Apparently I dislike FP+...alot

[Q-man]

Am going to be at Swan/Dolphin first weekend of December on business. When those trips have happened in past, have always taken one day to visit one park on my own since it's just right there...doesn't get any easier (or cheaper) than that.

This time around though I'm not going to any parks, and it's 100% due to FP+. The hassle and restrictive nature of it would not provide the experience I want, so it just isn't worth it for me. I've been saying for some time that my family vacations there may be coming to an end, but I'm actually a bit surprised at my decision in this case...which is why I'm sharing. I realize others would feel/act differently, and many others really don't give a rip what I do.

Shoot. No family to work with and you're skipping out? This would be an ideal park hopping day for me. Don't know if you have Sat or Sun free.

If Sat. I'd attack it something like- 1st try to get late afternoon/early evening Soarin' and MS FP+ now.

Get to HS at 7:30 for RD and ride in order- TSMM, ToT, RnR(single rider line), StarTours, and head out to AK. Hit KS(optional depending on wait time) and then EE a few times in the single rider line and back out

Then the the big question is MK or no MK. Xmas Parade taping is that Saturday. Stay the heck away from Main St. Use the train upon entering to get to Fontierland. Remember most people there that day will be watching the parades(morning practice run and then the taping) and not on rides. Most rides should be walk on while the parade is taping. Ride the train back to the front to leave. Don't get caught in MK after the parade is over as it will be very crowded. Don't even consider passing thru the castle hub.

Now on to EP. Hopefully you were able to get a late afternoon/early evening FP+ for Soarin'. If not get in line for it at 8:50-55 pm. TestTrack has a single rider line so no issues there.

 

[Suvadoo]

Shoot. No family to work with and you're skipping out? This would be an ideal park hopping day for me. Don't know if you have Sat or Sun free.

If Sat. I'd attack it something like- 1st try to get late afternoon/early evening Soarin' and MS FP+ now.

Get to HS at 7:30 for RD and ride in order- TSMM, ToT, RnR(single rider line), StarTours, and head out to AK. Hit KS(optional depending on wait time) and then EE a few times in the single rider line and back out

Then the the big question is MK or no MK. Xmas Parade taping is that Saturday. Stay the heck away from Main St. Use the train upon entering to get to Fontierland. Remember most people there that day will be watching the parades(morning practice run and then the taping) and not on rides. Most rides should be walk on while the parade is taping. Ride the train back to the front to leave. Don't get caught in MK after the parade is over as it will be very crowded. Don't even consider passing thru the castle hub.

Now on to EP. Hopefully you were able to get a late afternoon/early evening FP+ for Soarin'. If not get in line for it at 8:50-55 pm. TestTrack has a single rider line so no issues there.

This may sound like a great time for you, but obviously the OP has a different opinion. To me, your plan sounds awful. I really don't like spending time traveling between parks and going through security checks. but to each his or her own!

 

[smitch425]

I am not going to get FP's for rides just because they're available. FP's have no value to me unless it's for a ride I really want to experience. I would never wait for Figment, Living with the Land, or Spaceship Earth because I know the lines wax and wane. I'd just come back later or skip them.

That makes sense for your touring style, but for our family of four (kids are 9 and 11), we book FPs for whatever they want to ride. We got to the park at 4:30 and planned to leave at 9:30 (to beat the Illuminations crowd). We book FPs for things we want to be sure we get done. Spaceship Earth had a 10 minute wait. We used our FP because we had it, and the other tier two rides were 10 or less, so switching to something else wouldn't benefit us. We decided to do Land standby only AFTER I checked to see if we could get something else. Had we not been able to change it to Test Track, we would have used the FP for Land. The whole "come back later" approach works for some people, but it isn't always a good option, especially for someone with mobility issues trying to minimize crisscrossing a park.

 

[Q-man]

This may sound like a great time for you, but obviously the OP has a different opinion. To me, your plan sounds awful. I really don't like spending time traveling between parks and going through security checks. but to each his or her own!

I missed the OP's one day one park. As long as the OP wasn't set on MK, is willing to get to RD, it would still be very easy to tour a park that weekend.

EP would be very easy as long as the OP went straight to Soarin' at RD. TT has a single rider line and FP+ for everything else should be a breeze.

I already laid out HS

AK should be very easy too as KS is really the only thing the OP would need to pick up a FP+ for or go straight to at RD.

