Should Disney offer Ultimate Fastpass?

[captainkidd]

I'm sure they have thought about this in in the past. It would work similar to how Universal's Express for on-site guests works. Obviously, they'd have to charge more as there are more guests at Disney parks, but I think it's something they should look into. Use it as an add on to the MYW ticket, the same way they have the park hopper and no expiration as add ons. They could base it on length of stay, or just one flat fee per ticket. Charge say $200 per ticket. As a family of 5, I think it'd be well worth $1,000 to not wait in lines.

 

[Andrew54]

Disagree..

 

[Magical Dreamer]

If thet did the FastPass lane would be "Fast" no more.....

 

[wm49rs]

This should be interesting.....

 

[Larry Mondello]

Disney may gain some immediate monetary rewards for instituting this in the short run but would lose in the long run when the normal vacationer would stop going when the wait times became unbearable especially amongst people who don't go that often which is a majority of the patrons. Everyone has their "Wait time tolerance". Mine is 30 minutes for good attraction and 20 minutes for a secondary attraction. I mitigate wait times by going during slow periods, getting to the parks at the opening and using fast passes.

 

[Monty]

And what would the add-on charge be for AP holders?

I can't see a viable way to do it.

 

[captainkidd]

And what would the add-on charge be for AP holders?

I can't see a viable way to do it.

There's ways to do it. AP's are less for DVC members. This could follow the same pattern.

 

[wolf359]

I think Disney enjoys being able to promote Fastpass as a free option, and overall I think the current system works well and accomplishes the goal intended; to spread out crowds.

But if a guest with an Unlimited Fastpass could ride whatever they wanted as much as they wanted, you'd likely see increases most at the super headliner attractions, leading to longer Fastpass lines. Which would increase the standby wait.

As the standby waits increase, the guests without unlimited Fastpass would soon ONLY ride these super headliners with a Fastpass, believing the notion the Fastpass line would be shorter.

But now your percentage of guests in the Fastpass line would be increasing from two different types of guests, making standby waits slightly shorter and Fastpass waits longer still.

And as those Fastpass waits increase, guest satisfaction is going to drop because the regular Fastpass folks will find the waits longer than they expected, but the folks paying for the unlimited Fastpass will most likely be even less satisfied, since they're paying a high premium and not receiving the expected benefit, and less likely to pay for it again.

So Disney loses in the eyes of both regular guests and the ones paying for the premium Fastpass. What currently appears to be a positive offering changes to a negative one.

I think the reason other parks can offer the unlimited passes is that their goals and logistical concerns are a lot different from Disney.
First, all of the other parks have smaller capacities so there are fewer people in line overall. Second, Universal is trying to generate more on-site resort stays, and the only real bargaining chip they have is offering shorter lines in the parks. That approach just wouldn't work for Disney because of the massive scale differences in the parks and resorts.

 

[MileLongBar]

Let me say that if this were to happen, it could only happen during slow periods and not during normal blackout dates. Like someone said the fastpass would turn into a 30 minute wait sometimes. Plus it's just not fair. Once again the rich would be favored and have the upper hand. When you go to Disney it shouldn't matter if your staying at the GF or Pop Century. When your in the parks everyone is equal(minus celebs and vip's) and that's the way it should be.

 

[snesguy]

As a person who lives far away from WDW I would welcome the opportunity to be able to maximize my limited trip times by having an unlimited FP. Since I don't go often, I would be willing to pay extra to help ensure a good visit. For people who are able to go often it's not as important to them, but it is to me. It would make me more apt to visit WDW. I like the idea.

Cost should be based on crowd levels. Peak times, peak pricing. You'd have to reserve a time to use it otherwise the system could fall apart.

And when you say unlimited, I think you would have to restrict it. You shouldn't be able to get 10 FPs for one ride on one ticket. Disneyland experimented with the concept of "unlimited" FASTPASSes a few years ago. I think they called it an "Enhanced FASTPASS". There you had to book a vacation package through AAA and stay at one of the three onsite Disney Resorts. You didn't have to pay extra for it, it was a perk for a AAA vacation package. You could have multiple FPs outstanding at once but only one for each particular ride (example, you could get FPs for 5 different attractions all at once but you couldn't get two for the same ride until your FP window for that ride passed). I took a trip with my sister's family on this program and my brother in law got so caught up in the power of the enhanced FP that he drove us all around collecting as many FPs and riding as many FP rides as we could (which was a lot), but the result was we didn't get to see anything that wasn't a FP ride. With great power comes great responsibility; you've got to know how to use it or you won't get the full enjoyment of the parks.

