FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[HelenParr]

So here is a thought, you made a reservation for a Disney resort room only and that gave you the ability to book FP+s 60 days out. Does the system keep track that those FP+s are tied to that reservation and cancel them if you cancel the reservation?? Also if you have a reservation for 10 days but only a 5 day ticket included in the package, will you be able to book FP+s for all 10 days or for 5 days since your ticket only shows you will be able to be in the parks for 5 days, not 10?

I imagine that these sorts of variables are part of the reason that Disney is having trouble rolling it out. Yes, the tech is slow to come online, and glitchy, but the sheer volume of variables to consider may have been underestimated. Who among us has not had an interaction with a less than well-informed CM..and not just bus drivers? I can see the FP+ work team being asked to do XYZ, only to learn later that they were not informed of the zillion variations that might affect operations.

 

[Squidgyness]

First off, I have not listened to Petes Podcast yet, and I will. However, I COMPLETELY agree that both on site and off site guests will have the 60 days, as long as off site has a valid ticket.

To contemplate your second remark, this really made me think. And its an awesome question.

Lets look at the Disney reservation dining reservation to get some insight. Right now, resort guests have the leg up on booking dining reservations because of the 180 plus 10 rule. I would imagine that this would be one of the very first perks for resort guests under this new regime i.e. they get to book the primo fast passes first, giving them a 10 day window starting on the first day of their hotel reservation.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isent' it a standard 10 day window from check in date? Can you book on day 6 even if your ressie is only a 5 day hotel reservation? I dont know the answer definitively, as I have never tried to do it. But I seem to remember the whole 10 days hilighted in blue for available booking, even when I had a 7 day reservation. Maybe someone has true life experience with this.

Anyways, I would think that however the dining ressie system works will be a good indicator on how this FP+ booking window works.

I have really tried to stay away from this thread, but I feel a long post coming on.

I doubt you will be able to book fastpasses for more days than your ticket allows you. It would affect the distribution and crowd control surely. Fastpasses won't have any penalty for not showing up as far as we know. If they did the same system as ADR's, they'd have to introduce a penalty for a no show imo. Isn't that what they did with dining ressies?

And isn't the sixty day window any point after you are allowed to check in (or put in your ticket as in the case of off site)? It just says up to sixty days out in the T+C I believe.

 

[mom2rtk]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isent' it a standard 10 day window from check in date? Can you book on day 6 even if your ressie is only a 5 day hotel reservation? I dont know the answer definitively, as I have never tried to do it. But I seem to remember the whole 10 days hilighted in blue for available booking, even when I had a 7 day reservation. Maybe someone has true life experience with this.

That is correct. As a resort guest, you can book dining reservations for 10 days starting 180 days out from your check-in date. You can book more than the length of your stay, but not more than 10 days (even if you are staying longer).

I always figured that's just all their IT systems could handle.

 

[bwang123]

I am not sure how much I would trust these DIS "trusted sources". In December, this was posted:

"While still a rumor, The DIS has confirmed from multiple sources that Disney will officially announce this week that they are bringing Cars Land to Disney's Hollywood Studios." -http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/Theme_Parks_Attractions/Cars_Land_is_coming_to_DHS.htm

 

[magicbob]

To ensure this flexibility, there has to be free inventory available to switch with - and it can't only be buzz light year and haunted mansion - fast loading rides that don't even need a FP.

I think it can and probably WILL be exactly that. Remember, at least PART of the reason they are developing a tiered system and adding FP+ to rides that don't need it is to steer people to those rides. As others have pointed out, many casual guests are likely to be quite satisfied that they were able to pre-book their FP+ for Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, etc. Since they have no frame of reference to compare to (i.e., they don't know that you rarely ever NEED a FP for these rides), they will only now that they were able to "bypass the lines" for these attractions.

And there's potentially the additional "social engineering" aspect of sending texts to alert guests that, say, Stitch FP+s are available if they act right now! I'm sure at least a few people will end up trading their Peter Pan FP for Stitch because they don't know the historical wait times for these rides.

 

[Rileygirl]

I am sorry

I typed in a hurry, there were some misleading comments in my posts

1. The onsite guest perk could be 60 plus 10

2. I dont mean to say they could book 10 days worth of fast passes on a 5 day ticket. Thats silly. I mean to say, they could book 5 days worth of fast passes in that 10 day span.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

And so if FP+s are tied to valid tickets, someone like me, with a 10 NE ticket, in theory could make FP+s for days that I am 75% sure I would not need.....JUST IN CASE!! Isn't that what has happened with ADRs?? And most us have to admit that we have done this with ADRs. I have an ADR right now that I'm about 90% sure aren't going to use but I haven't cancelled yet because we MIGHT use it! I will cancel it but not until closer to our travel dates.

