Trip Report This Is Not The Disney World I Remember

I can’t believe what’s happened to this place.

I've given myself time to cool down and get perspective on what was a surprisingly negative experience at WDW. It was so different from when I was there with my family in 2015 that I felt compelled to post about it. And to send a warning to parents who may not know about the "FastPass" system the park has.

Parents with small kids - read and take heed.

in 2015 my wife and 3 kids (all under 13) had a wonderful time at the park, even without using the FastPass feature. Yes, we waited for the major attractions like everyone else and saw a small group of FastPass users go in front of us from time to time. I opted not to use this feature because as you parents know, trying to plan a day with kids that age is a chore at best.

Last week (July 12, 2019) we went back and I was stunned at how different things were.

For starters it took an entire hour from the time we parked to get into the park. The outside ticket queue was very long and not all of the ticket windows were open. It was brutally hot and as we stood there people around us began to get dizzy and show the effects of standing in line for so long. One poor little girl got violently ill in line and it took a good 12 minutes or so for a staffer to clean it up.

Inside the park our experience went from bad to worse.

It became clear that Cast Members were operating under instructions to do everything they could to move FastPass holders through the lines quickly and ignore the huge number of "Standby" guests. "Standby" is just that now – you will stand by and watch dozens of people drift by as you stand still for 15 minutes or more at a stretch. At the Buzz Lightyear ride, I watched a CM let 72 FastPass people go by without letting a single Standby person in. When I asked what ratio he was using (he had a hand-counter) he said 10-1. Let that sink in for a minute... ten-to-one. And they would wait for FastPass guests too. At times the FastPass side of the queue would be completely empty for 5-7 minutes and still they would not allow any Standbys to pass.

Wait times became excruciating as the day progressed, reaching a conclusion at Space Mountain. One entire half of the final queue was 90% empty with the other completely full (pics below). When I asked a CM why the very long waits between Standbys being let through, he said "we're waiting for any FastPass holders that might come through.” I asked him what the ratio was supposed to be. He said "I'm not supposed to tell you that.. I can't give you that information.”

I kid you not, a Disney (Disney!) Cast Member gave me the Need-To-Know-Basis line.

After researching it a bit (because I had a lot of time on my hands in line) I discovered Disney gives first dibs on these to Disney Resort guests first – sometimes as much as 60 days in advance. It funnels down from there.

I don't fault the CMs. They’re just following direction and seems they have it hard enough if Abigail Disney's recent trip is any indication. And I don’t have any ill-will toward the FastPass users - hey it’s not their fault the park has changed up it’s crowd-control (let’s be honest: tracking) measures to completely favor them at the expense of everyone else.

Through the day I tried my best not to let it all get to me in the moment so it wouldn’t rub off on the kids. I wanted them to have positive memories despite the caste system we’d found ourselves at the bottom of in The Happiest Place On Earth.

I get it – Disney wants to "Maximize Customer Value" which is marketing jargon for getting guests to spend as much as possible at every turn through any means necessary.

But the effect, the experience in the “Magic” kingdom left me feeling like a swindled second-class citizen as I got on the monorail at the end of the day. A have-not in a place that’s charged me $117 a ticket to spend most of the day in line and fork-over $4.00 for a Coke. No FastPass? Sorry - you should have thought of that weeks ago or booked a room at one of our resorts for $500 a night. Now get in line chump.

The Mouse is still doing his best to cast a magical spell on it’s guests.

But these days it’s not your heart he wants to win over.

It’s your wallet.

 

[meggo819]

That does seem wrong for them to just hold the stand-by line to wait for FP holders! But I also don't think it's fair for you to play the victim and call yourself "a swindled second-class citizen" when you chose not to take advantage of the FP system...everyone can book FP at 30 days out. For our trip in September, I planned FPs for 6 adults and 5 kids (all under 13). Half of us stayed at a Disney resort and I booked at 60 days out. The other half stayed off-site and I booked at 30 days out. We had no issues with the planning aspect or with using the FPs as planned - you can always make changes to them, or if you miss one, oh well!

 

[MinnieM123]

I can’t believe what’s happened to this place.

I've given myself time to cool down and get perspective on what was a surprisingly negative experience at WDW. It was so different from when I was there with my family in 2015 that I felt compelled to post about it. And to send a warning to parents who may not know about the "FastPass" system the park has.

