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[aparisi2274]

Hey guys, I'm new here and had a quick question.

There seems to be a lot of really interesting business politics and stuff at work in this industry (especially with Disney and Universal), but for the life of me I can't find any good news sites. Suggestions?

screamscape.com

I visit it daily!

 

[Blink Me]

DC has licensed to Six Flags theme parks. Not sure it it's exclusive but I doubt it would become DC anyway because Comcast and Time Warner are rivals.

I see this argument a lot on theme park forums and its probably true, but both Six Flags and Universal use the Scooby Doo characters who are owned by Time Warner. But maybe Universal got to keep using the Scooby Doo characters as they had been using them since the 90's anyway. If Universal does make a third gate I do think using Time Warner characters would be a great idea. They've already worked together on Harry Potter and I've always been surprised that Warner Brothers doesn't try and compete with Disney when they have nearly as many iconic characters that they 100% own.

 

[thefro]

I see this argument a lot on theme park forums and its probably true, but both Six Flags and Universal use the Scooby Doo characters who are owned by Time Warner. But maybe Universal got to keep using the Scooby Doo characters as they had been using them since the 90's anyway. If Universal does make a third gate I do think using Time Warner characters would be a great idea. They've already worked together on Harry Potter and I've always been surprised that Warner Brothers doesn't try and compete with Disney when they have nearly as many iconic characters that they 100% own.

Six Flags has no park in Florida so Universal using those characters in Orlando would be fine.

 

[aparisi2274]

So, not sure if anyone uses FP when they go to the Magic Kingdom, but this happened today:

As was previously rumored, Disney will be turning off all the old paper style FastPass machines at the Magic Kingdom and switching to the FastPass+ only system starting on January 14th… TODAY. Animal Kingdom switched over during the Christmas break, which leaves Epcot and the Studios as the only parks still using the old legacy paper-based system for the time being. I’d expect to see both of these parks also switched over before the start of Summer.

Courtesy of screamscape.com

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

So, not sure if anyone uses FP when they go to the Magic Kingdom, but this happened today:



Courtesy of screamscape.com

Wait, is this fast pass + thingy something you have to pay for now like in the rest of the theme parks in the world? I hope this doesnt mean one of the best things about disney park is going to dissapear.

 

[muteki]

Wait, is this fast pass + thingy something you have to pay for now like in the rest of the theme parks in the world? I hope this doesnt mean one of the best things about disney park is going to dissapear.

It's free, but quite the downgrade from the old system.

 

[Linkified]

Hey guys, I'm new here and had a quick question.

There seems to be a lot of really interesting business politics and stuff at work in this industry (especially with Disney and Universal), but for the life of me I can't find any good news sites. Suggestions?

There is only one Theme Park Insider

Especially for Robert Niles he adds a certain extra flavor in addition to The Spirit of '74 and HateToFly postings on OrlandoUnited/etc.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

It's free, but quite the downgrade from the old system.

Yeah, started looking for some info and I dont like it at all. At least it seems a big downgrade of how I used normal fast pass in california and paris.
Only three rides per day is badly enough, but needing to make your schedule before enetering the park?
Ive read you can change yor schedule on the fly with your phone inside the park. This is pretty ironic because the majority of orlando visitors come from outside america, so good luck having cheap internet access through your foreign phone to do that.
Is there even free wifi inside the parks? that would be something useful.

 

[aparisi2274]

Yeah, started looking for some info and I dont like it at all. At least it seems a big downgrade of how I used normal fast pass in california and paris.
Only three rides per day is badly enough, but needing to make your schedule before enetering the park?
Ive read you can change yor schedule on the fly with your phone inside the park. This is pretty ironic because the majority of orlando visitors come from outside america, so good luck having cheap internet access through your foreign phone to do that.
Is there even free wifi inside the parks? that would be something useful.

I was there in October and I used the FP+ with my magicband, and while it was limited in the amount of rides you could FP per day per park ( a bug they are currently working on), I did enjoy being able to book my FP rides from my home like 2 months before I went on the trip.

