Disney Math at it's Finest

This is also what some other parks do with their cheaper “fastpasses”. That was FlashPass does at Six Flags at the cheap level, ditto for Schlitterbahn’s BlastPass (now run by Cedar Fair). But they also sell more expensive options that cut the wait in half or 10% at Six Flags. In addition, though this is not exactly like MaxPass it’s sort of like it in that you do one at a time and have to wait until you can use yours or 90 min to get another.

I was just gonna say this too. This is exactly what VB does but they do also sell an EP.

That VB sells a EP, but it isn’t bought often is a sign that their normal system works really well.

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One thing that I didn’t see mentioned is just limiting how many people are in the park to keep ride lines shorter. Since Disney announced they are not getting rid of the reservation system, this might fundamentally change this whole system.

A agree that FPs are a problem, especially at WDW. I am fine getting rid of them when they have the single rider and shorter wait times in general.

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ha, right!! just bought ours and already “saving” $700 of hotel rooms :rofl:

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That’s why FPP should be back in its original form. “Free” for everyone.

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I agree with you there. It has to be a good thing. It should have a huge impact on getting the right staffing and to the right places. If I were Disney, I’d leave the reservations available at 100%. Then when it was time to set the staffing, I’d leave a set amount of reservations still available for last minute, and I’d pull all the rest.

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Nothing selfish about it :slight_smile: . FPP benefits liners, rope-droppers, planners. Those who have excel spreadsheets, TPs, wake up at 4am to get FPP for the headliners and top ADRs, and know that you can get more FP after using the first 3. That takes a lot of time and effort! The reward: lot of rides with short wait. To this group, it doesn’t matter that FPP makes the lines for Country Bear Jamboree longer, because they spend time adjusting TPs and choosing the best times to ride.

Non-planners are more affected by the increase overall wait generated by FPP, but to this group, does it even matter if they have to wait 20 min to ride Country Bear Jamboree instead of 5 min? Probably not.

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A few days late here - but look at Alamo. They have a “skip the counter” service that doesn’t involve being a preferred member - you just have to fill out cc info, along with license and other info, and then go right to the lot. I was first time user, not a “preferred member” and it worked amazing!

I think Alamo was what I used when they tried to charge me extra fees at the kiosk. We’ve already done the Axis rental, so hopefully we’re good to go now. We’ll find out Monday evening!

I didn’t use a kiosk, so I’m not sure. This was a program where you basically fill out all the paperwork out online ahead of time (insurance/damage waivers, license info, etc.) and literally just walk off the plane to their lot and pick a car in your category and drive away. I heard they opened both “sides” of the rental cars (A &B) so the lines have improved.
Good luck!

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That would probably mean limiting profits, which I just don’t see WDW doing.

Oh no! I hadn’t heard about that. I was hoping that the reservations would go away as they continued stepping back on Covid restrictions. I lament every step away from spontaneous trips. I can (and do) plan ahead, but I’d rather not be required to do so and get locked into specific plans.

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This is my view. Long lines happen because either a) the crowds are too much for the max. capacity of the attractions. Unless any park was way overbuilt to handle the holiday crowds, this would happen or b) the rides were set expecting a certain number of people and a lot more than that actually showed up or c) the park deliberately sets the attraction capacity lower than they think the crowds will be in order to keep people in lines which is really cheap for them.

If I were Disney, I would keep the reservations forever. The # available would be 100% until I had to set the staffing levels. Then I would pull all unused reservations except a number of last-minute people.

So, I would hope that Disney also thinks the same. Because a day much more crowded than they expected does lead to long lines.

The third thing I mentioned does seem like something someone nicknamed Cheapek would do. I don’t know enough about him or Disney to say that though.

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I haven’t even gone yet, and I’ve already been sucked into Disney Math. Although my resistance was worn down by Chicken Math.

I was against the idea of Park Hoppers. From everything I read, people like us don’t need park hoppers. Us, being first timers who want to see and do everything on a really long 10-day tickets two-week trip. Also, non-foodies with a car who’d rather drive someplace offsite at the end of the day. Also, my thought was, if we needed it we could buy it there.

Then I looked at the TP ticket calculator right after the news about the evenings being for Deluxe. Adding the Park Hoppers now saves the family $50 over buying them at the park. Then I thought about Disney closing some parks early for the Deluxe evening thing. i had to get them. It pains me that Disney’s douche move led me to give them more money.

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@shawthorne44 makes an excellent point about crowd control, but I agree w/ Beth and want this system to go away.

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For years, Disney has been looking reduce the number of people in the parks. This is one of the reasons they kept raising prices. Disney knows they will make their money, even with limiting the numbers. They will do it by providing more exclusive experiences. (Like the desert & show or pay for reserved seating.) I think we will see more of this.

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Example of Disney math:
Had a Jan 2020 Disney trip and also a conference at Disney planned for June 2020. Figured by upgrading Jan 2020 tickets to annual passes for entire family, we would more or less break even and we might even sneak in one more trip.
Fast forward: Ended up going to Disney 6 times on those annual passes including 5 pandemic trips for 35 days total at Disney in the last 18 months…because “we already paid for the tickets anyway…” Of course, stayed on property each time and HAD to take advantage of the AP discount on merch each time…
Sadly, I can’t, even with my Disney-Mathiest-mindset, seem to justify renewing the APs and my time frame to renew runs out in 3 days. (This even sounds like a plea for enabling to me.)

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well, considering they are not selling APs right now and there isn’t a time set for when/if they will resume sales… yes I’ll enable you: If you think that you will come again it might be worth it to renew the APs b/c tickets for parks are only going to go up in cost w/ more limitations. I don’t know what kind of AP you have if down grading would make the cost less but that might be something to consider too.

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Thanks. My trip dashboard has been empty for about a month now and it’s unsettling…if I would just book something. I am sure I could muster the justification to renew the APs

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Here, let me help :wink:

Poly Studio for the 50th Available - Walt Disney World / Accommodations - TouringPlans Discussion Forums

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