Do you like the Fastpass+ system?

[Jubaby]

It is absolutely too complicated now. The thing that I don't like, is the timing of everything is off. You have to figure out which days you will be at which parks so that you can make meal ADR's 180 days in advance. Then you can only do your FP's 60 days in advance, and you can't get the rides you want at the times you need to coordinate with your meal plans. Then EMH changes or park hours change toward the end, and all your plans are up in smoke. It has really frustrated me on our last two trips. I have given it up and hired a vacation planner this time.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

I don't know who was "running" around the parks for FP under the old system but we never "ran" anywhere, or criss-crossed the parks or had a runner etc. We grabbed a pass for things as we WALKED past them and used them while we were in the area. If the return time didn't work with our schedule we didn't grab the pass.

Under the new system, no matter HOW I try to arrange the passes, we are always walking from one end of the park to the other to make our FP+ reservations.

Luckily, we have adjusted our touring style since we go more often now as DVC members, so we don't mind the new way of having to wander around finding something to do while heading to or waiting for our next pass. Thanks to new longer lines for things that didn't used to have lines, we sure as heck aren't jumping on things to ride while waiting like we used to.

And we sure as heck ain't spending money shopping. We spend a lot of time people watching.

The term "FP runner" is/was a joking reference, not a literal description. I was our family's "runner," meaning simply that I would "run over to Space Mountain to grab our FP" while the rest of the family enjoyed a Mickey bar or something in Fantasyland. That way, when we got over to Tomorrowland, we magically already had our FP.

You toured differently, and that's the great thing about Disney - there's no "right" way, and everyone can find the system that works best for them. I like the new system because it lets me line things up in the same area (or the same direction we're touring). But I get your philosophy on the legacy system, too - if the time doesn't work, skip it. Different strokes, different folks.

 

[Jennasis]

The term "FP runner" is/was a joking reference, not a literal description. I was our family's "runner," meaning simply that I would "run over to Space Mountain to grab our FP" while the rest of the family enjoyed a Mickey bar or something in Fantasyland. That way, when we got over to Tomorrowland, we magically already had our FP.

You toured differently, and that's the great thing about Disney - there's no "right" way, and everyone can find the system that works best for them. I like the new system because it lets me line things up in the same area (or the same direction we're touring). But I get your philosophy on the legacy system, too - if the time doesn't work, skip it. Different strokes, different folks.

No. There is only ONE system. It's FP+. The only thing anyone can do is try to figure out how to best use it. This new system does not work as well for us as the old system, but we use it to the best of IT'S ability for our vacation.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

No. There is only ONE system. It's FP+. The only thing anyone can do is try to figure out how to best use it. This new system does not work as well for us as the old system, but we use it to the best of IT'S ability for our vacation.

By "system" I meant process/touring plan/strategy. Not multiple FP systems. Sloppy wording on my part.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

People love to mis-remember "the good old days". It doesn't really matter which way you think is better, you need to make the best of the way things are now.

My last trip in August, I was spontaneous and went to whatever park's bus showed up first. It was so much fun not having any plans, except for dinner. Even then, we booked ADRs for only 8 out of the 17 nights we were there.

With the new system you don't need to wake up at the crack of dawn to literally run and get paper fast passes, so it's all good with me.

 

[DebbieB]

I love FP+! For example, on my last trip I arrived around 1:00pm and my friend arrived around 7:00. I booked Frozen fastpasses for 9:00 for both of us (closing was at 10:00). We could have never got Frozen fastpasses for that night under the old system. I also booked a couple in the afternoon for myself before she arrived.

What I like most is picking your times. Under the old system, you could only take the time that was on the sign and sometimes that was hard to manage. With FP+ you can look at what is available for the entire day and pick the times you want that fits with your plans.

 

[MrsDuck]

We love it.

 

[Sparkly]

I like it. On our first full day this time we plan to do Disney Springs in the morning then HS, it'll be nice to walk in at lunchtime with TSM and TOT FPs.

 

[TiffanyA]

I am not a rope dropper at all and I still miss legacy FP. Probably because even though I am the planner of the family, it's a forced position. I actually hate to plan, but I do it because the alternative (standing in long lines) seems worse. One of these days I should try it...

 

[coolbrook]

I love it!! We have figured out how to use it to our advantage and I love the planning process. This would be a fun thread to have a poll at the top. I would love to see what the consensus is.

 

[Candris79]

I love it. The only thing that would make it better would be if you could split the 3 initial fast passes between different parks in one day.

 

[tj4disney]

Our family goes to WDW to (shocker)...ride rides. As in headliners. Can't ride nearly as many under FP+, so for us it's an epic fail. After experiencing FP+ in 2015, count us as "out" for the foreseeable future...80% because of the suckiness of FP+.

 

[Tomh]

This is my first trip to WDW since they started with the FP+ system.
Is it just me, or does this make planning MUCH more stressful and less fun?
I feel like:
1. I'm not doing it right
2. There's too much planning now (and I used to LOVE planning for WDW)
3. There's too much to read about strategies
4. feels like all we're going to accomplish is 3-5 rides a day at best, and it seems like we're going to be waiting in line much more than back when there was regular fastpass.

