I'm feeling so sad ...

[hoosll]

We canceled 2 trips because I was unsure about the rollout and final configuration of FP+ ... now with the additional new policies about changing room reservations and the potential of tiered ticket pricing ...

In the end it feels like Disney is trying to convert a resort vacation into a "cruise-like" vacation where they lock you into a length of stay (stay a week or face a penalty), daily excursions (pick your parks and rides in advance or be penalized), pick your restaurants 6 months in advance or expect to eat fast food ... on and on. If you deviate, then you will be penalized. All of this will help them to manage one of their most expensive line items - personnel.

I guess my tickets will sit in my drawer next to my Disney VISA reward/gift cards until my kids use them to scatter my ashes.

I plan to get an Amazon credit card and stop accruing Disney points as I will not be using them. The days of a quick 3-4 days to see the Xmas lights and ride our favorite rides multiple times are as dead as the dodo bird.

 

[aaarcher86]

We canceled 2 trips because I was unsure about the rollout and final configuration of FP+ ... now with the additional new policies about changing room reservations and the potential of tiered ticket pricing ...

In the end it feels like Disney is trying to convert a resort vacation into a "cruise-like" vacation where they lock you into a length of stay (stay a week or face a penalty), daily excursions (pick your parks and rides in advance or be penalized), pick your restaurants 6 months in advance or expect to eat fast food ... on and on. If you deviate, then you will be penalized. All of this will help them to manage one of their most expensive line items - personnel.

I guess my tickets will sit in my drawer next to my Disney VISA reward/gift cards until my kids use them to scatter my ashes.

I plan to get an Amazon credit card and stop accruing Disney points as I will not be using them. The days of a quick 3-4 days to see the Xmas lights and ride our favorite rides multiple times are as dead as the dodo bird.

Eh, kind of dramatic, IMO

You don't have to book a long stay. They just aren't doing modifications now. You have to rebook to change. Which sucks, but you can still stay for short times. I don't like it, but I've seen a lot of people say it's not unusual. I guess universal does it that way?

You aren't penalized for not using FP. You just use the standby lines.

You don't have to make any reservations until a few days out. You'll just have to be more flexible. Plenty of people do that.

No one is behind you giving you lashings or anything for not planning ahead. It's up to you.

 

[PoohJen]

Don't burn your tix just yet. In May I took two separate quickie weekend trips, booked last minute, and was still able to get fast passes, reservations, etc. Yes, sometimes these were limited (case in point - I didn't realize one of my weekends was a StarWars weekend! Ressies for dining at Hollywood Studios were hard to comeby, but you could still go standby and wait.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by room reservation penalties, as I have just booked a room for the end of August that I am not certain I can keep; I have to cancel within 5 days of the vacation.

Lastly, I also have a Disney credit card (to take advantage of the $200 credit that came with it), but with a $50 annual fee, I won't be renewing it next year. My other cards provide cash back, I don't think limiting such rewards to Disney $$$ is fruitful (or maximum benefit) in my case. Take your annual dollars back and apply them to Disney stuff, if that is your fancy.

Good luck, cheer up! Not the greatest changes at Disney, but not the end either!

 

[IrishNYC]

I cannot imagine canceling a trip because I was "unsure" of FP+. I think if something is making you sad, there's no sympathy due if you're the one giving up.

And I'm not sure what you mean by being penalized for not making ADRs 180 days in advance. I didn't (booked around 140 days) and I got every single meal we wanted, including 2 pre-opening meals. I even made changes to my ADRs as late as 10 days before.

 

[smitch425]

I hate to make you more depressed, but your kids cannot spread your ashes in the park. Attitude is everything. We LOVE FP+, and it works so much better for us than the old system. WDW is still a great vacation. You are setting yourself up for failure.

 

[kamik86]

Eh, kind of dramatic, IMO

You don't have to book a long stay. They just aren't doing modifications now. You have to rebook to change. Which sucks, but you can still stay for short times. I don't like it, but I've seen a lot of people say it's not unusual. I guess universal does it that way?

You aren't penalized for not using FP. You just use the standby lines.

You don't have to make any reservations until a few days out. You'll just have to be more flexible. Plenty of people do that.

No one is being you giving you lashings or anything for not planning ahead. It's up to you.

I still hang around here because I like the community but I haven't been to WDW in a few years and I'm not sure I really want to go back. I have a few reasons for this some of them are the changes they have been making with FP, some involve just wanting to go to other places. I don't think its overly dramatic to state that you don't like changes and don't want to go back. If it wasn't for the fact that short stay tickets are so expensive I probably would go back for a short stay, DH wants to do Food and Wine again. I just can't get over the huge price tag though for just a few days. With a longer stay the cost is worth it.

Thinking about it I probably should cancel my disney card before I get hit with the annual fee too.

 

[Crystal824]

I was kind of worried about FP+. We skipped last year, but that nothing to do with FP+. I have to say that after a trip with FP+, I LOVE it. I may be one of the few, but for our family with 2 little kids and a handicapped mom who travels with us. It is great. No more running for FP in the morning.

 

[disneyseniors]

It's not that bad at WDW now. I, too, was apprehensive about the fp+, but waited til I actually tried it before judging it. It has it's pluses and minuses, IMO. I liked having my favorites locked in and not having to rush to them. I always know which parks I am going to in advance by checking crowd levels, etc. You have to have some sort of a plan at WDW or you just wander around. We honestly didn't use all our fp's each day, and went where we wanted and stood in standby lines. The lines weren't much different than we used to stand in before fp. So, don't just throw it all away. TRY it yourself first, and you may be surprised at how much is the same and how much you might like fp's WDW is WDW after all, and is still a magical place to me!