Sadly, the days of the Enhanced FP at DL are no more, so I guess Disney decided it didn't make sense, at least for DL the way they implemented it at that time. I hope they consider some type of program like it for WDW. It would prompt me to make another visit.

 

[Motorpro]

End fastpass

I think they should just get rid of fastpass. Before they had fastpass i was so impressed by the fact that people would politely stand in line because they understood that it was what you had to do to enjoy the magic of Disney. Now everyone is in such a hurry to get their next fastpass they forget to enjoy the ride they are on.

 

[Tigger#1]

I think the system works fine just the way it is.

 

[fosse76]

I'm sure they have thought about this in in the past. It would work similar to how Universal's Express for on-site guests works. Obviously, they'd have to charge more as there are more guests at Disney parks, but I think it's something they should look into. Use it as an add on to the MYW ticket, the same way they have the park hopper and no expiration as add ons. They could base it on length of stay, or just one flat fee per ticket. Charge say $200 per ticket. As a family of 5, I think it'd be well worth $1,000 to not wait in lines.

No one of any sanity level would pay $200 to cut in line, especially if you have to eliminate FP to do so. Disney would be criticized not only by guests who would complain, but the press would have a field day. Also, it works at Universal because of (1) the extra cost controls how many people would spend extra money (2) the number of guests at Universal is smaller than the number of guests at Disney, so demand isn't as high (3) people aren't under the impression that they need to buy it to enjoy their trip. Disney already has the reputation that the only way for the trip to be bearable is to use the FP system (and Disney itself has implied as much); therefore the average guest would believe they have no choice but to spend an obscene amount of money on a perk that costs more than twice the admission and isn't even available on the majority of attractions.

 

[heliumalias]

DLP currently offer this if you stay in the Disneyland Hotel. They also offer a courtesy fastpass to guests staying in the more expensive hotels in the more expensive rooms. This is a 1 pass per person per day thing where you get a fp that's good for use once on any ride that has fp at any time.


Correct me if I'm wrong but Universal only offer their express line to people that pay extra, have the highest priced ap, or stay in their hotels. It works because they have much smaller numbers of guests to deal with.

At Disney it would be very difficult to get the numbers right. Is it available to everyone or just hotel guests in certain types of room? If limited to hotels which ones? There is no single hotel that is considered better than the others. Do they adjust the fp daily distribution accordingly or scrap it altogether? From experience more hotel guests visit the park with EMH than the others so would the numbers have to fluctuate on a daily basis?

I think it would just be too complicated.

I would like them to bring back the Dream Fastpasses though. I never got one myself but I think it's a really great way to make some magic happen for someone that is completely unaffected by how much their trip cost, which is what Disney magic is all about.

 

[yeti]

If they made it a separate line-up, absolutely. Perhaps restrict it to resort guests, in addition to it being an add-on? Mmm, I can already smell the consumer hierarchy.

 

[captainkidd]

No one of any sanity level would pay $200 to cut in line, especially if you have to eliminate FP to do so. Disney would be criticized not only by guests who would complain, but the press would have a field day. Also, it works at Universal because of (1) the extra cost controls how many people would spend extra money (2) the number of guests at Universal is smaller than the number of guests at Disney, so demand isn't as high (3) people aren't under the impression that they need to buy it to enjoy their trip. Disney already has the reputation that the only way for the trip to be bearable is to use the FP system (and Disney itself has implied as much); therefore the average guest would believe they have no choice but to spend an obscene amount of money on a perk that costs more than twice the admission and isn't even available on the majority of attractions.

I think quite a few people would spend $200 if they knew they didn't have to wait in line.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Perhaps if they limited the number to 100 people per park per day or some other insignificant number, it may work. Let it grow without a limit, and you put the logistics of the current system at risk.

I'd also set the price much higher.

 

[loveofamouse]

I say no way. I hate that they require extra purchase at US/IOA. As a consumer, I think to myself, "Seriously?! What else do I need to pay for!?" I like that, at Disney, it's a casual option. Maybe I have no problems waiting for other attractions but just want 1 FP for one attraction that usually has over an hour waits. Or maybe I only want to get one while eating a meal and go back later. Maybe I have no need for one at all. At US/IOA, I'd be ticked if I paid for one only to find out that it was a really slow park day and the day really didn't require FPs at all. Not to mention, it is something that's aimed towards higher income families. The avg. joe wouldn't pay for it as they'd rather hold onto that money for merchandise or food. Disney would rather you spend your money on merchandise than a piece of paper.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

This would be terrible if executed.

 

[MAF]

That would be a horrible nightmare. Also the thing that's so great about FP as it is now is that it applies to anyone and doesn't favor people who may have more money to blow.