Would you discontinue FastPass?

[wdwfan4ver]

I wouldn't discontinue Fastpass, but I would discontinue Fastpass plus. I am one of the people that use Fastpass well

The original Fastpass was good for certain attraction that very popular because that means you can get on faster. I went to WDW before Fast Pass existed. I went to WDW in 1991, 1992 and I believe there no fast pass in 1997 yet, but there was by my next trip in 2000.

The problem with Fastpass plus is booking your fastpass before you even went WDW. That means Disney wants you to plan your entire trip. The problems with that is some attractions could stop while being on the attraction or wouldn't start anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes depending on the problem the attraction has. The problem also is some attractions are weather sensitive there such as Test Track. There also is the issue of how long your adr takes if it takes much longer than you expected.

 

[Tom Morrow]

In an ideal world, yes. If the parks and infrastructure could cope. i.e. more to do to spread the crowds.

It has to be remembered FP was introduced to have guests spend more time not in attractions, to spend more time browsing stores, and for the obvious financial implications.

But with the new way of doing things theyre going further in that direction.

This.

They want you to think you are benefiting from it because you are "skipping the lines". It's deceptive. You are able to shop and eat more. You are not able to ride more. Of course, the average person doesn't think about the logistics behind it. "Why wait in the loooong, boring standby line when you can grab a Fastpass and get right on??"

I'm always confused by statements like this. Instead of saying "get rid of Fastpass", shouldn't the response be "next time, I'm going to get FP and get on the ride quickly? Even faster than I would have before FP existed"?

1, Because if everyone went through one single line, that line would move even faster than the speed of today's Fastpass lines (remember, the standard ratio is 4:1, or 80% of an attractions riders coming from the Fastpass queue).
2. You wouldn't have to return a minimum of 45 minutes later to use that Fastpass.
3. Even if you do get a Fastpass next time, great, now what? The lines for everything else you want to ride are also inflated drastically because of Fastpass, but now you can't get another Fastpass for some time.

Since Fastpass will not be going away, I am not necessarily against FP+ because it has potential to address many of the flaws in the current system.

 

[Tom Morrow]

A number was once used that 30% of ride capacity is offered for Fastpass allowances. That leaves 70% unable to get one no matter how much they may want one. Hardly their fault is it?

If Fastpass accounted for only 30% of an attraction's capacity, then the standby lines wouldn't be quite so ridiculously inflated. The standard number, assuming there is a steady flow of Fastpass holders, and there usually is, is 80% Fastpass, 20% Standby.

 

[disneysince71]

Fast Pass Yes
Fast Pass Plus no
I love the fast pass, I just get very discouraged with rides like TSM that have all passes out by 12:00 and you go to ride and the wait is 120 min....
Also they are enforcing the times on the tickets now. In years past if you ended up with a FP during a lunch reservation you could just come back later... Well not anymore... Time on the pass only... and if you have plans... tough luck.... Even though I totally get why they do it... That was one rule I liked it better when they where not so strict...

 

[Goofyernmost]

If Fastpass accounted for only 30% of an attraction's capacity, then the standby lines wouldn't be quite so ridiculously inflated. The standard number, assuming there is a steady flow of Fastpass holders, and there usually is, is 80% Fastpass, 20% Standby.

I'm sorry, but I cannot go along with those numbers. If it were true the FP lines would be an hour or two long and the standby would be a 10 minute wait. I don't have any backup for my claim but I don't think that it is possible for those numbers to be accurate. Just saying!

 

[MattC]

This.

They want you to think you are benefiting from it because you are "skipping the lines". It's deceptive. You are able to shop and eat more. You are not able to ride more. Of course, the average person doesn't think about the logistics behind it. "Why wait in the loooong, boring standby line when you can grab a Fastpass and get right on??"1, Because if everyone went through one single line, that line would move even faster than the speed of today's Fastpass lines (remember, the standard ratio is 4:1, or 80% of an attractions riders coming from the Fastpass queue).
2. You wouldn't have to return a minimum of 45 minutes later to use that Fastpass.
3. Even if you do get a Fastpass next time, great, now what? The lines for everything else you want to ride are also inflated drastically because of Fastpass, but now you can't get another Fastpass for some time.

Since Fastpass will not be going away, I am not necessarily against FP+ because it has potential to address many of the flaws in the current system.

