Can we talk about how bad FastPass+ is?

[Muckbeast]

things change and this seems to be working for most people.

Sometimes things change for the worse.

This is not working for most people.

Wait times are longer than ever. Crowds are worse than ever. People are running around frantically riding things they don't want to ride simply because they picked it weeks/months prior and have to burn through them to be able to FP stuff they actually want to ride.

Dumb system.

New Coke was a change too. It was a bad one.

Harry Potter/Universal has to be loving Disney's FP+.

 

[utlegaleagle]

So, I was a FP+ detractor - until I used it. Went to MK today. Stayed from RD until close at 9:00 P.M. Rode the following:

Peter Pan
Pooh
Ariel's Grotto
Under the Sea
Rapunzel & Cinderella (FP+)
Barnstormer
Dumbo
Goofy & Donald
Daisy & Minnie
Mine Train (FP+)
Stitch's Great Escape
Enchanted Tales with Belle (FP+)
It's a Small World
Philharmagic
Haunted Mansion
Country Bears
Big Thunder Mountain
Woody & Jessie
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Pirates of the Caribbean (FP+)
Big Thunder Mountain (FP+)
Splash Mountain (FP+)
MSEP
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Splash Mountain

So is it different? Surely. But does it kill the MK experience? Not really.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

So, I was a FP+ detractor - until I used it. Went to MK today. Stayed from RD until close at 9:00 P.M. Rode the following:

Peter Pan
Pooh
Ariel's Grotto
Under the Sea
Rapunzel & Cinderella (FP+)
Barnstormer
Dumbo
Goofy & Donald
Daisy & Minnie
Mine Train (FP+)
Stitch's Great Escape
Enchanted Tales with Belle (FP+)
It's a Small World
Philharmagic
Haunted Mansion
Country Bears
Big Thunder Mountain
Woody & Jessie
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Pirates of the Caribbean (FP+)
Big Thunder Mountain (FP+)
Splash Mountain (FP+)
MSEP
Splash Mountain (FP+)
Splash Mountain

So is it different? Surely. But does it kill the MK experience? Not really.

Thanks for your report! I've been wondering about additional FP availability in MK especially. I see Splash was def available. Did you happen to notice if Space, BTMRR, HM, or Pot had availability later on too? I have our FPS set up for 7dmt, etwb, PP one day and 7dmt, btmrr, and splash the next. But def hoping to be able to get additional passes for my other faves. I will be going on MNSSHH days and honestly hoping I won't need them, but time will tell.

 

[DPickering]

Don't want to fight with anyone but I agree with everything the op said. And I try to limit the amount of time we are on our devices around our son and this system does not help with that. We are going back in Jan mainly because we got a crazy good deal but my preference now is DW. Am truly glad others are enjoying the system.

Oh and I don't think anyone should ever stop voicing their opinions because 'that's how it is now.' Pretty much anything can change. This system will inevitably change. All feedback is good.

 

[newct]

Good luck with FP within a week for Seven Dwarfs. Untouchable!

 

[Muckbeast]

So is it different? Surely. But does it kill the MK experience? Not really.

26 attractions in a single day is an impressive feat under any circumstances. I hope you realize that type of behavior is not what the vast majority of people want, nor is it what Disney wants or has ever wanted.

No system should or will ever be designed with that kind of usage in mind. You are an extreme outlier.

 

[Muckbeast]

It's sort of relevant. If you have low posts everyone is just going to think you're a regular disboards disney basher who made up a new account just to stir the pot.

If you're genuinely new here, welcome!!!!

I think I had an account here years ago. I mostly just read to keep up with news, and only a few times a year. But this FP+ system is so horrendous it motivated me to speak my mind and try to find out if there is any hope of staking it through the heart.

Don't want to fight with anyone but I agree with everything the op said. And I try to limit the amount of time we are on our devices around our son and this system does not help with that.

Another excellent point. If anything vacation should move people away from the devices they are slaves to at home/work so they can focus on each other. This system does the opposite.

