All FP machines to be removed from Animal Kingdom by next week and....

[sandym718]

We are staying in April at AKV (also a DVC) and got ours last week.

For my latest trip this past Thanksgiving I was able to book at 60 days. When I logged into MDE, there was a countdown and when that hit 60, I could book. I did not stay up late the night before so not sure if that happened at midnight eastern time or 6am it some other time. I just did it that morning. Which thankfully was a Sunday b/c it did take me awhile. I wanted my times in the afternoon but Disney doesn't let you initially pick your times. You have to choose and then go in and change them. I think it took me a couple hours to get it all how I wanted it and I had my parks/rides picked ahead of time. Good luck!

Nope. I've got a split stay in April between two DVC stays, and received a flash drive Friday. Only one though.

Thanks for the information. No clue why I haven't gotten anything, but hopefully I'll be able to book on the 30th. I'm not going to get up extra early, but I will plan on spending the morning on it!

 

[Laketravis]

I want to counter my own point as I was wrong. More than likely the only way this will happen is if they allow off-site guests to book at 60 days also. Otherwise just those guests staying on-site is not enough to cause a shortage of fastpasses that far out. There are only 35K rooms on site.

I don't think the availability of FP+ will be as static as "how many are left" at the time someone wants to make a choice.

Rather, it will depend on how many days you are staying, whether you are an onsite or offsite guest, whether you plan on revisiting the same park over the course of your vacation, whether or not you used a branded credit card, what choices might provide an optimum route thru the park, what other "experiences" Disney wants you to be immersed in, and a multitude of other parameters including business rules defined by Disney.

You can read the details here: Disney's FP+ Patent

Suggestions that some might be held back for the day-of or that FP's would be distributed in an even fashion on a first-come-first-serve basis over time is rather low tech when compared to the patent abstract; the system is designed with a much higher level of dynamic sophistication based on many variables that can even involve how early you show up for your reservation or how many times you've "experienced" that experience before.

Etc...etc...etc.....

 

[Tozer]

I don't think the availability of FP+ will be as static as "how many are left" at the time someone wants to make a choice.

Rather, it will depend on how many days you are staying, whether you are an onsite or offsite guest, whether you plan on revisiting the same park over the course of your vacation, whether or not you used a branded credit card, what choices might provide an optimum route thru the park, what other "experiences" Disney wants you to be immersed in, and a multitude of other parameters including business rules defined by Disney.

You can read the details here: Disney's FP+ Patent

Suggestions that some might be held back for the day-of or that FP's would be distributed in an even fashion on a first-come-first-serve basis over time is rather low tech when compared to the patent abstract; the system is designed with a much higher level of dynamic sophistication based on many variables that even involve how early you show up for your reservation.

Etc...etc...etc.....

Very nice speculative extrapolation that you gleaned from that patent that you proudly keep referencing as if it it some missing link that was discovered to map the last pieces of Disney's devious plan to control all their guests. I did find it humorous that you changed the title of your thread a few times. I especially liked your "Disney's motivation for FP+". It was like you were right there at the table as they were drawing all of this up giving us neophytes super secret inside information.

I just hope people recognize your theory as just that...a theory. Speculation that fits your preconceived narrative of FP+ and the nefarious purposes of it a

 

[Laketravis]

Very nice speculative extrapolation

Its all about the READING!!!

No speculation at all. You can read if for yourself, it's all there. It even addresses the possibility of more (or less) than 3 FP's a day, and at more than one park.

Goodnight, Tozer.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I want to counter my own point as I was wrong. More than likely the only way this will happen is if they allow off-site guests to book at 60 days also. Otherwise just those guests staying on-site is not enough to cause a shortage of fastpasses that far out. There are only 35K rooms on site.

Yeah but is the plus ten enough to book up certain rides early in your trip? Like the Mine Coaster lets say...

 

[wen8jr]

Very nice speculative extrapolation that you gleaned from that patent that you proudly keep referencing as if it it some missing link that was discovered to map the last pieces of Disney's devious plan to control all their guests. I did find it humorous that you changed the title of your thread a few times. I especially liked your "Disney's motivation for FP+". It was like you were right there at the table as they were drawing all of this up giving us neophytes super secret inside information.

I just hope people recognize your theory as just that...a theory. Speculation that fits your preconceived narrative of FP+ and the nefarious purposes of it a

I find the patent interesting to read and not something I would look up on my own.

Speculation and theory? I don't think so at this point. It is pretty much already in place and it is nothing new...Disney has been pretty open about the intent to track guests movements further than they already do and developing MB along with FP+ to do so. To better the guest experience (or so they say) which means control the guest to a certain extent. The patent pretty much confirms it. Or you can just read all the comments from the executives over the last few months and put 2 and 2 together. Pretty clear where they are headed from a business standpoint. Gathering information and tracking movement of onsite and park guests to increase profits seems to be their #1 goal at the moment.

