Fastpass+ is cramping my style

[danceintherain]

The tiering is really my only knock on FP+, but don't know how they would solve that issue. If they eliminate it, just about everyone would grab TT and Soarin'.

In this case, why don't they have tiering at the Magic Kingdom? A&E and SDMT are the only two things that show up with zero availability for my entire trip. I don't care about A&E, but it would be nice if some of the people who did want to do it were forced to choose between it and SDMT.
There are work arounds for the same tier attractions at the other parks. For example, we have FP for TSMM, and can do Single Rider line at RnRC. Same with Soarin and TT.
With both of these MK attractions, it's either FP+ or wait for over 30 minutes.

 

[itchin2go]

#1 - I find that odd .. I had no issues getting a morning FP for SDMT at my 60 days out for an end of August vacation. I would think September would be a less crowded time than late August.

#2 - The tiering stinks .. but you can always rope drop the other attractions or just standby them. You probably did rope drop to GET the old paper fastpasses?

#3 - True ... But hey .. if you don't wait in a line .. you don't wait in a line.

#4 - I actually find FP+ able to plan the day out better. Plan rides X,Y,Z .. then your lunch ADR .. make sure they don't conflict .. and voila .. your morning or afternoon is generally planned. How would the old paper system HELP plan out your day when you had no idea what time you'd get on your tickets to come back?

#5 - I've found working Fast Passes around the restaurant reservations a challenge as well.

As to #1 - Mine Train availability has definitely tightened up for certain dates: http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=10123554&postcount=1

 

[nilla]

In this case, why don't they have tiering at the Magic Kingdom? A&E and SDMT are the only two things that show up with zero availability for my entire trip. I don't care about A&E, but it would be nice if some of the people who did want to do it were forced to choose between it and SDMT.
There are work arounds for the same tier attractions at the other parks. For example, we have FP for TSMM, and can do Single Rider line at RnRC. Same with Soarin and TT.
With both of these MK attractions, it's either FP+ or wait for over 30 minutes.

Don't know if this is the reason, but MK has far more "big attractions" than HS and Epcot. We were in MK for three days, and only tried for A&E for one day. That was enough. At Epcot, even if we were there four days (which we've done in the past), I can't imagine a day we wouldn't pick TT and Soarin' every single day. However, with MK, we've gone with combinations of Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Big Thunder, etc. It does seem like everyone wants (and should want) 7DMT FPs for every single day they're in MK, but I don't think this will always be the case. Remember, this attraction is still relatively new.

I do find it a bit funny that we all complain about having to wait 30+ minutes for an attraction (I don't like waiting more than 20, to be honest). I recall waiting 2 hours for Spaceship Earth back in the 80s, before FastPasses were a reality. Even today, we see people waiting in 90+ minute standby lines.

Bart Simpson: "FastPass is overrated!"

Chief Wiggum: "Spoken like someone who has never lived in a world without FastPass."

 

[stitchfan75]

So far I can say I hate the FP+ system. I finally threw in the towel and told my TA to just book whatever and let me know. It makes what should be an easy experience and makes it akin to trying to score Taylor Swift tickets.
I have older kids and we go to Six Flags (world of 3+ hour waits), so anything under a 60 minute wait is gold.

 

[danceintherain]

Don't know if this is the reason, but MK has far more "big attractions" than HS and Epcot. We were in MK for three days, and only tried for A&E for one day. That was enough. At Epcot, even if we were there four days (which we've done in the past), I can't imagine a day we wouldn't pick TT and Soarin' every single day. However, with MK, we've gone with combinations of Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Big Thunder, etc. It does seem like everyone wants (and should want) 7DMT FPs for every single day they're in MK, but I don't think this will always be the case. Remember, this attraction is still relatively new.

I do find it a bit funny that we all complain about having to wait 30+ minutes for an attraction (I don't like waiting more than 20, to be honest). I recall waiting 2 hours for Spaceship Earth back in the 80s, before FastPasses were a reality. Even today, we see people waiting in 90+ minute standby lines.

Bart Simpson: "FastPass is overrated!"

Chief Wiggum: "Spoken like someone who has never lived in a world without FastPass."

I did live in a world without FP, but I don't remember it very well, but what I do remember is practically empty parks, so FP was hardly necessary. We also didn't know how to maximize it's use when I was a teenager after it was initiated.
On our last trip, I don't think we ended up waiting more than 15 minutes for anything. Now it seems that even during less crowded times, most of the popular attractions are starting out with waits of 20 minutes or higher. If I don't manage to snag a SDMT reservation in the next week (I want it done before the 30 day window opens for the GP) then I'll either have to switch days entirely, which would cause a domino effect with all of my reservations, or I have to make it to Rope Drop as early as possible to be as close to the front of the pack as possible, which means waiting 45 minutes outside the park, then a while on the inside. Or just waiting anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour whenever I make it into the park, which may be a more likely scenario with a rope drop reluctant spouse.

