Episode 1128 - An Update On Fastpass Plus

Authored by: ddindy on Friday, December 21 2012 @ 05:51 AM CST

Thanks to WDW Today, whenever I hear the William Tell Overture, I think to myself "Matt's not on the show today."

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Share and Enjoy!
Dennis

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Authored by: FrankieDplus3 on Friday, December 21 2012 @ 09:48 AM CST

I think the Fastpass Plus system is going to be great for the personalized experiences, i.e. birthday shout-outs, characters/rides know who you are, reserved fireworks seating. However, it is going to kill the current Fastpass system and I think that's scary.

Today, unfortunately, some guests still walk up to a table service restaurant (sometimes multiple restaurants in a day) trying to find a place to sit down and eat; completely unaware that most of these restaurants have been booked 3-6 months in advance. I've been at the parks and I've seen guests show up to table service restaurants asking for a table and our told that there is no seating available?

I believe that the Fastpass Plus system will create the same confusion with guests. With the current system, I've seen guests that have no idea what the current Fastpass is or how it works, or that it is FREE. I can only imagine what the guest experience is going to be once the new system is implemented.

Guest walks up to a ride and sees dozens of people walk right through, but, they are told that they have to wait in the 40-50 min stand-by line.

Cast Member: "Sorry, this line is for Fastpass Plus."
Guest: "Oh. I didn't know. How do I get that Fastpass Plus."
Cast Member: "It is free and it is built into your ticket. But, you should have booked this ride 6 months ago."

I love going to WDW and I love planning my days. However, I always plan my stay with options of switching my days just in case it rains, or we're tired and want to hang out at the pool a little more that day instead. That said, I agree with what Jim said, this could take the fun out of the vacation and I can see parents saying, "Well, I know it's REALLY HOT" or "Oh no, it's raining...but, we have reservations at Haunted Mansion and the Tea Cups, s, we better go to the Magic Kingdom today."

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Authored by: FigmentRules on Friday, December 21 2012 @ 11:17 AM CST

I was shocked to hear how much this cost. My job, which I am pretty good at, is costing out and delivering large enterprise-level software projects. I could have done this for around $40 million. The 1.5 billion price tag seems a bit excessive. ;-)

As a Disney fan (and shareholder), I am very curious to see how this pans out in the long run. I completely agree with the comment about the average WDW guest not knowing that dining reservations are suggested months in advance. If I had to place a wager, I'd bet that 80% of the guests don't even notice it, don't use it, and are just fine without it. Maybe some of the custom experiences will make it worthwhile to participate, but then the creepy privacy thing might make it NOT worthwhile.

At the end of the day, my recommendation to anyone who asks will not change--arrive before park opening and have a touring plan.

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Authored by: AquaViola on Friday, December 21 2012 @ 02:08 PM CST

I think we need a logo for the FastPass Plus. I think it should be General Knowledge, as he may have the right frame of mind for planning everything:

"Where do you think you are, Disney World??!! Get your strollers in line and hustle! On the double! Move it, move it, move it!"

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Authored by: pacostrano on Saturday, December 22 2012 @ 10:30 AM CST

For a person like me who don't like to prepare too much in advance and also decide often to go to Disney World in last minute that will be a bummer to not have anymore the normal fast pass.

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Authored by: hydrotony on Monday, December 24 2012 @ 12:43 PM CST

On the DISboards, there is a thread that has 300+ posts about the rumor that Annual Passholders will have 20 FP+ per quarter. Rumor is that APs get 4 FP+ a day but for only 5 days per 90 days which kind of matches the resort guest rules of only 4 FP+ per park per day but only 1 park per day. I think that can't be right. Why should anyone be FORCED to use FP+ 4 times a day, either resort guests or APers.

The DISboards posts seem to fall in 2 camps: 1- FP+ is great for my way of being an AP user, or 2- FP+ is gonna suck and ruin my way of using my AP.

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Authored by: danheaton on Wednesday, January 02 2013 @ 10:54 AM CST

Every time that I hear Jim Hill on this podcast to talk about next-gen initiatives, I get depressed. This sounds like such a disaster. Disney should take the $1.5 billion as a sunk cost and move forward. Ninety percent (or more) of guests are going to hate this system, and it's going to create even more chaos in the parks than what's possible under Fastpass. I actually think that not having Fastpass at all would lead to shorter lines and less gridlock in the parks, but I know that will never happen. Such a waste of money! I hardly feel that anyone is excited about this program, which creates a class system in the parks and is going to make for an even more stressful experience.

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