Is it just me?

I like both systems. The first time with FP+, I don't feel that we did nearly as well as we had with the old system. There is a learning curve, but then there was a learning curve with the legacy system as well. Those who knew all the tricks could get quite a few rides in. Those who didn't might not do quite so well. The same is true here. You will get 3 rides, but if you take the time to learn all the tricks, you can get significantly more done.

I think with some planning, it is possible to do just as much with the FP+ system as it was with legacy FP. Additionally, with FP+, you have some control over what time you go to rides, so you can plan a more efficient route through the park, and avoid much of the criss crossing that was necessary with legacy FP. All in all, I like the new system.

 

[2forMe]

No, I prefer the old paper version or would prefer to pick fp only day of and not ahead of time

 

[BayouQueen]

I really do love FP+. DL is my home park and our days don't go as smoothly there without it. With it you get a rock-solid "base day" and then can add lots of stuff in between. BUT...for those who haven't familiarized themselves with the system or come in "green," I think they'd have a pretty rough day. Well, I know they would, because I've talked to people in the parks who came in unprepared and were just stunned that they were shut out of a lot of attractions. H'mmm...I'm thinking international travelers might be pretty darn confused.

Well, anyhow, I selfishly do love it!

 

[5DisneyNuts]

I like both systems. The first time with FP+, I don't feel that we did nearly as well as we had with the old system. There is a learning curve, but then there was a learning curve with the legacy system as well. Those who knew all the tricks could get quite a few rides in. Those who didn't might not do quite so well. The same is true here. You will get 3 rides, but if you take the time to learn all the tricks, you can get significantly more done.

I think with some planning, it is possible to do just as much with the FP+ system as it was with legacy FP. Additionally, with FP+, you have some control over what time you go to rides, so you can plan a more efficient route through the park, and avoid much of the criss crossing that was necessary with legacy FP. All in all, I like the new system.

I agree with this. While part of me misses the legacy FP system (and being the family runner LOL), I believe for us FP+ works better. We have to pick dining at 180 days anyway (not always but for the most part that is what I do) so I know where I'll be. Difference is though that I can always cancel dining 24hrs in advance if I want to change plans, but it is more difficult to change FP+ now since you are contending with people that have booked in advance.

The flip side is as non-rope droppers that go at busy times, I don't have to stress to get everyone out of the room to get to the park before FPs run out. Like a PP said, there were a few years that we never rode TSM since standby was never less than 120 minutes and legacy FPs were gone. I like knowing that we have rides guaranteed. I do think we get on less rides now too - but again as non-rope droppers that go at busy times, that is all our fault

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

There are aspects of FP+ that I like and don't like. I don't like the tiering, the resulting long standby lines on rides that used to have consistently low wait times (e.g., Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Figment), the advance booking advantage given to onsite guests (60 days) over offsite guests (30 days), and pretty much being out of luck for securing a FP for a popular ride if you need to change your park days around and cancel a FP for that popular ride. I really like not having to run around to get paper fast passes, not having the presssure to make rope drop in order to have a chance of getting a FP for a popular ride, and the flexibility of being able to change or schedule additional fast passes from my phone. I can see how some would view it as complicated or as a turn off because it does require a certain level of planning. Being on the Disboards gave me the advantage of knowing how to efficiently use FP+ in terms of which FP+ attractions to prioritize, what order to schedule them in, and how to schedule additional fastpasses beyond the initial three allotted. I felt so bad for the many families we saw having to spend precious park time standing aside while a CM explained the FP+ system to them or needing a CM to help them figure out how to use the kiosks.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I like FP+ I do think they should change a few things. I have done a lot of reading and planning.
1. I think it should be three daytime and one night time fp (and you can get less popular ride FP+ before the nighttime one.
2. I think you should be able to use them at different parks.
3. I also think to have some DAY OF FP+ released at noon (for evening rides) would be smart.
I will say I do like knowing I will have this ride done no matter what and I don't have to wait an hour+ for some popular ones. So I am not going to be running around trying to make sure (for example) my son gets his tot ride that he has wanted to ride (in dca) for years but we always talk him out of it. (lol)
This time I have promised ill go on it with him.

that's just my2 cents

 

[DebbieB]

Our family goes to WDW to (shocker)...ride rides. As in headliners. Can't ride nearly as many under FP+, so for us it's an epic fail. After experiencing FP+ in 2015, count us as "out" for the foreseeable future...80% because of the suckiness of FP+.

It's much easier to use now. You can make additional FP+ right on your phone. You can move times after you tap the first one to make them closer together to get more. You can definitely "work it" more now.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I do not like Fastpass+ for the following reasons.

We always made dinner ADRs (not every day), but kept our daytimes open. We chose our daytime park in the the morning based on weather, what park we felt like going to. Sometimes we'd go to the pool if it was a good swimming day. We wouldn't go to Animal Kingdom if it was going to rain all day, etc. Now we are totally locked in and have to decide what parks we are going to on what day ahead of time regardless of weather, mood, etc.

We went to Disneyland last year and really enjoyed it because it was less structured like the WDW days of old.