Fast Passes, yeah no nay?

[MansionButler]

Then, I've also seen the Fast pass lines just as long as the standby.

Really? I've never witnessed anything close to this.

I've seen FP lines that are longer, but only on VERY slow days. I've seen it a few times at the Jungle Cruise.

There are alot of people who think they have to get Fast Passes. There were a ton of people every day who would refuse to ride the Mansion because it doesn't give Fast Passes, even when it was walk-on.

So on days when most rides are going to be little to no line, you'll see everyone get a Fast Pass and the FP line will be its normal length while there's no one in the regular line. Yeah, it's silly.

[GhostHost]

I typically don't have long lines when I visit since I go during non peak months. However, I have used FP for attractions such as Soarin at Epcot and also Space Mountain at MK. I can see the appeal for those that visit in the summer as you may miss out on waiting in a line or two that stretches to the outside of the attraction. Why stand in the heat if you can come back later and walk right in? Overall, I don't mind lines as long as they move every now and then. The ride queus are an important part of the experience for me so some wait is generally welcomed.

[meticulus9]

i actually don't use FP for shows. Usually follow the unofficial guidebook and they convinced me that you can get into shows w/o FP. FP is needed more on the rides which get long lines.

[sgrfunk]

fast passes are great if there is a long lineup at a ride. That way you can walk away and do something else for a while and come back at that time. The fast pass line is usually a lot faster.

[rocketman]

Fast pass is a great idea and could be made even greater if you could hold two or three at a time

[GhostHost]

I can count on one hand the number of times I have used FP. Even then I really did not need it because I usually go during non peak periods when the crowds are very small.

[DisBeamer]

Someone I know who is a CM on Big Thunder at DL says that fastpasses are being removed this year through early next year. (I only know her via another internet forum, so not a close friend or someone I can really pump her for info, but I don't have any reason to doubt she's telling the truth). She's now on a quest to get an FP from all of the Big Thunder attractions worldwide.

I haven't heard anything about this elsewhere though. She said it was something she was told by her supervisor, and seems to think it's -all- fastpasses everywhere, not just the DL BTM or BTMs in general. The reason her boss gave was that 'they make the lines longer' by attracting crowds that wouldn't otherwise be there (think Living with the Land, I guess - that reasoning doesn't ring true to me anywhere other than this one ride).

Has anyone else heard mention of this?

[GhostHost]

Someone I know who is a CM on Big Thunder at DL says that fastpasses are being removed this year through early next year. (I only know her via another internet forum, so not a close friend or someone I can really pump her for info, but I don't have any reason to doubt she's telling the truth). She's now on a quest to get an FP from all of the Big Thunder attractions worldwide.

I haven't heard anything about this elsewhere though. She said it was something she was told by her supervisor, and seems to think it's -all- fastpasses everywhere, not just the DL BTM or BTMs in general. The reason her boss gave was that 'they make the lines longer' by attracting crowds that wouldn't otherwise be there (think Living with the Land, I guess - that reasoning doesn't ring true to me anywhere other than this one ride).

Has anyone else heard mention of this?

I have not heard about this until now. However, it would not surprise me as it would not be the first time Disney did away with a Fastpass. There used to be Fastpass at the WDW Haunted Mansion but it was decided that due to the type of lines they have there and the timed queu areas that Fastpass was not helping things. As I have stated before, I don't really use them because I typically visit during slower times but I know that some people really rely on FP so I hate it for them. I'm sure in the heat of summer with 3 or 4 screaming kids it is nice to be able to come back and not wait in line so long.

[csquare77]

The fast pass is nice for some rides, but for rides like the haunted mansion it just does not work. Sometimes I wish it was like the good old days were both lines were open, things seemed to move at a pretty good pace. The fast pass is good for the people who have them, but they also make the lings longer then they should be.

[jcodirewolf]

I've never gotten a bonus HISTA FP out of the TT FP machine. BUT I scored M:S bonus FP out of it once. That Rocked. Since my wife was already in line for M:S. I went and got her and said "Lets use the FP line."

Infact now that I think about it. I've had more luck with the TT FP machine spitting out bonus FPs than any other. Because I've also gotten Malestrom FP out of it. I've often thought that the the bonus FPs where weighted towards the FP machines with the longest wait times. But that can't be true or else Soarin' would be spitting them out all day.

johno

[subsonic]

I'm so-so about fast passes. I hate how the awesome detailing on some queues are not seen now because there's always a gap for merging FP vs regular. It's highly apparent on Indiana Jones at DL. For Space Mountain, it seems to add 30-45 minutes for the regular line. But, when you work the FP system, it can really help out. When we visited WDW in Jan. My friend and I were the FP getters, we'd run to FP and get them for our entire group while the rest of the group would get in line somewhere else. As soon as the next FP was available we'd get one for another ride.

[jcodirewolf]

Well nothing keeps you from walking though the queue detailing. I've stopped a number of times and just had people go by me. I look at it as, for those of us that want to do the queue we can. And those that just want to RACE ahead and get to the ride part of the attraction.

johno

[Cheshire Cat]

On rides such as Soarin', BTM, Space Mountain and M:S, fastpasses almost double the length of the stand-by line. Most of the time the CMs will reserve one side of the ride just for Fastpasses and some of the seats remain empty on the "fastpass" side because they don't let the stand-by line in. I also think having fastpasses for shows is a bad idea because having to wait in a line for a show is really a crowd control device to keep a certain amount of people in a single area. If people get fastpasses for shows then that means there's more people on the street. I really think Disney should use them a little more sparingly because in most cases they make the stand-by longer. I think ToT, RnR and Splash Mountain are good examples of how fastpass should work because their stand-by lines were about the same wait even before fastpass. So basically to cancel out the "doubling" of the standby wait time, the fastpass line should merge halfway through the standby line instead of towards the last third such as Dinosaur and Test Track.

[jcodirewolf]

There is the example of how FP don't work. They tried adding FP to the HM, you can see the machines but they are never used these days. I'm told that is because when they added them it "slowed down" the line. Because the queueing system is effecent enough for the attraction.

johno

[Dr. Ravenscroft]

I remember when they first put them in too, it did make that line 6x longer than it would have been without the Fastpasses.

*rant*
I am totally against Fastpasses for all rides. It ruins the spontenaety of the Parks. My brother and I are all about the way things were back in the day. Folks would get into a line a stand there and deal with how long it was or they would just come back at a later time to get in line. Now people want to schedule their entire day at the parks to get to all the rides they want. One of my co-workers just went down to WDW back in April and she wanted to do everything and was asking me when she should schedule this and that. I basically told her I go down there and just walk around til I see something I feel like doing. I may not get on all the rides they have but I get to enjoy my relaxing vacation. If you schedule things you are stressing about if you are on time or if you have enough time to do this or that, and that is not what Disney should be about.