FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[Squidgyness]

So Disney has this multi billion dollar vacation resort for 42 years ,starting with 1 theme park 2 hotels and a campground, and yet so many of you think they don't know what they're doing???????????
John Carter ? What about Battleship from the folks at Universal ? US might have shut down had Comcast not purchased them.

This is one of the funniest threads I've read here Thanks for the entertainment!

Well gee, I'm just glad we could entertain you, I know that's what I was aiming for. What a joke eh? I guess we just didn't realise that Disneys age and the simple fact they actually own theme parks around the world (thanks for pointing that out btw, I didn't realise they had more than one park!) makes it impossible for them to screw up, ever. Thanks for correcting me!

Anyway, back on topic, I still think that offering 6 or 8 FP to people is going to A) make the fastpass line a lot longer than it is now if enough people take it up and therefore B) make it so if you didn't plan out all your rides in advance, good luck waiting in standby. I think they have to limit FP+ for a reason.

The more people using it, the less fastpasses each person will get unless they boost the available numbers of FP to higher levels than now, and that will hurt standby lines even more than FP does now for those not using it.

 

[Bob NC]

I'm sure I missed it somewhere as I've been trying to follow along. I keep reading folks saying that there will only be 3 FP+ and maybe per park, or total... anyways..can someone direct me to the exact source of that information? I keep reading it as if it is official, but I haven't seen the official mentioning of it.
Thanks!

Shhhhhhh, don't ruin the rampant speculation, hand wringing, canceling of vacation plans, and selling of DVC contracts with your quest for facts.

 

[magicbob]

My daughter loved meeting Mickey and Belle. She doesn't need them to call her by name.

And there was no need to spend $1B so they could call her by name when they could just say "and what's YOUR name?" as each kid walks up.

Plus it is spread over 10 parks worldwide. $100 mil wont even cover 45 minutes of making John Carter.

Who's John Carter?

I absolutely agree with this. If Disney can offer "additional FP+" during certain times of the year, why offer something that costs them money? This opens the possibility of FP+ as the carrot to get you to stay onsite during slower times. No need to discount rooms or offer free food. After the initial rollout of limited FP+, offering to double or triple the amount during certain times of the year is a no-brainer. This also fits in perfectly with the terms and conditions regarding the number of FP+ available....that it will vary depending on time of year, park population, etc.

I think the way Disney will monetize FP+ is to use it as an incentive in place of room discounts and free dining once everyone gets used to the idea of limited FP.

Replacing an incentive with real monetary value (free dining or room discounts) with extra FP+ reservations (which don't cost Disney anything to provide) will hasten the return on that $1B investment. But the guest is ultimately "paying" for those FP+s by no longer getting discounts. This another potential negative to the proposed system. Well, maybe a positive for the Disney beancounters, but a negative for the guests.

I guess I can see the idea behind this but FD is offered at slower times of year. Why would more FP+ be needed?
I, for one, will not pay the outrageous rack rates so I can have couple extra FP+. I am very nervous our Wdw vacations are numbered after all I have been reading. So sad.

We are speculating that you wouldn't have a choice. It wouldn't be a matter of losing the discount if you OPT for more FP+. They just wouldn't offer the discounts. FP++ (notice the double plus?) would BE the only incentive offered.

John Carter ? What about Battleship from the folks at Universal ?

Poor Taylor Kitsch. He's getting hit from both sides today!

 

[doconeill]

In a plane so can't really link right now...but I believe the T&C and definitely as statements by Nick Franklin who is in charge of it all have all said three pure-book fastpass+ selections

 

[Squidgyness]

Shhhhhhh, don't ruin the rampant speculation, hand wringing, canceling of vacation plans, and selling of DVC contracts with your quest for facts.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...ils-get-finalized-as-roll-out-gets-closer.htm

http://wdwnt.com/fastpass-ride-reservation-system-gets-cleaned-up-for-a-third-test-run/

http://mousehints.com/my-magic-plus/fastpass-plus

http://micechat.com/17855-walt-disney-world-fastpass-plus/

All mention 3 a day based off T+C's I believe, and CM comments (though I'd trust the T+C's more). It could change, but so could everything else about this system.

 

[magicbob]

Shhhhhhh, don't ruin the rampant speculation, hand wringing, canceling of vacation plans, and selling of DVC contracts with your quest for facts.

Everybody sing along!

It's the end of the world as we know it...
It's the end of the world as we know it...
It's the end of the world as we know it...
... and I feel fine.



I seem to have a knack for snagging the first or last post on each page lately!