^This. Get rid of fp and the "regular" line would move as fast as fp does now.

 

[MarkTwain]

I'm sorry, but I cannot go along with those numbers. If it were true the FP lines would be an hour or two long and the standby would be a 10 minute wait. I don't have any backup for my claim but I don't think that it is possible for those numbers to be accurate. Just saying!

Then less Fastpasses would be distributed. That is what I think should be done; the merge ratio should be brought to something sane like 1:1 instead of the current 4:1, and then one-fourth as many FastPasses would be distributed. Sure, Fastpasses would run out a lot quicker, but the standby would also move four times as fast. Such a system could be a compromise that would be a fair alternative to discontinuing FastPass completely.

This paragraph I found on another website explains it well:

The ride computer automatically measures the dispatch interval (time between ride vehicle dispatches) and schedules ride cars for the rest of the day. It then reserves a number of seats per ride vehicle, and the reservation is enforced by the merge point Cast Member. Stitch’s Great Escape is a good example for demonstration purposes. A show starts every 5 minutes carrying 132 guests. The computer prints out 100 FastPass tickets for each 5 minute spot. When the merge point CM is counting people for the next show, they will let in 100 people with FastPasses and only 32 people for standby (approximately a 3:1 ratio). This means that a normal standby line with 132 people could have been cleared in 5 minutes, but now will take 20 minutes (or a 30 minute line would take 2 hours… be grateful you knew ahead of time that Stitch isn’t worth it). Next time you’re at Space Mountain or Tower of Terror, ask the merge point CM what their FastPass-to-Standby ratio is, and its likely you’re looking at 3-4:1.

Also, for what it's worth, that 4:1 is only used for "normal" days. Go on a "busy" day and you're more than likely looking at a 6:1, 8:1, or even 10:1.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Keep it. I enjoy it. It helps you plan your day better. If a fastpass says to come back between 5:40 and 6:40 then you do three attractions in that time frame with shorter lines. It isn't rocket science. Then all of the sudden you only wait 10 minutes (if that) for Space Mountain. Maybe it is just me but I always think 2 or 3 rides ahead when I am at the parks. There is the electronic timekeeper at the front of each ride so you shold be able to utilize some basic common sense.

The problem with WDW is that they have fewer attractions per park than Disneyland. If you compare both flagship parks then you can see how much more spread out Disneyland's crowds are compared to the MK. For whatever reason Winnie the Pooh is a long wait at WDW but at Disneyland I never waited as long as 5 minutes. Strangely enough Pirates and Small World had longer waits at Disneyland compared to the normal walk on versions at WDW but that was about it. Everything at Disneyland has a shorter line and this means you don't need as many fastpasses. But when you do need one, yeah, you are a fool if you don't utilize it.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

By the way, let's just step outside and compare Disney to your normal amusement/theme park. I was in Kennywood last year (near Pittsburgh) and while it is a nice little quaint and old fashioned park we had atrocious wait times for the rides. The popular roller coasters would have 45-60 minute waits. Maybe we went on 12-14 attractions the whole day because we had to get in most of the big ones. Those are painful lines to wait through with next to nothing in the way of theming. Now, it was a Saturday in August so that didn't help, but believe me you are clamouring for a fastpass in a non-fastpass world. It makes the planning that much easier.

 

[FettFan]

Yes AND No.

Some attractions simply should not have Fastpass (especially the constantly-moving ones like Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid), since all it does is gum up the queue.

And it's getting worse...according to AllEars.net, Fastpass+ is going to be installed at Enchanted Tales With Belle.
SORTEZ D'ICI! They have the audacity put a FASTPASS ON A GLORIFIED MEET AND GREET!

 

[DisneyFan381]

I'm in favor of FastPass sticking around.

 

[HMF]

No, but I would kill Fastpass+ in a heartbeat.

 

[marni1971]

The parks worked fine without it for decades. It was a Pressler-ism to get more money spent in the stores.

But with NextGen the problems will just get worse.

 

[BigRedDad]

They need to make the FP useful. It is not bad, but it is no where near what Universal has done. Using your example of BTMRR, I remember the line all the way back to PotC. Yes, it use to be that long because it was state of the art at the time. I will not wait 30 minutes for any ride. It is simply not worth my time. I also schedule times in the less busy seasons.

