Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

[Katrina Y]

Thats a good point. Didnt they already test these FP packages already at MK ..letting you choose a pre-chosen set of FPs (for your 3) at MK?

They key will be:
Will this just be paying for ONE FP per day (basically paying for the 3rd FP that may be removed)
OR
Will this be paying for MANY FPs for that day
OR
Will this be for 3rd FP .. but can be used any time .. anywhere.

or will there be tiers?
$50 for a 3rd fast pass
$100 for a FP package of several rides. (like a Toy Story Package)
$200 for an unlimited FP for every ride in the park once - (no scheduling)

Those prices are not reasonable.

 

[rteetz]

If/when this happens there will be no unlimited option.

 

[Rschall]

I would love to be able to know what precisely precipitated all of this, meaning why now; if it is one main thing and a bunch of little things, or just a big confluence of a bunch of things. We know that trying to control crowds, as far as time spent in line, has been a big issue (that's the number one issue I see discussed here on the Dis). Then you throw in the recent 6 hour wait for FoP (and the loooonngg wait times for it overall), and the upcoming E ticket rides in all the different parks besides AK. You have people gaming the FP system with reservations and such, and you have the tiering in parks, the extra days you could by for a CL stay, the 30/60 day difference between on-site and off-site and the changes for that. We also have already had them add the parking fees; so there is a move to mainstream customs. When the details of all of this comes out, I'm sure there'll be more clues in exactly what they are aiming for (besides more revenue obviously)...

My guess is just more revenue to make back the money they are spending on building these new rides.

 

[cmwade77]

Honestly, this rumor has been around for a long time and you know what? It NEVER happens, what you might see happening is that they reduce the amount of prebooked FPs with the ability to purchase additional FPs for prebooking. But I doubt even that will happen.

 

[mom2rtk]

If/when this happens there will be no unlimited option.

I guess that's called a VIP tour.

My guess is just more revenue to make back the money they are spending on building these new rides.

Heaven forbid they should count on additional revenue from increased attendance!

 

[Doug M]

I guess that's called a VIP tour.

Heaven forbid they should count on additional revenue from increased attendance!

Similar to my city crying poverty that they need to build new roads and schools because of increased population and we should pay higher tax rates. Never do they mention all those new residents are in new houses that pay property taxes, and at a higher amount than average as generally new developments cost more than established homes.

 

[mom2rtk]

Similar to my city crying poverty that they need to build new roads and schools because of increased population and we should pay higher tax rates. Never do they mention all those new residents are in new houses that pay property taxes, and at a higher amount than average as generally new developments cost more than established homes.

Yep. Exactly like that.

 

[snappy]

Similar to my city crying poverty that they need to build new roads and schools because of increased population and we should pay higher tax rates. Never do they mention all those new residents are in new houses that pay property taxes, and at a higher amount than average as generally new developments cost more than established homes.

I would describe it as having your cake and eating it too.

 

[Eccle]

I’ve seen some people saying it won’t be until 2020 as tickets haven’t been released for then, but Disney are already selling 2020 tickets here in the UK, advertised in the same way with fastpasses.

I’m really hoping this doesn’t come in before our August trip, we only have 5 nights on site and I am worried about FOP and SDD as it is.

In the future, if this downgrades the experience for an increased cost, it might price us out of future trips. There are 5 of us and we do 2 week or longer trips where we spend 8 or 9 days in the 4 main Disney parks. That would be a crazy amount of money potentially

 

[tlmadden73]

I would love to be able to know what precisely precipitated all of this, meaning why now; if it is one main thing and a bunch of little things, or just a big confluence of a bunch of things. We know that trying to control crowds, as far as time spent in line, has been a big issue (that's the number one issue I see discussed here on the Dis). Then you throw in the recent 6 hour wait for FoP (and the loooonngg wait times for it overall), and the upcoming E ticket rides in all the different parks besides AK. You have people gaming the FP system with reservations and such, and you have the tiering in parks, the extra days you could by for a CL stay, the 30/60 day difference between on-site and off-site and the changes for that. We also have already had them add the parking fees; so there is a move to mainstream customs. When the details of all of this comes out, I'm sure there'll be more clues in exactly what they are aiming for (besides more revenue obviously)...

They probably had it in mind since day 1. Why spend so much money on a different system than DisneyLand?

But I think it is revenue and guest satisfaction.
Guests dont want to spend $100+ a day and have to wait in a 2-3 hour line (literally 1/4 of your park day) for a 10-15 minute experience.

With all these new attractions opening -- EVERY park will have 1-2 high demand attraction that EVERYONE will want to fast pass (because the standby line will be so long due to its new popularity) .. Just like we saw with SDMT, FOP, SDD.

People are willing to pay big bucks (as evident by the EMM events (used primarily to get a short line for SDMT and SDD)) to skip the lines.
So this way they can just meet that demand without having to have the overhead of having the park open an hour early.

Guests wont be AS upset when they cant score a fast pass for all the big rides if there is a paid option to do so that (you would think) costs less than these events. The system as it is is probably being crushed under its own weight - It will probably be impossible with a 4-day or less reservation to score a FP for any of the new attractions during the first few years of their existence ..especially with more and more guests being able to reserve fast passes at 60 days (by adding the Disney Springs hotels and simply having more rooms on site now). As it stands now .. you need 4-5+ days to score a FOP or SDD FP .. even if you have a resort reservation and sign in the very first minute you are able.