You know, it is one thing to be annoyed that someone got to the park before me, beat me to the FP machine and got a FP that I wanted. But that is no ones fault but mine. It is totally different thing to be annoyed about people that aren't EVEN in park or are about 75% sure they won't be in that park taking FP+s from guest that are in the park! To me, that is Disney's fault for setting up the system that way. And this is from someone that would have that ability if it is tied to tickets. I know there is talk about those FP+s that aren't showed up for being put back into the system but how can they do this until the time has run out or close to runnning out? Doesn't the idea of FP work with only a certain number allowed so as to not get a back up (the reason they stopped allowing guest to use them any time after the start time....even thought our family only did this a couple of times)? So how will adding effect this? I really don't think this would be a big problem but who would have thought ADRs would have caused the problems that is has.

If only they could come up with a system that only those that are actually in the park could take up places in the FP lines.

 

[doconeill]

Pete shared some "new" information (starts at the 29:00 mark). First he said when this gets going that FP+ will only be for people with a valid ticket, they can be booked 60 days in advance, and for those with a disney resort reservation.

That was interesting, and I forgot about that...but what kicked this off was the MagicBands, and I wonder if he merged the two...although they have said MagicBands would be available at a charge to non-resort/passholder people, they will be rolling out to resort guests first. And Disney as also said that passholders would also be able to use the system, and didn't seem to imply that they'd have to be resort guests as well. so I wonder if there is some confusion.

Second he said that 3 FP+ prebooked, one park, and that you definitely couldn't use legacy with the FP+, and did not mention anything about extra FP throughout the day. He seemed very confident.

We were pretty confident about that too - back in January

 

[Starr W.]

I didn't know off-site guests could make ADR's till last year. I've been five times. Seriously, we were no disney novices but things can just slip by if you don't use them, we never used ADR's you see.

If people don't seek out and encounter things or have them advertised in their faces they often won't use them, and even advertising is limited in effect as current ignorance shows. LIke you said most people on seeing the fastpass line seem to assume it isn't free, it isn't available to day trippers from off-site, and some that it isn't even available to certain on site.

They'll need a huge "ITS FREE AND ANYONE CAN USE IT AND YOU CAN BOOK BEFORE YOU ENTER THE PARKS NOW BUT ONLY IF YOU WANT AND ONLY FOR CERTAIN TIMES AND ATTRACTIONS BUT YOU CAN CHANGE THEM AT A KIOSK OR ON YOUR PHONE IF THE WIFI ALLOWS IT, ITS KIND OF SPOTTY APPARENTLY AND THE APP SOMETIMES WON'T WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE BUT OTHERS HAVE NO ISSUES. (Terms and conditions apply.)" sign by the sounds of it.

No the funniest part about this was I was at the local travel agent, booking a cruise for my sister and I and the they are an "earmakred" agent(Disney specialist). Started talking about Disney and the neighbor with the ADR/Value issue and she said she had clients who would tell her the same thing. Even after she offered to make the ADR's for them. They thought she would get in trouble with Disney.

 

[Rileygirl]

Edited to delete post.

 

[g-dad66]

I think it can and probably WILL be exactly that. Remember, at least PART of the reason they are developing a tiered system and adding FP+ to rides that don't need it is to steer people to those rides. As others have pointed out, many casual guests are likely to be quite satisfied that they were able to pre-book their FP+ for Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, etc. Since they have no frame of reference to compare to (i.e., they don't know that you rarely ever NEED a FP for these rides), they will only now that they were able to "bypass the lines" for these attractions.

Agree.

And if this new system works as intended (spreading out guests to more attractions), it could be that attractions which now rarely have long waits could indeed become attractions where one might "need" (or at least "benefit from") having a Fast Pass.

We know that the Free Dining and other promotions have succeeded in recent years to enticing guests to come during "slow times" so that slow times now are not nearly so slow as they were five or more years ago.

I expect we'll see the same phenomenon occur with FP+ (IF the technology ever works right).

