Came across this article from an average guest

[BuckeyeBama]

Not really a good analogy. Admission to the park wasn't "all-inclusive" back then. You had to pay extra to ride just about ANYthing.

And if I bought a ticket book with 3 E tickets, I could use all three on the same ride, bingo, bango, bongo...

Can't do that with FP+...

It wasn't an analogy.

 

[cgh]

I read the article. I actually agree to a certain degree but enjoy the planning. In some respects it does make it easier to know we are doing X park on this day. We don't have girls so don't have to deal with the princess stuff. I always suggest non planners go to DL where you don't have to plan, really. I also suggest travel agents.

I do know for our first trip with the kids, it was very stressful trying to get reservations. We had more flexibility there then I thought we would.

I also have met people who have gone Christmas to New Years with NO plan. Needless to say, they don't have an interest in going back.

 

[FTM22]

I love WDW, it's my idea of a vacation, and I don't go berserk planning. I am a planner (said that in a previous post) but I also know how to go with the flow. We went last year and here's what we did on our arrival day (which was younger DS birthday). We ate at Boma (I did work hard to get an ADR at a time which worked for us but that was my choice so he could eat there on his birthday). When we were finished with our meal, both sons and I headed to the bus stop at AKL and decided to get on whichever park's bus came first - I called it Bus Bingo. It was an Epcot bus and off we went to Epcot. We got a picture made at the front, walked on to Spaceship Earth, and then headed to Soarin and walked on that one. No FP were available because it was only 2 hours until park close. So we walked over to Club Cool for soda tastes and then headed out before Illuminations to avoid that crowd. We got back to the hotel in time for birthday cake (which I had ordered way ahead of time). It was relaxed and we had fun.

I agree with whoever said you have choices. I choose to plan things which matter a lot and to relax on the other things. But that's the way I roll.

Grabbing Popcorn for the continuing discussion.

 

[disneyseniors]

The planning is still not required. If you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't do it. It is your vacation. If you want something, ask out here how to get it, and ppl will help you left and right to make it happen! This is by far the most comprehensive base of knowledge anywhere on WDW. But just don't feel so obligated to plan everything if you simply don't enjoy that, or wouldn't enjoy feeling bound to your own schedule that you didn't enjoy scheduling. Isn't that self-defeating? A recipe for failure? Pick one or two things and book those. Keep it simple if that's what you like! Disney World is definitely suited to planning as much or as little as you like, and everything in between.

I don't want to argue this ad naseum, but I think it is required if you want to get the coveted fast passes and not disappoint your family. You used to be able to walk up to a restaurant and just go in, be seated, and eat. Now you have to reserve adr's far in advance = preplanning. Want to ride that 7dmt? = preplanning. Of course, you can choose not to, that's not the point.
The amount of people who post their experiences, pro or con, is a fact or there wouldn't be all this discussion on Disney boards. We can all agree to disagree, but now with fp+, adrs, we all need to find our OWn way to make this work.

 

[Eoywin]

I haven't read all the posts just the article but this is why I use a TA - she's the one who makes all those reservations for me so I can have fun planning without the grunt work.

 

[maxaroni]

While we haven't been since fast pass+ started, we are moderate planners. When vacationing elsewhere we research and make reservations for things when necessary. We did make ADRs one year at WDW but said we'd rather not again. For us, the restaurants are moderate at best and not worth needing to be somewhere at X time. Personal preference. As far as FP+, we may set 3 up per day but wouldn't knock ourselves out. We may raven get there and change them up as we tend to be ones that wake up and decide what we want to do. My take is that each of us has the option to vacation as we wish. The options are there if you choose. No right or wrong.

A co worker of mine had a trip planned for July....family of 5. They were going to stay on property. They were there 3 years ago. The received their magic bands and started to plan. He is in IT and wife is a professional. They threw in the towel snd just did not want to deal with any of it. He knew they could still just wing it but he was turned off ny it all. They changed it up and went to universal and had a blast with the kids.

