FASTPASS Testing at the Carousel of Progress?
Of all the attractions found in the Magic Kingdom Park, the Carousel of Progress is certainly one of those that do not need FASTPASS, and I think we can all agree on that. During our last visit to the park, which took place last Sunday, we did notice an unusual thing, though. In fact, it looks like the attraction was offering a temporary FASTPASS service. You don't believe my words? Well, then take a look for yourself!:
As you can see, there was a sign that clearly redirected people to the exit of the attraction, that was used as a temporary FASTPASS entrance:
It is interesting to note that these special FASTPASSes were distributed only between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.:
Of course, this could have just been an extraordinary thing that was done due to the busy holiday weekend, but we noticed that there were very few people inside the park, so this additional service did not really help, especially since this is (sadly) not one of the most popular attractions of the park anyway. But we would like to hear your opinion as well. What do you think? Is this a sign of new things to come? Share your thoughts!
As a CM in that area, we actually have FP for multiple rides during the busy season. Last year I think we had when you received a Buzz FP you also receive one for this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment, Anonymous. The only thing that struck us is that, as we stated in our post, the day was absolutely one of the quietest we have ever seen since the beginning of the year. We'll see...
ReplyDeleteCoP is one of my favorite attractions at Disney, the lack of a long line is just a bonus, though would be nice if more folks knew the historic significance of CoP, it's really neat what Walt did
ReplyDeleteLike anonymous #1 said, they've given out "free" fast passes for this in addition to, say, a Buzz Lightyear fastpass. I remember them doing this a few years ago, and maybe they were just testing certain loading scenarios this time.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad idea by Disney, gently nudging guests in the direction of a long attraction whose loads aren't meeting it's high capacity, while clearing the walkways.
I guess it´s crowd management. Give the guest a fastpass and, as a brainless zombie, he moves to the (at that moment) less crowded part of the park to do a ride.
ReplyDeleteAgain this is ripping out the spontanitie and have people watching their watches. Together with the use of mobile phones it´s sad to see people be a slave to that.
On the other hand, I won´t use it and the herd will be lighter in the nicer attractions.
Isn't it about time Disney replaced this? It's always empty and rightly so - it's not aged well at all.
ReplyDeleteFastpass drives up the wait times for stand-by, and also (for attractions like Toy Story Mania, where they're gone in 2+ hours) makes park-hopping harder.
ReplyDeleteI will say, it's dependent on the park, though. Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom have enough big rides on Fastpass, or at least it's balanced enough that it doesn't harm the park. Epcot and Hollywood Studios, though... TSM and Soarin/Test Track get sold out or pushed into the evening before anything else in the park. It seems like these aren't as balanced (part of that is TSM's height limit, versus all the other FP rides at DHS).
Next Gen! Too many Disney followers are so closed minded to the possibilities. They look at the existing structure and then try to place rumors and leaks into those terms. Why only busy rides on next gen? If you can truly plan out your ride times, then maybe expanding fastpass is necessary. Maybe not for the reasons that it is used now. Maybe fastpass will be like a line for people with reservations? Since the program is not done marketing has not yet gotten a hold of the terms to update the naming of the system.
ReplyDeletespeaking about TSM, is there anyway to suggest to disney to add a single rider line? there are always so many times i see three riders.
ReplyDeleteToy Story Mania did have a Single Rider line when it frist opened I've used it once. It just did not kick off very well so Disney got rit of it!
ReplyDeleteWe have been going to Disney every year and sometimes twice a year for the past 26 years. The COP is one stop we always havw to make. We joined the WDVC about 2 years ago and now we will be going even more ofter.
ReplyDeleteCOP gives one not only a wonderful story of progress but it also gives one a relaxing and refreshing break in the day.
I hope the ride does not get so popular that lines start to form but popular enough to keep it open.
RRP