At the park now, FP+ lines are snaking through the park

[Silock]

Also, in all the other threads people complain that 3 FP+ are too few and there shouldn't be tiering but this thread seems to make the opposite claim that there are too many FP+ being handed out for the top attractions.

You can decrease the overall numbers of FPs given out and STILL give people more than 3 FP+ opportunities.

This meant a great experience for a knowledgeable select few but a very poor experience for everybody else in very long standby lines.

I still don't understand why one had to be "knowledgeable" to use the old system. I didn't even hardly visit a WDW site until near the end of FP-. We always got there when the park opened. Why? Because we saw for ourselves that there were far less people there at that time. We pulled multiple FPs per day. Why? Not because we knew how to work any system. We just read the card that said "Get another one at this time" and we did. We didn't even KNOW you could come back AFTER the FP time was over and use it at the end of the night in bulk. We never did that, and we still managed to tour the parks efficiently and effectively without staying all day long.

 

[Mad Hattered]

You do realize the laws of supply and demand here would state that there is too much demand for the supply and that means Disney should raise prices until the demand for attending the parks = the capacity level the parks could handle. I'm sure that would go over well...

Also, in all the other threads people complain that 3 FP+ are too few and there shouldn't be tiering but this thread seems to make the opposite claim that there are too many FP+ being handed out for the top attractions.

So there aren't too many choices here, either raise ticket prices so fewer people want to come to Disney, limit people to less than 3 FP+ or else expect longer lines.

Everybody keeps saying go back to FP- but as has been stated many times, the reason FP- worked the way people around here liked it is b/c so few Disney vacationers used it. This meant a great experience for a knowledgeable select few but a very poor experience for everybody else in very long standby lines. FP+ seems to be intended to more even out the experience across the board so the people around here are being brought down a level and experiencing lines they aren't used to however I'd bet the average vacationer is loving FP+ as they are getting a few rides during even busy holiday times with a much lower wait.

But at what cost?

It's pretty pathetic that as long as this "test" has been going on that they haven't fixed the first real impression people get of FP+....the scanners. These are a cluster and it's been obvious since the day they started using them. There is absolutely no excuse to not have this issue resolved long ago....before the crowds show up. Unacceptable.

As a lot of us projected LONG ago....this will be marketed to the extreme and shoved down every visitor's throat. If people complained about not being able to get a FP for headliners before, then they are in for a rude awakening. Wait until EVERYONE has access to prebooking (or so they said). I can't wait to see the board obliterated by the "I couldn't get a FP for (insert any given worthy ride here....not looking at you, COP)" Think BOG x 100. I can't wait to see THAT level playing field. Hurry up and open Mine Train(wreck)!

Oh....and you would think they would have figured out how to NOT have a 30 minute wait to get the chance to see "what may be available" for the rest of the day if you aren't entitled. I say they repurpose those old fashioned chalk boards that they write the wait time/FP info on. Put one of those up within view of the one of far too few kiosks they have strewn about. Kick it old school...at least people would have SOME clue what the deal is and decide if it's worth it or not. I don't understand how these unexcusable situations are "leveling the playing field".

I prefer the distracted crowd...

 

[Shaden]

Ah, remember the day of no fast passes at all. Sometimes I wish that we were back in the older days (for those that like fast passes, please don't throw tomatoes at my thought)

I get this, I really do, though I only experienced it once as a small child and can't REALLY remember. But I can look at the stats, and while people look back with these fond rose coloured glasses of the days before FP in the 80s and early 90s .... they were looking at a park with MILLIONS of fewer visitors.

You can not compare an experience with 10 million visitors in MK to the last couple years with almost 18 million visitors ... that's just not a solid comparison.

 

[Shaden]

You do realize the laws of supply and demand here would state that there is too much demand for the supply and that means Disney should raise prices until the demand for attending the parks = the capacity level the parks could handle. I'm sure that would go over well...

Also, in all the other threads people complain that 3 FP+ are too few and there shouldn't be tiering but this thread seems to make the opposite claim that there are too many FP+ being handed out for the top attractions.

So there aren't too many choices here, either raise ticket prices so fewer people want to come to Disney, limit people to less than 3 FP+ or else expect longer lines.

