FastPass

[cousininmiami]

I like the fast pass system. If you plan your day correctly, it works.

[momeja]

Me too. In fact, I'm one of the ones who voted to expand the system. I know it's an impossibility (after all, some rides don't lend themselves to the system), but a gal can always dream. There's just nothing like breezing by all the folks waiting for 2 hours to ride Splash because you hold a golden ticket: a Fastpass.

[99Soulz]

Looks like some testing going on this week in AK. They are making the FP distibution center at ITTBAB to have FPs for the other FP attractions around the park.

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/2009/07/21 ... tribution/

[PureDisney]

I have mixed feelings for fast pass. I do enjoy using it, but I'm not a heavy user. I really only use it when I'm going to go to lunch or Dinner, but that only works when the park isn't busy. I hate it when the fast passes on an attraction are sold out by 10:00. When I used it on Toy Story Mania I got my pass at 30 minutes after opening and it was for 3:00! Still it was better than standing in line. Good question.

[99Soulz]

When I used it on Toy Story Mania I got my pass at 30 minutes after opening and it was for 3:00! Still it was better than standing in line. Good question.

I wonder how many FPs are given out for a given ride on a given day? I'm sure its some sort of calculated formula based on how many total riders say in a given hour, and would yeild a certain amont of FPs. So what's the percentage of FP riders on total riders I wonder? What I am trying to get at is what toll does it take on overall ridership.

Based on the above comment, if by 9:30 FPs are at 3pm, then by 10am sold out for the day how many actual people received FPs in that given time.

[timekeeper]

I like the current fast pass system. It works for us BUT we dont try to do the park over spring break or Christmas.

I like that my Soar'n fast pass lets me do a few other things and then I can go up to ride it at 12:30 and not wait 2 hours. '
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I like that its offered to all, I hate the idea of paying for fast passes, Disney is expensive enough and that would drive me to the edge of NOT going...

[Sparten]

I really don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, Fastpasses can be convenient. But on the other hand, they also impose a schedule on your vacation, and it's easy for it to get out of hand. You get a Fastpass here, and a Fastpass there, and of course you also have a dining reservation to keep, and so you end up racing around the park like a crazed squirrel to meet all these arbitrary deadlines. If, while hurrying madly to a ride before your Fastpass window closes, you end up behind a slow-walking group of fellow tourists who clearly did not get the memo that Disney vacations should be rigidly structured affairs, you get irritated and begin to feel a familiar kind of anger, an anger exactly like the one you feel when you're hurrying to get to work and you end up driving behind some old lady who's puttering along in her 1987 Oldsmobile at 23 miles per hour.

My point is that we go to Disney World for a vacation, to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. To impose more hustle-and-bustle upon ourselves once we get there subverts the whole idea of being on vacation in the first place. Instead of taking a break from our daily annoyances (many of which are imposed by others) we're just trading them for a whole new set of annoyances that we impose upon ourselves. Of course, if people really want to do that to themselves, then who am I to stop them? But I've been one of those people, wide-eyed, Fastpass-clutching, actually running to get to the ride in time and nearly leaving my wife behind in the process (it's her fault, she runs like a girl ) and it really isn't worth it. Not for Soarin', or the Tower of Terror, or Peter Pan's Flight, or even Mickey's Orgasmatron. (Perhaps you are not familiar with Mickey's Orgasmatron. It's located right between the Nuclear Flute Orchestra and the Great Underwater Robot Hairdresser Adventure)

Of course, if Disney ends up turning Fastpass into a caste system that favors people who spend the most money (and they will, because they're an Evil Corporation, not an operator of not-for-profit Happy-Candy-Fun-Lands) then the point will be mostly moot, I guess.

So I vote for leaving Fastpass as is, because I really hate caste systems, and because I feel for the poor CMs who would surely be torn limb from limb by irate customers should Fastpass ever go away.

Good news for you but CM dont mind if you dont return in time which means your ticket is good all day as long as your not early. this works 95 % of the time Just dont get a 10 A.M. retern and go at ten P.M.try to make it a maximum of 1 to 2 hours because if the CM is more attentive they will understand that you may have gotton stuck somewhere but this has always worked for me.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Well that was a random revive 2 years later

But while it's puttering around I guess I'll comment:

I favor FastPass because I understand it and am able to utilize it to its full extent. If I didn't know how to use it, sure I'd be upset, but it's not like it's a) rocket science or b) some big insider secret. They publish instructions on maps/guides.

To the people claiming FP takes away from spontanaity of the day? I fully disagree with that statement. In the (good?) "old days" if you wanted to ride a lot of rides, guess what? You STILL HAD TO SCHEDULE YOUR DAYS AROUND CROWDS!! FP or no FP, if you wanted to get on Splash Mountain AND Space Mountain with less wait you had to RUN across the park shortly after rope drop and still end up waiting at one or the other. Now you can run across the park and then instead of spending that extra 30+ minutes in line I can be spontaneous and do something I probably wouldn't be doing as my second ride of the day. I feel FP actually liberates the guests who actually know how to best use it. I get to the parks every few years so when I'm there I want to see as much as I can and I can accomplish this easily with FP and then have "free time" at the end of the day for whatever I want. Before, you wanted to see a parade and ride Space Mountain? Well Space Mountain's lime is 75 minutes and that means you'll miss it, so you have to skip Space and may not get a chance to ride it again- unless you planned ahead. It's the same way now it's just with knowledge of the FP system it's easier to free up your day.

