Non-resort guests can not reserve FP+ early

[C & L Shaw]

Just read an article (Say Goodbye to Legacy Fastpass at Magic Kingdom) and it states that non-resort guests will have to reserve their attractions on the day of their visit.

I called guest relations and they confirmed this.

WHAT!!!!!!!! I would love to stay onsite but can't. They stated that it is a perk similar to EMH. I understand that, I respect that, but really. How long is the line going to be when I arrive at RD just to make reservations. What's next, not being able to reserve dining reservations early unless I stay onsite because too many resort guests can't make a reservation for CRT?

The cast member who listened to my anger, for which I made sure she knew was not addressed to her, said they are completing surveys on these calls and forwarding them up the chain and also gave me an email address to which I can vent further.

Not sure if I can post that address or not though, if so, let me know and I will.

Just so eight now.

I even suggested a way to alleviate the problem. Allow resort guests 90 days to make advance reservations and non-resort guests a 30 day window, or heck I would even take a 14 day window to reserve, I just don't want to have to stand in a long line waiting for someone in front of me to figure out what they want to do. At least the old way I knew when I got in line for a fastpass say at SM, the person in front of me knew that was something they wanted to do and got their FP and moved on.

 

[wdwloverz]

Yep, All of that is definitely very frustrating. I believe the only way around it at this time is to book your first night or two on property OR buy an AP.

 

[dayvewc]

Yep, All of that is definitely very frustrating. I believe the only way around it at this time is to book your first night or two on property OR buy an AP.

I think having an AP only works if you have at least 1 night on site. At least, that is my understanding. That you have to stay onsite for your MDE to get "unlocked" and be able to reserve FP+ in advance.

 

[wdwloverz]

Ahh maybe so, last visit we stayed on site and then upgraded to AP, so maybe that's why we can reserve now??? I do know that as AP holders we can only have 7 days worth of FP+ reservations at once. Our next trip is 11 nights so still inconvenient but better than nothing .

 

[C & L Shaw]

Yep, All of that is definitely very frustrating. I believe the only way around it at this time is to book your first night or two on property OR buy an AP.

From what the cast member stated, everyone in your party has to have an AP. I asked because we go enough to justify that, but I usually take others with us who don't and then we have to be split up. I mean so much for making memories with the ones you love. Let the Memories begin

 

[Dannek]

Ahh maybe so, last visit we stayed on site and then upgraded to AP, so maybe that's why we can reserve now??? I do know that as AP holders we can only have 7 days worth of FP+ reservations at once. Our next trip is 11 nights so still inconvenient but better than nothing .

That is not exactly true. It seems to fluctuate depending on each particular guest. Why, I don't know, but I am going to WDW for a week at the end of January. I'm an AP holder, and a week or so ago I was able to book FP+ reservations for 12 consecutive days. I only booked 12 days as I wanted to see if the seven day maximum stated on the boards by some people was correct. For me it wasn't.

I didn't try beyond 12 days as I had to get ready for a dinner reservation locally, but I was indeed able to book 12 days of FP+ in a row with no issues at all. I later cancelled the extra five days of reservations without any website issues as well. Fwiw.

 

[FireDancer]

I have always suspected that FP+ will be used as a perk for onsite guests much like EMH and Magical Express. I'm not sure if long-term it will be restricted to day of as it will be at the start but I do think it will be made better (longer window, different tiering, higher number) to use it as a way to try and move off-site visitors on-site.

I know if I was in charge I'd make as many perks as possible for onsite guests only (or at least better for onsite guests) and would further incentivise them based on length of stay instead of just being on-site. It seems like the smart business decision.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is going to get ugly if the mine train ever opens.

 

[wdwloverz]

That is not exactly true. It seems to fluctuate depending on each particular guest. Why, I don't know, but I am going to WDW for a week at the end of January. I'm an AP holder, and a week or so ago I was able to book FP+ reservations for 12 consecutive days. I only booked 12 days as I wanted to see if the seven day maximum stated on the boards by some people was correct. For me it wasn't.

I didn't try beyond 12 days as I had to get ready for a dinner reservation locally, but I was indeed able to book 12 days of FP+ in a row with no issues at all. I later cancelled the extra five days of reservations without any website issues as well. Fwiw.

I have read that from others as well. I tried of course to go beyond the 7 days and it says FP limit reached.

 

[Honest John]

I have always suspected that FP+ will be used as a perk for onsite guests much like EMH and Magical Express. I'm not sure if long-term it will be restricted to day of as it will be at the start but I do think it will be make better (longer window, different tiering, higher number) to use it as a way to try and move off-site visitors on-site.

I know if I was in charge I'd make as many perks as possible for onsite guests only (or at least better for onsite guests) and would further incentivise them based on length of stay instead of just being on-site. It seems like the smart business decision.

