Animal Kingdom First To Test FP+ For All Guests

[mickclub1955]

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FastPass+ open to all guests including offsite beginning next week at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Dec 13, 2013 | 6:06am EDT

FastPass+ is moving into new territory next week as for the first it will be available to all guests visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Starting December 18 2013, the latest test will allow all guests to use FastPass+, including those staying offsite and not in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel. During the test, regular paper FASTPASS will not be available, giving guests the choice to use FastPass+ or the standby line.

Non-resort guests will not be able to make FastPass+ reservations ahead of time, or using My Disney Experience. Mirroring the functionality provided by FASTPASS, offsite guests will need to visit a FastPass+ kiosk to make the reservations on the day they visit. MagicBands will not be available for non-resort guests. Instead, they will use their RFID enabled ticket media to access the FastPass+ kiosks and touch sensors.

Resort guests will continue to be able to make advance reservations using My Disney Experience. As with current testing, guests will be able to secure 3 FastPass+ reservations for that day.
The attractions available for FastPass+ are:

Character Greeting at Adventurers Outpost
Expedition Everest
DINOSAUR
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo – The Musical
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Primeval Whirl
It's Tough to be a Bug!

Kiosk locations are at:

Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl
Expedition Everest
Outside at Disney Outfitters
Outside the service center located at Creature Comforts

[mickclub1955]

I see disaster here. Busiest time of the year, no paper fast passes. If I worked at the AK, I would call in sick until after the New Year. But, this is moving MM+ to what it will look like for all parks in the future.

[1DisneyNut]

Yep, that is going to be an absolute mess. Long lines at kiosk's and angry guests. Just what everyone wants to do when they first enter a park.....stand in line at a kiosk for an hour and then have a bunch of problems once its their turn.

Why on Earth, would they not set it up so offsite guests could use MDE on their smartphones once in the park? And on the busiest week of the year??? This has to be the most mismanaged roll out in the history of business.

[JerseyDad]

Yep, that is going to be an absolute mess. Long lines at kiosk's and angry guests. Just what everyone wants to do when they first enter a park.....stand in line at a kiosk for an hour and then have a bunch of problems once its their turn.

Why on Earth, would they not set it up so offsite guests could use MDE on their smartphones once in the park? And on the busiest week of the year??? This has to be the most mismanaged roll out in the history of business.

....maybe there is some kind of secret agenda at work here? WDW doesn't want to expand it's number of attractions .....so let's just tick off the non-hardcore guests SO much that they don't come back ...or do so less frequently. Then ...the lines are shorter ...the hardcore guests book resort stays (money maker) ...and Disney still makes a profitable showing to Wall Street because they could lower expenses by not needing so many CM's to handle atrocious crowd levels.

...yup ...that's it!! Conspiracy theory hard at work!! (would not surprise me to see it be true in some manner ...really)

.....and ...I had a really good laugh at the attractions that were put on the list as being "FP+ Attractions":

Character Greeting at Adventurers Outpost
Expedition Everest
DINOSAUR
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo – The Musical
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Primeval Whirl (really!!??)
It's Tough to be a Bug!

.....check me if I'm wrong ...but doesn't that list pretty much include EVERY AK attraction?!!

.....there's the problem!! There are 8 attractions, 1 ...maybe 2 which I'd say were "primary" (EE & Dino)) ....and 1 that's 'seasonal' (KRR). If there were 20 rides / attractions ...with 5 or 6 "primary" ...the FP issue would be ...a non-issue.

....but that takes money ..or should I say ...spending money.

[Dulcee]

Actually, with the busiest time of the year rapidly approaching they need to cut down on the double dipping that has been happening with fast passes. Had to happen eventually...

[Buttercup]

Kiosk locations are at:

Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl
Expedition Everest
Outside at Disney Outfitters
Outside the service center located at Creature Comforts

Sooo, there is still gonna be a mad dash to various places around the park to get to a fast pass kiosk? Only now there are less of them and your wait will be longer while people take their time making choices.

[BuffaloJason]

I still don't understand all the negativity surrounding this. Yes, clearly they'll need to have plenty of "kiosk capacity". I'm sure that fact isn't lost on them. I'm not sure why we would assume they haven't accounted for that. It seems like they've been exceptionally cautious in how they've rolled this out and have erred on the side of "walking before they run".

I would assume they reason they won't let day guests use My Disney Experience is that it's a perk for staying onsite, just like EMH.

[JerseyDad]

Sooo, there is still gonna be a mad dash to various places around the park to get to a fast pass kiosk? Only now there are less of them and your wait will be longer while people take their time making choices.