 

[polyfor4]

Trying out part of fastpass plus today! It's an online fastpass plus for be our guest lunch. We were given it while checking in at Poly CL. We reserved our meal and time so now all we have to do is pick up our rose at philharmagic, choose a seat at BOG, and our meal shows up! No waiting in line and we got to select a time.

 

[mesaboy2]

Trying out part of fastpass plus today! It's an online fastpass plus for be our guest lunch. We were given it while checking in at Poly CL. We reserved our meal and time so now all we have to do is pick up our rose at philharmagic, choose a seat at BOG, and our meal shows up! No waiting in line and we got to select a time.

Interesting to hear some details that give clues how this might work. Have a fun time.

 

[WillAustin]

Anyway, back on topic, I still think that offering 6 or 8 FP to people is going to A) make the fastpass line a lot longer than it is now if enough people take it up and therefore B) make it so if you didn't plan out all your rides in advance, good luck waiting in standby. I think they have to limit FP+ for a reason.

Yes. Once the FP+ line is longer than 5-10 minutes it's not "Fast".

 

[damo]

Yes. Once the FP+ line is longer than 5-10 minutes it's not "Fast".

Maybe that's what the + is for.

 

[magicbob]

Yes. Once the FP+ line is longer than 5-10 minutes it's not "Fast".

In the context of lines at WDW, "fast" is relative. If the stand-by line is 2 hours, a 20-minute wait in the FP line is reasonable. This is often the case at attractions like Soarin' and others.

 

[WillAustin]

In the context of lines at WDW, "fast" is relative. If the stand-by line is 2 hours, a 20-minute wait in the FP line is reasonable. This is often the case at attractions like Soarin' and others.

FP hasn't been pitched as relative. It always has said little or no wait in their marketing materials.

I'd give you maybe 20 minutes at most, but if I was pre-booking and then had a 30+ minute wait, regardless of the standby time, for me it would be ridiculous.

 

[mom2rtk]

FP hasn't been pitched as relative. It always has said little or no wait in their marketing materials.

I'd give you maybe 20 minutes at most, but if I was pre-booking and then had a 30+ minute wait, regardless of the standby time, for me it would be ridiculous.

You don't think the marketing folks could do something with the "Not quite as slow" pass?

 

[ses1230]

Interesting to hear some details that give clues how this might work. Have a fun time.

Mesa - there is also a thread from last week on the restaurant board from someone that used FP for BOG.

 

[Rileygirl]

deleted

 

[maddiebee]

Trying out part of fastpass plus today! It's an online fastpass plus for be our guest lunch. We were given it while checking in at Poly CL. We reserved our meal and time so now all we have to do is pick up our rose at philharmagic, choose a seat at BOG, and our meal shows up! No waiting in line and we got to select a time.

Oh good. Another BOG res I'll have to rabidly stalk.

 

[magicbob]

FP hasn't been pitched as relative. It always has said little or no wait in their marketing materials.

But "little" is also relative. 15-20 minutes would not be considered a long wait by many, especially if the alternate is to wait in a 2-hour standby line.

I'd give you maybe 20 minutes at most,

I agree, after 20+ minutes in a FP line, I start to get a little impatient. But 20 minutes or less is a fairly reasonable wait for a lot of attractions, especially during busy times when that's the shortest line a lot of people are waiting in.

if I was pre-booking and then had a 30+ minute wait, regardless of the standby time, for me it would be ridiculous.

I agree. 30+ minutes after a pre-booked time is bad. But how many posts do we see here where people wait at least that long for a table with an ADR. This will probably happen some with FP+ as well.

 

[mesaboy2]

Mesa - there is also a thread from last week on the restaurant board from someone that used FP for BOG.

Thanks, that was an interesting read.

 

[Rileygirl]

This is interesting. The blackstone group just purchased Seaworld. I was doing a google search on who owned seaworld, and this just came out on the orlando sentinel, not even 15 minutes ago. The fine print says blackstone group has 50% shares in UO.....http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...ts-group-busch-gardens-parks-blackstone-group

Edited to add, I'm a loser, this article was from 2009, looked at the wrong spot for date! Sheesh, not enough coffee this morning

 

[Mad Hattered]

This is interesting. The blackstone group just purchased Seaworld. I was doing a google search on who owned seaworld, and this just came out on the orlando sentinel, not even 15 minutes ago. The fine print says blackstone group has 50% shares in UO.....http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...ts-group-busch-gardens-parks-blackstone-group

Ummmm....that is OLD news and not relevant anymore. That article is from 2009.