Originally Posted By brettmont I am going to ask a question, perhaps at the risk of looking silly but anyway here it goes. I was getting my haricut the other day and the lady that cuts my hair was asking about something called a "flashpass". She was told that for like a 100 dollars you could get a pager type device, and when its you turn on a ride the park "pages" you and you go the ride of your choice. Has anyone heard of this? It sounds weird if you ask me, but I figured what the heck, at least I could throw it out here.
Originally Posted By brettmont I am going to ask a question, perhaps at the risk of looking silly but anyway here it goes. I was getting my haricut the other day and the lady that cuts my hair was asking about something called a "flashpass". She was told that for like a 100 dollars you could get a pager type device, and when its you turn on a ride the park "pages" you and you go the ride of your choice. Has anyone heard of this? It sounds weird if you ask me, but I figured what the heck, at least I could throw it out here.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Flash Pass is a system that the Six Flags chain offers at most of their parks. <a href="http://themeparks.about.com/cs/sixflagsparks/a/blfastlanea.htm" target="_blank">http://themeparks.about.com/cs...anea.htm</a> Magic Mountain offers two version of the Flash Pass, the "Regular" at $33.99, and the "Gold" version, at $61.99 With the Gold version, you get one more attraction (X2) and shorter return times than the regular version. Basically a much more advanced version of the FastPass system Disney offers.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I expect that these systems (including Xpress Pass at Universal) have become such a money maker for the parks that we will never see a time again where everyone waiting in one line will be the norm. It's a shame. I hate the class system it creates.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost A little off topic, but since the question is about Philharmagic, is it just me or is the picture always a little blurry? As for Fastpass...well I've gone on record about my feelings on Fastpass but what good is a Fastpass for a theatrical show. We all see it at the same time. It's in a big theater, there are always some seats open (usually plenty on the far end since no one ever goes that far). What exactly is the purpose. The show time, is the show time. I'm so confused.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Basically a much more advanced version of the FastPass system Disney offers.<< >>...we will never see a time again where everyone waiting in one line will be the norm. It's a shame. I hate the class system it creates.<< I do not like the systems that are based on a limited number of guests paying an added fee to jump the lines. But that has never been the case with Disney's FastPass. It is free and available to all. As such, I view it as nothing more than a convenience.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< As for Fastpass...well I've gone on record about my feelings on Fastpass but what good is a Fastpass for a theatrical show. We all see it at the same time. It's in a big theater, there are always some seats open (usually plenty on the far end since no one ever goes that far). What exactly is the purpose. The show time, is the show time. I'm so confused. >>> Some theater shows with FP will fill up for every show and with the standby line longer than just the next show, so FP makes sense in those situations. If what you say about Philharmagic is true, then you do have an interesting question. One possibility that occurs to me is that on a very busy day, having FP on such an attraction will help relieve pressure on the other FP attractions. Even if not every show fills up, that doesn't mean that the return time for FPs will always be for the next show. So, if the return time averages, say, 90 minutes from the time of issuance, that's 90 minutes that that guest cannot get a FP for another attraction. Overall, this will push back the times when FPs run out for all of the attractions, and at "no cost" so to say: the Philharmagic guests with FPs have no wait, and the standby people also get in for the next show.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Last weekend it was quite busy and quite rainy so all the indoor attractions were very popular. Even with that (and Philharmagic being down for a portion of the day eariler), I don't think they turned anybody away from the next show. The shows were very full of course, but from what I could tell, everybody waiting got in right away. They weren't offering FP for it at any point that I saw (though we did get surprise FP's for it with Peter Pan), so I don't know how that would have affected things. The waiting area for the show seems pretty dull (especially the holding room just before the theater), so I'm not sure I would want to wait very long for it, but it doesn't seem like that would ever be that big of an issue.
Originally Posted By ueabydnam FP is something we look forward to using when we go to DL in August. Thanks for the tips.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>But that has never been the case with Disney's FastPass. << Actually, that has not been the case, a few yeas ago folks who bought AAA or WDTC Travel Package got "Enhanced FastPasses" which allowed them to collect Multiple FP's at one time, and for a short while were handed pre-printed FP's that allowed a guest to just enter the FP queue the first time they walked by the attraction. You had to buy the Package to get the extra benefits... And Disney has filed patents and other legal documents that has Disney at thinking about doing it again in the future. And now Disney even advertises the "VIP Tour Guide" option, where you can hire a Tour Guide... <a href="http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/tours/detail?name=VIPTourServicesTourPage&bhcp=1" target="_blank">http://disneyland.disney.go.co...e&bhcp=1</a>
Originally Posted By imadisneygal The VIP tour does not include backdoor access to attractions unless specifically authorized by the office booking the tour - and that is most often in cases where the Guest is highly recognizable and might have problems waiting in the lines without being recognized and stopped by other Guests. Guests who purchase the tour by themselves as individuals do not automatically receive backdoor access although they do have the ability to make reservations for restaurants and also for some shows and parades.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer The point I was getting at was the famous Walt Disney comments that all guest should be treated as Very Special Guests... Disney has been charge for things like Guided Tours, many of which have included at least some extra "FastPass" use, or front of the line access for decades. Heck, I remember on a FREE VMK Tour, we got backdoored into both Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. Plus other tours I have personally taken over the years, including one VIP Tour.
