Chance of Disneyland getting fastpass+

[peaches00]

Hello all; wdw/universal orlando veteran wants to change it up...before I start planning I want to make sure fastpass+ is not going west. Can anyone say?

 

[GatorChris]

It isn't and I hope it never does.

 

[peaches00]

That's what I wanted to hear...thank you!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello all; wdw/universal orlando veteran wants to change it up...before I start planning I want to make sure fastpass+ is not going west. Can anyone say?

I do not expect you or anyone else to search the forum every time they have a question. I am therefore just fine with you asking it here.

There was a very good discussion on this back in July and rather than rehashing the whole thing again here - when there has been no more news or info on this since then - I will just provide a link to that thread.

"Do you think FP+ will come to DL?" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3295860

 

[brocklesnar69]

It isn't and I hope it never does.

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

 

[PinkBudgie]

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

Well, at WDW you have to pick your FPs 60 days in advance. That was a little tricky for us when we had never been before. Ok, you don't HAVE to, but some may be gone if you wait. By the time you used your first 3 FPs of the day there usually isn't too much left to choose from. But sometimes we got lucky.

Personally, overall I thought it was fine for WDW. You didn't have to keep track of little papers and you didn't have to run over to the ride to get your FP. I just wouldn't want it at DLR. DLR isn't about planning every tiny detail like at WDW. And I hope it stays that way. Thank goodness I don't have to know where I want to eat at DLR 6 months in advance!

 

[tarheelalum]

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

Because it takes away all freedom. You can't go with the flow and do whatever your mood strikes you with. You have to plan everything out like someone with OCD. That is not what DL is all about.

 

[Suvadoo]

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

You can make FP+ reservations 60 days out if you are staying at a WDW resort. If you have an AP or are staying off property, you have 30 days to make reservations.
The planning required if you want to go on E ticket rides, makes it feel like a job rather than vacation planning. Then when you're in the parks and you want to review your reservations, you consult your smart phone (if the app is working properly). I intensely dislike FP+ and I hope it never ruins the spontaneity and fun at DLR.

 

[nikkislaght]

You can make FP+ reservations 60 days out if you are staying at a WDW resort. If you have an AP or are staying off property, you have 30 days to make reservations.
The planning required if you want to go on E ticket rides, makes it feel like a job rather than vacation planning. Then when you're in the parks and you want to review your reservations, you consult your smart phone (if the app is working properly). I intensely dislike FP+ and I hope it never ruins the spontaneity and fun at DLR.

Dont you just LOVE how all these companies assume everyone has a smart phone.!!!

 

[Suvadoo]

Dont you just LOVE how all these companies assume everyone has a smart phone.!!!

I love that assumption and also the assumption that you want to use it in the parks. I go to DLR to escape my everyday life. And for me that's not being attached to my phone.

 

[HydroGuy]

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

Looking at the other responses, I think it is more than a dislike for choosing FPs 60 days in advance. Although that is part of it for sure. But some people like being able to choose FPs in advance so they are not pressed to get to the parks early and get their FPs. They can show up late and still have FPs to use. So that part, frankly, has advantages.

I think for those who "hate" FP+ there are additional reasons...

1. It seems that FP+ has made wait times go up significantly for rides that never had waits before. Because to make FP+ work more rides need FP. So WDW has added FP to most of their rides.

2. The IT infrastructure has not been reliable. People would book FP+ online and then they would get lost in the cyber world. People would show up at the ride and be told they did not have FPs at all even though they had paperwork to prove they did. Guests would be treated as if they were lying when their virtual FPs got lost.

3. The Magic Bands would not work reliably for some people.

4. The MDE smartphone app they needed to manage their FP+ would freeze up and crash regularly making it unusable for many guests.

5. It was hard to manage FPs for irregular groups. For example, let's say you were going to WDW. And grandparents were coming for two days in the middle of your trip. But you were not sure which days. Then your sister and family was coming for a few days. Maybe you have a trip planned and it is not certain your 20 year old son will make it because of a getting time off a job. All of these "we really do not know our group size and which days we will be together" issues made it harder if not impossible to plan FPs in advance.

6. Aside from the aspect of having to make FP choices 60 days in advance, it also locks you into certain parks on certain days. Some folks like more freedom to change which parks they want to visit.

I have not used FP+ yet or MDE. Overall I think it has pluses and minuses. From what I read the minuses are more than the pluses for the simple reason I have a hard time getting my group together 60 days in advance and we tend to plan trips more like a month in advance. And I do not like having to make choices like that in advance.

 

[mom2rtk]

Looking at the other responses, I think it is more than a dislike for choosing FPs 60 days in advance. Although that is part of it for sure. But some people like being able to choose FPs in advance so they are not pressed to get to the parks early and get their FPs. They can show up late and still have FPs to use. So that part, frankly, has advantages.

I think for those who "hate" FP+ there are additional reasons...

1. It seems that FP+ has made wait times go up significantly for rides that never had waits before. Because to make FP+ work more rides need FP. So WDW has added FP to most of their rides.

2. The IT infrastructure has not been reliable. People would book FP+ online and then they would get lost in the cyber world. People would show up at the ride and be told they did not have FPs at all even though they had paperwork to prove they did. Guests would be treated as if they were lying when their virtual FPs got lost.

3. The Magic Bands would not work reliably for some people.

4. The MDE smartphone app they needed to manage their FP+ would freeze up and crash regularly making it unusable for many guests.

