Fast Pass of the Future

[brownie]

Disney says guests will be able to reserve ride times from home

By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel

6:23 PM EST, February 17, 2011

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Future visitors to Walt Disney World will be able to reserve ride times from their home computers and bypass hotel check-in desks once they arrive at the resort, the head of the Walt Disney Co.'s global theme-park division said during an investors conference Thursday.

Those advances are among of a series of technological initiatives Disney is developing in hopes of making visits to its increasingly crowded theme parks easier to plan and less intimidating to navigate, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs said at the conference in Anaheim, Calif.

"In the coming years, we'll introduce a broad set of systems and tools that will help us create a more seamless and personalized experience and help guests get more out of their visit with us," Staggs said. The ultimate goal, he added, is "to welcome more and more people, while making their experience more satisfying, more personal and more immersive."

Staggs' comments provided the first detailed glimpse at a secretive initiative dubbed "Next Generation Experience," or "NextGen," that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been working on for more than a year. The budget for the project is said to be around $1 billion — as much money as Disney spent to build its recently launched Disney Dream cruise ship.

In his remarks Thursday, Staggs described a "version of Fast Pass for an entire Disney vacation." Future guests, he said, will be able to reserve specific ride times for popular attractions, secure seating for shows, make restaurant reservations and pre-book other experiences before they leave their homes on vacation.

They will also be able to obtain their room keys in advance, eliminating the need to check into hotels and allowing them to proceed immediately to their rooms or a theme park once they arrive on Disney property.

Other advances, he said, will include personalizing rides and character greetings for individual guests, adding more interactive queues to entertain people while they wait in line for attractions, and designing behind-the-scenes systems for operations workers to better monitor and steer crowd flow to ease congestion.

Disney will also aim to cull more personal information from its guests, which Staggs said "will put better information into the hands of our cast, so they can deliver even better and more personalized service for our guests." Although Staggs did not specify what information Disney would seek, possibilities range from simple details such as names and birth dates to favorite characters and credit-card numbers. Access to such information would allow Disney to target more personalized sales offers to guests, even as they wander around its parks.

Staggs didn't go into further details about how Disney intends to implement some of the plans, and the company would not elaborate on his comments. But there is widespread speculation among former Disney executives and bloggers who follow the company that some of the plans will use radio-frequency identification, or RFID, microchips that can be implanted into tickets or wristbands, loaded with personal information and used to interact with sensors installed in everything from hotel-room doors to ride animatronics.

Disney has signed a confidentiality agreement with a California company that manufactures RFID wristbands, whose clients include other amusement operators such as Great Wolf Resorts.

Staggs declined to say when Disney will launch many of the initiatives, though some elements — such as interactive queues — have been slowly rolling out in parks in recent months. Staggs said Disney has applied for "a number" of patents related to the work.

"It will be some time before we roll out the bulk of these developments," he said. "But we're well into development."

The decision to pump $1 billion or more into developing systems that help with vacation planning and crowd flow underscores one of the biggest challenges facing Disney's flagship theme-park resorts — particularly Disney World, which has four parks and roughly 25,000 hotel rooms.

As those resorts have grown bigger over the years, they have also become more complex to navigate and more crowded, threatening to undermine Disney's historically high guest-satisfaction ratings and to deter repeat visits.

"We know that our guests love creating great memories," Staggs said. "We also know they don't exactly relish waiting in line, checking in at the resort, worrying about missing their favorite attractions, or feeling uncertain about how to best navigate and access our properties."

There are risks. Former company officials have questioned whether technological advances would boost attendance or guest-spending enough to justify the billion-dollar price tag — or whether advance-planning by some guests could spoil the experience for those who do not pre-plan and arrive at a park only to find the most popular attractions already booked.

Privacy advocates could also protest if they think Disney is collecting too much personal information about its guests.

But Scott Smith, an instructor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management, said there are also several advantages to the projects Disney described. Issuing hotel-room keys in advance, for instance, will ensure Disney gets its guests into its parks more quickly.

Smith likened it to similar advance-check-in options at some Las Vegas casino resorts where "the idea is that you go right to the craps table.

"Disney is probably looking at the same type of philosophy," Scott said. "The sooner we check you in, the sooner you go into our parks and start spending money."

Also, a new generation of technology-savvy travelers increasingly expects features such as customizable vacations and interactive attractions, he said.

"Their audience is so much more sophisticated now," Smith said. "If you're not investing in this already, you're going to get left behind. And the last thing Disney wants is to be saddled with the reputation of being old school."

[TikiGoddess]

I will be interested to see what people think about this. To me, the thought of having to schedule ride and show times takes all of the spontaneity out of a vacation. It's bad enough that we have to make dinner reservations so far in advance...

Kathy

[BrerGnat]

Too much of this can be a bad thing, I agree.

However, the idea that guests CAN have control over certain things before leaving home is intriguing.

I fear, though, that this will mean "pay for stuff that used to be free", and/or "if you don't have a reservation for (fill in the blank), too bad, so sad."

Hopefully, these changes/additions will only ENHANCE the experience, and not change it completely, or make it even more complicated ; i.e. "Magic YOUR Way" pass, which is code for "we'll get you to put out more money than you used to, under the guise of giving you what YOU want."

[PopPhan]

"Big Brother is watching YOU!"

Not liking this plan...not at all! With this plan, you will have to plan what park and ride you want to be on and at what time each day of your trip 180 days out?

Nope, don't think so!!


