Next generation FASTPASS system to begin guest testing this week

[Tom]

Hi!

Like someone mentioned a few posts back, they are testing it with Magical Express riders. We did it Sunday. What appears on the iPad is the persons name and anything they may be celebrating. The pass is pretty easy to use and doesn't hold the line up too much. Takes a bit longer to process for a big group or family since they have to wait on each pass to pop up on the computer. I will post a longer description when I get back.

Got ours Sunday too, but conference won't be over until wed night, so we'll try it Thursday.

 

[basas]

I feel like it's 1999, the Prince song is playing nonstop, and we're discussing the initial roll out of FastPass.

It's a zero-sum system. You don't create capacity out of thin air. So if the 'tourists' get more FastPasses, something else will have to give. The question is, what will give?

Well said and a point which many seem to miss. You can put any system you want on an attraction and its capacity will not change. An attraction which can put 16,000 guests through in a day will still be able to accept 16,000 guests and no more. So is it a matter of some guests getting more rides at the expense of others (whether they be locals, visitors uninformed about the system, visitors staying offsite/at value resorts)?

 

[natatomic]

And to everyone who still hasn't realized the purpose of all this: it's enabling guests to ride more rides. Disney has a calculated number of rides per day that basically = happiness + spending $ on merch + coming back for another trip. The average guest only gets 1 fastpass a day, but with this new system, now Disney is giving them 4 fastpasses. With four fastpasses instead of one, guests will now be able to enjoy more rides without spending so much of their day in line, which makes them happier, and also frees them up to buy food and merch.

See, this is where Disney loses me. Each ride can only hold so many people at any given moment. With or without fastpasses, the number of people who get to enjoy a ride cannot change (without building additional ride space, obviously). So if Fastpasses allow people to experience more attractions than they normally would be able to, then they're doing so at the expense of someone else. This is already the case with FPs now (and abused GAC cards, but that's for another thread), but this is only going to make it worse.

EDIT: See, I read thru the first 13 pages and then decided to reply to the above comment without reading the final two pages of the thread since SURELY if is hasn't been said in the first 13, no one has said it in the final page and a half. And now I see my comment is directly below someone who shares my same thoughts almost word for word! Lol. That's what I get for not finishing the thread.

 

[G00fyDad]

Well said and a point which many seem to miss. You can put any system you want on an attraction and its capacity will not change. An attraction which can put 16,000 guests through in a day will still be able to accept 16,000 guests and no more. So is it a matter of some guests getting more rides at the expense of others (whether they be locals, visitors uninformed about the system, visitors staying offsite/at value resorts)?

Unless they increase it. How you ask? Increase park hours by one hour in the AM and one hour in the PM. By your calculations of 16000 guests through an attraction, that will allow another 2666 guests to use this system if it changed from a 9am - 9pm to a 8am to 10pm day. Step outside of the box and stop being an "either/or" person. :wave:

 

[dreamscometrue]

Well said and a point which many seem to miss. You can put any system you want on an attraction and its capacity will not change. An attraction which can put 16,000 guests through in a day will still be able to accept 16,000 guests and no more. So is it a matter of some guests getting more rides at the expense of others (whether they be locals, visitors uninformed about the system, visitors staying offsite/at value resorts)?

The capacity issue is true, but you can use this system to help spread out ridership wait times. If numbers show an attraction has a typical 60 min 'stand by' wait in mid afternoon and 15 min. at 11am, you can skew the FP offerings to give many more at about 11am, and significantly fewer at 3pm. Since people will book in advance, and for more than one attraction at a time, the system can be dynamic and offer more FPs at designated times to help spread out the crowds and lower 'stand by' wait times.

We use FP constantly, starting in the am, but also have a heirarchy. At MK, it's SM FP first, then Splash or BTMRR, and Jungle Cruise. If I knew that I could book 4 for a day, the times, and order would no longer matter to me. If I can book those FP's for those attractions, I'd take a 9am Jungle Cruise if they're offering it. And they might do that to help spread the crowds as I noted above.

 

[Gravydeen]

When will full implementation start?

If they are testing these two weeks in May, when do they start this for real? I asked the question awhile back and the answer was that it would be a long time off. Is there a chance that they test it for these two weeks like a soft opening and then go full on immediately afterword? We go first of June and wondering if there was a chance this could get implemented that quickly. I would assume not.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

If they are testing these two weeks in May, when do they start this for real? I asked the question awhile back and the answer was that it would be a long time off. Is there a chance that they test it for these two weeks like a soft opening and then go full on immediately afterword? We go first of June and wondering if there was a chance this could get implemented that quickly. I would assume not.

The rumor is that it would "soft open" sometime in the last quarter of this year, with the full-on push starting January.

