Why isn't Maxpass free?

[Jack & Monica]

I am a long-time veteran of the WDW experience. I love WDW. Although I have been to DL (a good while ago and only for a short day trip), I have fully immersed myself into planning for getting the best Disneyland experience. Although both WDW and DL are very similar, the things that set them apart are important. Fortunately, I remember well the strategies of the original fast pass system at WDW. Having Max pass at DL sounds great! I have always been a big proponent of stayin on property so that I can take advantage of the early park entry. Whereas at WDW, this is a winning strategy, there are many resorts that have many guests who take advantage of this. At DL, there are only three resorts that cater to a much lesser crowd. After reading countless reviews, articles on strategy for DL. I am convinced that the best way to tackle either destination is to go with what Disney recommends. At WDW take advantage of the Early Magic Hours and book your fast passes precisely the first minute that you can. People that book the cabins get first crack at fast passes (beyond 60 days). I have found that I was still able to get all the fast passes I wanted. When Flight of Passage first came out. I did not get the time I wanted, but I did get fastpasses for it on the day I planned (just not at the time I wanted). I even was able to get a second fast pass for it on another day.
DL seems like a much easier nut to crack (we are spending 4 days at the parks). I am planning on using early entry each of the 4 days, will have park hoppers, and will use max pass. We are going in the summer just BEFORE Star Wars opens with the idea that most will want to wait for Star Wars to open. We will experience Star Wars at WDW after figuring out how best to snag a stay at the SW hotel experience.

 

[mom2rtk]

I am a long-time veteran of the WDW experience. I love WDW. Although I have been to DL (a good while ago and only for a short day trip), I have fully immersed myself into planning for getting the best Disneyland experience. Although both WDW and DL are very similar, the things that set them apart are important. Fortunately, I remember well the strategies of the original fast pass system at WDW. Having Max pass at DL sounds great! I have always been a big proponent of stayin on property so that I can take advantage of the early park entry. Whereas at WDW, this is a winning strategy, there are many resorts that have many guests who take advantage of this. At DL, there are only three resorts that cater to a much lesser crowd. After reading countless reviews, articles on strategy for DL. I am convinced that the best way to tackle either destination is to go with what Disney recommends. At WDW take advantage of the Early Magic Hours and book your fast passes precisely the first minute that you can. People that book the cabins get first crack at fast passes (beyond 60 days). I have found that I was still able to get all the fast passes I wanted. When Flight of Passage first came out. I did not get the time I wanted, but I did get fastpasses for it on the day I planned (just not at the time I wanted). I even was able to get a second fast pass for it on another day.
DL seems like a much easier nut to crack (we are spending 4 days at the parks). I am planning on using early entry each of the 4 days, will have park hoppers, and will use max pass. We are going in the summer just BEFORE Star Wars opens with the idea that most will want to wait for Star Wars to open. We will experience Star Wars at WDW after figuring out how best to snag a stay at the SW hotel experience.

When are you going next summer that you expect Star Wars not to be open? For all we know at this point it could open Memorial Day weekend.

 

[Tigger Trainer]

Why is it not free, because people are willing to pay for it. I am the first to agree that it is worth it, but if people would not have purchased it they would have reduced the price. Will it ever be free....nope. Some simple numbers. Let us guess an avg of 40,000 people a day and 40% purchase maxpass, which from what I have been told is a low number. 16,000 x $10 = 160,000. That times 365 is an extra 58,400,000 for almost no extra cost to Disney. Ya, I would say it is here to stay for a while.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

Maxpass isn't free simply because you're getting something "extra" ie. the ability to book fastpass quicker, easier, and more often than those who elect not to purchase maxpass.

Personally I think each system has its merits and neither is more/less stressful than the other. If anything I'm more stressed when I'm in the park with maxpass because I'm constantly checking the time to see if my next FP is available to book. Yes WDW could have that initial disappointment 60 days out if you couldn't get the FP you desired but in my opinion not getting a fastpass shouldn't lead to the "vacation ruined" mindset.

 

[DLgal]

We are a family of 6 so it’s $60 a day but I still thought it was worth it!

This is why it isn't free. Because it has a value. Things that are free aren't valuable.

It works so well BECAUSE it has a price, so not everyone uses it.

 

[Love Tink]

Wait...what the what? Characters have fastpasses too??

I guess I need to start studying for WDW...

Yep. At the Magic Kingdom you can use FP for: Mickey, Tinker Bell, Ariel, Elena and Cinderella, Tiana and Rapunzel, and Belle.

 

[Love Tink]

This is why it isn't free. Because it has a value. Things that are free aren't valuable.

Well... Fastpass at WDW is free and it definitely has value.

