A Crowded Weekend, FP+, And An Offsite Stay-Reporting Back (Very Long)

[wdwfreak]

I would think one thing that might cause SB lines to build more quickly is the fact that FP+ return times start right at park opening. With the paper FPs, the earliest return time was 9:45. So for 45 minutes it was only SB guest that were riding.

This is a very good point. People who can and do book FP+ starting at 9am will probably head straight to those attractions.

This worries me in that we used to (and plan to) use the first hour+ of touring hitting SB queues before waits begin to build. They didn't normally build (excluding TSMM, Soarin', and TT) until around 10:30 or 11. This could change as people book early FP+.

 

[*disgal*]

Op, thanks for the review. I have been waiting for some recent news as we will be staying offsite at Bonnet Creek the week before Easter.

I have been to WDW 14 times, this next trip will be the 15th. I don't think I have ever been this nervous or disgruntled about an upcoming trip. Our touring plan used to be so great. So easy. Get there early, get fp's as soon as you can and enjoy the park. Only 3 Fp's now? And in EPCOT, not being able to get a fp for Soarin AND TT? This really sounds crazy to me.

Question that I can't find the answer to....in the past my DH would take all 5 of our tickets and go get fp's for the group. Can he still do that with the bands? Or do we have to be present when we first set it up? (I assume we are given bands as our tickets? we will be purchasing them that morning)

Back to what makes me sad; the lines. Lines as long as you describe, in addition to the kiosk lines, didn’t exist before. Sure, lines would form here and there, but as I visualize the lines as you describe them, I can totally imagine how much it takes away from the appeal and feel of an area. Major bummer and just plain sad.

Add to that the fact that you need to queue up just to book your FP+’s. How ironic. New queues to get FP’s that are designed to reduce queues. Talk about a real downer just as you enter the parks.

Glad this didn’t wreck your stay. We’re giving Disney a break this year, after four fantastic years in a row, it’s time for something different. We’re letting this FP+ stuff all settle out before we think about heading back. We’ve booked a non Disney cruise this year instead.
Dan

To the first point in bold above......you're pretty clever and I think you've hit the nail on the head. Ugh! Very ironic.

To the second point.....I said this to my DH just last week. I think it's time to move on to something else for a while. It was a great run and honestly I feel sad for the newbies that won't be able to tour like we used to. It was no problem riding a "big" ride 3 times with a fp. Awesome! One year, we were at Mk the saturday before Easter. With my touring plan we got everything I wanted done for the first half of the day by 10:30am so we started doing things I thought we would only be able to do that night. We took a break in the afternoon and came back at 7 and stayed till 1am. We did all the biggies at least 3 times. And this on one of the busiest days of the year! I don't think it's possible to do that again. I just don't see how I could accomplish it even if we were onsite. Oh well. First world problems, right?

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Question that I can't find the answer to....in the past my DH would take all 5 of our tickets and go get fp's for the group. Can he still do that with the bands? Or do we have to be present when we first set it up? (I assume we are given bands as our tickets? we will be purchasing them that morning)

You will not get bands. You will get tickets that can be used at all the touch points like the bands except for purchases. From my understand, one person can take all the tickets and set up FP+s for the day at a kiosk.

 

[*disgal*]

You will not get bands. You will get tickets that can be used at all the touch points like the bands except for purchases. From my understand, one person can take all the tickets and set up FP+s for the day at a kiosk.

Oh, thank you for answering. That's good news. In the past DH has kept all the tickets together in his wallet to get the fp's. Good to know we can still do that. Of course, when we go to use our fp ride he'll have to pull them out for each of us to use as our fp, right?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I would think one thing that might cause SB lines to build more quickly is the fact that FP+ return times start right at park opening. With the paper FPs, the earliest return time was 9:45. So for 45 minutes it was only SB guest that were riding.

I did not realize that. Has this always been the case? My memory isn't what it used to be, but I thought that I had FP- return times much earlier than 9:45.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I did not realize that. Has this always been the case? My memory isn't what it used to be, but I thought that I had FP- return times much earlier than 9:45.

I'm not sure about during EMH but I've always heard that when you pulled a paper FP there was at least a 40 minute buffer before it could be used. That would make a FP pulled at 9 good for 9:40. Our family has always done RD and 9:45 was the earliest FP we ever pulled. So 9:40 or 9:45 is a good bit of time to move a lot of people through that SB line. Having FP+ return times start at park opening makes RD a bit less effective. Still much better than showing up at noon though!!

 

[JimmyV]

I did not realize that. Has this always been the case? My memory isn't what it used to be, but I thought that I had FP- return times much earlier than 9:45.

