Reservation system here to stay? Update from Josh D'Amaro

[FeelsSoGoodToBeBad]

It was worse with the old system with FP+ in place. You had to plan your trip out 6 months in advance with meticulously knowing when to eat, where you had to be, etc 60 days with kids for example.

I kid you not the only aspect of this trip I am stressing about is not finding a reservation for Be our guest late in the evening. The latest I got was 4:50 and I want close to 6:05-6:50, Why? Because time is money at the park especially when dining in can take up two hours so you never know, with no fireworks it’s a no brainer but still it kind of sucks not being able to find the right time, but it’s minor. Low key I have TWO be our guests for the same day one at 12:50 and one at 4:50 which will change once it gets close to the day of traveling because I have to see what will work for me And my kids! Make no mistake going on this trip to disney world is less stress full than it was seven months ago, because of the planing the trip to the T. I can be casual in Disneyland and Universal Studios(both coasts) but not Walt Disney World. I embrace the one park a day, no fast passes so we will see.

I have to agree with a lot of the sentiment expressed here.

While our trip is still about six months out, I don't find myself agonizing over which FPs I need to make and what tiers they're in and what if the only day we can get an ADR at BOG is the only day we can get a FP for (insert whatever ride at another park here). As the vacation planner for a family of 5 (3 teens) ANY vacation can be exhausting, but it becomes even more so when I have to be the Keeper of the Calendar when I'm supposed to be having fun and relaxing.

I know I still will be making ADRs, but as it stands, that's ALL I'll be worrying about, since we'll have already picked our parks in advance and there are currently no FP+.

That said.... I've mentioned before that I hate that RotR BGs are so difficult to get that I have scheduled two days at HS "just in case" we don't get in on our first day. With no PH, if we miss out on a BG on our first day and decide RotR is a must do, we will have to use another ticket to try our luck again for one ride in a park that we already spent a full day in. If we had the option to purchase a one-time PH that would give us the flexibility to experience another park once we (hopefully) got our BG on our second day. We have 6 people going. I just can't see spending an extra $600 for a PH we might use on one day because of ONE ride.

Sorry....that was a little wordy.... *steps off soapbox*

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Do you think people aren't going to the parks because of the reservation system?

I think it’s a part, especially for APs. Let’s put it this way, because of the system, I have gone to Uni more in the last couple months than I have to Disney! Crazy stuff.

 

[Lirael]

I doubt FP+ will stay gone, even if it comes back different (or *shudders* paid only). Right now they stopped using FP+ because there is no need for it + gives them extra space to work with for the distancing. The moment attendance starts increasing again they'll want to bring back something like FP+

 

[GladToBeHear]

We were down there for two weeks about a month ago. Aside from having to wear the masks everywhere in 90-degree heat and humidity (which was pretty brutal), it was one of the best trips I've had to WDW in YEARS. Granted -- we made the last-minute decision to go down due to the extremely low crowds and lack of FP+ -- but I have to say that it was completely worth it. I've never been a fan of the FP system and this trip reminded me why. Every line moved.

I know it won't be the same once the crowds come back -- but I'd love to see WDW stay FP-free. If I had to pick between a park reservation system and FP+ (if that ever was a choice that needed to be made) -- I think I'd have to take the reservation system. I'll admit that it was a little stressful worrying about if we were going to get in HS on certain days we were there -- but was worth it with the capped admission.

 

[larryz]

From a practical perspective, why would any manager give up a system that helps them plan manpower requirements with as much detail as Park Reservations?

 

[Disstevefan1]

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/25...sney-worlds-pandemic-changes-are-here-to-stay

So Josh said this back on August 26 and I thought it was thread worthy. To me this would prompt me to sell my DVC as I would go day less than I do now. I can only assume park hopping would never come back either but maybe they'd let you reserve 2 parks on one day. I also have no clue how this would work with annual passes.

What average family visiting Disney (not the crazies like us that go frequently) is going to pay insane prices then possibly not get into the parks they want on the days they want?

To me this would kill attendance. If they want lower crowds, they'll definitely get them by leaving this reservation system in place.

Someone talk me off the ledge before I go list my DVC for sale.

I have said this in similar threads and I will say it here too. Before the pandemic, we had the Platinum AP, no blackouts, has hopping, go whenever you feel like.

I predict WDW will come out with a new AP, that requires reservations and has blackouts, no hopping and will price it at what we used to pay for the platinum pass and DOUBLE the price of the platinum pass (no reservations, no blackouts, park hopping)

 

[_caleb]

From a practical perspective, why would any manager give up a system that helps them plan manpower requirements with such great detail as Park Reservations?

