FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

The Simpsons WOW what an imagination Gotta get over there

 

[raidermatt]

This may have been said someplace in the previous 90 pages, but is it possible that this is their plan:

FP+ that you can book 60 days in advance, with tiered Fastpasses.
AND
More FPs released for "day of" guests?

So someone like me can make my one TSMM fastpass reservation 60 days in advance and someone like many of you can continue to accumulate several FPs on the day of, per availability. Maybe they'll release 30-40% for pre-booking and the rest for day of. And you maybe would have to be in the park to get a FP? Or not.

There's got to be day-of FPs available for all the locals, newbies, etc... But it seems silly to restrict those to just 1 Top-tier FP all day.

Has anything "official" been said one way or another about this possibility?

As others have said, nobody really knows. One of the Disneyland bloggers stated as a fact that day of FPs would eventually go away. FP machines would eventually be removed.

But of course we don't know for sure.

The thing to remember though is Disney spent at least a $1 billion on this (given how behind schedule it is, they have probably spent significantly more than that). That's enough to build an entire park. What does that mean to us? It means they are going to be looking to make large sums of $'s on this. So I find it highly unlikely that they are going to make NOT using My Magic+ to be much of a viable alternative. MM+ can't just be something nice to use, it's going to have to be a must have. Hopefully that means it will be really cool, but I'm afraid it also is going to mean taking away other options so even if it isn't so cool, we're still going to need it.

 

[Rileygirl]

deleted

 

[4under4]

As I lay in bed last night trying to fall asleep with visions of possible scenarios running rampant through my head, I suddenly remembered reading about the FL expansion and a series of pics popped into my head. Quick google this morning and I found what I was looking for...

Wouldn't it be horrible if people actually went LOOKING for outlets, plopping themselves down in odd places in order to get a quick charge... while waiting for their FP return time . I can just see the threads now: "Post Your Latest Outlet Location Discoveries~Updated Dec2014"

 

[4under4]

Rileygirl you better be careful or everyone's going to start thinking that you are really working for the darkside, and this entire thread has been your sly way to kick around all the ways US can beat the big D

 

[magicbob]

Ok I'm finally all caught up. I read through it all. The one thing that keeps sticking with me through of this, is the idea that Disney would be putting all this money on a system that is basically banking on the ignorance of most of the people who go to Disney, this idea that people who don't know any better will be satisfied with a couple fast passes for things that they really aren't necessary for. While I agree that there will always be people who are either unaware or uninterested in the few extra steps they can take to get more out of things, I feel like it's such an unreliable variable to be basing such a HUGE amount of money on.

It also really seems like this idea would just be creating a more consistently moderate experience for everyone, opposed to really top notch experience. While no one is going to have a perfect experience everytime, wasn't Walt's whole MO to really take things to the next level?

I really hope Rileygirl is right. I hope this is all just a front for something they have up their sleeves to really blow us away.

Exactly. Removing the "extras" that make trips "magical" and spreading them around so thin that everyone's trip is "adequate."

So if I am forced to make a schedule and get online at 6 AM 60 days out and there are no TSMM FPs for when I want (like the BOG ADR I wanted due to the 180 +10 system) - but others who didn't pre-book might be offered those FPs same day??? Uh, No.

Hey, it's only "fair" that those non-planners have a shot at scoring a TSMM FP+. Why should you be rewarded for selfishly getting up at 6am two months before your trip and hoarding all the good FP+s?

Also am not feeling the love that I may now need to use my FP+ allotment in order to sit where I have been sitting for 40 years to watch the parades. I know, I'm getting old, I'm invested and have a looong experience to compare the new system to Obviously I'm not the target audience, but I am a loyal 'guest' and I have sent many many guests their way over the years. We'll see.

I'm right there with you. Not feeling the love for this either.

And speaking of Disney's Marketing Machine, take a look at what they did for John Carter, and then ask if you want them in charge of MyMagic+...

What is John Carter?

Precisely.


Woo Hoo! Page 100!

 

[Rileygirl]

I work for no one yet

However, I can be bought.

Either I am thinking for the mouse, or I am thinking for the dark side. I can totally get on board with either.

However, I will stop my not so subtle job campaigne.

Sorry to drag it off topic!

Edited to add:
You know, its pretty easy for people to have hidden agendas. I know that when I suspect someone is working a specific angle, I always go back to look at their past historyin posting. And, it always drives me crazy when someone jumps into a thread and posts with confidence and knowledge or the sound of knowledge, and their post count is 2, and their join date is this month. I hate that. I think its cowardly. Use your real name, for goodness sake.