And there's potentially the additional "social engineering" aspect of sending texts to alert guests that, say, Stitch FP+s are available if they act right now! I'm sure at least a few people will end up trading their Peter Pan FP for Stitch because they don't know the historical wait times for these rides.

Agree.

On our last trip, our group included a granddaughter's friend who had never been to WDW but was very keen on checking the MDE app for available attractions. On our MK day, two different times she said "Look, Stitch's Great Escape has only a 5 minute wait right now. Let's go there." (I told her the attraction was too far away from where we were in Frontierland, and I assured her that the wait would still be very short much later in the day.)

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I think the biggest fault in the logic people use on the disboards concerning forcasting how FP+ will work, is that they do it based on their own personal stance, how it will effect their personal way of touring, and what it means in the next year or two. Thats a myopic view.

I dont think that is how Disney thinks. This Magic Plus is the BIG IDEA and the BIG PICTURE. If you know what they want to get out of this system, and how it makes them money, then a lot of these debates regarding fp+ and the number that will be available, well, they are not logical in my opinion.

I wont be reading any more on this thread for the next hour or 2 while I compose a post why I think that most of the predictions from you guys are not logical. I am not a confrontational person, and I dont like flaming and fighting, and I am not looking to make this thread close. There will be certain holes in my arguements, and I welcome people to take me to task on it. It makes everyone think. It helps everyone. Maybe it will help us figure out what is really going on. It will definetly help pass the time until the system is unveiled.

So again, I intend to insult no one. I just want to point out a different perspective other then the current one that appears to be prevelent on this thread.

If I think my post is going to be too hot, I may not actually submit it, because it does NO ONE good when intelligent threads get locked.

I don't believe that anything we have talked about are "problems" that Disney is trying to fix. I think Disney wants to everyone to see this is something they are doing to "help" guest but I think it has more to do with their bottom line. And that it actually has nothing to do with the things we have been discussing. I just believe the things we are discussing may OR may not be the results of Disney's current plans. But I'm sure it really has nothing to do with making things better for guest. Disney just wants everyone to believe that.

 

[mom2rtk]

And if this new system works as intended (spreading out guests to more attractions), it could be that attractions which now rarely have long waits could indeed become attractions where one might "need" (or at least "benefit from") having a Fast Pass.

This is one of my greatest concerns with the addition of FP+. It has the potential to change things in ways we haven't even considered.

 

[Squidgyness]

I am sorry

I typed in a hurry, there were some misleading comments in my posts

1. The onsite guest perk could be 60 plus 10

2. I dont mean to say they could book 10 days worth of fast passes on a 5 day ticket. Thats silly. I mean to say, they could book 5 days worth of fast passes in that 10 day span.

Oh okay. I misunderstood that second point.

Now for the first, in a quote so you can skip the long rambling bit if you want (summary at the bottom.)

The onsite guest perks seem to be only that they get the band at this point in time (see quote above from Disney when they announced MyMagic+)

I'm not entirely sure that this system is specifically designed to give advantage to the onsite guest anyway. In the parks every guest will spend money while not in lines, not just on-site guests, so it makes no sense to only go after on-site with this. They don't have to give anyone perks, just keep everything simple under one class of system. (The difference between ticket and band seems minimal from what I can see at this point.)

This just doesn't seem like a system designed in order to entice people to on-site resorts, but primarily to keep them out of lines and from wandering off-park (i.e. to universal.) I'm not saying this system wouldn't result in more attendance on-site (which I'm sure Disney would love), nor am I saying it was designed with off-site guests in mind. I'm saying they seem more focused about what happens in park not which resort people are going to.

If they really wanted more people to stay on-site because of this system it would have been designed far more on a class system, even with different access amongst the more expensive disney resorts. As it stands, the basic components (touch to enter, pay, and redeem fastpass+) are available for everyone, off-site, basic, mod, deluxe.

See this article for a Disney statement on their aims (what they admit anyway) http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-05-07/on-the-call-disney-cfo-explains-mymagic-plus.

So if we can get people to plan their vacation before they leave home, we know that we get more time with them. We get a bigger share of their wallet

Nowhere in that article does it mention anything about encouraging people to spend more time in Disney resorts, but about getting people to spend more time at Disney full stop, which includes the parks. I think It's more about ensuring people don't leave WDW parks to go to other parks.

I can see some small benefits being given like you posted but some people seem certain they will get more FP+ for staying on site. I'm not saying i'm definitely right, but I can't see them giving a fundamentally different level of service to on-site guests, like more FP+. It's not neccesary, as in-park everyone has money to spend, and Disney will want tour groups, on-site, off-site, everyone to spend more money.

