FYI RE: "Double Dipping"

[mom2mickeyfan]

We were at wdw a month ago and had a CM say that they affectionately call the magic bands 'tragic bands'.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I really hope that those of you testing the FP+ and saying you would NEVER have agreed to test it if you were truly limited to 3 FP a day (which is everyone in this thread I believe) are telling Disney that! Disney needs to know that being limited to 3 is NOT an improvement.

For some reason Disney believes that everyone LOVES this new system and I expect its because people aren't letting Disney know that if they weren't able to use the legacy system they would NOT be happy.

 

[dayvewc]

Nobody said participating in MB testing didn't have it's qualms, I am just saying there is a major advantage to participating in MB testing right as long as you can use both FP systems. That's not a level playing field.

The positives of using both FP systems definitely outweigh the negatives, which is the reason so many people LOVE the testing and so many more wouldn't even consider it if they couldn't use the paper FP system.

There is only "a major advantage" if the system works as it is supposed to. In cases of glitches, the field is "leveled" due to loss. Will every tester suffer losses? No. Does that invalidate the risk of testing? Also no.

 

[cobright]

I really hope that those of you testing the FP+ and saying you would NEVER have agreed to test it if you were truly limited to 3 FP a day (which is everyone in this thread I believe) are telling Disney that! Disney needs to know that being limited to 3 is NOT an improvement.

For some reason Disney believes that everyone LOVES this new system and I expect its because people aren't letting Disney know that if they weren't able to use the legacy system they would NOT be happy.

Disney knows this. Spent dinner with an imagineer and we talked ... I should only say the subject came up.

The reason fp+ is limited to just 3 per day is BECAUSE the legacy system is still in operation. The new system will be a complete replacement for the old system with passes that can be booked in advance and additional passes loaded as needed at the park. Expect the number of advanced passes to be increased to 5-9 per day depending on park hours, park size, etc.

They can't roll it out in full bloom because they haven't sunset the old system yet. That's why this is a test.

 

[melissac]

Disney knows this. Spent dinner with an imagineer and we talked ... I should only say the subject came up.

The reason fp+ is limited to just 3 per day is BECAUSE the legacy system is still in operation. The new system will be a complete replacement for the old system with passes that can be booked in advance and additional passes loaded as needed at the park. Expect the number of advanced passes to be increased to 5-9 per day depending on park hours, park size, etc.

They can't roll it out in full bloom because they haven't sunset the old system yet. That's why this is a test.

5-9 FP+ per day would be prefect. Would love to occassionally sleep in on vacation.

 

[AndreaA]

5-9 FP+ per day would be prefect. Would love to occassionally sleep in on vacation.

That really would be perfect. We go during off-season (Sept-Oct) so there are really only a few rides we need FPs for anyway.

I do wish that you could have more than one FP+ in an hour. That was a real problem for us when we were there last week. We only went to the parks in the mornings, and sometimes had to "waste" a FP+ because there wasn't enough time to schedule it. Half hour time slots would have worked much better for us, but I suppose some people would have trouble keeping to a window narrower than a full hour.

 

[bumbershoot]

The positives of using both FP systems definitely outweigh the negatives, which is the reason so many people LOVE the testing and so many more wouldn't even consider it if they couldn't use the paper FP system.

Of course a tester wouldn't be a tester if they couldn't get *at least* the basic stuff everyone else gets. We're seeing things different ways. I'm quite sure their surveys acknowledge the fact that they set up the testing so that people could still have the old way while testing the new way. I'm sure the people reading the surveys will be aware of that as well. I don't see FP+ testing as being any sort of advantage OTHER than getting to be in on the ground floor of something brand new.

Of course...I have MBs, I have FP+s scheduled, and I never got a letter inviting me, LOL. POR, October dates....

Does double dipping with a ticket and KTW card still work?

What would be neat is if someone going in Nov or Dec, who has now been allowed to do MBs and FP+s, would read all the links and explanations and agreements they are being shown while going through the process, to see what it says now. Someone who knows how to do screenshots and/or has ink in their printers. (unlike me when I was doing it for our Oct trip) Then we'd get to see exactly what is being promised.

 

[rastuso]

That really would be perfect. We go during off-season (Sept-Oct) so there are really only a few rides we need FPs for anyway.

