Disney Makes MAJOR Changes to FastPass System

[robbalvey]

From www.screamscape.com

 

On March 17th, Disney the US Patent Office granted Disney the rights to several new planned features.

 

A few choice examples include:

“Immediate Freebie FastPass” which seems to allow immediate entry to an attraction without a virtual wait.

“Front of the Line FastPass” that would grant the holder immediate access to all FastPass attractions.

“Pre-Arrival FastPass” that can allow guests to grab FastPass reservations via the Web, In Room TV, Cel Phones or Kiosk up to several days in advance.

“Concurrent FastPass” allowing you to have several FastPasses at once.

“Advanced FastPass” where a guest can pre select 3-5 attractions and be issued pre assigned FastPasses with different times throughout the day for each as well as take into consideration the benefit of ParkHopping on your ticket to allow for reservations at a second park on the same day.

 

If that wasn’t enough Disney is ready to segregate their own on-site Resort guests into different priority tiers based upon which resort you stay at, what kind of room you have, and even how much you are spending while on property. So if a off site guest hits FastPass at Space Mountain and gets a 2 hour return time, an on site guest at All Stars may get to return in 90 minutes, but a guest at the Animal Kingdom Lodge may get to ride in 30 minutes and someone staying in the Presidential Suite at the Boardwalk may get a ticket to just walk right in. To quote a few lines from the patent:

 

“Spending per guest at hotels can determine different hierarchies of access to Fastpass. Thus, the more that is spent by a patron, the higher the priority can be for Fastpass.”

“Different levels and hierarchies can be applicable at different hotels. Thus, more luxurious hotels can have higher priorities.”

“Where a patron is in a related hotel, a higher priority can be given.”

 

From a technology geek standpoint, I’m interested in seeing how they integrate Text Messaging from guest Cell Phones into the FastPass system. They’ve described being able to validate your existence in the park for the day(s) by entering a code from your ticket into the online system attaching it to your valid cell phone number, but also odd alternate ideas such as sending you an image of a bar code to your phone display that can be read by a bar code reader at the attraction that can issue you the paper ticket.

 

This is AWESOME! Ever since Universal started doing the unlimted Express Pass for people who stay in their resorts (all equivalent to a Disney Deluxe) we almost ALWAYS stay one or two nights at one of them during every visit. Next weekend, for example, we're booked two nights into the Royal Pacific so we can get our line jumping privalges.

 

We also usually stay at Boardwalk at least once per year, but never bother every trip because you just don't get many perks for spending $200+ per night.

 

This changes things. I'm all about paying for better service where I want it. For example, I'm not the type of person who needs to fly first class or rent luxury cars, but I'm sure as hell the person who will spend an extra amount of money to not have to wait in lines at parks.

 

IMO, if you're going to spend the extra money for the better hotels you SHOULD get extra perks. And it's not as though these perks aren't available to EVERYONE at the resort.

 

Now I know people are going to complain about how this is unfair to people who can't afford it...BUT I don't agree with that at ALL. If you can afford a vacation to WDW, this system isn't that much of a stretch if you are SMART on how you book. And being that I work my ass off everyday to get where I'm at, and I do extra work in planning trips to make things as budget conscious as possible so we CAN afford these perks, I don't feel the least bad for people who "claim" they can't.

 

For example, I see people who work retail going out and buying plasma TV screens to watch their 200+ DVDs in their library or Prime Choice DirecTV channels while I sit at home with my 27" CRT and watch basic cable. We all make choices as to how we spend our disposable income. We just happen to choose to spend it all at parks!

 

--Robb

[CoasterCrazy]

I also think this is a great idea. I like the fast passes that you get at USF when you stay in one of there hotels and I'm glad that Disney is doing the same thing.

[BarryH]

Finally! Disney makes perks to those staying onsite. I would think if I stayed at the Grand Floridian and spend $300+/night, I would want something more than a clean room and bathroom!

 

I wonder how this will impact the free Fastpass system. If it changes the free system dramatically, I would think it would create many unhappy guests. Making unhappy guests seems contrary to the great customer service Disney is known for.

[QuakerOaties]

Too bad these changes will be happening right before I begin my life as a poor college student!!!

 

Mark "No longer will mommy and daddy pay for me to line jump" Luskus

[Justin]

To bad disney is just grabbing the ideas before someone else snags them. Half that won't even happen for the next 5 years.

[robbalvey]

^ Don't they already have some of this up and running at Disneyland Paris? I thought that if you stayed at the Disneyland hotel you got unlimited FastPasses.