 

[Suvadoo]

FP+ is so flexible! We had to do early package ticket pick up on Fri. Oct. 17. We picked up our tickets around 2:45pm and scheduled Living With the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Figment. When we got to the Land, the standby was only 10 minutes. I checked the app to see if I could change it, and we were able to get Test Track. It took less than 30 seconds for the whole switching process. We find FP+ to be MUCH better than legacy FP for our family. Less work involved and less time involved. We used 7 at MK on Friday, and the park was only open until 7:00.. It was great!

Agreed each person is diefferent, but your original post made it sound like FP+ made access to all these rides possible, but these rides are historically walk-ons. As you said, these rides had 10 minute waits. FP+ was not responsible for your experience.

 

[smitch425]

Agreed each person is diefferent, but your original post made it sound like FP+ made access to all these rides possible, but these rides are historically walk-ons. As you said, these rides had 10 minute waits. FP+ was not responsible for your experience.

It absolutely was. During legacy FP, there is no way I could show up at EPCOT at 4:30 in the afternoon and get a FP for Test Track. We have gone every year for the last eight years and seen 30 minute waits for Spaceship Earth and Land NUMEROUS times. Waits weren't too bad this night, but even with low standby waits, FP+ absolutely saved us time and energy.

 

[Suvadoo]

It absolutely was. During legacy FP, there is no way I could show up at EPCOT at 4:30 in the afternoon and get a FP for Test Track. We have gone every year for the last eight years and seen 30 minute waits for Spaceship Earth and Land NUMEROUS times. Waits weren't too bad this night, but even with low standby waits, FP+ absolutely saved us time and energy.

I wasn't talking about Test Track. I was talking about Figment, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. You said these all had 10 minute waits. Yes, FP+ enabled you to get on TT, but FP+ was not needed for these other rides.

 

[cakebaker]

It absolutely was. During legacy FP, there is no way I could show up at EPCOT at 4:30 in the afternoon and get a FP for Test Track. We have gone every year for the last eight years and seen 30 minute waits for Spaceship Earth and Land NUMEROUS times. Waits weren't too bad this night, but even with low standby waits, FP+ absolutely saved us time and energy.

Yup. That's the beauty of fp+ for us.

 

[smitch425]

I wasn't talking about Test Track. I was talking about Figment, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. You said these all had 10 minute waits. Yes, FP+ enabled you to get on TT, but FP+ was not needed for these other rides.

Yet they still saved me time, which is the whole purpose of FP. It's okay that you think I didn't need to bother with FP, but I took two minutes out of my day while I was sitting and eating to make them and saved about 20 minutes of time by using them, PLUS scored a FP for a ride that we didn't think we would be able to ride that day. The system worked beyond our expectations, and nothing you can pick apart will change the fact that it did. I did this trip with a cane and a torn labrum in my hip. Those saved minutes in line were well worth the two minutes it took to set up FPs.

 

[flicx]

Wait times increasing on average on minute. Not what this report shows. http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorized...d-attractions/

 

[Burnedout]

Test track has single rider line still right? So that just means one line for soarin'. no way I could skip a day on my own in the park. After years of kid travel it would be so much fun

 

[cakebaker]

Wait times increasing on average on minute. Not what this report shows. http://www.easywdw.com/uncatergorized...d-attractions/.

They definitely disagree- question is, who is right and there's no way to know except by personal experience. Our experience says touringplans is more accurate- but even personal experience really doesn't tell you an average outlook- it's just one day, at one moment. There are too many factors that could cause whatever it is you see in the parks that day.

I do like touringplans in detail explanation of the workings of fp+.

 

[flicx]

They definitely disagree- question is, who is right and there's no way to know except by personal experience. Our experience says touringplans is more accurate- but even personal experience really doesn't tell you an average outlook- it's just one day, at one moment. There are too many factors that could cause whatever it is you see in the parks that day.

I do like touringplans in detail explanation of the workings of fp+.

Josh at easywdw took actual wait times from the attractions themselves. The same ones Disney uses. I would call that a good source. Don't know how you can get better info than that!

 

[BarbieGal457]

Personally, I never rule something out as a negative before I try it. I just feel no one can be positive that anything - FP+ for example in this post - is just a horrible experience and a nightmare when they have never even tried it once.

