# Praises for the EPIC pass reservation system



## drjeff (Nov 6, 2020)

Very easy, worked as advertised.

Got into the virtual queue when it opened at 9AM EST, was let into the "reservation area" at 10 when it opened, at which time I was about 10000 in line in the virtual queue. Took about 25 minutes until I got the email letting me make reservations. Reserved the 7 days for my entire family we wanted in less than 3 minutes, Reservation confirmation received via email less than a minute later.

While the fact we have to have a system is an entirely different topic, how my experience went this morning, given the large volume of Epic passholders out there, was very smooth. Kudos to Vail resorts and their IT crew for making this easy and efficient


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## ski&soccermom (Nov 6, 2020)

drjeff said:


> Very easy, worked as advertised.
> 
> Got into the virtual queue when it opened at 9AM EST, was let into the "reservation area" at 10 when it opened, at which time I was about 10000 in line in the virtual queue. Took about 25 minutes until I got the email letting me make reservations. Reserved the 7 days for my entire family we wanted in less than 3 minutes, Reservation confirmation received via email less than a minute later.
> 
> While the fact we have to have a system is an entirely different topic, how my experience went this morning, given the large volume of Epic passholders out there, was very smooth. Kudos to Vail resorts and their IT crew for making this easy and efficient



Lucky you!  I did the same (was on at 8:55), and yet am still waiting!  Still 72k ahead of me...  There were 110k when I started.


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 6, 2020)

Weird I was on at 945  and was 4850 in line 

Super easy and intuitive once inside 

Sent from my SM-G973U using AlpineZone mobile app


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## kingslug (Nov 6, 2020)

oy


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## prsboogie (Nov 6, 2020)

And this is exactly why I requested a refund for our passes this season 

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

I did the same, getting into the virtual waiting room at 9am EST, but was given #79,906 when it opened.  90 minutes later and there are still 32,000 people in front of me and it says another 50 minutes before I can reserve.  

Wondering how this will work every Wednesday when 100's of thousands of passholders are trying to make week-of reservations?  Guessing up to 15 hours of wait time to process everyone even if only half of the passholders are trying to get week-of.


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## ski&soccermom (Nov 6, 2020)

Still 52,000 ahead of me...  Not looking forward to this every Wednesday.  Do we know what time this opens on Wednesdays?


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

I think the title of this thread is incorrect, LOL!


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## FBGM (Nov 6, 2020)

This has been a joke from what I have seen and heard in the last hour. 

I mean, it’s Vail, expect nothing less. 

I hope the few Ikon reservation resorts are not as dumb. And glad most Ikon have no reservation. 

Make skiing great again.


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## drjeff (Nov 6, 2020)

Just curious if it makes any difference what type of EPIC passes people have and wait times?

Myself and my family all have Epic Locals.  The majority of my Mount Snow friends whom I am in contact with regularly, and have certainly been this morning, are a mix of full Epics, Epic Locals, and the Northeast Pass, and all have had experiences fairly similar to mine, with the longest virtual queue number being about 60K, and it took that person about 50 minutes to get in to make reservations


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## thebigo (Nov 6, 2020)

I was just about to log in and start a thread title Vail Sucks.

I was on when sales went live, did not get in until 11:30. 
Best I can tell the system does not allow you to book multiple mountains on a single reservation. 
The email correspondence does not correspond with my bookings. 
They still do not have the children's seasonal programs listed on the website. Luckily I know someone running the programs and could book around the program schedule. 
Parents have no idea whether they will be able to ski while their kids are in programs. I guess I can idle my car in the lot all day? 
I still do not have a pass for my four year old despite countless phone calls, that resulted in either misinformation or getting hung up on. The result is I cannot book her, I am sure we will get her on hill but the added hassle is ridiculous.

What about week of reservations? They are released on wendesdays? Am I supposed to sit in front of a computer for three hours waiting every week? 

For the record, I would have gladly paid double what we did for passes if it yielded any semblance of a reasonable customer service experience. I miss the old days when you could call a mountain, an actual human being that you knew picked up the phone and gave you a straight answer. Unfortunately, Vail essentially owns New Hampshire skiing.


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## mbedle (Nov 6, 2020)

Site seems to be a little screwed up. Just went to site, 200 people ahead and it move quickly, stated it was redirecting me to site and brought me back to Stowe.com, click to reserve and now there are 79000 people in line.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

Epic Local here and 80k in the virtual queue to start.  Still waiting with 20 minutes to go.


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## SLyardsale (Nov 6, 2020)

I got on early.... when it hit 10am EST (8am MT) I was 110k in line.  Said about 1 hour wait.  2 hours later it tells me I still have a 20 min wait.  Agree, the title of this thread is wrong.  edit - I'm epic local


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## JimG. (Nov 6, 2020)

thebigo said:


> I guess I can idle my car in the lot all day?



I believe that sitting in an idling vehicle is illegal in VT.


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## JimG. (Nov 6, 2020)

drjeff I think the AZ natives disagree with your reservation system review.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

Interesting that the note on the waiting room just changed from processing "50-150k per hour" to processing "approximately 50k per hour".  Someone clearly screwed up.  

My experience thus far indicates about 40k per hour is current speed.


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## mbedle (Nov 6, 2020)

I got in line at 10:45 this morning with 124K and I just checked and its down to 71K after almost 1 hour 45 minutes.


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## drjeff (Nov 6, 2020)

Guess I just was lucky with when I logged into the virtual queue right at 9. 

Maybe just trying to book all my days for 1 mountain, helped as well. 

Seriously was a very easy experience for me, and 4 other separate friends and their families this morning.

I am guessing that there are many, and not AZ'ers, who hadn't read the details and/or understood the quantity of day limits and had to keep their reservation windows open longer as they tried to figure out what days and where they wanted to reserve.

Frankly all I did for my family is go after the days around Christmas week, MLK and Presidents weekend that based on historical levels I feel are the busiest and hence most likely to reach a full amount of reservations, and booked those. I will roll the dice with the weekly stuff after, and then once my first "priority day" is used, then start booking regular weekend days as I can.