 

--Robb

[RCTfan]

I've never heard of this, so I doubt it's going to be applied for awhile, so don't get too excited. It does sound okay I guess. Then again I didn't find any flaws in the old system.

 

I'll just get the passes that let 3 people in fastpass anyway! Or I'll get unlimited by hitting the magical button on the back! Muhahaha.

[CoasterFanatic]

Barry, strike me up as one of the upset guests who now have to stand in line for Splash Mountain for 2-3 hours because I don't see the value in staying in a $300/night resort.

 

It is obvious that Disney is trying to pull off something that is comparable to the Universal "Express" system. Disney might have bee the original, but now they are definately following the trends set forth be others.

 

Unless they look to dramatically change the way that FastPass operates, all these new avenues will only exhaust the number of fastpasses that are available for each ride earlier in the day than ever before. If they increase the ratio and give out more fastpasses then that will only make the standby lines longer.

 

Rides like Splash Mountain, Pooh, Space Mountain, Test Track, etc that used to be accesible in less than an hour (99% of the operating days) will now be unmanagable mess.

 

There are plenty of ways to enhance the visitor experience, but making them feel like a second-class guest as soon as they enter the gates in not what I have in mind. I used to think that Disney was the only park that had a virtual queue that actually made sense, but now they are ruining the "level playing field" that made it work so well.

 

But .... I am only one man, and it is clear that I am the minority.

[maliboomer]

I don't like it, if I stay at POR which IMO is better then some Deluxe resorts, I don't get the same priviliges, even though I could afford deluxe. Rude. The only think I don't mind is that the hotel guests get unlimited fastpasses, but that may be just a deluxe perk...

[shepp]

Well, for my usual reason - that the rich get to crap all over the less well-off - I think it sucks. How about if you pay a thousand bucks, the cast member of your choice gives you head, but if you stay off-property, all you get to ride is Pooh?

[maliboomer]

^ I'd think I'd rather stay off property then!

[blackcurrent]

I think it is a good idea to give resort guests a perk like quicker fastpass times as long as its equal to all resort guests. I think that the Value resorts really arn't that expensive and like mentioned before people who can afford to visit DisneyWorld most probably can afford to at least stay at a Value resort. I dont agree that different class hotels should receive different levels of the new tickets. Everyone is paying the same money to access the parks so it is not fair that people receive such a different level of service and enjoyement of the parks. The person next to you in the queue will have paid the same money to get into the park as you regardless of which hotel they have stayed at.

I can afford to travel first class and have done in the past and can afford the best hotels and sometimes choose to stay in them. I also work dam hard every day of the week traveling around Europe fixing computer systems having to be away from my wife and family on a regular basis. It doesn't mean though just because my job pays well that I work any harder than the person in the queue next to me and it doesn't give me the right to get on the rides any quicker than the person who has been saving for the last two years for their dream holiday to DW.

Yes give an incentive to resort guests to stay at a DWR- the resorts are affordable to all, no don't give the rich a better day out than the person who has saved for years for their dream holiday and can only afford to stay at a value resort.

[Red Benny]

I don't know if this is the same for WDW, but if you book your vacation for Disneyland through AAA you get a preferred fastpass. It allows you to get a fastpass to every ride you want, without having to wait another 2 hours to get another ride. The nice thing is, booking your vacation through AAA costs the exact same ammount as booking it through DLR.

 

Though I'm sure this will change with the new rules. I personally love it. When you go to the resort you pay for the experience, not just the rides. I'm not saying everyone should stay at the expensive resorts, but to me it's worth the money. The way I look at it, you're already paying enough money even to stay at the value resorts, saving up a few hundred more to stay at nicer resort is money well spent, especially now that you get more perks.

[Movieguy]

I really don't know how to take this. I've been planning to visit WDW for my vacation, and I have almost $8,000 in the bank, which I don't plan on spending all of. Trouble is, I'm going to need a lot of this money, because this is from a job where I only make $7.00 an hour (I've had it for over a year and a half now.) Not only do I have I have to pay about $160.00 every month for student loan repayments, But I have other expenses, including rent.

 

To put it simply, I basically don't have the luxury of being able to stay at a $300 a night resort, especially when you factor in the cost of airline tickets, park tickets, food, etc.

 

I really tremble now for what the lines are gonna be like in most of WDW. I know the rest of you seem to like this idea, but that's probably because you have the money to burn for it. I really don't. And I don't think a hard working man like myself should be treated like a second class guest simply because I can't seem to get a higher paying job.

