What gets me most is the hypocrites on this board

[tinkerbellybutton]

While I haven't yet had the chance to try the new system, will be there in November, I can say that for my family I think it will work to our advantage. It just flows well with the way we do WDW already.

First of all we usually know which park we will be in on each day based on our ADRs and since we don't typically park hop. We are not rope drop people, we actually enjoy sleeping in a bit on vacation, so this will allow us better access to get that Soarin or TSM FP that we sometimes miss out on by not being at the parks at rope drop.

I'll withhold judgment until the system is fully implemented and I've had the chance to actually try it.

 

[surferdave]

I'm no apologist, but I just don't see why people are making mountains out of molehills.. You don't NEED to preplan.. you can use MDE or a kiosk at the parks and reserve a FP+ while there. It's not forcing you to do anything 60 days out.. It's just available 60 days out.

Fastpasses have been running out for popular attractions halfway through the morning lately; I woudn't advise anyone to try this strategy unless they plan to fastpass all secondary rides and shows.

 

[MouseMomx2]

OP.... I think you SHOULD go! Before you blast a system that you haven't experienced, see how the "crap fastpass+ system" really works. Check out how many people are actually double and triple dipping. You might be surprised at what you find out. Maybe you'll discover that it's not so bad, or you actually like the system.

 

[Karbase8]

OP.... I think you SHOULD go! Before you blast a system that you haven't experienced, see how the "crap fastpass+ system" really works. Check out how many people are actually double and triple dipping. You might be surprised at what you find out. Maybe you'll discover that it's not so bad, or you actually like the system.

I agree. I went in August and was invited to be part of the test. There were very little people using the MB at that time, it does seem things have changed. We were invited and didn't try to scam the system we only used KTTW once to get a sooner FP because my son became ill. I am not a scammer of the system and in fact we were screwed out of alot of things because of a plane delay and a maid at the hotel I digress. As far as the reservations, I have always only booked on reservation at a time. My son got sick and I had to cancel our Rose and Crown reservation. I cancelled it same day because of his illness and now if we go back I will be penalized for doing that. For the people who do follow the rules I do find it unfair.

 

[3Gsandme]

I admit to being a little nervous about FP+ and how it will affect our trip in late February. There are a lot of unknown and Disney seems to e having some growing pains with it. I'm a big technology person, so I'm happy to give them the time they need to figure it out, but, of course I don't want it to negatively impact my trip.

I really don't see how, mathematically, FP+ is artificially reducing the FP pool. If Disney gives out 100 fast passes per ride per day, and 50 are prefilled, and they only distribute 50 in the park, it's still 100 passes. Also, if I think that Space Mountain is a must do, I was always going to draw from that 100 pass pool. The ability to double dip IS a problem, but chances are good those people were going to get more than the 3 fast passes anyhow. The long return times are based on those 50 people pulling their passes first. I'm sure, mathematically, that nothing much has changed in the numbers, but in end user experience.

While Disney transitions, double dipping is an option, but I'm sure that will all shut down when Disney gets it all together. I'm trying to have faith. However, if you're unhappy with your experience in the park, be sure to talk to guest services. How else will they know? And, lastly, I do vote with my money. If Disney makes me unhappy this trip, my 2016 trip may end up canceled or scaled back to avoid giving Disney less of my money. That's the most effective way to send a message.

 

[wordwitt]

We used MB/FP+ in September. Granted, the number of people using it wasn't the same as it is now, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. We did not end up pulling extra regular fastpasses, although I would have thought before we left that we might have done so. Although it certainly seems as if the full-scale testing is taxing the system right now, I can honestly say I am looking forward to using FP+ again.

 

[GeneralTso]

"Double dipping" is neither scamming the system or unfair.

The small percentage of testers does not affect the massive amount of park visitors. This should not affect anyone else's experience at all. In fCe, many people really like it.

There is so much energy from those who feel like HAVE NOTS because they aren't testers. Just enjoy your vacation. You are spending a ton of hard earned money to have fun. I think if all this negativity can be redirected life would be so much easier for you. Think FUN!!!

 

[KimWDW]

I think it's taking a lot of the spontaneity and FUN out of the trip.

Yeah, we don't HAVE to decide what time we want to ride what ride 60 days out, but if we don't, we run the risk of not being able to ride it at all. Especially once the old system is completely gone. I liked deciding what park I wanted to go to ON THAT DAY--taking weather into consideration, etc--and getting paper FP when we entered the park.

But when the paper is gone and all that's left is kiosks...there will be no same day FPs. Mark my words. If people can reserve them 60 days out, there will be NOTHING available on the kiosks the day you walk into the park. Same as what happened with table service restaurants. People will run to reserve ahead of time so they don't miss out. And there will be nothing left for people who don't want to plan every second of their trip months ahead of time.

