Who will FastPass benefit the most in the future?
What will FastPass look like five or maybe ten years from now? That’s a debate we Disney fanatics have been discussing for quite some time now. This morning, Jim Hill adds some more fuel to this fire by reporting on new patent paperwork filed by Disney regarding a new FastPass system.
Do you want to be sure that you can score some FASTPASSES for your favorite Disney theme park attractions the next time you visit Anaheim or Orlando? Well, if that’s really the case, then you’d best make reservations now for one of Disney’s high end hotels.
Mr. Hill goes into further depth discussing how this new system benefits those spending more money on hotels and also into linking the system to a guest’s mobile phone. The conclusion is that those who stay on property will get more FastPass access then day-trippers or those who stay off property. And those who stay in a deluxe resort will do better than those who stay at a value or moderate, and so on. You get the point.
For month’s I have been discussing this topic and warning Disney fans that something like this was coming soon. When FastPass was first implemented the point was not to make sure guests could avoid lines and see more attractions in a day. That was a nice consequence, but the point was to get guests off lines and into shops and restaurants and use their new found free time by spending more of their money. From everything I have been told, this has not been accomplished to any measurable degree. Therefore, the profitability of the system has come into question and Disney is searching for ways to make the bean counters happier with FastPass.
Using it as an incentive to get guests to stay on property and maybe to even stay at a more expensive resort makes sense from the profit point of view. I understand the arguments both for and against this concept. Yes, taking FastPass away from the average guest, especially the locals, is not going to go over well and may not be fair. However, I don’t see anything wrong with rewarding those who stay in the “bubble” either. Regardless of my opinion on this, I expect this will be a reality in some version similar to this idea.
We urge you to discuss this more and leave your comment below, or feel free to come over to the Disney News Network Forums where we discuss this and many other topics in the Mouse Extra Forums.
Matt said,
September 5, 2007 @ 1:58 pm
While I don’t like the idea of this new policy, it does make sense, especially for those at Deluxe Resorts to get more perks than those staying at a value or off-site. It stinks, but alas, money is what makes the world turn.
Brian said,
September 5, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
“Yes, taking FastPass away from the average guest, especially the locals, is not going to go over well and may not be fair.”
It’s important to note here that the patent doesn’t say anything about taking away FastPasses from anyone. It simply speaks of assigning a priority system based on resort stay. Could this mean that during peak times all available FastPasses might be snatched up by resort guests in advance, leaving none for day guests? Perhaps. But that would probably be a rare occurence.
As for locals, they get discounts and other benefits that aren’t available to other park guests, plus they have the option of visiting the parks during non-peak times. So I don’t see how they’d have much room to complain.
Raidermatt said,
September 5, 2007 @ 11:31 pm
It does seem we’ve been talking about this forever.
I doubt they’ll completely take FP away from anyone, but there are only a certain number available, and in some cases they are gone by Noon even under the current system.
Everything I have heard synchs up with what Dave said. FP was sold to the execs on the basis of it increasing spending in the parks, but that really didn’t happen. Turns out people want to ride more attractions, and already shop and eat as much as they want to.
Go figure.
The problem now is that the genie is out of the bottle and Disney can’t just shove it back in. If guests had never had FP, no big deal. But now that they have, if you take it away or limit access further, you’re going to have some unhappy guests.
Perhaps that will be offset by more people being willing to stay on-site or in higher end resorts, but that’s a risky proposition. Nobody is really sure how much people are willing to pay for something that they have had free access to for years now. And even if you convince some to spend more on their room, you don’t want to lose others who balk at the idea.
Tricky. But I agree, we are likely to see some changes.
Personally, I’d be very curious to know how much Disney invested in the original FP system, and how much they are investing in all of the enhancements. It would be interesting to think about alternative investments in the parks/resorts that Disney could make.
Dawn said,
September 6, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
As a local pass holder (and by local, I mean a half hour away), I would never have any reason to stay on property. Yes, I can go “anytime I want” and I do get a few additional benefits (really, the price of the pass is about the only true benefit remaining, in my opinion, but keep in mind that with the discounted admission, I am also spending more money over the course of the year in the parks on food, gifts, merhcandise for myself, etc than people who come for a week every few years and there is *no* discount on any of that!) but what upsets me is that I frequently go with friends who are vacationing and *do* stay on property, often in deluxe resort hotels. What this tells me is that spending the day with them will be much more difficult with a system like this, when they have access to a Fast Pass for an attraction and I do not.