You have quite the proud vocabulary going there. Nefarious? Maybe for Disney or what we expect from Disney as far as "right in our face" with it. Do we have to like it - no. Can you put blinders on and go on vacation, spend a bunch of money and have a good time there and not let it bother you - probably.

But this is a discussion forum, so that is what we do - discuss Disney good and bad. Quite a few of us have been watching the play by plays and have been discussing this for months.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Quite a few of us have been watching the play by plays and have been discussing this for months.

So has "Tozer"....trust me. Well, not so much really discussing it. Nefarious seems like a perfect word all of a sudden.

 

[Silock]

I'm still not understanding your point. If DHS is a half-day park to you, it's a half-day park. I don't think we're expect that that is going to change at all. I'm talking about the effects on a standby line at a particular attraction in one park - not whether someone might ride something twice at Epcot where they might only ride once at DHS. The categories are for a given attraction - a "multiple" at Soarin' might be a "one-and-done" at TSM, for example. But it doesn't change the categories, or the likely changes in categories when limited to one FP+ per attraction.

Sorry, I went to the gym and played a soccer game since I wrote that, so I totally lost my train of thought on where I was going with it. What I remember is that I don't know how many people were realistically doing multiple rides with TSMM, given its popularity and how quickly the FPs ran out. I remember multiple trips where we only did it once because of the lines and FP availability at a time when we would actually still be in the park. So, yes, someone else got to ride instead of us, but how can we know if that person would have ridden SB or FP only?

But to get people into that line, we had to have reduced the wait time to begin with in order for them to make the different decision to get in the standby line vs. them saying it is too long and don't bother.

I get what you're saying, and I think, in general, that's true. Some people are willing to wait a really long time in lines (I'm not one of them). I'm not good enough at math to figure out what the chances a person has of getting into the line at a reduced time before it goes up again, given how many people come through the parks each day. I absolutely concede that it's a better chance than we had before. What I don't know (does anyone?) is if that will translate into a real world benefit. It's kinda like reaching statistical significance.

But in general, it would mean the standby line could be _no worse_ than before, with the potential for benefit.

This is assuming that FP capacity hasn't changed (for the worse). I don't see why it would, but maybe Disney figures that people scheduling FPs are more likely to use them than with paper.

There are a lot of "No one knows yet", and that's fine. I absolutely see your point, and I hope like heck you're right. I'm just worried that because of the amount of people and the limited ride capacity, your chances of actually seeing a tangible benefit aren't very high. I hope to be proven wrong. I would love nothing more than to have 30 minute TSMM, TT and Soarin' waits (LOL -- yeah, right).

 

[Oomiak]

I don't think the availability of FP+ will be as static as "how many are left" at the time someone wants to make a choice.

Rather, it will depend on how many days you are staying, whether you are an onsite or offsite guest, whether you plan on revisiting the same park over the course of your vacation, whether or not you used a branded credit card, what choices might provide an optimum route thru the park, what other "experiences" Disney wants you to be immersed in, and a multitude of other parameters including business rules defined by Disney.

You can read the details here: Disney's FP+ Patent

Suggestions that some might be held back for the day-of or that FP's would be distributed in an even fashion on a first-come-first-serve basis over time is rather low tech when compared to the patent abstract; the system is designed with a much higher level of dynamic sophistication based on many variables that can even involve how early you show up for your reservation or how many times you've "experienced" that experience before.

Etc...etc...etc.....

I used to be a big follower of Apple rumors. One of the things the rumor sites love to do is pull up Apple patents to predict their next move. They get it wrong more than they get it right using those patents. I wouldn't put to much stock in that Disney patent you are so fondly trumpeting. Because they have patented a method or technology doesn't mean they are going to fully implement it the way it's written in the patent. The only way we can know for sure what FP+ will end up being like is to wait and see....

 

[pampam]

I find the patent interesting to read and not something I would look up on my own.

Speculation and theory? I don't think so at this point. It is pretty much already in place and it is nothing new...Disney has been pretty open about the intent to track guests movements further than they already do and developing MB along with FP+ to do so. To better the guest experience (or so they say) which means control the guest to a certain extent. The patent pretty much confirms it. Or you can just read all the comments from the executives over the last few months and put 2 and 2 together. Pretty clear where they are headed from a business standpoint. Gathering information and tracking movement of onsite and park guests to increase profits seems to be their #1 goal at the moment.

You have quite the proud vocabulary going there. Nefarious? Maybe for Disney or what we expect from Disney as far as "right in our face" with it. Do we have to like it - no. Can you put blinders on and go on vacation, spend a bunch of money and have a good time there and not let it bother you - probably.