BTW - The WDW Blog site has a pdf of the entire presentation from Tom Staggs....Interesting reading!

[luvdiznee]

So, I will have my set appointment for riding Haunted Mansion...etc. It's hard enough trying to make the dinner reservations. :(

[WDWfanatic742]

:shake:

I'm in the crowd of it's just a little too much...

[lettripp]

Although I can't say I'm happy about people booking ride times and show seats in advance... I'm imagining that the possibilities of using RFID chips to enhance an experience. For example, imagine how cool it would be for a kid to approach a character and for them to know their name before they hand them the autograph book. How magical would it be for a Princess to call your daughter Princess (child's name here) like she has known her forever???

I think that if they can use the RFID chips in such a way that guests won't be manipulated, it could be a really positive addition... and as for "big brother," he has been at Disney quite a long time already. Between the cameras every five feet and the records they keep though dining and hotel reservations, the RFID chips are not an enormous leap towards stalking... more like a side-step I think.

[Dsnygirl]

I saw this elsewhere and posted my opinion, but I'll add it here.

As far as being able to do online check-ins, ADR's, tour bookings, etc.... it's great. Character interactions?? Again, if it's something unique that everyone has to choose & sign up for... that'd be fine.

But for rides?? NO way. You can't ever guarantee weather, or how you'll be feeling that day, let alone that hour... what if the ride goes down, or you're having a late meal? All spontanaeity is lost, and for me, that take a LOT of fun out of the day. I would not want to be running from ride to ride, trying to keep a schedule... as much as I understand that ADR's are necessary much of the time, I still get annoyed when they "interrupt" what we're doing, even if it's a place we've been looking forward to going to. Add that feeling to the rides, and you've got the beginning of what could be a stressful, miserable experience.

I REALLY hope Disney puts a lot of thought into this and researches how people feel about it, and doesn't just force something on everyone b/c the marketing campaign makes it sound so good... and I hope it takes a really long time for them to implement it... as in long enough that I'll be in my nursing home by then.... ;)

[GrumpyFan]

Disney has actually been working on this for a while, and even filed a patent application for it last year. The patent application number is 7720718 if you want to look it up. There are a lot more details in there if you're interested and can get thru all the jargon.

One of the things they're considering, that he didn't mention is a tiered system where guests staying at a Deluxe resort might get higher reservation priority. In essence, I believe this to be the next generation of Fastpass and will probably take over the current version that we have in the parks.

[Dsnygirl]

One of the things they're considering, that he didn't mention is a tiered system where guests staying at a Deluxe resort might get higher reservation priority. In essence, I believe this to be the next generation of Fastpass and will probably take over the current version that we have in the parks.

Let me just say that if this comes to fruition, it will be the beginning of a big downturn for Disney. To single out those willing to spend more $$ as more "deserving" of a better ride experience will take Disney out of the hands of the very customers they are trying to attract -- the families that want to come to Disney for the magic, the memories -- not just because their pockets are deep. :(

I for one LOVE the deluxe resorts, and will continue to stay at them on occasion. But I also love the moderates and even enjoy the values for quick trips, and if enjoying these "lesser" resorts becomes tantamount to waiting in longer lines while the "privileged" get FP's?? No thank you... and I bet a lot of others... MANY others... would say the same.

[doombuggygal]

I must say that I find the idea of being able to secure fast passes prior to even leaving home is intriguing. I can see the possible positives and negatives associated with this but I think overall, I'm excited about this. What I am not excited about is this "class" system that Disney seems to be slowly implementing. First tiered dining, now tiered fast passes? Soon only people staying at Deluxe resorts will be allowed to eat a sit-down meal at WDW! Come on Disney, you mean to tell me that because I choose to be frugal with my vacation dollars and stay in Value resorts or even off-site so that we can go to Disney 3-4 times a year instead of spending so much on Deluxe accommodations that we can only go every few years, that I am a 2nd class Disney citizen? This feels very un-Disney in that I always thought Disney was supposed to be a place for everyone to enjoy. This also seems like a poor business practice because I am sure that in the end I drop way more bucks into Disney's coffers than those they are trying so hard to cater to.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I really look forward to Disney mailing me my room key ahead of time, I think that is a no-brainer that could have been done years ago.

I don't mind Big Brother following me at Disney as long he stays in Central Florida when I go home. I see a lot of positive things that could come out of RFD technology.

However, if much of the implied future comes to fruition in regards to Deluxe guests getting priority dining/attraction reservations, or if I have to start making reservations to be able to do an attraction with a reasonable wait then I am done with Disney. I wouldn't mind the reservations at attractions if it replaced the existing allotment of Fastpasses distributed, as long at the percentage of capacity for Standby riders remains basically the same. I would rather reservations be made something closer to a week before arrival or maybe not even allowed until 24 hours before but either way 180-day TS reservations keep me out of restaurants at Disney and 180-day attraction planning would keep me close to home at Lake Winnepesaukah!

[TheVBs]

Love the idea of going straight to your room when you get to the resort! Can deal with the idea of reserving seats for shows in advance. But, scheduling ride times? No thank you.

[DisnIse]

When were were in Tomorrowland in January, we saw a crew filming a "family" with the RFID wristbands on. (They had bright fun colors on the kids, more muted colors for the adults) I had read about the concept, I believe, on this board, so I asked one of the Disney execs. He was all "Where'd you hear about this???" which cracked me up. Doesn't everyone know the power of Intercot?

