The next time you use as a FastPass at a Disney theme park, pay close attention to what the cast member does once you walk up to that FastPass Return entrance. After you hand over your ticket, do they quickly run their finger along the top of that FastPass before then allowing you to enter that ride, show or attraction?
If so … Well, there’s a reason that the Mouse has begun doing this. They’re just trying to weed out some of the hundreds of fake FastPasses that Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort guests attempt to use each day.
Originally introduced at Disney’s Animal Kingdom back in July of 1999, the FastPass system is hugely popular with visitors to the parks. But almost from the moment that this virtual queuing system first came on line, there have been those who have tried to take advantage of the system. Figure out new, often illegal ways to score additional FastPasses.
But as quickly as folks could discover the flaws in this virtual queuing system (EX: It used to be that expired annual passes, out-of-date tickets, even Ralphs Club cards could be inserted into the old FastPass scanning devices to then produce additional passes for theme park guests), the Mouse would rewrite that system’s software. Quickly closing the loopholes that these theme park enthusiasts were exploiting.
Which is why — as it began to get tougher to trick FastPass machines into burping out additional tickets — some enterprising Disneyana fans began printing their own. Using color laser printers as well as the proper weight cardstock to produce authentic-looking & feeling FastPasses.
That’s why Disney cast members manning FastPass Return entrances have been ordered to run a finger across the top of every pass that they’re handed before they then allow each guest to gain access to that particular ride, show or attraction. Due to the way that they’re created, real FastPasses have a perforated edge along their top & bottom. Whereas faux FastPasses (Which are typically cut out with scissors and/or trimmed on a paper cutting machine) typically have straight, flat edges on all four sides.
As to what can happen once a guest is discovered attempting to use a fake FastPass … Well, that depends on the individual who’s manning that particular FastPass Return entrance. Some cast members have been known to just turn these visitors away, while still others call Security. Who then typically confiscate any additional FastPasses that these guests may be carrying.
Of course, where this gets complicated is when these Disney theme park visitors reveal that they actually purchased their pile of fake FastPasses off of eBay. Where some people have been known to pay upwards of $500 for an envelope that’s stuffed full of “Attraction Re-entry” passes.
Mind you, what with the crush of the crowds at the parks these days, many of the cast members assigned to those FastPass Return entrances don’t actually bother to do the feel-for-perforations test. They just accept these bogus “Attraction Re-entry” passes without any challenge and then allow those guests to have access to that attraction.
But the downside of allowing this to happen is that these people who actually use counterfeit FastPasses are throwing off Disney’s delicately calibrated virtual queuing system. More to the point, these FastPass cheats are making that much more difficult for the folks who are patiently waiting in the Stand By line to finally experience their favorite Disney rides, shows and attractions.
Copyright 1999 Disney. All Rights Reserved
With the hope that they’ll soon be able to remove the human error aspect from the looking-for-cheats portion of their virtual queuing system … Well, that’s why Disney Parks & Resorts added bar codes to all FastPasses over the past year or so. You see, sometime in the not-so-distant future, before gaining entrance to your favorite theme park attraction, you’ll first have to hand over your FastPass for scanning.
And to make sure that this can actually be done without having a significant impact on the hourly capacity of truly popular attractions, just yesterday WDW cast members were scanning the FastPasses of each guest as they queued up for the Jungle Cruise and entered Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
Now if you were to quiz the cast members who were manning the FastPass Return entrances at both of these Magic Kingdom attractions, they’d have told you that this scanning was just being done for research purposes. So that the company could then get a better handle of how WDW guests actually move about that park & then use their FastPasses. So that the Mouse can then make the necessary adjustments to the Magic Kingdom’s virtual queuing system.
But truth be told, the main reason that these WDW cast members were scanning those FastPasses was to see if it would actually be possible to quickly identify the fakes. So that the company can finally put a stop to all those con artists who are trying to make their living by selling bogus “Admission Re-entry” tickets and/or re-selling old, out-of-date FastPasses to unsuspecting people on the Net.
So what do you folks think? Are you okay with the idea of Disney cast members scanning your FastPass just to make sure that it’s authentic? And what punishment (if any) do you think should be meted out to those guests who are caught trying to use counterfeit FastPasses?
Your thoughts?