Anyone else miss the challenge of the old fast passes?

[LoverDisney]

No.

 

[wisblue]

If I had a friend who thought going to Disney for just one day was too crazy, and expressed an interest in going to the park with Harry Potter and buying a pass to skip the lines, I would be sure to mention that, if she wanted to see all of the Harry Potter stuff and get an express pass, that would cost $252.40 per person. If she decided she could live with just seeing one of the two HP areas, she could trim that down to $204.47. And, oh, by the way, that express pass you're buying to skip the lines won't help you for the top ride in either of the Harry Potter areas. So, if she then decides to just go to one of the Universal Parks and skip the Express Pass, the total will be down to $108.63.

Armed with that knowledge, going to the MK and getting FPs for 3 major attractions, most of which will have same day availability, may not sound quite so crazy. It really comes down to which place she'd enjoy more, not which one is less crazy.

For anyone who hasn't been to one for a long time, and doesn't keep up on them, just the cost of attending a major theme park for just one day is going to sound crazy.

 

[Luckybee]

Hi Wisblue, I question this assertion only because I have seen many posts from people who are using multiple Magic Bands to get more FP+s. They are not playing by the "rules" of using their first 3 FP's before getting their 4th, 5th, or 6th..... So I don't know if the system is any more equitable than Legacy was.

Absolutely right ! Matter of fact from what Im reading all over the internet this appears to be a widespread practice while commando fp- use wasn't. Since we were not that concerned over fp- I never took advantage of some of the systems mentioned here. We didn't need to for our style of touring. But this new system of multiple bands is one I'm beginning to see the appeal in and just might consider it. From what Im reading there appears to be more FP+ availability at secondary rides than what we saw in Sept. This just might be the trick to prevent long standby lines for us, and heck if it is that prevalent now it might be worth the aggravation.

 

[Luckybee]

This is where FP- lovers aren't being honest.. Most of us use crowd calendars to avoid parks with larger crowds so we where always picking which park which day in advance. Most of the time we where picking which park which day when the disney released the times schedule.

So im calling shenanigans on not deciding what park before rolling out of bed.

You can call it whatever you like. Not only did we rarely decide on which park, we wouldn't even decide if it was a "park day" until we were up and about. Granted we would book adr's and sometimes cancel or change around last minute. But we went with the flow far more often.

 

[Luckybee]

My friend looked at me like I had three heads.

I have you both beat. We're going with friends in May and we've been booked for awhile. Until I set up MDE for them, and had them over for dinner a few weeks ago they were absolutely clear that I was "conning" them. Only after I linked their tickets and showed them how it worked did they believe me. They thought Disney was "using " the ride reservation system in ads as a viral marketing campaign and did not believe it actually existed. So whenever we discussed it they thought I was being mean to them and taking advantage of them not knowing Disney....lol

 

[Laketravis]

I just found out that some friends will be joining us for a couple of days on our next visit. I'm finding it really difficult to explain FP+. My friends think it 's ridiculous that you have to make ride reservations.

You're Fired!

I went to NYC with 2 of my close friends over the weekend, one of which is a big Disney fan as well (though not on the DIS). She hasn't been to Disney since FP+ testing began, and while she'd heard FP had changed, she wasn't sure what the changes were. All I said was that now you can* schedule 3 rides 60 days in advance. (*Note that I said *can* not "must" or "have to" or anything like that). Nothing negative, no opinion - just stated the facts of the program.

her first response was "why would you want to schedule a ride 60 days in advance?"..

You're Fired!

Friends and family joined us in DW last summer. It was kind of a last minute trip for them and they had never been. It was really frustrating trying to get a few of their fp's to match ours. We had an Anna and Elsa and SDMT FP one day, and they thought they could just tag along. Even when we explained how it worked to them, they had a hard time understanding why we just didn't give up our A&E and Mine Train fp's and just get fp's with them. It made for some stressful planning and less then magical experiences.

You're Fired!

....So whenever we discussed it they thought I was being mean to them and taking advantage of them not knowing Disney....lol

You're Fired!

If I had a friend....

You're Hired!!!


.

 

[Disneylover99]

You're Fired!

No Donald.....I quit............trying to match up FP+ plans with people who choose last minute trips with us.

 

[Cormoran]

Oh BTW to answer the OP question: Yes I miss the ease of Legacy FP. I never considered it a challenge to obtain them. I miss the ease of touring and I miss being able to give away any unused FP's. But we never ran around the parks to obtain FP's.

 

[JimmyV]

Hi Wisblue, I question this assertion only because I have seen many posts from people who are using multiple Magic Bands to get more FP+s. They are not playing by the "rules" of using their first 3 FP's before getting their 4th, 5th, or 6th..... So I don't know if the system is any more equitable than Legacy was.

This. For all the talk of "loopholes" associated with FP-, the only thing that people can really point to is the use of legitimately obtained FPs, (such as using them after their time expired). But there has not been a single example of anyone obtaining extra FPs that the system did not account for or allow. The system was brilliant in its simplicity. You inserted your park pass, and if you were eligible for a FP, you got one. And you could not use a park pass that had not been used to obtain admission to the park that day. There was no "slug" or "slip rod" that you could put into the system to get more FPs. You couldn't jiggle the machine and coax out extra passes. You simply could not get the machine to give you a FP unless you were entitled to one. But for some reason, that old system is taken to the woodshed in favor of a system that allows people to obtain a virtually unlimited number of FP+s once they have amassed a collection of Magic Bands. So to recap:

FP-

• Obtain a FP and use it at a time that is most convenient to you--This is a "loophole", was deceitful, and was "cheating".
• Only obtain FPs when your window was open. No way to coax extras out of the machine--This is a bad thing.
• Allowed people to have 3 FPs in their possession at the same time, thus "hoarding" them--This is morally corrupt.

