 4 days in Disneyland made it worth it. Now, I'm less convinced that I need/want a Disney World AP, Disney is getting less money from me, and I'm still enjoying the parks at my own price.
They're pricing people out, maybe not entirely, but they're going to see cuts from guests, if they're giving us less for more.
So DL plans on doing the same fastpass+ stuff? Honestly if they did enforce return times over there, I don't see it as a big of a deal personally like I do at WDW. It's easy to come and go between the two parks and I love park hopping at WDW. It wasn't impossible for me to get a fastpass for TSM then head over to AK and do a few things and then back over to mgm to meet my time, but it sure as hell wasn't as convenient. That's why March was my last trip for a good while. Anyways, whether DL jumps on the bandwagon or not, I'm gonna enjoy using fastpasses next month.
It's going to be tough to prevent people from double booking attractions across multiple parks in the same way the double booked dining reservations. It's why I keep saying that the only way for Fastpass+ scheduling to truly be fair is to only allow it for guests that have checked into a park that day. Doing it in advance lends itself to so many problems.
Aaww, don't give up on WDW, it's home for you. Who know, maybe the Fastpass+ plan won't last? RSR has fastpass but they run out very quickly, before noon I hear. You have to get there early. There's always the single rider option. Yeah there aren't many rides at either DL or DCA with the Fastpass option. The bg ones have fastpasses so you'll be fine.
Try 9:15...
