Disney Erased All my FP+ and Won't Reinstate Them

[Planogirl]

And once said FP disappears, does that make it FP-?

Or just a -?

 

[Alice Sr.]

I think that this is the hidden downside to all of this and it won't stay hidden for long. Problems and issues with MDE & FP+ are going to slowly erode the morale and attitude of CMs. When we were there during "no advanced FPs for offsite guests" testing, the CMs were visibly upset with the whole cluster jam and the eye rolls and hurumping were obvious. If it now becomes CMs vs. Guests instead of CMs being on the same side as Guests, we will all suffer a decline in magic.

100% agree, it is a bad situation.

 

[preemiemama]

100% agree, it is a bad situation.

Agree as well. We just got back and it is evident in the CMs who deal with it directly (tapstiles, FP kiosks, rides...). They basically have to assume every guest is an idiot who cannot match Mickey to Mickey or remember which finger to use for park entry.

 

[famy27]

I blame Disney too

I tend to take the high road in these situations as I know how truly difficult the public can be. My family also truly really loves the interactions we have had with CM's over the years. We go out of our way to be courteous and spread pixie dust when we can.

I was truly disturbed to hear of my BFF's experience with magicbands and the reactions from different cast members. It disturbed and saddened me as both she and I have loved Disney over the years. I am encouraging her to write to Disney.

Make no mistake I would find a manager and then go to guest relations on my way out of the park. I would do this at any business if I was not happy with the treatment that I had received from an employee. Keep in mind, it would have to be pretty out of line to get that kind of reaction from me, because as a rule this is not my nature, nor something I would lightly do. Especially, since I work with the public and know how trying that can be. So the situation, would have to truly warrant this kind of reaction. Yes, I can be a formidable woman when need be and this kind of reaction would have to truly be invited by unacceptable behavior.
There is a line and respect and it is a two way street. I tend to avoid conflict, but sometimes you have to speak up and call it like you see it when someone has crossed a line. I am not a door mat, nor do I think cast members are either.

To me magicbands are an epic failure. When they work they are wonderful, when the do not it seems they are horrid. I hope Disney management is truly seeing the true repercussions of the decisions that they are making. If there system is failing then it is up to them to make it right. JMHO

I suppose the CMs aren't really saying, "You're a liar" in those exact words. But it's sure implied. I've seen conversations go something like this (and was on the receiving end of one such exchange myself):

Dreaded Blue Mickey
CM: You don't have a valid FP for this ride
Guest: I do. Everyone in our group booked them at the same time, and everyone else got a green Mickey.
CM: Maybe you made a mistake and didn't click through.
Guest: No, I can show you a screenshot.
CM: We can't accept screenshots
Guest: But why not? I made the FP and I can show you.
CM: Well, you might have deleted it after making it or photoshopped it.
Guest: I didn't
CM: But we have no way to know that for sure. You'll have to go to Guest Relations to get this straightened out.

So, now you have to go to Guest Relations and wait in a ridiculous line, either to get the FP problem fix and/or to complain that the CM treated you rudely. The CM didn't call you a liar but implied you are either a liar or incompetent. I am sure CMs are being given these directives by upper management, but it is just a really poor idea to deal with internal IT failures by blaming and insulting customers. I am sure some guests do make errors and do try to cheat the system, but you are right. It is definitely pretty offensive to the honest guest who now not only has to waste vacation time fixing Disney's problems but also might get insulted along the way.

 

[wilkeliza]

I suppose the CMs aren't really saying, "You're a liar" in those exact words. But it's sure implied. I've seen conversations go something like this (and was on the receiving end of one such exchange myself):

Dreaded Blue Mickey
CM: You don't have a valid FP for this ride
Guest: I do. Everyone in our group booked them at the same time, and everyone else got a green Mickey.
CM: Maybe you made a mistake and didn't click through.
Guest: No, I can show you a screenshot.
CM: We can't accept screenshots
Guest: But why not? I made the FP and I can show you.
CM: Well, you might have deleted it after making it or photoshopped it.
Guest: I didn't
CM: But we have no way to know that for sure. You'll have to go to Guest Relations to get this straightened out.

