FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[PrettyFlower2]

what is FastPass + and why am I terrified of it?

 

[mesaboy2]

what is FastPass + and why am I terrified of it?

An upcoming new way to schedule your attractions up to 60 days in advance. Little else is known, including when it will debut.

 

[MacDalt]

It's the 'not knowing' that scares us all!

 

[HappyMomma]

I'm afraid too. It's like just one more thing I have to learn about and navigate. Disney is getting to be too much work anymore.

 

[BuzzBelleMom]

I am afraid there will be battles if it affects us this time. DH loves to 'accidentally' get me a FP for a ride that I refuse to ride and then goes twice. He swears that it's because I might just change my mind. Nope, if I have almost thrown up on a ride, it's not getting a second chance.

Having a set time to return and set number is going to make the trip...interesting.

 

[JamiLeigh]

I'll admit I'm a planner. I've been stressing myself out every night this past two weeks over our upcoming trip next month. But this is just too far. Why can't you just go and have fun. I made ADR's and take advantage of the fast pass they have now but I have no desire to plan my day out to the minute. Makes me a little sad.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm excited for it, if it is what I think it is. I'm not a huge "main attraction" person, so if I knew I could go at a certain time and ride whatever once without running around for FPs and having to make RD, I would be very happy. Three a day, and I'd be totally set, since I like most of the second-tier rides better anyway, and the shows and daytime parades, etc.

I think I'm going to really like it, but we shall see!

 

[geraghty]

I can't wait for FP+. We like to go at rope drop and go back to the room around lunch time and swim or take naps, then go back to the park at night. This will allow us to use our fp for the evenings when we go back to the park. We will be able to enjoy the park in the morning without worrying about running around to get a fp and if the times will coordinate with lunch and our afternoon break. If we want to see a parade or show at night, hopefully those will be options as well. I like to plan before we go, I don't like to plan while we are there. I believe this will allow for a more casual approach to the parks since you can get your fp for must dos ahead of time. For those with no kids or older kids, the old system was great, but for those of us with small kids, having one person run around to all the differents kiosks was stressful. Also, With FP+ we will be able to get a few fp for the evening of our arrival. I was not going to plan a park on our first day, but with fp+, I think I will try to schedule some things for that first evening.

I also feel this will make staying on property even more of an advantage. Since Disney is cutting back on promotions, this will allow them to offer an advantage to its guests who book rooms at wdw. One advantage to emh is not having wait in long lines. This gives you a similar experience and Disney can cut back employee hours. For season pass holders, I hope they have access to this system in some form or fashion. Those passes are not cheap.

 

[TheSilverTherapist]

Do we know yet if having FP+ means you can't get regular fastpasses during the day?

For example, if I'm doing DHS in the morning and MK in the evening, can I get regular FPs at DHS during the day while having FP+ for some rides at MK in the evening?

These are the things I worry about. My park strategies are going to completely change.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Do we know yet if having FP+ means you can't get regular fastpasses during the day?

For example, if I'm doing DHS in the morning and MK in the evening, can I get regular FPs at DHS during the day while having FP+ for some rides at MK in the evening?

These are the things I worry about. My park strategies are going to completely change.

The way I understand what I've read already...and again, this is just my interpretation from what info is out there....

The 3 FP+ seem to have to be in one park, per day. But I suspect we will be able to get other FPs, even at other parks, the day of, either using the app or the kiosks. Now, this doesn't mean that what we want is going to be available...

 

[TheSilverTherapist]

The way I understand what I've read already...and again, this is just my interpretation from what info is out there....

The 3 FP+ seem to have to be in one park, per day. But I suspect we will be able to get other FPs, even at other parks, the day of, either using the app or the kiosks. Now, this doesn't mean that what we want is going to be available...

And presumably if you have a 4-5pm FP+ for Space Mountain, you wouldn't be able to double up and get a 4-5pm regular fastpass for Buzz, sorta similar to how it works now. Hmmm... This is very very interesting and will require as much battle planning as my tabletop wargaming

We're not going till late September, so here's hoping they have all the info out by July so I can make the proper decisions.

 

[ArwenMarie]

And presumably if you have a 4-5pm FP+ for Space Mountain, you wouldn't be able to double up and get a 4-5pm regular fastpass for Buzz, sorta similar to how it works now. Hmmm... This is very very interesting and will require as much battle planning as my tabletop wargaming

We're not going till late September, so here's hoping they have all the info out by July so I can make the proper decisions.

lol!

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I can't wait for FP+. We like to go at rope drop and go back to the room around lunch time and swim or take naps, then go back to the park at night. This will allow us to use our fp for the evenings when we go back to the park. We will be able to enjoy the park in the morning without worrying about running around to get a fp and if the times will coordinate with lunch and our afternoon break. If we want to see a parade or show at night, hopefully those will be options as well. I like to plan before we go, I don't like to plan while we are there. I believe this will allow for a more casual approach to the parks since you can get your fp for must dos ahead of time. For those with no kids or older kids, the old system was great, but for those of us with small kids, having one person run around to all the differents kiosks was stressful. Also, With FP+ we will be able to get a few fp for the evening of our arrival. I was not going to plan a park on our first day, but with fp+, I think I will try to schedule some things for that first evening.