Everybody keeps saying go back to FP- but as has been stated many times, the reason FP- worked the way people around here liked it is b/c so few Disney vacationers used it. This meant a great experience for a knowledgeable select few but a very poor experience for everybody else in very long standby lines. FP+ seems to be intended to more even out the experience across the board so the people around here are being brought down a level and experiencing lines they aren't used to however I'd bet the average vacationer is loving FP+ as they are getting a few rides during even busy holiday times with a much lower wait.

But at what cost?

It's pretty pathetic that as long as this "test" has been going on that they haven't fixed the first real impression people get of FP+....the scanners. These are a cluster and it's been obvious since the day they started using them. There is absolutely no excuse to not have this issue resolved long ago....before the crowds show up. Unacceptable.

As a lot of us projected LONG ago....this will be marketed to the extreme and shoved down every visitor's throat. If people complained about not being able to get a FP for headliners before, then they are in for a rude awakening. Wait until EVERYONE has access to prebooking (or so they said). I can't wait to see the board obliterated by the "I couldn't get a FP for (insert any given worthy ride here....not looking at you, COP)" Think BOG x 100. I can't wait to see THAT level playing field. Hurry up and open Mine Train(wreck)!

Oh....and you would think they would have figured out how to NOT have a 30 minute wait to get the chance to see "what may be available" for the rest of the day if you aren't entitled. I say they repurpose those old fashioned chalk boards that they write the wait time/FP info on. Put one of those up within view of the one of far too few kiosks they have strewn about. Kick it old school...at least people would have SOME clue what the deal is and decide if it's worth it or not. I don't understand how these unexcusable situations are "leveling the playing field".

I prefer the distracted crowd...

This is why we to the mad one .... the seer ... the one with the sight, he who rules all, and knows.

Seriously, if sarcasm and wit ruled the world, Mad would be the president of the world.

 

[dfb]

I get this, I really do, though I only experienced it once as a small child and can't REALLY remember. But I can look at the stats, and while people look back with these fond rose coloured glasses of the days before FP in the 80s and early 90s .... they were looking at a park with MILLIONS of fewer visitors.

You can not compare an experience with 10 million visitors in MK to the last couple years with almost 18 million visitors ... that's just not a solid comparison.

I remember those days. Loved Disney but didn't go that often. Entertainment value wasn't there. Stood in lines too long. 1972 - 2008 made only 3 trips to WDW. 2008 - 2013 made 30+ trips. Largely due to FPs. Could ride any ride we wanted, see any show, tours, experiences etc. The FP+ restrictions remind me of the bad ole days- loved Disney but not enough bang for the buck.

 

[DOOM1001]

I figured out the problem long ago with this FP+ fiasco,Disney is about 10-15 years too early in introducing this system throughout the parks.Currently the parks are too crowded,there's not enough major E-Ticket rides at the parks and in my opinion they needed a 5th park to spread the crowds even further before introducing FP+,on top of that DISNEY and the GENERAL population are not tech ready for this system,their MDE website is not very good and the App doesn't work on a bunch of phones.I'm not against the MyMagic+ program but this should be getting introduced in 2025.With the amount of people that go to Disney what they should be focused in is expanding the parks,building new rides and a fifth park.AK needs like 5 major rides,DHS is too small,there's been rumors of the park expanding south towards Osceola parkway hopefully adding a Potter like Star Wars land,not a mini land but a huge area with multiple rides as this is another park that needs like 5 rides.Epcot needs a major overhaul in Future World along with 2-3 new countries and the fifth gate needs to be built in that rumored World Dr/Buena Vista drive corner where a small expansion to the Epcot monorail would reach DHS and the fifth gate.Obviously all this sounds ambitious and possibly unrealistic even in 15 years,but the problem is Disney should have been working on these projects a good while now,9/11 and the economy probably delayed them but this is what needed to happen before spending billions on a system that even if they get to a decent level of functionality is still not what people want in the long run.Disney's been wasting too much time sticking Johnny Depp inside Pirates and putting some moving bookshelves in the HM queue they need to seriously start improving their parks not sticking band aids on them and advertising how pretty the band aids are.