[PrettyMinnie]

Booking ride times is a bit excessive IMO, but show times and tours would be nice. Yes it would give a little more structure, but it's better than waiting in line for a show. And receiving a room key BEFORE I arrive would be a blessing. :thumbsup:

[brivers222]

hopefully they handle this better than they handle ADR for Dining. You won't be able to ever ride with people taking ressies just because they can... whether a not they actually are planning on riding that time is besides the point.


Unless they do a fee based pre-fast pass... that way there is a possible financial loss for reserving and not using.

[Dragongirlx]

I like the idea of booking for show times and tours online. Living in the UK that makes it a bit easier for us, espcially with the cost of international phone calls.
Booking in advance for rides just seems silly to me and could spoil the experience.
Room keys in advance would be great for us because after that 9 hour flight I just want to go to my room but I am wondering how they would do that for us overseas guests - what happens if your key gets lost in the post

[GrumpyFan]

I really don't see the proposed tiered system for attraction reservations as that big of a deal. It's all still "hocus pocus" at the moment, but I can't see them granting Deluxe guest a whole lot more reservations than say a Value guest. At the most, I would see maybe 4 or 5 possible different reservations in a given day for a Deluxe vs a Value of 2 different reservations. By different I mean, they can't have more than one reservation for the same attraction in a given day.

Based on one of the flowcharts I saw in the patent application, it might work something like this.


Guest accesses/logs in to attraction reservation system.
A menu of attractions with available reservations is presented.
Guest selects an attraction.
An electronic Fastpass is issued for the next available time slot for the day.
If the guest has more available reservation allocations, return to step 2, otherwise, exit.

As presented, it basically works like a remote version of the Fastpass system. Which means it is first come first serve. So, in theory, a guest staying at a Value might actually get on the attraction sooner, provided they are able to login and get their E-Fastpass before the Deluxe guest.

This is just one of many scenarios they highlighted in the patent application. What the final product looks like is anybody's guess at this point. So, just be patient, and wait and see.

[JPL]

Not a fan of securing anything before I leave home it takes away from the adventure of vacation! I like to just go with the flow and do what I feel like doing! I even hate the ADR system I would much rather wait for a restaurant than schedule it months in advance! It seems like this system can really add stress to whole WDW experience. It's bad enough at time you have to rush around just to eat some food I can't even imagine worrying that I can't stop to do soemthing because I scheduled all my rides and shows in advance.

[GrumpyFan]

Not a fan of securing anything before I leave home it takes away from the adventure of vacation! I like to just go with the flow and do what I feel like doing! I even hate the ADR system I would much rather wait for a restaurant than schedule it months in advance! It seems like this system can really add stress to whole WDW experience. It's bad enough at time you have to rush around just to eat some food I can't even imagine worrying that I can't stop to do soemthing because I scheduled all my rides and shows in advance.

But, there's nothing now, or even in this plan that mandates guests do it. The standby line isn't going away, as far as I can tell. This is simply another option for guests who want to try and plan their time while there. So, if this much planning causes you stress, then don't do it. Go standby, and enjoy the parks.

[MarkC]

Everyone has good points-- some people are going to embrace these concepts and others will hate it. There are people who like to plan, plan, plan and they will use these services and love them. There are people who like to relax and do whatever they feel like at the time and they won't use them. Overall I think it might work. I do like the idea of having your room key available before you even get there. It will be interesting to follow this. It could happen much quicker than we think as technology continues to rapidly evolve. I even notice the ads I see on my computer are targeted to recent searches we've looked at. Its already going on in a gradual way.

[badkitty]

But, there's nothing now, or even in this plan that mandates guests do it. The standby line isn't going away, as far as I can tell. This is simply another option for guests who want to try and plan their time while there. So, if this much planning causes you stress, then don't do it. Go standby, and enjoy the parks.

Yes, but...

The TS ADR system has practically eliminated the ability to "go stand-by". If I have to "book" in advance in order to ride POTC or EE, I think I'm done.

[John]

We actually discussed this on the latest INTERCOT Insider podcast last nite. Will be posting that over the weekend. Mixed reactions from the crew to say the least.

[Victor Kelly]

The more I read, the more I hate the idea. To me I believe fastpass already slows an attraction down, ie Peter Pan. Yet I do use fastpass.

The relaxing point to a vacation is doing things on a whim instead of a schedule. Many of us have used the ADRs and have had to rush and bounce from point A to B and sometimes C and D. Our honeymood was rushed because we did this, but it was our first time doing it. We still had one heck of a good time though, but we felt rushed a lot.

How do you like the idea of not being able to ride an attraction multiple times or heaven forbid you miss your reservation?

What about park hopping? What about weather? What about crowd issues? What about breakdowns?

It is boiling down to the have's and have nots. If you want services at Disney pay for them. I am still suprised the restrooms are free. And I think it will become a "hey pay for this and you can schedule your entire day and finish a park in an entire day"money making gimmick.

And if this does come to be then you will have 3 lines, fastpass, reservations, and maybe, just maybe the standby line will still exist. But I have a feeling, if implemented, the standby line will have to be gone into extiction. Can you imagine the following signs:

Reservation line: 20 minutes
Fastpass: 60 minutes
Standby: 120 minutes

Congratulations. If you are just a regular scrape pennies together to visit Disney person or family, you are now a third class visitor to Disney.:ack:

This country is so full of self important people it is not funny. Everything has to be scheduled including intimacy and play times with children. Now we have RFID entering into the light now. I am not a biblical person but it seems as the mark is forthcoming.