 

[caracarn]

While the goal of longer tickets with cheaper daily prices is undoubtedly to encourage longer stays, I find it strange to just up and give up because of some of the other things you mentioned. I have been going to Disney for many years and each new change brings trepidation, none more so that FP+, however I have found it best to learn the system and adapt rather than throw away something you enjoy because it has changed a little. FP+ was much smoother than I thought, and with the phone app allowing us to change on the fly, a lot more flexible than the old system of waiting for a paper ticket to expire and then trying to time your position in the the park to coincide when that happens with the location you want the FP. In hindsight, I would think presenting those two options to a rational person anyone would say the new system is better than the old, yet I understand it is difficult to let go of the comfort of knowing the steps that worked. Just work out the new steps and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised as I did.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

FP+ is not a necessity. I usually never book them on big rides. I get there at RD and ride all the big rides I want with minimal wait. My FP's are usually for minor rides to just save some time. You can make FP+ 10 minutes before you enter the park and it will all be the same. I've gone in peak times with my AP, and I can get literally any FP with the exception of 7DMT and A&E a week or so before arriving. I think you can still have a great time, I still think you should go It'll all work out, I promise.

 

[HopperFan]

In the end any vacation should be something that excites you before you go, makes you happy while you are there, and makes you miss it once you've left.

They are simply too priceless to vacation somewhere that does not do that for you. Whether it Disney, a cruise, the beach, city touring, camping .... everyone should spend their vacation at their happy place. It sounds like Disney is not that for you anymore, and that is okay.

 

[Princesspolly0110]

Eh, kind of dramatic, IMO

You don't have to book a long stay. They just aren't doing modifications now. You have to rebook to change. Which sucks, but you can still stay for short times. I don't like it, but I've seen a lot of people say it's not unusual. I guess universal does it that way?

You aren't penalized for not using FP. You just use the standby lines.

You don't have to make any reservations until a few days out. You'll just have to be more flexible. Plenty of people do that.

No one is being you giving you lashings or anything for not planning ahead. It's up to you.

Am I missing something? I just motified a reservation with no issues the other day?

 

[smitch425]

Am I missing something? I just motified a reservation with no issues the other day?

The recent policy change is that you can only modify a reservation if the new reservation dates are currently available as a new booking. For instance, you cannot change your current 7 day stay into a 5 day stay unless there is a new 5 day stay for those dates available.

 

[Alesia]

We canceled 2 trips because I was unsure about the rollout and final configuration of FP+ ... now with the additional new policies about changing room reservations and the potential of tiered ticket pricing ...

In the end it feels like Disney is trying to convert a resort vacation into a "cruise-like" vacation where they lock you into a length of stay (stay a week or face a penalty), daily excursions (pick your parks and rides in advance or be penalized), pick your restaurants 6 months in advance or expect to eat fast food ... on and on. If you deviate, then you will be penalized. All of this will help them to manage one of their most expensive line items - personnel.

I guess my tickets will sit in my drawer next to my Disney VISA reward/gift cards until my kids use them to scatter my ashes.

I plan to get an Amazon credit card and stop accruing Disney points as I will not be using them. The days of a quick 3-4 days to see the Xmas lights and ride our favorite rides multiple times are as dead as the dodo bird.

I think if you just go you'll find that things aren't nearly as dire as you're imagining them to be.

In response to your specific points:

• Ticket prices have always been front loaded. You're not being penalized for a shorter stay, but people who make longer trips do get a price break on tickets.
• Most fastpasses are available the day before or even same day.
• You can still get many ADRs with very short notice, including same day.
• You can still take short trips and ride your favorite rides multiple times.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The recent policy change is that you can only modify a reservation if the new reservation dates are currently available as a new booking. For instance, you cannot change your current 7 day stay into a 5 day stay unless there is a new 5 day stay for those dates available.

So they would treat the change from a 7 to 5 as a completely new booking? What if you were going from 5 to 7?

I missed that discussion.

 

[mom2rtk]

So they would treat the change from a 7 to 5 as a completely new booking? What if you were going from 5 to 7?

I missed that discussion.

Not only does the new booking have to be available, it has to be available within the discount you booked. We needed to drop 2 nights off our upcoming stay and were "lucky" that a pool view was available, although the river view we had was gone. If there hadn't been a pool view, we would have had to pay for 2 extra nights or find something else.

Not sure about adding days. They sort of made me never want to do that.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Actually, FP+ is better now than it has EVER EVER been. Last year's roll out was a mess! But it's tremendously better. And the new prices haven't taken effect yet. If I were you, this is the time TO schedule it! They have worked out the FP bugs and no changes to pricing have yet dramatically occurred. OP, Come On Down!!! (price is right music)

 

[BugsDaddy]

To each, their own.

I think it is unfortunate that sometimes things are spun on the boards to make it seem impossible to dine anywhere or get in any rides unless you plan 6 months in advance. It is just not true. Just like any place else, if you want to go to the most popular resteraunt in the area, you may need to make reservations well in advance. If you are flexible with where you eat, you can wait until the day before (or even the day of) to reserve something.

I also don't understand the anxiety over a tiered pricing policy that no one knows what it will look like or if it will even come to fruition.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm kind of confused on the jump from not liking the changes to leaving your tickets and cards to be spread with your ashes. I'm sure that was a joke though.

Just go, use everything up, have as much fun as you can under the new system. Then see if you ever want to go back.

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, I think you should try a trip to DL this year. Sure dynamic pricing might hit them too, but FP+ isn't there yet, and it's a great time visit before any pricing changes happen. We sat out the growing pains with FP+ by heading west instead and loved it. We got APs last year and are heading back in the fall this year.

In the meantime, we are heading to the MK for a quick stop this summer just to do the few things we can't do at DLR.