Fast Passes: Worth it?

[Cuzco-topia]

Personally, if I have one, I love it! If I don't...I hate the people who do have them as they gleefully walk on by.

I've noticed some rides are worth it...other's not. Sometimes the waiting in line is the best part. What do you guys think?

[Retlaw Yensid]

I like it for Indiana Jones and star tours because even having a fast pass you still get to wait in line through the elaborate cueues.

[mamabot]

The FP option is no longer available for Star Tours. The schedule from yesterday states next to Star Tours, "Disney's FastPass Service Closed". The schedule from January 30th said the same thing.

FastPass works best on Indy and HMH for me.

[niki0619]

I totally take advantage of the Fast Pass whenever I go. It's like a "2-rides-for-the-wait-time-of-1" deal. What I try to do is get passes for rides that have really boring lines (like Space and Splash Mountain... I'm sorry but those wait lines bored me to tears) and go on something like Indy or Star Tours

[Emelius_Browne]

Waiting in line doesn't bother me sometimes because it is nice to have some time to look around and enjoy the sights and not rush by things...of course it helps that Disneyland has some great queues

[Cuzco-topia]

I'm glad they took the fp out of potc...that was pointless and caused a mess of the entrance.

[captveg]

The simple answer is that FP works for some rides and it doesn't work for others.

There is one thing about FP that bothers me that I've yet to see discussed online. It's not a problem with FP itself, but with how the CM's handle it.

It seems that the regular line should be free to continue on until an individual shows up with a FP. That makes the most sense to me - no FP people, let the regular line keep flowing. But this isn't what happens. I always see the regular line held up for the FP line when there is NO ONE in the FP line! Is there any logic to this? Why hold up the regular line for FP holders who may not show up? Shouldn't the regular line be allowed to continue as normal until the FP holder actually arrives?

Is there a CM that can explain the reasoning for this for me?

However, aside from this, I think FP is great.

[SurfedUpDane]

Imagineers spend years on the planning of many of the ride queues, the least we can do is enjoy them for the short amount of time we spend waiting. I like fastpasses, but if by adding more options for these line-cutting devices means less chance of a new e-ticket ride, who needs em?!

[Disneychica04]

i sometimes think that the FP's are a waste of time. sure they are great when there are long lines, but your whole experience of disneyland is to wait in the lines for the rides. the lines are usually the best part cuz there are alot of cool things to look at. i think they should just get rid of the whole fast pass idea completely. more guests complain cuz there just arent enough fast passes for everyone and so they just say its unfair.

[DznyVan]

Captveg...

I totally agree. Since FP's came out I said the same thing. I understand the concept, but as it turned out, it penalizes the folks that do not have one. The "stand-by" line has become the "wait for the FastPass folks to enter" line. It was a good idea that got messed up. It is very annoying to be standing in line with no one in the FP area and we just have to stand there and wait...and wait.

It's almost as bad as the Bay Area Carpool lanes being empty with the other three lanes jammed to a stop. But sorry, that is another story...

[merlinjones]

I don't like FastPass for the simple reason that those extra signs and machines really clutter up the design aesthetics of the park.

[HarajukuBoy]

I personally miss the days before FP. FP makes the lines move horribly slower. It's great if you have a fastpass, but personally the lines for these attractions (most of them) were meant to be enjoyed while you wait. FP also clogs the walkways in the park since less people are actually waiting in line. I wish FP was abolished. Make everyone wait, nobody should be treated special.

[MooSical Man]

I too feel that the FP program is unneccessary. I will admit to using it sometimes when I am particularly impatient to go on an attraction like HMH, but for the most part, if I feel a line is just too long to wait in, I simply don't go on that attraction at that minute. Use the spaces where the kiosks are set up to provide more food carts (just kidding!)

[Jspider]

The simple answer is that FP works for some rides and it doesn't work for others.

There is one thing about FP that bothers me that I've yet to see discussed online. It's not a problem with FP itself, but with how the CM's handle it.

