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View Full Version : Why can't Fastpass be turned on?



dalhar35
03-02-2005, 07:52 AM
This might be a stupid question to the more experienced. We were at Disneyland last week and it rained Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue, and part of Wed. On Thursday it as nice and since the sun was out and warmer we wanted to go on GRR in the sunshine. We went on GRR the previous days using ponchos since it was raining and we didn't want to get any wetter.
Of Course everyone else had the same idea and the line at GRR was at 40 minutes. I went to get a fast pass and it was closed. I asked the CM and he said it was the off season, thats why it was closed.
My question is:Why can't they turn on the fast pass when a ride exceeds certain wait times like 30 minutes or so?
I understand it was a Thursday, but being the first day of nice weather Disney should have realized GRR would have long lines. It seems to me they should be able to turn on fast pass when a ride's waiting time gets to a certain point. Of course this is the first time I had been on GRR since our last visit was before DCA opened. Is the line always this long or longer during nice days??

sediment
03-02-2005, 09:00 AM
40 minutes isn't that long. If it's too long for you, then don't get in queue. That is a choice for you.
From "F/P off" to "F/P on," there are probably a few operational issues that have to be implemented that might not be immediately available on command. Two extra Cast Members, which don't grow on trees: One for the machines, and one to check FastPasses at the merge spot in the queue.

I think your idea is a great one, though. Ideally. However, from "F/P off" to "F/P on," it would take two CMs, times number of "F/P off" to "F/P on" attractions, since the crowdedness of the park would affect all these attractions.
Do note that GRR has a winter/summer switch on some sort. On colder days, less water is used, thus lowering the splashiness.

stan4d_steph
03-02-2005, 09:03 AM
I agree with sediment. I think it most likely is to do with not having staff levels available.

DLRCM
03-02-2005, 05:13 PM
It actually has nothing to do with ride wait time, and everything to do with the rain. I guess in the past, they have had problems with the rain water getting to the fastpass machines and... how do I say this... electricuting (not bad, but a little shock or two) Cast Members. It's a safety reason, simple as that.

And as for staffing, I work attractions and we run our fastpass machines most of the time without a CM standing there. And we can check fastpass times at another position. The only time we have a CM staffed at that particular spot is during peak season when guest demand is high, therefore, causing the machines to run out of paper faster, break down, cause confusion, etc. The CM there is only there in case they are needed. Other than that, it's the most boring position.

DisneyDustin22
03-02-2005, 06:21 PM
"sigh"...just like every other poster here who knows how FP works, if there was a system that "turned on" everytime a ride hit 30min, no ride with fastpass would ever be below 30min then. Knowing that all it does is give you "cutting" privelages, which keeps the line just as long. People should realize that waiting in line is just part of the game at a theme park. Its a part of life, why cant we just accept that?

I like to refer to fellow stand up comedian Dane Cook, who's vision of the future is that everything will be instant. We will have teleports like on Star Trek and we can just beam wherever we want to go. It'll take 3 seconds to travel a few hundred miles and so on. But the DMV will still take like 9 seconds. "9 seconds! Come on! I have to be at work in 3 seconds!"

As long as you have 4 people demanding something for 2, you will always have to wait. Jeez, people just can't be pleased anymore, it's always need need need. Why can't we talk to the person in front of us, or behind us, or in our party? Be social! Kill some time. Fast Pass is not the world's greatest invention, it's merely a diobolical system of engineering that is supposed to fix problems but creates them instead of fixing it, ya know, like the government. :D

Disneyfreak
03-02-2005, 06:58 PM
FP causes the stand by to be twice as long anyway so the FP system stinks.

ToursbabeC3po
03-02-2005, 07:12 PM
Disneyfreak is so right. Before fastpass the lines moved so much better. Fastpass is the worst marketing stunt they have pulled off on guest in a long time. Before fastpass Star Tours wait was no longer then 30 mins on a busy day. Now it gets up to over an hour.
Toursbabe

DCAWhites
03-02-2005, 09:04 PM
^Hopefully fastpass will disappear for good at star tours once buzz lightyear opens march 17th. The longest that line will ever get is 30 minutes, and 15-20 minutes of that is spent inside in the elaborately themed queue.

DLRCM
03-02-2005, 09:11 PM
Yes. I agree! I hate fastpasses!

sleepyjeff
03-02-2005, 09:21 PM
FastPass not only makes standby lines longer for rides with fastpass....it makes lines longer for attractions that don't have them too(not to mention the crowded walkways) :(

animagusurreal
03-03-2005, 12:32 AM
I like to refer to fellow stand up comedian Dane Cook, who's vision of the future is that everything will be instant. We will have teleports like on Star Trek and we can just beam wherever we want to go. It'll take 3 seconds to travel a few hundred miles and so on. But the DMV will still take like 9 seconds. "9 seconds! Come on! I have to be at work in 3 seconds!"

As long as you have 4 people demanding something for 2, you will always have to wait. Jeez, people just can't be pleased anymore, it's always need need need. Why can't we talk to the person in front of us, or behind us, or in our party? Be social! Kill some time. Fast Pass is not the world's greatest invention, it's merely a diobolical system of engineering that is supposed to fix problems but creates them instead of fixing it, ya know, like the government. :D


Interesting stuff, and that "instant" routine's really funny! :D


When I'm in "normal life mode", no ammount of time seems long to wait for a ride, and I kick myself for not taking the opportunity to spend that two hours in line to ride "Splash Mountain" the last two times I was there, which I would gladly do if I could, right now.

