Rumor WDW is considering a Universal-like Express Pass

[GoofGoof]

I do agree that it should be done.

There is a few problems with doing it. One being those families like @Chi84 who have multiple generations visit at a time would most likely stop going as they like having short waits for a few attractions.

The biggest one stems from the fact the Majority of Disney guests aren't ride people. They go into that parks ride a few attractions and leave

Fair point. There will always be groups who benefit and those who are at a disadvantge with any system, but there are still ways for many people (not all) to visit and not wait in long lines even without a line skipping tool. If you visit at less crowded times, utilize early morning or late night hours to ride popular rides and in some cases maybe just choose not to ride certain rides at all. There’s always the option to buy into the express pass product as well. People will weigh the cost vs the benefit. The other factor is if they did this right the standby lines will be lower for most attractions for everyone which should also make it easier for people who can’t or don’t want to wait in longer lines.

As far as visitors who aren’t theme park commandos running from ride to ride it’s still possible to visit for 3 or 4 hours, do a few rides, see a few shows, grab a meal and then go back to the resort for a break without a line skipping tool. You will probably need to get there early (at or shortly after rope drop) and have at least a loose plan of what rides to do first, but it’s doable. Then maybe return in the evening for several more rides.

At the end of the day I don’t think Disney will actually follow through with this plan, but I think it could work and could be a positive for guests (even those who don’t buy in).

 

[vagabondarts]

Just make park tickets $250/person and go back to stand-by lines.

I’m with you.
The truth though is as long as people keep paying and going this will keep getting more ridiculous.

 

[Splash4eva]

I do agree that it should be done.

There is a few problems with doing it. One being those families like @Chi84 who have multiple generations visit at a time would most likely stop going as they like having short waits for a few attractions.

The biggest one stems from the fact the Majority of Disney guests aren't ride people. They go into that parks ride a few attractions and leave

Maybe its me but im going to Disney to enjoy all the rides and attractions along with Fireworks and Parades and literally everyone i basically know does the same thing. Why spend all this money to stat at subpar resorts over priced dining and by a pool and people watch vs enjoy all the classic and other rides Disney has to offer

 

[GoofGoof]

Maybe its me but im going to Disney to enjoy all the rides and attractions along with Fireworks and Parades and literally everyone i basically know does the same thing. Why spend all this money to stat at subpar resorts over priced dining and by a pool and people watch vs enjoy all the classic and other rides Disney has to offer

I think the average visitor to WDW is riding rides at the parks but also enjoying shows, entertainment, parades and fireworks. They are also spending time eating meals, drinking drinks (especially at EPCOT), shopping, spending time at the pool or doing other stuff at the resorts. I was just there in August and can tell you that the pools at both Boardwalk and Grand Floridian were pretty crowded mid afternoon most days unless the thunderstorms came early.

All of that is why many people are satisfied with 3 advance LL reservations. Just because you have 3 reservations doesn’t mean you can only do 3 rides that day. Many rides don’t need LL or have reasonable waits in standby and none of the shows, parades or entertainment need LL.

 

[Splash4eva]

I think the average visitor to WDW is riding rides at the parks but also enjoying shows, entertainment, parades and fireworks. They are also spending time eating meals, drinking drinks (especially at EPCOT), shopping, spending time at the pool or doing other stuff at the resorts. I was just there in August and can tell you that the pools at both Boardwalk and Grand Floridian were pretty crowded mid afternoon most days unless the thunderstorms came early.

All of that is why many people are satisfied with 3 advance LL reservations. Just because you have 3 reservations doesn’t mean you can only do 3 rides that day. Many rides don’t need LL or have reasonable waits in standby and none of the shows, parades or entertainment need LL.

The poster i replied to specifically said the majority of Disney guests are NOT ride people and do a few (thats 3 in my view) and leave. 1st of all i would love to know where he gets that date or inference from 2nd if thats the case why are lines soooo long 3rd if thats what majority of guests i question their decisions to spend God knows what and only do that. Either way i dont know anyone who vacations there and does a few rides and leaves

 

[JD80]

The biggest one stems from the fact the Majority of Disney guests aren't ride people. They go into that parks ride a few attractions and leave

How do you figure this?

 

[tanc]

TDR introduced unlimited fast pass as part of a hotel vacation package. I could see it even being restricted to Disney hotel guests or something.