[blackcurrent]

i wouldn't say most of us like it. at least not all of it, A Disney Value resort is quite dam cheap, i just dont like the different levels... we are staying in a mod or deluxe in Sept for 2 weeks so its not that I wont benefit from it, its just not fair

[CoasterFanatic]

^ But, most of the Disney "Value Resorts" are geared towards the family. If I am looking for a romantic getaway, I don't want to stay in a giant Monopoly board with 2 double beds.

 

My best argument for why I don't like the system, is that everytime you enhance one guest's experience .... you discount anothers. :?

[blackcurrent]

true, but if its acceptable for universal to benefit it's on-site guests by giving them express pass perks why is it not ok for disney to offer something to their on-site guests. I just dont like the one hotel guest getting more tan a different hotel guest. If you are a Disney Resort guest then you should expect the same as any other disney resort guest. Next thing we know they will be saying deluxe guests can come in the park a bit earlier than mod resort guests and value resort guests can only come in 5 minutes before the park opens because you don't pay so much. It will be a case of a deluxe guest can book a dinner table by the window but the value resort guest can only get a table in the crappy corner.

 

I think it will really cock-up something that works really well at the moment

[Sir Clinksalot]

The only thing I don't like about this is the different tiers for On-site guests. I say all On-site guests get the same benefits if they are staying at the Boardwalk or the All-Stars. I really don't think it would make that big of a difference.

 

Other than that I like the idea. Like Robb we don't do alot of 'other' things with our income. Don't have fancy cars, fancy TV's although we do have alot of DVD's.

 

We have been planning our WDW trip for years, and are finally in a place where we can go this year. I want to get every advantage I can to make my trip more enjoyable.

 

I also think why people are making a bigger deal out of this than they do at Universal is because you aren't taking about 3 hotels, you are talking about 20+.

[X]

I think the idea is great, But Disney should keep the old version so they can still do something to please the other guests. They should have all the guests happy, so they should use both versions.

Kevin"Sometimes I love the idea, Sometimes I hate it."Bujold

[robbalvey]

Barry, strike me up as one of the upset guests who now have to stand in line for Splash Mountain for 2-3 hours because I don't see the value in staying in a $300/night resort.

Ahh, but see that's where we can help you out! Other than our wedding night, I don't think we've ever spent more than $150 or $175 for a night in one of the Disney Deluxe hotels. Hell, one of our visits we got Animal Kingdom Lodge for $99 a night!!!

 

$300? Yeah, I agree with you. But when you can find really good deals that make the deluxe hotels just slightly more than the moderates, it really makes it worthwhile!

 

Even our stay at Royal Pacific this weekend was only $150 with the AP discount.

 

--Robb "We all about getting the best stuff at the best price!" Alvey

[PhishyBrewer]

When I goto Disney, I only stay at a Disney hotel. Why? The perks, and that is it. This is just one more added little thing. If I can get my 3 year old into toon town an entire 2 hours before the parks opens and it only cost me an extra $200, shit yeah I'm going to pay it. No lines for pictures with the characters. That's priceless in my book. Plus it always feels so much more magical. I know it might be expensive for some people to stay at a Disney hotel, but you have to think... overall, Disney is a business.

 

Well, atleast it's not like Wal-Mart. A true evil empire

[shepp]

What gets me about this is that it reflects what Disney would call "the American Adventure," and not in a good way. Real wages of middle-class families have been trending downward for years while the rises in WDW prices have handily beaten inflation, and the USA has the greatest inequality of wealth in the industrialized world. Money buys access...to decent medical care, to the ear of Schwarzenegger, and now to the Tower of Terror.

 

Robb, $175 for a night in a hotel room may not sound like all that much to you, but, figuring in taxes, Movieguy would have to work a full 3 1/2 days to afford that. That's 3 1/2 days. Same with someone who works at WalMart. ^ I'm a lower-income freelance writer, and granted I'm an ace bargain hunter, but on my upcoming trip, that $175 bucks is buying me 3 nights in a Ramada near SFGadv plus 2 nights in a Travelodge in Williamsburg. Just the taxes on that $175 would nearly pay for my night in an all-suite hotel near BGW.

 

Yes, if WDW is worth scrimping and saving for, most people can somehow afford it. But the top 1% of this country's rich own up to 50% of our wealth, more than belongs to the bottom 95%. For those super-rich, $175 is a meaningless sum that won't cover a single bottle of wine at their favorite restaurant.

 

Early entry seems like a fairly fair perk; it gives some people the jump, but once the park opens to the GP, the playing field evens out. But making the commmoners stand and wait while the plutocracy butts into line - like the villains in a Disney film - stinks. Let a non-on-property peasant try and do that and he's thrown out of the park. Lesson: this is America, where there are two legal systems, one for the rich, one for the poor. And so it goes...

