Memories of a Time Before Fastpass

Sometimes it's hard even for me to believe, but the Magic Kingdom existed for 28 years without the Fastpass system. I bet if most of your visits to WDW occurred after the launch of Fastpass, it's almost inconceivable. Being completely at the whim of fate, your only source of wait time information being the estimates of a cast member in Attractions. Those were also the days before smartphones with apps that estimate line waits for you. I suppose you can get a similar experience if you head to the park late in the day and forget your cellphone. Not that either is recommended.
My first three trips to Disney were in the BF era, Before Fastpass. They were also in the summer, one trip even taking place over the Fourth of July holiday. I guess back then the closest thing to Fastpass was if you had VIP status, or perhaps you suffered through waiting in the Splash Mountain queue for an hour in the midday August heat, only for the ride attendant to realize you don't meet the minimum height requirement. This happened to my younger brother on one visit. To award his endurance and patience, he was granted a certificate good for letting him to the front of the line on a future visit (when he was tall enough, of course). I suggested making photocopies to my mom, but I think she just held onto it as a memento.

 This was from 1994, almost 2 years after Splash Mountain's opening. It's not a brand-new attraction anymore but it's still insanely popular, and I still wish I had one of these certificates of my own because that is a long, long line.
I visited Epcot at the end of last September. Fastpass was only one of many changes I noticed after not visiting the parks in over a decade. Of course I had to try it.

I managed to get a Fastpass for Soarin' (which I always instinctively follow with "over California". Stupid incongruence between Epcot and DCA!). The machine reminded me of Metrocard and train ticket dispensers, but the Fastpass machine did not need me to feed it money first. That's one of the best features of Fastpass, of course.
It was kind of a disappointment to see that even with Fastpass, you still have to wait in a line. It's a shorter line, but still a line. I suppose I shouldn't have expected VIP status for something that's free to all park guests. Also Soarin's line is completely indoors, so it's probably not as much a lifesaver as a Splash Mountain Fastpass, which might reduce your chances of getting sunburn and heat exhaustion. I still like the idea, and think it's great for people who are trying to plan and budget their time at the parks. But hopefully it will not completely endanger that most sacred of Disney experiences, the hour-long wait for Space Mountain that results in the ride breaking down just before you board the train. That was a fun one.