[wdwspider]

With less guests coming to the World, is FastPass actually hurting the parks. Do they speed the guests day up enough to actually counteract their purpose when the parks are realitively empty to begin with? Rather than go into my whole thought reasoning on this, I'll just see what others think first. I know the idea of Fastpass was to allow more time for people to eat and shop and be able to get on rides faster when crowds are heavy, but lately I'm not sure if this is still happening.

[Willbegone]

As of March 8-13 FastPass was a God send!! We wouldn't have accomplished 1/2 of what we did with out it. Granted during really slow periods it may not be helpful but to us it was WONDERFUL!! We didn't get near as cranky as we usually do because we weren't stuck in line all the time. :D

[gcbdad]

The FastPass has worked for my DF in a really good way. We often get a fast pass then get in line and try and time the ride so that we can go right back on once we get off the first time. This helps with my DD's and DS, who are all under the age of 6. Once we get off of a ride they always want to go right back on so this works great.

[CaribBeachNut]

I think the FastPass has certainly lost some of its utility. It was originally available only to those staying "on Disney property". Which made it a valuable, sought after perk. Now, it is available to everyone inside the park, whether staying on Disney property or not. During my last trip, by the early afternoon, some of the Fastpass kiosks were closed down and covered because they had already given out their days allotment of FastPasses. Without the FastPass, there were hours waiting in line.
Not a good prospect.

[Willbegone]

That would be nice if they would go back to making it a perk for on site guests. I didn't know it was ever like that, IMHO that would be a BIG attractive option to people who couldn't decide between onsite vs offsite. I do like the fact that at Disney it is free at Six Flags over Georgia there is a fee for this service like $25 I think. :madmad

[wdwspider]

I can certainly see the value in keeping guests happy, but do you find that you leave the parks earlier now that FastPass is in place, or do you just get to do more things in a day? I think Fastpass is hurtful in Animal Kingdom, I get done with the park by lunch time every time. Do you find that you spend more excess cash when using Fastpass or do you just ride the rides more? Maybe guests leaving earlier and happier simply means Disney can afford to close earlier and still be all the better off for it, I don't know.

Personally I love Fastpass and use it often. Now that Disney has introduced it they would be hard pressed to get rid of it.

Think abbout this, I find hundreds of guests still don't get Fastpass, they think it's paid for priviledges or do not understand it. As time goes on and more and more use it will it become a bigger problem and will Fastpass distruibutions be shut down earlier and earlier? Does anyone suspect that some rides may be created and used solely on a Fastpass service. The more time intensive a ride becomes the more likely I could see this option. For example I could see Who wants to be a millionaire becoming that type of attraction, where you get a time for the show at the beginning of the day and then everyone just shows up rather than having a stand by line at all.

Just throwing some more ideas out. Fastpass is quite interesting to me. Especially at capacity Parks like WDW has.

[PhantomBantam]

"Ride only" attendees are the only reason FastPass could "hurt" the parks for sales in dining and gifts as you alluded to above.

But of all the valid and yet various reasons people would use the system it basically boils down to convenience. Riders and nonriders alike...What they choose to do with the time "saved" is so varied it seems Disney, out of sheer probability, will benefit from the attendees being given a chance to shop with the time saved. Remember, you don't have that choice in line. FastPass quells long line complaints and provides possibilities of expanded happiness. And that means more money.

[tiggerlover1971]

I agree that it hasnt hurt anything personally I like getting a fast pass and then go do something else or shop.I also agree that I think they should put it back to being a perk that if you stayed inside the park you get it or if you own an annual pass it should be a perk for that but other than that I love Fast pass I have never had any problems using it and when we have gone since 9/11 they have been closed because there was no need for it since it was slow when we went .

[fanatic720]

i believe that fastpass is a convienience in disney that i prefer not to use, burt is not hurting the experience any. i actually think it frees up time fir shopping, eating, and other pleasures in theme parks.

[Willbegone]

Here is one suggestion I have for them though. Instead of not being able to get another fast pass until your hour is passed MAYBE they could have machine that takes the pass as you enter the fastpass que and when this machine takes your fast pass it will clear you to get another one. Does that make sense?? :dazed

[PhantomBantam]

How about making your appointments, all at once, before you enter the park. If there is a 10 hour day you get 10 appointments (ten rides). Your favorite ten in any combination to be fastpassed hourly.

I personally would love the prep time for that day!

[wdwspider]

Originally posted by tiggerlover1971
they have been closed because there was no need for it since it was slow when we went .

This is where I'm coming from, I did not realize they did this. See, my point is when the park is low on attendance, then FastPass may speed people up so much that they leave the park much earlier. That's exactly where my thought process was when I posted the thread... the days that Disney parks are very slow. In this situation I think Fastpass may become harmful, then again, maybe Disney is just able to shrink operatin hours that much more, which is what I believe is happening right now. I think that lower attendance combined with Fastpass is causing reduced hours in April and May unlike we have seen in the past. However, it seems a countermeasure would be to not distribute Fastpass in a day, and according to Tiggerlover does happen on occasion. I would never say Fastpass is hurtful to the individual, it will never do that.

fanatic720 - Why would you not use FastPass?

[Willbegone]

Originally posted by PhantomBantam
How about making your appointments, all at once, before you enter the park. If there is a 10 hour day you get 10 appointments (ten rides). Your favorite ten in any combination to be fastpassed hourly.

I personally would love the prep time for that day!

Hmmm... That is an interesting point. Personnally I would love that but my DH on the other hand would not. Maybe if they appointments were an option for the REALLY busy rides like Space Mountain, Kali River Rapids, etc. where the fast passes can be gone by late morning on busy days?!?!? :hmmm They could also make this a resort option only which would guarantee resort guests a fast pass for the ride of their choice. :hmmm :hmmm

[disneycouple30]

Right after 9/11 we were in the parks. That Friday after there were hardly anyone there. The FastPass booth were covered up and weren't being used. When there is a real slow time in the Parks you will find that only those rides like Space Mountain are really using the FassPass option. Last December we saw a couple of days that Test Track was the only FastPass that was being used in EPCOT and the Disney Studio. So no I don't think that the Fast Pass are hurting business.