Using FastPass+ Means You Can't Get A Regular FastPass?

[CaptainShortty]

How 'bout just a little hint? Pretty please?

I really can't...I'm sorry. =(

 

[GoofGoof]

Not quite. 2 hours is the MAXIMUM amount of time between obtaining FPs from a FP machine. You are only limited to the return time of a current FP, which is usually less than two hours. You can easily get a FP for many attractions after an hour.

How is 2 hours the MAXIMUM amount of time? I got to DHs at 9am and got fast pass for toy story at 2pm. If you go on a less busy day or get FP for less popular rides maybe it's likely to be 2 hours or less, but there is no guarantee and if its less crowded or a less popular ride you probably dont need FP anyway. On an average day how many FP's do you actually need or use? For me it's probably right around 3 or 4 depending on the park.

 

[stlbobby]

During the testing phases both FP and FP+ will be available (to those that are part of the test phase). Eventually FP+ will be the only FP system and the current system will go away. That being said, there is more to the FP+ system that has yet to be released (that I cannot disclose) that will make it more appealing to those who are completely against the FP+ pre-order concept.

Keep in mind that the full conversion of FP+ (and NextGen in general) is going to take a while to reach all types of ticket media (ex. day tkts, KTTW, Annual Passholders, CM tkts, Event and Convention tkts, etc.)

Since you are hinting at having inside knowledge, do you know of a timeline for when the new system will be fully in place?

 

[Mr Bill]

Has anyone seen anything published about how FP+ will impact a local AP holder who is not staying at a Disney Resort once it's fully deployed. Absent any other information I've seen, it seems that if you're not staying at a Disney Resort and/or are an AP holder who lives locally you will no longer have access to FP at all. That may not be true but I can't seem to find any information to suggest otherwise right now.

I've seen suggestions from every end of the spectrum on how FP+ will affect local AP holders. Someone who had seen earlier details about FP+ said AP holders were SOL but more recent info says that might not be the case. I guess we're going to have to wait and see.

 

[Jones14]

It sounds to me that if Fastpass plus replaces Fastpass, then the system will be more like the Universal Express Pass. This is great news to me, as even though I do enjoy getting to walk on Space Mountain and Rock'N'Rollercoaster, when I'm waiting in line for them in Standby, the line moves incredibly slowly because of the hordes of people using Fastpasses. At Universal, I have to wait twenty or thirty minutes at the max for most, if not all, of the attractions, because significantly fewer amounts of people are willing to pay extra for them. Basically, I'd rather wait a little everywhere than wait a long time for three attractions and walk on everything else. The way I see it, Fastpass plus will 1) reduce the number of people using Fastpass and increase the pace of Standby, 2) allow my day to be a little more relaxed as a local AP holder (I loathe running to Toy Story with the family to grab a Fastpass), and 3) increase the quality of the attraction experience (I love the Test Track and Mickey Meet and Greet Queues). Restaurant bookings, on the other hand...

 

[Mad Stitch]

Once the real system is live.. once you transition to the paperless ticket system - you won't be able to use traditional FP machines. Speculation is that regular FP will only exist as a transitional thing.. to be phased out later once the full FP+/paperless system is fully rolled out.

I missed that detail somewhere along the way. I thought you would still be able to get a FP in the park (those machines would be converted distribute via RFID), but there would be less of them due to people booking through FP+. I don’t like this so far.

Has anyone seen anything published about how FP+ will impact a local AP holder who is not staying at a Disney Resort once it's fully deployed. Absent any other information I've seen, it seems that if you're not staying at a Disney Resort and/or are an AP holder who lives locally you will no longer have access to FP at all.

Exactly. Or what if you’re staying off property? Will those people no longer be able to use FP?

Why should you be forced to pick a specific attraction and time? Here is an idea. What if when your ticket is scanned to enter the park you get the use of four FP lines during the day. Then put some rules on them that they cannot be used within two hours of each other and never the same attraction twice.

 

[flynnibus]

I am anti-FP, however I remain optimistic because it seems the following will occur (correct me if i'm wrong):

No more FP1.0 as we know it.
FP+ takes over
Guests are allowed a strict amount of FPs per stay/per day.
Therefore less FPs overall are given out than would be available under FP1.0 (? seems that way?)

This is the part that is hard. Will there be less? I think its hard to say..

Now, access to them will be more controlled.. but one could say 'a key benefit is to ensure FP doesn't run out'. I'm sure Disney hears lots of complaints about how Soarin' FP or TSMM FP are out by midday, etc. By having a more regulated FP+ distribution, along with strict enforcement - this may solve the 'all FPs out for the day'. Because the FP impact on the line will be more regulated, in theory you can get a higher utilization of FP then previously. The net result may be FP are more 'accessible' - you just can't do 'all you can eat' like you could previously.

