Get rid of Standby altogether, for Fastpass Attractions

[Barbaraann]

After seeing 2 hour standby lines for Toy Story Mania at DHS, and fastpasses gone by noon, on my last vacation, I came up with this idea.

For Fastpass Attractions, there will be no standby line. Just a Fastpass Line, and you can only ride the attraction with a Fastpass. You are entitled to get a Fastpass for each Fastpass attraction as soon as you enter the park. You are then able to enjoy each of the Fastpass attractions, in any given park after the stated time on your Fastpass. Each park ticket will be keyed to allow that guest a Fastpass for each Fastpass attraction. Of course, this also means that you can only possibly ride the ride once in any given day.

My grandson says it's a bad idea. I said, I'd rather know that an attraction no longer has any fastpasses, than wait in a line that says anywhere from 40 minutes to perhaps 70 minutes when you get in it, and ends up to be over 2 hours before you actually get on the ride, The Fastpass line has actually made the posted standby time totally inaccurate.

So is my grandson right? Is it a bad idea? He thought it was terrible that our 1 hour wait turned into a 2 hour wait, so I'm not quite sure why he thinks this is a bad idea.

If you get your fastpass early, you should be able to ride your ride sometime during the day. Of course, for popular rides, such as Toy Story Mania, that may only be guaranteed, if you get to the park as early as possible in the day.

[Kidgenie]

Originally Posted by Barbaraann

After seeing 2 hour standby lines for Toy Story Mania at DHS, and fastpasses gone by noon, on my last vacation, I came up with this idea.

For Fastpass Attractions, there will be no standby line. Just a Fastpass Line, and you can only ride the attraction with a Fastpass. You are entitled to get a Fastpass for each Fastpass attraction as soon as you enter the park. You are then able to enjoy each of the Fastpass attractions, in any given park after the stated time on your Fastpass. Each park ticket will be keyed to allow that guest a Fastpass for each Fastpass attraction. Of course, this also means that you can only possibly ride the ride once in any given day.

My grandson says it's a bad idea. I said, I'd rather know that an attraction no longer has any fastpasses, than wait in a line that says anywhere from 40 minutes to perhaps 70 minutes when you get in it, and ends up to be over 2 hours before you actually get on the ride, The Fastpass line has actually made the posted standby time totally inaccurate.

So is my grandson right? Is it a bad idea? He thought it was terrible that our 1 hour wait turned into a 2 hour wait, so I'm not quite sure why he thinks this is a bad idea.

If you get your fastpass early, you should be able to ride your ride sometime during the day. Of course, for popular rides, such as Toy Story Mania, that may only be guaranteed, if you get to the park as early as possible in the day.

Most of the time the posted wait time for the stand by line is accurate. Fastpast does not impeed that process. They had out little red cards on shoe string lanyards every couple of minutes to random guests in the standby line. They are time trackers, like wise at the attraction boarding end every couple of minutes, a guest gives the card to the boarding host, who gets is scanned and in doing so updates the data that displays the attractions wait time. The system is not perfect. When a attractions shuts down due to technical problems, it will create a lag time. the stand by line will slow down . When it re-opens they will "catch up" on the fast pass line and as they are doing do, they will slow down the stand by, but it will take some scans before this information gets updated the wait time is adjusted. But if the attraction is running smoothly, the posted wait time will actually be slightly exaggerated then the real wait time.

[BANANAZ]

Then it wouldn't be a Fastpass, would it?

[ti2gr]

I say get rid of fast pass all together.

[clockworkmonkey]

Fastpasses tend to really screw up the posted wait times once a day - when the first round of fast passes kick in. Before that, the standby line is the only line and is moving much more quickly. After about two hours, the fastpass queue kicks in, severely lengthening the wait in the standby line. At that point, a new little red card hasn't made it though the line yet to readjust the posted time.

Of course, given that this happens all the time, you'd think they would know to adjust the wait times accordingly about 20 minutes before the fastpasses start kicking in.

[ICe101]

This is a bad idea. First off, do you know how many people already don't know how to use fastpasses. This would be a hassle that Disney does not need nor want to deal with. Plus there is no great benefit. This ruins the purpose of Fastpass.

[disneyNEWdad]

Either get a fastpass when you get there and be the lucky few.

or

Get rid of fastpass i dont see the point and they do seem to let in a lot of people. However on that note theres no way im waiting in the splash line! lol always fastpass that.

[Bill]

Your grandson is right! Fastpass needs to be removed. If you want your problemt to go away, then this needs to happen, but it is also highly unlikely: Then the prices to enter the parks need to be raised to a level where crowds are no longer a major problem. (Effectively limiting attendance each day... perhaps some days of the week or year could be more expensive than others)

[Barbaraann]

My grandson isn't against Fastpass. He told me that my idea was crazy, when I mentioned it to him yesterday. He was the one who we dragged into the line, when the standby time said 70 minutes. He was the one that then waited with us for 2 hours to ride the ride. He was the one who later complained, about all of the above, and said that the ride wasn't wonderful enough to warrant that 2 hour wait.

