FastPass

[mindflipper]

I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I think they should be done away with completely (or at the very least, only available to annual pass holders or something). I don't really have a good reason as to why they should go away, but in my opinion, I prefer touring the parks the good old fashioned way. This probably isn't true, but it seems as if the line would go faster if there were no FPs. For the attractions that do have the FPs, they could use both sides of the queue for stand by and alternate every ride cycle for each side. Just my opinion that doesn't even really have a good reason, but that's how I feel!

Sorry, but without FP, I would never ride some rides. I would not stand in line for 45 min - 1 hr for Soarin'. No way.

[Amy]

I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I think they should be done away with completely (or at the very least, only available to annual pass holders or something). I don't really have a good reason as to why they should go away, but in my opinion, I prefer touring the parks the good old fashioned way. This probably isn't true, but it seems as if the line would go faster if there were no FPs. For the attractions that do have the FPs, they could use both sides of the queue for stand by and alternate every ride cycle for each side. Just my opinion that doesn't even really have a good reason, but that's how I feel!

Sorry, but without FP, I would never ride some rides. I would not stand in line for 45 min - 1 hr for Soarin'. No way.

Agreed. While FP may slow down the stand-by line, if FP is used as it is intended to be used, I think it is a good thing. Plus it is available to all, so everyone can benefit from FP if they choose to do so.

[lonepalm]

I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I think they should be done away with completely (or at the very least, only available to annual pass holders or something). I don't really have a good reason as to why they should go away, but in my opinion, I prefer touring the parks the good old fashioned way. This probably isn't true, but it seems as if the line would go faster if there were no FPs. For the attractions that do have the FPs, they could use both sides of the queue for stand by and alternate every ride cycle for each side. Just my opinion that doesn't even really have a good reason, but that's how I feel!

Sorry, but without FP, I would never ride some rides. I would not stand in line for 45 min - 1 hr for Soarin'. No way.

As kind of weird, odd, and backwards as it sounds, to me, waiting in line for a ride is part of a theme park experience and yes, I would hate the wait as well, but I guess the traditionalist inside of me just would prefer the old school way of touring a park! I feel like a hypocrite because I use FP whenever I go! There's just something inside of me that likes the old world pre-FP (but don't get me wrong, I definitely utilize them)!

Agreed. While FP may slow down the stand-by line, if FP is used as it is intended to be used, I think it is a good thing. Plus it is available to all, so everyone can benefit from FP if they choose to do so.

How often is FP really used the way it is meant though? I bet most times (I know I am 100% guilty of this) people return hours after their FP return time. If a bunch of people do this, it pushes the stand by line that much longer. I know the reality is that there probably aren't droves of people returning to a ride with FP at the same time very often, but for rides like Test Track that break down often, when they start opening the lines again, and the FP return people are lined up, the stand by line gets very long very quickly because they use most of the space to catch up on the FP riders.

[Amy]

Agreed. While FP may slow down the stand-by line, if FP is used as it is intended to be used, I think it is a good thing. Plus it is available to all, so everyone can benefit from FP if they choose to do so.

How often is FP really used the way it is meant though? I bet most times (I know I am 100% guilty of this) people return hours after their FP return time. If a bunch of people do this, it pushes the stand by line that much longer. I know the reality is that there probably aren't droves of people returning to a ride with FP at the same time very often, but for rides like Test Track that break down often, when they start opening the lines again, and the FP return people are lined up, the stand by line gets very long very quickly because they use most of the space to catch up on the FP riders.

I never knew about using the FP after the time printed on the ticket until a few years ago. I frequently had FP that I simply threw away (or saved for souvenirs) because I had missed the time return window. I think if Disney did a better job enforcing the return times, that would help the situation. They are very strict on the FP enter time, not once have I ever seen a CM agree to let someone in even a minute early. So they could do that with the return times too. Or use some common sense, if someone is getting there 5 or 10 minutes after the return time, let them in, but not hours and hours late!

