Disneyland to introduce MaxPass (New Fastpass & New Fastpass Attractions) - Now with Poll

[buyerbrad]

We headed to the ride anyway, and lots of other people did too. They used one person as a runner and the rest of the family went to the ride and got in line, then the runner caught up. So my family would always go to Toy Story first at DCA and my DH would run to get a FP at RSR. He would either go before joining us all to ride Toy Story, or after depending on how busy the park was. The same thing could be done at DL with the family going to Peter Pan and the runner getting FP for Star Tours and then catching up. This then causes the runner to do the "excuse me" dance up the queue until they meet the family. The digital FP could help with that, but since they're charging for it maybe not so much.

The Excuse Me Dance/Line Cutting should never be a part of a person's morning strategy. If you choose to run for a Fastpass you have also chosen to wait at the back of the line when you get to where your family is or wait for your family to finish whatever ride they got in line for.

 

[rteetz]

As you can see I added a poll. We are looking to see overall opinion on the subject so vote and tell us what you think here if you haven't already done so.

 

[agamble]

The Excuse Me Dance/Line Cutting should never be a part of a person's morning strategy. If you choose to run for a Fastpass you have also chosen to wait at the back of the line when you get to where your family is or wait for your family to finish whatever ride they got in line for.

That may be your opinion, and is certainly more courteous, but it doesn't mean that people don't do it. So saying that this system will mean people don't have to make the choice isn't really true as plenty of online tips say send a runner and get in line. That's where I got the idea from.

 

[Khokhonutt]

In regards to the poll, I answered "other" for the following reasons.

1. I'm glad they're not doing the FP+ thing, where you can book early. I'm still not a fan of that idea.

2. I don't necessarily have an issue with using my phone as a means to book and use fast passes. I've seen mention of concerns over data usage and battery life, which I can understand. I also wonder if bandwidth consumption by many folks using the app in the same area will affect overall network performance. From a battery usage perspective, we've been using the portable chargers for years. We like the Anker brand, that you can get on Amazon. We've had a 10,000mAh unit for years and I recently added a 13,000mAh model that I use on my motorcycle. They're a little bigger than the little pen size models, but each unit will keep multiple phones charged for a full day of vacation use.

3. While I can't say I'm happy about the fee, I get that it's Disney's prerogative. I can say for me, I doubt I'll pay for it, based on our situation. For us, it will be $50 per day and we're going to have 5-day tickets. I can see where it might be a non-issue to some, especially for those going one or two days at a time. For us, I'll have to see pricing similar to the base tickets (where the add on amount drops over time) before I'll further consider it.

4. I'm being selfish here, but I hope they either institute this well before we go (in June) or after we leave. I'd prefer to "see" the system in action a bit before we use it, in order to form a better opinion.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I can't say that this is a "bad idea" because it could have been worse. I am relieved that there is no pre-booking or seemingly no advantage to using MaxPass in terms of how many FP you can hold at once, just the advantage of immediately booking another without walking to the attraction. I am also relieved that it appears they are only adding FP to two attractions that arguably needed it, and not to basically every ride like at WDW.

I personally refuse be on technology 24/7 and hate that this will cause other families to be on their phones even more, BUT I can be unselfish and see the advantage for certain families who have a harder time FP running, e.g. a single parent whose kids aren't old enough to be left alone or people with mobility issues. And, many people (not me) expect Disney, like everyone else, to be modern and technology-focused. I am concerned about Disney's infamous tech issues, lack of wifi, and people who don't want to use any data or spend the $$$, but hopefully FP running will continue to be a viable option. I hope that there aren't many people who come for once-in-a-lifetime type visits, spend the $$ for MaxPass, and run into tech issues.

Selfishly, I do hate that FP will obviously go quicker. It will be interesting to see how many people are willing to pay the $$ who weren't willing to walk for FP, and how many will play the FP game with intensity and always have a FP booked. I hate the idea of people staring at their phones all day, but that's the world we've become anyway. I could afford to purchase MaxPass for my family for a couple of our park days, maybe instead of getting hoppers, but I won't because I don't want to be tied to a device and not experiencing every moment, even those moments in line.

