Am I alone?

[karenklo]

We were there for the week of New Years and really had no trouble changing on the fly a few rides. FP+ really did not bother me at all. In fact it was nice to not be racing around the park collecting paper FPs. It was also nice that we got to Epcot at 4pm on NYE and got to do Soarin with FP+ and on 12/30 on our arrival day (got in at 2pm)we got to ride TSM at DHS. That would have never happened before!

 

[MrInfinity]

What if I don't see people on either side yet I hear voices???

Then clearly you are riding the haunted mansion and you are not alone as there are ppl in the next car.

This is part of what I'm asking. If Disney is holding slots for "day of" for off-site guest, will that change if they start letting all make advance reservations? During the holiday season this could cause issues.

I am thinking Disney has calculated the number of guests that go to each park... and the number of fast passes that will be desired for each headliner... and the number of riders it can handle via the FP line. They know up front when all is done that there will be enough or not enough. By limiting ppl to one FP ride per day, they are making them avail to everyone else.

One thing that all have noted is that the FP lines are now short. They really are fast pass. Before, the FP lines were actually getting quite long sometimes... Soarin I remember had a 20 min wait even in FP.

And ppl were using the FP line 4-5 times a day. This system nixes all of that to ensure everyone gets to do a Tier-1 - once. It is really neat for that reason. No longer do you have to think "wow, if I show up late, all the lines will be long, all the passes taken." You can be assured of getting on your 3 rides. Guaranteed. Peace of mind. So ppl are more likely to not be rushed to go to the parks, fewer ppl packing in at rope drop, and ppl not staying long once they use their FPs. This amounts to shorter lines everywhere.

I think it really is a good system and will lead to overall better experiences for the general public.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would guess that the system was still new to all. And I think the old FP system running in parts if not all of the parks. I am sure things will be different come this Dec.

I understand there is no perfect system that will please all.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience.

I was also there last week, for a night and two days. I was able to book FP+ for the things I wanted, two days prior to arrival, at the times that worked for me. I was also able to make changes to them in the morning, prior to leaving the resort.
Now, it wasn't all that crowded...it was cold and rainy. So that may have played a part in the ease of it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it's all working in June when I return. For my Nov trip, it should be just about perfected! Okay, maybe not perfected since nothing is ever perfect when Disney IT is involved. But maybe working well??!! Here's hoping...fingers crossed.

 

[JimmyV]

The simple answer is that you are diving into the great unknown. As they say in the investing world, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Intending no offense to the people who have been to WDW recently and report no issues, their situations may be very different from yours. People in December report having no issues. But FP- was still on line then. So toss out December. People in January report having lots of availability to book and make changes. But AP holders were not on line then. So toss out January. People now report more limited availability for selections and less room to make changes. But off-site guests are not on line yet. So toss out February, March and likely April. Does any of this help you know what things will be like in November? Nope. The truth is, when off-site guests can book in advance, that will be a game changer. Disney might fully pre-book its FP+s leaving nothing for "day of". Or it might pre-book 90% of its FP+s leaving 10% for "day of". Or it might pre-book 50% of its FP+s leaving 50% for "day of". No one knows. And by November, they might have tiered the MK. Or they might have added park hopping. OR they might have added a 4th FP+. Again, no one knows. You cross your fingers and hope for the best.

 

[Pluto1976]

Nope, you are not alone. It does feel like too much planning ahead of time along with the fact that I want to be disconnected in WDW. Of course this is coming from someone who thinks it's ridiculous to figure out where I am going to eat 180 days ahead of time.

Perhaps this is the reason why I am advocating a DCL trip to my DW as opposed to our next trip being to WDW...

 

[jahber]

One thing that all have noted is that the FP lines are now short. They really are fast pass. Before, the FP lines were actually getting quite long sometimes...

What? That's not at all what I've been reading about or experienced myself last Saturday. I've seen pics posted here of the FP+ line for Thunder mountain that extended all the way across the walkway between Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. And the FP+ line for Buzz (which I waited in) was almost back to the end of the area where the old FP- machines used to be. There were even queue line ropes up for the "fast"pass line. It was not at all what I was used to (I'm a local with an AP, so I've seen more than a few FP lines). The SB wait for buzz was an hour. What a mess! And it was the first week in February, a historically slow time.

