Can we talk about how bad FastPass+ is?

[OtherScott]

"Intend" being the key word here. No one is denying that this technology may be implemented in the future. But at present, they are not tracking guests' movements throughout the parks.

Yes. Ride photos have been mentioned several times in this thread.

You left out most salient point of PP:

MagicBands can also be read by long-range readers located at Walt Disney World Resort

Disney doesn't "intend" to locate long range readers, they're already "located"

 

[DISNEYD14]

To be fair, I have yet to take my trip , end of October. I am a Type A personality and plan ahead. I have a 5 year plan for everything in my life, lol

However, my natural instinct for fun is to wing it, does that make sense?

I'm a full time working mom with 3 young children so I had to bury that wing it side of me and embrace my natural gift of organization and planning.

While I am loving the idea of FP+ not sure how it will turn out. I love being able to book TSMM at mid day from my computer as running to HS bright and early while trying to keep my kids awake for Fantasmic doesn't work.

This is same for all the parks. I picked the 3 rides at each park that are a must do, booked them around my character meals which is also a must do with 3 young children and where we want to be on any given day and then everything else is bonus.

I don't like standing in lines for characters or rides. So we are pretty happy with everything we got. Actually thrilled! We got everything we wanted by prebooking our FP and ADRS.

Now I feel I can sit back and rest on my vacation, enjoy the pool at the resort which we never could do. Mid day breaks didn't work for us. Too much travel time back and forth.


BTW - I heard there is a wait list somewhere on this board for A&E meet and greet. Going to release my extra fast pass and wanted my other Disney devotees for dibs.

 

[kay1864]

You left out most salient point of PP:

MagicBands can also be read by long-range readers located at Walt Disney World Resort

Disney doesn't "intend" to locate long range readers, they're already "located"

As I've mentioned, long-range sensors are currently located on some rides for photos. Doesn't mean they're currently spread throughout the parks tracking MB guests' movements.

 

[kay1864]

Or just put a metal bracelet over it between uses if that worried.

Or buy one of these:

Or make yourself one of these:

 

[jade1]

Below is from the Disney Site. I don't know if the long range is installed or not but they have clearly stated they intend on tracking your experience with long range readers. Also though not super long, the system for ride photos going on your memory maker is some type of long range.

Your Privacy and RF Technology Used at Walt Disney World Resort

Your MagicBand or card is unique to you and allows us to authenticate you and the benefits associated with you. The MagicBand and card contain only a randomly assigned code that securely links to an encrypted database and are configured to not store any other information about you.

Each MagicBand contains an HF Radio Frequency device and a transmitter which sends and receives RF signals through a small antenna inside the MagicBand and enables it to be detected at short-range touch points throughout Walt Disney World Resort. MagicBands can also be read by long-range readers located at Walt Disney World Resort used to deliver personalized experiences, as well as provide information that helps us improve the overall experience in our parks.

If you prefer, you may elect to use a card instead of a MagicBand. Cards contain a passive HF Radio Frequency chip and cannot be detected by the long-range readers.

You left out most salient point of PP:

Another salient point from earlier-opt for the card, or cover the band.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I kind of feel bad for you if you really think that's a stupid thing to say (and it's clear that's exactly what you think).

I am not a Disney newbie, and we've had several successful vacations using very few legacy FPs ... maybe 1 or 2 a day. We rode almost everything standby, with very little wait time. Given my experience, riding standby is more than just a viable option to me.

If there had been no legacy FP at all, we would have had a fine time. It was just a bonus to us.

I know that FP+ has resulted in increased wait times for lesser attractions, but I have trouble believing that riding standby is no longer a viable option at all.

Straw man much? I said it was a bad argument, not a stupid one.

Assuming your sig is up to date, I see that you've yet to take a trip under the full FP+ system currently in use. I look forward to your trip report for your upcoming Thanksgiving trip, where I'm sure you'll do it all standby.

 

[Robo]

As I've mentioned, long-range sensors are currently located on some rides for photos. Doesn't mean they're currently spread throughout the parks tracking MB guests' movements.

