Disney holding back FP+s for day-of

[tlh]

I saw no flexibility in the system last week. Yes I pre booked mine 60 days out, but when I wanted to change things the day before nothing for TSM was available. Never checked right when park opened, because we were doing rope drop at another park. Did look a little later like at lunch and nothing. Great to have it planned, but if you want to change anything it seems like you might as well forget it for the headliners. All we did was go to the different park use our three and leave. Usually we would be at a park all day, now that has changed.

 

[JimmyV]

All we did was go to the different park use our three and leave. Usually we would be at a park all day, now that has changed.

Remember...."The best part of a Disney World vacation just might be staying at a Disney World resort hotel..."

 

[minniemous]

I heard the same argument with many of the people who were so against the new fast pass system. I would say (as many) I am sure they will be changing the system and this is just the begging stage etc. I heard over and over again "Disney does not care... this is the system and Disney is ruined." Guess what? We now know that they are making major changes to the system and it is definitely in flex. They may not care about our feelings but they do care and research how a system affects certain guest groups. I think it is silly to say otherwise. WDW is such a loved destination because of all the thought they put into guest experiences.

I still think they have to be holding back tickets for day of for many reasons. They must consider all aspects of the type of visitors they have. Some people can plan in advance and they do it very well. When they say they are going to Magic kingdom day 1 and so forth and so on they do it. Others do not based on weather etc. Also Season holders who do not know 30 days in advance that they are going they go spur of the moment.

When we planned our days of our 12 day vacation we perhaps stuck to 2 of those days. Everything else we change on a whim. I was able to get fast passes the day of with little problem. There has to be some flexibility built into the system.

I agree that they will not tell people that is the case and I think it seems obvious that there is some flexibility with some Fast Passes being held back.

 

[DHSbutcher]

FP+ is designed for flexibility, and I believe that it is extremely flexible, at least compared to FP-. You can change your plans on a whim, and yes, TSMM has always had a problem running out of Fast passes. ALWAYS. So all the times are gone within an hour of park opening? This is nothing new compared to the past. However you at least don't have to wake up at the break of dawn and sprint through the park to get on the ride, you can choose what time your fast pass is, and I really enjoy the system. It's impossible for every guest to ride TSMM that wants to every day. Its physically impossible. Unless they expanded the ride-- where to I don't even know-- and added more cars and another couple sets of screens, the wait times for this ride will never go down. Simply not that many people can ride at one time. This whole problem isn't FP+, it's just supply and demand.
There are also a ton of day guests. Have you seen the lines for the ticket booths in the morning? There are 60,000 cast member that work at WDW that have free access to the parks almost any day they like along with their family and friends. The amount of annual pass holders that do not actually plan when they're coming is large as well. The day FP+ are necessary in my book. And if you snooze, you lose.

 

[RachaelA]

Yet there are people a couple of weeks ago that have showed up at park opening to book there FP+ and said there was nothing for the top attractions in the park available.

I feel like there is no rhyme or reason to what Disney does anymore.

 

[tlh]

Remember...."The best part of a Disney World vacation just might be staying at a Disney World resort hotel..."

I was thinking where have I heard that.... Hahaha! I just saw that commercial.

 

[The Hub]

Based upon our crowd predictions and historical data, we are saving between 25% and 40% of FastPass reservations for day of bookings. This means that a percentage in each available timeslot will be held back. The busier we expect it to be, the less we have for day of bookings.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Tltr most posts

Any confirmation of held back?

 

[DisneyWisher]

Tltr most posts Any confirmation of held back?

It's correct. I tried at 8:45am for party of 2, standby only...tried at 8:55 still standby only...at 9:05 I tried with a party of 6 (my niece has tickets and I can make her FP+) at 9:05 I could make FPs no longer standby only.

 

[gtpoohbear]

When we were there two weeks ago, I wasn't able to get anything same day, except for EE. I made most of them 60 days out, and had my choice of times. Changed a few around as it got closer, and there were fewer times to choose from, but still some availability.

When I tried to change or make new ones same day, absolutely nothing. App always said "There are no times available". The lines for the FP+ kiosks were very long or I would have tried there, obviously they still had something to give out. Maybe they were only for rides I didn't try, though. Do they kiosks in the park pull from a different pool than the ones available on the app?

 

[DisneyWisher]

It's correct. I tried at 8:45am for party of 2, standby only...tried at 8:55 still standby only...at 9:05 I tried with a party of 6 (my niece has tickets and I can make her FP+) at 9:05 I could make FPs no longer standby only.

Tried changing time for TSM and it said nothing available. I've learned when you get that message restart your phone and it will work. I restarted and it gave me 11 times slots starting at 10:30am. I cancelled them because my niece and her family aren't here this trip and I didn't want to cancel our FPs for MK. Now if my daughter and her family would wake up. No rope drop today!

 

[DisneyWisher]

When I tried to change or make new ones same day, absolutely nothing. App always said "There are no times available". The lines for the FP+ kiosks were very long or I would have tried there, obviously they still had something to give out. Maybe they were only for rides I didn't try, though. Do they kiosks in the park pull from a different pool than the ones available on the app?

When you get that error message restart your phone. My phone has never been restarted so many times in 2 days. Yesterday we left MK because my ex husband and our DD20 were meeting us at the hotel (they were on their way to Universal, he works for a company that rented IoA from 6pm-12am for only employees and their families, he only asked for 2 tickets *eyeroll*) We all live in different areas of central FL (1-2 hours away) I'm with DD28, DSIL and DGD1. Ex wanted to see them. While on the bus I was changing times for Splash and BTMR. To make the most of FP+ and baby swap not all 3 of us had FP for each ride. 2 would have them and get rider switch. Had to book each individually so had to switch individually.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Based upon our crowd predictions and historical data, we are saving between 25% and 40% of FastPass reservations for day of bookings. This means that a percentage in each available timeslot will be held back. The busier we expect it to be, the less we have for day of bookings.