I don't mean to scare people, I just want to be honest about our experience. We've been dozens of times just this previous year and FP+ has made a large impact on how we are able to enjoy the parks even since January, one of the "slow" times of the year. Just be prepared to do things differently and for it to take longer.

 

[mulan1123]

I had my first trip to WDW in November, and I traveled with friends who have been to WDW many times. The only planning we did was our ADR's. And we loosely planned which park we will be going to based on the ADR's. We didn't even plan our FP+ selections until we were waiting for bus to take us to the park, or once we got there. And we only used FP- two or three times the entire trip. We got the times we wanted for the FP+ for the day. I got to ride the rides I wanted, and most of them two or three times!

Don't stress out on planning ahead. I think people are over thinking the FP+ and panicking....take a deep breath and relax, everything will be ok!

 

[W.E.D.]

You're not alone OP. We were planning a 2014 trip, but decided to go elsewhere this time around. Still sitting on the fence regarding FP+ since we have yet to experience it, but we decided we would let all the changes sort themselves out before we make another visit.

 

[ChipnDale79]

You aren't alone.

Actually we like planning our vacation, to an extent. We are spreadsheet people, as DW and I both live in spreadsheets almost every working day, so we've used them a lot to plan things outside of work as well.

However, I will say that every time we've done one for disney, we've basically thrown it away once we got there. I can't tell you how many times we've been at a park and then realized we didnt want to be at that park and decided to jump over to another park for the rest of the day. Heck, we even change ADRs.....

We leave in 94 days for our trip, I'm completely overwhelmed and nervous this trip is going to be a complete bust. I feel the rigidity of everyday life is starting to creep into my vacation, and quite honestly, that's a major reason we go on vacation, to escape rigidity.

I hope that we'll still be able to change things around and do different things when we want to. If this trip isnt like our previous trips, it might be our last for awhile.

 

[kathie859]

OP---As the FP+ system shakes out, I think people will make adjustments to their touring style to max the benefits. For us, this meant that I didn't have to hit rope drop and hustle to TSM @ DHS to get a FP for a reasonable time. Ditto Soarin' and Test Tract @ Epcot. It was a more relaxed trip.

Now linking 2 room reservations together and getting all admission media to sync required a call, 2 actually, to the helpful Disney IT folks. So having used MB's and FP+ for our 8 night stay last month, I'm willing to hang in there to see what they do to the tiering issue and the current 3 FP limit per day limitation which I hate.

 

[summerskye]

The simple answer is that you are diving into the great unknown. As they say in the investing world, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Intending no offense to the people who have been to WDW recently and report no issues, their situations may be very different from yours. People in December report having no issues. But FP- was still on line then. So toss out December. People in January report having lots of availability to book and make changes. But AP holders were not on line then. So toss out January. People now report more limited availability for selections and less room to make changes. But off-site guests are not on line yet. So toss out February, March and likely April. Does any of this help you know what things will be like in November? Nope. The truth is, when off-site guests can book in advance, that will be a game changer. Disney might fully pre-book its FP+s leaving nothing for "day of". Or it might pre-book 90% of its FP+s leaving 10% for "day of". Or it might pre-book 50% of its FP+s leaving 50% for "day of". No one knows. And by November, they might have tiered the MK. Or they might have added park hopping. OR they might have added a 4th FP+. Again, no one knows. You cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Thanks for clearing it up...

 

[summerskye]

You aren't alone.


We leave in 94 days for our trip, I'm completely overwhelmed and nervous this trip is going to be a complete bust. I feel the rigidity of everyday life is starting to creep into my vacation, and quite honestly, that's a major reason we go on vacation, to escape rigidity.

I hope that we'll still be able to change things around and do different things when we want to. If this trip isnt like our previous trips, it might be our last for awhile.

That's my feeling too. I want a plan and the ability to adjust as needed. I don't want a structured vacation. Have an idea yet go with the flow. As long as I can adjust FP time the day of, then I think it will work out. I still wish and hope they start to allow for hoppers. Plus go to 4 (2 top tier- 2 second tier)

 

[Kimi313]

You are definitely not alone, I am right here with you. We are traveling down with my sister, her family, and grandchild. They have always thought we were odd about our Disney obsession but now grandchild is going so they want me to plan the trip. Which I don't mind but I'm stressed over presenting the best trip, which yes I am putting the stress on myself, so they all enjoy themselves. I'm okay with them not coming out of this not being Disney nuts but I do want them to say hey that was fun. I'm not worried that I will be able to move FP+s around but that we can ride the rides we want to that we don't have FP+ for. Also we are not ones that ride all rides one time, we hop and we ride some rides over and over. So here's hopping for some .

