Fastpass return or replacement?

[DJJimmy9]

So - I am not sure why, but the previous Fastpass thread got shutdown. Let’s try to keep this one on topic to avoid the same fate for this thread.

I have an upcoming trip in mid-august and I am dreading this trip without some sort of FP. We reviewed our trip itinerary this evening during dinner and I could tell everyone in our family was anxious about this trip. I had to have my three kids choose their highest priority rides at each park and we discussed how we would do those at rope drop, but that we would not be able to everything we normally do. This was certainly disappointing given this is our first trip in over 1.5 years (we usually go to WDW 2 or 3 times per year).

Of course my children asked, “Why did Disney take away FP?”. We had a discussion about profits and supply & demand. The best response was from my 9-y/o who said “why don’t they just raise the ticket prices and keep FP the way it was if they want more money?” Honestly, I didn’t have a good answer.

Is there any hope that we will hear something about FP this week? At this point I think it’s unlikely but I’m holding out hope.

Let’s keep the return of FP discussion going!

 

[coolbrook]

So - I am not sure why, but the previous Fastpass thread got shutdown. Let’s try to keep this one on topic to avoid the same fate for this thread.

I have an upcoming trip in mid-august and I am dreading this trip without some sort of FP. We reviewed our trip itinerary this evening during dinner and I could tell everyone in our family was anxious about this trip. I had to have my three kids choose their highest priority rides at each park and we discussed how we would do those at rope drop, but that we would not be able to everything we normally do. This was certainly disappointing given this is our first trip in over 1.5 years (we usually go to WDW 2 or 3 times per year).

Of course my children asked, “Why did Disney take away FP?”. We had a discussion about profits and supply & demand. The best response was from my 9-y/o who said “why don’t they just raise the ticket prices and keep FP the way it was if they want more money?” Honestly, I didn’t have a good answer.

Is there any hope that we will hear something about FP this week? At this point I think it’s unlikely but I’m holding out hope.

Let’s keep the return of FP discussion going!

I think you have a good approach of hoping for the return of some kind of FP while planning how to get your family's must-do's (Bye Stacy) in. It's good to involve the kids in your discussion so they know what to expect. Our next trip is end of August and we are hoping for FP news too.

 

[Narcoossee11]

I am afraid NO fast passes this summer. Maybe not even this year. .
Having said that , a chance for GENIE in OCT. If that is correct, should hear details in Aug.

 

[Lewisc]

Disney didn't bring back FP+ for July 4. Mid August is a slower time. Maybe Disney is shooting for October 1

 

[mercuryvenus]

Disney didn't bring back FP+ for July 4. Mid August is a slower time. Maybe Disney is shooting for October 1

Mid-August could be a decent time to bring it back (or debut a new system) and work out the kinks before the 50th anniversary.

 

[DJJimmy9]

Mid-August could be a decent time to bring it back (or debut a new system) and work out the kinks before the 50th anniversary.

I like the way you are thinking!

 

[Rick195275]

I am afraid NO fast passes this summer. Maybe not even this year. .
Having said that , a chance for GENIE in OCT. If that is correct, should hear details in Aug.

Ooof that’s a scary thought if they don’t. Can’t imagine first week of October crowds in MK with no fastpass. I don’t think you’re wrong, just commentary from someone with reservations to be there lol.

 

[DJJimmy9]

I mean really…why haven’t they brought FP back yet? Does anyone really think that some sort of FP will never come back? There would be no reason to not bring it back. I have to believe at this point that this is either IT related (to launch a new paid version) or a staffing issue in the parks (assuming more CMs are needed to work both the standby & FP queues). What else could it be?

I get that no one wants to pay more. I mean I totally just want the normal FP+ system to come back - that would make me so so so happy. However, I also know that when faced with waiting 75 minutes for Pirates OTC in the August afternoon heat with tired kids - I would probably pay anything to not wait in that line. Obviously Disney knows that and knows there are others like me. So just charge me already if that’s where this is headed. What are you waiting for?

 

[Jrb1979]

I mean really…why haven’t they brought FP back yet? Does anyone really think that some sort of FP will never come back? There would be no reason to not bring it back. I have to believe at this point that this is either IT related (to launch a new paid version) or a staffing issue in the parks (assuming more CMs are needed to work both the standby & FP queues). What else could it be?

