Are You Skipping Disney This Year?

[wishesuponastar]

Yes, we are skipping Disney this year. We have gone multiple times a year since 2008.

FP+ is the main reason, but increasing prices with declining value is another reason. We can afford the increases, but I am choosing to spend my vacation dollars elsewhere.

Can you please tell me why FP+ is one of your reasons to not go to Disney?

We haven't been to WDW since 2007 and that was our very first vacation there. Just haven't had the money to go back and we like to see other parts of the Country. We were supposed to go this year though, but DD is going in April with her school orchestra so that took up a good part of our travel money.

 

[C-CMom]

Wow I've been out of the loop and don't know anything about the new FP+.

What is the big difference between the fastpass and the new FP+?

Definitely plenty to read on this topic. Try the Theme Parks section of this board. Even a Google search yields quite a few opinions.

Big differences: reserve in advance ("can" or "have to" depending on your view), only 3 per day, limits with park-hopping, and additional limits on the most popular rides at some parks.

 

[Colleen27]

Wow I've been out of the loop and don't know anything about the new FP+.

What is the big difference between the fastpass and the new FP+?

In a nutshell, because looking this up on the Theme Parks board is likely to get you a billion posts of debate before you find a simple answer - only 3 per day, all in a single park, and only 1 can be at a "headliner" attraction. Oh, and you have to book them from home a couple months before your trip or you risk not getting any of the headliners anyway.

I used the system in Dec and found it absolutely ridiculous. It took me more than 2 hours to book 2 days' worth of ride times from home, I was constantly watching the clock so as not to miss our appointments, and we skipped some rides that we'd normally do rather than wait in long standby lines. It just doesn't work the way the old system did, and it is a terrible fit for those of us with kids at different stages/sizes because you can't get FP for Soarin' and Test Track in the same day, or for Rock & Roller Coaster and Toy Story.

 

[gracie1]

In a nutshell, because looking this up on the Theme Parks board is likely to get you a billion posts of debate before you find a simple answer - only 3 per day, all in a single park, and only 1 can be at a "headliner" attraction. Oh, and you have to book them from home a couple months before your trip or you risk not getting any of the headliners anyway. I used the system in Dec and found it absolutely ridiculous. It took me more than 2 hours to book 2 days' worth of ride times from home, I was constantly watching the clock so as not to miss our appointments, and we skipped some rides that we'd normally do rather than wait in long standby lines. It just doesn't work the way the old system did, and it is a terrible fit for those of us with kids at different stages/sizes because you can't get FP for Soarin' and Test Track in the same day, or for Rock & Roller Coaster and Toy Story.

Can you still just walk up to a ride and get on? Or does it make the wait a lot longer? We went a few years ago and never used a fp. I'm guessing if people are reserving them then those waiting in line without them causes for a longer wait?

 

[Darcy03231]

Can you still just walk up to a ride and get on? Or does it make the wait a lot longer? We went a few years ago and never used a fp. I'm guessing if people are reserving them then those waiting in line without them causes for a longer wait?

You can still wait in the stand-by line, but from what I've been reading the new Fast Pass + system has made the stand-by lines longer than normal.

 

[100AcreWood]

^^Yes, I wondered the same thing. *runs off to search this topic*

We don't often mess with the FP system, as our kids are little. We hit the "big" rides first thing in the morning (we are those annoying morning people who never miss RD), then meander around and ride all the less popular stuff. I have a feeling this will change as the kids get older. *bites nails*

Last year we didn't have Magic Bands, either.

Oh good grief. What is a Magic Band? We went to Disney 1 1/2 years ago. How could so much change since then?

Wow if you can reserve only 3 rides per day then fastpass as I knew it is gone. That sounds horrible.

 

[lovin diz]

Not only are standby lines longer, but fast pass lines are very long

 

[Marionnette]

Oh good grief. What is a Magic Band? We went to Disney 1 1/2 years ago. How could so much change since then?

Wow if you can reserve only 3 rides per day then fastpass as I knew it is gone. That sounds horrible.