I do wish that you could have more than one FP+ in an hour. That was a real problem for us when we were there last week. We only went to the parks in the mornings, and sometimes had to "waste" a FP+ because there wasn't enough time to schedule it. Half hour time slots would have worked much better for us, but I suppose some people would have trouble keeping to a window narrower than a full hour.

5-9 is impossible, unless they are tiered, and 2-6 of them are for Pirates, Philharmagic!, CoP, etc.


Jason

 

[cobright]

5-9 is impossible, unless they are tiered, and 2-6 of them are for Pirates, Philharmagic!, CoP, etc.

Jason

How many paper fp do most people pull in a day? Or not most people ... rather how many would the average family who presently intends to utilize the fp system to its full potential. Right? Not power users per se, but a family that knows how the current system works and at least tries to use it as much as possible. Say, for a day in MK?

Somewhere between 5-9?

I really don't know. But this figure seems about right to me and its where the number would have to be in order to directly replace the current system. And suppose that only some of these are booked in advance. Others would be automatically generated for complimentary attractions. Still others could require in park request on the day of use. All three of these systems are live and testing now.

The benefit for disney is that it allow some pretty powerful traffic 'shaping'. Lets them control shopping traffic and line waits for everyone by balancing the traffic of those using the fp+ system.

 

[rastuso]

How many paper fp do most people pull in a day? Or not most people ... rather how many would the average family who presently intends to utilize the fp system to its full potential. Right? Not power users per se, but a family that knows how the current system works and at least tries to use it as much as possible. Say, for a day in MK?

Somewhere between 5-9?

I really don't know. But this figure seems about right to me and its where the number would have to be in order to directly replace the current system. And suppose that only some of these are booked in advance. Others would be automatically generated for complimentary attractions. Still others could require in park request on the day of use. All three of these systems are live and testing now.

The benefit for disney is that it allow some pretty powerful traffic 'shaping'. Lets them control shopping traffic and line waits for everyone by balancing the traffic of those using the fp+ system.

The average was 3, that's where it came from. Turbo users, like the VAST majority of Disers, got many more. Idiots got none. Disney is going to limit everyone to three, and pick them for the idiots.

There will be very few left for good rides. Math doesn't lie.

Jason

 

[Masiri]

The average was 3, that's where it came from. Turbo users, like the VAST majority of Disers, got many more. Idiots got none. Disney is going to limit everyone to three, and pick them for the idiots.

There will be very few left for good rides. Math doesn't lie.

But if that's the case, even if they let the "idiots", or even the "barely planners" book everything in advance, or even on site, they'll still have a similar situation as what exists now.

The folks who aren't in the know, or don't really have a concrete plan, if pushed MAY book a bunch of FP+ in advance, but will they use them? Or will they get to the park and say "hey, I'm here in Tomorrowland, and just used my Space Mountain FP+, and have another for Splash mountain, but I'll just stop at Buzz and POC and Jungle cruise on the way and... oops, missed splash mountain..." It'll probably be a mixed bag of planning and missing and some just saying "eh, I don't feel like walking back and forth..." I think even if they let everyone book 5, or 6 or 7, for a lot of the crowds, they'll actually USE 3 or 4.

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

The average was 3, that's where it came from. Turbo users, like the VAST majority of Disers, got many more. Idiots got none. Disney is going to limit everyone to three, and pick them for the idiots.

There will be very few left for good rides. Math doesn't lie.

Jason

I agree with this analysis. I just think it's a terrible idea on Disney's part.

Why alienate your hard-core base by limiting their park experiences? It would seem to make so much more sense to have advance booking of 3 FP+ per day for everyone, and then let everyone pull as many more (electronic, not paper) FP as you want/can using the MB inside the parks once you are there.

The rules could remain the same as they are today as far as FP timing goes. The idiots would still pull no more, the average person would maybe pull 1 more. Both of these groups would be happy though, because they are getting "more" than they were before. And that would leave the rest of us still able to maximize our experiences using touring plans and a lot of walking/hard "work." Seems fair to everyone?

After experiencing MB testing a few weeks ago, I really feel that the option to pull additional FP in the parks is vital. Too many things can change once you are in the parks; there are too many variables to be stuck to only your pre-planned FP+. We all know that once this fully rolls out, it will be difficult/impossible to modify your FP+.