How is it so restrictive that it would ruin a trip, even a day trip? If you have a FP for TT at 3, but see a short line at 11...there is nothing stopping you from getting on then. There isn't some kind of restriction that you can only ride things you have FPs for once and at their designated times (unless trying to use a FP, of course). Why not give it a try and then form an opinion based on an actual experience?

The great thing about FPs - you aren't required to use them! We rarely did because we hated running all over the parks constantly to pick them up, go use them, etc. And guess what? We still did every single thing we wanted to, multiple times. I haven't used FP+ yet but I'm pretty excited overall that it will save us a lot of time.

If you're going to be solo, why not give it a shot and roll with the punches? I did DL solo and had a fab time. It can't hurt to browse on your phone that day or night before and see what is available.

 

[BarbieGal457]

I just wouldn't stop myself from going to a place I love, even on a day trip, based on a fear that I won't like FP+. You honestly never know until you try it!

 

[cakebaker]

Josh at easywdw took actual wait times from the attractions themselves. The same ones Disney uses. I would call that a good source. Don't know how you can get better info than that!

As did touring plans- used a database of well over a quarter million ride times compared to ride times as far back as 2009. Seems like they factored in crowd levels as well to know how much any change in waits was due strictly to fp+

I can't explain why they don't agree. One of them obviously is wrong. Everyone is free to decide which one is more accurate. For me, touringplans explains their methodology quite well and seems to mesh with what we experience. Others can make their own decision.

 

[flicx]

Interesting part in the end of the article referring to when too many fast pass plus users come back at once. Seems there have been incidents of 30 minute waits just to scan the bands then.

 

[Suvadoo]

Personally, I never rule something out as a negative before I try it. I just feel no one can be positive that anything - FP+ for example in this post - is just a horrible experience and a nightmare when they have never even tried it once.

How is it so restrictive that it would ruin a trip, even a day trip? If you have a FP for TT at 3, but see a short line at 11...there is nothing stopping you from getting on then. There isn't some kind of restriction that you can only ride things you have FPs for once and at their designated times (unless trying to use a FP, of course). Why not give it a try and then form an opinion based on an actual experience?

The great thing about FPs - you aren't required to use them! We rarely did because we hated running all over the parks constantly to pick them up, go use them, etc. And guess what? We still did every single thing we wanted to, multiple times. I haven't used FP+ yet but I'm pretty excited overall that it will save us a lot of time.

If you're going to be solo, why not give it a shot and roll with the punches? I did DL solo and had a fab time. It can't hurt to browse on your phone that day or night before and see what is available.

I've used FP+. My opinions are based on experience, I don't like it. Perhaps the OP is basing his decision on previous FP+ experience also.

 

[cakebaker]

Interesting part in the end of the article referring to when too many fast pass plus users come back at once. Seems there have been incidents of 30 minute waits just to scan the bands then.

True. What's reassuring about that though, is they think it's just the validation process- not inherent to any changes in line management and crowd flow that's causing it. They also say they think it's a temporary issue.

Disney is putting a lot of effort into reducing this validation process, and we expect it to be smoothed out by the end of 2014.

 

[Fenway1970]

I'm sorry for those for whom FP+ has made a Disney trip less enjoyable. I have a friend who's a Disney maniac and he is one of those who had the legacy FP down to a science by rope dropping and running from place to place to maximize headliners. I totally get why he and others who milked legacy FP for all it was worth are unhappy with the new system.

For my part, I consider it mostly a positive experience now that I've been through it. I was a little apprehensive at first as I am not a compulsive planner and our 2014 trip was the first where I had to deal with not only FP+, but also table service ADRs.

But once I started doing it, I found that FP+ actually made it easier to plan an itinerary that would allow us to see everything we wanted and still make our ADRs on time. By spending a little extra time planning up front, our 2014 trip was much more efficient and relaxed than our past two trips and I can't imagine doing it another way again. And let's face it, planning for a Disney trip is fun in itself!

It does have its downsides. Like others have mentioned I did notice an increase in standby waits on rides that didn't have legacy FP, for example PotC. But I wouldn't say it was egregious, at least not at the time of year we went. Longest line we waited in all week was 35 minutes, and that was for TSMM. I'll take it.

Change is hard, and when you're paying a lot of hard earned vacation dollars to The Mouse you absolutely deserve the best trip possible. For me, FP+ enhanced my experience. I hope everyone is able to make the best of it and still have a memorable time!