If Disney implements this, we will no longer go period. Plenty of other fun for a lot less money to be had.

So flame away.

[BrerGnat]

I take it the "reserved ride times" are, essentially, Fast Passes. So, if people can get so many fast passes prior to arrival at the park, it will simply mean that many LESS FP available IN the parks at the stations.

So, in essence, NON resort guests and those who don't utilize the FP "Reservation" system will have to take what's left over, which could vary from day to day, based on how many people utilize the reservation system.

From what I can imagine, there really is no feasible way to actually issue out reservation times for attractions. There are too many variables that would come into play. I'm guessing it will be identical to the FP that exists now, except you will be able to obtain it from your resort (or home?) before you get to the park.

This could be useful, especially if you can hold more than one at a time. Will eliminate a lot of the nonsensical "running around" to get to FP machines in the parks first thing when you arrive.

I think part of this is, like they mentioned, an attempt at crowd control and improved guest flow in the parks. With this sort of system, for example, DHS will no longer be plagued with the masses running to TSMM, or Epcot and Soarin, first thing in the morning. If people don't have to flock to ONE area all at once, the rest of the park will have a more balanced flow, and the guest experience, as a whole, will improve.

I'm most excited about the ability to have your room key before arriving on property. I imagine a system like the cruise line booking website, whereby you can log on "x" number of days prior to your arrival and see the available rooms at your resort (based on your booking category), and you can choose your own room. That would be great! If they could actually manage to pull this off using their computer system, that would be awesome. They could even give you the option to upgrade to a different room category for an add'l fee (but less than rack rate, to fill up unoccupied rooms in those categories and get a bit of extra $$$). This way, I think, they could eliminate all the room requests and additional man hours it takes for CMs to be trying to fill those requests, and to move people who are unhappy with their room assignment, etc.

The one thing that I am worried about is the troubling surveys that have been going around lately regarding removal of onsite resort perks for people using a discount to book the room. I did one of these surveys, and honestly, it really worries me what they are "thinking" of doing...

[magicman]

1) I would like to get my room key ahead of time

2) Everything else is problematic & I think might be bad business.

Example 1: I would NOT want to book a trip at the last minute as all of the ride reservations are already taken.

Example 2: I wouldn't book a trip to a value resort for a week and pay out $4,000 just so my kids could stand in line looking pitifully at me while all the Deluxe guests get to walk by us in their elite line.

[Jared]

This has obviously been a hot topic for the past two days. I think there's way too much negativity for something that's in the extreme preliminary stages. Disney fanatics are making wild assumptions about how this system will look. In reality, we have absolutely zero idea what the NextGen experience will be like. I'm choosing to withhold judgment until the plan is operational. The people making these decisions are considerably smarter than me. It's only fair to give them a chance to show us what they have in mind.

[DizneyRox]

Thank you for booking your Magical Vacation at WDW! The total for your vacation will be $3759.33 and will be charged if you hit SUBMIT on thie bottom of this page.

Before you do, can we suggest a few things that will make your vacation even more magical?

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[Jared]

Two more points regarding the tiered Fastpass system:

1. Disney has had patents registered for a a tiered Fastpass system for at least five years. Probably longer. The company has chosen not to implement it yet. I imagine there's a reason.

2) Universal has used a tiered Fastpass system for quite a while. I think we can all agree that as a resort, it is doing just fine.

Smile, folks. We're talking about something that will not exist for years, if ever at all. By the time it rolls around, it probably will look so different we can't even recognize it.

[ERJDriver]

I agree that it's a little early to get really spooled up about this, it's essentially still in blue sky phase it sounds like. I do think however that DisneyRox has presented a pretty good idea of what the future holds:(

[magicman]

Two more points regarding the tiered Fastpass system:

1. Disney has had patents registered for a a tiered Fastpass system for at least five years. Probably longer. The company has chosen not to implement it yet. I imagine there's a reason.

2) Universal has used a tiered Fastpass system for quite a while. I think we can all agree that as a resort, it is doing just fine.

Smile, folks. We're talking about something that will not exist for years, if ever at all. By the time it rolls around, it probably will look so different we can't even recognize it.

True enough, but the sneetches with no stars on their bellies didn't think much at first when other sneetches appeared with stars on thars.;)

Please see Dr. Seuss for further clarification.

[Altair]

So I take it the ultimate goal is to have fewer guests, but the average amount each guest spends will go way up. So in effect, those that can still attend will be paying for themselves and all those that can't afford to go anymore.:(

[Ian]

This has obviously been a hot topic for the past two days. I think there's way too much negativity for something that's in the extreme preliminary stages. Disney fanatics are making wild assumptions about how this system will look. In reality, we have absolutely zero idea what the NextGen experience will be like. I'm choosing to withhold judgment until the plan is operational. The people making these decisions are considerably smarter than me. It's only fair to give them a chance to show us what they have in mind.Gotta agree with Jared here.

I said on the podcast last night that my initial gut reaction was negative, but I've learned recently to adopt a wait and see attitude with these things.

I'll wait for the details first.

[Stu29573]

I'm with the "largely negative" crowd on this one. I don't like even doing ADRs 180 days out, there's no way I would like to plan every moment of my trip. Also, I can see a HUGE issue with abusing the system.

However, I'm pretty sure Disney is thinking about these issues too. I shall choose to trust, but still be wary...

[McLiberal8]

I, for one, am excited.

Call me naive, but I trust in Disney that they will make decisions like this to MAXSIMIZE guest experience, not make it worse.

