No Real News on Fastpass+ Timing in Yesterday’s Disney Earnings Call
By Dave Shute
In yesterday’s discussion of Disney’s quarterly earnings, CEO Bob Iger discussed the timing of MyMagic+, Disney’s future program which among other features will enable people to reserve Fastpasses well in advance of their visit.
He said that MyMagic+ will “probably” see “full rollout in the early part” of Disney’s Fiscal 14.
Disney’s fiscal year begins in October, so mathematically the “early” part of it extends from October through March. Moreover, “full rollout” could range from full use of Fastpass+ in the parks to a much lower ambition–full use of the capability to reserve Fastpass+ ahead of time, which likely will precede full use in the parks by 60 days or so.
So, ignoring that “probably,” the range of possibilities the words will bear is from full use of Fastpass+ in the parks in early October to just full use of the website to book them beginning in later March 2014.
Add the “probably” back in–a needed word, as Disney is still testing the systems behind the offering–and there’s really no new insight to be gained from this call about the timing of Fastpass+.
So there’s no basis here for me to change my proposition that we won’t see widespread use of Fastpass+ in the parks until calendar 2014…
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17 comments
Will we see it up and running by July 2014? It’d be fun to make a reservation for Splash Mountain well in advance, for instance…
Oh Tom, I don’t know! But if I had to bet, I’d say absolutely…
yeah, I know… I was just thinking aloud… crossing fingers!
Any idea how the delay in the release of February 2014 park hours might tie into this?
Chelsea, I had the same thought…but it’s just speculation. The specific thought is that EMH may go away once Fastpass+ is in full effect in the parks…so maybe that gets announced this weekend at D23, and then the Feb calendar–with no EMH–comes out…
I have a general question about Fastpasses. If my family of four gets four Fastpasses for a ride but then hubby and I decide not to go on that ride (ie. Chicken out) can the kids use our fastpasses or are they attached to the individual only? I’m thinking about something like Space Mountain… I am not a huge rollercoaster fan so I wanted to get a fastpass anyway and let the kids do back to back rides.
Lori, right now they are not tied to you as an individual (this may change later when Fastpass+ comes out). So yes, you can do exactly this, so long as ride #2 is still within the Fastpass return window.
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We are looking at end of Feb / beginning of Mar… in fact we are booking this weekend…been holding off but with the 180 day mark looming we have to commit… i am dreading the FP+ in all honesty. I was sad when the FP return window was enforced last trip but we adjusted to that pretty quickly and used fewer FP but it was still a fun trip and we saw / did pretty much all the things we wanted. I had really hoped to have more solid information on the new system before booking – i mean the rumors swirling are really killing me. Ive seen an whole gamut of thoughts and ideas on what will occur with the new stuff – and really have hesitated booking – its hard tocommit this much dough not knowing what the EMH, FP+ etc are all going to look like… Any thoughts on when there will be more INFO that is solid and official on all these new things??
Oh Joann, I feel for you. No one knows what the final stable program will look like, or when we will know that it is in place. But EMH for Feb and March are out now, and FP+ ought not to much shift which is the best day for which park. Re dining, the only impact of FP+ that I see is the availability of Be Our Guest to be reserved for a quick-service lunch.
The other thing worth noting–and I hate this–is that the belief out there is strong that when all is stable that the more expensive resorts will have more privileges than the less expensive ones. I dunno if this will be true or not, but I would suggest booking the highest-end resort you can afford–e.g. a deluxe if you can…
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Finally got notice of being selected for the fast pass+ for Sept 14-19! Pop century is one of the resorts testing it out. I’m very excited…picked the magic wrist band color and used your tips on here to customize my itinerary. Hint…if u get the fast pass + u can fast pass quick dining for breakfast or lunch at be our guest! I can’t wait! Thanks Dave!
Yay, Katherine!! I’ve got the same set up for POR later in the month, having a ball picking my FP+! I’ll be posting some thoughts on picking your FP+ next week…
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so, where are the EMHs published? On the WDW site you can only look at the calendar through 2/23 for park hours…
Joann, see this: http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_mar.pdf I don’t usually post about these, as they become over time (as changes happen) less reliable than the WDW website, but they are 95% correct for EMH…
Dave, I hear ya and believe you on the more expensive hotels getting better pass+ perks. That’s why I am making the very best out of this trip!! I got full perks this test run! Looks like fun too. Not sure how I will feel when the shoes on the other foot next trip though…
Got you, Katherine…
Be back to check your tips next week! Thanks!
I’m shooting for publishing them Tuesday, but may get behind…
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