I'm gonna speculate.. the end result is accessibility to getting a FP+ is going to go WAY up.. but of course your overall usage of it in volume will go down.

Stand-by I think is gonna be a wash in all of this. If anything I expect standby to go up simply because more people will be forced into standby because they can't get a FP+ for their second or third ride, etc.

But the rest.. I mainly agree with. I think FP+ will directly address many of the existing complaints about FP. Now it introduces NEW complaints for some people.. but there are some gains here.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I have no idea if CaptainShortty was hinting towards this but I suspect, subject to limitations, you'll be able to modify the return time of your FP+. This would represent a significant improvement over the current FP system. This is indicated on the Disney webpage mentioned in my earlier post:

That's all well in good if everything was not already booked up two months in advance.

 

[flynnibus]

Not quite. 2 hours is the MAXIMUM amount of time between obtaining FPs from a FP machine. You are only limited to the return time of a current FP, which is usually less than two hours. You can easily get a FP for many attractions after an hour.

As we all know.. your next FP is either after your return time or 2hrs.. whichever comes first. Your return time is almost always at least 45mins away. For marquee things.. it's going to be later. The time can realistically be 1-2hrs between FPs... throw in actually riding attractions.. and you get occupied and may not hit that optimum time. The time was just a ballpark (why I said 'or so') because between return times, you riding, and where you are vs the next FP you are going to get.. it's not going to be the optimum all the time. The closest you get to optimum is probably when you keep riding the same attraction (get a FP before going into the line).

I think if people took a methodical look at how many FPs they actually use in a day.. they may be surprised. Disney's choice of how many passes wouldn't have been arbitrary.

 

[flynnibus]

Has anyone seen anything published about how FP+ will impact a local AP holder who is not staying at a Disney Resort once it's fully deployed. Absent any other information I've seen, it seems that if you're not staying at a Disney Resort and/or are an AP holder who lives locally you will no longer have access to FP at all. That may not be true but I can't seem to find any information to suggest otherwise right now.

Disney hasn't stated how it will work yet - but there is no way Disney would exclude APs while anyone with MYW tickets would be able to use the system. The system has not been limited to 'onsite' guests. The only thing really stated by Disney is that different ticket types MIGHT have different access to the FP+ experience. But I think that is terminology more related to 'lesser' tickets.. such as comp tickets, convention tickets, etc..

 

[CaptainShortty]

Since you are hinting at having inside knowledge, do you know of a timeline for when the new system will be fully in place?

I have been privy to some of the new things coming with NextGen and how they will work but there is still a lot that I don't know, including a timeline. This being a true guess, I would say that by the end of 2013 it will be available to all ticket media. But as I said, that is really just a guess. I honestly have no idea.

 

[John]

As part of the FP+ rescheduling process, I believe the total number of FP+ will not be allowed to significantly change for attractions, but some change will be allowed.

Prior to arrival, WDW will assign evenly distributed return times for FP+ for all attractions. For the sake of discussion, let's assume that 100 FP+ per hour are distributed per attraction.

After arriving, some people might want to change their FP+ return times but my guess (just a guess) is that the overwhelming majority will simply stick with the times they are given. Their FP+ would have been distributed as a set, meaning they should "make sense" for most guests. Why change the return times unless something unusual comes up?

So, let's say that 10 out of the 100 decide to change their times. Some may change it to earlier times; some may change it to later times. In turn, those timeslots also have small percentages of people changing their return times. Through random distribution, the attraction still ends up with approximately the same number of FP+ in any given 60-minute period.

However, people are not random. A larger number, for example, might decide they don't want FP+ return times during the afternoon parade. A disproportionate number might ask for return times several minutes after the end of the parade. Through software, WDW simply will limit the number that can do that. For example, WDW might allow a maximum of 120 FP+ per any 60-minute consecutive period. Thus, the first 20 who try to select that timeslot will be successful but that timeslot won't show up as available for anyone who tries to book it later.

Similarly, some people might decide to switch attractions. Up to a point, the software could allow this. So, depending on how many timeslots are available, people might be able to swap their Splash Mountain FP+ for Space Mountain FP+. (In order to avoid falling chunks.) Again, the Next Gen software can be sophisticated enough to allow for some attraction changes, within limits.

Once the system is fully operational, it will be interesting to see if there is a mad rush in the morning of people trying to "swap" their, for example, Stitch's Great Escape FP+ for Space Mountain FP+. Will the system allow that (for example) and, if so, what kind of limitations will there be?

PO4, you know I am a huge fan of yours. I also am a huge fan of Flynni's but am I the only one that think you two are speaking somekind of new foreign WDW language here. I know I am not the sharpest tool in the shed but good gosh. If I am having a hard time following along what will the masses think? You and Judge Flynni might not think its that hard to understand but us regular folk are having a hard time past the first sentence.....I dunno....maybe its just me. I dont care, I am not to embarresed to say....WTH!

