nibblesandbits
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. Great post!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Start paying for Fast-Pass?
- Thread starter Disney MDACK
- Start date
If this comes true I will not be surprised. At one point cable was free now you have to pay for it or get an antenna and look at a crappy picture with barely any channels. Radio was and still is free but if you want no commericals their is a charge. If the best things in life are free tell me where they are :ROFLOL: .
ddank
New Member
this sound over engineered (cell phones acting as some sort of GPS monitor to alert for broken rides sounds silly and impractical). but looking at the underlying idea here, i think its genious. those who dont appreciate it are the off-site guests obviously but there needs to be more of a premium to resort guests. for what resort guests pay to stay at disney this sort of privilege seems very reasonable. Taking it a step further, I agree someone choosing to pay 100$ a night at All Stars shouldnt have the same privileges as someone paying 400$ a night at the Poly. The Poly guest is willing to pay 4 times as much because of the proximity of the resort, it amenities, etc.. why cant that carry over into their park experience as well. Right now in the park the resort guests are treated like every other person in the place while they are willingly sacrificing much more, money-wise, than the person who chooses to stay at the Red Roof on international drive. For every off-site person who would get insulted because they cant do what the next person can, think of the people paying $400 a night to see some youth group of 40 snag all the fastpasses for Soarin by 9 AM. Upgrades to the park experience needs to be an option, tying it to resort selection is a great idea. Theres 2 sides to every equation.
ddank
New Member
Imagine this situation.... there are no fast passes for a ride by 11AM.
Your argument is about implementation, not about what would be good for the entire experience. I agree the way Jim makes it sound its a bit convoluted. I say let resort guests choose X amount of rides (based on their hotel choice) to get a fast pass for at checkin. they can be used any day, at any time during their stay. could be a one time usage or two, that also can be based on resort choice... these fast passes exsist now and are used as a sweetener for buying into DVC or when you are asked to move resorts. then still allow off-site and resort guests use the time-based fastpass but scale back the number given out DRAMATICALLY. where is the complication there?
Disneyfan1981
Active Member
I haven't read the article and used to be opposed to any charging for Fastpasses but after my last trip to Orlando I've changed my mind. We decided to do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure during this trip and had blocked off two days to get it done. Upon arriving to IOA we saw that we happened to visit the same time as half of Brazil, huge tour groups full of at least 80 kids in each with about 4 or 5 groups there.
It was at this time we became aware of the Universal version of FP that you had to pay for, $80 for one day good at both parks. We gladly paid the fee seeing the lines for HULK explode into 180 minute waits....We could only ride the ride once but we got into their FP line to come right into the boarding area. We did both parks in one day! It was the best $80 spent. I wouldn't mind if Disney did something similar obviously tailored to Disney's needs but it'd be better in the long run.
It was at this time we became aware of the Universal version of FP that you had to pay for, $80 for one day good at both parks. We gladly paid the fee seeing the lines for HULK explode into 180 minute waits....We could only ride the ride once but we got into their FP line to come right into the boarding area. We did both parks in one day! It was the best $80 spent. I wouldn't mind if Disney did something similar obviously tailored to Disney's needs but it'd be better in the long run.
Brian_WDW74
Member
When would this situation come up? You don't feel like messing with a TV? Fine. Just wait until you get to the park the next morning and grab a FastPass then, like you do now.
The patent says nothing about taking the free FastPass option away from anyone. It merely talks about instituting a priority system for access to FastPasses, based on resort stay. Is there a possibility that, during peak times, all available FastPasses for Soarin' will be scooped up by resort guests, leaving none for day visitors? Perhaps. But I doubt that it would happen all that often.
Don't forget that Universal also gives their resorts guests that perk for free - and I think there would be problems giving that to all Disney resort guests - the issue I can see here is one of volume.
Universal has 3 onsite hotels, with a total of 2,400 rooms. They have 2 theme parks.
Disney has 26 onsite resorts (counting Dolphin, Swan, and SOG) with a total of 28,378 rooms. Disney has 4 theme parks.
For arguments sake, lets assume 100% hotel occupancy, and 3 guests per room, evenly distributed among the parks:
- Universal - 2400 rooms x 3 guests per room = 7200 guests / 2 theme parks = 3600 hotel guests per park that get front of the line access. (plus whoever pays the extra money)
- Disney - 28378 rooms x 3 guests per room = 85134 guests / 4 theme parks = 21,284 resort guests per park that get front of the line access.......
kirst_al UK
Member
They won't loose my custom - just don't buy the fast passes do you - they arnt forcing you too.........to be honest the last time we went was about 3 weeks after easter and we ended up using fast passes just for the fun of it!?
