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

[ChrisFL]

Having witnessed/overheard imagineers take in attractions numerous times, including Joe Rohde a number of times, I'd venture to guess that you don't know what you're yelling about.

Imagineers are a different thing. They're usually on "our side" so to speak and WANT to make the best attractions possible. It's the financial side of things and the top level execs who need to be walking around the parks and doing everything a guest does. It's not like anyone would recognize them anyway.

 

[Rustyroo]

I still have to think the REAL end goal is to completely monetize fp+. Once the larger public is used to booking these, Di$ney can start charging for it to "further increase the guest's experience". As many have said, Di$ney is all about the bottom line. What better way to increase it than to charge for the privilege of shorter waits in line. And be able to charge the same guest for every ride they want a shorter wait in. And yes, the pushing people into merch and the data mining doesn't hurt either...

 

[kappyfamily]

Not a lot of smiles in that picture either.

But then, it's obviously been photoshop'd - I was told I was imagining things when I reported back in December that CM's were holding up signs marking the end of the FP line.

Just wanted to report in again that I've been here for 4 days, and there have been basically no waits for FP lines. Maybe 5 minutes at the most, never have seen any lines past the entrance or even close. These are on a Fri,Sat,Sun. of ranked level 8 crowds. MK yesterday on a Saturday and Epcot today on a Sunday after princess half marathon. No problems with long FP long lines! Just an FYI.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Having witnessed/overheard imagineers take in attractions numerous times, including Joe Rohde a number of times, I'd venture to guess that you don't know what you're yelling about.

I was talking about the executives -- the guys who make the actual decisions. Disney executives are notorious for rarely setting foot inside the parks, unless it's for some press event photo op or grand opening ceremony.

 

[Magpie]

Not a lot of smiles in that picture either.

But then, it's obviously been photoshop'd - I was told I was imagining things when I reported back in December that CM's were holding up signs marking the end of the FP line.

Smiles are rare in ANY Disney crowd photo, even when you go back decades. Fact is, crowds make for serious faces. Even if you're having fun, it takes a fair bit of concentration to work your way through them.

I was talking about the executives -- the guys who make the actual decisions. Disney executives are notorious for rarely setting foot inside the parks, unless it's for some press event photo op or grand opening ceremony.

Do you have a source for this statement? Several years ago, Disney flew my husband down to interview him for a senior IT position. One of the selling points for him was the fact that he would be expected to spend one day a month working in the parks at the ground level - ie, at a food concession stand or in the shops or managing a ride. The intent was that he would be experiencing direct interaction with the public on a regular basis. Ultimately they couldn't come to terms (Florida's work conditions and benefits really don't even come close to Canadian ones), but it was an eye-opening experience.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Just wanted to report in again that I've been here for 4 days, and there have been basically no waits for FP lines. Maybe 5 minutes at the most, never have seen any lines past the entrance or even close. These are on a Fri,Sat,Sun. of ranked level 8 crowds. MK yesterday on a Saturday and Epcot today on a Sunday after princess half marathon. No problems with long FP long lines! Just an FYI.

Thanks for the report. I am glad to hear that FP+ is running smoothly for you. I am looking forward to using it in May. My first experience was during the September test.

Sadly, many will pass your report off as anecdotal because you don't have pictures (like those that were found on Twitter over President's Day Weekend and are being taken as the norm for FP+ lines during crowded times ).

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks for the report. I am glad to hear that FP+ is running smoothly for you. I am looking forward to using it in May. My first experience was during the September test.

Sadly, many will pass your report off as anecdotal because you don't have pictures (like those that were found on Twitter over President's Day Weekend and are being taken as the norm for FP+ lines during crowded times ).

I don't think most are taking them as the norm during crowded times. I think the pics from president's day are concerning those who travel at similar crowd levels. I've been there on a rundisney weekend before, and the crowds were not like anything I've seen posted about on holiday weekends.

I'm certain the poster is accurate in their account of the princess 1/2 weekend, but I also think it is a less crowded weekend in general because schools aren't off for it. I wouldn't compare crowds this past weekend to president's day any more than I'd compare TOT 10 miler weekend to Columbus Day crowds. (The latter was far more crowded this past year than we experienced at the TOT.weekend)

 

[Davey Jones II]

Smiles are rare in ANY Disney crowd photo, even when you go back decades. Fact is, crowds make for serious faces. Even if you're having fun, it takes a fair bit of concentration to work your way through them.



