One of the joyous aspects of a Disney theme park visit has always been that it’s egalitarian. Everyone is treated the same at the Happiest Place on Earth. The Walt Disney Company is a business, though. In recent years, they’ve walked that tightrope between maximizing profit and satisfying all customers. A pair of recent changes may have tipped that scale forever. Let’s examine a crucial Turning Point, the instances when Disney sneakily introduced paid FastPasses at their theme parks.
The origins of FastPass
Image: DisneySeveral years ago, I wrote a Theme Park Tourist article about Disney’s ongoing attempts to improve theme park wait-times. FastPass+ was still a relatively new technology at the time, one that Disney spent more than a billion dollars creating and implementing. When Magic Bands first arrived, the company had grand ambitions about the way that they would improve the theme park experience.
During the years that followed, Disney became even more powerful thanks to the ascension of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, clever expansion of the Star Wars brand, and increased profit at the parks. Those theme park revenues partially come from Disney’s recent emphasis on upsells. The company’s stated goal is to employ price hikes as a method of maintaining a steady flow of traffic throughout the year.
Image: DisneyOne of the most controversial decisions in recent memory was Disney’s move toward surge pricing. Their parks started charging more for visits during the most popular times of the year while selling cheaper tickets during the off-season. In a perfect world, Disney would sell the same number of admission tickets in mid-January as Christmas week and Spring Break.
FastPass, while less controversial, is another method of achieving the same goal. Disney wants solid control of theme park traffic within the day. By knowing where guests will be during certain times of the day, they gain a better ability to anticipate overall crowd behavior. Its intent is pure, but some master of the Dark Arts has persuaded Disney executives to bastardize the FastPass. In fact, they’ve done it twice recently.
The first paid FastPass
Image: DisneyThanks to Magic Bands, Walt Disney World has claimed superior FastPass technology in recent years over its West Coast peer. In July of 2017, Disney used a Trojan horse to introduce a digital version of FastPasses at the Happiest Place on Earth, only it didn’t make everyone happy.
The new system is the MaxPass, an option service that allows Disneyland guests to book FastPasses via smartphone. The catch is that it’s not free. MaxPass started at $10 a day and costs $15 a day at the time of publication. Every member of your party must have MaxPass enabled to schedule a FastPass for the group. Yes, the cost of MaxPass for a party of four is $60 daily. It’s hefty.
Image: DisneyDisney would quickly point out that MaxPass hasn’t replaced FastPass. It’s supplementary. The old system is still in place, allowing guests to walk to kiosks and get a FastPass ticket to their favorite attractions. Disneyland guests know the truth, though. MaxPass is much better and more convenient. It’s the equivalent of My Disney Experience, only it’s not free.
To be fair, MaxPass does come with extra features that aren’t available on My Disney Experience, at least not for free. Specifically, PhotoPass is included with MaxPass. It’s a service that’s worth $15 a day on its own in my opinion…although I’m not sure it’s worth $60 a day for a family of four.
The latest paid FastPass
Image: DisneyDisney has introduced a more explicit paid FastPass overseas. The genesis of it is at Shanghai Disneyland, although the park operators there have an explanation/excuse. Scalpers were selling FastPasses right there in the park. Since it’s the only Disney park where FastPass demand exceeds supply, would-be entrepreneurs discovered a niche market for popular FastPasses.
The solution to this problem has caused ripple effects at another Disney theme park. Shanghai Disneyland introduced something called Disney Premier Access. This paid FastPass system entitles the holder to a ride on the eight most popular attractions at Shanghai Disneyland.
For a cost of about $71, park visitors can enjoy the ultimate day at Shanghai Disneyland. This price is significant, though. It’s roughly the same as a single day of park admission, meaning that guests must pay double to guarantee that they can ride the best that Shanghai Disneyland has to offer.
The high cost of a paid FastPass
Image: DisneyThe ripple effect is that Disney executives gained new data about the appeal of paid FastPasses. The information encouraged them to do another trial run at an international Disney park. They chose Disneyland Paris for the next (permanent) experiment.
The new FastPass program implemented during the summer of 2018 comes in two versions. The “lesser” tier is the Super FastPass. It entitles the owner to a choice of either three Family Attractions or Big Thrill Attractions. For a fee of $36-$58, guests get to ride Ratatouille: The Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast via FastPass. Alternately, they can pick Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror instead.
Yes, that’s three paid FastPasses for somewhere in the neighborhood of $12-$20 each. I don’t know a lot of people who would pay that much for Peter Pan’s Flight, but some theme park tourists clearly are. In fact, Disneyland Paris has a more expensive, more comprehensive paid FastPass option.
Image: DisneyThe Ultimate FastPass is aptly named. Guests may ride nine different popular attractions at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios Park for a set fee. Depending on the date of the visit, the price varies between $145 and $192. This paid FastPass service includes the six aforementioned attractions plus Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours – The Adventure Continues, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril.
You may have gotten sticker shock at those prices. Yes, those are in American dollars. Disneyland Paris is arguably the most expensive Disney theme park in the world, with single-day admission to both parks costing upwards of $254.
For that much money, park officials believe that guests may stretch their budgets even more to guarantee that they get to ride the best that the two parks have to offer. After all, Paris is one of the most beloved tourist destinations in the world. Tourists naturally expect higher prices when they visit. Also, Disney describes the FastPasses here as no-wait, which is only a slight exaggeration. The line queues are more efficient. You may question the price, but park planners have done what they can to provide bang for the buck.
The future of FastPass?
Image: DisneyWhen you look at these paid FastPass prices, do you get a strange sense of foreboding? It’s like you’re staring at the Ghost of Disney Future Vacations, isn’t it? The unmistakable trend in recent years is the upsell. Disney’s tried all manner of special activities and amenities, all of which has served the same overall purpose.
Disney wants to maximize profit without increasing attendance significantly. They believe that they may achieve this goal through efficiency and price. Magic Bands are actually the strongest step toward improving efficiency. The technology gives park officials more power than ever before to control the herd, so to speak.
Price is a more nuanced topic. The switch to surge pricing on tickets was assuredly divisive. To park officials, it was a crucial step toward an admirable goal. They need to keep the parks from becoming glorified flash mobs. There’s a theoretical limit to attendance. Disney doesn’t like when park traffic is anywhere near that level. In a perfect world, they’d earn enough money without the ensuing problem of overcrowding.
Image: DisneyYou see where I’m going with this. A paid FastPass system is the most organic solution for increasing profit without adding park traffic. Once implemented, it’s also pure profit. Park officials will pay the expense of operating a digital FastPass system anyway. Adding a paid tier represents a fractional, mathematically insignificant cost to Disney. The only budgetary expenditures are additional bandwidth and a bit larger IT outlay.
Who turns down free money? Currently, the answer is Disney, at least at Walt Disney World. We must be realistic, though. We’ve reached a crucial turning point, as the Mouse House has quietly introduced paid FastPasses at HALF of their theme parks: Shanghai Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyland.
Corporate executives managed this feat without sounding any alarms. It’s been a meticulous, insidious step-by-step process, and it hints at an upcoming change at Walt Disney World. We’re heading toward a Tomorrowland where FastPasses are a pay-to-play system where, once again, wealthier customers get more. It’s inevitable, I’m afraid.