For a summary: While I agree that some small perks for on-site might be included in the final system (personalisation of ride endings was mentioned at the start of MyMagic+ for example) I don't think they are going to give too many benefits to on-site guests, such as more FP+ available per guest for example as other commentators on other websites seem to think (some are still under the impression only resort guests will be able to access it at all!) I don't think this is because they want to help off-site guests but that it makes more financial sense to get everyone to spend less time in lines and more spending in park.

More FP+ for on-site... I just can't see it, nothing seems to indicate it. Once you get in park, you will spend money regardless of where you are staying. Disney wants to maximise profits with this, I can't see them prioritising on-site. To put it bluntly, Disney will want as much money from as many people as they can get. Of course they will maintain it is because they don't want to segregate and create class structures, and who knows maybe thats a reason too. I just think they know on-site people will spend more in-park under MyMagic+ regardless of benefits, and if they can get both on- and off-site people spending under an equal system, cha-ching!

Also, as a disclaimer I don't mean any of these posts in an aggressive or snarky manner.

 

[doggydoc]

Pete summed it up best on the Podcast and while I can't use his words, here due to filters, basically no one is forced to use it and why be against something that you know so little about it. Give it a chance first.

He stated that no one will force you to wear a Magic Band, because they have a KTTW RFID option. He VERY unequivocally stated that regular FP is going away at some point and FP+ will be the only option.

And the reason to voice our displeasure at possible negative changes is that many times in the past, especially recently, large companies have changed course due to public hue and cry. It is pretty obvious that there are times that corporate decisions are made in a vacuum created by the disconnect between what is perceived in the boardroom and what is fact on Main Street. If we don't voice our opinions we guarantee that decisions continue to be made based on corporate perceptions.

 

[doconeill]

And the reason to voice our displeasure at possible negative changes is that many times in the past, especially recently, large companies have changed course due to public hue and cry. It is pretty obvious that there are times that corporate decisions are made in a vacuum created by the disconnect between what is perceived in the boardroom and what is fact on Main Street. If we don't voice our opinions we guarantee that decisions continue to be made based on corporate perceptions.

And maybe, just maybe, feedback is getting back to those who have control, and might be going, "Hmmm...did we take that into consideration?" etc.

There was a large cry out when this stuff was announced in January. Since then, we've heard very little new, but the rumblings about things continue that might just indicate that there may have already been changes. Problem is, we don't know that for sure. So we still only have the original information to go on, plus some anecdotal info, and information of various reliability which often conflict.

 

[Squidgyness]

And maybe, just maybe, feedback is getting back to those who have control, and might be going, "Hmmm...did we take that into consideration?" etc.

There was a large cry out when this stuff was announced in January. Since then, we've heard very little new, but the rumblings about things continue that might just indicate that there may have already been changes. Problem is, we don't know that for sure. So we still only have the original information to go on, plus some anecdotal info, and information of various reliability which often conflict.

With the amount of money invested in this, given the lack of info or even widespread testing, I don't think it's crazy to say there have been problems thrown up, otherwise they'd have at least been doing some limited testing soon I'd have thought.

At the very least, surely they'd have wanted to get this thing tested before summer, otherwise it's going to be under a lot of stress from the start, not a big adjustment period or room to manouver.

Unless like you say they are adjusting things right now, which would make more sense.

 

[Rileygirl]

Edited to delete post

 

[doconeill]

So far I think Rileygirl is hitting it on all cylinders...this is about getting more out of every guest, not just the resort guests.

In fact, I think the potential increase in margin might be higher with the off-site guests...

 

[Squidgyness]

So far I think Rileygirl is hitting it on all cylinders...this is about getting more out of every guest, not just the resort guests.

In fact, I think the potential increase in margin might be higher with the off-site guests...

I agree. Think about it, once they've gotten that extra $$$ out of you for staying onsite, you don't really give Disney any more money than offsite in park, or at least I'd have thought not. In-park spending figures will probably show that onsite and offsite guests spend much the same, or at least not wildly different, amounts in park. Another thought, could off-site guests represent a better margin for disney when it comes to things like dining? (The DDP reducing profit?)

Ergo, it is probably going to be for every guest, don't expect much special treatment for staying onsite.

I too think that post is marvellous to behold! It's much better worded than mine was.