Rumor: Huge FastPass Change (Both Parks Linked Starting April 6)

[abuck75]

I hate hate hate what fastpass plus did to Disney world; that's why I'm going to disneyland. This puts a damper on my excitement; especially if they start putting fastpass on rides that don't need it. Ugh

I hated it at first, but now I actually prefer it. The think I prefer most is I can plan a late afternoon entry and still get some priority rides along with shows. In addition when we do morning entry, I rarely need more than 3 fP's to avoid lines before noon at which point we're ready for a show/exit to pool.

 

[abuck75]

I'm a Canadian and go once per year, so I'm not a regular like many here. But, I did FP runs for RSR and Soarin every day of my five day pass this year (while DW and kiddos went on a ride at DL). It made our trip way more enjoyable. I had FP's four of my five days in the parks. We booked our trip the first week of March cause I figured crowds would be lower (and they were), so maybe that helped as well. I'll definitely miss being able to hold multiple FP's at the same time, but I understand why they're doing it.

That is what I was planning on doing so I am bummed.

 

[mom2rtk]

That can be a bummer, but for people who like it that can be part of the fun. And in very busy times it can actually be relaxing to know that your meals and favorite rides are taken care of.

I don't mind having meals planned. But adding 2 minute rides to that just puts it over the top for me. Too many "appointments" to keep.

None with FP at least, but you can always hop in line to ride again.

A headliner by standby? No thank you. Not after living the good life that was legacy FP.

This is a bummer, but it is a problem with WDW itself -- too few good attractions spread out across too many parks. The thing that makes DLR great is that with a hopper it is like one giant megapark. Tiering would never be an issue at DLR.

Never say never. Star Wars Land could change a lot of what people assume about DLR. AK solved their issue by making it possible to book only 1 of the 2 rides in advance.

That can be a problem at DL also. I remember people waiting in line for an hour to get RSR FPs only to be told they were sold out before they got to the front of the line. A little planning can fix that, and certain cheats at WDW can mitigate the problem. No such alternatives at DLR>

I hate to see them blow up a system over one ride. Although many would contend that's exactly what they did at WDW (with TSMM).

Agreed, this is going to be a big problem at DL in the coming months.

It will definitely be interesting to see how they proceed with this.

True, but that is also true of big DL rides like Hyperspace Mountain. If you want to pull FPs for Star Tours, Indy, and Splash, by the time you get to HSM they might all be gone for the day.

I've never had that problem. But then we try to avoid peak weeks and try to get to the parks early. If you plan, you can scoop up some headliner FPs early and be able to get another sooner than 2 hours (by having an earlier return window). Sure it sucks if you get to the park late. But getting to the park late at WDW can be a problem too (Especially when visiting a tiered park, the answer is always "do the ones you can't get a FP for at rope drop").

No FP change was more of a bummer than when DLR started enforcing return times, but people hardly ever talk about that any more. The system will change and people will adapt and it will all be the new normal. And the WDW system won't seem so bad when the DLR system is changed so the differences are not so noticeable.

It won't matter to me. When Star Wars Land opens in DL, I'm swapping back to WDW, with all sorts of "cheats" in hand. I still won't like it, but I'll make the most of it.

 

[rachelsmom97]

I have a friend down at Disneyland right now. She told me no fast passes available for the next two days. Wait times are 60 minutes long. They told her it was because they were "too busy". I think it has to do with something rolling out on Thursday. I told her to keep chatting up CM's to see if she can get other details.

Sorry - I had my friend verify what she was saying about Fast Passes and it was just for Haunted Mansion.

 

[dshimel]

1) committing to a schedule 30-60 days in advance, often before hours are final.
2) no rerides in those 3
3) tiering
4) Did I mention tiering?
5) Having certain rides "sold out" before the park even opens
6) Having FP added to rides that didn't need it previously makes standby slow down
7) Can't count on having headliners available after you have used your first 3

Honestly, it comes down to me just not being a fan of scheduling a 2 minute ride so far in advance. How can I schedule Splash when I don't even know if it will be warm enough to ride that day? Some with small kids don't know if they will pass the height measurement. Some don't know if their kid will be brave enough to ride. I just like making my decisions on the spot and having a blank slate each morning.