But when I actually go to Disneyland, I've already waited at least a year to go, then 4 hours in the car to get there, plus however long it takes us to eat lunch, which always seems much longer because, of course, I can't wait to get there. Then, because Fastpass is available, I get at least some E-ticket rides in under a half-hour, which causes me to somewhat resent the ones on which I can't. (However, I still appriciate Fastpass immensely on the ones I do.)

Then, there's the contrast between the relative dullness of a slow-moving line and the intense exitement of the E-ticket attractions that attract them, which I think makes that dullness seem much more dull than it really is. Depending on the ride, 30 or 40 minutes can actually make for exitement/suspense. An hour can make for "Okay, this will be worth it." But 2 hours for a 3 to 10 minute ride seems rather unbalanced. Perhaps this is partially due to Fastpass, but because of it I probably also appriciate Fastpass even more when I can use it. :fez:

I do want to say that Disney has done tons to make a lot of the lines more interesting, but I think that they could still do some more, particularly on the "bullpen" rides.

- Brent



"Flip a dial, instant entertainment!" - Joe Friday, original "Dragnet"


"But the lines...the lines!" - Cartman, "South Park" Cartmanland episode

JSKoehler
03-03-2005, 06:19 AM
Some years ago, SeaWorld Orlando tried something similar to RideMax. When you purhcased your tickets, you received a map of the park that had suggested times to visit the shows and attractions. It was not as sophisticated as RideMax, since it was simply based on your arrival time and did not include any consideration of your preferences. IMHO this system, the touring plans of the Unofficial Guide or similar sources or the more sophisticated system of Ridemax is preferable to using fastpass (though I concede that touring plans have been adjusted to incorporate fastpass). But as long as it is available, I intend to take advantage of it :D

dalhar35
03-03-2005, 08:11 AM
For those of us who get to go to Disneyland once every four years fast pass is a blessing. When you have only a limited time in the park the less you have to wait in line the better. I would not worry about line lengths if I lived in So Cal and was an AP holder. But for those of us whose time is limited and rarely get to go to Disneyland fastpass is very nice.

bradk
03-03-2005, 08:16 AM
the point here is that even with a FP, you can have an excruciating wait. even with ridemax using the 'late fastpass' option, it lets you know you could spend up to 40 mins or so on a busy attraction just in the FP line.

at least with standby, you know what time people are getting on the rides and know what your throughput is going to be. with FP return windows, particularly honoring late ones, you never know when your crowd is going to come storming in.

sleepyjeff
03-03-2005, 08:24 AM
For those of us who get to go to Disneyland once every four years fast pass is a blessing. When you have only a limited time in the park the less you have to wait in line the better. I would not worry about line lengths if I lived in So Cal and was an AP holder. But for those of us whose time is limited and rarely get to go to Disneyland fastpass is very nice.

I disagree. Unless all you like to ride are fastpass rides and you enjoy rushing all over the park to obtain them. I am of the opinion that if you are visiting for just a day or two, and wish to see and do the widest variety of what is offered, fastpass only makes your total wait time greater then what once was.

SpacedOutCM
03-03-2005, 11:18 AM
For those of us who get to go to Disneyland once every four years fast pass is a blessing. When you have only a limited time in the park the less you have to wait in line the better. I would not worry about line lengths if I lived in So Cal and was an AP holder. But for those of us whose time is limited and rarely get to go to Disneyland fastpass is very nice.

I can see how people who don't visit Disneyland often enjoy Fast Pass. I only would use the Fast Pass if someone that's doesn't go to Disneyland a lot is with me. Other than that, I would just wait in the Stand-By line. 30 minutes is nothing.

When I went to Tokyo Disney Resort twice last year ( 4 day pass both trips), I used Fast Pass on the attractions that offered it. I did wait in their Stand-By lines as well. 4 days is a lot and most of the time I would think "will i be able to ride Space Mountain one last time before i leave?" I know it would be a while before i get to go back so i wanted to go on the rides as many times as i could so i can remember what they were like.

The first time I rode Pooh's Hunny Hunt I stood in line for 15 minutes to get a Fast Pass then got in the 40 minuted Stand-By line. when I rode it the first time I was so amazed by it that it became a blur. I ended up riding it 3 times during my trip. After the third time, I knew exactly what happens on the ride and I felt like I didn't need to go on it anymore.

I used the Fast Pass because I wanted to do everything (rides, parades, shows, and shoping). One of the main reasons of going to Tokyo Disney Resort was just to watch the shows and parades.

At Tokyo Disney Sea I only used Fast Pass on Journey to the Center of the Earth. Indian Jones offered Fast Pass and I used it once, but everytime I went on it after, it was always a walk-on or a short wait. Same for 20,0000 leagues Under the Sea and Storm Rider. I waited in line for 80 minutes for Journey to the Center of the Earth and I enjoyed my time in line as well as waiting in line, long or short, for other attractions, parades, and shows.

If I lived in Tokyo, and visited Tokyo Disney Resort once or twice a week, i wouldn't mind waiting in line or think to myself "80 minutes in line is a long time to wait". For someone like me only visiting when I can afford it, 80 minutes is a long time because i want to try to do what i can and not miss anything. Most of the attractions were less than 90 minutes waits, not including Pooh's Hunny Hunt or Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, so I didn't really mind waiting.

By the third and fourth day of the pass, i gotten to ride what I wanted and got to watch what I wanted. So I had time to relax, shop, and eat. Just enjoy myself and not worry about the crowds or the long waits.

I went back for the second trip 7 months later. Since I did just about everything from the first trip so i took it easy on the second trip and had a terrific time. I just had to make sure I got a Fast Pass for Haunted Masion Holiday and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

Disneyfreak
03-03-2005, 02:18 PM
The only fastpass that will work is by building more attractions.