Fastpass return or replacement?

[Heather07438]

WDW is a vacation. There is no aspect of it that is a need other than what you need to make it worth going and that is different for everyone. So yes, I need to stay on site. If I don't stay on site, I won't enjoy it and would be wasting my money. For that same reason, I need some FP style access that I can pay for and not want to poke myself in the eye for doing it and I need parades and shows.

The rest of it are just wants.

That's what we don't know yet...
How this new system will operate as a whole and what differences it makes to each of us individually for our trip style.

 

[Karin1984]

Nobody needs to stay onsite.

On monetary value: no
However, there are other things to value besides money, like convience or atmosphere.

I do not need to pay business class to get from a to b on plane. I am from Europe and on flights within Europe, the seats are not better, the food is a bit better, but definitely not enough to get your money's worth. But a quieter cabin, a little more service, not fighting for space to store my luggage, deboard first, the convenience is sometimes worth it, and then the perks of lounge access and extra frequent flyer Miles are a bonus, though not my main reason.

I can see myself paying for a quieter park or quicker access. I know I can have a good park day without, but sometimes I prefer convenience over monetary value.

 

[Karin1984]

Double post

 

[Heather07438]

On monetary value: no
However, there are other things to value besides money, like convience or atmosphere.

I do not need to pay business class to get from a to b on plane. I am from Europe and on flights within Europe, the seats are not better, the food is a bit better, but definitely not enough to get your money's worth. But a quieter cabin, a little more service, not fighting for space to store my luggage, deboard first, the convenience is sometimes worth it, and then the perks of lounge access and extra frequent flyer Miles are a bonus, though not my main reason.

I can see myself paying for a quieter park or quicker access. I know I can have a good park day without, but sometimes I prefer convenience over monetary value.

Sure. But it's not a need. If I didn't find value in it I don't need to stay onsite to enjoy WDW. It's a choice; I choose to stay onsite because my party finds value in it. If we brought my niece/husband/kids we'd need more space and offsite would become more attractive on a cost/value basis, but we'd still be able to make our WDW trip work. Staying onsite isn't a necessity to visiting.

What's included with onsite/offsite has always been part of the cost/value equation.

 

[Garyjames220]

what does everything think to If you will be able to pay for the fast passes in advance

I much rather pay in advance if I need to and better for budgeting. paying on the day and seeing loads of money leave my account for something that used to be free isn’t very magical

do you think you will be able to mybe purchase so many in advance

 

[Leight19]

Nobody needs to stay onsite. Nobody needs to buy AH tickets. If I found offsite a better value I'd stay offsite. If I found AH tickets weren't a good value we'd decline, and sometimes we do just that and still have a fabulous trip. Next trip we're staying onsite and personally there is not anywhere offsite that provided a better value, not even close. We choose to go to WDW when we can find a good deal. We don't begrudge those choosing to visit Christmas to New Year. Good for them! Sounds like fun- and expensive.

The big question with Genie is will people need to buy LPs. Can we still have an awesome trip without? We don't know yet. There are always choices. A 1-day ticket is well over $100 but if you're AP or go down for the week with a multi-day ticket it's much less. We can buy a 2-day hopper and knock out plenty while saving a ton on food/room, or we can get cheaper tickets and spend more on room/food. WDW has always been about choices like whether to go or not, how much to spend on what, and which enhancements if any were worth the splurge. I expect this to be no different.

Worst case scenario is Genie self corrects. It's so horrible people stop going and that will remove the need to buy LP.

The issue (and to some degree what Disney banks on) is that the self correction could take years. Guests are often planning trips for year or more and many only go few times. If this change makes it nearly impossible to ride popular rides without paying $20 per person each time how many people will travel to Disney misinformed? This is where I get most upset as I’m sure Disney has idea of what they will do and people are planning trips without full disclosure of how Disney may negatively impact the product they are buying.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

The issue (and to some degree what Disney banks on) is that the self correction could take years. Guests are often planning trips for year or more and many only go few times. If this change makes it nearly impossible to ride popular rides without paying $20 per person each time how many people will travel to Disney misinformed? This is where I get most upset as I’m sure Disney has idea of what they will do and people are planning trips without full disclosure of how Disney may negatively impact the product they are buying.

True, although slow spread of information / word of mouth works both ways. If they try this and have to roll it back due to unpopularity, people will still be telling friends “Oh Disney! You know my neighbor tried that when her kids were little, but it turns out you have to pay for every ride! Can you believe that?!” for years. Some people online already seem to think this is the case based on blogs they’ve seen on Disneyland Paris.

 

[Heather07438]

people are planning trips without full disclosure of how Disney may negatively impact the product they are buying

This is a very valid point. What will the experience be like? Disney's holding the cards very close to their chest.

I'm leaning toward WDW understanding they are built on guest experience and guests will be less tolerant the more expensive it is. Still, we tried to offset the risk of less than par experience by budgeting lower. We booked in Feb for a Sept trip and knew little about what the experience may be, like return of fireworks, masks outside in heat/humidity, lack of reopenings, etc. So we booked at a price we'd be comfortable even if only the minimum of our expectations were met.