I also recognize that I unfairly hold Disney to different standards, in terms of charging for a FP service. I happily stayed at a Universal Studios resort hotel in order to use their Express pass system to the fullest, knowing that many families couldn't afford to stay at the resorts or buy the Express pass. Yet, I hate the idea of Disney charging for any FP access.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can't say that this is a "bad idea" because it could have been worse. I am relieved that there is no pre-booking or seemingly no advantage to using MaxPass in terms of how many FP you can hold at once, just the advantage of immediately booking another without walking to the attraction. I am also relieved that it appears they are only adding FP to two attractions that arguably needed it, and not to basically every ride like at WDW.

I personally refuse be on technology 24/7 and hate that this will cause other families to be on their phones even more, BUT I can be unselfish and see the advantage for certain families who have a harder time FP running, e.g. a single parent whose kids aren't old enough to be left alone or people with mobility issues. And, many people (not me) expect Disney, like everyone else, to be modern and technology-focused. I am concerned about Disney's infamous tech issues, lack of wifi, and people who don't want to use any data or spend the $$$, but hopefully FP running will continue to be a viable option. I hope that there aren't many people who come for once-in-a-lifetime type visits, spend the $$ for MaxPass, and run into tech issues.

Selfishly, I do hate that FP will obviously go quicker. It will be interesting to see how many people are willing to pay the $$ who weren't willing to walk for FP, and how many will play the FP game with intensity and always have a FP booked. I hate the idea of people staring at their phones all day, but that's the world we've become anyway. I could afford to purchase MaxPass for my family for a couple of our park days, maybe instead of getting hoppers, but I won't because I don't want to be tied to a device and not experiencing every moment, even those moments in line.

I also recognize that I unfairly hold Disney to different standards, in terms of charging for a FP service. I happily stayed at a Universal Studios resort hotel in order to use their Express pass system to the fullest, knowing that many families couldn't afford to stay at the resorts or buy the Express pass. Yet, I hate the idea of Disney charging for any FP access.

You're feelings are very similar to mine. It really is a mixed bag.

 

[hjgaus]

Disney has not specified exactly when you can start getting Fastpasses using MaxPass.
If it's really "when your ticket is scanned", that means that people who get early entry into either park will have an hour advantage over everyone else.
If it's at official park opening, imagine what rope drop would be with hundreds tapping on their smartphone while hundreds are rushing to Peter Pan's Flight, etc.

THIS definitely works to the advantage to all DVC members such as myself BUT may be TOO good to be true. Let's see how it ACTUALLY WILL go down first before we get the very few all excited !!
At this point of info no matter what I'm still going with the flow....!

 

[NannyBeBe]

This may have already been mentioned, but I wonder if this will mean that even more people will be stopping dead in their tracks to check their app, or tripping over things and people because they are looking at their phones.

 

[SeiterClan]

I'm curious to know if before this is launched park wide to the public if they are having people with the app "testing" it out to see how it works! I wouldn't mind being a tester for our group of 10 wen we go in Feb. which includes my 6 kids to see how it works especially if it was free. As for using it once it's launched we probably won't ever do this because it would cost my family $80/day which is a bummer because I'm the FP runner for our family but I don't like missing out on being together.

 

[VandVsmama]

The poll was a good idea! I picked "Other" because I can see overall some Pro's and Con's to MaxPass. I've mulled it over and over in my head a few times over the past few days and here's what my feeble brain has concluded, at least for me:

1. Disney will have to do something in preparation for the launch of Star Wars Land and overall, this is a good solution.
2. I would happily plunk down $30/person per day for MaxPass in order to get 1 FP per person at Star Wars Land attractions. I won't do it every day of our trip, mind you. Just one day or MAYBE 2 days. The 4 of us are huge mega Star Wars fans.
3. I won't pay for this for all 4 of us for ANY days of a trip before Star Wars Land opens.
4. However, I would pay $10 for DH or I to have MaxPass so we could use it for PhotoPass. So how would we get FP for the 4 of us? What would probably happen is DH or I would still be the FP "runner" and go to the FP distribution kiosk to get FP for the 3 of us who do NOT have MaxPass. And the runner would use the DL app to get the electronic FP at the same time. Why bother doing this? Because MaxPass is cheap for PhotoPass. And we usually purchase PhotoPass+ for our trips. And 1 MaxPass per day is cheaper than buying a 1-week PhotoPass+...at least at the "introductory rate" of $10/day.
5. MaxPass is a decent compromise between FP+ at WDW and the current paper-only FP system.
6. It appears to still have all of the same rules as the paper FP system, according to what the answers on the Disney Parks Blog article said. So you cannot reserve any FP before you get into 1 of the parks. You can't get a FP from 1 of the hotels or the parking garage or at home. You have to physically be there. AND you can't reserve it days or weeks ahead of time. I actually LIKE it that you can't reserve it ahead of time. And since the existing FP system rules will still apply, according to what I saw on the Disney Parks Blog website, then that means that no...you will NOT be able to get an electronic FP for any FP attraction during EMH or MM hour. They'll likely set up the software so that it doesn't start handing them out until the regular official park opening just like it happens today. Right now if you are at DCA during EMH and you try to get a FP from the RSR FP kiosks, it doesn't work. You have to wait until regular park opening. The DL app will likely operate the same way.
7. Everybody w/a Signature or Signature Plus AP who's freaking out about "OMG ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE ME PAY FOR PHOTOPASS AGAIN?" needs to just sit back and relax a bit and wait for Disney to announce how they're going to do the pricing for AP holders. Don't freak out and jump to conclusions yet.
8. Disney is under NO obligation to provide anybody with free wifi. Nor is any other business. Just because something is available at WDW doesn't mean that Disney Corp is under any obligation to provide it at Disneyland or any of its other theme parks. Disney is a for-profit corporation and it has and will continue to do specific things in specific markets according to what the customers want in those markets. If you want Disney to provide free Wifi at Disneyland, then DON'T BUY MAX PASS.
9. Re: people looking at their cell phones right when they get into the parks - people already do this. Just do what you already do and ignore it. Don't let other people's behavior result in you having a bad time at the happiest place on Earth. People look at their cell phones all of the time while they're in line at DL. They play games on their phones, they check ride times, they read their email, they read the news, they post pictures to social media, etc. Massive "looking at the cell phone and not around them" already happens. MaxPass is not going to change that. Disney, frankly, is being smart by taking advantage of that cell phone user behavior and using it to their advantage.
10. For people who are familiar with DL & DCA who know how the FP system works, MaxPass might not be much of a draw and until Star Wars Land opens, I don't think Disney will make much money on this. But for all of those tourists who visit DL who ask "Where do you buy FPs?" then Disney will make money on them.
11. MaxPass is the result of Disney taking lessons learned from the FP+ & Magic Band roll out at WDW....AND lessons learned from the Carsland debut, in which the FP queue for RSR still regularly stretches back into the Hollywood back lot. I would expect a huge multinational company to figure out some sort of alternative solution for the release of Star Wars Land at DL.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

The poll was a good idea! I picked "Other" because I can see overall some Pro's and Con's to MaxPass. I've mulled it over and over in my head a few times over the past few days and here's what my feeble brain has concluded, at least for me:

1. Disney will have to do something in preparation for the launch of Star Wars Land and overall, this is a good solution.

This has been mentioned several times. I can't help but think of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando. The express pass cannot be used for the headliner Harry Potter rides. The HP areas are available early for resort guests, but otherwise they are first-come first-serve. Single rider lines are offered. Admittedly, part of the challenge with the Universal resort Express pass, unlike FP, is that it allows for immediate re-rides, which would be overused by HP fanatics, but Universal could have set up the system to allow one express pass use per day per ticket on HP rides. It's clearly a different approach to high demand rides, and suggests that it's not necessary to offer a FP for very high demand rides. No matter what Disney does, there will be a rush to Star Wars land at every rope drop.

 

[LizzyS]

I hope there's a rush to SW land every morning because I don't care anything about SW and I'm hoping it helps the lines on other rides, tbh.

 

[rentayenta]

If I am reading this correctly, everyone in my party of 5 must have the app on their phone to obtain a MaxPass FP?

 

[grelca]

If I am reading this correctly, everyone in my party of 5 must have the app on their phone to obtain a MaxPass FP?

It was said somewhere in the blog post comments that you'll be able to link everything up somehow so that one person with one device is able to manage the entire party's fastpasses.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

If I am reading this correctly, everyone in my party of 5 must have the app on their phone to obtain a MaxPass FP?