I get that no one wants to pay more. I mean I totally just want the normal FP+ system to come back - that would make me so so so happy. However, I also know that when faced with waiting 75 minutes for Pirates OTC in the August afternoon heat with tired kids - I would probably pay anything to not wait in that line. Obviously Disney knows that and knows there are others like me. So just charge me already if that’s where this is headed. What are you waiting for?

I'm with you there. The other change is to drop advanced booking and I'm in.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I'm with you there. The other change is to drop advanced booking and I'm in.

I know you say this a lot, but you do know that you never had to book anything in advance right? I never had any trouble getting whatever we wanted same day.

 

[malba2366]

It is very likely they are working out the kinks in Paris and will bring that system to WDW before Oct 1. This will keep the higher spenders out of lines and spending more $$ throughout the park, and allow them to monetize the fast passes which have significant value. The standby pass idea from Paris looks like it wont work, because without some people in lines the parks just become too crowded. The rumored Genie system could fit in nicely for. the less popular rides while paid fast passes for popular rides (7DMT, Avatar, Space Mountain, Star Wars, Slinky Dog etc). You can be pretty sure that Genie "wishes" will be largely granted based on spending activity and where you are staying.

Bottom line is that Disney is about to get into a big streaming arms race and is looking to monetize these parks to their full potential which they have never done in order to stick to Walt Disney's ideals. Any and all variants of future "fast pass" systems will be geared towards those who are spending the most money in the parks or who will pay for the privileges of not standing in line.

Paid fast passes will also make the fast passes for the most popular more readily available and reduce wait times for others since people aren't booking them en masse 60 days out as they were when they were free. This will allow people to buy the fast passes and enjoy a few drinks or their lunch instead of constantly refreshing their app looking for more fast passes. Overall the paid fast passes will make the experience much more enjoyable and spontaneous than the old system which basically required planning 60 days out and once in the park devolved into racing around the park to get more fast passes.

While these changes could cost a bit of money for some, it will make the Disney experience far better for most outside of the subset of annual pass holders who have become experts at gaming the fastpass system.

 

[Mac30188]

I suspect there is two reasons to not bring Fastpass+ back.

1) Transition: If you bring back FP in its current format, it allowed the next 60-70 days of FP to be scheduled. Assuming that you don't want the extremely angry process of taking away a scheduled fastpasses, and they want to avoid two systems both running at the same time, it generally means they need around 70 day lead time to shut it down. In short, if they think they are reasonably close to a new system, it really does not make sense to put the old system in production.
2) It just does not look good to charge for a service that was free the day before. My experience in attempting to charge for a previously free service was a group of very angry customers. The COVID break is the perfect time for a system swap.

Therefore, my assumption is they believe they are close enough to a new system that it makes no sense to bring back Fastpass +. Now if in testing they find major issues and believe they need another 6 months, I honestly believe they would break the glass on Fastpass+ and stick it back in production. I just don't think they want to go October, November, and December during their 50th with no FP.

I also think they want to have some lead time between announcement and rollout. If the new system does planning 60-70 days in advance, my guess is we would hear something towards the end of July/first of August. Unfortunately, we don't know if that is a good assumption or not since no details on the new system have been released.

Since it is absolutely no value for Disney to announce anything until they are sure the new system is ready and they have a management approved rollout schedule, my final assumptions are;

A) They are working on a new system.
B) It is not completely through testing.
C) They believe they are close enough that it will be ready for the start of October or very shortly thereafter.
D) All we can do is sit and wait for some sort of announcement
E) Any day with no announcement is generally a bad sign that they are still not far enough through testing to be confident enough to publicize a release plan.

So now we wait...

 

[DebbieB]

I’ve said all along this is the perfect time for them to rework things - annual pass, fastpass, dining plans, extra hours. They don’t have the bad publicity of suddenly changing something, they introduce it as new. But we all have long memories.

 

[malba2366]

I’ve said all along this is the perfect time for them to rework things - annual pass, fastpass, dining plans, extra hours. They don’t have the bad publicity of suddenly changing something, they introduce it as new. But we all have long memories.

Yes it is. I hope they make changes to make a Disney vacation more spontaneous and enjoyable vs a rat race to book everything 60-90 days in advance which is what it has become. Dining reservation windows should be made much shorter for those without a resort stay. Paid fast pass will be a positive move for all as standby lines will be manageable vs the 3+ hour waits for the most popular rides when there were fastpasses. Hopefully they do something about the disability access like requiring a doctors note or proof of handicapped placard and limiting it to four people or something…too many people renting a scooter and using it to get 10 people ride reservations. Annual passes will probably have to keep the park reservation limits to avoid flooding the parks. We just returned from Disney and MK was as busy as I have ever seen it, however the wait for 7DMT was 90 mins, Space Mountain 75 mins while with fastpass The standby waits for those rides would get up to 3 hours.

