State of Fast Pass Return (or replacement)

[Greg P.]

I feel this. We have rented dvc points for next spring, so non-refundable. And we knew that something like this was a possibility when we booked and decided to go ahead anyway - we’ll make the best of it no matter what. But I’m getting less and less excited, and at this point I’m basically considering this upcoming trip a barometer for whether or not we’ll return after that.

Exactly how we feel. Have a trip booked for my wife's 30th birthday for January and rented DVC points. We're huge WDW fans and had an annual pass pre-covid and we live in NJ. This upcoming trip for me is feeling like a make or break trip. Depending on what happens between now and then it might be the last trip I book for a long long time.

 

[Brett Wyman]

If you aren't scared right now, you aren't paying attention. The new DLP FP program is a travesty and something that would perhaps finally push me over the "Im done with Disney" line. And thats saying a lot as Im tolerant of most things and understand at the end of the day Disney is a business. But too much is too much. Disney greed is currently out of control. Fingers crossed WDWs new plan is different. Im okay with paid FP as long as its a single price.

 

[Axelskater]

The more Disney copies Universal, I have to ask myself why not change our vacation priorities with a stay at Universal with a day or two at WDW instead of the other way around. I really do believe, as many pp on Disboards have expressed, that with many of these and other more recent changes (elimination of DME, EMH, and Fastpass+, added resort parking fees, no nighttime parade/show, etc) that Disney has ceded discriminators to Universal and SeaWorld in favor of increased charges/guest spending. As much as I have enjoyed WDW in the past, I don't see that it will be my primary Orlando destination in the future. I expect that while WDW will continue to see decent revenue growth, it will continue to experience declining market share in terms of guest attendance. Eventually, they will reach a tipping point where they can't increase per guest spending to compensate for declining attendance. But that's probably quite a ways off. Just enough for Darth Chapek to leave the company as a takeover target. Sorry to sound bitter. I hope I'm wrong.

I just booked a Portofino Bay stay for November. I am looking forward to it, I just do not want to put up with the hassle of lines with no passes, lack of entertainment, many of my favorite Dining experiences still gone, and Disney's "staffing" issues.

 

[tigger2002]

I just booked a Portofino Bay stay for November. I am looking forward to it, I just do not want to put up with the hassle of lines with no passes, lack of entertainment, many of my favorite Dining experiences still gone, and Disney's "staffing" issues.

My nephew and his family (there are 6-8 that normally go) live nine hours from Disney World but have annual passes and go there at least five times a year. They are DVC members. Disney is the only place they have been on vacation. They are at Portofino Bay right now (Universal Studios).

 

[Axelskater]

But, is it worth allocating resources in order to make this check? Resale owners represent only a small subset of all DVC owners (it’s estimated at 10% by some) and there’s no way to distinguish “renters“ from “guests of DVC blue card owners” because DVC does request that info.. It’s possible to write the code, it’s another thing to incorporate it using Disney’s crappy system.

And I’m not even sure that they can legally carve out an exclusion of white card owners and renters but give the perk to cash guests who are technically DVC‘s renters (either staying on breakage points or developer points which were used to reserve their room and paying cash for the privilege).

It listed Deluxe and Deluxe villa for the night time EMH...not a word about DVC so you are probably right, more about "location" than what you own or how you got there. Many of us do own a hybrid of both, sometimes I stay at a Villa using a DVC cash rate, Sometimes I buy OTU points to get an extra night....lately I just rent out my points and go other places while Disney is in the very long and drawn out process of getting its act together.

 

[Lewisc]

Quite possible. They won't restrict DAS or VIP/Club 33 who currently use the FP line (and always have). But changing the number of guests that can return on a rider swap seems like it could be a precursor to expecting an increase in use of FP lines....

Stopping a few guests from riding twice is a sign of increasing crowds. It will, slightly, make more capacity available for both potential FP and standby lines.

 

[Axelskater]

The problem is that they underestimated how quickly people would push for “normalcy”. That’s why they are facing staffing issues and being forced to keep in step with Universal who has removed capacity caps and has Express Pass working.

Perhaps, but that is why the execs make the big bucks right? All the execs had to do was drive around FL. I have been in FL about once every 3 or 4 weeks since LAST July vacationing. Disney was by far the most restrictive place in the entire state (which is one reason I largely stayed away from OC except for a day here or there). Most other places I went - with the exception of indoor masks in some places - were already "normal".

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Perhaps, but that is why the execs make the big bucks right? All the execs had to do was drive around FL. I have been in FL about once every 3 or 4 weeks since LAST July vacationing. Disney was by far the most restrictive place in the entire state (which is one reason I largely stayed away from OC except for a day here or there). Most other places I went - with the exception of indoor masks in some places - were already "normal".

You realize that almost none of the high level Disney execs live in Florida right? Disney prides itself on being more risk averse than other organizations and was very happy to benefit from feeling “safe” in the midst of the pandemic. It’s also much larger than any other entertainment organization in Florida. Returning to “normal” isn’t exactly like flipping a switch. Don’t kid yourself, the world isn’t fully normal yet, and the pandemic was in full force up until a couple of months ago when vaccinations started to increase.

