Paid FP options coming soon to WDW?

[rteetz]

Well if it's coming soon my guess it'll be right after they start cancelling all the fastpasses from those cancelled reservations that we were reading about last week . . . .

If you’ve been following along at all you’d notice that Disney has been making changes to the system internally. Changes are coming.

 

[rteetz]

I know nothing of DLP but is it more like a Six Flags thing, in that most visitors only go for a day not a week?

Yes and no. DLP has suffered some dark times but things are on the rise since Disney bought it out. They have several resort hotels and all of them have or will be going through major renovations.

 

[NJlauren]

I know nothing of DLP but is it more like a Six Flags thing, in that most visitors only go for a day not a week?

From my research it’s not quite six flags, but not exactly wdw either.

Maybe more like DL in lots of locals but some visitors staying a few days.

 

[DavidNYC]

The original post on that thread is not the specifics of this rumor. Read the rest of the thread.

I did and it still reads like the "Oooh - I'm going to tease you with some very vague details and then say how they're not allowed to say more". Whenever I see rumors being spread by someone playing games, I find them nearly always to be false. It's the type of rumor that any further monetization of FP will allow them to say that they knew about it. And clearly there's going to be some add'l upcharge experiences coming. I don't doubt we're going to see some new things for at least the first few months of SWGE. But a random thread - and not even a thread - a response in a thread - being reported no where else - doesn't seem cause for the reaction we're seeing. Disney IT is hardly keeping up with it's current system and I'm to believe that they're going to roll out a MASSIVE change (a change that will involve customers paying money when they won't be able to shrug their shoulders at IT issues as easily as they do now) at the same time they're about to undergo a massive increase in stress on the system. The scale of these changes technologically - and the fact that they'd undo much of what they just spent years building - are going to cause me to place this one in the "exaggerated" column until I see some other verification.

 

[rteetz]

I did and it still reads like the "Oooh - I'm going to tease you with some very vague details and then say how they're not allowed to say more". Whenever I see rumors being spread by someone playing games, I find them nearly always to be false. It's the type of rumor that any further monetization of FP will allow them to say that they knew about it. And clearly there's going to be some add'l upcharge experiences coming. I don't doubt we're going to see some new things for at least the first few months of SWGE. But a random thread - and not even a thread - a response in a thread - being reported no where else - doesn't seem cause for the reaction we're seeing. Disney IT is hardly keeping up with it's current system and I'm to believe that they're going to roll out a MASSIVE change (a change that will involve customers paying money when they won't be able to shrug their shoulders at IT issues as easily as they do now) at the same time they're about to undergo a massive increase in stress on the system. The scale of these changes technologically - and the fact that they'd undo much of what they just spent years building - are going to cause me to place this one in the "exaggerated" column until I see some other verification.

Doesn’t seem you have ever followed anything Martin posts then. People like him are intentionally vague to not risk peoples jobs. I have done the same at times. He truly has the best track record of anyone, I’ve been tracking Disney rumors for years now. Believe what you want.

 

[tlmadden73]

Not surprising -- very business-like. Offer something for free, get people hooked and then take it away and charge for the privilege. Like free parking at the resorts!

They had to do something to limit supply. if the only way to get a FP at 60 days for high demand attractions (like SDD and FoP) is to have a LONG stay, I am sure they get some unsatisfied guests. I had a 4-night trip, and couldnt get SDD on the last day of my trip. That stinks and doesnt make the resort 60 day bonus much of a perk. Too much planning and arranging needs to be done to get what you really want .. thus Disney can charge for it.

Just feels like Disney is striving to be just ANOTHER theme park rather than something different. I mean Six Flags and Universal has been doing it for decades. Why start now Disney? The FP thing has made it feel so different.

Disappointed, but at the same time, if that means you can GUARANTEE a FP for a top tier ride over the next few years -- like Guardians, or Tron, or Ratatouille, or both Star Wars rides .. or SDD or Flight of Passage .. Then .. people will gobble this up.

It all comes down to the implementation and the price point. I dont want to pay for a 3rd fast pass and still not be able to get a top tier attraction at my 60 day mark.

People have paid a pretty high premium for park hopping for years now (even if they dont really use it), many will pay for a 3rd fast pass without batting an eye.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Any timetable on when this might happen? People are already hitting the May booking window and not reporting a change to the system. Disney will have to give some sort of notice similar to what they did with date-based tickets... With bookings being soft for the summer I cant see this helping them... i am also convinced that the earlier then expected phased opening for SWGE has to do with ppl putting off their trips until it opens. Maybe they will wait until they start seeing peak crowds again.

 

[rteetz]

Any timetable on when this might happen? People are already hitting the May booking window and not reporting a change to the system. Disney will have to give some sort of notice similar to what they did with date-based tickets... With bookings being soft for the summer I cant see this helping them... i am also convinced that the earlier then expected phased opening for SWGE has to do with ppl putting off their trips until it opens. Maybe thry will wait until they start seeing peak crowds again.

