Simple FastPass Improvement

[Goes4FastPass]

As the person in my family who, like my screen name says Goes4FastPass, I would like to see a change:

Set up a central FastPass issuing place in each park for all FP attractions at that park.

All other rules would be the same.

So you look at a display and see "They currently have Soarin' at 11:30 and Test Track at 10:40 and..." and decide which to get.

As it is now, to get a, for example, Soarin' FP you have to go to the Land THEN to the back of the pavilion down the stairs/escalator to the attraction to get a FP. This is not only a lot of extra walking but it increases congestion in an already congested area.

With a central FP location, the park could display current standby time AND issue FPs. This is different than info boards that just show "Use FP" by listings for busy attractions that have FP in use.

Walking all the way to the attraction to get a FP then return to use it is a GIANT pain at AK.

Why does WDW do this really? Is it because they expect us to go to EE and see FP return time is an hour from now and standby wait is currently 45 mins, "might as well get in standby, we can't do anything else and be back in an hour."

[wdwfansince75]

Great idea! In my experience, Soaring, RnR, Splash, EE, and now, TSMM are the most difficult to get to, and have the most congestion. And each also has times when you arrive only to find the return time is 4 or more hours out. Centralizing a location at each park (at last, a reason to remove the food service at the Terrace Nausia Station.....) and possibly allowing the guest to select any FP at that park....Imagine approaching a FP station, seeing the return times for all the FP attractions in that park, and selecting the one you want....TT at 10:30, Soaring at 12:40....dial in TT, and get the earlier, more convenient time, without running across the park....

Selecting the right location in each park for the FP stations would be a challange, but I have some ideas.....The terrace being one, and the hat another...

[BMan62]

Nice idea except then you would have 2000 people in one place fighting over FPs.

The way it currently works breaks up the crowd better and lessens congestion.

The only thing I could see as helpful would be to move the FP kiosks to an area around the ride/attraction where they would not interfere with the movement of the Standby and/or Single Rider lines. For example: Soarin' FP kiosk moved to an area near the main entrance, but opposite the Circle Of Life theater entrance.

[merlinmagic4]

Now, I love this idea but I do agree about the congestion. Another thought might be to at least have a digital type board posting all the current fastpass times so you can at least decide which one to walk to first.

[GrumpyFan]

It's a great idea, and one that I suggested several years ago after FP first came out. The current method requires a lot of extra walking.
I believe I remember reading that they have patents in place to improve the system and do it electronically from the hotels via a computer or TV even. However, I saw somewhere that those were just put in place so if they decide to ever do it, they would own the rights to do so, but they're not planning to do it in the near future.

[TikiGoddess]

I thought one of the original ideas for the FP system was that you got a fastpass, and then had time to kill while you were waiting for it to come due. And in that time, you would wander about the area and visit shops, eateries, etc... thus giving Disney more revenue.

And to be honest, it does make sense to have the FP machines right by the rides. You check the standby time, and then you decide whether or not to get a FP. We've never really had getting a FP interfere with our touring plans. We just plan ahead and don't stress if there's a ride we miss. On occasion we have sent one person to another land/area to get FPs for a ride, and then we all meet up elsewhere. We are also guilty of using FPs outside their time window. Always on the same day, but sometimes past their window. This allows for a little more flexibility in touring.

A central location for checking FP times sounds great. Not sure about getting FPs in one spot though... mobs and mobs of people.

TikiG

[pdrlkr]

Thats a great idea! :thumbsup: :mickey:

[Pop Centurion]

FP is fine how it is. A centralized location would cause major congestion and headaches.

[GoBlueLacheta]

Unless there was a major problem Disney wouldn't invest the time energy or funds to make such a change.

I think more of the issue is to relieve pathway congestion spots that all ready are in existence. They need to disperse crowds and while it may be annoying to walk from one side of future world to the other or similar in MK and AK it is its own built in mild crowd control and at least usually has two seperate big groups proceeding toward 2 seperate major attraction areas.

Of course more Major E-Ticket rides would never hurt :mickey:

[Mr. Incredible]

You'd have to get a FP to get to the central FP kiosk. :D

[Polynesian Dweller]

The problem would be the congestion. Although the idea sounds good at first look, think about the number of people lining up at Splash Mt., BTMRR, Space Mtn., Buzz Lightyear etc. at any given time. Then think of them all coming to the same central FP spot. You'd end up in a 20 minute line just to get an FP kind of undoing the idea. Besides, the crowd control issues would be a real problem.

Probably the most that one could hope for would be a single FP site in each land at MK and each area in the other parks but the current FP process does seem to do what its intended for.

[#1donaldfan]

There are so many idea's on how to better improve the FP system, but in each one, there are always holes.......IMHO, the current system is the most efficient, with the only excpetion of maybe, maybe a bigger area for the machines and slightly more outta the way of the standby lines......:cool:

[brownie]

I think a central location would be bad. Besides the congestion, you'd also have to deal with people who get a Fastpass for the wrong ride. I think the current system works just fine. With Fastpass, you're in a virtual line, so I think it's appropriate for you to go to the particular attraction you want a Fastpass for. What you do with your time while waiting is up to you; Disney isn't forcing you to go from one end of a park to the other while waiting.

