FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[Brave teacher]

I am surprised so many say they have issues with the app or the web site.

On my iPhone 5, I have never had one issue. All of my plans show up and the site loads very quickly.

Can I ask what kind of computer and phone are people using when they have issues?

My sister will be using a galaxy 3 when she travels. I wonder if the issues are all with android phones.

I have a Galaxy S3...never had an issue with it. Everything has always showed up. No problems for me on my phone or computer.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I have an iPad and an Android phone. Since some of the kinks were worked out after the initial roll out I have only had minor issues, and that was on the Apple verison. I was adding a ton of NOTES to MY PLANS and the App would frequently freeze and have to be shut down. However, all the info would be saved and there when I logged back in. (This was about a week ago). Annoying, but not enough to make me declare this version is useless.

HTH!

 

[disneylove1021]

So...will Disney set up stations to charge our smart phones? I can't imagine my iPhone battery lasting a whole day if I must check MDE for FP+ and using it as I usually would. I would normally say "oh well" but if I needed it to store and lookup FP+ and it died, I would be frustrated. I don't go to Disney as often as most of you so maybe there already is a place to charge phones but I'd be surprised if it was free. Just a thought...but hey, first world problems, right?

 

[LilMommyBug]

I have a Galaxy S3...never had an issue with it.

Same here.

 

[Crickey]

What about us people from the UK with smart phones because If we turn on phones on when we are over in the US we incur massive chargers

So this would mean we would not be able to use these features

 

[penni520]

Will someone please tell me all about this FP+ stuff. I do understand you will get 3 FP+ a day but how do you sign up for this? Do I need to tell my TA what rides I want each day? Help me understand

 

[Missyrose]

What about us people from the UK with smart phones because If we turn on phones on when we are over in the US we incur massive chargers

So this would mean we would not be able to use these features

There is WiFi in all Disney parks and resorts now, so you'd never have to turn the cell service on on your smartphone to be able to access the new app.

 

[bauer1168]

There is WiFi in all Disney parks and resorts now, so you'd never have to turn the cell service on on your smartphone to be able to access the new app.

There will also be kiosks in the parks which you can use to amend your pre-booked FP+ times if you don't want to use your phone too much

 

[jade1]

The couple who wants more table service than counter, more pool time than park, more drinks then ice cream bars, more Deluxe than Value.

Us exact, but instead of "couple" its "family".

 

[RangerPooh]

I asked about this at the MK this morning and they are testing, just not here today. The CM wasn't sure how people are being selected. He said that the other day it was at various resorts.

 

[Cotillard]

I asked about this at the MK this morning and they are testing, just not here today. The CM wasn't sure how people are being selected. He said that the other day it was at various resorts.

We will be there in 33 days. I hope we can get in on the testing

 

[Robo]

Will someone please tell me all about this FP+ stuff. I do understand you will get 3 FP+ a day but how do you sign up for this? Do I need to tell my TA what rides I want each day? Help me understand

We don't know...

as the tests are not necessarily reflective of how the actual system will work when it actually becomes "live" for all guests.

 

[awilliams4]

Wasn't there an "Official" Speculation FP+ thread that covers all this already posted?

Yes, please dont get excited because nothing good can come of the new FP+ system. It is just designed by Disney to get people to spend more money in the parks. It is also designed to reward the person that doesnt rope drop and can in the future will be able to get an FP+ without having to get to DHS an hour before it opens.

This will drive people away in droves to other vacation destinations because it will decrease the value of a Disney vacation. Just like the implementation of the FP return time enforcement decreased the value and drove scores of people away.

And any Terms and conditions you read about the FP+ are set in stone. Disney is bound by those previously released T&C. Nothing can change when all the testing is completed.

Disney's IT is totally inept and will not ever be able to get all the systems on the website and mobile app to work on a consistent basis. People will not be able to use the system and any FP+ that they make will be lost by the poor IT designers and system.