Only thing said is sometime this year.

 

[Sarah1024]

If you’ve been following along at all you’d notice that Disney has been making changes to the system internally. Changes are coming.

What changes have they made? Like to MDX?

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Ack. My FP day is May 1, and I'm working on my FP plan.

If this thing hits our trip, I hope:
1. It doesn't bust our budget to keep the same plan we have
2. They give us enough warning to rework plans as needed prior to May 1

This is making me

 

[SG131]

You know sometimes I wonder if certain rumors aren’t released on purpose so Disney can get a feel for reactions and see how far they can push things. Personally, I feel like they could push it so that you weren’t able to get more than 3 fp with only minor overall grumbling. I think if they try to reduce the entitlement from 3 to 2 or 1 that’s where the real backlash will come into play.

As others have said if they didn’t already have the system one free fp May seem generous but since it’s been 3 to start with for so long, anything less will cause some uproar. I know ultimately they’re all about the bottom line, but they do care slightly about bad publicity and I think this change might generate more than they’re comfortable with. Only time will tell how much people will speak up.

I feel like extending the club level fp would be faced with much less backlash. You pay for extra fp and get to book earlier than 60 days. It will make some of the headliners even harder to book at 60 days without actually eliminating existing headliners from the free fp system.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Whatever plan they come out with we will obviously live with it and it probably won't be all that bad.

My main issue is that we have time to stew and speculate with no knowledge of when this will be announced.

Ack. My FP day is May 1, and I'm working on my FP plan.

If this thing hits our trip, I hope:
1. It doesn't bust our budget to keep the same plan we have
2. They give us enough warning to rework plans as needed prior to May 1

This is making me

Same. I have a plan for my July trip ready to roll.

 

[evlaina]

As usual, I am baffled by the acceptance and sometimes desire for Disney to charge them more.

It's paying for convenience. If I could pay to skip lines at WDW, that time is more valuable to me than the money is. Everyone has a limit of course, but that varies for every single guest. I'm still a new guest (only been December 2018 and booked for this September) and I think newer guests are looking for add-ons like this to make life easier. Maybe it's a Millennial thing, we'll pay for the convenience?

 

[rteetz]

What changes have they made? Like to MDX?

Yes there have been internal changes as noted in the FP cancellation thread. Split Stays for example are being affected.

 

[mixmastertoy]

It totally makes sense. They charge in Disneyland. They may charge more for SWGE there and try it out and boom here it is in WDW... Ive been to Disney so many times that rides dont even matter anymore but I would probably still pay to not wait in lines for new things.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

It's paying for convenience. If I could pay to skip lines at WDW, that time is more valuable to me than the money is. Everyone has a limit of course, but that varies for every single guest. I'm still a new guest (only been December 2018 and booked for this September) and I think newer guests are looking for add-ons like this to make life easier. Maybe it's a Millennial thing, we'll pay for the convenience?

I think this policy will also disincentivize longer trips... Why take a week to experience all that disney has to offer when you can “do more” in less time if you buy an unlimited fastpass package with your 1 or 2 day parkhopper... It may backfire on disney if they cheapen the free fps too much.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I wonder if the split stay change is a necessary part of paying for FP:

Somehow, there will be a reason/benefit to tie the pay for FP with your resort reservation (discount price, earlier booking window, etc). And, this is a per day thing. Therefore, the booking window has to match the actual days of the resort reservation.

 

[Patches Lee]

I assume in all the tickets/packages that Disney sells, whether on site, off site, DS hotels, or deluxe hotels, that there is wording that everything is subject to change. Their lawyers for sure have taken care of that so they can change any program that they want at any time.

Think just having "up to 60 days" and "up to 3 fastpass" covers them being able to change what is available. Along with they state the number of attractions and time is subject to availability.

 

[SaharanTea]

Whatever plan they come out with we will obviously live with it and it probably won't be all that bad.

My main issue is that we have time to stew and speculate with no knowledge of when this will be announced.

Same. I have a plan for my July trip ready to roll.

If they take away 4th fast passes (refresh method, if you will), I'd consider that Disney apocalypse-level bad.

 

[DisLiss]

I think this policy will also disincentivize longer trips... Why take a week to experience all that disney has to offer when you can “do more” in less time if you buy an unlimited fastpass package with your 1 or 2 day parkhopper... It may backfire on disney if they cheapen the free fps too much.

That's a good point. Especially when paired with what I was saying earlier...paying for fast passes for a family for a week or more of park visits might be very costly. And seriously, if people pay for no lines the first few days, they aren't going to want to spend the rest of their trip in lines after having been "spoiled", kwim? So if there is no way to afford fast passes for a whole 8-10 day trip, and they are able to get through all 4 parks in 4 days (or at least what they really want to do in all 4 parks), as you pointed out, why stay the extra time? Go spend the rest of your vacation time checking out the rest of what Orlando has to offer instead.