5. It was hard to manage FPs for irregular groups. For example, let's say you were going to WDW. And grandparents were coming for two days in the middle of your trip. But you were not sure which days. Then your sister and family was coming for a few days. Maybe you have a trip planned and it is not certain your 20 year old son will make it because of a getting time off a job. All of these "we really do not know our group size and which days we will be together" issues made it harder if not impossible to plan FPs in advance.

6. Aside from the aspect of having to make FP choices 60 days in advance, it also locks you into certain parks on certain days. Some folks like more freedom to change which parks they want to visit.

I have not used FP+ yet or MDE. Overall I think it has pluses and minuses. From what I read the minuses are more than the pluses for the simple reason I have a hard time getting my group together 60 days in advance and we tend to plan trips more like a month in advance. And I do not like having to make choices like that in advance.

7) Limit of 3 (4th is available from an in-park kiosk but odds of getting a headliner are not high.

8) No ride repeats on your first 3 (and once again, not high odds of getting a headliner as 4th or beyond)

9) Tiering of rides in DHS and Epcot means you can't just choose the 3 you want.


And I will add that MDE has been down most of the last 24 hours just as people were trying to schedule for their Thanksgiving week trips.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

But some people like being able to choose FPs in advance so they are not pressed to get to the parks early and get their FPs. They can show up late and still have FPs to use. So that part, frankly, has advantages.

I have to admit, this point puzzles me. When FastPass was introduced, it was billed as a "hold your place in line" tool. If you aren't even in the park, how is your place in line being held? This also runs contrary to what seems like a basic rule of society...which is first come, first serve.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have to admit, this point puzzles me. When FastPass was introduced, it was billed as a "hold your place in line" tool. If you aren't even in the park, how is your place in line being held? This also runs contrary to what seems like a basic rule of society...which is first come, first serve.

I didn't realize until I started participating in FP+ threads that the entire concept of "first come, first served" was actually quite passé. Who knew?

 

[larryz]

I didn't realize until I started participating in FP+ threads that the entire concept of "first come, first served" was actually quite passé. Who knew?

The new rule is the Golden Rule: the one with more gold makes the rules.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I liked FP+ at WDW because it allowed me to have a lose plan of my days but I really hope it doesn't come to DL simply because I'm an AP holder and most of my trips are spur of the moment with no planning.

At a place like WDW where (IMHO) planning is important due to things like ADR's and transportation FP+ allows for guaranteeing must do rides at a time that's convenient but if you don't plan ahead or take things spur of the moment it's very limiting.

 

[GatorChris]

I just recently learned of this FP+ thing. Why is it so hated?

I'm a WDW nut. I like it better than the Anaheim resort. Well, I did. As soon as this FP+ thing rolled out, it sorta took the Magic out of the day. You get 3 FPs for the day, that you have to book 60 days in advance. I'll admit that I already know at that point what park I'll be in just because I've made dining reservations at 6 months out. But I like getting to the parks when I want, getting a FP for a ride and just roll with it. If there was any relaxation to Disney, FP+ sucked it out. And now you have to wait an hour to ride Pirates when it used to be 10-20 minutes. Lame.

 

[Suvadoo]

Let's be clear FP+ reservations are 60 days out if you are staying at a WDW resort. If you are staying off property, the reservation window opens at 30 days out.

Another problem with FP+ is there aren't enough attractions at Epcot or at Hollywood Studios, so disney has implemented the tiering system. In Epcot, you can reserve a FP for Soarin' or Test Track but not both. And then you must select 2 additional crap, I mean 2nd tier attractions. You can't select just one FP reservation. By the time you've used your 3 FP's for the day and are ready to obtain a 4th FP, Soarin' and Test Track have no FP's left!

 

[BayGirl22]

I liked FP+ at WDW because it allowed me to have a lose plan of my days but I really hope it doesn't come to DL simply because I'm an AP holder and most of my trips are spur of the moment with no planning.

At a place like WDW where (IMHO) planning is important due to things like ADR's and transportation FP+ allows for guaranteeing must do rides at a time that's convenient but if you don't plan ahead or take things spur of the moment it's very limiting.

I feel similar. I'm a planner and at WDW I already had pretty specific touring plans and knew when we would be near all the headliners. I was there on a conference so only planned my trip ~4 months in advance, but even 60 days out I could have done FP+. We actually did a pilot of FP+ with BOG for CS lunch (which was an impossible wait at the time) and I thought it worked really well. I liked having the MDE app.
What I think ruins it is the restrictions Disney has put around it like the tiering and the concept of adding FP's to rides that really didn't need it. So more of an implementation problem than the basic concept itself. I wouldn't mind having a Magic Band either, since I tend to stay on site and charge everything to the room when I can.

Even though I usually plan out long trips for DLR, now that I'm an AP holder (for this year at least) I tend to tour more casually and I can see how FP+ just would not work there. I agree that there are so many limitations at DLR they are not likely to have it anytime soon.

 

[FryingPansWhoKnew]

I didn't realize until I started participating in FP+ threads that the entire concept of "first come, first served" was actually quite passé. Who knew?

Well, it's true that the egalitarian nature of things seems to be slipping away, I will walk back my statement just a tad. I understand the concept of reservations in general, but it seems like there are some things where reservations make sense, and some things where they do not. I would not expect to have to make a reservation to go to the post office to buy stamps or to the supermarket to buy groceries. I would expect those places to be a first come, first serve scenario.

The Fastpass plus reservations seem to fall into that category to me where without any prior knowledge, I would assume one does not need a reservation to not be at a substantial disadvantage to those who made one.