[mindflipper]

As kind of weird, odd, and backwards as it sounds, to me, waiting in line for a ride is part of a theme park experience and yes, I would hate the wait as well, but I guess the traditionalist inside of me just would prefer the old school way of touring a park! I feel like a hypocrite because I use FP whenever I go! There's just something inside of me that likes the old world pre-FP (but don't get me wrong, I definitely utilize them)!

I have a family member in a wheelchair. In the good old days, they used to treat the disabled special; nowadays, because everyone abuses the use of wheelchair rentals, they stopped the special treatment and make them go through the regular queues. Most people do not pay attention to what they're doing in lines (kids especially!) and a person in wheelchair gets bumped and abused by others in the queue. For that disabled person, the horrible time in the queue makes them hate the ride. But when you get a FP, you don't have to wait 45 minutes in a line for Soarin' where you'll get continually abused by your fellow park guests. Waiting in those lines under those conditions isn't an "experience" but more like "torture", and the only one who could enjoy is a masochist who gets off on abuse. If it's a long line, then its FP or skip it.

[lonepalm]

As kind of weird, odd, and backwards as it sounds, to me, waiting in line for a ride is part of a theme park experience and yes, I would hate the wait as well, but I guess the traditionalist inside of me just would prefer the old school way of touring a park! I feel like a hypocrite because I use FP whenever I go! There's just something inside of me that likes the old world pre-FP (but don't get me wrong, I definitely utilize them)!

I have a family member in a wheelchair. In the good old days, they used to treat the disabled special; nowadays, because everyone abuses the use of wheelchair rentals, they stopped the special treatment and make them go through the regular queues. Most people do not pay attention to what they're doing in lines (kids especially!) and a person in wheelchair gets bumped and abused by others in the queue. For that disabled person, the horrible time in the queue makes them hate the ride. But when you get a FP, you don't have to wait 45 minutes in a line for Soarin' where you'll get continually abused by your fellow park guests. Waiting in those lines under those conditions isn't an "experience" but more like "torture", and the only one who could enjoy is a masochist who gets off on abuse. If it's a long line, then its FP or skip it.

I think that scenario is a totally different conversation. I don't agree with the way Disney handles people with special needs as far as the queues go. I don't care how far Disney would have to go, be it having a note from a doctor, or whatever, in order to accommodate guests with special needs and put them in a different queue. They should not be subjected to that kind of rude and ignorant behavior that seems to run rampant at WDW (and I guess our society as a whole).

[mindflipper]

There have been some castmembers (I won't tell where) that will actually allow the FP line instead without the FP.

But on the whole, the disabled have been the victims of the non-disabled *ssholes out there. When Disney gave special treatment to disabled, some selfish people out there thought, "If we rent a wheelchair, and take turns in it, we can get the same treatment as them." And lo, suddenly the park has exploded with rental wheelchairs as bad in numbers as rental baby strollers. One time, at Disneyland, a pack of teenagers - all perfectly able to walk! - rented out scooters and drove them from ride to ride. There were so many of them, that when they arrived at a ride, they consumed all the spaces for wheelchairs and strollers so the disabled were having to wait outside in the heat because there was no room to store their wheelchairs in order to go on the ride. I wish there could be some restriction put on the wheelchair rentals to prevent them being handed out to those abusing the service. C'mon, people, walk!

Thanks, lonepalm, for letting me get on my soapbox. But as the wheelchair disabled nowadays have to go through the queues, the FP is a god-send to get out the long lines where the bumped and beaten by the others in the line. I just wished there was a way the disabled had a way to get a special FP pass in order to buy pass the main queue.