Was he right? Wrong? IMO, doesn't make a difference as to what anyone else thinks. They had the vacation they wanted.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Oh come on. A Disney vacation is not for everyone. Some people want to just show up and do whatever they want whenever they want to do it with minimal lines. Disney is just not really conducive to that. If you want to have your cake and eat it to then WDW is probably not the best vacation destination for your style of vacationing. And there is nothing wrong with that. What gets me is the people who want to try and make a WDW vacation something it's not and then complain because it didn't work the way they wanted it to. It's not for everybody, it won't work for everybody and everybody can't make it work the way they want it to.

And it certainly doesn't mean it's always Disney's fault that someone didn't have a good time on their vacation.

Basically, the bottom line is this. If you don't want to do a lot of planning (I.E. decide what day you are going to be at MK and schedule an AE fastpass) but you still want to meet Anna and Elsa then you are going to wait for a few hours in line. The choice is yours. If you decide to fly by the seat of your pants then don't complain about the line. Would you show up to a Broadway play with no tickets? No. So why do people think they can show up to the most popular vacation destination in the world without doing any advanced planning beyond hotel reservations?

It really boggles my mind.

Because we've done that in the past. Why are you so angry that your way doesn't work for everyone?

Of course you can do most of those things without reservations. You can ride any ride you want without a fastpass you are just going to wait in line. You know, like the way you had to do it way back before legacy FP was a thing.

Again, you can't have it both ways. You can't not plan anything and also expect to be able to do whatever you want whenever you want to do it. Why would you think you could?

Because we have. Why are you so angry that everyone doesn't subscribe to your way of doing things? Oh that's right; we don't have to go. Got it.

 

[Minniesgal]

I totally disagree with this I think the obsessive planning is not necessary. Room requests are not essential, ADRs are not necessary in advance most restaurants are available the day of. FP+ can be got same day from the desks. There is absolutely no need for the obsessive planning people put themselves through

Planning because it is fun is one thing but if it is becoming a chore cut it back and go with the flow more it can be done I know because I have done it and on a busy week too

 

[fairy oma]

I really don't mind the majority of the planning that goes into a WDW vacation but I have to admit the ADR process this time frustrated me. Our trip happens between the weeks that FD was available and because those people were able to book 180+ out a large majority of the good restaurants were already unavailable for the first 3 days of our trip (perhaps WDW needs to rethink the FD option and make their ability to make reservations closer to their trip....I know I will take a hit on this opinion but couldn't there be a perk for those who are paying for DPs or paying OOP?). DH and I talked it over and the next trip we take we are only going to do 2 ADRs and wing the rest of the trip with counterservice and offsite dining and just worry about the FP+.

Even though this time was a little frustrating it is still relaxing to know that once you get there everyone, including the planner, can have a good time and be immersed in WDW.

 

[Turn the Page]

Because we've done that in the past. Why are you so angry that your way doesn't work for everyone?

Because we have. Why are you so angry that everyone doesn't subscribe to your way of doing things? Oh that's right; we don't have to go. Got it.

I'm not angry about anything. I find it irritating when people complain that they don't want to plan anything and then complain they either can't do ANYTHING (which is patently false) or that they had to wait in lines.

If you don't want to plan fine, that's your way and there is nothing wrong with it.

If you want to plan everything that is also fine. That's your way and there is nothing wrong with it.

But don't complain about planning, refuse to plan, then pitch a fit because you had to wait in lines or couldn't get into the restaurants you wanted.

Either go with the flow and don't complain or accept that Disney World is no longer a place where you can just show up without any planning Christmas week and hit all the headliners at MK within an hour. Don't come whine about it later.

 

[Robo]

ADRs are not necessary in advance most restaurants are available the day of.

Depends on what you mean by "most," I guess. (And, when.)

