Do you like the Fastpass+ system?

[4GoofyCrew]

We love FP+! We have utilized it a lot this last week while at the parks and it has saved us a lot of line standing during what have been very heavy crowd days. We only waited once for over 30 minutes and that was single rider for Test Track. We either caught short lines (arrived by 9:30am helped for an hour or so), or FP everything else. It worked so well today at the MK that my husband finally said I had to stop....lol...we had plans to leave the park but then I got a FP, rode, got a different FP, repeat, repeat, repeat...we finally had to stop because we had dinner plans. I was shocked to be able to get a 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th FP, especially with it being quite busy.

Now...my pet peeves:

1) Dining and FP should open for reservations at the same time because it is difficult to plan hard-to-get FPs around dinner reservations.

2) I have no problem with people booking another FP via their phone IN line, but PLEASE don't book it DURING the ride. We had several rides where the person in front of us (FEA, Pirates, Small World...to name a few...sigh) was on their phone the entire ride looking for FPs. They aren't even enjoying the ride and they are ruining it for the people behind with their screen visible.

3) It happened over and over again where people get up to the FP scanner and have to dig in their bags for their cards (no Magic Band). Or worse, they stand there frantically motioning for the rest of their party to join them. If you aren't ready, it's pretty simple, just do NOT get in the line.

 

[GenGen22]

I thought I was alone with not liking the additional planning. When we went the last time we didn't like all the dining planning and now adding this to the mix is just too much... I much rather go to DL where you don't have to plan as much. I plan my workdays who wants to do this on vacation.

 

[Boardwalk III]

We had the old FP system down pat and were able to do significantly more rides in a day than we are now. We were getting 12-15 rides done in under 5 hours in the old system! That simply can't be done now (for many of the same reasons people have already stated).

Even though FP+ does allow you to arrive at the park later, which can be nice, the problem is that other than the 3 advance FPs, the lines when we went last April were significantly longer than I've ever seen at Disney (and we been more than 20 times). As an example, our group wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain but it wasn't one of our 3 FP's so we had to wait in line for an hour and 20 minutes during a nonholiday week. It was crazy.

It does sound like things have improved a bit from a year ago in terms of the ability to get extra fast passes but that wasn't our experience last spring. There was virtually nothing good left for 4th FP's on the system as early as 11:00 am at MK.

Am hoping some of the tinkering they've done with the process will help for our next trip which is this August.

As DVC Members I'm sure we will get used to this but for people who like to plan it certainly adds a lot of constraints and in my opinion really reduces the number of attractions one can do in a day.

 

[buzznina]

What a
We do sleep in, which is partially why I worry that we won't get in time for our 10am FP+'s. And I'm also afraid that there will be no faspasses left after I use up my 3.
It's just too stressful for me.

Based on this statement, then you should be happy to have FP+. If it was the old system, by the time you got to the park the top rides would either not have any FP's left for the day or if they did they would all be at night towards the end of the day. At least now you can be guaranteed 3 rides with minimum wait time. Plus, I am getting to old to be the "runner" for our family, running from one FP area to the next to try and snag the old paper FPs.

 

[Tomh]

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

I'm not sure that it is fair to blame FP+ for going on less rides.

IF . . . you were consistently a rope drop family under the legacy FP system, AND you are not there for rope drop now, then I'd say it isn't FP+ that keeps you from seeing as many attractions. We are still able to ride Soarin' 2 or 3 times at Rope Drop if we choose to with fairly little wait time, then use our FP+ for another go. That hasn't changed. We are still able to ride Toy Story at rope drop, then follow up with a 2nd ride via FP+ . . . under the old system, we *might* be able to get a 3rd ride in. With the use of Same Day Fast Pass (need an extra set of bands, or cards to do this) we are able to secure at least 6 rides, and often 7 or 8, just with FP+. I would say that is well on par with what we accomplished under the legacy system. Add in a few attractions via short standby, and you are at 10 rides in one day, not bad.

 

[daf]

I like it a lot, but it does have some flaws. The biggest issue is that they made nearly everything FP enabled when certain attractions don't really need to be. This causes some confusion and slows down rides that used to load fast. I know they had to increase bandwidth with the increased profile, but some attractions just aren't set up for it.