[robbalvey]

OK, first of all, I really hate this bullshit about people thinking I am "rich" because I don't mind spending $150 per night for a hotel every once in a while.

 

Trust me I am FAR from being "rich." I am smack in the middle of the average income for your 'middle class" American family.

 

That being said, my point #1 about how people "CHOOSE TO SPEND THEIR DISPOSABLE INCOME" is very, VERY valid.

 

I know people who work in retail or have what would be considered a 'low income' job having libraries of hundreds of DVDs and plasma TVs, high end computers, etc who then turn around and complain that they can't afford a coaster trip. YOU CHOOSE HOW YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY. It's like I said, if you come to our house you'll see we have almost zero luxuries. I edit our videos on a P800 for christ sakes!!! I don't even have a high end computer let alone a DVD collection or a nice TV. We CHOOSE to spend that money on park trips. We're not "rich" and you don't need to be either to do the trips we do!

 

Ok, now let's talk about how we make our money go a longer distance so we can all afford these awesome trips.

 

For example, MovieGuy says he's got $8,000 saved up for a WDW trip.

 

OMG, I could totally help him put together a REALLY kick ass Orlando trip with tons of perks for less than HALF of that! For that amount of money, I could help plan MovieGuy a kick ass Florida trip AND a kick ass trip somewhere else.

 

I mean, our 21 day Europe trip is only costing us $5,000 and we're getting LOADS of kick ass perks from parks, hotels, etc, etc...

 

Travel Tip #1: "ITS ABOUT HOW YOU SPEND YOUR DOLLAR, NOT HOW MANY YOU HAVE!"

 

First off, you never...EVER book through Disney. NEVER!!!! You will get your ass handed to you booking through them! Only the extreme "GP" books through Disney. You do NOT want to be in that crowd! If you are ever thinking about booking through Disney. STOP! Come and talk to Robb & Elissa first! We'll set you straight!

 

There are PLENTY of sites out there that can help you get amazing discounts at deluxe Disney resorts, and get all those perks, yet not have to pay through the nose.

 

Travel Tip #2: YOU DON'T *HAVE* TO SPEND EVERY NIGHT IN AN EXPENSIVE HOTEL!

 

For example, this trip coming up, we're are spending two nights at the Royal Pacific at $150 per night, BUT the rest of the trip we're spending at the Days Inn Suites for $60 per night.

 

Keep in mind that had we stayed at the Days Inn instead of the Royal Pacific and still bought the front of the line pass, it would have cost us:

 

Days Inn Suites: $60

Express Passes $30 PER PARK for ONE Coupon per ride.

Parking: $8

 

For a grand total of $128 per day. Gee...so our $150 hotel which gets UNLIMITED express pass is only $22 per day more expensive. When you add up all the little costs that a lot of people forget about, that $150 hotel is NOT much more expensive than what you would pay anyway.

 

You also DON'T NEED to stay at a Disney Deluxe ALL nights. For example, if you are going to do a 4 night, 5 day Disney trip. Stay in a Deluxe TWO of the nights, and an off property hotel the rest. Sure you may not get the perks of the FastPass system those other days, but do you NEED them?

 

Get your fill in of rides that you NEED the upgraded FastPass system for on those two days, then on the days you don't have the upgrade perk, do rides that don't require it, or simply don't have FastPass anyway!

 

And if the Disney system ends up being like the Universal system, you could spend ONE NIGHT at the hotel, and get the perks for TWO days. Because at Universal, your Unlimited Express Pass is good for the day you check in AND the day you check out.

 

So when we get to Royal Pacific, we check in at like 8am in the morning! Sure, we may not get our hotel room that morning, but we leave our bags with the check in desk and we get our hotel key, which doubles as the front of the line pass, for all day the check in day, and all day the check out day.

 

IMO, doing a WDW trip is only as expensive as you are uneducated about how to "work the system." And I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that before you book *ANYTHING* do a LOT of research, and really THINK about what you are spending. The smallest amount of money adds up to a LOT.

 

So to summarize this tip - You don't NEED the FastPass perks EVERY DAY, so you don't NEED to stay at a Deluxe EVERY DAY! Only pay for what you NEED, otherwise the rest is a WASTE OF MONEY! (Unless, of course, you are "rich" and it doesn't make any difference to you!)

 

Travel Tip #3 - TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY!

 

Keeping in mind that the parks know that most people are more willing to spend $10 and $20 here and there and are less willing to throw down $150 - $200 in one lump sum. Most of the time, that $150 - $200 will INCLUDE most of the $10 and $20 items, and will wind up being CHEAPER than if you purchase items on their own.