Parents with small kids - read and take heed.

in 2015 my wife and 3 kids (all under 13) had a wonderful time at the park, even without using the FastPass feature. Yes, we waited for the major attractions like everyone else and saw a small group of FastPass users go in front of us from time to time. I opted not to use this feature because as you parents know, trying to plan a day with kids that age is a chore at best.

Last week (July 12, 2019) we went back and I was stunned at how different things were.

For starters it took an entire hour from the time we parked to get into the park. The outside ticket queue was very long and not all of the ticket windows were open. It was brutally hot and as we stood there people around us began to get dizzy and show the effects of standing in line for so long. One poor little girl got violently ill in line and it took a good 12 minutes or so for a staffer to clean it up.

Inside the park our experience went from bad to worse.

It became clear that Cast Members were operating under instructions to do everything they could to move FastPass holders through the lines quickly and ignore the huge number of "Standby" guests. "Standby" is just that now – you will stand by and watch dozens of people drift by as you stand still for 15 minutes or more at a stretch. At the Buzz Lightyear ride, I watched a CM let 72 FastPass people go by without letting a single Standby person in. When I asked what ratio he was using (he had a hand-counter) he said 10-1. Let that sink in for a minute... ten-to-one. And they would wait for FastPass guests too. At times the FastPass side of the queue would be completely empty for 5-7 minutes and still they would not allow any Standbys to pass.

Wait times became excruciating as the day progressed, reaching a conclusion at Space Mountain. One entire half of the final queue was 90% empty with the other completely full (pics below). When I asked a CM why the very long waits between Standbys being let through, he said "we're waiting for any FastPass holders that might come through.” I asked him what the ratio was supposed to be. He said "I'm not supposed to tell you that.. I can't give you that information.”

I kid you not, a Disney (Disney!) Cast Member gave me the Need-To-Know-Basis line.

After researching it a bit (because I had a lot of time on my hands in line) I discovered Disney gives first dibs on these to Disney Resort guests first – sometimes as much as 60 days in advance. It funnels down from there.

I don't fault the CMs. They’re just following direction and seems they have it hard enough if Abigail Disney's recent trip is any indication. And I don’t have any ill-will toward the FastPass users - hey it’s not their fault the park has changed up it’s crowd-control (let’s be honest: tracking) measures to completely favor them at the expense of everyone else.

Through the day I tried my best not to let it all get to me in the moment so it wouldn’t rub off on the kids. I wanted them to have positive memories despite the caste system we’d found ourselves at the bottom of in The Happiest Place On Earth.

I get it – Disney wants to "Maximize Customer Value" which is marketing jargon for getting guests to spend as much as possible at every turn through any means necessary.

But the effect, the experience in the “Magic” kingdom left me feeling like a swindled second-class citizen as I got on the monorail at the end of the day. A have-not in a place that’s charged me $117 a ticket to spend most of the day in line and fork-over $4.00 for a Coke. No FastPass? Sorry - you should have thought of that weeks ago or booked a room at one of our resorts for $500 a night. Now get in line chump.

The Mouse is still doing his best to cast a magical spell on it’s guests.

But these days it’s not your heart he wants to win over.

It’s your wallet.

Sorry to hear about some issues you experienced during your family's vacation. I'm thinking that maybe the heat and crowds at this time of year, might have contributed more to your disappointment, than the FastPass online early reservation system. (From what you shared, it seemed like the crowd numbers were very high, creating even longer stand-by queues. So, CMs holding back the lines for Faspass guests, just made it even more unpleasant for those in stand-by, under the hot sun.)

I'm hoping that your family was able to have some enjoyable times at WDW, despite some of the various challenges. (Although I'm not pleased with some changes made to the parks, myself, I can still say that I've also had good experiences while there on vacation.)

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm confused, if you'd been there before why didn't you buy your tickets in advance and plan for the day? Getting fast passes are free for everyone and I have been there over very busy times and there are still same day fast passes to be had. Sure resort guests and guests of some other hotels in the area can make them 60 days in advance but everyone can at 30 days. I do understand that you have children and the schedule might go off road but if you make a fast pass and don't go to it there isn't a penalty. Also not all Disney resort rooms are $500 a night, I have never paid that and doubt I ever would. As for the ration of fast pass to stand by, if it happened like that it is too bad and frustrating. I've never really encountered it or paid attention, I'm usually a fast passer though.

