Well... MagicBands and FP+, Our Experience

[3happydancers]

as not everyone does... then you spend your day on line at a kiosk?

Exactly! We do not own one and will not purchase one just to do Disney.

 

[xie]

We checked in last sat to SSr and went to the magic kingdom on Sunday.

Our experience:
1. Our personalized MBs that were supposed to be at ssr for pickup were not there. The cm helping us said that was the first time he'd seen a problem with this and that it looked like they had been sent to our home address (they had not). He literally spent an entire hour setting up our mbs!! And looking for a room that met our initial request which that too had been messed up. I couldn't believe the lines at checking at ssr and he spent an hour with us!!! Anyway we did get our new mbs and they did work fine for us. My ds5 didn't like wearing it though.

We also had this experience at check-in at Fort Wilderness. First, we went through the drive-through arch (as you are supposed to do). We arrived about 2:30pm and waited in line for quite some time (maybe 20 minutes) for help. A CM with an ipad started working her way down the line, because the RVs at the front were taking so very very long to check in, to see if she could check in anyone further back. We had done online check-in, but a mistake was made with the room charge, so we were told we would have to drive around to the parking lot and go into the building for assistance. Because traffic was backed up with people in front of us also having trouble checking in, we had to wait quite awhile until people in front of us moved.

Then we went inside, and there were LONG lines inside of people having problems with bands, with check-in, with everything. Probably another 30 minute wait in there until we were finally squared away (though we didn't realize at the time, none of our bands or cards would work at the resort either). By then, our site was ready.

Still, in total it took over an hour to check in, which by Disney standards is exceedingly long. I'm used to doing online checkin, going to the front desk of the resort, being handed my packet, and being on my way inside of 5 minutes. This experience was not normal. I really don't know what's going on at WDW right now.

 

[xie]

as not everyone does... then you spend your day on line at a kiosk?

We didn't need to use the kiosks since we had pre-booked our passes. However, this is my observation on what they looked like.

Early in the day, LONG lines at the kiosks. The closer the kiosk was to the front of the park, the longer the line was. For example, the first kiosk inside Epcot is outside the store next to Spaceship Earth. Holy cow there was a super long line at this place early in the day, with locals and offsite guests trying to get fast pass plus-es.

The later in the day it got, the shorter these lines were. By late afternoon, nobody would be at them and the FastPass CMs would be milling around doing not much of anything - by then the app would tell us there wasn't much left to claim, anyway, if we tried to change one.

So I guess my only piece of advice here would be not to stop at the first fast pass kiosk right inside the gate... find one deeper in where you won't have to wait for so long. They are scattered around all the parks in unused alcoves and sometimes you can find them right by the old "paper fast pass" machines/area for various popular rides.

 

[xie]

I sometimes wonder if so many of us would have disliked the new systems(s) to the extent we do now, if Disney had not implemented so many freaking changes at once!

Let's face it, people don't like change when they feel it is being imposed on them. We prefer to initiate our own changes, our way, in our time. Now guests feel they are not in control of their own vacation.

Taking the foregoing into account, I firmly believe that it has been a case of too many changes at one time - and all that, in a very short space of time.

MK increased its capacity with the opening of NFL. FP changed. The Magic Bands arrived. People without MB's were made to feel they were at a 'disadvantage' while those with them (and FP+ in testing) felt they had an advantage. Photopass+ changed. Now we have guests who, from when they took their last vacation less than a year ago and everything was pretty much as it has been for years and years, are now faced with so many changes that it feels like we have booked a completely different destination and one which we know nothing about.

I do wonder whether it would feel so bad if Disney had just simply used a couple of years to implement one change at a time and let guests get accustomed to it, ensure that it was working smoothly and then feed the next change into the system.

I'm quite transparent about this: I like to be in control. I do not feel in control of my vacation right now. I feel at the mercy of others, some of whom know less than I do and are trying to assure me that everything is just fine, when my instinct coupled with common sense, accumulated knowledge and past experience, tells me otherwise

For some people I do believe you are definitely correct.

For us, we didn't "mind" any of the changes except the FP+ ones. MagicBands are a net "nothing" to us. They do not add any capability for us that KTTW cards didn't already have. At least right now, MagicBands are having an overall negative impact on the quality of onsite guests' visits through broken functionality from room locks onward. Once those technical problems are finally resolved, a MagicBand will simply be a KTTW card you strap on your wrist.

