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AVP
07-13-2017, 09:20 AM
Six months after announcing a major change was planned for Disney's Fastpass system, the Disneyland Resort is prepared to debut MaxPass next Wednesday, July 19. MaxPass is a new upcharge service which bundles the existing PhotoPass product with a new digital Fastpass tool in the Disneyland mobile app.

MaxPass includes unlimited downloads of PhotoPass photos taken each day the entitlement is valid. It also allows visitors to collect and redeem Fastpass tickets remotely using the app, instead of collecting paper Fastpass tickets from a physical kiosk in the parks.

Visitors can add Disney's MaxPass to their theme park tickets for $10 per ticket, per day. Users can choose to purchase the MaxPass for their entire length of stay, or for one or more days. Annual passholders will also be able to add MaxPass by the day, or add it to their existing pass for $75, valid through the end of the current pass expiration. Signature Plus and Premier passholders, who already receive free PhotoPass photos, will now also receive Disney MaxPass at no additional charge.

For new or recently renewed passholders, MaxPass adds $6.25 to the monthly cost of a 12-month pass. Passholders due to renew in the next few months might be better served to wait until they renew their pass to add MaxPass, and thus get the most use of their $75 fee.

The standard Fastpass system will still be available at no charge to visitors who do not purchase the MaxPass product. We still do don't know if entertainment Fastpass like World of Color or Fantasmic can be collected using the app, but Disney representatives have indicated that entertainment will possibly not be included in this first version.

Unlike the Fastpass+ system at Walt Disney World, the MaxPass system does not allow users to select Fastpasses months, weeks or even days in advance. This is still a same-day program, and users must activate the entitlement on the day they visit the park.

Nor can users make Fastpass selections from home before even heading to the parks. Visitors must be inside a theme park to collect a digital Fastpass to use the same day, though MaxPass users need not walk to their selected attraction to claim a Fastpass ticket. A MaxPass user can walk onto Main Street, U.S.A. and claim a Fastpass for Splash Mountain if they want, without ever stepping foot in Critter Country. The MaxPass app also allows users to claim a Fastpass for a ride in the other theme park, so a user in Disneyland could claim a Fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers before park hopping.

Regardless of how they obtain their Fastpass, users are still subject to the same policies. Tickets are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. Users can generally not obtain another Fastpass until two hours after they obtain the first Fastpass, or at the end of the return window of the first Fastpass, whichever comes first.

When it comes time to ride, MaxPass users will likely scan a barcode displayed from the screen of their app at a new portal installed at the Fastpass return gate. Fastpass ticket holders will continue to scan the barcode on their ticket to access the return queue.

The app will allow you to cancel a previously-collected Fastpass if you change your mind, possibly freeing you up to collect another Fastpass more quickly. Disney has said that parents will be able to claim and redeem Fastpass tickets for their children using one mobile device, and that one member of a party can manage Fastpass tickets for the entire party using the mobile app, provided each member of a party purchases the MaxPass entitlement.

As we previously wrote, the $10 per ticket, per day price point for day guests is intriguing, if only because that is $29 less than the cost of the Disney PhotoPass+ One Day product currently offered. Setting aside for the moment any discussion of the Fastpass element, it's cheaper to add MaxPass onto one member of the party just to receive the PhotoPass benefit.

Earlier this year, Disney add Fastpass service to the Matterhorn and Toy Story Midway Mania. The list of Fastpass attractions at each park is as follows, though some are only offered seasonally:

Disneyland

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Haunted Mansion [Holiday]
Indiana Jones Adventure
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
[Hyper] Space Mountain [Ghost Galaxy]
Splash Mountain
Star Tours The Adventures Continue

Disney California Adventure

California Screamin'
Goofy's Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Radiator Springs Racers
Soarin' Around the World
Toy Story Mania

olegc
07-13-2017, 09:39 AM
You said Signature Plus and Premium passes get free downloads already. Well Signature does too - unless this means they are changing policy. Can u please confirm?

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AVP
07-13-2017, 09:53 AM
You said Signature Plus and Premium passes get free downloads already. Well Signature does too - unless this means they are changing policy. Can u please confirm?

Sent from my XT1254 using TapatalkThe Signature Pass will continue to get free downloads, but they do NOT get MaxPass added to their entitlements. It's a strange carve-out, but I've confirmed it with Disney.

olegc
07-13-2017, 10:01 AM
Thanks. It's what I thought it would be. Silly but does set up a future scenario where the free downloads are pulled from Signature as an incentive to upgrade to Signature Plus.

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lweigel
07-13-2017, 10:46 AM
Going on the 20th and have to decide cost benefit. What is the difference between photopass and photopass+. So confused by that for some reason. Basically I would like pics of rides and around the park taken by cast members. 95% sure I will be purchasing this for me, husband and 4 year old only for the fact that it will help with walking/carrying/stroller maneuvering for 4 year old.