[PlutoLover]

My thoughts are leave the fast pass stations where they are BUT have the option at each location to get fastpasses for all the rides. That relieves the central location congestion issue and then you can see all at once what FPs you want and get them at the same time no matter which way you navigate the parks, then you can plan accordingly based on all your FP times :mickey: I hope that made sense :blush: Just my :twocents:

[Red Randal]

It's an interesting idea and good in theory. I would maybe amend it to only include the most popular FP attractions. Say Everest and Safari at the front of AK, Soarin at Epcot, etc. I think this would make the start of the day much easier, especially at AK.

Now, the reason they won't do it is because it is contrary to the whole idea behind FastPass. The idea (and the way the system is set up) is that taking the Fastpass replicates standing in the line. If you don't walk to the ride then you are defeating the purpose and giving a distinct advantage to FP holders over Standby.

I'm sure others can explain it better but I'm fairly sure that's how the system is designed.

[Gator]

The whole idea of FP is quite innovative. I don't have to stand in a 30-120 minute line for a ride. I can do anything else. Then come back and ride it.

If there was a centralized fastpass area, you'd have to come back to it for every ride you wanted to FP. Then stand in line just to get the FP. That doesn't seem very smart. Things are fine the way they are. Just my opinion.

[Marker]

What I would really like to see, is display boards in the other parks like Epcot has that list the Standby Times, and Fastpass Time of the various rides and attractions around the park.

I would have to think that would aid in spreading out the crowd. I know there have been many times that I look at the board and alter my course to a ride with a shorter standby time.

[Seasonscraps]

I'd love to see the Soarin' FP kiosk moved to a more convenient location within the land -- it's a drag to go all the way downstairs just to come right back up. Otherwise, I agree with everyone else about congestion.

[chick20679]

The idea (and the way the system is set up) is that taking the Fastpass replicates standing in the line. If you don't walk to the ride then you are defeating the purpose and giving a distinct advantage to FP holders over Standby.


This is always what I thought. The whole idea of fast pass is that it is holding your place in line. If you haven't walked to the ride, then you can't be in line for it, right?

It would be nice to have a board that told us what time each ride was issuing FP's for (will I even still be in the park?), and a better location for the machines for Soarin' is a great idea.

[Gottaluvgoof]

You'd have to get a FP to get to the central FP kiosk. :D

:ditto: I was thinking the exact thing! :laughing:

[Imagineer1981]

I like the idea, however everyone would just wait to get FP and never go and ride standby

[Septbride2002]

For the most part they system works fine the way it is. I think the ride that could really use any improvement to the FastPass system is Soarin - because it is such a PITA to get to! Not to mention crowds and congest the Land area. It would be nice if (like Rockin Rollercoaster) that the standby time and fast pass machines were off to the left or right of the entrance to the Land. That way you would have the crowd and congestion inside the building.

~Amanda

[sacandjac]

We visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN last week and we got a Quebot. You pay 10 dollars for the first person and 5 dollars for each additional person to have a Quebot. Each Quebot is good for up to 6 people. The Quebot looks like a little handheld video game. It shows you rides and wait times. You can reserve your place in line with a press of a button. You then enter a special line (like Fastpass) when it is time for your ride and the park employee scans it. You cannot get in line one minute early, but once your time has passed you can get in line at anytime. Your time to return changes with the time so you always on time-never late. Once you have it scanned for the ride you have reserved you can go ahead and schedule another ride. You don't have to actually go to the ride to get a fast pass. It will also reserve you a seat for shows. It was very cool, easy to use and great because you did not have to run around getting a fast pass. I was susprised that it worked so well. We waited no more than 5 minutes for anything, while the stand-by lines were very long. I had read about them on-line and we got one first thing as we entered the park. Great Experience. I wish Disney would try something like this.

[Speedy1998]

I can see the complaining on Intercot now. "I had to wait 2.5 hours just to get a Fastpass for Soarin'. "

[Wells]

Simple FastPass Improvement
You'll have to trust me on this, the words "simple" and "Fast Pass" do not belong in the same sentence. You would be amazed at the amount of computer hardware and software it takes just to get this to work as well as it does!
The whole idea of Fast Pass is to act as a virtual queue to allow people to stand in a virtual standby line while not standing in a real standby line. It would be unfair to the guests that took time to actually go to the attraction and see what the standby line was like before deciding to get a Fast Pass. If you start messing with the software at this point, according to the "law of unintended consequences" it could cause problems beyond your wildest dreams..........

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Bad idea.
2) If you want a FP for a ride, then go to the ride.
3) Centralized FP allows for abuse.
4) Plus, popular rides could have FP's gone faster.

[TikiGoddess]

We visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN last week and we got a Quebot. You pay 10 dollars for the first person and 5 dollars for each additional person to have a Quebot.
Great Experience. I wish Disney would try something like this.

It would be interesting to see something like this at WDW. I wonder how it would interact with the existing system (if the Quebots were something people paid to use). Are there any other parks that use these?

TikiG

[ParkMan]

The easier we make getting a FP, the quicker they will all be distributed. I imagine that there are a lot of people today that do not get a FP simply because they don't want to walk over and get one an hour or two before they want to ride. I could see that everyone going into Epcot would get the Soarin fast pass first thing in the morning and by 10:00, the fast passes would be for late afternoon.

[Goes4FastPass]

...Quebot. You pay 10 dollars for the first person and 5 dollars for each additional person ...
This was undoubtedly technology developed outside of then sold to Dollywood. How many WDW visitors would pay more to wait less? More than the number of twinkle lights on Cinderella's Castle.

Dollywood has great food also.