Next generation FASTPASS system to begin guest testing this week

[Master Yoda]

I hear this a lot, but from my experience (and in the past year I got a lot of it) it just doesn't seem to be the case outside a few very popular places. I am having dinner at Citrico's next week and booked the restaurant no more than a month ago. I make a lot of last minute trips to the world now that I live close and don't usually have a problem getting a place that I enjoy. Sure, it might not be open availability at Ohana or in the Castle during Christmas time, but for the most part I can find over 40 choices for dinner the day before.

(I reread this and realized the tone might be a bit harsh, but it wasn't supposed to sound that way)

This has been my experience as well. I do a good number of spur of the moment trips and while there are a handful of places that you will rarely to never get at less than 180 days out, there are plenty of places that you can get day of. The key is to be flexible.

 

[MissM]

I hear this a lot, but from my experience (and in the past year I got a lot of it) it just doesn't seem to be the case outside a few very popular places. I am having dinner at Citrico's next week and booked the restaurant no more than a month ago. I make a lot of last minute trips to the world now that I live close and don't usually have a problem getting a place that I enjoy. Sure, it might not be open availability at Ohana or in the Castle during Christmas time, but for the most part I can find over 40 choices for dinner the day before.

(I reread this and realized the tone might be a bit harsh, but it wasn't supposed to sound that way)

It really depends on the size of your party, the date and the restaurant. It's easier to squeeze in a reservation 2 than 4 in my experience and living over in Tampa, I go on Saturdays which are often very difficult to manage. I got Love's birthday reservation about 45 days out or so but it wasn't a hard location.

I've been an AP for a few years now so I've been both lucky and completely unlucky in getting reservations when/where you want them. I can only imagine how much worse a limited number of ride spots would be though since only some people want table reservations but everyone wants the attractions.

 

[devoy1701]

I'm going to be interested in how this is going to work. What I think would be a great idea is if you could have the option of predeterming your Xpass prior to your trip AND still kind of winging it and being able to select your itinerary that day. For instance you might not be sure what days your going to each park, so you can't exactly set up your Xpass 90 days out, but as you get closer you might have an idea, or that morning as you're heading there you could review and accept your Xpass and an Itinerary for that day. If you still don't want to "plan" that much, having the 3rd Option of choosing your Standard Fastpasses at the attractions should still be available.

I think this would allow some flexibility and spontenaety to remain in the FP process, but at the same time, allow those heavy planners to use the system to their advantag.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I like this. Having the major rides guaranteed prior to leaving would be nice. Now that it will be free (or rather included in the price of admission), I think it's a great idea. To those who claim it punishes those staying off site, I rather think it rewards those who stay on site. As do Extra Magic Hours, 180+10 dining reservations, Disney Transport, free parking at the parks, Disney Dining Plan, Magical Express, etc. If you choose not to pay Disney's resort rates, you are knowingly choosing not to pay for the benefits of staying at a Disney resort. You don't get anything for free.

 

[ScarForKing]

I think one of the possible benefits of this system that seems to be getting overlooked is what this may do for the lines at park opening. If a number of people have already scheduled a reserved time for TSMM later in the day, then those families may not be running in at park opening to get in line and/or get a fastpass for that attraction. So for those who don't want to take part the next gen fastpass option, that sweet spot in the morning where walk on wait times are fairly short might be extended. I for one would probably still arrive at the park at opening even if I had a reserved fastpass time, but there are many who would sleep in if they knew they could.

 

[docdebbi]

I have been against this since i first heard about it and am dreading it's implimentation. We go again in December, I hope it is not in effect by then.
Sounds great if you have a small group and all adults. but we will be taking a 3 year old, a 1 year old and a 3 month old. I can just about guarantee you that we will not be keeping to any schedule I may try to make. You really can't plan when babies or small children will need to eat, need a diaper change, need a nap, get cranky and need a rest, or even see something cool like the jumping water fountains outside Imagination and want to stop and play with them.
I can see it now..........sorry kids, can't look at that, we've got a schedule to keep. Sorry kid, no new diaper, just let it leak a little longer, we didn't schedule your diaper change for another hour yet. Sorry kid, i know all the advice books suggest going at your speed, but we will miss Lion King if we don't run now.
sounds fine for adult only trip- maybe. but a horrible idea for families with kids, which i think included the majority of folks at WDW.

 

[Stitchaholic84]

Well it seems that Disney is trying to alleviate that issue with WiFi being added for free at the resorts and eventually the parks (if the permits are to be believed). Fastpass distribution will work exactly like it does now, but it seems there will just be less fastpasses at the parks because some will be reserved at home by guests. You'll still get your fastpasses from the kiosk just like you do now. You just might have to be a bit more strategic. Remember that there was a time when we always had to wait in standby lines and no one died from it...it can be done.

