new enforcement of fastpass

[mini-V]

The system isn't designed to work other than the way it was set up. It throws off times if the passes aren't used during thr listed times.

[grumpy of ohio]

glad they are going to enforce the rules, should have right from the beginning....now there won't be tons of people lining up with their expired [asses at the end of the night......now if they would get rid of the dining plans....I would really be happy........

[supernova]

glad they are going to enforce the rules, should have right from the beginning....now there won't be tons of people lining up with their expired [asses at the end of the night......now if they would get rid of the dining plans....I would really be happy........

Amen. Those cheapskates really annoy me. Enough with the free food. And more limited ADRs would help. I can barely plan out tomorrow night's dinner. Do I really know/care where I should be eating 90 days out from my vacation? HelI no.

[WDW4Ever]

The more I think about it, the more I think that either A) They should limit how many fastpasses one can get during the course of a day, 2 or 3 maybe, or B) Just get rid of fastpass all together.

During my last few trips to Disneyland I think I used 1 maybe 2 a day (excluding World of Color). And that was only when lines were starting to get a little long and we were a little tired or we had other places to be. We would always keep in mind our windows for getting new fastpasses and our return window and ALWAYS be there within the window. What we would do is get a fastpass, stand in queue for one or two attractions, then use the fastpass.

There's a difference between working the system and exploiting the system.

[doconeill]

The system isn't designed to work other than the way it was set up. It throws off times if the passes aren't used during thr listed times.

If it really threw it off significantly, they would have enforced it years ago.

The system was designed to get people out of the lines (and ideally into areas where they spend money, like the restaurants and shops). The return window itself doesn't do that.

When originally designed, they tried to go with just a "return after" time. But they found in testing that most people, with just that time, showed up at or before that time - they didn't understand that they could come back later than the time. Things spread out a bit more when they put an hour on there...still, the vast majority of FPs is used within the first 10 minutes of the window.

This change isn't about closing a loophole, or excessive abuse...the upcoming reservation system (commonly called "X-Pass") would require strict enforcement of the times to functionally work, so they'll be enforcing it for everything, and doing it now will get both the CMs and the guests used to it before everything goes nuts with X-Pass...

[WDW4Ever]

This change isn't about closing a loophole, or excessive abuse...the upcoming reservation system (commonly called "X-Pass") would require strict enforcement of the times to functionally work, so they'll be enforcing it for everything, and doing it now will get both the CMs and the guests used to it before everything goes nuts with X-Pass...

I get the feeling that this NextGen and XPass stuff is going to really throw those of us off or render us moot that prefer to wing it.

[doconeill]

I get the feeling that this NextGen and XPass stuff is going to really throw those of us off or render us moot that prefer to wing it.

The plan seems to be (based on the internal CM memo sent a couple days ago) to increase the use of Fastpass (in whichever form), which means that if you typically use the standby lines, you better hope that X-Pass pulls a lot of people out of those lines...but I can foresee various ways that it will mess things up...

[WDW4Ever]

Pretty soon it's going to be like Universal Studios Hollywood. Buy a VIP Pass and get front-of-the-line access all day.

[Thom Morrow]

Amen. Those cheapskates really annoy me. Enough with the free food. And more limited ADRs would help. I can barely plan out tomorrow night's dinner. Do I really know/care where I should be eating 90 days out from my vacation? HelI no.

Seriously! People that take advantage of deals that Disney offers to go on vacation are such a drag.

[Mo Noyz]

Well, I do agree with the ADRs thing. It was so much easier when you made reservations the day of. Having everything snapped up 30-90 days out really is a shame.

Though if you're willing to eat during off hours you can usually walk up to any restaurant on property.

As for the dining plan, I've been over it many times and could never truly make any sense of it. So we've never used it.

And you know what the real bottom line in all of this is? I hate being locked in while on vacation. I prefer spontaneity. ESPECIALLY when I'm on vacation. I don't want to plan my day around when and where I'm eating.

[ohiodisneydad]

Maybe this is slightly off topic but it goes along with reservations but since Fastpass is a reservation sytsem I'll go with it. We had reservations at Akershus once for breakfast. We stood in line to check in and I struck up a conversation with the guy in front of us. Once we got up to the desk he told the hostess that they were late for their reserved time. I'd say they were late, they missed it by an HOUR. So they got seated before us and we "missed" our reservation.

