Who is having 2nd thoughts about upcoming WDW trip?

[disnut1149]

Ok, I agree. The lines exist -at all- because the rides at the parks are too few and far between. But if ride-fest is your preference, then Six Flags is a better option. Most Six Flags have 7+ roller coasters and many other thrill rides, plus the option to buy unlimited Flash Pass. Yet. Here we are, lined up to spend 10x as much to go to Disney instead because it offers something that Six Flags does not. The "experience".



Never said you're evil. I did it too. I never liked splitting up when the rest of my family is strolling in and taking in the coolness. But I did it cuz it was important to get a few rides lined up. Now I won't have to, and I'm not looking at that as a bad thing. I'm honestly floored that so many see it so negatively.



See I think you're wrong here. I go with non-commando types. They never "whined" about how unfair it was. They are the laid-back ones who just go w the flow. The ppl whining are the ones who think now they are going to get less than they used to be able to optimize.



It is foolish to think you will get on Mine Train in the opening months w/ anything less than an insane wait.



You don't have to like it. But seriously a billion people are hanging on every development to this ride because it really is the biggest thing to hit any theme park - possibly ever. A fantasyland rollercoaster! Amazing to get a new Tier-1 in the most magical park at the most magical world on the planet.

If you don't want to wait 2-3 hours to experience that, that's up to you. You can push and shove, or you can get up 2 hours early and wait for Rope Drop. Either way you're waiting your time to get the reward because so many others want to ride it too.

I disagree with everything you say!! Why should we have to wait 2 to 3 hours
for a ride, when we never had to before. Got a FP and got on the ride within 10 minutes. I feel like I'm paying more for my vacation, and getting a lot less than we have in the past. FP was the best and we used to grab at least 5 a day in MK, maybe more. Everyone at the park had the same opportunity to do the same. Also, you wouldn't have an insane wait for the mine train if they kept FP. Just pull it and get on pretty fast. We always got there pretty early. No sleeping on vacation.

 

[diskev]

What is the likelihood of Disney scrapping this system if so many of their loyal customers hate it and they notice a decline in repeat visitors? I say none because of the money invested, but my extended family argues with me and thinks they will get rid of it.

Keep in mind that most of what you are reading around MB and FP+ involves a ton of doom and gloom scenarios based on faulty conjecture. Thread after thread of "I don't like the direction Disney is going" from people who have no idea what this direction is. These so-called loyal customers defying the definition by making decisions without any real facts. It's the loyal customers who will have faith and wait for the program to go live before considering if it works for them or not.

 

[North of Mouse]

No gloom and doom for us - it's all the way!

Our expectations and enjoyment come from 'within', not the minor glitches (to us) that come up at Disney. We don't do a lot of planning on purpose, just relax, and totally enjoy our trips, as usual.

We're optimists, not pessimists.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

Keep in mind that most of what you are reading around MB and FP+ involves a ton of doom and gloom scenarios based on faulty conjecture. Thread after thread of "I don't like the direction Disney is going" from people who have no idea what this direction is. These so-called loyal customers defying the definition by making decisions without any real facts. It's the loyal customers who will have faith and wait for the program to go live before considering if it works for them or not.

I disagree. Your posts are typical of a Disney apologist.

There are many people on this forum that have access to inside information and know about things long before they are announced. There are people that have enough respect and restraint not to say anything ahead of time. Speaking out ahead of time could result in loss of access to future inside information.


Guests and fans have the right to not like the direction Disney is going or not appreciating them trying to turn parts of Disney into a mini Universal. They are entitled to those opinions. You are really overusing the whole "doom and gloom" label.

Disney has made it clear that in order to use FP+, it is necessary to plan out every aspect of your day before arrival. For many people, that is not their kind of vacation. Vacation should be relaxing and for many people, constantly checking a watch is not vacation.

You are welcome to vacation your way, but let everybody else vacation theirs and have their opinions without labels.

 

[rebbyparker]

You are welcome to vacation your way, but let everybody else vacation theirs and have their opinions without labels

 

[pigletto]

I disagree. Your posts are typical of a Disney apologist.

There are many people on this forum that have access to inside information and know about things long before they are announced. There are people that have enough respect and restraint not to say anything ahead of time. By speaking out ahead of time could cause loss of access to future inside information.


Guests and fans have the right to not like the direction Disney is going or not appreciating them trying to turn parts of Disney into a mini Universal. They are entitled to those opinions. You are really overusing the whole "doom and gloom" label.

Disney has clearly made it necessary that in order to use FP+, you need to plan out every aspect of your day before arrival. For many people, that is not their kind of vacation. Vacation should be relaxing and for many people, constantly checking a watch is not vacation.

You are welcome to vacation your way, but let everybody else vacation theirs and have their opinions without labels.