Going back to the 3 rides per day, that was my biggest issue, and it seems to be the biggest issue that most hotel guests report when they take the survey, and it is that issue that caused WDW to push back the full rollout of the magicband/FP+ system to the entire resort/park as they try to figure out how to give people the ability to FP rides for multiple parks during the course of a single day, or for more than 3 rides per park per day.

If they can fix that issue, I think the FP+ would be a big hit among those who like to plan their trip in its entirety before they even step foot on Disney property.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

Yeah, started looking for some info and I dont like it at all. At least it seems a big downgrade of how I used normal fast pass in california and paris.
Only three rides per day is badly enough, but needing to make your schedule before enetering the park?
Ive read you can change yor schedule on the fly with your phone inside the park. This is pretty ironic because the majority of orlando visitors come from outside america, so good luck having cheap internet access through your foreign phone to do that.
Is there even free wifi inside the parks? that would be something useful.

There is wifi just about everywhere in WDW and it works for the most part. At least, compared to most public wifi offerings.

FP+ has its pros and cons but I like it. I think the people who are against it are the kind of people who know the parks inside and out and know how to make the most out of their days. I think the old paper FPs are pretty useless during peak season as well. The biggest flaw in it though is that Disney is imposing FP+ tiering in Epcot and Hollywood Studios. This didn't effect me all that much because, in the case of Epcot, I don't care much for Soarin' at WDW so I used my tier 1 allotment for Test Track for all the days I went to Epcot (about 5 times my last trip). For Hollywood Studios I used my tier 1 for Toy Story every time. Even though you're limited to FP+ selections to one park per day, it still makes park hopping more viable if you use the mornings to your advantage and schedule FP+ for your second park.

I think if/when they bring it to DLR though, I would be in more of an uproar. The old system works great there for how small the resort is as a whole.

 

[Borman]

My problem is the limited amount that you get, 3 isnt enough as everyone says. At one point I had five active FP's on my last trip, although some were admittedly "off-the-grid." But I like running around and getting to do everything I want to do how I want to do it.

For international people, there are kiosks within the parks to set up fast passes.

(sorry for the sideways)

 

[muteki]

Yeah, started looking for some info and I dont like it at all. At least it seems a big downgrade of how I used normal fast pass in california and paris.
Only three rides per day is badly enough, but needing to make your schedule before enetering the park?
Ive read you can change yor schedule on the fly with your phone inside the park. This is pretty ironic because the majority of orlando visitors come from outside america, so good luck having cheap internet access through your foreign phone to do that.
Is there even free wifi inside the parks? that would be something useful.

The old FP system was like capitalism, you got as much out of it as effort you put into it. This means more informed/willing people could pull 5-6+ FP's per day while others may not use it at all.

The new FP system is more like socialism, where every guest in the park is allotted 3 FPs per day, no matter what.

Currently, 3 is the limit because they don't have enough ride capacity in a single day to hand everyone 5-6 and have them actually use them. We only survived so long on old FP because a large number of people didn't use it.

In some parks (Epcot, HS) there isn't enough capacity to even let people pick 3 of what they want, they have to create a tier system because they know they don't have enough capacity to let everyone ride Soarin/TT FP in a day.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

The old FP system was like capitalism, you got as much out of it as effort you put into it. This means more informed/willing people could pull 5-6+ FP's per day while others may not use it at all.

The new FP system is more like socialism, where every guest in the park is allotted 3 FPs per day, no matter what.

Currently, 3 is the limit because they don't have enough ride capacity in a single day to hand everyone 5-6 and have them actually use them. We only survived so long on old FP because a large number of people didn't use it.

In some parks (Epcot, HS) there isn't enough capacity to even let people pick 3 of what they want, they have to create a tier system because they know they don't have enough capacity to let everyone ride Soarin/TT FP in a day.

Thanks Obama?

 

[muteki]

Thanks Obama?