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AnotherJenny
07-13-2017, 11:24 AM
The Signature Pass will continue to get free downloads, but they do NOT get MaxPass added to their entitlements. It's a strange carve-out, but I've confirmed it with Disney.

If I upgrade to Signature Plus now I lose my $50 renewal discount, so that's not going to happen. I wonder if they'll prorate the first year of the add on for lower level passes. I asked on the blog post, but it didn't make it through moderation... Never mind, it did. Now we'll see if they reply.

Edited again to add:
I think that they could have just done attraction photos for $10/day. They used to separate the attraction and other PhotoPass, and since Signatures already include the photos and they sell a separate PhotoPass package and individual photos it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to sell the whole day for cheaper than the single item or your other whole day package. That would increase the perceived value of the Signature pass.

I'd also like to see them add photos to Indy and some dark rides like Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid, but that's a whole other thread.

candles71
07-13-2017, 11:32 AM
It says no proration on the FB page in response to someone. I believe AVP also stated this above.
I could see them adding photos to other attractions. They just added photos the WDW's Pirates.

Berry Princess
07-13-2017, 02:02 PM
Looked like a lot of people on the blog not happy with the Sig APs included. We are Deluxe so it doesn't effect us as we won't be paying for it. That would be insane to pay that much for each of our APs (that is 4 of us). I won't even pay the $10 for a day per person. We don't use the photopass anymore really so its no use to us in that manner and we can walk to get our FPs. I saw some comments as well from those that aren't APers that were commenting on it too and not to thrilled with the fee for it. I saw one ask if wifi wasn't working if they would refund. I would think the answer would be no since you can turn the data on to us. I am going to doubt wifi will ever be perfect in the parks with the amount of people that might be using it. I'll stick with what I have been doing for years now...turning my data on and off as I need so its not draining my battery or wasting data.

Malcon10t
07-13-2017, 06:42 PM
Regardless of how they obtain their Fastpass, users are still subject to the same policies. Tickets are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. Users can generally not obtain another Fastpass until two hours after they obtain the first Fastpass, or at the end of the return window of the first Fastpass, whichever comes first. Unless there has been a change, you can get another FP at the beginning of the return window. Example, during EMH, we held a FP for GOTG for 905a. We got in line before riding and at 906am got another FP for 11am before we rode. We've done similar things as recently as July 6th. Are they changing this?

mp6
07-14-2017, 08:57 AM
I kinda like runing in to ca and getting a later clrs fastpass then head Disneyland and getting one for thundermountain..I hope this all doesn't change.

olegc
07-14-2017, 09:02 AM
I kinda like runing in to ca and getting a later clrs fastpass then head Disneyland and getting one for thundermountain..I hope this all doesn't change.It has changed. All FP attractions are connected on one network (except WoC and F!).

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olegc
07-18-2017, 09:34 AM
SO the Park's Blog released a video today on how to use MaxPass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDZgSz5t31g

It generates two questions from me
1) if I have a group on my MaxPass phone, and only 2 people want to go on one ride, and 2 others want to go on another ride, can I manage fastpasses like that in MaxPass? Or does the group always have to have the same Fastpass (forcing everyone to ride together).
2) If I link all of the park media to one MaxPass account - does that mean I can't log in to my own Disneyland App and manage my MaxPass there as well individually? Its an either/or proposition (I think the answer is yes but its still good to ask).

candles71
07-18-2017, 10:05 AM
If it is set up like the WDW app,
1) the app has you choose who us going on the ride.
2) iirc, I was the only one with access.

bumblebeeonarose
07-18-2017, 06:31 PM
SO the Park's Blog released a video today on how to use MaxPass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDZgSz5t31g

It generates two questions from me
1) if I have a group on my MaxPass phone, and only 2 people want to go on one ride, and 2 others want to go on another ride, can I manage fastpasses like that in MaxPass? Or does the group always have to have the same Fastpass (forcing everyone to ride together).
2) If I link all of the park media to one MaxPass account - does that mean I can't log in to my own Disneyland App and manage my MaxPass there as well individually? Its an either/or proposition (I think the answer is yes but its still good to ask).

Another question stems from the video mentioning using your phone (not your ticket) to scan for FP at the ride. So if you are not riding with your group would you have to give your phone to them, or is the park ticket assigned to the FP also able to be used?

disneyland addict13
07-19-2017, 07:27 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2YGxrLOQ6w

Here is a video of Maxpass being demonstrated in the parks yesterday by Tiff from Thingamavlogs.