Never mind those of us who have our money where our mouth is and are ALREADY experiencing major issues. I love that I am a "negative nelly" and all "doom and gloom" because I am unhappy with the very real issues I've had before I have even arrived. I'd list them out again, but the Pollyanna camp won't care. It isn't effecting their wallets or magical view yet so it must be that the rest of us are just negative.
I am as determined as anyone to have a great trip. I am embracing the positive and hoping for the best. But I refuse to be in the either/or camp. I love our Disney trips and I've been terribly disappointed with the host of technical issues and uncertainty before this trip even starts. It's not based on conjecture or rumor.. it's my experience, and it's valid.

 

[Colleen27]

What is the likelihood of Disney scrapping this system if so many of their loyal customers hate it and they notice a decline in repeat visitors? I say none because of the money invested, but my extended family argues with me and thinks they will get rid of it.

Zero. I believe this is a calculated effort to tip the scales back in favor of the more free-spending once in a lifetime guest and away from the lower-spending repeat guests, particularly AP holders and DVC members who are already financially committed to WDW vacations. They know it will alienate some but they're banking on most being too invested (emotionally or financially) in the magic to walk away.

 

[basas]

I was considering a trip ... and then had second thoughts. Does that count?

 

[NMAmy]

Keep in mind that most of what you are reading around MB and FP+ involves a ton of doom and gloom scenarios based on faulty conjecture. Thread after thread of "I don't like the direction Disney is going" from people who have no idea what this direction is. These so-called loyal customers defying the definition by making decisions without any real facts. It's the loyal customers who will have faith and wait for the program to go live before considering if it works for them or not.

That's because loyal customers are shelling out real, hard earned money for a vacation. And many of us don't want to take it on faith that a big company is watching out for our best interests. It's not my responsibility to remain loyal to the Disney Company. It's their responsibility to entice me to stay loyal. And so far, nothing I've heard about this FP+ nonsense inspires me to stay loyal. They're not the only vacation destination. Heck, they're not even the only vacation destination in Orlando and they'd do well to remember that.

If I'm required to get the highest priced Disney room to get a reasonable amount of fast passes for headliners, then I'll just skip it and spend the money for a nicer room at Universal and FOTL access to just about everything, over and over again--none of this planning 6 months ahead nonsense and a lot more rides that my family is interested in riding. The new Diagon Alley looks like it'll be pretty cool, too. Disney should have invested this money in more rides, IMO.

To answer the original question, yes, not only have I had second thoughts about a WDW vacation, I've actually changed the plans. I was going to get AP's this year with an 11 day stay at Shades of Green with DD and her husband in March, a 5-6 day trip for DH and I next fall at a deluxe, and our annual spring trip in 2015 in February with DD and her husband again. Due to FP+ and all the issues, I'm holding off on buying any passes at all. We'll see how this pans out and, if we don't like it, in March, we'll be spending most of our time at Universal and Sea World and eating off site. As Shades of Green guests, we most likely won't be able to make FP+ reservations in advance and I'd rather spend my money somewhere else than be treated like a second class citizen.

 

[rotlex]

Yes, recent, as well as not so recent changes at Disney, have us seriously considering visiting as often as we do, or, for our next scheduled trip next August.

We love WDW, but costs have sky rocketed. Crowds have gotten just plain crazy at all times of the year, and frankly, the new FP system doesn't addd anything for us but even MORE planning. Disney is starting to become a very expensive exercise in frustration at times.

For the first time in the past 10+ years of gong to Disney, we are seriously considering different options. These recent changes might be just what we need to bump as back\to places like Yellowstone, the Keys, Universal, Cruising etc.

 

[PrincessV]

FWIW, I'm just back from a couple days of using FP+... it was okay. A lot more stressful booking my FPs in the weeks before, on a computer; I was able to easily rearrange times via the app while there, though - both by cellular data and wifi worked well. Using MB to enter room/parks/FP returns also worked fine. I saw no crazy lines or back-ups from ppl using FP+ to ride and no crazy standby wait times; TT was 60 minutes mid-afternoon Fri - as I'd expect.

I still don't like the new stuff, and I'm not looking forward to all of the planning I'm doing for a bunch of possible day trips over the next couple months (I'm semi-local.) It IS necessary for the headliners, unless we get there at RD - regular FP was either gone or prohibitively late for those. But other things were unnecessary - Maelstrom was a walk-on around noon Fri, Dinosaur was 20 minutes standby early afternoon Thurs.

I'll do a blog write-up of the full experience after I've digested it more, but thought I'd share a little of my experience here for now.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We just scheduled a January trip to Disneyland instead! We've been saying the past few years that we ought to try that for our next annual trip, and the uncertainty about how to plan for WDW pushed us over the edge this time. Looking forward to our trip, and I've found that DL requires a whole lot less advance planning!

 

[ArwenMarie]

We just scheduled a January trip to Disneyland instead! We've been saying the past few years that we ought to try that for our next annual trip, and the uncertainty about how to plan for WDW pushed us over the edge this time. Looking forward to our trip, and I've found that DL requires a whole lot less advance planning!