This system puts an extreme focus on device usage and excessive micromanagement planning. It takes away from spontaneity and focusing on your family/friends.

 

[ucfknight]

Re-read. You went from "book it same afternoon!" to "book it weeks in advance."

I NEVER said you could "book it same afternoon". That would be impossible with FP+ just like it would have been impossible to ride all 3 mountains all using legacy FP if you entered the park in the afternoon.

I said book " in the afternoon", meaning to prebook your times for the afternoon for the day you plan to visit. It would take me 3 minutes to book the times I said for a day in a week or two and be able to ride all 3 mountains in the afternoon that day. I have no problem spending 3 minutes to setup FP+.

Sorry you hate the system . I wish everyone who hated the system so much stopped going to the parks. Attendance is way up at the parks and I'd like a little more elbow room again..

 

[ucfknight]

Good luck with FP within a week for Seven Dwarfs. Untouchable!

Forthat matter, good luck booking it 60 days out.

 

[Muckbeast]

Forthat matter, good luck booking it 60 days out.

Broken system.

The very idea of "booking" something 60 days in advance that only lasts a few minutes would make Walt Disney burn this place down to the ground.

That is truly the root of this problem. It is utterly flawed at it's core.

 

[ElizabethG]

4) Lines and waits are much longer. There may be a number of reasons why this happens. I suspect one reason is people are riding crap they don't really want to ride just to burn through their first 3 FP+ and then be allowed to FP with a little more freedom (or FP the same attraction).

Just a note, you don't have to do that. If there is only one or two FP+ you want, you can cancel the unwanted ones. Then, after you use the one or two you want, you can start booking your in park 4+.

The only people this system is at all good for are type A people who want to plan every second of their vacation in advance to the detriment of everyone else.

That seems pretty judgmental of others. If you don't like Disney's system, fine. Passing judgement on other peoples preferences doesn't make sense.

 

[ucfknight]

Yes you did.

I thought I already told you that you were done. Seriously. Begone weirdo who plans every 30 seconds of his vacation 2 months in advance.

You don't get to decide the limited parameters by which someone is allowed to choose attractions they want to ride. It is their vacation, not yours. That's Point #1. That's the control freak nature of this system that is absolutely horrendous and needs to die in a fire.

A. You don't decide who's done.
B. Work on your reading comprehension
C. Plan your next vacation anywhere but Disney. Everyone will be much happier.
D. Name calling? Are you 9 years old or just drunk?

 

[Peachkins]

Yes you did.

I thought I already told you that you were done. Seriously. Begone weirdo who plans every 30 seconds of his vacation 2 months in advance.

You don't get to decide the limited parameters by which someone is allowed to choose attractions they want to ride. It is their vacation, not yours. That's Point #1. That's the control freak nature of this system that is absolutely horrendous and needs to die in a fire.

Okay. Honestly, you're just acting kind of crazy now. If you want anyone to take you remotely seriously, I would suggest dialing it down. Unless your intention is just to get everyone riled up.

 

[Muckbeast]

Just a note, you don't have to do that. If there is only one or two FP+ you want, you can cancel the unwanted ones. Then, after you use the one or two you want, you can start booking your in park 4+.

Incorrect.

Furthermore, even if it worked that way (it doesn't), that simply illustrates how dumb the system is in the first place. Why the unnecessary kludging around?

What if I just want to go to AK and do the Safari three times? Why does Big Brother Disney need to command me to do 2 other attractions first before I can FP a second safari?

FP+ is a disaster of bad design and even worse implementation.

The natural extension of FP+ is for people to start booking their bathroom breaks 2 months in advance, pre-ordering their snacks, scheduling their photo ops 2 months in advance, and submitting their walking route for approval and the RFID tag in the MagicBand sets off an alarm whenever you deviate.

 

[Planogirl]

Muckbeast, I'm one who is still around from the days that this very topic was being argued about quite a lot. I don't like a lot of changes but I'm tired of the topic frankly.

By the way, some people don't seem to pay attention but many of those against this system have disappeared. I guess that some of them have moved on.

