Paid fastpass for Star Wars? I sure hope not...

[cgattis]

I SO second what @DisLiss said. The company is now in the mode of maxing out revenue, not your park experience. The only point where that will stop is when attendance numbers drop. It makes me sad because we loved it so much when our kids were small, but the experience per cost just gets less every time we go. If I just go, I still enjoy it, but if I look at the actual value now, it takes away the fun. I guess it’s good my kids are teens now. Maybe an infrequent trip here and there until there is enough new stuff to go again fresh.

And one other thing I want to add. I disagree that there is “not enough” SW to justify a whole park. There are eight movies........(and the same for HP IMO). Disney is just choosing not to invest in that infrastructure, but in more hotel rooms—more IMMEDIATE revenue. It’s not about our experience, it’s about their board members’ paychecks.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Like it or not, this might be the inevitable breaking point where paid Fastpass will be a necessity. The FP+ system at WDW is broken imo. Needs lots of fixing. Your chances of getting on even at 60 days are horrid. I would rather just pay for the access so I don't have to deal with the stress of competing with everyone else just to get my foot through the door.

I disagree that the system is "broken." On our trip last year (late October/early November) we were able to get SDD twice, FOP thrice, Frozen twice (could`ve gotten more) and 7DMT thrice. We stayed for ten days.

As for paid FPs, I don`t think that is coming, at least not soon. Lots of upsell and hard ticket events, yes, but charging for FPs would raise an uproar. If the Star Wars rides are on the FP system during your trip, you can probably still get them by booking at 60+9 or 60+10. Let`s not forget the 3 hr.+ wait times for FOP, yet we`ve always been able to get FPs for that ride, even though I never logged in the second my window opened.

One more point: there is a lot of complaining on this thread, and I agree with some of it. But Disney is currently investing $24 billion into their parks. Sure, not all of it is going to WDW, but that is $24 billion, with a "B".

 

[Davey Jones II]

Unless they drastically limit the number of fastpasses sold. And then you will have a small group who don't have to wait as long and the rest will be waiting even longer. Because at the end of the day, fastpasses alone cannot keep up with the crowd levels right now. I realize all of the reasons why a 5th gate is unrealistic right now, but they really could use it. They opened MK in 71, EPCOT in 82, HS in 89, and AK in 98. That's approx. 1 park per decade. So we're a decade overdue for a new park.

I have an idea for a fifth park: an (possibly upgraded) clone of Tokyo Disney Sea! (a man can dream, can`t he?).

 

[Davey Jones II]

IMHO, they should have made SWGE a 5th gate or, at least temporarily, limited the capacity the way they do at Discovery Cove. Charge a lot of money and have fewer people inside. With the buzz that's been going on for years surrounding this and the release of more and more info about how AMAZING it is going to be, the place is going to be packed to the gills, which, I personally think, is going to negatively impact the guest experience. I've been in Pandora and TSL during high crowd times. It's not fun and no one can truly appreciate the incredible detail in either of these lands when you are jam packed inside and are simply trying to move from point A to point B. Personally, I wouldn't mind if WDW went with a FP+ ONLY scenario for SWGE. Sort of what you see for timed-entry exhibits at places like the American Natural History Museum or the recent Mickey's 90th pop-up museum in NYC. You pay extra, you enter when it's your time and you can actually enjoy the experience. I'm all for anything that will reduce crowd size and increase the likelihood of a positive guest experience. If that means paying for FP+, I'm fine with that. Even without paid FP+, WDW is going to find ways to ultra-monetize access to SWGE.

I think Disney should keep the "reservation" system for longer than the first month, and I suspect they will (just my guess).