Why Fastpass at Disney can be horrible

I was in Orlando last week and went to one Disney Park - Epcot.  Lines were rather short most of the day, until around 4 or so when I got in line to ride Live with the Land, in "The Land" building.  It said it was a 40 minute wait.  I thought that was a little long but I would deal with it.  It wasn't long until I noticed the line not moving at all.  I then noticed how many fastpass people there were going ahead of the line.  There were tons of fastpass people going to the front of the line.  The ride is a boat ride that goes around and shows you earth things.  Each boat holds maybe 30-40 people or so.  What they kept doing was filling up each boat with the fastpass people, and then filled up any empty seats with the normal people waiting.  This caused my wait to exceed 1 hour.  It was very frustrating for everyone in line because everytime the fastpass land died down, another 30 or 40 people showed up, and they were being seated immediately.  Now I know what some of you are going to say - "Just get a fastpass."  Well that's not my point.  astpass should be there to let some people go to the front of the while letting others ride too without too much of a delay.  Each ride should not be 95% fastpass people.  There should only be 20% of so of the people on each ride from the fastpass.  The way they are going now, fastpass may be obsolete eventually - the reason I say this is because if everyone uses fastpass, then the wait will be the same before fastpass was even designed.  Just imagine everyone in a line now moved over to the fastpass lane.  You can't get everyone at ride at 1:30 for example, so the waiting will be just as bad after a few years when everyone does fastpass. 

I think fastpass is one of the worst things to hit theme parks.  Let's get rid of them

Zimm

*** This post was edited by Zimm on 2/12/2002. ***

Wow, Disneys version of line cutting seems to get the most positive reviews. If thats the case with your opinion being negative of it, I would hate to see what you think of SF's Fastlane or Lo-Q.
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Im going to grab a cold one! WHAT? Walk to my computer! WHAT? Turn the thing on! WHAT? Log on to Coasterbuzz! WHAT? I said log on to Coasterbuzz!! WHAT?WHAT?WHAT?

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Chitown said:
Wow, Disneys version of line cutting seems to get the most positive reviews. If thats the case with your opinion being negative of it, I would hate to see what you think of SF's Fastlane or Lo-Q.
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I actually haven't experienced either of those systems but I probably wouldn't like them.  I don't know much about them since I try to not read about it when its posted because I get annoyed by it.
Zimm

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Zimm I was at WDW a little over a week ago. I completely disagree with your opinion of fastpass. It is absolutely the best thing to ever happen at an amusement park. I used it every chance I could and it worked wonderfully. (Maybe the ride operators at "The Land" didn't operate as it should have been operated. It should have filled each boat with a 50% mix of people.) However, you couldn't use your formula of 20% fastpass because then the fastpass line would be longer than the regular line. That is not the idea of fastpass. Next time be a little smarter and get a fastpass. Why would you wait in a regular line when you could have used fastpass? I can't understand why you wouldn't use it if you could. I wish all parks had it. WDW system of fastpass is far superior to the fastpass system at any of the Six Flags Parks!!!
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Joey
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CATHERINE ROCKS! WHEN BIGGER BABEES ATTACK!

*** This post was edited by coasterkingoftheworld on 2/12/2002. ***

Disney's Fastpass is the model on which all fastlane systems should be based. Yours is the first negative review of it that I have heard. The system makes it very easy to plan your day at the park, regarding lunch, dinner, etc. If your pass for, say, Test Track is at 6:40, then you can base the rest of your day around that, and not waste time in lines. I, too, would suggest getting the fast pass next time.
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Doesn't it seem as though morons always have the caps lock on?

