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I don't go to Disney parks very often but the "expanded ride reservation system" mentioned in this article has actually gone from good to terrible, and I think

I don't go to Disney parks very often but the "expanded ride reservation system" mentioned in this article has actually gone from good to terrible, and I think it has contributed to longer waits. The old Fastpass system required you to go visit a kiosk near the ride itself, and acquire a ticket for a specific time window later in the day, at which point you could go in via a shorter priority line. It worked great and was actually kind of fun. I understand they would want to get rid of the physical passes the machine printed out as the machines were probably maintenance nightmares, but they did more than that. They changed the system entirely to an app, which is fine in itself, but they eliminated the need to visit the ride area to get the pass, which is part of what made the system fair. Instead, you can schedule the passes ahead of time, even for future days, and of course passholders and people staying at the park get priority, so all the popular rides' Fastpasses are already gone by the time the typical visitor is even able to attempt to schedule anything, which means they will just have to wait in the regular long line because there's no way smooth out the demand across the day anymore, since all the scheduling happens for a select group ahead of time without requiring any physical commitment. In short, they sabotaged themselves, at least from this visitor's POV. Fastpass was one of my favorite bits of visiting Disney parks, but the new system is one of my LEAST favorite bits. Ah well.

Kihashi 9y ago
Maybe I just wasn't keyed into it, but the old system you described was still how it was at Disneyland when I visited a few weeks ago. I was super impressed with it.
joezydeco 9y ago
On my last visit to the Florida parks I used the MagicBands and FastPass+, which also allows (well, nearly demands) that you schedule rides and other events in advance. I agree with your observations, but wanted to add that all the scheduling really takes the spontaneity out of visiting the theme parks. The moment you need to keep checking your phone to determine if you can make the next ride window, it's not a vacation anymore. I understand the capacity of the parks has changed. I used to visit on 12/31 every year and understand what the MK is like with 100,000 people in it. But now it seems like the parks are running near capacity all the time.
- hueving 9y ago
  >But now it seems like the parks are running near capacity all the time. Yes, at least in Disney Land this was my impression a few months ago. We intentionally went on a boring weekday when school was in session and it was still packed. The wait times were so terrible that you could maybe do 4 big rides in a full day.
bbgm 9y ago
That (printed Fastpass) is what they had 2 months ago in Anaheim. Has something new been rolled out since?
- gamblor956 9y ago
  They "upgraded" the system in Disneyworld (FL) a year or two ago. The new system will be going live in Disneyland (CA) later this year. However per friends working for Mickey, the new system will not allow SoCal Residents Pass holders to schedule FastPass in advance (i.e., before the day of the trip). For that, you'll need the pricier season passes. SRP holders will be given the same priority as normal ticket holders.
deelowe 9y ago
Agreed. To add to this, you spend your entire trip managing your fastpass usage on your phone so you're constantly looking for signal, booking, rebooking, canceling etc... instead of enjoying the park. The old system was much better as you've stated already, because it encouraged you to explore the park.
hammock 9y ago
>they eliminated the need to visit the ride area to get the pass, which is part of what made the system fair The time spent walking to the ride can be considered part of the time you spend in line. So they shortened that. That's something my dad taught me once, by putting popular rides far from each other in a park, you should realize your "time spent waiting for the ride" is not just time in the line, but the time it takes for you to get to the line also.
- srtjstjsj 9y ago
  still too reimannian. go lebesgue: "time spent waiting for the ride" is all the time spent not riding. About 8 hours minus 10x3minutes.
- Cpoll 9y ago
  I'm not sure if it's a fair comparison. Walking to the line is far more pleasant than waiting in the line.
justforFranz 9y ago
In the future, visitors to Disneyland will need to know Game Theory.
- srtjstjsj 9y ago
  I'm studying for a PhD in the burgeoning field of Theme Park Theory

Kihashi 9y ago

Maybe I just wasn't keyed into it, but the old system you described was still how it was at Disneyland when I visited a few weeks ago. I was super impressed with it.

joezydeco 9y ago

On my last visit to the Florida parks I used the MagicBands and FastPass+, which also allows (well, nearly demands) that you schedule rides and other events in advance. I agree with your observations, but wanted to add that all the scheduling really takes the spontaneity out of visiting the theme parks. The moment you need to keep checking your phone to determine if you can make the next ride window, it's not a vacation anymore. I understand the capacity of the parks has changed. I used to visit on 12/31 every year and understand what the MK is like with 100,000 people in it. But now it seems like the parks are running near capacity all the time.

hueving 9y ago
>But now it seems like the parks are running near capacity all the time. Yes, at least in Disney Land this was my impression a few months ago. We intentionally went on a boring weekday when school was in session and it was still packed. The wait times were so terrible that you could maybe do 4 big rides in a full day.

bbgm 9y ago

That (printed Fastpass) is what they had 2 months ago in Anaheim. Has something new been rolled out since?

gamblor956 9y ago
They "upgraded" the system in Disneyworld (FL) a year or two ago. The new system will be going live in Disneyland (CA) later this year. However per friends working for Mickey, the new system will not allow SoCal Residents Pass holders to schedule FastPass in advance (i.e., before the day of the trip). For that, you'll need the pricier season passes. SRP holders will be given the same priority as normal ticket holders.

deelowe 9y ago

Agreed. To add to this, you spend your entire trip managing your fastpass usage on your phone so you're constantly looking for signal, booking, rebooking, canceling etc... instead of enjoying the park. The old system was much better as you've stated already, because it encouraged you to explore the park.

hammock 9y ago

>they eliminated the need to visit the ride area to get the pass, which is part of what made the system fair The time spent walking to the ride can be considered part of the time you spend in line. So they shortened that. That's something my dad taught me once, by putting popular rides far from each other in a park, you should realize your "time spent waiting for the ride" is not just time in the line, but the time it takes for you to get to the line also.

srtjstjsj 9y ago
still too reimannian. go lebesgue: "time spent waiting for the ride" is all the time spent not riding. About 8 hours minus 10x3minutes.
Cpoll 9y ago
I'm not sure if it's a fair comparison. Walking to the line is far more pleasant than waiting in the line.

justforFranz 9y ago

In the future, visitors to Disneyland will need to know Game Theory.

srtjstjsj 9y ago
I'm studying for a PhD in the burgeoning field of Theme Park Theory