Magic Bands replace your KTTW card. They are a rubbery bracelet worn on your wrist. The band contains an RFID chip and small transmitter with battery. You can:

• unlock your room
• charge purchases to your room account
• enter the parks (if you have tickets attached to your room account)
• enter FP+ queues with it, if you have a FP+ reservation for the attraction

Customers staying onsite get them for free with their stay. Offsite customers can purchase them for about $13 apiece. Offsite customers cannot unlock any rooms with their band. Nor can they add charging privileges. Disney plans to expand the capabilities of the MBs to include a number of customer interactions throughout the parks (referred to as NextGen technology) some time in the future when they resolve the current mess.

 

[queenofthehive]

Skipping Disney this year- No Way!!! I have been twice with the new Magic Bands and all has worked well for us. We have had no major issues. One of my trips was during Thanksgiving week and we were able to ride and see everything we wanted without long waits in line. Have a touring plan and you will be fine.

Disney prices are getting a bit steep. We are just cutting back in other areas like dining etc. Still going but searching for deals more...

 

[Marionnette]

Skipping Disney this year- No Way!!! I have been twice with the new Magic Bands and all has worked well for us. We have had no major issues. One of my trips was during Thanksgiving week and we were able to ride and see everything we wanted without long waits in line. Have a touring plan and you will be fine.

Disney prices are getting a bit steep. We are just cutting back in other areas like dining etc. Still going but searching for deals more...

You do know that FP+ has changed significantly since Thanksgiving, don't you? There are no more legacy FPs and you can only get 3 FP+. Those 3 FP+ are limited to a single park per day. In EPCOT and HS, you can only choose one "tier 1" attraction and then you can select the other two from a list of "tier 2" attractions. Just this week, FP+ pre-selection has been opened up to offsite customers, making the competition for those headliner attractions even more intense. Onsite guests can book 60 days prior to arrival. Offsite guests can book 30 days prior to arrival (if they have valid admission tickets linked in their MDE account).

I agree that having a touring plan helps. But IMO, FP+ is not all that and a bag of chips.

 

[queenofthehive]

Marionette - yes, I certainly see your point. I do like the legacy pass system better. It is disappointing to see lines for attractions that used to be quick loaders like Haunted Mansion and POTC. They did start the Tier system right before our Thanksgiving trip. It is hard to get used to only 3 fp a day but I would not stop going to Disney for this reason. I am hopeful that the line issues etc will get ironed out over time. Now that the offsite guests have access to the system, Disney might able to look at the fp bookings at bit better and learn to balance the crowd loads at various rides. I am glad that Disney has given offsite guests this perk as well. Yes, I do have faith it will get better and it is far from "in the pits" now. I like that I can use the mb to open my room door, pay for meals/ shopping and have access to the pool area without having to dig out my KTTW. Also, it is sure nice to be able to schedule TSM ahead of time.

 

[gracie1]

This all sounds too complicated for a relaxing vacation to me.

 

[Stitch76]

Unfortunately yes.
Starting in 08' we have made a trek to WDW once every other year. This year though because of finances, and the doing away of the GAC card, we have decided to skip Disney.
Hopefully the money situation will be better next year, and they will have all the bugs worked out of the new DAS system. We may even get to try Disneyland, instead of WDW, for the first time.

 

[JanaDee]

Can you please tell me why FP+ is one of your reasons to not go to Disney?

We haven't been to WDW since 2007 and that was our very first vacation there. Just haven't had the money to go back and we like to see other parts of the Country. We were supposed to go this year though, but DD is going in April with her school orchestra so that took up a good part of our travel money.

I don't like the restrictions of FP+. I like to vacation the way I want to, not the way Disney thinks I should.

 

[JanaDee]

In a nutshell, because looking this up on the Theme Parks board is likely to get you a billion posts of debate before you find a simple answer - only 3 per day, all in a single park, and only 1 can be at a "headliner" attraction. Oh, and you have to book them from home a couple months before your trip or you risk not getting any of the headliners anyway.

