Wanna buy a Fastpass? It will cost ya $50

[jimim]

Personally I love this addition. I am definitely thinking about booking a club level room at Wilderness Lodge in November. I would much rather pay an additional $50 a day for 3 FP and having priority seating for shows. Plus if I read it correctly you can also book fast passes in multiple parks per day and the tiers don't apply but you can't book more then one ride on the same ride. I also get access to the lounge with food and dessert. Much rather do this then a dessert package.

WL CL is awesome I think. The one guy who works up there is so thoughtful an attentive. Always said hi to my daughter when he saw her in the lobby. i can't remember people I see daily let alone once or twice with hundreds of others coming and going through the place. he even had fruit waiting for her in the mornings. he knew we would grab fruit and an apple juice for her each morning before we left. always had it there waiting for her. good guy. you will love it there unless you have done it before cause then ou know what i'm talking about.

multiple parks and night viewing is what i like about tis whole thing. now if i could just buy a fast pass hopper option and cheap night viewing seating vs doing a dessert party i would be game. i just can't sit on main street for hours anymore for a parade and then fill into the middle for the show and fireworks. it never fails, someone always taller in front of us.

i really liked when they had the fast pass for the fireworks. that was awesome. the room you had!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I saw something on the bottom of a PP screenshot of their FP with this.

It said something like: Experiences available/Used or something that reminded me of the language for Dining Plan.

That would be kind of cool....a FP+ "dining plan" of different tiers.

 

[LSUmiss]

I am not concerned with paying extra for additional FP in theory, but in practice this may become problematic for a lot of people. Right now Disney is "testing" the waters, IMO, and looking at more than how CL guests respond to this. They have expanded the pool of guests who are able to book FP 60 days in advance, and I believe that this is a response to the number of complaints that folks are making if they cannot get onto the new attractions in DAK> so the good neighbors are not included in the 60 day window. How do they respond when resort guests cannto get FP onto the new attractions in DHS when they are open? They begin to address that issue now, and by the time the new lands open, there will be a 90 day window open for resort guest willing to pay the price for their 3 FP, the special viewing areas wil no longer be available. I honestly think that there will still be hard to get FP, no matter that by then we will all be willing to pay for play, and folks who have waited to have their trip when the new lands open are going to be socked with an additional bill they will gladly pay.

We have a trip planned in December with a first time visitor. I bet by then, if we need to buy those FP privileges I will, and that shocks me. You see, I think that Disney is not just looking to make money, they are looking to make money as they try to accomodate the number of guests they cannot accomodate if they do not make changes.

But that’s brings up a good point. How else can wdw stagger availability of hard to get fps that will just get worse with the new lands? It could be argued that those who have access to those hard to get ones now or essentially paying for it b/c your best chance of getting it is to have a longer trip booked.

 

[Nancyg56]

But that’s brings up a good point. How else can wdw stagger availability of hard to get fps that will just get worse with the new lands? It could be argued that those who have access to those hard to get ones now or essentially paying for it b/c your best chance of getting it is to have a longer trip booked.

True, but now will everyone who wants them need to pay?

 

[LSUmiss]

Exactly. The original FP rewarded sweat. FP+ rewards staying on site (which is a variation of rewarding cash outlay to some extent). This new program unabashedly rewards financial success. The reason why I always preferred the original FP system was because everyone could take advantage of sweat. Do some research. Arrive early. And walk as fast as you can to the TSMM machines! Anyone could do it. It was simply a matter of choice as to whether you elected to actually do it. And to some extent, the same is true for FP+. When Value resort guests are treated the same as Deluxe Guests, then there is no real reason why everyone cannot partake. I get it that some folks prefer to stay off site. But the pricing of Value resorts makes staying on site within range of everyone who can otherwise go to WDW. (Note that I did not say that they are within range of everyone, period.) In the end, the ability to pre-plan and get more FP+s on the fly during the day is a better system than FP-, so I have welcomed my new overlord. (When FP+ was simply "three and done", I was an opponent.) But this new program, as currently implemented, rewards a level of financial success that not every guest can or will achieve. On the one hand, that is a major change in FP philosophy. On the other hand, as noted above, it comports with most other travel opportunities. I'd love to rent a ski-in, ski-out chalet on Aspen Mountain. Ain't gonna happen. Instead I have to take a bus from the 'burbs.

