Dear MaxPass - I miss you

[Lillebelle]

I'm excited to see essentially the old annual pass program returning, but I was disappointed (if unsurprised) that there was no mention of a return of the MaxPass system. So much of our enjoyment of visiting the parks in the past was feeling like we were winning at the FastPass game, maximizing the number of rides we could fit into our day while not spending too much time in line. I've been to the parks since reopening and found the lack of MaxPass greatly detracted from the experience for me.

I do NOT want the Disneyland Paris model. I don't mind paying a premium for faster ride access but I hate the idea of having to pay for each individual ride. That makes the cost feel so much worse to me -- even if the total ended up netting the same for a given day, I'm the sort who would rather pay an up front fee and then feel like all my rides were free (because I'm not having to evaluate the cost in the moment each time). The thought that Disneyland might never bring back MaxPass and could move to the Paris system is making me increasingly sad.

Am I overreacting? I'm trying to be reasonable and I do love many things about Disneyland, not just going on the rides, but the MaxPass situation is increasingly getting me down. For those that still enjoy going to the park as much as before, what strategy or mindset has helped you? Are there any redeeming qualities to the Paris system, if that's the direction they go?

 

[whoever]

A VIP tour sure seems like a bargain under the new model...

 

[dieumeye]

FastPass will be back in some form at some point.

It’s probably a coincidence, but I find the timing of the reveal of the Paris FP system and the new DL AP system with no FastPass very interesting. Are they waiting to see how it goes in Paris? Developing a version of it for DL? Who knows.

I don’t think DL will go to a per-ride model like Paris, but I wouldn’t be surprised if FP came back with more pay options.

I imagine when it comes back, something like MaxPass will be available as an add-on for the new Magic Key APs.

 

[CO2CA]

I really liked the MaxPass program as well. It was nice to add it on to an AP or regular ticket and then not have to worry about it. As the FP runner in the pre-MaxPass days, it cut down on a lot of zigzag around the park.

I still remember under the old system people could "gift" others their paper FP return time if they weren't going to use them. That was such a fun bit of Disney magic.

 

[whoever]

I still remember under the old system people could "gift" others their paper FP return time if they weren't going to use them. That was such a fun bit of Disney magic.

Man, I used to give those away left and right with indecisive children..

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I do NOT want the Disneyland Paris model. I don't mind paying a premium for faster ride access but I hate the idea of having to pay for each individual ride.

I'm with ya. Anywhere from $6 to $19 a ride from what I saw? Yikes. It'd be hard to map out how to budget too- just give me a flat price.

Everyone was really worried about what they'd do with APs and for the most part what they announced is pretty similar to before... which is good news. Maybe we can hope the same for MaxPass? Most of the strongest rumors surrounding FP being replaced are more focused on WDW.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Yes, I hope they bring MaxPass back soon! And pay per attraction would be a horrible idea. Being forced to think about how much money I'm spending every time we do something would kill the Disney bubble, like having reality and worrying about money smack you upside the head every time you wanted to go on a ride!

 

[MacMama0930]

I, too, was disappointed with the lack of FP/Max Pass upon my return to DL. I’ve been twice since reopening and before each visit I would see all these comments on my Facebook groups and whatnot talking about the short wait times. It just wasn’t my experience. Sure, wait times in general were lower than most of my other trips, but not always. Cars was consistently 75-120, Space was 45-75 most of the day, big thunder was always at 25-35 mins, etc. Those waits weren’t horrible but once you really get the Max Pass system down, know all the little tricks and how to stack them, etc, I would very rarely in a line longer than 10 mins. Between going to the park early, utilizing Early Magic Hour (when I stayed onsite - and which has yet to return either!), and FP, we would just hit ride after ride after ride. It was awesome. I would GLADLY pay a bit more for max pass. I agree with you that having to stop and think about each ride and whether you want to spend the money really sucks the fun out of it.

 

[mom2rtk]

They need everyone to forget what a nice deal MaxPass was before they roll out the new program, which could end up costing as much per ride as MaxPass was for the entire day.

 

[ktlm]

I feel like you. I want MaxPass back. I find the new Paris fast pass repulsive. Pay per ride is ridiculous.

 

[DisSurfer878]

I'm with ya. Anywhere from $6 to $19 a ride from what I saw? Yikes. It'd be hard to map out how to budget too- just give me a flat price.

I think that's per person too! So if you have a party of 6, it's $6 per person per ride, so $36 just to ride like, Big Thunder Mountain

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

Bit nervous with the announcement of the Magic Key and no fastpasss info. I thought they would want to roll out both so it could be promoted/included with the announcement of magic key. We may be a long way off from some type of fastpass. I heard they still need to staff up for it.

 

[amyg1975]

I, too, was disappointed with the lack of FP/Max Pass upon my return to DL. I’ve been twice since reopening and before each visit I would see all these comments on my Facebook groups and whatnot talking about the short wait times. It just wasn’t my experience. Sure, wait times in general were lower than most of my other trips, but not always. Cars was consistently 75-120, Space was 45-75 most of the day, big thunder was always at 25-35 mins, etc. Those waits weren’t horrible but once you really get the Max Pass system down, know all the little tricks and how to stack them, etc, I would very rarely in a line longer than 10 mins. Between going to the park early, utilizing Early Magic Hour (when I stayed onsite - and which has yet to return either!), and FP, we would just hit ride after ride after ride. It was awesome. I would GLADLY pay a bit more for max pass. I agree with you that having to stop and think about each ride and whether you want to spend the money really sucks the fun out of it.