If this really shakes out to where you are truly limited to 3 FP per day, we will seriously reconsider our vacation plans in the future. There is no way that we are waiting 90 minutes standby to ride say Soarin' after understanding how much better FP is. I just can't believe that Disney would think it's a good idea to alienate its repeat customer base.

I let Disney know all of this in my post-trip survey. I can only hope they are listening to us.

 

[Disneylover99]

I let Disney know all of this in my post-trip survey. I can only hope they are listening to us.

What kind of survey do you get? Does Disney email you? We tested last month but never received anything.

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

What kind of survey do you get? Does Disney email you? We tested last month but never received anything.

Yes. I received an email. It was a fairly detailed survey and covered MagicBands, FastPass+ (they know that people are still using FP-too, and they asked questions related to its use and number of total FP, and MDE website/App.

Maybe you can email IT and have them send you the survey if you didn't receive one?

 

[Disneylover99]

Maybe you can email IT and have them send you the survey if you didn't receive one?

I might just do that. Thanks! I wonder if only Americans receive the survey.

 

[mom2rtk]

The average was 3, that's where it came from. Turbo users, like the VAST majority of Disers, got many more. Idiots got none. Disney is going to limit everyone to three, and pick them for the idiots.

There will be very few left for good rides. Math doesn't lie.

Jason

Yep. It's possible that Disney might want everyone to get 5-9 Fps, but when you put them at everyone's fingertips via smartphone, you will get more usage. And when Disney assigns FPs to the uninformed (or close to it) you will get more usage. And when you set the system up so those who want only 1 in fact have to reserve a minimum of 3...... you get more usage.

Math does indeed not lie.

Disney may think people are going to get 5-9. But they also thought they were prepared for the "Unleash the Villains" event a couple weeks ago. For such a smart successful company sometimes they just seem dense. Or something.

And an arbitrary number of 5-9 means nothing to me if 4 or 5 of those are for attractions that never needed a FP in the first place. It's still a pretty substantial downgrade in my park experience.

 

[cruisin'Mike]

And when you set the system up so those who want only 1 in fact have to reserve a minimum of 3...... you get more usage.

THIS. I only wanted to book FP+ for TT and Soarin' but MDE kept trying to force a Mission Space one on me too. I decided to add on Maelstrom, since I know we'll probably ride it, but I didn't really want or need it. I almost booked the third one for Figment, just to see if any CM's would be shocked that someone actually did.

 

[cobright]

The average was 3, that's where it came from. Turbo users, like the VAST majority of Disers, got many more. Idiots got none. Disney is going to limit everyone to three, and pick them for the idiots.

There will be very few left for good rides. Math doesn't lie.

Jason

3 per day is total park average. But many don't use it at all and most of those will continue to not use the system. The family that uses fastpass pulls 5-9 of them (I'm inferring from this number coming up from the imagineer). The utility of the fp+ will mirror that if the old system is the message I got. It is intended to be a direct replacement for the legacy fastpass system.

Disney has no incentive to reduce the fastpass system capacity. So a family that presently does not use them will likely continue to not use them.

 

[jdcthree]

It would seem to make so much more sense to have advance booking of 3 FP+ per day for everyone, and then let everyone pull as many more (electronic, not paper) FP as you want/can using the MB inside the parks once you are there.

The rules could remain the same as they are today as far as FP timing goes.

This is exactly what Disney should do, but since it makes perfect sense, they probably won't. I'm glad you put that on your survey because I would have told them the same thing!

 

[Robbi]

Yes, it still works.

However, we encountered a few CM's that were not happy with us for taking advantage of it.

A piece of advice...

Take off your magic band before approaching the paper FP machines.

You'll avoid the catty CM comments that way.

" OK, Jane Doe, right? Just jotting it down to mention your name to Guest Services.".
Not that I'd report them but if they want to be a jerk, then I'll happily be one too.

Disney knows this. Spent dinner with an imagineer and we talked ... I should only say the subject came up.

The reason fp+ is limited to just 3 per day is BECAUSE the legacy system is still in operation. The new system will be a complete replacement for the old system with passes that can be booked in advance and additional passes loaded as needed at the park. Expect the number of advanced passes to be increased to 5-9 per day depending on park hours, park size, etc.

They can't roll it out in full bloom because they haven't sunset the old system yet. That's why this is a test.

I can see 5-9 because FP+ includes parades and shows. It ould definitely make the whole FP+ more palatable. 3 just aren't enough for the MK.