I'm sure it will be an option that will be available, but not mandatory.

Think of it, though - you get on a ride (like FInding Nemo) and Marlin tells you 'Hey, [your name], help me find Nemo!' How cool would that be!?

I am also one of those crazy planners, so this sounds great, for me. I can't wait to plot out my rides along with the rest of my day in the parks. :)

[ti2gr]

I think the billion dollars spent on this project could have been better spent developing new attractions for the parks or maybe giving the hard working cast members a liveable working wage.

[princessjojo]

I know its a far stretch, but it seems to be coming closer and closer to feeling like an experience out of the movie The Fifth Element. I already feel like my life is a little too public with the likes of Facebook and such. And there's something to be said for privacy.

I would however, love to experience all of this new technology...in line behind the family who gave them their personal info.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

Thank you for booking your Magical Vacation at WDW! The total for your vacation will be $3759.33 and will be charged if you hit SUBMIT on thie bottom of this page.

Before you do, can we suggest a few things that will make your vacation even more magical?

Did you know for $50 per person per day, each morning Tinkerbell will deliver your day's itinerary complete with fast passes. Add Magic

Having trouble getting dining reservations? For only $10 per person per day (meals not included), let our fairly godmother plan your dining experiences. Add Magic

When you're done, Submit your plans for a magical getaway you won't forget!

:funny: LMAO!!!! :funny:

That's what I was thinking!!

I agree with the concept of the booking ride time in moderation. I think if they only allowed two or three online FP bookings per day ~ I'd be okay with that. They ability to book dozens of them, I think is asinine & unreasonable.

Would I use it myself? Probably not, I like more of the spontaneous approach to my holiday. I do agree that I'd hate to book ALL that stuff and it would probably result in our vacationing there reducing, because of hassle.

Guess we'll have to wait and see how it rolls out. I just hope they put more thought into it than they seem to do with some other changes.:mickey:

[Dyanna]

I am invisioning the reserve your ride time in advance as a horible idea. Hope they limit how many passes one can get for a particular ride or the first person that logs on can get passes for every hour on the popular rides knocking out the next person who wants to get passes for their family. For those that dont plan ahead I would hope Disney puts aside a nice alotment of passes for those to get the day of park arrival.

[Dsnygirl]

The one thing that I am worried about is the troubling surveys that have been going around lately regarding removal of onsite resort perks for people using a discount to book the room. I did one of these surveys, and honestly, it really worries me what they are "thinking" of doing...

That would be a bit disturbing... I just did one of their "post trip" surveys, and none of this came up, thankfully!! We never travel without some kind of discount, whether it's an AP room, a room-only discount or the free dining, which we're trying in August for the first time. If Disney granted me a discount, and then essentially penalized me for it, I'm thinking we'd be there far less often... :(

[lettripp]

This could be useful, especially if you can hold more than one at a time. Will eliminate a lot of the nonsensical "running around" to get to FP machines in the parks first thing when you arrive.



I think this is a REALLY good point. As it is now, people have their own tactics to maneuver the park more quickly - if it works like this, then rather than having one person run to, oh, I donno, Pooh and the rest of the part meet at Splash, the whole FAMILY could go everywhere together. I think Disney knows that if they truly turn the access to rides into some obscene hierarchy without considering all guests in some way, they will lose business...

I think we need to be patient and see how it is executed before we go up in arms about it...

[Dirty Bird Street]

I'll take you through my reactions to this at first:

:fit: - "Great, now all the halfway decent rides with long-ish lines are going to be the attraction equivalent of Le Cellier. Want to go on Soarin' next time you're on vacation? Better book it right before or after your seating at Restaurant Akershus 180 days in advance. And now the Tomorrowland Speedway will be more like renting a car than actually renting a car. Gee, how magical."

:scratch: - "But wait... they can't be so short-sighted as to divvy up advance Fast Passes or show seating without getting the gate admission first—and forcing guests to go to a park for a certain time on a certain date sounds just a tad too jack-booted for the Happiest Place on Earth. Okay, so either this is more akin to making a reservation to make a reservation (like buying stock futures), or maybe it's a service that hotel guests get once they key into the park itself. Still not too crazy about this one, though."

:plot: - "Hmm... so if we get enough Disney regulars that are fed up with this system, if it's anything like the above, a vocal and mobile community could bring about its undoing pretty quickly. Have guests in on the sorta-protest request as much as humanly possible prior to their arrival, actually go through with the gate admission, and then just sit on the Fast Passes/reserved seats. This way, Disney sees a lot of their 'preferred guest' services going underutilized, which translates into money down the drain. They won't stand for that very long, will they? And then Disney will be for everybody once again!"

I say bring it on, Disney. If it works and is fair, more power to you. If it's as bad as some of us are fearing... we have ways of making you rethink this policy.

[PirateLover]

I'll try to take the wait and see approach too but I don't like the sound of this so far for 2 reasons. 1. Our lives are becoming totally controlled by technology and it creeps me out to a certain extent, even though I do like technology
2. I've had the most fun on trips that were not tied to a limiting schedule.

[brownie]

I'm not sure it's a good thing to let people reserve attraction times before their trip. There's something about the fairness of it all. The current Fast Pass system seems pretty fair. You have to be in the park and you have to make choices. If you wait to get a Fast Pass or choose one ride over another, that's the chance you take. I'd hate to see that system impacted by a reserve in advance system. Maybe they have it worked out to be fair, so I think we'll have to learn more before rushing to final judgments on this. I am wary, though.