From what I've read, everyone has to have MaxPass linked to their ticket -- so the cost is per person -- but one person can manage multiple tickets on one device and one account. It would have to be that way for the small children who don't have phones, and it allows for the convenience of booking FP for multiple people at once. I assume it will be like FP+, where you can select which people you're booking a FP for and people within the same group can get different FP.

 

[Winnowill]

I hope there's a rush to SW land every morning because I don't care anything about SW and I'm hoping it helps the lines on other rides, tbh.

I am SO with you. Give me a packed SW Land, and ghost towns in the rest of the park and I'm good!

 

[dshimel]

Yes. You would show them your phone screen with the FP on it and the CM scans it. They already do this for tickets. You can purchase park tickets through the DL app. I did it in November and the CM at the front gate used her handheld device to scan my ticket on my phone. The whole transaction took a couple of seconds and it was really easy.

I am not convinced that faking a FP is really as easy as people claim. In order to be valid and usable on a ride, the DL FP software would have to recognize it as a legitimate FP. If it was really all that common, you'd see people bragging about it on messsage boards about how they've found a way to bypass the system.

I work on software application projects all the time and the process of launching something new is more complicated than a lot of people realize.

If you know a valid ticket number, then you can make a QR code for that ticket.... BUT, they use a really big number, and a tiny, tiny fraction of the possible values are valid at any given time.


They will probably do the FP the same way. Some huge number with quadrillions of possible values, and only a thousand or so of those values will be valid at any given time. Easier to pick winning powerball numbers than to randomly guess one of the valid ticket or FP values to spoof a QR code.

 

[dshimel]

Does anyone ever wonder if Disney floats just the basics about new plans so folks like us can debate and discuss. Then Disney can use the concerns we generate to help them figure out what strategies will please and appease people the most?

More likely, they asked people in surveys or focus groups.

Thousands of people on sites like these over-represent a tiny fraction of the market (1 / 10,000th?). You want groups that more closely represent the customer base.


It was like all the online polls. Someone would link a poll to a pro-Bernie FB group, and suddenly Bernie was beating Hillary 80-20. But that is 0.001% of the voters that were in that pro-Bernie group, so means NOTHING about the total voter base.

 

[buyerbrad]

This is a great value for my family of 4(myself, wife, DD4 and DD1) as I only need to buy 1 $10 pass to reap the rewards. Here is how:
- I get access to all the photos for $10/day
- Most of the Fastpass rides have height requirements, so the only 4 rides my entire family could go on at the same time together are Peter Pan, Buzz, Haunted Mansion and TSM. We will just make these a priority to complete in the morning at Rope Drop without a Fastpass as we are going to DL for 2 days and DCA for 1.
- we can use the Maxpass to get 1 FastPass and then just Rider Swap once we get there. This will cut down on us having to separate or walk numerous times across the park.
- we can still collect paper Fastpasses when we are in the area as we have in the past.

 

[disneydadazut2]

I don't know if anyone has addressed this question yet (I have read most of the posts). I would hope that there would be a discount for multi-day passes. Has any AP holder heard of their potential charge yet?

Disney might consider this... Pay $10 per day/per person, but no more than $20 per ticket in a 13-day span. This would then give a price discount effective on 3-day passes and up, and hold the same time limitation that comes with multi-day ticket packages. Just something to consider.

My feelings are similar to others have been expressed. It's Disney's park, and they are trying to crowd control the best they can, while maximizing profits. I don't begrudge them for that. It is also transparent to me that this is the first step in requiring Pay-to-Play for all Fast Passes in the future.

If I had one or two kids, it would be a no-brainer to purchase the MaxPass. However, with a family of 6, I think a bit more about it. When we travel to Disney (about once a year, sometimes twice), we generally purchase 3 or 4-day passes. If we didn't receive a discount, that would be $180-$240 extra dollars for a few more rides - money I would rather spend on Pins, T-shirts, sweatshirts, stuffed characters, etc. We travel on a budget - so if I have to buy MaxPasses for everyone, in order to enjoy the rides, that means I will not be buying merchandise. I'm not angry about it, but that's just the facts.