I think it’s still just an equitable as sweat. Everyone has an equal opportunity to stay CL & pay. You may have to make choices to accomplish this, but that’s the same as with“sweat” as you said. Examples of choices may include going less often, cutting back on other experiences, or shortening trips, but that’s each person’s decision. It’s not like WDW trips were free so ppl now have to pay for this & only some can. If you spend $2000 on vacation, you can decide to allocate that $ differently if it’s important to you. Sure there are ppl for whom the sacrifices may be less if they have more financial resources, but the same could be argued for sweat. Might be easier for some than others.

 

[Nancyg56]

It seems as if some don’t like the idea that this offer is being limited just to CL guests and others don’t like the idea that some day it will be expanded to include everyone. If the day comes when the free 60 and 30 day windows still exist but can be “unlocked” at 90 days for a fee, and that opportunity is available to all, doesn’t the “inequity” complaint go away with this option merely being yet another “add-on” that one either chooses to purchase or not? And if one feels “forced” into buying the add-on in order to have a fulfilling vacation, then this becomes simply a complaint over the total cost of a WDW vacation. But that complaint has existed for decades already. It just inches forward and always will.

I am not one who is complaining about inequity. I buy what I can afford and live with it. I am. I concerned about what this may mean, and I gaveva feeling it has something to do with projected crowds levels, wdw ability to accommodate guests, and dissatisfaction if resort guests cannot leave their trip feeling they had a value. Weird because the offer to Kat more for value is dangled in front of us, but I wonder what shoe will drop next.

$50 per person. Per day. For our 8 day visit next November, that would be $1,600 dollars for our family of 4. And we would have to upgrade to a club level room.

Or, I could get my lazy backside out of bed early and make rope drop.

Lol!!! Yes, but I remember mine train, and the hoards of people racing towards it at rope drop. And A&E.... lines glorious!!!! I envision this and cringe.

 

[bluehen]

I know disney has the research to say this will add to their bottom line. I have been a few times over the years. At this point disney seems to only want those with deep pockets. My deep pockets will stay shut as I do not see the value now I once saw. As more and more opens up I may think differently, but for now this has been the straw that broke the camels back for me this year. My disney trip for this winter just got moved to somewhere else.

 

[Ronferr80]

$50 per person. Per day. For our 8 day visit next November, that would be $1,600 dollars for our family of 4. And we would have to upgrade to a club level room.

Or, I could get my lazy backside out of bed early and make rope drop.

Or you can just buy the 3 day minimum for $600 instead for the whole 8 days...... but if your not staying CL so you would have to consider difference in price for that to

 

[Rich M]

WL CL is awesome I think. The one guy who works up there is so thoughtful an attentive. Always said hi to my daughter when he saw her in the lobby. i can't remember people I see daily let alone once or twice with hundreds of others coming and going through the place. he even had fruit waiting for her in the mornings. he knew we would grab fruit and an apple juice for her each morning before we left. always had it there waiting for her. good guy. you will love it there unless you have done it before cause then ou know what i'm talking about.

multiple parks and night viewing is what i like about tis whole thing. now if i could just buy a fast pass hopper option and cheap night viewing seating vs doing a dessert party i would be game. i just can't sit on main street for hours anymore for a parade and then fill into the middle for the show and fireworks. it never fails, someone always taller in front of us.

i really liked when they had the fast pass for the fireworks. that was awesome. the room you had!

No I have not had the opportunity. I do look forward to doing it some day so maybe November will be that day. I just need to do some research on what the club offerings are as I am one who likes to have a sit down meal and we were thinking doing breakfast and dinner this trip but if the club offers enough for breakfast and snacks then I would do one dinner a day.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Meh. The only thing stuff like this does is make me wish I had more disposable income.

 

[Cameron1515]

I still don't get why is it so bad to allow people to pay for what you get. It's always been that way dating back to the pay-per-ride era. I'm an "average person". We work hard to earn a vacation. I work the budget and credit card boards hard to get my flights discounted and stays cheaper. We hit up every discount we can from Magical travel companies to Gift-Carding to Ebates. We can not afford this without sacrificing something else. However we might make that extra push. Not sure yet. I've read about some people out here who have already bought this new offering, and I find I'm more jealously interested in their eagerness and enjoyment of this than bitter that they'll get something cool. For those who buy it, I'm sure it's a thrill. I'm kind of living vicariously for the moment since our trip isn't till June so we can't choose yet.

