Curious how FP+ has changed your touring style, if at all?

[eva]

This year has been quite a shock for me planning an extended family trip to WDW. We have gone at least once a year and often 2 or 3 times a year from 1995 to 2012. Then we took a break to go to Hawaii (Aulani) 2 years ago and then built a house last year. So I am playing catch up with all the new info. I have to say that FP+ and the new 24 hour cancelation for ADR's has really given me fits. In the past we always canceled ADR's if we weren't going to use them. But often we didn't know until a couple hours ahead. What if our flights for 10 people is delayed and we miss our ADR? This planning every moment of the day 60+ days out is pretty much for the birds. We have grandchildren going with us that range from 3 to 13. I have no idea what type of rides they will be able to handle. I know the height restrictions. But they have no real ride experiences to determine what they will want to do. Does the 6 year old ride Thunder Mountain with the adults or Dumbo with me and his 3 year old sister? I am not even sure what my 9 year old granddaughter will ride. She is a bit shy. So I have no idea until we actually get to the parks whether she will even ride HM. I hate to say it, but DH and I have decided that WDW no longer meets our travel style and will be selling all our DVC points when we get back in October. We need a bit more flexibility. So I guess that is how it changed our travel plans.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

It's helped a ton and has added some semblance to our trip. Yes - the increase in planning has been a bit trying, but once you have your ADRs, the rest is pretty easy.

We'll usually plan out our ADRs (obviously) and then our parks. We have a pretty good idea of when the parks will be open and for how long. For Christmas, FP+s are needed to get on the rides, otherwise the wait times are astronomical.

For MK, we'll plan on visiting at least 2-3 times. The first day (Christmas) we'll FP+ Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and try for 7DMT (but more realistically, get Haunted Mansion or something.) We'll arrive for morning EMH and ride Space Mountain. Thunder is my family's favorite ride, so we'll aim to go on once more. The second day at MK we'll book things like Peter Pan or Pooh, Thunder Mountain (again) and try for 7DMT. We'll use late-night EMH to ride everything else.

For DHS, we visit the park twice - usually two half days. One day we'll stick to Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania and a show. The next time, we'll go with RnR, ToT and a show. Back in the day, we used to be able to ride RnR and ToT with ease - but the park had more attractions. Due to the closures, the lines are so long that we only get to ride RnR, ToT or Toy Story if we have a FP+. Otherwise, the wait times are way too long.

For EPCOT, we only use FP+ once - for Spaceship Earth and Soarin'. We've agreed that we don't need to go on Soarin' again - so we'll be using our FP+ for Test Track next year. We did use a FP+ for TT on NYE, but it took too much time and we missed out on valuable park activities.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Gosh, I really didn't think saying Disney technical glitches exist, and that they might not be the first thing posters think of when posting in this thread was remotely controversial. Nor did I think saying technical glitches exist in WDW's use of technology was anything other than pure fact.

Truly, if this forum (and all the wonderful information it contains) exists outside of the WDW website, there's no reason it couldn't have existed within the WDW website.

Sorry, PeasandCarrots!

 

[MrInfinity]

Is the bar really so low?

According to the DIS parent website, there's a total of 84 attractions/shows listed in the 4 parks (I'm counting each country in the WS once). that's about 32 in MK, and 15/16 in the other 3. It also counts the Tree of Life and HISTK playground as attractions.

I think most week-long first time visitors think 12 attractions per day, is a reasonable expectation.

Now folks who visit more often, say those who join the DIS, realize it takes quite a bit of stamina to ride everything once.

12 (or more) attractions per day may be typical of guests on the DIS or other guests who strive to ride a lot of stuff. But I'm sure the average number of rides per guest per day is far less than 12. 12 is not even possible for an average. The rides at the MK handle around 300,000 ridings in a day. There are 50,000 guests. That's an average of 6 attractions per guest. Now of course that might be some guests that ride none at all factoring in there. But still for every guest that rides 12, there must be 3 other guests that ride only 4 things in a day.

 

[cakebaker]

Are we talking 12 attractions open to close?

We did it this trip though, at least for most days. We were getting 7-8 rides in during the morning at the MK with no problem at all. It did feel hectic to us, just going from ride to ride, but it was fun and my grandson loved it. Add to the 3 rides minimum in the evenings with FP+ and we were probably close to hitting 12 many days. But never in the past- 6-8 rides a day tops back then.

On nights with emh, we probably did more than 12- I never really kept a count. We rode what we wanted, didn't miss anything we did want to ride and that's what was important to us- not how many we did.

 

[MrInfinity]

Are we talking 12 attractions open to close?