I'm sorry you had a bad day at the park but it really sounds as if you didn't do any planning at all for the day. Why go and spend all that money and not make a plan?

Edit: I saw your other post and see it was a spur of the moment trip, hence not planning out fast passes in advance. But why not get any that day?

 

[DeanLogan]

That does seem wrong for them to just hold the stand-by line to wait for FP holders! But I also don't think it's fair for you to play the victim and call yourself "a swindled second-class citizen" when you chose not to take advantage of the FP system...everyone can book FP at 30 days out. For our trip in September, I planned FPs for 6 adults and 5 kids (all under 13). Half of us stayed at a Disney resort and I booked at 60 days out. The other half stayed off-site and I booked at 30 days out. We had no issues with the planning aspect or with using the FPs as planned - you can always make changes to them, or if you miss one, oh well!

That's fair - I can see how it sounds whiney. But I stand behind how the experience made me feel. We did not stay on-site, so I did not have the option to book at 60 days. The trip was a last-minute decision and we bought tickets same-day. By the time I realized using FastPass was in our best interest (again different from our last visit) all the major attractions were unavailable. If I go again I will certainly plan everything out (lessons learned) but it really takes away from the spontaneity of the park which was part of it's charm.

 

[DeanLogan]

I'm confused, if you'd been there before why didn't you buy your tickets in advance and plan for the day? Getting fast passes are free for everyone and I have been there over very busy times and there are still same day fast passes to be had. Sure resort guests and guests of some other hotels in the area can make them 60 days in advance but everyone can at 30 days. I do understand that you have children and the schedule might go off road but if you make a fast pass and don't go to it there isn't a penalty. Also not all Disney resort rooms are $500 a night, I have never paid that and doubt I ever would. As for the ration of fast pass to stand by, if it happened like that it is too bad and frustrating. I've never really encountered it or paid attention, I'm usually a fast passer though.

I'm sorry you had a bad day at the park but it really sounds as if you didn't do any planning at all for the day. Why go and spend all that money and not make a plan?

I have never had to plan a day at Disney to the degree that it now seems one has to. We didn't in 2015 and were fine. This was a last-minute decision and we bought our tickets same-day not knowing there was a 30-day window to create a FastPass schedule after purchasing tickets online. Lesson learned, but I'm still stunned by how the CMs are directed to manage FastPass and Standby lines.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

You're not going to find much sympathy here. This FP system has been in place for five years now. Priority was always given to Disney Resort guests; it's one of the perks of staying there.

It takes about an hour to park at the transportation and ticket center and enter MK. It has always been that way; it is nothing new. The ticketing window always has a wait. You can buy your tickets in advance and can book FPs once you have your ticket. Then you wouldn't have to stand in line when you get there. You can pretty much always get Fastpasses the week of your visit minus maybe a fewer hard-to-get attractions like 7DMT. You can also get same day FPs; you needed to ask; there's stations throughout the park.

You can check the prices of tickets well before you go and research what drinks and food will cost you. If you don't like the drink and food prices, you can bring your own. Disney also will give you cups of water for free.

Lastly, Florida in the summer is always hot and humid. I don't know why you were expecting not to wait in the humidity.

I know this comes across as harsh, and I'm sorry you had a poor time, but a little planning goes a long way.

 

[DeanLogan]

Sorry to hear about some issues you experienced during your family's vacation. I'm thinking that maybe the heat and crowds at this time of year, might have contributed more to your disappointment, than the FastPass online early reservation system. (From what you shared, it seemed like the crowd numbers were very high, creating even longer stand-by queues. So, CMs holding back the lines for Faspass guests, just made it even more unpleasant for those in stand-by, under the hot sun.)

I'm hoping that your family was able to have some enjoyable times at WDW, despite some of the various challenges. (Although I'm not pleased with some changes made to the parks, myself, I can still say that I've also had good experiences while there on vacation.)

Undoubtedly July heat, crying children and angry people around you will warp time and one's perception. And maybe the crowd last Wednesday was well-above average. I only wish Disney were more transparent with how the whole system works. I believe they're well-aware it has major issues, otherwise that CM wouldn't have the response that he did ("I can't tell you that). Anyway the kids do have fond memories despite the lines which is all that matters.

