Mark Hickson writes:
Thanks Jim for the great article. I have shared it with my readers via facebook. Please stay on top of the NextGen story for all of us! Mahalo, Mark Hickson
Will do. In fact, let me share something that a certain Godfather fan pass was nice enough to pass along to me. Which is the definitive list of the 70 experiences which will be available to WDW Guests are part of the xPASS program.
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Now note that word "experience." For while there are 28 attractions that are currently wired into Disney World's FastPASS system ... When xPASS finally comes fully online (and -- from what I've now been hearing -- we could be well in 2013 before that actually happens), the number of rides, shows and attractions that Guests will now be able to make advance ride reservations for will have basically doubled.
Not only that, but these same people will be able to book times for exclusive meet & greets with the Disney characters as well as claiming primo viewing spots for parades in the Parks & nighttime spectaculars like Illuminations and Wishes.
But in order to fold those meet & greets as well as those parade viewing spots into this ride reservation system ... Well, Disney had to come up a new way to describe what these Guests will be booking. So when xPASS does finally & fully roll out in 2013, look for the Mouse's merry marketeers to start talking up experiences(As in: "Look at all of the magical adventures and experiences you can book ahead of time as part of your Walt Disney World Vacation") rather than rides, shows and attractions.
Anyway ... You wanna know which parts of WDW's entertainment inventory we're specifically talking about here? The list goes as follows:
The Magic Kingdom currently has the following rides, shows and attractions available for advance booking through that theme park's FastPASS system:
Once xPASS is up & running, WDW visitors will also have the chance to book in advance:
Not to mention exclusive meet & greets with the Disney characters as well as primo viewing spots for such Magic Kingdom favorites as:
Meanwhile, over at EPCOT, Guests can currently use that theme park's FastPASS system to enter the virtual queue for:
Once xPASS comes online, WDW visitors will be able to book advance reservations for:
These Guests will also have the opportunity to experience exclusive meet & greets with the Disney characters as well as claim a spot for the nightly presentation of:
Meanwhile, over at Disney's Hollywood Studios ... Nowadays, Guests can use FastPASS to book advance ride times on:
But in the not-so-distant future ... Thanks to xPASS, visitors to this studio theme park will also be able to take advantage of Disney's virtual queuing system to cut the line / their wait time for:
Plus those exclusive meet & greets with the Disney characters. Not to mention special reserved-in-advance viewing areas for:
Meanwhile over at Disney's Animal Kingdom ... Where once WDW Guests were only able to use their FastPASSes for:
Once xPASS officially comes online next year, these same Disney World visitors will be able to use this virtual queuing system to book seats for:
Not to mention those exclusive meet & greet opportunities with the Disney characters as well as primo viewing spot for:
Now, I know that there are those Disneyana fans who are going to squawk about Disney World bumping out the number of rides, shows and attractions in its FastPASS / xPASS inventory from 28 to 50. They're going to insist that -- by doing this -- the typical day visitor to these theme parks who doesn't have access to this new book-in-advance virtual queue is now doomed to spend their days waiting in the stand-by line.
But according to the Mouse's own research, basically doubling the number of FastPASS / xPASS-based attractions actually has a hidden benefit in that it will spread people out around the Parks. Which means that the crowds will no longer be clustered around a handful of super-popular attractions like Splash Mountain and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
More to the point, software safety guards are reportedly being put in place which will then prevent those Guests who are actually using the xPASS system from booking up in advance all of the available ride times for the theme park's most popular attractions (EX: While booked their day at the Magic Kingdom, these WDW visitors will only be able to reserved in advance their ride times on two of that theme park's "Mountains" [i.e. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and/or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad] rather than all three).
Also -- to mitigate that teeny bit of extra time in line which Guests who have not taken advantage of WDW's new xPASS to book their ride times in advance will be experiencing (The way I hear it, the full roll-out of this NextGen virtual queuing system will add 1 - 3 minutes of wait time for WDW visitors standing in the stand-by line for most attractions, while people standing in line to experience the top three attractions at each park will then see their wait time increase by just 6 - 8 minutes) ... Well, that's why you've seen the Imagineers adding Scene Ones (EX: That interactive graveyard which Guests now have the option of exploring when they visit The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom), play areas (EX: The front-most part of the queue for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which features all sorts of hands-on activities for preschoolers & their families) as well as interactive group games (EX: Those Wii-like games that Guests can play as a group on overhead screens while waiting in line to experience Soarin'). To make that extra little bit of time that people will soon be spending in line seem that much more enjoyable.
There are lots of other intriguing aspects about the xPASS system that I'll soon be getting to in future JHM stories. But here's one that will be sure to make West Coast-based Disneyana fans smile: There are already plans in place to roll out xPASS at the Disneyland Resort in 2015, just in time for Disneyland Park's 60th anniversary. And there are also discussions underway as to how to properly implement this NextGen virtual queuing system onboard the Disney Cruise Line.
Anyway ... That's an early, early look at which rides, shows and attractions will be included as part of WDW's xPASS experience. Do you think the Mouse made the right choices? If not, which rides, shows and attractions would you have preferred to see as part of Disney World's NextGen virtual queuing system?
Your thoughts?
"Journey into Imagination with Figment"
...that's funny. I haven't waited in a line for that ride in probably six years. There just is never anyone there >__<
Beyond ready for this, would love to plan out as much as possible before I go and maximize my time having fun! As I sit here now trying to plan out our vacation, I am just wishing I could have signed up for one!
This sounds like the dumbest process ever!! I'm going on vacation to avoid my everyday regimen and now I'd have to schedule each and every attraction that I'm going to see?? Will I get a printed agenda to follow??? Will I get individual tickets for each ride...50 tickets in my pocket?? This is truly going to ruin the Disney experience. The average family is not going to want the hassle of scheduling each and every thing they do. Is this what Walt would have wanted??