 

For example, we are taking an "Orlando Newbie" with us this weekend, and we found a deal online that gets him a 5-day Universal Park hopper CHEAPER than you can get a 2-day at the gate! This way, we can end most of our nights doing "Dragon hopping" and we have the flexibilty to hit IOA on almost every day of our trip if we wanted to.

 

Travel Tip #4 - SHARE THE COST WITH SOMEONE ELSE!

If you can do a trip with a friend. That $150 Royal Pacific room suddenly becomes $75. And they allow up to 4 people in a room, and then that room with all the perks becomes $37.50. So someone can get the perks of the unlimited Universal Express pass for TWO days for only $37.50 each. Even someone working at WalMart should be able to afford that!!!

 

IMO, if you can't afford to take a trip with some friends and spend $37.50 per night on a hotel room, you shouldn't be taking the trip in the first place.

 

For our Europe trip, two of the guys who are going with us, one of them works in a grocery store, the other works as a ride op and they can both afford to go to Europe. So don't give me this shit that you "have to be rich" in order to take a kick ass trip and get a lot of perks at parks.

 

Travel Tip #5 - DON'T SPEND TONS OF CASH IF YOU DON'T NEED TO!

Shepp, of course your $175 gets you 3 days of hotels on your SFGAdv trip. Why would you need to spend a lot of money there? Do you think *WE* would spend $175 at a hotel by BGW or SFGadv??? HELL NO!! Only spend that kind of money if it GETS you something! Which is why we're at the cheap Days Inn suites during the Disney portion of our upcoming weekend and sharing it with someone else! It's going to end up costing us something like $22.50 each for that hotel room!

 

We go to WDW about 4 or 5 times a year, and only stay at Boardwalk MAYBE once per year, and only for a night or two if we can get it at a good rate. It's where we got married, so it's got sentimenal value to us. BUT, when the new FastPass perks kick in, you can bet we'll stay there more often, probably not every time, and when we do we'll probably end up sharing with someone, or getting a really kick ass discount from somewhere. Again, we're not "rich". We don't spend ALL our time in expensive hotels. Most of the time it's Super 8's and Motel 6's. Hell, a Ramada Inn is usually too expensive for us on most trips!

 

Taking a trip to the Orlando area and hitting all the parks is going to be expensive no matter what. But there are so many websites out there, so many people here who can help, and so many tips and tricks you need to know before you book something.

 

So to summarize, you don't need to be "rich" to afford a really kick ass trip to ANYWHERE, be it Japan, Europe, or Orlando. You just need to be "smart" on how you book it.

 

Shepp, I hate to say it, but your whole rant about this rich stuff is total crap! You are so WRONG. At least when it comes to doing theme park trips. You may be right about other issues, where yeah, $175 might be nothing to someone who is rich. But, you lump US into that group and make it sound as though Elissa and I do nothing but stay in 4-star hotels, and use $100 bills to wipe our asses.

 

Elissa and I are NOT "rich" by any stretch of the imagination, but I will say that we are VERY "smart" about how to book our trips. And we are more than happy to share our tricks with EVERYONE because we want people to know that ANYONE can take the kind of trip we do.

 

One of the reasons we are looking into doing group trips is that I KNOW we can put together some really amazing trips for a better value for your money than what I've see other group trips going for.

 

--Robb "And hopefully we can plan some really affordable trips for you all to participate in next year!" Alvey

[Movieguy]

Robb, I should tell you that I'm not planning on spending ALL of that 8,000 dollars. that's basically all I have in the bank now, and I'm going to need a lot of that in the future to cover rent and monthly student loan bills. Just to let you know.

 

But I do agree with you about how it's all how you use your disposable income. I for instance, am willing to stop buying DVDs and other frivolous things for a while if it'll allow me to save up a little more money for this trip I'm planning.

 

Mind you I've never planned a trip like this before, so I'll have to get some help from my experienced father, as well as anyone else. And don't worry, booking through Disney was NEVER an option for me, hehehe.

[JT3000]

Well, doesn't this just suck.

 

Earth to Disney, Earth to Disney. Universal can give this perk to it's hotel guests because there's only 3 of them. You have more than I care to count. Sometimes, other people's ideas don't translate well to your own operations. I am now going to have to wait 5 hours to get into the freaking Tiki Room from now on. Thank you, Disney.

 

The willingness to spend money on a hotel point is pretty moot for those of us who don't even need a hotel. But since when did Disney care about locals?