The DIS-Gruntled Fan: Pay for Play or FastPass+ Scandal 2018

Read Time:3 Minute, 19 Second

Well if you haven’t heard, let me tell you: Starting Friday, January 12, 2018 Walt Disney World is rolling out another LIMITED PILOT PROGRAM that will allow a select few guests to purchase theme park extras.

Initially, like with many of these programs, I could care less.

However, I read a little more into what these extras were. So for a fee of $50 plus tax per guest per day, the purchaser will get:

1)Three extra FastPass+ selections per day.

So they are paying a little over $17 per additional FastPass+…Again not a big deal, if they want to spend that to cut the wait in line go for it, it won’t really affect the overall time that everyone else has on standby or in the FastPass+ line. (oh someone can come out and show me a spreadsheet on how it will increase time by 3 to 20 minutes but really I don’t care)

2)The ability to reserve FastPass+ in more than one parks.

Again that is a nice feature, but when you really look at it, what does it really do, this guest or guests are going to be leaving one park and heading to another, so ultimately they are wasting about an hour going from one park to the next, and they are reducing the number of potential FastPass+ for the park. Win/Win and a waste of time for the park hopping guest in my mind.

3)Preferred Viewing locations for nighttime spectaculars (one per day)…

I am not a fan of these preferred viewing, I don’t think it is a make or break for me liking or watching an event, as far as I am concerned if I don’t like the view I can move back ten feet, or just leave…Plainly I like the nighttime spectaculars but would rather be on a ride, or eating something or being in my room falling asleep to MUST DO DISNEY.

4)A BOOKING WINDOW OF UP TO 90 DAYS IN ADVANCE (instead of the standard 60 days) AND THE ABILITY TO BOOK MULTIPLE TOP TIER ATTRACTIONS!!!

This is where I get annoyed, this is where it moves into the Pay to Play zone for me…Some will say that the multiple top tier might be 1 additional, so in essence the purchaser is buying an additional ticket to the park thus gaining 1 top tier and 2 lower tier choices, but as of yet that is not confirmed, perhaps it is as many top tiers as they want.

Here you break very deep into the HAVES and the HAVE NOTS. I have never been a fan of the VIP TOUR that can be purchased, but if you see how much that costs, if that person has that kind of money let them waste it, because I can’t see having the same experience, yes you get right on the ride, but when you think about it is that worth the several thousand dollars that it costs for that. Just click here and look at the cost of these “TOURS.”

I will say, I do miss the days when the chance sighting of the Tartan Vest would mean a celebrity sighting, where now it is most likely some Hedge Fund Manager or Car Dealership owner, who just wants to show off…(you know I am not alone in feeling this)

Ultimately it is just a temporary Pilot Program, available to Club Level Guest, who have a 3 Day pass or longer including Annual Pass, and it is Disney’s decision. Will it really affect you, probably not…But it will once again remind you that in the end Walt Disney World and Resorts is a massive company that has a financial responsibility to it’s shareholders and it’s employees, they are a business and they make decisions good and bad based on that.

I am more upset that they took away the Cheese Pump at Casey’s Corner than I am about this.