 

[AmyB2006]

They probably got fed up with being shouted down by the micromanaging OCD vocal minority defenders of this disgraceful system.

I can guarantee you that the type of person who can plan every 30 seconds of their vacation 2+ months in advance has a lot more time to post on forums than people with productive lives who try to relax a little on a vacation.

I think you're being a little disrespectful now. Or you're trying to stir the pot since all but one of your posts are on this thread. You just happen to come onto the DIS and start complaining about the most heated topic on here?

This system has been argued over since it's planning phases of implementation. So yes, some people are tired of seeing the same arguments over and over again.

I respect your opinion, but I also hope that you would respect mine. I do enjoy the planning. And I have found that FP+ can work a lot like the old FP system if you work it the same. There are some things I dislike about it, and things I like about it.

I think it's more productive, especially on here where tempers can flare, to discuss how to use the system to the best of its advantages than to just complain about it. But that's me.

By the way, some people don't seem to pay attention but many of those against this system have disappeared. I guess that some of them have moved on.

Or they've discovered how to make it work better for their touring style and don't hate it as much?

 

[Lolsmum]

People seem to forget that FP, legacy or the new one, is a free bonus. I totally get how those who learned to use the old FP system to their advantage over the years will resent the change but for the majority of visitors both kinds of FP are a bonus over the traditional stand in line for ages for every single popular ride. I grew up going to DL many times a year without FP and survived it. I even enjoyed going.

Personally, I've yet to use the FP+ (trip in another 45 days!) but I am actually pleased about it. I can virtually guarantee to my kids that they will get to go on their favourites without having to stand in line for hours to do it.

 

[jon18uk]

I also miss the joy you bring others when you give away fast passes you aren't using. That was always a fun thing to do especially for the big ticket rides.

I miss the days of characters walking around the park without security, fast passes for disney resort guests only and extra magic hours with a small fee because you really felt like you had the park to yourself. WDW feels like a factory where we are placed on a conveyor belt and told where to look, what to do, and what times to do it. This is the first time in 20+ trips where I didn't feel the Disney Magic.

But if you didn't take those FastPasses you weren't going to use then someone could have got them from the machine instead of having to be given second hand passes.

We went to DisneyLand Paris a few years ago where character meet and greets didn't have formal queues and it was awful. I had a child stomp on my foot and several people push me out the way to get a photo with Woody. I agree there needs to be more characters which aren't listed on the times guide, just spontaneously appearing, but they need decent handlers who monitor the line and sort queues out.

 

[Lolsmum]

But if you didn't take those FastPasses you weren't going to use then someone could have got them from the machine instead of having to be given second hand passes.

We went to DisneyLand Paris a few years ago where character meet and greets didn't have formal queues and it was awful. I had a child stomp on my foot and several people push me out the way to get a photo with Woody. I agree there needs to be more characters which aren't listed on the times guide, just spontaneously appearing, but they need decent handlers who monitor the line and sort queues out.

I have had plans changed and given away legacy FP. It was kind of fun. We also gave away hotel FP at DLP once when we hadn't used them. It's not a terrible thing to do.

I do 100% agree with you on DLP character meets. It has gotten better, but last Halloween I did give up on meeting some characters after adults who didn't have children with them literally grabbed my daughter and pushed her behind them. Our last trip, in May, was better.

 

[Zhaan]

Don't want to fight with anyone but I agree with everything the op said. And I try to limit the amount of time we are on our devices around our son and this system does not help with that. We are going back in Jan mainly because we got a crazy good deal but my preference now is DW. Am truly glad others are enjoying the system.

Oh and I don't think anyone should ever stop voicing their opinions because 'that's how it is now.' Pretty much anything can change. This system will inevitably change. All feedback is good.

I have to agree as well. Nothing is going to make me enjoy having to decide which park to go to 60 days in advance and having to get up at midnight (which is the literal middle of my night, I get up at 3:30 a.m. for work) to make sure I can get specific attractions.

Part of the fun of going to Disney was waking up each morning and saying "where do we want to go today?!"