I agree. If Disney knows how many guests to expect (and where they intend to eat, what they intend to ride/watch/buy), they should be able to optimize their services for the guests who are actually coming to the parks rather than for any theoretical guests who may possibly come to the parks.

The counter-argument to this (which has been stated loads of times on these boards) is that this planned approach takes all the spontaneity out of a visit.

The answer to this is giving Disney more info about guests. Adding to all the data Disney already has about its guests, it would not seem too difficult to begin to predict guest behavior more accurately, including which parks they will want to visit on which day of their vacation.

The reservation system is a heavy-handed first step toward Disney collecting much more data about guests than they have thus far. The Genie app will work much better if it knows a lot about you. The more Disney knows about what you enjoy, how you eat/spend-even your traffic patterns in the parks and wait time tolerances in certain temperatures- the more they can spend on what matters (read: makes you spend more money and want to come back).

Anyone remember Disney's patent on tracking guests using images of their shoes? Combine that with data from MagicBands and smartphone tracking through MDE/Genie, and Disney will be able to adjust staffing and show according to guest preferences.

 

[britain]

According to a place for laughing dot com, Disneyland Paris is implementing 'Standby Pass': A way to hold your place in the standby line so that you don't have to be crowding close to people.

I like the sound of it, but it also sounds exactly like what the original Fast Pass was when it first premiered - a way to hold your place in line.

A whole lot of creative operational methods are being shotgunned these days...

 

[marni1971]

According to a place for laughing dot com, Disneyland Paris is implementing 'Standby Pass': A way to hold your place in the standby line so that you don't have to be crowding close to people.

I like the sound of it, but it also sounds exactly like what the original Fast Pass was when it first premiered - a way to hold your place in line.

A whole lot of creative operational methods are being shotgunned these days...

It’s literally a reserved time slot for access to the standby line. It won’t be used all day, nor for every attraction. We were there on Saturday for day one of Halloween and in particular Star Tours, PotC and BTM queues had spilled out of their overflows. The latter two in particular created pinch points on walkways. With queue space reduced by at least half (French regulations are 1.5 metres between parties) the popular and smaller queue designs can’t hold peak demand at the moment.

With Fastpass still unavailable (hurrah) wait times once in the physical queue should be like normal and be what the posted time says. But you won’t have to queue on a footpath. The biggest concern is safe crowd management.

 

[britain]

It’s literally a reserved time slot for access to the standby line. It won’t be used all day, nor for every attraction. We were there on Saturday for day one of Halloween and in particular Star Tours, PotC and BTM queues had spilled out of their overflows. The latter two in particular created pinch points on walkways. With queue space reduced by at least half (French regulations are 1.5 metres between parties) the popular and smaller queue designs can’t hold peak demand at the moment.

With Fastpass still unavailable (hurrah) wait times once in the physical queue should be like normal and be what the posted time says. But you won’t have to queue on a footpath. The biggest concern is safe crowd management.

Do you get notified when you should come back to get in the physical line? Is there a time window?

 

[marni1971]

Do you get notified when you should come back to get in the physical line? Is there a time window?

I would hope you get a push notification when your 30 minute time slot is ready.

 

[Castmbr]

Disney leadership hates annual passholders and they were going to be the test subjects for the reservation system initially. This was a way to limit lower overall revenue guests getting into the park and "clogging" the rides and pathways for a not as enjoyable experience.
I hate that the rest of the world has to experience this system that was rushed into production way too early.

 

[EngineerMom]

According to a place for laughing dot com, Disneyland Paris is implementing 'Standby Pass': A way to hold your place in the standby line so that you don't have to be crowding close to people.

I like the sound of it, but it also sounds exactly like what the original Fast Pass was when it first premiered - a way to hold your place in line.

A whole lot of creative operational methods are being shotgunned these days...

When I read reports people say that distancing in lines is OK but its the walking around and stores, etc where there are issues with social distancing. That doesn't surprise me. That is my issue with the virtual lines, of course Disney wants people wandering around while they are waiting, they are more likely to buy something or get something to eat. If you are waiting in a line for a ride you aren't doing that.

 

[MrHappy]

I have a feeling the return of FPs are on the way.
Too much crowding, too much of a waste of infrastructure, less staffing. ANYTHING that can be automated, will.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I have a feeling the return of FPs are on the way.
Too much crowding, too much of a waste of infrastructure, less staffing. ANYTHING that can be automated, will.

My first reaction is to wonder if they add that back on as a perk for on-site resort guests (ala Universal). But, they also would have to staff FP. I think they generally had enough staff in the queues right now, but it could add people (which seems antithesis to current trends).