But this is a discussion forum, so that is what we do - discuss Disney good and bad. Quite a few of us have been watching the play by plays and have been discussing this for months.

But if we all left our Magic bands in our room and only used our KTTW or AP or whatever ticket media we have with an RFID chip, we could still enjoy the parks without being tracked. It is the antenna in the Magic bands that send that info out to control each guest. The RFID chip in the cards doesn't have that ability.

 

[going/again]

It appears that everyone who books a Disney package or room in advance is receiving FP+ promotional material in very nice packaging w/ the infamous Mickey zip drive. Ours included a fridge magnet with the sole purpose of reminding us what date we can start booking FP+. I wouldn't hazard a guess at how many will book right at 60 days,

We are from the UK we have had nothing but an email to tell us our bands are being sent to SSR.

 

[amylevan]

There are a lot of "No one knows yet", and that's fine. I absolutely see your point, and I hope like heck you're right. I'm just worried that because of the amount of people and the limited ride capacity, your chances of actually seeing a tangible benefit aren't very high. I hope to be proven wrong. I would love nothing more than to have 30 minute TSMM, TT and Soarin' waits (LOL -- yeah, right).

I tend to think that if FP+ shortens stand-by lines then more people will hop on line (especially since they are restricted to 1 ride by FP+) eliminating any improvement.

For instance, we are usually "once and done" tourers. However, after we have seen everything we want to see, if standby is short or FP is available for something we love, we re-ride.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

We are from the UK we have had nothing but an email to tell us our bands are being sent to SSR.

I'm surprised they're not at least sending some more info by email, if they don't want to incur the cost of shipping something internationally. I figured that they'd really want to target their growing market of international travelers, who are mostly coming for a "once in a lifetime" trip, are less likely to be on a shoestring budget, and might be tempted to pack more into their trips than just Disney if not "locked in."

 

[morethananyonex]

I'm surprised they're not at least sending some more info by email, if they don't want to incur the cost of shipping something internationally. I figured that they'd really want to target their growing market of international travelers, who are mostly coming for a "once in a lifetime" trip, are less likely to be on a shoestring budget, and might be tempted to pack more into their trips than just Disney if not "locked in."

We got 1 e-mail that mentioned FP+ and MB (I think). It didn't go into detail at all, just a "hey, you can make your FP+ reservations" kind of thing. Nothing like what I've read is on the USB stick that Americans are getting. Definitely no information about it unless you seek it out yourself.

It came after I had already made our FP+ times, and in the sea of e-mails from Disney (partly due to my many ADR and resort changes ) it can easily be missed. I've talked to a CM on the phone about FP+ twice, once because I asked if they knew anything about test dates when I booked (so I brought it up) and once because she asked if we had made ours yet (I had to inform her we were not at our 60 day mark yet).

So long story short, in my multiple calls to Disney they have brought it up once (although they bring up dining every single time I call) and I received a reminder in a brief e-mail once.

 

[doconeill]

Sorry, I went to the gym and played a soccer game since I wrote that, so I totally lost my train of thought on where I was going with it. What I remember is that I don't know how many people were realistically doing multiple rides with TSMM, given its popularity and how quickly the FPs ran out. I remember multiple trips where we only did it once because of the lines and FP availability at a time when we would actually still be in the park. So, yes, someone else got to ride instead of us, but how can we know if that person would have ridden SB or FP only?



I get what you're saying, and I think, in general, that's true. Some people are willing to wait a really long time in lines (I'm not one of them). I'm not good enough at math to figure out what the chances a person has of getting into the line at a reduced time before it goes up again, given how many people come through the parks each day. I absolutely concede that it's a better chance than we had before. What I don't know (does anyone?) is if that will translate into a real world benefit. It's kinda like reaching statistical significance.



This is assuming that FP capacity hasn't changed (for the worse). I don't see why it would, but maybe Disney figures that people scheduling FPs are more likely to use them than with paper.

There are a lot of "No one knows yet", and that's fine. I absolutely see your point, and I hope like heck you're right. I'm just worried that because of the amount of people and the limited ride capacity, your chances of actually seeing a tangible benefit aren't very high. I hope to be proven wrong. I would love nothing more than to have 30 minute TSMM, TT and Soarin' waits (LOL -- yeah, right).

I get what you are saying. I'm also comparing against FP capacity immediately before FP+ introduction, and assuming FP == FP+ in the end.

If they increase FP+ capacity, how that would affect the standby line I'm not entirely sure. At first glance, I'd expect the wait time to remain the same but there be less people in it, as more FP+ means less people in standby, unless more might move some one-and-dones to fast-and-slows...