So, now you have to go to Guest Relations and wait in a ridiculous line, either to get the FP problem fix and/or to complain that the CM treated you rudely. The CM didn't call you a liar but implied you are either a liar or incompetent. I am sure CMs are being given these directives by upper management, but it is just a really poor idea to deal with internal IT failures by blaming and insulting customers. I am sure some guests do make errors and do try to cheat the system, but you are right. It is definitely pretty offensive to the honest guest who now not only has to waste vacation time fixing Disney's problems but also might get insulted along the way.

The situation you just described every CM except at Anna and Elsa and Seven Dwarfs will pass you through. We are specifically told if a large party linked together all gets a green Mickey and 1 single person doesn't just let the person through. They can't do it on 7DMT and Anna and Elsa because of popularity as per managements call.

 

[Disney Queenie]

I suppose the CMs aren't really saying, "You're a liar" in those exact words. But it's sure implied. I've seen conversations go something like this (and was on the receiving end of one such exchange myself):

Dreaded Blue Mickey
CM: You don't have a valid FP for this ride
Guest: I do. Everyone in our group booked them at the same time, and everyone else got a green Mickey.
CM: Maybe you made a mistake and didn't click through.
Guest: No, I can show you a screenshot.
CM: We can't accept screenshots
Guest: But why not? I made the FP and I can show you.
CM: Well, you might have deleted it after making it or photoshopped it.
Guest: I didn't
CM: But we have no way to know that for sure. You'll have to go to Guest Relations to get this straightened out.

So, now you have to go to Guest Relations and wait in a ridiculous line, either to get the FP problem fix and/or to complain that the CM treated you rudely. The CM didn't call you a liar but implied you are either a liar or incompetent. I am sure CMs are being given these directives by upper management, but it is just a really poor idea to deal with internal IT failures by blaming and insulting customers. I am sure some guests do make errors and do try to cheat the system, but you are right. It is definitely pretty offensive to the honest guest who now not only has to waste vacation time fixing Disney's problems but also might get insulted along the way.

The above happened at the Jungle Cruise to my BFF but add a snide tone of voice and a eyeroll. My friends DH's fast pass did not work, and it is common sense if it is a family unit, why would they leave one member out. It should have never happened. Ridiculous!

 

[igk]

The above happened at the Jungle Cruise to my BFF but add a snide tone of voice and a eyeroll. My friends DH's fast pass did not work, and it is common sense if it is a family unit, why would they leave one member out. It should have never happened. Ridiculous!

It's a difficult call to make - I guess it can't become generally accepted that not all members of a party need to have FP+ as you'll get waved through as long as most members have FP+'s. On the other hand when the guest has done everything correctly and the system doesn't work it's extremely frustrating.

To me this thread is about the unintended consequences of the new system. On balance I think the whole thing (FP+, Magicbands) is a huge mistake and a monumental waste of money. Maybe once the glitches are ironed out and it develops further I might change my mind...

 

[surferdave]

The situation you just described every CM except at Anna and Elsa and Seven Dwarfs will pass you through. We are specifically told if a large party linked together all gets a green Mickey and 1 single person doesn't just let the person through. They can't do it on 7DMT and Anna and Elsa because of popularity as per managements call.

I think the exception makes them look bad. If they assume it's a system error and give the guest the benefit of the doubt on all other attractions, why would they not do it for these? It's certainly no less likely to be one.

 

[bjs1228]

Any update from the OP? I'm wondering how things went on the 4th!

 

[flicx]

The above happened at the Jungle Cruise to my BFF but add a snide tone of voice and a eyeroll. My friends DH's fast pass did not work, and it is common sense if it is a family unit, why would they leave one member out. It should have never happened. Ridiculous!

If only we had a fast pass system that gave the customer a piece of paper with a return time that they could hand to the CM.