 

[DeanLogan]

You're not going to find much sympathy here. This FP system has been in place for five years now. Priority was always given to Disney Resort guests; it's one of the perks of staying there.

It takes about an hour to park at the transportation and ticket center and enter MK. It has always been that way; it is nothing new. The ticketing window always has a wait. You can buy your tickets in advance and can book FPs once you have your ticket. Then you wouldn't have to stand in line when you get there. You can pretty much always get Fastpasses the week of your visit minus maybe a fewer hard-to-get attractions like 7DMT. You can also get same day FPs; you needed to ask; there's stations throughout the park.

You can check the prices of tickets well before you go and research what drinks and food will cost you. If you don't like the drink and food prices, you can bring your own. Disney also will give you cups of water for free.

Lastly, Florida in the summer is always hot and humid. I don't know why you were expecting not to wait in the humidity.

I know this comes across as harsh, and I'm sorry you had a poor time, but a little planning goes a long way.

Yeah, I'm seeing there's not many violins playing for me here. And I don't think you're harsh. But I still had no idea a Day At Disney required so much pre-planning these days. When we went in 2015 we did the exact same thing (same-day tickets, no FastPass) and the experience was completely different. The queues just seemed way, way out of balance between FastPass and Standby this time for no apparent reason.

 

[DeanLogan]

I'm confused, if you'd been there before why didn't you buy your tickets in advance and plan for the day? Getting fast passes are free for everyone and I have been there over very busy times and there are still same day fast passes to be had. Sure resort guests and guests of some other hotels in the area can make them 60 days in advance but everyone can at 30 days. I do understand that you have children and the schedule might go off road but if you make a fast pass and don't go to it there isn't a penalty. Also not all Disney resort rooms are $500 a night, I have never paid that and doubt I ever would. As for the ration of fast pass to stand by, if it happened like that it is too bad and frustrating. I've never really encountered it or paid attention, I'm usually a fast passer though.

I'm sorry you had a bad day at the park but it really sounds as if you didn't do any planning at all for the day. Why go and spend all that money and not make a plan?

Edit: I saw your other post and see it was a spur of the moment trip, hence not planning out fast passes in advance. But why not get any that day?

By the time I realized FP was a must-have, all the major attractions were unavailable. At least that's what the app showed that day.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Were your stand-by wait times different than what was posted?

Otherwise, no justification to complain about the Fastpass to stand-by admittance ratio. They're managing those lines based on how many Fastpasses they have issued, they're not purposely holding you back to be unfair or make you feel bad.

 

[DeanLogan]

Were your stand-by wait times different than what was posted?

Otherwise, no justification to complain about the Fastpass to stand-by admittance ratio. They're managing those lines based on how many Fastpasses they have issued, they're not purposely holding you back to be unfair or make you feel bad.

No of course they're not doing it to be unfair or ruin anyone's experience. I know that. But I still stand by my assertion that the ratio was way out of balance that day. How many FastPasses did they issue I wonder? Posted wait times were atrocious (Space Mountain: 150 minutes for example) and they were accurate. But why inflict that kind of horrible wait when they were only using 50% of the queue's capacity and waiting for FastPassers (see my pics)?

 

[meggo819]

The trip was a last-minute decision and we bought tickets same-day.

Ah, gotcha. That does make it more difficult!

it really takes away from the spontaneity of the park which was part of it's charm.

I should clarify that, yes, I put a lot of planning in to our 3 FPs for each day (I really enjoy the planning!), but there was still plenty of spontaneity in between our FP times. I spread them throughout the day on purpose, so we weren’t rushing to all of the big attractions, but had plenty of time for attractions with shorter wait times in between too.

 

[palpluto]

Hello, I was there on Wednesday, July 10. Very crowded, and Hot, Hot, Hot! We did plan ahead and had 3 fast passes for the day. I did notice that the standby line and FP -- seemed unbalanced, especially for the more popular rides that we had FP for: SM, BTM & SDMT. We never waited more than 10-15 mins. for our FP rides and standby had very long lines...I felt bad. This was our 1st trip in July (12 in total). I knew I had to plan ahead because of the time of year --- we packed our patience too! Even though it was very crowded, hot and some rain...We had a great week and Disney experience as always! It was much different than other trips and we all decided July is not the best time to visit for us.