Of course, the tiering REALLY puts a wrench into this...I cannot predict if people will choose RNRC over TSM for their one headliner FP+.

 

[kmarie99]

Very nice speculative extrapolation that you gleaned from that patent that you proudly keep referencing as if it it some missing link that was discovered to map the last pieces of Disney's devious plan to control all their guests. I did find it humorous that you changed the title of your thread a few times. I especially liked your "Disney's motivation for FP+". It was like you were right there at the table as they were drawing all of this up giving us neophytes super secret inside information.

I just hope people recognize your theory as just that...a theory. Speculation that fits your preconceived narrative of FP+ and the nefarious purposes of it a

This is still in Testing... anything anyone says is still just a theory!!!

 

[wisblue]

I don't think the availability of FP+ will be as static as "how many are left" at the time someone wants to make a choice.

Rather, it will depend on how many days you are staying, whether you are an onsite or offsite guest, whether you plan on revisiting the same park over the course of your vacation, whether or not you used a branded credit card, what choices might provide an optimum route thru the park, what other "experiences" Disney wants you to be immersed in, and a multitude of other parameters including business rules defined by Disney.

You can read the details here: Disney's FP+ Patent

Suggestions that some might be held back for the day-of or that FP's would be distributed in an even fashion on a first-come-first-serve basis over time is rather low tech when compared to the patent abstract; the system is designed with a much higher level of dynamic sophistication based on many variables that can even involve how early you show up for your reservation or how many times you've "experienced" that experience before.

Etc...etc...etc.....

The patent application is interesting because it provides insights into the possibilities that Disney is trying to create, but it doesn't really tell us which of those possibilities they will actually put into place. From that perspective, I don't think there was anything in there that was particularly surprising.

The idea of creating a schedule for guests is interesting, and really sounds similar to what the Touring Plans site does now. Something like that might be appealing for people who don't want to take time planning themselves, but don't mind having someone lay it out for them. For the guest staying for more than a few days and visiting parks more than once, Disney might never give the guest 2 FPs for the same attraction for the same trip, even on different days. That could reduce some of the pressure for some of the most popular attractions unless those guests go in and modify those schedules on their own.

 

[Laketravis]

I used to be a big follower of Apple rumors. One of the things the rumor sites love to do is pull up Apple patents to predict their next move. They get it wrong more than they get it right using those patents. I wouldn't put to much stock in that Disney patent you are so fondly trumpeting. Because they have patented a method or technology doesn't mean they are going to fully implement it the way it's written in the patent. The only way we can know for sure what FP+ will end up being like is to wait and see....

Yeah, I get what you are saying about Apple - they'll even patent a shape as part of their build-a-moat philosophy.

Ultimately there is a difference between product patents and process patents.

In this case, Disney has already started implementing many of the claims their process patent covers. Even the graphical representations of the app are pretty spot on, and a lot of us thought FP+ could be reserved only for onsite guests; the patent clearly includes offsite guests and tomorrow AK will be offering FP+ to offsite guests.

Incidently, I'm not "proudly trumpeting" anything. But we are engaging in this discussion on an internet forum in which some people perform research before offering information that might be of benefit while others summarily dismiss that information based on nothing more than their desire to disagree.

We are all entitled to our opinions. I'm just citing the source of my information, and do so without personal insult to anyone.

 

[ArwenMarie]

The patent application is interesting because it provides insights into the possibilities that Disney is trying to create, but it doesn't really tell us which of those possibilities they will actually put into place. From that perspective, I don't think there was anything in there that was particularly surprising.

The idea of creating a schedule for guests is interesting, and really sounds similar to what the Touring Plans site does now. Something like that might be appealing for people who don't want to take time planning themselves, but don't mind having someone lay it out for them. For the guest staying for more than a few days and visiting parks more than once, Disney might never give the guest 2 FPs for the same attraction for the same trip, even on different days. That could reduce some of the pressure for some of the most popular attractions unless those guests go in and modify those schedules on their own.

In the patent thread, I thought the parts about different rules depending on resort and offsite/onsite were very interesting. I think we are getting clues about these differences as they roll it out....So to see it in the patent as well helps put Disney's current actions into the bigger picture and goals.

 

[ArwenMarie]

In this case, Disney has already started implementing many of the claims their process patent covers. Even the graphical representations of the app are pretty spot on, and a lot of us thought FP+ could be reserved only for onsite guests; the patent clearly includes offsite guests and tomorrow AK will be offering FP+ to offsite guests.

I agree, I wrote this above as well. I've been working backwards from what Disney is doing to try to figure out how it will all end up (just out of my own curiosity). I thought the patent helped put their current actions in perspective. After reading the patent, I think there are going to be some more surprises coming down the road as well, some not so welcome ones. JMO of course.