Would you discontinue FastPass?

[neoshinok]

This is obviously a futile poll, but I'm interested to hear your opinions.

The thought came into my mind when I rode BTMRR during a soft-open after the ride's recent refurbishment. Not being scheduled to open that day, there were no Fastpasses being distributed, and the wait time was not displayed. The line extended past the front entrance, with all loops open. Normally this would be roughly an hour wait, but with no Fastpass line, we were on the ride in twenty minutes.

This brings me to the question: If it were up to you, would you remove all Fastpass in favor of everyone waiting in the same line, thus shortening the regular wait for everyone? OR do you prefer planning around a set time to have an expedited wait, even if it means longer waits for other rides?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yes, yes, yes, yes! Make believe I repeated that about a thousand times.

 

[TubaGeek]

Yeah, it makes the standby queue longer. BUT the fact remains that the average guest can do more attractions in a day thanks to Fastpass. It's a tool, and if you choose not to utilize it, it's nobody's fault but your own.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I'd say keep it (due to its popularity with guests and management), but scale it back like DLR did. Have the big ticket ride's Fastpass offered year round, but give smaller attractions like Peter Pan a seasonal operation so that on days when crowds are low you're still not stuck with a 45 minute stand by wait.

Some rides, even with Fastpass, can still have short waits on days with low crowd levels, but limited capacity and continuously loading rides always get screwed by it.

 

[marni1971]

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.

 

[real mad hatter]

Are you crazy. No way Jose! I love popping in my park ticket and getting my comeback time.The looks you get when you pass everybody standing in the Dopey queue when your in the Happy line.Why on earth would you want to do away with this is beyond me.In fact,I had to read this three times to make sure I was getting the drift.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yeah, it makes the standby queue longer. BUT the fact remains that the average guest can do more attractions in a day thanks to Fastpass. It's a tool, and if you choose not to utilize it, it's nobody's fault but your own.

I'm not sure that this is true. When the place is crowded all lines are pretty long, fastpass or no! So because you have a time that you have to ride a ride, you will automatically have to "kill" time just because it is difficult to get everything to fall perfectly into place. 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.

As for the comment about choosing to utilize it or not, until I pass away, I will constantly have to remind everyone that there are a limited number of Fastpasses available. You may choose to use one, but there won't always be one available and that is the major flaw in the system. 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?

 

[TubaGeek]

I'm not sure that this is true. When the place is crowded all lines are pretty long, fastpass or no! So because you have a time that you have to ride a ride, you will automatically have to "kill" time just because it is difficult to get everything to fall perfectly into place. 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.

As for the comment about choosing to utilize it or not, until I pass away, I will constantly have to remind everyone that there are a limited number of Fastpasses available. You may choose to use one, but there won't always be one available and that is the major flaw in the system. 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?

You can doubt it if you want, but it's a fact. There's no reason Disney would otherwise utilize it.
As for it being fair, it's included on everyone's ticket. If you are too late for a Fastpass, it's no different than trying to get in line for a ride after they cut the queue. It's as fair as it could get.

 

[Fantasmic]

Yep. Totally. I don't really like FP, and I like it even less now they're re-enforcing the return windows.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You can doubt it if you want, but it's a fact. There's no reason Disney would otherwise utilize it.
As for it being fair, it's included on everyone's ticket. If you are too late for a Fastpass, it's no different than trying to get in line for a ride after they cut the queue. It's as fair as it could get.

Oh, I'd be willing to bet that Disney didn't even consider that when they came up with it. It was to get you out of line and into a gift shop. They aren't as foolish as many think, they also know that you have no way of knowing just exactly how much time you saved, if any, by using it. That is something they don't give a squat about. The longer they can keep you in the park the more opportunity they have to extract additional dollars from your pockets. They made it sound like a perk and for those that get one, it is. For the 70% of the Guests that cannot get one because they ran out...it's a burden.

