Tiering at Epcot gone?

[PopPhan]

That's true. But in a Disney Park, we're all treated equal. Sure, there's the tiered hotel system. In a park, though, whether you stay at the GF or the Super 8 in Kissimee, everyone has the same shot at a fastpass whether you get 1 a day or 7 a day. At least that's how it used to be.

That is a long time gone. With TiW and AP discounts, tiered room discounts, tiered DDP offerings - just as simple examples - there have been the "haves and have-nots" among the visitors in Disney Parks for a long time.

[joonyer]

From WDW's perspective, there's a lot more $$$ to be made by charging for extras, never mind that it used to be free. They have us on the hook, now.

[yankeesfan123]

I'm still not on board with the "charging" thing.

They could have done it before. The old system was in place for 15 years; the introduced "extra, surprise" FP during the last 5 years. They easily could've charged for extras. They could've allowed deluxe resort guests to get more than 1 every 2 hours. But they never did.

Their website still says it's complimentary.

I understand that Disney seems money hungry at times, but there is absolutely nothing that points to Disney "charging" for FP. It is 100% pure speculation by fans.

With all that being said, I could see Disney charging off-site guests, or even FL/AP for a magic band if they'd rather use that than an RFID card, but only because those bands must cost something. They're handing them out like candy right now.

[quack arf squeak]

Look at what happened with the people using wheelchairs to get a cut in line. They would pay for the use of a wheelchair even if there was no valid reason except to cut waiting.

[joonyer]

I'm still not on board with the "charging" thing.

They could have done it before. The old system was in place for 15 years; the introduced "extra, surprise" FP during the last 5 years. They easily could've charged for extras. They could've allowed deluxe resort guests to get more than 1 every 2 hours. But they never did.

Their website still says it's complimentary.

I understand that Disney seems money hungry at times, but there is absolutely nothing that points to Disney "charging" for FP. It is 100% pure speculation by fans.

With all that being said, I could see Disney charging off-site guests, or even FL/AP for a magic band if they'd rather use that than an RFID card, but only because those bands must cost something. They're handing them out like candy right now.

All of what you say is true. And I hope you are right.

But Disney didn't spend more than a BILLION dollars on this for the heck of it. That's right, Disney has supposedly spent over 1,000 million dollars on the creation and implementation of this new MDE and FP+ system with all the bells and whistles. Call me a skeptic, but I have a hard time believing that Disney spend that much money just to make my day at WDW more convenient, and without expecting to be able to gain any economic benefit from that large of an investment.

[AndrewJackson]

All of what you say is true. And I hope you are right.

But Disney didn't spend more than a BILLION dollars on this for the heck of it. That's right, Disney has supposedly spent over 1,000 million dollars on the creation and implementation of this new MDE and FP+ system with all the bells and whistles. Call me a skeptic, but I have a hard time believing that Disney spend that much money just to make my day at WDW more convenient, and without expecting to be able to gain any economic benefit from that large of an investment.

They will get their money back through efficiencies. Iger has already stated in a conference call that the Magic Kindom was able to accommodate 3,000 more guests per day over the holidays, and he attributed it to MM+.

In my opinion, Disney made a calculated decision to make more money by limiting the length of a visitor's day at the park. They are betting that folks will show up, use there 3 FP+, grab a bite and a show and leave. Instead of adding more rides to increase capacity, you get folks that use to spend 13 hours in the parks to spend 6-7 hours instead.

Time will tell. This is how Disney gets the payback on their investment. I would be very disappointed if they started charging for it.

[Mousemates]

They will get their money back through efficiencies. Iger has already stated in a conference call that the Magic Kindom was able to accommodate 3,000 more guests per day over the holidays, and he attributed it to MM+.

In my opinion, Disney made a calculated decision to make more money by limiting the length of a visitor's day at the park. They are betting that folks will show up, use there 3 FP+, grab a bite and a show and leave. Instead of adding more rides to increase capacity, you get folks that use to spend 13 hours in the parks to spend 6-7 hours instead.

Time will tell. This is how Disney gets the payback on their investment. I would be very disappointed if they started charging for it.

I'm not sure I buy into the idea that they want to somehow limit or reduce the time people spend in the parks, because when people arent in the parks they aren't as likely to be buying Disney food, Disney drinks and "official" Disney souvenirs. I agree they will get their money ( some of it through increased efficiency), but I think the real money will come from them finding new ways to charge for experiences that used to be completely complimentary.

[Janmac]

Didn't Disney initially test DME "free" for a year? Speculation was that DME would eventually be a fee based service.

Jan

[yankeesfan123]

Didn't Disney initially test DME "free" for a year? Speculation was that DME would eventually be a fee based service.

Jan

All I've read has been exactly that. Speculation and rumors. If something official has come out, or was buried in fine print, I'd be interested in seeing that. I love that DME remained free/included. I love that legacy FP always remained free/included.

The easiest way for disney is recoup the cost of the system is by hiding the charge in ticket and hotel costs. Obviously, charging for extra FP+ is an extra, added money maker, but I'm not going to buy into anything that is purely speculative and fan driven rumors even though they sound possible.

[DisneyGiant]

While I would hate to do it - I'd pay extra for FP.

I have sciatica (pinched nerve in my spine) and I am in a lot of pain if standing for more than 10 - 15 minutes. 30 minutes is the longest I'll wait on a line.

I would pay to avoid that (not sure how much I'd pay though....)

I can definitely see them giving everyone the three fast passes & then offering more for a fee.

This 3 FP limitation is really bumming us out. We used to use so many more in our days .....