Maybe it was the time of year I went... First week of December and May, but I didn't have any of those experiences.

Day before we decided which park we were going to do. Plenty of FPs for each ride. Scheduled as we wanted. Day of, plans could change and we could cancel one and pick up a different one.

I liked it much better than having to run all over the park getting and using FPs. Of course, we weren't trying to hit a super high max ride count or ride the same coaster 5 times a day.

And even though I don't know the weather, I know I want to go on Splash around noon.

 

[dshimel]

I don't mind having meals planned. But adding 2 minute rides to that just puts it over the top for me. Too many "appointments" to keep.

The FP is an appointment that must be kept, whether you booked it ahead of time, or got it assigned based on the time the ticket is pulled.

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe it was the time of year I went... First week of December and May, but I didn't have any of those experiences.

Day before we decided which park we were going to do. Plenty of FPs for each ride. Scheduled as we wanted. Day of, plans could change and we could cancel one and pick up a different one.

I liked it much better than having to run all over the park getting and using FPs. Of course, we weren't trying to hit a super high max ride count or ride the same coaster 5 times a day.

And even though I don't know the weather, I know I want to go on Splash around noon.

So glad it works for you. I think we just have a different touring style and it doesn't work for us for the stated reasons. We do like to ride lots of things, sometimes the same things over and over. And unless it's over 50, I'm not riding Splash! Hopefully it will be different at DL though and they won't do advance booking.

The FP is an appointment that must be kept, whether you booked it ahead of time, or got it assigned based on the time the ticket is pulled.

But with legacy I didn't have to commit to an appointment 60 days ahead of time. It's much easier to commit one appointment at a time day of when I see how everyone in our group is feeling, what the weather is like, what we missed the day before, which shows we want to see over. Basically I like to keep maximum flexibility in my schedule. Maybe you don't and that's ok too. But hopefully DLR won't do that advance booking nonsense, and require to be in the park to book, and many of those issues won't come up.

 

[GatorChris]

This all means nothing to me. Why? Because no matter what they do, you'll still shuffle through Tomorrowland and Adventureland with the countless masses. Build a freaking third gate, for crying out loud. There's no more room in DL. Send some of those people to a different park for a day or two each week. They can build a luxury hotel, a new parking area, a new entrance area...but nothing that actually fixes the huge problem of DL capacity.

 

[UpStNYmouse]

With this FP change does anyone think they could also change the process of needing to be in the park you're trying to get a FP for? Now you only need to be in one of the parks to get FP in either.

 

[mom2rtk]

This all means nothing to me. Why? Because no matter what they do, you'll still shuffle through Tomorrowland and Adventureland with the countless masses. Build a freaking third gate, for crying out loud. There's no more room in DL. Send some of those people to a different park for a day or two each week. They can build a luxury hotel, a new parking area, a new entrance area...but nothing that actually fixes the huge problem of DL capacity.

You don't think Star Wars Land will fix that?

 

[MacMama0930]

The FP is an appointment that must be kept, whether you booked it ahead of time, or got it assigned based on the time the ticket is pulled.

But an appointment made the day of is A LOT different...grizzly river run and splash on an unexpected hot day? Mood changes, surprised by a kid who is scared of something? Etc. I love planning, but that just seems over the top.

Plus, you're forgetting the most crucial thing and that is that DL is much more visited by locals who DONT plan their trips months in advance. Locals and APers deserve the ability to pull fast passes day of.

 

[agamble]

With this FP change does anyone think they could also change the process of needing to be in the park you're trying to get a FP for? Now you only need to be in one of the parks to get FP in either.

Not sure what you mean. As it is you can all enter DL and give dad everyone's tickets and dad can run to DCA and get everyone a FP for RSR even though they are not in DCA. So that is already they case. However, he still has to go to the actual machines to get the FP. With the new FP + they've already announced it would be possible to book a DCA ride while at DL. That is why so many of us expected that they would link the two systems.