The resort issue...well I don't see it as Disney punishing non-resort guests as opposed to providing people more of a reason to stay with them. Most people on these forums praise Universal for giving their resort guests express pass which gives them UNLIMITED front of the line access. Also, for Joe Schmo staying at a non-uni hotel he can shell out big bucks in order to use the system. Why does it all of a sudden become a crime when Disney wants to do something (and even a more limited system) to provide benefits for people to stay at their resort hotels? Why does Disney get bombarded with negativity when they are acting as a business trying to gain a distinct advantage over their competition? I think that we should be happy that Disney gives us a free system to save us a few minutes in line and didn't start charging for it 10 years ago. I personally cannot say I have been to any other theme parks where I have had the opportunity to skip any line without a (substantial) fee. If that system alters a little and makes you wait in one more line, I would say be happy that you aren't waiting in 5 more lines.

When everyone was waiting in the standby line it wasnt so bad because generally a 45 minute wait meant a 45 minute wait. But if what others have mentioned in other threads is true, ie 20 "fastpassers" to approx 3 "standbyers" then the queues become ridiculously longer than anticipated. And this will only get worse now because people who may not have bothered to get a fastpass in the first place will now just get one because they can.

It also seems like another reason for Disney to bump up their prices for staying at their resorts just like they have since the dining plan was introduced. UK prices certainly have increased anyway. As someone else said, you dont get anything for free and this goes for the dining plan, emh, transportation, etc - someone somewhere is paying for it.

As for the point about Universals fastpass, there are nowhere near the same amount of people staying at Unis hotels that there are at Disneys so people jumping to the front of line at Universal doesnt nearly have the same impact as it would at any of the Disney parks. The vast majority people also dont pay for the pass, so again has no major impact.

 

[the-reason14]

My AP expires tomorrow. I won't be renewing.

But that is just because I don't have a trip planned any time soon. It has nothing to do with xpresso-magico.

Mine expires next month, and it has everything to do with this but moreso the recent fastpass policy change. So we're not renewing either. We usually go in May, and have for the past few years but forget it now. Maybe once they build rides and shows and lands and new theme parks to explore that I'll gladly decide to micromanage my entire trip and try to use psychic powers to know exactly where I can be and at what time to utilize this next gen fastpass stuff. Until then I'll gladly observe from here, and if I'm lucky, go to Disneyland. :sohappy:

 

[Kamikaze]

My AP expires tomorrow. I won't be renewing.

But that is just because I don't have a trip planned any time soon. It has nothing to do with xpresso-magico.

You decided to share that in this thread, why?

 

[Computer Magic]

Will the new system allow you to schedule FP for multiple parks in the same day? (i.e. will it allow for park hopping?) If you wanted to schedule a 2pm Soarin' and a 7pm Space Mountain, is that possible?

.

I also wonder if the system will allow me to schedule multiple rides for the same attraction. I would love to ride Toy Story 3 time in a day.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

I'm not a huge fan of this so far. It just seems crazy to me to know what ride you're going to at a certain time. I probably wouldn't even use this system. Question though-- with this new system, would there still be a limited number of fastpasses to be scheduled from people at home? I'm assuming there is a limited number for each time slot, like the current system?

 

[GrumpyFan]

I have been against this since i first heard about it and am dreading it's implimentation. We go again in December, I hope it is not in effect by then.
Sounds great if you have a small group and all adults. but we will be taking a 3 year old, a 1 year old and a 3 month old. I can just about guarantee you that we will not be keeping to any schedule I may try to make. You really can't plan when babies or small children will need to eat, need a diaper change, need a nap, get cranky and need a rest, or even see something cool like the jumping water fountains outside Imagination and want to stop and play with them.
I can see it now..........sorry kids, can't look at that, we've got a schedule to keep. Sorry kid, no new diaper, just let it leak a little longer, we didn't schedule your diaper change for another hour yet. Sorry kid, i know all the advice books suggest going at your speed, but we will miss Lion King if we don't run now.
sounds fine for adult only trip- maybe. but a horrible idea for families with kids, which i think included the majority of folks at WDW.

Sounds a bit extreme. I really don't see this being the case.

As for scheduling with kids, I disagree. It can be done. We scheduled our park time around our kids and their needs. We had specific times that we ate, specific times to play and see attractions, specific times to go and rest. Of course, we didn't plan potty times, but believe me, we did take potty breaks as needed.

The current FP windows are for an hour, and I don't see where they will be changing that on the new system. Also, I doubt you will be able to plan your entire day on FP. I can see where they might let you plan 2-5 per park per day, depending on crowds, but not all. So, you would still have the ability to go and do as you please for the most part, but you would have 2-5 specific windows where you had to be in those locations.