Not my ideal scenario, and I am guessing that I will get burned and not be able to ski at my home mountain a few days that I want to, but it is what it is based on the "rules" that the Industry has to follow based on what some elected and appointed people say. Again that's an entirely different topic of discussion


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

drjeff said:


> Frankly all I did for my family is go after the days around Christmas week, MLK and Presidents weekend that based on historical levels I feel are the busiest and hence most likely to reach a full amount of reservations, and booked those. I will roll the dice with the weekly stuff after, and then once my first "priority day" is used, then start booking regular weekend days as I can.



I took a different approach with Mount Snow.  Booked Sat and Sun of the first weekend in December that was bookable (12/12 an 12/13) for insurance and the rest over Xmas week.  Can use the rollover from the 12/12 and 12/13 to book subsequent weekends if needed depending on how things start to look.  MLK weekend just not worth it this year to preserve.


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## SLyardsale (Nov 6, 2020)

Once in, it was smooth.  I queued up at 8 ET / 6 MT.  I then entered my info and got 110k in queue.  So I entered an hour earlier than Dr. J.  I waited 2hr40min.  The last minute I timed (at about 605 in queue ahead of me) and it took 2 min 20 sec.  So the estimated wait time is approx 2.2x longer than stated.  The comments that each Wed is gonna sux - I predict that will be the case.


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## chuckstah (Nov 6, 2020)

I just got in line. #129k plus. Not promising, but I'm sure it will be better in a couple days after the initial rush...if there are any days left. 

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using AlpineZone mobile app


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## njdiver85 (Nov 6, 2020)

For the Wednesday week-of bookings, they need to make the queues mountain-specific or it will be sheer hell!


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## GregoryIsaacs (Nov 6, 2020)

Just got through the queue, reserved my days, and all of sudden the page wouldn't let me submit and I got thrown out of the reservation calendar page. Had to re-enter the line and am now waiting with "over an hour" to go again. Luckily I took screenshots of the entire process and will be surely emailing them asking WTF happened. 

Not a happy camper whatsoever......


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## kingslug (Nov 6, 2020)

This is going to pretty much ruin the experience. But in the grand scope of things..whatever. 
Yes we use skiing as an escape from insanity..and now its becoming insanity. 
Hopefully the world returns to normal after a year. I just keep thinking about how it must have been in Europe when ww2 was going on..This is pretty tame compared. Yet, still a big cause of anxiety. Usually I'm bouncing up and down this time of year ..waiting for it to begin..not so much now. We shall see


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## FBGM (Nov 6, 2020)

GregoryIsaacs said:


> Just got through the queue, reserved my days, and all of sudden the page wouldn't let me submit and I got thrown out of the reservation calendar page. Had to re-enter the line and am now waiting with "over an hour" to go again. Luckily I took screenshots of the entire process and will be surely emailing them asking WTF happened.
> 
> Not a happy camper whatsoever......



Good luck getting a response. Vail customer service this year is non existent 

Also, I’m sure this has been answered and figured out, but what stops you from just showing up and using your pass? Does the reservation link to your RFID pass and grant you access? If so, that could be a cluster in lift lines with people thinking they are good, gates not opening, etc...


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## mbedle (Nov 6, 2020)

Good news to note that they are stating that everyday at every resort is still available during the core season.


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## xlr8r (Nov 6, 2020)

Has everyone got the email confirmations for their reservations.  I got the email confirmation for my Wildcat and Sunapee reservations, but nothing yet for my Attitash reservation.


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## jaytrem (Nov 6, 2020)

System worked well for me.  Got in the waiting room pretty early.  Got the reservation confirmation about 11:40.  Not surprised other people are having issues though.


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## thebigo (Nov 6, 2020)

xlr8r said:


> Has everyone got the email confirmations for their reservations.  I got the email confirmation for my Wildcat and Sunapee reservations, but nothing yet for my Attitash reservation.



Wildcat was almost instant, Attitash was significantly longer.


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## xlr8r (Nov 6, 2020)

thebigo said:


> Wildcat was almost instant, Attitash was significantly longer.



Cool, sounds like Attitash is just slow then, just like its summit triple


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 6, 2020)

bummer this has been a pain for others.   It honestly couldn't have gone any smoother for me, so I echo Dr Jeff's experience.  I did just do my local mole hill in PA, because who knows if I'll be going out west or up north this year...


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## kingslug (Nov 6, 2020)

Sounds like it is linked and will not let you pass without a reservation..so..this should be interesting at the gate.


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## thebigo (Nov 6, 2020)

xlr8r said:


> Cool, sounds like Attitash is just slow then, just like its summit triple



Not sure if it is connected to demand or a coincidence. 

I suspect Attitash had more demand for early reservations due to slope side and weather unpredictability at wildcat. 

I guess if you are SOL this year if you are reserved at the cat and they are down due to wind.


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## thebigo (Nov 6, 2020)

kingslug said:


> Sounds like it is linked and will not let you pass without a reservation..so..this should be interesting at the gate.



That is my understanding. Similar to any other pass that has been shutoff.


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 6, 2020)

my email came instantly and came from Vail


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## JimG. (Nov 6, 2020)

I'm going to leave all this reservation stuff to you hardy souls. I'm sending along my prayers. 

So far the areas I hope to ski at this winter are not requiring reservations.


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## ski&soccermom (Nov 6, 2020)

We have epic military and were booking Mount Snow.  The wait was ridiculous...  It took hours.  But I have another friend at MS with Epic Local and she only got in 20 minutes before I did.


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## snoseek (Nov 6, 2020)

thebigo said:


> Not sure if it is connected to demand or a coincidence.
> 
> I suspect Attitash had more demand for early reservations due to slope side and weather unpredictability at wildcat.
> 
> I guess if you are SOL this year if you are reserved at the cat and they are down due to wind.



I'm pretty concerned about that scenario. I grabbed a cannon pass to hedge all this but if the cat is down for wind cannon would most likely be as well.


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## BenedictGomez (Nov 6, 2020)

JimG. said:


> I believe that sitting in an idling vehicle is illegal in VT.



Well, they're going to get record breaking vehicle idling in every VT ski resort parking lot this season.