I know that when people were saying, a couple (or perhaps 20) pages ago, that I could be working for Disney, I thought, really? Stuff I am posting, if correct (and there is no saying whether I am or not), would more likely make me to be a mole for Universal. And if peoples thoughts are turned that way, I can understand that suspicion. How can you possibley actually know who I am, or what I do. I could be some guy living in his moms basement in portland oregon for goodness sake.

Well, thank goodness I have always followed my mothers advice, (and apparently Judge Judys) When you lie, it catches up to you. You cant remember what you said, if its not the truth. So, if anyone has any reason to believe that I am not who I am making myself out to be, I invite you to look back anywhere in my past 600 posts over the last ten years. Ive been consistent, because I dont lie. I just thought I would say that, because it is NOT reasonable to think I am a disney mole, but its not a far fetch, given my last 15 or 20 posts or so, that I could be working for Universal. My fascination with Universal is in part due to harry potter, and in part due to the 2011 theme park attendance stats. And now, a whole bunch of new ideas are circulating in my head.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Rileygirl you better be careful or everyone's going to start thinking that you are really working for the darkside, and this entire thread has been your sly way to kick around all the ways US can beat the big D

Universal cannot beat the big D. It doesn't have the space and it doesn't draw in the older crowd (50+) that has no kids. It's main demographic is 10-25 female and 10-35 male. It won't be able to wrest the toddler group out of Disney's hands, either.
Can they carve out a healthy, lucrative niche? Certainly! But Disney World is four main, unique parks, two big water parks, as soon-to-be Disney Springs, 20 resorts, at least 3 golf courses and 100+ restaurants.
No matter how "awesome" (I personally have zero desire to see anything Potter, as I am 35 years old, not 15 ) they just aren't going to have the space to be a more than 3 day destination. And if someone is REALLY going to tell me that going to Universal for 3 days, Sea World for one and Busch Gardens for one is as nice of a vacation as staying onsite at DisneyWorld and doing 5 park days there, I'd say you were out of your mind!

No one has kids and thinks, "I can't wait until I can take little Johnny to Universal Studios for the first time..." It's a place where teenagers and men under 40 like to go because of the thrills.

WDW attracts 47 million visitors a year. Yes, this means one person who visits 4 parks in four days counts as "4" of those 47 million, not one. But one can assume that most people are not spending two days at WDW and visiting 4 parks. So it probably evens out to 47 million park days. Of course, this doesn't count the number of people who stay onsite and choose to have a park-free day or two, spending their money at DTD, Blizzard Beach, golfing, eating or just hanging out at the resort pool.

Finally, for those of you wringing your hands about WDW losing visitors to Universal and begging for new rides/parks, please keep in mind that Disney operates SIX, separate theme parks world wide and attracts 120 million visitors! Universal has four and attracts 30 million. So when we WDW visitors might see Universal Orlando and IoA as immediate competition to our beloved WDW, they really aren't. And I don't think Disney is spending too much time worrying about WDW's landlocked theme park neighbor...
Did I forget to mention the cruise ships?

Frankly, half of these boards discuss planning and optimal touring plans, etc.. BECAUSE everything in WDW is in high demand. Lines are long (or otherwise we wouldn't have 99 pages of posts fretting about a change to the FP system), resorts are often at capacity during peak times (and for DVC members, peak times occur differently than non-DVC resorts, ie: Food and Wine) We fight over ADRs and wake up in the middle of the night to capture that elusive BoG slot for dinner! (or Le Cellier, etc...)

I don't see the same sense of urgency on the USF/IoA boards..

 

[Rileygirl]

deleted

 

[livibug]

so has anyone seen a magic band yet in use yet?

 

[Bob NC]

Oh yeah, DH just explained that the iphone can't use extra batteries, has to be charged - why he bought me the charger. duh. You can see how tech-savvy I am! LOL Seems like a pain to me.

I know we don't know all the ins and outs and I'm also hoping beyond hope that Disney has something more than what they are alluding to, but I have already altered my upcoming plans to wait and see how this all works out. DH wanted to buy more DVC points for Xmas this year, but I don't want to make any more investment in WDW vacas until I see if this works for how I like to vaca and tour the parks -

I also cut back the WDW portion of DGrDs b'day trip at the end of the summer thinking at the time they might be rolling this out this summer - so now we are moving over to USF/IOA and also doing SeaWorld. Then we are doing a very short trip with only 1 park day in early Nov for the 1/2 marathon/ 5K - not planning any further trips for now - so many other great places to go while the dust settles.

Hopefully they decide to use the RFID technology to offer us all same day FP+ where you can schedule your FP times as soon as the park opens or a few hours before - with no ride restrictions - THEN I will be buying more DVC points!!