Is there a website that lists all the rides that don't really need FP? I wonder about rides like Buzz Lightyear (in MK) which always had a short line when I was there, so I'm not making a FP for that. Maybe it was a mistake?

 

[daf]

With the use of Same Day Fast Pass (need an extra set of bands, or cards to do this) we are able to secure at least 6 rides, and often 7 or 8, just with FP+.

Please elaborate! I thought you can only get a forth FP+ on the same day fastpass. How does the extra set of bands work here?

 

[edk35]

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?

There is far more planning now. I truly DON'T enjoy making my fast passes. LOL It stresses me OUT every time. Now add in Avatar Land for our June trip. Even more stress. I will say that you will get more rides in than you think. We usually rope drop and get in rides that way without using fast passes until later or saving them for another park that afternoon/evening. My biggest stress is selecting WHICH park to go to each day then adding in the selection of fast pass. I second guess myself the entire time. In the "old days" I would use Tour Guide Mike's park day suggestion based on crowds and it was SPOT ON for years....now it's harder to figure that out. That is what I don't like. We still have a great trip but YES I PREFER THE OLD SYSTEM.

 

[edk35]

Please elaborate! I thought you can only get a forth FP+ on the same day fastpass. How does the extra set of bands work here?

From what I understand you have your normal ones in your account and then you make another account with a 2nd set of magic bands BUT you can only use those the day of to get fast passes. So you take those extra bands into the park and go up to a kiosk to add fast passes to those.

 

[edk35]

Is there a website that lists all the rides that don't really need FP? I wonder about rides like Buzz Lightyear (in MK) which always had a short line when I was there, so I'm not making a FP for that. Maybe it was a mistake?

We use our fast passes for the mountains every time. We do standby for the other rides and get there at opening to get in a few rides before the bigger crowds arrive.....however that might all change for us on this June trip at MK. Now that they are letting everyone in an hour before opening and the crowds will be held in the hub that means the lands will fill up faster in my opinion. At least before they had to get from the train station to the different lands. I think we will do EMH morning at MK this trip.

 

[edk35]

One more thing....I would probably LIKE the new system better if we could get say 4 or 5 fast passes a day instead of 3 ....then we can add on more.

 

[Klayfish]

There is far more planning now. I truly DON'T enjoy making my fast passes. LOL It stresses me OUT every time. Now add in Avatar Land for our June trip. Even more stress. I will say that you will get more rides in than you think. We usually rope drop and get in rides that way without using fast passes until later or saving them for another park that afternoon/evening. My biggest stress is selecting WHICH park to go to each day then adding in the selection of fast pass. I second guess myself the entire time. In the "old days" I would use Tour Guide Mike's park day suggestion based on crowds and it was SPOT ON for years....now it's harder to figure that out. That is what I don't like. We still have a great trip but YES I PREFER THE OLD SYSTEM.

I guess I just don't see how it adds more planning. In the old system, you had to walk/run/whatever to the ride you wanted a FP+ for. That would take planning, wouldn't it? And even worse the return time the kiosk spit out was 5 hours later, and you already had plans for 5 hours later, then what? Just skip the ride? Now with FP+ that issue is completely gone. You're still planning what ride you want. And frankly, with very limited exceptions, if you change your mind, it's not all that hard to swap FP+ same day.

From what I understand you have your normal ones in your account and then you make another account with a 2nd set of magic bands BUT you can only use those the day of to get fast passes. So you take those extra bands into the park and go up to a kiosk to add fast passes to those.

So wait, let me get this right? Everyone in my family has two magic bands (some of them have 3). We could take another set of MB, create an account under DW name (our current MDE account is under mine) and get an entirely different set of 3 FP+ using those? I get we'd have to do it at the kiosk, but we can actually do that? So in theory, if we walked right from the tap to a kiosk, we'd be walking in with 6 FP+?? Really? If that's true, OMG...

 

[Beer Me]

If planning a Disney vacation is causing stress you are doing it wrong. Make a rough outline by planning which parks you will visit each day. Make fast passes for the rides you like best.

If plans change it won't be the end of the world.

 

[Heather1101]

In the beginning, no. Now I appreciate being able to make evening fast passes for another park and not have to worry that all fp's will be gone by the time we get there later in the day (we only spend a few hours at AK and HS). We find that it is a little less stressful making fp reservations in advance, and we appreciate having all the fp's worked around our dining reservations. We usually leave the parks at 2 and go back at 6pm, so being able to book fp's in advance really help us make sure we get the middle of the day downtime we prefer.