[Amy]

There have been some castmembers (I won't tell where) that will actually allow the FP line instead without the FP.
But on the whole, the disabled have been the victims of the non-disabled *ssholes out there. When Disney gave special treatment to disabled, some selfish people out there thought, "If we rent a wheelchair, and take turns in it, we can get the same treatment as them." And lo, suddenly the park has exploded with rental wheelchairs as bad in numbers as rental baby strollers. One time, at Disneyland, a pack of teenagers - all perfectly able to walk! - rented out scooters and drove them from ride to ride. There were so many of them, that when they arrived at a ride, they consumed all the spaces for wheelchairs and strollers so the disabled were having to wait outside in the heat because there was no room to store their wheelchairs in order to go on the ride. I wish there could be some restriction put on the wheelchair rentals to prevent them being handed out to those abusing the service. C'mon, people, walk!
Thanks, lonepalm, for letting me get on my soapbox. But as the wheelchair disabled nowadays have to go through the queues, the FP is a god-send to get out the long lines where the bumped and beaten by the others in the line. I just wished there was a way the disabled had a way to get a special FP pass in order to buy pass the main queue.

We noticed that the CM's did not seem to have any sort of standardized response to guests needing assistance on our last trip. F1gment is able to walk, but not far, and needs extra time to safely embark and disembark from attraction vehicles, especially ones that are moving. So we rented a scooter for her on this past trip. We did get a guest assistance pass and told them we were fully aware that we didn't expect priority access or special accommodations (like skipping to the front of the line, front row seats) other than what was needed to safely enjoy the parks. I specifically asked about what we should do at the attractions and was told "don't worry about it, the CM's are trained on what to do when they see a guest in a wheelchair or ECV" We did not find that to be the case. One example was the Pooh attraction. Looking at the guide map you could see that you had to transfer to a wheelchair in order to ride. I had to hunt down a CM, ask if a wheelchair was available, park the scooter in a safe area, get Mom situated. We then made our way back to the CM who acted like they had never seen us before. I asked where we needed to go and got a blank stare. Once we got to the right place, the CM's were fantastic, and even though F1gment broke the attraction (read the trip report, I've got the maintenance guys' photos as proof!) we had a great time.
I totally agree with mindflipper on the queues. We had to be on constant alert for children that were not being watched by their parents, banging around the queue rails and into Mom. Adults with strollers not watching where they were going and cutting right in front of us. It was nice how in the newer attractions the queues have been widened so they are more accessible, but it was still a challenge to navigate all the twists and turns while impatient guests are behind you sighing like they really wished you would hurry up.
And I also cringed when I saw people that were obviously abusing the wheelchairs and scooters. I might have mentioned it in my trip report about the two ladies who crashed through the landscaping with their scooters at the Animal Kingdom, almost taking my foot off in the process, hopped off their chariots, ripped into the bathrooms with nary a glance backwards, came out virtually skipping to their scooters and rammed off into the crowd at full speed. I am quite aware not all disabilities are visible, and people shouldn't have to wear a sign announcing their difficulties in order to be accommodated, but common sense should prevail so people that need assistance are able to get it.
stepping off the aforementioned soap box, thanks for letting me borrow it mindflipper

[mindflipper]

I would love to say what I and Amy have seen and experienced are isolated cases, but unfortunately they're not. And that's a shame.

[Amy]

I would love to say what I and Amy have seen and experienced are isolated cases, but unfortunately they're not. And that's a shame.

It's not only at the parks, people seem to be too busy and too self-important to treat others with common courtesy. I agree, it is a shame.

[mindflipper]

Attention, Disney big-wigs: if you are on here secretly reading the stuff we post - there's a lesson to be learned here...

Now back to talking about why we need to keep the Fast Pass system and what we think of it...

[jacobcary1]

Are they actually speaking of getting rid of it?

[figmentaholic]

Are they actually speaking of getting rid of it?

I don't believe so.

[mindflipper]

I just don't want them to follow Universal's approach by requiring you to pay for it separately with a sliding price scale.

[Amy]

I just don't want them to follow Universal's approach by requiring you to pay for it separately with a sliding price scale.

Me either, I would definitely be standing in the standby line if that ever comes to pass