I don't know how tiering might work at the Magic Kingdom. I'm sure they've done trials, but it just seems ridiculous to me that two attractions who have posted waits of well over an hour part of the day, even during 'slow' times would be free game for FP for whomever happens to try to reserve them first.

(I did just manage to get a Mine Train reservation, so that makes me happy, but it's during a time when I wasn't planning on being in the park anymore, because DH needs a break every day. I may just have to keep DS with me, and make DH take DD with him back to the hotel. That's probably a better option that trying to Rope Drop it, even if it's not perfect"

 

[allybabba98]

When I booked our FP's I found all the early slots were taken and a lot started about 11am. I am glad I was able to get the SDMT but the 2nd day for our Magic Kingdom there is none available. I too am from the world of 1.5 hour waits at our local amusement park so I just have to remember to stop, take it in and enjoy it.

 

[itchin2go]

So far I can say I hate the FP+ system. I finally threw in the towel and told my TA to just book whatever and let me know. It makes what should be an easy experience and makes it akin to trying to score Taylor Swift tickets.

Tell me about it!

 

[itchin2go]

The tiering is really my only knock on FP+, but don't know how they would solve that issue. If they eliminate it, just about everyone would grab TT and Soarin'.

They could solve the issue with more attractions in those parks ....

 

[tlmadden73]

As to #1 - Mine Train availability has definitely tightened up for certain dates: http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=10123554&postcount=1

Interesting .. I wonder why those September dates are so full already? Shorter hours? Free dining actually making it more crowded than late August?

Makes me hopeful that the 27th and 28th (our park days) of August will be on the low crowd side if there is still availability for one of the biggest rides at MK.

 

[nilla]

I did live in a world without FP, but I don't remember it very well, but what I do remember is practically empty parks, so FP was hardly necessary. We also didn't know how to maximize it's use when I was a teenager after it was initiated.
On our last trip, I don't think we ended up waiting more than 15 minutes for anything. Now it seems that even during less crowded times, most of the popular attractions are starting out with waits of 20 minutes or higher. If I don't manage to snag a SDMT reservation in the next week (I want it done before the 30 day window opens for the GP) then I'll either have to switch days entirely, which would cause a domino effect with all of my reservations, or I have to make it to Rope Drop as early as possible to be as close to the front of the pack as possible, which means waiting 45 minutes outside the park, then a while on the inside. Or just waiting anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour whenever I make it into the park, which may be a more likely scenario with a rope drop reluctant spouse.

I don't know how tiering might work at the Magic Kingdom. I'm sure they've done trials, but it just seems ridiculous to me that two attractions who have posted waits of well over an hour part of the day, even during 'slow' times would be free game for FP for whomever happens to try to reserve them first.

(I did just manage to get a Mine Train reservation, so that makes me happy, but it's during a time when I wasn't planning on being in the park anymore, because DH needs a break every day. I may just have to keep DS with me, and make DH take DD with him back to the hotel. That's probably a better option that trying to Rope Drop it, even if it's not perfect"

We switched from late April/early May to June this year for the first time, but between 2013 (old FP) and 2014 (FP+), we did not notice any differences in standby lines.

Personally, I wish they'd get rid of the tiering altogether.

Happy to hear you got 7DMT FPs! We tried to standby at rope drop, and the line was STILL massive. That day, we ended up riding it at night. We still waited over 45 minutes, but the queue is fun, so we didn't mind it THAT much.

 

[nilla]

They could solve the issue with more attractions in those parks ....

True, but I'm not sure how much those parks need them. IMO, MK is the only park where you really need lined attractions to enjoy. There is enough in Epcot and HS for us to do without FPs.

 

[danceintherain]

We switched from late April/early May to June this year for the first time, but between 2013 (old FP) and 2014 (FP+), we did not notice any differences in standby lines.

Personally, I wish they'd get rid of the tiering altogether.

Happy to hear you got 7DMT FPs! We tried to standby at rope drop, and the line was STILL massive. That day, we ended up riding it at night. We still waited over 45 minutes, but the queue is fun, so we didn't mind it THAT much.

That's good to hear. We're going at a completely new time to us, so I have no idea what to expect. Crowds are supposed to be "low" but how low is yet to be determined. The weather is what concerns me the most, but I'm not sure that will motivate my husband to get out of bed early.
Now I'm trying to decide if I should move my other FPs to times closer to my 7DMT FP. I was hoping to maybe be able to move them earlier, so we could take a break from 11:30-2:30, instead of our usual 1-4, but of course the availability is just a little off.