And one more thought - I DO NOT like the idea that they would hold back FPs for same day that they could randomly offer to others. So if I am forced to make a schedule and get online at 6 AM 60 days out and there are no TSMM FPs for when I want (like the BOG ADR I wanted due to the 180 +10 system) - but others who didn't pre-book might be offered those FPs same day??? Uh, No. Also am not feeling the love that I may now need to use my FP+ allotment in order to sit where I have been sitting for 40 years to watch the parades. I know, I'm getting old, I'm invested and have a looong experience to compare the new system to Obviously I'm not the target audience, but I am a loyal 'guest' and I have sent many many guests their way over the years. We'll see.

One thing I really don't understand.

People can be the most rabid lifelong Disney fans. Loving the heck out of Disney Parks and all things Disney.

They can trust Disney with thousands and thousands of their dollars in the case of DVC.

They can shout DISNEY from the rooftops to ALL their friends and relatives.

And then, on just rumors and conjecture on a new FP system, they would trust anonymous posters on social media and completely all of a sudden deem Disney as 'untrustworthy' to receive their future vacation dollars.

<scratching my head>

What makes it even more odd is someone with THIS in their sig:

"Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there, with open arms and open eyes" - Incubus

 

[mom2rtk]

Happy 100th page!

I really do think they have not specified same day fastpasses because it is a dynamic portion of this. Not only will it vary with how big the crowds are, but with how many folks prebook.

I also think they are quite aware that there are a lot of folks out there who are not excited about what they have seen of this so far. I expect that Disney will pull out all the stops to see that the rollout is met with a lot of fanfare and excitement. While I am interested in seeing how the rollout goes, I'm FAR more interested in seeing what happens months down the road.

Furthermore, I think that it will take a while for this to catch on and for most folks to realize they are even able to prebook fastpasses.

So expect that when it rolls out there will be LOTS of same day fastpasses to go around. I wonder if that will play a roll on WHEN they decide to finally let it fly. Maybe a slower crowd time so there's even ore to go around? Maybe early September???? (You know....... despite the fact that you don't even need them then?)

I am disappointed it hasn't rolled out yet though. We're visiting the Magic Kingdom for a day in a couple weeks and I'm so distraught that I'll have to carry those 7-10 slilps of paper around the park. DISNEY, COME SAVE ME FROM HAVING TO CARRY THOSE SLIPS OF PAPER AROUND! WOE IS ME!

Wouldn't it be horrible if people actually went LOOKING for outlets, plopping themselves down in odd places in order to get a quick charge... while waiting for their FP return time . I can just see the threads now: "Post Your Latest Outlet Location Discoveries~Updated Dec2014"

Ummmm....... those threads pop up here on the DIS all the time. From what I hear there's a quiet table with an outlet upstairs at Columbia Harbor House.

If I ever have to sit by an outlet at Disney instead of exploring the parks, I'm ditching the phone. (OK, since it might now be tied to FP, maybe not, but you get my point. )

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Universal cannot beat the big D. It doesn't have the space and it doesn't draw in the older crowd (50+) that has no kids. It's main demographic is 10-25 female and 10-35 male. It won't be able to wrest the toddler group out of Disney's hands, either.
Can they carve out a healthy, lucrative niche? Certainly! But Disney World is four main, unique parks, two big water parks, as soon-to-be Disney Springs, 20 resorts, at least 3 golf courses and 100+ restaurants.
No matter how "awesome" (I personally have zero desire to see anything Potter, as I am 35 years old, not 15 ) they just aren't going to have the space to be a more than 3 day destination. And if someone is REALLY going to tell me that going to Universal for 3 days, Sea World for one and Busch Gardens for one is as nice of a vacation as staying onsite at DisneyWorld and doing 5 park days there, I'd say you were out of your mind!

No one has kids and thinks, "I can't wait until I can take little Johnny to Universal Studios for the first time..." It's a place where teenagers and men under 40 like to go because of the thrills.

WDW attracts 47 million visitors a year. Yes, this means one person who visits 4 parks in four days counts as "4" of those 47 million, not one. But one can assume that most people are not spending two days at WDW and visiting 4 parks. So it probably evens out to 47 million park days. Of course, this doesn't count the number of people who stay onsite and choose to have a park-free day or two, spending their money at DTD, Blizzard Beach, golfing, eating or just hanging out at the resort pool.