Can we all agree that there is potential for them to track, in some way, at any time from this point forward,
(Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, Next Month, Next Season, Next Year...)
the long-range RFID chip in the MB?

 

[OtherScott]

I was a hater of the new FP system before actually using it, as we had mastered the art of the old system. Of course, a significant piece of that "art" required my sprinting across the parks to various FP machines throughout the day so that the rest of my family could leisurely walk to rides, get snacks, browse shops, etc. We have now been twice under the new system and, so far, it has actually helped us relax a lot more. We still enjoy rope-drop to try to knock out several rides early without needing FP, but there are times that we just want to sleep in and now we can, without fear that all the Soarin' FPs will be gone before we get there (if that's one we've gotten in advance). With very few exceptions (e.g., A&E, SDMT, TSMM), most rides can indeed be secured within a few days of a trip (and often same morning, although time selections might be limited, admittedly) so planning several weeks in advance is mainly for those who enjoy the planning process (and there are plenty of those folks). I'd rather spend a half hour a few weeks in advance thinking about what I might like to guarantee as a ride on a given day than running through the parks trying to get paper FPs all day with no idea as to what timeframe I might be forced to oblige (e.g., showing up at a Soarin' FP dispenser at 9:30 a.m. to find out the first available FP is at 5:00 that evening). If the response is (or was, I guess), "well you should know that you have to get there earlier if you want to guarantee a decent FP," then we're back to planning in advance one way or another. Six vs. half dozen.

As for being tied to a schedule, the FPs give an hour window for the very purpose of NOT having to be stuck to a strict schedule. As already fought out earlier in this thread, three FPs back-to-back can be spread out over as long as three hours or pushed together into as little as an hour-ish. As for feeling rushed while eating to make a FP time, knowing well in advance what time a FP might be has helped us tremendously in this area, as more than once under the prior system, we'd have an ADR pre-scheduled but a FP time was subject to whatever time the machine told us to come back, so either we're gobbling down food and not relaxing during lunch or I'm standing at the FP machine waiting for the return times to move late enough that we wouldn't feel rushed. With the new system, I can plan for both meals and rides in order to avoid that potential conflict (more often than not...I can acknowledge there are kinks in the system). There's a lot more flexibility with FP timing that many people want to admit.

For me, the the lack of any prior knowledge of return times was always the biggest weakness of FP legacy. Yes, FPs were available, but a myriad of factors weighed on your ability to return and redeem them. Any mitigation had to be thought up on the fly.

As for being tied to a phone/device, we're only as tied to it as we want to be. It's an addiction for most of us and we can't blame that on Disney. If you have the three FPs in advance, then you already know when they are and there is no need to look at a phone. You can't use the phone to get later FPs, so again, a moot point. Restaurant ADRs are no different than they used to be, so if you already have one, then no need to look at phone. If you want to find wait times or character locations, you can, but again, that is your own choice....but if you didn't care before the new system, then it really shouldn't matter now. The MDE app is a convenience that helps people plan their day, find their way around the park, etc., but it certainly isn't required to enjoy the day in the parks.

I am hard-pressed to understand how having the ability to view wait times and FP return times for attractions across the park while sipping on a beverage, and actually choosing and changing return times, is worse than having to walk over and view the same. If that's tied to my phone, tie me up.

Frankly, I could take the new system or leave it, but we haven't waited in any line at WDW for more than 30 minutes in the last five years, and we are generally able to ride whatever we want with some reasonable degree of planning (whether rope-drop runs, FPs or otherwise) -- it's pretty easy to master either system. Yes, I would MUCH prefer being allowed to spread my three FPs across more than one park, as there are not three rides in Epcot that justify a FP, especially with the tiered system. Some have similar thoughts on other parks, I'm sure (like my wife re: DHS). In addition, it would certainly be nice for people making last minute trips (e.g., locals, especially) or people who simply don't want to do any advance planning whatsoever if WDW would hold back some "good" FPs for same-day, kiosk-only booking. But as most people put at least some effort into planning a WDW vacation in advance (way too much money not to do so, whether a first time, only time or 30th time), planning ahead for rides/attractions is really not so much an actual burden as an easy target for complaint...when we should really all be saving our complaints for things like Frozen going into Norway - ha!