Thanks much for the info! This makes sense and is in line with what some others have said.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Based upon our crowd predictions and historical data, we are saving between 25% and 40% of FastPass reservations for day of bookings. This means that a percentage in each available timeslot will be held back. The busier we expect it to be, the less we have for day of bookings.

Good to know.

Do you have any idea of when they open?

PP's seem to indicate it is right around 9AM, so when the park opens. That makes sense.

 

[JimmyV]

Based upon our crowd predictions and historical data, we are saving between 25% and 40% of FastPass reservations for day of bookings. This means that a percentage in each available timeslot will be held back. The busier we expect it to be, the less we have for day of bookings.

Thanks for the info. 25%-40% sounds risky. Holding back nearly half the FPs would seem to undermine the ability of people to plan in advance which is the hallmark of the whole system. I can see many instances where people trying to book in advance get shut out of what they are looking for, but then go to a particular park anyway hopeful that they will grab some of the held back FPs only to find out that they actually can't get FPs for the rides they want because they try a little too late, or they discover that the available times don't match their needs. So by 10:00 a.m., they conclude that they picked the wrong park to go to that day. In a world where pre-planning is favored, this would be very frustrating.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Was that before offsite could prebook? Which just started on Monday.

 

[2Tiggies]

Was that before onsite could prebook? Which just started on Monday.

That was my question too. I'm also curious to know if they are holding FP's back, whether they are staged. Do they release some of those in reserve at the 30 day mark and then the rest on the day of?

I must admit I was pretty stunned at that figure which looks really high for holding out of the available pool.

 

[The Hub]

Was that before offsite could prebook? Which just started on Monday.

My leaders told our cast this during track talk a few weeks ago, so yes, this was before offsite can prebook. However, it was when MyMagic+ was opened to all of our Passholders. If the number changed, my cast hasn't been informed.

That was my question too. I'm also curious to know if they are holding FP's back, whether they are staged. Do they release some of those in reserve at the 30 day mark and then the rest on the day of?

I must admit I was pretty stunned at that figure which looks really high for holding out of the available pool.

Once the FastPass+ entitlements are able to be reserved, they will remain available until they are booked. There are no adjustments at the 30 day, 45 day or 60 day periods. I'm sure some Passholders may have been having difficulty making a FP+ for Anna and Elsa when their window just opened. The 45 day window is not currently attached to any types of tickets, but it can be enabled at any time. When and if, nobody knows. This is Disney. However, it is built into MyMagic+.

The numbers may seem high, but they are needed. In theory, this allows guests to make changes throughout the day by visiting a kiosk or using their mobile app. This also allows most onsite guests to be guaranteed three experiences throughout each day. Our day guests and those who don't know they are going to Walt Disney World until they are in the car also will be able to select some FastPasses at the kiosks. Not to mention, our Cast Members are not able to prebook at this time.

 

[2Tiggies]

The numbers may seem high, but they are needed. In theory, this allows guests to make changes throughout the day by visiting a kiosk or using their mobile app. This also allows most onsite guests to be guaranteed three experiences throughout each day. Our day guests and those who don't know they are going to Walt Disney World until they are in the car also will be able to select some FastPasses at the kiosks. Not to mention, our Cast Members are not able to prebook at this time.

Thank you for coming back to clarify. That is very interesting.

 

[Minniekins]

My leaders told our cast this during track talk a few weeks ago, so yes, this was before offsite can prebook. However, it was when MyMagic+ was opened to all of our Passholders. If the number changed, my cast hasn't been informed.

Once the FastPass+ entitlements are able to be reserved, they will remain available until they are booked. There are no adjustments at the 30 day, 45 day or 60 day periods. I'm sure some Passholders may have been having difficulty making a FP+ for Anna and Elsa when their window just opened. The 45 day window is not currently attached to any types of tickets, but it can be enabled at any time. When and if, nobody knows. This is Disney. However, it is built into MyMagic+.

The numbers may seem high, but they are needed. In theory, this allows guests to make changes throughout the day by visiting a kiosk or using their mobile app. This also allows most onsite guests to be guaranteed three experiences throughout each day. Our day guests and those who don't know they are going to Walt Disney World until they are in the car also will be able to select some FastPasses at the kiosks. Not to mention, our Cast Members are not able to prebook at this time.

Thanks, The Hub, for sharing this info, appreciate it!
One question, do the FP's that are cancelled go back in to the pool for the day?

It definitely makes more sense that they are holding a decent percent back. They are pushing the early booking of FP's, but they are also pushing the flexibility of the system - the ability of same day booking and changing bookings. And if they didn't hold back any and allowed all to be booked ahead of time, that wouldn't make any sense at all. There would be almost no flexibility and changing. They have to hold some back to accommodate those day of and changing FP bookings. Yes that may anger some people, but either way people will be upset, whether they can't book a favorite ahead or if they can't book or change day of. Just like with the legacy FP, people aren't guaranteed they can book the biggest rides, or even any. But most onsite guests will be able to book 3 rides. In order to also allow other guests and changing of FP's, I can't see any way to do that without holding back a percentage of bookings to make available each day. Or how they could allow more FP's, the extra 4th, 5th, 6th, etc, if they didn't hold any for the day of use.