So .. having a paid option will give those guests an option (to pay more) to skip the line on those big attractions. Something VERY appealing with kids in the hot Florida Sun. I mean -- come on .. how many of us would pay right now for a guaranteed Fast Pass each day during your next trip - no matter how long your stay .. no matter if it is 60+1 or 60+8.

So .. I think the timing is they are just anticipating the high demand for these awesome new attractions and cashing in on that demand.

 

[tlmadden73]

But you paid $30 (???) for a week of hopper bus, so that saved you 90 mins time and time again. What would be the cost for saving 90 mins one time on a ride?

By the way, I so wish hopper bus would come back.

Oh .. I was only there for two days . .and only used it one day. It was still worth it (at the time) .. yes it was a splurge. But worth it (as we had a 5 month old with us).

 

[danikoski]

Hoping this doesn't impact our early June trip this year. I'm also looking at doing an October 2020 trip, focusing on SWGE. I had already contemplated doing a split stay with part of it at UO, hopefully staying at a deluxe. Charging for FP may push us there, with only doing hard ticket events, like one for SWGE and one for MNSSHP.

 

[cmwade77]

As I said, this rumor have been floating for years, nothing more than scaremongering.

 

[MommaBerd]

If/when this happens there will be no unlimited option.

Is this new info, recently shared? Or has this been said all along?

Personally - like many here - I am crossing my fingers that this will not go into effect until 2020 packages.

Allow me to whine a bit: I am so sad that my trip to take my brother’s family has gotten so complicated. Ever since we purchased DVC a year ago, I couldn’t wait to host them! First the announcement of SW:GE opening early. And now this. I was so excited, but now I do NOT have very magical feelings. We each have 5 in our families. If it ends up $50/day for more FPs over 7 days in the parks, that will get expensive in short order. In fact, it could end up being worth it to schedule a VIP tour instead. It really almost breaks even. Maybe then we’d actually see SW:GE! /Hey! A silver lining!/

 

[rteetz]

As I said, this rumor have been floating for years, nothing more than scaremongering.

This seems to be a bit more than that but time will tell.

 

[rteetz]

Is this new info, recently shared? Or has this been said all along?

Personally - like many here - I am crossing my fingers that this will not go into effect until 2020 packages.

Allow me to whine a bit: I am so sad that my trip to take my brother’s family has gotten so complicated. Ever since we purchased DVC a year ago, I couldn’t wait to host them! First the announcement of SW:GE opening early. And now this. I was so excited, but now I do NOT have very magical feelings. We each have 5 in our families. If it ends up $50/day for more FPs over 7 days in the parks, that will get expensive in short order. In fact, it could end up being worth it to schedule a VIP tour instead. It really almost breaks even. Maybe then we’d actually see SW:GE! /Hey! A silver lining!/

This was part of the original rumor.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I would love to be able to know what precisely precipitated all of this, meaning why now; if it is one main thing and a bunch of little things, or just a big confluence of a bunch of things. We know that trying to control crowds, as far as time spent in line, has been a big issue (that's the number one issue I see discussed here on the Dis). Then you throw in the recent 6 hour wait for FoP (and the loooonngg wait times for it overall), and the upcoming E ticket rides in all the different parks besides AK. You have people gaming the FP system with reservations and such, and you have the tiering in parks, the extra days you could by for a CL stay, the 30/60 day difference between on-site and off-site and the changes for that. We also have already had them add the parking fees; so there is a move to mainstream customs. When the details of all of this comes out, I'm sure there'll be more clues in exactly what they are aiming for (besides more revenue obviously)...

I am sure like most things there isn’t one specific thing that would lead to this but a confluence of things .... but I think one of the biggest that would allow them to make this attractive is how, more than in the past, there seems to be the 1 “must get” FP in each park (or maybe just 1 or 2). Like it is really hard to get FoP, Slinky Dog, or Mine Train (and if/when the Star Wars rides are on it and then also I suspect Mickey Minniems Runaway Railway and the Guardians Coaster and Tron will fit in this as well

So you have really, really high demand for very few things and people upset when they can’t get a FP for these few things - so now they say, you want it, you can get it .... but it’ll cost you and people will pay it vs waiting 4 hours or whatever

 

[cmwade77]

This seems to be a bit more than that but time will tell.

As I said, scaremongering at its worst, seriously, do you think Disney would do this an alienate that many people in their loyal fan base?

 

[rteetz]

As I said, scaremongering at its worst, seriously, do you think Disney would do this an alienate that many people in their loyal fan base?

Yes, yes I do.

 

[MommaBerd]

As I said, scaremongering at its worst, seriously, do you think Disney would do this an alienate that many people in their loyal fan base?

Yes, yes I do. It is “industry standards” and “based on guests’ feedback.” These days I am not surprised by anything Disney does. Between this and the DVC shenanigans, sadly, I am becoming a cynical Disney fan...or at least for the time being.