Will Disney start charging for FP? It's possible but I doubt it. I think they're smarter than their rivals over at Universal who have that system after they initiated their own Express Pass system similar to FP. I'll admit, I purchased the Express Pass at UO because it ended up being cheaper for us (one day/2 park pass, saw everything we wanted to with re-rides left over and saved like $45/pp over the 2 day passes we'd have needed otherwise + got an extra Disney day). Not many people get the Express Pass though. That's why Disney is smart- they realize keeping it free and prominent with terminals at all the most popular attractions will draw people into using it. Why would Disney care about people using the system you may ask? They're not getting money out of it? Oh, but they are. See Disney is a master of being able to pluck as many pennies from your pockets while you're there. FP is no exception. For many people the extra time afforded them by FP gets spent in stores or more-lucrative sit-down restaurants. The more time you have in the park that you are not in a queue or actually on in an attraction Disney (generally) correctly figures you have to spend additional $$ in the parks/on property.

*EDIT: Oh and as for the argument that FP should be abolished because it takes from one group (those w/o FP) and gives to another (those w/ FP)- maybe this is cold but I don't really care. FP is an equal opportunity perk. You have as much chance as the next Joe to get one (or several) as needed. If people are the have-nots in this case it's for one of two reasons, the choose to be or they didn't put the time or effort into understanding the system and in either event I have little to no sympathy for them. The system works and works fairly well. People may claim it is unfair to in essence punish those who do not take the time to develop at least some sort of plan for their day or perhaps even simply learn how FP works, but I think it is more of a reward for those who do put in that extra effort. Anyone can do it and like I said, the queues have ALWAYS (I'm talking pre-FP) favored those who planned their days over those who didn't. If you headed to Small World or Pirates or the WEDWay Peoplemover as your first attraction at rope drop, that was your fault for not doing your homework and finding out which rides get the busiest.

[cousininmiami]

Well, since we're on the subject as you say, I love FastPass just the way it is. We were at WDW last month and utilized it at Magic Kingdom to such the extent that we were able to ride absolutely everything in one day... on a Saturday the week before Easter!

And yes the CM's will let you ride 'after' your stated time. We paid close attention to the time when you can get another fast pass, that is the most important thing to look at and remember! At one point we were holding (3) different rides Fastpasses, and waiting in line for another ride. It's actually very easy to do if you know what you are doing and where to go. I love FastPass!!

[Amy]

The best perk we had one year through the Disney Visa (I think) was unlimited fast passes. You could get as many fast passes for the different attractions as you wanted because you did not have to wait for the fast pass time to roll around before you could get another fast pass! That was the most awesome trip ever

[Wizzard419]

Could you just keep using the same machine over and over and get a couple hundred passes within 10 mins?

[momeja]

The best perk we had one year through the Disney Visa (I think) was unlimited fast passes. You could get as many fast passes for the different attractions as you wanted because you did not have to wait for the fast pass time to roll around before you could get another fast pass! That was the most awesome trip ever

I want that. Now.

[Amy]

Could you just keep using the same machine over and over and get a couple hundred passes within 10 mins?

No, I think you only got one per attraction. And they were a little more strict on the return times then, so you couldn't have a whole bunch.

The best perk we had one year through the Disney Visa (I think) was unlimited fast passes. You could get as many fast passes for the different attractions as you wanted because you did not have to wait for the fast pass time to roll around before you could get another fast pass! That was the most awesome trip ever

I want that. Now.

It really was awesome!

[Wizzard419]

So it isn't infact "unlimited" . I just checked the card's site and it doesn't look like it's listed as a benefit. I saw an old posting that said something about booking a AAA package that came with it, it looks like that must have been how you got the pass. They are/were the only ones who sold the "Enhanced Fastpass", you had to book the room and park tickets through them to get it. That being said it sounds like they got angry letters and whatnot over it (since those counted against the total number of passes for the day) and the program was discontinued. You can try and call AAA to see if they still offer it though.

[Amy]

So it isn't infact "unlimited" . I just checked the card's site and it doesn't look like it's listed as a benefit. I saw an old posting that said something about booking a AAA package that came with it, it looks like that must have been how you got the pass. They are/were the only ones who sold the "Enhanced Fastpass", you had to book the room and park tickets through them to get it. That being said it sounds like they got angry letters and whatnot over it (since those counted against the total number of passes for the day) and the program was discontinued. You can try and call AAA to see if they still offer it though.

Yeah, my mind is obviously fuzzy on the details, but it was a great perk!