I am always a little annoyed when people speak for others. Be they forum trolls speaking for an imagined silent majority or those who wish to advance their own agenda by invoking the honored dead. I'm going to go out on a limb here and be part of the second group but really, I don't think I'm wrong here.
Disneyland is the example we have of how Walt thought to run a park. Admission was a $1 and $2.50 ($21.79 in today's money) bought you a book of tickets. The idea was that pretty much anyone could afford entry, those of the most modest means could ride all of the really fun rides (the books had more D & E tickets for the better rides than they had A tickets) and have a great time. The inclusion of the lesser valued tickets was also a bit of Roy-type genius since it encouraged people to see the less impressive attractions as well, thus spreading the traffic through the entire park fairly well and making lines more manageable.
That changed in 1982 and things got more...interesting. With the addition of the "Passport" ticket, rides were unlimited for all rides with predictable results. It was egalitarian in that everyone could ride until they got bored of standing in the line and boy were there lines. The price had also jumped to the equivalent of $35.88 in today's money. Considering that this also covered the newly opened EPCOT Center at Disney World, it was quite a bargain and people flocked to Orlando in droves, in spite of the lines.
As Walt Disney World grew, they began to master the art of line management. They started using techniques from the rides with the highest throughput... and the vast majority of early EPCOT Center rides looked a *lot* like a redressed Haunted Mansion with the highly efficient OmniMover. They also began making the lines more entertaining, informative and interactive. Occasionally, they were even downright sneaky with lots of blind turns so someone standing in line always thought the ride was just right around the next corner...in spite of the hour they would be standing there. People were less annoyed with standing in long lines but it could be better.
In late 1999, they came up with an answer, the Fastpass. The idea was a simple one, by allowing guests to get an advance ticket for the front of the line they managed to make lines shorter overall by making sure that the rides maximum capacity was used as much as possible. So, people spent more time walking about (eating delicious and overpriced churros and turkey legs) and riding rides. Since this service cost nothing additional, it worked quite well. You could enjoy a nice laconic day and still get some rides in or if you were in the company of a Fastpass master like Jen Juneau, you could ride a staggering number of rides in a very short time.
Then along came Fastpass+ and I am not amused. Since the normal Fastpass isn't going away this will mean that people staying at Disney resorts will have their Fastpasses before people are even allowed into the park. This means that even if you are at the front of the mob at rope drop and move as quickly (and safely) as possible to the ride...you are still going to wait. As normal Fastpasses start to be given out as well, rides that always run at full capacity (like Toy Story Mania) will have the Standby wait grow longer as now two groups of people will be allowed to go to the front of the line.
The last straw for me was adding the lunch service for Be Our Guest restaurant to the "attractions." To give you an idea of how egregious this really is, let me explain Be Our Guest for the non-Disney Park freaks. Be Our Guest is a new restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. It is modeled after the castle of The Beast from Beauty and the Beast and it. is. GORGEOUS. As a result, you will not be able to get dinner reservations unless you are staying at a Disney Resort.
Oh! I forgot to mention that existing perk: If you are staying at one of their resorts, you can potentially book your dining reservations up to 10 days before they open to the general public (it's not EXACTLY that simple but close enough) and as a result all of the dinner slots for Be Our Guest are gone within moments of them being available to the general public and in busy seasons, the general public never gets a chance.
But be of good cheer! Lunch is a "counter service" which means that you get in a line, you stand in the line, when you get to the front of the line you buy food, you sit, you eat. Or so it was. Now that this is considered an attraction with Fastpass+, you'll have people who are staying at Disney resorts walk right on past you as stand in line waiting even longer. So, Disney effectively is keeping their most popular restaurant for resort guests only.
Reading all this, I'm sure you are thinking; well that's no problem then, we will just stay there. I don't want to go into a huge discussion on the virtues of on vs off site but I'll just say that unless you plan on spending more OR don't mind staying in a loud, sticky Motel 6 that has been brightly decorated with Disney characters, this might not be for you...as a matter of fact, I can't help but think that this is the problem they are trying to solve...they aren't moving the resort rooms like they used to.
My guess is that Doreen and I are not the only ones who have been to one of the Disney resorts and came away unhappy with either the price or the quality of the stay and vowed not to return. I don't mind them adding new perks to staying at the Disney resorts to try to fill those rooms; a hotel is a business that needs to fill rooms.
I do resent them deciding that these on-site perks would be most cost effective at the expense of the "day guest." No matter how I price a Disney vacation, it's not exactly a cheap affair and I deeply resent that kind of total outlay to be treated as a second-class guest. If my choices are that or booking a hotel that I would never even consider for any other reason, Disney can (as it was summed up on facebook) kiss my ass.
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