Fast Pass Future? Predictions...

[JakeAZ]

(and increasing crowds were precisely the reason we didn't buy in to DVC)

Agree again!

We rented points for our upcoming trip to give us a taste of DVC as we were bouncing the idea around of purchasing. 0.0% chance of that happening now. Even if they do "fix" some things, it's painfully obvious how they can just take stuff away at any time.

 

[CanadianEmily]

Not sure if this point has been made about the potential cost of FPs. We did Early Morning Magic last year at MK, which cost close to $100pp for slightly over an hour of immediate access to only a select number of rides. Obviously nobody was buying it for the breakfast, and it was a basic breakfast buffet. There's no way I could afford to dish that out for multiple hours or days. I would still be willing to do something like that event as a one time thing if it really helped get some key rides in. If they don't bring back some sort of FPs, we might cancel our 2022 trip. I have no desire to wait in lines all day long. Last time we only stood in a handful of lines that were over 30 minutes all week, and only Navi River Journey was one we really wanted to do and had no other way to do it but to wait. That miserable waiting experience is one of my strongest memories, lol. We chose to stand in line for a few other things that we didn't really need to do, but mostly we would use our three FPs and then either get more or go to things with short waits.

 

[JakeAZ]

Not sure if this point has been made about the potential cost of FPs. We did Early Morning Magic last year at MK, which cost close to $100pp for slightly over an hour of immediate access

Yep, to those paying attention, it's very obvious D* values expedited access to rides at a premium.

VIP, which is a human FP, is $425-$750 per hour for a minimum of 7 hours. If you have 10 guests, that's $300-$525 per person, per day and that doesn't even get you the whole day. You are also paying for the time spent in line / eating / park hopping. Plus tip...

Whatever is announced, won't be cheap. Also, it shouldn't be. If it's priced low, everyone will feel the need to buy it and the entire purpose of it will be defeated.

 

[yaya74]

I hope Disney just follows Universal Orlando's Express Pass model. Comp passes for those staying at deluxe /DVC resorts. With all the cuttings, onsite stay has lost its benefits.

 

[JakeAZ]

I hope Disney just follows Universal Orlando's Express Pass model. Comp passes for those staying at deluxe /DVC resorts. With all the cuttings, onsite stay has lost its benefits.

Would be nice but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

 

[WIll C]

For the price the Express Pass is, I could see Disney going along that sort of path. It's more than most tickets it seems on busy days. Spending $150-$200 a day, per person for unlimited FP would be a huge cost for people but would bring in the bucks and I'm sure they would sell.

 

[Heather07438]

I hope Disney just follows Universal Orlando's Express Pass model. Comp passes for those staying at deluxe /DVC resorts. With all the cuttings, onsite stay has lost its benefits.

That would definitely help boost the value of DVC.

eta- I don't think that's likely to happen but upgrade options could be better for onsite guests somehow.

Genie could include some type of free virtual queue for all ticket holders, maybe even 2 VQ's using a 2 tier system. Then maybe pay to get a rolling virtual queue (similar to the way 4th+ FP's worked), but onsite guests could have a shorter cool down.

 

[whiporee]

For the price the Express Pass is, I could see Disney going along that sort of path. It's more than most tickets it seems on busy days. Spending $150-$200 a day, per person for unlimited FP would be a huge cost for people but would bring in the bucks and I'm sure they would sell.

it wouldn't have any value at $200, because they'd all be bought up and the FP lines would be still too long.

In order for an unlimited FP really cut down on lines and be a value., it would have to be closer to $500 pp.

If WDW ever really wants to address crowds, what they should do is only allow resorts guests in during Mon-Thurs.. You pay your extremely pricey cost for your room, and you get free park admission and you and other resort guests are the only ones at the parks. Open to everyone else on the Fri-Sunday and holidays.

It would jack rooms $200-300 a night across the board, and it would hurt the rest of Orlando's tourist industry, but they'd guarantee nearly full occupancy and the type of exclusivity they rates would demand.

They'd never do it, but if they have all the rooms and want to cut back on attendance (to limit line length), that's the most surefire way to do it.

 

[JakeAZ]

We all know when FP comes back, it will be revamped.

If the new system doesn't prioritize on-site stays, IMO, that will be the ultimate *** to DVC and those who won't stay anywhere else but on-property. It will be D* saying "we've already got you...we've run the numbers and there is nothing we can take away that will keep you away"

 

[EmilyGahr]

Well since you want predictions. Perfect prediction would be Fastpasses for onsite guest and number determined by level of hotel you are staying at- deluxe 3 fastpasses, moderate 2 fastpasses and value 1 fastpass with ability to purchase 3 additional (like Club Level could- and we loved purchasing the additional 3- yes I am serious about that).

Honestly Disney needs to give the Deluxe guests more than the Value guests....just my opinion. And off-site could purchase fastpasses.

I think this is a great idea!

 

[greg9x]

it wouldn't have any value at $200, because they'd all be bought up and the FP lines would be still too long.

In order for an unlimited FP really cut down on lines and be a value., it would have to be closer to $500 pp.

If WDW ever really wants to address crowds, what they should do is only allow resorts guests in during Mon-Thurs.. You pay your extremely pricey cost for your room, and you get free park admission and you and other resort guests are the only ones at the parks. Open to everyone else on the Fri-Sunday and holidays.

It would jack rooms $200-300 a night across the board, and it would hurt the rest of Orlando's tourist industry, but they'd guarantee nearly full occupancy and the type of exclusivity they rates would demand.