Yes, this is indeed the case. I tried to make that point earlier. In the past, FP returnees at headliners might start arriving in small dribs and drabs around 9:45 at the earliest. Even if they had a FP with a window of 9:30-10:30, the number of people who used them toward the early end of that window was small. And for most of the lifespan of FP-, the expiration time was ignored and nobody used them that early. Now, either through choice or default, people are getting and using FP+ for the first hour of the park. And they are distributing far more FP+ during that time than ever before. It used to be pretty difficult to get a FP- with a return time of 9:45. You had to be physically in the park and willing to pull at FP immediately upon arrival. It wasn't really part of anyone's touring strategy other than perhaps TSM, Soarin' and TT. Maybe Space Mountain on a crowded day. But as the clock ticked forward, all of those "available times" from 9:00-10:30 came off the board and were gone for good. Now, with pre-booking, those times are as available as any other time, and people are grabbing them.

So irrespective of whether or not you believe that the overall total of FP+ being distributed is materially greater than FP- (and we have agreed to disagree until more data is known), it is undeniable that more FP+ are being distributed for the early morning hours because those times are available to guests from the opening of their 60 day window right up until the actual time on the clock on the day they are in the park. Instead of having 30-45 minutes to grab a FP for the first hour, you now have 60 days plus 30-45 minutes to do so. And those slots are getting filled. Since the computer suggests times to guests and the computer wants to spread people out, then those early time slots are going to pop up on people's screens, and people who are either not super-planner, or have other strategic reasons for doing so, are grabbing and using those time slots. (In our 5 days in the park, our RD rides were: Safari, TSM, Soarin, Space Mountain and Test Track. Each of these rides was ridden within 5 minutes of park opening and on every day there were people rushing through the unencumberd FP return line as we were rushing through the unencumbered SB line. (Except for Test Track in which case we were the people using the 9:00 FP due to our need to get to the airport later that day.)) In all my years, I never saw anyone in a FP return line parallel to the first wave of RD riders. Why would you?

As we have noted, FP+ returnees are being given super-priority, so SB lines are slowing down (and growing) much earlier than ever before. This may all be subject to the "testng phase" and perhaps Disney will disable those early morning time slots to prevent rides like TT having a 75 minute SB wait by 9:20. Or maybe they want that to happen so as to encourage people to either skip the ride and come back to Epcot on a second day with a FP for the ride (and perhaps skip Universal in the process), or maybe they want the line to build to show people just how important it is to have FP+, and to book them in advance, as advertisement for their resorts. Wahtever the reason, 9:30 at the headliners now looks very different.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Yes, this is indeed the case. ..

... Whatever the reason, 9:30 at the headliners now looks very different.

Thanks - that certainly explains why the SB lines fill up so quickly now. The advantages of the rope drop crowd (raises hand) have been diminished.

 

[JimmyV]

Thanks - that certainly explains why the SB lines fill up so quickly now. The advantages of the rope drop crowd (raises hand) have been diminished.

If I can offer any sense of encouragement, at MK, there are so many "must do first" rides that RD is still a huge advantage. At Epcot, if you concede that you are only going to do Soarin' and TT one time each, then you would get a FP for one and RD the other. Whereas before, you could RD the first and have a 15 minute wait for the second, that may be a thing of the past. But you can still RD one of them, get a FP+ for the other (later in the morning, after the RD effect has worn off) and still enjoy the benefits of RD at all other attractions while most of the people rush to the "big two". (Of course, this begs the question as to what other ride at Epcot "needs" to be Rope Dropped.) At DHS, you can still RD TSM and either ToT or RnR before the crowds are really a problem. Get a FP for the third ride and you are golden. You may not be able to knock off all three rides in 50 minutes like before, but with the Single Rider line at RnR, it is still possible. RD under the new regime is sort of a microcosm of the whole experience. You will still get a lot done. But it will be a few percentage points less than you were used to. And as always, this post applies to crowded times. I'm sure there are plenty of people who did the "big three" at DHS in less than an hour on 2/4. But for us, if we are there during a slow time, RD is much less of a priority.

 

[Eastern]

We’re giving Disney a break this year, after four fantastic years in a row, it’s time for something different. We’re letting this FP+ stuff all settle out before we think about heading back. We’ve booked a non Disney cruise this year instead.

Same here.

 

[DisneyFive]

To the first point in bold above......you're pretty clever and I think you've hit the nail on the head. Ugh! Very ironic.