 

[Angel Ariel]

I totally disagree with this I think the obsessive planning is not necessary. Room requests are not essential, ADRs are not necessary in advance most restaurants are available the day of. FP+ can be got same day from the desks. There is absolutely no need for the obsessive planning people put themselves through

Planning because it is fun is one thing but if it is becoming a chore cut it back and go with the flow more it can be done I know because I have done it and on a busy week too

Most restaurants having day of availability is not what our experience has been. If we'd had that experience, I would feel similarly to you I'm sure. But that kind of availability just hasn't been there on our trips.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

But don't complain about planning, refuse to plan, then pitch a fit because you had to wait in lines or couldn't get into the restaurants you wanted.

Either go with the flow and don't complain or accept that Disney World is no longer a place where you can just show up without any planning Christmas week and hit all the headliners at MK within an hour. Don't come whine about it later.

Can people whine that they spent the last couple of decades investing an expected amount of planning only to have Disney reinvent the wheel, effectively pulling the rug out from under them?

The big advantage FP+ offers is getting FastPass for late in the day without getting to the park early, which I have no problem admitting can be handy, especially on arrival days. People who tend to be pro-FP+ criticize legacy FP because it favored early risers; Fastpasses were gone for headliners before they arrived. I understand that would be frustrating. However, when people make the complaint that Fastpasses weren't available at the 60-day mark, those same FP+ champions remind them they can always ride stand-by. Why weren't they such vocal proponents of stand-by lines when they were the ones unable to obtain a FastPass? That was still an option when they couldn't get a paper FP. Furthermore, under FP+ the new go-to argument is "if you don't like advance planning, don't go to Disney," but couldn't someone, under legacy FP, say "if you don't like waking up early, don't go to Disney?"

This is the exception I take with the militant FP+ crowd: the inconsistency of their arguments. Every argument they make to champion FP+ can be reverse-engineered to support legacy. It's just a different side of the same coin.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that the author of the article was just using an expression when they mentioned the sale of fastpasses. I got the impression that everything was already arranged and I would bet that they would have noticed actual payment if it occurred.

That aside, you can NOT just walk into most restaurants all throughout the year. It depends on when you go. In fact you never could and it has gotten worse.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I'm not angry about anything. I find it irritating when people complain that they don't want to plan anything and then complain they either can't do ANYTHING (which is patently false) or that they had to wait in lines.

If you don't want to plan fine, that's your way and there is nothing wrong with it.

If you want to plan everything that is also fine. That's your way and there is nothing wrong with it.

But don't complain about planning, refuse to plan, then pitch a fit because you had to wait in lines or couldn't get into the restaurants you wanted.

Either go with the flow and don't complain or accept that Disney World is no longer a place where you can just show up without any planning Christmas week and hit all the headliners at MK within an hour. Don't come whine about it later.

Not whining about it. I have been going since 1972 and have experienced Disney just about every way there is. I don't like planning, but if you do, that's what works for you. I'm going to TRY without much planning next trip and see how it goes. Even if it doesn't go well, I won't whine about it, I'll just stop going, it's a simple solution. As far as waiting in lines, that's no biggie either. We went for the opening of Disney MGM and waited over 2 hours for everything we did, except the backlot tour, which was only 1 hour, 40 some minutes. It's more of a loss of an old friend for me and it makes me sad.
I normally don't let comments get under my skin, but your series of posts seemed rude and condescending towards anyone who does not embrace the planning which now goes into a WDW trip.

 

[Planogirl]

Can people whine that they spent the last couple of decades investing an expected amount of planning only to have Disney reinvent the wheel, effectively pulling the rug out from under them?

The big advantage FP+ offers is getting FastPass for late in the day without getting to the park early, which I have no problem admitting can be handy, especially on arrival days. People who tend to be pro-FP+ criticize legacy FP because it favored early risers; Fastpasses were gone for headliners before they arrived. I understand that would be frustrating. However, when people make the complaint that Fastpasses weren't available at the 60-day mark, those same FP+ champions remind them they can always ride stand-by. Why weren't they such vocal proponents of stand-by lines when they were the ones unable to obtain a FastPass? That was still an option when they couldn't get a paper FP. Furthermore, under FP+ the new go-to argument is "if you don't like advance planning, don't go to Disney," but couldn't someone, under legacy FP, say "if you don't like waking up early, don't go to Disney?"