Bingo. I made this point in another space in the Disney internet world but I think it's only logical to expect the hierarchy between onsite and offsite to continue to widen. Disney is a profit-maximizing business, not a charity. Anger (collectively applied, i.e., through lots of people staying away from the parks) will surely cause Disney to change course. But so long as the parks remain crowded, or least, they can find enough people to pay lots of money for what they're offering, they are going to continue on this path. And for what it's worth, Disney has resisted these changes for a long time and what they're now doing is far more typical. Lots of amusement/theme parks offer front-of-the-line-access-for-pay. This is a slightly more circumstantial way of doing that but in the end, the result is the same. And Disney is way behind their in-town competitors at Universal, who offer all-day front-of-the-line-access their onsite guests. Disney is just playing catch-up, very slowly.

 

[ArwenMarie]

This is going to get ugly if the mine train ever opens.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah..... I started to put "when" the mine train opens. But it just didn't feel right.

 

[wdwloverz]

This is going to get ugly if the mine train ever opens.

Do u think they will tier the MK then? I could quite possibly be too old to ride it by the time it opens, haha

 

[ArwenMarie]

Do u think they will tier the MK then? I could quite possibly be too old to ride it by the time it opens, haha

I think they will. I think they are going to have to, to make sure that even onsite guests all get to ride it once during a week's vacation let's say, especially during the busy weeks, which are most of the weeks these days.

 

[mom2rtk]

Do u think they will tier the MK then? I could quite possibly be too old to ride it by the time it opens, haha

I think they will tier at that point. But what it will look like is anyone's guess. Maybe 4 FPs but with some pretty strict tiering? At least then they could pretend it's an enhancement. They do like to take things away while telling people they are getting enhancements!

 

[Honest John]

I think they will tier at that point. But what it will look like is anyone's guess. Maybe 4 FPs but with some pretty strict tiering? At least then they could pretend it's an enhancement. They do like to take things away while telling people they are getting enhancements!

Keeping tight controls over the number of FP+s (i.e., 3 per day) and tiering the access is actually an enhancement of sorts - depending on the kind of visitor you are. Someone who likes the E ticket attractions but typically does stand-by (because they arrive later in the day or whatever), or just late-arrivers who can now book FP+ for the afternoon and evening - they should stand to benefit.

The legacy FP system almost certainly inflated wait times or limited access to late arrives and stand-by users relative to the FP+ world because guests -- especially those at rope drop -- could and did grab 2 or more FPs for popular attractions over the course of the entire day. Now, that's soon to be impossible.

In sum: e-tickets like TSM, Soarin, Test Track, etc. that regularly ran out of their allotment of legacy FP's by mid-day should have a more egalitarian allotment of rides relative to the past.

 

[mom2rtk]

Keeping tight controls over the number of FP+s (i.e., 3 per day) and tiering the access is actually an enhancement of sorts - depending on the kind of visitor you are. Someone who likes the E ticket attractions but typically does stand-by (because they arrive later in the day or whatever), or just late-arrivers who can now book FP+ for the afternoon and evening - they should stand to benefit.

The legacy FP system almost certainly inflated wait times or limited access to late arrives and stand-by users relative to the FP+ world because guests -- especially those at rope drop -- could and did grab 2 or more FPs for popular attractions over the course of the entire day. Now, that's soon to be impossible.

In sum: e-tickets like TSM, Soarin, Test Track, etc. that regularly ran out of their allotment of legacy FP's by mid-day should have a more egalitarian allotment of rides relative to the past.

For our style of touring, it's ride rationing.

 

[TreeSapp]

Just read an article (Say Goodbye to Legacy Fastpass at Magic Kingdom) and it states that non-resort guests will have to reserve their attractions on the day of their visit.

I called guest relations and they confirmed this.

WHAT!!!!!!!! I would love to stay onsite but can't. They stated that it is a perk similar to EMH. I understand that, I respect that, but really. How long is the line going to be when I arrive at RD just to make reservations. What's next, not being able to reserve dining reservations early unless I stay onsite because too many resort guests can't make a reservation for CRT?

The cast member who listened to my anger, for which I made sure she knew was not addressed to her, said they are completing surveys on these calls and forwarding them up the chain and also gave me an email address to which I can vent further.

Not sure if I can post that address or not though, if so, let me know and I will.

Just so eight now.

I even suggested a way to alleviate the problem. Allow resort guests 90 days to make advance reservations and non-resort guests a 30 day window, or heck I would even take a 14 day window to reserve, I just don't want to have to stand in a long line waiting for someone in front of me to figure out what they want to do. At least the old way I knew when I got in line for a fastpass say at SM, the person in front of me knew that was something they wanted to do and got their FP and moved on.

Does anyone in your group have a smart device? That could alleviate standing in line. Even if you don't have a smartphone, then an iPad touch or kindle can still be connected to wifi and used to book virtually. Skipping the line?

 

[NMK62303]

Does anyone in your group have a smart device? That could alleviate standing in line. Even if you don't have a smartphone, then an iPad touch or kindle can still be connected to wifi and used to book virtually. Skipping the line?

I believe I read that off-site guests have to use the in park kiosks, cannot do it online at present. At least that's how it's projected to be when it starts next week.

 

[2girlsmom]

Actually the same article said that offsite guests will NOT be able to book using MDE at all, only through the kiosks. We are AP holders, and have been told from the beginning that we WOULD get MB, but hasn't happened yet (locals so we don't stay onsite), the last estimate we were told (in October) was to expect in January.