I'm of the opinion that FastPass is the best thing to happen to amusement parks since tubular steel track was invented.  I was at Disney Land New Year's Day and while the park wasn't packed, it wasn't near empty either.  It was a very good size crowd, and I didn't wait more than 30 minutes for anything.  It was a great day, and thanks to Fast Pass, we did every single major attraction easily. 
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Idle hands were orient to her.

coasterkingoftheworld: My husband and I were also at WDW a little over a week ago. :)
We found the fastpass system worked great for us. Actually my husband enjoyed Test Track so much, we got a fastpass and also waited in the 30 minute line. So, we were able to ride twice in a short period of time. We found most of the ride ops did mix up the fastpass people with the people waiting in line. We would definitely use the system again.

Add me to the list that thinks FastPass sets the standard. I'm surpsrised that something like this happened as the key to the success of FastPass is the fact that a limited number of passes are given out for any given time eliminating the possibility of a non-moving "regular" line. That's the reason the whole thing works so well.

I wonder if this was some kind of fluke, a problem with the distribution process or if Disney is upping the number given out in hopes of encouraging more people to use it?

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www.coasterimage.com

It's good, but not perfect.

Sometimes they give away too many too fast.  I was at MGM one day at 4:00 and went to ride RNR.  They had closed the stand-by line, and were only allowing those with existing fastpasses to move through.

That, however, is my only negative experience.  On the whole, it works well.

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http://www.PKIGuide.com

Zimm I agree with you. I've seen the same thing happen on the land ride. Accept I was in the fastpass lane,the cast members just kept loading fastpass holders and the wait time said 40 minutes with only about 100 people in line. Also, you may have not been able to get a fastpass at 4:00,at many instances the times are all used up and you have no choice but to wait in the regular line. Fastpass also doesn't work very well if you plan on going to more than one disney park in a day. By the time you get to the other park, say 3 or so you might be able to get one fastpass thats at 7:00 and thats it. Sometimes it works well, but I think the negatives outweigh the positives.

"They had closed the Stand By line"...
Since when has the regular queue become the "Stand By" line?  (Yeah, I know... since Fast Pass... I just hate the way that term sounds). 
Next thing you know you will have to book your reservation on a ride at a park three weeks in advance. 
Pretty soon we will see Really Fast Pass line... this will allow people to cut to the front of the Fast Pass line (as well as "Stand by - no better than pond scum, dregs of humanity- line").  
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*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 2/12/2002. ***

Actually, the fastpass on the Land boat ride is an absolute SCAM!

According to one of my well trusted locals, since installing Fastpass on the land ride, Disney has removed several of the boats that used to run on the ride. Basically, they cut the capacity to ENCOURAGE people to use the passes (and spend the time eating or otherwise spending money). This is a total crock and Disney should be given an open handed slap in the mouth.

However, on other attractions like test track (where they actually merge THREE lines regular, fast pass, single riders) where the capacity has been maintained at the high levels that Disney is known for, Fastpass works great.

As I said before, if you are not working at max cap, fastpass does no good.
jeremy
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

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SLFAKE said:
Next thing you know you will have to book your reservation on a ride at a park three weeks in advance. 

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Actually when this whole FastPass thing began, I seem to remember either reading an article or seeing a show about it and whoever they were talking to (I'm assuming Disney reps) said something to the effect of "This could lead to a full reservations system for the park where you'll plan your day in advance and reserve times on rides. There'll be no waits."

 

I wish I could remember the details, because even at the time I found it to be an intriguing idea...

I still don't see the problem in FastPass type systems. If you don't want to stand in line get a FastPass! The person "cutting" (and technically, they're not) in front of you will most likely be waiting in line at another ride, just like you were at this one. As long as it's a free (no upcharge) system, there's no cause for complaint.

I'll even go a step further and say I don't think there's cause for complaint with an upcharge system. Parks want money. These systems basically say "give us the extra cash and we'll give you this perk". Think of it like a hotel. You pay for the room you want. You can get a regular room in the hotel for the minimum price or you can spend more and get a nice suite. Should someone have a nicer room because they paid more? Of course. Should someone have special line access because they paid more? Same thing as the hotel in my eyes.
I just love to play devil's advocate!
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www.coasterimage.com

*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar on 2/12/2002. ***

I agree that the FastPass system is good, but it has a few major flaws. 