I also feel this will make staying on property even more of an advantage. Since Disney is cutting back on promotions, this will allow them to offer an advantage to its guests who book rooms at wdw. One advantage to emh is not having wait in long lines. This gives you a similar experience and Disney can cut back employee hours. For season pass holders, I hope they have access to this system in some form or fashion. Those passes are not cheap.

It has been stated that FP+ will be able to be used by all park goers wheather they stay onsite or not.

My concern is that everyone will want those evening FP+'s making those harder to get. My family are RDers but why would we set FP+'s for the morning hours when normally that is when the park is less crowded?

 

[TheSilverTherapist]

Okay, I chatted with a cast member and got what I hope is some accurate information about FP+

First, there's definitely no official roll-out date yet.

Second, it's definitely one park, per person, per day. So if you're like me and do two parks a day, you can only use FP+ at one of those parks.

Third, and most importantly, it appears definite that you CAN use regular FPs as you normally would, even while having 3 FP+s locked and loaded.

For example (and this was the exact one I used with the cast member, so it should be legit) if you plan on doing MK in the morning and DHS in the evening, you can book FP+s for TSMM, ToT, and RnRC to use later that night (when a lot of those passes would be gone anyway) and still get paper FPs for Space Mountain et al. while touring MK in the morning.

With that in mind, I've gone from paranoid about FP+ to psyched. It's very common to go to your late afternoon/evening park and see that FPs are gone for most of those rides. Now you don't have to worry about that.

On the flip side if you're more of a morning person, you can get a lot of FP+s for morning times and not worry about the times for normal fastpasses being in mid afternoon when you have no intention of still being in the park.

Hope that made sense...

 

[mesaboy2]

Okay, I chatted with a cast member and got what I hope is some accurate information about FP+

First, there's definitely no official roll-out date yet.

Second, it's definitely one park, per person, per day. So if you're like me and do two parks a day, you can only use FP+ at one of those parks.

Third, and most importantly, it appears definite that you CAN use regular FPs as you normally would, even while having 3 FP+s locked and loaded.

For example (and this was the exact one I used with the cast member, so it should be legit) if you plan on doing MK in the morning and DHS in the evening, you can book FP+s for TSMM, ToT, and RnRC to use later that night (when a lot of those passes would be gone anyway) and still get paper FPs for Space Mountain et al. while touring MK in the morning.

With that in mind, I've gone from paranoid about FP+ to psyched. It's very common to go to your late afternoon/evening park and see that FPs are gone for most of those rides. Now you don't have to worry about that.

On the flip side if you're more of a morning person, you can get a lot of FP+s for morning times and not worry about the times for normal fastpasses being in mid afternoon when you have no intention of still being in the park.

Hope that made sense...

This goes against most of what is known to date. When bracelets are in use, for instance, there is assumed to be no way to get "regular FPs" from the FP kiosks currently in use. The T&C also state that regular FP and FP+ will be mutually exclusive.

Information from a CM should not be necessarily considered to be the de facto truth. I would venture to guess that conservatively 95% or more of the CMs at WDW have, at the moment, no real idea of how the final product will operate.

 

[Planogirl]

It has been stated that FP+ will be able to be used by all park goers wheather they stay onsite or not.

My concern is that everyone will want those evening FP+'s making those harder to get. My family are RDers but why would we set FP+'s for the morning hours when normally that is when the park is less crowded?

To me it's also concerning that we might only be able to get a fastpass for one headliner if that and the rest might only be good for less popular attractions.

Of course all of this is just conjecture but I really don't see why the rides will be less crowded as a result of the new system as a few other posters said. I just see us possibly unable to get as many fastpasses as before.

 

[TheSilverTherapist]

This goes against most of what is known to date. When bracelets are in use, for instance, there is assumed to be no way to get "regular FPs" from the FP kiosks currently in use. The T&C also state that regular FP and FP+ will be mutually exclusive.

Information from a CM should not be necessarily considered to be the de facto truth. I would venture to guess that conservatively 95% or more of the CMs at WDW have, at the moment, no real idea of how the final product will operate.

Well I'm going on what I know from a relatively "official" source. I would like to think they wouldn't give out completely false information like that. My questions were pretty direct and she said in no uncertain terms you can use both on the same day... I guess time will tell.

It's also possible what she said is correct today, but not necessarily correct when it all rolls out.

 

[mesaboy2]

Well I'm going on what I know from a relatively "official" source. I would like to think they wouldn't give out completely false information like that. My questions were pretty direct and she said in no uncertain terms you can use both on the same day... I guess time will tell.

It's also possible what she said is correct today, but not necessarily correct when it all rolls out.

There are about 60,000 "official sources" at WDW then.

Trust me I hope she's right, but again it doesn't jibe with what little "official" information we have.

 

[TDC Nala]

When bracelets are in use, for instance, there is assumed to be no way to get "regular FPs" from the FP kiosks currently in use.

There's no reason to think that you would have to use the regular magnetic strip FP machines to get fastpasses during the day. You could just get them from the new RFID touch kiosks. The trick will be whether they'll be available day-of for attractions or times you might want.

Of course none of us knows for sure how it's going to work now.

 

[TheSilverTherapist]

There are about 60,000 "official sources" at WDW then.

Trust me I hope she's right, but again it doesn't jibe with what little "official" information we have.

I just read the Terms and Conditions you were talking about and those do seem to indicate that once you go "paperless" you can't go back.

That's... a little frustrating.

I really hope that changes between now and the official roll-out.

Or that it hasn't started by the time I'm there.