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View Full Version : The Trenches of the Standby Line



Sophie832
03-10-2002, 10:43 PM
I'm sure there have been threads about this before, but I'd like some input about the Standby line versus the Fastpass line.

First of all, I know that the idea of Fastpass makes perfect sense and I really can't think of any reason to get rid of it...furthermore, I don't think it should be gone because I enjoy its benefits quite often.

However, to put you all in the right frame of mind, imagine standing in the Standby line at either California Screamin' or Soarin' Over California. We all know that these are the worst lines in DCA. What makes it the worst is when you stand in that line watching the Fastpass people rush by you smiling at your pitiful situation (ok, maybe not smiling directly at you, but doesn't it feel that way?). I, for one, have always found it hard to not get upset at the amount of fastpassers that go through while the standby line just sits there. It seems to me that in a 15 minute period, they let through about 50 fastpass people, and about 6 people in the other line.

Then again, when I have my fastpass, I love the sensation of walking right by all those upset people in the standby line, don't you?

It should all be fair because the people with the fastpasses got them at least an hour ago, right? And that is the same amount of time (or maybe even longer) than the standby wait. Yet, those fastpassers get to walk around the park, have a bite to eat, and check out other rides while the people in the standby line wait helplessly. Often times, the wait time listed for standby is much shorter than the amount of time you actually stand in line while the fastpass line gets cleared out.

I have a couple of horror stories about waiting in line for both Soarin' and Mullholland Madness. I should have known better, but I thought I'd rather just get on the ride than take a fastpass and have to come back way later. MM had a supposed wait time of 25 minutes the other day, and I waited about an hour. Soarin' had a really short line that day, but after I already was 20 min. into the wait, one of the theaters broke down, the lines backed up, and basically the fastpassers got priority.

Here are my questions for all of you: Does the standby line ever make you crazy? What do you do to keep your sanity? Do you have any horror stories to tell about bad line management (or at least what you feel was bad)? I haven't really used fastpass as much at Disneyland as I have at DCA, so feel free to elaborate on the worst standby lines at the original park.

Let's here from those people in the standby line trenches!

blusilva
03-11-2002, 12:11 AM
I have no trench stories. I shouldn't even really be posting to this thread, except I have a point to make.

I've said this all along: it's a psychological thing. No matter how you look at it, people in the standby line are going to feel jipped or ripped off or p.o'ed at the fact that others are breezing by them. Even if they "know better" or are familiar with the fastpass system. (And, yet again, I make this statement: if the fastpass line didn't pass or cross the standby line I'd have very little problem with it. The problem lies in the proximity of the two lines. Parading the fastpass people in front of the standby people makes for a "separation of classes" that's bound to make people angry. Whether or not they "know the rules.")

And point #2: not everyone who is in standby is there because they "refuse to learn the rules" (and somehow, deserve their fate). Sometimes, it seems simpler to use the standby line. And sometimes, there is no choice (i.e. the fastpass return is later than you plan to be in the park.)

DisneylandBoy
03-11-2002, 04:58 AM
I personally feel that Fastpass is great. I don't fell bad when I am in a Stand-by line and see others going by me because I know that I could have taken Fastpass. However - for those of you who don't feel the way I do, I would recommend getting a Fastpass and then going on a non-FP attraction. That way you don't have to fell jipped. Only use FP on FP attractions.

BJW
03-11-2002, 03:22 PM
I think I would feel "ripped off" if the fastpass system wasn't in place. With the high prices the parks charge it makes it more worth it if you can fit two or three extra rides in each day (sometimes even more.) To me, this should help justify to the non-APers paying $43 to get in the gates of one of these parks. However, it's their fault if they don't read the signs explaining how they could bypass the standby lines as well. So to me, there's no separation of class or special treatment involved.

Ace
03-11-2002, 05:23 PM
I think the best is the single rider line, where you get to cut even the fastpass people. muhahahahahaha!

HBTiggerFan
03-11-2002, 05:27 PM
I think fastpass is a great idea, I think having the lines by the stand-by is a bad idea. I wait in both lines. Also there is a set number of fast pass allowed to amount of stand-by line allowed in...Maybe a CM can explain it. I do remember a time that we got to BTMR 5 minutes before our return time and asked if we could go early. There was a long stand-by line and the CM said no, and explained that for every minute on a fastpass that equals 5 minutes for the stand-by line. So we said OK, and waited our 5 minutes and never asked again :)

Morrigoon
03-11-2002, 05:39 PM
Here's an idea... remember the ticket books? What if, upon entry (not re-entry, obviously), you recieved a booklet with one E-ticket (universal fastpass) for each hour of the day, or maybe every other hour. So, your first fastpass would be good for, say, 9am-11am, and you could use that on any fastpass attraction during or after that time period, but your next fastpass was not valid until 11am-1pm, and so on. That way, it wouldn't matter what time you had gotten to the attraction to pick up your fastpass, and no more outrageous "don't come back for 5 or 6 hours" return times.

One variation would be that fastpasses would expire 4 hours after they came good, so that people who arrived in the evening did not suddenly crowd up the lines by using all their fp's at once.