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## Creakyknees (Nov 6, 2020)

*Got my Days*

I signed in at 8:45am and I had all my reservations at Hunter at around 11:45am. I started with 66,000 people in front of me. 

With the reservation system this season how many MORE people who do not have a reservation will be hiking the terrain parks?


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## SLyardsale (Nov 8, 2020)

I went on to the Keystone site to see how the rolling reservation system might work - as Keystone opened on 11/6 and they started taking reservation on 11/4.  It appears I cannot book a reservation at Keystone until 12/8... as all dates until then are not available to reserve.


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## gittist (Nov 8, 2020)

I went into Keystone also as a pass holder and as I understood it, I should have been able to make a early season reservation but I get the same as you..."not yet available?" 

"You can also book week-of reservations for the early season. Booking a week-of reservation does not count against your Priority Reservation Days. If you cannot book a week-of reservation, the resort is likely not open yet for the 2020/21 season."

They're open...Guess someone needs to call the customer service or email Rob Katz


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## njdiver85 (Nov 8, 2020)

gittist said:


> I went into Keystone also as a pass holder and as I understood it, I should have been able to make a early season reservation but I get the same as you..."not yet available?"


I believe that Keystone pretty much sold out for the entire week's worth of "week-of" reservations in as little as an hour according to Colorado media outlets out there.  Likely a sign of things to come in the Northeast, both early season, and later season when we passholders are competing with day ticket purchasers who purchased more than a week in advance!


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## SLyardsale (Nov 8, 2020)

answer:  Keystone is sold out

_"As of Thursday afternoon, reservations to ski and snowboard through the resort’s opening weekend were full. Reservations for Monday through Nov. 13 remained available. Additional week-of reservations will open to passholders Wednesday for reservations through Nov. 20, the release stated_."


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## SLyardsale (Nov 8, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> I believe that Keystone pretty much sold out for the entire week's worth of "week-of" reservations in as little as an hour according to Colorado media outlets out there.  Likely a sign of things to come in the Northeast, both early season, and later season when we passholders are competing with day ticket purchasers who purchased more than a week in advance!


only passholders can book until 12/8.  So its all passholders at Keystone.  Not a good sign


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## gittist (Nov 8, 2020)

SLyardsale said:


> only passholders can book until 12/8.  So its all passholders at Keystone.  Not a good sign


President elect Biden will fix it!


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## RichT (Nov 9, 2020)

Well I got inline pretty quick, I didn't pay attention booked 7 days around Dec for Hunter. Then I thought I would try and get tix for the preseason. Uh oh! I booked my 7 "core days"! Damn Now I have to wait till Nov 17th. to cancel those. All that and nothing else is available yet. I agree those Wednesday nights are going to suck. 

*BUT THANK GOD FOR PFIZER!!!*


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## andrec10 (Nov 9, 2020)

RichT said:


> Well I got inline pretty quick, I didn't pay attention booked 7 days around Dec for Hunter. Then I thought I would try and get tix for the preseason. Uh oh! I booked my 7 "core days"! Damn Now I have to wait till Nov 17th. to cancel those. All that and nothing else is available yet. I agree those Wednesday nights are going to suck.
> 
> *BUT THANK GOD FOR PFIZER!!!*


Before Dec 8th, the days for the next week open on Wed. Dont fret!


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## thebigo (Nov 9, 2020)

RichT said:


> Well I got inline pretty quick, I didn't pay attention booked 7 days around Dec for Hunter. Then I thought I would try and get tix for the preseason. Uh oh! I booked my 7 "core days"! Damn Now I have to wait till Nov 17th. to cancel those. All that and nothing else is available yet. I agree those Wednesday nights are going to suck.
> 
> *BUT THANK GOD FOR PFIZER!!!*


What time on Wednesday are week of posted? Hope it is at night and not the middle of the day.


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## ss20 (Nov 9, 2020)

Zero issues so far with Killington, IKON, Snowbird- I've used/seen pretty much everything other than Vail's reservation site and I've yet to be "locked out" or seen anything "locked out" save for Arapahoe Basin this Saturday.


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## BenedictGomez (Nov 10, 2020)

RichT said:


> *THANK GOD FOR PFIZER!!!*



Yes, good news, but frankly we all really need to root for JNJ's vaccine as the PFE vaccine is a logistical nightmare.  Initial readout probably in about a month I would guess.


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## drjeff (Nov 10, 2020)

BenedictGomez said:


> Yes, good news, but frankly we all really need to root for JNJ's vaccine as the PFE vaccine is a logistical nightmare.  Initial readout probably in about a month I would guess.



The 1 dosing delivery and not having to keep it at -70 Celsius between manufacturing and use, is a huge advantage to the JNJ vaccine over the Pfizer one for sure


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## BenedictGomez (Nov 10, 2020)

drjeff said:


> The 1 dosing delivery and not having to keep it at -70 Celsius between manufacturing and use, is a huge advantage to the JNJ vaccine over the Pfizer one for sure



Correct.    But pharmacological stability is a major issue as well.  The JNJ vaccine is estimated to likely be efficacious for possibly up to 2 years in storage-state, whereas the PFE vaccine will go bad 48 hours post thaw.  Then there's the issue of collecting & destroying those unused doses via incineration if your state doesn't allow them in the trash.


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## machski (Nov 11, 2020)

SLyardsale said:


> only passholders can book until 12/8.  So its all passholders at Keystone.  Not a good sign


Maybe overreacting a bit, no?  Colorado is only main EPIC country.  Only Keystone is open between them, Breck, BC and Vail (just to start).  With the early closes, you think the Epic pass base there might outstrip limited terrain availability currently?


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## drjeff (Nov 11, 2020)

machski said:


> Maybe overreacting a bit, no?  Colorado is only main EPIC country.  Only Keystone is open between them, Breck, BC and Vail (just to start).  With the early closes, you think the Epic pass base there might outstrip limited terrain availability currently?




Right now for sure, it's excess demand and not enough supply out in CO, late season, when lift served starts winding down, and often the folks CO start to spend more time back country in corn harvests vs lift served, maybe it won't be as crazy.