 

[Marthasor]

I'm sorry I haven't read through this whole thread and may be redundant in my comments. I was also in MK on 2/17, the original date of this post. I hope everyone understands 2/17 was President's Day and the entire park was very crowded. We did not enter MK until 1:00 pm and FP+ worked extremely well for us. Our longest FP+ line was for Buzz and while it looked incredibly long when we first got in it, it moved extremely fast. We were on the ride in 5 - 10 minutes, while the standby line was 50 minutes. We then did FP+ for Speedway, waited about 3 minutes and again, bypassed the 50 minute standby line. HUGE line for People Mover, biggest I've ever seen (all the way back to Stitch), still got on in about 10 minutes - this is, of course, without FP+. We also did FP+ for Peter Pan at about 4 pm and walked right on. Standby line at this point was 70 minutes. The longest line I stood in all day was to get a Pina Colada slush in Adventureland! We also, later in the day, walked in to Philharmagic, walked onto the carousel and only waited about 5 minutes to see Mickey on Main St.

Granted, we do not ride any of the big rides, but FP+ has worked very well for us this week for the way we tour. We were also here in November over Veteran's Day weekend and it did not work well then - major glitches in working with the app (to the point that a CM handed me a yellow FP to use anywhere), all EP headliner FP+ gone by 9:30 am, etc.

I can tell you, this has not been our experience this time. They have definitely worked out some of the bugs. App is easier to use, FP+ times were available so I could switch things during the day, etc. Yesterday in EP, we did Soarin' at rope drop and could have easily gotten a TT FP+ if we wanted one.

I hated FP+ after our November trip, and actually dreaded using it on this trip, particularly since the crowds were supposed to be pretty high, but I am now a convert. And we are a family that used to use GAC for my DS. FP+ has given us the ability to do everything our family wants to do at my DS' pace. MB's have worked great, too!

So, for those who haven't even tried it yet, please don't despair. We've had a great trip. Did absolutely everything we have wanted to do and never stood in line for more than 10 minutes for ANY ride.

 

[glamdring269]

I still don't understand why one had to be "knowledgeable" to use the old system. I didn't even hardly visit a WDW site until near the end of FP-. We always got there when the park opened. Why? Because we saw for ourselves that there were far less people there at that time. We pulled multiple FPs per day. Why? Not because we knew how to work any system. We just read the card that said "Get another one at this time" and we did. We didn't even KNOW you could come back AFTER the FP time was over and use it at the end of the night in bulk. We never did that, and we still managed to tour the parks efficiently and effectively without staying all day long.

Our trip in 2010 went pretty much exactly like yours. Common sense + reading = genius?

 

[SmallWorld71]

I remember those days. Loved Disney but didn't go that often. Entertainment value wasn't there. Stood in lines too long. 1972 - 2008 made only 3 trips to WDW. 2008 - 2013 made 30+ trips. Largely due to FPs. Could ride any ride we wanted, see any show, tours, experiences etc. The FP+ restrictions remind me of the bad ole days- loved Disney but not enough bang for the buck.

The lines I experienced back in the 80's/ early 90's were atrocious! I remember waiting for EVERYTHING, it wasn't just the headliners. I certainly don't want to go back to that!
(And my parents pulled us out of school, we're not talking just about busy times....)

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm sorry I haven't read through this whole thread and may be redundant in my comments. I was also in MK on 2/17, the original date of this post. I hope everyone understands 2/17 was President's Day and the entire park was very crowded. We did not enter MK until 1:00 pm and FP+ worked extremely well for us. Our longest FP+ line was for Buzz and while it looked incredibly long when we first got in it, it moved extremely fast. We were on the ride in 5 - 10 minutes, while the standby line was 50 minutes. We then did FP+ for Speedway, waited about 3 minutes and again, bypassed the 50 minute standby line. HUGE line for People Mover, biggest I've ever seen (all the way back to Stitch), still got on in about 10 minutes - this is, of course, without FP+. We also did FP+ for Peter Pan at about 4 pm and walked right on. Standby line at this point was 70 minutes. The longest line I stood in all day was to get a Pina Colada slush in Adventureland! We also, later in the day, walked in to Philharmagic, walked onto the carousel and only waited about 5 minutes to see Mickey on Main St.