Personally, with respect to MagicBands, I think Disney spent an obscene amount of money on something that frankly doesn't add any value to the trip at all for a guest. I keep hearing the thing cost 800m to 1 billion - I shudder if that is true, because they built the whole original Animal Kingdom park for that sum. How many more attractions could they have added/enhanced in existing parks with that amount of money? It boggles the mind.

The primary problem "change" for us is the FastPass+ system and what it represents. Disney has oversold the parks and crowds too many people inside, so they are now playing shell games with people to keep the "smart ones" from maximizing their time inside the park. That would be bad enough, if the FP+ system worked perfectly technically and the program as a whole didn't have the design flaws it suffers from. Add the technical glitches and design flaws on top, and you have a mess.

But, they've gone too far to pull back now. They will continue marching on down the path. 3 months from now all the paper ticket machines will probably be gone; certainly all the KTTW cards will be gone; lord knows how long the lines at guest services will be when people can't get in their rooms because the bands won't unlock the doors. In the end, it frankly doesn't matter how many of us frequent visitors from the US that they lose, because as someone else upthread said, their "bread and butter" are the one-and-done foreign tourists and tour groups, not our little families. I mean clearly tens of thousands of other people are okay going there and paying for the current level of service, or the parks wouldn't be packed to the gills.

We picked Jackson Hole and Yellowstone for our 2015 trip - spent the afternoon planning, pretty excited.

 

[quest4dl]

Excellent and succinct post OP! I agree that you should forward this in a letter to Disney customer service.

Our trip is at the end of March when I expect the entire system to be replaced by FP+. I would be more okay with the new system if there was no tiering and if wwe could use the FP+ at more than one park. Due to the high degree of inconsistency with the new technology and not being pleased to be paying for the privilege of being their guineau pig we are making a massive park hop to Universal instead of staying at Disney per our original plan.

 

[jake&samsmom]

Thanks for the review, OP.
I agree with you, especially on this: "Generally, we felt over-scheduled the whole trip"
I hate that I kept constantly checking the time, pushing the family to walk faster to the next thing on the schedule. Sure, I still let my kids stop to watch the street performers or jump in line for a character that they absolutely had to have a photo with. But in the back of my mind, I keep thinking "a few more minutes and you'll lose your Fastpass" - a huge anxiety trigger for me
My kids were raised and trained to be park commandos, so running around from attraction to attraction is not foreign to my family. But having to keep track of appointments/times for rides really just isn't us.
RIP spontaneity at Disney. I think we'll be cruising for our next vacation.

 

[dmoore718]

I totally appreciate everything you are saying. Thank you for the summary. I'll be curious to see how things change over the next year and I agree with all of your suggestions.

 

[tecdavidt]

I agree with OP 100%. Your post could have been written by me or my husband. We arrived Dec. 27th and checked out Jan. 4th. We both said, too much down time. We have never experienced that feeling before at Disney. 3 FP+ is not enough, at least have the choice of 4 and if you only want to book only one, let people only book 1. Park Hopping, why offer park hoppers if you won't let people use the FP+ for it? It does not make sense. And the App, you better hope it works when you need it otherwise you are out of luck. We too had to burn FP+. At least with the old system if we ended up with a conflict we handed off the FP to some other guests. We can't do that now so think of all the FP+ that hold a spot for a ride so it is out of the system and then they are not used! As my daughter would say, FAIL.

At first my husband was on board of the whole idea of magic bands and FP+, now, yeah, not so much. He had trouble getting his magic band in the right position to use it. It should not take two hands! Mine did not work every time. When I entered the park it took two hands. When it was my RFID AP it was tap, finger touch and in but now it was slow.

If you don't run into problems, all is well but we don't live in a perfect world and why does Disney think they need to have their guest preschedule their entire vacation? The ADR's are bad enough because I have a food allergy, but to schedule rides? then to tell guests only 3 preschedule rides and include rides that absolutely do not need FP in the first place? That is what caused the downtime. It was boring! I really disliked being in the parks this trip and I love Disney parks but I am losing my love fast with Disney being a control freak. Others may like it but not me and not my husband. Disney needs to remember one important thing, they are a theme park with rides! People go to the parks for the rides, If we can't ride the rides we want, why go and waste the money? They really didn't think this through.