[waymickey]

I don't like the sounds of this at all and I hope disney re think the decision. It is taking the magic out of the parks. Remote fast pass? I don't think I like it!

[Buttercup]

Eek... not liking this at all.
I can just see it... my kids having a temper tantrum because they want to go on Buzz Lightyear but Mom & Dad having to say "No, we can't go on that until 4:00. Right now you MUST go on BTR since that's what we are reserved for."
Doesn't sound helpful to me.

[lovin'fl]

DON'T LIKE THIS 1 BIT!!!!!!! Don't like having to pre-plan sooooo much and I am a very organized, busy-body, control freak type. And I too worry there will be a cost to reserve and if you don't do it, you will be SOL at the parks. No thank you! And Disney spent that much to come up with this system? Are you freakin' kiddin' me!!! Costs have gone up and we are getting less and less for our money....all so they could spend $$$ to create this system. And I absolutley DO NOT like all the tracking big brother stuff. NO WAY!!! Why are they doing it...who will get our info? Big mistake Disney!!!! You're gonna lose so many patrons.

[MongoMil]

The ultimate goal, he added, is "to welcome more and more people, while making their experience more satisfying, more personal and more immersive."



Well add more parks not gimicks to herd people through. Imagin if all the parks around the world was at WDW. It would be huge. Instead of diluting the product keep it together. IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME. Its like they are scared to add to it. The best thing that ever happened to Disney was the addition of the new parks. To chicken to finish the Monorail, PoP and many other little projects they mention.

[gerald72]

I don't like it. The current Fastpass system is what brings me back to Disney, and one of the things that sets Disney apart from other parks.
Preplanning a vacation this much like this new way makes you could make me not return at all.

[Ian]

The best thing that ever happened to Disney was the addition of the new parks.Funny how different perspectives can be ... I think adding the last two new parks was the worst thing that ever happened to WDW.

It lead to infrastructure and HR costs to great to bear and thus all the cutbacks, reductions, and price increases you've seen in recent years.

And really ... neither DHS or AK are that great as to make it worth the sacrifice. I'd go back in time to the just MK/EPCOT Center days in a heartbeat. The World was a much better place back then.

[princessgirls]

Just my opinion... I think it's a terrible idea!!

I know it doesn't matter what I think...but seriously, how much planning can I put into a trip, down to the times we are riding Splash..

I don't mind planning the meals because we enjoy eating at the various spots around the world, but I can't micromanage every minute of the vacation.

Also, I always thought Disney was extremely fair in regards to fastpass, that it is available to everyone!! Not just those staying at the top shelf resorts. I don't go for that pay more and you get to the front of the line mentality, as I am just a regular ordinary middle class kind of girl.

Julie:mickey:

[Granny Jill A]

Reservations for showtimes, yes, perhaps.... but not for rides. There are too many variables to consider with ride reservations. What happens when a ride goes down? That throws the whole reservation schedule out the window.

[PlutoToo]

I wonder how fair this system will be to those who don't have access to computers/smart phones? Not everyone can use the internet. At least the current system you have to physically be there and everyone has the same chance at passes if they're willing to get up in the morning. Just my humble 2 cents.

[patandtwins]

The ultimate goal, he added, is "to welcome more and more people, while making their experience more satisfying, more personal and more immersive."



Well add more parks not gimicks to herd people through. Imagin if all the parks around the world was at WDW. It would be huge. Instead of diluting the product keep it together. IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME. Its like they are scared to add to it. The best thing that ever happened to Disney was the addition of the new parks. To chicken to finish the Monorail, PoP and many other little projects they mention.

So funny...my DH and I were talking about Disney's plan and DS-14 heard and his exact response was..."why don't they just build another park?".
Who's running Disney? I'll have to google it, but whoever he/she is gets a thumbs down from me.:down:

[Mousemates]

The one thing that I am worried about is the troubling surveys that have been going around lately regarding removal of onsite resort perks for people using a discount to book the room. I did one of these surveys, and honestly, it really worries me what they are "thinking" of doing...

yeah...that would be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" for us with Disney. if you get less service then its not really a discount anyway...you are simply paying a cheaper price for an inferior product. We have done three surveys over the last two years and never had that particular question pop up...wish it would have so I could have voiced my thoughts.

[Mousemates]

True enough, but the sneetches with no stars on their bellies didn't think much at first when other sneetches appeared with stars on thars.;)

Please see Dr. Seuss for further clarification.

:thumbsup:

[Janmac]

There're a couple things about this that puzzle me, especially since it's been a very long time since I was last at Vegas.

How would the room check-in work regarding the room key? They wouldn't actually send you a room key, do they?!? If they did, how is it activated?

I really like the idea of picking your room from the list of available rooms. That's kinda cool. As is a possibility of an upgrade for X dollars.

I'm wondering, tho, if this advance choosing and checking in means that if you arrive at your resort at 2 pm in late January, or mid-September - times you might be able to get into your room, early - are you now not getting into your room until the normal check-in time, because it's all automatic?

Also,I'm okay with fewer fast passes for Value Resorts compared to Deluxe Resorts. Value Resorts have fewer restaurant options and generally fewer transportation options. The argument might be made that is a resort thing and the fast passes are park things, but it's all Walt Disney World Resort - parks and lodging.