Thanks Iger/Staggs/Crofton/<insert random TDO exec here>

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

I was there in October and I used the FP+ with my magicband, and while it was limited in the amount of rides you could FP per day per park ( a bug they are currently working on), I did enjoy being able to book my FP rides from my home like 2 months before I went on the trip.

Going back to the 3 rides per day, that was my biggest issue, and it seems to be the biggest issue that most hotel guests report when they take the survey, and it is that issue that caused WDW to push back the full rollout of the magicband/FP+ system to the entire resort/park as they try to figure out how to give people the ability to FP rides for multiple parks during the course of a single day, or for more than 3 rides per park per day.

If they can fix that issue, I think the FP+ would be a big hit among those who like to plan their trip in its entirety before they even step foot on Disney property.

Hope they fix it then

There is wifi just about everywhere in WDW and it works for the most part. At least, compared to most public wifi offerings.

FP+ has its pros and cons but I like it. I think the people who are against it are the kind of people who know the parks inside and out and know how to make the most out of their days. I think the old paper FPs are pretty useless during peak season as well. The biggest flaw in it though is that Disney is imposing FP+ tiering in Epcot and Hollywood Studios. This didn't effect me all that much because, in the case of Epcot, I don't care much for Soarin' at WDW so I used my tier 1 allotment for Test Track for all the days I went to Epcot (about 5 times my last trip). For Hollywood Studios I used my tier 1 for Toy Story every time. Even though you're limited to FP+ selections to one park per day, it still makes park hopping more viable if you use the mornings to your advantage and schedule FP+ for your second park.

I think if/when they bring it to DLR though, I would be in more of an uproar. The old system works great there for how small the resort is as a whole.

Thats good to know. Last time i went to california and paris parks there was no wifi whatsoever. Even mcdonalds here has free wifi ffs.

Still, thats why im not liking this thing, I dont know what im going to encounter when i arrive to the park so i dont want to schedule my fast passes 2 months before I go, thats for sure. And I want to repeat rides, so this system is a big fuck you to that.

The old FP system was like capitalism, you got as much out of it as effort you put into it. This means more informed/willing people could pull 5-6+ FP's per day while others may not use it at all.

The new FP system is more like socialism, where every guest in the park is allotted 3 FPs per day, no matter what.

Currently, 3 is the limit because they don't have enough ride capacity in a single day to hand everyone 5-6 and have them actually use them. We only survived so long on old FP because a large number of people didn't use it.

In some parks (Epcot, HS) there isn't enough capacity to even let people pick 3 of what they want, they have to create a tier system because they know they don't have enough capacity to let everyone ride Soarin/TT FP in a day.

So it's shit.
Joking... well not really. It was a free thing to use, and disney doesnt make it secret, so if you were a lazy ass and wanted to do the line, and then you act surprised that people are going faster just besides you (paris was the worst at this, you could hear people at line even insulting you), then thats your loss.

This is not some important political thing, its you vacation, and if you are not informed of the advantages you can have if you only read a little, or ask someone there, well, its not the problem of better informed ones.
To give benefits to this lazy asses they are taking benefits from the ones that knew what to do. More than socialism vs capitalism, as that is a more important matter, as a developer, this reminds me to new ingame tutorials. Because people dont want to take their time to learn (as we have discovered with testings, the majority of people are incredibly lazy), they are fuckin the rest that have to go slower now because of them.

I would understand this people if disney kept fast pass a secret, but they didnt, they were just lazy.

 

[aparisi2274]

I wouldn't say the new FP+ is shit, but I will say that it needs a overhaul as it is no where near as good as it could be.

My biggest issue is that I like to park hop (hell most people do) and I was annoyed that when I selected my 3 FP+ rides for the day, I could not go pick other rides at another park, which stinks.

If I want to ride:

Tower of Terror
Aerosmith
Toy Story

and then park hop over to Epcot or MK and ride some rides there, I should be able to add them to my FP+ queue for that day, but it wouldnt let me, said I reached my limit...

