Originally Posted By TheMick I seem to remember reading on one of these posts that someone in the Disney upper echelon does not like the Fast Pass system and that there is a plan to get rid of Fast Passes some time in the not so distant future? Did I read right?! If so, who is this upper cruster and why in the WORLD would he/she want to get rid of Fast Passes?!! ... and, how soon is soon, is there anyone to write to to complain about this, am I rumor mongering with no relation to the truth (I SO hope)?
Originally Posted By monorailblue Dear Ms. The Mick: There are numerous FastPass threads on Laughing Place that address the pros and cons of FastPass. Whatever you feel is the bottom line, there are both PROS and CONS. Typically, those who argue the CONS (myself included) are glared at as though we are insane or have some foul disease. Rest assured, we do not. FastPass has been an interesting project, but I, for one, would be delighted to see it go away. However, I don't think you'll see it disappear. It has been scaled back throughout the Disneyland Resort, but mostly by removing it from Attractions where it was unused and / or totally useless. I believe you will continue to see it on Splash, Space, Indy, Soarin', and so on for years and years to come.
Originally Posted By bean Fastpass was a nice gimmic that was suppose to help tourist plan there day better at the parks and have more time to shop and eat without having to wait long lines on the attractions. The problem with fastpass was that the majority of people using it were annual passholders and people began finding ways of working the system to their advantage in ways that the system was not developed for. all it did was create longer standby waiting times and it did nothing to increase spending. Walkways became more congested and attractions that were not originally built with fastpass from the beginning lost parts of their elaborate queues to make way for fastpass lines. Some attractions like Indiana Jones and Roger Rabbits queue were actually vacant most of the time while crowds gathered outisde of the attractions waiting for the Castmembers to let certain amounts of groups from standby and then fastpass into the queues. These people then just rushed thru the queues which made for quite a bit of waisted valuable space. Other attractions that had fastpass and had good capacity saw longer lines for standby after the system was added. For example Pirates saw lines that stretched into the walking areas because of added standby times since only one line was used for standby. With the removal of fastpass the attraction is now capable of using both queue lines and keep the lines moving faster. Next attraction rumored to get fastpass removed is Indiana jones. Hopefully this will help speed the attractions cacapcity and pull crowds from the already crowded walkways into the long elaborate and detailed queue
Originally Posted By indysoarin19 I was just at Disneyland yesterday and I waited 45 minutes standby for Indy at 8 o'clock at night. The Adventureland walkways were completely jammed and trying to get into the Standby line was more difficult than it should be. I am generally pro-Fastpass, but Indy is a ride I wouln't mind seeing it removed.
Originally Posted By TheMick I ask because I, for one, appreciate not spending 1 1/2 hours in line for a ride. My cousin, who has three kids and enjoys Disney quite a bit, but isn't a Disney nut like me and my family, mentioned that if they stop the fast pass policy he will no longer go to either Disneyland or Disney World as he refuses to spend money to stand in line for hours. I believe he and his family are the type of guests that Fast Pass was designed for. I wonder how many families like his might be allienated by eliminating the program? The logistics of what happens with the rest of the line was interesting to read, and eye opening. I must tell you that I have wondered why in the world anyone would stand in line for hours when a fast pass could be had. On the other hand, when I go whizzing through the Indiana Jones queing area I do realize that I am missing part of the story telling. Then, on the other hand, my young children wouldn't let me enjoy it anyway because standing in line that long would be very hard for them and thus VERY hard for me and my husband! So, basically, no one would be appreciating all of the wonderful details.
Originally Posted By stagemomx3 Adventure land seems to have big problems with being crowded. When we were there in June the Adventure land walk way was jammed packed. This was early June so prior to POTC re-opening. Perhaps it's just the dark feel of the area for me, but I started to feel a little claustrophobic in there. The lines for JC were weird, it would spill all the way out into the walk way, and then disappear. We went on it twice and both times we only had to wait one boat load, so I don't know why at other times the line was so long. Also I confess we were those people who grab FPs for Indy and then race through the que, we didn't see much of it since we only went on Indy once. Next time we will look around more!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros They tend to make the line for the Jungle Cruise spill out a little bit all the time. I think it might be to let people know that there is an attraction over there, but almost every time I go past, there always seem to be about 15 people waiting outside of the building, and it doesn't seem to matter how much of the queue they are using at the time.
Originally Posted By RAM1984 I am an AP holder but I live in NoCal so I do not visit DL as often as I would like. I love FP!!!! But: there is validity to the complaints about it. I was amazed at how fast Small World and Pirates lines moved this past July 17. Also, standing in lines does not have to be bad. My husband and I are outgoing types and have met many wonderful people from all over the world just because we had to stand in line or wait for a show. Some of these people have become friends that we keep in touch with to this day. I do hope it does not go away entirely as my hubby and I are getting older and it is sometimes hard to stand in long lines. I would definately be apposed to the "scheduling" of rides that I have heard suggested.
Originally Posted By Elderp I like FP and I hope they keep it. I hated the long lines and have no desire to see them come back.
Originally Posted By JuiceMonkey TheMick, I'd like to point out that people have actually said that the "program" wasn't going anywhere but that it was being scaled back dramaticially. I'm sure this will bring you no comfort, though.
Originally Posted By Sweeper FastPass in Anaheim does not work like FastPass in Orlando. I'm on record many times hating FastPass as an A.P. at Disneyland, HOWEVER, WDW seems to do this better. Maybe it is the mix of people, I'm not sure. The return times are usually within an hour or two AND you can pull another FastPass before your ride window opens on the current FastPass in most cases. FastPass at Disneyland makes me crazy because we usually arrive between 12 and 1 and many FastPass machines will be sold out or have return times at 11 PM. Yesterday at WDW we pulled FastPasses at 2 for Splash, after a two hour break-down, and our return time was 7. Go figure. My favorite FastPass moment here was for Expedition Everest. My son and I walked with the mass as the park first opened and what did most people do? Lined up for FastPass! Too funny!! We rode EE 3 times while they waited to get a piece of paper! Obviously the regular visitor to WDW is not that savvy. Perhaps that is why FastPass works in Orlando?
Originally Posted By BrigmanMT 2 Not to mention their queues are designed enormous. There is plenty of space on most of their attractions for Fastpass and standby. This is something the older Disneyland does not have. I also feel the locals to tourist ratio has a lot to do with it. Fastpass needs to be scaled back. I am happy to see they are doing this.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe I absolutely love FastPass and would hate to see it go away. I would truly be disappointed if it was gone or scaled back any more!
Originally Posted By Alyssa3467 One thing I wish they would do is actually enforce return times like they apparently do in Tokyo. Being a little late because you're at a restaurant a little longer than planned is one thing, but picking up a FastPass at 8:00 AM with a 9:00 AM return time and using it at 3:00 PM is another matter entirely, and it really screws up the system.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 As people who can only visit infrequently, fast pass in general works well for us. It pretty much guarantees we can at least do all our favorites in a given trip without having to wait in 1-2 hour lines for each one. That said, certain rides like Pirates are better off without it.
