LOS ANGELES -- If you're weary of inching through interminable lines at Disneyland -- particularly for high-demand attractions -- take heart. Relief is on the way.
Fastpass, a ride reservations system that has been a big hit at Walt Disney World in Florida, was tested a couple of weeks ago at Disneyland in Anaheim. It proved to be such a success that park spokesman Tom Brocato predicted it would be instituted on three popular rides -- Indiana Jones, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain -- in January."It's like walking into a restaurant with a dinner reservation," Brocato said. "You have an 8 o'clock reservation. There are a few people ahead of you. But you sit down at 8:05."
Fastpass was put through a trial at Space Mountain recently. Here's how it works:
At the ride entrance, there is an area where visitors can skip the main line, walk up to a machine that will scan their day's passport and issue a special pass. The pass will give them a future window of opportunity to board the ride through a separate line. For example, if you pick up a pass at 11 a.m., you might be given a window of noon to 1 p.m.
Then the visitor heads off to enjoy another ride, get something to eat, see a parade. Upon returning, he or she enters a special Fastpass line. The main line for the attraction is held up periodically to let these guests on. And in the recent tests at Space Mountain, the Fastpass line routinely required a wait of three to five minutes, Brocato said.
"People absolutely loved it," he added. "It gives you a choice."
A fixed number of Fastpasses are issued, in increments of five minutes. (Following the example cited above, a certain number of passes would be issued for the 11:05 a.m.-to-12:05 p.m. window, followed by the same number for the 11:10 a.m.-to-12:10 p.m. window, etc.).
If you miss your window, your pass expires. There is no limit to the number of Fastpasses a visitor can acquire in a day, but because there will always be a built-in lag on the validity of the pass -- a 45-minute or an hour delay before you can use it, for example -- the prospect for abuse is considered minimal.
Brocato added that if the Fastpass proves successful on the three Disneyland rides in January, it could be instituted widely throughout the park -- even on such slow-moving, parent-crunching lines as that found at Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Fastpass was instituted in response to guests' complaints about long lines.
Another provision, targeted directly at parents with young children, is the child switch pass. It applies to any attraction for which there is an age or height requirement.
One parent waits in line while the other entertains the kids elsewhere. The parent with the kids eventually enters the attraction through the exit and waits with the kids in a side area. Once the parent in line goes on the ride, he or she takes over with the kids, and the parent who has been shepherding the kids gets to ride without waiting.
Disneyland spokesman Lynn Holt says provisions for the child switch pass vary by attraction. He urged parents to approach the attendants at the entrance to the attractions and ask how the switch works on that particular ride.