Granted, we do not ride any of the big rides, but FP+ has worked very well for us this week for the way we tour. We were also here in November over Veteran's Day weekend and it did not work well then - major glitches in working with the app (to the point that a CM handed me a yellow FP to use anywhere), all EP headliner FP+ gone by 9:30 am, etc.

I can tell you, this has not been our experience this time. They have definitely worked out some of the bugs. App is easier to use, FP+ times were available so I could switch things during the day, etc. Yesterday in EP, we did Soarin' at rope drop and could have easily gotten a TT FP+ if we wanted one.

I hated FP+ after our November trip, and actually dreaded using it on this trip, particularly since the crowds were supposed to be pretty high, but I am now a convert. And we are a family that used to use GAC for my DS. FP+ has given us the ability to do everything our family wants to do at my DS' pace. MB's have worked great, too!

So, for those who haven't even tried it yet, please don't despair. We've had a great trip. Did absolutely everything we have wanted to do and never stood in line for more than 10 minutes for ANY ride.

Thank-you for the positive report.
I do not like FP+ on so many levels right now, but I am hopeful that I'll be able to figure out how to make it work for us. It is so much more work that FP- where we just grabbed a piece of paper if we got to a ride with a long line; FP+ you actually have to think about and strategize. But, hopefully I can make it work.

 

[DizFanSLD]

I'm sorry I haven't read through this whole thread and may be redundant in my comments. I was also in MK on 2/17, the original date of this post. I hope everyone understands 2/17 was President's Day and the entire park was very crowded. We did not enter MK until 1:00 pm and FP+ worked extremely well for us. Our longest FP+ line was for Buzz and while it looked incredibly long when we first got in it, it moved extremely fast. We were on the ride in 5 - 10 minutes, while the standby line was 50 minutes. We then did FP+ for Speedway, waited about 3 minutes and again, bypassed the 50 minute standby line. HUGE line for People Mover, biggest I've ever seen (all the way back to Stitch), still got on in about 10 minutes - this is, of course, without FP+. We also did FP+ for Peter Pan at about 4 pm and walked right on. Standby line at this point was 70 minutes. The longest line I stood in all day was to get a Pina Colada slush in Adventureland! We also, later in the day, walked in to Philharmagic, walked onto the carousel and only waited about 5 minutes to see Mickey on Main St.

Granted, we do not ride any of the big rides, but FP+ has worked very well for us this week for the way we tour. We were also here in November over Veteran's Day weekend and it did not work well then - major glitches in working with the app (to the point that a CM handed me a yellow FP to use anywhere), all EP headliner FP+ gone by 9:30 am, etc.

I can tell you, this has not been our experience this time. They have definitely worked out some of the bugs. App is easier to use, FP+ times were available so I could switch things during the day, etc. Yesterday in EP, we did Soarin' at rope drop and could have easily gotten a TT FP+ if we wanted one.

I hated FP+ after our November trip, and actually dreaded using it on this trip, particularly since the crowds were supposed to be pretty high, but I am now a convert. And we are a family that used to use GAC for my DS. FP+ has given us the ability to do everything our family wants to do at my DS' pace. MB's have worked great, too!

So, for those who haven't even tried it yet, please don't despair. We've had a great trip. Did absolutely everything we have wanted to do and never stood in line for more than 10 minutes for ANY ride.

Ditto for me - just got back on Tuesday night, and I found that the so-called "horrendous" FP+ lines were mostly just delays at the scanners that were the result of people not understanding how to use them. When the line backed up outside the ride, it was virtually nonexistent inside the queuing area. In the days of FP-, Many of the headliners still resulted in a 15-20 minute wait in the FP line, but with FP+, I NEVER waited in line more than 5-10 minutes from the time I walked up to whatever line started before the scanners, to the point that I was boarding a ride vehicle. We were in the MK on Monday as well, and it was pretty gridlocked when walking around, but the longest line I waited in was for lunch!

I was able to make changes to my FP schedule several times without any trouble, although I found that the app worked much better on my iPad using Cell service than on my phone or on the park's wifi.

DH, DD and I felt like this was the single most relaxed and laid-back trip we have EVER taken to WDW.