 

[mamapenguin]

When are you going next summer that you expect Star Wars not to be open? For all we know at this point it could open Memorial Day weekend.

The AP blockout calendars for Deluxe and lower passes suggests June 21 or so.

 

[DLgal]

Well... Fastpass at WDW is free and it definitely has value.

Fastpass+ having a value is a subjective opinion. I find very little value in WDWs FP+.

Straight up Fastpass has a value, but WDW doesn't have that anymore.

You can't equate Fastpass with either Maxpass or FP+, IMO. They are very different products.

 

[Kender]

Wait...what the what? Characters have fastpasses too??

I guess I need to start studying for WDW...

DLR has had "FP" occasionally for certain M&Gs (Anna and Elsa in recent memory, but demand has died down and it's not needed anymore). I put that in quotations because it did not count against your FP pull. Was similar to pulling for a show at DLR unlike WDW where it counts against you.

 

[Love Tink]

Fastpass+ having a value is a subjective opinion. I find very little value in WDWs FP+.

Straight up Fastpass has a value, but WDW doesn't have that anymore.

You can't equate Fastpass with either Maxpass or FP+, IMO. They are very different products.

Fastpass+ allows each guest to use at least three FP per day. How is that subjective?

And, at the risk of sounding condescending, if you aren't finding any value in FP+ then you are doing it wrong.

 

[DLgal]

Fastpass+ allows each guest to use at least three FP per day. How is that subjective?

And, at the risk of sounding condescending, if you aren't finding any value in FP+ then you are doing it wrong.

Three FP is nothing compared to what you used to be able to get before FP+ and what you can still accomplish at Disneyland in a day without even using Maxpass.

Also, the need to make reservations well in advance for the best rides makes FP+ horrible to me. I HATE that. To me, spontaneous touring is preferable and holds more value than needing to lock in rides 60 days in advance.

I am no newbie to WDW and FP+. I have over 30 WDW trips under my belt, and know all the "tricks" of the system. I still don't think FP+ is as valuable as the old system was.

I have over 400 lifetime visits to the Disneyland parks. I can say with conviction, Maxpass is the most valuable offering Disney has come up with in recent years. It is heads and shoulders better than FP+. We easily get anywhere from 6-12 Maxpass rides in per visit these days, and rarely spend more than 6-8 hours in the park.

 

[Jack & Monica]

When are you going next summer that you expect Star Wars not to be open? For all we know at this point it could open Memorial Day weekend.

We are going June 9 through the 14th. I have read (?) July 19th for the opening of Star Wars at DL. I cannot begin to tell you though where I got that from.

 

[tweak89]

Well, while FP+is free, the "value" of it is not what it could be.

Based on our personal experience and touring style here's how it went for us using each version. Keep in mind, we're not inclined to wait over an hour in line for ANY ride (blame Universal and their unlimited Express pass for that!!!), we like to be spontaneous when it comes to park selection and we like to actually park hop multiple times per day if we so desire:

FP+: Took the spontaneity out of our trips. We knew how FP worked and knew how to get the most out of it at each park. Having to lock in a park for at least part of each day to take advantage of FP+ was kind of a drag, we normally went with the flow and based our daily park choices on weather, crowds and sometimes "feel". On our last (and only) trip using FP+ we rode about 30% fewer rides and if you factor in the headliner aspect, we rode even less of that level of ride compared to the years before with just regular old FP. We mixed up the timing (morning or evening) of our advance selections for parks that we had planned to visit multiple days and it really didn't make much difference for us. It may be a great system for some, but not for us.

Maxpass: Again, for our style of attacking the parks, this worked out great for us. We liked that everyone started off at ZERO. We liked being able to make our daily park choice without worrying about what rides we might miss out on. We rode each and every headliner attraction multiple times. The included FREE photo pass pictured were just icing on the cake (we don't usually spend time at WDW or DLR doing these pics due the cost). So, the $10 cost per ticket/per day was a tremendous value for us.

The good thing is, on a light day you could still get by with good old paper fastpass at DLR. I don't think you could at WDW with all the rides that are booked in advance.

Again, these are the FACTS for how these two different systems affected US, and only US. So while it is my OPINION that Maxpass is better, it's the FACTS of our experience that led us to that.

