Do fast passes ever get wasted?

[Ah80207]

Something I've been wondering about. I booked fast passes for all the days of our holiday at 30 days out, then as I finalised itinerary, building in a stay a HRH and booking tickets for Aquatica, I cancelled all of them except the actual four days we are going to be at Disney parks. It was pointless keeping them when I knew we wouldn't use them.

But now I'm wondering what happens if people book them, but dont get round to cancelling. Presumably they are wasted? I wonder if this happens a lot? I really hope not, having tried daily and unsuccessfully for fast passes for some of the really popular attractions. But I guess it must happen, especially for people off dire who may choose to have some days at their villa.

[Lisa_Lollipop]

You do not get penalised for not turning up for your FPs but I always try to cancel them if I know in advance that I won't be able to make it, as you say it then frees it up for someone else who could make use of it

That said it does mess around with your ability to book additional FPs on the day... whilst we were out there last week I knew we weren't going to make our first FP booking for Star Tours so cancelled it, we then used our pass for ToT and TSMM so I went to book an additional pass on the app for RnR to find it wouldn't let me choose anything from Tier 1 as I hadn't yet used my allocated 2 passes from Tier 2. I asked a CM and he told me that you shouldn't cancel them you should instead just let it expire to stop this problem happening... seems silly to be though as I wouldn't want to hold on to a pass that someone else might be able to actually use!

[Caroian]

I'm sure it does happen. It's courteous to Angel and give someone else the opportunity but some people may forget, or find themselves stuck somewhere with no access to data (or WiFi, especially for overseas guests) and therefore unable to cancel. But I'm also sure some "no shows" are built in to the umber issued. Which may be why fastpass lines sometimes seem a little longer - when everyone in Avicenna window not only turns up, but turns up at the same time!)

What's the alternative? Can you imagine the outcry if they started charging!

[Ah80207]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

You do not get penalised for not turning up for your FPs but I always try to cancel them if I know in advance that I won't be able to make it, as you say it then frees it up for someone else who could make use of it

That said it does mess around with your ability to book additional FPs on the day... whilst we were out there last week I knew we weren't going to make our first FP booking for Star Tours so cancelled it, we then used our pass for ToT and TSMM so I went to book an additional pass on the app for RnR to find it wouldn't let me choose anything from Tier 1 as I hadn't yet used my allocated 2 passes from Tier 2. I asked a CM and he told me that you shouldn't cancel them you should instead just let it expire to stop this problem happening... seems silly to be though as I wouldn't want to hold on to a pass that someone else might be able to actually use!

See more...

I didn't know that, surely if you cancel it then it should be the same as it expiring? Otherwise it encourages people to hang onto slots other guests could be trying to get!

[Ah80207]

Originally Posted by Caroian

I'm sure it does happen. It's courteous to Angel and give someone else the opportunity but some people may forget, or find themselves stuck somewhere with no access to data (or WiFi, especially for overseas guests) and therefore unable to cancel. But I'm also sure some "no shows" are built in to the umber issued. Which may be why fastpass lines sometimes seem a little longer - when everyone in Avicenna window not only turns up, but turns up at the same time!)

What's the alternative? Can you imagine the outcry if they started charging!

See more...

But I'm sure people woukd make more if an effort to get online to cancel ADRs if they aren't going to make it? Because otherwise they are charged!

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by Ah80207

I didn't know that, surely if you cancel it then it should be the same as it expiring? Otherwise it encourages people to hang onto slots other guests could be trying to get!

See more...

That's exactly what I said! I guess their thinking is that people would book 2 lower tier attractions to then just cancel them off in favour of the booking additional more popular ones (when in reality they are very rarely available on the day for booking anyway!)

[Caroian]

Originally Posted by Ah80207

But I'm sure people woukd make more if an effort to get online to cancel ADRs if they aren't going to make it? Because otherwise they are charged!

See more...

Yes, but an ADR is usually a once a day thing that you generally can make a decision on the day before and find a window of time to cancel. Fast passes are things you may find you can't get to fairly last minute. Say you get stuck waiting for a Disney bus and have no WiFi. They would be deluged with claims of "I shouldn't be charged because..."

I still think they are savvy enough with their numbers to account for people not showing up when deciding how many Fastpasses to issue. Like flights overbooking. Lots and lots of flights are overbooked and it usually works out because they have a lot of passenger data to make predictions with. Difference with Fastpasses is that if they overbook, you still get to ride, even if you do have to wait five more minutes (still better than the standby queue though!)

Remember too that a lot of Fastpasses are wasted each day by never being booked. I know that Fastpasses sometimes feel like gold dust, but there are actually a small minority of rides and attractions that have none available on the day. Not all of the available Fastpasses for all attractions get booked in the first place.

[Guest]

I would a small percentage - say 5% don't use their ADRs and can't be bothered to cancel them. I'm pretty sure Disney will have factored that into the numbers.

[MummyPeeper]

Did I hear somewhere that they are planning to change the fastpass system in the near future ?
I thought that they were changing the system so that you will be able to book 1-3 fastpasses in advance.
I'm sure that some people don't want 3 fastpasses but this is currently the only option.
Surely that would be a great way to cut down on unused fastpasses ?
Makes sense to me.

[Caroian]

Originally Posted by MummyPeeper

Did I hear somewhere that they are planning to change the fastpass system in the near future ?
I thought that they were changing the system so that you will be able to book 1-3 fastpasses in advance.
I'm sure that some people don't want 3 fastpasses but this is currently the only option.
Surely that would be a great way to cut down on unused fastpasses ?
Makes sense to me.

See more...

This has already changed. You can now book 1, 2 or 3 Fastpasses in advance. has been this way since April (along with being able to book additional fastpasses via the app, rather than kiosks).