We like to avoid early EMH so I always know which park I'm going into on any particular morning of our stay. No big deal. If we could have fast passes in hand before we entered the park, that'd be great. Let's face it, the first 3 things we always do at DHS are TSM, ToT and RnRC.

And I'm kinda wondering how that works too. Will guests get the equivalent of KTTW card that has fast passes entered in to it?

So if Disney is doing all this big brother kind of stuff, does this mean we might be able to skip the ever popular bag (aka security) check at the turnstiles? After all, they already know everything about us.

Jan

[teamblackwell]

Wouldn't be cool to be sitting down for lunch, pull out your web-based phone and reserve FP's for your next ride? Maybe Disney could rent out palm pads with the "Verizon type" app, and look at wait times and grab a FP instantly. Just an idea.

[PopPhan]

Also,I'm okay with fewer fast passes for Value Resorts compared to Deluxe Resorts. Value Resorts have fewer restaurant options and generally fewer transportation options. The argument might be made that is a resort thing and the fast passes are park things, but it's all Walt Disney World Resort - parks and lodging.

If it was all one thing, as you state, there would be one price for each level of resort - including room and park tickets. Instead, there are separate prices for rooms and park tickets, and park ticket prices do not change just because of the resort you book.

Paying less for the room, I expect fewer amenities that there would be in more pricey resorts; paying the same price for park tickets, I would expect, and demand, the same options, bonuses, etc. upon use.

Why don't they remove the FastPass machines altogether and just hand everyone entering that park one of the "Dream FastPass" lanyards that they had for "The Year of a Million Dreams?" THEN, everyone would be treated alike and fairly.

[DizneyRox]

Everything is a revenue stream to Disney.

Picking your room (for a charge) is a nice easy way to get people to impulse into spending more. By highlighting available rooms that might have a better view, or closer to the bus stop is a neat way of influencing that. If you see a big old YOU ARE HERE on the screen 7 buildings away from the bus stop, but a nice little yellow marker with the Fairy Godmother showing you rooms available for only $100 more that are right next to the bus stop, I would bet that people will pay it.

The resorts ARE tiered. While behind the scenes, many will argue they are exactly the same. As a guest, I don't get the same feeling waiting for a bus for the Grand as I do waiting for a bus back to Pop. Worth paying for? Yep, for me it is, although I don't like the Grand. Given the choice, I would pick deluxe over mods over values every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

While I 100% that it would make most people mad (me included) I do think the reality is that people WILL continue to go, and even if just a small percentage of people take advantage of it, it's money they wouldn't have had otherwise. The trick for Disney is going to be pricing it right to maximize the profits, and I think they have a handle on that as well.


Paying less for the room, I expect fewer amenities that there would be in more pricey resorts; paying the same price for park tickets, I would expect, and demand, the same options, bonuses, etc. upon use.
Simply tie the FastPasses to your room key and this argument goes out the window. Your park tickets would probably continue to work as is, but your room card works like those volunteering fast passes they gave out. That was probably a test case for the tiered fastpass system quite frankly. Disney just adjusts down the general public fast pass distribution rate to account for these anytime fast passes and nobody is any the wiser.

[Ian]

yeah...that would be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" for us with Disney. if you get less service then its not really a discount anyway...you are simply paying a cheaper price for an inferior product.My guess is that Disney's considering this as another option to work towards their goal of "weaning the public off of discounts" (their words not mine).

Figure they'll start small ... slowly take away perks from those staying at discounted rates to gently (or not so gently) nudge people towards the rack rate room and away from the discounted room. Personally, I think it's silly and that it won't work (the problem is simply that Disney's rooms are too expensive), but that doesn't mean they won't try it.


How would the room check-in work regarding the room key? They wouldn't actually send you a room key, do they?!? If they did, how is it activated?It's pretty simple. When they issue your room key they encode it with a random number that's then stored in their system with your arrival/departure dates & times on it.

When that window opens for "room 123" your encoded random simply starts to work to open the door. Fairly straightforward, actually.

Not saying that this is how Disney will do it, mind you. Just providing an example of a way it could be done.

[DizneyRox]

Yes, I'm pretty sure the room keys are coded with a valid through date. I might be mistaken, but I think the laws are different in Florida than some other states and Disney CAN just throw you out of a hotel room. Which the coded date would effectively do.

[magicofdisney]

How would the room check-in work regarding the room key? They wouldn't actually send you a room key, do they?!? If they did, how is it activated?




It's pretty simple. When they issue your room key they encode it with a random number that's then stored in their system with your arrival/departure dates & times on it.

When that window opens for "room 123" your encoded random simply starts to work to open the door. Fairly straightforward, actually.

Not saying that this is how Disney will do it, mind you. Just providing an example of a way it could be done.
They already do this to some extent. You can check-in at anytime. They'll usually give you a key at check-in. Sometimes your room is ready and other times you have to wait for a specific time, a phone call or a text. At that point the key becomes active for the room.

[Sweetpea29488]

I haven't read through all the posts so I'm sorry if this has already been asked.

Is there mention of when this will start?

[PopPhan]

I haven't read through all the posts so I'm sorry if this has already been asked.

Is there mention of when this will start?

Right now, it is still in the "thought pattern" stage. There is no indication of if, and/or when, it will actually occur.

That said, the Disney Blog site has just posted a new FastPass attraction -- a Mickey Meet & Greet at MK!!