I don't know about you but in my mind it makes very little sense to upset 70% of your customers to keep 30% happy. There are other reasons for it being in existence, I'm sure, but getting someone in and out in record time, is not one of them. One of the many reasons that I am against it, is that it's as fair as it could get. That's not a good selling point as far as I am concerned.

Someone earlier mentioned that you were in a Dopey line or the Happy line. I know that this is a cute reference because of the Dwarf connection, but it did go right to the heart of the problem. Segregation and separation of the have and the have nots. Without FP, that didn't exist.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Absolutely not. FP works for me, I see the benefits of utilizing it in my park plans. If guests standing in line are upset seeing me get on a ride before them, maybe they should inform themselves about how to use it too. ( or are those waiting in line guests who have already used their FP earlier for another ride or are holding a FP for something else? ) I see it working. I also admit that the FP process could be made better, as it is, its fair to all who use it properly.

 

[luv]

Now that you have to come back during your little window of time, I don't care. Have the FP, don't have the FP, doesn't matter to me, either way.

I tried getting them and planned to come back, but most of the time something prevents it - we are clear across the park and don't want to make the walk or it rains or we go back and the ride isn't working and we don't want to do the work required to know when it is back up so that we can arrive within 60 minutes of re-opening...or someone is hungry...

I used to really like FP, but now I pretty much skip them.

 

[Joseph Robinson]

If it was the most beneficial solution? Yes. I'm not qualified and don't have access to the information that would be needed to make that decision, so I'm voting no instead of opining on something I don't really know about.

 

[AndyS2992]

Yes definitely get rid of it. Was stood in the regular line for Peter Pan and they were letting in like 25 Fastpass people in per every 4 regular people. Just went on and on..

 

[lunchbox1175]

Sweet, i broke the tie in the poll!!

 

[Matt7187]

Do it like Disneyland!

 

[doctornick]

I would absolutely not want to get rid of FP. To me, it's fairly simple -- if you know how to use the system effectively and do so, you will end up waiting less in lines. some rides you do standby would be longer waits, but others would be much quicker by using FP. Someone who is efficient with FP use will overall stand to spend less time in line. Since I'm one of the people who uses them well, I benefit and want to see them around. And I use the time saved not to spend more time in stores (I rarely even walk in the stores in the parks, except when they are part of the exits for a rides and I just walk right through) but just use that saved time to do more rides each day.

Now, with FP+, it's likely that superusers of the system will not be able to derive as much benefit and more people will end up using Fastpasses in some capacity. That's fine, but I would still expect to be in the upper half of FP+ users and still benefit overall from it's presence. So I want it to stay.

 

[doctornick]

Someone earlier mentioned that you were in a Dopey line or the Happy line. I know that this is a cute reference because of the Dwarf connection, but it did go right to the heart of the problem. Segregation and separation of the have and the have nots. Without FP, that didn't exist.

There's no segregation (at least right now). Everyone has equal access to the same system. If some people use it better than others, that's not their fault or Disney's. Nothing is stopping any guest to learn about the FP system in advance and figure out how to use it to their advantage.

Yes definitely get rid of it. Was stood in the regular line for Peter Pan and they were letting in like 25 Fastpass people in per every 4 regular people. Just went on and 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"?

 

[AndyS2992]

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"?

I was already holding a Fastpass for Splash Mountain perhaps? Still your comment is invalid as by using Fastpass myself I am still holding up the line for everyone else. Besides not everyone can get a Fastpass for a particular ride for several reasons so have to use the normal line. Some of these reasons are they are already holding one, the attraction has ran out for the day, they don't know how to use Fastpass etc so not everyone can just 'get FP and get on the ride quickly'.

 

[Goofyernmost]

There's no segregation (at least right now). Everyone has equal access to the same system. If some people use it better than others, that's not their fault or Disney's. Nothing is stopping any guest to learn about the FP system in advance and figure out how to use it to their advantage.

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.