The other issue I had is that if I canceled a FP+ at one park, it would not let me replace it with another ride.

I am sure they are going to fix this, as it is the number 1 complaint among beta testers, but who knows when.

Iger is already super pissed that this project is way over budget and no where near being ready to be rolled out.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Disney's FP implementation is shit in general. I heard Pirates and HM are regularly getting over 30 minutes standby because of long FP+ lines. What the fuck? Why do they need FP? That's like adding Express to FJ. It would be madness.

Not sure if it has anything to do with FP but DHS and Epcot are also fucking messes in terms of lines. RnRC/ToT and Soarin'/TT are all above 60 minutes standby like an hour after the park opens. Animal Kingdom doesn't seem to have this problem with Everest/Dinosaur/Safari. Wonder why. Capacity issues, FP issues, or something else?

 

[peteykirch]

The issue with FP+ is that;

1) It severely limits park hopping, which is Disney's most popular ticket. The only way park hopping works, is to go to one park at rope drop, and do everything stand by, and then later in the day go to another park where you made previous reservations.

2) For a park like MK there are too many rides, and with only 3 FP+ selections you're not going to get to do a lot of what you want, unless you go commando and follow a strict plan.

3) For those who don't like thrill rides, you are screwed plain and simple. I'd much rather see a point based system. My idea was;

6 points.

Headliners are 2 points
Everything else is 1 point.

You can only do a 2 point HL once, but 1 point rides you can ride as many times as you want.

For someone who doesn't like coasters at MK you are forced to pretty much pick HM, POTC, and Peter Pan. 2 of those are continuously loading with a high rider per hour number.

In parks like Epcot and DHS there just aren't enough rides to spread things out. Each of them only has 2 headliners (Soarin/Test Track and Toy Story Mania/RockNRoller Coaster).

The Magic Bands are just a gimmick to get people to spend more. If you aren't forced to open up your wallet and take money out you'll be much more likely to just put the band next to the scanner and spend away.

When I went to Disney in October I was able to double dip, using FP+ reservations, and using my KTTW card to pull legacy FP.

I was lucky that when I was down there it was the week prior to them putting a tier based system into place where you could only pick Soarin or Test Track, not both.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

The FP+ Magic Band situation is awful as it stands right now. Overly confusing, restricting and requires far too much micro management.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

I don't know. I like the idea of it. The day I went to Universal I did both parks and still had time to get back to my resort and catch a bus to DHS and use my FP+ for Toy Story, Twilight, and Star Tours. It definitely has its perks. I know the whole idea behind it is just an extension of why FP exists in the first place by getting you to spend more time in shops and restaurants. Which I like because I usually have a dining reservation for everyday I visit, sometimes two. If I wanted a repeat headliner kind of experience I go to DLR, and I go there more often than WDW. I realize this is a luxury not available to all.

That said I wouldn't mind things staying as they were. There are a lot of things I wished worked like I expected them to. The tiering is a clear indication that large changes are needed at Epcot and DHS. Tier 1 for Maelstrom? Really?

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

I wouldn't say the new FP+ is shit, but I will say that it needs a overhaul as it is no where near as good as it could be.

My biggest issue is that I like to park hop (hell most people do) and I was annoyed that when I selected my 3 FP+ rides for the day, I could not go pick other rides at another park, which stinks.

If I want to ride:

Tower of Terror
Aerosmith
Toy Story

and then park hop over to Epcot or MK and ride some rides there, I should be able to add them to my FP+ queue for that day, but it wouldnt let me, said I reached my limit...

The other issue I had is that if I canceled a FP+ at one park, it would not let me replace it with another ride.

I am sure they are going to fix this, as it is the number 1 complaint among beta testers, but who knows when.

Iger is already super pissed that this project is way over budget and no where near being ready to be rolled out.