 

[WDSearcher]

Many people including myself are not happy with this FP + mess. I have been going to WDW almost annually for 30 years or so. Most of those trips have been in the "slower" seasons and I have never once did a rope drop or have I planned what my schedule was for the day. We have always been able to do basically everything we wanted to do, we worked around the crowd and used our FP when they came into effect.


This FP + system is a joke. I don't want to plan on when I'm going to eat and when I'm going to ride this ride or that 3/4/5/6 months out. That's utterly ridiculous. Now you can't even go to the Park and get a FP because they are all gone early in the day because most are taken up by these people getting them in advance. And forget about getting in a stand by line now for the big attractions. And a good part of this is not only because of the crap FP + system but from the people on this board that are scamming the system and double and triple dipping with all these FP's. People complain about the crowds on this board but then they're quick to point out how they got triple the FPs they should have because they used their Magic Band, Their KTTK card and their old room key. Ridiculous.

I agree with Disney charging people who don't show up for Dining Reservations, in fact they should charge them the price of the minimum meal X number of guests the reservation is for. If they catch you in the system with more FPs than the permitted amount, you should have your FP privileges revoked for your entire length of admission.

Personally, I think the biggest annoyance is people who complain and talk about how crappy something is before they've experienced it for themselves. Sure, the experiences other people post are helpful when planning and when evaluating something, but until I use FP+ the way I tour, I have no real way of knowing how it works for ME. I know how it works for this DISer or that DISer, but they're not me.

There are people here who have reported that FP+ worked just fine for them ... there are even fans of the system, who have used it and can't wait to use it again. I get that it's more fun and more human nature to read the negatives as validation and ignore the positives as anomalies, but the sample size here on the DIS is so minutely tiny that I can't imagine someone assuming the things posted here are representative of the system as a whole.

I do agree with someone upthread, though ... while it may seem cliché to say, "Well ... just don't go then!", it really is the only option. It's not like Disney's going to not roll out the rest of FP+. If it's something that someone is opposed to before they've even tried it, then choosing a vacation destination that doesn't have you stressed and angry before you've even left might make for a much better overall vacation experience.

 

[BayouMickey]

Fastpasses have been running out for popular attractions halfway through the morning lately; I woudn't advise anyone to try this strategy unless they plan to fastpass all secondary rides and shows.

is that reported for just FP-? Has this been confirmed the same with reserving FP+?

 

[redsbe]

Fastpasses have been running out for popular attractions halfway through the morning lately; I woudn't advise anyone to try this strategy unless they plan to fastpass all secondary rides and shows.

When we last went to WDW in October 2012 (school fall break for our kids) regular Fastpasses were also running out for most popular rides by mid-morning, when it is busy FP or FP+ will suck up tickets quickly, this is a NOT a new problem, may be being impacted more so by testing of FP+ but not the only factor, when it gets busy very hard to pull FP especially hold multiple FP for same ride or within same park on same day (reason it has never been a part of our park trip planning)

 

[mefordis]

The problem is that WDW is just too crowded. They need to increase the prices .

 

[DavidNYC]

You can't move your TSM time same day very successfully now. You are going to have to make a plan and stick to it when this is fully rolled out. It's pretty cruddy and unlike the ADR system there is no way to cancel a FP+ that you aren't going to be able to make it to so there will be tons of unused slots that other ppl want but can't get.

Well, yes. But with regular FP you're also stuck with whatever time you're given and can't change it. Frankly, FP+ is a huge improvement over regular FP for that ride. Not sure what people were expecting. At least now you have a shot to ride without a 2-hour wait even if you don't show up at the machines in the first 15 minutes after park opening.

The problem here is that most people on this board (who are not the typical Disney visitor) know how to manage their day to squeeze every minute out of it. FP+ evens the playing field a bit for your average visitor.

Once the FP inventory is in one system instead of two and everyone is on it - it'll be more normal is my guess.

 

[surferdave]

is that reported for just FP-? Has this been confirmed the same with reserving FP+?

I haven't seen anything confirmed (and Disney hasn't been confirming that sort of thing anyway), but I noted while I was there that available FP+ times on MDE tracked out right along with the posted FP- availability. If Soarin' or TSMM fastpass time were out to 10:30 pm, that was the soonest you could get a replacement FP+ for that attraction. If they ran out at the machines you couldn't get them on MDE either.

The only exception I could see to that was that if someone did free up a FP+ selection for earlier in the day it might show up briefly, and I doubt that was reflected on the legacy FP machines, but I don't think this would help very often for the scenario you gave.

If anyone observed it differently I'd like to hear about it.

 

[WDSearcher]

I think it's taking a lot of the spontaneity and FUN out of the trip.

Yeah, we don't HAVE to decide what time we want to ride what ride 60 days out, but if we don't, we run the risk of not being able to ride it at all. Especially once the old system is completely gone. I liked deciding what park I wanted to go to ON THAT DAY--taking weather into consideration, etc--and getting paper FP when we entered the park.