I agree with this in a way - the incentives are quite good, especially for people with children but i know what you mean.
Some people can't afford to stay on property, i know i can't - i'd love too but it would be a waste - lets be honest there arn't many people, e.g from the UK, who, over a two week period, that spend everyday at disney - when we go we basically only need a hotel for the bed - we're hardly in it. We arn't going to fork out the disney rates just for a bed. I think if they are going to charge for something they should charge park guests for dining plans etc. By all means keep them free for the resort guests - however perhaps limit the amount of dining plans they end up charging for.........then everyones happy
.
lscott933
New Member
i like the new idea of getting to choice your fast pass the night before. it is just something that would be nice to pick. it is just another nice reason to stay at disney. look at cedar point they give you front of line passes to there season pass holder on the weekends. i like the idea. that way i didn't have to park and instead something else until it is fast pass time to that ride. i don't have to rush to get a pass early in the morning for later that night. i hope it goes ahead with the project. there is nothing wrong if you pay more you get more.
Lickwid
New Member
As an AP holder, I would not like this system at all. One of the main problems is that some of the most popular attractions have low capacity. Soarin for exaple holds 99 people at a time. 2 concourses x 99 ppl = 198. 198 x 6 shows an hour is 1188 ppl an hour. Thats very low. For the 12 hours its open that's 14256 ppl. Less than half the guests on a good day. When we go sometimes later in the day I know we have no chance of riding Soarin because all the fastpasses are gone and the wait is like 80 minutes. Plus no matter where you stay you should have equal opportunity to ride any ride.
Chezman1399
Active Member
I've always had horrible times with Universal's system, it gets very expensive when it is actually needed, most of the time their rides have 20 minutes or less lines, and I've still waited over 2 hours to ride rides while using it. Disney makes a big deal about how their fast pass is included in the ticket, it's popular, helpful to people, I really don't see it changing.
Disneyfan1981
Active Member
Like I said some tailoring would need to be done but the fact of the matter remains, like it or not if you had to pay for the Fastpass the lines would definitely be smaller. Unfortunately it also would have the adverse effect on the folks in the stand-by entrance. Also I'm sure Disney Resort Guests would want them free.....the situation has so many roadblocks to a happy medium.
KingofHearts
Banned
That rummor (from JH) has been around since FP started. Disney is smart and they will never charge for FP.
Especially since Universal hotel guests get them for free.
I don't see this change happening anytime soon.
EvilQueen81
Member
I am always on the fence with fast pass. Its wonderful on a hot day and a million people in line but it blows when you are watching people pass you by and you have been standing there an hour. It would almost be easier if there was not one then we would not have to wait while thirty people with fast pass goes right past you and rides. Not to mention the dirty looks you get. I know when we use our fast pass I don't even look up because I don't want to see those looks I give when people pass me.:hammer:
dandaman
Well-Known Member
What Cedar Point are YOU visiting? :shrug:
The closest I can think of is about $500/day/person for that type of thing. That, or visit on a weekday in May. :lol:
wickedfan07
Member
Giving priority to resort guests is okay. They already do it for EMH. I just think that having Fastpass be distributed through an automated program you access the night before you use them is just too complicated. You should not have to make reservations for a theme park ride. The suggestion is just outrageous to me. If Disney decides to eventually charge xtra for Fastpasses or include it for Resort Guests only, that's one thing. But making people reserve their place in line days in advance is just too much trouble. (Not to mention its just dumb. Its a theme park attraction for God's sake, even if it is Disney.)
If it ain't broke - don't fix it. Why bother eith the expense of setting up and maintaining a new computer system? Add in the time and money it would take to get people to use it properly. If I can walk up to the Fastpass Distribution at Expedition Everest now, why on Earth would I ever choose to mess around with a TV remote to get my Fastpass early? The whole idea, whether it just adds to the Fastpass system or totally changes it, seems like a lot of trouble for not a lot gained. How does it add to my experience, all I did was save two minutes waiting in the Fastpass distribution line. but I had to spend15 minutes working the TV last night to save that two minutes.
I remember when you could go on vacation and do what you wanted when you wanted.
It soon looks like if you want to enjoy yourself, you need to know what you will want to do early enough to make reservations just to get on a ride.
I don't want to be a master planner in order to enjoy myself. In planning this trip for later this month, I should have hired a personal assistant.:hammer:
Sept 6th headline:
Disney files patent for personal vacation assistant!
It soon looks like if you want to enjoy yourself, you need to know what you will want to do early enough to make reservations just to get on a ride.
I don't want to be a master planner in order to enjoy myself. In planning this trip for later this month, I should have hired a personal assistant.:hammer:
Sept 6th headline:
Disney files patent for personal vacation assistant!