This delay in the East, with the potential for many resorts on multiple passes being open by the weekend of the 20th if the weather cooperates as it looks like it might next week, might help spread the pent up demand around rather than focus it all on a resort or 2. Time will tell


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 11, 2020)

Also I'm certain that they current available reservations for Keystone are far far different than say mid season when they are 100% open.  And as others have said they are the only epic game in town currently and were the only game in Summit County until a Monday.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 11, 2020)

jimmywilson69 said:


> Also I'm certain that they current available reservations for Keystone are far far different than say mid season when they are 100% open.  And as others have said they are the only epic game in town currently and were the only game in Summit County until a Monday.


It's  Wednesday and just checked Keystone, and they are not showing any available week-of reservations for the upcoming week.  Are they sold out, or have they not opened it up yet?  Do we even know at what time they open up week-of reservations?


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## drjeff (Nov 11, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> It's  Wednesday and just checked Keystone, and they are not showing any available week-of reservations for the upcoming week.  Are they sold out, or have they not opened it up yet?  Do we even know at what time they open up week-of reservations?



I think I remember reading that the week of reservation system on Wednesdays won't go live until something like noon Mountain Time


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## thebigo (Nov 11, 2020)

It appears that a week runs Saturday to Saturday, I had assumed Monday to Monday. With week of reservations opening on Wednesday afternoon, Saturday weather will be largely know by the day ticket crowd before passholders can book.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 11, 2020)

thebigo said:


> It appears that a week runs Saturday to Saturday, I had assumed Monday to Monday. With week of reservations opening on Wednesday afternoon, Saturday weather will be largely know by the day ticket crowd before passholders can book.


Yep.  Think about all the day ticket purchases that will occur by Wed morning to beat out every single passholder for the busier weekends (which is pretty much every weekend at Mount Snow!).  This has been my issue since this whole thing as announced.  Passholders are being treated like second class citizens here.


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 11, 2020)

you have 7 priority days once you ski on the first one, you can book another one.    I believe this is different than the week of reservations. 

I could be wrong.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 11, 2020)

jimmywilson69 said:


> you have 7 priority days once you ski on the first one, you can book another one.    I believe this is different than the week of reservations.
> 
> I could be wrong.


That's not what we're talking about here.  Most of us will have sunk our priority days for a holiday weekend that is more than a few weeks out - think President's week.  That part is safe.  What some of us are concerned about are the week-of reservations.  Let's not confuse the two.


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## drjeff (Nov 11, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> That's not what we're talking about here.  Most of us will have sunk our priority days for a holiday weekend that is more than a few weeks out - think President's week.  That part is safe.  What some of us are concerned about are the week-of reservations.  Let's not confuse the two.


Agree! Going to be very interesting to see what happens on Wednesday's, both in the early season when the competition for reservations is all with Epic Passholders and especially starting in Mid December when it's both Epic passholders and the general public.

Would of been nice if Vail resorts had implemented a system where they have you "lock in" your home resort when you purchase your pass for the season, and then say Tuesday morning, just those people have access to reservations for that coming weekend at their home resort, then open the system up to all Epic Passholders Tuesday afternoon for the coming weekend, for reservations at your non home resort, then then Wednesday, open it up to all for any resort


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## kingslug (Nov 11, 2020)

oh..its going to be so much fun.


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## thebigo (Nov 11, 2020)

drjeff said:


> Agree! Going to be very interesting to see what happens on Wednesday's, both in the early season when the competition for reservations is all with Epic Passholders and especially starting in Mid December when it's both Epic passholders and the general public.
> 
> Would of been nice if Vail resorts had implemented a system where they have you "lock in" your home resort when you purchase your pass for the season, and then say Tuesday morning, just those people have access to reservations for that coming weekend at their home resort, then open the system up to all Epic Passholders Tuesday afternoon for the coming weekend, for reservations at your non home resort, then then Wednesday, open it up to all for any resort


They could have solved a number of problems if they offered a premium pass, unlimited at your home mountain only, for a significant cost adder. I don't know the number but something in the $500 / pass range sounds reasonable. I suspect the system they implemented works for they vast majority of pass holders but it does not work for those with real estate at the mountain and/or kids in seasonal programs; two groups that are likely the most reliable sources of year to year revenue.


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## jimmywilson69 (Nov 11, 2020)

that's where I differ my local "Epic" mountain will be super easy to secure days for. I didn't even book any days outside of December, because who knows if I'll be able to get into the northeast or if I'm comfortable with flying out west.  

I see your issue  and it should be interesting.


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## Edd (Nov 11, 2020)

Kind of wild that, having an Epic, this’ll be the first time I’ve had a season pass to Stowe, and it’s quite possible I won’t ski it this year.


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## drjeff (Nov 11, 2020)

thebigo said:


> They could have solved a number of problems if they offered a premium pass, unlimited at your home mountain only, for a significant cost adder. I don't know the number but something in the $500 / pass range sounds reasonable. I suspect the system they implemented works for they vast majority of pass holders but it does not work for those with real estate at the mountain and/or kids in seasonal programs; two groups that are likely the most reliable sources of year to year revenue.



Actually with respect to kids seasonal programs, for Mount Snow at least, any kid that signs up for a seasonal program will automatically have their EPIC active on the days that the program is scheduled to meet, without having to make any reservations for that day. So in theory, since I just have 1 of my 2 kids racing for Mount Snow this year (and the way the program is currently set it be, it will just be training at Mount Snow with the same group of 4 other kids in the same age cohort and the same coach each time, and then having club races at Mount Snow with currently no races planned until March at the earliest possible time with other mountains) there could be a day where within my family, just my daughter gets to ski, if myself, my wife and my son get blocked out of a week of reservation...

Definitely wish they had done something for the passholders who are property owners near the mountain, who spend the vast majority of their time just skiing that 1 mountain. Sincerely hope that's not a tweak they'll have to make for the '21-'22 season!!!!!