 

[Touchdown]

The poster i replied to specifically said the majority of Disney guests are NOT ride people and do a few (thats 3 in my view) and leave. 1st of all i would love to know where he gets that date or inference from 2nd if thats the case why are lines soooo long 3rd if thats what majority of guests i question their decisions to spend God knows what and only do that. Either way i dont know anyone who vacations there and does a few rides and leaves

I think they are ride people, but then again doesn’t Disney itself set an average guests daily experiences at 6 a day

 

[Jrb1979]

How do you figure this?

I'm basing it off the many different posts I've seen across different threads that talk these systems. I can't count the number of times I have seen different posters mention how they book their 3 LL for the morning, ride a few other attractions and leave by noon for a break.

Head back to the parks in the evening for dinner and a few more rides. Look at how many people posted about Genie+ and stacking for late in the day as that's when they go to the parks.

@Splash4eva what I mean by not being ride people, is majority of guests don't rope drop and stay til close just doing rides and attractions all day.

A good example is the average guest that goes to Cedar Point usually pounds rides all day. That's what people go to those parks for.

Where as Disney most aren't necessarily there to ride attractions all day.

 

[Touchdown]

The term for people who do rope drop to close are park commandos not “ride people”

I am one of them (although a week of 8-12 closings at DL will break me and have me do a midday nap.)

 

[Jrb1979]

The term for people who do rope drop to close are park commandos not “ride people”

I am one of them (although a week of 8-12 closings at DL will break me and have me do a midday nap.)

There is a difference between park commando and ride people. In my view ride people don't do shows, parades, fireworks or do the festivals.

Ride people are the type of guest you see at the regional parks. Ones that just ride rides all day and nothing else.

 

[GoofGoof]

There is a difference between park commando and ride people. In my view ride people don't do shows, parades, fireworks or do the festivals.

Ride people are the type of guest you see at the regional parks. Ones that just ride rides all day and nothing else.

There is no formal definition, but these are my thoughts. Your definition of “Ride people” seems to me to be the same thing as how I’d describe a “park commando”. If you go to a park with a goal of riding as many rides as possible in the time you are there and skip things like shows, entertainment, parades, shopping and even table service meals to maximize time spent on rides you are a “park commando”. It’s not a bad thing, just a different type of guest with different needs.

I don’t think the majority of WDW visitors are what I’d define as park commandos. It’s probably more common among the regular visitors, especially ones who visit multiple times a year, so the demographic here probably has a higher percentage than the average visitor. Seeing the Indiana Jones stunt show for the first time ever or the first time in 5 years is different than seeing it for the 3rd time this year. Disney depends on guests doing other ”stuff” besides riding rides to fill out their days. A park like AK is a half day park for the commandos but if you stopped and spent time at the various animal enclosures, actually stopped and read the stuff along the walking trails, spent time at Rafiki, did every show and had a table service meal it would be difficult to get that all done in 1 full day.

Why does all this matter based on the topic of this thread? Outside of MK an Express Pass style front of the line pass is not really necessary for the average guest. If someone pays a steep price for front of the line access are they really going to want to spend time on walking trails or seeing the Nemo show or shopping and drinking at World Showcase? Not likely. This is why I don’t know if this plan works great for 3 out of 4 parks and for the majority of guests visiting.

 

[Ayla]

There is a difference between park commando and ride people. In my view ride people don't do shows, parades, fireworks or do the festivals.

Ride people are the type of guest you see at the regional parks. Ones that just ride rides all day and nothing else.

That's literally the definition of a park commando, not "ride people".

 

[Touchdown]

That's literally the definition of a park commando, not "ride people".

I do shows and restaurants, but I’m there open to close, if I’m not a commando what am I?

How I Get done AK by 1:00-2:00
-Arrive at the bus stop 1 hour before EE
-Arrive at AK, wait for rope drop
-FoP (almost always in the first theatre)
-NRJ (<5 min wait)
-Safari (10-20 min wait)
-Dinosaur x2 (<10 min wait)
-KRR x2 (I can usually stay on the raft as it just opened)
-FotLK, Lunch, walk through the stores in some order depending on time of FotLK
-Nemo, ittab and riding Everest 3-5x via SRL to end my day

 

[GoofGoof]

I do shows and restaurants, but I’m there open to close, if I’m not a commando what am I?