FP+

• Obtain a FP for, and use it at a time that is most convenient to you--This is a remarkable technical achievement and a game-changer in park touring.
• System allows people to obtain 3 FPs in advance, but also allows people with extra MBs to go to kiosks at park opening and scarf up whatever FPs are left over before people without extra MBs can get them--This is a system of "equitable distribution" and ultimate fairness.
• Allows people to have 3 FPs in their possession at the same time stored in their MDE account--This is the wave of the future.

OK. You guys are starting to win me over.

 

[JimmyV]

A "mechanics" question. Not a "debate" question.
Can you fill in a detail here? You say that you were in Epcot, and that you saw FPs available for attractions at DHS, and that when you went to DHS, you got right on the rides. Did you book your FPs on the app, or did you see availability on the app, but had to wait until you got to DHS to book them at a kiosk? In other words, can you explain the process you used to actually get your DHS FPs when you started your day at Epcot. Thanks.

Has the OP ever responded?

Not yet. I remain curious as to the mechanical logistics of this.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Not yet. I remain curious as to the mechanical logistics of this.

Doesn't touring plans list current fp+ availability? I thought I saw that somewhere. Or maybe they checked that dibb UK site?

 

[JimmyV]

Doesn't touring plans list current fp+ availability? I thought I saw that somewhere. Or maybe they checked that dibb UK site?

Perhaps. But the way this sentence was written, it appeared that they had secured the FPs even before entering the second park.

I checked the FP for Star Tours and the Great Movie ride availability, found one that worked perfectly, took the boat to Hollywood Studios and got right on,both.

 

[Robo]

For all the talk of "loopholes" associated with FP-,
You inserted your park pass, and if you were eligible for a FP, you got one.

There was no "slug" or "slip rod" that you could put into the system to get more FPs.
You couldn't jiggle the machine and coax out extra passes.
You simply could not get the machine to give you a FP unless you were entitled to one.

Well...

There actually WAS a way to (sorta) "jiggle the machine" to get FPs without having a valid park ticket.
At some point, that was addressed, at least on some (if not all) FP machines.

 

[JimmyV]

Well...

There actually WAS a way to (sorta) "jiggle the machine" to get FPs without having a valid park ticket.
At some point, that was addressed, at least on some (if not all) FP machines.

Hmmm. Never saw that, or saw it discussed here. (It certainly did not generate a 59 page thread). Must not have have been a widely known or used technique.

 

[Cormoran]

Well...

There actually WAS a way to (sorta) "jiggle the machine" to get FPs without having a valid park ticket.
At some point, that was addressed, at least on some (if not all) FP machines.

Something tells me that the multiple magic band abuse is going to make the legacy FP machine jiggle look like small potatoes. I think a lot of people are going to use their old MB's once they discover they can obtain unlimited FP+'s. So the fair and equitable system known as FP+ will be even more corrupt than Legacy ever was!

 

[AustinTink]

Something tells me that the multiple magic band abuse is going to make the legacy FP machine jiggle look like small potatoes. I think a lot of people are going to use their old MB's once they discover they can obtain unlimited FP+'s. So the fair and equitable system known as FP+ will be even more corrupt than Legacy ever was!

Yep, it's coming.

 

[AustinTink]

If I had a friend who thought going to Disney for just one day was too crazy, and expressed an interest in going to the park with Harry Potter and buying a pass to skip the lines, I would be sure to mention that, if she wanted to see all of the Harry Potter stuff and get an express pass, that would cost $252.40 per person. If she decided she could live with just seeing one of the two HP areas, she could trim that down to $204.47. And, oh, by the way, that express pass you're buying to skip the lines won't help you for the top ride in either of the Harry Potter areas. So, if she then decides to just go to one of the Universal Parks and skip the Express Pass, the total will be down to $108.63.

Armed with that knowledge, going to the MK and getting FPs for 3 major attractions, most of which will have same day availability, may not sound quite so crazy. It really comes down to which place she'd enjoy more, not which one is less crazy.

For anyone who hasn't been to one for a long time, and doesn't keep up on them, just the cost of attending a major theme park for just one day is going to sound crazy.

Money is not an issue for her. Standing in the least amount of lines is. None of the calculations above matter to her. She has one day, with no planning ahead of time, and wants her teenagers to get the maximum amount of rides in that they can with 0-little wait times. FP+ cannot compete with express pass in this kind of scenario.

 

[Robo]

Hmmm. Never saw that, or saw it discussed here. (It certainly did not generate a 59 page thread). Must not have have been a widely known or used technique.

You had to have been around Disney boards at the time.
The internet discussions were very likely the impetus for the machine changes.

 

[Robo]

Something tells me that the multiple magic band abuse is going to make the legacy FP machine jiggle look like small potatoes.

I agree.
The online Disney community is much larger now, too.

 

[JimmyV]

The internet discussions were very likely the impetus for the machine changes.

So at last someone has been able to come forward with a real, honest-to-goodness FP- loophole. And it was plugged to promote fairness. So very odd that today's version of fairness and equality allows for a much larger loophole in distribution that goes unchecked.