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## SLyardsale (Nov 11, 2020)

For giggles I went on the res system.  Week of reservations go live Wednesdays at 4pm est / 2pm mst.  I got on right at 4pm but had to wait 15 minutes in the waiting room.  There were 18K people in front of me.  Once it was my turn, both Breck and Keystone were sold out for the weekend 11/14 & 11/15.  Only weekdays Fri 11/13 and 11/16 to 11/20 were avail.  So it appears week of go Friday to Friday.

I believe there is still a concern for Mt. Snow on the busy weekends -  You would probably be wise to queue up early as possible each Wednesday.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 11, 2020)

SLyardsale said:


> For giggles I went on the res system.  Week of reservations go live Wednesdays at 4pm est / 2pm mst.  I got on right at 4pm but had to wait 15 minutes in the waiting room.  There were 18K people in front of me.  Once it was my turn, both Breck and Keystone were sold out for the weekend 11/14 & 11/15.  Only weekdays Fri 11/13 and 11/16 to 11/20 were avail.  So it appears week of go Friday to Friday.
> 
> I believe there is still a concern for Mt. Snow on the busy weekends -  You would probably be wise to queue up early as possible each Wednesday.


If you enter the waiting room, I wonder if they are randomly assigning places in line as they did with the priority day opening?  Either way, this season will be epically frustrating.


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## mbedle (Nov 11, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> If you enter the waiting room, I wonder if they are randomly assigning places in line as they did with the priority day opening?  Either way, this season will be epically frustrating.


Yes, if you are in the waiting room, once reservations open you are randomly assigned a place in line.


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## jaytrem (Nov 11, 2020)

drjeff said:


> So in theory, since I just have 1 of my 2 kids racing for Mount Snow this year (and the way the program is currently set it be, it will just be training at Mount Snow with the same group of 4 other kids in the same age cohort and the same coach each time, and then having club races at Mount Snow with currently no races planned until March at the earliest possible time with other mountains) there could be a day where within my family, just my daughter gets to ski, if myself, my wife and my son get blocked out of a week of reservation...


You really think somebody else could be the king of the run on sentence?  That one was 108 words!!!


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## SLyardsale (Nov 11, 2020)

mbedle said:


> Yes, if you are in the waiting room, once reservations open you are randomly assigned a place in line.


I looked back as you get an email when you enter... I got on at 4:11, so res were already open.... don't they put you in the waiting room to avoid having the res system crash?

Point being - at 4:11 there were 18k people ahead of me for essentially 2 resorts.

What will the waiting room be like once more resorts come on line?  Wednesdays might be tough.


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## RichT (Nov 11, 2020)

Well thank GOD I've retired! Looks like Hunter weekends will be almost impossible to book. Tuesday-Friday (?) for me :-(. Till the vaccine comes out, HURRY UP PLEASE!!!!


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## drjeff (Nov 11, 2020)

jaytrem said:


> You really think somebody else could be the king of the run on sentence?  That one was 108 words!!!


I know, I'm slacking lately!! Usually good for 200+!!


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## BenedictGomez (Nov 11, 2020)

thebigo said:


> *They could have solved a number of problems if they offered a premium pass, unlimited at your home mountain only, for a significant cost *adder. I don't know the number but something in the $500 / pass range sounds reasonable.



The optics of that would have been horrific.


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## abc (Nov 11, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> That's not what we're talking about here.  Most of us will have sunk our priority days for a holiday weekend that is more than a few weeks out - think President's week.  That part is safe.  What some of us are concerned about are the week-of reservations.  Let's not confuse the two.


Are ANY of the holiday weekends' reservation full already? If not, it may be worth "reversing the priorities" till closer to the time.


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## snoseek (Nov 11, 2020)

Edd said:


> Kind of wild that, having an Epic, this’ll be the first time I’ve had a season pass to Stowe, and it’s quite possible I won’t ski it this year.


If the border opens I'm down with splitting the drive. They are going crazy in VT now so they can ease later you heard it here first


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## njdiver85 (Nov 12, 2020)

abc said:


> Are ANY of the holiday weekends' reservation full already? If not, it may be worth "reversing the priorities" till closer to the time.


My guess is that lots of people are waiting it out right now to see how mountains are operating before booking a big trip, but that once things seem okay, there will be a flood of bookings and those weekends will fill up.  Passholders should have been given far more than 7 priority days to both hold holiday weekends as well as a bunch of regular (yet busy) weekends with the idea of rolling over those non-holiday weekends as they get used.  This would provide a better guarantee that passholders could ski both on holidays as well as standard weekends at the busy mountains.  This is where Vail has failed it's passholders.  I suspect many people not tied to a Vail-owned mountain through property ownership will be leaving for Ikon next year if things continue proceed as they seem to have started.


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## thebigo (Nov 12, 2020)

My understanding is that reservations are not required for kids on program day; reservations are never required for kids under five.

I do not know you, other than reading your sentagraphs on the various forums, but I suspect your kids are teenagers and you are on mountain. We will be in Glen about ten minutes to wildcat and attitash. My currently seven year old daughter is turning eight in a few weeks and signed up for freestyle competition. She had a blast last year in freestyle, talked it about all summer and I could not say no. I would have no problem sending my kids off with coaches and hanging around the condo all day if we were on mountain and she was older. At her age and our distance to the mountain, I am not comfortable leaving her there. With lodges off limits, my only option is to idle the car in the parking lot if I can not get a reservation.

I understand this is a first word problem and there are people with far more severe pandemic related issues. Only point is that some sort of workaround would have been appreciated and given the situation, I would have been willing to pay for it. 



drjeff said:


> Actually with respect to kids seasonal programs, for Mount Snow at least, any kid that signs up for a seasonal program will automatically have their EPIC active on the days that the program is scheduled to meet, without having to make any reservations for that day. So in theory, since I just have 1 of my 2 kids racing for Mount Snow this year (and the way the program is currently set it be, it will just be training at Mount Snow with the same group of 4 other kids in the same age cohort and the same coach each time, and then having club races at Mount Snow with currently no races planned until March at the earliest possible time with other mountains) there could be a day where within my family, just my daughter gets to ski, if myself, my wife and my son get blocked out of a week of reservation...
> 
> Definitely wish they had done something for the passholders who are property owners near the mountain, who spend the vast majority of their time just skiing that 1 mountain. Sincerely hope that's not a tweak they'll have to make for the '21-'22 season!!!!!