 

[JimmyV]

I think the exception makes them look bad. If they assume it's a system error and give the guest the benefit of the doubt on all other attractions, why would they not do it for these? It's certainly no less likely to be one.

I agree. Inconsistency in this regard reflects badly on Disney. It's as if they are saying at the Teacups: "We suspect you are lying and we don't care", while at the 7DMT they are saying: "We suspect you are lying and we do care."

If Disney strictly enforced all Blue Mickeys and denied boarding to everyone, the technological issues would be fixed quickly because they would have an absolutely unworkable riot on their hands and would be forced either to address the problems or scrap the system. Sometimes you have to rip off the Band-Aid. Allowing "exceptions" only prolongs the agony and creates unequal treatment and bad feelings all around. Enforcement might also reveal the extent of human error resulting in teachable moments. But sending guests to Guest Relations cannot be the answer. Problems have to be diagnosable and fixable on the spot with i-Pads. But picking two attractions out of many to stand their ground is exactly the wrong thing to do. Either admit that you have a problem and fix it, or admit that you have a problem and give guests some leeway. But you can't do half and half.

 

[surferdave]

If Disney strictly enforced all Blue Mickeys and denied boarding to everyone, the technological issues would be fixed quickly because they would have an absolutely unworkable riot on their hands and would be forced either to address the problems or scrap the system. Sometimes you have to rip off the Band-Aid. Allowing "exceptions" only prolongs the agony and creates unequal treatment and bad feelings all around. Enforcement might also reveal the extent of human error resulting in teachable moments. But sending guests to Guest Relations cannot be the answer. Problems have to be diagnosable and fixable on the spot with i-Pads. But picking two attractions out of many to stand their ground is exactly the wrong thing to do. Either admit that you have a problem and fix it, or admit that you have a problem and give guests some leeway. But you can't do half and half.

Yep. This is the sort of thing that gets applied by middle management when they don't want to elevate a problem, and the problem gets prolonged. It puts a lot of pressure on the front line CMs and we get the morale issues you mentioned elsewhere.

If only we had a fast pass system that gave the customer a piece of paper with a return time that they could hand to the CM.

The old system wasn't as high tech and appealing to the iPhone generation but it had transparency. The new system is like digital voting systems used in many states. They look really neat, but if there are voting improprieties how do you prove anything with no physical records?

 

[igk]

They could attach a bar code to each FP+ reservation that could be read by the CM in case of conflict. This could either be on a mobile device or a printout.
That would fix the Photoshop problem, and also the 'you might have deleted it' problem - as long as the record of the actual FP+ could be shown e.g. either it's still good or it was cancelled at x time/date...
Even just a reservation number would work in this case too...

 

[WillAustin]

They could attach a bar code to each FP+ reservation that could be read by the CM in case of conflict. This could either be on a mobile device or a printout.
That would fix the Photoshop problem, and also the 'you might have deleted it' problem - as long as the record of the actual FP+ could be shown e.g. either it's still good or it was cancelled at x time/date...
Even just a reservation number would work in this case too...

It would be simpler to fix the problems that are losing the FP+ reservations than to implement a backup "proof" mechanism that shouldn't be needed in the first place.

 

[AngiTN]

Has anyone who had a dreaded blue Mickey head gone on to their MDE and looked to see what the FP shows there? Just wondered

 

[Suvadoo]

Won't be long now before someone posts that it must be your fault because MDE and FP+ worked perfectly for them.

:

My thoughts exactly

 

[Suvadoo]

I'm sorry the front line cast members are the targets for guests with FP issues, but they are the "enforcers"
I think if Disney should dump the FP+ portion of MDE and return to legacy FP.

 

[famy27]

The situation you just described every CM except at Anna and Elsa and Seven Dwarfs will pass you through. We are specifically told if a large party linked together all gets a green Mickey and 1 single person doesn't just let the person through. They can't do it on 7DMT and Anna and Elsa because of popularity as per managements call.

