Quote Originally Posted by ronandjulie View Post
. . . . I know that Disney is all about the magic, but if it ruins the magic for a few to increase the magic for countless thousands, so be it. I love it!
EXACTLY! This is the key point of enforcing the return window times. It may take away the convenience benefit (a little extra magic) from the relatively few numbers of guests who enjoyed the privilege (while it lasted) of being able to come back outside the window. BUT, it will increase the magic for the vast majority of guests by making the FastPass system work for everyone as efficiently as it was designed, reducing overall wait times. Think about this: For those of us who used or FastPasses outside our windows (I was one of them), we actually made the FastPass line longer for the guests who were entering the FastPass line within their prescribed window at the same time as we showed up. The more people that did that, the less efficient the flow of the FastPass lines.

I think that's why Disney has decided to enforce the rules now, the number of guests using the "privilege" has begun to measurably slow down the FastPass lines. When only a few guests were doing it, it didn't make that much of a difference, but as the word got (unofficially) spread, more and more people started taking advantage of the non-enforcement). Imagine if the FastPass system had originally been designed with a pass that just said return anytime after X:XX o'clock. That would not have had any controlling or limiting effect on the FastPass lines, and would have made no sense. The point of the system is to control how many people enter the FastPass lines at certain times, to keep those lines relatively short throughout the day. Having no set return time defeats the purpose of the system.

It's less convenient for me personally, but enforcing the return times makes the parks work more efficiently overall.