 

[Marionnette]

Yes it is. I hope they make changes to make a Disney vacation more spontaneous and enjoyable vs a rat race to book everything 60-90 days in advance which is what it has become. Dining reservation windows should be made much shorter for those without a resort stay. Paid fast pass will be a positive move for all as standby lines will be manageable vs the 3+ hour waits for the most popular rides when there were fastpasses. Hopefully they do something about the disability access like requiring a doctors note or proof of handicapped placard and limiting it to four people or something…too many people renting a scooter and using it to get 10 people ride reservations. Annual passes will probably have to keep the park reservation limits to avoid flooding the parks. We just returned from Disney and MK was as busy as I have ever seen it, however the wait for 7DMT was 90 mins, Space Mountain 75 mins while with fastpass The standby waits for those rides would get up to 3 hours.

I don't think that you understand the DAS and the reasons why Disney cannot demand a "doctor's note" in order to issue one. And you don't get a DAS just because you use a scooter.. DAS is not a free FP. It is an accommodation for those who cannot stand in line. It is basically a virtual reservation for that party's spot in line based on the posted wait time at the time the group approaches the attraction. If anything, it is akin to Paris' virtual queue system but only applies to a subset of guests.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Yes it is. I hope they make changes to make a Disney vacation more spontaneous and enjoyable vs a rat race to book everything 60-90 days in advance which is what it has become. Dining reservation windows should be made much shorter for those without a resort stay. Paid fast pass will be a positive move for all as standby lines will be manageable vs the 3+ hour waits for the most popular rides when there were fastpasses. Hopefully they do something about the disability access like requiring a doctors note or proof of handicapped placard and limiting it to four people or something…too many people renting a scooter and using it to get 10 people ride reservations. Annual passes will probably have to keep the park reservation limits to avoid flooding the parks. We just returned from Disney and MK was as busy as I have ever seen it, however the wait for 7DMT was 90 mins, Space Mountain 75 mins while with fastpass The standby waits for those rides would get up to 3 hours.

Using a scooter is not a reason to get DAS. That is actually one of the recommendations they will give you so that you Do Not need it.

 

[Lilsia]

I was a big FP user. But the lines are so much better now without FP. The issue was that, when they went from limited paper ones to everyone gets 3 ahead of time, that they dramatically increased how many FP they gave out per hour. This is what caused the huge line back ups for stand by. I know people feel that "at least I get a minimum of 3 lines that I can skip". But it makes all of the other lines so much longer unnecessarily. I have been going to WDW for decades, way before they introduced the original, paper FP system. If they bring them back, they really should change how they use them. They give out way too many.

 

[ellbell]

I was a big FP user. But the lines are so much better now without FP. The issue was that, when they went from limited paper ones to everyone gets 3 ahead of time, that they dramatically increased how many FP they gave out per hour. This is what caused the huge line back ups for stand by. I know people feel that "at least I get a minimum of 3 lines that I can skip". But it makes all of the other lines so much longer unnecessarily. I have been going to WDW for decades, way before they introduced the original, paper FP system. If they bring them back, they really should change how they use them. They give out way too many.

The lines are unnecessarily long right now. The line for space mountain snakes through tomorrow land. If fastpass plus was in use you'd wait just as long in standby but the line would at least be contained within the queue. I have been many times and never have I seen 55 minute waits for winnie the poohwhen fastpass was available but it's an everyday occurrence right now. Just because the line is moving doesn't make the wait any better.

 

[cakebaker]

But the lines are so much better now without FP.

FOP is hitting 3 hrs, others easily hitting well over an hour, sometimes 2. People are complaining about snaking lines crowding and disrupting the parks. The lines are most definitely not better.

 

[Aprilshack]

The kines are unnecessarily long right now. The line for space mountain snakes through tomorrow land. If fastpass plus was in use you'd wait just as long in standby but the line would at least be contained within the queue. I have been many times and never have I seen 55 minute waits for winnie the poohwhen fastpass was available but it's an everyday occurrence right now. Just because the line is moving doesn't make the wait any better.

I was watching the Trackers blog before and was shocked at the line for Space Mountain. Looked chaotic and unorganised. Noticed on a few other sites about how long the lines are getting now. It's not a good look for the park.