 

[MacMama0930]

By the way - nearly every park day I've had, I've held fast passes at both locations at the same time. I'm a FP running machine. I will be so upset if this rumor is true. And I think it's an incredibly dumb decision because I think that takes away from the value of park hoppers. But I guess that's just me...

 

[agamble]

Never say never. Star Wars Land could change a lot of what people assume about DLR. AK solved their issue by making it possible to book only 1 of the 2 rides in advance.

I think in a way this will monitor itself when SWL opens. There are only two rides. You line up and get a FP for one or the other when park opens. FP runs out for both within an hour of the park opening. So you won't be able to pull one for both anyway. LOL! It's going to be a nightmare. I think the Battle Escape ride will be more of a people eater than the Millenium Falcon ride, but both will be extremely popular when SWL opens.

 

[StormyCA]

With this FP change does anyone think they could also change the process of needing to be in the park you're trying to get a FP for? Now you only need to be in one of the parks to get FP in either.

You mean like the current practice where the whole party enters DL and one person takes the tickets to DCA and gets FPs? Yes, I think it will. If they're limiting MP to 'one park at a time' based on your 'current location' then I think they'll do the same for paper FPs. I'd think it would be simple enough to program the system to every ticket having to have been scanned in to the park the FP is being pulled for.

That's how it works at WDW.

 

[mom2rtk]

With this FP change does anyone think they could also change the process of needing to be in the park you're trying to get a FP for? Now you only need to be in one of the parks to get FP in either.

I'd like to think they'd allow one person to schedule for the whole group in either park, as long as they have used their tickets to enter one park or the other. Since they won't allow double dipping, I can't imagine what difference it would make in the greater scheme of things.

 

[dshimel]

But an appointment made the day of is A LOT different...grizzly river run and splash on an unexpected hot day? Mood changes, surprised by a kid who is scared of something? Etc. I love planning, but that just seems over the top.

Plus, you're forgetting the most crucial thing and that is that DL is much more visited by locals who DONT plan their trips months in advance. Locals and APers deserve the ability to pull fast passes day of.

As an annual pass holder, I could not disagree more.

People staying on site, or using a multi-day hopper, should get massive, MASSIVE, MMAASSSSAAVVEE advantage over us AP holders who are paying WAY, WAY less per day to be there.

I have long thought AP holder should have a pretty strict limit on FPs, like max 4 or 5 per day, and never more than 1 per day for any single ride. Oh.... AP holders shouldn't be able to get an FP if the return time is more than 2 hours out!

 

[mrsskehan2013]

I saw something about this on a fan page on Facebook from a cm. Will be very interesting to see what happens. Dh and I hop back and forth multiple times a day. So we usually have fp for both parks. I can see why disney is doing this just will be curious how it affects everything and if it actually happens.

 

[MacMama0930]

As an annual pass holder, I could not disagree more.

People staying on site, or using a multi-day hopper, should get massive, MASSIVE, MMAASSSSAAVVEE advantage over us AP holders who are paying WAY, WAY less per day to be there.

I have long thought AP holder should have a pretty strict limit on FPs, like max 4 or 5 per day, and never more than 1 per day for any single ride. Oh.... AP holders shouldn't be able to get an FP if the return time is more than 2 hours out!

As an AP holder, who stays on site and pays for premium things like WOC dessert parties, preferred viewing meals, and character meals - I'd be livid if there were limits on my experience.

 

[Niltiac]

I think this could help make FP more fair after MaxPass is implemented. Essentially everyone who has purchased MaxPass will be limited to prioritizing one headliner at opening. Hopefully that will make it so there are more headliner FP available for people who have to physically walk to the machines to get them. I could see RSR FP disappearing way too fast otherwise, since the inconvenience of park hopping is eliminated with MaxPass. If they didn't connect the parks, once SW land opens, the obvious strategy for someone with MaxPass (if both parks open at the same time) would be to get a FP for one SW ride, get in line for the other, and get a FP for RSR just because you can. Meanwhile non-MaxPass people wouldn't be able to do that because they would have to choose between getting in line for a SW land ride at rope drop and hopping to DCA for RSR FP. So this will even the playing field a bit.

Although I guess it can be debated if the playing field should be even, considering MaxPass users are paying extra.