Edited to add...we do not miss running from one end of the park to the other, which is what always ended up happening despite our plans. I now arrange FP's around our meal times and locations to make sure we aren't crisscrossing the parks all day.

 

[AngiTN]

People make Disney way more planning than it needs to be. A lot of assuming goes on.
Assuming you can't get ADR beyond 180 days. False
Assuming you must plan parks way in advance. Also False.
Assuming you must plan FP at 60 days. Again, False.
Assuming you can't wing is. Still False.

All are possible and in many cases, improved by FP+

So wait, let me get this right? Everyone in my family has two magic bands (some of them have 3). We could take another set of MB, create an account under DW name (our current MDE account is under mine) and get an entirely different set of 3 FP+ using those? I get we'd have to do it at the kiosk, but we can actually do that? So in theory, if we walked right from the tap to a kiosk, we'd be walking in with 6 FP+?? Really? If that's true, OMG...

No, way more complicated than that. You want to read the Same Day FP thread here. Pack a lunch before you sit down to figure it out. Way too much work for me. We ride plenty without worrying about all that mess
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-sdfp-second-set-fp-long-faq.3520747/

 

[BrianL]

Is there a website that lists all the rides that don't really need FP? I wonder about rides like Buzz Lightyear (in MK) which always had a short line when I was there, so I'm not making a FP for that. Maybe it was a mistake?

You need this:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/page-73#post-57349529

This FAQ maintained by Mesaboy is pretty much the authority on all things FP+ and it has priorities for all attractions in each park. Enjoy!

 

[Klayfish]

People make Disney way more planning than it needs to be. A lot of assuming goes on.
Assuming you can't get ADR beyond 180 days. False
Assuming you must plan parks way in advance. Also False.
Assuming you must plan FP at 60 days. Again, False.
Assuming you can't wing is. Still False.

All are possible and in many cases, improved by FP+


No, way more complicated than that. You want to read the Same Day FP thread here. Pack a lunch before you sit down to figure it out. Way too much work for me. We ride plenty without worrying about all that mess
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-sdfp-second-set-fp-long-faq.3520747/

Can't comment on the ADRs since we don't do them, but to your other assumptions...I couldn't agree more. You are so right.

And I'll take your word for it on the extra FP+ being a mess. If it were something super simple, sure, why not. But like you said, we get on plenty of rides as it is.

 

[Tomh]

Please elaborate! I thought you can only get a forth FP+ on the same day fastpass. How does the extra set of bands work here?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...set-fp-long-faq.3520747/page-62#post-57331032

Everything you could ever want to know about Same Day Fast Passes. This is perhaps a touch controversial, kind of like using the old paper FP's past their "window." If you are willing to use the method though, it can be a significant advantage.

 

[Boardwalk III]

People make Disney way more planning than it needs to be. A lot of assuming goes on.
Assuming you can't get ADR beyond 180 days. False
Assuming you must plan parks way in advance. Also False.
Assuming you must plan FP at 60 days. Again, False.
Assuming you can't wing is. Still False.

All are possible and in many cases, improved by FP+


No, way more complicated than that. You want to read the Same Day FP thread here. Pack a lunch before you sit down to figure it out. Way too much work for me. We ride plenty without worrying about all that mess
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-sdfp-second-set-fp-long-faq.3520747/

I tried this twice after spending a huge amount of time figuring it all out, creating a new MDE under my work email address etc. The first trip it worked fine and was somewhat helpful. But the second trip somehow the two MDE accounts (or Magic Bands) got co-mingled. And at check-In everything was messed up and I had a 30 minute nightmare while 4 (wonderful) CM's at the Boardwalk had to completely fix everything. I did nothing to cause this, but think it was somehow related to my name being the same on both accounts and some help I had received over the phone from WDW technology with my MDE account during my planning process. In any case, for me it is just no longer worth the hassle!

 

[North of Mouse]

Is it just me?

Nope, have always hated it!!

In fact, liked things much better before 'any' FP's, with much lower crowds - but I digress - can't turn back the clock, so we deal the best we can, and go much less often than we used to. We 'loved' the 80's, 90's days of Disney!!