Finally, for those of you wringing your hands about WDW losing visitors to Universal and begging for new rides/parks, please keep in mind that Disney operates SIX, separate theme parks world wide and attracts 120 million visitors! Universal has four and attracts 30 million. So when we WDW visitors might see Universal Orlando and IoA as immediate competition to our beloved WDW, they really aren't. And I don't think Disney is spending too much time worrying about WDW's landlocked theme park neighbor...
Did I forget to mention the cruise ships?

Frankly, half of these boards discuss planning and optimal touring plans, etc.. BECAUSE everything in WDW is in high demand. Lines are long (or otherwise we wouldn't have 99 pages of posts fretting about a change to the FP system), resorts are often at capacity during peak times (and for DVC members, peak times occur differently than non-DVC resorts, ie: Food and Wine) We fight over ADRs and wake up in the middle of the night to capture that elusive BoG slot for dinner! (or Le Cellier, etc...)

I don't see the same sense of urgency on the USF/IoA boards..

Thank you, Michigan.

I always thought comparing WDW to Universal is comparing apples to oranges.

 

[bjakmom]

One thing I really don't understand.

People can be the most rabid lifelong Disney fans. Loving the heck out of Disney Parks and all things Disney.

They can trust Disney with thousands and thousands of their dollars in the case of DVC.

They can shout DISNEY from the rooftops to ALL their friends and relatives.

And then, on just rumors and conjecture on a new FP system, they would trust anonymous posters on social media and completely all of a sudden deem Disney as 'untrustworthy' to receive their future vacation dollars.

<scratching my head>

What makes it even more odd is someone with THIS in their sig:

Hmmmm Maybe posting on a board may be a bit deceiving, and I do love MANY (not ALL) things Disney for many reasons in my own particular life circumstances - but 'rabid' fan of anything does not describe me in any aspect of my personal life - LOL but I can see where you may get that impression from many of us DISers But I assure you I don't SHOUT from the rooftops about anything to anybody - not my nature. When friends and family see how much fun we have on our vacations, they often seek my advice about resorts, touring, etc. I do not seek out others to convert to anything as you seem to be assuming.

I do not deem Disney any more "untrustworthy" of my future vacation dollars than anywhere else I travel - I do a lot of research about my travels and what experiences I want to enjoy - from camping and hiking, visiting friends around the country, to great luxury resorts. I am just saying that with such a major (and disney itself is hyping this as major) change coming I am waiting to see how I fit into the plan before I do invest any more into future vacations there. I can easily step down to every two or three years - or more - at WDW if I no longer enjoy the way Disney is running things.

And in my mind this discussion is not just rumors and conjecture by anonymous posters - this is looking like a major change that may or may not work for my touring/vacation style. I am enjoying this discussion and appreciate all the many points and possibilities other DISers are bringing to it - including several CMs. Disney does listen and I want them to know what will or will not work for me - in the end I am very well aware that they are running a business and I certainly want them to succeed - I have many young people in my life who have pledged to wheel me around Disney for many years to come should it ever come to that- lol - and if I still want to be there and am enjoying myself.

Not sure what is confusing to you about my quote - I do embrace life with open arms and accept many difficulties for what they are and make the best of them all - that certainly does not mean that I always embrace and approve of decisions and circumstances other people and businesses make and go along with things that do not work for me or my family - I guess your confusion confuses me - but let's not make this personal - one thing for sure is we know little of each other except that we enjoy discussing Disney and helping others make the most of their vacations there.

 

[capegirl]

No one has kids and thinks, "I can't wait until I can take little Johnny to Universal Studios for the first time..." It's a place where teenagers and men under 40 like to go because of the thrills.

I don't see the same sense of urgency on the USF/IoA boards..

EXACTLY !
I ventured over to Universal on 2 occasions because of my son...and I have not been back since.

 

[WillAustin]

I really do think they have not specified same day fastpasses because it is a dynamic portion of this. Not only will it vary with how big the crowds are, but with how many folks prebook.

You might be right about that. Until they have a reasonable idea of how many FP+s will be booked in advance, I don't think they can really decide if or how the same-day FPs will work. Until they start rolling it out on a large scale and actually see what percentage of people book them, it's just guesswork. I'm sure they have a target percentage they are hoping to get, but it's still just a guess until things are implemented.

If all the top tier same-day FP+s are gone by 10:30am, since there would be less of them available by design, it still leaves a bad feeling for the people trying to get them in the parks, even if you can say that those who pre-booked got what they wanted, and I think that is a stretch based on the tests so far.

 

[Stefne]

(I personally have zero desire to see anything Potter, as I am 35 years old, not 15 )

No one has kids and thinks, "I can't wait until I can take little Johnny to Universal Studios for the first time..." .

Different strokes... I'm 37 years old and absolutely love Harry Potter and did not even begin reading the series until about three years ago.