I used the system in Dec and found it absolutely ridiculous. It took me more than 2 hours to book 2 days' worth of ride times from home, I was constantly watching the clock so as not to miss our appointments, and we skipped some rides that we'd normally do rather than wait in long standby lines. It just doesn't work the way the old system did, and it is a terrible fit for those of us with kids at different stages/sizes because you can't get FP for Soarin' and Test Track in the same day, or for Rock & Roller Coaster and Toy Story.

Just to clarify, the bolded red only applies to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. There are no tiers at MK or AK.

 

[ElenaRN]

We have been going annually for over a decade. The past few years we have gone twice.

We originally were going to do a Land and Sea trip this Oct. Then we had to evict our tenants and they left the apt in shambles. So now we have a ton of expenses in renovations. At that point we decided to cut out the trip.

Now we just got back a little more tax $ than we expected. So we did book a few nights at Boardwalk- no DVC . We still may cancel but we wanted to have the reservations just in case.

We are DVC owners, so hotel cost is not really a factor, but spending $ is. We usually get AP and use them 2-3 times. This Oct our current ones will be expired so we would have to buy again.

FP+ isn't really a deciding factor to us. I don't like it though. We are a 2 park a day family and this really changes how we plan our trip.

 

[JanaDee]

Can you still just walk up to a ride and get on? Or does it make the wait a lot longer? We went a few years ago and never used a fp. I'm guessing if people are reserving them then those waiting in line without them causes for a longer wait?

Yes, you can still wait in the stand-by line, but FP+ uses about 75% capacity of the ride, which leaves 25% for stand-by, so yes, the regular stand by lines are much longer.

 

[Infamousmare]

In a nutshell, because looking this up on the Theme Parks board is likely to get you a billion posts of debate before you find a simple answer - only 3 per day, all in a single park, and only 1 can be at a "headliner" attraction. Oh, and you have to book them from home a couple months before your trip or you risk not getting any of the headliners anyway.

Thank you, Colleen. This is precisely the problem I run into when I try to search for info - wading through tons of opinions (which is fine -everyone is entitled!) trying to find some nuggets of information.

And WOW. Only 3 per day? And only ONE can be a headliner attraction? And booking your rides a few months in advance? Sheesh. I thought ADRs were getting ridiculous...now even the rides require tons of advanced research.

Off to Google this...

 

[JanaDee]

Marionette - yes, I certainly see your point. I do like the legacy pass system better. It is disappointing to see lines for attractions that used to be quick loaders like Haunted Mansion and POTC. They did start the Tier system right before our Thanksgiving trip. It is hard to get used to only 3 fp a day but I would not stop going to Disney for this reason. I am hopeful that the line issues etc will get ironed out over time. Now that the offsite guests have access to the system, Disney might able to look at the fp bookings at bit better and learn to balance the crowd loads at various rides. I am glad that Disney has given offsite guests this perk as well. Yes, I do have faith it will get better and it is far from "in the pits" now. I like that I can use the mb to open my room door, pay for meals/ shopping and have access to the pool area without having to dig out my KTTW. Also, it is sure nice to be able to schedule TSM ahead of time.

You will find the system significantly different now than your trip at Thanksgiving.

 

[Marionnette]

You will find the system significantly different now than your trip at Thanksgiving.

Yes, indeed. There are a lot more people using the system now, than there were in November 2013. At that time, not every resort was online with MB testing and the FP- kiosks were still available in the parks. According to an article that I read this morning, FP+ usage is up 75% over FP- usage. That's a lot more people grabbing FPs!

You could double- and triple-dip if you had a room key, MB and park ticket back in November, too. We had a lot of fun doing that when we tested the MBs in October! At the time, the FP+ system worked like a dream for us!

I was just there two weeks ago. They still had not opened up pre-scheduling FP+ to offsite customers yet. The standby lines were outrageously long and the posted wait times could be off by more than 30 minutes due to the way FP+ riders might choose to enter a queue.

For instance, those holding a FP+ return time that overlapped a castle show or parade would often choose to return to the attraction after that show finished. That would mean the standby line would be held up in favor of those people. If you jumped into a standby line just prior to them, thinking the posted 40-minute wait was even nearly accurate, you could be disappointed to find out that you ended up waiting closer to 70 minutes before boarding the attraction!