Oh that's fun! I'm sure you will have a great time

 

[Mad Hattered]

We just scheduled a January trip to Disneyland instead! We've been saying the past few years that we ought to try that for our next annual trip, and the uncertainty about how to plan for WDW pushed us over the edge this time. Looking forward to our trip, and I've found that DL requires a whole lot less advance planning!

I think you will love DL!

 

[clsteve]

Zero. I believe this is a calculated effort to tip the scales back in favor of the more free-spending once in a lifetime guest and away from the lower-spending repeat guests, particularly AP holders and DVC members who are already financially committed to WDW vacations. They know it will alienate some but they're banking on most being too invested (emotionally or financially) in the magic to walk away.

Spot on

 

[k5thbeatle]

Never mind those of us who have our money where our mouth is and are ALREADY experiencing major issues. I love that I am a "negative nelly" and all "doom and gloom" because I am unhappy with the very real issues I've had before I have even arrived. I'd list them out again, but the Pollyanna camp won't care. It isn't effecting their wallets or magical view yet so it must be that the rest of us are just negative.
I am as determined as anyone to have a great trip. I am embracing the positive and hoping for the best. But I refuse to be in the either/or camp. I love our Disney trips and I've been terribly disappointed with the host of technical issues and uncertainty before this trip even starts. It's not based on conjecture or rumor.. it's my experience, and it's valid.

Pretty much same here. I'm sorry if my experiences are "gloom and doom" but they are what they are. The decline in overall quality of experience is what is catching up with us these past 40 years. I too could list a bunch of experiences/examples but just throw me in the camp that says WDW was once a much better place.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We just scheduled a January trip to Disneyland instead! We've been saying the past few years that we ought to try that for our next annual trip, and the uncertainty about how to plan for WDW pushed us over the edge this time. Looking forward to our trip, and I've found that DL requires a whole lot less advance planning!

Oh that's fun! I'm sure you will have a great time

I think you will love DL!

Ditto! You will love it! I would go back to Disneyland Resort tomorrow if I could!

 

[lovin'fl]

Holy moly, I need a drink!!! My family, 15 of us, got together today to set up all the MDE/MB/FP+ stuff for all 4 families for our Dec 20-25 trip. It was an utter nightmare. That MDE website is a hot mess!!! Calling Disney is almost as bad and we were even told that they are swamped with issues right now (cm told us that lots of guests are finding all their FP+ resies are disappeared). It took us several hours to get it all done and I still don't know if everything's in there or not (one family's FP+ is not showing under my reservations but when I go in to change FP+ they are there and they are on the itinerary). SIL2 is done with Disney after this trip. MIL and FIL watched us working on 2 computers and 2 phones and she says she could NEVER do this on her own and was glad we could take care of it for her and FIL. They also don't have a smart phone and won't know what their FP+ resies are on the trip, so we will have to bring hard copies of their itinerary (add to all the PAPs/park tickets, DVC member cards, room keys, photo IDs and whatnot that we need to carry 'just in case' the MB doesn't work). Sheesh...now where's that drink?!?!?!? Oh, and let me just say...if, after all the time and trouble we spent setting this up, we get to WDW and find all our FP+ are gone...well, it's going to be ugly.

 

[granmanh603]

Holy moly, I need a drink!!! My family, 15 of us, got together today to set up all the MDE/MB/FP+ stuff for all 4 families for our Dec 20-25 trip. It was an utter nightmare. That MDE website is a hot mess!!! Calling Disney is almost as bad and we were even told that they are swamped with issues right now (cm told us that lots of guests are finding all their FP+ resies are disappeared). It took us several hours to get it all done and I still don't know if everything's in there or not (one family's FP+ is not showing under my reservations but when I go in to change FP+ they are there and they are on the itinerary). SIL2 is done with Disney after this trip. MIL and FIL watched us working on 2 computers and 2 phones and she says she could NEVER do this on her own and was glad we could take care of it for her and FIL. They also don't have a smart phone and won't know what their FP+ resies are on the trip, so we will have to bring hard copies of their itinerary (add to all the PAPs/park tickets, DVC member cards, room keys, photo IDs and whatnot that we need to carry 'just in case' the MB doesn't work). Sheesh...now where's that drink?!?!?!? Oh, and let me just say...if, after all the time and trouble we spent setting this up, we get to WDW and find all our FP+ are gone...well, it's going to be ugly.

We would be one of those that lost all our FP+ today. Got to rides and they would not show up . Went to kiosk(we are also ones with no smart phones, and no printer at Disney since we also don't make plans til day of or night before) and they showed up there but that did not help us as they would not activate at the ride. What another mess!

 

[BrookeMQ]

We also had issues with out fast pass + reservations. They kept disappearing.
Each day or the night before I would stop at guest relations in out hotel and have them fix it and print a hard copy just In case. It was very time consuming. Sometimes over 30 minutes to fix I days worth for 3 people.