They'd never do it, but if they have all the rooms and want to cut back on attendance (to limit line length), that's the most surefire way to do it.

Even jacking up room rates in that example, Disney would lose tons of money. They already have high hotel occupancy rates (or did before pandemic) yet only account for like 30% of park guests. Including park admission in the room rate would lose them even more money.

To drastically cut crowds to give a premium on site stay experience, rates would have to be extremely increased, probably by $1000/night or more. Disney will only be for the upper class then.

As mentioned earlier, Disney wants less, higher spending people to reduce operating costs...but they still want a certain amount of volume for the food/souvenirs sales.

Have always said, to make Disney a more pleasant experience, people need to stop going....as long as they do, it's only going to get worse.

 

[JakeAZ]

to make Disney a more pleasant experience, people need to stop going....as long as they do, it's only going to get worse.

Probably one of the most accurate things ever posted on this site.

 

[disneyguy87]

Have always said, to make Disney a more pleasant experience, people need to stop going....as long as they do, it's only going to get worse.

It's sadly true. FP+ is very important to my family as my wife has plantar fasciitis that makes long waits impossible for her. She requires frequent breaks and we have orthopedic inserts for her. One time we took a two hours break at Gaston's Tavern because her feet were actually bruised. We rode everything we wanted to in 2019 due to FP+. The longest wait we had was a 45-minute on Kali River Rapids which we had a FP for but it seemed really backed up that day. The lack of FP right now is a contributing factor to why we haven't gone.

I personally felt the FP system worked well and there was little need to revamp it. My only concern was with the new rides how the Tier system would adapt. I try not to jump to conclusions and I'll see what Disney does, but they have not been winning much goodwill with many long-time fans with their changes as of late.

 

[JakeAZ]

It's sadly true. FP+ is very important to my family as my wife has plantar fasciitis that makes long waits impossible for her. She requires frequent breaks and we have orthopedic inserts for her. One time we took a two hours break at Gaston's Tavern because her feet were actually bruised. We rode everything we wanted to in 2019 due to FP+. The longest wait we had was a 45-minute on Kali River Rapids which we had a FP for but it seemed really backed up that day. The lack of FP right now is a contributing factor to why we haven't gone.

I personally felt the FP system worked well and there was little need to revamp it. My only concern was with the new rides how the Tier system would adapt. I try not to jump to conclusions and I'll see what Disney does, but they have not been winning much goodwill with many long-time fans with their changes as of late.

Is she not eligible for DAS?

 

[katyringo]

I’m in the bring maxpass to WDW crowd. We always got to Disneyland for 5 days and paid the 20per person. $80 a day for my family. $400 for the trip.
But we bought the tickets that came with it.
I had not seen anyone mention that. Disneyland sold tickets that came with the Maxpass. Much the same you add hopper or any other things.

maybes it’s because we went to Disneyland first.. but I was actually annoyed when I learned about the WDW fastpass system. I would gladly pay for maxpass and the flexibility it had. If you had a hopper ticket you could book rides in both parks.

it would work just fine at WDW.If the not being able to book until your in the park is a problem just open it day of I you have a park reservation that day.

 

[whiporee]

I’m in the bring maxpass to WDW crowd. We always got to Disneyland for 5 days and paid the 20per person. $80 a day for my family. $400 for the trip.
But we bought the tickets that came with it.
I had not seen anyone mention that. Disneyland sold tickets that came with the Maxpass. Much the same you add hopper or any other things.

maybes it’s because we went to Disneyland first.. but I was actually annoyed when I learned about the WDW fastpass system. I would gladly pay for maxpass and the flexibility it had. If you had a hopper ticket you could book rides in both parks.

it would work just fine at WDW.If the not being able to book until your in the park is a problem just open it day of I you have a park reservation that day.

At $20 pp, they'd sell so many that it wouldn't have any value.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

At $20 pp, they'd sell so many that it wouldn't have any value.

Exactly. If they decide to sell FP they will have to make them expensive or it’ll defeat the purpose.

 

[katyringo]

Exactly. If they decide to sell FP they will have to make them expensive or it’ll defeat the purpose.

i don’t really understand this. It works just fine at Disneyland with two parks and similar number of rides. We’ve used maxpass is all type of crowd situations there including Christmas break capacity crowds.
But truth be told? I’d pay more for it. When we went to DisneyWorld in October we took a day at universal and paid for the unlimited express pass. I think it was close to $100 per person. The thing is.with the maxpass model . you don’t have to buy it everyday... or one person buy it each day for the photos.

I believe free fastpass is gone. DisneyWorld was the last theme park left that had it free other than Disneyland’s paper fastpass..I also believe Disneyland will do away with those.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

i don’t really understand this. It works just fine at Disneyland with two parks and similar number of rides. We’ve used maxpass is all type of crowd situations there including Christmas break capacity crowds.
But truth be told? I’d pay more for it. When we went to DisneyWorld in October we took a day at universal and paid for the unlimited express pass. I think it was close to $100 per person. The thing is.with the maxpass model . you don’t have to buy it everyday... or one person buy it each day for the photos.

I believe free fastpass is gone. DisneyWorld was the last theme park left that had it free other than Disneyland’s paper fastpass..I also believe Disneyland will do away with those.

I think free fast pass is gone too.

isn’t WDW attendance way higher than DL? I mean even with FP+ the FP lines get long. With max pass available to everyone for every ride wouldn’t it just make the lines extremely long?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I think it’ll have to be the same cost at US express pass to make a difference at Disney. But most people don’t do 7 day trips to US like they do WDW. That would get costly.