Mickey FASTPASS: Guests Will Be Able To Determine a Time To Meet Mickey Mouse Beginning This Spring at Magic Kingdom

posted on February 22nd, 2011 by Thomas Smith, Social Media Director, Disney Parks

How about this: For the first time at Disney Parks, you’ll have the opportunity to nail down a time for a face-to-face meeting with Mickey Mouse at the Walt Disney World Resort. Beginning this spring, we’ll be offering FASTPASS for Mickey at his new permanent home, Town Square Theater, located inside the current Exposition Hall area at the entrance of Magic Kingdom park.

Once open, it’ll be more than just a new greeting space for Mickey. Imagineers are creating new elements and surprises for Magic Kingdom park guests, including an interactive queue – with an extra touch of Disney magic. Also, during the New Fantasyland construction, royalty will be visiting as the Disney Princesses will be in Town Square Theater to meet and greet their loyal subjects this spring.

How will it work? Magic Kingdom guests will be able obtain a Disney’s FASTPASS specifying a one-hour window when they can return to see the popular character for hugs, photos and autographs – without waiting in the standby queue. This marks the first time the complimentary, computerized service has been utilized for a character meet-and-greet at any Disney Park.

Walt Disney Imagineers are already working to completely transform the space for the new experience. Stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more updates on this one-of-a-kind experience.

[Janmac]

Thanks, guys, for the info on the room key.

Mentioned the possibility of this new stuff to my sister, as well as some of the opinions from some of the posters.

Regarding the addition of another park instead of advance fast passes, she had a thought. Put all the e-ticket rides from all the existing parks into one new park. Not move them but put a second ride - so you could ride ToT either at DHS or the e-ticket park, same with EE or Splash Mtn. If attendance numbers are down, the e-ticket park doesn't open. But on very busy days, the e-ticket park opens, siphoning off the thrill seekers from the other 4 parks - thereby maximizing guests' enjoyment (in Disney-speak).

Jan

[anneo]

One thing that really bothers me is the RFID wristband thing. I'm sure it will be optional, but as parents we are warned not to have shirts with our children's names on them and to take other precautions to keep our little ones safe from predators. Not all parents closely monitor their children while at Disney because it feels like a safe place, and it tends to bring out the best in most people. It wouldn't be hard for a predator to get an RFID reader online and use that in the parks to get a child's name and interests and use that information to gain a child's trust. There are plenty of evil people in the world who would do things to hurt children, and I would hate to see that happen.

[FriendsofMickey]

One thing that really bothers me is the RFID wristband thing. I'm sure it will be optional, but as parents we are warned not to have shirts with our children's names on them and to take other precautions to keep our little ones safe from predators. Not all parents closely monitor their children while at Disney because it feels like a safe place, and it tends to bring out the best in most people. It wouldn't be hard for a predator to get an RFID reader online and use that in the parks to get a child's name and interests and use that information to gain a child's trust. There are plenty of evil people in the world who would do things to hurt children, and I would hate to see that happen.

I was thinking the same thing.

[GrumpyFan]

One thing that really bothers me is the RFID wristband thing. I'm sure it will be optional, but as parents we are warned not to have shirts with our children's names on them and to take other precautions to keep our little ones safe from predators.
It wouldn't be hard for a predator to get an RFID reader online and use that in the parks to get a child's name and interests and use that information to gain a child's trust. There are plenty of evil people in the world who would do things to hurt children, and I would hate to see that happen.

Sorry, but I think you're being a bit paranoid and over-reactive.
I understand wanting to protect your kids as well as your own privacy, but you're more likely to have your wallet stolen, or your credit card scanned electronically and stolen than you are your personal info stolen from and RFID band.

I just don't see this as a real threat, and I'll try to explain why. It really just depends on what they put on the RFID chip/band. There are lots of different ways this can be implemented, and somehow I doubt they will put personal info on them, as that would certainly cause an outcry by privacy advocates.

I've worked with and even programmed these kinds of systems before, and what many companies do is put a unique number/id on them, that when read by the receiver, invokes a query to a database system that retrieves the necessary information. In which case, the only way to get the personal info would be to somehow access their database, which I'm pretty sure is secured. So, the RFID band itself is pretty useless unless the perpetrator has a receiver device that is programmed to access the secured database.

[GoBlueLacheta]

Hopefully, they don't make you put the RFID chip in your hand and require it for you to engage in commerce and buy things at Disney, that sounds eerily familiar to something pretty diabolical.:mad:

Ride times bad idea. Although I'd imagine that it would take from the already alotted FP's at the park that are pre-determined by season and crowd size. It would hurt the local business that would come for a day during peak times only to find higher stand-by lines and virtually no FP's.

Everything else is kind of wait and see. I am all for more interactive experiences during the rides themselves and in the queue lines. Something that is really lost in being talked about. The commitment to making more personal experience even while you wait in line. I think that market research should be enough to accomplish this and it should not require the guests have a bunch of personal information attached to them while on vacation most likely far away from home with their children. Just opens up a dangerous proverbial can of worms.

Not every family is planners to the point where you leave nothing to decide the day of. Yes it is a pain to have to make ADR's but if FP's reach the point that walk-up dining has at WDW it would be very sad.

[meldan98]

Most of us are people of go to DL or WDW regularly. If you think of this plan from the perspective of a 1st time visitor or a once in a lifetime visitor, wouldn't it be awsome to make some ADRs to eat at the places you want to eat at and then make sure you get to do what you want to do by simply sitting down at breakfast at your hotel in the morning and then selecting a few must see's or must do's on your wireless device and then having the fast passes put onto your RFID. I think that we need to give Disney a chance and see what they do.