One last thing, we too have noticed that we are not spending in the stores as we did in the past. This past trip was no. 53 since 1999. Last year I bought 4 items, that is correct Disney people if you are reading this, 4 items. In trips from the past, that could be one day but not 2013. I just was not motivated to spend.

This is far from being ready for prime time. Next trip, 3 weeks from today, we are suppose to spend 3 nights at Beach Club. My husband asked me on the flight home, do you still want to go? We have a house down there, 15 minutes SE of MK. He would rather stay at our house. That tells me a lot of what he now thinks of the who new program at WDW. We are going but to eat at the restaurants since they are scheduled and to enjoy the resort. As far as park time, I could care less. You don't have to enter the parks to watch the fireworks.

Kathy

 

[Shaden]

Sad but very good post OP.

Your experience mirrors very strongly some of my/our worries about the system, and your reaction may very well mirror ours.

This will be a sad day for us, hopefully they have some of this figured out by May, but I fear, beyond the glitches, the new system itself is inherently inferior and more restricting than the previous, so even if the glitches are gone, it will still be a negative development for us, and will may part with Disney for a time.

 

[xie]

One last thing, we too have noticed that we are not spending in the stores as we did in the past. This past trip was no. 53 since 1999. Last year I bought 4 items, that is correct Disney people if you are reading this, 4 items. In trips from the past, that could be one day but not 2013. I just was not motivated to spend.

The consolidation and standardization of their shop inventory over the last decade has been extreme. There was a time when each park had some unique things. There was a time when Downtown Disney's shops had some unique things, so you had a reason to go there. Not anymore - there's nothing in the Disney shops at DTD that can't be bought in the major park shops (MouseGear, the Emporium, etc.).

There was a time when you could buy genuine, attractive adult resort and casual clothing with subtle Disney theming - I still have some of it, and nothing like it is available anymore. I was astonished, honestly that much of the clothing in the stores this trip was the same as holidays 2013. I guess they really are not trying to sell to repeat guests.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

The consolidation and standardization of their shop inventory over the last decade has been extreme. There was a time when each park had some unique things. There was a time when Downtown Disney's shops had some unique things, so you had a reason to go there. Not anymore - there's nothing in the Disney shops at DTD that can't be bought in the major park shops (MouseGear, the Emporium, etc.).

There was a time when you could buy genuine, attractive adult resort and casual clothing with subtle Disney theming - I still have some of it, and nothing like it is available anymore. I was astonished, honestly that much of the clothing in the stores this trip was the same as holidays 2013. I guess they really are not trying to sell to repeat guests.

This is how I feel also. I have been doing less and less shopping in the parks the past couple of years because when I walk through the shops, it is all the same things I see at DTD. Why use park time to shop when I can get the same things at DTD and it free to get in there.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I'm quite transparent about this: I like to be in control. I do not feel in control of my vacation right now. I feel at the mercy of others, some of whom know less than I do and are trying to assure me that everything is just fine, when my instinct coupled with common sense, accumulated knowledge and past experience, tells me otherwise

It is like you read my mind!! We are travelling down in June for our 11th trip and for the first time EVER, including our first trip for our honeymoon, I am unsure, nervous, and very unexcited about planning this trip. We asked a family we are close with to join us this year and I am dreading trying to get all this worked out.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We were there in October while FP+ was still be rolled out. I always turn around on my last day at MK with a tear in my eye and know I will be back next year. I still had a tear in my eye, but I also knew we would be skipping a year. The whole FP+ left a bad taste in my mouth. I am hoping that 2015 will find that things a change a bit.

 

[3happydancers]

Disney, are you reading any of this???

 

[ucfknight]

Personally, with respect to MagicBands, I think Disney spent an obscene amount of money on something that frankly doesn't add any value to the trip at all for a guest. I keep hearing the thing cost 800m to 1 billion - I shudder if that is true, because they built the whole original Animal Kingdom park for that sum. How many more attractions could they have added/enhanced in existing parks with that amount of money? It boggles the mind.