Then again... is it just me or does fp waste an awful lot of paper (read:money!) Maybe instead of a booklet, it could be a punchcard and cms could just punch out the used up fp time from the card. See? Saving them money!

Iceman
03-11-2002, 06:44 PM
Originally posted by Squinky
I think the best is the single rider line, where you get to cut even the fastpass people. muhahahahahaha!

I have to agree here. My wife and I usually go to the parks together, and we always take advantage of the single rider lines. This has got to be one of the best secrets in the parks these days, because everyone is so concerned with FastPass!

Ace
03-11-2002, 08:04 PM
Originally posted by Morrigoon
Here's an idea... remember the ticket books? What if, upon entry (not re-entry, obviously), you recieved a booklet with one E-ticket (universal fastpass) for each hour of the day, or maybe every other hour. So, your first fastpass would be good for, say, 9am-11am, and you could use that on any fastpass attraction during or after that time period, but your next fastpass was not valid until 11am-1pm, and so on. That way, it wouldn't matter what time you had gotten to the attraction to pick up your fastpass, and no more outrageous "don't come back for 5 or 6 hours" return times.

One variation would be that fastpasses would expire 4 hours after they came good, so that people who arrived in the evening did not suddenly crowd up the lines by using all their fp's at once.

Then again... is it just me or does fp waste an awful lot of paper (read:money!) Maybe instead of a booklet, it could be a punchcard and cms could just punch out the used up fp time from the card. See? Saving them money!

1) If they re-issued ticket booklets as a way to change fastpass, it would cause a bunch of problems. a) people would be using them at the same times, which would create massive lines for both the standby and fastpass lines. The way it is now, they can only have a certain number of people in the fastpass line at any given time.

2) I don't think that people using fastpasses after the window is up is that big a problem, since Disney could just tell the CMs to stop accepting them if it was.

3) The punch card would take too much time. All they do now is inspect and/or take the little slip of paper.

Kuzcotopia
03-11-2002, 08:39 PM
Since I have an annual pass, I don't get in standby lines that I think aren't worth the wait. I come back later or skip it for the day. I don't usually have must-rides, because I can always go back another day.

Last week I went on Indy on a friday, and the standby wait was 10 minutes. That was nice!


And remember, standby lines are shorter because of fastpass. Even with crowds of fastpassers being mixed in, your standby wait is shorter than it would be if everybody was in standby.

That's because fastpasses shift the peak capacities over more hours of a day.

Big Thunder, for example, can run both load areas for more hours during the day, because with fastpass, there are enough guests waiting to justify it. That means it runs at peak capacity for longer in the day, so overall waits are shorter.

gautry
03-12-2002, 01:10 PM
I love standing in line and meeting new people and talking to friends and family have never used fast *** and never will use fast ***. Stand by line is also great for date night when you have a moment of slience its time to kiss

please note fast *** is my correct name for it

Ace
03-12-2002, 01:52 PM
.................moving on.

80S ERA
03-12-2002, 02:18 PM
To answer the original question...

The worst standby line of them all:

AUTOPIA

Almost never do they have all of the lanes running, which leads to the standby line crawling at a snail pace. To make things worse, you are breathing all of the exhaust fumes, watching kids slam into the car in front, reading the bad Cheveron jokes -- over and over, and staring at the empty sub lagoon, empty rocket rods tracks, and looking for the skyway cables.

I think that about says it all. :rolleyes:

Horace Horsecollar
03-12-2002, 03:00 PM
I think it depends on how you use Fastpass. Personally, I hit all the big attractions early in the morning (such as Indy and Space Mountain), when the standby line isn't much of a wait. If I want to ride again later in the day, then I go for a Fastpass. The only rides where you really need a Fastpass first thing in the morning, from what I can tell, are Test Track at Epcot (where the line backs up quickly) and Winnie the Pooh at MK (sheesh--they ran out of Pooh passes fast).

It also depends on the quene area for me. The Indy line is actually fun, thanks to the incredible detailing (ditto for ToT at Disney MGM). The techno music in the Test Track quene quickly gives me a headache, so a Fastpass is essential (great ride, by the way).

Sophie832
03-12-2002, 08:09 PM
I just wanna thank 80S ERA for answering one of my original questions. I didn't mean for there to be a debate over whether fastpass should stay or go. I would never want to get rid of it. It gives people a choice, and it cuts down on the length (in people) of the lines.

What I was really wondering is how people deal with the increased slowness of the standby line. Although there are less people in it than there used to be, let's be frank about the fact that it moves reallllllllllly slow. I've heard people complaining in the standby line almost every time I've been in it when fastpass people go through with ease.

I am interested in the idea that it all might be psychological. It does make sense that if we weren't forced to see the fastpass people breeze by us, we might not feel so jilted. It's hard to think of the practicality of fastpass (ie: those people still wait just as long as the standby people, sometimes even longer, to ride the ride) when you're standing in a cramped line watching them walk by.

One question I'd love a straight answer to is: what is the policy for letting the people through at the stopping point? How many fastpass people versus standby people can be let through during a certain time period? I see that even when the fastpass line is empty, the CMs have to make the standby people wait...what is the rule? CMs, help me out here because I've always been curious about this.