The other thing is, this will be voluntary, just like the current system. If you don't want to plan your day and pre-select some of the FPs, then you are under no obligation to do so.

 

[Master Yoda]

I'm not a huge fan of this so far. It just seems crazy to me to know what ride you're going to at a certain time. I probably wouldn't even use this system. Question though-- with this new system, would there still be a limited number of fastpasses to be scheduled from people at home? I'm assuming there is a limited number for each time slot, like the current system?

There has to be. It would not work otherwise.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

There has to be. It would not work otherwise.

That makes sense. I feel like, at least for me personally, I would schedule all these rides in advance and change plans when I actually get there, and then end up not using most of the scheduled fastpasses, which would be a waste of my time spent scheduling them, and a waste for other people who would have wanted to use them. I'm curious to see how this will all work out.

 

[JCtheparrothead]

As i have said before i work for an RFID company so i thought i would do some checking on where my company fits into all of this. Nothing like doing a search for Disney opportunities and the first contact that comes up is John Lasseter. I am guessing if they are dealing with my company for the RFID tech they will be in Card format instead of wristbands.

 

[Philo]

Love the use of RFID, not so keen on the idea of pre-booking fastpasses.

I'm honestly not sure when I would use this system. I generally like to have an idea of when I might visit each park, but I don't like the idea of having to commit to it.

For example, there have been plenty of times when we've turned up at Epcot, realised it was too busy (I'm not good with crowds) and then left for another park. If we had pre-booked fastpasses on certain rides, I'd feel pressured to stay in that park which wouldn't be a good experience for me (I know it's a not a contractual obligation to actually turn up for the ride but I won't feel comfortable unless I follow the plan! Stupid OCD!).

I guess it comes down to the fact that for people who are visiting for a couple of days, this is great because they can prioritise the rides they want to go on and make sure they do get on them, but for me, I'd rather not plan out where I want / need to be every hour of every day, and I suspect most people are like this which means the system will probably work... but I'm sceptical of it's need.

 

[ADP2]

I understand this is another step in the process to help with line complaints and an attempt to improve the guest experience. I appreciate Disney trying to do this, but at some point a "line" (No pun intended) is crossed between the guest experience and efficiency. It's my opinion that line is getting crossed with this implementation.

The guest experience at Disney World is becoming too automated. When you walk into a theme park now there's too specific of a process you'll have to follow to experience your day. It's becoming very robotic. I understand Disney's need to become more efficient with their backend processes, but to push it onto guests is a bit much.

I just don't think this is the answer to shrinking the line and wait time problems at the major attractions. To me, the only answer is to meet popular demand and increased revenue with additional theme park investments.

 

[Freshee61]

I have been against this since i first heard about it and am dreading it's implimentation. We go again in December, I hope it is not in effect by then.
Sounds great if you have a small group and all adults. but we will be taking a 3 year old, a 1 year old and a 3 month old. I can just about guarantee you that we will not be keeping to any schedule I may try to make. You really can't plan when babies or small children will need to eat, need a diaper change, need a nap, get cranky and need a rest, or even see something cool like the jumping water fountains outside Imagination and want to stop and play with them.
I can see it now..........sorry kids, can't look at that, we've got a schedule to keep. Sorry kid, no new diaper, just let it leak a little longer, we didn't schedule your diaper change for another hour yet. Sorry kid, i know all the advice books suggest going at your speed, but we will miss Lion King if we don't run now.
sounds fine for adult only trip- maybe. but a horrible idea for families with kids, which i think included the majority of folks at WDW.

Thank you!!!!! Exactly what she said!!!!!
Ps well said

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I was initially pretty skeptical about this, but it honestly doesn't sound horrible. People with lots of WDW experience already know to get FPs early for E Tickets, and they know when they can catch the TTA or Pirates with a walk-on (for the most part).

I think the key here is for families to understand their travel patterns before "booking" their attraction times. From what I understand, they will have a set # of xPasses to use per day (based on the level of resort?). My family likes to get up early, hit E ticket attractions by lunch, then go back and take a nap before "winging it" in the evening. I can see where xPass would simplify this. "Book" your three must-dos for early morning, and you can still follow your typical vacation routine, without having to possibly criss-cross a park to get all your FPs.

 

[Disneygal24]

I have a couple of questions because I haven't been following this very closesly.

How many days in advance are they going to allow guest to secure the fastpasses. If it is a day or two ahead then that isn't bad and I can see it working. But if we are talking 90 days - I'm not that big of a planner.

I do like the idea of being able to secure fastpasses online. I'm sorry but towing two little kids and racing to Soarin to get fastpasses and then doubling back to do Test Track - it wears them out when you really don't need to.