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## abc (Nov 12, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> My guess is that lots of people are waiting it out right now to see how mountains are operating before booking a big trip


That maybe the case for non-passholders. For passholders, there's no reason NOT to reserve the "planned" holidays using their priority days. Especially if their planned holiday are Christmas or Presidents week.

But I get your point that once the window opens for day ticket buyers, it may get a flood of them booking Christmas and President's week. So passholders better hang on to their holiday booking.



> but that once things seem okay, there will be a flood of bookings and those weekends will fill up.


That's quite possible. We'll see


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## JimG. (Nov 12, 2020)

Amazing to see everyone suddenly waking up to the fact that a megapass is NOT a season pass. Assigning only 7 priority days to a skier who stays at one mountain because of seasonal programs or second home ownership is nothing but a massive kick in the balls.


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## njdiver85 (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> Amazing to see everyone suddenly waking up to the fact that a megapass is NOT a season pass. Assigning only 7 priority days to a skier who stays at one mountain because of seasonal programs or second home ownership is nothing but a massive kick in the balls.


This!!!!


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## cdskier (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> Amazing to see everyone suddenly waking up to the fact that a megapass is NOT a season pass. Assigning only 7 priority days to a skier who stays at one mountain because of seasonal programs or second home ownership is nothing but a massive kick in the balls.


This isn't a "megapass" issue. Killington is using a very similar system for parking reservations even for people that have simply a traditional Killington season pass.


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## abc (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> Amazing to see everyone suddenly waking up to the fact that a megapass is NOT a season pass. Assigning only 7 priority days to a skier who stays at one mountain because of seasonal programs or second home ownership is nothing but a massive kick in the balls.





cdskier said:


> This isn't a "megapass" issue. Killington is using a very similar system for parking reservations even for people that have simply a traditional Killington season pass.


It's simply a SEASON PASS issue! For all the mountains that uses capacity limit, that is. 

At least Vail allows all of their pass purchasers who bought before the announcement of the reservation requirement to request a full refund. 

Whether people who bought their pass had a full comprehension of the implication of capacity limit or not is a different matter.


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## JimG. (Nov 12, 2020)

cdskier said:


> This isn't a "megapass" issue. Killington is using a very similar system for parking reservations even for people that have simply a traditional Killington season pass.


It certainly is a megapass issue.

K has to have a parking system because of all the IKON passes and the traditional season passholder takes the hit because of that.


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## JimG. (Nov 12, 2020)

abc said:


> It's simply a SEASON PASS issue! For all the mountains that uses capacity limit, that is.
> 
> At least Vail allows all of their pass purchasers who bought before the announcement of the reservation requirement to request a full refund.
> 
> Whether people who bought their pass had a full comprehension of the implication of capacity limit or not is a different matter.


Killington will issue a full refund for any pass product before 11/20...I know because they had to give me my money back.

And of course the issue is that buyers were unaware of what was going to happen. But that's a VT issue, not a season pass issue.

After this I guarantee you will see mountains that move to cater to the traditional season pass model. I feel bad for second homeowners who got stuck because their mountain turned megapass.


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## abc (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> But that's a VT issue, not a season pass issue.
> 
> After this I guarantee you will see mountains that move to cater to the traditional season pass model. I feel bad for second homeowners who got stuck because their mountain turned megapass.


You mean second home owners in VT?

Second home owner in the Cats will have no problem, whether they have a mega pass or not.


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## JimG. (Nov 12, 2020)

abc said:


> You mean second home owners in VT?
> 
> Second home owner in the Cats will have no problem, whether they have a mega pass or not.


??

I mean any second homeowners who live on a megapass mountain. But VT is the extreme example.

And I'm sure second homeowners at Hunter do not feel there is no problem because they are in the Cats.


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## cdskier (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> It certainly is a megapass issue.
> 
> K has to have a parking system because of all the IKON passes and the traditional season passholder takes the hit because of that.


If it was a megapass issue, then why are many other Ikon resorts not requiring reservations? Additionally, K could have easily chosen to require reservations only for Ikon holders (as places like JH or Abasin have done) if they thought Ikon was the reason they had to implement a parking reservation system in the first place. Instead they made it for everyone including plain old K pass-holders.

Personally I don't agree with the way Epic (or K) are handling this. I understand the need to limit capacity, but I have issues with the "7 priority day" number they chose. Although perhaps we'll end up finding out in the end that no one has any issues getting reservations for the days they want to ski anyway (other than the inconvenience of having to use the reservation systems). Then again we're still in the middle of a global pandemic, so us whining about potential limits on how many skiing days we can reserve is really a minor issue in the grand scheme of things...


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## cdskier (Nov 12, 2020)

JimG. said:


> I feel bad for second homeowners who got stuck because their mountain turned megapass.


I'm a second homeowner on a mountain that turned megapass. I have no issues so far with how they're handling things and don't feel stuck at all by Alterra's decisions.

I have a much larger issue with the way VT in general is handling things. VT's decisions are impacting second homeowners whether they are on a megapass mountain or not...


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## abc (Nov 12, 2020)

cdskier said:


> Although perhaps we'll end up finding out in the end that no one has any issues getting reservations for the days they want to ski anyway (other than the inconvenience of having to use the reservation systems).


I think that's just wishful thinking from the Vail CEO. 

Weekends in some of the destination mountains were so crazy there's no way everyone can get in under the capacity cap. Even with filled chairs with singles line etc, the liftline can be as long as 1/2hr sometimes! No way they can let that same number of people "reserved".

As someone reported, Kaystone and Breck filled out for the opening weekend. We'll see how fast weekends fill in the northeast. 

For me, after receiving an email from Vail to extend my time to buy a pass with last season's credit, I haven't heard back from them to actually purchase. I've been blasting them with e-mail follow-ups (their customer service phone number doesn't even allow me to be put on hold!)

Not that I'm hell-bent to buy an Epic pass. Given the murky situation, I'm more and more inclined to skip this season altogether.


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## thebigo (Nov 12, 2020)

BenedictGomez said:


> The optics of that would have been horrific.