Niwel
07-19-2017, 08:35 AM
So we aren't at the park today. However, I opened my App and had a prompt for MaxPass. First it asked whose tickets I wanted to link to it (with a "select" option). Then it went to a second screen saying I needed to remove the people who weren't at the park. I couldn't get past that from my room.

olegc
07-19-2017, 08:39 AM
So we aren't at the park today. However, I opened my App and had a prompt for MaxPass. First it asked whose tickets I wanted to link to it (with a "select" option). Then it went to a second screen saying I needed to remove the people who weren't at the park. I couldn't get past that from my room.

send it in. maxpass is not supposed to engage unless you hit the tickets button. Were you at the park yesterday?

Niwel
07-19-2017, 08:44 AM
send it in. maxpass is not supposed to engage unless you hit the tickets button. Were you at the park yesterday?

Nope - but we have APs and those are already synced up in my Disneyland app (so maybe that's a fluke)? I couldn't actually get maxpass.

I also think it is a little odd for those of us who are Signature APs since we already get photo pass (but only Signature Plus get max pass). And we have to pay the same as the other levels. Apparently I'm not alone in that. (https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/07/disney-maxpass-to-debut-july-19-at-the-disneyland-resort/comment-page-2/#comments) I wouldn't be surprised if they made a change for the Signature level.

olegc
07-19-2017, 08:55 AM
Nope - but we have APs and those are already synced up in my Disneyland app (so maybe that's a fluke)? I couldn't actually get maxpass.

I also think it is a little odd for those of us who are Signature APs since we already get photo pass (but only Signature Plus get max pass). And we have to pay the same as the other levels. Apparently I'm not alone in that. (https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/07/disney-maxpass-to-debut-july-19-at-the-disneyland-resort/comment-page-2/#comments) I wouldn't be surprised if they made a change for the Signature level.

To me - this is a transition period to when - maybe next year or when a price increase happens - the free benefit of downloads will go away for Signature. Only the top two will get freebies, the remainder will have to pay. Its the way Disney operates today IMO. Set something up for the next change.

olegc
07-19-2017, 10:42 AM
This image is making the rounds on twitter. It appears that Disneyland AP is stating you will be grandfathered if you have Signature. However, if you lapse or renew to a different level pass then you lose the benefit. So, if like last year, I upgraded my Sig to SigPlus for the last holiday period because of multiple families and friends coming to town. Now, if I do that, and try to go back to Signature I will lose my current benefit. That's the current process - but as I feel next time there is a price increase it may go away entirely. 9108

mayberrymiles
07-20-2017, 12:01 PM
We're coming in about two weeks and waiting to decide whether it is worth it to use MaxPass, so I will be interested on other reports from users. Read over on Mice Chat that the app is slow to respond, making it difficult to book fast passes online, and also drains your phone battery. Maybe that will improve as DLR gets better wi-fi coverage.

Another question; we purchased So Cal CityPass, which includes a 3-day park hopper, but when I try to link the tickets to my account in the app, it says the ticket is invalid. Will I need to be in the park before the app will recognize this as a valid ticket, or will I need to go to guest services? Anyone with experience with CityPass know how this works? Thanks.

candles71
07-20-2017, 03:56 PM
Unless they changed something, you have to exchange the voucher in the citypass for hoppers at a ticket booth. Are they barcoded?

Berry Princess
07-20-2017, 04:14 PM
We're coming in about two weeks and waiting to decide whether it is worth it to use MaxPass, so I will be interested on other reports from users. Read over on Mice Chat that the app is slow to respond, making it difficult to book fast passes online, and also drains your phone battery. Maybe that will improve as DLR gets better wi-fi coverage.

Honestly it doesn't surprise me if wi-fi coverage isn't great because they only set things up in certain spots. Which some may not know that or think about it either. Yet you also have to think of how many people could be trying to use it as well. Heck there are days where its super crowded and if you tried to use the data it was slow for all. That wasn't even a packed park. The reason it drains the battery so fast is people are keeping it on all the time and using it more then they might have before. I can go all day without needing to charge my 3 yr old LG phone still. I don't use it except for texting who I need at the time (boys off in the park some place, keeping husband updated on things, etc), pictures and checking wait times. I don't play games on it or anything when there. I do have 2 portable charges just in case its needed or the kids need it. Which the battery drain is why Disney has those little machines in places around the parks for a portable charger and lockers to charge them in. I wonder how MaxPass works for those that just use their data instead of trying to go wi-fi.

binki
07-20-2017, 06:16 PM
We will be there on Saturday. Plan on using Maxpass when we are there. I drove by the other day and parked in the drop off zone on Harbor and it knew I wasn't close enough to book a FP.

Berry Princess
07-20-2017, 07:04 PM
We will be there on Saturday. Plan on using Maxpass when we are there. I drove by the other day and parked in the drop off zone on Harbor and it knew I wasn't close enough to book a FP.

Even if it was you still couldn't book a FP unless you had your ticket/AP scanned into one of the parks already that day. Its set up basically just like FP already was really just now you have to pony up if you want to do it by app instead is the only difference...oh wait and canceling.