Then that would make it exactly like paper fast pass but with the wrist band. The problem is the fastest people would get the fast pass 2 months before like if they were concert tickets, while normal people or even people well informed but not as fast (so people who dont make their vacations with much time in advance, because of their tight jobs) would get nothing that day, because fast passes would already be "sold".

This pass sounds too much hassle and very convulted to people outside the US.

 

[Gunstarheroes]

The FP+ Magic Band situation is awful as it stands right now. Overly confusing, restricting and requires far too much micro management.

I'm really glad that's what Disney World sunk most of its money into, as oppose to refurbs and other more important matters.

 

[The Xtortionist]

I'm really glad that's what Disney World sunk most of its money into, as oppose to refurbs and other more important matters.

And to think a major MK Space refurb was once on the cards. Thing feels like a torture device and no one gives a shit. That Splash was also in disrepair for so long is really telling. Someone needs to get their priorities straight.

Also remove fastpass from Pirates/HM.

Wait, Mermaid has fastpass too? There's two omnimovers with fastpass? What has the world come to?

 

[Suikoguy]

And to think a major MK Space refurb was once on the cards. Thing feels like a torture device and no one gives a shit. That Splash was also in disrepair for so long is really telling. Someone needs to get their priorities straight.

Also remove fastpass from Pirates/HM.

Wait, Mermaid has fastpass too? There's two omnimovers with fastpass? What has the world come to?

Even better, the Finding Nemo Stageshow has Fastpass at AK.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

And to think a major MK Space refurb was once on the cards. Thing feels like a torture device and no one gives a shit. That Splash was also in disrepair for so long is really telling. Someone needs to get their priorities straight.

Also remove fastpass from Pirates/HM.

Wait, Mermaid has fastpass too? There's two omnimovers with fastpass? What has the world come to?

Most attractions have a FP+ option now but the Little Mermaid always did have it before then. There are FP+ for shows and such too. Fireworks, parades, live shows, lunch to Be Our Guest... you name it!

 

[aparisi2274]

Then that would make it exactly like paper fast pass but with the wrist band. The problem is the fastest people would get the fast pass 2 months before like if they were concert tickets, while normal people or even people well informed but not as fast (so people who dont make their vacations with much time in advance, because of their tight jobs) would get nothing that day, because fast passes would already be "sold".

This pass sounds too much hassle and very convulted to people outside the US.

Yeah, but if you are a Disney-phile like most people I know, and you are the type of person who likes to plan every aspect of their trip ahead of time, then FP+ is perfect for you.

If you are a person who likes to fly the by the seat of their pants, and not pre-book rides, then this might be an issue.

 

[Linkified]

The old FP system was like capitalism, you got as much out of it as effort you put into it. This means more informed/willing people could pull 5-6+ FP's per day while others may not use it at all.

The new FP system is more like socialism, where every guest in the park is allotted 3 FPs per day, no matter what.

Currently, 3 is the limit because they don't have enough ride capacity in a single day to hand everyone 5-6 and have them actually use them. We only survived so long on old FP because a large number of people didn't use it.

In some parks (Epcot, HS) there isn't enough capacity to even let people pick 3 of what they want, they have to create a tier system because they know they don't have enough capacity to let everyone ride Soarin/TT FP in a day.

Yep nailed it.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Yeah, but if you are a Disney-phile like most people I know, and you are the type of person who likes to plan every aspect of their trip ahead of time, then FP+ is perfect for you.

If you are a person who likes to fly the by the seat of their pants, and not pre-book rides, then this might be an issue.

Im a disney-phile, I knew by heart disneyland in anaheim years before I could visit for the first time because of the amount of books I read about it.
Sadly Im really far of any disney park (the nearest one is paris and that means visting another country). I know lots of people like me were I live. Orlando being the one using this system when they relay more on people outside of america is still pretty stupid. We dont know what is going to happen until we arrive, scheduling fast passes months in advance is a thing that can fuck up your vacation if you arrive and see you schedule seems to be shit because of the amount of people, weather or any other inconvenience.
I plan in adavance every thing on my theme park trip, hell, I even make a manual for my friends. I can roughly plan what fast passes we will probably use, but once we get there anything can happen that changes those plans.
Thats my major problem with it.