I disagree, it all depends on how you present it, one option is: 

Full Epic Pass holders only, select a home mountain and are afforded an additional 14 priority days at their home mountain. The extra days apply to full Epic only, not the local, northeast or any of the other discount passes. This approach drives revenue and builds loyalty.


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## gittist (Nov 12, 2020)

thebigo said:


> I disagree, it all depends on how you present it, one option is:
> 
> Full Epic Pass holders only, select a home mountain and are afforded an additional 14 priority days at their home mountain. The extra days apply to full Epic only, not the local, northeast or any of the other discount passes. This approach drives revenue and builds loyalty.



Where is the verbiage for the additional 14 days?  I don't remember seeing that in any of my emails or on the website. 

As near as I can tell, season pass holders are only guaranteed 7 days.  As I understand it if day ticket people buy all of the capacity a month out, I can't make a 'week of' reservation unless Vail holds some capacity back for us.  I've yet to see any indication that they plan on that.


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## cdskier (Nov 12, 2020)

gittist said:


> Where is the verbiage for the additional 14 days?  I don't remember seeing that in any of my emails or on the website.


That was just a suggestion/idea from thebigo on something they could have done.

I wonder what the breakdown is with Epic of people that have what they consider a "home" resort and ski mainly there vs people that ski different resorts all the time and aren't loyal to any one particular resort (i.e. people that use it like a traditional season pass vs people that use it as a "megapass").


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## gittist (Nov 12, 2020)

cdskier said:


> That was just a suggestion/idea from thebigo on something they could have done.
> 
> I wonder what the breakdown is with Epic of people that have what they consider a "home" resort and ski mainly there vs people that ski different resorts all the time and aren't loyal to any one particular resort (i.e. people that use it like a traditional season pass vs people that use it as a "megapass").


Thank you for replying to the 'extra 14 day' question.

I'm one of those that ski different areas, especially since there are 5 Epic areas here in PA that I can day trip to. Two of them are a little far but still possible. We've already cancelled our Vermont trips and didn't book anything with the two ski clubs we belong to.


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## JimG. (Nov 12, 2020)

cdskier said:


> If it was a megapass issue, then why are many other Ikon resorts not requiring reservations? Additionally, K could have easily chosen to require reservations only for Ikon holders (as places like JH or Abasin have done) if they thought Ikon was the reason they had to implement a parking reservation system in the first place. Instead they made it for everyone including plain old K pass-holders.
> 
> Personally I don't agree with the way Epic (or K) are handling this. I understand the need to limit capacity, but I have issues with the "7 priority day" number they chose. Although perhaps we'll end up finding out in the end that no one has any issues getting reservations for the days they want to ski anyway (other than the inconvenience of having to use the reservation systems). Then again we're still in the middle of a global pandemic, so us whining about potential limits on how many skiing days we can reserve is really a minor issue in the grand scheme of things...


As I often find when I debate with you we generally speaking agree. 

But I do think the the potential high numbers of skiers/reservations due to the cheap multi mountain passes has definitely influenced the decision making.


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## snoseek (Nov 17, 2020)

So if I reserve some days for the upcoming season and cancel my pass before using those days up due to increasing Covid and just not feeling comfy with operations do i get a refund. I have a backup pass. I want to start reserving a few days and leave a few for when the 2 week forecast is looking good. I could start early on other pass and see how things go?


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## njdiver85 (Nov 25, 2020)

Looks like the VT restrictions are causing many to bail on Mt Snow for the Thanksgiving weekend.  All days currently back up as available.


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## kingslug (Nov 25, 2020)

Not the greatest weather coming either.


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## chuckstah (Nov 25, 2020)

The system worked well today. Not much of a wait. Only problem is there are still no NH opening dates.  No communication. You have to go in to see if anything is available. And it is not for next week.


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## thebigo (Nov 26, 2020)

The fact that half their northeastern properties are located in NH and those happen to be the only areas not open is absurd. On top of that we get no communication, they actually expect us to sit around for hours in their epic waiting room trying to determine when they will open. I would like to say I am willing to boycott but they simply own too large a piece of NH skiing. The only viable alternative in the MWV is the white mountain super pass but bretton woods sucks. I would put the attitash/wildcat combo, with everything else the valley offers, up against anything in New england if they only had a competent operator. 

Vail cannot go out of business fast enough. Peaks was a significantly better operator, orders of magnitude.


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## snoseek (Nov 26, 2020)

thebigo said:


> The fact that half their northeastern properties are located in NH and those happen to be the only areas not open is absurd. On top of that we get no communication, they actually expect us to sit around for hours in their epic waiting room trying to determine when they will open. I would like to say I am willing to boycott but they simply own too large a piece of NH skiing. The only viable alternative in the MWV is the white mountain super pass but bretton woods sucks. I would put the attitash/wildcat combo, with everything else the valley offers, up against anything in New england if they only had a competent operator.
> 
> Vail cannot go out of business fast enough. Peaks was a significantly better operator, orders of magnitude.


They are going to really need to get their nh properties up to par but I know they wont. Attitash needs lifts and wildcat needs better snowmaking. Everyone assumes they will buy up their area and dump money into it but that's not the case. Kirkwood is a good example. 

They will build up sunapee as it's easy roi while mwv areas decay. Peaks was guilty of that too.


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## drjeff (Nov 26, 2020)

Found out when they scan your Epic pass on your birthday that instead of the normal beeping pattern, the scanner plays the first few notes of The Beatles "Today its your birthday" song.

People without reservations, and who can't read the prominently displayed signage, are going to be a bit of an issue at times especially through probably the Christmas Week/MLK weekend time-frame during which the masses of non regular skiers/riders show up for their first turns of the season


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## tnt1234 (Nov 26, 2020)

drjeff said:


> Very easy, worked as advertised.
> 
> Got into the virtual queue when it opened at 9AM EST, was let into the "reservation area" at 10 when it opened, at which time I was about 10000 in line in the virtual queue. Took about 25 minutes until I got the email letting me make reservations. Reserved the 7 days for my entire family we wanted in less than 3 minutes, Reservation confirmation received via email less than a minute later.
> 
> While the fact we have to have a system is an entirely different topic, how my experience went this morning, given the large volume of Epic passholders out there, was very smooth. Kudos to Vail resorts and their IT crew for making this easy and efficient


What if you don’t have a job or life situation that allows you to stay in front of a computer?  Thinking about a carpenter friend of mine.


