Disney copying Universal?

[MickeyMousie]

At Universal, you can have an express ticket to get infront of the lines if you stay at one of their hotels. Well I heard, for Disney, If your a Vacation Club Member, you can get a pass just like this.

I do not think this is copying, just trying to improve using a different service.

[Dawn]

Never heard of this "perk" before - can any DVC members confirm or deny this please?

[OKWTink]

No perk like this that I know of, unless it is extremely new. DVC does offer a discount on certain park tickets, but last impression I had of the discount, is that most DVC members didn't take advantage of it. It wasn't that great.

Anyone at WDW can get a fast pass for what ever attraction offers them. That is as long as they haven't run out of passes for the day as they sometimes do (test track in particular).

[Scoootch]

I'm a DVC member and I have yet to hear of this perk too so it's probably another rumor. I was just at WDW over this wknd too and heard nothing either. If anything, I've always thought that Universal kind of copied Disney's idea of the fast pass and just made it a little different I guess time will tell though huh?!

[Reptile]

Here's the deal..

During our last trip in Oct/Nov my girlfriend and I found ourselves browsing the Vacation Club display at the Boardwalk while waiting for Jellyrolls to open.

The DVC castmember got us hook, line, and sinker. We were promissed a one our meeting with free fast passes of our choice.

We signed up for a 9 o'clock appointment and were picked up in front of our hotel (Coronado) at 8:45 am. We were promised it would only take an hour, but that turned into 2 1/2 hours. We knew going in that there was no way we could afford it, but the Salesman/Castmember, believing we were newly weds, gave us his best try.

I felt bad saying no... that's how good this guy was. I mean, he just wasted 2 1/2 hours on us.

We took are Vacation Club Book and he issued us two fast passes each for a time we chose. Since we were going to MGM that day we chose Tower of Terror and R&R Coaster. And sinse it was 11:30 we chose between noon and one.

The Salesman suggested we take the boat over being the quickest route from the boardwalk. I politely asked for the free van ride promissed, but he insisted that the boat was faster. After we shook hands and left the Vacation Club offices, with no boat in site and rain on the horizon (within seconds) I decided that a DVC shuttle would work just fine.

We strolled to the Board Walk entrance where a couple of the DVC shuttles were sitting. I asked a driver if he could take us to MGM. He wasn't sure because usually the DVC office sets up rides, but I showed him my DVC package and he said ok.

By this time the rain was coming in buckets. Windy as all get out too. Neither my girlfriend or I had umbrellas and when the shuttle driver found out he insisted we take his two. One was the standard black Mickey Mouse Umbrella, the other was his own personal umbrella. After a little arguement, he INSISTED I take his personal umbrella.

I was so impressed I gave him a nice tip and we were on our way, getting absolutely soaked. The umbrellas were a nice gesture but with the wind driving the rain sideways, they were of little use.

Of course the rain was driving people out and our need for Fast Passes quickly dwindled as both rides became walk on by the time we made our way.

In conclusion, yes the DVC does offer Fast Passes, but only to prospective customers who sit through their speal.

[OKWTink]

Ah, that explains it then. Thanks for the info. As I've not attended a presentation in many years, I'm not current on what it is they offer to folks now for participating in the presentation. It used to be make your own ice cream sundaes!

[dcfromva]

MickeyMousie,

At Universal, you can have an express ticket to get infront of the lines if you stay at one of their hotels. Well I heard, for Disney, If your a Vacation Club Member, you can get a pass just like this.

Oh, you had me going there for a minute! Wow, wouldn't that be nice?! I have to say that I had a chance to try out the Universal system this past December because we were staying at PBH. It was really sweet. So far, I haven't seen anything close to it being offered at Disney. They are experimenting with an special Fast Pass admission ticket at Disneyland (folks who purchase a Vacation package can get this special admission ticket). Some folks refer to it as an "unlimited" FP ticket, but I understand that actually, you still have to go get the FP and you can't get multiple FPs for the same ride (the same rules as regular FP's apply to getting FP's for the same ride). The Universal system for hotel guests is much nicer. It would be really cool if Disney offered something similar (but, then I suppose they would charge extra and I wouldn't be able to afford it. ).

-DC

[OKWTink]

A major difference between Universal's ability to offer front of the line with hotel stay and Disney's ability, is that Disney has many more resorts! Imagine at Christmas season if everyone staying in the (often sold out) resorts had front of the line pass!!!

I like fast pass for the most part and think that it addresses the problem of longs waits quite well. Universal has something comparable, as well. I believe they call it express pass?

[Sandy]

Are there any particular tickets you must purchase to be eligible for this express pass? I have heard so many different things, any know the real story?

Thanks!

Sandy

[OKWTink]

As far as I remember, Express pass works the same as Disney's fast pass. Put your ticket media into the machine and it returns an express pass. Please know that I've not used this feature, only seen others doing so when at US.