People will be forced to carry smart phones or tablets with them all day. people will leave their ringers on and disrupt every ride because they dont want to miss any texts from Disney. Provided that the incompetent IT can make that part of the system work.

People will not be able to figure out any of the proposed kiosks that are setup for FP+

And those bracelets. UGGHH. Nothing to get excited about there. People will have to wear those around. And beware, Disney will track your every movement while wearing one. People will be able to steal your credit card info from those magic bands. Thieves will be everywhere trying to capture info from those bracelets.

Please dont get excited about anything regarding FP+. Nothing good will come from it.

You couldn't be anymore wrong on this in regards to us. This works perfectly for us. We vacation when we are on vacation, we don't get up at 5:00 a.m. and get squished together like cows at Rope Drop and hang out all day long like sweaty pigs at the parks. We always get to the parks right before dinner time. We haven't been on RnR for a couple years now because FPs are always gone. Sometimes when we stayed at BCV, we would get all members of our party to make a special trip to HS just so everyone's tickets would be used so one person can run over to RnR and get fast passes for later that evening. Then we would head back to the resort. That was a pretty painful way to get a FP for RnR. Less painful then suffering in the heat and smelling all the other Rope Droppers but still painful. Now we can vacation and get FP for RnR.

Before, if you wanted a good spot for a parade, you hand to waste several hours of your day 'holding a spot', only to have others jump right into your spot once the parade started.....sometimes causing heated discussions, resentment and an overall dumbing down of your enjoyment. Now you can just reserve a spot.

Before you had to have runners run from one side of the park to the other getting FP in 100 degree heat, that is REAL fun on vacation. Now you don't.

I can come up with many other benefits.

Sorry, you are mistaken.

 

[livibug]

Heres the thing.. you are both right.. some like the early mornings some dont.. some like planning, some dont. There is no wrong way. You do what you want to do and I will do what I want to do. Thats what makes it great - we are all not sheep of the same way.

 

[livibug]

There are some "charging" stations - aka plugs in convenient locations at the new fantasy land bathroom area.. I think I have seen it referred to as U.R.I.N.E by some They are supposedly adding usb power plugs there as well at some point. However, there are several $40 and under battery packs out there that can charge the phone 2 and 3 times over. Anker makes the Astro which is small and able to juice an iphone 3.75 times. They also make a smaller version that will give you 1-2 charges.

So...will Disney set up stations to charge our smart phones? I can't imagine my iPhone battery lasting a whole day if I must check MDE for FP+ and using it as I usually would. I would normally say "oh well" but if I needed it to store and lookup FP+ and it died, I would be frustrated. I don't go to Disney as often as most of you so maybe there already is a place to charge phones but I'd be surprised if it was free. Just a thought...but hey, first world problems, right?

 

[cmwade77]

Wait wait wait...the regular FREE FPs are going to be phased out?? I thought the FP+ was supposed to be an optional supplement for people who want to pay extra for it, and the regular FPs were still going to be available to the rest of us who aren't interested??

I'll admit I haven't kept up with all of the news, very disappointed if this is the case

FP+ does not cost anything extra, except for those with one day passes, I believe Disney has said they will need to buy the wristbands. As for paper FPs, I would definitely expect them to disappear eventually in favor of FP+. What I think will end up happening is you can get 3 FP+ per day ahead of time, then additional FPs during the day, with similar rules as to what is now in place.

 

[superdisneydork]

FP+ does not cost anything extra, except for those with one day passes, I believe Disney has said they will need to buy the wristbands. As for paper FPs, I would definitely expect them to disappear eventually in favor of FP+. What I think will end up happening is you can get 3 FP+ per day ahead of time, then additional FPs during the day, with similar rules as to what is now in place.

THAT would be fantastic, I would love that, and it would allow people to easily get their headliners without too much hassle, it really seems like the perfect compromise.

So, that's probably not what's going to happen!