If we were more concerned we'd book refundable or wait. eta- And this is the risk WDW faces because plenty of people book packages that have great flexibility in cancellation. If things go sideways they'd have a mountain of cancellations.

 

[bookgirl2632]

The thing I don’t like about all the unknowns about this is exactly that. We don’t know what they have planned, how it is supposed to work, and how it will work in actuality. I just want to know so that I know what I have to plan for. I do know this. If it turns out that this new system will cost additional money, which I’m sure it will, this is money that will come out of my souvenir or food budget. This is not going to be additional money I’m spending. I have come up with my budget for October and I will be sticking to it. Disney will not be getting more of my money.

 

[asculthorp]

I'm still torn on whether I want a fastpass replacement or not. We make full use of it normally and enjoy the reduced waits, especially when we skip some of the biggest rides due to our kids being little and never queue for something with long lines. However even without fastpasses on our last trip, in March, we never waited more than about 40 minutes. And even that only happened twice, partly thanks to the Lines app. I'm curious about how much of that was reduced crowds and how much was the lack of competing queues.

 

[Heather07438]

I'm still torn on whether I want a fastpass replacement or not. We make full use of it normally and enjoy the reduced waits, especially when we skip some of the biggest rides due to our kids being little and never queue for something with long lines. However even without fastpasses on our last trip, in March, we never waited more than about 40 minutes. And even that only happened twice, partly thanks to the Lines app. I'm curious about how much of that was reduced crowds and how much was the lack of competing queues.

At first I was really hoping something would be in place for our trip next month, either old or new. As things currently stand we've started feeling nothing in place for Sept is probably our best bet. Crowds should temporarily subside and hopefully that will be enough to make standby a fine experience.

I hope they figure out something for October though because it would be sad seeing a repeat of the worst weeks this summer. If need be, they can adjust without a system in place would be expanding the hours.

 

[Heather07438]

what does everything think to If you will be able to pay for the fast passes in advance

I much rather pay in advance if I need to and better for budgeting. paying on the day and seeing loads of money leave my account for something that used to be free isn’t very magical

do you think you will be able to mybe purchase so many in advance

Good question. Sounds like they intend the system to be a more spontaneous experience but who knows, maybe they will offer prepaid packages. What I'm half expecting is some stuff included somehow, that we'll all start out with some complimentary aspects. Maybe they include more things with onsite, or instead offer promotions that include an upgrade. You guess is as good as ours, lol.

 

[Garyjames220]

Good question. Sounds like they intend the system to be a more spontaneous experience but who knows, maybe they will offer prepaid packages. What I'm half expecting is some stuff included somehow, that we'll all start out with some complimentary aspects. Maybe they include more things with onsite, or instead offer promotions that include an upgrade. You guess is as good as ours, lol.

i guess I knew no one would no the answer to my question

but this waiting is driving me nuts

we go in May for 16 nights (from uk) with 2 one year olds so Not having some fast passes for long waits is not really an option. But the money is a worry over a 16 night trip

 

[Heather07438]

i guess I knew no one would no the answer to my question

but this waiting is driving me nuts

we go in May for 16 nights (from uk) with 2 one year olds so Not having some fast passes for long waits is not really an option. But the money is a worry over a 16 night trip

Hoping they disclose more details before the anniversary. That's probably a good bet. I can't see them waiting much past that.

 

[Garyjames220]

Hoping they disclose more details before the anniversary. That's probably a good bet. I can't see them waiting much past that.

mybe next week will be the week

 

[JPinkc]

I think it will be a down to the wire announcement so they can have all the SHILLS lined up to post how great it is to PAY MORE MONEY

 

[Marionnette]

Hoping they disclose more details before the anniversary. That's probably a good bet. I can't see them waiting much past that.

I'm hoping that they do more than just disclose details before Oct. 1. I'm hoping that they actually have it up and running no later than Labor Day (no matter what it finally ends up being). That would give them time to iron out any kinks, including their wi-fi's ability to handle the load BEFORE the anniversary crowds begin to arrive.

If they cannot roll it out well before Oct. 1, then I hope that cooler heads prevail and it all gets postponed until after the holidays. I would rather deal with no FP+ substitute than deal with a wonky app that crashes under a heavy load.

 

[WVU Disney Fan]

Really hoping for some form of FP by November

 

[JPinkc]

Its a Disney IT project, that has never boded well. We had a screwup on our reservation to Le Cellier at one of our vists, it was booked and it showed we had a reservation on our MDE but they had no record of us being on the reservation list. That took an hour to sort out. We also have had other issues with MDE at various times, so no I dont think this Half Baked Cash Grab is going to go anything near good.

 

[ForWhomTheMouseTolls]

“Half baked cash grab”.
There is no price associated, but cool.