 

[muteki]

Yeah, but if you are a Disney-phile like most people I know, and you are the type of person who likes to plan every aspect of their trip ahead of time, then FP+ is perfect for you.

If you are a person who likes to fly the by the seat of their pants, and not pre-book rides, then this might be an issue.

Problem is most of the "disney-phile, plan every aspect of their trip" people were also the ones that knew how to use old Fastpass, and as such will see mainly negatives in FP+.

Who FP+ was designed/made for, are the families with kids that just want to be completely on rails during the trip and want to feel like disney is providing them a vip experience by hand-holding them from one attraction to the next without having to think about it.

This group of people (the vast majority of orlando visitors) either didn't use old FP because it was too complicated/didn't know/difficult with kids, or if they did use it it wasn't that much.

We will have to wait and see how many people in the second group will adopt and use the new system. Ultimately that will be the biggest factor in how they tweak the system in the future, and what our standby times will be like.

 

[nicoga3000]

Wait, so my wife and I are going to WDW the first of March. Does that mean while we're there, we can't get physical FP anymore since our bands are setup to have specific FP rides already?

 

[muteki]

Wait, so my wife and I are going to WDW the first of March. Does that mean while we're there, we can't get physical FP anymore since our bands are setup to have specific FP rides already?

I suspect by then it will be FP+ only, both for disney-resort and off-property guests. Two out the four parks already are today. Most (all?) resorts on property aren't even giving out KTTW cards, which you need for old FP.

You could double-dip in the past with some setups but that will stop soon.

Edit: DHS and Epcot going FP+ only next week, 21st and 23rd respectively.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

Wait, so my wife and I are going to WDW the first of March. Does that mean while we're there, we can't get physical FP anymore since our bands are setup to have specific FP rides already?

Which resort are you staying at? I was at Pop Century in Dec which was the first resort to phase out the Key to the World cards. Since then they've added a few resorts that are magicband-only. I was still able to double dip because I'm an annual passholder. Though, by March, they might rid of the legacy FP kiosks at the remaining parks.

 

[Linkified]

Which resort are you staying at? I was at Pop Century in Dec which was the first resort to phase out the Key to the World cards. Since then they've added a few resorts that are magicband-only. I was still able to double dip because I'm an annual passholder. Though, by March, they might rid of the legacy FP kiosks at the remaining parks.

By the end of January all WDW Hotels will be MagicBand only with KTTW Cards being available on request - those that request KTTW cards will be RFID enabled and will disallow Legacy Fastpass.

The general sentiment is that Legacy FastPass will go away for DHS and Epcot in February after they test those two side selections for offsite guests in a larger test.

 

[Demoncarnotaur]

I'm really glad that's what Disney World sunk most of its money into, as oppose to refurbs and other more important matters.

Don't get me wrong, the concept is fantastic.. but the execution is awful. It was a nightmare figuring out how to make it work without micromanaging every aspect of the trip.

But yeah, the money could and should have been spent elsewhere.

 

[nicoga3000]

Which resort are you staying at? I was at Pop Century in Dec which was the first resort to phase out the Key to the World cards. Since then they've added a few resorts that are magicband-only. I was still able to double dip because I'm an annual passholder. Though, by March, they might rid of the legacy FP kiosks at the remaining parks.

We're staying at Caribbean Beach. I don't know if they're going to the bands only, but who knows.

I'm worried-ish because we went when Soarin first opened at WDW. It sucked - I hated it so much. Part of that is because we waited some 3.5 hours for it...This time, I suggested that we get FP for it and give it another shot. I'm skeptical now because if we CAN'T get other FP while we're there, I don't know if I want to bother with that or if we should get them for a ride we know we love.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

We're staying at Caribbean Beach. I don't know if they're going to the bands only, but who knows.

