Disney Fans Are Literally Begging Disney To Bring Back This Nostalgic Piece Of History

It’s no secret that sometimes Disney fans can hold on to the past, often wishing classic attractions or other discontinued elements of the parks and resorts could return. However, we’ve rarely seen something quite this definitive.

Recently, we asked our readers, “Would you rather bring back FastPass+ exactly as it was, or bring back paper FastPass machines?” and to be blunt, even we weren’t quite prepared for the sheer amount and voraciousness of responses.

Just how many? Well, suffice to say, if we were the Haunted Mansion, we wouldn’t have room left for many more happy haunts.

So, what did those hundreds of respondents think? Well — perhaps unsurprisingly — the majority voted for the return of the classic paper FastPasses.

A quick refresher for those too young to remember (resists millennial urge to insert the Jamie Lee Curtis “I’m old!” gif from Freaky Friday), paper FastPasses were first introduced in 1999, the first-ever Disney “skip-the-line” system.

Guests would scan their park ticket at an automated machine, usually located adjacent to or in the vicinity of the attraction they wanted to experience. The machine would print a ticket giving a one-hour time range or for the guest to return. When the guest returned, they would be able to “skip the line”,  eschewing the normal queue and entering another queue. Displays near the machines would show the current return times, which would be made available; it was not possible to select a different time.

For a full generation of Disney fans, the paper passes became an iconic part of their Disney World vacations, and many of our readers missed them for various reasons.

Reader Kelly pointed out their easy transferability, writing, “Paper because then it was easy to spread some pixie dust if you could not make the return time and give it to someone else.”

Meanwhile, reader Stephanie shared, “Paper. Less phones= more fun IMO.” This was a common refrain amongst many of our readers, who espoused similar sentiments about preferring the physical FastPasses to the phone and screen-based FastPass+/Genie/Lightning Lane systems.

Now, there were several readers who did choose the latter, screen-based version. Reader Robin wrote, “FastPass from right before the pandemic! I miss having our whole vacation planned out before we left home. It made everything so much easier. Meals at 180 days out, fast passes at 60 days. That was the best!” Reader Tim added, “FastPass+… FastPass machines were fun… until you were running across the park to get the next one… I prefer to get them on my phone and not have to trek across a park 18 times…”

Of course, a vast majority of readers said they would take either system if it meant the return of free FastPasses, but that seems… highly unlikely, to say the least.

Our readers were loud and clear in how much they miss Disney’s classic paper FastPasses. If you’re interested in sharing your thoughts on this, or any other Disney or travel-related topic, follow us on the AllEars Facebook to join in on the next conversation!

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Do you miss paper FastPasses? Let us know in the comments below. 

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