The other issue is with 7DMT, specifically, is that we're dealing with Rider Switch as well, if DH and I both want to be able to ride it. I suppose one of us could wait in the line Stand By first thing in the morning, then get the Rider Switch pass for the second person to be able to take DS with them through the FP line. That way the 'waiting' adult could take the kids to do some stuff, and DS won't have to wait in such a long line, but will still get to ride. Ultimately, Rider Switch has the potential to take up twice as much time for us before we can move on to the next attraction, unless we plan to just come back later in the day.
If we did get it out of the way early, we could potentially switch our FP back to something else, and get 4th FPs more quickly. I just dropped BTMR in favor of 7DMT. I don't think it will be nearly as difficult to experience with a reasonable wait though.

 

[danceintherain]

True, but I'm not sure how much those parks need them. IMO, MK is the only park where you really need lined attractions to enjoy. There is enough in Epcot and HS for us to do without FPs.

We love the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom game at MK. We actually spent more time doing that during our last trip than riding rides.
I do agree that the other parks are much more manageable as far as planning goes, because you can just plan a few rides, then move on to other things. The sheer number of attractions at MK makes it very difficult to plan without 2 days.
We're using AFS tickets, and are limited to 4 days total, unless we want to spend twice as much on tickets. Since we have a limited budget this time, that's not an option. Since I can't prebook FPs at more than one park in a single day, it's difficult to choose between my options. I would happily park hop and trade my Spaceship Earth FP for something else at the Magic Kingdom, but that's not an option for me, unless I want to forgo a FP for Soarin entirely.

I just obsess over stuff. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

 

[AngiTN]

I'm planning a trip in late September and this is my first experience with Fastpass+ after many WDW trips with the old Fastpass system.

Here's what I've experienced:

1. 
   
2. I usually like to arrange my days in the parks in certain ways. The order of attractions, meals, etc. is important to my family's experience. Getting fastpasses the old way made planning the day easier. Part of my strategy was always to minimize wait time, even if it meant more walking..

Out of curiosity, how? How did you know what time your FP would be for?
As for more walking in the way you did it, why can't you still book the FP in the same order you would pull them? Except for the 2 parks with tiers

 

[Lynzer4]

I am going in Sept and had no issues getting FP (but I'm only a party of 2) for the rides I wanted at the times I wanted.

You do need to understand the system and know to secure the FP opposite the time you want then go in and edit/modify them but that allowed me to "stack" then with no time gaps.

Also remember that you are still waiting even with the old system but you just aren't doing it in line ... you are eating or riding something else that has little wait bc it's not a headline attraction.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Out of curiosity, how? How did you know what time your FP would be for?
As for more walking in the way you did it, why can't you still book the FP in the same order you would pull them? Except for the 2 parks with tiers

Plenty of people (including me) found planning a day out under the old system to be much easier than now. You could walk up to any attraction, look at the posted SB and FP return time, and decide which to take. If you chose the FP, while waiting for your window to open, you could do other things--grab a snack, go to the bathroom, ride rides that had short lines. And if the FP time didn't work for you, you could just decline and come back later when it had a time that did work. Now, FP+ is so much more high stakes...for a large number of rides, except for during the least busy times, you need to "use it or lose it." For me, it's stressful to have to keep so many appointments during a "vacation."

I should add that under legacy FP, almost all of our trips occurred during October, and the FP return times were typically less than an hour from when we pulled the FP, the notable exceptions being Soarin' and TSM.

 

[Princess Sparkle]

Reading all this is just making me so stressed out !! Vaction should not be stressful ppl !
I mean after paying a fortune to go to Disney World I should at least be able to enjoy the attractions I want to even if not at the perfect time but having no FP+ open at all during an entire trip is crazy ! and totally not fair !
For my first ever trip to WDW last year in October I did not face any problems with FP or ADRs but this time it appears that majority of people are having problems even at 60+ mark. I don't know what to expect this year

 

[threeboysmom]

My only issue/obstacle that I've come across (so far) in my fastpass planning is the mandatory MUST BOOK 3 FASTPASSES OR NONE AT ALL rule!

Why???

For 2 of my days, I am purposely booking a "throwaway" fastpass. I have no intention of using those fastpasses, but yet I'm FORCED to book them and take those potential time slots away from someone else.

 

[challada]

Yes, I agree with the frustration with the new FP+ system. I'm punished for staying off-site so will never have an chance for FPs for Mine Train or other high interest activities. With the old system, I at least had hope and could always get all the FPs we needed.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

It definitely changed our vacation. Epcot will always be my favorite park but we ended up going to MK more days. I really only want to ride TT and Soarin' and then walk around and enjoy the parks but now you can only do one or the other and I don't want to waste or throw away FP+. MK has so much more attractions we can use our FP+ for.

What I REALLY did not enjoy was the hurry up and wait. We'd schedule 9, 10, & 11 AM FP+ but there wasn't enough time to do anything in between.

And what I REALLY, REALLY didn't like was there was never, ever any 4th FP+ for anything decent. Once in 30 some days we got a PoTC and had to race across the MK from the kiosks at Buzz, through the Hub to get there and it was a crowd level of 9. Not fun.