I agree though, making reservations 90 days out for things like a standard egg, bacon and potato breakfast is a little silly. But what do you expect?

[Mo Noyz]

Oh, I don't know. Only allow "day of" reservations leaving more room for walk ups?

You know, the system that worked beautifully for nearly 30 years before ADRs made it darn near impossible to eat at the world class entertainment resort you're paying hundreds of dollars a day to stay at?

[doconeill]

Oh, I don't know. Only allow "day of" reservations leaving more room for walk ups?

You know, the system that worked beautifully for nearly 30 years before ADRs made it darn near impossible to eat at the world class entertainment resort you're paying hundreds of dollars a day to stay at?

But is it the ADR system itself that caused the problem, or the advent of things like the dining plan, and especially the free dining promotions, that were designed to fill all the restaurants to capacity that necessitated having to make the ADRs further and further out?

Sure, some were still hard to get before, like CRT, but that had to do with limited availability and popularity. It seems like it got a lot worse for a number of other locations after the dining plans came out.

[disneyfun55]

I truly believe that the systems that WDW puts into place are meant, in some form or fashion, to enhance our stay. They are not in the business of ticking off their guests, but in creating magic and memories! That being said, they have had rules in place for a long time -

• fastpasses have a return window that they are valid for
• refillable mugs are to be used only at your resort during that stay
• EMH are only for resort guests

It is because people have tried to beat the system that WDW has had to clamp down and enforce the rules that were already there to begin with. Play by the rules, they make the game more fun!

As for ADR's, the reason that they didn't have them in the past (think 80's) was because the demand was not as high and the technology was not there to allow them to do the type of scheduling that they do today! Remember that the parks were in extreme financial trouble back in the 80's and almost got sold off! People just were not going to the parks back then! Love him or hate him, Eisner actually saved the parks when he came on board. With the increase in attendance, the need to have reservations at the restaurants became a necessity to bring order to what could be a potentially chaotic situation at their maitre d' station - imagine hundreds of people showing up at lunch time all looking to get a table and having a college age or younger kid trying to sort them all out! It would have been a nightmare and a very inefficient way to run a business as you would have empty tables for sure. The ADR system allows them to have a game plan in advance so they can use their space more efficiently and seat more guests!

I know that a lot of people like to be spontaneous and 'wing it'. Making an ADR doesn't lock you into going to that restaurant! If you find that you would rather go to EPCOT instead of MK on the day that you have an ADR for Liberty Tree - go, nothing is stopping you. Just be courteous and cancel your ADR so they are not still expecting you. Your ADR's do not have to govern your vacation, they can be a guideline that you can choose to follow or not.

I have to assume that the fact that you are reading this post means that you love WDW, can't wait to get back, and as a result start thinking about what you're going to do on your next trip the moment you end your last day of your current trip (if not sooner)! Planning is not a bad thing, we do it everyday in almost every aspect of our life! Knowing that you want to eat a certain restaurant on your vacation coming up in 90 days is no different than knowing that you want to fly down to Orlando in 90 days. It certainly is no different than making a reservation at a popular restaurant in your hometown on a high demand day such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or Christmas Eve. You certainly would not expect to walk up to a popular romantic restaurant on Valentine's Day and get seated immediately without a reservation. Even with a reservation, you may have to wait for your table to be readied. Sounds eerily familiar. The only difference is that almost every day in WDW is a high demand day now.

The only way to go back to the 'way it was' is to take the park attendance way down. This would result in a huge loss of revenue which would mean WDW would have to make it up in exponential ticket price increases and I know that no one wants that! At the end of the day, WDW is a FOR profit company. That profit allow them to invest in better systems and experiences. Without that profit, we would not have the WDW that we have today.

So, as I step off my HUGE soap box, play by the rules - they make the game more fun! Sorry for the long diatribe/rant.

[doconeill]

It is because people have tried to beat the system that WDW has had to clamp down and enforce the rules that were already there to begin with. Play by the rules, they make the game more fun!

But that assumes that that is the reason they are enforcing the rules. But the "rules" for Fastpasses - as given to the CMs - are to accept late FPs, as long as they are the same day. There are a variety of reasons that there is a window instead of just a "return after" time (I think I mentioned them here already). This has been known for years, and Disney has had data for years. But they are making the change now, right before they introduce another system that will likely increase the use of the FP line and could create issues, but also it is likely they want to have one consistent rule for both systems (which jives with what CMs have been told).