Matt

 

[MrRomance]

Is this not stressing anyone else out? I am not fond of the idea of fp+ at all and don't want to have to so intensely plan my trips! Can someone offer some of the positives of this system for people other than over planners?

I don't think it is something for "over planners", I plan but I don't consider myself an over planner and I can see many benefits to the FP+ system. The whole purpose the system has been designed is to improve guest experience, and I'll elaborate on that further in a moment.

I'm sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but is there any consideration for fp runners with the bands? I don't think DH will want to wear 6 bands, and I can't imagine dragging the kids to btmrr if we're in tomorrowland just to get a fp. I hope there is some way to link them!

This is what I was thinking. You'll be able to reserve up to 3 FP+ in advance per day, then complement these with in-park acquired FP's using the same guidelines as the current FP procedure(no new FP's until arrival time on the FP you're holding, etc).

One thing I haven't really seen mentioned is the possibility of scoring a FP for an attraction later on in the day that now is hard to get after a certain time. For instance, TSMM FPs are usually gone early, but if guests cancel an FP for say 7pm thru My Disney Experience, maybe it'll go into an inventory queue to be re-distributed to someone else searching for a FP for that evening for TSMM.

It may pay to re-check for unused FPs throughout the day instead of giving up like currently when the FP system shows they're all gone.

Now I haven't heard anything to this effect, but to me, it seems feasible with guests changing and cancelling their FPs on the run as this new system seems to be able to allow.

If the indicators are correct (and by that I mean the terms and conditions that have been made available to read) you won't be able to use the regular FP machines. It will be an either or choice. Either you stick with the old system (while it remains in place which won't be forever) or you go with FP+ and you book your FP's at the kiosk or on your device using the app. So there won't be a runner as such. You will either have the attraction booked using FP+, in which case, no run required OR you'll be on the old system, in which case you won't have the band.

Ok, now back to the other stuff... As a Disney shareholder, I listened to the live Q2 Financials conference call. 2 important pieces of information to take away from it were that they said very clearly that they expect to recovering the cost of MyMagic+ in Q1 2014. For them to be recovering the costs from it, it has to be up and running. The suggestion was that it will be rolled out completely by the end of the year.

Now to answer the questions about how it will benefit guests, there was more interesting information during that conference call that sheds some light on this. The entire system was designed with 3 objectives in mind.

1. To keep guests out of lines.
2. To keep guests out of the rival parks and staying longer.
3. To streamline and improve efficiency within the parks.

When you're talking about FP, the new system has been designed to be better than the existing system at keeping people out of lines for attractions. From that I think it is safe to say that they are not going to spend the kind of money and end up with a system that will make us all stay in line longer.

No one knows the full details yet and all the guessing doesn't help matters, but I think there is a lot of people getting very stressed and upset about the new system simply because they've "mastered" the current system and fear the unknown. Think about it like this, the same feelings and worries existed when computers started to replace typewriters, but everyone adapted and the world didn't end!

 

[superdisneydork]

Think about it like this, the same feelings and worries existed when computers started to replace typewriters, but everyone adapted and the world didn't end!

Yeah, now we can sit around all day and complain about other new things instead of typing up the documents we're supposed to be writing

Totally an improvement... Really

In all seriousness, I think you're right, but from an engineering standpoint, I know how sometimes good intentions can really backfire, and the sketchy information is suggesting there is a big backfire coming, I think that is why people are worried. After all, there is a big difference between intended impact of a system change and actual impact .

Matt

 

[cinderellamom123]

CCan we get a recap of how the system will work once fully implemented? Does the disappearance of the paper PF mean that all FP will be pre-scheduled, or only that RFID posts will replace the paper kiosks. If the only way to get FP willl be to schedule them a day aheead then that is a serious negative for my family, especially if the limit remains 3 FP per day.

I'm with you. When given a choice, will not use FP+ as it will not work with park hopping and limit FP to 3 per day. We use way more than that.