He did pass us through eventually at PotC. But he did tell us our FP could have been changed. And he instructed us to go to guest relations to get things straightened out after we rode. Since it was our last ride of the day, and we didn't have any interest in standing in the giant line, we just left after PotC and figured the one blue Mickey was a glitch. Everything was fine the next day. Just because he finally waved us through didn't make the experience enjoyable and we still felt like he implied we were liars.

Is the policy that CMs should question everyone in our situation and then wave them through only if they complain or are they not supposed to say anything and wave us automatically? If only one person gets a green Mickey or nobody does, what's the policy then? This would be very valuable for me to know what's "supposed" to happen if we get any blue Mickeys on our next trip.

I should also that since A&E and SDMT are so popular, being able to prove you have a valid FP is the most critical at those attractions. If he hadn't let us through on PotC, we would have done the SB line that was 20 mins long. If we'd been sent to Guest Relations at A&E, there would have been some emotional breakdowns in our group. Is there any proof we can offer at those attractions that will allow CMs to admit guests who get a blue Mickey or are we just completely out of luck if there is a glitch?

 

[mom2rtk]

I should also that since A&E and SDMT are so popular, being able to prove you have a valid FP is the most critical at those attractions. If he hadn't let us through on PotC, we would have done the SB line that was 20 mins long. If we'd been sent to Guest Relations at A&E, there would have been some emotional breakdowns in our group. Is there any proof we can offer at those attractions that will allow CMs to admit guests who get a blue Mickey or are we just completely out of luck if there is a glitch?

And there's the problem. Apparently they will wave you through on any attraction except the 2 you are least likely to find a replacement slot for.

I understand that if they wave everyone through, chaos will ensue, as word will get out online quickly and everyone will start claiming they had one and are the victim of a glitch.

But honestly, that's what they get when they choose to rely on technology. I knew all along this would be a problem. Why on earth didn't Disney know this would be a problem?

 

[wilkeliza]

He did pass us through eventually at PotC. But he did tell us our FP could have been changed. And he instructed us to go to guest relations to get things straightened out after we rode. Since it was our last ride of the day, and we didn't have any interest in standing in the giant line, we just left after PotC and figured the one blue Mickey was a glitch. Everything was fine the next day. Just because he finally waved us through didn't make the experience enjoyable and we still felt like he implied we were liars.

Is the policy that CMs should question everyone in our situation and then wave them through only if they complain or are they not supposed to say anything and wave us automatically? If only one person gets a green Mickey or nobody does, what's the policy then? This would be very valuable for me to know what's "supposed" to happen if we get any blue Mickeys on our next trip.

I should also that since A&E and SDMT are so popular, being able to prove you have a valid FP is the most critical at those attractions. If he hadn't let us through on PotC, we would have done the SB line that was 20 mins long. If we'd been sent to Guest Relations at A&E, there would have been some emotional breakdowns in our group. Is there any proof we can offer at those attractions that will allow CMs to admit guests who get a blue Mickey or are we just completely out of luck if there is a glitch?

I don't know the word for word policy as it isn't written out where I can read it. Our departments training was put on hold so we didn't get the update training for tech issues. I've only heard through word of mouth that if you get 1 single blue mickey then they should wave you through. Now I don't know the exact specifics of what they should look for on their screen to prevent cheaters etc but that is what I eas told. Also this wasn't for MK and none of my MK friends have said this os what they are being told.

There have always been inconsistancies with the leway rules of fp we are just seeing it more now because it isn't the difference of a 5 minute wait time or coming back after your time but now preplaning and the abilitly to change on a whim and lots of people are having issues.

There is no proof sadly. It is all a very tender subject and it even appears it may be down to area management. I don't work at an attaraction that has fp+ but I know in at least one park management has said if one person in a family is blue just let them through. However, I know at 7DMT and Anna and Elsa they are stead fast in their denial.

Also when these things happen check to see if their are any managers near by. If the managers are near by the CMs no matter how nice have their hands tied