Basically Fastpass is a reservation to ride a ride. I don't see why all park guests can't be given a reservation for each of the most popular rides in a park. These should be distributed on a first come, first serve basis. You then have the rest of the day to ride the ride, after the time on each individual fastpass.

Somebody, says than it wouldn't be fastpass, if the standby line was eliminated. I wonder just how long someone actually waited to ride that ride, in the fastpass lane, the day that I was there. The day that I waited 2 hours.

Fast to me, is about 5, or 10 minutes, 20 at the most. I doubt that happened that day.

I don't like fastpass. Get rid of it altogether, or if it exists for a ride, get rid of the standby line. 2 lines competing with each other, just doesn't make sense in my book. It just makes things worse.

By the time you ride the ride, you are stressed out, and in my case, heading for the nearest bathroom.

[gamedude6245]

Well the main idea behind fast passes is to use your time management skills so that you will get a low queue time for your particular ride at a specified time block. For instance the fast passes for soaring during peak season at WDW are always gone before twelve same with toy story midway mania at Hollywood studios. Depending on what time you get to X park you should look on the map for rides that you expect to have long stand-by queue times and get fast passes for those specified rides. Also correct me if im wrong but arent there a specified number of people that could get a fast pass for a certain time block such as 5pm-7pm est = idk 50-100 people. if that block for fast passes caps out it will most likely roll over to the next time block. ok

[Boxalarm]

Originally Posted by Bill

Your grandson is right! Fastpass needs to be removed. If you want your problemt to go away, then this needs to happen, but it is also highly unlikely: Then the prices to enter the parks need to be raised to a level where crowds are no longer a major problem. (Effectively limiting attendance each day... perhaps some days of the week or year could be more expensive than others)

Oh yes, lets encourage Disney to raise prices more....while we're at it let's also ask the oil companies to raise the gas prices even higher so less people will want to drive or fly to Orlando!

[joanna71985]

I wish that TSM would get rid of the FPs altogether. I think that would help cut down on wait times.

[Barbaraann]

Standing in line for an attraction is a necessary evil of the Theme Park experience. The Toy Story Mania Cue is one of the better ones, but when you are at a dead standstill for so long, you get a little weary. Or sometimes, a lot weary. Sure, you can catch up on your texting, or read a book, but didn't we come to the park in the first place to ride the ride?

Now the line is going to be long, all the time, for some very popular rides. With my idea, you will pick up your fastpass early in the day, and return at a specified time. I believe your wait will be shorter, because there will be only one line, not two competing with each other.

About the fact that some people don't know how to use the fastpass system, well with my idea, they will learn pretty quickly. They will approach Toy Story Mania, and want to ride, and they will need a fastpass ticket to enter. No fastpass, no entry. They will then be directed to just where they can get that fastpass. All fastpass attractions are now attended by castmembers, checking tickets, so that part doesn't change. That castmember can tell guests exactly how things work., if they haven't already figured things out for themselves. The wait time will now be posted for the only line, which is the fastpass line, and I still say, over all, people will wait a shorter time.

[LucyintheSky]

Sorry, but it's not a good idea. First, I just don't think it would work. And I don't like the idea of being limited to riding anything only once. I just spent the day at the MK a few weeks ago, and rode Splash and Big Thunder several times each, using both FPs and the Standby lines. I would have been extremely annoyed if I had only been "allowed" to ride each once. I think alot of people would have the same attitude, of, "I spent a lot of money to be here, so I'll ride what I want, and how many times I feel like, thank you very much." The way things are, some days when crowds are high, you might not be able to do as much as other days, but that's the chances you take when you go to any theme park.

I don't have a problem with FP. If you use it smartly, it can be a huge help.

[sleepyjeff]

There is a 3rd way.....or what I like to call the FIRST way.

The problem with no fastpass is that some people keep getting on the ride/attraction over and over again with the only cost to them a wait in a line.

With fp, you get to ride more quickly but only after a period of time has passed....during which you may crowd that attraction or some other attractions line. Net result.....long waits for all again.

With an only fp system you would still have the undue crowding of non-fp attractions not to mention the inability for anyone to ride a fp attraction more than once.....which will just encourage people to make those non-fp attractions even more crowded yet. The only way this could really work is if every single attraction had it.

But, there once was a time when lines had two checks against getting too long.

Check one was, of course, the wait itself. People would check out the wait time and determine for themselves if they thought it was worth the wait.....

Check two, and this is the more important one, was an actual monetary cost to getting in line....A - E tickets. If you have a ticket book with only 5 E-tickets inside you will have a good reason not to queue up for the same attraction over and over again and instead perhaps break up your E-ticket riding marathon with a visit to some of the less expensive attractions, or taking in a free show, or eating at a full service restaurant(instead of churros and turkey legs), etc.

Walt knew what he was doing.......the turkeys runnning the show now, not so much