I'm worried-ish because we went when Soarin first opened at WDW. It sucked - I hated it so much. Part of that is because we waited some 3.5 hours for it...This time, I suggested that we get FP for it and give it another shot. I'm skeptical now because if we CAN'T get other FP while we're there, I don't know if I want to bother with that or if we should get them for a ride we know we love.

You're just about at your 60 days until arrival, I'm assuming? Did you get a chance to pick FP times yet? In the case of Epcot, FP+ stinks because everything in tier 2 has a chance of having no line to begin with. Like I've said before in this thread, they need to fix Future World.

Tier 1--Choose 1:

Character Spot
IllumiNations
Maelstrom
Soarin
Test Track

Tier 2--Choose2:

Captain EO
Journey into Imagination
Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Spaceship Earth
Turtle Talk with Crush

If you wanted to hit both Soarin' and Test Track, the only two viable strategies without much waiting would be to book Soarin' at a time of the most convenience and either ride single rider through TT or just do that first thing at rope drop. I'm kind of the same as you though. Because the line is much shorter at California Adventure I don't really bother with Soarin' at Epcot.

 

[nicoga3000]

Yeah, my wife has done all the online planning. We booked our dining, FP, hotel stuff (protip to everyone - always check Expedia because prices are often cheaper for the Disney resorts that way)...Just trying to decide on the Epcot situation. We are 42 days out I guess - she's looking at it now.

I don't think March 1 is too busy, so maybe we can manage our attraction situation that way...

 

[aparisi2274]

Yeah, my wife has done all the online planning. We booked our dining, FP, hotel stuff (protip to everyone - always check Expedia because prices are often cheaper for the Disney resorts that way)...Just trying to decide on the Epcot situation. We are 42 days out I guess - she's looking at it now.

I don't think March 1 is too busy, so maybe we can manage our attraction situation that way...

You also need to look and see when Spring Break starts for a lot of colleges... You may be there during the tail end of it, or the beginning of it (I can't remember).

 

[Anticitizen One]

The old FP system was like capitalism, you got as much out of it as effort you put into it. This means more informed/willing people could pull 5-6+ FP's per day while others may not use it at all.

The new FP system is more like socialism, where every guest in the park is allotted 3 FPs per day, no matter what.

Currently, 3 is the limit because they don't have enough ride capacity in a single day to hand everyone 5-6 and have them actually use them. We only survived so long on old FP because a large number of people didn't use it.

In some parks (Epcot, HS) there isn't enough capacity to even let people pick 3 of what they want, they have to create a tier system because they know they don't have enough capacity to let everyone ride Soarin/TT FP in a day.

This is a better system. I don't know if you went to the parks prior to Fastpass but it was a MUCH better experience. Fastpass actually made the lines longer and fucked up the nature of the queues. I have been dreaming of the day it would be changed/removed. To me Fastpass is just as irritating as all that added security changes they added to airports after 9/11

 

[The Xtortionist]

This is a better system. I don't know if you went to the parks prior to Fastpass but it was a MUCH better experience. Fastpass actually made the lines longer and fucked up the nature of the queues. I have been dreaming of the day it would be changed/removed. To me Fastpass is just as irritating as all that added security changes they added to airports after 9/11

Will be interesting to see if standby gets unfucked when paper FP is phased out completely. Of course, it may remain stable if the increased visibility of FP to guests counteracts the lower amount of FPs the average guest can utilize.

It hurts my head thinking about it. Universal Express is so freeform, simple, and painless by comparison :l

 

[Suikoguy]

Will be interesting to see if standby gets unfucked when paper FP is phased out completely. Of course, it may remain stable if the increased visibility of FP to guests counteracts the lower amount of FPs the average guest can utilize.

It hurts my head thinking about it. Universal Express is so freeform, simple, and painless by comparison :l

At first I really liked Universal Express as it was limited by hotel, which was a great incentive to stay in one of the in park hotels... then they made it available to purchase, with price based on park capacity.