 

[DVCOwner]

I agree with others that this system could spread out riders into times that the rides are not full. It will also give WDW a lot of data telling them if they need to extend park hours to spread out the riders even more. If all the Fastpass+'s are gone months in advance, then the park hours could increase to allow more riders during that day.

If fastpass are limited to a set percentage of riders, both of these would increase the number of non Fastpass+ riders that could go on each ride.

 

[wolf359]

The capacity issue is true, but you can use this system to help spread out ridership wait times.

Exactly. That's why we're seeing this added to more attractions than the ones that already have FastPass and typically long lines. The system is going to be used to help pull riders from standing in line at attraction "A" in order to get them to go to attraction "B."

It also makes sense to add X-Pass to fast/constantly-loading attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion because those attractions have really high riders per hour numbers. So use the system to divert people to those kinds of attractions instead of letting them pile up over at Space Mountain or Peter Pan.

So ride capacity is an issue, but it isn't the whole issue. If Disney uses the system to distribute guests more evenly throughout the park it should see wait times also even out. There will never be any way to keep Splash Mountain or Space Mountain from having the longest waits in the park, and it will probably increase waits at some other attractions like It's A Small World or the PeopleMover, but all of the people that X-Pass sends to those smaller rides aren't in line for the ones that have traditionally long waits.

 

[the-reason14]

Exactly. That's why we're seeing this added to more attractions than the ones that already have FastPass and typically long lines. The system is going to be used to help pull riders from standing in line at attraction "A" in order to get them to go to attraction "B."

It also makes sense to add X-Pass to fast/constantly-loading attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion because those attractions have really high riders per hour numbers. So use the system to divert people to those kinds of attractions instead of letting them pile up over at Space Mountain or Peter Pan.

So ride capacity is an issue, but it isn't the whole issue. If Disney uses the system to distribute guests more evenly throughout the park it should see wait times also even out. There will never be any way to keep Splash Mountain or Space Mountain from having the longest waits in the park, and it will probably increase waits at some other attractions like It's A Small World or the PeopleMover, but all of the people that X-Pass sends to those smaller rides aren't in line for the ones that have traditionally long waits.

So are they planning on adding extra lines to all attractions then? Even tta, country bears? Crap like that!? It makes sense, but at the same time it doesn't.

 

[Tom]

So are they planning on adding extra lines to all attractions then? Even tta, country bears? Crap like that!? It makes sense, but at the same time it doesn't.

I'm not sure every attraction will utilize xPass. They're obviously adding it to attractions which do not use FastPass, but there are still plenty of attractions that don't need any sort of system, like CBJ.

 

[Guppy_121]

Hi all,

I was in the World from may 1st to the 7th, just got back.

Briefly read through this thread, and decided I had to post, since everyone is full of opinions without having actually used it.

I was "one of the chosen", which is basically everyone who was coming into the world using the Magical Express. I was asked if I wanted to participate in the testing of the NEW Fastpast system ( those might not have been the exact words, but that is the gist of it ), so I say who would say no to getting some fastpasses
I was asked for my email, which I gave to them, but I explained that I could not or had no way to access my email, at which point I was told that I could not participate. to which I said "what?", to which another Staff member said you can go to guest services at the park and they might be able to help you. So I said OK, and chose Pooh, Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Splash, for that day ( may 1st ).
I get to the park, go to guest services, explain about the Email to which I am told, do not worry you do not need an Email to get the fastpass ( for those of you who were wondering, there's your answer ) cool. They say for when do I want it, I say right now this afternoon. they read me out a schedule, and ask if it is OK. As it happens I had no reservations or anything planned for that afternoon, as I usually just wing it on arrival day. So I say that's fine. So Off I go to Pooh, had exactly 5 minutes till the start of my window, so an hour ( plus whatever extra time they would allow ) to get to the ride. So I bolt over to pooh. I was the first official guest to use the new system there at the Winnie the Pooh ride, they made a big deal out of it.
Basically the system works like the reg. Fast pass except that you have them all before hand, I did not have to go and get my PAN FP at the start of my Pooh window, I already had it. and you have the same 1 hr window in which to use the FP, but now you know that you have them, and do not need to plan on going and get the next one, and will they be available, or will the next window work with my day. They, give you a list with all your FPs on it, and every member of your party gets a FastPass card, which you scan at each attraction.

My opinion, this is great. Far superior to the FP system that they have now. Not needing to run and get the the FP and then going back to ride the attraction was great, and the windows were all within 20 mins of each other, meaning, the end of the first window, was 5 to 20 minutes apart from the start of the next window. I got lots done in between, by knowing when and where I was going to be next in my "FP schedule", I did rides that fit within the allotted time. In between FPs I did stand by, or meet and greets ... did not try to get a regular FP while within my FP+ schedule, did not think to try it. but I think it would work, since it is not tied into your KTTW card. it's a separate card.