 

[Planogirl]

I'm with you too. I go on vacation to escape schedules, not to deal with more.

This is why I have no intention on planning a trip until all of this gets worked out. There are too many other things to see out there so we can take a break.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I'm not a park commando. But I don't feel like the FP+ thing is all that intrusive. I was able to change FPs on the fly with no problems. And i like not having to join the stampeding cattle at RD for TSM FPs.

 

[surferdave]

My main problem all along, at least since my experiences in the park with the system, is the rigid planning requirements, dependence on out of control circumstances like Disney dining and transportation reliability, and reliance on a buggy website with WiFi or cellular data in a dense population to make changes. The common refrain that it would be okay with more FP+ and no tiers doesn't apply to me, I simply don't like the change to the WDW experience to require this level of planning, even if other people revel in it. I haven't sworn off Disney yet but my next trip would definitely include at least a few days stopping at Universal to relax and unwind from the time at WDW.

 

[redhotariel]

I have not ready this whole thread (busy here at work today), So ignore me if this thought has already been shared. As a disney-lover my whole life (heck I even plan my vacation in my sleep, no seriously it's happened) I found myself freaking out about this new fp+ deal. However, the more I sit here and watch people complain the more excited I am. People claim that they feel "locked in" or feel like they can't "plan ahead" And for the non-resort guests that is true. I agree, but in reality it is no different than the Legacy FASTPASSES.
1. When you used to get to the park you would race to the fastpass kiosks at each ride? Now you run to the fastpass + kiosks instead ( granted they take longer because you have to do it electronically- no sticking one ticket in and pulling out another, I get it) so that is a bit more lengthy.

2. Sometimes you would get to the fastpass station a little too late and your prime time for the fastpass is gone so you settle for something later right?
a. Assuming you have the ability to do it before-hand because you are staying at a resort: You can now select everything and have the fastpasses for the times that best suit you (within their options: again I get it, its still not perfect, but still not bad).

3. You still wait when you have a fastpass, although some glitches with the technical aspect will cause you a little more time getting in (so I've heard), you regardless of legacy fp or fp+ will have at least some wait.

4. With fp+ you can change your fp at any time (with whatever fastpasses are still able to be selected) with your legacy fastpass you had to wait until your time was up to get a new fp. (but at least you could get them for all the headliners at some point during the day)

Again, I get it, believe me I have ready all the complaints, but at the end of the day we need to realize that there once was a time before fastpasses ever existed. And EVERYONE rode standby and guess what those people still came back year after year in fact, many of us are still coming back now. Change is hard, in any instance, and in Disney's case, yes they need to work a few bugs out... but lets look at the positives here with the new system

1. All of your reservation info in one place ... your wrist. It accessible on your computer or mobile device, its great. I used to walk around with a notebook with all of the reservations so I would not get them confused. Now, I just open the app on my phone! Fantastic!

2. Ticket information without digging through your wallet or bag. I am sure I am not the only person that has ever had the "oh crap, where is the ticket" mini heart attack. Now you don't have to worry about going into cardiac arrest, because the ticket is on your wrist!

3. Fastpasses- only really a plus (from what I can tell) if you are staying at a resort. But in that case for all of you pre-planners like myself. You can select your fastpass times and plan around them!

Again, I did not read the whole thread so if I am way off-base please ignore my reply. Thank you

 

[DisReno]

No, now that this is the millionth post on the same subject, I'd say you are not alone.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

My main problem all along, at least since my experiences in the park with the system, is the rigid planning requirements...

This was also our biggest concern. My wife refuses to vacation unless the vacation can be spontaneous. When we travel abroad, we do not do "tours" - we wing it. It works for us, and makes her happy.

While at WDW, she refuses to make ADRs. No meal is worth a reservation months in advance - especially on vacation. Well, FP+ didn't hurt us because we were able to book the rides that we wanted for the times that we wanted each morning before heading into the parks. No issues with that - not once. That said, this was in January. I suspect that this will be more problematic in July.

 

[Sammie]

There will be Fastpasses+ available for you to book day off, if you need to or if you need to make changes.