I would be more frustrated if they did not put so much money back into the park (to an even bigger extent then Disney World in recent years), as long as they keep that up I can deal with waiting a bit for the rich people to go to the head of the line. Otherwise it's crap.

 

[genericsuperhero]

We should have a Disney parks thread in ot community the way these last few pages have been going.

 

[The Xtortionist]

At first I really liked Universal Express as it was limited by hotel, which was a great incentive to stay in one of the in park hotels... then they made it available to purchase, with price based on park capacity.

I would be more frustrated if they did not put so much money back into the park (to an even bigger extent then Disney World in recent years), as long as they keep that up I can deal with waiting a bit for the rich people to go to the head of the line.

I would agree, if paid express was unlimited. Well, I know they sell unlimited, but the price is so outrageous (not that regular isn't already lol) that I don't see it as a significant factor; you could stay one night in RPR for $250ish during a busy season and get two days of unlimited express for everyone in the room. I think paid unlimited is something like $180+ per person per day.

Anyway, over my few stays onsite (June, August, January) I found that the express lines were generally pretty empty (sub 10 minutes, not counting blended lines like Hulk) after about 2PM. I would think that anyone purchasing express is getting it early, rushing to the big rides like Spidey and Transformers first thing, and being unable to use it again. By early afternoon, everyone who bought express had burnt it out, making it almost a non factor. You still have onsite peeps to worry about, but like you said, it's a tremendous value and fair game imo. Even with hotel guests, standby is never that ridiculous at Universal. Lines for the heavy hitters can fill up in the afternoon but there always seems to be pretty negotiable lines before noon and a few hours before closing.

Universal also counteracts long standby lines by aggressively offering single rider options for almost all of their heavy hitters. By contrast, Disney only offers it on Test Track, RnRC, and Everest IIRC. Single rider is a godsend for beating the waits and reriding without express. It gives an option for all times of the day. Morning/near park closing=standby (should be 30 minutes or less on almost everything), middle of the day=single rider. It's always been a great system for me, staying onsite or not. Really interested to see how Diagon Alley affects things.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Will be interesting to see if standby gets unfucked when paper FP is phased out completely. Of course, it may remain stable if the increased visibility of FP to guests counteracts the lower amount of FPs the average guest can utilize.

It hurts my head thinking about it. Universal Express is so freeform, simple, and painless by comparison :l

Honestly, Disney should just go back to the old way of first come first serve and just add more A/C and shade to the line and if you really want Fastpass you just pay extra and get a VIP access. Which is similar to what Universal does.

 

[Suikoguy]

Honestly, Disney should just go back to the old way of first come first serve and just add more A/C and shade to the line and if you really want Fastpass you just pay extra and get a VIP access. Which is similar to what Universal does.

Yeah, at the end of the day it's probably a better solution then what they (edit: they being Disney) came up with.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

Looks like I'm headed to WDW later this year!

Can't wait to see New Fantasyland.

 

[aparisi2274]

Looks like I'm headed to WDW later this year!

Can't wait to see New Fantasyland.

At least you'll get to ride the seven swarfs mine train.

 

[aparisi2274]

We should have a Disney parks thread in ot community the way these last few pages have been going.

Yeah... unfortunately the Theme Park industry has its down time when it comes to new announcements or new rides...

 

[aparisi2274]

London Update at Universal Studios Florida

Ripsaw Falls is currently closed for winter refurbishment and it looks like they have an army working hard to repaint the attraction, making it all colorful and bright once again while the water has been drained. Meanwhile the site of the rumored new King Kong attraction in Jurassic Park (left of Thunder Falls) has little red survey flags all over the place, along with green ribbons wrapped around many of the trees, according to the photos posted to OrlandoParkNews. Meanwhile the former Triceratops Encounter area has several trees wrapped with stripped red & white ribbons.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

I definitely gotta try to hit up Universal this time. STILL haven't seen Wizarding World yet =/

and of course gotta do Sea World a day. I miss the one that used to be in Ohio!