 

[slpeters]

I'm excited to try MaxPass but must admit I'm a little reticent about trying to plan a Disney vacation without FP+. For us FP+ worked out great. Our first trip to WDW was last November. We arrived for a week in the parks with the intention to do everything--not entirely realistic, but our expectation nonetheless. FP+ allowed us to do that, and it allowed us to arrive with a fair degree of confidence that we could do that--we wanted to do all the rides, see all the shows, all the nighttime spectacles, and we weren't keen on waiting in lines. In a week we never waited in line more than a half hour and only three or four times over 15 minutes (and two of those were Flight of Passage FPs). Several of our days were either nines or tens and yet with FP+ it all worked out. I liked knowing what we would be able to do. Sure there were some wrenches in the works (we never did make it to Splash Mountain--it was in refurb for half of our trip and then when it was scheduled to open didn't until it no longer fit into the plan), but seriously considering that we had like 150 must dos the fact that we missed one (which we really could have done but the opportunity presented itself late enough on a couple different November evenings that we just didn't feel like risking getting wet) seemed pretty good. Yes, I understand the critique that it's not very spontaneous but one person's not very spontaneous is another person's predictable... and I liked being able to predict what we could get accomplished.

Like I say I'm excited to see what we can do with MaxPass but given that I'm planning another "never done it, let's do it all" trip I will definitely miss the predictability of FP+...

 

[Love Tink]

Three FP is nothing compared to what you used to be able to get before FP+ and what you can still accomplish at Disneyland in a day without even using Maxpass.

Also, the need to make reservations well in advance for the best rides makes FP+ horrible to me. I HATE that. To me, spontaneous touring is preferable and holds more value than needing to lock in rides 60 days in advance.

I am no newbie to WDW and FP+. I have over 30 WDW trips under my belt, and know all the "tricks" of the system. I still don't think FP+ is as valuable as the old system was.

I have over 400 lifetime visits to the Disneyland parks. I can say with conviction, Maxpass is the most valuable offering Disney has come up with in recent years. It is heads and shoulders better than FP+. We easily get anywhere from 6-12 Maxpass rides in per visit these days, and rarely spend more than 6-8 hours in the park.

I used 16 FP at Magic Kingdom eleven days ago on a day the park was open from 9:00-6:00.

I used 30 on one day in August when the park was open until 11:00. (We set the goal of doing each of the 25 things that have FP, and we had time for a few extra - and a three-hour break.)

Again, if you are only getting three, or not getting headliners day-of, you are doing it wrong.

Not debating which is better - they both seem good to me. Just disagreeing that FP+ "has no value." I think one can prefer MP without insisting the other version is worthless.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We are going June 9 through the 14th. I have read (?) July 19th for the opening of Star Wars at DL. I cannot begin to tell you though where I got that from.

No, the date hasn’t been announced. I’ve never read 7-19-19 anywhere. I’ve heard suggested Memorial Day and the day the ap’ start getting blocked.

 

[Jack & Monica]

Well don't go by me. I cannot even remember where I read that. I just wrote it down for a general mark on the wall. It helped me to come up with the date of 9 June. LOL I will be so disappointed if Star Wars comes out before that date. I guess I would be forced to experience it.

 

[lcp9]

I used 16 FP at Magic Kingdom eleven days ago on a day the park was open from 9:00-6:00.

I used 30 on one day in August when the park was open until 11:00. (We set the goal of doing each of the 25 things that have FP, and we had time for a few extra - and a three-hour break.)

Again, if you are only getting three, or not getting headliners day-of, you are doing it wrong.

Not debating which is better - they both seem good to me. Just disagreeing that FP+ "has no value." I think one can prefer MP without insisting the other version is worthless.

We have 4 kids under 7, and have been hesitant to plan WDW over disneyland b/c the DL fastpass/maxpass is so easy and it's flexible for whatever we want to do based on who is taking a nap FP+ makes me anxious...does it really not have to be that way or do you think it takes a learning curve to figure it out? I'm willing to do the research, but just the basics of what I've found make it seem like it's much more difficult to be efficient there.

 

[Love Tink]

We have 4 kids under 7, and have been hesitant to plan WDW over disneyland b/c the DL fastpass/maxpass is so easy and it's flexible for whatever we want to do based on who is taking a nap FP+ makes me anxious...does it really not have to be that way or do you think it takes a learning curve to figure it out? I'm willing to do the research, but just the basics of what I've found make it seem like it's much more difficult to be efficient there.

I think DL is easier than WDW for a few reasons, mostly having to do with ease of getting around. But I honestly think FP+ is a great system. (I didn't at first, but the current version is a big improvement over the original.)

I think it is actually easier to be flexible with FP+ than it is with MaxPass - the reason being that more people use FP+, so all of the rides are constantly in flux. People are dropping and adding and adjusting every second. So you can almost always change rides, change times, or find a FP for five minutes from now because someone dropped it when they decided they weren't going to get there. You also never have to worry about keeping track of the rules about when you can get another pass - which I like.

As far as a learning curve, the real issue isn't learning to use it, because it is pretty straightforward. The question is whether you are willing to consider doing the searching and refreshing to get what you want. I don't mind it at all - I love the hunt. But some people hate it and consider it a distraction from the environment.