Really, does a visit to WDW have to be this complicated. You guys might not be 100% on your assumptions but I am sure you are in the ball park. I am not just talking about this post....but I have been reading along like everyone else and the two that seem to make the most sense....makes no sense at all.......if that makes sense LOL

 

[mickey2008.1]

it's hard enough to get adrs, now I have to get FP's as well. It' tough enough to plan a trip now, but to know exactly where we will be on a particular day is crazy. Plus the popular attractions could be FP out, just loike adrs. Disney making it harder to to go and have a relaxing time. I have a hard time knowing what I am doing next week, let alone six months from now. Plan my adrs, what park, and what attrctin at what time, no need for park hoppers, as now I am locked into one park unless I want to wait in lines. Seems like a lot of work for a vacation.

 

[t3techcom18]

How is 2 hours the MAXIMUM amount of time? I got to DHs at 9am and got fast pass for toy story at 2pm. If you go on a less busy day or get FP for less popular rides maybe it's likely to be 2 hours or less, but there is no guarantee and if its less crowded or a less popular ride you probably dont need FP anyway. On an average day how many FP's do you actually need or use? For me it's probably right around 3 or 4 depending on the park.

What fosse was getting at is this: Say you want TSM FP's. You get them. Then you want to go to ToT and get FP's there immediately afterwards. No can do: the system blocks you out from getting another FP anywhere in the park for two hours. That's what fosse meant.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

Just wondering how the smartphone features in the FP+ system. I've seen a few people mention needed )or at least recommending) a smartphone to use the system. I'm from Canada, my roaming fees means I won't be bringing my smartphone with me.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Just wondering how the smartphone features in the FP+ system. I've seen a few people mention needed )or at least recommending) a smartphone to use the system. I'm from Canada, my roaming fees means I won't be bringing my smartphone with me.

Why would you be roaming instead of using the free in-park WiFi?

 

[djlaosc]

I think if people took a methodical look at how many FPs they actually use in a day.. they may be surprised. Disney's choice of how many passes wouldn't have been arbitrary.

I did last time we went (August/September 2011 - 21 nights) - we used Fastpass on 9 days (1, 2 or 3 per day) for a total of 18 Fastpasses. We did not need any more than this, and we did not need it for attractions that currently did not have it.

Under FP+ we could not get at least 3 out of these 18 Fastpasses (17% of our total use), possibly more (no word on Epcot/DAK categories yet), but on the positive, the stand by queues for everything else will be longer so we will have to start using the 3 or 4 per day that they give us!

 

[pumpkin7]

I must say, this is so confusing compared to the current system. You now enter the park, go to a FP machine, insert your ticket, done.
This one sounds like you have to plan your trip ahead, book your fast passes for when you're in selected parks, then when you get there you have to carry a phone around with you so you don't forget your times, you have to wear a wrist band, then if you miss your time or can't make your time, you alter it but you can't book it so it clashes with anything else.... and only certain people can get it and it's going to make the wait times go up and a whole load of bleugh.

What about people in foreign countries like myself? Will there be a website where you can go on and book? I think a lot of people will be alienated by this. Heck, I'm alienated by booking ADRs, let alone what attractions and what time I want to book them. Next they'll be wanting to book 180 days out too.
I just can't imagine everyone wants to plan their holiday to such military precision as what this FP system will require. I certainly don't.

Perhaps though I'm getting the wrong end of the stick, but the news that regular FP will not be available after this is rolled out certainly sounds a bit yuck.

 

[lentesta]

My understanding of the initial plan for FP+ is that AP holders will get a fixed number of FP+ experiences per quarter. So, for example, you may have 20 FP+ experiences you can use between January 1 and March 31. You'd get 20 more for April 1 through June 30, etc. Of course, the number and time duration can change.

As far as how FP+ will impact standby lines, the numbers in that initial plan said that standby waits will go up slightly for the average guest. Something like 1 to 2 minutes for minor attractions, up to around 8 for headliners such as Space Mountain. When we modeled FP+ and strict FP enforcement using our touring plan software, we came up with a range of 4 to 7 minutes per attraction, on average. That seems to be ballpark.

 

[D Stockton85]

I am from Britain and have booked a holiday to Disney World in late March 2013. I am aware that it is busy then but I thought, 'oh well, they have free fastpass, no worries.' I am now horrified to learn that Fastpass is being replaced with Fastpass+, and there is no indication that I have been 'selected' for this new system at the time of booking, nor have I received any confirmation that I will be able to pre-book on the new system from Britain. Is original Fastpass likely to be gone by the time I go on my holiday? If so, it's looking like I will be going at a busy time with absolutely zero access to any Fastpass through no fault of my own. If this is the case, I feel positively discriminated against as an international visitor and am absolutely disgusted Disney could treat its international guests in this way.