This could be a great addition to the parks, they ( the CMs ) were visible still figuring it out themselves, but if implemented throughout the world, this could become something really great. At least that was my experience with it.

Just got back, can't wait to go back...:wave:

 

[Brava Centauri]

I observed the testing in person several times over the past week. While there's no way so far to see what kind of impact the new system has on current FP operation or stand-by wait times, the procedure in place at the moment can be quite irksome to those of us not using it. For example, when I observed it being used at Peter Pan, the family ahead of me had to "check in" when first entering the queue and then a second time at merge. No doubt at this time the procedure is a lot longer than the intended ultimate result, but it was pretty annoying to have to wait several minutes while each member of the family had to scan their card and then answer questions being asked by another CM wearing a R&D shirt. Undoubtedly when XPass is officially launched, these people should (in theory) just be able to scan their cards and be on their way.

I'm done complaining about this system for now, because it's happening whether I like it or not. We'll just have to wait and see how it affects locals and day trippers ... as well as those folks who don't want their entire day committed to an itinerary.

 

[G00fyDad]

... as well as those folks who don't want their entire day committed to an itinerary.

And why does your entire day have to be committed to an itinerary? I am going to use this system to its fullest and I will only be setting up the major rides for the early mornings. After that my day will be pretty loose. So how exactly will this tie me to an itinerary? :shrug:

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

And why does your entire day have to be committed to an itinerary? I am going to use this system to its fullest and I will only be setting up the major rides for the early mornings. After that my day will be pretty loose. So how exactly will this tie me to an itinerary? :shrug:

That will be my plan as well, get my FP's for earlier in the day, the afternoon can be spent in standby, shopping, back at the resort or park hopping. Still plenty of room for some spontaneity. Besides, if it's coming I figure I'm better off figuring out how to use this to my advantage rather than wishing things wouldn't change.

 

[G00fyDad]

That will be my plan as well, get my FP's for earlier in the day, the afternoon can be spent in standby, shopping, back at the resort or park hopping. Still plenty of room for some spontaneity. Besides, if it's coming I figure I'm better off figuring out how to use this to my advantage rather than wishing things wouldn't change.

Amen. (where's the high-five smiley??)

 

[Brava Centauri]

And why does your entire day have to be committed to an itinerary? I am going to use this system to its fullest and I will only be setting up the major rides for the early mornings. After that my day will be pretty loose. So how exactly will this tie me to an itinerary? :shrug:

We can certainly agree to see things differently. I see it as a commitment, others may not. I certainly hope to be proven very wrong when everything is fully launched. It could be a big convenience ... or an annoyance. There's no way to say for sure yet. My day doesn't have to be committed to an itinerary unless I choose it to be. What I hope doesn't happen is that it becomes necessary for me to use to avoid long lines and crowds. I'm not saying it will, I'm saying I hope not. If you don't think it will, fantastic. If you plan to use it, great. But as someone who has the ability to wake up one morning and say, hmm, I feel like going to the parks today, I'm just hoping that this new system does what Disney is claiming will happen and people are more spread out to help keep lines at least marginally shorter.

 

[KevinYee]

Once again, all of these arguments applied in 1999 to the original FastPass as well.

By 2011, I think everyone realized that while you COULD choose to ignore FP, you crimp your ability to 'ride everything' by doing so. So the system 'forces' you to use it.

I suspect that will be true of FPP as well. Time will tell.

 

[G00fyDad]

We can certainly agree to see things differently. I see it as a commitment, others may not. I certainly hope to be proven very wrong when everything is fully launched. It could be a big convenience ... or an annoyance. There's no way to say for sure yet. My day doesn't have to be committed to an itinerary unless I choose it to be. What I hope doesn't happen is that it becomes necessary for me to use to avoid long lines and crowds. I'm not saying it will, I'm saying I hope not. If you don't think it will, fantastic. If you plan to use it, great. But as someone who has the ability to wake up one morning and say, hmm, I feel like going to the parks today, I'm just hoping that this new system does what Disney is claiming will happen and people are more spread out to help keep lines at least marginally shorter.

You're still missing my original point. You are saying that your entire day is going to have to be planned out. Why the entire day? That is the same "either/or" attitude that is baffling here. :shrug:

 

[KevinYee]

With Toy Story Mania, your plans for the ENTIRE day is on the table if you want a FastPass (and as we know, avoiding FP is a "choice" but a stupid one). You can't just decide to get it done with in the morning--the system decides when you get to ride.

I very much suspect that quickly FPP will result in people not being able to schedule "only" the morning time for their reservations. It will be like Toy Story Mania on steroids--everyone wants in, and you have to play along and hope for the best.