One, as mentioned above, if you are park hopping, it does no good since the parks you go to in the afternooon rarely have any fast passes left. 

Two, I have experienced problems like the one mentioned above about the Land ride on Splash Mountain as well.  We waited 1 1/2 hours, the wait time said 45 minutes, and every log was leaving with FP people. 

I think Disney needs to train their employees to only fill 50% of the ride w/ FP people.  I think a lot of problems happen when the ride breaks down.  This causes the FP line to back up, so they need to fill every seat with these people.  They never catch up once this happens.  Until these attractions are built to accomodate the people this way (with separate instead of made up queues), the system will not work.  Same problem at IOA, just better rides. 

SLFAKE:  Have you ever ben to Disney and tried the system?  Its not like people in the stand by line as somehow a lower priority of guest, or lower quality of guest considering that everyone in the park has the same opportunity to get a Fast Pass ticket.  It makes the lines shorter, which makes people happier. 

2Hostyl:  I don't follow you.  They removed boats, therefore lowering capacity, therefore encouraging people to use the Fast Pass.  Its obvious why they want they want people to take the shorter line - people have more time to buy stuff in the park and are overall just more happy in shorter lines.  But if the capactiy of the ride is lowered, is the standby time actually longer?  If so, that kind of defeats the prupose.  Also - you make it sound like this is a deception of the highest order.  If they want people to use fast pass in the system that you are suggesting, which I admit i don't quite follow, I really don't see what the big deal is anyway.  It just seems like backwards logic to me. 

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Idle hands were orient to her.

Fastpass is only bad if you don't know how to use it. If you get a Fastpass, and just wait around for it to activate, then you're a retard.

The Fastpass is designed to let you essentially do two things at once. You can browse the parks or go on other rides until your FP becomes active. You can even, dare I say it, go on a ride twice in the same time. (I've gone on RNRC 3x with one FastPass period).

Yes, there are some minor drawbacks to the FP system. FPs for some rides (especially Test Track) are completely "sold out" by 2pm or earlier. Other than that, I think it's a great system.

I agree that the Land deal is a scam.  I got to try out the newest version of Fastpass at Tokyo Disney, which I understand will be installed soon at WDW (Version2.9 or 3.0 or whatever it is)  I found it to be AMAZING!!  I loved it and got to do twice as much as I probably would have been able to do without it.  (It saved me a 3.5 hour wait to ride their amazing trackless Pooh ride)
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- Peabody

Ravenguy:
No, I never have been to Disney and I never have used any sort of reservation system.   
I try to visit parks on off times (during the week for the most part... and if year round parks during the off season). 
At SFA I have seen Fast Pass (or what ever they call it) in action.  What I noticed were a) delaying dispatch to undo restraints to chase people out of "reserved" seats even when no "reserved" guests were there (and sending them away empty), b) sending trains away with empty "reserved" seats because there were no "reserved" guests waiting (even though the "REGULAR" line was very long) and c) delaying dispatch to undo restraints and to chase seated, non "reserved" guests out of non reserved seats when a group of "reserved" guests wanted to ride.    All in all, it was a very poorly run system.  However, I really suppose I should not judge Disney by SFA standards.  After all, SFA is the most ill run park I have ever been to with  the rudest and most inefficient staffs I have ever seen.  Why should I think they should be competent enough to make sure the "reserved" system work smoothly when they can't run the rest of the park smoothly.
As for my comments about the "lower than pond scum" comment about "stand by lines"... said partially in jest.  I just happen to think it is funny that the "Regular line" has now become the "Stand By" line.
*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 2/12/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by SLFAKE on 2/12/2002. ***

It's not that they CAN be horrible, it's that they ARE horrible.

Maybe it was the VIP tour's that they do.   They get first priority when in line since they pay so much for them.  Also In Universal the pepole that used the fastpass system there all had to just enter the ride in the extra places in the ride.