 

[Kelleigh710]

I agree with the above poster. Changing FP times was pretty easy using MDE on my cell phone. We always stay on property, but I have a friend going in April and she is staying elsewhere in Orlando. Once people use the FP+ kiosk in the park, do they have the ability to play around with their times using the MDE app if their tickets are linked?

 

[sonofanarchy]

Granted, we do not ride any of the big rides, but FP+ has worked very well for us this week for the way we tour. We were also here in November over Veteran's Day weekend and it did not work well then - major glitches in working with the app (to the point that a CM handed me a yellow FP to use anywhere), all EP headliner FP+ gone by 9:30 am, etc.

Did absolutely everything we have wanted to do and never stood in line for more than 10 minutes for ANY ride.

I get what you're saying, but these 2 things don't go hand in hand with what the majority of guests are looking for.

 

[mom2rtk]

Once people use the FP+ kiosk in the park, do they have the ability to play around with their times using the MDE app if their tickets are linked?

Not currently. They would need to wait in line for another kiosk to even see what is available.

I have a hunch that will change though.

 

[JanaDee]

Once people use the FP+ kiosk in the park, do they have the ability to play around with their times using the MDE app if their tickets are linked?

Not yet. Kiosks are the only way off-site visitors can reserve or change FP+ times.

Off-site visitors can't link their tickets in MDE ~ yet.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

They will have to remedy this. No idea how they will figure it out, but they cannot continue to have the back up at the FP+ entrance. Even if the actual wait is the same (or even less) than FP-, it causes crowding, walkway flow issues, and (worst for Disney) perception problem. It "feels" longer. Let alone that it's often hotter than all get out in the blazing sun, in the uncovered not-quite-at-the-FP-queue-yet area.

Bolding is mine. I don't think it really matters if the FP+ line is only a 10-15 minute wait. If people percieve that the line is long and continually see lines spilling into the walkways, they will think the park is busy because it "feels" more crowded. And they will tell their friends.

Oh! That is AWESOME! If I give up my one FP for now, do I get a bonus FP?

I'm sure they'll have fast passes for Stitch left over

The FP+ for muppets is hilarious. The merge point looks to be right at the entrance to the building. I have never in all my Disney vacations seen a show fill up there, nevermind have any sort of crowd that reaches back there. I actually think a washroom FP+ would be more beneficial than Muppets.

I did wait in line for Muppets once, but that was back in 1991 after it first opened and the Studios didn't have many rides.

 

[annacali]

Off-site visitors can't link their tickets in MDE ~ yet.

This is not quite true. When we went in November (offsite) I was able to link my tickets to MDE without any issues. It just doesn't do you any good right now because you can't make FP+ reservations with your linked tickets in advance or via the app. But I was able to link my tickets, dining reservations and itinerary without problems.

 

[clsteve]

Bolding is mine. I don't think it really matters if the FP+ line is only a 10-15 minute wait. If people percieve that the line is long and continually see lines spilling into the walkways, they will think the park is busy because it "feels" more crowded. And they will tell their friends.

Good point. And that's a big issue- there's no place for the line to go. Disney's unprepared for that. It also sounds like the inside FP line is moving quickly, from many reports, because they're letting people go ahead at the 2nd Mickey even if it's turning blue.

If they are increasing FP allocations, as well---- that's a mess they have to fix very quickly.

 

[Planogirl]

We have some people saying that the FP+ line is very quick and short once inside and others saying that the FP line area is full. I suspect that it depends on which ride you go to. Those who plan will likely figure out which attractions tend to get backed up sooner or later.

I do agree with those who say that in either case WDW will give the impression that it's very crowded. Perception is key.

 

[clsteve]

We have some people saying that the FP+ line is very quick and short once inside and others saying that the FP line area is full. I suspect that it depends on which ride you go to. Those who plan will likely figure out which attractions tend to get backed up sooner or later.

I do agree with those who say that in either case WDW will give the impression that it's very crowded. Perception is key.

Very true, and you would expect that, the longer the line outside the first Mickey, they more quickly they're waving people through the 2nd. That opens up another whole level of exploitation similar to the KtP find, previously. The 2nd Mickey is there for a reason.