 

[DeanLogan]

Hello, I was there on Wednesday, July 10. Very crowded, and Hot, Hot, Hot! We did plan ahead and had 3 fast passes for the day. I did notice that the standby line and FP -- seemed unbalanced, especially for the more popular rides that we had FP for: SM, BTM & SDMT. We never waited more than 10-15 mins. for our FP rides and standby had very long lines...I felt bad. This was our 1st trip in July (12 in total). I knew I had to plan ahead because of the time of year --- we packed our patience too! Even though it was very crowded, hot and some rain...We had a great week and Disney experience as always! It was much different than other trips and we all decided July is not the best time to visit for us.

Thanks for the correction - Wednesday was the 10th, not the 12th as I posted. And thanks for the observation - I really appreciate it. Yes July is probably the worst month to visit a place where you're guaranteed to stand in the Florida sun for a very, very long time. But the park did not used to be like this, even in July. I truly hope Disney finishes whatever tweaking they're doing and solves, according to many online accounts, an issue that has been around for about five years and continues to get worse. My soapbox aside, I'm glad you and your family had a great week and hope you have great visits in the years ahead. Thanks again palpluto.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

No of course they're not doing it to be unfair or ruin anyone's experience. I know that. But I still stand by my assertion that the ratio was way out of balance that day. How many FastPasses did they issue I wonder? Posted wait times were atrocious (Space Mountain: 150 minutes for example) and they were accurate. But why inflict that kind of horrible wait when they were only using 50% of the queue's capacity and waiting for FastPassers (see my pics)?

Argue that Disney should distribute less FastPasses, and make it more fair for those last minute visitors, but if your wait times matched what was posted the cast members were implementing the proper ratio.

What is your picture meant to illustrate? Unless they're letting ride vehicles go empty, it's common and reasonable to wait for Fastpass guests. They're supposed to have a minimal wait.

 

[Ariel1986]

A tip with the app on the day when there are seemingly no FPs left- especially if waiting in a long line- keep refreshing and selecting back and forth on different time slots. You will often find FPs appear when doing this, even for the more popular rides. Even if one pops up for a much later time, grab it and then do the same refresh to modify it's time.

 

[Songbird76]

I'm wondering if perhaps there were problems with a couple of rides that day? Like, if a particular ride was down for a while, when it goes back up, sometimes they will ONLY let in Fastpass holders, because they just can't keep up with the capacity and they have to let the fastpassers go first. Although it does seem odd that they would wait for fast passers when no one was in the fastpass line.
For future reference, if you go again, your plan doesn't have to be set in stone. You can change fastpasses on the spur of the moment. When we were there in 2016, we were in AK and it started downpouring and we had a fastpass for the Nemo musical, but we didn't want to walk there in that deluge. So I just switched our fastpass for later and we waited until the rain slowed a bit. My son is autistic, so I make a plan knowing that we may have to change a few things if he gets overwhelmed and needs a break. It's really easy to do in the app. Obviously with a spur of the moment trip, it's harder to get the fastpasses for big attractions, so you may not always get those, but some people have had luck picking up fastpasses when someone else cancels theirs. There are always people running late, or not feeling well, or dealing with a kid melting down, and they cancel their fastpass, freeing it up for a last minute person. So you might try that next time too...just refresh the app and see if anything has become available.
It also sounds like maybe you don't do any of the parks except MK? Maybe next time you could get park hoppers, so if one park is overcrowded, you could hop to a different one.

Yes, it's different than it used to be, and it does tend to work better for those who plan ahead, and who stay on property. But you can still have a great trip...you just need to adjust your strategy for next time. Next time, you can be one of those who plans ahead, and empathise with those who didn't know they should do that.

 

[ladydi]

I will agree with you on the Buzz ride. We were there in June and never did Buzz standby for the very reason you stated. That ride seems to have the most skewed Fastpass vs standby line movement.

 

[LadyBelle]

A tip with the app on the day when there are seemingly no FPs left- especially if waiting in a long line- keep refreshing and selecting back and forth on different time slots. You will often find FPs appear when doing this, even for the more popular rides. Even if one pops up for a much later time, grab it and then do the same refresh to modify it's time.

Also try the FP kiosks around the park. Sometimes you will have better luck with those than the app itself.