Pilot Program to Add New FastPass+ Benefits for Guests Booking Club Level Rooms

Cinderelley;2509899 wrote: Apparently me, because I'm considering it. I am not a fan of the idea, but booking our fastpasses at the 90 day mark gives me a better chance at getting my daughter what she wants and reserved seating for nighttime shows with a 2 year old would make life easier (less time spent standing in line).
Not to mention the money I save in food. When your kids are all over 6 feet tall, you spend a pretty penny in food at the parks. If we go back to the resort and let them eat, the increased cost in the room is still cheaper than if I paid for food at the park.

But, you can only book the 3 FP+ options that you paid for in advance at the 90 day mark. The 'normal' "free" FP+ options are still only available to book at the 60 day mark.

I just don't see a minimum of $150 to book 9 FP+ options (Minimum purchase - 3 days!) as a big draw for anyone, Club Level or not. I don't stay Club Level (way to rich for my blood) but I don't see this as something that will affect me in any real manner.

Time and $$$ will tell....

Finally got to this stage. This has been a long time coming and many were in denial.

RunDMV;2509902 wrote:
But, if they did this, the main objective would be the guest experience not maximizing profits at the expense of the guest experience.

I agree. There are many things that would be different about this if it were about the guests. This is, and has been, all about making things easier for Disney and fooling guests that it is for them.

Tekneek;2509922 wrote: Finally got to this stage. This has been a long time coming and many were in denial.

Yep, and I do not think this is the end. I think if this is a success for Disney at the club level, they will start rolling some form of it out to guest at the rest of their resorts. I eventually see a day when the level of resort determines how many extra fastpasses you can purchase. This is assuming that Disney just doesn't go to a system that is more like what Six Flags does, where you have to buy an pass that lets you skip the lines.

This is also available to those staying at the DVC Club rooms at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Cascade Cabins at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and the bungalows at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

Speedy1998;2509927 wrote: This is assuming that Disney just doesn't go to a system that is more like what Six Flags does, where you have to buy an pass that lets you skip the lines.

I don't think they are going to do this, because that would've been very easy to implement right from the start. Those have variable pricing based on attendance (at least what I have seen personally), which would really be better for the guests ultimately. The way they've done FP+ so far hurts the guest experience by making traditionally short lines into long lines. By breaking that (I think it was designed to break it), they create a secondary market for more FP+ to be sold as add-ons (and limited by various tiers, the sky is the limit here) which further hurt everybody else (especially those on daytrips that cannot schedule early, cannot buy more, etc). The end is a big mess for the guest (IMHO), while Disney counts the money.

It would be better to have no FP at all than do it the way Disney is, as far as guest experience goes.

RunDMV;2509902 wrote: That didn't make sense. The horrible system they have now could have been set up so that you can only get a FP on the day of your park visit. (And it could still be set up like that.) You could still use the app and the kiosk but only on the day.

AP holders and day visitors would actually have a chance.

But, if they did this, the main objective would be the guest experience not maximizing profits at the expense of the guest experience.

I liked the way Maxpass worked at Disneyland. You could book your fastpasses (one at a time) on your phone, but only once you entered the park. You could also still do the old system if you didn't want to use your phone.

I decided against doing this. The whole premise just bothered me too much. I know DD would like it, but I didn't want to be one of the positives for the bean counters. The fact that I struggled with deciding since initially reading this was enough for me to realize it wasn't worth it.

I don't like this one. I am aware Disney are a business and they have the right to give someone extra bonuses if they pay more - as the saying goes you get what you pay for. As long as these extras are extras, not taking something away from regular guests.

However if it involves someone paying money and those who don't being disadvantaged then I am not pleased. In essence it means those with money pay more to make someone else's day worse and create a two-tier system where one guest's experience is much more important than another's. Traditionally Disney have prided themselves in making sure every guest has the best experience they can. :(

You are absolutely right Jeff. It isn’t even a true Fast Pass anymore. It’s just a less longer wait line.

I live on Tyndall AFB in Panama City and my family are Florida resident, Platinum Plus Annual Pass Holders. We were very excited to be able to buy the passes and start going more frequently as opposed to only once a year. As a Florida Pass holder, I can make FP selections 30 days out. Here’s the thing... I can only get them for the less popular rides. Example: The FP Times open exactly at 6am my time. The last trip we made was at the Shades of Green resort across from the Polynesian. I had my account up and my FP selection made and ready to go. The second my time turned to 6 am on my iPad, I hit send. The FP selection came back with 5 seconds to say that there were no more FP selections available for that attraction that day. This is going to now be the norm for guests trying 60 days out. And let me tell you, I pay as much money for these annual passes for a family of four as I did for an entire week at Caribbean Beach Resort with dining plan for 7 days. And I can only get FP for the attractions less popular. Is that equitable? Is it equitable that now people not paying $650 or more per night are probably going to be in the same boat? There are a lot of guests in the Deluxe resorts that now have an entire extra month to leisurely pick and wipe out all the FP for Avatar Flight of Passage, or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and so on. Everyone has been resonating the same theme that Disney used to try and make every guest special regardless of how they got to the park, but that is slowly eroding. I just find it very sad that it has escalated so quickly over the past few years into a game of greed and how much money that can be extracted from you as opposed to making it as magical as they say. Soon, all of the guests that are able to get their FP 60 days out will experience what I do at 30. There must be a better way than this.

I actually just elaborated on this, but I am a Platinum Plus Annual Pass Holder. I pay as much for a family of four for these APs as I used to for 7 nights/ 8 days at Caribbean Beach Resort with Dining Plan. I am only allowed to book my FPs 30 days out. I can never get them for Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or Toy Story Mania. They are always wiped out by the 30 day mark.

So the ideal state would be that walk up to an attraction and not have to wait more than 10 to 20 minutes to participate...and that you be able to do this on the turn of a dime and at your will and convenience. It would be like a utopia.

In reality Disney is asking us to plan up to 45 days ahead of time where we might be during a given window of time at a specific park. You cannot factor in things like weather, health, restroom breaks, moods, etc. The technology just is not there yet to accommodate this utopia and if it was then your ticket would probably be much more that about $100 per day.

I look at the fast passes as a nice to have but not necessarily a need to have. Are there days when we use them all and add more...yes! Are there days when we miss a bunch because we changed our plans, got busy doing something else or the weather maybe did not cooperate...yes! Do we hold it against Disney or did it diminish from our stay...absolutely not! Just my two cents...

The beginning of the end with this program, and just what I expected them to do at some point, only not this soon.
FP+ will not only be tiered, but monetized to make the gap between the GP and $$ even wider.
What is being marketed as a vacation planning convenience will be sold as a "must have" to make your vacation more enjoyable.
While I like the way I can do some advance planning and not have to run around the park with everyone's pass to collect paper FPs, what annoys me is the inability to get FP+ for some attractions (I'm an APer) which basically forces me to either wait in an ungodly SB queue (never), or pass up an attraction.
I think the MaxPass DL option is much more appealing and look forward to trying it out this spring. Its a shame that the WDW version is spiraling out of control IMHO.

I actually have less of a problem with this than them allowing Disney Springs hotel guest 60+ FP and EMH.