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## thebigo (Nov 26, 2020)

snoseek said:


> They are going to really need to get their nh properties up to par but I know they wont. Attitash needs lifts and wildcat needs better snowmaking. Everyone assumes they will buy up their area and dump money into it but that's not the case. Kirkwood is a good example.
> 
> They will build up sunapee as it's easy roi while mwv areas decay. Peaks was guilty of that too.


Peaks did not build a single new lift in NH their entire ownership and I was okay with that. Attitash needs one lift and that is it. Wildcat needs drinkable water and crotched needs the long debated green trail off the top. 

I suspect the lynx has ample coverage to open. Best guess is that vail is scared to offer a single trail in NH to their legions of passholders. If correct, this shows a serious lack of understanding. The overall quality of skier at wildcat is second to none in the east, the early season skier even better. We show up for a half dozen hard fast runs and then head home, we distance and as much as we would like to congregate in the bar, we comprehend a pandemic.


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## snoseek (Nov 26, 2020)

thebigo said:


> Peaks did not build a single new lift in NH their entire ownership and I was okay with that. Attitash needs one lift and that is it. Wildcat needs drinkable water and crotched needs the long debated green trail off the top.
> 
> I suspect the lynx has ample coverage to open. Best guess is that vail is scared to offer a single trail in NH to their legions of passholders. If correct, this shows a serious lack of understanding. The overall quality of skier at wildcat is second to none in the east, the early season skier even better. We show up for a half dozen hard fast runs and then head home, we distance and as much as we would like to congregate in the bar, we comprehend a pandemic.


Maybe they let the weekend pass and open sometime midweek if weather doesnt completely go to shit


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## thebigo (Nov 26, 2020)

snoseek said:


> Maybe they let the weekend pass and open sometime midweek if weather doesnt completely go to shit


Your lips to Gods ear. Picked up a folding table, propane heater, hibachi and chairs. Hopefully we can share a few moat growlers in the wildcat lot this year.


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## 2Planker (Nov 27, 2020)

Not looking good for a Snowmaking window @ The Cat...

Maybe next week, Weds/Thurs nights but even that's sketchy w/ daytime temps near 40.


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## kingslug (Nov 27, 2020)

I was immediately able to reserve 2 days at Hunter..no waiting.


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## Glenn (Nov 27, 2020)

kingslug said:


> This is going to pretty much ruin the experience. But in the grand scope of things..whatever.
> Yes we use skiing as an escape from insanity..and now its becoming insanity.
> Hopefully the world returns to normal after a year. I just keep thinking about how it must have been in Europe when ww2 was going on..This is pretty tame compared. Yet, still a big cause of anxiety. Usually I'm bouncing up and down this time of year ..waiting for it to begin..not so much now. We shall see



Sums is up nicely. My wife and I are usually really looking forward to getting out on the hill this weekend. This year, not so much. We've even said that if things don't improve, we'll just roll the passes to next year. 

I'm hoping things settle down a bit with the travel restrictions, resorts hit their stride and things are kinda 'normal' at the mountains. But if it's going to involve reservations, and a bunch of hoops to jump through...pass.


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## kingslug (Nov 27, 2020)

I'll see how it goes next thursday and friday..I need to get out of the house and while playing platform tennis is ok..its not skiing. Looking at Hunters webcam..not much going on there..


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## RichT (Nov 27, 2020)

I skied Hunter today (first day of the season for me) 5 runs and done! Conditions were more like end of May. They just have the main run open now, because the Belt has turned into brown mush by the weather up here! i will say that they DID put up a valiant effort considering the damn weather! But now I doubt if they can stay open Sunday-Tuesday next week though. As for operations, they have a system in place, like Mtn Jam/Country Fest. There is only ONE way to the lifts and it's by way of the main entrance. The whole base area is fenced in. Lodge is for food and by reservation only using an app called TOCK. Boot-up at your car. 
They also changed the way you load on the six, it's better now, no more "squeeze" for the person on the extreme left.

IT WILL GET BETTER!!!!


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## kingslug (Nov 27, 2020)

And they are booked for the weekend..that should be...interesting.


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## ski&soccermom (Nov 27, 2020)

drjeff said:


> Found out when they scan your Epic pass on your birthday that instead of the normal beeping pattern, the scanner plays the first few notes of The Beatles "Today its your birthday" song.
> 
> People without reservations, and who can't read the prominently displayed signage, are going to be a bit of an issue at times especially through probably the Christmas Week/MLK weekend time-frame during which the masses of non regular skiers/riders show up for their first turns of the season


That is cute - hope you had a nice birthday!  And yes, my kids saw someone turned away who didn't have reservations.  I think they did a great job at Mt Snow this week.


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## mbedle (Nov 28, 2020)

kingslug said:


> And they are booked for the weekend..that should be...interesting.


What weekend are you talking about? They are not booked this weekend.


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## kingslug (Nov 28, 2020)

They were...not now. Cancelations I guess


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## kingslug (Nov 28, 2020)

And they are defiantly having camera issues..now both cameras are the top one...
better than lift issues LOL


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## drjeff (Dec 2, 2020)

So this below was posted up on Okemo's social media feeds earlier this evening

"As we get ready to transition into the core season, pass holders can now book week-of reservations daily for the following seven days. A new day will be available for week-of reservations at 2 a.m. ET each morning instead of a once-a-week release. Please only reserve days you plan to ski and ride to give other pass holders an opportunity to enjoy the mountains."

Guessing this will be the policy for all Epic resorts soon...


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## njdiver85 (Dec 3, 2020)

drjeff said:


> A new day will be available for week-of reservations at 2 a.m. ET each morning


 I think this might qualify for the "Vail Sucks" thread!


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## kingslug (Dec 3, 2020)

But...why?...just wake up 3 hours before you go to bed and reserve.....


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