FWIW. At other parks you pay $50 and get crap. At Universal $50 buys you an ExP which gets you on "all rides once" via the "Wait with Everyone Else Who Got ExP Free Line" which is about the same as the regular line. At Disney if you spend $50 on this FastPass, you WILL get on their best rides, FAST. That is what is intriguing. It has real value where others have devalued their express options to junk levels.

Aggravating? I just could not call this or the option to take large sums of money from those that choose to spend it aggravating. I get it that we're advocating for the little guy... but isn't that what the little guy wants when it comes to equality, tax reform, etc? To know that those who have more are paying more? This is REALLY EXPENSIVE. If Disney makes $150/pp on this from those who can, that's great. It means Disney is more effectively tapping people who make a lot more than me. Good on them.

I still maintain that you could send me to Disney World tomorrow -- No FastPasses, no ADRs, no "extras" purchased. And my kids and I would have a BLAST.


No kidding! If people used to book every restaurant to have their choice of where to go in a day, I am glad that practice is stopped.​

Your actually paying additional money on top of your accomodation and theme park tickets. I don’t doubt yourself along with many other people work extremely hard to save and attend a Disney vacation. I just am against having to pay extra for a service which is currently free with no additional costs (to an extent as you only can gain so many FP at a time)

I know exactly how Universal run there system and quite frankly I disagree with that too. It is an expensive exercise to skip the lines and reduce your wait time.

For myself the whole issue evolves from the things and ways which Disney manage to commercialise and gain money out of, however I can understand the benefits that may be reaped from such a system.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I just am against having to pay extra for a service which is currently free with no additional costs

No one is paying for a service that’s currently free. At least for the time being, the FP+ program as we know it is not changing. This just allows people to purchase extra FPs at an earlier date. People can still book their 3 at 60 days and get extras after those are used.

 

[ckelly14]

No one is paying for a service that’s currently free. At least for the time being, the FP+ program as we know it is not changing. This just allows people to purchase extra FPs at an earlier date. People can still book their 3 at 60 days and get extras after those are used.

It used to be free for some, with loopholes that were previously discussed here but went away. Good for Disney to monetize something that we knew there was a demand for.

We have discussed the “tiered” FP pricing strategy by hotel “class” since FP+ started but that has never materialized and doubt it will.

 

[KrazeeK120]

It used to be free for some, with loopholes that were previously discussed here but went away.

I’m sorry, it’s a long thread and I’ve done a lot of skimming. I didn’t realize people could book 90 days in advance and be in possession of 6 FPs prior to their trip in the past.

 

[Cameron1515]

No one is paying for a service that’s currently free. At least for the time being, the FP+ program as we know it is not changing. This just allows people to purchase extra FPs at an earlier date. People can still book their 3 at 60 days and get extras after those are used.

This thread was discussing the possibility of Disney implementing the option to certain Disney resorts paid FP. That is individuals can purchase additional FP for a cost. There was also discussion that this may open up to everyone including those outside Disney for a higher cost.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I’m sorry, it’s a long thread and I’ve done a lot of skimming. I didn’t realize people could book 90 days in advance and be in possession of 6 FPs prior to their trip in the past.

The 90-day booking window opened this week for CL guests which is the topic of this thread. A 90-day window was never available to anyone prior to this week.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Folks don't panic. Any day now Disney will give all of you the opportunity to pay for all your fast passes. The writing has been on the wall since day 1. Disney implemented this to make $$$$$$.

 

[LSUmiss]

Folks don't panic. Any day now Disney will give all of you the opportunity to pay for all your fast passes. The writing has been on the wall since day 1. Disney implemented this to make $$$$$$.

True as opposed to their non profit parks.

 

[Polybound]

Folks don't panic. Any day now Disney will give all of you the opportunity to pay for all your fast passes. The writing has been on the wall since day 1. Disney implemented this to make $$$$$$.

Of course. Good for Disney if they're successful.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Folks don't panic. Any day now Disney will give all of you the opportunity to pay for all your fast passes. The writing has been on the wall since day 1. Disney implemented this to make $$$$$$.

Everything they implement is to make money. It's a publicly traded, for-profit company. That's their job.