 

[Mousefan mom]

If you aren't scared right now, you aren't paying attention. The new DLP FP program is a travesty and something that would perhaps finally push me over the "Im done with Disney" line. And thats saying a lot as Im tolerant of most things and understand at the end of the day Disney is a business. But too much is too much. Disney greed is currently out of control. Fingers crossed WDWs new plan is different. Im okay with paid FP as long as its a single price.

I feel the exact same way. I would haven't minded a paid FP option similar to Universal (you can do a day at a time, get it for free with the deluxe resorts, etc.) but this option of having to pay per person per ride--in US dollars on a "lower crowd/ less expensive time of year" our family of 4 would pay $40 for ONE ride on top of the cost of the theme park ticket. I loved the idea of virtual cues--but I don't want to have to be tied to my phone all day while in the parks--vacation (especially if you are with your kids) should be about unplugging to me....we go in a few weeks and this may be the last time we do WDW for a very very long time. Universal is actually looking a lot more appealing if I want theme parks each day...

 

[Axelskater]

My nephew and his family (there are 6-8 that normally go) live nine hours from Disney World but have annual passes and go there at least five times a year. They are DVC members. Disney is the only place they have been on vacation. They are at Portofino Bay right now (Universal Studios).

That is pretty much us too...though there are only 2 of us. I am pretty excited to check out Portofino!

 

[Karin1984]

If you aren't scared right now, you aren't paying attention. The new DLP FP program is a travesty and something that would perhaps finally push me over the "Im done with Disney" line. And thats saying a lot as Im tolerant of most things and understand at the end of the day Disney is a business. But too much is too much. Disney greed is currently out of control. Fingers crossed WDWs new plan is different. Im okay with paid FP as long as its a single price.

I wouldn't be surprised if there will be a kind of package deal. DLP already had a paid FP option, one-time all FP rides and unlimited all FP rides. The price they have now per ride is not much different from the total.
With the option to pay per ride as Shanghai has, it lowers the threshold for people to use it.

 

[Axelskater]

You realize that almost none of the high level Disney execs live in Florida right? Disney prides itself on being more risk averse than other organizations and was very happy to benefit from feeling “safe” in the midst of the pandemic. It’s also much larger than any other entertainment organization in Florida. Returning to “normal” isn’t exactly like flipping a switch. Don’t kid yourself, the world isn’t fully normal yet, and the pandemic was in full force up until a couple of months ago when vaccinations started to increase.

I know they do not live in Florida, but they do get paid to keep up with what travelers want. The rest of Florida was packed. From Tampa to Palm Beach, to even the Panhandle, to South Florida, to JAX there were crowds of people just living life and vacationing. Except for mask requirements in some counties, it was pretty normal. I spent 9 weeks of the last year throughout FL.
It isn't that they had to make Disney normal by flipping switch. I said if they had looked at the trends maybe they would have realized they had better get their act together quickly. The Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the beaches of Tampa or JAX and many other places in FL were already very busy by Christmas and never slowed. If the execs paid close attention, they would have known that many people were getting back to normal sooner rather than later.

 

[ForWhomTheMouseTolls]

I know they do not live in Florida, but they do get paid to keep up with what travelers want. The rest of Florida was packed. From Tampa to Palm Beach, to even the Panhandle, to South Florida, to JAX there were crowds of people just living life and vacationing. Except for mask requirements in some counties, it was pretty normal. I spent 9 weeks of the last year throughout FL.
It isn't that they had to make Disney normal by flipping switch. I said if they had looked at the trends maybe they would have realized they had better get their act together quickly. The Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the beaches of Tampa or JAX and many other places in FL were already very busy by Christmas and never slowed. If the execs paid close attention, they would have known that many people were getting back to normal sooner rather than later.

The mods have asked that we keep Covid out of our discussions. I don’t think there is a way to respond to this without diving into Covid. As such, I’d encourage everyone to move into a different element of this conversation. Appreciate your thoughts, Axel.

 

[Lewisc]

Businesses, including Disney, were surprised with the speed, timing, of CDC guidelines being rapidly phased out.

Disney was using CDC guidelines as a major factor in determining park policies. Policies of other parks and local governments had less input.

I'm not discussing Covid, not debating the merits of following science based suggestions

 

[Jrb1979]

While people may complain about paying for FP if it happens, many Disney fans have shown they end up accepting it. Look no further then the amount of people who paid to get into DCA just to buy food.

 

[ChipnDale79]

deleted. decided not to weigh in on Covid.

 

[mom2rtk]

Looks like you don't get to pick your time window - it assigns you a time similar to RotR.

That's interesting. It wouldn't matter to me, but I wonder why. Surely those slots get filled ASAP regardless.

 

[mom2rtk]

While people may complain about paying for FP if it happens, many Disney fans have shown they end up accepting it. Look no further then the amount of people who paid to get into DCA just to buy food.

For many, funds are finite. They can't just decide to double the price of their tickets.

 

[Karin1984]

For many, funds are finite. They can't just decide to double the price of their tickets.

But it's not that they need many to buy the FP. They just need the privileged few to do so.

 

[Hamptonite]

That's interesting. It wouldn't matter to me, but I wonder why. Surely those slots get filled ASAP regardless.

Yeah, either their current system would show availability until you tried to select it/submit and then it not be available or people would end up with nothing trying to find the best time. Either way they were getting complaints.