.....wouldn't the prudent move be (among those first 'dashers' to the kiosks) ...to by-pass the kiosk ...and just go to the ride while all others are waiting to get a "time" to return. Heck ....AK is a half-day park at best ...given the lack of attractions .

.....utilize "Nike Theme Park" practice ..."Just Do It" ...then leave.

[MOJoe]

I would assume they reason they won't let day guests use My Disney Experience is that it's a perk for staying onsite, just like EMH.

If so, that's a real game changer. Offsite guests will only be allowed to use what FP+ slots are left after resort guests have had 60 days to book. And they have to stand in what is most likely to be a very long line to find out what or if anything they want is still available.

Doesn't sound too magical for those not at a WDW resort.

[brad192]

Really? During the holidays? The most crowded time of the year? They're going to introduce an entirely new reservation system on a public who, in a lot of cases, never figured out the original FP system?

It's gonna be the biggest fail since "New Coke".

Wouldn't want to be a CM working a FP+ kiosk or Guest Relations next week.

[Melanie]

Bless you, Ron (WDWDriver).

[antnyh]

This will cause a stink, but I'll say it anyway...I don't think fastpass+ should be offered to offsite guests anyway...there....I said it. For those that pay a premium to be onsite there should be something extra we get.

[JerseyDad]

This will cause a stink, but I'll say it anyway...I don't think fastpass+ should be offered to offsite guests anyway...there....I said it. For those that pay a premium to be onsite there should be something extra we get.

.....well ...the on-site guest 'extras' are nice ...so enjoy them while they last. Because, with FP+ there will be less of a reason to keep EMH's around and they will be eventually phased out too.

[disney obsessed]

I am sitting here reading this post and suddenly Hunger Games senarios popped into my head. I know it is wrong and twisted but the competition for fast passes is becoming brutal.

[JerseyDad]

I am sitting here reading this post and suddenly Hunger Games scenarios popped into my head. I know it is wrong and twisted but the competition for fast passes is becoming brutal.

.....though some will say that all the new systems that are being put in place are supposed to "enhance" the guest experience at WDW ....I see it as a "survival of the fittest" type experience. The "fittest' being those with the thickest skin and tolerance for being manipulated by a corporate entity under the guise of "this is what's best for you".

.....those with less tolerance for it ...will go to Universal.

[WDWdriver]

Bless you, Ron (WDWDriver).

LOL! Thanks, Melanie. Yes, it should be "interesting". I'll add a helmet and flak jacket to my costume for the two days I'm working. After that I'm taking time off through the holidays.

[cer]

I am sitting here reading this post and suddenly Hunger Games senarios popped into my head. I know it is wrong and twisted but the competition for fast passes is becoming brutal.

I think everyone is going to end up just giving up. Day guests are going to give up on the kiosk lines and onsite guests are going to give up on trying to preplan every minute and give up on the poor on-site wifi.

As I sit here in my home, preparing for Marathon weekend, i have been able to make my fast pass plus reservations for over 35 days now and cannot for the life of me bring myself to commit to what park I am going to be in and when.

You liken the frenzy for fast pass plus to Hunger Games, I liken the whole way this thing is being rolled out to Obamacare. No one knows what it is going to be like or if it is going to hurt or help your experience.

[VWL Mom]

Actually, with the busiest time of the year rapidly approaching they need to cut down on the double dipping that has been happening with fast passes. Had to happen eventually...

Good point!

[Tekneek]

FP+ probably works better at AK than any other park, due to the smaller number of attractions that could even truly need FP at all.

For those still holding out hope that there is some fantastic FP+ element (that hasn't surfaced during any testing to date) yet to debut, I wouldn't count on it. Not much, in terms of the problems with the program, have been improved over time. Problems with the app and website have been fixed, to various degrees, but the significant design flaws in FP+ are still there and there is no indication those will be corrected before roll-out.

If FP+ did help kill the park traffic from off-resort guests, we can expect park tickets to really jump. Not only do they need to show increased profitability for Wall Street (they can slash CMs for that), but they need to show continued revenue growth (number of guests down = each guest must pay more).

[Dulcee]

.....though some will say that all the new systems that are being put in place are supposed to "enhance" the guest experience at WDW ....I see it as a "survival of the fittest" type experience. The "fittest' being those with the thickest skin and tolerance for being manipulated by a corporate entity under the guise of "this is what's best for you".

.....those with less tolerance for it ...will go to Universal.

I'm sorry, this made me laugh. So instead of survival of the fittest (which I don't believe anyway) you'll opt for survival of the wealthiest? As an offsite guest at Universal the only way to get front of the line access is to pay for it.