To the second point.....I said this to my DH just last week. I think it's time to move on to something else for a while. It was a great run and honestly I feel sad for the newbies that won't be able to tour like we used to. It was no problem riding a "big" ride 3 times with a fp. Awesome! One year, we were at Mk the saturday before Easter. With my touring plan we got everything I wanted done for the first half of the day by 10:30am so we started doing things I thought we would only be able to do that night. We took a break in the afternoon and came back at 7 and stayed till 1am. We did all the biggies at least 3 times. And this on one of the busiest days of the year! I don't think it's possible to do that again. I just don't see how I could accomplish it even if we were onsite. Oh well. First world problems, right?

Same here.

Even though we've booked a family cruise this year instead of Disney, I still have such fond memories of our Disney trips. It does tug at your heartstrings, knowing all of the fun we've had at WDW, and knowing we're not going back this year. I'm looking forward to the cruise, but at the same time am feeling sad about not visiting Disney, where we've made such lasting and magical memories. I'm glad we were able to visit with the old FP- system, especially when the return window didn't expire (whether you were a fan of that or not).

I'm sure millions of visitors will have amazing times and make wonderful memories this year at WDW. FP+ doesn't destroy that. However, with the FP+ and MB challenges right now, and the fact that we've gone four years in a row, it really is time to venture out for something different. ...and Disney will still be there if/when we decide to go back.

...plus, our kids get to experience something else for the first time, cruising... I think they are going to love it.

Dan

 

[*disgal*]

Even though we've booked a family cruise this year instead of Disney, I still have such fond memories of our Disney trips. It does tug at your heartstrings, knowing all of the fun we've had at WDW, and knowing we're not going back this year. I'm looking forward to the cruise, but at the same time am feeling sad about not visiting Disney, where we've made such lasting and magical memories. I'm glad we were able to visit with the old FP- system, especially when the return window didn't expire (whether you were a fan of that or not).

I'm sure millions of visitors will have amazing times and make wonderful memories this year at WDW. FP+ doesn't destroy that. However, with the FP+ and MB challenges right now, and the fact that we've gone four years in a row, it really is time to venture out for something different. ...and Disney will still be there if/when we decide to go back.

...plus, our kids get to experience something else for the first time, cruising... I think they are going to love it.

Dan

Oh, same here! We are known as Disney fanatics and have had so many wonderful times, I can't even begin to count. Everyone knows we love Disney. My family thinks i should be a Disney travel agent. I do coffee dates with moms wanting to learn how to do a Disney trip. Families will continue to have great times there.

But you will LOVE cruising! We didn't go until about 10 years ago. This summer will be our 3rd(2 of them with RC). Disney is great. It's fun, the fun never stops. But I don't go to Disney to relax really. At least we didn't used to when we were in the parks everyday. Cruising is TRULY relaxing. It's totally different for me than Disney. So taking a break and going on a cruise is a great idea, I think. Have fun!

 

[DisneyFive]

Oh, same here! We are known as Disney fanatics and have had so many wonderful times, I can't even begin to count. Everyone knows we love Disney. My family thinks i should be a Disney travel agent. I do coffee dates with moms wanting to learn how to do a Disney trip. Families will continue to have great times there.

But you will LOVE cruising! We didn't go until about 10 years ago. This summer will be our 3rd(2 of them with RC). Disney is great. It's fun, the fun never stops. But I don't go to Disney to relax really. At least we didn't used to when we were in the parks everyday. Cruising is TRULY relaxing. It's totally different for me than Disney. So taking a break and going on a cruise is a great idea, I think. Have fun!

Don't mean to hijack this thread... but yeah, we love cruising too. It's only been my wife and I though, adults only with two other couples each of our two cruises. Let me just say, it's been a riot! Both RC, Freedom Class Ships, one Eastern and one Western Caribbean. We hadn't cruised up until two years ago.

During this past cruise (just three weeks ago) we made sure to check things out from the viewpoint of how the kids would like it. Our take away: They'll be amazed. Can't wait. Cruising is super relaxing, whereas Disney is not, but both are so much fun.

Your coffee shop story reminds me of my wife and her friends. Many a friend has come to her for Disney tips and information. Heck, I love planning the trips too. Best wishes to you on your future trips, wherever they might be!

Dan

 

[alisatj]

For the off-site park hopping daughter...

We found that the lines were much shorter toward park close. If she chooses to ride rather than watch a parade or Illuminations or Fantasmic, she should be able to ride headliners. We always get in line for something right at park close too.

We were able to do ETWB 30 minutes before park close with no line. We then hurried over and did Thunder Mtn right at close.

We rode Test Track with maybe a 20 minute wait in the time before Illuminations began. Then we booked it across the park and rode Soarin' just before park close.

At DHS, we skipped Fantasmic and rode Toy Story twice before the park closed. The second time we got in line was about 2 minutes before close .

Anyway, she might try that if she's willing to skip other evening entertainment.