It seems that the regular line should be free to continue on until an individual shows up with a FP. That makes the most sense to me - no FP people, let the regular line keep flowing. But this isn't what happens. I always see the regular line held up for the FP line when there is NO ONE in the FP line! Is there any logic to this? Why hold up the regular line for FP holders who may not show up? Shouldn't the regular line be allowed to continue as normal until the FP holder actually arrives?

Is there a CM that can explain the reasoning for this for me?

However, aside from this, I think FP is great.

I think that has to do more with the que's not really being designed to handle FP's

I mean while it's true that that's the way things look from the outside, once you get inside an attraction like Indy you come into another line which is a line that is made up of FPers merged with Standbyers

I suppose the best way to do FP would be to forget merging and just have people hop in at the load area but most attractions just arn't designed that way (heck is ToT even designed that way?)

[Giant Panda]

I think the basic concept of FP is great, but perhaps it could use some tweaking. Maybe on some days they would only be available to non-APers, maybe they would limit their output so they don't run out by noon .......

But the idea that they are somehow "not fair" gets me all metaphysical ...... life is not fair! Everybody at DL can get a FP, so how is it not fair?

And being something of a transportation professional, I like the analogy to carpool lanes. However, FP was installed like carpool lanes were (improperly) created in the 1970s ....... a portion of existing capacity was converted to "preferred" users ....... which made things even worse for those that were not preferred .......... but anybody could have carpooled, if they wanted to ....

[HarajukuBoy]

I just realized my earlier reply wasn't thought out very well. Fastpass is fair because people are still waiting to ride an attraction, just not in line. However standby lines on Fastpass attractions have become ridiculously longer waits because of the merging of the two lines. I agree Fastpass was instituted rather poorly.

[sediment]

I'm not a big fan of FastPass. One big reason: the walkways are crowded because of FastPass, instead of the queuing areas, which is what the queuing areas are for in the first place. Yes, people are "waiting in line," but mixed in with the walkway traffic.

I would like to see it, in order from highest of extremeness:
1. Abolished;
2. Allowed for ticket-paying guests only -- not for AP holders;
3. Same as #2, but with a daily $10 buy-in for AP holders;
4. Completely turned off until the 30,000th guest passes through the turnstiles.

[Jspider]

balance is really the key, they need to take Fastpass off all the attractions that don't need it, fix up the que problems as best as possiblem, get it away from attractions that have a good preshow already set up and then also make sure you only have one fastpassed ride per land (our maybe one out of every three if the land is redicuously huge)

[MiceMan]

I hate to admit it but I love using fastpass. It allows me to get a spot for one ride while I can go and enjoy others. I think it is more useful in DCA than in DL because there is a lot you can see and do if you feel like taking the time. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind waiting in line on certain rides but for rides like Splash Mtn. I refuse to wait in a two hour ride that doesn't even get you that wet! (Single Rider Line For Me!) JMHO

[captveg]

I think that has to do more with the que's not really being designed to handle FP's

I don't think so. For instance, on Thunder Mountain RR I constantly see a sizable gap between the "let through" people and the point where FP and SB merge. There's no one in the FP line, there's space for SB people to be let past the merge point, yet the SB line doesn't move. Why? Why can't the CM keep allowing SB people in if there's room instead of waiting for a mythical FP holder to return?

balance is really the key, they need to take Fastpass off all the attractions that don't need it, fix up the que problems as best as possiblem, get it away from attractions that have a good preshow already set up and then also make sure you only have one fastpassed ride per land (our maybe one out of every three if the land is redicuously huge)

Yep, exactly. It's all about balance.

There are a number of ways they can tweak the system to help it work better and provide better balance. Eliminating FP from Star Tours is a great step, though it was an obvious one since Buzz and SM are gonna open soon. They could scale back the number of FP given out every day, which means less people waiting around to use their FP. They could, like I said, manage the line merge better. It's always better to adjust a system to see how it responds than to totally ditch it.