How I Get done AK by 1:00-2:00
-Arrive at the bus stop 1 hour before EE
-Arrive at AK, wait for rope drop
-FoP (almost always in the first theatre)
-NRJ (<5 min wait)
-Safari (10-20 min wait)
-Dinosaur x2 (<10 min wait)
-KRR x2 (I can usually stay on the raft as it just opened)
-FotLK, Lunch, walk through the stores in some order depending on time of FotLK
-Nemo, ittab and riding Everest 3-5x via SRL to end my day

You make the commando cut….just don‘t tell anyone in the club that you did those shows or they may revoke your membership

It’s a solid plan. If you spent an hour or 2 on the walking trails, did that bird show and visited Rafiki you’d probably get pretty close to 6PM close of park and you would have seen and done every single thing. I think this shows an express pass type product is probably not needed at AK with a little planning.

 

[Jrb1979]

That's literally the definition of a park commando, not "ride people".

It's not quite the same. You can rope drop the park and stay to close and ride hardly anything and be a park commando.

Ride people are those that go from one ride to the next with a stop for food in between. Something you see guests who visit Kings Island who marathon rides all day. Similar to @Touchdown AK plan but without the shows or trails.

A ride person would rope drop FOP, do NRJ, then Dinosaur, Everest and Safari. Do those on repeat for the rest of the day.

 

[Splash4eva]

I'm basing it off the many different posts I've seen across different threads that talk these systems. I can't count the number of times I have seen different posters mention how they book their 3 LL for the morning, ride a few other attractions and leave by noon for a break.

Head back to the parks in the evening for dinner and a few more rides. Look at how many people posted about Genie+ and stacking for late in the day as that's when they go to the parks.

@Splash4eva what I mean by not being ride people, is majority of guests don't rope drop and stay til close just doing rides and attractions all day.

A good example is the average guest that goes to Cedar Point usually pounds rides all day. That's what people go to those parks for.

Where as Disney most aren't necessarily there to ride attractions all day.

But you dont need to rope drop and stay to the end to be considered “ride people” almost everyone i know myself included no longer rope drops and no longer stays until closing yet i would 100% say we are ride people. I pretty much dk many people who are true rope droppers anymore but will stay later either way again noone i know granted smaller group thinks going 3 rides is the norm…
Even casual people who visit expect more people who gave gone countless times expect and do more. If you wanna say locals who can go anytime they want may drop into a park on any given day do a few attractions so be it but thats not your normal guest who is vacationing at Disney. I would love to have a poll of people who go there on vacation and get an idea of how many rides they do daily. Like its almost impossible to only do 3 rides

 

[Splash4eva]

I think they are ride people, but then again doesn’t Disney itself set an average guests daily experiences at 6 a day

I dk what they put down as average but even if its 6 thats double than what was suggested the majority does …. 6 to me is on the low end still but i wouldnt be as adamant vs the 3…

 

[GoofGoof]

I dk what they put down as average but even if its 6 thats double than what was suggested the majority does …. 6 to me is on the low end still but i wouldnt be as adamant vs the 3…

I think @Jrb1979 was saying people are happy with 3 LL reservations in a day not that they only do 3 rides and then leave. If you take a park like AK there are only 7 rides (and 1 is a spinner which appeals mostly to kids) so even if you did every ride in a day you are riding 7 rides. Many people will repeat rides, especially repeat visitors, but there are probably a large number who are in the 6 or 7 ride count for a day at AK. This is especially true if you do shows and walking trails and take the train to Planet Watch and stop for meals. Similar can be said for EPCOT and DHS which have 10 and 9 rides each. Doing almost every ride once in a day wouldn’t be much more than 6 rides. I would assume most visitors to MK do more than 3-6 rides in a day. Probably a lot more.

 

[Jrb1979]

But you dont need to rope drop and stay to the end to be considered “ride people” almost everyone i know myself included no longer rope drops and no longer stays until closing yet i would 100% say we are ride people. I pretty much dk many people who are true rope droppers anymore but will stay later either way again noone i know granted smaller group thinks going 3 rides is the norm…
Even casual people who visit expect more people who gave gone countless times expect and do more. If you wanna say locals who can go anytime they want may drop into a park on any given day do a few attractions so be it but thats not your normal guest who is vacationing at Disney. I would love to have a poll of people who go there on vacation and get an idea of how many rides they do daily. Like its almost impossible to only do 3 rides

@GoofGoof said it best. Maybe ride warrior is a better term. Someone who does 20 or more attractions each day. Riding things multiple times.

Most do more than 3 attractions but I would bet the majority only use their 3 prebooks and probably do some 3-5 other attractions with short waits.

This all comes back to the point of this thread, that an option express pass wouldn't sell well as many wouldn't find $200 or more pass worth it as they wouldn't find the value as many wouldn't get enough attractions out of it.