This is the exception I take with the militant FP+ crowd: the inconsistency of their arguments. Every argument they make to champion FP+ can be reverse-engineered to support legacy. It's just a different side of the same coin.

It can be even worse for offsite visitors because they only get the 30 days instead of 60. Not everyone can or even wants to stay onsite. Either way, that doesn't mean that they can't comment on how much harder it can be to get certain fastpasses. Things have changed for them, while once it was a level playing field for every park visitor, now it's different for good or bad. I still expect that difference to grow over time.

 

[Robo]

you can NOT just walk into most restaurants all throughout the year. It depends on when you go. In fact you never could and it has gotten worse.

I do remember that when Epcot first opened, the restaurants there only offered same-day reservations... and they could be made from a central reservation center at "Communicore" in Future World. Many of the popular restaurants became booked pretty quickly on those mornings.

Not too long after that, on-site guests began to be given the option of booking a day in advance... which not long later became two-days in advance, then a week, or so, in advance.
Popular restaurants filled up even earlier.

They closed the "Communicore" reservation center and, eventually with the addition of DHS (and later, DAK,)
restaurant reservations moved out to (at various times) 90 days out, or 180 days out.
(It changed back and forth a bit.)

That's where we are now.
And, the more popular restaurants can book up pretty early.

The "when" of this figures even more critically if guests are at WDW during the so-called "FREE DINING" dates.
"Walk-up TS" takes a real nosedive then.

 

[Planogirl]

I do remember that when Epcot first opened, the restaurants there only offered same-day reservations... and they could be made from a central reservation center at "Communicore" in Future World. Many of the popular restaurants became booked pretty quickly on those mornings.

Not too long after that, on-site guests began to be given the option of booking a day in advance... which not long later became two-days in advance, then a week, or so, in advance.
Popular restaurants filled up even earlier.

They closed the "Communicore" reservation center and, eventually with the addition of DHS (and later, DAK,)
restaurant reservations moved out to (at various times) 90 days out, or 180 days out. ) It changed back and forth a bit.

That's where we are now.
And, the more popular restaurants book up earlier.

The "when" of this figures even more critically if guests are at WDW during the "FREE DINING" dates.

Try walk-up TS then.

We booked a few times using the Communicore kiosks. We went to the old Akershus each time and thought that the whole experience was amazing. Now not so much.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

It can be even worse for offsite visitors because they only get the 30 days instead of 60. Not everyone can or even wants to stay onsite. Either way, that doesn't mean that they can't comment on how much harder it can be to get certain fastpasses. Things have changed for them, while once it was a level playing field for every park visitor, now it's different for good or bad. I still expect that difference to grow over time.

I've actually been staying onsite for the past few years, having stayed for many, many years in condos offsite. Next time I'm going back to the condo. My biggest issue with the new system and staying onsite is that it doesn't encourage you to go to other parks and places around Orlando. I actually cancelled a whole day of fastpasses and ADRs last trip in order to "squeeze" in a Universal visit. Next time I'm only getting a 3 day pass (though planning to only use 2 - +1 extra for good measure) while allowing time to visit Universal and Sea World, plus have a couple of stop and smell the roses days like we used to.

 

[smallworldnh]

I agree with this article. I used to find the planning part of the trip a lot of fun, but it's turned frustrating and aggravating and takes up way too much time with trying to stay up until 12 am 60 days out for fastpasses or whatever just to have what you want not availabe and book it anyway and then go back and change it and so on and so on. I've cancelled a WDW vacation 2 years in a row (went to DL instead and enjoyed the "old" fastpass system) because of all the problems my friends have had with the new systems. I'm currently planning to go next year and I've noticed the prices have gone WAY up so now you get to pay more for the extra aggravations. SIGH. I do love Disney, but after next year - I guess I'll be one of those who get the suggestion "if you don't like it, don't go" because NO I don't like it.