We did it this trip though, at least for most days. We were getting 7-8 rides in during the morning at the MK with no problem at all. It did feel hectic to us, just going from ride to ride, but it was fun and my grandson loved it. Add to the 3 rides minimum in the evenings with FP+ and we were probably close to hitting 12 many days. But never in the past- 6-8 rides a day tops back then.

On nights with emh, we probably did more than 12- I never really kept a count. We rode what we wanted, didn't miss anything we did want to ride and that's what was important to us- not how many we did.

That's about what we ride, minus the late night part since we don't tend to stay that late. I don't think it's changed much as a result of the FP transition. You still get in the majority of your rides by simply going early and touring smart.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

12 (or more) attractions per day may be typical of guests on the DIS or other guests who strive to ride a lot of stuff. But I'm sure the average number of rides per guest per day is far less than 12. 12 is not even possible for an average. The rides at the MK handle around 300,000 ridings in a day. There are 50,000 guests. That's an average of 6 attractions per guest. Now of course that might be some guests that ride none at all factoring in there. But still for every guest that rides 12, there must be 3 other guests that ride only 4 things in a day.

That's not quite what I said:

I think most week-long first time visitors think 12 attractions per day, is a reasonable expectation.

Now folks who visit more often, say those who join the DIS, realize it takes quite a bit of stamina to ride everything once.

 

[Mary2e]

I just got back from 9 days at Disney and as I posted above, we will be going elsewhere for vacations until they fix or change FP+. I hated having to book 60 days in advance, though I did make some less than a month in advance. I also don't particularly care for the 24 hr cancellation on ADRs, but can understand and live with that.

What I did notice was that for the entire week before July 4th the parks were relatively uncrowded. On a Sunday evening we were able to get on every ride we wanted in the MK without a FP and a short wait of under 15 minutes. We did have 3 FP+s for Big Thunder, 7DMT, and Buzz Lightyear. But Haunted Mansion was pretty much walk on, much to our surprise. And this was not late.

This continued throughout the week - though we did not go into any park on July 3. July 4 at EC was doable without long lines except for TT & Soarin'

We did have a few real storms in the evenings during the week, one which kept us in the Cinema for nearly 2 hours. The FP+ system gave us one of those use-anywhere fastpasses - except it was already near 11pm and the park closed at midnight with the FP expiring at midnight. Gee, thanks for nothing.

Given how uncrowded it was during that week, I'm thinking people are just not going as much any longer. I've been there before and it was always crazy busy and that's what I was prepared for.

Our nice, relaxing vacations are no more due to FP+. I feel obligated to go to a park selected at least a month in advance if I want to get on popular rides - and that's not how I want to spend my vacation time - particularly given the amount of money it costs to spend a week in Disney. I could spend 2 weeks in Hawaii for the same amount.

So I will keep watching and waiting to see if our favorite destination for both long and short trips goes back to near-normal for the way we want to vacation. If not, well, this is going to be the last long trip we take for a while.

 

[MAmomma]

It's helped a ton and has added some semblance to our trip. Yes - the increase in planning has been a bit trying, but once you have your ADRs, the rest is pretty easy.

We'll usually plan out our ADRs (obviously) and then our parks. We have a pretty good idea of when the parks will be open and for how long. For Christmas, FP+s are needed to get on the rides, otherwise the wait times are astronomical.

For MK, we'll plan on visiting at least 2-3 times. The first day (Christmas) we'll FP+ Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and try for 7DMT (but more realistically, get Haunted Mansion or something.) We'll arrive for morning EMH and ride Space Mountain. Thunder is my family's favorite ride, so we'll aim to go on once more. The second day at MK we'll book things like Peter Pan or Pooh, Thunder Mountain (again) and try for 7DMT. We'll use late-night EMH to ride everything else.

For DHS, we visit the park twice - usually two half days. One day we'll stick to Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania and a show. The next time, we'll go with RnR, ToT and a show. Back in the day, we used to be able to ride RnR and ToT with ease - but the park had more attractions. Due to the closures, the lines are so long that we only get to ride RnR, ToT or Toy Story if we have a FP+. Otherwise, the wait times are way too long.

For EPCOT, we only use FP+ once - for Spaceship Earth and Soarin'. We've agreed that we don't need to go on Soarin' again - so we'll be using our FP+ for Test Track next year. We did use a FP+ for TT on NYE, but it took too much time and we missed out on valuable park activities.

Great suggestions - was trying to figure out what to FP+ for DHS, and how long to go each day. Where do you usually go for the other half day after DHS? Assuming you just try to book an extra FP+ on the Disney app at the second park?