We were at both parks yesterday and discussed this a lot. We always had APs with MaxPass. We don’t know if we will go as much as we used to without a version of MaxPass available. It sucks without it!

 

[BrianF]

Looking at the Paris version and comparing it to other parks that have single-price front of line passes (Universal for example) doesn't actually come out too different if you look at how many rides folks experience on average with them. Say it's $10 per FP, 10 attractions is $100 which is similar to what you may experience in Universal for the same overall price.
As a fan of the dining plan in WDW though I fully support the "buy once cry once" approach. I doubt I've ever really wrung the value out of a carefully spend dining plan but I like knowing it's done, I just have to deal with tips and alcohol and I'm done. MaxPass seems the same, though I know I'd wring the heck out of the value of a fixed price plan.
Hopefully they'll realize that there are folks who feel this way and even if they offer an ala-cart option they offer an all-in option too. From the perspective of folks who swing in for a few hours every once in a while the ability to drop a few bucks and not wait on BTMRR could be great but also for those of us who rope drop and close the park in the same day I'd be happy to pay the equivalent to say 10 or 12 rides and use the system all day. If, like the dining plan they price it just high enough that the average user gets convenience at a slight upcharge when they buy the all-in version and power users can get a bit extra they'll still end up ahead and allow for satisfaction with the "I only need one" crowd and the "I've just scanned my current one, time to book the next" troop, of course that seems a bit like extra work to make a bunch of guests happy so it's unlikely that Bob will approve.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Looking at the Paris version and comparing it to other parks that have single-price front of line passes (Universal for example) doesn't actually come out too different if you look at how many rides folks experience on average with them. Say it's $10 per FP, 10 attractions is $100 which is similar to what you may experience in Universal for the same overall price.

With Universal Orlando, if you stay at one of the three top hotels within the resort, they include ExpressPass, so you do not have to pay extra for them. For some families, if you price the difference between 4 ExpressPasses and 3 nights in one of the top hotels, it's often less expensive to stay in one of the top resort hotels. There are perks associated with staying at one of the Disneyland hotels, but they have never been connected to FastPass.

Also, something to consider is that entry to Disneyland Paris was less expensive than entry to CA Disneyland. The paid FastPass brought it closer in line with the entry to other Disney Parks.

MaxPass was great and I hope it comes back in another form. Maybe they are waiting for character interactions to be possible again. One of the perks of MaxPass was the photos, especially character photos, and since you can't do meet and greets with the characters yet, that may be why they are waiting.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Sure hope the "Paris Model" of paid FPs fails miserably. I know Disney has an incredible following, and many times people are willing to pay a lot extra for things Disney puts out. But paying that much for FPs is ridiculous. We've been to 4 of the Disney locations around the world, and MaxPass is our favorite FP system anywhere. Really hoping they bring it back soon.

 

[GatorChris]

I'm ticked because I finally bought 5 days passes with MaxPass. I was finally going to stop running around the park gathering tickets and then get FPs even faster. Then stupid Covid happens. And now we're hearing about a really pricey alternative. How ridiculous. Dear Disney: unlike FP+, you got MaxPass right. Please bring it back ASAP.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I feel like you. I want MaxPass back. I find the new Paris fast pass repulsive. Pay per ride is ridiculous.

I think that's per person too! So if you have a party of 6, it's $6 per person per ride, so $36 just to ride like, Big Thunder Mountain

But you still have the option of waiting standby, yes? It's like the 91 freeway, you can wait in traffic, or you can pay $8.35 to go faster.

Whether or not DL should be more like the 91 freeway is a different debate.

There's already a front-of-line version of MP called TP ..... Tour with a Plaid (aka VIP tour) for $297.50 pp ($2975/10 people @ the 7hr minimum rate as of 8/4/21). That usage has skyrocketed (per another thread) recently, so don't view this as a more expensive MP, view it as a cheaper TP!

 

[22Tink]

I'm ticked because I finally bought 5 days passes with MaxPass. I was finally going to stop running around the park gathering tickets and then get FPs even faster. Then stupid Covid happens. And now we're hearing about a really pricey alternative. How ridiculous. Dear Disney: unlike FP+, you got MaxPass right. Please bring it back ASAP.

We also had purchased tickets with MaxPass and Disney refunded me for the MaxPass portion with a gift card so you may be able to recoup some of your money at least. I do with they'd bring it back though.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I'm ticked because I finally bought 5 days passes with MaxPass. I was finally going to stop running around the park gathering tickets and then get FPs even faster. Then stupid Covid happens. And now we're hearing about a really pricey alternative. How ridiculous. Dear Disney: unlike FP+, you got MaxPass right. Please bring it back ASAP.

I hated the mandatory cool down periods of MaxPass... that was the least favorite part of the program. I'd set an alarm and pray I could get a pass that made sense, but I ended up running around the resort based on that. It dictated where I went and it was wasteful sometimes.

I submitted feedback that I wish they had tiers and you can buy a shorter retrieval window (like constant every 30 minutes, vs 90 minutes when it was peak time). Sometimes I'd spend half a day in the parks (wheels up in the afternoon), so I would have definitely paid per ride in that instance.

I think it's all about choice... I wish Chapek backed up his words and gave us the a la carte offerings he mentioned to shareholders earlier this year.