Do you have a source for this statement? Several years ago, Disney flew my husband down to interview him for a senior IT position. One of the selling points for him was the fact that he would be expected to spend one day a month working in the parks at the ground level - ie, at a food concession stand or in the shops or managing a ride. The intent was that he would be experiencing direct interaction with the public on a regular basis. Ultimately they couldn't come to terms (Florida's work conditions and benefits really don't even come close to Canadian ones), but it was an eye-opening experience.

I can only say that the executives have that reputation among people who regularly write about Disney on another site similar to this one.

 

[ptted]

I was at EPCOT on Saturday. While I did see pretty decent lines at the FP+ kiosks, I didn't experience any waits to actually use my FP+s at Soarin' or MS. I guess I got lucky and used one of the FP+ kiosks closer to Innoventions and walked straight up to a machine. I only used 2 FP+ selections because I was able to single rider on TT when I first entered the park with only a 10 minute wait.

 

[magicbob]

Apparently there was a glitch that allowed people to be able to schedule them both. It has since been fixed.
I would have loved that too, but for those who weren't able to take advantage of that glitch they were waiting for either 50 or 70 minutes to ride one of them. Not much to love about that.

Ahhhh the glitch. Started getting all excited there for a minute! Hoping for one of those glitches when it's time to book the fastpasses for our August trip.

THE GLITCH!!!! Sure wish we'd get one of those when we make our selections in 40 days!

I think I have found the FP+ disboard thread recipe. Positive or negative for FP+, does not really matter.

For example start with negative post.

1. Neg poster is flamed/corrected by positive poster.

2. Positive poster is then flamed/corrected by neg poster.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until pot is completely stirred up.

4. Add in agreement to steps 1 and 2 for more flavor.

Also yes it is dinner time and I getting hungry.

You forgot to add a dash of funny images (see above) and a pinch of emoticons.

 

[jk and ek]

we got back from 10 days (including president's day and the preceding weekend) in WDW last week and in our experience, the only times we saw the FP+ return lines looking excessively long (and at those times, YES they looked REALLY stupidly long) was when the clock approached the hour/half hour (but not quite as bad at the half) mark. aka the most common rollover times for new batches of fastpasses being usable.

we made sure not to ever try and ride on the hour and we didn't have a long wait once. we'd come OUT of a ride 10 minutes later to a huuuuuge line sometimes, though and sure enough....the clock was about to or had just ticked over to a new hour.

the crowds in general sucked and the standby lines were the longest compared to what i'd personally seen (in my limited experience) on our previous two trips but i can't really think of a single ride we didn't get to ride at least once and all our favorites at least twice... we showed up 45 minutes late on our one planned EMH rope drop day (feb 13th if you care to look at the crowd levels that day) and still got to ride stuff like peter pan with a 5 minute wait with most everything else being walk-on until closer to lunchtime.

 

[staceymay00]

Really, this is no better than having to go to a legacy machine. Not interested in having to "hunt" down a cm or kiosk. This is not a plus for us!

You don't have to "hunt" down the kiosks, they are easy to find as you walk through the parks, even easier if you take a minute to do a google search of the locations in advance. I found it really convenient to walk into MK at 10:30am, go to a kiosk, and book Buzz and Space for after dinner and BTMR for after lunch, all in one quick stop. This was much easier than going to three different locations at different times to get FPs, and having to watch return times to get the exact window I wanted. Each system has pros and cons, but you may want to actually experience the new system before deciding it won't work for you.

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[going/again]

Each system has pros and cons, but you may want to actually experience the new system before deciding it won't work for you.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

We did XMAS and NY, and it didn't.

 

[erddig]

Op here, we are home and after I settle in I was planning to write up a TR ( my first). My DH kept notes about ride times and waits as well as various CM responses an interactions. I will say Epcot was fine, HS and AK were ok but MK was not good in terms of FP. But we really didn't use FP+ (not for lack of trying just had a hard time making it work as a fast pass)) we just stuck to RD mentality. It was still a good trip, just a vary different experience then we had in the past. We also did 2 days at US and IoA.

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