The Imagineers hard at work on NextGen at Walt Disney World just wrapped up another phase of testing that ran from June 20-26, 2013.
According to sources, Disney invited guests staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Contemporary Resort to participate in the test using MagicBands (the new wristband – with optional decorative accessories – that is rumored to hold your tickets, hotel room key, charging privileges, and FastPass-like access privileges).
FastPass vs. FastPass +
Today any part guest can use FastPass – where you put your admission ticket into a machine and get a piece of paper that tells you when you can return to the attraction with little wait. But as part of this test Disney also identified certain attractions for FastPass +.
At least for the purpose of this test, FastPass + differs from good old FastPass in three important ways:
1 – With FastPass + you make reservations in advance, just like you do for dining.
2 – With FastPass + you can reserve for both selected attractions and also selected experiences, like parades and evening spectaculars. FastPass doesn’t include parades and events.
3 – With FastPass + there is no paper ticket. Everything is tied into your MagicBand and is managed either using the My Disney Experience web site or mobile app.
Disney identified many different attractions as either FastPass or FastPass + as part of this test. Let’s take a look:
| FastPass | FastPass Plus |
|
| The Barnstormer Big Thunder Mountain Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Dumbo The Flying Elephant The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Town Square Theater – Mickey Mouse Town Square Theater – Minnie Mouse Mickey’s PhilarMagic Peter Pan’s Flight Space Mountain Splash Mountain Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid |
Enchanted Tales with Belle Haunted Mansion it’s a small world Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Pirates of the Caribbean Stitch’s Great Escape The Magic Carpets of Aladdin Tomorrowland Speedway Main Street Electrical Parade Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade |
Epcot FastPass Plus Test
| FastPass | FastPass Plus |
|
| Living with the Land Mission: SPACE Maelstrom Soarin’ Test Track |
Captain EO Journey Into Imagination with Figment Spaceship Earth The Seas with Nemo and Friends IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth Character Spot |
Disney’s Hollywood Studios FastPass Plus Test
| FastPass | FastPass Plus |
|
| Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Star Tours Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Toy Story Mania |
The American Idol Experience Disney Junior Live on Stage The Great Movie Ride Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show Muppet Vision 3D Voyage of the Little Mermaid |
Disney’s Animal Kingdom FastPass Plus Test
| FastPass | FastPass Plus |
|
| Dinosaur Expedition Everest Kali River Rapids Kilimanjaro Safaris Primeval Whirl |
Adventurer’s Outpost Meet ‘n Greet Festival of the Lion King Finding Nemo The Musical It’s Tough to be a Bug |
Many of the attractions above used to be FastPass locations a while ago, but over time dropped from the FastPass lists. In addition, many other attractions in the above list were never part of FastPass at all. In fact, it seems like these lists identified a big percent of all Disney’s attractions and events at each park into either the FastPass list or the FastPass + list.
Will Disney Eventually Charge For This?
At this point nobody, perhaps even Disney itself, knows what – if any – of the pieces of NextGen will require extra payment or require a stay at a certain level of Disney Resort Hotel. Many other parks like Universal Studios already charge for ‘line jumping’ privileges.
However, I think a comment that Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo made a comment on a company earnings call was promising. He said that a big driver for NextGen was to get people to plan their Disney vacation in advance. When guests plan in advance, they stay at Disney longer (vs. heading to other Orlando parks) and spend more money at Disney.
But time will tell.
What do you think about this FastPass + test?