In the example above on the FP example, US has it made. Resort guests get unlimited FPs and not resort guests can buy them. I know the scale of people are completely different. However, resort guests should have something similar. Maybe make it where they can choose 3 rides that are loaded as unlimited FPs for the day for them and eliminate the FP all together. I am not overly concerned either way. I do not wait long for rides and I am usually there long enough to hit the ride that I want without having to miss one.

 

[TDF]

I think on certain rides FastPass should be discontinued. On rides that have continuous boarding or interactive queues. I also think Seasonal FastPass should be offered. I would rather wait on a line moving then standing still.
- Justin

 

[AndyS2992]

Only rides that should have FastPass are:

Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Dumbo
Tomorrowland Speedway
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Mission Space
Primeval Whirl
Dinosaur (?)

And that is it. The reason being that all these rides either have two tracks or two different load entrances.

 

[flynnibus]

It could be true but I wonder about it. You may have saved time on that one ride, but then you have to ride others in Standby. Standby lines are longer because of others using Fastpass there. It's a wash in my opinion. Nothing gained except where your Fastpass was used. Cancelled out by the ones where you have to wait in the common person line.

Except the math is heavily in FP's favor.

If you save an hour in one line because of FP..

That means you must lose an full hour in other lines due to FP side effects.

How much longer are these only lines you really claim you are waiting in? 5mins? 15min? 30min? Do you really think Pirate's line is 20mins longer?

If you get three FPs a day and save 1hr in each.. that's 3 hours EXTRA waiting in line you must do somewhere for FP to not be a gain. Most people won't wait that long total in a day.. so I have a hard time seeing adding 3hrs extra for that person to not be ahead by using FP.

 

[TDF]

I think it comes down to something simple. Now i’m not including that this may decrease what you can do in a day or load factors because I don’t know much about that. If you have a nice queue with interactive features and a line that keeps moving people won’t mind the wait. I don’t understand why a ride like peter pan or buzz which keeps moving must stop a standby line to allow fast pass guest onboard. Would you rather be on a slightly longer line that kept moving or a line that was just as long and didn’t move? Yes peter pan would probably still have a 30-40 minute wait but the fact that the line moves at a constant pace would keep peoples mind off of the waiting.

 

[Innovention]

OK, let's say that, hypothetically, a particular ride will handle 10000 people per day. Now let's for the sake of fun say that 10000 people show up wanting a Fastpass for that ride at exactly the same time. The machine will only issue 3000 Fastpasses for that ride, so 7000 people that tried to get a fastpass, using the same criteria as everyone else, will NOT get one. I know that is an extreme and impossible event to happen but it underlines what I am trying to say. There are many reasons why a person cannot get there in time to get a FP. All of them with legitimate reasons, they will be in the, so called, Dopey line through no wish or desire of their own. They didn't create the situation that would theoretically allow 3000 others ahead of them, but never the less, there they are. I'm not talking about those that don't know how to use FP, they don't know what is available to them, but, there are, in this example 7000 people that do know how to use it, where to get it and still will not be allowed to have one. How is that not unfair to those people. Any system that is only worthwhile for 30% of the customers of anyplace, is a faulty system that can and does create way more displeasure then pleasure.

The equalizer is that (unless things have changed) a person can't get more than one fast pass in a 4 hour window. So while those 7000 people couldn't FP for this ride, they can hold a FP for another ride while waiting on line for this one... And the 3000 who got the FP are in the reverse situation.

Because of this aspect of the system, the FP system is theoretically fair.

I say theoretically as fairness assumes that every ride in the park is equally desirable and popular, which, of course is not the case. I haven't used a FP for a ride in years mainly because, since I have been to WDW often enough, I have my preferred activities already picked out. I don't enjoy Mission Space, for instance, so I'm not going to wait on that ride while waiting for my Soarin' FP return time... I don't need to kill time or money in Mouse Gear, either, so I end up just waiting in the standby line.

I know it feels like fast passers hold up the standby line, but I haven't really noticed if this is the truth... If all the fast passers had gotten on the standby line before you did (if FP did not exist) wouldn't the line take just as long?

And for anyone thinking that "down time" was not cnsidered in Disney's fast pass design, and how guests might have to use this time to waste money on snacks and doodads is naive. Disney is a master at experience management and marketing.

 

[Susan Savia]

I love using fast passes. For example Toy Story, we can get in 3 rides on it in a day. Without it we wouldn'nt be able to.