I used legacy to the fullest (as full as I could while trying to get 2 kids out of bed). It worked because others did not. If Disney had been able to nudge guests into using legacy with the same level of success they're seeing with +, the advantage we enjoyed would have evaporated long ago.

 

[kay1864]

Can we all agree that there is potential for them to track, in some way, at any time from this point forward,
(Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, Next Month, Next Season, Next Year...)
the long-range RFID chip in the MB?

Given the speed of Disney construction lately, I'm thinking Next Decade

 

[jade1]

Or make yourself one of these:

I keep thinking I will get back from WDW and find a map in the mail with every step I took all week.

Umm yea I know that-I did the walking and riding.

 

[Angel Ariel]

For me, the the lack of any prior knowledge of return times was always the biggest weakness of FP legacy. Yes, FPs were available, but a myriad of factors weighed on your ability to return and redeem them. Any mitigation had to be thought up on the fly.

There are at least 2 apps I can think of off the top of my head that gave return times for legacy, so you.could view them from anywhere without going to the ride. Didn't Disney's mobile magic app also list them when you were physically in the park? (That isn't one of the 2 I first mentioned). I can't remember on mobile magic, but I used the 2 other apps at my last series of trips to DLR.

 

[OtherScott]

As I've mentioned, long-range sensors are currently located on some rides for photos. Doesn't mean they're currently spread throughout the parks tracking MB guests' movements.

Where can I read that long range sensors are being used only for ride photos?

 

[jade1]

Given the speed of Disney construction lately, I'm thinking Next Decade

Might wanna leave that phone home if worried about tracking.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

We didn't plan our day around our FPs. We planned our FPs around our day, as we were experiencing it in the parks. FP+ is pretty much the opposite.

This is how our family used the paper FP system also. I agree that with FP+ we seemed to have to plan our day around those FP+s. With paper FP+s we used them AS we toured. With FP+ we had to used them to decide how we would tour.

Did anyone else not feel stressed with wondering if they would be done in Fantasyland and ready to move to Frontierland at the time that were picking their Splash FP+ weeks before entering the park??

 

[OtherScott]

There are at least 2 apps I can think of off the top of my head that gave return times for legacy, so you.could view them from anywhere without going to the ride. Didn't Disney's mobile magic app also list them when you were physically in the park? (That isn't one of the 2 I first mentioned). I can't remember on mobile magic, but I used the 2 other apps at my last series of trips to DLR.

I think they were based on user updates, no?

 

[jade1]

I am hard-pressed to understand how having the ability to view wait times and FP return times for attractions across the park while sipping on a beverage, and actually choosing and changing return times, is worse than having to walk over and view the same. If that's tied to my phone, tie me up.

There are at least 2 apps I can think of off the top of my head that gave return times for legacy, so you.could view them from anywhere without going to the ride. Didn't Disney's mobile magic app also list them when you were physically in the park? (That isn't one of the 2 I first mentioned). I can't remember on mobile magic, but I used the 2 other apps at my last series of trips to DLR.

And you could reserve and make changes?

I think the bold is a significant improvement, especially from SAB.

 

[kay1864]

Might wanna leave that phone home if worried about tracking.

I've got extra tinfoil for my phone

(oh wait...)

 

[maxiesmom]

The downside is you can't ride some major attractions more than once in a day without using the standby line.

I thought you could reserve any FP+ you wanted after you used your first 3? No?

 

[Love Tink]

I thought you could reserve any FP+ you wanted after you used your first 3? No?

Any FP you wanted? No.

You can reserve any FP that is available.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Let me jump in with the gist of most of the next umpteen responses... Quote- We LOVED it cuz we didn't have to get to the park early, and we didn't have to walk ALL THE WAY to the attraction to get a FP. -Unquote

Yup, because many of us feel that way. Have used FP+ several times now and had no problems whatsoever.