But when the paper is gone and all that's left is kiosks...there will be no same day FPs. Mark my words. If people can reserve them 60 days out, there will be NOTHING available on the kiosks the day you walk into the park. Same as what happened with table service restaurants. People will run to reserve ahead of time so they don't miss out. And there will be nothing left for people who don't want to plan every second of their trip months ahead of time.

It honestly allowed us (my family ... not speaking for anyone else) to be MORE spontaneous, because we didn't have to run for a FP machine and then see what time we got before we planned what else we wanted to do. We knew going in that we had FPs for X ride at such-and-such a time, and an ADR for Y restaurant at such-and-such a time, and so the rest of the day was whatever we wanted to do. We didn't have to worry about only wanting to spend a half day at a park and then being "forced" to stay because our FP time was six hours away. And if we decided we needed to sleep in a bit, we knew we had our FPs in hand and could do that without missing a prime ride-return window.

We actually got up at 9am one morning, decided at the last minute to see if we could have breakfast at Kona Café (we had to wait 20 min, but we got in), and then headed over to DHS to ride TSM when our window opened just after noon. Without FP+, we'd have been up at the crack of dawn, in line at the Studios a half hour prior to opening having probably slammed down some pop-tarts and juice on the way, rushed over to TSM, and ended up with a FP for sometime mid-afternoon. No spontaneity there.

So ... for us ... it worked. And it worked well. We loved planning our must-dos in advance and letting the rest of the day unfold.

 

[DavidNYC]

I haven't seen anything confirmed (and Disney hasn't been confirming that sort of thing anyway), but I noted while I was there that available FP+ times on MDE tracked out right along with the posted FP- availability. If Soarin' or TSMM fastpass time were out to 10:30 pm, that was the soonest you could get a replacement FP+ for that attraction. If they ran out at the machines you couldn't get them on MDE either.

The only exception I could see to that was that if someone did free up a FP+ selection for earlier in the day it might show up briefly, and I doubt that was reflected on the legacy FP machines, but I don't think this would help very often for the scenario you gave.

If anyone observed it differently I'd like to hear about it.

Not always. Was there December 5-8 and was able to swtich my fastpass from 10am to 2pm when the FP machines were already at 5pm. 2pm was available but then nothing until 6pm so pehaps other cancellations reopened some inventory. Was surprised I was able to do it but I did.

 

[ShayBells]

I think it's taking a lot of the spontaneity and FUN out of the trip. Yeah, we don't HAVE to decide what time we want to ride what ride 60 days out, but if we don't, we run the risk of not being able to ride it at all. Especially once the old system is completely gone. I liked deciding what park I wanted to go to ON THAT DAY--taking weather into consideration, etc--and getting paper FP when we entered the park. But when the paper is gone and all that's left is kiosks...there will be no same day FPs. Mark my words. If people can reserve them 60 days out, there will be NOTHING available on the kiosks the day you walk into the park. Same as what happened with table service restaurants. People will run to reserve ahead of time so they don't miss out. And there will be nothing left for people who don't want to plan every second of their trip months ahead of time.

First. You can ride whatever you want. You dot need a fast pass at all that's why there are stand by lines. You say running the risk of not riding at all but that's not true.

And mark your words? You don't know just like the next person doesn't. You might be right or wrong.

And I never plan 6 months out. Never. I can't afford to do that. I have to find out when than start saving and once I have the money I make reservations for ADRs. Do you know I always get them where I want them when I plan a month out.

People over exaggerate.

And once it's all over and done people can keep complaining and disney will keep trying its best to fix what's broke within reason.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[BayouMickey]

I haven't seen anything confirmed (and Disney hasn't been confirming that sort of thing anyway), but I noted while I was there that available FP+ times on MDE tracked out right along with the posted FP- availability. If Soarin' or TSMM fastpass time were out to 10:30 pm, that was the soonest you could get a replacement FP+ for that attraction. If they ran out at the machines you couldn't get them on MDE either.

The only exception I could see to that was that if someone did free up a FP+ selection for earlier in the day it might show up briefly, and I doubt that was reflected on the legacy FP machines, but I don't think this would help very often for the scenario you gave.

If anyone observed it differently I'd like to hear about it.

I wasn't trying to make it a stradegy option, I was just saying it's not necessary to book all FP+ ahead of time

 

[delmar411]

Not always. Was there December 5-8 and was able to swtich my fastpass from 10am to 2pm when the FP machines were already at 5pm. 2pm was available but then nothing until 6pm so pehaps other cancellations reopened some inventory. Was surprised I was able to do it but I did.

That was an entirely different system. Not reflective of the current setup

 

[surferdave]

And mark your words? You don't know just like the next person doesn't. You might be right or wrong.

That's actually the scenario when you use the idiom mark my words; nobody uses it when something's a certainty, they use it when they strongly believe they are right about something that is not certain.