 

[mesaboy2]

Great suggestions - was trying to figure out what to FP+ for DHS, and how long to go each day. Where do you usually go for the other half day after DHS? Assuming you just try to book an extra FP+ on the Disney app at the second park?

Can't be done, sorry. Assuming you have FPs in the first park, you must use a kiosk at the second park to schedule any additional ones.

 

[Vivianne]

Work. Some people love it, others hate it. Our first time using FP+ was last October. It was ok, however, with all of this planning you have to dodge this thing around ADRs & we were concerned with missing our fastpass times. I'm OCD about getting to places on time so no it wasn't too relaxing for me. Missing things is not the end of the world. But for me it would be a wasted effort after spending so much time online figuring these things out.
Some people have their masters of Disneyology here but I'm far from that.
Not everyone is young here. We're going to the beach for a week after Disney....then I'll rest...

 

[dkrauss]

We did/do RD or mornings at every park.........FP+ had no impact on that aspect of our touring. My wife and I like taking the afternoons (after lunch) off from the parks for pool time or nap time (that's me ) We like getting the E-ticket rides done early so we don't have to use FP for them........not possible in the parks that use tiering but it works in the MK. The only issue I've had with FP+ is the kiosks in the parks...........horrible

Doug

 

[Lisaloo]

After our trip in July, FP+ guarantees we will only stay CL from now on instead of splurging on it for special trips. The extra fast passes the concierge staff were able to give us made all the difference on several of our park days.

 

[mesaboy2]

After our trip in July, FP+ guarantees we will only stay CL from now on instead of splurging on it for special trips. The extra fast passes the concierge staff were able to give us made all the difference on several of our park days.

Did you get these extra FPs via the MDX system or some other way?

 

[KeroKero]

While I wouldn't say that FP+ has changed our touring plan completely it has made some differences, which I don't like. We were one of those families that did headliners over and over again, specifically TSMM. Hustling to the FP machine at RD, getting into the SB line, then right as the time for the next FP began we would grab another (as it was still early) ensuring we would at least ride TSMM 3 times each visit to DHS. This is obviously not the case anymore. Now we get in at least 2, RD hustle to the SB line and then our FP which we usually plan for early morning so that we can get out of that area. While it's nice to not have to race around the park grabbing FP-, I do miss the days of getting on attractions we loved more than once a day, especially for high demand attractions.

We still park hop, cause its something we've always done specifically for ADR selection, plus we like not having to be tied to one park for the entire day. It would be nice for guests who spent extra on hoppers to be able to secure FP+ for more than one park for the day, so that they could maximize their attraction times in the morning and in the evening. Wishful thinking? Wonder if this will ever happen?

I don't mind all the advance planning, cause I was always a planner anyway - for me planning is a big part of our Disney vacations. The pre booked FP's just make my plans a little bit more regimented.

 

[Lisaloo]

Did you get these extra FPs via the MDX system or some other way?

The CM added them to our magicbands while we were in the lounge. We were able to use them on any ride at any time. We got 3 per day per person.

 

[mesaboy2]

The CM added them to our magicbands while we were in the lounge. We were able to use them on any ride at any time. We got 3 per day per person.

This sounds a bit like monetizing FP perks via resort tiers. While I understand Disney's motivation, I can't say I'm a fan.

 

[cluvsdisney]

It's made our time in the parks easier. We book FP+ for our favorite rides and sometimes an ADR to fit in with that schedule - we go to the park around those times and do a few other things in between our rides and meal then usually leave the park. It works out since we get to go on the rides we really want to but don't have to get up early for rope drop or wait a while for an hours in the future fast pass time. We get to sleep in, spend more time at the resort, ride the rides we want to ride...it's a win for us.

 

[helenm29]

good and bad I'd say. I like the old fashioned way of going to get in line or picking your fast passes for that ride and not having to be there EXACTLY at that time...the way Disneyland does it. But, it's kind of cool just going on line and picking what you want to do for however many days you are there!

 

[Jennytoon]

This sounds a bit like monetizing FP perks via resort tiers. While I understand Disney's motivation, I can't say I'm a fan.

I have to agree. One of the things I really like about FP (plus or minus) is that unlike what is done in many other parks it is there when you buy your ticket, not a bonus perk that only those with deep enough pockets will have. You can argue about whether or not giving 60-day vs. 30-day access is monetizing or not (based on what I see for availability at 30 days I say no), but in my mind there really isn't any other way to view linking the top tier resort stay with access to more FP. Assuming of course that this was a routine feature of a CL stay and not some other temporary thing.

On the more humorous side, it does occur to me that I can't wait to see the "throwaway CL room" thread for those whose family sizes are not amenable to actually staying CL, but still want to have access to this perk.