This is the thing I have the hardest time swallowing. As I posted earlier in this thread, using the magicbands didn't cause me any major issues. I really would have been happy with FP+ had I been given 5 selections per day with no tiering and the ability to book multiple parks. However, do you know what would have made me far happier? Riding 8 new E-ticket attractions. They could have built 2 amazing $150 million attractions at each of the 4 WDW parks for less than the cost of this whole fiasco. Don't you think that might have increased guest satisfaction a heck of a lot more than this whole "next gen" system which seems to be a great dissatisfier for so many? Plus, what would be easier for Disney to market to potential guests? Opening 2 major attractions every year for half a decade, or some nebulous technology of dubious value?

 

[mommajo143]

I. I'm quite transparent about this: I like to be in control. I do not feel in control of my vacation right now. I feel at the mercy of others, some of whom know less than I do and are trying to assure me that everything is just fine, when my instinct coupled with common sense, accumulated knowledge and past experience, tells me otherwise

Agreed. Love WDW. Hating change. Every time if think I've got our trip ready to go, rules change. I'm told one thing by one CM one day & then !BAM! The next day see on boards & later on WDW site that the whole shebang is changing. I'm forced to plan more than I want without knowing what the rules of the system are going to be. Very frustrating, especially when I not only don't know the rules, but the field I'm playing on keeps shifting too. It's a hot mess.

 

[MMitchell29]

1. No, but this is the only way you can FAST PASS a ride if you are staying onsite. You can stand in the standby lines all you want. If you are staying offsite, the "paper tickets" have an RFID chip in them that works the same way the chip in the MagicBand works, but upon entering the park for the day you must find a FastPass+ kiosk to make your fast pass reservations for the day. Resort guests have the ability to do this via the website or the app a couple of months in advance, instead of the day of. (I hear rumors that "day guests", otherwise known as offsite guests, can get magic bands sometimes instead of the ticket, but I don't know how far along that testing is. Offsite people were still using regular RFID cards when we were there 2 weeks ago.)

2. Any guest, offsite or onsite, can walk up and join the standby line for any ride at any time (provided the ride's open of course).

3. All the counter service places are still here yes. You don't need a MagicBand to use them. As an offsite guest you would pay cash/credit as you always have done. Onsite guests can use the MagicBand to "room charge" the bill.

4. Again, you can join any standby line for an open ride anytime you want.

Hope that helps. Basically, as an offsite guest, nothing about MagicBands affects you yet. The only thing that DOES affect you now is that they are currently in the process of removing the old "paper fastpass" machines from the parks, and you will only be able to register for 3 fast passes per park per day. As an offsite guest you will do this after you enter your chosen park for the day, by going to a kiosk.

Thank you very much. You have summed this up perfectly for me

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Early in the day, LONG lines at the kiosks. The closer the kiosk was to the front of the park, the longer the line was. For example, the first kiosk inside Epcot is outside the store next to Spaceship Earth. Holy cow there was a super long line at this place early in the day, with locals and offsite guests trying to get fast pass plus-es.

These lines were not from off-site guest or locals. Off-site guest aren't able to book FP+s at Epcot at this time. And the only locals would be AP holders that have already had an on-site stay during testing to have their MBs. I would think most of those would just set their FP+s up using the app or online before entering the park. I bet 99% of that line was on-site guests Think how much longer those lines will be when you add in all the off-site guest that so many think shouldn't be able to pre-book any FP+s until the enter the park. I'm sure all those guest will go home and tell all their friends about what a pain that is. That is after they get done posting about it on social media. Sounds like great PR for Disney.

 

[quest4dl]

These lines were not from off-site guest or locals. Off-site guest aren't able to book FP+s at Epcot at this time. And the only locals would be AP holders that have already had an on-site stay during testing to have their MBs. I would think most of those would just set their FP+s up using the app or online before entering the park. I bet 99% of that line was on-site guests Think how much longer those lines will be when you add in all the off-site guest that so many think shouldn't be able to pre-book any FP+s until the enter the park. I'm sure all those guest will go home and tell all their friends about what a pain that is. That is after they get done posting about it on social media. Sounds like great PR for Disney.

The Swan and Dolphin guests have been testing magic bands and FP+ for a brief period but they had to make their selections via the kiosks in the parks. Perhaps these are the lines you saw?

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

The Swan and Dolphin guests have been testing magic bands and FP+ for a brief period but they had to make their selections via the kiosks in the parks. Perhaps these are the lines you saw?

I forgot about those guest. I would bet that most of the line were those guest. Still doesn't look good for those that stay off-site and travel during busy times and will only be able to book FP+ after entering the park.