I love Disney, but for the record, we can't wait until our youngest is old enough (and tall enough) to really get the full enjoyment of Universal so we can venture over there for our first visit

 

[Squidgyness]

Hmmmm Maybe posting on a board may be a bit deceiving, and I do love MANY (not ALL) things Disney for many reasons in my own particular life circumstances - but 'rabid' fan of anything does not describe me in any aspect of my personal life - LOL but I can see where you may get that impression from many of us DISers But I assure you I don't SHOUT from the rooftops about anything to anybody - not my nature. When friends and family see how much fun we have on our vacations, they often seek my advice about resorts, touring, etc. I do not seek out others to convert to anything as you seem to be assuming.

I do not deem Disney any more "untrustworthy" of my future vacation dollars than anywhere else I travel - I do a lot of research about my travels and what experiences I want to enjoy - from camping and hiking, visiting friends around the country, to great luxury resorts. I am just saying that with such a major (and disney itself is hyping this as major) change coming I am waiting to see how I fit into the plan before I do invest any more into future vacations there. I can easily step down to every two or three years - or more - at WDW if I no longer enjoy the way Disney is running things.

And in my mind this discussion is not just rumors and conjecture by anonymous posters - this is looking like a major change that may or may not work for my touring/vacation style. I am enjoying this discussion and appreciate all the many points and possibilities other DISers are bringing to it - including several CMs. Disney does listen and I want them to know what will or will not work for me - in the end I am very well aware that they are running a business and I certainly want them to succeed - I have many young people in my life who have pledged to wheel me around Disney for many years to come should it ever come to that- lol - and if I still want to be there and am enjoying myself.

Not sure what is confusing to you about my quote - I do embrace life with open arms and accept many difficulties for what they are and make the best of them all - that certainly does not mean that I always embrace and approve of decisions and circumstances other people and businesses make and go along with things that do not work for me or my family - I guess your confusion confuses me - but let's not make this personal - one thing for sure is we know little of each other except that we enjoy discussing Disney and helping others make the most of their vacations there.

This is a very, very good post. I'd urge everyone to read it and understand that while some of us may love Disney, it isn't unconditional. They can, and have done things in the past that I didn't agree with, but nothing that was quite this risky, and quite this huge. Hence the debate.

This is not a simple new attraction, it's changing the way people use the parks full stop. It should not be surprising that people are exploring the possible ramifications of this. None of us have made a concrete decision not to go back or keep going back regardless as far as I have seen here. I'm trying to keep my mind open.

Once upon a time I was more excited to go to Disney world than Universal. Most of my peers who went were too. I was a young boy then, not a toddler, but I had an older sister who was... a young teen. When we went to US, IOA and SW and I was old enough to remember, I wanted to go to those parks too. Now, teens want to go to HP and US even more.

You forget, people with toddlers and young kids often have teens who want to go to US as part of their vacation. International visitors in particular (especially from the UK, judging by the increase in advertising for WDW over here, they are getting concerned about that I think) but many other families are evidently choosing a day or two at Universal.

You say Disney has no reason to worry about this. I say, they themselves have said that a major reason for this project is keeping people onsite and in park. Unless they lied to our faces, Disney IS concerned about US and IOA, as well as the other Orlando destinations, taking days out of trips to Florida.

 

[mom2rtk]

They can, and have done things in the past that I didn't agree with, but nothing that was quite this risky, and quite this huge. Hence the debate.

This is not a simple new attraction, it's changing the way people use the parks full stop.

Well put.

I'm really not a fan of their Avatarland plans. But you don't see post after post from me on threads that come up about it. Maybe one or two in the beginning saying "REALLY??? " But that's about it. I honestly just don't open those threads any more. Why? Because once it's done, I can turn and walk the other way. I can still enjoy the parks in the same way I would have in the absence of Avatarland.

But this Has the potential to substantially change the way I enjoy every inch of the parks.

 

[magicbob]

I know that when people were saying, a couple (or perhaps 20) pages ago, that I could be working for Disney, I thought, really? Stuff I am posting, if correct (and there is no saying whether I am or not), would more likely make me to be a mole for Universal. And if peoples thoughts are turned that way, I can understand that suspicion. How can you possibley actually know who I am, or what I do. I could be some guy living in his moms basement in portland oregon for goodness sake.

Rileygirl, I don't know if anyone was seriously "accusing" you of misrepresenting your identity. I can say, in may case, I was just joking about you being a Disney "mole" because of the comments about us being unsuspecting members of a focus group.

P.S. My handle and avatar have not changed since I joined 5 years and 1000+ posts ago.